So, I just met Ray McGovern.

Who?

Ray McGovern.

We're doing a TV appearance in regards to the Department Of Peace with Kucinich and Ray McGovern both on Manchester's Cable Access channel, as well as on KucinichTV.com tonight at 8pm.

When me and Jesse picked him up from the bus station tonight,
he was facing into the corner reading a newspaper. I introduced myself to him, and asked him if he needed any help. He'd fallen on the ice and hurt his back, so I took his bag for him out to the car.

While we navigated the poorly plowed streets in a 15 passanger van and getting lost thanks to Google Maps being totally useless, he told jokes, and asked us about why we support Kucinich, and got to talking about the 9-11 truth movement.



We eventually got to his hotel after disregarding the Google Map instructions, and looking at the map, and realizing that the way to get there was far simpler than it was trying to have us go.

I helped him with his bags once more, and he asked my last name. We shook hands, and he said he looked forwards to meeting me again tonight in the M-Cam studio.

I look forwards to talking with him some more.

God, I love working on this campaign!
Asher

Ah Black Friday.

The Day After Thanksgiving... This year, it falls on November 23rd.

traditionally on this day, people head to the shopping malls of America to trample each other in search of bargain deals on cheap plastic crap and marked-up clothing made overseas under sweatshop conditions in places like China and Honduras.

Americans spend more money on this day than any other day of the year.

As a culture, we REVEL in this holiday of spending our hard earned money in a big orgiastic release of our funds into the hands of corporate America. It is our consumer holiday. We go nuts in a frenzy of materialism.

And my family members are starting to ask me what I want for Christmas.

Well, this year, I'm asking for World Peace.

And that's not a joke.

Last year, I told my family I wanted a better world for Christmas, so I asked them to donate whatever money they'd have spent on clothes, or trinkets or ties (because all males need ties, and should be given one at every gift giving opportunity)on organizations like Oxfam, Amnesty International, the ACLU, and news organizations like PBS and DemocracyNOW!

This year, I'm asking my family to donate to Dennis Kucinich on my behalf. And I want them to do it on November 23rd.

Myself, I'm an intern with the Dennis Kucinich for President Campaign. I receive a $400 monthly stipend. This month, I'm going to donate the whole thing back to the campaign. not that I don't need it, but because I care that much.

I'm okay with eating Ramen for a month just so long as I have somebody who understands the US Constitution.

Dennis Kucinich is the ONLY Democratic candidate who understands the Constitution. And I'm not just saying that. He's the only one who voted against the USAPATRIOT act, and the only one who voted against re-authorizing it.

Obama? Hillary? Edwards? They have all collectively undermined and eroded the US Constitution with their past votes.



Collectively they've voted for the Bush Revisions of the FISA laws. They voted several times to re-authorize and broaden the scope of the USAPATRIOT act. They have voted to overturn Habeas Corpus (illegally) by voting for the Military Comissions act.

These people don't even understand what it means to be American, and based on their voting records, they obviously have NO CLUE what the Constitution even says-- and yet somehow we're supposed to believe them when they take the oath of office? That they'll "swear to protect and uphold the US Constitution?"

How can they know how to do that if they don't understand it?

Now, I'm not willing to accept the Neo-Con agenda just because it's coming from Democratic Mouthpieces.

Congress is also currently considering legislation that would allow the Federal Military to intervene in enforcing Domestic law.

That's a direct violation of Posse Comitatus, a law passed to prevent a Police State from occuring. When the Military enforces Domestic law, that's called MARTIAL LAW. That is a form of Fascism. Right here in the USA, land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

Well, I for one want America to start standing for what it stands for.

I want the rule of law, and the Bill of Rights restored. No other democrat is talking about the assaults on our Constitution, and even if they are, their voting record shows that they are the ones doing the damage they are complaining about.

Except Dennis.



What's more, is I want a president who recognizes that without health care, a lot of people will die of easily curable or preventable illnesses, and that access to health care is a part of our right to life.

