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The pro-gun rights community was surprised by the swiftness of response by the civilian disarmament industrial complex after the Parkland high school massacre. It’s fair to say that most Second Amendment supporters were caught off guard by the number and fierceness of the attacks mounted by camera-ready sock puppets like David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez, with help from their willing accomplices at CNN and the rest of the mainstream media. Anti-gun forces were rested and ready to pounce when the horror of Nikolas Cruz’s murder spree became evident.

So it probably won’t surprise you that those inspiring, telegenic Parkland moppets weren’t the real driving force behind the media onslaught. And the scrappy bunch of earnest, concerned high schoolers didn’t get together in a barn like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney to organize the huge undertaking that was the March for our Lives.

No, that was the handiwork of an experienced, organized group of activists based in New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.

HuffPost and Daniel Greenfield have done a helpful job of digging to find out exactly who is in charge of raising the millions of dollars and grinding the organizational gears necessary to put on an Astroturfed dog and pony show on the scale of the one we saw last weekend.

First, meet the March for Our Lives “person in charge of the event” . . .

Deena Katz is the multi Emmy nominated Co- Executive Producer of “Dancing with the Stars,” TV’s #1 most viewed unscripted show.  Deena also currently produces several other shows including “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Whose Line Is It Anyway.”

Deena has worked as a Producer on dozens of high-profile television series and specials with talent from all genres, ranging from the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards to the Presidential Inauguration.  She has also produced series on the WB, ABC, NBC, HBO, Bravo, CW, Lifetime, CBS and others.

And here are the shadow operation’s board members . . .

Aileen Adams was the Deputy Mayor for the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the City of Los Angeles during the adminstration of Mayor Villaragoisa. In this capacity, she promoted collaboration among philanthropies, nonprofits and the City.

Her previous roles include service as a State Cabinet official, presidential appointee in the United States Justice Department as Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, and was the University of Southern California’s Vice Provost for Strategic Alliances.

courtesy ucsd.edu

George Kieffer is the current Chair of the Board (of regents of the University of California). Mr. Kieffer received his bachelor’s degree in history from U.C. Santa Barbara, where he was named the Outstanding Male Graduate, and received his J.D. from UCLA. He previously served as an Alumni Regent from 1978 to 1980.

Mr.  Kieffer has served as the President of the U.C. Santa Barbara Alumni Association, as Chair of the U.C. Santa Barbara Foundation, as the President of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as a founding member of the California Community Colleges Foundation, and as a Member of the Blue Ribbon Commission for Review of the California Master Plan for Higher Education.

Nina Vinik leads The Joyce Foundation’s grant making in support of evidence-based policies and practices to reduce gun deaths and injuries, improve police legitimacy and build police-community trust, and reduce mass incarceration in the United States. Under Nina’s direction, Joyce has funded some of the nation’s most significant research into the impact of state prevention strategies. She also has focused on developing broad stakeholder coalitions to advocate for policies to keep our communities safe.

Vernetta Walker, JD, has worked with many national and international nonprofit organizations addressing a wide range of governance issues, from restructuring complex entities to implementing exceptional governance practices. Vernetta leads BoardSource’s diversity, inclusion, and equity (DI&E) work to help nonprofit boards successfully develop and integrate inclusion strategies. She also is a frequent speaker on DI&E, as well as effective board engagement for impact. Her clients have included the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, YMCA of the USA, The National Aquarium, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Independent Sector, and National Council of La Raza.

Jeri Rhodes is responsible for the financial, administrative and facilities operations at (Friends Committee on National Legislation). She directs the team managing financial planning, budgeting, accounting, human resources, personnel, information technology, facilities and general administration.

