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Here
are two reasons: Why we need you to run for office! 1) You have policy positions that need to be advocated. 2) Even with the semblance of a two-party system, nearly 50% of the elected positions have no challengers and
the current electoral systems are unfairly skewed against third and fourth party participants. Act now to prepare to get on the ballot in 2017, 18
or beyond. It requires planning and carefully designed strategy to run for office. Our team stands ready to help
you prepare - whether it is honing your personal skills, developing a fundraising operation, gathering supporters or conducting
a field operation. Contact Chairman Joseph Oddo, Independent
Green Party
February 3, 2019
How the relationship between Trump and Bloomberg went into a tailspinBy Michael Kranish January 31, 2019
NEW YORK — On
an autumn day in 2013, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg traveled to the Bronx to hail the transformation of a massive garbage
dump into a world-class golf course. Donald Trump stood nearby, beaming as Bloomberg said the course would be operated by
“the great Trump Organization.”
“If there is anybody who has changed this city, it is Donald
Trump,” Bloomberg said. “He really has done an amazing thing, and this is another part of it.”
Trump turned to Bloomberg, gushing: “You have been a great mayor. You really have. I mean, this guy is fantastic.”
For more than a decade, the two New York billionaires appeared together at charity golf events, ribbon cuttings and
even on Trump’s reality television shows, a relationship of political and business convenience if not genuine friendship.
The alliance imploded the moment Trump launched his bid for the White House in 2015, exposing raw differences of policy
and personality that have become only more stark as President Trump has carried out a series of measures that are politically
anathema to Bloomberg, such as withdrawing from a deal to combat global warming.
Trump, in an interview this week
with The Washington Post, said, “I really liked Michael and I think he liked me, but it went really strangely haywire
once I ran for office.” He said Bloomberg did not care about his political views when he was merely a New York City
developer, but now “he probably doesn’t like my policies. I’m for guns, he’s against guns . . .
A developer is a lot different than as a candidate.”
Trump used the golf course deal as a cudgel against
Bloomberg, saying during the campaign the city was unable to get the course finished until he took it over — a claim
that infuriated Bloomberg’s associates, who said the city did most of the work.
Now Bloomberg’s dark
view of Trump’s performance as president may be the deciding factor in whether the former mayor decides to run for the
White House. Bloomberg has expressed doubt that a “short, Jewish, divorced billionaire” such as himself could
be elected president. Trump’s performance, however, has led him to seriously consider using part of his fortune to seek
the Democratic nomination.
Bloomberg, in a brief interview this week during a visit to the first-primary state
of New Hampshire, said, “My objection to Donald Trump is the way he’s filling his current role, in terms of representing
the country, in terms of representing the public. There’s an attitude, and a style, and lack of civility that I think
is bad for the country, and I find offensive.”
On the surface, Bloomberg and Trump have much in common: Both
have named their businesses after themselves; both have become billionaires in New York City; both unexpectedly won their
respective political offices; both have switched their party registrations repeatedly.
But they come from very
different backgrounds. Bloomberg was raised in working-class Massachusetts while Trump benefited from his father’s fortune.
Bloomberg made his fortune selling Wall Street-related data, and he veered left on a variety of issues, including the environment
and gun control, as he rose in New York City politics. Trump, who once was a classically liberal New Yorker, moved right as
he sought a national audience, recasting himself as a conservative Republican. Bloomberg calls himself a nonpartisan manager
and engineer who delegates authority; Trump is a defiantly partisan president who says he, alone, can fix things.
While both are among the wealthiest Americans, Bloomberg is much richer. Bloomberg ranks tenth on the Forbes 400 list of
wealthiest Americans, with $52 billion, compared with Trump, ranked 259th with $3.1 billion.
Rep. Peter T. King,
a New York Republican who was reelected last year with fundraising help from Bloomberg even though he continues to support
Trump, said the battle of billionaires has gotten deeply personal.
“I would think, without getting into psychoanalysis,
that one New York billionaire can think he is better than another New York billionaire,” King said. “I can see
Mike resenting the fact he is not getting the same recognition Donald Trump gets. Each guy thinks he is smarter than the other.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has spent many hours with both men, said Trump’s self-image relies greatly on his
coming from Queens and never feeling accepted by the Manhattan elite, even after building Trump Tower.
Trump “is
an outsider, and the guys like Bloomberg, in style and substance, are the people he felt always rejected him, which would
unnerve him if [Bloomberg] ran against him,” Sharpton said. If the two face each other, he said, “I’d want
a ringside seat.”
Billionaire alliance The two did not know each other until Bloomberg ran for mayor in 2001 as a Republican.
Trump focused on the Democratic primary, first supporting Fernando Ferrer, who lost the primary to Mark Green. Trump then
contributed $4,500 to Green during the general election race against Bloomberg, whose campaign was self-funded. Once Bloomberg
was elected, Trump said, he became an avid supporter.
For years, Trump had lavished attention on New York City
mayors, whose support he needed for real estate projects. By the time Bloomberg was elected, however, Trump had mostly switched
from developing new properties in New York City to selling his brand around the world and starring in his reality television
show.
In October 2004, Trump invited Bloomberg to appear on “The Apprentice,” and the mayor met contestants
at the official mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion. Trump hyped the appearance, telling contestants they would be meeting a
“great leader.”