Right now, the number of people who die from a lack of access to health care is nine times that of the number of people who died on September 11th, 2001. Every year.
That's due to either insurance being to expensive and being uninsured, as well as being underinsured, which is to say, thinking that you insurance covers you, only to find out later that sadly, no, you've been left out in the cold, despite your paying them thousands of dollars.

We aren't going to solve the problem by subsidizing the health insurance companies. They're the PROBLEM. Edwards, Obama, and Hillary all want to do with health insurance what the Bush administration did with the oil Industry-- subsidize it. Halliburton health anyone?

And we aren't going to solve the problem by making buying health insurance mandatory. Edwards and Hillary both want to make having no health insurance illegal-- you MUST pay these private insurers! Or else! Effectively and completely criminalizing poverty in America.

Perhaps Hillary and Edwards are geniuses. It is true that under their plans those who cannot afford health insurance will have universal access to it-- in prison.

We're seeing a police state forming here, and the Democrats are turning a blind eye to it.

Except Dennis.

These things are too important to sit on the sidelines for any longer. It's time we got up off our asses and got involved.

I propose that on November 23rd, Black Friday, we purchase the future we want to see.

When congressman Kucinich ran for the house in Ohio, his slogan was, "Light Up America!"

Let's Light Up Black Friday.

The math is simple: If 100,000 people donate $100 dollars a piece, you will raise 10 million dollars.

That's front runner status right there. With Federal Matching funds doubling whatever we make, that's 20 million.

How many people would buy into the lies of Dennis being "unelectable" if he had 20 million in the bank?

Plus, think about the media stir.
Ron Paul got hundreds of millions of dollars of free airtime over the 4 million he raised.

Kudos to his supporters, but I think we can top it.

But the only way that this can work is if you tell EVERYBODY YOU KNOW about November 23rd.

And if you encounter those naysayers who tell you that they love his platform, but that he has no chance to win, just look them in the eye and tell them, "Throw $100 on the pile on Nov 23rd, and tell me if you still think that on Nov 24th."

So I was recently deleted from Facebook.
Like yesterday.

I was deleted for being a "spammer" because I was "using a feature of Facebook persistantly and rapidly."

But, then I was told that Facebook could not give me a reason why my account was disabled or which features I was using too rapidly. I did however receive warnings in the form of pop-up windows whenever I did anything, that my account could be disabled at any moment-- for the duration of that day.

Facebook seemed to think that every message I wrote, every time I wrote on a friend's wall, and every time I used an application or talked in a forum, that I was "spamming" and I was told "your account could be disabled!"

I thought that this was a problem that I'd been wrongly accused of spamming, so I wrote the e-mail that the pop-up warnings instructed me to, if I thought I'd received these warnings in error. Immediately afterwards, when I tried to log in, I saw this screen (red circle added by me):



So they don't actually have a reason for deleting my account.

Later, I set up another account, "Asher WasDeleted" (I was going to say my full name was "Asher Hates Facebook" but they have filters). Because the email I used for this account did not have a college network associated with it, they make me fill out a word bubble form every time I do ANYTHING-- add a friend, send a message, write on somebodies wall, etc. There are single images of two words that you are supposed to type in. I was frustrated enough that I'd had my account deleted, ostensibly for political activism, when:




Democratic Scum? Maybe that's why I was deleted: for working for Dennis Kucinich? That was a single image. Those two words were NOT randomly paired.

So that's what Facebook thinks of Dennis Kucinich and I. Democratic Scum. Great.

---

By the way, what I was doing on there was directing people to the Democracy For America poll at Democracy For America

Dennis Kucinich is now winning the DFA poll! Let's keep it up! We're only ahead of Barack Obama by two thousand votes. We're still at risk for losing our lead...





Vote Now!

The Presidential elections are coming up. Are you sick and tired of having to pick from the lesser of two evils? Do you feel discouraged voting for a third party, knowing they are shut out of the debates by the corporate powers that be? Do you feel that voting for one of the two major parties compromises your values? Do you wish the two major parties would put forth candidates that were more responsive to the American People, and less beholden to corporate power and the Military-Industrial complex (aka sucked less)? Well, have I got just the cure for you-- voting in the primary elections!