Jeri has spent much of her career in the past 25 years leading the administrative and financial operations of law firms in Washington, DC. Most recently she served as Chief Financial Officer of Greenpeace, and early in her career she served as Treasurer of St John’s College. She is also active as a Board member of VGIF, an organization that provides community funding for projects that improve the lives of women and children all over the world.

courtesy youtube.com

Through Scholz Nonprofit Law, Melissa Scholz unites her expertise in nonprofit law with 30 years of experience as a community leader and fundraiser. Prior to forming Scholz Nonprofit Law in 2007, Melissa worked at a large Wisconsin law firm and developed a broad knowledge of legal issues that affect nonprofits. She brings this tax and business savvy into the firm, where she is able to tailor their service to the unique needs of nonprofits and mission-driven businesses.

As Greenfield noted,

Gun control activists wring their hands over the NRA. They claim that a special interest lobby is illegitimately thwarting the “will of the people”. Yet it’s the anti-gun groups that are invariably false fronts. It’s very clear who runs the NRA. But the latest fake anti-NRA group is a nebulous shadow. Out front are the high school students and out back are the professional activists.

And who is really behind the whole thing? Hollywood celebs, Bloomberg, a network of organizations?

We know who supports the NRA. You can see NRA stickers on car windows even in the bluest cities in the country. But who really supports the anti-gun political network? You’ll need to spend hours sorting through paperwork, following the trail, comparing addresses and researching names, to even get a hint.

That’s what an illegitimate lobby thwarting the will of the people really looks like.

 

 

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68 COMMENTS

  1. It is a good idea to identify the culprits. They shouldn’t be able to attack other people without everyone knowing who they are. It is useful information especially for political warfare.

    • Somehow, maybe it was emailing all my state legislators, I ended up on some Democrat mailing lists. In the Monday immediately following the shooting they were recruiting for a “rally for tally”, meet at a location, buses, shirts, and a briefing on what to say was too be provided. They just needed warm bodies. Similar to the league of women voters parading around “moms” for gun control in the last couple years.

      It seems the pro gun side either needs top down leadership calls to action, or community lead. I do get some nra-ila and Florida carry “email or call your representative” alerts. But I didn’t get anything from Chris, Wayne, Dana, or Colin on how or where to protest, or join me at the Capitol, etc, nor did I see organized counter protests from Florida carry, open carry, GOA, etc.

      Really the community mindset might be the better route. Rather than sending an email blast, find ways to integrate with they community. You could have a monthly NRA or GOA night at each range, give some stuff away, or first ten shooters shoot free, etc. Offer a free class. The nice thing is all the anti gun side is endless cash and temporary outrage, which is why they have to work fast to capitalize on it. We actually have a hobby we enjoy and care about. Motivating them is the trick. But if you make some personal, local connections, then it would be easier to say “hey, I am Fred with the NRA, remember you met me at the NRA range night last month, I am getting some people together to rally as the Capitol, can you come?”

      I know they do the Friends of the NRA but it seems they mostly have big fundraising dinner events with expensive per ticket costs and a raffle. Nothing wrong with that. But I don’t see them advertising many shooting events, which I personally am more interested in shooting than dinner parties.

      • Because they don’t bus you in, pay you, provide you with a nice orange T-shirt, a hot meal etc. I see that the pro gun side is slowly getting motivated to do some marches etc but it may not be as organized as they don’t have Soros’s, Bloomberg’s, MoveOn’s and the DNC’s money behind it.

    • No matter how much we may despise these saboteurs, we must acknowledge their expertise in producing propaganda that distorts reality. They’re organized, single-minded and committed in their mission to destroy the Second Amendment. Contrary to what Trump tweeted this week, it CAN happen here. Not the outright repeal of the Second Amendment, but rather its death by a thousand cuts inflicted by state legislatures, Congress and the courts.And that will happen if we don’t get our act together soon.

      • Yes, you are correct. One of our biggest problems as gun owners is that we are not united. We are made up of individuals, each with a narrow interest. For example, the hunters are being told that no one is going to take your hunting rifle or shotgun, only those nasty “military style” guns that no one needs. We need to understand that “every” gun and “every” gun owner are in their target zone. We need to stand up for every person, even people that have “bump stocks”. The NRA needs to have 50-100 million members instead of 5 million.

