But first, a look at the activist career of Jonathan Hutto, the "front man" of this organization. In the initial media coverage of this story he was described as "a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the Web site a month ago." But that's a humble description of a well-traveled man. The full truth - while easy to discover - is a bit more complex ...
1999-2004: Hutto works for "non-profit organizations", including Amnesty International
2001: In his capacity as an Amnesty International spokesperson he appears as a speaker in an event touted as a "Militant Labor Forum" by the "socialist newsweekly" The Militant.
2002: Hutto has risen to the position of Amnesty International's Membership Program Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Region (seen here - with megaphone - "rallying the troops").
2003: The United States invades Iraq
2004: Hutto joins the Navy, and serves as a Mass Communications Specialist and Photographer aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
Summer, 2006: He is recognized as the Theodore Roosevelt's outstanding "Blue Jacket of the Quarter (BJOQ)"
Hutto, a native of Atlanta, joined the Navy two years and six months ago, and has been a member of TR’s Photo Lab for two years. “Being selected as BJOQ gives me a strong sense of accomplishment,” Hutto said. “It feels good to have the vote of confidence in my abilities from my chain of command.”
As assistant 3M coordinator for Admin Department, Hutto spends a lot of his time performing maintenance and making sure Admin DepartmentÂ’s spaces are in top shape. Hutto hopes to make third class petty officer off of this past advancement exam, and wants to earn his surface warfare qualification.
September 26, 2006: Hutto contributes an article in a socialist newsletter aimed at "the troops" detailing the racism and discrimination he suffered at the hands of the Navy.
October 26, 2006: Fenton Communications holds a media teleconference to announce the launch of the "Appeal for Redress" web site. News stories that follow describe Hutto simply as "a Navy seaman based in Norfolk, Va., who set up the Web site a month ago." It would appear that among his other accomplishments, Hutto is very skilled at web page design.
| dry humor here - it's a professionally done site. By whom, you ask? Well, by ... |
Fenton Communications, a "public relations" group whose lengthy client list includes Fourth Freedom, Military Families Speak Out, and MoveOn.org. They are also the group that coordinated the instant media buzz over Cindy Sheehan.
| Right. That's where I remember the Fenton name. |
TrueMajority -- an antiwar group founded by Ben Cohen, one of the creators of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream -- hired Fenton Communications, a Washington public relations firm that has worked intermittently with Sheehan over the past year to coordinate media coverage. TrueMajority and Ben and Jerry's are also Fenton clients, by the way.
2. Fourth Freedom Forum, (another of Fenton's clients), is the actual "owner" of the Appeal for Redress web site. According to the NY Sun, it was David Cortright, president of the Fourth Freedom Forum (and author), who approached Fenton to represent Appeal for Redress.
3, 4, 5 - The groups actually listed as sponsoring organizations on the web page: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans For Peace. Of those, only Military Families Speak out is a listed Fenton client.) |