Activism

Filmmaker Robert Greenwald and his company Brave New Films have launched a new website that encourages visitors to comment on what they think has been left out of a new documentary movie about Sarah Palin. The website allows visitors to put words in Sarah Palin's mouth. Filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon created the two-hour-long, pro-Palin film, titled "The Undefeated," in response to what he feels is negative treatment Palin has received in the media. Bannon's movie portrays Palin as a martyr. The casting of Palin as a victim of repeated baseless attacks is punctuated by a scene showing a pack of lions tearing apart a zebra and another showing a man being buried alive. When people point out Palin has actually been defeated in a number of elections, Bannon says, "I want people to come out of this movie arguing and debating. That's what I want." The film premieres Friday, June 17, in Minneapolis. The winner of Greenwald's "edit Sarah Palin's film" contest will get a collector-edition Sarah Palin bobblehead doll dressed in army fatigues and holding a rifle.

The Center for Media and Democracy has joined a coalition of privacy, consumer and civil rights organizations in signing onto comments from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) (pdf) opposing a proposal by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) to expand "E-Verify," a national internet-based employment verification system that lets employers check citizenship status and verify employment eligibility of people applying for jobs. DHS plans to integrate records from state motor vehicle agencies' systems and change the verification process to include validation of a driver's license, driver's permit or ID card from a state or local jurisdiction. Groups signing onto EPIC's comments say the DHS proposal to integrate driver's license information into Homeland Security's database is unlawful and is very similar to the REAL ID Act of 2005, which established new federal standards for state-issued driver's licenses and other ID cards. Some states have declined participate in the REAL ID Act. EPIC and other groups oppose provisions in the DHS proposal that would, for example, allow DHS to distribute E-Verify records to public and private parties, and disclose E-Verify data "to the news media and the public" with just a vague exception for any "particular case [that] would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."

The Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has been posting fake eviction notices on the doors of residents of a Detroit, Michigan neighborhood, frightening homeowners in a city with one of the country's highest foreclosure rates. AFP 's goal is to get people to oppose construction of a new bridge that would connect Detroit with Canada. Canada agreed to fund a loan to construct the bridge, to be called the Detroit River International Crossing. AFP argues that the bridge is "unwarranted" and a "boondoggle." Large capital letters near the top of AFP's flyer say "EVICTION NOTICE." The medium-sized print at the top says "This property is subject to seizure by the Michigan Department of Transportation." The fine print says the property in question could be seized if a bill approving the bridge is passed. The editorial editor of the Detroit Free Press called AFP's fake eviction notices "emotional terrorism." Scott Hagerstrom, state director of the Michigan chapter of AFP, refused to apologize for the flyer or for rattling Detroit residents. Hagerstrom said, "It was meant to startle people ... We wanted people to read it."