Blackwater's Eric Prince, Mother Contribute to CA's Proposition 8

See how over-paying privatized military groups and protecting them from prosecution works?

Mo money for Republican causes!

Excerpt LA Times report "Proposition 8 proponents and foes raise $60 million"  (Link no longer works from this blog.  The Times is hiding articles over 7 days old if not paid a fee.  To revisit the article I copied the title as shown above into Google News which publications often give a free pass to, and clicking on the link got me back into the article.  I will look for a usenet copy of it, as it's possible that the Times will drop Google's pass too soon.)

Another major proponent is Elsa Prince, a contributor to Republican causes and candidates including McCain. Prince, of Holland, Mich., gave $450,000 to support Proposition 8. She's the mother of Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater Worldwide, the private firm that provides security in Iraq.

Mother and son sit on the board of a family foundation that donated $8 million in 2006-07 to Christian groups involved in the Yes-on-8 effort, including $300,000 to Focus on the Family, on whose board she sits. Focus on the Family gave $450,000 to Proposition 8 and $1.35 million to the 22 same-sex marriage ban campaigns in 2004 and 2006."

Mrs. Prince had money of her own as did Eric as an inheritance, but her son has even more to spread around since he got the incredibly lucrative contracts from the US taxpayers. He's using it to fund organizations and foundations that will make sure it gets into the pockets of the right (and I do mean right) candidates and Republican leaning groups.

Many of the younger big donors don't like people to know how much they donate to what causes, though, of course the Republicans are always informed somehow of who plops down big bucks for their campaigns.

Eric Prince sits on the board of "Focus on the Family".  That's a clear indication he donates large bundles of money to the organization.  (In fact, his family gave the mega donations needed to start the religious group and others that started the Republican revolution and takeover of the US by using extreme religion to coerce people into voting Republican -- or else, the implication was that God was watching and Hell is for Democrats.  You might have a chance if you voted reliably third party to help whittle down the Democrats' numbers, but what does the big G do about libertarians?  Are they allowed into heaven after working for free drug use and, even worse, against Republicans though many profess deep faith.  That is some heavy theology they should try to work out, ya' know.  Maybe Sarah Palin's anti-witch pastor can explain it to us.) 

You can't go to opensecrets and find all of Eric Prince's donations that have found ways into Republican candidate's hands. I can only find a couple of maximums to Thelma Drake, probably his representative in VA in 2006.  She seems to have won that one, but may be leaving next year according to RollCall Politics "Drake Loss May Be Nye"   People like Prince hide their big donations in foundations like Focus on the Family.  (What we should uncover is the method in which the these GOP supporting folks and groups get the message to the GOP so their hidden donations can work to help them get extremely lucrative contracts from the government.)

Churches are donating directly to Yes on Proposition 8 campaign, too,  though that is a violation of US tax code.  It's not sermons that the IRS needs to be concerned with, its huge donations taken out of tithes.  In fact, people should be concerned with that too.   There are very specific purposes laid out in the Bible for the tithe, and political donations were not included, I guarantee that.  This is one reason that most pastors and priests don't really want you to actually read the Bible especially Deuteronomy.  They prefer to 'splain it to you.  That's because much of the tithe is supposed to bypass them in one way or another and they don't want you to know about it.  The tithe isn't for the church or the pastors or priests and especially not for political campaigns.  It belongs to the Lord.  And BTW, if you drop it into the donation box and ignore how it ends up then you might be accounting to the IRS and to God over it.

The Times article shows all kinds of big out of state donations are being made.   We really need to stop that.

Outside money shouldn't be allowed to control California!

But first we need to stop the hate in this proposition.  We need to make sure that kids don't have to grow up in second class families as with schools forced to teach that their families are a group of lesser humans just because of the orientation of their parents.

We could also show the big donors for hate legislation and other scams on California like Pickens' gambit to get our tax dollars won't fool us.  Talk to everyone you know about this.   Make sure people you know who don't like the hate built into Proposition 8 get to the polls next Tuesday.

Sure, enacting the hurtful legislation will probably lead to a Roe v Wade for the nation as I explained in an earlier post, but in the years between little kids grow up being treated like members of a second class family.  

Marriages will be ripped apart.  

It's just so wrong as are the lie filled ads being shown by the pro Proposition 8 people. 

Proposition 10. The "Send Money to T. Boone Pickens" Initiative

Proposition 10 is the chance of a lifetime, for Mr. Boone Pickens (who financed the Swift Boat ads against Kerry in 2004 and wants to make billions off Californians to do who knows what in future campaigns).

Mr. Pickens has plopped 1.5 million to get his initiative on the ballot, but stands to make 1 billion or more off Californians.

The basic ideas are interesting, but Pickens stands to gain too much from the Measure and we are obligated to subsidize new automobile purchases for people who come to California just to buy a car and then return home,

I had heard about the "Send Money to T. Boone Pickens" initiative before, but Thomas Elias of the Pasadena Star-News has a good explanation of how this works in "Prop. 10 a 'windfall' for Pickens - not state budget".

To see the donations supporting  Proposition 10 see California Secretary of State Deborah Bowen's Prop 10 site here.

From Elias' article we learn that Clean Energy Fuels Corp and most likely entities just called "Clean Energy" are Mr. Pickens' companies.  You may notice that other donors are also energy companies that would likely benefit as well.

This is another illustration of why California needs to put it's foot down and say only Californians can donate to Californian proposition campaigns.  It's our state.  It's our money.