Four years later, Bloomberg appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice” in an
episode centered on which stars could sell the most hot dogs on the streets of New York City. Bloomberg was shown walking
down a busy Manhattan street with Trump as the two prepared to inspect the work of contestants such as Gene Simmons of the
rock band Kiss and “Apprentice” star Omarosa Manigault Newman.
While Trump beamed and dramatic music
played, Bloomberg delivered a series of corny lines, such as: “As the No. 1 ‘Frank-o-phile’ in the city,
I’m supposed to see whether you guys can cut the mustard.”
Manigault Newman, who went on to work in
the office of public liaison in the Trump White House, said in an interview that the pair’s relationship was a case
study in how they used each other in “symbiotic exploitation.”
“Doing official business, Bloomberg
came across uptight. In our episode, I remember he came across as down to earth and relatable,” she said. As for Trump,
“It gave him quite a bit of legitimacy, to flex his connections and his access to powerful people.”
During
the filming, Bloomberg and Trump rode the subway together. As Bloomberg recalled the incident last week, Trump “said
he took the subway all the time, but I did note he didn’t know which end of the MetroCard to put in.”
Trump, asked about the ride, said Bloomberg’s description was untrue. He said the subway was opened for dozens of
crew, “and I never had a MetroCard when I rode the subway with him.”
After two terms as mayor, Bloomberg
was prohibited under the law from seeking a third. The business community rallied around the idea of overturning the term
limit, and Trump became a leading backer. The term limit was dropped, and Bloomberg won reelection. That, in turn, led to
the high point of the Trump-Bloomberg relationship.
Bloomberg had promised he would oversee the transformation
of a trash dump in the Bronx into a world-class golf course. The project had faltered for decades because of the high cost
of cleaning up the landfill and meeting environmental rules. The Bloomberg administration hoped a developer such as Trump
would agree to pay for the cleanup and build the course, but no one bid.
Eager to keep his campaign promise, Bloomberg
eventually decided city taxpayers would pay the bill. The project had started under a prior mayor and reached $164 million
to build the course, and millions more for environmental measures, according to the city-run Independent Budget Office. The
Bloomberg administration then sent out bids for a company to finish the course by planting seed and some other measures and
constructing a clubhouse.
Trump said Bloomberg asked him to get involved “because he was getting killed on
this project. He had it for 12 years. I said, ‘Michael, I’m going to make you look good.’ ” As Trump
told the story, Bloomberg was grateful for the golf course work and turned against him only after both men pondered running
for the presidency.
Trump’s son, Eric, said in an interview that he participated in two conversations about
the project that included his father and Bloomberg, one by phone and a second in person.
“I remember this
conversation vividly,” Eric Trump said. “Mike called up and said [to Donald Trump], ‘We need your help because
this is an embarrassment to the city of New York and my administration. You are the only person who can do it.’ We went
in there and we did the job.” Trump was one of three bidders and won the contract in 2013. Eric Trump said his father
and Bloomberg “were friends a lot closer aligned than people would think.”
Bloomberg declined to respond
or to discuss the golf course project, but his spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said: “Unsurprisingly, given their well documented
relationship with the truth, the Trumps are lying. None of these conversations occurred.” Told of this denial, Eric
Trump stood by his comments. A rivalry begins
By April 2015, as Trump began seriously considering a presidential bid, the relationship turned rivalrous.
Trump’s
daughter Ivanka wrote on her blog that her father “acquired this amazing redevelopment project after it had floundered
around with the City of New York for more than two decades. Shortly after he was announced as the developer, my father went
out to the construction site, where he saw a bunch of guys literally moving sand from one end of the course to the other.
He essentially looked at them and said, ‘You guys have made a lot of money pushing sand around for the last 20 years,
but that stops with me. It’s time to get this done.’ And they did.”
Adrian Benepe, Bloomberg’s
former parks commissioner, said such descriptions exaggerated Trump’s role. “That is when the lying began, that
Trump had come in to bail out the incompetent city. Despite the myth, Trump did not build that golf course. The city built
it, the city did all the heavy lifting, dealt with all the environmental issues.”
Ivanka Trump deferred to
her father’s comments, a spokeswoman said. Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course before Trump took over and is now
a Trump supporter, said in an interview, “We might have been there another 30 years if Donald Trump hadn’t been
there.” After the city built the public course, the Trump Organization made the improvements and built a clubhouse that
cost $10 million. Under the contract, Trump collects course and concession fees. The course is open to the public. at an 18-hole
weekend fee of $185.
Three months after Ivanka Trump’s blog entry, Donald Trump launched his bid for the
presidency, and he frequently cited completing the golf course as an example of his ability to get things done. In a January
2016 appearance on CNN, for example, Trump said, “I took it over for one year, knocked it up, and now it’s a tremendous
success. Michael asked me if I’d get involved with it, and I’m the one that got it done, and did a great job.”
Bloomberg decided two months later not to seek the presidency, even as he said Trump ran “the most divisive
and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears.” He then attacked
Trump at the Democratic National Convention, calling him a “risky, reckless and radical choice.” Trump, who said
he was stunned by Bloomberg’s words, tweeted in response: “ ‘Little’ Michael Bloomberg, who never
had the guts to run for president, knows nothing about me. His last term as Mayor was a disaster!”
Shortly
after he won the presidency, Trump talked on the phone with Bloomberg about how to run the White House but he said he did
not offer a job. Bloomberg told The Post last year that he told the president-elect: “You could have a good presidency
if you get good people and you depend on them, and you delegate authority to go along with responsibility.” Bloomberg
said that is “what he did not do.”
