by Dell Cameron

I’m not very fond of Presidential debates. In Texas we have a saying: Politicians are a lot like steers; a point here, a point there, and a lot of bull in between. While all evidence is to the contrary, I’m also not very party affiliated. I prefer to think of myself as an independent, even though there haven’t been any Republicans in my district worth voting for in the past 20 years. In fact, I currently work for an independent candidate some of you may know – David Seaman. I can honestly say, if I lived in David’s district there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I’d vote for the current incumbent, Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL). But, for the time being, hard proof of my independent nature will have to remain theoretical.

The issue a lot of us politically and socially ‘awake’ independents face this year epitomizes the annoyingly consistent duality of the American election system. Third party candidates, I think more than ever, have really been forced to the back of the bus. Quick: What is the name of Gov. Gary Johnson’s vice presidential running mate? If your answer was, “Who the hell is Gary Johnson?” I think you’ve proven my point.

Unfortunately, yet again, we are only left with only two real options: an incumbent President who may have saved us from the brink of economic collapse, while simultaneously damaging American civil liberties in an unfathomable fashion, or Mitt Romney, whose financial ambitions, i.e. greed, would give Gordon Gekko a run for his money – literally.

I think both candidates have a lot in common. Neither will drastically reduce our annual military budget, which they continue to incorrectly quote as being $700 billion dollars. Guess they forgot that the cost of building and maintaining all those drones, the war related intelligence community (CIA, NSA, DIA), veterans’ benefits, and the Homeland Security budget was not included in that figure.

In addition, we can expect both candidates to continue ignoring issues such as the indefinite detention section of the National Defense Authorization Act, while perpetuating our permanent state of war. I’m hypothesizing here, but somehow I don’t see whether or not we engage in a war with Iran to be determined by this race since preliminary authorization for it has already been passed by the House of Representatives in Section 1221 (parts 7 and b) of the NDAA 2013. The Keystone XL pipeline is still a go, so your decision can’t really be environmentally based. The War On Drugs, programs to develop Orwellian public and electronic surveillance systems, and the sale of our democracy to the highest bidder will continue no matter which party takes the cake.

So… what are we left with to help us decide? Once again, as far as the media is concerned, it all comes down to what church you’re going to (or not, as the case may be). Gays and women, women and gays. Do you like them and will you support them? I happen to like both. Obviously, one more than the other – I write for a website that pays me in tits, but nevertheless, I’m a big fan of the gays too. But, while I’m not a woman or a homosexual, I have a sense of empathy for both, and it bothers me to see the issues facing them tossed around for political gain. In my mind, Women’s Rights and LGBT Rights are Human Rights, and because I’m human, these issues will deeply affect me.

I won’t tell you who to vote for and I refuse to endorse any candidate in writing. What I can tell you is that the Republican and Democratic parties have plenty in common. It’s up to you to find the difference that will help you make a conscientious decision this November. The only advice I offer is to not dismiss the hardships others may face due to the outcome of this election. Even if you’re a white, middle-class, middle-aged male, I promise you the social impact of this election will inevitably affect someone you love.

And if you’re wondering why I didn’t mention taxes when contrasting these two candidates, it’s because, regardless of who occupies the Oval Office, I seriously doubt that Romney will ever pay more than he is right now.

Dell Cameron is writer, activist and entrepreneur from Dallas, TX. He is a contributing writer for SuicideGirls and campaign manager for David Seaman for Congress. Currently, Dell is the Account Director for Alomedia.net, a web development company that specializes in helping artists, musicians and small businesses develop an online presence.

by Zach Roberts

At a fundraiser held at the Anchorage Middle Eastern restaurant Aladdin’s last week, Focus on the Family-associated Alaska Family Council President Jim Minnery laid out his plans for the future of the religious right – and why there was a movie-size poster of the arch-conservative businessmen Charles and David Koch on an easel by the door.