    • I don’t understand how the NRA was caught off guard. Moreso, when it was becoming obvious that this was not organized by kids, the NRA really did not advertise that fact. My guess because they did not want to be seen as attacking the children.

      The sad thing is the anti-gun groups have not been accused of misusing the children.

  2. They have been waiting for an event like this. The kids get to feel like they are doing something and they get used!! These organizers also get paid for there effort.

    • Fellow Americans,
      Restore the draft. Full equality to girls and women.
      Of the 16 most notorious killers in recent years only one (20) was under 21.
      Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, a Pakistani with two dozen or so militias and
      small mini-states in the U.S. possesses hundreds of these weapons. So what are the whiners going to do about them?

      • I’m not a Jew, I have nothing against religious Jewry in general and support Judaism; On the other hand I hate Zionism, and the Zionist Jews in our Government and media.
        I was being facetious about the Goy comment.

        • It’s too bad that your lack of education, at least on the subject that you have chosen to speak about, is making you look foolish. Please look up the definition of Zionism; you will see that it has no connection to American liberal Jews or that it is against the Second Amendment. If you want to be anti-semitic, that is your choice, but at least get the facts straight. And yes, there are many Jews in America who are at the forefront of the anti-American movement, but they have no connection to Zionism or Judaism. There are a special breed of liberals who happened to have had Jewish roots some long time ago.

        • If you had any sense or knowledge of the CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in America you might change your tune. They are much worse than Zionists with greater infiltration in all levels of government. Like America, Israel is not guiltless, but they are more reliable than the immigrating rabble stealing their way into the U.S.., then demanding freebies in which Allah is a loser.

  3. Be nice to see all of them in orange suits in mug shots, jailed for conspiracy to perform civil rights violations.

    • Let’s not forget mayor Bloomberg, George Soros, Deblosio all liberal communist hacks who are behind ruining this country from within.

  4. It is pretty clear this coven of prog women had their OPLAN 666 sitting in a drawer ready to implement when the (predictable) incident/opportunity arrived. Still the machivelain manipulation is more than disturbing.

    SOMEONE, on the right who has the resources required, needs to declare war on the Joyce Foundation and destroy them. Starting with the revocation of their IRS “not for profit” status. There are a bunch of similar unaccountable marxist foundations spending the legacy of dead capitalists businessmen on insane projects intended to destroy this nation. They are typically run by useless extreme leftist babyboomers and no one has taken on the project of an organized attack. They have billions of $ and operate with total impunity. As the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society (Soros). It is despicable.

  5. But the IRS broke both ankles dragging their feet on approving “Patriot” “Tea Party” and “Religious” Not-for-Profits 501(c) [while climbing up the applicant’s asses with a microscope], since Bill Clinton’s 90’s.

    Kill a [lib-prog-tard] commie for Mommy. It’s not just good business sense, IT’S U.S. NATIONAL STRATEGIC AND FOREIGN POLICY, since 1950.

    • Tea party was NOT 501c3 (charity) it was 501(c)4 (not for profit). (c03 charities are supposed to be even more limited than (c)4.

      If you donated to tea party you could NOT claim a deduction.

      The gun control lobby is a massive scam to direct over $170 million a year into partisan poltical and legislative adovacy with DEDUCTABLE donations which is profoundly against the spirit of the IRS and FEC laws.

  6. Having read there seemingly innocuous bio’s above one now must really pay attention to the actual things they support and get involved in too especially so .

    organizing a marching to remove rights is the sedition even well meaning people can get involved in . Its trickery beyond belief , so watch what there actually doing. IT gets hard to see the bigger picture when such underhanded tactics are employed .

    Read the constitution and start thinking for yourself , whats it mean to you.

    • Its hard to tell what these people are about based soley on their job descriptions… WTF does this mean: “She also has focused on developing broad stakeholder coalitions to advocate for policies to keep our communities safe.” …. these all sound like commie mumbo jumbo front groups, meant to protect violent unstable criminals who are a drag on society.

