Gabriel Rothblatt Explained

Gabriel Rothblatt (born October 5, 1982) is a technoprogressive political activist, a 2014 congressional candidate, and a writer and speaker in the futurist and transhumanist movements.

Early life and education

Born to Bina and transgender businesswoman Martine Rothblatt, Rothblatt is Black, Jewish, and comes from an LGBTQ family.[1] [2] His parents founded Sirius Satellite Radio, United Therapeutics and other companies.[3] After graduating from high school, he earned a degree in political philosophy at the University of Vermont.[2] He works for MIO, LLC as a property manager and has previously managed a restaurant franchise and worked as an insurance broker.[2] His great grandfather, Isadore Rothblatt, was a union organizer and was beaten to death by anti-union activists because of his union activities with the Leatherworker's Union of Chicago. Rothblatt and his wife Taj divorced in June 2021. They have four children together.[4]

Activism

Human rights

Rothblatt is an outspoken advocate for human rights. In his 2014 congressional campaign, he was endorsed by the National Organization for Women[5] and the Teamsters Local Union 769.[6] He also was a featured speaker at the South Brevard NAACP's banquet dinner.[7] He is a Member Delegate of the Space Coast Progressive Alliance and Vice President of the Brevard Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.[8]

Space

Rothblatt is an advocate for space, public speaker on the advantageous of investing in space settlements, and President of the Florida Space Development Council, the National Space Society's local chapter.[9] In a talk hosted by students from SEDS, at the University of Michigan, Rothblatt advocated that space exploration should not resemble the space race but should be an endeavor of international collaboration.[1] In a congressional debate, Rothblatt stated that he believes missions to the moon, Mars, and asteroids should be a priority, and under the right plan a 1,000 people could be in space within a decade.[10] Space was such a significant part of Rothblatt's campaign BBC News ran a story covering both candidates position on space and titled it Florida's space race: The politicians battling over the cosmos.[11] Lisa Miller, from New York magazine, wrote that the first item on Rothblatt's platform is "space."[12] Rothblatt has written on various space topics including spacesteading[13] and panspermia.[14]

Transhumanism

Rothblatt is a Pastor, Community Organizer, and member of the Board of Directors with the Terasem Movement.[15] [16] Rothblatt writes and speaks on transhumanist topics, such as seasteading,[17] [18] cryonics,[19] religion,[20] mind uploading,[21] and technological discrimination.[22] [23]

Political campaigns

During the 2014 Midterm elections, Rothblatt ran as a Democratic Party candidate against incumbent Bill Posey in Florida's 8th congressional district.[24] Rothblatt qualified for the ballot by gathering 4,936 signatures; the minimum required was 4,834.[25] Issues of concern to him were technological unemployment, protecting family values, promoting education, protecting the environment, developing space, and human rights.[4] [26] His belief in transhumanism and his family ties were both regularly covered by the media. Jessica Roy, from Time, commented that his status as a member of Terasem may be just as difficult for his campaign as being a Democrat in the Republican majority district.[27] During a campaign event, gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist introduced him by saying "Gabriel is the messenger that God sent."[28]

Others were critical of Rothblatt's campaign. Katie Prill, from the National Republican Congressional Committee, wrote that "his radical ideas are too extreme for Florida families."[26] Posey's spokesman, George Cecala, stated that, "It all comes down to the real issue, and that is Bill Posey is a conservative and Gabriel Rothblatt is a liberal.[26] Posey won the election, but Neely Tucker at the Washington Post called his campaign "a respectable debut,"[29] and Dustin Ashley wrote that his campaign "opens the door for other transhumanists to become part of the political action."[30]

