Topic: Ron Paul
The Untold Story of the Ron Paul Blimp - Part I A behemoth sized, floating billboard, advertising freedom, is not an easy thing to forget. Neither is the struggle, the vision, the triumph, the chaos and the overall success of Liberty Political Advertising LLC. and their project.....The Ron Paul Blimp. A glimpse into the untold story of the blimp is a memorable experience. Was it destiny? Was it talent? What happened on the Ron Paul Blimp?by Hickory Hendrickson
(Libertarian)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The cause of freedom has had many champions. Most of these champions have been and are now "larger than life". A recent champion , The Ron Paul Blimp, is perhaps the most appropriate candidate ever nominated for "larger than life" status.
Like all great things, the blimp project was born from an idea. Trevor Lyman, President Liberty Political Advertising, is reported to have said, "wouldn't it be great if we had a blimp". Lyman will not go on the record at this time, so his exact words are unknown, but all parties involved agree, the Ron Paul Blimp was Lyman's idea.
Lyman, already overextended because of his dedication to the Ron Paul campaign, put his thoughts about the blimp into writing on one of the many forums he was a member of. Lyman never followed-up on the blimp idea but Elijah Lynn, Vice-President Liberty Advertising, did!
"Elijah had enough of a vision that he kept pushing the idea until it went through." said Katharine Memole, Project Manager for the Ron Paul Blimp.
The third piece of the puzzle was Jerry Collette Managing Partner Liberty Political Advertising, Collette also managed the legal team for the Ron Paul Blimp project. Collette brought a critical idea with him to the blimp project, the campaign finance loophole that NPR said was "big enough to fly the Ron Paul Blimp through". The loophole allowed Ron Paul supporters to sponsor ad-time on the blimp. Thus allowing wealthy supporters to donate an unlimited amount of money instead of the usual amount allowed by federal campaign finance regulations.
These three men: Lyman, Collette and Lynn, later became Liberty Political Advertising LLC and begin the journey that was to forever be known as.......the Ron Paul Blimp. The journey was "turbulent" but the blimp stayed afloat and won the hearts of supporters nation wide.
If Ron Paul had done better in The New Hampshire Republican Primary, Collette thinks the blimp would have gone on to even greater things. Memole wishes they could have made it to New York City. Overall they both consider the Ron Paul Blimp a success. Neither have any regrets.
"Really the best thing was being able to do it at all!" Collette said. "We really did make history by even being able to get it launched, as well as making history by being able to fund it in the unique way we funded it..."
The blimp project brought together a unique team of dedicated individual and despite metaphorical "turbulence", introduced the Freedom Movement to a several new champions. One of the most visual and important champions emerged as a leader practically overnight. This heroine for the Cause of Freedom kept the Blimp afloat when all seemed lost. Without her, the "turbulence" would have overwhelmed the fledgling company and sunk the blimp forever. This leader was Katharine Memole Project Manager for the Ron Paul Blimp
When Lyman and Lynn walked away from the project, Memole brought them back. When the public knew nothing about the project, Memole let them know. When questions were asked, Memole answered them all as best she could and when the emails came pouring in, Memole answered those too. She worked endless hours for little pay and when the partnership dissolved was left with nothing but memories. Katharine Memole is the true heroine in this story! Lyman brought the money, Collette brought the legal ingenuity and Lynn kept the ball rolling but Memole brought all those things together and made the project work when others gave up.
Turbulence!
Kevin Innes was chief of staff for Liberty Political Advertising. When things turned ugly, Innes was an important mediator who helped hold the project together.
"My experience with Liberty Political Advertising is that shortly after its creation, the frequency and timeliness of communication was sorely lacking among the principals when vital decisions had to be made. As a result, many time-sensitive decisions were made without the consensus among the principals and this, despite good intentions, eventually led to a lack of mutual respect, even less communication and increasingly unilateral decisions." Innes said.
"Even though subsequent conflict resolution sessions did produce collective agreements, the damage had been done to the relationships and many of those agreements, a number of which were task oriented and time sensitive, were not wholeheartedly honored among the signatories and precipitated further distrust. A more concerted effort to exhibit mutual respect and forgiveness would have helped heal the divisions among the principals and moved them closer to creating a cohesive and successful business."
What did Innes and the others have to deal with? Here is an example of the problems project mediators faced on a regular basis:
"Trevor and Elijah can help with projects I am doing or they can get out of the way, but they cannot stop me. It appears as though our resolution is not complete. Do I need to start another company for this and other projects? Do they want to buy me out of the blimp project? If so, let's use the same proposal as last time, they propose the price and terms, I get to choose whether to buy or sell under them. It is, in essence, one kid cuts the cake, the other picks which piece he gets. I was also expecting more responses to many emails I sent before leaving. Am I being stonewalled? If they do want to continue, I believe that some kind of mediator, such as Marty, will be needed." - Collette in an email to Innes.
?Marty? How many mediators do they need? And what happened "Last time"?
This email was sent after Memole resolved one of those "last time" issues. Actually, resolved might not describe what she did. Save the project, is a more accurate description of her role when Lyman and Lynn left the project and gave full ownership of the company to Collette in exchange the blimp domain. They also asked for him, to stay silent about any alleged "wrongdoing".
"That's when I became determined" Memole said, "and I was like I don't give a rat's @** what kind of fighting Trevor, Elijah and Jerry are engaging in, what kind of logistical problems we're encountering, this movement does not need a failure right now and this is not going to be a failure!"
The fact that these problems and more were kept "under-the-radar" while the blimp was in the air, is a miracle in and of itself and is a credit to the integrity of all involved. There was plenty of media coverage for the blimp but not one bit about the problems........ not until now, that is.
The freedom community is a close-knit, yet not so trusting group of like minded individuals. As Ron Paul's historic campaign comes to a close, this community has begun to unravel and the cause which united it is no longer apparent.
Freedom lives in the sunshine. These partially-hidden and thinly-veiled allegations and accusations are starting to create a wedge which could cause the eventual splitting of the freedom movement. United this movement can stand. Divided it will be trampled underfoot by the power hungry elite. Well.....brothers and sisters of freedom....let the light shine on the Ron Paul Blimp story!
Collette, now Interim Attorney General for the Republic of Lakotah, feels that his reputation has been damaged by the rumors and allegations flying in the wake of the blimp project.
"My integrity has been very much called into question." Collette said.
Who called Collette's integrity into question?
"The blimp project failed mainly because of Jerry Collette." said Linda Hunnicutt, aka. Granny Warrior. "People are not crazy about him or his methods of doing business. Anyway hopefully you (the press) and Trevor (Lyman) can let everyone know what is going on and maybe help Trevor with his new venture which will prove to be a good one as it is being managed very professionally."
Lyman has refused to comment on the matter, as advised by his legal council and new business partner, attorney Rick Williams. Lyman and Williams are currently working on the "Break the Matrix" project.
"Jerry was going and spending money on these weird things." Memole said, "I don't think Jerry's an evil guy but having a bank account your trying to fill with $400,000 and having Jerry as the only one with legal access to the account, it was like my worst nightmare."
Of Course, as in any good brawl, Collette has thrown a few counter punches of his own.
"Once in a while a lawyer comes around, that reminds me why there are lawyer jokes," Collette said, and in my opinion Williams fits that category.
Collette claims, among other things, that Lyman is, in his opinion, guilty of fraud and slander. Collette said he contemplated a law suite but decided the court of public opinion was where the initial charges were filled so in said court they could stay. He has opened the company to full disclosure.
Suing the US Government seems to be on top of Collette's priority list at the moment. A visit to his web-site, www.libertarianlegal.org, will reveal future plans and projects on the table. It appears that Collette has a gigantic "table". His current list of projects is truly on an epic scale! His work with the Lakota Freedom movement will involve, potentially, bringing charges of genocide against the US Government in front of the World Court. Russell Means is currently seeking an ally to make this plan a reality. No word yet as to progress in that regard. Or of the so called "Petition for Recognition".
One ongoing issue still unresolved is the company transaction records withheld from Collette in a blatant breach of contract by Lyman and Lynn. On March 15 2008, in an email discussion with Williams, at that time Lyman's volunteer legal counsel, Collette said. "I look forward to finally getting the purchase transaction records that have been so long promised, but like many of the promises I have gotten from Trevor, still unfulfilled."
Williams responds: "Most or all of the accounting issues are resolved now, so I don't anticipate an extensive wrap-up process. Regarding company books and records, those will be made available to you. Trevor has advised that there are passwords and such for the online records, and I've asked him to locate those to provide access. We should have that in the next day or so."
As of March 31st 2008, Collette still does not have access to the company records. He said he wonders what they have to hide.
In an email forwarded by an anonymous source, Hunnicutt further explains her allegations.
"Be very wary of the fool Jerry from Asheville. Contact Trevor Lyman of the Ron Paul Blimp site before allowing this man to negotiate any type of fundraiser or for that matter anything to do with your group."
Hunnicutt goes on to say: "He (Collette) is not a attorney but a para-legal, or is supposed to be, from what Trevor Lyman has to say (He) is a rip off and ruined the Blimp Project by spending money that was not his to spend, paying himself huge salary and in general being a nut case".
Collette admits he might appear to be a "nut-case" on occasion but that the other allegations are completely unfounded. The three principles in the LLC all received the same amount of money, $6500 profit, plus $500 per week as a salary and Collette says he gave his "draw" to another member of the legal team. The other member said he did not wish to comment on the matter as he played a mediation role with the company.
Another mediator.......and the list goes on! Why didn't Memole get part of the money? Why did a high priced legal team get paid to mediate between the principles? Why is Lyman hiding out? Why did Collette say Fraud? These questions and more will be answered in Part II, where we get more of the sense of triumph promised earlier, learn more about Memole and Innes, the real heroic figures in this story, and understand why all this "dirty-laundry" needed "Sunshine". Hopefully, by then Lyman will allow Williams to release his side of the story. It's already written, or at least so says Williams.
"Williams closed the meeting by announcing that this was a closeout and wrap-up that does not include any releases among members. Williams noted that Collette has been making threats of litigation or public disclosure of alleged "wrongdoing." Williams advised that he has prepared a detailed written history of the blimp project as counsel for Lyman, including a full evaluation of the conduct of the members over the life of the project and his opinions regarding the threats and claims asserted by Collette." - From the minutes memorializing wrap-up of Liberty Political Advertising LLC.
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2008 Hickory Hendrickson, all rights reserved.
Published: Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Last modified: Monday, April 14, 2008
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Sounds like a giant mess. Hopefully part II is more uplifting. This story made me recall how excited I was to watch my first clips of the blimp. I thought it a sign of honest, freedom loving Americans saying that the causes of peace and freedom were more valuable than the $400K+ it cost to get that blimp funded. It feels a bit tarnished that those involved let mere money distract them from the cause. Thanks for the insight though.
Posted By: Jamie Jackson
Date: 2008-04-02 16:27:11
"They also asked for jo, tp stau silent about alleged "wrongdoing"."
The right hand was 1 key to the right while typing the words "him to stay" in the above.
As for the content of the article... it makes me want to become a hermit. Oh, and... taking a case to the "World Court"?!? I thought these were serious Ron Paul supporters, who would know better than to legitimize a U.N. entity.
As stated on the Republic of Lakota Official website:
Caution: Duane Martin, Sr. aka "Canupa Gluha Mani" represents ONLY himself and is known for soliciting funds for himself. He is not affiliated with Republic of Lakotah.
-------------------------------
Honestly, if you can't trust one of the founders of this movement, who can you trust? The self proclaimed prophet of it's people, Russell Means? Seriously. Get real. It's all for his glory. And his own people know that. Thus the actual lack of support most of his own people. And yes I know that as fact.
Let alone the fact Russell STILL wants to confuse and mislead people into believing this Republic is real. Let's put it this way, if it's real, why are even they still under U.S. law. and regulations? Simple. It's because outside of on paper, this Republic simply does not exist. if you move into this 'Republic' right now, you are still in the U.S. and under U.S. law...unless you live on the Rez. Which no one with half a brain wants to do.
As for charges of things like genocide, if it's happening, why wait over 100 years to prove anything? Fact is, it also means they have to show how it's happening. And I firmly believe, they are also causing genocide of their own people. Which is why nothing happens with their accusations beyond just words. The govt. DOES give them money and such. But it's up to them on how they spend it. If some of these people had their way, they would never leave the rez or their homes and just live off govt. handouts. Which as most know will solve nothing, get rid of accountability, and just make things worse.
Ron Paul? His supporters are loonier than outhouse rats. And it's guaranteed that as long as any supporter of his is attached to this new Republic movement, NOTHING GOOD will happen. But hey, don't take my word on it. Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words.
Either way, people want freedom. But freedom is only an ideal. Ask Hitler what his idea of freedom was. Or Saddam. Or the Iranian president. Or the North Korean and Chinese rulers. They all claim they are free countries for various reasons. So does Bush. So does every other president, king, etc. on this planet.
Realistically this has nothing to do with Freedom. It has to do with power. Power Corrupts. And as has been proven, even 1 of the founders of this movement has supposedly become corrupt. What kind of freedom do you honestly believe this will lead to? Are you ignorant enough to believe there are not more in power within this new republic that aren't corrupt? And the thing hasn't even come to fruition yet!
You want freedom? Move out into the middle of nowhere. Where you can make your own rules. Laws. Etc. Far away from civilization. Because otherwise you will just always be under someone elses ideas of freedom. And their corruption. You don't need a country or republic to be free.