The two have not talked since.
Alice Crites, David A.
Fahrenthold, Michael Scherer and David Weigel contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-the-relationship-between-trump-and-bloomberg-went-into-a-tailspin/2019/01/31/95ee0914-1ff9-11e9-9145-3f74070bbdb9_story.html?utm_term=.64f540ba6bd4
3 feb 19 @ 2:41 pm
October 30, 2016
Tesla + SolarCity Solar Shingles (+ Video) October 29th, 2016
by Steve Hanley
Originally published on Solar Love. Note: One of our reporters was at the reveal and will be writing an article about the event and the new products
as well. On October 28, Elon Musk played ringmaster while Tesla and SolarCity showed
off their new line of glass solar tiles that generate electricity but look like conventional roof shingles and tiles. Musk
told an audience of several hundred invited guests that between 4 and 5 million new roofs are installed in America every
year and many times more than that are installed worldwide. If the cost of a solar roof was less than what a homeowner
would spend for a conventional roof plus utility bills that wouldn’t have to be paid over the roof’s 30
year useful life, “Why wouldn’t you?” Musk asked. Good question. To be
honest, conventional rooftop solar systems are not aesthetically pleasing to look at (in my opinion). The main advantage
to Musk’s solar roof is that it adds to the look of a home instead of detracting from it. The solar roof tiles will
come in four styles. The first looks like a conventional black roof shingle. The second resembles a conventional slate
roof. Its individual tiles vary slightly in shade, making for a roof that is the most attractive of all. Third is called
Tuscan and looks like the curved terracotta roofing tiles common throughout southern Europe and California. The fourth option
is called textured glass and is visually appealing as well.  The secret sauce in all this is a series of micro-louvers built into each tile, technology
developed in cooperation with 3M Corporation. The louvers allow sunlight to shine directly on the solar cells below but
hide them from view from the street. The result is the best of both worlds — solar panels that generate electricity
and a roof that generates compliments and adds value to any home. To show off the new
roof products, Tesla took over four houses on the back lot of Universal Studios that once served as the set for the reality
TV series Desperate Housewives. Each house had its old roof stripped off and replaced with one of the four
styles of glass roof tiles that Tesla and SolarCity will offer. Naturally, each home had Tesla automobiles parked in the
garage to emphasize that having a solar roof means sufficient power for the inhabitants with enough electricity leftover
to charge electric vehicles.
The missing link in that scenario is battery storage. Tesla has recently introduced
its second generation Powerwall with double the energy storage capacity as the original — 14 kWh versus 7 kWh. It
is less sculpted than the original but comes with the inverter built in, which should simplify installation. The original
cost is about $7,000 including an inverter and installation. Musk says the new unit should be capable of meeting the
needs of a family of four for lighting, normal household use, and a refrigerator for about a day if there is a power outage.
Notably absent from his example is any mention of heating or air conditioning.  The Powerwall 2.0 with double the power should cost about the same as the original after
installation, which illustrates how quickly the prices of energy storage products are dropping, The original has only been
on the market for about a year and already we have a new version with twice the power for about the same money. Elon let
slip that he expects Tesla to sell more Powerwalls than automobiles.  Musk emphasized during his solar roof presentation that his overarching goal is for the
world to transition to 100% clean, renewable energy from the sun as quickly as possible. If the world fails to complete
that transition in time to prevent massive disruption from climate change, it won’t be for lack of trying on Tesla’s
part. Many people mistake Tesla for an electric car company that also makes batteries. It is just the opposite — a
battery company that also makes electric cars. Source: Wired | Photo by Tesla
30 oct 16 @ 10:59 am
January 1, 2015
Get Behind Election Reform in Any Number of Ways Advocating for the National Election Reform Platform As Independents we are not convinced that we can rely on the two large legacy
parties for correcting the mess they have gotten us in to. Fixing democracy is vital and must be implemented to increase
citizen involvement in solving the issues of war, immigration, health care, environment, education, trade, etc.
Here are ten key points of our National Election Reform Platform
(NERP). We are asking all presidential and congressional candidates to pledge their support... 
1. Uniform Ballot Access for federal candidates.
Rather than candidates for president having 51 different rules for making the ballot, we make the criteria the same throughout
the land. That means those running for Senate and House also have the same criteria in each state.
2. Loosen Third Party Ballot Restrictions. Force states to untie ballot
access to past election results. Without fair ballot access in place now, the thresholds to become a recognized third party
are too difficult to achieve (by design of the two larger parties). Currently only 36 states have at least one recognized
third party and that changes based on election results.
3. Universal
Voter Registration. Legislation has already been passed that will require government standardized identification
cards which should be acceptable to election officials to allow anyone who shows up at the right precinct on Election Day
to vote on-the-spot whether registered or not.
4. Extended
Election Day. Either hold elections on weekends or move it to a holiday like Columbus Day in October.
5. Equal Media Access for third party contenders to
include broadcast time and inclusion in the debates. 
6. Institute Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) which
allows voters to rank their choices. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote – over 50% - then the lowest number
of first place votes is eliminated and the votes are recounted for how many second place votes came in. This continues until
a candidate is declared a winner of a majority.
7. Secure
the Vote - Ensure the security of our voting instruments whether it is via a papertrail or some better method.
