Friday, December 30, 2011

Dark Money Press Release From the Buddy Roemer For President Campaign

For Immediate Release
December 30, 2011

Contact: Chris Buck, Esq.
Chris.Buck@BuddyRoemer.com
603-782-4812
Gov. Roemer Speaks Out Against

'Dark Money' in Politics
Manchester, NH–


Governor Buddy Roemer is a four-term Congressman and former Governor of Louisiana. He is known for refusing PAC and special interest money, implementing campaign finance reform, turning around Louisiana’s failing economy and cutting the state’s unemployment rate in half in just four years. Roemer is a candidate for President of the United States. His website is
Governor Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer today denounced the actions of Huntsman’s and Romney’s Super PAC’s for intentionally circumventing financial disclosure requirements and condoning the use of “dark money” to finance their Presidential campaigns.

Earlier in the week,
Politico reported that Jon Huntsman’s Super PAC, largely financed by his billionaire father, would seek a “filing delay.” The maneuver allows Huntsman’s Super PAC to avoid a twelve day pre-primary mandatory filing, and extends the time for disclosing the Super PAC’s donors until January 31, or three weeks after the New Hampshire Primary.

Huntsman is apparently taking a page from Mitt Romney’s playbook, even though he has tried to distinguish himself from the flip-flopping moderate Governor. A
Christmas Day editorial by the Washington Post, entitled “Mitt Romney’s Secret Money,” slammed Romney for refusing to disclose the names of his bundlers. And yesterday’s article by The Nation, entitled “Wall Street’s Bad Romance with Romney,” criticized the Massachusetts Governor’s campaign for “looking more like a third world oligarchy than a populist insurgency.” The article went on to note that Romney sold out to Wall Street, just as Obama did, by holding “a series of exclusive fundraisers, including a $2,500-per-person breakfast at Cipriani with executives such as former Goldman Sachs CEO John Whitehead and well-known hedge fund manager John Paulson, and a dinner at the Park Avenue apartment of Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm.” The articled noted that only nine percent of Romney’s money comes from small donors ($200 or less).

“This type of back alley politics stinks,” said Governor Buddy Roemer, the only candidate to voluntarily limit campaign contributions to $100, and to refuse special interest money. “Earlier in 2011, when Huntsman’s and Romney’s Super PAC’s filed to report on a quarterly basis, they never had any intention of disclosing their donors. It’s clearly a case of violating the spirit of the law, but I’m not surprised.”

“Washington, D.C. is the capital of corruption,” continued Roemer, “and neither Huntsman nor Romney will do a darn thing to change it, because they are both owned by the special interests. This is what’s wrong with America – the ‘win at all costs’ mentality of the establishment candidates, when good ol’ boy politicians sell out to pharmaceutical companies, Wall Street banks, insurance companies and lobbyists. Perhaps Huntsman and Romney shouldn’t run for President. They should just ask for a position in Obama’s cabinet.”
www.BuddyRoemer.com.
"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."
###

PAID FOR BY BUDDY ROEMER FOR PRESIDENT

Paid for by Buddy Roemer for President

Gov. Roemer Gaining Ground In Iowa and New Hampshire

Gov. Roemer Gaining Ground In Iowa and New Hampshire: Manchester, NH– For the second time in as many weeks, Governor Charles E. “Buddy” Roemer has reached two percent in a statewide poll of likely Republican voters. The most recent poll, releas...

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Thursday, December 29, 2011

LetBuddyDebate.org - Let Buddy Roemer participate in the Republican presidential debates

LetBuddyDebate.org - Let Buddy Roemer participate in the Republican presidential debates

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

In N.H., make room for Buddy Roemer - Boston.com

In N.H., make room for Buddy Roemer - Boston.com

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Buddy Roemer backs term limits in Portsmouth, NH



"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Let Buddy Roemer Debate - Larry Mendte



"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Buddy Roemer WEBN-TV Boston Interview - Part 3



"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Buddy Roemer WEBN-TV Boston Interview - Part 2



"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Buddy Roemer WEBN-TV Boston Interview - Part 1



"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Mitt Romney Breaks Promise To New Hampshire Voter About Protecting Freedom

Mitt Romney Breaks Promise To New Hampshire Voter About Protecting Freedom

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Christmas Vs. Happy Holidays