Now, primary elections are a bit of a grey fuzzy area for a large number of people. Most people I talk to envision the selection of candidates going like this:

In a dark smoky back room, there is a table, illuminated by a single naked lightbulb. Sitting around it are the inner-most party members, members of the corporate aristocracy, the conglomerate media, and the military industrial complex. They grease each other's palms with money, and decide which candidate would be best at giving them more money and more power. I've even talked to some who think that the selection of the presidential candidate is done by the board of either the GOP or the DNC, based purely on opinion polls. Some in my age group (eighteen to twenty something) think that donating money is the only way to influence the outcome of the primary elections. Very few people realize that they either can, or should, vote in the primary elections.

That smoky room described above? I have some good news and some bad news. That does happen. But it doesn't happen in secret. It happens right in front of our very eyes, but the one big difference between this fantasy and reality (which is the good news) is that you do have a say, and you can put a stop to it.

Yes, you can vote, and yes your vote does make a difference-- and it's vital that you do make a difference. The primary elections are just as important, if not more important, than the general elections. Why? The Primary elections are when you get to choose the direction of the party you've chosen by electing the candidates that will run for office. It's your job to stand guard, and make sure that terrible candidates don't get the nomination. Ever watch the news, see the latest scandal and think, “My god, how do these people get elected?” The answer is: because you didn't vote in the primary.

The blindly loyal of each party (who do vote in every primary) get tricked by the false dichotomy of Republican versus Democrat, and vote for “safe” candidates portrayed as being “electable” by the conglomerate-owned corporate media. These candidates get lots of attention from the media because they have millions of dollars, which interestingly comes largely from the same companies and people who own the media. Hillary Clinton, for example, can count Rupert Murdoch, owner of the conservative public relations spin zones FoxNews and NewsCorp, as being one of her largest donors. The public, seduced by horse-race style coverage that is devoid of any discussion of the issues or where the candidates stand on them, are sold these candidates as if they were being sold dish detergent, and end up thinking that simply voting one person out of office in favor of another will be enough to cure their political woes, without realizing that many have the same backers and agenda in both parties.

Sometimes the difference between the corporate candidates and the ones who actually want change becomes apparent in public forums, like debates. When this happens, it's a favored tactic to point out that “as different as our views are here, the differences between us are small compared to the differences between us and the opposing party,” which, if examined in any depth, is false. Truly, when funded by the same interests, there are actually fewer differences between the corporate-chosen “mainstream” candidates in either party and the candidates who are portrayed as “radical.” This portrayal is ironic as most “radical” candidates are portrayed as such only because they threaten the grip on power and control of public policy that the wealthy elite have. In reality, they are much more in line with the average American on every issue.

Thanks to the corporate-owned media favoring the candidates with the most money, the public unconsciously equates money with electability. Think about that for a moment-- we measure a candidate's viability by how likely they are to be corrupted by dirty money. What does that say about us as a nation? It's no wonder people are so cynical as to see candidates, who they agree with, as being too good to be true, and that to compromise their politics for more “electable” candidates is the only real option. We've been conditioned not to vote in our best interest.
There are alternatives to the two-party plutocracy in the general election, known collectively as “third parties.” Even though there is more than one of them, the name makes it seem as as if the “first and “second” parties, the Republicans and Democrats, have a right to rule forever. These parties are where issues that affect the majority of Americans end up relegated, as the corporate candidates have and agenda of maintaining the status quo. There are, however, problems with our electoral system, created by the two-party system fearing any threat to it's duopolist power, that make it near impossible for third party candidates to gain ballot access, let alone win a seat in office. In order to make our system more democratic, more representative, and more responsive to the public's needs, we first must elect a candidate who will make changes to the system rather than protect his or her career interests. This person inevitably will have to come from one of the two major parties.

So, do you want change? If you really want change, it's absolutely vital for you to vote for in the primaries. If you don't, the general public will end up with a choice between two candidates who have allegiance to their corporate handlers and no allegiance to the American people.

