The Heart of the Matter: The 2008 U.S. Financial Meltdown

Inside Job is quite possibly the best documentary I have ever seen. It chronicles the financial collapse of 2008 and what led the United States into the current recession. Narrated by Matt Damon and featuring interviews with many prominent politicians, journalists, etc, this film is highly informational while also evoking strong emotions from the viewer. I highly recommend seeing it.

"If you're not enraged by the end of the movie, 

you weren't paying attention" 

- Mary and Richard Corliss, TIME

At the turn of the century president Teddy Roosevelt worked hard as a Progressive Republican to create change in the American workplace by instituting new laws and regulations such as child labor reforms, and shortening the American work day to eight hours. Reform continued in the 1930's, With Franklin Roosevelt working hard to ensure another Great Depression would never again happen. More regulations were put into place to keep America safe from Wall Street wheeling and dealing, which contributed mightily to the Great Depression.

Things continued along well in America with the economy growing and our power in the world increasing. Then, in the 1980's Reagan took office and began to deregulate many institutions in the market, such as the Savings and Loan companies. This had a profound effect; corporations and Wall Street realized that they had the power to lobby in Washington, and by using money they could get their way. With their help the Republican Party moved to continue deregulation and encouraging the free market.

The Clinton presidency did nothing to stave off this flow of money and power to Wall Street. In the 1990's Alan Greenspan argued for deregulation of the mortgage industry, saying that it did not need regulating. This is an absurd proclamation, essentially stating that companies in the free market are trustworthy and honorable and will ensure that American citizens are safe and prosperous. Am I wrong to think that most companies are out to turn a profit, and would never take money out of their own pockets to help some unfortunate soul?

Then in 2000 it was announced that the derivatives market was not going to be regulated in any way, and that companies engaging in derivatives trading were exempt from anti-gambling laws. Essentially this allowed the companies to engage in extremely high risk investing and trading, putting the country at risk of a financial collapse. Politicians saw nothing wrong with this scenario, and continued to advocate for deregulation of the market. Consumers lost an estimated $700 million, while the companies in question made $100 million.

Next comes the George Bush era. Under his watch the housing market grew into a giant bubble just waiting to blow up. Mortgages were being offered to people who could not possibly pay them back, along with other large loans. When these were defaulted upon - in the thousands - the bubble burst. Investement banks bet against these mortgage packages they were selling to other companies, knowing full well that they were likely to default. This insurance is what allowed the investment banks - such as Goldman Sachs - to get even more money out of this scheme.

House ownership was at an all time high in 2007, while savings was at an all time low. Now, one could certainly argue that people are responsible for themselves and their actions. If one does not choose to be responsible with their assets then it is their own fault for winding up in a bad financial situation. However, due to predatory lending and poor education in our country, many people were perfect targets for these companies. They were told by so-called experts that they were making a smart investment, and that they would not have trouble paying back these loans - in fact, they were told that debt is good and American because it builds up the market as well as your personal credit. Too bad these were lies, and most people defaulted quickly on these loans, winding up destitute and homeless.

This seems like a clear case of fraud, however these companies were simply taking advantage of a situation the government created. First, politicians (mostly right wing) helped to deregulate the market, allowing companies full control over the derivatives market. Then they turned a blind eye to what these companies were doing to American citizens. The saddest part is that Obama re-elected many of these politicians to his cabinet, allowing everyone to get away with the terrible economic situation that they created. No one has been or will be punished, and again the American tax payer is left shovelling the shit.

In the end we are left with a choice: do we blame the politicians who allowed this type of behaviour from capitalists, or do we blame the capitalists and companies themselves for taking advantage of our country and people - though technically not doing anything illegal, just highly immoral?

Sources: http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/site/#/events

Why Does McDonald's Taste So Good?

I don't want people to think I'm a hypocrite, so let's get this out of the way right here. I am sitting here writing this while eating a McDonald's sausage burrito and hash brown. I normally try to avoid eating fast food, but there was little in the house to eat this morning, and well it just tastes so good!