      So every year between Thanksgiving or Black Friday on through Christmas all I ever hear about is the entire debate of Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays. I'm going to make a lot of people upset, but I personally think that's petty. On both sides. While this is getting debated there are more important problems going on - let us not look at the number of children who go homeless in other countries, because I know some conservatives can write that off. Let us look at instead children without homes in America - A new report by The National Center on Family Homelessness finds that more than 1.6 million children - or one in 45 children - are homeless annually in America ( http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/ ). Let us look at how many people in general are without homes - On an average night in the 23 cities surveyed, 94 percent of people living on the streets were single adults, 4 percent were part of families and 2 percent were unaccompanied minors.  Seventy percent of those in emergency shelters were single adults, 29 percent were part of families and 1 percent were unaccompanied minors.  Of those in transitional housing, 43 percent were single adults, 56 percent were part of families, and 1 percent were unaccompanied minors.  Those who occupied permanent supportive housing were 60 percent single adults, 39.5 percent were part of families, and .5 percent were unaccompanied minors (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2008) ( http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html ). How many people in the country go hungry every year? According to USAToday, "Providing a buffer against this need, a record number of 44 million or one in seven Americans (half of whom are children) are currently enrolled in the government's largest nutritional safety net program. When the recession took hold in 2008, the number of Americans who were considered food insecure spiked to 17 million, the highest level recorded since the Department of Agriculture (USDA) began monitoring food security in 1995. It has remained close to that level since — the 2009 number, released last November, was 17.4 million." ( http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2011-05-10-hungermain_ST_U.htm ).
     Hunger and homelessness. These are really big issues. These are human lives at stake. These are warnings of overpopulation unheeded. But now that we are in this situation, we cannot continue to avoid it. We cannot continue to run and hide from it. Journalists everywhere, mainstream and independent, need to accept responsibility. It is your job as a reporter, as an anchor, as a journalist to report what is going on, and not only to report what is going on, but to report what you can do about it. If you don't report on it and on what can be done about it, your part of the problem.

So here is what I am going to do. I'm going to provide you a link where you can find a soup kitchen near you.

Soup Kitchens: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/volunteer-soupkitchen-thanksgiving , http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/foodbanks/index.html

I'm even going to offer to you that if you cannot find a soup kitchen near you that I will help you find one.

Now you can walk to soup kitchens, ride a bike or a skateboard or a bus or a cab. Carpool. Find something. I'm sure you will have success getting their if you put your mind to it. I imagine that you always can find your way to the mall or the movies or the bar when you want to be there, so I'm confident you can find your way to the soup kitchen.

Now as far as homelessness. This is more difficult. We may have a hard time accepting complete strangers into our homes. I imagine I would. But what if we donate tents? Here is a site: http://www.nextag.com/1-person-tent/shop-html . You can shop for a cheap one and donate it to a person at the soup kitchen or the homeless shelter.

If you find any other sites for soup kitchens, one person tents, or other places where we can donate our time or we can donate necessities, please let me know and I will post them.

Thanks for Listening,

Alexander Fisher
@JAFThrasher
J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

A Generic Title (Involving Heavy Metal) Part: Who Cares

     Often when people introduce Heavy Metal they set the scene of grimy streets in urban and industrialized Middle England. I do not think this is unfair or inaccurate, this scene describes where we got Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Led Zepplin (Though Zepplin's Heavy Metal credentials are another blog entirely). But where did they get their influence? Usually in reading about Heavy Metal or watching a documentary, this is where they cut to the interview where Ozzy or Geezer explain the dream of the big black figure and reading about the occult. Some even cut to the interview where Tony Iommi is pointing at his crushed fingers. His crushing his fingers, which led to playing down - tuned and with fake finger tips is not an influence, it's a coincidence.
     So we are still looking at it. What in the world influenced Heavy Metal? Where did it start? And while I've read Ian Christe, watched Sam Dunn and lived Heavy Metal since 2006 I'm still going to be referencing Wikipedia as often as I feel is necessary, sorry in advance if that makes you feel uncomfortable.
     I like to look at the genres that are said to be influencial on a certain genre. For Heavy Metal there are two genres - Blues Rock and Psychedelic Rock. Blues Rock makes the most sense to me, so let's look at Psychedelic Rock first. I think the biggest influences we can see from Psychedelic Rock on Heavy Metal is an experimentation with different styles and effects of Indian music. Which is an avenue all styles of music, especially (I'd say) Rock and all it's variants and Blues, took during the 1960 and '70s. Another thing that Heavy Metal might have gotten from both Blues and Psychedelic Rock is diverse use of intstrumentation (for Rock). In the early days they (Heavy Metal Bands) weren't afraid of pianos, keyboards, harmonicas and Black Sabbath even had a saxophone player at one point. Of course we all know that in the early days of Death Metal and Thrash Metal (different blogs for different times) they were very elitist about using only the three main rock instruments.
     So, what's the story about Blues Rock and it's influence on Heavy Metal? Well, let us look. Music Critic Piero Scaruffi has called Blues Rock, a "genre of rhythm'n'blues played by white European musicians." So, is it that simple? The genre of blues, played on acoustic guitars and harmonicas at the most basic level, gave birth to the genre of Heavy Metal because it traveled across the Atlantic and was played by a different ethnicity? Maybe. Personally I'm excited to find out. But I've reached my own self imposed alloted limit for this blog. We've laid the ground work. Please feel free to ask questions and comment on the facts, opinions and ideas brought forward in this blog.

I'll leave you with this, some bands to check out, and some genres I mean to discuss in future blogs:

Psychedelic Rock Bands:

Holy Modal Rounders
Electric Prunes
The Fugs (I recommend Kill For Peace)
The Godz
Soft Machine

Blues Rock Bands:

The Animals
The Yardbirds
Fabulous Umbrella
Howlin' Wolf
Butterfield Blues Bands

Genres:

Chicago - Style Blues
Folk Music
Blues
Jazz
Garage Rock

Until Next Time, Rock Hard, Rock Often:

P.S. What subject should #FridayNightFacts be about this week?

