Connect with us

Big Marriage Defeat Looms in 2014 (Part 3)

Published

on

var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};

Part 3 in a 7-part investigative series

Republican political operatives are about to give anti-LGBT hate groups just what they crave:  a lopsided defeat for gay rights in the deepest South.  NCRM’s 7-part investigative series reveals how progress toward marriage equality in other states is threatened by current events in Florida.

Part 3 of 7:  Counts for Workers, Signatures, and Dollars

In summary, then, most of Equal Marriage Florida’s work either never started, or else started but remains a secret. Florida law requires that donors who pay for campaigns must be publicly identified, but EMFL’s donors and donations — if there are any — have never been reported.

Treasurer Vanessa Brito reports different campaign results to different people. For example, she claimed that EMFL collected donations of at least $20,000, and spent at least $20,000.  In correspondence for this article, she wrote, “Heather [Gray] and I have invested close to $20,000 of our own money — a list she is working on for you and for the latest reporting period as well.”  But in the campaign finance reports required by state law, Treasurer Brito wrote to Florida officials that EMFL had received no donations, loans, or in-kind contributions, had spent no funds, and had no financial transactions.

Brito did not report to the state when her own $20,000 was contributed, or when or how it got spent.  She also did not report the commissions paid to fund-raisers hired via Facebook.  She also did not report the extensive in-kind contributions from the group’s Sponsor, Our America Initiative, from June through December.  On New Year’s Eve, OAI spokesman Joe Hunter confirmed the 2013 support, saying, “OAI provided in-kind contributions, such as Web site set-up, social media expertise, and quite a bit of work, primarily at the start.  We talk with EMFL, and are actively supporting them, and doing whatever they need us to do.”

On 21 August 2013, EMFL told South Florida Gay News that the collected signatures total was 48,349.  On 13 September, EMFL wrote to a Huffington Post staff reporter that the total had exceeded 120,000.  On 2 November, EMFL announced that the total was “over 200,000.”  But after being asked multiple times to confirm how many signatures are collected vs. outstanding, EMFL Media Coordinator Heather Gray denied the accuracy of EMFL’s previously published figures, and also declined to provide any updates.

The mystery about how many workers, signatures, and dollars the campaign has taken in deepened on 18 December, when EMFL posted to its Facebook account an advertisement for a “second set of paid petition circulators.”  Hiring two teams of contract workers would require EMFL to raise funds and to spend funds, but EMFL’s reports to state officials show zero dollars raised, and zero dollars spent.  The Washington state campaign was victorious only after exerting over 30,000 hours of labor, but in Florida, no one from EMFL would confirm the hours worked so far, or the hours planned.

Late Notice to EMFL (Florida DoS-DoE, 13-Jan-2014)

In an e-mail message for this article, Brito wrote on 17 December that her team members “have worked tirelessly since June.  You will have the information you requested this week.”  But no figures for staffing, signatures, events, or fund-raising ever arrived, and none of EMFL’s available leaders ever gave the long-promised phone interview.

Despite the secrecy, three stark facts blaze brightly.

• EMFL’s Web site still promises to collect 1,000,000 signatures by 1 February 2014, but the lack of people, funds, and progress makes reaching that goal impossible.

• MYami Marketing is the Republican political campaign firm that Vanessa Brito founded in 2009, where Heather Gray is Deputy Director, but its Web site, Facebook, and MySpace pages are all empty, both of its published phone numbers are disconnected, and it appears to be out of business.  Owner Vanessa Brito claims that it is a “full-service” marketing firm which is circulating petitions, verifying signatures, and conducting surveys, but MYami Marketing appears to have no Web presence, no working phones, and didn’t answer repeated e-mail inquiries for this article.

• EMFL filed official reports at the Florida Division of Elections showing zero funds raised, zero funds spent, and zero transactions.

Those three facts — scant progress, unresponsive leaders, no transactions — intensify the early fear of some LGBT activists that this Political Action Committee might be just a false front, a staged theatric.  The lack of verifiable progress, unavailability of leaders, and absence of funding also make it more likely that EMFL was created not to win marriage equality, but to defeat it, to ruin activist morale, and to burn up LGBT dollars so they can’t be spent anywhere else.

Tomorrow in this investigative series:  Part 4 – Party Plans, and Part 5 – Haters Wait With Bated Breath.