What is it about the food that attracts even the wariest of people to eat there, knowing full well how bad it is for you, and how bad their system of food production is for the world? It's certainly not looks. On the commercials the burgers look fresh and amazing, but in reality they are pretty ugly. So why do we continue to eat them?

According to Fast Food Nation, McDonald's secret is a special combination of flavors created in laboratories, along with that infernal scent that wafts out of the buildings and into the street. The United States has a fascination with science, especially chemicals. We tend to assume that science is always a good thing, and that messing around with growing and preparing food will yield results in terms of quantity and quality of food provided.

For example, Monsanto created soy beans that already contain pesticides. This (in theory) should eliminate the extra time needed to spray pesticides on the crops, and would cut down on these poisons entering the ecosystem and destroying other plants and animals as well as habitats. Unfortunately, science is still very mysterious, and we do not fully comprehend the implications of these creations. Who knows what these beans will do to people once the crops have been ingested, or what will happen when these beans inevitable escape the boundaries of the field and enter the environment.

There's no escaping the advertising on the television, Internet, radio, billboards, etc. You know that song in their commercials? That was created by a Berkeley College of Music professor. Yes, it was designed to be simple enough to stick in your head forever and drive you crazy. Much like those car and mattress comercials whose jingles you find yourself singing in the shower every morning.

Is there any escape?

The answer is no. As humans we have evolved to seek out fats, sugars and salts when it comes to food. These are rare in the natural world, which makes us intrinsically designed to stuff as much as we can into our stomachs when we do find these foods. Sadly, McDonald's has tapped into this evolutionary design with their products. It is up to us as individuals to stop and think about our food choices when it comes to meal time. This is a difficult feat, but one worth doing. As I said before, this is still something I'm working on. It gets easier over time, but there will be times when you can't help but eat that large order of french fries. All we can do is try and do our best.


http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/business-brains/green-chemistry-stresses-8216benign-by-design-mindset/16177

The Days Are Numbered For Herman Cain

In recent weeks it has come to light that Herman Cain has been involved in sexual harassment allegations. This is a clear "he said, she said" case, and the truth remains unknown. While these are serious allegations, Cain refuses to take them seriously. At first he denied even knowing about the allegations, then he remembered but was shady about the details. He's clearly hiding something. 

Yesterday on the morning news I listened to Cain's newest accuser, Sharon Bialek. She stated that while looking for a job, she was groped by Cain in a car. When she protested he said "You want a job, right?" This is a clear, cut and dry case of sexual harassment. Cain allegedly put his hand up her skirt, and attempted to force Bialek's head toward his own crotch. 

Cain's campaign has since labelled her a chronically in debt woman who is desperate for money. This is a sad attempt at deflecting responsibility. Cain should own up to his mistakes, try to make things and move on. This leaves American wondering how much longer the Cain campaign can carry on before self-destructing. If more women come forward it would speed up this campaign's demise. 

Sharon Bialek

The NPR Difference

I appreciate transparency in all things, so I was very happy to hear - on NPR - that there has been some controversy surrounding many higher level executives at NPR. As of December first  the president and CEO of the company will be Gary Knell. Knell formerly was the head of Sesame Workshop, the organization that owns Sesame Street. 

The former CEO and president, Vivian Schiller, forcibly resigned in March of this year following the firing of Juan Williams. has been replaced as of Monday. Williams was a contributing analyst at NPR who was fired after stating on Fox News that Muslims make him nervous at the airport. Subsequently NPR has been attacked for having a "liberal bias", and conservatives have been pushing for NPR to lose it's federal funding (which only makes up about two percent of it's annual budget).  According to NPR, "directors came to the conclusion that the controversies under Schiller's watch had become such a distraction that she could no longer effectively lead the organization". 

When Rupert Murdoch was going through that scandal (which is entirely not over) his subsidiary companies dodged the topic like a plague. Fox News did not even hint at the topic; it was as if there was no scandal and life was just plodding along normally. This is NOT transparency. Fox news assures it's audience that there is no spin on their network, and they are the most trusted and reputable news source. All I can say is, if you believe this...think again. 

Hydroponics Could Feed the World

When you hear the word hydroponics, what immediately comes to mind? Most likely you imagine a college kid's closet filled with lamps and marijuana plants. That is what I picture too. However, while working at an organic food store, I started seeing tomatoes labelled as being hydroponically grown. This got me wondering about the growing method - first used as far back as the 1930's - and how it could be beneficial to our society. 


Essentially hydroponics means "the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil". This means that seedlings are placed in some medium (cloth, gravel, etc.) and grown indoors under LED lamps. The plants are fed fertilizers and nutrients along with water through a pumping system that recycles the water to prevent waste. 


This is a very sterile and controlled method of growing plants, and is self-contained, therefore requiring minimal effort on the farmer's part to keep the plants alive and healthy. In addition, these plants can be placed much closer together than in the field, resulting in a greater yield. There are also no pesticides, no weeds, and no pesky insects since the LED lights can be set to a frequency that discourages insect breeding. 


Here are the benefits to hydroponic farming:

• No soil
• Little assistance needed from farmers after everything is set up
• Can be done inside abandoned buildings
• Saves on water by recycling it
• No pesticides
• Organic
• Can be run using alternative energy sources, such as wind or solar power
• Large, uniform crop yields
• Great variety of fruits and veggies can be grown
• Not affected by seasons
• Relatively inexpensive
• Uses CO2 to promote photosynthesis (less CO2 and more oxygen in our atmosphere)
• Safe from bacteria such as E Coli and Listeria --> Remember when spinach was recalled due to contamination? It was due to the fact that sewage leaked into the soil in the farm fields...no soil, no issue! 

Several companies world wide are experimenting with this method of farming, including one in Ithaca New York called AeroFarms. This start-up seeks to transform abandoned buildings into "vertical farms". 

So, a building like this

could easily be turned into something like this

Helping to feed our growing populations while simultaneously eliminating factory farming, a practice which is killing our environment as well as human beings. 




Sources:
http://innoplex.org/eng/2010/12/aerofarms/ 
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=3006

The Fate of Humanity

The new documentary 2012: Time For Change discusses modern society and it's lack of connection to the natural world. I stumbled on this documentary yesterday while looking through Netflix. This is now one of my favorite documentaries!

The gods first created people out of mud, but they were not well beings; they lacked emotions and insight. They were then destroyed by a great storm. Next the gods made people out of wood, but they had no direction. They were destroyed by a great flood. Finally the gods made people out of corn. They had great insight, balance, and were powerful, so the gods blew a mist over their eyes. They slowly moved away from the natural world, and so we are today. The end of this era is coming. We need to evolve our consciousness to reconnect with the natural world. The age of wisdom is coming, and we must change in order to continue our survival on earth. 


Our consumer culture is a "materialist prison" (Daniel Pinchbeck). We're running out of resources, and we are ruining the earth. We must change our consciousness and actions. Can we escape this routine of destruction that is our way of living? Why does congress refuse to fund alternative energy or fund the creation of bike trails and better sidewalks for pedestrians? Are these politicians all in the pocket of big businesses such as oil and agriculture? We need to free ourselves! 


We had a lack of elders to lead the new movement for change in the 1960's. Now these once-children are the elders we need to lead us out of the dark and into the new era. If we can all change our consciousness and our actions, with the guidance of elders, we can become more spiritual and save our earth and existence. 

Armageddon really means transformation. This does not need to be the end of time, or the demise of humanity, but ti does need to be a time of change. We cannot continue living this way, or this will become a time of destruction and death. 


If people are constantly being reminded of the dire situation our society is in, and the doom we're facing now, why are they not mobilized to do something about it and affect change? This is because people cannot really grasp what they are being told. It's a tough thing to accept emotionally. Also, change is difficult for everyone, even small change. We are programmed to resist change. Not to mention the fact that we're effectively controlled by the system (in a way similar to the Matrix), where capitalism has us and we do not want to escape. We cannot even fathom living differently, and our politicians continually tell us that resistance is futile and nothing will ever change, so just relax and go with it. 


According to Einstein, we cannot fix the problems by using the same mindset we used to create them, instead we must change our way of thinking. 

Alex Grey painting of Pres. Obama

Analysis of Candidates: Stewart Alexander

Now we look at...

Stewart Alexander

Stewart Alexander is a Democratic Socialist politician who is running for president of the US. Formerly a member of the Air Force Reserve, Alexander is a fine example of the self-made man. He paid for his college education through hard work, eventually becoming a well-known politician who ran for for Mayor of California, Lieutenant Governor of California, and for Vice President in 2008. Each campaign was highly unsuccessful. Alexander currently resides in Virginia and works closely with the Socialist Party.


Alexander's campaign webpage lists his stance on many important issues of our time:


"The Socialist Party stands for the abolition of every form of domination and exploitation, whether based on social class, gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.

We are committed to the transformation of capitalism through the creation of a democratic socialist society based on compassion, empathy, and respect as well as the development of new social structures.  Socialism will establish a new social and economic order in which workers and community members will take responsibility for and control of their interpersonal relationships, their neighborhoods, their local government, and the production and distribution of all goods and services.

For these reasons we call for social ownership and democratic control of productive resources, for a guarantee to all of the right to participate in societal production, and to a fair share of society's product, in accordance with individual needs.

As we pursue a socialist transformation of society, we join with others in making radical demands on the existing system: demands that challenge the basic assumptions of a capitalist market economy while pointing the way to a new society. Although reforms will not in themselves bring about socialism, the fight for them will advance the cause by demonstrating the inherent limitations and injustice of the capitalist system. As we build the socialist movement, we organize around a platform committed to our common and interdependent struggles and aspirations."

"We stand in total opposition to U.S. imperialism and the current “war on terror”."


"focusing on production for need not profit"


"municipal ownership and control of energy plants, in a non-profit and decentralized, but coordinated, system that ensures the most careful use of natural resources."

http://vote-socialist.org/p08/questionnaires/alexander.html 



http://www.stewartalexandercares.com/

Analysis of Candidates: Roger Gary

Now we take a look at...

Roger Gary

Roger Gary is a Libertarian activist from the state of Texas. Formerly an elected official in San Antonio, he also is a lifetime member of the Texas Libertarian Party. 


You might be asking yourself (as I was wondering), what is a Libertarian? What do they stand for? In a nutshell, freedom. The dictionary defines a Libertarian as:  

noun

1.

a person who advocates liberty,  especially with regard to thought or conduct.

2.

a person who maintains the doctrine of free will.

Therefore, a Libertarian believes that people should be free to do as they see fit, without government interference. This is essentially the basis of the Republican Party's ideals - from which the party has recently strayed; less government, smaller government, freer citizens.


Personally, I love the idea of less government interference. However, there comes a time when the government does need to step in and push the people toward more rational decisions, such as getting the economy back on track. I think we all would agree that people often do not want to do what is best for them in the long-term (like exercising!), and sometimes the citizens with more experience need to step in and show everyone what the best choice is.  


On his campaign website, Gary spares no harsh words when describing his fellow Texan, Rick Perry, saying that Perry is "all hat and no cattle". Gary also states that the Republican nominees are not courageous enough to give Americans the freedom they deserve; they are too soft to get the job done. 


As for his position on various issues, I'll let Gary's own campaign website speak for itself.

Civil Liberties

Abortion- Government should not make your medical decisions for you — but neither should it force you to subsidize someone else’s abortion.

Gay Marriage-Marriage should be a contact between individuals, not a stamp of approval from the government. As with other issues, the solution is not more government, but less.

Gun Rights-There is a natural, inherent Right to keep and bear arms, protected not only by the 2nd Amendment, but also by the 9th and 10th (and arguably the 4th). This Right is also a practical necessity: Americans must be able to protect themselves against violence by criminals, including terrorists, as well as would-be tyrants (whether foreign or domestic).

