FRC and Credit Cards

[lipstickgoalie]

While driving to work this morning I heard an interesting story about laws banning use of credit cards for transactions on hate group websites on NPR.

What really caught my attention was the specific mention of Joshie D's employer as a hate group. I really wonder how long it will take for Josh's job to impact TLC's ad revenue?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconside ... expression (link not broken. It's NPR. Plus they see to agree with us)

[sunshine]

Bascially, they are blackballing people/groups. This has been done before when communism was on the forefront of everyone's mind. They will find a way around it.

[mirele]

Bascially, they are blackballing people/groups. This has been done before when communism was on the forefront of everyone's mind. They will find a way around it.

This is kind of old news in a way...MasterCard and Visa decided a couple of years ago not to process donations to Wikileaks and have swung back and forth on this to the point where I can't figure out what the status is at the moment. I'd also note that various employer-run charitable campaigns have, in the recent past, excluded the Boy Scouts because of their anti-GLBT stand. (I don't know if the recent change has gotten the Scouts added back.)

Of course, there's the reverse thing as well. Back in 2005, Focus on the Family, oops FETUS, closed all of its Wells Fargo accounts because the bank supported pro-gay groups. If memory serves, the accounts were moved to a good old homo-hating (i.e., had no affirmative policy towards GLBT persons) bank located somewhere in the Midwest. It should be noted that the Focus accounts apparently ended up at Wells Fargo after a bank acquisition, so it's not like Focus had opened accounts there in 19** and just figured out 20 plus years later that Wells Fargo was very gay-friendly.

[lipstickgoalie]

I guess my point was I had never heard the FRC referenced as a hate group by anyone but us until today.

[thoughtful]

I guess my point was I had never heard the FRC referenced as a hate group by anyone but us until today.

I'm not sure when they were first added to the list of hate groups the SPLC maintains, but this article from 2010 includes them on the list:

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/i ... ard-liners

So we are not alone in seeing them for what they are.

[lipstickgoalie]

I'm not sure when they were first added to the list of hate groups the SPLC maintains, but this article from 2010 includes them on the list:

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/i ... ard-liners

So we are not alone in seeing them for what they are.

Dear Lord! I can't believe I didn't remember the SPLC listing! That will teach me to feel smart after 4 hours sleep and coaching 3 hockey practices in a row for preschoolers! I feel like an idiot.

[thoughtful]

Dear Lord! I can't believe I didn't remember the SPLC listing! That will teach me to feel smart after 4 hours sleep and coaching 3 hockey practices in a row for preschoolers! I feel like an idiot.

You are not an idiot -- there is a lot of hate out there :( , and forgetting who is keeping track of it can happen.

[formergothardite]

Bascially, they are blackballing people/groups. This has been done before when communism was on the forefront of everyone's mind. They will find a way around it.

It sounds like the credit card companies are being encouraged to not make money off of and support hate groups. It doesn't seem like they are being forced, but encouraged and provided with lists of hate groups that they are currently supporting. The harder it is for hate groups to make money, the better off society will be. The hate groups can still make money, people will just have to take the time to mail a check or money order. If I ran a credit card company I wouldn't want to make it look like I supported a hate group either.

[Stephanie66]

I think it is a tough policy to enforce, as the hate groups will just get new names that they will use to process the credit cards. It becomes a game.

I am REALLY GLAD about a different part of this article. My son (he's really NOT a bad kid) was arrested for a minor thing that looked like a big deal last year. The first thing that came up when his name was googled was a mug shot of him. Unfortunately, he has a very unusual last name, so he couldn't hide. I even considered paying to get it removed, I was so pissed off. Apparently, Google has fixed the algorithm so now, I get a lovely picture of his facebook photo from...two years ago. Thank you very much New York Times and Google. One less thing to worry about.

[formergothardite]

I'm sure that the FRC will cry persecution if credit card companies refuse to do business with them.

[uber frau]

Can someone who knows such things tell me how a 'hate group's is defined in the US? What I mean is, is there an official list and who's in charge of judging who gets put on it? I of know SPLC list but how definitive is it?

[Stephanie66]

Can someone who knows such things tell me how a 'hate group's is defined in the US? What I mean is, is there an official list and who's in charge of judging who gets put on it? I of know SPLC list but how definitive is it?

No, there is no official list that I know of. I think the closest thing IS the SPLC list...they used to be known as "Klanwatch" and they tracked white supremacist groups. (I subscribed to their newsletter when I was in high school, back in the day. Julian Bond was my hero.) I am not sure I agree with their list in it's entirety, but it is their specialty and they are very good at it.

[artdecades]

I think this is mostly a protection for the card companies. As the beginning of the post says, these mugshot websites are extortion. The card companies don't want to be part of any possible illegal dealings, so they are backing out. Same goes for hate groups. If the card companies are funneling money between people in hate groups and that money goes to something illegal, then the card companies are going to be called out for allowing illegal behavior.

I think it gets sketchier with groups like the FRC. They are a hate group, but they aren't terroristic hate group to my knowledge.

[JMarie]

I think this is mostly a protection for the card companies. As the beginning of the post says, these mugshot websites are extortion. The card companies don't want to be part of any possible illegal dealings, so they are backing out. Same goes for hate groups. If the card companies are funneling money between people in hate groups and that money goes to something illegal, then the card companies are going to be called out for allowing illegal behavior.

I think it gets sketchier with groups like the FRC. They are a hate group, but they aren't terroristic hate group to my knowledge.

This one will probably still be able to suck people's wallets dry, since they don't charge the credit card companies directly:

arrestcourtinfo.com/

All payments must be made through PayPal (see below for more information) or Western Union (additional fees will be required if you want to pay by Western Union). If you do not have a PayPal account, you can create one here.

[scc12]

I think that might explain why I couldn't join AARP w a credit card.But please tell me they aren't on a hate group list? If they are,I didn't know about it.

I do think it's a good thing ppl can't use a CC to donate to FRC.This whole hiring Josh thing was about $$$,and if it nets them less due to inconvenience,then good. :)