Image, top by Equal Marriage Florida via Facebook

Letter via Florida Dept. of State

skitched-20130320-084004Ned Flaherty is an LGBT activist currently focused on civil marriage equality, and previously on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal. He writes from Boston, Massachusetts, where America’s first same-gender civil marriages began in 2004. He suffered a childhood exposure to Roman Catholic pomp and circumstance, but the spell never took, and he recovered.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Let’s Get a Warrant for Her Backyard’: Noem ‘Done Politically’ Right Wing Pundits Say

Published

11 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem‘s bragging about dragging her 14-month old puppy into a gravel pit and shooting her to death because she “hated” the dog is likely the end of her political career, right-wing pundits are now saying.

On Friday when The Guardian broke the news in a preview of Noem’s upcoming book, outrage on the left was immediate, but outrage on the right trickled in, then increased. Even with Noem doubling down, declaring her killing of the puppy (and a goat that same day, same way) happened 20 years ago, people on the right are expressing anger.

A Democratic pollster says 81% of Americans oppose Noem killing her puppy, The Guardian later reported.

“After learning about Gov. Noem’s actions, only 14% consider her to be a good choice for vice president on the Republican ticket. By a 2:1 margin, even Republicans say the governor would not be a good choice (42% vs. 21%),” the pollster, New River Strategies, stated.

READ MORE: Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’

Noem’s book, “No Going Back,” to be released May 7, has a number one ranking at Amazon. Publisher Center Street, a Hachette Book Group imprint, also publishes other right-wing politicians including Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Endorsing the book are other right-wingers, including Donald Trump, Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy, athlete and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, and anti-LGBTQ extremist group creator Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok.

On Monday, as Mediaite reported, two Fox News pundits had had it.

Jason Chaffetz, a former GOP Congressman, said, “she just destroyed her political career. I don’t think there’s anybody on any side of the aisle, any human being that thinks it’s acceptable to go to a gravel pit and shoot a dog in the face and kill it when it’s 14 months old. That’s. I mean, that’s just hideous. So she’s done politically, and I’m a friend of hers. I served with her, but politically, there’s no recovering from this.”

Fox News media analyst Joe Concha said, “as a dog owner my whole life,” the story of Noem shooting her dog “absolutely makes my blood boil.”

RELATED: Noem Defends Shooting Her 14-Month Old Puppy to Death, Brags She Has Media ‘Gasping’

“How utterly heartless do you have to be to shoot a 14-month-old dog in the face? Because look, if it wasn’t doing its job on the farm, or is attacking chicken or people, okay, you’re a public figure, or at least you have a platform in some way, shape, or form. Even if you’re a private citizen, you very easily could have posted somewhere, ‘I’m putting my dog up for adoption because maybe it’s not working out here on the ranch,’ and I can guarantee you many people would have raised their hand to take that dog in,” Concha said, adding, “she just destroyed any chance she had of being Donald Trump’s vice president, if she had any chance at all. There’s no going back from this.”

Right wing talk show host Megyn Kelly said Trump is “too smart” to “pick somebody who’s managed to do the impossible and unite Democrats and Republicans alike in their anger for this woman who shot her puppy in the face.”

At the right wing National Review, Jeffrey Blehar writes: “Let’s Get a Warrant for Kristi Noem’s Backyard.”

“I guess I just don’t like people who boast about shooting puppies,” Blehar adds on social media. “And goats. And horses. And who knows what else, until cops have done an aerial scan of the property and gotten a backhoe out to excavate the suspicious piles of dirt.”

 

 

 

Continue Reading

News

Far Right Media Outlet Retracts ‘False’ Story About Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels

Published

12 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

A far-right pro-Trump streaming media outlet has retracted what it now states was a “false” story alleging former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels had a sexual relationship for years and engaged in an “extortion” conspiracy plot against the ex-president.

The statement and apology from One America News Network (OAN) comes just one day before the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump is set to begin its third week. Cohen is one of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s top witnesses in the case. Defense attorneys are expected to try to attack Cohen’s credibility.

“OAN today has retracted its March 27 article entitled ‘Whistleblower: Avenatti Alleged Cohen­ Daniels Affair Since 2006, Pre-2016 Trump Extortion Plan,’ and is taking it down from all sites and removing it from all social media. This retraction is part of a settlement reached with Michael Cohen. Mr. Avenatti has denied making the allegations. OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him,” a statement on OAN’s website reads.

