I've been following Van Jones since his
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x364847">Power Shift speech, and have been excited by the real change he was behind.
Then Glenn BecKKK came along and started his smear campaign and we all know what happened after that. Initially I thought it was
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/29/beck-defense-site/">being a co-founder of Color for Change, that's calling for
http://colorofchange.org/beck/">a boycott of Glenn BecKKK's show that instigated this. Then I realized that this must go much deeper considering BecKKK has also got the
http://apolloalliance.org/apollo-productions/weekly-updates/what-does-the-fox-news-channel-have-against-green-jobs/">Apollo Alliance in his sights.
Just now, I carried out some research to find out where this all began and discovered that it was
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Kerpen">Phil Kerpen from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_for_Prosperity">Americans for Prosperity" who started it all. He's boasting about it on Faux's website right now...
How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do NextNow that Jones has resigned, we need to follow through with two critical policy victories. First, stop cap-and-trade, which could send these groups trillions, and second repeal the unspent portion of the stimulus bill, which stands to give them billions. The Van Jones affair could be an important turning point in the Obama administration if we use it as a window to understand the structure of the left and to stop the huge power-grab now taking place in the name of green jobs. It's also one of the most significant things I've ever had the honor of being involved in. Here's how, from my perspective, it happened and what it means.
I was an unlikely Van Jones expert. It started July 9, when "FOX & Friends" asked me if I'd come on the show the morning of July 10 to explain what "green jobs" are. It meant an early morning the next day, but I was glad to do it, because exposing the green jobs scam is critical to fight cap-and-trade, my top legislative priority for the year. The producer asked me if I knew anything about green jobs "czar" Van Jones. I didn't but said I would find out.
I e-mailed a friend who follows the green groups and he said he thought Jones was socialist. -- I doubt he had any idea how deep it went. A couple Web searches later, I couldn't believe what I found in an article from the alternative San Francisco newspaper the East Bay Express. The man was a self-professed communist, with ties to ACORN and a radical Maoist group called STORM. His real name was Anthony, with "Van" made up in college because he thought everyone cool has a one-syllable name.
There was so much material there, but what really stood out is what I used the next day on F&F: the "green jobs" concept was merely a new face on the old ideology of central economic planning and control, an alternative and a threat to free market capitalism.
As soon as I got back to the office, I e-mailed the East Bay Express article to one of Glenn Beck's producer, saying: "Please share with Glenn this article about green jobs czar Van Jones, a self-described communist who was radicalized in jail. Confirms "watermelon" hypothesis." The bragging continues (I've saved it as a PDF in case it gets pulled):
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/09/06/phil-kerpen-van-jones-resign/ So, I then went on to find out where the money comes from for "Americans for Progress" and my suspicions were confirmed:
The Big Money behind Americans for ProsperityKevin Grandia
26 February 09
An organization called "Americans for Prosperity" has been working overtime to fight government action on climate change and greenhouse gas reduction strategies. You might remember their State-by-State grassroots "Hot Air Tour".
The Hot Air tour's tagline was "Exposing the Ballooning Costs of Global Warming Hysteria." More recently the AFP ran a $140,000 TV ad campaign in Viriginia promising to "expose the hypocrisy and outrageous economic costs of so-called global warming regulations, taxes, and green energy plans."
So who's behind the AFP? And why are they so bent on seeing further delay in government action on an issue that the top scientists at the nation's best institutes are saying needs to be dealt with now?
Our research team at DeSmog has put together a briefing note on the AFP, their history and most importantly who funds them
AFP, and its former incarnation the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, are the third largest recipient of funding from the Koch Family of Foundations, which is run by the ultra-conservative oil baron Charles G. Koch. The Koch Family of Foundations has been a major funding source for many of the think tanks that are in the business of delaying action on climate change issues.http://www.desmogblog.com/big-money-behind-americans-prosperity">What follows is the information we've pulled together on the AFP and the Koch Family of Foundations A big thank-you to Beaverhausen for her
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8632013&mesg_id=8632265">tip on Kreep which led me to this discovery.
Edited to add:
We need to send everything we find in to Keith, he's asking for our help:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6479255">Keith Olbermann:SEND Me Everything You Can Find About Glenn BeckIf we all inundate Rachel and Keith with this info surely they'll run with it?
countdown@msnbc.com
rachel@msnbc.com