- Alexander Thrasher

@JAFThrasher
J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Obama's Progressive Credentials - The Middle and Working Class

      I’ve decided after a recent debate on Facebook to discuss in a blog series President Barack Obama’s Progressive Credentials. If you want to join the discussion on Twitter I’m adopting the hash tag #ProgCred, so if you want to discuss it that way, please feel free.
     The first thing to start with is to outline what Progressive is. I won’t be using Glenn Beck’s definition and I probably won’t be using Karl Marx’s definition, either, honestly. I hope to get a moderate, unbiased, unpartisan definition of Progressive that we can all agree on. So here is the definition I am going to use.

     
(This is a new definition, molded from the one below, which was supposed to be here, but the formatting fought with me.) Progressivism, economically, is something that focuses on the Middle and Working Class.

     So it focuses a lot on the Working and Middle Class. So it only made perfect sense for me to start with how Obama’s policies have affected that demographic of people.

So without further ado:


Obama's Progressive Credentials -- The Working and Middle Class


     He formed a Bureaucratic board or committee or panel or whatever for jobs when he first got into office. He got the President of GE, an international corporation that donated big to his campaign in 2008 (The company has spent more than $238 million over the last 12 years on lobbying … Those are lobbying numbers and may be completely independent of numbers spent on buying elections. In fact, GE donated 529,855 to Barack Obama in 2008 Election), to head that group. That president of course is Jeffrey Immelt. GE made 14.2 billion in profits in 2010. And though it is contested, it is believed that GE didn’t pay any taxes in 2009 or 2010. Which is curious seeing as Jeffrey Immelt is working closely with the President and the Middle Class the President claims to be working for is still paying their fair share of taxes. I call into question a conflict of interest. Jeffrey Immelt is the President of GE, a multinational corporation and he is also working on the Job and Competitiveness Council. His company is exporting American jobs and (potentially) not paying any American Taxes. In fact, GE receives tax breaks (GE actually got a $3.2 billion tax benefit) to export American Jobs (GE laid off 21,000 American workers and closed 20 factories , According to ABC News, more than half of the company’s workforce is now located outside of the United States). The system is corrupt, and the President isn’t even talking about it. This, right out of the gate, raises questions about President Obama’s Progressive Credentials as it pertains to the Working and Middle class. (ABC)
     The second thing I’d like to address when it comes to noticing President Obama’s policy’s affect on the middle and working class is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Obama threw a lot of money at a lot of problems. I understand progressive to mean that you work to help the middle class, and maybe somewhere along the way Obama learned that throwing money at the problem would fix the problem. But I want to look at the numbers.
     President Obama spent $100 billion on education in ARRA. Since 2008, when the economy collapsed, about 294,000 education jobs have been lost, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now call me crazy, but don’t we need teachers to have education. Oh, no sorry, this is the “No Child Left Behind” Era, we just need tests. I’m hearing Pink Floyd people… (The Blaze).
     Obama also spent a healthy chunk of money on healthcare. $155.1 billion to be exact. And while the number of actual people uninsured is up for debate, even the lowest number is inexcusable. Some say 46 million are uninsured. Some say the number would be closer to 26.5 or even as low as 8.2 (The Spectator).
     And what it comes down to is the Middle and the Working class, yes they need an education, yes the need healthcare, but they need WORK! And the numbers show that they just don’t. The real unemployment and underemployment rate is 25% (Yahoo News)! So essentially, the president spent 700 billion dollars, conservatively, in order to improve infrastructure, save education jobs, keep people insured and to give tax breaks to people so they would spend and hire more and we’d see an uptake in this economy. None of the numbers above show that. Even though GE rakes in big money and gets tax breaks for building overseas without having to pay any taxes here.
     Also, while I’m talking about the Middle Class I’d like to take a look at loans and foreclosures.


     So even though banks were supposed to have tax incentives to loan and money left over from Bush II to give out as loans, loans have been going down since 2007. Maybe we can give Obama the benefit of the doubt on this one and say that we paid for continual lower loan rates with reform? (StLToday).
     There were 2.9 million U.S. properties that received foreclosure fillings in 2010 (Realty Trac). Again, maybe this is the price we pay for regulation. But I find it curious to look at the profits of GE and of all the banks, to look at how much the president makes as president, and how much he accepts as a candidate, how much Dodd and Frank take or took as members of Congress compared to the numbers of people without homes, healthcare, teachers to teach them, or jobs to work at.
     One last note about the middle class before I wrap up with bank reform. I think a true Progressive would address Unfair trade. It puts people out of work here and hires them in a country like China for much less. But the cost of the workers and working conditions they use. Countries like China use sweatshops and they load those sweatshops with slaves and children. It is unfair to the middle class of foreign countries and it is unfair to the middle class of America. But we give companies and corporations tax credits to do it! A real Progressive would be for fair trade, not free trade and would be for capitalism not corporatism.
     Okay, now to banking reform, which as we’ve seen with loans and foreclosures and things very much affects the Middle and Working Classes. Let’s look at how the big banks that were ‘regulated’ are doing (I am of the personal belief that if Obama was a true Progressive he would have looked directly past Dodd - Frank and went to try to pass Glass - Steagal. But I can say with almost certainty that he didn’t even mention Glass - Steagal during the whole bank regulation debate.)
BofA 10.4 Billion
JPMorgan Chase 17.4 Billion
Citigroup 10.6 Billion
Wells Fargo 12.4 Billion
Goldman Sachs 9.6 Billion
(Azreg.com)
    
     So how is that the banks are doing so well (ie. They can afford to pay big bonuses and they can afford to buy Presidential candidates, even more than one of the same party in the same season) but the middle and working class are barely hanging on?
     Now, hopefully we can open up the conversation for counter - argument and rebuttal. I am more than happy to have it. But with all the reading and research I’ve done since Barack Obama has been President has not convinced me that he is either a Progressive or for the Middle or Working Classes. This is the first installment in a series where I aim to highlight his disconnect with Progressivism.
 