Patriot Act-Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, the federal government has frequently trampled on the Rights of the American citizens under the guise of protecting Americans from terrorism. We must stop molesting people at the airport, listening in on your private phone conversations, and reading your library check-out records, and start protecting Americans from actual terrorism. Roger Gary will respect the 4th and 10th Amendments.

Economics

Bailouts- As with virtually every interference by government (at whatever level), the bailouts benefited Big Business at the expense of smaller companies, Labor, consumers, and the taxpayer. Roger Gary opposes corporate welfare.

Business- Government should not become “smotherment” by creating unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy. “Smotherment” benefits the huge corporations which can afford the additional expense created by such polices, forcing smaller businesses out of the marketplace. This drives prices up by reducing the competition for our business, and drives wages down by reducing the competition for our labor.

National Debt-The Federal debt is quickly spiraling out of control and the time we have remaining to do something about it is running short. Unlike the Obama and Bush administrations and the Democrats and Republicans in Congress we need to actually start cutting government, balance the budget, and start paying down the national debt and unfunded liabilities. If we keep adding to the debt, eventually the interest alone will overwhelm the Federal budget. That would require one or more of these options: (1) Raising taxes, which would further damage the private sector; (2) Sale of Federal goods or lands [and an attempt to sell a significant amount of land would drive the price lower, negating the effort]; (3) Further borrowing, which would raise interest rates and damage the private sector; or (4) Printing enough currency to cover the shortfall, thus producing absolutely ruinous inflation.

Retirement-Americans should be encouraged to take their hard earned money and place it in deferred tax accounts such as IRA’s and 401k plans instead of being forced to pay 6.2% of their money into the failed Social Security administration which is on the verge of collapse.

Taxes-The government must cut waste, fraud, and abuse; more importantly, it must end its activities not sanctioned by the U. S. Constitution. This would allow Congress to immediately begin to lower taxes for all Americans.

Education

The best way to educate children is to allow each state to use the food stamps model. Most state governments have decided that food stamps are a public benefit that the state should provide while you may agree or disagree with this notion, you should agree that the state governments allowing food stamp recipients to shop at private sector grocery stores is a much better solution than having the government actually take over the distribution of the food.

Education is similar. Parents should be allowed to open enroll their child into the school of their choice. The market effects of competition will drive down cost while increasing quality meaning everyone wins.

Health Care

It is truly amazing that diseases that would have killed a person just a few decades ago can be cured or prevented with little problem today. While our life expectancy and quality of health care has increased exponentially, the costs have also caused some to become concerned. The problem of rising health care costs is best solved by reducing cost transfers, opening up the market to competition, removing government red tape which drives up costs, and a focus on health savings accounts to help offset the costs.

National Security

Roger Gary believes in a strong national defense as defined in our United States Constitution, as opposed to an international offence.
Afghanistan-After a decade of American intervention, Roger supports a transition allowing the people of Afghanistan to take control over their own government and their own security.

Iraq-Roger believes in removing our forces from the country.

Libya-American government aid has brought us violent dictators such as Saddam Hussein and oppressive theocratic governments such as the Taliban. Roger Gary believes that by using American forces in Libya we run a much greater risk of terrorism. Additionally, he understands that the cost of American lives intervening in a fight that is not ours is too great of a risk to take.

http://rvgary2012.com/

When it comes to Roger Gary, the only question we can really ask ourselves as voters is: do we really want this much freedom? With ultimate freedom, especially for the issue of education, income determines who gets the best schools and who doesn't. Is that fair? Should we allow low income children to suffer poor education just because we, as adults, demand complete freedom of choice? 

Analysis of Candidates: Randall Terry

Next up...

Randall Terry

Terry is a social conservative Democrat from New York City who plans on running an expensive ad for his campaign during the upcoming Super Bowl. He has repeatedly run as a Republican and never received much support, so he's switched teams in order to oust incumbent president Barack Obama. As "The voice of resistance", Terry insists on focusing on a pro-life and anti-GLBT agenda. He also has written extensively about Muslims as being violent terrorists who are against human rights and freedoms. 