In 2000, 60% of Americans didn't vote, because they were so fed up with the two party system. Many people today register as Independent, because they feel that neither of the two major parties represent them, not realizing that they are giving up their shot at turning the table -- voting so that instead of finding a party to suit them, they change the party to better represent them.

If we want real change in the 2008 election, Americans need to wake up, and register to vote. Not in the general election, where corporate owned candidates are already selected for us. We need to get involved at the entry level, and keep terrible politicians from getting the nomination in the first place. Are you ready to take democracy back into the hands of the people?

There is a flow to life. Back home in Maine, I'd taken up foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants as a hobby, and learning what foods are edible also goes hand in hand with knowing when they are available to eat.

Just as the bounty of the land changes with the change of the seasons, so does the bounty of other things. Right now, we are in a winter of sorts on the intern team. Chaz, Cory, and John have all left us. Chaz and Cory have left for NYC on the EuroRock 2007 tour to Rock the World for Peace.

You can see the shirts that our very own Stacey designed for the BR Family, and also the artist and our Harrison modeling themhere

John left us to head back home to St Paul. We'll miss you John, and we wish you well.

---

So once, there were eight. Now there are five. We've lost nearly half our staff. Yikes. If anybody wants to become and intern, please, please, please apply!

In spite of the recent shortage of staffers, we're still pushing ahead with all our projects, with full steam, including Students for Kucinich. Hal is working on getting a webpage that the Students For Kucinich groups can edit themselves. We'll have all sorts of resources up there for you, and as you figure out what things work on your campus, you can share your ideas online, and keep in touch with what other groups are doing.

In other news, after ABC gave us the full gauntlet to deny us meaningful coverage, there was an upwelling of support. They replaced the photograph that cut Dennis Kucinich out with one that included him. They did NOT however put the poll back up. It's still accessible through the link, but it's not linked to anywhere on ABCnews's website any longer (at least not that I could find.)

On MSNBC's AFL-CIO poll, Dennis Kucinich is now at number one with 27%!

And after MSNBC's LIVESTRONG forum, Kucinich not only brought the house down, but he also cleaned up at the poll with a full 36% of the vote.

Check it:


Irritatingly, they took down the poll that same day at 7:30 and replaced it with a poll that asks, "Which of the GOP candidates do you think will make Healthcare a priority?" which unlike >the one that Dennis won, has been up for a couple days now. Not suprisingly Ron Paul won, as he does with every online poll ever, with 41% last I checked.

I realize now that I never gave a real introductory post. I guess I should talk a bit about who I am.

---

My name is Asher, I'm a jazz musician from Maine. I'm currently a registered Green. I voted for Kerry back in 2004. That's why I'm registered Green now. The Green, Libertarian, and Reform parties were the only ones that challenged the voter fraud in Ohio in 2004. Bob Fitrakis of the Green party ran for Governor in Ohio in 2006 on the platform of suing Kenneth Blackwell for vote rigging with electronic machines.

Now, why the heck would I vote for Kerry? I had totally planned on "throwing my vote away" with gusto on the Cobb/LaMarche ticket (I don't actually think it's throwing it away), but I was a member of the League of Pissed Off Voters and we'd decided to vote for Kerry en bloc. I learned the hard way that if your candidate doesn't actually want to be president (because his running mate is a member of the same Neo-Fascist fraternal order), you shouldn't vote for them, because they are a patsy.

This same election cycle I also learned a ton about activism and the primary process. My student group, University Student Activists (U.S.A.--clever, no?) started to fall apart as we couldn't agree on whether or not to endorse a candidate, and from which party we should if we did. We continued to work on local election stuff, organizing protests against the war, and lobbying the campus cafeteria services provider,Aramark, to include locally grown foods in their offerings. I myself switched from supporting Dean to Kucinich, and after voting in the municipal primary, was elected as a delegate for the Maine State Convention. I witnessed Dennis Kucinich's speech there first hand. It was so moving, he moved from 11% to 33% of the delegation to the National Convention from Maine.