Thirteen years after the Florida debacle and we still do not have secure voting machines – considering the fact that
electronic machines are subject to manipulation.
8. Public
Campaign Financing - Instituting a fair and equitable method of public campaign financing reduces the taxpayer
burden. Here's how: It costs the country more now under the current system that forces candidates to raise exorbitant sums
of money from corporate and private donors (read: elitists and their SuperPACs). The winner is then beholden to the group
of financiers that paid for that victory which creates a corrupt system of paybacks and legislation that raids our Treasury
– at an enormous cost to the real owners of our country – the people.
9. Direct Election of the president. Get rid of the Electoral College.
10. Voting Rights in congress for the citizens of the federal
District of Columbia. written by Joseph Oddo, National Director
Contact
Joe Oddo for details bettercandidates@gmail.com 703-338-0200
1 jan 15 @ 9:09 pm
Joe Oddo seeking sponsors to fund cultural exchange trip to a country TBDThanks right folks. Now that the president has relieved travel restrictions to our neighbor just an hour
plane ride from Miami (censored from revealing destination), I aim to go within the next six weeks. Our delegation of up to
30 will be spending seven days traveling around the cultural, educational, humanitarian and artistic venues to learn, share
and grow. While less expensive than traveling in the US, there are still approximately $2,500
in expenses that I seek to offset with the generosity of my friends and colleagues. I have always sought to enrich my brothers
intellect and spread the practical application of goodwill through hard work, attention to detail and sharing experiences
from running for office to writing books to selling to organizing to communicating via radio and television media. Currently a volunteer on WTJU radio (99.1 FM in Charlottesville, and GreenTV (Fairfax Public Access Television),
I have a forum to spread what we can learn from our TBD brethren after this trip. So please share
any amount you can - from buying me a meal one day ($20) to sponsoring the plane ticket ($350ish). Your generosity is greatly
appreciated. You will be rewarded knowing that you sponsored a true historical educational opportunity. Send any amount of funds to my Paypal account. Or write a check to Joseph Oddo Sr., 2404 Barracks Ct Suite 1 Charlottesville, VA 22901 Contact me for more details at 703-338-0200.
1 jan 15 @ 6:07 pm
November 9, 2013
Which of the 11 American nations do you live in?By Reid Wilson, Updated: November 8 at 1:36 pmRed states and blue states? Flyover country and the coasts? How simplistic. Colin Woodard, a reporter at the
Portland Press Herald and author of several books, says North America can be broken neatly into 11 separate nation-states,
where dominant cultures explain our voting behaviors and attitudes toward everything from social issues to the role of government. “The borders of my eleven American nations are reflected in many different
types of maps — including maps showing the distribution of linguistic dialects, the spread of cultural artifacts, the
prevalence of different religious denominations, and the county-by-county breakdown of voting in virtually every hotly contested
presidential race in our history,” Woodard writes in the Fall 2013 issue of Tufts University’s alumni magazine. “Our continent’s famed mobility has been reinforcing, not dissolving,
regional differences, as people increasingly sort themselves into like-minded communities.” Take a look at his map:  Woodard
lays out his map in the new book “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.”
Here’s how he breaks down the continent: Yankeedom: Founded by Puritans, residents
in Northeastern states and the industrial Midwest tend to be more comfortable with government regulation. They value education
and the common good more than other regions. New Netherland: The Netherlands was
the most sophisticated society in the Western world when New York was founded, Woodard writes, so it’s no wonder that
the region has been a hub of global commerce. It’s also the region most accepting of historically persecuted populations. The Midlands: Stretching from Quaker territory west through Iowa and into more populated
areas of the Midwest, the Midlands are “pluralistic and organized around the middle class.” Government intrusion
is unwelcome, and ethnic and ideological purity isn’t a priority. Tidewater: The
coastal regions in the English colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware tend to respect authority and value
tradition. Once the most powerful American nation, it began to decline during Westward expansion. Greater Appalachia: Extending from West Virginia through the Great Smoky Mountains and into Northwest Texas,
the descendants of Irish, English and Scottish settlers value individual liberty. Residents are “intensely suspicious
of lowland aristocrats and Yankee social engineers.” Deep South: Dixie still
traces its roots to the caste system established by masters who tried to duplicate West Indies-style slave society, Woodard
writes. The Old South values states’ rights and local control and fights the expansion of federal powers. El Norte: Southwest Texas and the border region is the oldest, and most linguistically different, nation
in the Americas. Hard work and self-sufficiency are prized values. The Left Coast: A
hybrid, Woodard says, of Appalachian independence and Yankee utopianism loosely defined by the Pacific Ocean on one side and
coastal mountain ranges like the Cascades and the Sierra Nevadas on the other. The independence and innovation required of
early explorers continues to manifest in places like Silicon Valley and the tech companies around Seattle. The Far West: The Great Plains and the Mountain West were built by industry, made necessary by harsh, sometimes
inhospitable climates. Far Westerners are intensely libertarian and deeply distrustful of big institutions, whether they are
railroads and monopolies or the federal government. New France: Former French
colonies in and around New Orleans and Quebec tend toward consensus and egalitarian, “among the most liberal on the
continent, with unusually tolerant attitudes toward gays and people of all races and a ready acceptance of government involvement
in the economy,” Woodard writes. First Nation: The few First Nation peoples left — Native Americans
who never gave up their land to white settlers — are mainly in the harshly Arctic north of Canada and Alaska. They have
sovereignty over their lands, but their population is only around 300,000. The clashes between the 11 nations
play out in every way, from politics to social values. Woodard notes that states with the highest rates of violent deaths
are in the Deep South, Tidewater and Greater Appalachia, regions that value independence and self-sufficiency. States with
lower rates of violent deaths are in Yankeedom, New Netherland and the Midlands, where government intervention is viewed with
less skepticism. States
in the Deep South are much more likely to have stand-your-ground laws than states in the northern “nations.” And
more than 95 percent of executions in the United States since 1976 happened in the Deep South, Greater Appalachia, Tidewater
and the Far West. States in Yankeedom and New Netherland have executed a collective total of just one person. That doesn’t bode well for gun control advocates,
Woodard concludes: “With such sharp regional differences, the idea that the United States would ever reach consensus
on any issue having to do with violence seems far-fetched. The cultural gulf between Appalachia and Yankeedom, Deep South
and New Netherland is simply too large. But it’s conceivable that some new alliance could form to tip the balance.”
