Subject: Ellen
From: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>
Date: 7/5/10, 13:50
To: Clark Robinson <robinsonchicago@gmail.com>

I just spoke to Ellen Johnson again via phone and filled her in on what we've been up to. She will be able to serve as a sort of filter by which to recognize and recruit the sorts of secularists that will be of value to us as opposed to the wacky sort we don't want. I'm also going to help improve the strategic position of Enlighten the Vote by hooking her up with some of our people who could be of use to the PAC. Johnson took over American Atheists after the murder of Madalyn Murray O'Haire in 1996 and was expelled from the organization a couple of years ago ostensibly due to her refusal to provide the organization with the diaries of O'Haire, who had essentially raised her as a daughter and who had asked her to keep them private; the rift was apparently also due to her intention to continue a march through the south that an atheist had attempted to perform several decades back before being murdered himself; Johnson's ex-boyfriend was on the board of AA at the time and was hysterical about the possibility of her doing something that he considered dangerous, although he later apologized (I have seen the e-mail). I can fill you in on other details later. Anyway, she founded Enlighten the Vote as the Godless Americans Political Action Committee in 2003 or so after organizing the Godless March on Washington, has appeared on a number of programs such as Barbara Walters, etc. She published one of my articles in AA's magazine in 2007, was later fired for the above reasons, and made me director of communications for her PAC upon subsequently turning her attention to that. She's the one who sent me to do the Fox News interview.

She's been running this PAC basically by herself with almost no assistance while also going to nursing school and defending herself from very scurrilous attacks such as this one; notice how the current AA prez managed to piss off a great deal of the commenters/members. I'm happy to finally be in a position to provide her with substantial help, and have asked her to simply let us know what we can do. It seems that she could use a bit more help with the website, and she says she will tell us exactly what is needed when she is ready. Perhaps this Gus fellow can be assigned to the task when it comes up; my understanding is that there are just a few very minor things that need to be done and so this fellow could probably handle them.

Regards,

Barrett Brown
Brooklyn, NY
512-560-2302