      • It’s her Resumeme

        She has over 100 participation trophies. Two of them (allegedly) came with ‘special’ lubricant.

        • I have been irked for years over the federal government’s subsidies to the film and entertainment industry. That goes for states that spend millions and millions for the same
          purpose.
          Hollywood is essentially anti-American and radio stations tell us daily, free of charge, what movies to see. Rarely watch TV here and rarely go to movies. No slave to these rich kids who lead the nation in divorce or ???? We need more Clint Eastwoods. True Americans.

  7. This whole thing is just the latest trending liberal outrage. Im not worried about any sweeping changes to gun laws. Just give it a couple weeks and theyll be pissed about something else.

    • While I hope you are correct, some big minds on our side are very worried that this is different and that we have tremendous cause for concern. Alan Gottlieb and Tom Gresham for example.

    • I’m hoping that Trump posts a SCOTUS uber-Conservative when Kennedy ske-daddles. And the clouds part, the sun shines down and people buy the new gangsta OC forehead holster that I’ve been working on for several years.

    • I am concerned because it is part of a continuing attack on the Constitution. Next week they will be mad about something else but they will be even more ready next time there is a shooting to do a full court press.

      This (gun control) is not something they will give up on, it is a central issue in their agenda to destroy America. It is hard to rule if the peasants are armed.

  8. The irony is that they couldn’t pull at the heartstrings of school kids until Florida happened. They need scandal and violence to fuel their own fire, without it they have nothing.

  9. Know your enemy…hard to hide in the shadows now. We need to play the hardest of hardball. I see where Cub Anthony Rizzo(Parkland alum) has stridently come out for gun control(today). I’ll take my gun rights over my Cub’s anyday 😧😖😡

  10. It’s a well-dressed teenage activist, indeed, who sports multiple advanced degrees and a decades-long executive level resume.

    Reminds me of those poor, illiterate, Chinese peasant volunteers in the Korean War, each one showing up with nothing but the shirt on his back, ideology in his heart……….and somehow a brand new MiG-15, fueled up and ready to run sorties.

    It’s those things that make you go “Hmmmm”, as C&C reminds us.

  11. The most interesting of these culprits was Nina Vinik. She wants to “reduce mass incarceration” yet deprive us of our guns. In other words she wants to go soft on crime yet tough on the Constitutional rights of law abiding Americans!

  12. Didn’t the “MOMS” shill brag that they were all geared up, money-wise; etc. for the next shooting? They couldn’t give a crap about the victims, it’s the chance to exert more control over the populace that’s the goal here.

  13. It again appears that women are our biggest enemies so we need more pro gun women speaking out. A woman supporting gun rights is far more powerful than a man and we need them on our side. We need to focus on the 200 plus defensive gun uses every day and how women have stopped attacks via a gun. This is far more effective than debating the definition of an “assault weapon” or stating that more kids die drowning than guns. This is of course true, but the left doesn’t care. We need to focus on the positive of guns because frankly no one is doing that and that is a winning strategy. Guns save over 200 lives every day. That is powerful stuff. Use that in your arguments….

  14. Urging your supporters to vote against people’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is kinda like someone telling his followers to shoot people who are exercising their Fifteenth Amendment right to vote.

  15. That looks like a pretty actionable list….good think most gun owners work within the law, but sadly, the day is coming that the tree of liberty will either be refreshed or die.

  16. It may not be apparent where the funding came from but most of us realize who is behind this. I wonder how many POTG touting Progressive insurance are aware that they are funding the war on their Freedom. Doesn’t George Soros own Progressive? I for one will do all I can to stand by my convictions and not give any of my money to liberals that want a government controlled state. This includes not watching Dancing With The Stars anymore. Shame, I liked the show but you have to follow your ideals. There are several businesses that I have stopped dealing with when their Views surfaced, Panera, Starbucks, Half Price Books, etc. Alone I may not matter but together with other people who believe as I do it matters. JMHO

    • George Soros also controls the Cerberus Capital group and through them; The ‘freedom group’ AND Marlin, AAC, Bushmaster, Remington, Panther Arms, etc.
      Now why might a rich antigun man buy up so many firearms companies? Could it be related to the way they all started to make complete crap the minute cerberus took them over? Soros buys firearm company, then said company starts churning out crap that won’t even shoot, then repeats with another gun maker, over and over again.
      All just a coincidence????

