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Minutemen skeptical of ties with Keyes project (Funding Questions)
The Washington Times ^ | 7-20-06 | Jerry Seper

Posted on 07/20/2006 12:08:29 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps calls itself a "project of the Declaration Alliance," although few MCDC volunteers know what the alliance does or why Minuteman donations are routed through the charity founded and headed by conservative activist Alan Keyes.

Several Minuteman leaders and members questioned the wisdom of ceding control over fundraising to the Herndon-based Declaration Alliance, part of an intricate weave of conservative organizations founded and chaired by Mr. Keyes or tied to longtime Keyes associates working with MCDC.

MCDC President Chris Simcox told The Washington Times that the alliance offers "an experienced organization for mass mailings, advertising and public relations" and the ability to conduct a "fully accredited and independent audit" of MCDC finances.

Mr. Simcox said he "checked these people out very carefully before agreeing to work with them" and that he made the "correct decision" in hiring "clean professional consultants, accountants and media professionals." He did not, however, disclose during an interview last week or in a 3,961-word follow-up statement how much Declaration Alliance and its affiliated organizations have been paid for their services

During the interview, he said, "Not one cent of MCDC money has been spent on alliance projects." The statement, released on the MCDC Web page, www.minutemanhq.com/hq/, does not mention Declaration Alliance or Mr. Keyes. ...."

"..Diener Consultants first contacted the Minuteman organization in early 2005, said Ms. Hair, the MCDC spokeswoman who also was a top adviser to Mr. Keyes in his presidential and senatorial races. She said she called Mr. Simcox after the Minuteman group was created to ask whether he had a media plan. After being told no, she said, she met with Mr. Simcox and Minuteman co-founder James Gilchrist in Washington and signed an agreement...."

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; immigrantlist; immigration; keyes; mcdc; minutemanproject; minutemen; mmp; seper; simcox
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To: unsycophant

I'm trying to remember what all the Keyes sites and organizations are. Of course we have Renew America and the Declaration Alliance and Declaration Foundation, but there is also Black America's PAC, and the Life & Liberty PAC.

Aren't there a few more out there?


441 posted on 07/23/2006 6:43:40 PM PDT by Amelia (If we hire them, they will come...)
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To: Texasforever

Well in the end even this Garza style fence(which by the way even in the diagram it isn't), looks like it wouldnt take very long to get through anyway. I doesnt work unless you got manned guard post every 100 feet like the Berlin Wall. But your right it would probally keep cattle in. But besides being a horrible eyesore I am not sure what good it would be lol.


442 posted on 07/23/2006 6:46:23 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: Amelia

So true. Perhaps Mr Keyes can answer that. Oh no scratch that. That would just divert him from answering the scam questions lol


443 posted on 07/23/2006 6:47:26 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: unsycophant; catholicfreeper; Rex Anderson; Texasforever; Anti-Bubba182; Howlin; onyx
Ok, here are a couple more:

The Thomas More Law Center

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

Supposedly he also belongs to The Center for Security Policy and the Council for National Policy but so far I haven't been able to verify that - but you may find the lists of other members interesting.

444 posted on 07/23/2006 7:53:29 PM PDT by Amelia (If we hire them, they will come...)
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To: Amelia

The council of national policy has some wackos in it I think.


445 posted on 07/23/2006 7:56:38 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: Amelia

I guess the theory of a lot of organizations is that one may take off as a fund raising organization and it spreads the risk. If one organization is discredited there are others available. This should work well until people start paying attention.


446 posted on 07/23/2006 8:06:42 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Anti-Bubba182; catholicfreeper

I think the other theory of a lot of organizations is that you can tailor them for specific interests -- and maybe have one that is just "tailor-made" for any issue that happens to come down the pike!

The Council of National Policy does have some "interesting" names in it, and two things keep niggling at my brain. One is that letter of resignation we found yesterday, suggesting that some of the people involved in the new organization were the same ones they were fighting.

Another is that William Kristol, who was Keyes' college roommate, but has somewhat more liberal views, figures prominently in some of them as well.