After attempting several times to locate information (on his own campaign website) concerning his views on other issues, such as job creation, immigration, or foreign policy, I gave up looking. There is no information on his two websites other than the issues of abortion, Muslims in general, and homosexuality. Apparently for Randall Terry, these are the biggest issues America is grappling with today. Others, such as myself, do not agree. He is certainly a man on a mission, and that mission appears to be purely religious in nature.


On Terry's campaign website, www.terryforpresident.com, his slogan reads "A Democratic primary for President - to bring America face to face with aborted babies". The site also features many photos and videos of supposedly aborted babies. This is truly gruesome stuff. There is a link to his personal writings concerning religion, abortion, and homosexuality. To sum it up: Christians are infallible, while Muslims, abortions, and the GLBT community are all evil.  


Now let's delve into Terry's private life. He founded Operation Rescue, a pro-life organization which is famous for blockading entrances to abortion clinics. Terry is adamant that he believes abortion is murder and should be a capitol offence. Terry also founded the Society for Truth and Justice and conducted a program called Operation Witness. Terry has preached that Islam is a religion composed of "murderers" and "terrorists. 


Though he is against divorce, and even published a book about the evils of men who leave their wives for younger women, Terry did just that to his wife of 19 years. Terry divorced her in order to be with his 25 year old church assistant, also a radical anti-abortion activist.  Together they had one daughter, and later adopted three more children from a woman in prison. One of these children, a boy named Jamiel, announced that he is gay in a piece for Out Magazine in 2004. This enraged his father, who wrote his own piece in response, saying that Jamiel has shamed and embarrassed the family and prostituted the family name (since Jamiel reportedly was paid by the magazine for the interview). Subsequently Terry has all but disowned his son. 

Some words from the man himself, during an interview with beliefnet.com:


"There are three options when you find out a family member is homosexual. One is accept them and their lifestyle as if it's normal. Two is to reject them and sever your relationship. Three is to love them unconditionally, but to tell them you do not accept their behavior as normal, and to tell them the truth. If I love my son, I can't say to him, 'Hey, you're committing suicide on the installment plan. This is a great lifestyle.' I have to be honest with him. Take out the word homosexuality and put in alcoholism or put in drug addiction. Would you tell a drug addict, 'I accept you. This is your choice, this is your life and I will stand by you'? The average death age of a male homosexual is 42 years old because of disease, because of suicide, because of alcoholism, because of drugs, because of violence. It's just not a good world. It's a self-abusive, self-destructive sexual addiction."

I am personally offended by everything I've read about and by this man. His son, Jamiel, describes him as charming, but I just don't see it. No matter how charismatic you are, your words speak loudest and Terry's words are just plain disgusting. How can someone be so filled with hate? The president is supposed to be a sort of figurehead for the nation, and I do not like the idea of Randall Terry representing us to the world. 

Sources:

http://www.terryforpresident.com/
http://www.randallterry.com/
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2004/04/Hes-Bringing-Great-Sadness-To-Our-Home.aspx

Analysis of Candidates: Fred Karger

Today we take a look at...

Fred Karger

As the first openly gay candidate, and as a Republican, Fred Karger has found himself in a bit of a dilemma. Disliked by his own party, Karger has been forced to strike out on the campaign trail as an Independent candidate. Do not be fooled though, for he is a staunch fiscal Republican who worked with Ronald Reagan on his campaigns. Being a gay activist however, he refers to himself as a progressive Republican, and displays socially liberal beliefs. 


Having worked for 30 years as a campaign adviser for California Republicans, and also as a political strategist for such companies as Philip Morris, Karger has a lot of experience under his belt. As a gay activist, Karger founded "Californians Against Hate" to promote equal marriage. He worked hard to try and save gay marriage in California, though in the end it was banned. 


