Morning News to Keep You Ranting - August 5th, 2012

     That was Jill Stein at Occupy Fannie Mae in Philadelphia on Tuesday and this is Morning News to Keep You Ranting!

Presidential Politics:

Gov. Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson Gets 19% In LASPAC Nationwide Poll

Read about it here.

Libertarian Ticket Endorses Gay Marriage

"August 4, 2012, Toledo, OH – Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee Judge Jim Gray today urged Ohio voters to place the proposed Freedom to Marry amendment on the 2013 statewide ballot and to approve it. Gray endorsed the measure on behalf of both himself and presidential candidate and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson."

Read about it here.

** Both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party platforms say they would legalize gay marriage. The Green Party is the only viable party in the United States to even discuss Gender Identity in their platform. The Democratic Party is slated to put it in their 2012 party platform. **

Music and Festivals:

Lollapalooza

"Lollapalooza founder takes it up a notch" - CNN.com

"From 1991-1997, Lollapalooza was a touring festival. It went on hiatus in 1998, returned for one year in 2003, then resurrected itself as a single location event in 2005. It has been an annual fixture in Grant Park ever since. In 2011, Farrell expanded the brand to Chile and Brazil, and will be making a big announcement about Lollapalooza's plans for expansion this Sunday. (Hint: It's not a Lollapalooza cruise.)"

Read about it here.

Lollapalooza's last day in the U.S.. for 2012 is today, Sunday August 5th.

Lollapalooza will hit Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel August 22 & 22, 2013.

Lollapalooza will hit the Jockey Club in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 29 - 31, 2013.

Lollapalooza will hit O'Higgins Park in Santiago, Chile, April 6 & 7, 2013

Warped Tour

Today the Vans Warped Tour will hit the Rose Quarter Riverfront in Portland, OR for it's last date of the 2012 North American Tour.

The Vans Warped Tour will do a one off in London on November 10th at Alexandra Palace.

You can find more info about the UK show here.

And more info about the last U.S. show and other goings on, here.

Mayhem Festival

Today the Mayhem Festival will hit the Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT for it's last date of the 2012 North American Tour.

The Mayhem Cruise will go from December 7th - 10th. You can find out more information at the website, here.

Looking at this you may feel like the summer is coming to an end as all of these great summer festivals prepare to close up shop and focus on their winter plans, but there are still great festivals/tours going on.

Summer Slaughter

Today the Summer Slaughter tour will hit The Trocadero in Philadelphia, PA.

Trespass America

Today the Trespass America Festival will hit Jacob's Pavilion at Nautica in Cleveland, OH.

The All-Stars Tour

Today the All-Stars Tour will hit the Rainbow Ballroom in Fresno, CA.

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf played yesterday, August 4th, but will be off until August 15th, when he'll play Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, FL.

** If you have any festivals or tours you think I should cover, please feel free to email me at longhairedpoet@gmail.com or tweet me @JAFThrasher **

Following the Money:

"Pro-LGBT Businesses’ PACs Help Bankroll Anti-LGBT U.S. Representatives"

"Last month, ThinkProgress identified seven U.S. Representatives — all Republicans — who have sponsored or co-sponsored the most anti-LGBT measures in the current Congress.

Reps. Todd Akin (R-MO), Dan Burton (R-IN), Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Tim Huelskamp (R-KS), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and Donald Manzullo (R-IL) have received a combined $664,894 from ten business PACs — five from otherwise strongly pro-LGBT companies and five from trade associations — since the start of the 2009-2010 campaign cycle."

Read it @ ThinkProgress.org

"All the Anti Gay Companies You Fund When You Spend $5.25 On a Chick-fil-A Sandwich"

"If we’re going to talk about Chick-fil-A, let’s talk seriously about why President Dan Cathy is being criticized for being anti-gay. This is about more than just rhetoric: it’s about money. In 2010, the most recent year records are available; Cathy gave almost $2 million to anti-gay organizations through the WinShape Foundation, Chick-fil-A’s charitable arm. At $5.25 for a Classic sandwich, that $1,974,380 would buy roughly 376,072 sandwiches. Let’s follow the money to see where they’re all going."

Read it @ PolicyMic.Com

Candidate of the Day:

Today I will feature two candidates. One running for State House in Pennsylvania and one running to be a County Commissioner in Georgia. Both are Libertarians.

David Moser For Pennsylvania State House District 95

David Moser, the chair of the York County Libertarian Party in Pennsylvania decided to run when it was announced that the Democratic incumbent was running for both his seat in the State House and for State Auditor. David Moser believes that 1.) The people deserve a choice and 2.) It's wrong for his opponent, Eugene DePesquale, to run for two seats, risking a costly special election.

Read more about it here

You can follow David Moser on his Facebook.

Tim Nelson - Lee County Commissioner, District 4 - GA (Libertarian)

Tim Nelson's campaign for District 4 of the Lee County Commission is simple, less taxes and fees. That and he wants to literally bring the government to the people, saying that government offices need to be moved closer to where people actually live in the county.

He has lived in Lee County for nine years and is a probation officer with a Bachelor's Degree in Science.

Tim Nelson's Website

Band of the Day:

Today I will feature two bands with very unique sounds. One from Pakistan and one from South Carolina, both Heavy Metal.

Dionysus

Dionysus is a Heavy Metal band from Lahore, Pakistan. Their sound is eclectic, including influences from genres like Death Metal, Doom Metal and Black Metal. They currently have an EP available for free download. The EP is called "A Hymn To The Dying".

Dionysus Facebook

Dionysus Youtube

Dionysus ReverbNation

Compel

Compel are a Doom/Sludge Metal band from Summerville, South Carolina. On their Facebook page they label their sound as 'Swamp Doom.' Their self-titled EP is available for free download.

Read my review of the EP here.