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Draft:Egberto Willies

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  • Comment: I count five paragraphs without any references, and another couple that are insufficiently referenced.
    Sources 3-6 don't really verify much of anything of note, and 9 verifies nothing.
    (I have doubts about notability as well, but haven't analysed that in any detail yet, so only declining for referencing for now.) DoubleGrazing (talk) 06:26, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Wikipedia cannot reference itself. Theroadislong (talk) 20:53, 9 September 2023 (UTC)

Egberto Willies

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Egberto Willies
BornMay 18, 1961
Colon Republic of Panama
NationalityAmerican
EducationBachelor of science in mechanical engineering
OccupationMedia/RadioHost/Blogger/Author/Writer
Known forPacifica Network’s KPFT 90.1 FM Politics Done Right Host. Author of several political books.
Websitehttps://egbertowillies.com/

Egberto Willies (born May 18, 1961.[1]) is an American entrepreneur, author, blogger, radio show host, media personality, and political activist[2]. He mainly expresses his thoughts and opinions on American politics through his blogs and radio shows.   

Early life and education

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Willies was born on May 18, 1961, in the Colon Republic of Panama. He lived in the former Canal Zone, where he was actively involved and one of the community’s leading members. He had a band named the Dynamites[3], where he was the lead guitarist and musical director. He played in both the concert[4] and stage bands[5] at his high school and was a member of the National Honor Society[6].

Willies moved to the United States of America. He attended the University of Texas in 1980[7] and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1983[8]. During that time, he was a part of Big Brothers of America. He was a member of SALAC, the South African Liberation Action Committee that protested to have the University divest its funds from South Africa. He founded the Caribbean Central American Association and was a member of the Afro-American Cultural Committee.

Career

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Corporate Career

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After graduating, Willies was hired by NL Industries as a senior programmer analyst. His job was designing and implementing real-time data acquisition systems between the PDP11 computers and Z80 microprocessors. He worked there for over two years. From 1986 to 1988, Willies worked as a research engineer, software engineer, senior programmer, and analyst for several companies. In 1989, he became the vice president and chief engineer of PWL Systems, where he designed a real-time computerized oil well logging system and real-time operating systems.

While working for those companies, Willies started his own software company, Willies Computer Software Co. The company designed and developed serial communication libraries, drivers, real-time operating systems, and tools. It distributes Bluetooth wireless serial adapters, multiport serial cards, USB to serial converters, and other communication devices and develops custom software. His software was used by NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boeing, Texaco, and hundreds of other large and small companies.

Media Career

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Muslim Network TV (https://www.muslimnetwork.tv/)

WAOK (Get Link)

civicmedia.us https://civicmedia.us/shows/devils-advocates/2023/10/31/a-bright-blue-year-ahead)

Univision (https://www.univision.com/local/houston-kxln/actividades-para-crear-conciencia-de-la-justicia-social-y-racial-video)

KHOU - PDR Covered covering Sheila Jackson Lee running for mayor of Houston @50:00 https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/sheila-jackson-lee-mayor-houston/285-6f16f7a9-3a62-4d26-a97a-731eaaf811bd

https://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/24/fact.check.pentagon.irpt/index.html

Willies entered the media industry in 2004 due to his interest in politics. He is a contributing editor for Daily Kos[9]. His articles mainly cover political news and opinions. He was also a contributor to HuffPost Live. He was the CNN iReporter with more than a million page views and appearances on air several times a week. He received two awards there: the 2nd Annual CNN iReport Spirit Award Honoree and CNN iReport Pundit of the Week. Willies has also contributed to Alternet.com, CommonDreams.org, ProgressiveChristianity.org, and RawStory.com. He is currently the senior editor at OpEd News[10]

Willies started hosting the Move to Amend Reports radio show for the Move to Amend Organization. The organization is working on the 28th Amendment to the constitution to codify that money is not speech, and corporations are persons.

In 2013, Willies joined KPFT 90.1 FM, where he hosts the talk show Politics Done Right. The program airs at 6:00 AM and 3:00 PM every weekday. Politics Done Right, in addition to airing on KPFT 90.1 FM, airs on other Pacifica Affiliate Stations nationwide and is streamed throughout the United States on several independent networks.[11] including Coffee Party USA, Progressive Radio Voices, and other streaming networks. Politics Done Right mainly covers serious political issues.

Willies has interviewed several notable political personalities, including President Bill Clinton’s labor secretary Robert Reich, economists Richard Wolf, Gar Alperovitz, and Dean Baker. Willies later became a board of directors’ member of KPFT 90.1 FM Houston Local Station, Move to Amend, and Coffee Party USA. He is a National Director on the national radio network, Pacifica National Network.[12]

In 2015, Willies founded Willies Media LLC[13], an independent progressive media organization covering health, politics, and entertainment news. The organization’s factual reporting is rated HIGH by Media Bias/Media Fact Check fact-checking company.[14] The company was featured in VoyageHouston in 2020.[15]

Politics and social justice work

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Willies is actively involved in political activism. He was a founding member and board member of Coffee Party USA. He was formerly on the executive committee of Move to Amend. Willies is the communications secretary for the Houston Peace & Justice Center. He is a Precinct Chair and an active member of the Harris County Texas Democratic Party.