SpacePAC

Rothblatt was supported by SpacePAC, a Political Action Committee (PAC) founded by his parents.[26] Under campaign finance laws, PACs are not permitted to collaborate with the candidate.[26] Due to these restrictions, the Rothblatts were not permitted to discuss the campaign together until the election was over.[26] The New York Times criticized the PAC because it was run by his parents.[31] USA Today reported that Rothblatt was unaware of his parents PAC until he saw yard signs promoting his candidacy.[32] According to William Patrick, from Watchdog.org, Posey knew of the family relationship between Rothblatt and the PAC, but Posey declined to comment.[33] Dave Berman, from Florida Today, noted that even with the support of SpacePAC, Posey's campaign had far more funds than Rothblatt's campaign.[34] Alex Leary, from the Tampa Bay Times reported that SpacePAC was not the first PAC to be set up by a wealthy parents to support their child's campaign.[35]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Space exploration faces future funding hurdles . Nabeel Chollampat . December 4, 2014 . The Michigan Daily . March 14, 2015.
  2. Web site: Biography Gabriel Rothblatt for Congress . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20160709192555/http://gabrielrothblattforcongress.us/ . 2016-07-09 . Gabriel Rothblatt For Congress.
  3. Web site: House bid a stepping stone for space-focused candidate . Fredreka Schouten . July 18, 2014 . . March 14, 2015.
  4. Web site: Americans for Gabriel Rothblatt . Democracy For America . March 14, 2015.
  5. Web site: Meet the Dudes . Women's Center in Brevard . March 14, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231032914/http://womenscenterinbrevard.org/meet-the-dudes/gabriel-rothblatt/ . December 31, 2014 .
  6. Web site: Teamsters Local Union 769. Teamsters Joint Council 75. March 14, 2015.
  7. Web site: Brevard NAACP chapters set plans for annual banquets . Sara Paulson . October 16, 2014 . Florida Today . March 14, 2015.
  8. Web site: Annual Elections Jan. 8, 2015 . Jan 3, 2014 . Space Coast Progressive Alliance . March 14, 2015 . April 2, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121446/http://www.scpaflorida.com/item/2973-scpa-annual-elections-jan-8-2015vSCPA . dead .
  9. Web site: NASA's MMS mission set to continue busy month at Cape. James Dean . March 8, 2015 . Florida Today . March 8, 2015.
  10. Web site: Posey, Rothblatt take their shots at congressional debate. Dave Berman . October 14, 2014 . Florida Today . March 14, 2015.
  11. Web site: Florida's space race: The politicians battling over the cosmos . Debbie Siegelbaum . October 19, 2014 . . March 14, 2015.
  12. Web site: The Trans-Everything CEO . September 17, 2014 . New York Magazine . March 14, 2015.
  13. Web site: Spacesteading – May the Meek Inhabit the Cosmos . Gabriel Rothblatt . July 15, 2012. . March 14, 2015.
  14. Web site: Are We Panspermia or Not? Does Knowing Matter? . Gabriel Rothblatt . August 24, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . December 31, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231102917/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120824 . dead .
  15. Web site: Advisory Board . Lifeboat Foundation . March 14, 2015.
  16. Web site: Gabriel Rothblatt. Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. March 14, 2015. May 10, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150510175817/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/bio/grothblatt/. dead.
  17. Web site: How Can Seasteading End Somali Piracy? . Gabriel Rothblatt . June 9, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . December 31, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231102922/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120609 . dead .
  18. Web site: The Seasteading Conference . https://archive.today/20141217143306/http://www.seasteading.org/community/events/conference2012/?tubepress_video=44289555&tubepress_page=1 . dead . December 17, 2014 . 2012 . The Seasteading Institute . March 14, 2015 .
  19. Web site: Don't Go To Sleep In The Cold! . Gabriel Rothblatt . April 6, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . December 31, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231102915/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120406 . dead .
  20. Web site: Is Transhumanism a Religion? . Gabriel Rothblatt . June 7, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . May 2, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150502235726/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120607 . dead .
  21. Web site: Will We Have Multiple "Selves" in the Future? . Gabriel Rothblatt . April 20, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . December 31, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231102919/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120420 . dead .
  22. Web site: Steve Mann Assaulted at French McDonald's in world's first "Cybernetic Hate Crime . Gabriel Rothblatt . July 20, 2012 . . March 14, 2015 . July 19, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150719051040/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt2012071811 . dead .
  23. Web site: Is the term "Transhumanism" a misnomer?. Gabriel Rothblatt. June 13, 2012. Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. March 14, 2015. December 31, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141231102925/http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gabrielrothblatt20120613. dead.
  24. Web site: Florida's 8th Congressional District . Ballotpedia . March 14, 2015.
  25. Web site: Candidates Petition Signatures, 2014 General Elections . Florida Division of Elections . March 14, 2015.
  26. Web site: Congressional candidate has faith in technology . Scott Powers . August 18, 2014 . Orlando Sentinel . March 14, 2015 . November 29, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129084750/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-08-18/news/os-congressional-gabriel-rothblatt-20140817_1_congressional-candidate-martine-rothblatt-religion . dead .
  27. The Rapture of the Nerds. Jessica Roy . April 17, 2014 . . March 14, 2015.
  28. Web site: Charlie Crist goes on the offensive in Melbourne . Dave Berman. September 25, 2014 . Florida Today . March 14, 2015.
  29. News: Martine Rothblatt: She founded SiriusXM, a religion and a biotech. For starters . Neely Tucker . December 12, 2014 . . March 14, 2015.
  30. Web site: Gabriel Rothblatt Lost the Race. November 5, 2014 . transhumanity.net . March 14, 2015.
  31. Web site: The Custom-Made 'Super PAC' . August 3, 2014. . March 14, 2015.
  32. Web site: Some candidates' super PACs are a family affair. Fredreka Schouten and Christopher Schnaars. July 18, 2014 . . March 14, 2015.
  33. Web site: Democratic candidate gets $225,000 boost from sole super PAC donor, his dad . William Patrick . July 29, 2014 . . March 14, 2015 . December 16, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141216204713/http://watchdog.org/161806/democratic-super-pac/ . dead .
  34. Web site: Numbers don't look good for Brevard Democrats . Dave Berman. October 10, 2014. Florida Today . March 14, 2015.
  35. Web site: Florida congressional candidate gets Super PAC boost. Alex Leary. October 28, 2014. Tampa Bay Times. March 14, 2015. December 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141216202753/http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/florida-congressional-candidate-gets-super-pac-boost----from-his-father/2195089. dead.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gabriel Rothblatt".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.