The Alaska Family Council (AFC) is a Focus on the Family-related group. As AFC explains on its own website: “Throughout each stage of its development, the Alaska Family Council has worked closely with Focus on the Family, one of the most respected and effective pro-family organizations in the country.” AFC’s President is a man named Jim Minnery – a relative to Focus on the Family’s Senior vice president Tom Minnery. Tom Minnery is not only the VP of Focus but also runs Citizenlink – Focus’ local policy chapter organizations.

Focus on the Family has been at the forefront of fighting LGBT rights across the country, from the Defense of Marriage Act to calling the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell a “cultural time bomb, strapped on the backs of the men and women who honorably serve this country.” Locally, the AFC in 2010 successfully pushed for a controversial proposition that would require parental notification for abortions; without the parent’s consent, the child would need to go before a judge to ask for the procedure.

As explained last week at the fundraiser, AFC, which calls itself a “Christian public policy organization,” is all set to form a 501c4 political action group that will work hand in hand with not-for-profit religious groups.

Thanks to the Citizens United ruling, political and religious groups can work together more easily than ever. AFC and now Alaska Family Action (501c4) president Jim Minnery explains in an exclusive recording that I obtained at the event last week:

“The organization Alaska Family Action has the same board; I’m still the person in charge of that organization. We literally have to switch the light switch off and on when [laughter from crowd] we have a board meeting, because we have to be a separate nonprofit corporation according to IRS regulations.”

The crowd he was speaking to included former Alaska Lt. Gov. Loren Leman and, later in the speech, the Alaskan Gov. Sean Parnell, along with a myriad of other local political figures.

According to Minnery, this is not a just local idea, but a national movement. Thirty-eight states across the country with “family healthy councils” are in the midst of forming action groups and working with the Koch brothers’ Themis database to target voters. On the recording I obtained, Minnery says:

“Things like Iowa, and Florida, and Arizona, Pennsylvania, Indiana, are the ones that come to mind initially, they had such success in bringing together social conservatives as a c4, and partnering with the fiscal conservatives in their state that they were able to turn the entire legislative chamber and had phenomenal success in passing pro-family, pro-life legislation. So, the rest of us said, we want to do the same thing.”

Once Minnery laid out the scope of the plan, he finally explained why the Kochs were placed so prominently in the room, referring the audience to The Guardian for more information on the billionaire brothers.

Many of you may have seen on the easel I had a poster made of the Koch brothers, and I think it’s important to mention that it’s nationally known, internationally known. For a good read, about a page and a half, I would recommend googling, when you have an opportunity, “Koch brothers” and “UK Guardian.” It’s one of their very liberal papers in the UK and essentially what they did was, after the Kerry race, the Obama administration folks became very, very diligent and technically superior to the Republican party and conservatives in terms of identifying data and really getting good solid information on what makes their constituencies and what makes them tick and what gets them to the polls. The first time it was actually utilized, and this is a multibillion-dollar project on a national level, was during the Obama first term, and we can all vouch that that was successful. And so what happened was that the Koch brothers realized that we have the ability to do the same. There’s no reason why conservatives should be left behind – and that’s always been the case, technically.

The Koch brothers had indeed done the same. Themis pulls together information from marketing databases across the country. The technology is something the brothers have spent at least (experts estimate) $50 million building.

At some point in the past year, there was a meeting of several right-wing religious groups. The idea of religious groups coming together to share information and politicize it is not a new one – Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition did it back in the 1990s – but the new ability to pull in marketing research and religious groups’ data seemed to surprise and excite Jim Minnery:

“It was an unbelievable experience for us to come, as with Focus on the Family, and Family Research Council, and Susan B. Anthony, and National Right to Life – groups that came together, basically for the first time it had ever occurred that these groups got together, and said, We want to bring our data together, in a blind gathering of that information.”

As investigator Greg Palast discusses in his book Billionaires & Ballot Bandits, alliances such as this one represent the return of data-mining abuses of the kind that have been perpetrated in the past by the like of the Christian Coalition.