1. CNN “GE received a $318 million tax credit in 2009” -

2. The Blaze - “AP’s Fact Check Again Hammers Obama Jobs Plan Makes Giant Leaps”

3. The Spectator - “The Myth of the 46 Million”

4. Yahoo News - “Actual Unemployment Rate Soars Above 25 Percent”

5. St. L Today -

6. Realty Trac - “Record 29 Million US Properties Receive Foreclosure Filings in 2010 despite 30 Month Low in December”

7. Azreg - “Top 5 US Banks Profit Over 60.4 Billion in 2012 -

Alexander Fisher
J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com
@JAFThrasher


http://www.azreg.com/blog/top-5-u-s-banks-profit-over-60-4-billion-in-2010/

http://www.realtytrac.com/content/press-releases/record-29-million-us-properties-receive-foreclosure-filings-in-2010-despite-30-month-low-in-december-6309

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/article_d1db1a06-98e1-5831-b184-270ddfa721e8.html#ixzz1h5MKSID0

http://news.yahoo.com/actual-unemployment-rate-soars-above-25-percent-200400654.html

http://spectator.org/archives/2009/03/20/the-myth-of-the-46-million

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/aps-fact-check-again-hammers-obama-jobs-plan-makes-giant-leaps/

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/17/news/companies/general_electric/index.htm



The Progressive Movement began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in cities with settlement workers and reformers who were interested in helping those facing harsh conditions at home and at work. The reformers spoke out about the need for laws regulating tenement housing and child labor. They also called for better working conditions for women.


A decline in loans also occurred nationwide as lending fell to $7.38 trillion at the end of 2010, a 0.2 percent decline from 2009, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That represented the 10th consecutive quarter of loan declines.


Obama’s Progressive Credentials - The Working and Middle Class

Monday, December 19, 2011

Give Buddy Roemer a chance

Give Buddy Roemer a chance

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A Day In The Life....

I’m campaigning for a presidential candidate in New Hampshire and today we did a robocall. I had the distinguished honor of answering the phone when people called in response to said robocalls. I’m going to proceed with absolute caution. The grass IS always greener on the other side. I do not know how often the people of New Hampshire get political phone calls, therefore I cannot know how annoying it is, or how much of an inconvenience it is. What I have to observe, however, is that these people mustn’t be too busy, they have time to call in and say some of the following, some of which I’m going to have to edit down to a PG-13 rating.

These are direct quotes, none of these are made up, welcome to the New Hampshire Primary Process:

“This is a business line and I’m actually a Democrat.”

“Put me on your don’t call list, please.”

(This one was particularly funny to me, my dad works nights) “Tell Buddy I work nights.”

“Can you keep me off your list? It’s a really obnoxious call going out.”

“That was the rudest call I’ve ever gotten and if you don’t take me off your list and I get a call from this number again I’m calling the Attorney General.”

“The part I got was creepy.”

One guy answered the standard ‘How may I help you’ with “By taking me off your F*cking call list” and then he promptly hung up.

I like this one because of the multi-personality grammar, “I myself, we’re voting for Ron Paul.”

*Sound of Disgust* “I wouldn’t vote for any of you knuckleheads” (A response I got when I told the caller that I was volunteering for a candidate seeking the Republican nomination.)

Most of these were followed by these people hanging up without giving me a chance to respond. Which I take to be rude and cowardly, but that’s just me.

One lady even said she was going to file a complaint because the robocall came to her cell phone.
Really?

“How dare a call come to my cell phone? I’m so distraught and frustrated over this thirty second personal invasion that I’m going to file a complaint!”

If you don’t like the candidate, or you don’t like the robocall, fine, but is there anyway to be less melodramatic about the situation? If a telemarketer calls me I don’t call back to inform them that I’m going to file a complaint. Heck! I don’t file a complaint. The telemarketer is trying to make a living. In this instance, a candidate is trying to make a difference in his country. If that offends you so badly, move to a smaller-minded, less free country. Why take it out on the campaign intern? Why act like your dog just got ran over or like you just had to sign over your first born child. I don’t get it. But then again, I’ve never been on New Hampshire’s side of the fence…

Thanks for listening,


Alexander Fisher
@JAFThrasher
"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Glenn Beck's "Restore Love"

Remember Glenn Beck's "Restoring Courage"? He went to the Capitol and made a huge fuss like he always does about how America needs to come together and, I don't know, like usher in a new era or something. Then he went to Israel to do an event. Again, making a huge fuss and again trying to claim he's bringing people together.

Well now he has just announced an event he's calling 'Restore Love.' What an interesting title and concept.

