Here are the radicals: Do they sound left-wing to you?

With the White House’s dissemination of inflammatory disinformation about an imagined “radical left,” I invite anyone reading this to watch and listen for yourselves the vitriol and hatred of a cult in Woodland Park that has historically supported and hosted TP USA at its so-called conferences. Do they sound like they are to the left of anything? The WH is disseminating dangerous rhetoric, meanwhile this “conference” in Woodland Park is underway yet again. You can find it yourself at truthandliberty dot net. Below you can read my summary and analysis of the 2023 conference. I could not stomach watching any additional conferences, but they are there if you want to indulge.

2023 Truth and Liberty conference at Charis Bible college in Woodland Park Colorado. If I were to give this event an accurate descriptive title it would be “How to Kill a Democracy.”

Summary: The conference ticked all the boxes of cult leadership tactics described in The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan, PhD, a former Moonie turned writer, scholar, and psychotherapist. The Wommack Truth & Liberty coalition have created their own worldview through which all events are interpreted; established their followers as the in-group opposed to the evil out-groups (democrats, LGBTQ+, etc); requested donations or “offerings” and solicited volunteers for future events/protests; created myths establishing their credibility, especially of family members who died and came back to life through prayer; established multiple campaigns, such as recruiting school board candidates, registering church congregations to vote, etc.; distracted attendees from thinking critically by using rapid-paced speech stringing together every sentence with “and,” using repetitive phrases, and altering historical facts to fit their objective; and they one-up the MAGA chant with one that “re”establishes this country under one religious belief, a theocracy. All efforts, every political and issue campaign, need to focus on responding to the lie that the U.S. was once a theocracy, a Christian Republic.

This is a cult and they know what they’re doing. When session speakers, for example Faridi and Porter, delivered loaded language about stolen elections and racist tropes about Muslims, I noted their lack of conviction or belief in what they were saying in contrast with their smirks and smiles as the crowd of around 40 attendees clapped and cheered. Watch a portion of a session and look at the speaker’s eyes, their body language; they are toying with people, manipulating them. Did you ever watch The Manchurian Candidate? This conference is the real-life version.

I noticed a lot of mirroring, Hassan’s word, but pundits use the term “flagging.” Mirroring or flagging is when the speaker accuses the other side of doing something the speaker is actually doing. For example, Connelly talked about the holocaust implicitly equating Nazis to democrats; he stated that lying to people and creating fear was the key to Nazis killing 11 million people and democrats did the same through covid quarantines. It’s actually Wommack et al. lying and creating fear, their objective is to restore the country to what they claim is its original single-religion and religion-based education, to establish a theocracy. The establishment of a theocracy would of course dismantle democracy and result in violence and death of far more than 11 million people.

Throughout the sessions, the cult uses mirroring to delegitimize election processes, education, and other foundational elements of our democracy. However, I sense they are one component of a larger strategy under the old Tea Party apparatus to defund the federal government, specifically the departments overseeing education, healthcare, energy, and environment as promised by several republican presidential candidates in recent history. The Convention of States Action is led by Mark Meckler, the founder of the Tea Party movement. COSAs intent is to establish republican control of the necessary two-thirds of the states per Article V of the Constitution to call a convention and enact their agenda to defund the federal government, specifically the departments responsible for education, healthcare, energy, and environment. COSA, the Freedom Caucus/Tea Party and Truth & Liberty converge on defunding the department of education. This is not to say that cult members are not also engaged in defunding other departments, consider climate change deniers, they likely are, but taking the larger view exposes the broad base of overlapping interests in taking down our democracy. Christian nationalism is driving the anti-government agenda that is rooted in the Southern states going back to the Civil War. It’s not a coincidence that most of the Truth & Liberty speakers are residents of the deep south.

Returning to our lane on education, it is imperative to understand that higher education is being used to disseminate disinformation which has a ripple effect on local school districts and other campaigns. There are at least two disinformation spreaders at UCCS, one funded by Koch and the other by Turning Point USA. Koch funded a “research” center at UCCS, headed by faculty of the Political Science Department, in appreciation for inviting and sponsoring Trump’s campaign rallies on UCCS campus in 2016. Koch’s influence is called The Center for the Study of Government and the Individual and is supported by several of Koch’s extremist factions. The first incident that peaked my awareness of Koch’s access to our campus was the dissemination of The Epoch Times to all UCCS email users after 2016. Fast-forward to January 6, 2021, that disinformation rag, Epoch Times, was in the pockets of thousands of insurrectionists. For a few months immediately after the insurrection, I assisted Insurrection Hunters with the identification of symbols, military patches, documents, vendors, and organized groups among the participants. I flagged some papers sticking out of the back pocket of a “cowboy” with a gun tucked into his waistband. Another Hunter identified the papers as The Epoch Times that had been circulated at a rally that morning. The “cowboy” I had worked to identify was later arrested for stabbing someone to death in a park sometime after he returned home—drug deal gone sideways. The feds made a deal with him for information about 1/6. He’s free. I have moved on, but many continue to identify insurrectionists and their work has contributed to the arrest and conviction of hundreds of Americans who have been brainwashed. Until the leaders are processed by the justice system, the public, and our democracy that depends on a well-informed public, teeters on the brink.

