Book Burners
My wife asked me about somebody in Alabama that wanted to burn books. (sigh) I hadn't seen it. I knew about the cretins that wanted to ban books -- but not the book burners. Once again, my wife was ahead of me on keeping up. (I don't know how she does that.)
Anyway, I was reading the story at ALcom
"“Burn the freaking books,” said Bryan Dawson, the president of 1819 News, a website that publishes articles and conservative political commentary. “Burn them. I don’t care.”"
Alrighty then. What's the next step? Come on people. Get with the program. Who is Bryan Dawson and what is 1819 News? Well, Bryan Dawson is a former guest of the Alabama Department of Corrections. I couldn't watch more than 60 seconds of this video.
But for a less back-slappin' look at him, you can read this blog post. (I have no idea how reliable that blog is.) Wow.
Moving on to the organization itself. From Wikipedia.
"1819 News is an American conservative news website that focuses on the state of Alabama. The publication was launched in October 2021 as a subsidiary of the Alabama Policy Institute, but has been an independent non-profit organization since January 2023."
Geez. Okay, the Alabama Policy Institute from Wikipedia:
"The Alabama Policy Institute (API) is a nonprofit, conservative think tank located in Alabama. According to the organization's mission statement, it is "dedicated to influencing public policy in the interest of the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families.""
Standard, boiler-plate language for right-wing think tanks/slush funds.
Then I found API entry on the Bham Wiki:
"It was founded in 1989 by Alabama Supreme Court justice Tom Parker and Gary Palmer, and is headquartered at 2213 Morris Avenue in Birmingham. It changed to its current name in 2000. Caleb Crosby succeeded Palmer as president in September 2014."
Another trail you can follow should you care to. I'm moving on. You know I'm looking for a connection to the Koch Brothers (or & Company). But I can't find one. I may not be able to find the fire but, I can smell the smoke. From the New York Times: (No I'm not wasting a gift article on it.)
"Ms. Conway also earned money from speaking appearances at conservative think tanks like the Alabama Policy Institute and the John Locke Foundation."
That would be Kellyanne Conway, counselor to ex-President Trump. The speaking fees were just one of her 75 different sources of income that earned her $800,000 that year.
You caught the John Locke Foundation, right? From Wikipedia.
"The John Locke Foundation (JLF) is a conservative think tank based in North Carolina. The organization was founded in 1990 to work "for truth, for freedom, and for the future of North Carolina." It is named after the philosopher John Locke, who was a primary contributor to classical liberalism. JLF was co-founded by Art Pope, a North Carolina businessman active in politics."
Does Art Pope ring any bells for you? It should. Well if you've been reading this blog for...11 years. From me:
No Paycheck? Blame Art Pope
"In 2010, a guy named Art Pope bought the mid-term election in North Carolina. He owns the Rose's department store..."
"One of the districts they redrew was North Carolina's 11th -- around Asheville, NC. As you might have guessed, Asheville is a hippy-dippy-artsy Democratic place surrounded by Conservative hillbillies.
The guy that took over NC-11 for the Republicans was Mark Meadows. He's another Conservative whack-a-doodle that is more than willing to whip up the Birthers and other whack-a-doodles whether he truly believes in their nonsense or not."
Yep. Mark Meadows became Chief of Staff to President Donald Trump.
Moving on to the organization itself. From Wikipedia.
"1819 News is an American conservative news website that focuses on the state of Alabama. The publication was launched in October 2021 as a subsidiary of the Alabama Policy Institute, but has been an independent non-profit organization since January 2023."
Geez. Okay, the Alabama Policy Institute from Wikipedia:
"The Alabama Policy Institute (API) is a nonprofit, conservative think tank located in Alabama. According to the organization's mission statement, it is "dedicated to influencing public policy in the interest of the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families.""
Standard, boiler-plate language for right-wing think tanks/slush funds.
Then I found API entry on the Bham Wiki:
"It was founded in 1989 by Alabama Supreme Court justice Tom Parker and Gary Palmer, and is headquartered at 2213 Morris Avenue in Birmingham. It changed to its current name in 2000. Caleb Crosby succeeded Palmer as president in September 2014."
Another trail you can follow should you care to. I'm moving on. You know I'm looking for a connection to the Koch Brothers (or & Company). But I can't find one. I may not be able to find the fire but, I can smell the smoke. From the New York Times: (No I'm not wasting a gift article on it.)
"Ms. Conway also earned money from speaking appearances at conservative think tanks like the Alabama Policy Institute and the John Locke Foundation."
That would be Kellyanne Conway, counselor to ex-President Trump. The speaking fees were just one of her 75 different sources of income that earned her $800,000 that year.
You caught the John Locke Foundation, right? From Wikipedia.
"The John Locke Foundation (JLF) is a conservative think tank based in North Carolina. The organization was founded in 1990 to work "for truth, for freedom, and for the future of North Carolina." It is named after the philosopher John Locke, who was a primary contributor to classical liberalism. JLF was co-founded by Art Pope, a North Carolina businessman active in politics."
Does Art Pope ring any bells for you? It should. Well if you've been reading this blog for...11 years. From me:
No Paycheck? Blame Art Pope
"In 2010, a guy named Art Pope bought the mid-term election in North Carolina. He owns the Rose's department store..."
"One of the districts they redrew was North Carolina's 11th -- around Asheville, NC. As you might have guessed, Asheville is a hippy-dippy-artsy Democratic place surrounded by Conservative hillbillies.
The guy that took over NC-11 for the Republicans was Mark Meadows. He's another Conservative whack-a-doodle that is more than willing to whip up the Birthers and other whack-a-doodles whether he truly believes in their nonsense or not."
Yep. Mark Meadows became Chief of Staff to President Donald Trump.
It's exhausting isn't it? And except for showing you how to do it, I don't do it anymore. I've done it so many times. For so many years. I don't need any more proof. You can call it "dark money" but it's really just dirty money. It's stolen wages, ruined land, exploited resources -- pure, unadulterated greed. It's corruption. It's rich men (almost all men) thinking that their ability to make money makes them qualified to run our government. And they don't care if it takes empowering book burners to get their way.
We've seen this movie before. It doesn't end well. Wake up.
Don Brown
March 7, 2024
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