It then states in all-caps: “NO PERSON SHOULD RELY ON THE MARCH 27 ARTICLE OR THE ALLEGATIONS CONTAINED THEREIN.”

READ MORE: Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’

“The article, quoting a source, falsely claimed that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels ‘were having an affair since 2006’ and that, according to a source, ‘the whole hush money scheme was cooked up by [Mr. Cohen] to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.’ These statements were false. OAN regrets their publication.”

The New York Times reports there are “no monetary damages,” and adds one of Cohen’s attorneys, “Justin Nelson, had represented Dominion Voting Systems in a suit against Fox News that cost that network $787.5 million to settle. Mr. Nelson worked with Mr. Cohen’s longtime lawyer, Danya Perry, in what was a remarkably quick about-face by OAN.”

Danya Perry, also one of Cohen’s attorneys in this case, declared the settlement was “a total vindication for Mr. Cohen — and a warning: Mr. Cohen is telling the truth, and there will be legal consequences for those who lie about him.”

“Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked Mr. Cohen,” The Times adds, “despite a gag order issued by the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, barring him from attacking witnesses and others. Justice Merchan is currently weighing whether Mr. Trump is in contempt of the gag order as a result of that invective.”

READ MORE: Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death

“In particular, Mr. Trump has attacked Mr. Cohen’s credibility, which will also be how Mr. Trump’s lawyers approach his former fixer during trial. The story by OAN, which has been a consistent booster of Mr. Trump’s political agenda, bolstered that strategy.”

Cohen called it, “The first apology in a long line of lies about me by media outlets.”

Professor of law, MSNBC legal analyst, and former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann called the settlement a “big win” for the attorneys and Cohen.

 

 

Continue Reading

News

Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’

Published

15 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

Attorneys for Hunter Biden have notified Fox News he plans to sue the right-wing cable TV network and its digital entities, after lawyers for the President’s son spent more than a year investigating. Among other issues the letter reportedly mentions Fox News citing a now-indicted former FBI informant, and points to “revenge porn” laws.

The letter, NBC News reports, is dated last week and specifically points to alleged bribery allegations as well as “Fox’s airing of ‘intimate images’ belonging to Hunter Biden that his lawyers claim were ‘hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated’,” that they say violate “Biden’s civil rights as well as copyright law.”

CNN, focusing in the intimate images, reports that “Hunter Biden is demanding that Fox News remove from its platforms sexually explicit images that President Joe Biden’s son says are private, according to a letter obtained by CNN, as part of his strategy to publicly fight back against conservative media.”

“The media outlet aired a mock trial of Hunter Biden on the streaming platform Fox Nation in 2022,” CNN also reports, “focused on the unproven bribery allegations, and published ‘intimate images of Mr. Biden depicting him in the nude as well as engaged in sex acts,’ according to the letter, which demands that Fox immediately remove the series from all streaming platforms.”

READ MORE: Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death

“’FOX knows that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material,’ Hunter Biden’s attorneys wrote in the letter, which contained several of the explicit images, some of which were blurred,” CNN adds. “Publishing these images, the attorneys said, violated ‘the majority of states’ laws against the nonconsensual disclosure of sexually explicit images and videos, sometimes referred to as ‘revenge porn’ laws.’ ”

In a statement Hunter Biden’s attorney, Mark Geragos, expanded on the apparently pending lawsuit.

“For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain,” Geragos stated. “The recent indictment of FBI informant Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise. We plan on holding them accountable.”

Media Matters last week reported, “Fox News has mentioned Hunter Biden at least 13,440 times since January 3, 2023, when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives after promising to use their power to investigate the business interests of President Joe Biden’s son, according to a Media Matters review.”

“Fox’s on-air coverage of Hunter Biden has … plummeted in recent months,” Media Matters added. “Mentions of the president’s son on the network peaked at 2,356 in July, when his federal plea deal on two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes fell apart, and mentions exceeded 1,300 in four other months, most recently in December.”

READ MORE: Peter Navarro’s Latest Attempt to Get Out of Jail Smacked Down by SCOTUS

Watch CNN’s report below or at this link.

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.