  17. 😐
    That’s my surprised face. Really? The project to rally against freedom being presented as a spontaneous uprising of The People is actually organized by a bunch of heavy-hitting media personalities, government officials, and professional activists, and is funded by a handful of billionaires? What a shock.

    • Ain’t that cute the parkland teens and Hogg Hitler think they’re “The Movement”
      So naive, don’t realize their being used; And when their usefulness is used up and their message is as weak a watered-down comped well beer at a biker bar they’ll be tossed out like moldy bread.

      • I’ve started a petition within their group (from the outside) to have them change their name to “The Move”, so that the Philly cops’ll bomb them from a helicopter.

  18. Almost all women, just like America’s last prohibition debacle. Last time the whiners got a constitutional amendment. We’ve gotta make sure that doesn’t happen again NO MATTER WHAT. Getting more women into shooting is good start though.

  19. “they do the Friends of the NRA but it seems they mostly have big fundraising dinner events with expensive per ticket costs and a raffle.”
    And do you know WHY that’s the way the NRA operates?
    Because they are a fund raising organization and NOT a 2A protecting organization. That’s GOA and the 2A foundation.

  20. You guys use the term ‘astroturf’ , but a far better analogy would be sod. There’s nothing artificial about those who support gun control. They’re just organized and ready to form an entire field when needed. Meanwhile, the NRA is just prancing around with its thumb up its ass and collecting your money.

  21. How many of you have heard the phrase “divide and conquer”? This is how to defeat a large group, a piece at a time. History has proven time and time again that this tactic works. Now is the time,not later when it is to late,for ALL of us that believe not only in the 2nd Amendment but the WHOLE Constitution to stick together. Yesterday my daughter told me she was afraid for her generation and her daughters generation that the group that is so against our freedoms could be running our country in the not to distant future.I put this out to all of you who wants to keep the freedom that way to many have given their ultimate: Stick together for there is true strength in numbers and the power of the vote is greater then all the money others may have. I spent my adult life as one of the 1% to defend our freedoms and I am not willing now to let the few, for their self interest, take them away. It is now your decision,stay strong as a group for freedom or suffer the consequences.

  22. Great article, Mr Zimmerman.

    Now we known the “folks” and Communist front groups
    whom are working so endlessly to ban firearms.

    I will archive this seminal article. Thank you!!

  23. why are so many of these gun-grabbers jews?
    well… rich, powerful jews any-way?
    its not a good look…..

  24. I think when everything finally dies down in a few weeks, the Left will find another useful idiot mental case to do another mass shooting to reinforce their agenda.

  25. some people above are confused about 501(c)3 (charity) vs (c)4 (not for profit).

    The gun control lobby is a massive scam to direct over $170 million a year into partisan poltical and legislative adovacy with DEDUCTABLE donations which is profoundly against the spirit of the IRS and FEC laws. the entire march was funded with (c)3 donations, meaning it cost the celebs and wealthy who gave to it NOTHING.

    Looking at NRA filings it appears to be about 90% c4 not for profit, meaning people giving, like dues paying members, with one in-house c3 at about 4% of their income, a pac (not deductible and not non profit) with about 4%.

    The gun control lobby is over 90% deductible c3 which is a very unlevel playing field. The gun control lobby is out-raising the NRA 17:1 AND doing so with much easier to raise deducible donations to it as a supposed “charity.”

  26. BTW as part of the $170 million given to gun control groups and efforts as “charitable” fully deductible “donations” the past 12 months, here is one example:
    https://wamu.org/guns/
    Kendeda Fund, the funder of that 5 million dollar public radio effort is a major donor to “the Trace” the anti gun media group funded mostly by mike Bloomberg.

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