In 2011, Willies became the president of the Kingwood Area Democrats. He served for four years[16]. As president, he met Mike Collier, a former Republican turned Democratic Candidate who ran for Texas Comptroller as well as Texas Lieutenant Governor. Collier pointed out in his book, “Out of Control,” that Willies was instrumental in introducing him to the Democratic community. The Texas Tribune subsequently interviewed Willies during the contentious election.[17]

Willies was a part of the Occupy Houston movement. He was one of the founders of Occupy Kingwood. In January 2012, his home was attacked with fireworks, which various television stations covered. It was believed that the attack was politically driven.[18]

In 2015, Democracy for America (DFA) named Willies the DFA Netroots Nation Scholar for his work building a progressive movement.[19] He covered the major disruption at Netroots Nation, the largest progressive conference in the country, where Black Lives Matter took the stage to force Bernie Sanders to change his platform to include issues of police brutality and racism. He remains a media partner with the organization. [20]

Willies was a part of the team that brought in Bernie Sanders’s huge Nevada win that panicked the establishment wing of the Democratic Party in 2020.[21]

Books

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Willies has authored various books used in the activist community that explore political concerns and provide various perspectives . He has also written about his experience in America as an Afro/Latino Caribbean man as he navigated through corporate America and the American society at large.

  • As I See It:[22] - Class Warfare: The Only Resort To Right-Wing Doom
  • How to Make America Utopia:[23] Take Away the Economy from those who rigged it
  • It’s Worth It:[24] How to Talk To Your Right-Wing Relatives, Friends, and Neighbors
  • Tribulations of an Afro-Latino Caribbean man:[25] Racism didn't Stop My Smile, Hope, Or Journey Forward

Articles

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Willies has published various articles in various newspapers about the state of our government, politics, and socioeconomics.

  • Is Net Neutrality Really Necessary? You're Damn Right![26]
  • Middle class held hostage[27]
  • Government can create jobs; however, creation from private small business is best[28]

Awards

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  • Recipient of the Houston Peace & Justice Center (HPJC) local Peacemaker Award[29]
  • 2015 Democracy for America Netroots Nation Scholar[19]
  • 2nd Annual CNN iReport Spirit Award Honoree[30]
  • CNN iReport Pundit of the Week[31]

References

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  1. ^ Egberto, Willies (18 May 2023). "Facebook". Facebook.
  2. ^ Svitek, Patrick (22 October 2014). "Davis and Abbott talk up Obama during GOTV rallies". Houston Chronicle. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. p. 50. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. p. 148. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. p. 149. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. p. 114. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  7. ^ "Cactus Yearbook" (PDF). 1981. p. 303.
  8. ^ "The Alcalde". January–February 2011. p. 86.
  9. ^ "Daily Kos : Masthead". Daily Kos. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2023-09-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "OpEd News Masthead". OpEdNews.
  11. ^ "Radio show now airing from Occupy Houston encampment".
  12. ^ "The Pacifica Foundation". pacifica.org. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  13. ^ "Dun & Bradstreet".
  14. ^ "EgbertoWillies - Bias and Credibility". Media Bias/Fact Check. 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  15. ^ Stories, Local (2020-07-28). "Meet Egberto Willies of Willies Media in Kingwood - Voyage Houston Magazine | Houston City Guide". voyagehouston.com. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  16. ^ "Egberto Willies - About | Kingwood Area Democrats". Kingwood Area Dems. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  17. ^ Barragán, Patrick Svitek and James (2022-09-08). "Democrat Mike Collier embraces his GOP past as he tries to unseat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  18. ^ "Unknown suspect attacks Kingwood politician's home with fireworks".
  19. ^ a b "Kingwood's Egberto Willies named 2015 Democracy for America Netroots Nation Scholar".
  20. ^ "Sponsors – Netroots Nation". Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  21. ^ "Post-caucus event held in downtown Las Vegas". KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas. 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  22. ^ Willies, Egberto (August 31, 2010). As I See It. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1453608166.
  23. ^ Willies, Egberto (April 29, 2021). How to Make America Utopia. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1727218756.
  24. ^ Willies, Egberto (August 9, 2020). It’s Worth It. CreateSpace. ISBN 979-8673682081.
  25. ^ Willies, Egberto (February 5, 2024). Tribulations of an Afro-Latino Caribbean man. ISBN 979-8878596305.
  26. ^ Willies, Egberto. "Is Net Neutrality Really Necessary? You're Damn Right!". Common Dreams, Inc.
  27. ^ Willies, Egberto. "Middle class held hostage". Houston Chronicle.
  28. ^ Willies, Egberto. "Government can create jobs; however, creation from private small business is best". Houston Chronicle.
  29. ^ "2019 HPJC Peacemaker Awards Dinner & Auction". Houston Peace & Justice Center. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  30. ^ "CNN iReport Awards". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  31. ^ "iReport Pundit of the Week: Egberto Willies - CNN iReport Blog". 2018-06-14. Archived from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
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