Karger has experienced his fair share of criticism and even abuse due to his presidential candidacy. While campaigning in Iowa recently, Karger was threatened by the Republican National Committee. They vowed to "work overtime" to destroy Karger's chances and keep him out of the race as a presidential hopeful. In addition, Fox News refused to allow Karger to participate in the Republican debates due to a supposed lack of support. However, its clear that this decision was due to prejudice rather than numbers, since Rick Santorum has participated in several debates though his numbers remain lower than Karger's.


Karger's message is strong and clear. He wants to revamp the republican party to make it more inclusive and open to other groups, such as the gay community. His campaign slogan is "Fred Who?", a clever pithy phrase that is as catchy as "I Like Ike" during the Eisenhower campaign. 


Here are some words from the man himself:

• "I will work tirelessly to bring back the spirit in every man, woman and child to help remake America the land of opportunity and equality for all" - Opening Statement delivered at press conference at Southern Republican Leadership Conference New Orleans, LA April 10, 2010
• “I think that kids are confined in a classroom and bored.  I think we need to get them out; the buses take kids to school, park and take them home so let’s utilize those buses and drivers and get out in the community and see what’s out in the world and make school more interesting and fun so kids want to learn.”
• “We have to discourage companies from sending jobs overseas… I want to work with these corporations to incentivize them to keep these jobs in America.”
• “I want a path to citizenship for immigrants already living in the country, as well as greatly improve border security to discourage future law-breaking.”
• Anti-war: prefers diplomacy to nation-building
• “We need to immediately start energy conservation in this country.  We can lessen our dependence on foreign sources by this voluntary common sense approach [right now].”
• Believes in lowering the voting age to 16 or 17
• “I believe in the Republican philosophy of less government, keep government out of our lives.  That is a very personal, private choice between a woman, her doctor, her family and her faith.”  (abortion)
• “I believe that marijuana should be legalized, taxed and controlled.  I think that the current laws are onerous and tying up our prison system.”  
• “I want to bring back the civility, optimism and humor that Reagan had.”

http://fredkarger.com/ 

Who Wants to Be the Next President of the United States?

Election Day: November 16th, 2012

As we all know, our current president is up for reelection in 2012. He is currently battling a handful of credible, and formidable opponents for the job of president of the United States. The race is on as candidates fan out across the country to vie for support. As voters, we certainly have plenty of options to choose from, many of them hardly ever mentioned in the media. Its bad enough that Ron Paul is largely ignored, but have you ever heard of Fred Karger? Chances are that you have not. What do you know about Thad McCotter? Have you heard of his band, New Flying Squirrels? Probably not.

In order to both educate myself as well as others, I will be embarking on a hunt for information on these candidates. In the coming weeks I will highlight one candidate per day and provide an in-depth analysis of their stances on important issues. This is an endeavour to show what each candidate has to offer, as well as to provide my own opinion on what they have to say. I'm not the sort of person who blindly follows the media, nor do I assume that whoever has the most Twitter followers is the most qualified for the job, therefore researching each candidate is a critical undertaking for making an informed choice at the election booth.

Here's who I plan on looking into:

Democratic Party

• Barack Obama
• Randall Terry 

Republican Party

• Michele Bachmann
• Rick Perry
• Mitt Romney
• Herman Cain
• Newt Gingrich's 
• Jon Huntsman 
• Gary Johnson
• Andy Martin
• Thad McCotter 
• Tom Miller
• Jimmy McMillan 
• Ron Paul 
• Buddy Roemer 
• Rick Santorum  
• Vern Wuensche 
• Jonathan Sharkey
• Roy Moore

Socialist Party

• Stewert Alexander 

Libertarian Party

• Roger Gary 
• R. Lee Wrights 

Independent 

• Fred Karger  
• Joe Schrine

Prohibition Party

• James Hedges
• Jack Fellure

Green Party

• Kent Mesplay

Keep checking in to learn all about this extensive list of presidential hopefuls!



Sources include: http://2012.presidential-candidates.org/