“We know that Republican operatives from [former Florida secretary of state] Katherine Harris to Karl Rove have used databases to challenge legal votes and legal voters,” said Palast in an interview with Truthout.

“The use is now more sophisticated, better funded and more dangerous than ever to Democracy,” Palast said. “The tricks that will be used in this election will be the practice-run for a full-scale attack threatening voters by the millions in the 2014 and 2016 elections.”

AFC President Minnery, on the other hand, told the crowd of 25 or so religious and political figures not to be paranoid.

“They introduced this project to us by basically saying, ‘Listen, we know more about you guys than you could ever hope to know, but the good side is, we’re going to be able to use this for the glory of God and to get conservatives in power, because this is not something you should be afraid of.’ Now, some people are going to have the black helicopter syndrome, and always wonder why all this information is had on them and what can be done with it. I’m personally not concerned about that because I don’t really have anything to hide.”

While Minnery may be concerned only for the “glory of God,” it wasn’t the Koch’s concern. They were charging for the access:

They haven’t given it away, I can tell you that. We’ve been able to get the information, but there’s been somewhat of a cost, and that’s why we’re having this fundraiser, so we can utilize the data we have now and micro-target some of these races.”

The AFC was able get information on “close to 50,000″ people ” – 14 percent of Alaska’s population. Minnery boast they’ve been able to obtain:

“Much, much more information than we’ve ever had in terms of what are their passions, and what districts they’re in, and what motivates them. And so we have a real opportunity to utilize this information.”

The AFC’s fundraising goal for the night was $40,000. In a market as cheap as Alaska’s, that’s the equivalent of $800,000 media spend in Texas.

Governor Parnell closed the speaking engagement part of the evening with a request:

I wish to thank you for your support of Alaska Family Action and Alaska Family Council. They provide an important voice not only for the unborn, but for that perfect love that casts out all fear, that he was speaking to. This goes beyond just your politics. It goes to who we are as a people – if we are willing to stand for life as firmly as we are willing to stand for liberty. That is something that we each share in common, and that we each will do together…I urge you to give, and give heartily, tonight. Thank you.

Zach D Roberts is a photo-journalist who’s work has been seen in The Guardian, Truthout, BBC Television and Portfolio.com. Zach most recently contributed to Palast’s ground-breaking Nation investigation “Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza” and to the best-selling book Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps.

A version of this article first appeared on Truthout.org

Related Posts
Occupy Rising: The American Spring Is Here
#D17 – Sitting on the Group W Bench – Arrested for Committing Journalism
Occupy Wall Street: The Cleansing of Zuccotti Park

by Lee Camp

Is it possible to protest something that hasn’t happened yet? I sure as hell think so! So strap on your shoes, get out some badass picket signs, and prepare to be angry… because I know the future, and it’s not pretty.

Sources:
“Vote counting company tied to Romney” by Gerry Bello & Bob Fitrakis for Free Press
“Romney-linked voting machine company to count votes in Ohio” by Craig Unger for Samon
“Pro-Romney Firm’s Purchase Of Voting Machine Company Raises Alarms” by Dan Froomkin for The Huffington Post
“Romney Family Investment Ties To Voting Machine Company That Could Decide The Election Causing Concern” by Rick Ungar for Forbes

[..]

RiverSong Suicide in Bird On A Perch

• INTO: Flowers, birds, good music, good times, and happy people.
• NOT INTO: Prejudice, hate, death, or stupidity.
• MAKES ME HAPPY: Flowers, puppy dawgs, and bird watching.
• MAKES ME SAD: Stupid people.
• HOBBIES: All arts and crafts.
• 5 THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes.
• I SPEND MOST OF MY FREE TIME: Taking bubble baths, watching reruns of Doctor Who or Ghost Adventures, and crafting.

Get to know RiverSong better over at SuicideGirls.com!