9 nov 13 @ 5:41 pm
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March 4, 2013 Let's Start
Early - Who Should we Draft for 2016?Bloomberg DeMint Rice 
Napolitano Dean Bush Scarborough See full 2012 list here. x 2:46 pm edt Comments
February
4, 2012 Two new groups catching my attention: DeMint Watch & Citizens
Alliancehttp://rally.org/draftdemint http://rally.org/citizensalliance 8:19 pm est Comments
July 7, 2011 Draft
Cain Founder Describes Herman's Meteoric RiseHerman Cain has
broken the business model of retail politics. I really find it humorous that the media, and political pundits have been hammering
his unorthodox campaign. They just don't get it.
Consider the other candidates. They're defined by their handlers,
press releases and advertisements. Their persona for the public is created. Their events and public appearances are carefully
crafted to deliver a specific message that the media lazily reports on. Cain, in stark contrast, has been straight to the
people.
In 2004, Cain had a campaign mantra "They Will Not Outwork Us". It is blatantly obvious that
the campaign motto of 2004 is present in the campaign of 2012. Herman Cain is working the entire country to present himself
and his message. It is working!
When we started DraftCain.org, people laughed. Heck, some folks said I had a man
crush on Cain. Nah, there was appreciation for Cain, but at the end of the day, he's a human being. The advances in networking
technology have made it incredibly important to connect the message to the people. Facebook provides an unparalleled ability
to ANY social networking site to broaden the message. It maximizes every event Cain goes to, every news story, every thought,
comment, video and demographic.
In March, our volunteers were on hand for the Faith and Freedom Coalition event
in Iowa. Reports to me were that the response was so overwhelming that other candidates spoke and immediately ducked out of
the building and didn't engage their supporters. The following week, our supporters were on hand at Rep. Steve Kings Conservative
Coalition event, delivering Cain a straw poll victory. The list of successes of our network goes on and on.
We never solicited donations, we direct donors to Cain's campaign, yet we've built a network of more than 25,000 strong
across the U.S. When people inquire about our organization and our activity I have to chuckle and tell them, "we're nothing,
but a whole lot of nothing". What we evolve into remains to be seen. However, it is undeniable that DraftCain.org
has been the most successful "draft" effort ever assembled for a "potential candidate".
The
entire apparatus of DraftCain.org, now ElectCain.com is completely autonomous of Herman Cain's campaign. It's like target
shooting in the dark, but we've been hitting bulls eyes every time.
I received an email from a soldier serving
overseas just yesterday. It reminded me of why we started this network in the beginning. He wrote, "after I complete
my tour of duty . I will join his team to help Mr. Cain become our president 2013."
Our purpose
is simple, connect people.
<http://draftcain.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/stats.gif> Description: stats
Best Regards,
Maurice Atkinson
www.ElectCain.com 2:38 pm edt Comments
June 17, 2011 Newt
Gingrich Criticizes Departed Staffers, NBC News, For Bashing His Wife[Jason Linkins] takes a look back on how Gingrich began his defense of Callista:
"She's the
head of Gingrich Productions and has helped make seven different documentaries, one of which, about Pope John Paul II, was
picked as one of the top three films by the Vatican this year about the pope. She chairs a foundation which has given away
$800,000 to charities. And she's currently writing a children's book, in which Ellis the elephant introduces 5 to 8-year-olds
to a sweet land of liberty, the history of America."
You see, while Gingrich is sort of saying that his old
staff wanted to run an old-school campaign and that he wanted to mainly play with YouTube and Facebook and stuff, it seems
pretty clear to me that "the Gingrich campaign" is less about an authentic run for the White House and more about
a marketing campaign to monetize and synergize all of the Gingrich Family's lucrative side projects. It's been pretty apparent
to me, this whole time, that this is what the Gingrich campaign has been built to do. Gingrich says, "Barack Obama stands
for European secular socialism" and "We stand for American exceptionalism," and by the way, he has a book out
on the former and a movie coming out on the latter, and he takes all major credit cards.
So let's remember that
all this Callista-slagging, justified or not, is coming from a bunch of people who resent the fact that they spent all this
time on a merchandizing project when they thought they were working on a political campaign and now feel that they look sort
of stupid, the end. Read whole piece in HuffPo. 1:47 pm edt Comments
June 12, 2011 By PAUL FEELY New Hampshire Union Leader Published Jun 12,
2011
A
senior adviser for Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign staff voiced opposition Friday to Johnson’s exclusion
from Monday’s Republican presidential primary debate, and supporters placed full-page newspaper ads stating the former
New Mexico governor should be given a place on the podium.