Because of a student group that me and some politically active and locally minded people started up, I was selected for a scholarship to go to a sort of boot-camp for political organizing in Columbus, OH, called the "Smack Down." It was amazing. I met people from all over the country, from all sorts of different ethnic and economic backgrounds.

We all had so many opportunities to talk about what life was like where we were, and what kinds of political fights we've had to fight on our own turf. It was like vicariously traveling and living in major cities all around the USA, condensed into the span of a week. There was a open-mic slam poetry fest held one night, and it was really quite inspiring. I had written one piece after the USAPATRIOT act passed, but I was so inspired by this event, I started seriously listening to, and writing slam poetry after that.

I also accepted a campus fellowship with EnviroCitizen.org, which was really helpful. I learned a lot about canvasing first hand with them, and I was able to collect information to use for my GOTV (get out the vote) efforts with the LPOV. I interviewed local candidates and asked them about issues that my campus group decided were important. I made up a great little voter guide, printed up a few thousand copies, and then distributed them to every person who lived on campus, and encouraged them to register and vote locally.

It worked. We had a massive surge in voter turnout, especially in my age group. We were able to affect real change locally as well. Later, I was able to lobby the candidates we'd endorsed, and I was able to submit legislation on some of the issues that my group championed, and hold those politicians accountable on their campaign stances. So later, I got the opportunity to testify in Augusta on behalf of bills I helped create. Which was way cool. While there I met a bunch of lobbyists who were there on behalf of the bio-fuels industry, and talking with them, I learned a lot about the state of bio-fuels in Maine.

After 2004 though, I was so burned out and so disappointed, dropped out of politics and I focused almost exclusively on playing bass, electronic music and composing and arranging orchestral music.

I'm supposed to be graduating this year. I applied to be an intern while bored at work one day, and I got it. I was totally prepared to let this election cycle go by with a little bit of campaigning, and a vote on my part. But I got in, and they've wanted me to stay so far. The political animal that was killed by cynicism back in 2004 is active and healthy again.

As far as the bounty of my activism goes, It's now mid-summer.

Hey, my name is asher.

Right now, I'm unsure of whether or not I'll be able to stay on with the campaign. For me, school starts in two weeks, and my loans will be coming due soon, so I may end up being gone in about two weeks, as I cannot pay for my student loans on my stipend alone.

But while I'm here I just want to say that I'm really excited with all the fresh new energy that we have here.

I arrived here around a month ago, and me and Hal got started with hashing out the campus outreach program. I'm really excited about pushing it forwards. I've been working on building the skeleton of the organization, and putting together the Campus Organizer packet. Hopefully we'll get a budget for that and get stuff done and ready to be shipped out here pretty soon.

Josef, the guy who set this blog up, has been nothing but positive energy since he came in on Monday, and if I do end up having to leave, I don't feel like anything would fall apart. He is awesome, and I'm glad to have him on board.


I guess I could talk a little about what Dennis Kucinich said to us when he came into the office to talk with us about campus outreach:

Since this isn't a huge mega-million dollar campaign like the "frontrunner" campaigns, we don't have the means to operate a huge top down organized campaign. We're going to be relying on you to make this happen. Big responsibility right? Don't stress out too much, we here at national will try to make it as painless as possible (but there will be pain! This is political work!)

One thing that is going to be essential is reaching out to other organizations that are sympathetic to our cause, and getting their members on board. The big difference between Kucinich and the other campaigns, is while they talk about what they will eventually do, Kucinich talks about what he's done, and is doing. It's our hope that the people who rally around issues central to the Kucinich Campaign, (like Human Rights, Economic Justice, Constitutional Democracy, and Peace, to name a few) will recognize this and rally around the flag.

It's been exciting to see that even though we don't have the most well-funded campaign, we're right on the issues, and people are supporting us when they learn about where Kucinich stands.
For instance, we won the ABC poll in regards to the Iowa debate in a landslide this past Sunday.

And when people look at the issues only, like in this blind taste test, Kucinich wins in a landslide there too...

If I am able to stay on here, I look forwards to working with you! If I have to leave, I look forwards to working amongst your ranks as a Campus Organizer at my own University.

Stay Positive!

Asher