So Glenn Beck is going to 'Restore Love'? In the email that was sent out revealing the event there were two examples of hate mentioned. One of a kid who was punched in the chest fifty times, even though he had a heart condition. The other was a situtation where a Jewish girl's hair was set on fire, solely because she's a Jew. While I'm not condoning these crimes or trying to suggest they weren't actions of hate, I do have two objections. The first one being that I find it completely heinous that Glenn Beck is using situations such as the ones mentioned above to make money and build his empire.

The second objection is to Glenn Beck's neglect. While Glenn Beck may have not wrote that himself, he did authorize it, it is his event and it went out in his email newsletter. He neglected to mention the bullying against LGBT teenagers. He neglected to mention the suicide that comes from that bullying. He neglected to mention the young people who graduate from college with a four year degree and cannot get a job. He neglected to mention how much hate these young people experience when people call them lazy and worse. He neglected to mention all the hate he himself spreads everyday. He neglected to mention the hate that Muslim - Americans experience just because they're Muslims.

But to be fair, this is Glenn Beck we're talking about. His neglect is infamous. So i wont focus on it. Glenn's propaganda is what I want to focus on. He says he wants to restore courage while  focusing on fear - mongering. He wants to restore courage while calling our president a socialist and a communist while front-loading these terms with negative and untrue connotations. (I'd like to remind everyone that Facism and Totalitarianism are completely different and seperate from Communism and Socialism.)

He says he wants to restore courage while telling people that their media is bought and paid for. While he tells people we are heading into dark days and the only way to get through them is to buy his books and his documentaries and his friends books and to come to his events and to read their Christian bibles.

He does not want to restore courage, he wants to build his empire.

And if he wants to restore love, then it is only a love for him that he means to restore. He does not want to restore love for Muslim - Americans, he doesn't want to restore love for our president. He doesn't want to restore love for our LGBT community or  for our young people who cannot get a job.

Glenn Beck only wants one thing. He wants to divide and conquer. He wants to enter into your psyche and scare the hell out of you so he can sell you his show and his books and all of his stuff. He wants you to suck on the teet of his endless propaganda.

I do not look forward to covering this as it unfolds.

Alexander Fisher

J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com
@JAFThrasher on Twitter
http://www.facebook.com/alexander.thrasher

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Live blog for the November 22nd Republican Presidential Primary Debate on CNN

I'm in a good and optimistic mood this afternoon, so I thought it would be good, with my computer finally being Trojan free and working really well, to try to do a live blog. I haven't done one in a while and so I'm excited about the prospects.

Tonight's debate is on CNN, starts at 8p.m. and features the usual cast (That's Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, Huntsman, Paul, Perry, Romney and of course, Santorum.)

This liveblog will serve, of course, as a way to discuss the debate in real time, but what it will also let us do is to transcend the debate and the candidates on the stage.

Let's take an opportunity to talk about things they aren't saying on stage, and to talk about candidates that aren't up on the stage.

For example, I'm a big fan of Buddy Roemer, so I would talk a lot about him.

But there are a plethora of candidates to be represented that just aren't.

You have:

Buddy Roemer
Fred Karger
Gary Johnson
Jared Blankenship
Andre Barnett
Keith Drummond
Kent Mesplay
Stewart Alexander
(I would say Barack Obama but it seems like DWS [Debbie Wasserman Schultz for those who don't know] is in every post - debate spin room.)
Roger Gary
Carl Person
Randall Terry
R. Lee Wrights

The list goes on and on and on.

So! I hope you'll join me and discuss the craziness of what we see on stage and the greatness of what we see left off the stage.

Hashtags: #CNNDebate
                #RantingsDebate

My Twitter Handle: @JAFThrasher


Always Standing in Defiance,

- Alexander Fisher

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Thursday, November 17, 2011

A Rant Against Repealing the Seventeenth Amendment

     I've been doing a lot of research for my upcoming Citizens United V. FEC piece and while I was reading a piece on Corporate Personhood my mind began to wonder to the Seventeenth Amendment. I mean, my mind was already on the idea of money in politics, so it wasn't a really far travel. There are two presidential candidates (to my knowledge) that want to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment. Those two candidates are Rick Perry and Gary Johnson. Both governors or former governors. One from Texas, the other from New Mexico. I have a couple problems with the idea of repealing the Seventeenth Amendment. First, In the compromise between a Democratic Republic and a Direct Democracy, I think it is completely fair to give the people the right to elect their senators. These elitists like Perry and Johnson want you to believe that ordinary people cannot make that decision, that everyday people cannot make the decision on who should be the senator, and who could best handle the job. This is ludicrous! Two things. We are capable enough to elect the would-be electors and the would-be electors are not supposed to be career politicians with special knowledge that we do not possess. They are supposed to be ordinary people, just like you and I. And at any rate, don't they all put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you and I? Second, I'm just enough of a conspiracy theorist to start wondering, once they've grabbed up our ability to elect our senators, then how long will it be until we cannot elect our congresspeople, or governor or our state legislature?http://www.facebook.com/alexander.thrasher
     As a citizen, I try not to ask for too much. A road to drive on, a clean park to go to, maybe even a decent place for kids (even if they aren't mine) to go and to learn. But I'm really good at politics. I get politics. Not the back door scheming and the lying and deceit and all that nonsense. No, what I understand about politics is this: Each and every one of us is intelligent, we are able to learn, if we are willing to learn, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most of us can go in, well informed on election day, and press a button. I think that people advocating for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment are moving in the wrong direction and are fighting against the people of this great country. We need to move toward the abolition of the Electoral College, not toward the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment.
     The argument that people often make for returning to the Seventeenth Amendment is that they believe that we have traveled to far from our Federalist roots. I find this particularly amusing as most of the time these are opinions being made by people who generally tout being for smaller government. If you are for smaller government wouldn't you be an Anti-Federalist? But, as with the two Presidential candidates listed above, they want to convince the electorate of one thing, the people financing their campaign of another, and eventually, they just want to get as much power as they can for as long as they can.
* * *
I have plenty of thoughts floating around in my head. I'm thinking about money in politics, about corruption, lying, deceit, the desire for power, and about ignorance and apathy. I wish every voter, before voting, would go to Opensecrets.Org and look at where the money is going and coming from. Who wants what with a certain candidate, and how much are these candidates selling themselves for? I wish every voter would spend an hour a day reading or listening to non - mainstream media news, researching candidates and/or researching issues. But Hell! I'd also like to see every person eligible to vote, voting.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant on the Seventeenth Amendment, I hope it was informative, interesting and maybe even entertaining.