“Debates are supposed to be opportunities for
the voters to see and hear credible candidates without all the trappings of handlers, poll numbers and name ID,” said
Ron Nielson, the campaign adviser.
Some of that outrage is being expressed in the form of political advertisements.
The full-page ads ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader and the Concord Monitor last Thursday and Friday respectively, and
a newer version appears in this week’s New Hampshire Sunday News. The ads, placed by Kerry Welsh — a self-described
entrepreneur and inventor from Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. — contend Johnson has in fact qualified for the debate,
citing polling criteria.
The New Hampshire Union Leader and its debate co-sponsors invited every candidate
who met any one of the following three standards:
- An average of at least 2 percent voter approval in at least
three national polls released in April by ABC, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, FOX, Gallup, Los Angeles Times,
Marist, McClatchy, NBC, Newsweek, Pew, Quinnipiac, Reuters, USA Today or Time.
- An average of at least 2 percent
in at least three national polls released in May by any of those organizations.
- An average of at least 2 percent
in polls of New Hampshire voters conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and released in May.
Organizers report that Johnson fell short, receiving no support in the Granite State in two local surveys conducted by UNH.
Welsh and other supporters cite poll numbers they say show he met the 2 percent threshold:
- A May 27 CNN
Opinion Research Corporation Poll that shows Johnson received 2 percent of the vote
- A May 26 Gallup Poll that
shows Johnson with 3 percent of the vote
- And a May 4 Quinnipiac Poll that shows Johnson at 1 percent.
Welsh says if you add up the numbers from those three polls, Johnson receives an average of 2 percent of the vote.
But organizers point out that one of those polls featured language that excluded two potential GOP candidates, asking voters
whom they would support if certain candidates, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, were dropped from consideration.
Charlie Perkins of North Village Media, a debate organizer and former news executive at the Union Leader, said: “The
debate is open to unannounced potential candidates who have significant public support. Therefore, invitations could not be
based on restrictive polling that excluded those names. In unrestricted polling, Johnson’s average in the three surveys
cited by Welsh and other Johnson supporters was 1.33 percent, not 2 percent.”
Last week, Perkins and other
organizers defended the criteria, saying that without using polling results as a standard, there would be no objective way
to determine who among the field of 144 presidential prospects who have already filed with the Federal Election Commission
should receive invitations. Kerry Welsh said:
Thank for the story. You even spelled my name right. Let me say that Mr. Perkins' comments are disingenuous at best.
Many of the polls did not mention Rudy Giuliani's name, including the May Gallup Poll. The results of those polls
were accepted by the sponsors.
In fact, none of the polls listed the exact same candidates as another poll, as
there are too many 'potential' candidates out there for any kind of uniformity amongst the polls.
The sponsors
now claim that the CNN and Gallup polls are not legitimate, even though they both accurately list all the current candidates.
At best the debate sponsors are splitting hairs here, and that is just plain wrong.
If there is any
question as to whether Governor Johnson's has qualified, then the sponsors should have erred on the side of inclusion and
allowed the most successful and most fiscally conservative governor in modern US history to participate in this early season
debate.
Hope y'all enjoy my ad in Sunday's paper!
:-)
--Kerry Welsh
4:49 am edt Comments
March 24, 2011 Worth
the watch: Rand Paul on Reason TVInterview Excerpt... Issues are more important than party. There are a lot of people out there who want somebody
who believes passionately in small limited constitutional government. People want to be left alone from the nanny state. But
they are not all republican, some of them are independent, some libertarian, some may be Democrats as well. You
see polls where people say they don’t like the rhetoric or partisanship. What they don’t like is ‘empty
partisanship’. They don’t mind if we disagree on an issue. I don’t think they mind us having a spirited
discussion on the issues, they don’t like us to yell. But what they don’t want is me disliking you just because
you are a democrat or a libertarian. They want me to engage on issues. So it is more important what
the issues are than what any party wants. I agree with the tea party in dishing out equal parts chastisement to both parties
because both parties have let us down on spending and debt. - Senator Rand Paul 9:03 am edt Comments
March 16, 2011 Better
way to create jobs.by Gary Johnson, former Governor New Mexico I have a better idea. As a businessman and as one who talks every day with employers and
entrepreneurs, I am absolutely convinced that one fundamental change to the tax code will create more jobs more quickly than
all the so-called stimulus President Obama has ever dreamed of: Eliminate the corporate income tax. 9:52 am edt Comments
February 22, 2011 Judge
Napolitano highlights this so-called tea-inspired congress failings - ALREADYExtending
the most unconstitutional provisions of the PATRIOT Act. 1:53 pm est Comments
February 9, 2011 Gary
Johnson Addresses CPAC Friday morningPosted by Mark Halperin on The Page Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico has been invited by CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), to
speak at their 2011 conference on Friday, February 11th at 9:30am. Ron Nielson, a longtime Johnson strategist and consultant,
says that Governor Johnson is consistently heralded as a true fiscal conservative. Nielson states. “As Governor
of New Mexico, he eliminated the State’s budget deficit and cut the rate of growth in state government in half. Additionally,
for the past several months, he has continued to emphasize the danger of our federal debt, and how it poses the greatest single
threat to our national security.” 12:26 pm est Comments
January 31, 2011 Ron
Paul only GOP presidential contender addressing Egyptian crisesRon Paul on Aid to EgyptRon Paul has been a persistent critic of foreign aid including
aid to Egypt. For example, in 2009, he spoke out against aid to Egypt and to the IMF that provides aid to Egypt. He opposed a– “$108
billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund, allowing that destructive organization to continue spending taxpayer
money to prop up corrupt elites and promote harmful economic policies overseas.  “As Americans struggle through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, this emergency
supplemental appropriations bill sends billions of dollars overseas as foreign aid. Included in this appropriation is $660
million for Gaza, $555 million for Israel, $310 million for Egypt, $300 million for Jordan, and $420 million for Mexico. Some
$889 million will be sent to the United Nations for ‘peacekeeping’ missions. Almost one billion dollars will be
sent overseas to address the global financial crisis outside our borders and nearly $8 billion will be spent to address a
“potential pandemic flu.’”
