I Will Be Testifying In Front of Congress (From TheReformProject.Org)

Fellow Reformers— It is with great pleasure that I tell you I will be testifying to Congress before the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with my good friend Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig. The hearing is titled: “Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens United and the Rise of Super PACs.” It will be held this Tuesday, July 24 and details can be found here. I will be explaining to Congress that special interest money has paralyzed our nation. I will also tell them that WE are making a change and will not tolerate the status quo. I will explain that a group of us have started The Reform Project, a nonprofit organization (with full disclosure) designed to be engaged in the debate, to foster action and reform, and to stand with those attacked by the special interest addicted, status quo gridlockers. Nothing is wrong with America that we cannot correct, strengthen and re-build. We must do it together. -Buddy    Copyright © 2012 The Reform Project, All rights reserved. Paid for by Buddy Roemer for President Our mailing address is: The Reform Project PO Box 83466 Baton Rouge, LA 70884

"If history is violence and sex, I'd rather not pay my respects. If I've caused offense, I'm just trying to talk sense. Forgive me if I'm too direct or politically incorrect." Jon Foreman

Testify! (From MoveToAmend.org)

The National Campaign to End Corporate Personhood and Demand Real Democracy!

Joshua, After last week’s postponement and rescheduling of the upcoming Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights hearing, it is time for a quick review: In early June, Move To Amend (MTA) learned the hearing was set for July 17 and began an effort to elicit an invitation, which culminated in a national call-in day on June 29 to Senator Durbin's office. Unfortunately, Durbin's office has elected to allow only three citizens to speak at the hearing. And none of them include Move to Amend representatives. We have been invited us to provide written testimony, which we have done. What have we learned so far? •    Move To Amend members are highly motivated and committed to our goal. In just several weeks time, we mobilized from local meetings with sub-committee members to a national action, which jammed the switchboards at Senator Durbin’s office. It is a very impressive outcome, which speaks volumes about the character and commitment of our membership.  We know what you know! •    Movements have never been lead by Congress. People like you are who lead social movements, through coalitions like Move to Amend. •    This inside-the-beltway effort is only one tactic within our larger strategy to empower and unite people from all walks of life to build a movement to let Congress know that they serve the people, not corporations, and to underscore the "We the People" in our Constitution. What steps will we take next? •    MTA is joining with other organizations to collect citizen testimony, because that's what really matters. Considering how difficult it is to get in to testify before Congress, we figure it is best to testify directly to the American people. We invite you to add your voice by submitting written and/or video testimony, and encourage you to be creative; think haiku, interpretive dance, or song to express yourself and explain why the amendment must go deeper than merely overturning Citizens United, it must make clear that a corporation is not a person and money is not speech. >> It’s easy to do, just click here for details. We will succeed in our overall goal. Collectively, we are the ones Margaret Mead referred to when she said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." In admiration and solidarity, Ashley Sanders, Ben Manski, Daniel Lee, David Cobb, Egberto Willies, George Friday, Jerome Scott, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Laura Bonham, Nancy Price, and Stephen Justino Move to Amend National Executive Committee

MOVE TO AMEND PO Box 610, Eureka CA 95502  |  (707) 269-0984  |  www.MoveToAmend.org We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

"If history is violence and sex, I'd rather not pay my respects. If I've caused offense, I'm just trying to talk sense. Forgive me if I'm too direct or politically incorrect." Jon Foreman

On Tim Pawlenty and Straw Poll Politics

            Today, Tim Pawlenty announced he was dropping out of the race for President of the United States of America. I for one was discouraged by this. Now, I do not, have not and would not support Mr. Pawlenty as a candidate for President of the United States of America. Still, I take issue with his dropping out this early in the game. He went for broke participating in the ‘Pay – to – Play’ Iowa Straw Poll and got 3^rd place, behind Bachmann and Paul and ahead of his more persistent peer, Santorum. Now I understand that one cannot, in modern day, post Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Commission, run a nation wide campaign with no money.

            Let’s face it. To compete, especially if you are lacking the attention from the Mainstream Media that Tim Pawlenty was, you’ll need money for merchandise -including yard signs and tee – shirts and for campaign ads on radio and television and the internet. And that’s not including the price of maintaining a staff and traveling around everywhere to campaign and stump, let’s face it; running for president in America is an expensive endeavor. But this still leaves me wondering. The Iowa Straw Poll is a fundraising event held by the Iowa Republican Party to raise money for the party. It is also a huge media event where everyone who is anyone in the Mainstream Media Culture comes out to get as much footage as they can and to put their two cents in about the candidates. What it is not, however, is a legal or binding caucus or primary. By the laws of the FEC, no candidate must legally drop out of the race based on the results of the straw poll, and yet because of the emphasis the Mainstream Media puts on the winner of the poll, candidates for the nomination scramble around spending money like Paris Hilton to buy the most votes and win the Straw Poll.

            As we saw with Mr. Pawlenty, if they do not win, after putting all their chips on the table, then they may be forced to drop out of the race. And it seems to me that this is just as the Mainstream Media wants it, it allows a chance to thin the herd early on which takes away from potential voters what could have been their favorite candidate, before they ever even learned about them.

            If you have a candidate you support for president, than support them. Tell your friends, family and neighbors about them, campaign for them and even give money if you can afford it. But don’t sit idly by, because if you do, then your favorite candidate could be the next Tim Pawlenty. The Mainstream Media does not own the electoral process. Big corporations do not own the electoral process. Politicians, pundits, figure heads and talking heads do not own the electoral process. We, the people, own the electoral process. And if we the people are dedicated and driven, we can elect anyone we want to. If we’re idle and apathetic, if we give in to a two – party system, a ‘lesser of two evils’ mentality, then we will be stuck in a plummeting downfall for a long, long time.

In thought,

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."