South Carolina Debate; Still No Mention of Autism

Did I miss something? It was heated. Edwards, Clinton and Obama spent a lot of time on health-care and yet, they did not mention Autism. Statistically 1 in 150 children born today will be diagnosed with Autism and yet it again did not warrant mention in this lively debate.

Does the Autism community need to sponsor a debate in order to make it a national topic?

408 Candidates Running for President

Did you know that there are actually 408 people who have registered to enter the Presidential Race?

http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/candidates.phtml#P154

Party	Principal Candidates		Other Candidates
	Count	Total Receipts	Count	Total Receipts
Major Parties
Democratic	11	$246,414,629	80	$32,937
Republican	12	$174,342,761	95	$326,087
Major Third Parties
Green			12	$8,316
Libertarian			16	$159,396
Reform			2	$400
Other Third Parties
American Independent			4
American			1
Constitution			3
Independent American			2
Peace And Freedom			2
Personal Choice			1
Prohibition Party			2
Socialist Party USA			13
Socialist Workers Party			1
United Citizens			1
Independents
Independent			88	$230,037
No Party Affiliation			18	$21,620
Unaffiliated			15
Write-in/Scattered/otherwise not readily classifiable
Not readily classifiable			28	$27,360
Write-in			1
Subtotal	23	$420,757,390	385	$806,153
Grand Total: 408 candidates, $421,563,543 total receipts

 According to “Green Papers” (see link above) all you have to do is come up with the cash in order to be a Presidential Candidate– as we learned from Colbert;  the cash isn’t enough… the Party has to accept you… although there are plenty of Independents on board here who, from what I understand only have to come up with the cash.

I’m not so naive as to believe that a Presidential race can be won without a lot (a Whole Lot) of money but isn’t it unfortunate that it’s the first requirement?  I wonder how much Abraham Lincoln spent on his campaign… Those train rides must have cost something… and, obviously he didn’t have the option of spending millions on TV ads.

So… what’s my point? Are any of the candidates true representatives of the population? (Edwards comes from a middle class background– do any of the other forerunners?) They must be privileged, well connected and well… loaded in order to pull this off.  How can we expect any of them to represent us– the average person– when they can’t relate to our very real concerns?

Maybe we should look at some of these other candidates– for instance who is  Jon Greenspon?

Jon Adam Greenspon of California
	• FEC id: P80004351. Total receipts: $400 • Declaration of Intent of Candidacy: Thursday 24 May 2007 • Campaign website: http://www.greenspon2008.com/ •Filed with the FEC as a Reform party candidate 24 May 2007. Refiled as an Independent circa 1 August 2007. Address: 25576 3rd; Barstow, California 92311

I’m not suggesting that this man (who I randomly pulled out of the list) is a viable candidate.  But, he is a real person from a middle class background as are many of the other 350 plus candidates the mainstream media has never mentioned. (I wonder what would happen if the 24 hour pseudo news channels started talking about these other candidates…)

It seems as though the parties– and their constituents are so divided– maybe we should take a look at these other people… there might be a real gem in the bunch that we could get excited about.

The Economic Effects Of Richardson Dropping Out Of The Race

Think about the t-shirts, yard signs, buttons and mugs with “Richardson 08″ emblazoned on them… think about the shop owners and street vendors who bought them to sell. Think about the printers who have stock made up. I realize that no small country will fall as a result but these are real people who made a financial investment and are now stuck with stock that will be sold basically for scrap…

We spent a lot of time getting artwork together for our web-store. Call me selfish but, we have some really cool designs with Bill Richardson (www.cafepress.com/bullfeathers/) and now… they’re wasted. Don’t get me wrong– there are some other really great things, great art (I know, I’m biased) and fun lines. Not everything on our site is political– there is a section on Autism, fun designs, some suggestive stuff and plenty of non-Richardson political stuff.

We’re fortunate– our only investment is time. (Cafe Press does print on demand)… but, I certainly feel for the folks who have money invested for which they will not see any return.

I Hate “Spin”– But I Do See It’s Value

I’ve been so distracted by the newsletter stories about Ron Paul that I’m missing his message. Perhaps if his spin doctors were more productive I’d be able to hear what he really has to say.

TV news isn’t, for the most part, news anymore.  I’d really like for them to spend more time telling me what the candidates are promising, what they believe– who they are, rather than who missed what or what McCain’s smirk means.  They don’t give us enough credit.  I know what a smirk is and I know what it means.

Despite being registered with one of the two major parties I’m not committed to voting for either one. I like John Edwards. I like Obama. I wish I liked Clinton (see “I love to hate Hillary Clinton..” from earlier this week). I want to like Ron Paul. I want to like McCain. I want to like Huckabee.

For the most part these are likable people. They are genuine. They are good people. They are also human and make mistakes– miss opportunities– run out of time to read all the newsletters, press releases and so forth. Maybe what they all need– I do mean all– is to surround themselves with people who are meticulous, tireless and faithful to their candidate. They need superior spin doctors and advisers.

Because the mainstream media is so out of control Spin is important .

Richardson is out– the reports appear to be true but we’ll know for sure in the 3:00 hour

I doubted the reports were true but now I just don’t know… How could he drop out? I actually donated to his campaign– and, I’ve not contributed to a campaign in more that two decades!

Edwards: One Silver, One Bronze. Can he pull off a Gold?

Edwards is having a rough time but during his speech last night John Edwards pointed out that only 1% of the American people have spoken and there are 48 more states who haven’t had their say.

Edwards did come in 2nd in Iowa and 3rd in New Hampshire. Maybe there is hope still.  He speaks to the middle class and the middle class seems to be listening but, he makes Wall Street quake! Could someone who scares Wall Street really fix the economy?

I don’t know why he isn’t doing better in the Primaries. Heck! I don’t know why Richardson isn’t doing better. I am comforted, however, that the pundits, pollsters and experts were all way off last night in New Hampshire in predicting a wide margin Obama win.

South Carolina will be very interesting to the survival of John Edwards. The Southwestern states will make or break Richardson. I don’t know about Ron Paul– he is getting attention but not breaking into the top of the Republican dog-pile– he’s certainly the most reasonable and realistic of the Republicans… is that a compliment?

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

As far as I know Jesus has not yet cast his vote in this presidential race yet there are several candidates who’s supporters claim that Jesus is for their candidate.

I do believe that God cares about us and therefore cares about the outcome of this election. He did give us freewill and the ability to make our own mistakes– for which we have to face consequences– be that death and destruction in Iraq because our democratically elected President is a cowboy or running out of gas because we didn’t bother to fill the tank. We are responsible for our actions– our choices. It’s important to research, pray about it and vote.

I don’t claim to know who Jesus would vote for– however, he wouldn’t be able to vote unless he became a legal resident in the US.

Autism and Politics

Of all the possible political issues playing out in this campaign autism and economy are the two that rank the highest on my radar.

I like Richardson– his focus on education and what he has done for autistic folks in New Mexico but, I’m concerned that he isn’t really viable… maybe as VP?… I genuinely like the guy. He seems to be on the ball, realistic and certainly experienced! The only candidate who’s website specifically mentions autism– in an easy to find way– is Richardson:

“First of all I am for strongly increased research on autism. The number of children in this country affected by autism is just staggering. [1 in every 150 children] Comprehensive and universal access to health care is part of the solution. I fought for increased funding in New Mexico for outreach, education, treatment and awareness. This is something that I have been talking about on the campaign trail everyday and it will be a priority in my administration.–Richardson

What’s left? I don’t like Clinton, Obama doesn’t seem to have the experience to do well overall but he has the “presence”, Edwards is a good choice by default, I guess…

Have you decided on candidates to back? Your thoughts?

We have a website (www.cafepress.com/bullfeathers) where we have pro Richardson items for sale– as well as Autism.