447 posted on 07/23/2006 8:23:10 PM PDT by Amelia (If we hire them, they will come...)
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To: Amelia; unsycophant; catholicfreeper; Rex Anderson; Texasforever; Anti-Bubba182; Howlin; onyx
Did you see this one?

MinuteMen Fall Through the Looking Glass ...

MinuteMen More Excited About Guarding Border Than Bookkeeping ... ?

"Links By: Robert A. Hahn

Connie Hair, a spokeswoman for the group, which opposes illegal immigration, said Wednesday that construction of vehicle barriers will start soon on the first fence project, headed by contractor Peter Kunz. Arizona Daily Star

WHOIS Peter Kunz?........"

I missed that Kunz was listed as the contractor for the fence and also with Diener Consultants, Inc.

Pretty suspicious to me. This doesn't look like a competitive bid situation. Is Kunz a contractor by trade or a name on a fundraising pitch?

The limited blogging there is on all of this has tended negative.

448 posted on 07/23/2006 8:25:21 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Anti-Bubba182

I came across a fringed MM site last week where someone was rambling about Peter Kunz being the lawyer of record for some of the Keyes orgs *and* the designated contractor for the fence project.

I guess there was some truth to that one, after all.


449 posted on 07/23/2006 8:36:20 PM PDT by unsycophant
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To: unsycophant

Once donation money starts going to the "contractor" lots of
room for angles.


450 posted on 07/23/2006 8:39:19 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Anti-Bubba182; unsycophant

Kutz is a freaking lawyer that works for Diener. One day is the project manager, another day, heis the spokesman, and one day this lawyer from Pennsylvania is freaking building the Fence they cant decide what he does


451 posted on 07/23/2006 8:44:08 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: Anti-Bubba182
Go here. It's a PDF page, so you'll need Acrobat Reader to access it.

It says that Peter Kunz in charge of National Legislative, National Fundraising, National Financial/Caging, and National Legal for MCDC.

I guess he hasn't gotten the non-profit status and hasn't completed the financials because he's too busy building the fence.

452 posted on 07/23/2006 8:44:36 PM PDT by Amelia (If we hire them, they will come...)
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To: Anti-Bubba182

That thread in your first link was very good.


453 posted on 07/23/2006 8:54:23 PM PDT by Texasforever (I have neither been there nor done that.)
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To: Amelia; Anti-Bubba182; unsycophant; Texasforever

Well this is interesting be sure to go to the page. But look at the groups sponsering it. It is our good friend american caging plus a ton of groups that are no doubt on the take too

Minutemen Kick Off October Border Event at Rally in Washington, DC
Washington, DC . (September 28, 2005) Chris Simcox, President of The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), spoke at the Capital Hill club in Washington, D.C. at the Kick Off Rally for the “Secure Our Borders” operation beginning October 1, 2005. He was proud to announce the commencement of the expanded border watch operation. These operations will take place along the border in all four of the southern U.S. border states with Mexico and in three states on the northern U.S. border with Canada.

A large group of key Immigration Reform supporters in Washington, DC including 12 Congressmen from the House Immigration Reform Caucus participated in the Rally at the Capital Hill Club.

HSP Direct organized the event with the support of America’s PAC – Capitol Watch - Citizens United - Patrick Henry Center - RightMarch.com - American Caging, Inc.


and look at these other groups
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, Minuteman Project, Operation Spotlight,
RightMarch.com, Declaration Alliance, IFIRE, Conservative Petitions, Alan Keyes and many others.


http://www.minutemanhq.com/rally/


454 posted on 07/23/2006 8:57:45 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: catholicfreeper
I would like to confirm if his actual title is"Project Manager" OR "Contractor" before we get too far out on this link.. The 2 mean very different things in construction.
455 posted on 07/23/2006 8:58:03 PM PDT by Texasforever (I have neither been there nor done that.)
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To: Texasforever

Go here the whole post is interesting its is from a minuteman supporter
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2006/07/simcox-fence-controversy-take-it-for.html

Here is the part on Kutz
Maybe you all can figure this out, I give up. There’s more, but I’m sick of it all. I question some of the people surrounding this “fence”. The lines are becoming blurred. __________

(06-15) 15:24 PDT Sierra Vista, Ariz. (AP) -- The Minutemen civilian border-patrol group has hired a contractor to finish building 10 miles of fence along the Mexican border. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/06/15/national/a152416D46.DTL

This quote is from a Peter Kunz email 6/23/06 “ I am the fence project manager and since he [Glenn Spencer] has never called me or been in any of the fence planning meetings it is clear that he likes to get attention by going after Chris and MCDC.”

