Monthly Archives: March, 2014

MAR 23, 2014 - I was flipping around the channels the other day, and I stumbled upon a cool music video of the song "Surrender" by the band Angels and Airwaves that paid homage to the Occupy and Anonymous movements, and singing about the youth uprisings not only in America but across the world. It was tastefully done, and the music is pretty cool. Check out the video below.

MAR 21, 2014 - Lady Gaga's charitable foundation "Born This Way" is being criticized for being long on expenses, and short on actual charity. It is hard to criticize Lady Gaga because she has done tremendous work in promoting LBGT rights, but this looks bad. The foundation's tax records shows that it took in $2.65 million in revenue, and paid out over $400,000 in legal fees, $300,000 for "strategic development" and $150,000 for "philanthropic consulting". Huh? Some very lucky hotels got over $77,000, and then there is the $50,000 for "social-media development" (one of her friends got an awesome job maintaining her Facebook page and Twitter account probably) and other expenses which don't sound too much like actual charity. That word is being blurred these days, from adding a wing to a museum so rich people can view art to religions proselytizing and not actually feeding the poor. Read more about Lady Gaga's foundation Born This Way's mess on NYPost here.  (photo credit: Stephen Carlisle/CC)

MAR 20, 2014 - JTMP has met James Haley, a great musical-activist out there singing for the 99.9% and against the .01% elite hoarding all the wealth, and I thought I would blog about him today and share one of his songs. James talked to JTMP and talked about his new song, "An American Income Inequality Song - Land of the Free"; and said, "As history has shown, music catapults movements. This is my song about inequality or to be more to the point it is a call to action to do something about it. I share this with you so you can share with others. I wrote this it to question the corporate greed that has overrun our government and weakened our democracy. Let's get this going and move this conversation to the real world. We live in a time where people are not getting active enough despite the social injustices that are taking place so I am creating songs like this to fuel the fire." JTMP agrees with James, and urges we progressives really start to make income inequality and raising the minimum wage into a huge movement going into the 2014 midterm elections and the 2016 Presidential elections. Remember, there are local offices, state senators, governors, US Senators and many offices you should pay attention to and assure your voice is heard is heard in each and every election, as well as bugging your elected representative for the things you need. They are your servant and serve you, not for-profit lobbyists and corporations. Watch James' song, "An American Income Income Inequality Song" below, and check out his Facebook page here, and his website here.

MAR 20, 2014 - The online music streaming service Pandora has long targeted users by their musical preferences and zip codes to target musical suggestions and ads, will now be using that same information to sell and target political ads. For instance, if your musical  preference is Toby Keith and your zip code is in a Republican-leaning district, Pandora can sell ads to Republican political ad firms with the selling point they can target likely Republican-voting users. So if the next time you are listening to Bruce Springsteen and you live in a Democratic-leaning district, you might hear a Democratic or progressive 501c4 political ad. Read more on Campaigns&Elections.

MAR 18, 2014 - With all the awesome motivation behind repealing marijuana prohibition and medical marijuana programs being enacted across the country, JTMP reminds our supporters that even though we are 100% firmly behind this movement and we are not letting up, we would like to point out that recreational and medical marijuana use is NOT for everyone, and certainly not for brains under the age of 25. A recent article by DailyMail details how George Michael abused recreational marijuana (also along with alcohol and pills) so be careful out there folks and make responsible decisions. Don't drink and drive, and don't smoke and drive. JTMP recommends that if you are considering recreational marijuana use, that you wait until your brain fully forms, which is about the age of 25. Let's use common sense and make responsible decisions; but JTMP doesn't want a nanny state government telling us if and when we can and cannot enjoy recreational marijuana. That is up to the individual. