By Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published on April 28, 2018 I am not a dog owner, but a lot of my friends are. Until recently, I did not know much about “puppy mills” and so-called dog “rescue” groups in Alabama and around the nation. I did not know that some of these dog “rescue” groups raised vast sums of cash through online donations to their non-profit charities, or that they attended puppy mill auctions and paid dog breeders top dollars for a single dog using donor money. I did not know that occasionally successful “rescue” bidders would acquire these dogs and resale them for exorbitant prices to buyers wanting a specific breed of dogs. In some cases, rescuers would keep these dogs for themselves or give them to their friends and family members. Rescuing dogs sounds good in principle. The terms “bid rigging” and “profiteering,” when used in connection with dog rescue charity work, sound "dirty" under any circumstances. The Planned Adoption of Pomelo Gideon Pomelo Gideon is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was sold by Maggie Dawson, a breeder in England, to Terri Taylor Easterbrooks, a breeder in Lineville, Alabama, in 2009 to help improve Easterbrooks breeding stock. Easterbrooks elected to sell Gideon, along with 97 other Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs, at an auction held in Missouri on November 22, 2014. A couple from Kansas, Cheryl and Jay Mohr, attended the auction on behalf of Maggie Dawson. They also intended to purchase Gideon as their family pet. The Mohrs did not prevail in the bidding for Gideon. Birmingham, Alabama Attorney Angie Ingram, a volunteer with the Alabama branch of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Rescue, Inc. (a/k/a “Cavalier Rescue USA”), was the successful bidder for Gideon. Working together with Cavalier Rescue Trust, Lucky Star Cavalier Rescue, and Treasured Pals Small Spaniel Rescue, Ingram's group and the other dog rescue groups purchased all 98 dogs, including Gideon and 45 other Cavalier King Charles Spaniels from Easterbrooks’ Rock Cliff Farm. After the auction, the dogs were dispersed across the United States. Ingram, Crys Carnes, and Ingram's daughter Kara attended the auction and participated in the bidding on the dogs on behalf of the Birmingham group. Cavalier Rescue USA had been raising money for the auction since it was announced. Cavalier Rescue’s Birmingham branch raised more than $220,000 for the “rescue” effort. Thousands of people donated money to this cause. Working closely with the other rescue groups, Ingram was able to purchase every one of the dogs auctioned. The rescuers coordinated their efforts so they would not be bidding against each other. Whether this coordinated action constitutes impermissible “bid rigging” remains to be seen, It is clear that Ingram and her group crossed state lines to engage in interstate commerce in which they used a coordinated bidding scheme. All 46 of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were purchased in Angie Ingram’s name and the plan was for Ingram to transfer ownership of the dogs to Cavalier Rescue USA, as Cavalier’ Rescue's bylaws reportedly prohibited it from purchasing the dogs directly. Angie Ingram, together with Cavalier Rescue’s Alabama co-coordinators, Brittney Wilk and Lisa Thompson, brought 34 dogs back to Birmingham following the auction. After they were examined, the dogs were bathed and then picked up by their foster families. Foster homes for all of the dogs, including Gideon, were arranged by Cavalier Rescue USA before they were bought at the auction. Carolyn Stigler, President of Cavalier Rescue USA,emailed Brittney Wilk and Lisa Thompson to make sure they were aware of Cavalier Rescue’s plan to adopt Gideon to the Mohr family in Kansas. Cavalier Rescue’s protocols required the organization to give strong consideration to the wishes of reputable breeders when dogs of their breeding came into Cavalier Rescue’s program. Once Cavalier Rescue researched the breeder and the Mohr family, it was the group’s intent to place Gideon with the Mohr family, which Cavalier Rescue found to be a loving, kind, and very well qualified adoption family. On November 23, 2014, Angie Ingram signed Cavalier Rescue USA’s official Transfer to Rescue form, which formally turned over ownership of the dogs she purchased at the auction, including Gideon, to Cavalier Rescue so that they could be vetted and placed according to the organizations adoption policies. There were no conditions to the transfer. At that point, Cavalier Rescue USA became the rightful and sole owner of Pomelo Gideon of Rock Cliff Farms (Registration No.: TR77929601). Gideon went into temporary foster care with Mandy Johnson in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a veterinarian check and assessment. He was to go to the Mohr family within the next three weeks. Mandy Johnson was in regular contact with both the Mohr family and Gideon’s breeder. These contacts were positive until Johnson decided to keep the dog for herself. On December 8, 2014, Cavalier Rescue learned that Brittney Wilk had notified the Mohr family that they could not have Gideon, and that the dog would be staying at the foster home permanently. On December 10th, Cavalier Rescue notified Brittney Wilk that the organization had planned to adopt Gideon to the Mohr family and that this was a unanimous decision of Cavalier Rescue’s Board of Directors. On December 13th, Mandy Johnson wrote a letter to Cavalier Rescue outlining why she should keep Gideon. Cavalier Rescue responded to Mandy Johnson the next day reiterating the Board’s decision to follow through on the adoption of Gideon to the Mohr family, as originally planned. On December 15th, Angie Ingram notified Cavalier Rescue that she was rescinding the assignment of Gideon to them. Mandy Johnson then refused to surrender Gideon on that basis. Reportedly, Angie Ingram, Brittney Wilk, Crys Carnes, and other members of the Cavalier social group in Birmingham adopted about fourteen of the dogs that were purchased at the Missouri auction. Some of these dogs reportedly cost between $5,000 and $10,000. Using Litigation as a Tool for Harassment and Intimidation When concerned dog lovers started questioning the use of donor money to purchase dogs that were eventually adopted to individuals associated with Cavalier Rescue’s Alabama branch, they were threatened with “Cease and Desist” letters, followed by a lawsuit in Jefferson County, Alabama Circuit Court. On March 19, 2015, Brittney Wilk and Lisa Thompson filed a defamation lawsuit against Lisa Swoboda (California), Liz Moe Dickens (Ohio), Heather Hagen Halldin (Pennsylvania), Cathy Moon (Ohio), Peggy Kenney (Massachusetts), Karen Orange (Florida), and Beth Reed (Alabama) in a Jefferson County court. These named defendants were identified as contributors to the “Beware Cavalier Rescue of Alabama” Facebook page. The lawsuit was later moved to Shelby County after Reed was added as a defendant. This whistleblower group openly questioned the placement of these dogs with “friends and family” of Cavalier Rescue's Alabama volunteers and coordinators, and whether Cavalier Rescue’s Alabama branch devised a prearranged procurement method to get expensive dogs for themselves using donor money. Even though Lisa Swoboda retained counsel on May 14, 2015, Angie Ingram called Traveler’s Insurance (Swoboda’s employer) on June 3, 2015 and left a menacing message with Traveler's general counsel complaining that Ms. Swoboda was avoiding service of the complaint in the defamation case. On or about March 24, 2016, Lisa Thompson filed a complaint with Traveler’s Insurance accusing Swoboda of improperly accessing Traveler’s insurance records to discover that Kim Preskitt was Thompson’s live-in girlfriend/wife. This complaint was closed as meritless and appeared to be another attempt to harass Swoboda. Thompson and Preskitt apparently have personal policies with Travelers. Swoboda works in the commercial division of Travelers and did not have access to personal policies. The fact that Thompson and Preskitt were “partners”, however, was mentioned in several emails in a federal court case Angie Ingram had previously filed against Terri Easterbrooks and were already in the public domain and had been mentioned by others. Lindsay Cordes, a Louisville, Kentucky attorney and animal “rescue” advocate who collaborates with Angie Ingram, asked Jyll Underhill to join Lisa Thompson as a plaintiff in a Birmingham federal court lawsuit against Terri Easterbrooks that was filed several years earlier. In an apparent act of "client solicitation" and “forum shopping,” Cordes sent the following text to Jyll Underhill: “Another attorney (Angie Hubbard Ingram) and I are going to move forward with trying to file a federal lawsuit (we want to be in federal court, not state court) against Terri. To do so, we need Plaintiffs that are out of state. I know you are interested in suing Terri. Are you an out-of-state person? ….. We want to file this before the auction on 22nd and attempt to get an order of garnishment so her bank account is frozen with the auction proceeds so we are doing this at the 11th hour …..” Lisa Thompson’s text was more revealing: “We want to milk her [Terri Easterbrooks] of all her $ ….. We are going to hit her hard. And her lawyer is old and tired…. Not one expected to fight.” Even Dog “Rescuers” Must Be Held Accountable While the prevention of animal abuse is a lofty goal, it cannot be done in a manner that is calculated to inflect mental anguish, emotional distress, and financial harm on human beings. The misuse of the legal system by some well-meaning “rescuers” in Alabama has been horrendous and inexcusable. Furthermore, individuals who use donor money to “rescue” dogs must be held accountable for how the money is spent and where the “saved” dogs are placed. Accountability begins with transparency. “Rescuers” who seek to block transparency and crush their critics are suspect. Finally, any person or organization that openly solicits donations from the general public for charitable purposes is a “public figure” within the meaning of freedom of speech laws. This is especially true for Angie Ingram, Lisa Thompson, Brittney Wilk, and Crys Carnes after their rescue of 98 dogs was profiled in an article published by AL.com on November 23, 2014. Public figures cannot be defamed unless their critics act with malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth when they comment on matters of significant public interest (e.g., rescuing dogs, coordinating the bidding process with other bidders at dog auctions, abusing the legal system for the purpose of harassing critics, etc.). I do not know much about the puppy mill industry but I do know when freedom of speech is being trampled. It has to stop. Dog rescuers cannot play "dirty" in the name of "good." PHOTO: An adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on November 7, 2021 BREAKING NEWS--- It’s all there in a Federal Election Commission (FEC) file labeled: “In the Matter of Joseph W. Perkins, MUR 2797.” MUR stands for “Matter Under Review.” [Click here to read the FEC file.] The FEC file confirms what those of us who follow Alabama politics closely have known for a long time – Joe Perkins is a slimy political operator in Alabama. His little-known 1992 confession to the FEC about violating federal election laws removes all doubt about this fact. The FEC received the case from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 24, 1988. In early 1986, the DOJ opened a criminal investigation into a “pattern of illegal corporate political contributions … made through conduits by Alabama businessman Joseph Perkins.” The DOJ investigation determined that approximately $8,000 was given by Perkins to the 1986 Alabama congressional campaign of Roy Johnson in the names of several of his employees. Because the contributions were made in 1985, rather than in 1986, the special three-year statute of limitations applicable to criminal violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act had run on this matter. As such, the DOJ was barred from prosecuting Perkins under the criminal section of the statute. Thereafter, the DOJ’s criminal division referred the matter to the FEC for an appropriate investigation and civil enforcement proceedings. Perkins Represented the State’s Political Kingpins Perkins’ best known clients have been the Alabama Education Association (AEA) and the Alabama Power Company (APC). For decades, these two organizations have been regarded as political kingpins on Alabama’s political scene. Former Alabama Gov. George Wallace publicly stated that he never trusted APC. After Wallace left office in 1987, APC succeeded in convincing the Alabama state legislature to pass a law guaranteeing the company a 5% return on its equity undergirded by taxpayer dollars, to the extent necessary to achieve this minimum return. APC is the only public utility in the nation that has this taxpayer-guaranteed return on equity arrangement. AEA was originally named as a Respondent in the FEC’s investigation of Perkins. Dr. Paul Hubbert headed the AEA at the time, and he supported Johnson’s candidacy. The FBI provided the FEC with evidence suggesting that AEA provided the money Perkins and his company, Perkins and Associates (P&A), used to make the illegal campaign contributions to Roy Johnson’s campaign. On March 9, 1992, after a nearly four-year fight with the FEC, Joe Perkins threw in the towel and confessed to making illegal campaign contributions to Johnson’s 1986 congressional campaign, in violation of 2 U.S.C. Sections 441b(a) and 441(f). After the DOJ opened its criminal investigation of contributions to his campaign, Johnson dropped out of the race. In 2002, Johnson was selected as chancellor of the Alabama College System. By 2006, Johnson had become engulfed in another criminal enterprise. Perkins’ confession (in the form of a “Conciliation Agreement”) was accepted by the FEC on March 30, 1992. Perkins pledged that Perkins and Associates, Inc. (P&A), which he owned and operated, “will not conduct [political] business in the future.” He paid a $5,000 civil penalty to the FEC and the matter was officially closed. Perkins Purposefully Violated Federal Election Laws On March 29, 1985, Joe Perkins caused $10,000 in cash to be withdrawn from a P&A checking account. This $10,000 was then distributed by Harry Ferguson, P&A’s business manager, to various P&A employees as “cash bonuses”. On the same day, each P&A employee who received a $1,000 bonus turned around and made a $1,000 contribution that day to the 1986 congressional campaign for Roy Johnson. The P&A employees who received the $1,000 cash bonuses were: Harry Ferguson, Jr., Cynthia Perkins, Ivy Hunter, W. Lee Hudson, Fred DeLoach, Laurie Enslen, Sheri Arnold Brown, Joyce Miller Albright, and Joseph W. Perkins, Jr. All of these employees admitted to receiving a cash bonus from Harry Ferguson, Jr. The size of the bonuses was large in comparison to the yearly salaries these employees earned in 1985. These salaries ranged from $20,000 down to $8,000 per year. Ferguson directed the P&A employees to use the bonus money to make donations to Johnson’s congressional campaign in their individual names, which they did. With these actions, each employee who complied with Ferguson’s request committed a direct violation of Section 441f. Perkins’ scheme to make illegal campaign contributions to Johnson’s congressional campaign in the name of the bonused employees resulted in the FEC taking enforcement action against Cynthia Perkins, Ivy Hunter, Laurie Enslen, Sheri Bushery Arnold, and Joyce Miller. These individuals signed confessions (or Concillation Agreements) and paid civil penalties, as well. Despite a diligent search, the FEC was never able to locate W. Lee Hudson and Fred DeLoach to respond to the charges of making illegal campaign contributions to Johnson’s campaign. Declaring that further efforts to locate Hudson and DeLoach would be “useless,” the FEC closed its file on these two contributors on December 26, 1991. On December 9, 1991, Joe Perkins signed a sworn affidavit, which he submitted to the FEC, stating that: (a) P&A was founded in 1981 to provide consulting services to various businesses in Alabama; (b) P&A became unprofitable and he was forced to close the company on January 31, 1990; (c) all of P&A’s assets and accounts receivable had been assigned to and/or were secured by liens filed by AmSouth Bank of Tuscaloosa; (d) P&A had no money, no office, no employees, and conducted no business, as of the date of the affidavit; (e) P&A “will not conduct business in the future” and (f) at the time P&A ceased doing business (on January 31, 1990). P&A owed approximately $200,000. Even though P&A was financially destitute, the company never declared bankruptcy or dissolved as a corporation. Based upon Perkins’ sworn representations, the FEC took no further action against P&A. The agency closed its file on P&A on December 26, 1991. On March 9, 1992, Perkins finally “fell on the sword” and confessed to the following illegal acts in his Conciliation Agreement: (a) “[Perkins] knowingly permitted his name to be used to effect a $1,000 contribution to the Roy Johnson for Congress Committee, in violation of 2 U.S.C., [Section] 441f;” (b) “[Perkins] actively assisted [P&A] in making contributions in the names of its employees to the Roy Johnson for Congress Committee, in violation of 2 U.S.C. [Section] 441f;” and (c) “[Perkins], as an officer of [P&A], consented to contributions by that corporation to the Roy Johnson for Congress Committee, in violation of 2 U.S.C. [Section] 441b(a).” On March 12, 1992, Harry Ferguson signed a confession (or Conciliation Agreement) in which he acknowledged making an illegal campaign contribution to Roy Johnson’s congressional campaign, in violation of Section 441f. Like Perkins, Ferguson paid a civil penalty in the amount of $5,000 to the FEC. P&A Resurrected as Matrix, LLC After dodging a criminal prosecution, Perkins effectively hoodwinked the FEC by resurrecting P&A’s activities under the business name of Matrix, LLC. Like P&A, Matrix is owned and operated by Perkins and performs essentially the same portfolio of consulting services offered by P&A. Perkins offered his services to a plethora of companies, colleges and universities, political action committees, campaign organizations and political candidates under the Matrix brand. Over the decades, Matrix expanded its client base to represent industrial giants like British Petroleum (BP’s American affiliate), the Southern Company (APC’s parent company), and NextEra Energy (Florida Power and Light Company’s parent entity). There is no indication in the FEC file that Perkins ever notified the federal elections oversight agency that he resumed his political consulting operations under the name of Matrix, LLC, despite his sworn pledge to stay out of this business zone. By 2014, Perkins was ranked number 15 on Yellowhammer News’ list of “Power and Influence” players in Alabama. By 2019, Perkins had risen to #8 and by 2021, he cracked the top 5. The Mobile Press Register labeled Matrix as “the closest thing Alabama politics has to a non-government secret agency". Perkins rose to power in the aftermath of his FEC confession by becoming the “Go-To” guy between Alabama’s overwhelmingly white and conservative corporate community and the state’s growing body of black elected and appointed officials, from the mid-1990’s to the present. Many corporate CEOs in Alabama had no desire for a direct relationship with high-profile black public officials who were perceived to be too outspoken, too controversial, and/or too tainted to be embraced publicly by the white business community. These CEOs wanted a buffer between themselves and Alabama’s black political leadership, and Joe Perkins served as this buffer. In the process, Perkins became the chief fundraising guy for nearly all black elected officials in the state who were deemed by lobbyists for the state’s corporate power-brokers as necessary to support the business community’s special-interest political agenda. This unique liaison role catapulted Perkins back into political prominence. To this day, Perkins appears to have more influence and sway over the decision-making of black elected officials in Alabama than their black political constituents, who constitute 26.8% of the state’s population. For example, Perkins uses his fundraising connections with the state’s corporate community to effectively control the voice and political actions of Mayor Randall Woodfin (Birmingham), Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Alabama), and most members of the Alabama Black Legislative Caucus. One of the few black political leaders who does not appear to be controlled by Joe Perkins is Steven Reed, Montgomery’s first black mayor. Reed’s father, Dr. Joe L. Reed, is a well-known civil rights leader in Alabama. Dr. Reed bravely carried the fight for equal opportunity and participatory democracy for blacks in Alabama when nobody else of color was allowed in the room with the all-white oligarchy that ran the state. Epilogue On September 2, 2021, Matrix’s former CEO Jeff Pitts filed a lawsuit in Florida that accused Joe Perkins of: (a) attempting to extort $4.5 million from Pitts, (b) operating an ongoing criminal enterprise, and (c) abusing the Alabama judicial process. Pitts worked for Matrix for 15 years and knows where all of Perkins’ “political bones” are buried. Earlier this month, Perkins came under scrutiny for his $15,000 per month payments from Auburn University for unspecified “Professional Services.” These payments began in September 2019 and continue to this day. It is unclear whether Perkins informed APC, the Southern Company, NextEra Energy, Auburn University, or any of his other institutional clients that he confessed to the FEC in 1992 to breaking federal election laws. If Perkins made this disclosure, it is unknown why these public entities hired a confessed FEC lawbreaker to perform work for them. Joe Perkins’ old friend, Roy Johnson, was not as lucky as Perkins. The statute of limitations saved Perkins from a criminal prosecution, but it did not save Johnson from a host of federal criminal charges that were lodged against him in 2006. In 2008, Johnson pled guilty to 15 felony counts of bribery, witness tampering, and obstruction in connection with a kickback scheme that involved $18 million in public contracts that Johnson awarded to his family members, friends and business associates while serving as chancellor of the Alabama College System. Johnson was sentenced to 6.5 years in federal prison. As was the case with Perkins’ FEC case, his institutional clients, employees, independent contractors and business associates are expected to be swept up in the Florida criminal investigation into Jeff Pitts' racketeering charges against Perkins. Investigators are bound to ask the publicly-traded entities whether Perkins fully discussed the nature and scope of his illegal FEC activities to them before they hired Matrix and/or Perkins to handle their most sensitive matters. Stay tuned for more developments in this breaking news story. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on January 10, 2022 Since March of 2021, www.donaldwatkins.com and the Republican National Party have been locked in a fierce competition for a strategic political alliance with Hispanic-Americans. The Republican Party views Hispanics as the key to their efforts to install white "minority-rule" in America over the next two decades. Donaldwatkins.com, a leading news service for Independent voters, wants to usher Hispanic voters away from the plantation politics of the two major parties and into a new haven for Independent voters. The National Democratic Party is somewhere in the mix. Today, Democrats seem to be mired in a non-stop effort to stabilize President Joe Biden's sinking approval rating as he sleep-walks through his presidency. Vice President Kamala Harris seems to be no help because she fills her days following Biden around like a star-struck groupie. Democrats naively believe Hispanics will automatically turn to their Party because of America's racist past towards migrants of color from the Caribbean Islands, Central, and South America. The ugliest episode in American history was "Operation Wetback", a 1954 U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service program where 1.3 million undocumented Hispanics were rounded up in California, Arizona, and Texas, placed in railroad cattle-cars, and deported to Mexico. Undocumented white migrants from the same countries were exempt from "Operation Wetback's" mass roundup and deportation. Republicans Have Decided that Hispanics Represent Their Best Options for New Voters For all practical purposes, Republicans have largely abandoned their outreach to black voters in significant numbers. They believe their future rests with Hispanic voters. Since March 2021, www.donaldwatkins.com has engaged in permissible First Amendment outreach activities that are designed to register Hispanic voters, provided education on the power and influence that flows from block voting as political Independents, and prepared to get the vote out on election-day for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. We work these outreach activities all day, every day. Unlike African-Americans, Hispanics are not diffident as a result of 400 years of slavery in America. Hispanics are very politically active. A Decline in the White Population Fuels Republican Competition for Hispanic Votes According to the 2020 census data, the total white population in the United States shrank below 60%. In 1980, 75% of the U.S. population was white. Falling birth-rates and rising deaths have produced a unique situation where the white population had more deaths than births in the last decade. The U.S. population grew by 7.4% over the last decade to 331 million Americans. Hispanics account for 51% of this ten-year population growth. Those under the age of 18 totaled 73.1 million people, or 22.1% of the population in 2020. More than 47% of the under 18 population are non-white children and teenagers. Today, Hispanics represent the dominant minority ethic group, with 62 million people or 18.7% of the U.S. population. African-Americans account for 41 million people, which represent 12.4% of the population. Americans who claim two or more races in any combination (a/k/a the multiracial U.S. population) account for 33.8 million people. Additionally, there are 20 million Asian-Americans, which represent 6% of the population. Finally, there are 3.7 million Native-Americans, which represents 1.1% of the population. At its current rate of decline, the white population will drop below 50% by the 2040 census. Political efforts during the Donald Trump presidency to stop or slow the "browning of America" have failed. These efforts included: (a) banning abortions in the hope of boosting the white birth rate; (b) building "The Wall" along America's southern border to keep migrants of color out of this country; (c) separating migrant children from the parents; (d) curbing applications for political asylum from migrants of color; (e) increasing the incarceration of Americans of color; and (f) ramping up the execution of death sentences in capital cases, which impacts defendants of color in a disparate manner when compared to white defendants. The Republican Plan In 2020, the National Republican Party began implementing a strategic plan for prolonging white political power in America as the number of whites in the population continues to decline. First, Republican-controlled states would purge black voters from the voting rolls in massive numbers in a fashion similar to what Confederate states did after post-Civil War Reconstruction ended in 1870. Second, Republican-controlled legislative bodies would gerrymander legislative districts at every level of government to gut black political influence nationwide. Third, Republicans would essentially pick and control black elected officials by financing their campaigns with 501(c)(4) corporate PAC money. Fourth, Republicans would use their control of multimedia programming to redefine "success" for blacks from the traditional business professional and entrepreneur to a narrow zone of rappers and sports stars. Fifth, Republicans have perfected the art of minting non-controversial, diffident "Negroes" who have no real-world leadership skills or political power or influence. Republicans believe, and rightfully so, that they can engage in the disenfranchisement of millions of black voters because Democrats will not protect them with new voting rights legislation. Republicans believe that their plan, coupled with strong backing from the most conservative U.S. Supreme Court since the 1857 Dred Scott Court, will effectively decimate the political power of black voters on the national scene. Republicans have hitched their political fate to a new, sophisticated, low-key program to capture a majority of Hispanic voters. It's a tough sell, but a necessary one because most whites are uncomfortable with close socio-economic relations with the growing Hispanic population for several reasons. First, most whites do not speak Spanish and they dislike not knowing what Hispanic-Americans are saying in their native languages. Second, many whites only know Hispanic-Americans based on the negative way they are portrayed by demagogues, opportunistic politicians, and Hollywood movie producers as drug dealers, gang members, domestics, day laborers, and unworthy migrants who want to rape white women, steal personal property, peddle illegal drugs, and/or take jobs traditionally held by whites. Third, the birth rate for Hispanic-Americans vastly exceeds the birth rate of other ethnic groups primarily because the overwhelming majority of Hispanics are Catholics who believe children are a gift from God. For the first time, Hispanic voters have a viable political option beyond life on a Republican or Democratic plantation. I want to work with them as a longtime political Independent.

TO: Aspiring University Journalism Students Who Are Interested in Internships at the Leading USA-Based, Online News Service for Independent Voters in America. FROM: Donald V. Watkins, Founder and Owner of www.donaldwatkins.com. RE: The Availability of Internships in Investigative Journalism in the United States and Abroad. Date: January 6, 2022 Donaldwatkins.com is an independently-owned, free online news service that offers in-depth investigative journalism on matters of significant public interests within the United States and abroad. The news service began publishing its investigative articles on the public Facebook page of Donald Watkins (Birmingham, Alabama USA) in 2013. In February 2018, the news service moved to: www.donaldwatkins.com. Today, www.donaldwatkins.com has readers in every U.S. state and most of the 208 sovereign nations recognized by the United Nations. Donaldwatkins.com is the leading USA-based, online news service for Independent voters in America. Donaldwatkins.com does not solicit advertisements from any entity or person, nor does it accept money or "things of value" from any political candidate, political campaign organization, political action committee, trade association, corporations, or wealthy American donors. Donaldwatkins.com is truly "Unbossed" and "Unbought" by the oligarchy that runs America. Seeking the "Best of the Best" Aspiring Journalists Donaldwatkins.com is now seeking journalism students who want real-world experience in investigative journalism. Accepted applicants will be trained in gathering, organizing, analyzing, and reporting contemporary stories within their proper historical context. These stories will be written by the student intern, edited and fact-checked by www.donaldwatkins.com, and published worldwide under the student's byline. Copyright protection will belong to www.donaldwatkins.com and will be enforced worldwide by the publisher. Applicants must be 18-years-old, politically independent, mentally-tough, self-motivated, bilingual and committed to finding and reporting the truth on each reporting assignment. Preferences will be given to students who seek domestic and international geopolitical assignments. Domestic assignments will focus on the American economy, women's rights, voting rights, immigration reform, and the 2022 U.S. Congressional elections and 2024 U.S. presidential election. International assignments will focus on the rise of autocracies around the globe and the growing sphere of geopolitical influence of Iran, Russia, and China in the 21st century. Applicants for domestic investigative assignments must demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of American history, with a focus on: (a) the manner and means of America's extermination of nearly 550 Native-American Tribes between 1600 and 1906; (b) America's 124-year transfer of land and wealth to white European migrants under the Homestead Act of 1862, from 1862 to 1986; (c) the vigilante destruction of "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa, Oklahoma in May 1921; (d) America's forced sterilization of poor women in state prisons and mental institutions, its forced lobotomies on men and women in state mental institutions, its non-therapeutic human experimentation in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) and the Guatemala Study (1946-1953), without informed consent, and its documented "crimes against humanity" inside and outside of it national borders; (e) the U.S. Department of Justice's documented COINTELPRO counter-intelligence program against innocent, law-abiding U.S. citizens, from 1956 to 1972; (f) the racial history behind many of America's immigration laws and policies; and (g) the murder of 19-year old Army private LaVena Johnson, who is black, by four-star general Kevin P. Byrnes (retired), who is white, on a military base in Balad, Iraq in July 2005, without consequences. About Donald V. Watkins Attorney Donald V. Watkins is America's best known "political prisoner." Watkins was imprisoned by local bigots in the federal law enforcement establishment in Birmingham, Alabama on bogus "fraud" charges in 2019. According to a judicial opinion published by one courageous federal judge in the state, Alabama has had an "unrelenting historical agenda, spanning from the late 1800s to the 1980s, to keep its black citizens economically, socially, and politically downtrodden, from the cradle to the grave." This racist agenda continues to this date. Donaldwatkins.com has emerged from the suffocating grip of Alabama's hardcore racism against people of color to become the leading media voice of Independent voters in the United States. Its readership is diverse and worldwide. Donaldwatkins.com has survived eight years of concerted and coordinated efforts by the state and federal government agencies and the ruling white oligarchy in the Old South to shut down its website. Watkins' investigations into public corruption and officials acts of misconduct often put his life and freedom at risk. However, they ended the public careers of Alabama governors Guy Hunt and Robert Bentley, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark E. Fuller (Montgomery, Alabama), Mayor James Robinson (Montgomery), Public Safety Director Ed Wright (Montgomery), more than two dozen corrupt law enforcement officials in Montgomery and Birmingham, Alabama, and scores of lesser known public officials and "inferior court" judges in the state. In SEC v. HealthSouth Corp. and Richard Scrushy, 261 F. Supp. 2d, 1298 (N.D. Ala., 2003), Watkins exposed a litany of misconduct by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorneys M. Graham Loomis and William Hicks in 2003. The Court blasted the personal misconduct of Loomis and Hicks for violating the constitutional rights of Richard Scrushy, who was Watkins' client in an asset freeze case and a related criminal case. Rather than terminating these lawyers, the SEC promoted Loomis to Senior Trial Counsel for the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office, while Hicks was promoted to Associate Director for the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office. Not surprisingly, William Hicks led the SEC investigation that precipitated criminal charges against Watkins, while M. Graham Loomis signed off as the lead Trial Counsel in the SEC's civil lawsuit against Watkins. No SEC official in Washington voiced an objection to this actual and apparent conflict of interest. The SEC shopped the companion criminal case against Watkins to Birmingham federal prosecutors after a prior grand jury review by top-flight career federal prosecutors in New Jersey on the same evidence concluded that Watkins had broken no federal laws on the business transactions that were the subject of the Hicks/Loomis investigation and lawsuit. The prosecution team in the Birmingham case was led by Lloyd Peeples, a failed pizza store operator who joined the U.S. Attorney's office in 2017. Peeples has a long and documented history of racial animus towards successful blacks. The criminal case was prosecuted in Birmingham, a judicial venue that led the nation in unlawful COINTELPRO activities against civil rights activists. In its April 3, 1977 print edition, The Washington Post credited Watkins with exposing "Alabama's Watergate." The July 25, 2005 print edition of Fortune magazine featured Watkins in an article titled, "Donald Watkins: The Man Who Saved Richard Scrushy." In May 2020, Netflix featured Watkins' record-breaking legal work in a documentary series titled "Trial by Media," Episode #4, "King Richard." Watkins' life story is also the subject of a 2017 video produced by The HistoryMakers (http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/donald-v-watkins). If you are interested in this unique internship opportunity, please submit your resume to: dvw@donaldwatkins.com. The internship application period is open through March 31, 2022. Donaldwatkins.com provides equal opportunity to all applicants.

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on January 2, 2022 Yesterday, I received the 365-day analytical report for 2021 that breaks down, quantifies, and identifies the characteristics of the growing and diverse base of readers of www.donaldwatkins.com, our free online news service. I was humbled by the depth and breadth of the website's readership. My readers are located throughout the United States and in many of the 208 sovereign countries recognized by the United Nations. We started our website in Alabama in 2018 with a readership that was concentrated mostly in Birmingham, Alabama (10,453), Atlanta, Georgia (5,509), Chicago, Illinois (3,855), and Los Angeles, California (2,602). Today, we have a firm and growing media presence in all 50 states. What is more, our analytical tools will allow us to greatly expand our readership footprint in all of the usual swing states in time for the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. Even though www.donaldwatkins.com is published in English only, our news site has been been visited by thousands of readers throughout Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia, India, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Egypt, the United Kingdom. Austria, Spain, Greece, Norway, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and a host of other countries. The feature photo for this article depicts the geographical disbursement of my loyal readership. [Click here to see the global breakdown of our readership for 2021] We Are "Unbossed" and "Unbought." We reached this impressive market penetration in just under four years. We do not sell any advertisements. We do not accept money from political candidates, political parties, political action committees, corporations, or individuals. We are one of the few media organizations in the world that is "Unbossed" and "Unbought." Like many investigative journalists in authoritarian regimes, we have had to fight efforts by U.S. prosecutors in Birmingham, Alabama, state and federal judges in Alabama, former disgraced Alabama governor Robert Bentley, the Alabama Power Company and its perennial "dirty tricks" operator Joe Perkins, and other vigorous opponents of free speech who were determined to shut us down. When our adversaries realized that they could not buy us or boss us around like they do with diffident African-Americans in Alabama, they unleashed homegrown bigots masquerading as federal prosecutors prosecutors to persecute and prosecute my son and me. Ironically, top-flight career federal prosecutors in New Jersey reviewed the same evidence in 2015 and 2016. They congratulated me on my international business achievements and wished me success in the future. The New Jersey prosecutors refused to taint their professional reputations by participating in an Alabama-style judicial lynching. The Alabama federal prosecutors and local courthouse crowd did to my son and me exactly what was done to social justice pioneer Callie House in 1916 -- they trumped up bogus fraud charges, railroaded us in federal court, and jailed us. We survived this judicial lynching thanks to my domestic and international readers and your posted comments. You were there to cut the rope around our necks. Independent Journalism is Under Attack Around the Globe Independent journalism is under attack around the globe. The United States is no exception. Independent journalists in America are at risk of imprisonment on bogus charges whether the President is a Democrat or Republican. The portfolio of White House media relations tools has included the imprisonment of journalists on trumped up charges since the day when Woodrow Wilson jailed Callie House. This is why regimes in Russia, the Philippines, China, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and other autocrats around the world quickly dismiss any White House criticism regarding how they treat journalists and political dissidents in other countries. These foreign leaders can't stomach the open hypocrisy that flows from the mouths of U.S. presidents who have been jailing independent journalists and dissidents on trumped-up charges for over a century. The Most Read Articles in 2021 We are releasing the most read articles for 2021, by title, original publication date, and number of views in 2021. This is not the total views since publication. I was pleased to see "Solving The Murder of Army Private Lavenia Johnson" in the mix again in 2021. This article is one of my personal favorites. The top five articles viewed in 2021 are: 1. "The Rothschilds: Controlling the World's Money Supply for More Than Two Centuries," published on December 27, 2019, 131509 views 2. "The Royal Bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene," published on January 3, 2020, 95,242 views 3. "Solving the Murder of Army Private Lavenia Johnson," published on February 27, 2018, 16,022 views 4. "Private LaVena Johnson: An Opportunity for Justice" published on January 8, 2021, 14,054 views 5. "Just Mercy: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?," published on January 12, 2020, 8,205 views [Click here to see all of the most read articles in 2021]. Our Future is Very Promising Thank you, my worldwide readers, for making 2021 a very successful year for www.donaldwatkins.com. Despite the non-stop persecution we received from corrupt public officials in Washington, D.C and Alabama who pretended that they cared about democracy and freedom of speech, we will continue to publish the cold, hard truth in investigative news articles of interest to our readers, no matter who our articles help or hurt. The only commodity that matters at www.donaldwatkins.com is the truth. We don't "twist" it or suppress it for anybody. Since 1935, the Watkins family has been willing to pay any price to report the unvarnished truth on matters that make many public officials uncomfortable. We will continue to do so in 2022 with block-buster articles on a wide range of unlawful public corruption transactions and influence-peddling schemes, from Washington to Birmingham. Our future is very promising. We have two primary goals for 2022. First, we will launch a Spanish version of www.donaldwatkins.com by mid-summer to capture and grow our Spanish-speaking base of readers in America and around the world. Second, we will align our domestic news gathering and reporting services with a new California-based 501(c)(4) Super-PAC (in formation) to make sure that Independent voters decide the outcome of the U.S. presidential election in November 2024. Happy New Year!

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 23, 2021 Handwritten notes by Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based "dirty tricks" operator Joe Perkins surfaced last week and were published on an exclusive basis on this online news website on September 19, 2021. In his notes, Perkins stated that he would "reach out directly to those [Donald Watkins] defrauded and see if we can get them on record." Perkins was looking for "things they may have already said about Watkins [and] why [they] will be useful." Perkins' notes raise serious questions about whether he and/or his "dirty tricks" surrogates tampered with witnesses who gave statements to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators between 2016 to 2018, as well as those who testified in the criminal proceedings in USA v. Donald V. Watkins from 2017 to 2019. Did Perkins' "dirty tricks" campaign, as outlined in his handwritten notes, influence the testimony of these witnesses, directly or indirectly? If so, did Perkins, and those who acted in concert with him, obstruct justice in these two federal cases? Did Joe Perkins Successfully Reach Government Witnesses and Taint Their Testimony? Perkins' notes evidence his nefarious "dirty tricks" plan to solicit former business associates of mine who purchased an economic stake in my energy-related companies and convert them into my potential adversaries. Seven of these individuals, all of whom are African-American, eventually ended up giving witness statements to the SEC and/or testifying as witnesses for a Birmingham federal prosecution team led by homegrown bigot and failed pizza restaurateur, Lloyd Peeples. These seven witnesses were part of a group of thirty accredited investors who, in consultation with their Wall Street investment banking advisers and/or lawyers, purchased economic interests in my companies from 2001 to 2010. The other twenty-three investors were contacted by the SEC and/or Birmingham federal prosecutors at some point between 2016 and 2019 and they all declined to support the trumped-up civil and criminal fraud charges against me. In 2018, the SEC dropped all of its highly-publicized allegations of fraud with respect to these 30 purchases and converted its 2016 lawsuit against me into a debt collection effort on behalf of one business associate who loaned me a total of $2,150,000. The lender was also my personal friend. The loans in question had been rolled over multiple times and were never in dispute. Additionally, the lender never complained about these loans or pursued a private lawsuit to collect the money owed. What is more, a New Jersey federal grand jury investigated these same business transactions over a six-month period in 2015 and 2016 and found no wrongdoing on my part. Mr. Andrew Kogan, Head of the Economic Crimes Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey, personally supervised the investigation. Kogan is a nationally known and respected economic crimes prosecutor. Lloyd Peeples is not. Interestingly, four of the twenty-three individuals who declined to support Peeples' trumped-up fraud charges against me happened to be white. Three of them are chief executive officers of major companies, and one is a former state court judge on the trial court and appellate court benches in Alabama. All of them are personal friends of mine and none of them desired to participate in the Alabama-style judicial lynching of me and my son. Did Joe Perkins Use Local Political Hustlers in His "Dirty Tricks" Campaign Against Me? Joe Perkins is known for conducting his "dirty tricks" operations through surrogates who are often independent contractors. Many of these contractors, in turn, hire subcontractors to perform a lot of the smearing and character assassination work in the community and on social media. Most of these subcontractors are nothing more than political hustlers who peddle gossip, spread lies, and spew a steady stream of toxic disinformation in the Birmingham community. One of these hustlers had direct and continuous contact with several prosecution witnesses in my criminal case. He actually lived with one of the prosecution's key witnesses while he was unemployed. He is known to have spread false and misleading information about me and my business activities. Today, this individual is a business associate with another one of the prosecution's key witnesses. Was he a Joe Perkins "dirty tricks" minion? Many of the individuals who received campaign money that was raised by Perkins' political consulting firm, Matrix, LLC, distanced themselves from me out of fear of retribution from Perkins. As Perkins' notes showed, he was compiling a "list of [Watkins'] enemies and supporters." Perkins specifically targeted "all elected officials." Recognizing that Perkins had the ability to cut off their campaign funding and destroy their lives, nearly all of the elected officials who traditionally supported me quickly abandoned me once they learned that Perkins was on the war path. Sadly, this group includes three well-known black former public officials who I personally saved from imprisonment after federal and state prosecutors targeted them in separate public corruption probes. Does "Probable Cause" Exist to Open a Federal Criminal Investigation Into Joe Perkins' "Dirty Tricks" Activities? Joe Perkins' notes and his campaign of "dirty tricks" in my case constitute "probable cause" to commence a federal criminal investigation into his activities. The following hard questions must be asked and answered during this investigation: 1. Did Joe Perkins and/or his "dirty tricks" surrogates contaminate the testimony of government witnesses in the SEC and criminal cases? 2. Did the witnesses who were contacted by Joe Perkins or his "dirty tricks" operatives disclose this improper contact to: (a) the attorneys handling the SEC lawsuit, (b) Lloyd Peeples, (c) members of Peeples' Birmingham prosecution team, and/or (d) the Birmingham federal grand jury that indicted me and my son? For the record, this improper witness contact, if it occurred, was never disclosed by the SEC or Peeples to the defense team in the civil and criminal cases. 3. If Joe Perkins and/or his surrogates contacted government witnesses in the civil and criminal cases, did this contact amount to witness tampering and obstruction of justice? If so, what federal law enforcement agency will conduct the criminal investigation into this improper activity? It certainly cannot be Lloyd Peeples and his colleagues in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Birmingham. Peeples is as tainted as Perkins. Someone with the stature of Mr. Andrew Kogan would be best suited to conduct this federal criminal probe. 4. Why is Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) dragging her feet on getting President Joe Biden to appoint a new U.S. Attorney in Birmingham? Did Joe Perkins, Matrix, and/or persons affiliated with them raise campaign money for Ms. Sewell? Does U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and/or Joe Perkins control Ms. Sewell's voice and her vote? 5. What, if anything, did Lloyd Peeples know about Joe Perkins' "dirty tricks" campaign in my case? When did he know it? What did the Department of Justice know about Peeples' documented history of hostility towards blacks and women prior to rehiring him in 2017 and allowing him to prosecute my case? 6. Was Kyle Hanky, Peeples' team member from the Department of Justice in Washington, an objective, unbiased prosecutor in my criminal case, or was he contaminated by Birmingham connections to the case? For example, did Hanky once work and live in Birmingham? If so, did his Birmingham community connections taint his objectivity in my criminal case? 7. Did Joe Perkins co-opt and influence any government official working on my case inside the Birmingham federal courthouse with his "dirty tricks" campaign to discredit and destroy me? Epilogue The stench from Perkins' notes cannot be ignored and may even reach deep into the Department of Justice in Washington. I will get to the bottom of this designated political "hit" on me and my son. I will find out who ordered it and who all were involved in its execution. Perkins lives and thrives in a dark snake pit of "dirty tricks." I intend to expose all of the snakes crawling around in this pit. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on September 26, 2021 Many Americans know by now that President Joe Biden abandons just about everybody who matters in his worldview. Please take this brief, four-stop Biden abandonment tour with me: 1. Alexei Navalny In June, Biden left Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny twisting in the wind during his high-profile summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. Putin tried to kill Navalny for exposing the widespread corruption in his regime. After recovering in January 2021 from a near fatal poisoning in Germany at the hands of Putin's goons, Navalny recovered and bravely returned to Russia. He was promptly arrested upon landing on Russian soil. A Russian court later banned Navalny's political and anti-corruption organizations, calling them extremist. Navalny now sits in one of the worst prisons in Russia. Putin ignored Biden's weak appeal for Navalny's freedom because he knew that America also subjects its political prisoners to the same shabby treatment. Hypocrisy has never been a trump card in a showdown between two world leaders. 2. Americans Left Stranded in Afghanistan In August of 2021, President Biden abruptly withdrew all American troops out of Afghanistan without giving thousands of American citizens a chance to get out of the country safely. Then, Biden subordinated the safety of these stranded Americans to the Taliban, which is a known terrorist group. In the process, Biden also shafted America's allies and hundreds of thousands of Afghans who assisted America in its 20-year war losing effort in the country when he abandoned them to the Taliban. America will never recover from Joe Biden's debacle in Afghanistan. Sadly, Biden, and only Biden, legitimized the Taliban on the world stage of sovereign governments. 3. Hoodwinking Hispanics, Blacks, and Other Protected Minority Groups on New Voting Rights Legislation Thanks to a tremendous turnout by Hispanic and African-American voters in 2020, Biden promised to restore strength and vitality to the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which has been systematically gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent decades. In 2021, two pieces of major voting rights legislation were introduced in Congress to accomplish this much needed goal. To date, Biden has only shown lackluster support for this legislation, which has infuriated millions of Hispanics, African-Americans, and other ethnic minorities who were protected from discriminatory voting laws and practices in states that are covered by the original Voting Rights Act. As a result, both voting rights bills are likely to fail in this session of Congress. Where is today's version of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who strong-armed Congress into passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968? We certainly will not find him in Joe Biden. 4. Dancing With Everybody Except the Woman Who Brought Biden to the Big Dance There is an old adage for candidates who run for political office and win: You dance with the woman who brought you to the dance. In street language this means, "take care of the political needs of the constituent groups that voted you into office." In Joe Biden's case, he is dancing with every woman, except the one who brought him to the big dance -- the U.S. Presidency. The best evidence of Biden's political infidelity lies in his $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. Biden believes that his signature achievement as president will be the passage of this $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, which he requested from Congress. The legislation provides trillions of dollars in government and private sector contract infrastructure work for major corporations and wealthy Americans. It is a financial bonanza for the "One Percenters" and Wall Street. According to the 2020 Census, Hispanics account for 18% of the U.S. population and blacks account for 12%. Yet, neither Joe Biden, nor the members of the Hispanic or Black Congressional Caucuses, can assure these loyal Democratic Party constituent groups that at least 30% of the government's $3.5 trillion infrastructure spending will be awarded to legitimate companies owned by Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, Native-Americans, and women. Of course, contractors in these historically disadvantaged minority groups will get a token amount of this money, but the lion's share of the $3.5 trillion dollars will be spent with Republican-leaning companies that will feast off of it for years. Meanwhile, minority contractors nationwide will wonder how Joe Biden and their elected representatives in Congress allowed them to miss this once-in-a-lifetime-money train. A Record of Genuine Heartbreak and Disappointment Joe Biden's record in his first nine months in office is one of heartbreak and disappointment for his supporters. In a nutshell, here is a recap of President Biden's record: He lectured Putin on freeing Russian opposition leaders, and Putin blew him off. Biden deserted American citizens and our Afghan allies and left them trapped behind enemy lines in the Taliban's newest caliphate -- Afghanistan. Biden gave "lip-service" to Hispanics, African-Americans, and other protected minority groups about strengthening the 1965 Voting Rights, but he never used the imprimatur of his office to get it done. Finally, while Biden awards Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Native-American, and women entrepreneurs glamorous photo ops and presidential certificates of appreciation at White House ceremonies, he has not carved out and has no plan to allocate a fair and equitable share of the government's $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill spending money to these companies so that they can become true partners in progress in rebuilding America. If this is how President Joe Biden treats his political friends and America's strongest allies, please introduce me to his political enemies. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 3, 2021 In 2007, I formed a start-up company with Oregon-based aerospace and satellite engineer Bill Snell to develop hydrogen-powered large body, cargo jets. At the time, I was chief executive officer of Birmingham, Alabama-based Masada Resource Group, LLC, an established waste-to-energy technology provider. Earlier that year, Masada paid Auburn University's Center for Bioengineering $500,000 to help the company develop clean-burning fuels for cars, trucks, and jets. Masada had already developed a patented process for converting ordinary household garbage into fuel-grade ethanol. Working with Auburn University, Masada developed a patented process for converting paper mill sludge into ethanol, as well. We also developed a process for adapting ethanol for use in jet engines. In Alabama, Auburn University is mostly known for its "War Eagle" football program. Around the world, Auburn is known for its excellence in engineering. In the pioneering world of new and commercially viable clean-burning biofuels and other alternative forms of energy, Auburn University has no peer. Its reputation for excellence in this area exceeds that of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston), Georgia Tech (Atlanta), Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), and Oxford University. Auburn is the clear leader in this clean energy, climate-friendly space. Masada's innovative work and breakthrough alternative energy technologies with Auburn University was 15 years ahead of its time. The rest of the energy producing world was still focused on the production of hydrocarbon fuels during this period. Green Horizons Aviation's Development of Hydrogen-Powered Flight After Masada formed an aviation fuels division in 2007, the company partnered with Bill Snell in a company named Green Horizons Aviation, LLC. Green Horizons was headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Bill and I turned our attention to developing hydrogen-powered jumbo jets that could be flown by computers just like military drones. Our work with Delford Smith, the late founder and CEO of Oregon-based Evergreen International Aviation, inspired the project. Green Horizons developed a successful hydrogen-powered jet engine, followed by a downsized prototype of the hydrogen-powered jumbo jet. Bill and his son Daniel videotaped the small prototype's maiden flight in Oregon. Before we could scale up to a larger concept version of the hydrogen-powered aircraft, the Great Recession of 2008 crashed the global economy. To survive the crash, Masada spun off the Green Horizons project to Bill Snell, who then financed it from his personal resources. Through a series of austerity measures and loans from my family members and friends, Masada was one of the handful of global alternative energy companies that survived the economic crash of 2008. More than 125 of Masada's worldwide competitors were forced out of business or into bankruptcy. By 2011, Masada had recovered from the economic crash of 2008 and went on to become a recognized and respected global leader in the alternative fuels technology industry. In Alabama, then-Governor Robert Bentley awarded Masada the state's 2015 Trade Excellence Award in recognition of Masada's industry leading position in exporting alternative fuels technology to the world. The Future in Aviation Fuels Finally Catches Up to Green Horizons Aviation Fast-forward to October 2021. National Geographic magazine featured an article on hydrogen-powered flight. In "Greener Skies Ahead," the magazine published a concept "Flying V" commercial jetliner that will be powered by hydrogen fuel. [Click here to view the "Flying-V"]. While the aircraft design is somewhat different from the one Bill Snell and I developed in 2007 and 2008, the hydrogen-powered flight concept is the same. [Click here to see the PowerPoint presentation on Green Horizons' hydrogen-powered jumbo jet]. The major difference between the two projects is the fact that Bill Snell and I are 15 years further down the road to developing commercial flight than the engineers from Delft University of Technology who have designed the "Flying V" prototype for a long-haul hydrogen-powered aircraft. Also, Bill Snell and I focused on cargo aircraft because we wanted to use computers as pilots, instead of human pilots. We knew that the Federal Aviation Administration would pressure us to use human pilots for passenger jets because passengers feel safer seeing human pilots in the cockpit of airplanes. Hydrogen is available everywhere on the planet. It can be produced and stored anywhere on the planet. It is clean burning. Bill Snell and I even designed energy efficient and commercially viable hydrogen production facilities, both permanent and portable. Masada and Green Horizons were able to identify and overcome every major challenge along the road to commercialization of their alternative fuels for cars, trucks, and jets, except for Alabama's "Good Ol' Boy" homegrown racism. Looking back, it was a major mistake to make Birmingham, Alabama the international headquarters for privately-owned alternative energy technology companies headed by a strong, independent African-American. Alabama's Homegrown Racial Bigotry Stalled Our Progress All of Masada's technological advancements and trade excellence recognition was too much for one homegrown bigot named Lloyd Peeples, who worked as the "First Assistant U.S. Attorney" in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama. The political appointee for U.S. Attorney in the Northern District -- Jay Town -- never moved from Huntsville to Birmingham, where the main U.S. Attorney's office is located, to perform the job on a full-time basis. Instead, Town allowed Peeples to run the show. Lloyd Peeples and his deceased father have a long and documented history of racial bigotry. In Alabama, this is often a coveted credential, as opposed to a barrier to employment as a federal prosecutor. Prior to becoming the top assistant U.S. Attorney, Lloyd Peeples ran a "Your Pie" franchise pizza restaurant in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood, Alabama for less than a year. Due to poor management and a tanking financial performance, Peeples' pizza restaurant failed and eventually closed. Prior to running his pizza restaurant, Peeples tried his hand at running Container Service Corporation, which was his father's corrugated box business. Lacking his father's business acumen to run this company successfully, Lloyd Peeples sold this company to New-Indy in 2016. Despite his failures at running an established business and a single small pizza restaurant, Peeples positioned himself to lead a Birmingham-based federal grand jury in its review of my international energy technology business’s transactions from 2007 to 2013. Peeples reviewed the same business transactions and evidence that highly-qualified and seasoned New Jersey federal prosecutors reviewed in detail in 2015 and 2016. The New Jersey prosecutors, who specialized in major economic crimes, concluded that I complied with all federal laws in connection with my business transactions and practices. This clearance did not deter Peeples from engaging in his own racially-motivated prosecution of my son and me. Working within a Birmingham federal courthouse that is a longtime sanctuary for homegrown bigots and a citadel for the unfair administration of justice for people of color, Lloyd Peeples persuaded an overwhelmingly white federal grand jury and trial jury that my business conduct was rife with "fraud." To do so, Peeples had to "twist" and distort the same evidence that the New Jersey prosecutors used to clear me. For example, Peeples characterized loan repayments to family members and friends who provided much needed cash injections to help my alternative energy businesses survive the Great Recession of 2008 as "fraud," even though the longstanding business governance agreements clearly authorized such loan repayments. He also characterized payments on a private jet that was used exclusively for Masada's business purposes as "fraud," even though the aircraft was titled in my personal name and financed on my personal credit. Peeples suppressed evidence that I performed as Masada's CEO on a full-time basis for twelve years, without ever taking the generous salary that was authorized under the corporate governance agreement and that was enjoyed by my predecessor. Finally, Peeples convinced jurors to ignore the undisputed fact that the "victims" in the "fraud" case he manufactured against me were actually accredited investors who were represented by Wall Street investment firms and lawyers when they purchased their properly documented economic interests in my companies. It worked. Lloyd Peeples' homegrown bigotry trumped a documented track-record of success in the world of international business for an African-American entrepreneur. In the end, a failed pizza parlor operator, who is white, had more credibility than a highly successful global alternative energy entrepreneur, who is black. Epilogue While Lloyd Peeples' homegrown bigotry cost Masada valuable time on the technology development schedule, it has not defeated us. The technical knowledge acquired by Masada and Green Horizons in developing hydrogen-powered flight and other alternative forms of clean-burning fuels can never be taken from me by Lloyd Peeples or any other bigot. I will continue to develop and deploy this technology on a commercial basis as soon as the yoke of Peeples' Alabama-style racism has been removed from my life, which I expect will happen in the next few months. The sustained competitive advantage Bill Snell and I achieved in the hydrogen-powered flight technology development space remains in our favor for one reason -- Masada mastered the ability to export and commercialize emerging alternative energy technologies for cars, trucks, and jets in 47 of the 208 recognized international markets. This competitive advantage is enhanced by the fact that another technology team of mine solved the Navier-Stokes Equation in 2020, thereby paving the way for my company to develop and license stealth technology for military submarines. Finally, I am extremely proud to be one of the few African-Americans on the planet who is working in the international marketplace on paradigm-shifting alternative energy technologies. It is a truly multi-racial and multicultural workspace. It is also free of the gravitational pull of racism from homegrown Alabama bigots like Lloyd Peeples. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 7, 2021 On Friday, October 1, 2021, FCI LaTuna prison officials transferred me to LaTuna's camp, where I am one of 209 "out-custody" inmates. I have not been in a camp setting since I was removed from FCI Talladega's camp after a correctional officer planted a cellphone charger in my dorm locker on May 12, 2020 on orders from his superiors. This event was later used as a pretext to block my early release from prison due to my age (then 71-years-old), my underlying medical conditions, and the surging Coronavirus pandemic. By late April of 2020, a number of Talladega prison officials had learned that I submitted a confidential whistleblower complaint in January of 2020 to the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). My complaint detailed an ongoing criminal racketeering and drug dealing enterprise that operated from the warden's office at the prison. After these prison officials discovered that I had reported their misconduct to DOJ's Inspector General, they unleashed hell on me. I had warned the DOJ that I would be subjected to retaliation if my complaint was ever made known to Talladega officials. The DOJ simply ignored this warning. A major problem for those Talladega officials who have tried to cover-up the racketeering activities at the prison is the existence of electronic evidence in multiple locations that document the fact that a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's office in Birmingham allowed one of the inmate contraband dealers to pocket a large portion of the tainted money he made from his illegal activities. Adding insult to injury, this inmate is one of the career criminals who was given an early release during the pandemic because of his "insider" hook-up at Talladega. To this day, the DOJ has never questioned me about the racketeering enterprise at FCI Talladega or the documentation that proves it. Interestingly, the top prosecutor who ran the day-to-day operations of the U.S. Attorney's office in Birmingham while the criminal racketeering enterprise at Talladega was thriving in 2019 and early 2020 is Lloyd Peeples. FCI Talladega is located in Peeples' federal law enforcement jurisdiction. Even with a change in presidential administrations last January and a change in job titles, Lloyd Peeples still runs the show in the U.S. Attorney's office in Birmingham, albeit from behind the scenes. My Time Spent in the "Hole," Followed by "Diesel Therapy" I spent six months in the "Hole" at Talladega's medium security prison, even though I was only supposed to serve 30 days there as punishment for the phone charger that was planted in my dorm cubicle. Prison officials later placed me on "diesel therapy," which began when I was shipped, via a bus ride, to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta. "Diesel therapy" occurs when prison officials subject an inmate to a long and arduous journey to his next prison destination, with uncomfortable layovers in between. It is designed to further punish the inmate. My cellmate in the "Hole" at Talladega, who was actually caught using a cell phone, was shipped to LaTuna and arrived at the prison within three days after his departure from Talladega. In contrast, my journey to the same destination took almost four months. I later learned from an internal FCI Talladega document that I was subjected to "diesel therapy" for "adjustment purposes" because (a) I supposedly engaged in the "greatest" level of "disruptive conduct" at the prison and (b) my "behavior and overall adjustment [was] considered poor." They were right. My complaint about the racketeering activities at FCI Talladega posed the greatest threat to the continuation of this ongoing criminal enterprise. They had to get me away from FCI Talladega, pronto! After I arrived at USP Atlanta on the first leg of my "diesel therapy," I discovered that convicted gang members, drug kingpins, and murderers, who were awaiting trial on federal racketeering, murder, and drug charges, actually ran the prison. Correctional officers at USP Atlanta worked for these notorious and powerful inmates and often unlocked the cells of "campers" like me so that these gang members would have unfettered access to us. Even though I had extremely low "camp" classification points, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) placed me in the custody and control of top gang members, convicted killers, and drug kingpins for two months at a U.S. penitentiary. This was a blatant violation of BOP rules. It became readily apparent to me that somebody with significant influence inside the BOP wanted me eliminated. I was able to survive my ordeal at USP Atlanta only because I possess a unique set of skills and professional training that all inmates need and crave -- nationally-recognized legal expertise in criminal cases. I hold the record in American jurisprudence for winning the freedom of a client (Richard Scrushy) who faced the most criminal charges -- an 85 felony-count indictment in 2003. This client also faced up to 650 years in prison, if convicted on all counts. He walked free on all charges following a six-month trial and 28 days of jury deliberation in 2005. This case is featured in the May 2020 Netflix documentary titled, "Trial by Media", Episode 4, "King Richard," which had been viewed by some of the inmates who ran USP Atlanta. In July and August of 2021, BOP officials in Washington moved 1,800 inmates out of USP Atlanta and closed the penitentiary amid widespread allegations of corruption among the prison's staff. Prison executives also allowed the physical facilities at USP Atlanta to deteriorate into an uninhabitable, rat-infested, unsanitary, and deplorable prison slum environment. On the second leg of my "diesel therapy," I was flown from Atlanta to the federal transfer center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where I spent 23 hours per day locked in a cell for six weeks. During my time at FTC Oklahoma, I had two cellmates, both of whom suffered from confirmed cases of COVID-19. Fortunately, I did not contract COVID from them. Life at FCI LaTuna is Good I arrived at my final destination, FCI LaTuna, on March 5, 2021. I have written about my life at FCI LaTuna in two articles, "Life at FCI LaTuna" and "Mopping with a Smile." In short, life at LaTuna is good. The first thing I noticed about LaTuna was the manner in which Warden Sandra Hijar and Associate Warden D. Whitmore ran this prison. They are very professional, hands-on, knowledgeable about prison management, and positive in their approach to how inmates should be treated. Hijar and Whitmore begin their interaction with incoming inmates by giving them a full measure of respect as human beings, regardless of the crimes for which they are imprisoned. Both executives quickly earned my respect in return. I have always voiced constructive criticism of public officials when it is necessary to do so. Likewise, I have also commended public officials when they demonstrate outstanding job performance. Within these parameters, Warden Hijar and Associate Warden Whitmore run LaTuna in a firm, fair, and efficient manner. They solve problems promptly and take pride in doing so. Unlike many top executives at other federal prisons, Hijar and Whitmore do not engage in tactical inmate avoidance strategies. Instead, they are very accessible to inmates and are attentive to their concerns and needs. If there is a national model for "best practices" in prison management, it must begin with Ms. Hijar and Mr. Whitmore at FCI LaTuna. After I arrived at LaTuna's Camp on October 1, 2021, I realized that the other side of midnight is near for me. Throughout it all, God never left my side and He answered all of my prayers. Epilogue I formed a lot of great friendships among the inmate populations at Talladega, USP Atlanta, FTC Oklahoma, and FCI LaTuna. Some of my friends cried when I left each facility, not knowing whether they would ever see me again. I was warmly greeted last Friday by a new set of inmates at LaTuna's Camp. Before moving to the camp, I was able to use my six months at FCI LaTuna building bridges across the cultural and political divide that separates Hispanics, Native-Americans, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans. Working together, we were able to give birth a new and emerging political unification movement between these minority groups that will only grow in scope and intensity with the passage of time. I am working diligently to forge a unified national political force among these minority groups by the time the 2024 presidential election occurs. As inmates, we may not be able to vote by 2024, but we can certainly motivate and inspire at least two million unregistered members among these minority groups to become registered voters in the key swing states between now and 2024. Once these targeted individuals are registered, we will educate them on which presidential candidate actually respects communities of color and which one has demonstrated his/her respect by positive, concrete, and sustained quality of life enhancement actions. Finally, God has used my two years in prison to prune my garden of life. He purged the "sunshine friends" who were nothing more than weeds in my garden. God also planted some new and beautiful flowers in my bountiful garden. Furthermore, God's bright light is now shining on the true friends who stood up and fought by my side throughout my ordeal. As a "political prisoner," I look forward to the day when I am able to be reunited with all of my family members, my true friends, and all of my political supporters who accompanied me along this long and dark journey to the other side of midnight. In the end, "good" always triumphs over the "evil" of men and women who are condemned to a life sentence in the prison of racial bigotry, low self-esteem, and ethical lapses. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins

By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 14, 2021 To my knowledge, I am the only African-America who has come close to acquiring a general partnership interest in a National Football League (NFL) professional football franchise. It occurred when I pursued an opportunity to acquire the Rosenbloom family's 60% majority interest in the St. Louis Rams (which is now known as the L.A. Rams), from 2008 to 2010. I first wrote about this exciting opportunity in a December 9, 2018 article titled, "Chasing a NFL Team Ownership Opportunity." The article documented my efforts to acquire the Rams. Goldman Sachs (New York City) represented the Rosenbloom family in this transaction. JP Morgan Chase (New York City) advised me in the United States. Seymour Pierce, Ltd.(London), a 138-year-old investment banking firm specializing in the sale and purchase of major professional sports teams, arranged the necessary financing for the Rams transaction with Citibank (New York City). Law firms in London, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Kansas City represented me in the transaction, The article also hyperlinked key documents between the NFL, Goldman Sachs, and me that established my status as a qualified and capable buyer who progressed through each stage of the Rams acquisition process. At the end of this process, the Rams organization presented me with the proposed purchase agreement for the transaction. My attorneys made the necessary changes to the agreement and returned it to Goldman Sachs. Throughout the acquisition process, the NFL and Goldman Sachs advised all potential buyers of Stan Kroenke's right of first refusal to buy the Rosenbloom family's interest, if and when the family chose to sell it. At the time, Kroenke was the sole limited partner in the Rams with a 40% ownership interest. For months, my acquisition team waited to see what Stan Kroenke would do. I sat on pins and needles during this long waiting period. On the last day of the right of first refusal period, Kroenke elected to purchase the Rosenbloom family's 60% interest, thereby making him the 100% owner of the Rams. With this move, my efforts to acquire the Rams ended. After the purchase, Kroenke relocated the Rams to Los Angeles. The franchise has enjoyed tremendous football success in L.A. Jon Gruden's Disparaging Remarks Signal the Urgent Need for Black Ownership In light of Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden's sudden and forced resignation this past weekend over certain racist, misogynistic, and homophobic comments he made in emails Gruden sent to NFL executives and corporate sponsors between 2011 and 2018, the time has come for me to compete again for a general partner ownership interest in the NFL. Many Americans are wondering why Gruden felt comfortable enough within the NFL's white, male-dominated culture to express such remarks in writing. Part of the answer lies in the fact that wealthy white Americans hold the general partnership interest in 31 of the 32 NFL teams today. The only minority owner is Shahid Kahn, who is a wealthy Muslim-American. The NFL recognizes these general partners as team owners. While there is a sprinkling of African-American limited partners in several NFL teams, they have no power or authority over the business affairs of these teams. Likewise, these blacks have no influence in setting the NFL's rules, policies, or business agenda. Even though black players make up 70% of all players in the NFL, the business operations of these teams are overwhelmingly white and male-dominated. All of the owners are billionaires. Many of these owners have consolidated asset portfolios that are far greater in value than their individual NFL team. While these owners know some black celebrities, professional athletes, and entertainers, none of them knows a black business peer who owns and operates major mainstream international businesses. Making Another Run at an Ownership Opportunity I intend to compete for another NFL ownership opportunity as soon as I am cleared by the appropriate legal authorities to do so. The fact that I was very close to acquiring the Rosenbloom Family's general partnership interest in the Rams from 2008 to 2010 serves as an invaluable experience I can use to build upon. What is more, the financing necessary for another NFL acquisition opportunity is still available to me. With respect to the NFL's background check, I can demonstrate to the League, by clear and convincing evidence, (a) why I was lynched by a Blitzkrieg of federal law and state enforcement agencies in two Deep South "Red States" (i.e., Alabama and Georgia) and (b) how I was railroaded inside a Birmingham federal court in the legal proceedings that resulted in my 2019 criminal conviction. My conviction is on appeal and will likely be decided early next year. The NFL would be interested to know that the same evidence that formed the basis for the government's "investor fraud" allegations in the Birmingham case was first reviewed by highly qualified career federal prosecutors in New Jersey in connection with a federal lawsuit filed against me by a former New York Jets player. Led by Mr. Andrew Kogan, the top economic crimes prosecutor in the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's office, a Jersey Federal grand jury investigation cleared me of all wrongdoing in this matter in 2016. The Jets player's civil lawsuit was eventually dismissed, with prejudice and with no monetary payment from me or an insurance company. The prosecution team in Birmingham was led by Lloyd Peeples, a homegrown racist and failed pizza store operator who could not even sell pizza by the slice. He was successful in securing a criminal indictment and conviction only because he pursued his case in a Deep South venue where the legitimate successes of black entrepreneurs are routinely marginalized and/or destroyed as a sport by local white law enforcement agencies and media pundits. What is more, during my trial in 2019, I attempted to introduce the complete file of NFL/Rams transactional documents as evidence to establish that the alternative energy company in which my investors purchased an economic interest had real monetary value. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Seymour Pierce thought so. Lloyd Peeples objected on the grounds that this evidence was "irrelevant, immaterial, and would only confuse the jury." He conceded (outside the presence of the jury) that the transactional documents were genuine and that my interaction with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Seymour Pierce regarding the Rams transaction was a real deal. The trial judge sustained Peeples' objection and blocked this evidence from being presented to the jury. After the judge barred this evidence, prosecutors were allowed to argue that my company had no monetary value. The Rams transactional documents were, indeed, relevant and material. The handful of professional athletes who invested in my alternative energy company between 2007 and 2010 did so primarily because they wanted to participate with me as economic participants in the Rams transaction, as well. I leveraged my energy company's assets to secure financing for the Rams transaction. Because I was leveraging assets in which all of us had an economic stake, these investors would have been entitled to receive an automatic and proportional economic interest in the Rams, as well. I delivered on my commitment to compete aggressively in the Rams acquisition opportunity for over two years. I made it all the way through the NFL's and Goldman Sach's background vetting and bid process. I had the Rams purchase agreement in my hands. At the last minute, the team did not sell to me or any outsider because Stan Kroenke exercised his right to buy the Rosenbloom family's general partnership interest. A Bizarre Act of Betrayal One of the prosecution's key witnesses against me was an economic participant in my energy company who served as one of my Atlanta-based attorneys on the Rams transaction. He received a refund of his purchase price in the amount of $750,000 for his 18 months of documented work on the Rams transaction. He also received an increase of 1% in his purchased economic participation in my company, at no cost to him, as an inducement for serving as one of my attorneys on the deal. The compensation for this attorney was far cheaper than what my Houston-based law firm had quoted me in writing for the same transactional services. This attorney worked on the transaction from the beginning to the end. His last assignment on the Rams transaction was an in-depth review of the complicated purchase agreement, to which he submitted written edits. At my trial, this attorney testified as a witness for the government. He claimed that he performed no services on the Rams transaction beyond attending one meeting with me in Houston. Scores of emails between us over the 18-month Rams transaction period flatly contradicted his testimony. Yet, he never returned any of the $750,000 he was paid, or rescinded the 1% increase he received in his economic participation. After the trial, I learned from another Atlanta-based lawyer, who was in a position to know, that this witness may have had disciplinary issues with the Georgia Bar Association that were known to prosecutors, but unknown to me. Epilogue For the last three years, I have worked hard to position myself for another run at acquiring a general partnership interest in a NFL team. I can meet the objective qualifications as a team owner. I understand and participate in major international business. I can arrange the necessary acquisition financing. I am still able to pass the NFL's extensive background check. I also understand the process for competing for a NFL team. I do not need the NFL to relax its ownership rules pursuant to some ad hoc, Jon Gruden-inspired, knee-jerk affirmative action policy in order to compete successfully for a general partnership opportunity. I am a fierce competitor. I am accustomed to winning "come-from-behind" victories in extremely tough contests where cheating against me is a rampant feature. My resume is littered with accomplishments that many people said I could not achieve under any circumstances. The abuse I have experienced over the last 8 years from COINTELPRO operators in various federal government agencies is documented in my October 10, 2021 article, "I Survived a Law Enforcement Lynching." This lynching by rogue federal and state agents has not deterred me in any way. To the contrary, it has toughened my resolve to become a general partner in a NFL team. No one has a constitutional right to own a NFL team. However, my preparation, focus, perseverance, hard work, luck, and the ability to turn back the racist forces that oppose our progress in America will go a long way toward reaching my goal. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. 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By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 17, 2021 An Editorial Opinion Matrix, LLC, is a political consulting and crisis management firm owned and operated by longtime Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based "dirty tricks" operative Joseph Perkins. The company is currently embroiled in a red-hot crisis of its own. Former Matrix chief executive officer Jeff Pitts is suing Perkins in a Florida state court in a lawsuit that charges Perkins with engaging in a pattern and practice of criminal racketeering activities, extortion, abuse of the judicial process in Alabama, and unlawfully accessing the social media accounts of Pitts' clients. Auburn University's payments of $367,500 (from September 11, 2019 through September 30, 2021) to a bona fide "dirty tricks' operator has raised a host of red flags on campus. This is particularly true in light of: (a) a rash of sexual assaults on Auburn's campus since the start of the 2021-22 academic year and (b) Perkins' attempt to intimidate the family of a high-profile rape victim who committed suicide after Tuscaloosa County law enforcement officials declined to prosecute her accused rapist. The latest annual safety report from Auburn lists 12 rapes being reported on the main campus in 2019. Perkins Has a Prior History of Flaunting the Law and Associating With Convicted Criminals Perkins has a prior history of flaunting the law and associating with convicted criminals. Yet, Auburn University's administration embraces him, financially and otherwise. In 1988, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) referred Perkins to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution in a case where the FEC determined that Perkins used the names of his employees to launder $8,000 in campaign funds to the Congressional campaign of Roy Johnson. Perkins escaped criminal prosecution only because the special three-year statute of limitations on federal charges of making illegal campaign contributions had expired by the referral date. Perkins had close ties to Roy Johnson, who served as a former Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives (1974 to 1990) and the chancellor of the Alabama College System (2002 to 2008) who oversaw 30 public post-secondary institutions. In 2008, Johnson pled guilty to 15 counts of federal bribery, conspiracy, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice charges in connection with a fraud scheme that funneled $18 million in taxpayers' money to 43 legislators, their relatives, and their associated business. Several of the beneficiaries of the fraud scheme kicked back as much as $300,000 in cash to Johnson and his wife. Johnson was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Johnson joins a long list of Perkins' political friends, allies, and associates who have criminal records. Some of Perkins' other well-known convicted criminal friends, allies, and associates include former Alabama state representative Oliver Robinson, former Alabama governor Robert Bentley, and former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard. Additionally, many of the 43 legislators associated with Roy Johnson's bribery scandal were political friends, allies, and associates of Joe Perkins. Perkins' Involvement in the High-Profile Megan Rondini Rape Case In 2017, Perkins inserted himself and Matrix into the 2015 high-profile Megan Rondini rape case. Rondini was a University of Alabama honors student who committed suicide after the University failed to help her seek justice against her accused rapist -- Tuscaloosa Playboy T.J. "Sweet T" Bunn, Jr. Rondini's rape case made national news when BuzzFeed published a June 22, 2017 article about the case titled, "A College Student Accused a Powerful Man of Rape: Then She Became a Suspect." On October 4, 2017, Matrix surreptitiously delivered a flash-drive to the law firm that represented Rondini's estate in a lawsuit against Sweet T, The University of Alabama, and other defendants for her wrongful death. The flash-drive contained two nude photos -- one of a male and another one with a male and female in bed. It also contained a one-minute-long "video diary Number #1" recorded by Megan while she was home, alone, sitting up in her bed, playfully talking about her evening at Harry's bar in Tuscaloosa. The video and photos were extracted from Megan's cell phone during the police investigation into her rape report. An information technology expert examined the flash-drive and found that it contained a host of information from a laptop used by Matrix employee Robert Taylor, whose email address was robert@matrixllc.com. Matrix erroneously believed the nude woman in bed with the nude man was Megan Rondini. The nude woman in the photo, which was taken in 2014, was not Megan. The purpose behind Matrix's delivery of the flash-drive to Rondini's law firm was to threaten and intimidate the Rondini family into dropping its federal court wrongful death case against The University of Alabama, Sweet T, and the other defendants at a time when Megan's mother was dying of pancreatic cancer. The case eventually settled against all defendants, but Megan’s mother died before she could see justice served for her daughter. In October and November of 2017, I published a series of articles about Megan Rondini's rape case and her subsequent suicide. The articles touched on the following subjects: (a) cyber attacks on my social media platforms, which I reported to Facebook and Wikipedia, (b) the smearing of Megan Rondini, her family, and me, (c) an attack ad against Megan Rondini and her family that was published in the July of 2017 in the Tuscaloosa News, (d) coordinated efforts by Sweet T and his Tuscaloosa allies to obstruct the truth and justice of what happened to Rondini on the night of July 1, 2015, (e) how rape victims are re-victimized by allies of the rape suspect, and (f) other topics related to the rape report Megan Rondini made to Tuscaloosa County sheriff deputies during the early morning of July 2, 2015. Perkins later sued me for defamation because I exposed Matrix's role in Megan Rondini's rape case. Perkins swore that neither he, nor Matrix, had any involvement in the Rondini case. The hand-delivered Matrix flash-drive and Perkins' handwritten notes flatly contradict his sworn court declaration. Yet, in May of 2021, a Tuscaloosa state court judge disregarded the well-known legal protections for First Amendment freedom of speech that are enunciated in the 1964 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, New York Times v. Sullivan (and its progeny), and ruled in Perkins' favor without conducting a trial. On August 20, 2021, the same judge awarded Perkins and Matrix a highly questionable and speculative $1.5 million in compensatory damages. The case is on appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court. Auburn University Led the Nation in Awareness and Prevention of Sexual Assaults on Campus in 2017; Then Perkins Showed Up On September 19, 2017, I published an article praising Auburn University senior Nicole Finley for leading a highly successful campaign on campus to promote the awareness of sexual assaults and their prevention through her innovative Green Dot Program. At the time, Auburn and Ms. Finley were leading the nation in combating sexual assaults on college campuses. Two years later, Matrix showed up on Auburn's payroll. The company began its work on September 11, 2019 and has been paid $15,000 per month for a total of $367,500, as of September 30, 2021. The payments are for unspecified "Professional Services." They are paid from the "AU Main Campus Unrestricted" funds. Perkins, who was ranked Number 14 on Yellowhammer News' list of "Power and Influence" players in Alabama in 2014, usually handles clandestine "dirty tricks" jobs for his clients. These clients have included the Alabama Education Association and Alabama Power Company, among others. The Mobile Press Register labeled Matrix as "the closest thing Alabama politics has to a non-government secret agency." Perkins' work for Auburn is cloaked in secrecy. Perkins is not lobbying for Auburn because he has not been a registered lobbyist since 2017. It is unclear from Matrix's monthly invoices exactly what Perkins is doing for the money, which appears to flowing freely to his firm with no end in sight. What is clear is the fact that Auburn has a sexual assault problem on campus in 2021. The problem resulted in growing student protests in September. Students are very disappointed in the University's lackluster response to this problem, particularly in light of all of the progress Nicole Finley and her supporters made against sexual assaults in 2017 with the Green Dot Program. If Perkins is taken at his sworn word that no party to Megan Rondini's rape case or her civil lawsuit hired Matrix to perform work related to these legal matters, then Perkins and Matrix gratuitously intervened in Megan's case for the purpose of undermining justice for a rape victim. Despite Perkins' denials, Matrix's flash-drive and Perkins' handwritten notes evidence his intervention in Megan Rondini's rape case. Epilogue What kind of man would gratuitously intervene in a rape case for the purpose of undermining justice for a rape victim who committed suicide because her accused rapist was not criminally prosecuted? Why is Perkins getting paid $15,000 per month to be on the scene at Auburn? What "crisis" is Perkins managing for Auburn? The University only has one crisis at this time -- the growing problem of sexual assaults on campus. Is Perkins there to solve a problem for Auburn University, or cover up one? Regardless, why would Auburn need a "dirty tricks" operative to solve one of its problem? Finally, why would Auburn be associated with a "dirty tricks" operative whose former chief executive officer has disassociated himself from Perkins and recently accused him of operating an ongoing criminal racketeering enterprise? Somebody at Auburn University has a lot of serious explaining to do! All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. 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By: Donald V. Watkins Copyrighted and Published on October 21, 2021 I wrote my family last week to let them know that my exercise routine includes a five-mile walk around the 600 meter outdoor track in the recreational area at Camp LaTuna, twice a day. The Camp's track is located in the midst of the most beautiful, scenic, panoramic territory I have visited in quite a while. The stunning views of the nearby Franklin mountains (Sierras de los Mansos) and flat land surrounding the Camp are breathtaking. The air coming off the mountains is fresh, dry, and crisp. Because there is no fencing around the Camp, there is nothing but spectacular beauty for as far as the eyes can see. On most days, I feel like I am spending time at an all-inclusive vacation resort in southeast New Mexico while I am walking my five miles. My family members have asked me why, at 73-years-old, I have chosen five miles as my walking benchmark. Actually, five miles per day is not my benchmark. I am working my way up to six miles, twice per day. My Walk Has A Lot to Do With My Father's Life The answer to my family's question is rooted in my father's experience as a young boy growing up in Montgomery and Gracey, Kentucky. My father, the late Dr. Levi Watkins, was the oldest of eight children born to Adam and Sallie Watkins. As I wrote in "Adam and Sallie Watkins: A legacy of Love," my paternal grandparents placed a very high value on public education for Levi and his siblings. When Adam Watkins worked and traveled for the McQuarry Brothers Highway Construction Company in Kentucky and Tennessee, he and Sallie arranged for their three school-age children to live with Sallie's sister and husband (Rev. Joseph and Mrs. Felicia Irvin) in Montgomery, Kentucky. These children attended the "colored" school in Gracey, Kentucky. The non-school-age Watkins children traveled with my grandparents and lived in tents along and near various highway construction sites. Sallie home-schooled these children until they were school age. Eventually, the "colored" school in Gracey was closed because it had only twenty-one pupils. The local school board wanted at least twenty-five to keep the school open. The all-white board would not allow colored students to attend the "white" school in Gracey. My father's thirst for knowledge, pride in his family heritage, and desire to become a credit to his race inspired him to walk alone to the "colored" school at Cadiz, six miles away. He passed the "white" school in Gracey twice daily. Father walked these six miles to and from school in the sunshine, rain, heat, cold, sleet, snow, hail, and thunder storms to educate his mind and grow his spirit as a human being of interracial goodwill. He was determined that nothing would stop him from getting a formal education and succeeding in life. Against all odds, he excelled in both arenas. Because of father's perseverance, focus, positive attitude, and incredible work ethic, my mother (Lillian Watkins), my five siblings (Marie, Pearl, Levi, Jr., Doristine, and James), and I had wonderful personal and professional growth opportunities throughout life. All of us reached our full potential, personally and professionally, many times over. Our parents loved and supported us, and we knew it. We never had to search for love and support outside of our warm and caring family home. All in the Family Levi, Sr., Lillian, Pearl and Levi, Jr., are in Heaven now. Marie, Doristine, and James have retired from their primary professions, but are still working at the things they love doing. As for me, I am still climbing the mountain of endless opportunities in international business. I wake up every day with plenty of positive energy, news reports from all over the world, and exciting projects to occupy my time. I keep my mind, body, and spirit in shape so that I can bring these projects to fruition after I leave Camp LaTuna. My visit inside the federal prison system has been a short detour along life's highway, courtesy of a homegrown Birmingham, Alabama bigot named Lloyd Peeples. Neither Peeples, nor his "white power" acolytes, can derail the good things God has planned for me in life. My family's history of success in America since 1830 is a testament to the age-old expression: "Bigots never win." I am striving for six-mile walks, twice a day. When I achieve this benchmark, I will have matched my father's thirst for knowledge, passion for life, and drive for success. While I walk around the track alone, I always feel father's presence with each step that I take. Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr., was one of my two greatest personal heroes. The other one was my mother, Lillian Watkins. Together, Levi and Lillian Watkins formed the yardstick by which I measure the character and integrity of every man and woman I meet in life. All of Us Have Benefitted From My Father's Walks I think about my father's six-mile walks to and from school every time I take my walks. Father's daily walks, which were born out of necessity during the sweltering heat of oppressive racial segregation in the Deep South, gave life to his dreams as a man, a husband, a father, a leader in his community, and a legend among American college and university presidents. Father was the only president of an institution of higher education in America to lead two unaccredited, woefully neglected, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) to full accreditation status in four years. This is the shortest period of time for an unaccredited college or university to achieve full accreditation status. Father was the only HBCU president to lead his university to the Level Six accreditation status enjoyed by Alabama's two historically white flagship universities (i.e., The University of Alabama and Auburn University). Father was the HBCU president who sued a Deep South state (Alabama) in 1981 to gain equitable educational funding and academic programs for Alabama's two senior HBCU (i.e., Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University). As a result of this successful 25-year lawsuit, Alabama State and Alabama A&M received nearly $600 million in educational enhancement money (above and beyond their annual state appropriations), new and exclusive doctoral degree granting programs, and fully funded endowment funds. Alabama State went on to become the first HBCU in the nation to earn an "A+" credit rating on Wall Street and to establish the longest unbroken string of unqualified annual audit opinions (from Tier 1 auditing firms) among all colleges and universities in Alabama. All of this progress in higher education opportunities for African-Americans and whites of interracial goodwill occurred because my father -- Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr. -- walked six miles a day to the "colored" school in Cadiz, Kentucky as a young boy, and six miles back home. I sincerely hope that my six-mile walks, which are borne out of admiration for my father's life-long determination to help America reach its full potential as a nation, give life to all of my dreams as a mature man, a proud father, an excited grandfather, and a successful international businessman. All articles are shared on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to follow Donald Watkins, please click on these links and hit the follow button: https://www.facebook.com/donald.v.watkins https://twitter.com/donaldvwatkins