Other GOP presidential contenders are mainly hiding from the
Egyptian crisis but I will keep you posted after they figure put what their positions are. 8:29 am est Comments
|
Citizens Alliance for Better Candidtates Draft and Exploratory Political Campaign Services
| Stood for Congress in 2012. Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, Retired The Citizen’s Alliance is a political action committee
(PAC) established to provide citizens with a unified voice to their elected officials. Incumbents running for reelection and
prospective candidates for federal office will be presented with a questionnaire. Voters can evaluate their responses and
make a selection based on interactive participation. It is our objective to have responses in all 435 congressional districts
in 2012. We urge nominees of the all political parties to open up the dialogue, be accountable, and fully engage in debates
with all opponents including independents to inform voters and give fair voice to all willing to run for office.
The Citizen’s Alliance is committed to a better functioning American Republic
based on freedom and security. Our grassroots efforts will empower citizens to take a personal interest in the operation of
their government. Our mission is to recruit candidates, engage citizens, and organize a massive nationwide grassroots team
to spur higher turnout and elected official accountability. It is time to force our elected officials to provide real answers.
Too often they dodge, spin and exclude challengers. And if that is not enough, they impose new restrictions on participating
- especially directed at any challenges outside of the titanic party duopoly. |
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Our members have at various times had an association with the
following organizations: Independent Greens of Virginia
 Green TV Americans for Fair Taxation
Diane Blais for Congress
2014
Gerard Blais for Congress 2014
Elaine Hildbrandt for Congress 2014
Col. Jim Leslie for
Delegate 2009 & 2013 (VA)
Terry Modglin for Delegate 2013 (VA)
Jeannemarie Davis for Lt. Governor
2013 (VA)
Ken Hildebrandt for Congress (VA 2012 & 14)
Floyd Bayne for Congress (VA 10 & 12)
Karen Kwiatkowski for Congress 2012 (VA)
Imperato for President 2008 / for Florida Governor 2010
Hagler for Council (DC)
Joseph Oddo for Congress (VA 04, 06 & 08)
Gail "for Rail"
Parker for US Senate (VA 06 & 08) 
Gail for Rail for Congress (VA 2010, 12 & 14)
Parker for Delegate 2013 Nader for President (04 & 08)
Kent Mesplay for President 2004
Virginia Bill of Rights
Coalition

Joseph Oddo Certified Sales Manager, Writer, Business Operations &
Political Campaign Director Three time ballot certified candidate
for congress. Co-Founder and Director Joseph Oddo formed a writing and political/sales consulting practice in 2002.
He is a three-time ballot certified candidate for congress and founder of a number of political advocacy organizations including
Independent America, the Independent Greens of Virginia and the Citizens Alliance for Better Candidates. He has served in
many capacities with local charitable and service organizations. A Public Policy major from Penn State, he spent over twenty
years in sales management. Oddo is a church member, volunteer DJ at public radio WTJU, volunteer host GreenTV public television, and a Friend of the Library. | 
Joseph Oddo delivering speech during the 2006 campaign. - Available for surrogate or spokesman role. |
Transcript of five minute News8TV taping. Joe
Oddo, Independent Candidate, US House of Representatives Oct
6, 2006 A patriot must always be ready to defend
his country from his government. I’m
Joe Oddo, Independent Green candidate running for Congress and I encourage you to get involved. To run for office. To insist
we be allowed in the debates. To fix our democracy. And stop the mudslingin I believe in expanding civic participation by fixing election rules and instituting universal registration.
Anyone that shows up at the right polling place with their official ID should be able to register and vote on the spot. Plus we should expand the hours of Election Day, or make
it a holiday so everyone can take off work to cast their vote. Our
team of Independents have spent weeks out in all weather extremes to qualify to make the ballot. We talked to over 150,000
Virginians who understand the need for Independent voices. And by listening to your concerns, we have formulated a sound platform
that addresses diverse issues like lobby reform and term limits. Together with our statewide candidate for the US Senate Gail “for Rail” Parker, we propose
Rail Now solutions. More Trains Less Traffic. We need hi-speed Rail from Danville to Charlottesville, from Charlottesville
to Richmond, and on to Washington. Modern high-speed rail utilizes existing right-of-ways. We can run elevated rail right
along I-64 and Rt. 29 with minimal disturbance. It is the time to develop alternative energy solutions, and end our dependence
on oil. We must pay closer attention to how
government spends OUR money, and to ensure that it is on realistic, long-term solutions. So one of our initiatives is to solve
the fiscal crises in our federal budget. We need a balanced budget now. We can to pay off the federal debt in five years.
And we can fix the tax code for real tax cuts, not credit card advances. We are more conservative than our opponents. There is nothing compassionate or conservative in military
adventurism. This administration promotes addiction to a new drug called fear. We no longer face facts. We prefer to fabricate
them. We lost over 3,000 young American soldiers since Nine Eleven. Why? For war industry profits. Everyone knows it. One of every four tax dollars are being spent at
the Defense Department. From their own report, billions are being mismanaged through "improper payments". And this
Congress has been complicit and needs replaced. We
can fix Pentagon waste with an auditable accounting system so we know where our money is going. We can save $2 Billion a week
by withdrawing from Iraq. We can save Billions more by closing bases in Germany and Japan. And Billions more by scrapping
useless weapons programs. Now I ask you, what
real liberal or conservative would ever sanction the Patriot Act, or NSA domestic spying? Why should we give away rights guaranteed
by the Constitution now? They served us well for the multitude of threats we defeated during the last 230 years. Now it’s: be afraid. Be very afraid. Don’t worry
about your tax dollars going to campaign contributors through no-bid contracts. Don’t pay attention while they strip
away our rights, or rob our Treasury blind. We
won’t hear them say: War as a foreign policy of the United States is wrong. Peace is the answer. Nonviolence is the
answer. We can protest all we want. We can
editorialize, we can lobby, we can strike, we can boycott, we can hold endless numbers of meetings. This only gets us so far.
If we are going to accomplish real change in government, then we have to resort to action. The only real action against apathy
is to get on the ballot and run for office. Now
is our chance to restore the optimism and promise of a world for all to live in peace. Join us as an independent - not bought
and paid for by corporate rulers. We run on
positive issues. We listen. We do not sling mud. Because
I am an optimist, I offer solutions that the two parties will not address. Please Join us. Our Web site is www.VoteJoinRun.us.
Please Vote Oddo on November 7th. ### |
Join our team of Citizen Advisers... 
Tammy Parada Certified Political Action Committee Director Tammy Parada- Senior Consultant Mid Atlantic Region,
Open Market Research Entering the political communications
and fundraising arena in 2005, Tammy Parada became Political Action Committee (PAC) Associate Director for the Virginia Medical
Political Action Committee (VAMPAC). Under her direction, VAMPAC garnered record contributions, exceeding $365,000 annually.
As government affairs coordinator for the state medical society, Parada also offered contributing coordination in board
and committee management, grassroots and advocacy efforts, legislative event planning, constituent communications, and health
care policy campaigns. Parada excels in strategic
development and political efficacy when it comes to her design and implementation of political campaigns. She recently
managed Floyd Bayne's independent congressional campaign (VA CD-7) garnering more votes than any other independent candidate
in the state and forcing the incumbent to spend more money per vote than during previous elections, ending the race with the
lowest vote count yet. Parada works closely with local, state and congressional candidates in Mid Atlantic states providing
a vast array of campaign services. Parada
currently serves as Chief Bill Tracker for Virginia’s 10th Amendment Coalition. Simultaneously, Parada serves
on the Legislative Committee for a statewide constituent advocacy organization. Parada is the Capitol Region Director
forVirginia Conservative Party’s Board of Directors. --- Jabari Zakiya DC Coordinator Jabari Zakiya is a
Certified FairTax Advocate with intelligently radical political positions. He has served on the community board for WPFW Pacific
radio in Washington, DC. He is a professional tutor, writer and adviser to community organizations in the District of Columbia.
Read his piece entitled "Why We Need the FairTax" here.
You can contact
Jabari by e-mail.
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This is how we tracked prospective 2012 challengers to President Obama. Should Obama be primaried in his own party? Should
two prospects team up to run independent? Who would you move in this grid?
Progressive | Liberal | Moderate | Conservative | Far Right | Uncategorized | Ralph Nader | Russ
Feingold | Michael Bloomberg | Gary Johnson | Herman Cain | Mitch Daniels | Cynthia McKinney | Mike
Gravel | Mitt Romney | Joe Scarborough | Sarah Palin | Jesse
Ventura | Dennis Kucinich | Elizabeth
Warren | Mark Warner | Andrew Napolitano | Steve
King | Lou Dobbs | Bernie Sanders | Hillary
Clinton | John
Bolton | Ron Paul | Jim DeMint | Dan
Corceri | Alan Grayson | Howard Dean | Jeb Bush | Haley Barbour | Alan
Keyes | Condoleezza Rice | Kent Mesplay
| Matt
Gonzalez | Bob Corker | John Thune | Mike Pence | Keith Olbermann | | Tim Kaine | Bobby Jindal | Tim Pawlenty | Rick
Perry |
| | Evan
Bayh | K. Bailey Hutchinson | Jon Huntsman | Michele Bachmann
| | | | Lincoln Chafee | Rick Snyder | Rick Santorum | | | | George
Pataki | Scott Brown | Chuck Baldwin | | | | Sam
Brownback | Chris Christie | Newt Gingrich | | | | | Mike Huckabee | Paul Ryan | |
 Discuss where these candidates stand on the political spectrum. Post your take on who is up and who is out...
Progressive
| Liberal
| Moderate
| Conservative
| Far Right
| Uncategorized
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