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Meet the Trackers, Part 5: Jethro Rothe-Kushel
August 14, 2010
By Adam Bink
The last installment of Meet the Trackers as the Tour closes out this week is with Jethro Rothe-Kushel, an acclaimed director, producer and videographer who shoots for the Courage Campaign.
Jethro was on the ground for the first leg, helping get the video operation up and running, and helped bring you the first video footage from the tour (which resulted in his being threatened with arrest by the Annapolis police). He’s now back in CA and shared his reflections on what it was like to be on the ground and why working through cinematography is so important to advancing equality.
Where do you hail from?
Silverlake (a neighborhood a few miles north of downtown Los Angeles).
What brings you to Courage Campaign and the pro-equality movement?
Have been shooting for Courage Campaign since 2007. Volunteered for the ‘No On 8′ Campaign and when Prop 8 passed I was outraged.
How long have you been with Courage, and what’s your role?
Three years.
Any predictions for what Ahnold will do upon leaving the governor’s mansion?
Go to the gym while dreaming of more action movies.
Tell us what a day in the life on the road with NOM looks like, from eye-open to eye-shut.
1) Turn off alarm. Wake up in a new hotel. 2) Try to remember what city this is. 3) Prepare camera equipment. 4) Travel to the NOM event. 5) Follow Brian Brown. 6) Ask Brian Brown a hard question. 7) Respond to police that have been sent to you.
Be told you must leave the rally. 9) Try to find Arisha and Anthony. 10) Find a wi-fi hotspot like a Starbucks. 11) While on the way, import and edit footage as quickly as possible like your life depends on it. 12) Upload footage. 13) Get notes from Eden and the Courage team. 14) Implement notes and re-upload. 15) Repeat #13 & #14. 16) Travel to next city while repeating #13 & 14. 17) Remember that you haven’t eaten anything. 18) Realize it’s midnight and nothing is open. 19) Order room service or find a 24 hr McDonald’s. 20) Charge battery and prepare equipment for tomorrow. 21) Sleep while dreaming of new questions for Brian Brown.
When you’re not working on winning marriage equality for same-sex couples and exposing NOM’s failures and falsehoods, what issues most interest you?
Creating the engine of emotional cinematic experiences that raise consciousness and uplift the human spirit by boldly advancing the entertainment industry — either through motion pictures, televisions, music videos, documentaries, or commercials.
The NOM tour stopped in Lima, Ohio, where the hit TV show Glee is fictionally set. If you could quote Sue Sylvester to Brian Brown, what would you say?
“Even your breath stinks of mediocrity.”
Finish this sentence: If Brian Brown were a kitchen utensil, he would be…a tool.
Finish this sentence: If Maggie Gallagher had any other occupation, she would… be a Broadway singer.
If you could have any three dinner guests, who would they be and what would you serve?
I’m taking four. Steven Spielberg, Martin Luther King Jr., Rick Jacobs & Shaun Kadlec. I’d serve them sushi.
Got any closing message for our readers here at NOMTourTracker.com?
In the wake of the recent reversal of Prop 8 in California and the subsequent appeal process by the opposition, it is an exciting time for both social media and equal rights. We have an incredible opportunity here for national justice. Thank you for your commitment to rationality, righteousness, civility and making a difference.
Filed under: Community/Meta,NOM Tour Tracker
Having technical problems? E-mail prop8trial AT couragecampaign DOT org for assistance!
16 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Sagesse | August 14, 2010 at 8:37 am
Hi Jethro. Thanks for all you do.
2.
Kathleen | August 14, 2010 at 8:37 am
Nice to meet you, Jethro.
3.
AndrewPDX | August 14, 2010 at 8:38 am
Ah… i saw this one pop up yesterday… wondered when it would come back… (scribin)
4.
Ann S. | August 14, 2010 at 8:39 am
A big thanks to Jethro, all the Trackers, Courage Campaign, and all my fellow commentors here at P8TT.
5.
Alan E. | August 14, 2010 at 8:43 am
It was the super secret sneak preview.
6.
Straight Grandmother | August 14, 2010 at 8:50 am
Nice to meet you Jethro. Every time I saw your name in print I always wondered about the story of how you got such a cool name. Care to share? I'm listening.
7.
Jethro | August 14, 2010 at 8:58 am
Hi Sagesse, Ann S, Kathleen, 'Straight Grandmother', and Andrew,
Thank you for all the kind words and all you do on this board and beyond.
Eden, Anthony, Arisha, Adam, and the others have done a wonderful job over the past couple weeks keeping us all informed. Thank you to the blog community. It is a very exciting time in our country's history, and we are all a part of a transformation in this country that is happening.
SG —
Jethro is a name from the old-testament — Moses' father-in-law.
8.
James Tuttle | August 14, 2010 at 9:23 am
OMG…I have been waiting for the tool response for sooo long.
9.
Kate | August 14, 2010 at 9:39 am
Not from the Beverly Hillbillies???
10.
Lesbians Love Boies | August 14, 2010 at 10:33 am
Yes, nice to meet you Jethro…will learn more after I subscribe to all of the posts I have missed…
11.
Richard A. Walter (s | August 14, 2010 at 11:01 am
So glad you are part of our team, Jethro. Hope to hear more from you and see more of your work.
12.
couragecampaign | August 14, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Jethro and I met in a Safeway parking lot on a Sunday in September 2007. It's not as salacious as it sounds. My brilliant and wonderful partner, Shaun Kadlec, had worked with Jethro on a documentary short piece about California lobbyists (done surreptitiously).
Courage had just announced that we were going to find folks who were using illegal means to get an initiative on the ballot in 2008 that, had it passed, would have changed the way the electoral college votes would be counted in California, making it much harder for a Democrat to win the White House.
Jethro signed on to help us find the signature gatherers who were "bundling" petitions and lying to people about what they were signing. I wore a radio microphone and Jethro was nearby. We tried to find some folks, but did not.
Subsequently, Eric Love, one of our terrific colleagues, did find a fraudster. That made CBS Evening News and the initiative effort collapsed.
Since then, Jethro has gone above and beyond the call of duty to get out our Courageous messages. He's smart, good-humored, talented and determined. And he just turned thirty. Shaun and I got to attend his surprise birthday party put on by his beautiful girlfriend at, well, a sushi restaurant. Alas, Jethro, Spielberg and MLK were not there in person, but I know they were there in spirit.
Rick.
13.
Dan Hess | August 14, 2010 at 1:25 pm
So, I was driving down Route 15 today on my way to work, when the NOM bus breezes past me. What the hell were the odds? If I'd been driving a different car, odds are I would've rammed them just to give 'em a piece of my mind. ^_^
14.
Straight Grandmother | August 14, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Did you have a chance to give them a gesture?
15.
Dan Hess | August 15, 2010 at 1:41 am
Ha, not face to face. Was in the exit lane to US-40 already and they were half past me before I noticed. Shouted a bit and flipped them the bird (not literally, although I did have a cockatoo in the back seat–I work at a pet store XD),but they probably didn't realize it was for them.
16.
Ronnie | August 27, 2010 at 5:50 am
"Finish this sentence: If Brian Brown were a kitchen utensil, he would be…a tool."
I'm a little late to this thread…ok maybe a lot late…lol….anywho…nice to meet you Jethro…your answer to this was spot on…rofl..<3…Ronnie
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