I've gotta say. Too many in this movement have high levels of short sightedness and unrealistic expectations and ideals. Fantasy I know is much better than reality. But dang people. This movement has been moving alright. It's been moving backwards. Maybe if people were actually serious about it. And had actual plans of action. And actually addressed the real hard issues and quit running from them things would be taken more seriously. But alas they are not.
They are so secretive and unwelcoming, they even prevent guests from viewing their own forums! You MUST become a member to see anything. Seriously, whats the point unless something is being hidden from the public they do not want you to know about. Or maybe they fear the realistic responses. Seriously. There is no captian on this ship. Just a bunch of crewman trying to run the show. And all while with holding other statistics they wish you not to see.
I'll leave you to live in fantasyland now. I'm back off to reality.
None of us were alive when ANY of these treaties or travesties happened. We don't know under what circumstances they were held. or even what fully actually happened beyond eyewitness accounts. Which as anyone knows, can and usually do vary and even sometimes misinterpret things. Regardless, some are trying to hold against us what out ancestors did and that we had no control over.
Russell Means is very connected and supported by many of his Lakotah people and by many Indians nationwide. Russ is one of several Indian leaders who continue to speak about the injustice and suffering that indigenous people still face in America and worldwide.
The Treaties are the law of the land. Doesn't matter if they were signed yesterday or a hundred or if they had been signed 300 years ago. Honorable countries keep their promises made in treaties with other sovereign countries or their word is nothing in the international community.
The United States has continually broken nearly every treaty made with the hundreds of Indian Nations since it was established in North America.
If you don't know the history of these treaties and how most were forced on Indian Nations, but the terms were not honored by the U.S. Government, you should do some research. The U.S. version of the history of treaties is well-documented and the tribes's history is also well-documented in each Indian nation's oral and written history. There are many books that document the story of perfidy, deceit and swindling. Whether or not Americans today had control of what their ancestors did, the treaties are the law of the land and must be upheld.
In the specific case of the Lakotah, the treaty Russ Means talks about reserved the Paha Sahpa (Black Hills) for all time to the Lakotah. Despite the treaty, the Black Hills were stolen from the Lakotah. The Republic of Lakotah abrogated from the treaties because the U.S. did not uphold their side of the agreement.
Living on the rez is something every person should do. Don't knock it, if you've never tried it. You may be surprised how your narrow mind would expand if you actually had to live in another culture's world for a time.
Russell Means is very connected and supported by many of his Lakotah people and by many Indians nationwide. Russ is one of several Indian leaders who continue to speak about the injustice and suffering that indigenous people still face in America and worldwide.
The Treaties are the law of the land. Doesn't matter if they were signed yesterday or a hundred years ago or if they had been signed 300 years ago. Honorable countries keep their promises made in treaties with other sovereign countries or their word is nothing in the international community.
The United States has continually broken nearly every treaty made with the hundreds of Indian Nations since it was established in North America.
If you don't know the history of these treaties and how most were forced on Indian Nations, but the terms were not honored by the U.S. Government, you should do some research. The U.S. version of the history of treaties is well-documented and the tribes's history is also well-documented in each Indian nation's oral and written history. There are many books that document the story of perfidy, deceit and swindling. Whether or not Americans today had control of what their ancestors did, the treaties are the law of the land and must be upheld.
In the specific case of the Lakotah, the treaty Russ Means talks about reserved the Paha Sahpa (Black Hills) for all time to the Lakotah. Despite the treaty, the Black Hills were stolen from the Lakotah. The Republic of Lakotah abrogated from the treaties because the U.S. did not uphold their side of the agreement.
Living on the rez is something every person should do. Don't knock it, if you've never tried it. You may be surprised how your mind would expand if you actually had to live in another culture's world for a time.
Seems to me that Ms. Hunnicut is a busy body and instigator. Had I know this personality before, I would have thot twice before sending her some gas money for the GW.
This all sounds like a bunch of bullshit in fighting. It makes me sick to read this after the fact. I sent a considerable donation to the RP Blimp and now wish it would just go away.
I don't think it was used to it's full potential. I think it was used more as a "party barge" down there in Florida as much as anything else. I sent numerous emails and inquiries to the blimp site and NEVER ONCE got even a reply.
I understand that the money is spent. We had a pretty good run with it. IT was a great endeavor! Now, let's just let the dust settle and move on to other things. This fighting and revealing all of this bullshit will do nothing but harm.
Let it go. Let's move on. We have politicians to defeat and causes to futher.
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2008 Hickory Hendrickson, all rights reserved.