Always Standing in Defiance,

- Alexander Fisher

Twitter: @JAFThrasher
Facebook:
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As always, if you have any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to let me know.

     Also! Feel free to send over your friends, whether their political junkies or totally politically apathetic! Ask them to come for one visit, tell them their free to email me, whatever, let's see if we can't get them involved.

As an addendum to that, also always feel free to email this out to your friends, family members and coworkers.


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."
http://www.longhairedpoet.blogspot.com
J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Middle of the Week 'Rantings' News Blast (11/14 - 11/16)


Sorry the piece on Citizens United v FEC is slow to come. I’ve been really busy with the Buddy Roemer for President Campaign, in full disclosure. I don’t think it is having any affect, negative or positive, on my journalistic integrity, though. Plus I’ve been having some technical problems, trying to get my laptop fixed, which, if I can fix it, will increase my ability to work. Anyway, without any further ado, the Middle of the Week ‘Rantings’ News Blast. Enjoy!



  1. Candidates seek to limit federal role in education



When it comes to education, the Republican field of presidential candidates has a unified stance: Get the federal government out of schools. How they'd do that varies.”



Read about it here



  1. War Is a Force That Pays the 1 Percent: Occupying American Foreign Policy



If the last decade was the era of occupations that everyone called liberations, then the 99 percent movement is seeking to make this the era of liberations everyone calls occupations. ‘It's clear that the interests of the majority of people in this country do not align with the military-industrial complex who put corporate profiteering based on destruction ahead of the needs of people,’ said Alex Kane, a journalist and activist. ‘The nexus of power that Occupy is looking to challenge in this country does not stop at Wall Street. Military profiteering is an integral part of the system and it should be challenged.’”

Read about it here

3.      The Need to Relocalize Our Economies

“For some people, particularly the young and the old, the local mall or big-box retailer or superstore is an important part of their social lives. They get exercise by walking up and down the aisles, greet friends they see only there, and have a special and often inexpensive meal. They notice what’s on sale and what’s new in stock, making both intentional purchases and the occasional impulse buy.”

            Read about it here



Well, I guess that’s it. Let me know what you think.


-         Joshua Fisher

Twitter: @JAFThrasher





"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Monday, November 14, 2011

PLEASE HELP SAVE OUR COUNTRY

PLEASE HELP SAVE OUR COUNTRY
I'd like to take a minute to tell you about a candidate that I'm supporting for president of the United States BUDDY ROEMER. You probably haven't heard about him because of his platform of campaign reform and talking on issues no one else dares to bring up. This is why he has not been allowed in the debates.
When Buddy Roemer was elected as the Governor of Louisiana he sold the airplanes and limousines, balance the state's budget, forced big oil and big chemicals to clean up the air and water dropping toxic emissions by 41% (understand that Buddy is for creating America's energy independence and one of the ways he will achieve this is by drilling responsibly for oil in our own country and at the same time creating American jobs), Louisiana had the highest unemployment in the nation at 12.8% he reduced it by over half to 6.2, broke teacher tenure, tested the teachers found out which ones could teach and then gave them a 30% raise.

Buddy Roemer has not taken nor has he accepted his gubernatorial pension, congressional pension or their health care plans. He doesn't need Congress to pass a law to do what's right.
Buddy Roemer has designed his campaign in response to what he sees as a major problem in modern campaigns and this is exactly how he campaign when winning the Louisiana governor's office and his congressional seat. Refusing donations from special interest, political-action committees or major corporations and limiting donations to $100 or less from his supporters, this is called campaign reform folks. Once again we see Buddy Roemer does not need a law passed by Congress to do what's right he is out front leading by example-they told him it couldn't be done then to.