In addition to the Koch bros on our campus, a Wommack collaborator Turning Point USA has established a student group at UCCS. I have observed clapboards on campus advertising bible study groups and prayer groups, but I do not recall the name of the student group that organized it. More likely, Turning Point USA at UCCS would recruit protest participants for the upcoming Kingdom to Capitol marches as well as local protests, school district actions, and to serve as poll watchers. Note the word choice, ‘kingdom’; it suggests dominion over the state, aligned with their theocracy over democracy objective.    

The Wommack cult made it very clear that this is a war, they have declared it. Therefore, I am using their war framework to analyze their plan of action. Below, I have outlined the order of battle (OOB) starting with the strategic level, moving on to the operational level including organizations and leaders, and finally, the tactical level detailing their methods as described by the operational leaders during the conference. I categorized and color-coded the major campaigns: Red denotes congregation voter registration drives, legal action, and policy writing; Orange indicates all direct actions opposing public education; Gold represents anti-abortion actions and dovetails with education on anti-LGBTQ, anti-CRT, etc.; Blue signifies protests/counter-protests and disruption. The campaigns directly involved in the attack on education include a cross-collaboration between the National School Board Coalition/Ted Mische, Christian Home Educators of Colorado/Carolyn Martin, Family Policy Alliance/Autumn Leva, Nehemia Institute, and Faith Wins/Chad Connelly.

    

Truth & Liberty Objective: To control communities through the church, ultimately (re)establishing a theocracy.

OOB:

Unit	Task	Leader
Faith Wins	Register church congregations to vote, targeting all “early states”	Chad Connelly
First Liberty	File religious liberty lawsuits to roll back previous Supreme Court decisions on religious displays in public spaces/government buildings, and schools	Unk (attorneys)
Wallbuilders	Draft “pro-family” legislation & review education standards for legislators & lobbyists	David Barton
Pacific Justice	School board policy templates, in 31 states	unk
National School Board Coalition	School board candidates, propaganda about sexualizing kids	Ted Mische
Christian Home Educators of Colorado	Homeschooling, bible-based education, parental rights, propaganda about original theocracy	Carolyn Martin
Family Policy Alliance	Defund public education, religious liberty lawsuits	Autumn Leva
The Life Network	Anti-abortion actions	Rich Bennet
Turning Point USA Faith	Protests	Lance Williams
American Pastor Project	Train pastors to organize churches	Lucas Miles

 

 

Strategies:

·       Elect leaders with a “biblical worldview”—congress, state legislatures, school boards, etc.

·       Defund public education, replace it with home-schooling and bible-based education

·       Engage government/teachers/school board in lengthy, expensive court processes

·       Disorient the public with disinformation and protests across all operations and campaigns

Operations:

·       Christian voter registration drives in churches--Chad Connelly, Faith Wins

·       File lawsuits demanding religious liberty—First Liberty

·       Lobby legislators and monitor education legislation in all 50 states—David Barton, Wallbuilders’ ProFamily Legislative Network; Pacific Justice; First Liberty

·       Recruit, train, and vet school board candidates—Ted Mische, National School Board Coalition

·       Privatize education--Carolyn Martin, Christian Home Educators of Colorado; Autumn Leva, Family Policy Alliance attorney; Nehemiah Institute

·       Close all abortion service provider locations—Pueblo pastor Quinn Fryberg; Rich Bennet, The Life Network

·       Kingdom to the Capitol marches--Lance Williams, Turning Point USA Faith and Shawn Foit; Book bans, school board action--John Amanchukwu

·       Provide resources and networking for pastors to organize churches--American Pastor Project, Lucas Miles   

Tactics:

·       Collaborate with pastors in churches to register their congregations to vote, prioritize all of the early states

·       Use poll watchers to target voter turnout and challenge validity of every ballot cast in real time, but charm election staff with offers to help and to pray for them so they collaborate willingly