The Associated Press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.05.2006
Connie Hair, a spokeswoman for the group (other media/PR person for the Simcox group is Kristinn Taylor ), which opposes illegal immigration, said Wednesday that construction of vehicle barriers will start soon on the first fence project, headed by contractor Peter Kunz. http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/136644.php

Evidently the fence is being “managed” from Pennsylvania by a lawyer for a fund raising firm named Diener Consultants (founded by the Rev. Lou Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition, headed by son Phil ), the same Peter Kunz who is now a fencing “contractor”. Is this Peter Kunz, lawyer a fencing contractor as he’s claimed, or not?

Diener Consultants Innovative Marketing Solutions http://www.dienerconsultants.com/ part of http://www.amcentral.net/ (Affinity Marketing)

An Update from the Minuteman Fence Project Manager
[snip]Chris Simcox has kept his promise and volunteers have begun building the Minuteman Border Fence. Chris has asked me (Peter Kunz) to give you a quick update on the activities and planning for the current fence project and our next site that starts in July.
An IRS-authorized charitable non-profit organization is facilitating, administering and reporting tax-deductible donations specifically and solely for construction of this Minuteman Border Fence project. Monetary and in-kind contributions for this effort will go directly into meeting hard costs such as building materials for this private fencing operation.
http://www.minutemanhq.com/bf/schedule.php _____________

“The lawyer who can spin this from its death spin is Peter Kunz atty for Diener Consultants, Inc.” http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2006/02/08/185608/comments.html?comid=14417&f=item

Schiavo Foundation Doesn’t Endorse Terri’s List PAC
[snip]Greene’s "patriot" at RightMarch and his media director is Phil Sheldon, son of Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition. The email contact address for the RightMarch.com PAC is that of Sheldon’s at Diener Consultants of which he is CEO and president. Sheldon also heads Response Enterprises, both entities which profited handsomely from RightMarch. In 2005, according to FEC filings, of the $44,058 disbursed by the PAC, Response and Sheldon pocketed $12,752 while Diener took in $12,916 for a total of $25,669 for Sheldon. While the reports indicate that the bulk of the money was paid to Sheldon for advertising, Sheldon was also paid rental fees for email lists. Greene has been asked by the Schindler family to stop using Terri’s name in his fund-raising


456 posted on 07/23/2006 9:02:43 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: catholicfreeper; Texasforever

This comment
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2006/02/08/185608/comments.html?comid=14417&f=item

Has been deleted from the Town hall Michelle Malkin column archive. But I was able to find it through google cache before it disappeared into the internet ether I just have to find where I saved it


"


457 posted on 07/23/2006 9:11:10 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: catholicfreeper; Texasforever

This comment
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/michellemalkin/2006/02/08/185608/comments.html?comid=14417&f=item

Has been deleted from the Town hall Michelle Malkin column archive. But I was able to find it through google cache before it disappeared into the internet ether I just have to find where I saved it


"


458 posted on 07/23/2006 9:11:13 PM PDT by catholicfreeper
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To: catholicfreeper

I can see him Being the Project Manager in charge of hiring an actual Contractor and disbursing funds to build what ever fence they are going to build BUT unless he is REALLY a licensed Contractor then he is breaking a hell of a lot of laws acting as one. If the toned down "security fence: is actually built, which I doubt, he has to have the credentials to approve the structural designs of the fence itself plus the electrical components of the wiring to the lights and cameras.


459 posted on 07/23/2006 9:14:23 PM PDT by Texasforever (I have neither been there nor done that.)
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To: catholicfreeper

Sorry your links aren't working.


460 posted on 07/23/2006 9:16:09 PM PDT by Texasforever (I have neither been there nor done that.)
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