Take a look at the facts for yourself. YOU be the judge;

BUDDY ROEMER: Entered Harvard University at the age of 16 and received a bachelor’s in economics, 1964, MBA in finance, 1967. Former governor of Louisiana, a four term congressman only candidate to serve both as governor and congressman, for the last 19 years he served as the founder, CEO, and President of Business First Bank, a small business community bank he started with $0 and now is worth approximately $750 million in assets that took no bailout money from the federal government. Furthermore, his bank had no foreclosures on any homes or small businesses because when someone was in trouble they were called in and things were work out. That's how it's done by somebody who has integrity and the best interest of their customers at heart. And that’s why:


BUDDY ROEMER IS FREE TO LEAD
Join today BuddyRoemer.com


Today's politicians both Democratic and Republican are bought and paid for by special interest, political action committees, lobbyists and oh yes the Coke brothers (Republicans only please, thank you) we all know this. These are the people our politicians are allied with and serving, not you. Buddy Roemer has to be able to beat them to serve you, as today's politicians cannot do it without big monies backing Buddy Roemer cannot do it without your backing. If you want to help save our country as Buddy does please join Buddy's campaign today. And that is what will make HIM:

BUDDY ROEMER FREE TO LEAD


If you feel it worthy of being passed on please feel free to copy it, change it in any way you see fit add to it or delete from it. It it's yours to do with what you want. All I ask is after you send it out to your e-mail lists identify a friend or relative who is outside your immediate group of friends who you believe would be a supporter of Buddy and follow-up with a phone call or a separate e-mail seeing if they will e-mail it out to their group of friends and follow-up with a phone call or e-mail.

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Buddy Roemer Campaign Updates

Network Email

A message to all members of Free to Lead - Buddy Roemer 2012


I drafted my email and some important information didn't get pasted to the final copy... so here is the real deal :) lol! Sorry ya'll!
Hello Friends~
I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday, getting in some R and R :) I have some updates to give you as well as requests... and if you have any questions, please message me on FreetoLead.com
Yesterday we had approximately 40 volunteers across the nation calling out to NH voters. Thank you so much for participating! Next weekend we would like to do the same, so if you are free next Saturday to make calls, please email Andrea at Andrea.Franklin@BuddyRoemer.com and put phone banker in the subject line. You will get a list of Names, Numbers, and a Script. Making these calls will help us INCREASE our poll numbers in NH, which is crucial to two upcoming debates in NH in January! The additional work that is needed to help increase our poll numbers in NH include personal letters to NH voters, letters to the editor, calling into NH shows, and pitching the need for Buddy to be in the debates at various Tea Party, GOP, and Independent facebook groups and lists throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Please contact Daniel.Dubrule@BuddyRoemer.com to help with these needs!

Upcoming Debates!!

January 7, 2012 Air time TBD on ABC
Location: NH
Sponsor: ABC News and WMUR
Participants: TBD
January 8, 2012 9am ET on NBC
Location: Chubb Theatre at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH
Sponsor: NBC News, Facebook and the Union Leader
Participants: TBD
Secondly, The Greater Boston Tea Party is doing a Poll that includes Buddy Roemer on "Which GOP presidential candidate do you think could beat Obama?" The link is ... http://massteaparty.org/2011/11/gop-chair-pick-bob-maginns-wife-backs-occupy-boston/?mid=5292411 AND THE POLL IS LOCATED IN THE TOP RIGHT BOX.
Please go vote and spread this message to supporters!
As you probably know we are focusing a lot on matching funds! We are so so close! Below is an updated list and the states included are the states that Buddy needs you to turn to friends, family, and supporters to donate. Once this is secure, we will receive a check that will substantially help the campaign!
North Carolina $217.95
Georgia $260
Illinois $260
Arizona $465
Ohio $796
Maryland $1504
Tennessee $1655
Alabama $1765
New Jersey $1855
Michigan $2175
Missouri $2457
If you missed the Granite State Patriots Presidential Debate, here is a link to share as well ... http://www.ustream.tv/recorded /18436905
Two other sites to support Buddy are...
www.americanselect.org Americans Elect is non partisan and the first secure, online direct presidential nomination that allows voters to decide the issues, choose the candidate, and the nomination will be on the ballot. At this moment, we are asking you join and track Buddy. We are also trying to figure out why it states his issues is "Education". Education is obviously important, but we all know what Buddy's top issues are. So, please pay attention to this site and we will have updates on it in the very near future.
Lastly, Buddy is having another Supporter conference call this Wednesday, November 16th at 7pm EST. Please email William.Pierce@BuddyRoemer.com to reserve your spot!
Yours in Support of Buddy,
Michael Trufant & Andrea Franklin
Thank you so much for all you are doing to help get Buddy Roemer elected! America needs him as President and our steady climb is getting him where he needs to be!
Visit Free to Lead - Buddy Roemer 2012 at: http://buddyroemer2012.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
 

"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

The Weekender 11/11/11 - 11/13/11


            Did you have any interest in the National Move Your Money Day a little while back? Are you still with a big, bailed out Wall Street bank and unsure where to go? Well luckily there is a new website to help you find the perfect place to turn to. Check it out here.



  1. Israel vs Iran: the regional blowback



The prospect of an Israeli military assault on Iran's nuclear assets is growing. The scale and impact of any attack would be far greater than most observers expect.



Read about it here



  1. How I Survived Bullying



“I have many stained images in my head because of what I went through in grade school. A lot of them I wish I could wipe clean, but it's not that easy. Instead, I've learned to embrace the fact that I have overcome these painful experiences and have become a better person because of it.”