·       Harass school boards with fear messaging (“they’re coming for your kids” “they’re coming for your churches”), book bans, and oppose sex education

·       Lobby for parental rights, pathway to homeschooling and defunding public education

·       Collaborate with a legislator to challenge education standards that do not comply with “biblical worldview”

·       Spread gospel in Muslim nations

·       Broadcast alternative facts about a time when America had common values and a common faith

·       Recruit school board candidates through face-to-face interaction in the community, churches, and both political parties

·       Frame unwilling candidates as “imperfect people” but with righteous intent

·       Recruit through propaganda about RFID chips in student IDs so predators can track your kids, lies about kids being taught to make illicit drugs in chemistry class and satanic temples teaching in school classrooms

·       Establish homeschooling as an alternative to public schools, pathway to privatizing public education

·       Repeat message that America was established on one religion, taught in the home, the school, and the church

·       Advocate for parental rights as opposed to public education, religious liberty as opposed to secular/inclusive education, and home schooling as opposed to public education

·       Organize anti-abortion protests, file lawsuits against abortion providers, force closure of women’s health clinics that provide abortions

·       Promote ideation that life begins at inception

·       Advocate for Heartbeat legislation across the country in collaboration with Janet Porter the election denier

·       Train pastors to respond to social issues using Charis as a model to gaslight authorities, meaning government and police, with prayers for their souls instead of protesting their order-following behavior

·       Oppose globalism and one-world doctrines with sovereign nation doctrine, specifically the sovereignty of the U.S. and of Israel    

 

Summary of The Propaganda Team (platforms range from Fox News to Truth & Liberty radio and their followers’ blogs and podcasts):

Lucas Miles, American Pastor Project—pastor at Influence Church, and propagandist for epic times church and church boys podcast

Alex McFarland—propagandist Truth and Liberty radio

David Barton, Wallbuilders—propagandist on early American colonies and bible-based education

Jeff Anderson—Cong. Lamborn’s Senior Adviser for Community Outreach, pro-Israel propagandist and political insider

Elizabeth Muren—propagandist and screenwriter on banning abortion

Janet Porter—legislative activist/organizer for abortion ban, election-denier

Mohamad Faridi, Destination USA—propagandist for one-world Christian religion, anti-Islam

Richard Harris—propagandist in chief of Truth and Liberty radio

My Conclusion

None of this is about a radical right concerned about crime. It is an attack on democracy. What are your thoughts? More importantly, what are you doing about it beyond street protests or pre-emptively complying? We have an election coming up. Consider making a plan to get voters to the polls in person, in case that turns out to be our only option.  

Renters Deserve Safe Homes—Our City Can Make That Happen

We have been in a housing crisis for some time. While much of the conversation focuses on building new units, we’re quietly losing the most affordable housing we already have: existing rental homes that are falling into disrepair. As a policy researcher and a renter, I see this disconnect every day—between what our community needs and what our housing system delivers.

That’s why it’s time for our city to adopt a rental housing licensing program with habitability inspections. This is not a radical idea. It’s a practical, proven policy that protects tenants, ensures safe homes, and prevents neglect before it turns into displacement.

Here’s how it works: landlords register their rental units with the city, and those units are subject to periodic habitability inspections. If a home isn’t up to basic health and safety standards—mold, broken heaters, faulty wiring—the city can require repairs before the next tenant moves in. It’s simple, effective, and fair.

Right now, responsible landlords who maintain their properties are playing by the rules. But those who ignore basic maintenance face little to no consequences—and renters pay the price. Licensing and inspections level the playing field and promote fairness across the board.

This policy is already working in cities across the country. In Minneapolis, housing inspections led to major drops in severe violations. In Sacramento, over 70% of inspected units needed repairs, and those repairs got done. The results speak for themselves.

But this is more than just policy. It’s about dignity. Renters are often treated as invisible in local politics, even though we make up a significant portion of the population. We are workers, voters, parents, and neighbors. We deserve the same baseline protections as homeowners.

Safe housing shouldn’t be a privilege. It should be a standard.

This licensing program is how we get there.

#Housingcrisis

#housingcrisis

#housing-justice

Colorado’s Housing Data Dupe

I have accumulated several research projects as a doctoral student in Educational Leadership, Research, & Policy. The common thread in all of my projects is the erosion of public services using neoliberal economic theory starting with education in the 1970s, continuing through the social safety net including housing stability since the early 1990s. All of these efforts converge on the use of biased data, opaque quantitative methodologies, and outright lies.

