Monthly Archives: September, 2012

SEP 21, 2012 - Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist, who was chased out of his party by extremist Tebaggers, joined Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder at an Obama fundraiser in Florida this week. They and others were at the home of songwriter Eddie DeBartolo Jr., and Eddie Vedder even sang a few songs. He said, "This is the most songs I have ever played with a suit on!" Read more on Tampa Bay Times.  (Photo credit: CC/Metal Chris)

SEP 21, 2012 - Burma's (or "Myanmar's) Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been a champion of democracy and free speech in her country, is currently on a US tour, meeting with President Barack Obama and others. During a recent Town Hall event by Amnesty International, she defended Pussy Riot and called for their release saying, "I don't see why people should not sing whatever they want to sing."  Read more about it on NBC News, and watch the entire Town Hall video and Take Action on Amnesty International's website by going here.

AUG 20, 2012 - John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, and of course Neil Young, along with Tim Reynolds, Kenny Chesney, Jack Johnson, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Jamey Johnson, ALO, Pegi Young and the Survivors, and others will play music in support of small American farmers in Hershey, PA this Saturday 22, 2012. Watch the LIVE webcast - Saturday, 8PM-11PM EST - streamed on the Farm Aid website by clicking here.

Farmers have been hit hard by not only large agri-businesses pushing them out of the market, but also drought has devastated their crops this year.  Farm Aid states their one mission is "keeping family farmers on their land", but they have also expanded to include the "Good Food Movement" that promotes "Honest, real food grown by people who care about their land, their community, and their future." They show how when you buy locally-grown produce, more of the money stays in the hands of the small farmers. 

JTMP encourages everyone to get involved with Farm Aid by checking out their website here, and find a local "Farmer's Market" near you at LocalHarvest.org, and support local farmers!

SEP 20, 2012 - DEVO has come out with a "political" song called "Don't Roof Rack Me Bro! (Seamus Unleashed)", even though they say it is more of a statement against Romney, and not necessarily in support of President Obama. Jerry Casale of DEVO comes at it from more of an animal lover angle, which many people are, and we were all absolutely horrified when we learned Mitt Romney put his dog Seamus in a doggie cage, strapped it to the roof of his car, and drove hundreds of miles with the poor critter in terror for hours. 

Jerry Casale tells Rolling Stone, "This isn't a red-state thing or Devo stumping for Obama," he says. "But I think any animal lover that hears the story will learn so much about the character flaw of Romney. It's just a deal-breaker about the man. My God, the world is a scary place with seven billion people. What you want in a leader is a guy with some humanity at his core. I just don't feel that Mitt does."

RS also asked Jerry if he approved of President Obama's job performance for the past 3 years, and he said,  "No!" he says. "Absolutely not. Devo are not naive people. If anyone still thinks that the President of the United States of America runs things, they really live in the Wizard of Oz-land. My God, we're a plutocracy. We're owned and leveraged by global corporations." Read more on RS here, and watch DEVO's music video of "Don't Roof Rack Me Bro!" below.

AUG 13, 2012 - During a live broadcast of his meeting with the United Russia party, Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Medvedev came out in favor of freeing Pussy Riot saying the action made him sick, but keeping them in prison would be "counterproductive". He added, "In my view, a suspended sentence would be sufficient, taking into account the time they have already spent in custody." Read more on HuffPo here.