Read the rest here



  1. K Street's Super Committee Splurge



“The bipartisan debt panel to nowhere is exactly where K Street lobbyists want it to be: hopelessly deadlocked. A November 23 deadline for agreement on $1.2 trillion in budget savings is looming, but no real reductions in the size, scope or spending of government are on the table. Instead, we are witnessing another obscene special-interest splurge to preserve the status quo. All in the name of "reform," of course.”



Read the rest here



  1. Occupy the Education System: Students, Teachers and Parents Find New Spirit and Challenge the Attack on Public Schools



In the past couple of weeks, Occupy Wall Street has spurred dedicated education activists into some of the most innovative and inspiring actions.



Read about it here





It has been a rather slow weekend unless you care about Rick Perry’s Gaff, that thing CBS called a debate, and all the mainstream media Sunday shows. Feeling particularly cynical and short – fused toward the Mainstream Media right now, I think I’ll wrap this up. Four articles to enjoy on a Sunday evening or Monday morning and I do hope you enjoy them.

See ya Wednesday!



-          Joshua Fisher



Twitter: @JAFThrasher





"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Phone Banking for Buddy Roemer

A message to all members of Free to Lead - Buddy Roemer 2012

Hello Free to Leaders!! Buddy Roemer rocked the Forum last night!! Tomorrow Buddy will be in the New Hampshire office calling New Hampshire. We would love to have at least 20 callers call 20 people tomorrow! Please email me and we will send you a script and a list! You guys are AWESOME! My email is Andrea.Franklin@buddyroemer.com
My best,
Andrea Franklin
Visit Free to Lead - Buddy Roemer 2012 at: http://buddyroemer2012.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Friday, November 11, 2011

Black Sabbath announced on Friday they are reuniting in their original four man line-up


  1. (Reuters) - Veteran British rock band Black Sabbath announced on Friday they are reuniting in their original four man line-up for their first new album in 33 years and a 2012 world tour.
Singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bass player Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward told a news conference at legendary Sunset Strip club Whisky a Go Go they would perform at the Download Festival in England in June 2012, and then embark on a world tour.



Read the rest here



You can read more at their website: http://www.black-sabbath.com/


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Signing Up To Be On My Email List

If you would like to recieve my blogs straight to your email then please feel free to leave your email address in the comments to this post or you can email it in privacy to J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com .

I do tri - weekly email 'Rantings' News Blasts and am currently working on well researched and hard hitting pieces on some of the hot topics of the day like 'Obamacare', Dodd-Frank and the Citizen's United case.

Always Defiant,

- Alexander Fisher

Twitter: @JAFThrasher
Email: J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alexander.thrasher
Blog: http://www.longhairedpoet.blogspot.com


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."

Governor Buddy Roemer Steals the Show

Governor Buddy Roemer Steals the Show


NH voters like what they see from Roemer in Constitutional forum.

Hampton, NH – Four Republican Candidates for President joined New Hampshire voters yesterday evening at the Granite State Patriots Liberty PAC forum in Hampton. Several well known names were there, but it was Governor Buddy Roemer who stole the show.

Shortly into the question and answer session it became clear that Governor Roemer was connecting with the audience. When asked about the growing concentration of power in the American Presidency, Governor Roemer said that Congress has to take back the power it has capitulated. When asked about replacing the tax code, Governor Roemer received applause for his flat tax proposal and for pointing out that big corporations like GE pay less in taxes than the average New Hampshire family. But by far the biggest applause came when Roemer declared that “Washington D.C. is the capital of corruption.”

Roemer was also consistent in his message to reduce corruption in government. He told Gary Johnson that “there are some things you should not get elected on,” meaning selling the Presidency for large checks. Roemer also pointed out that Johnson has a so called “Super PAC,” which is supposed to be completely separate from the candidate, but in reality is not. He said this should be illegal, and is a distortion of the Supreme Court’s intent to allow people to express their political views. Mitt Romney has three super PAC’s and Rick Perry has seven. Roemer went on to challenge Newt Gingrich and the other candidates to explain to the American people where they get their money from. At the end of the session, the audience overwhelmingly voted Buddy Roemer the “winner” of the debate!

Governor Buddy Roemer has been gaining momentum in New Hampshire recently with his message of independent-minded leadership, reducing corruption in government, and his stance on refusing large checks so that the American people know he is “Free to Lead.” Roemer looks forward to participating in future forums and debates and learning once and for all where candidates like Newt Gingrich get their money. If Gingrich can’t even be honest about lobbying for Freddie Mac, about his support for ethanol subsidies, about his support for big government, greenhouse gas legislation, or about where he gets his money, then how can we trust him to be President?

Governor Buddy Roemer clearly demonstrated his experience over the other candidates. He is the only Presidential contender to have been both a Governor and a Congressman, as well as a successful community banker that did not take a dime of the Wall Street bailout money. New Hampshire voters got a close up look at Governor Roemer, and seemed to be very pleased with what they saw.




- Alexander Fisher

Twitter: @JAFThrasher
Email: J.Fisher2028@yahoo.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alexander.thrasher
Blog: http://www.longhairedpoet.blogspot.com


"Those that dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the day to find that all was vanity, but the dreamers of the day, are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams and make them real."