LA County Check Your Registration

I remembered signing an initiative form last spring after the primaries in which I was asked to sign two different places, and it looked like the paper had been folded back, which the guy assured me was the case.

Since then I have been getting tons of ads from Republican and right leaning sources which call themselves "independent".

It suddenly dawned on me that I may have been slammed into the Republcan party.

The encounter was after last March's primary so how would I know?

Well, I haven't found a way to check if I'm still registered "Decline to State"

But I found how to check if your Los Angeles County registration is valid.

Visit the Los Angeles County Register=Recorder site and fill out the form.

For now just being able to vote is enough.  I'll refile for registration after the election.

And party affiliation will be much more important if Proposition 11 passes.  Things I've heard already show that, yes, they will make state legislature districts in a manner that will create districts that will tend to match the number of voters registered in each party to the number of seats in the legislature. 

That is why massive amounts of out of state money is being given by Republicans and right wing groups for Proposition  11, while at the same time we had a massive voter registration fraud going on in our state.

The ultimate goal is to get a state legislature that will create more Republican seats in the US House of Representatives and which will divide up our electoral college votes and push our state into an extreme minority which also divides up their electoral votes.  (At the current time 2 states in the union divide electoral votes by House district results, which is what the Republicans want to achieve here.  When speaking on news programs the Republicans claim that 2 states are "several" as in "Several states divide up their electoral votes by Congressional district".  I've heard it many times. )

So 

• Check your registration if you are unsure of your status (though it doesn't help you determine if you've been slammed into the Republican party.

• Watch out for Proposition 11.  It's a Republican power grab to take power from the people and hand it over to the Fat Cats that fund the Republican party and right wing causes.

• We really need to do something to stop money from outside the state being used in our state proposition campaigns.  This is our state.  We should only use our money to fund things that so heavily affect you and I!!!  Dammit.  How does an initiative drive get started these days anyway?
  

Pro Proposition 8 Group Extorting Money

According to a KSBY report by Stacy Daniels titled "Dirty Politics in the Proposition 8 race" the groups leading the fight to get the rights stealing proposition passed is extorting money from businesses who have given to the opposition, saying they will tell people that the businesses do not support traditional marriage.

The tactic is even turning off some of the Pro 8 groups.

Excerpt above linked report:

Supporters of Proposition 8 are being called out for what some call dirty politics.

Protect Marriage.com is the group leading the campaign to outlaw same sex marriage. It is accused of threatening companies who have donated to an opposition group called Equality California. At least 36 companies received letters telling them if they don't contribute to Protect Marriage.com they will be identified as opponents of traditional marriage.

Californians: Thinking You're Pro Proposition 8? Think Again

Another point I'd like to make is that the hetero only people had better not test California.  They may have gotten their law of hate to stick in other states, but Cali will get it to the Supreme Court.  We have the passion and we have the lawyers that can do it.

You don't want this tested at SCOTUS.  Even though you think you have a conservative majority there who will do as they are told, you are wrong on same sex marriage.  It is   an atrociously politicized court under Roberts,  but there is something you don't know.   The Roberts court has a majority between those in the closet and liberals, according to those with gaydar who have outed many in public office accurately.

Take for example the Massachusetts case involving a teacher who read a story that includes the marriage of two princes.   I don't know the story.  I'm sure it doesn't have a description of how to perform in bed after a wedding so it would be as innocuous as all the fairy tales told to kids.

The school or district was sued and apparently the Circuit Court decided that the school could allow that.  The hetero only people sneer that the "courts" forced more of this on their children.

What they don't tell the people of California is that the case didn't stop at the Circuit level.  It was shopped to the SCOTUS.  At the US Supreme Court according to Jeffrey Toobin in "The Nine" a case only needs 4 supporters to get on the docket.  The hetero only people couldn't get four justices who wanted to overturn the Circuit Court decision on that I presume or at least to hear the arguments.

This is why I'm saying that, if you personally don't want same sex marriage to be the law of the land, you'd better not get this headed towards the Roberts court by pushing onerous discrimination on the families in California who have breathed fresher air for 5 months.   Don't put it back on the parents of children who no longer had to live in second class families.

It will be Roe v Wade all over again.  

(And this probably goes for Connecticut too.  I read that right wing groups were planning to keep themselves in expensive clothes by collecting money for a reinstatement of discrimination in the Constitution State as well.)

State Constitutions Do Not Have to Back Same Sex Marriage

I remember on the day we heard that Connecticut State Supreme Court had voted that same sex marriage was not only OK, but actually pushing civil unions was an act of discrimination, I thought "Of course they would say that".

The reason that they would is that the right for two consenting adults to form a marriage union whether same or opposite sex is inherent in equal protection under the law.

Equal protection under the law is from the US Constitution.

  

State Constitutions must conform to the US Constitution in allowing the rights it allows.

I also notice that the Prop 8 people in California are not using the old lie that allowing same sex marriage would open the door to child brides and polygamy, at least on the NPR programs I've listened to, they don't.  Yeah, just try to get that passed Warren Olney without a question that shows just how ridiculous such claims are.   

It's simple as pie.  Two consenting adults. 

No children, no polygamy.

And it doesn't matter if they chose the Gay-Lesbian experience or they are born that way.  I'm not a scientist though I do remember reports appearing that seem to indicate we are all born into our sexual preference,  even us heteros.

Still, the right of free speech is a right though what we say is mostly a matter of choice.  So, even if the "from birth" link hasn't been 100% proven it makes no difference.

Equal Protection Under the Law.