Spitfire List | News & Supplemental

“Some Folks Need Killing!” Mark Robinson, David Lane, and the CNP’s American Renewal Project

Posted by Pterrafractyl ⋅ August 7, 2024 ⋅ 5 comments

“Some Folks Need Killing!” So declared North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson on June 30. At a church. With the full endorsement of the church’s pastor, Reverend Cameron McGill, who explained how Robinson only meant the people ‘trying to kill us’ should be killed. Two days later, Heritage Foundation President and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts made his now infamous “Second American Revolution” speech, warning that the revolution would remain bloodless “if the left allows it”. Days later, Donald Trump laughably disavowed knowing anything about Project 2025. And while Roberts’s comments have received ample attention, Robinson’s “Some Folks Need Killing!” comments have remained an under-explored topic. Because as we’re going to see, Mark Robinson has become quite a celebrity on the far right. With one very notable fan base: The American Renewal Project dedicated to recruiting conservative pastor to run for office and the Council for National Policy (CNP) figures behind it. Not only is Robinson the star of American Renewal Project events, but it turns out Reverend McGill is a recruiter for the group too. That project, formed in 2005 by political activist David Lane but with roots going all the way back to the formation of the CNP in 1981, is what we’re going to explore in this post. Because as disturbing as Robinson’s “Some Folks Need Killings” comments may have been out of of context, they are a lot more disturbing when placed in context. A Christian Nationalist dominionist context that warns of plans for a lot more than just ‘some’ killing.

The Eyes Over Mike Johnson: the CNP’s Texas Template for God’s Power Grope

Posted by Pterrafractyl ⋅ November 10, 2023 ⋅ 26 comments

Christian Nationalism isn’t simply on the rise in the United States. It’s already at the top, thanks in no small part to the Council for National Policy (CNP) and the myriad of groups operating under its theocratic umbrella. The Supreme Court is dominated by a hard right majority and there’s even the CNP’s planned mass purges — starting with the government but not ending there — under the ‘Schedule F’/Project 2025 label. That’s all part of the grim context surrounding a series of reports around the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson that should raise serious questions about just how much influence the leading Christian Nationalist hold over new Speaker of the House. But thanks the House and Supreme Court aren’t the only government institution under Christian Nationalism sway. States Republicans are increasingly adopting Christian Nationalist laws, with Texas leading the way under the way under the vision of CNP pseudo-historian David Barton. It turns out Johnson and Barton are long-time allies who share the same vision for the future. A vision in line with the ‘discipleship’ form of authoritarian Christianity now mainstreamed in the CNP-dominated network of 47,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Which also happens to be a denomination grappling with a sex abuse mega-scandal hauntingly reminiscent of the Catholic Church’s mega-abuse scandal. A mega-scandal with a number of major CNP figures operating as abusers or enablers. It’s that broader intersection of Mike Johnson’s ties to Christian Nationalism with this growing SBC abuse mega-scandal that we’re going to look at in this post.

New Shows Being Produced, New Co-Host UPDATED on 6/11

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ September 13, 2023 ⋅ Post a comment

FTR#‘s 1325 and 1326 feature Paul Bleau, Jim DiEugenio and Matt Crumpton unpacking a chapter in the book “Chokeholds” about the Oswald impersonators. New co-host Monte is a brilliant researcher whose efforts should exponentially advance listeners’ understanding of the material. Listeners can network directly with him on Mr. Emory’s Patreon platform. Containing all of Mr. Emory’s work on Covid-19 and the Ukraine War, the latest 32GB flash drive is now available! (The last iteration of the drive is almost two years old.) WFMU-FM is podcasting For The Record–You can subscribe to the podcast HERE.

R.I.P. Daniel Hopsicker

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ August 27, 2023 ⋅ Post a comment

Over many years, it was Mr. Emory’s privilege and honor to have interviewed Daniel Hopsicker frequently and at length. In the wake of his passing from cancer on 8/22/2023 at the age of 72, we mourn the loss of this professional, and yet can be very glad for his having shared his work with us. Dr. Jeffrey Sachs “pretty convinced” Covid came from a U.S. Bio-Lab. WFMU-FM is podcasting For The Record–You can subscribe to the podcast HERE. Mr. Emory emphatically recommends that listeners/readers get the 32GB flash drive containing all of Mr. Emory’s 43 years on the air, plus a library of old anti-fascist books on easy-to-download PDF files.

Heads We Win, Tails You Lose Your Retirement: Private Equity, Pension Funds, and the CRE Double Down

Posted by Pterrafractyl ⋅ June 20, 2023 ⋅ 16 comments

There’s blood in the water. With regional banks potentially looking at years of trouble ahead and interest rates well above the historic lows, distress is permeating the US commercial real estate (CRE) markets. That’s been the CRE news, with the private equity now palpably excited about all the distressed real estate that’s bound to come on the market. A supply and demand dislocation that can turn blood in water into a gold laced silver lining for the entities with cash on the sidelines. As we’ve seen, being the ‘cash on the sidelines’ opportunistically waiting for things to fall apart or blow is a big part of the ‘Heads we win, tails you lose’ private equity business model. A business model also rooted in the fact that the fund managers charge high fees whether they’re investments pan out or not. So we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that one of the big investment opportunities private equity has been steering billions of dollars of public pension money into in recent years is...*drumroll*...commercial real estate! With plans on shoveling billions more into the sector going forward. JP Morgan is now predicting these pension funds are going to create a ‘floor’ in the CRE markets. Yes, private equity-led pension funds are going to save the CRE market from complete collapse. At least that’s the plan. A plan that’s going to pay its private equity managers handsomely no matter how it pans out. It’s all part of how American’s growing retirement crisis is translating into private equity’s growing opportunity. The kind of crisis-driven opportunity that pays handsomely whether the underlying crisis grows or not.