The cynicism underlying all of this is really appalling. Ms. Muhammad on her own might be a candidate I would be interested in getting to know more about. She was certainly hand-picked with a lot of savvy and skill to appeal to just about every demographic/interest group in our area:
Concerned about women's issues or gay issues? she's a lesbian-feminist! Concerned about poverty/homelessness? she was homeless as a child Concerned about immigration issues? she's the child of an African immigrant Concerned about representation of religious minorities? she's Muslim Except that, as Ms. Tynan and so many others have pointed out, the money backing her cares about none of these things. The money backing her cares about the profits to be made in shifting funds out of the public school system and exploiting the desperation of parents trying to find adequate education for their children. I almost feel sorry for Ms. Muhammad because she's being used in a very loathsome way, but I'm afraid she seems too intelligent to have ended up there unknowingly. Kathleen On Sat, Apr 21, 2012 at 1:15 AM, Kimm Tynan <kimm.ty...@verizon.net> wrote: > From Friday’s City Paper: > > http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/nakedcity/Democrat-backed-by-anti-abortion-rich-people-sends-pro-choice-mailer-decrying-GOP-war-on-women.html?text=xlg&c=y > > > On 4/20/12 1:47 AM, "Kimm Tynan" <kimm.ty...@verizon.net> wrote: > > I have been trying to post this to the other list, where a discussion is > ongoing, but I am transitioning between email addresses and can’t seem to > post to the other list at the moment. But I need to post this. Feel free > to forward to the other list. > > This is fascinating to me. Disturbing, but fascinating in a kind-of > accident-gawker kind-of way. > > So, after being bombarded all week with Ms. Muhammad’s very expensive > flyers in my door (FOUR today!) I started noticing who is sponsoring them. > This week, several have been from “Friends of,” but I noticed a number > were sponsored by “Women for Change,” a lame name if ever this lifelong > lefty activist has seen one. So I wondered . . . . > > I just googled the group, with an Elkins Park address, and came up with > surprisingly little, other than campaign contribution reports. One > attracted my interest for reasons I can’t articulate moreso than others. > The link took me to, what appears to me to be, a report from the City > Controller’s office on campaign contributions. It took me a little while > to figure it out but it looks to me like it is a report on contributions > made by Students First, the provoucher PAC “funded by Pennsylvania > hedge-fund managers and American Federation for Children, a Washington, > D.C., pro-voucher group headed by Amway heiress and major right-wing donor > Betsy DeVos . . . . backed by conservative Bala Cynwyd hedge-fund managers > Jeffrey Yass, Arthur Dantchik and Joel Greenberg,” according to the City > Paper article Jim cited. > > I am attaching the pdf of the report, and it can also be found at * > http://www.philadelphiacontroller.org/2012Cycle2/Reports/2010165-2012-2-70.pdf > * . > > If you can open the pdf, search the document for “Women for Change.” > > I am completely open to being corrected on this, but it looks to me to be > a report on contributions by Students First to candidates for Philadelphia > office. There are two contributions of 10K each from Students First to > Women for Change on March 21, one at page 6, one at page 12. About when > Ms. Muhammad’s promotional materials started appearing. I had to do a > triple take on that – why make two 10K contributions on the same day, > rather than one $20K, if not simply to make it harder to track? > > I am sickened on multiple levels. First, just that wealthy individuals > who have no relationship to this city or state are pouring phenomenal > amounts of money into the state – even just the city, but this is where the > strongest opposition to vouchers lives – in this election. > > Which is why she can pay for all of these expensive flyers. She’s not a > grassroots homeless up-by-her-bootstraps lesbian African-American. Well, > she may be a formerly homeless lesbian African-American. But that does not > necessarily say anything about whose interests she is representing now. > She sold her soul to the suburban hedge-fund managers and Amway heiresses > who want to eliminate public schools. > > And I am sickened by the dishonesty. It would be one thing if Students > First was giving $20K to Muhammad’s campaign in it’s own name – at least > then we know who they are and what their agenda is. But to channel their > money to astroturfed shell entities pretending to some other agenda – it’s > sickening. > > I am also really, deeply disappointed to see that the Liberty City > Democrats endorsed this woman. > > Kimm > >