As a strategic thinker and lifelong learner, I do not focus on any single topic of interest. I embrace the complexity of being human and acknowledge the systemic nature of our institutions. I am a humanist and a progressive--a real progressive, as in Bernie Sanders progressive, not a neoliberal/Libertarian democrat who hijacks the word progressive and weaves it into their disinformation campaign. I am a first-generation college student, hence the overkill of pursuing a PhD. I am a Cold War veteran, a renter, and a social justice advocate, aka. pain in the ass. The aka moniker is born of an epic story I’ll have to share with you someday. That struggle marked the beginning of my fight for renter’s rights.

Predictably, I do not fit into the neoliberal/Libertarian framework at my institution, UCCS. Yes, I live in Colorado Springs where the presumption is that of a deep red political majority, but I saw who we really are in 2016 when I ran the caucus location in Fountain, CO. I know Progressives are the real majority. Sadly, that brief opportunity when progressives ran the local El Paso County Democratic party died on the vine due to poor planning and lack of organization. I think they failed to see that we are at war. War is not a time for cooperation and goodwill. It’s a fight. If you fail to fight, you lose.

The first project I want to share involves Colorado state government agencies, real estate and apartment associations, and a real estate professor at DU colluding to produce BIASED housing vacancy rate data with the outcome of raising housing prices and increasing profits. I found this discrepancy during my investigation of housing financialization in Colorado Springs. I was looking for evidence concerning supply and demand and other narratives driving the priority to build luxury apartments. What I found was a much bigger story, a big data dupe. As you can see in the table below, there is a sharp contrast between what the DU professor produced for the study’s supporters, Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), and what is transparently and reliably produced by the U.S. Census.

Housing Vacancy Rate Data: Comparing DOLA/CHFA & Census

QUARTER	DOLA*	CHFA	CENSUS
2/2018	5.9%	-	2.4%
4/2018	5.6%	-	3.1%
2/2019	4.9%	-	3.9%
4/2019	5.2%	-	4.4%
2/2020	4.9%	-	2.6%
1/2022	-	4.8%	3.4%
2/2022	-	4.7%	4.0%
3/2022	-	5.1%	5.0%
4/2022	-	5.5%	3.9%
1/2023	-	6.2%	3.8%
2/2023	-	6.2%	5.0%
3/2023	-	6.0%	5.4%
4/2023	-	6.3%	5.8%

*DOLA ended funding for the housing vacancy surveys during the pandemic, 2/2020 was their

final report. After COVID CHFA was awarded the survey contract.

 

Yikes, right? There’s a big difference between the state and the Census. So, what does it mean? Well, the vacancy rate tells you how tight the market is, the lower the percentage the tighter the market. The tighter the market the higher the rent because scarcity favors the landlords while tenants compete for housing. When vacancy rates are higher, we see the reverse. Renters can shop around and be more selective because landlords compete for renters with lower rents, extra amenities, or other perks. In short, the vacancy rate tracks with whether rents are increasing or decreasing.

Notice the U.S. Census data consistently shows a tight market, far more so when DOLA contracted the survey reports and through 1/2023 under CHFAs contract. The tight market reported by the Census is consistent with the ever-rising rents we have experienced throughout Colorado. The loose market indicated by DOLA/CHFA suggests housing is plentiful which influences decisions about the need to build more housing. The data matters therefore it is critical that the right people are asked the right questions in the right way to result in data that is trustworthy. Yes, trustworthiness is the whole point.

DOLA and CHFA have funded third-parties to produce data that is not trustworthy. Who the potential pool of survey participants is matters. Who the survey participants are matters. Whether they respond for one or several different properties matters. What questions are asked and how they are asked matters. The data matters because it determines what gets built, where, and when and that also influences the amount we pay in rent.

The difference between the Census and the state’s data demonstrates the control of the apartment associations and the realtors’ associations over our state housing policy and their ability to manipulate their version of data to benefit themselves and their stakeholders. The Census does not have a dog in the fight. Their process is publicly disclosed and fully explained, including how they select survey participants and what they ask them, who’s included who’s not and why. DOLA and CHFA are not transparent, and their reports hint that they only survey their members. That’s a problem because not all rental properties pay the dues to be part of the insiders club. How many rental properties are there and how many of those are responding to the survey? Well, that’s confidential, apparently. But not so confidential that apartment association and realtor’s lobbyists don’t use their untrustworthy reports to block housing legislation designed to keep us housed.

While those that profit from the hellscape they created sell us an oversimplified version of supply and demand and something about the need for market equilibrium, we are increasingly priced out of a home.

#Housing #Housingdata #Housingcrisis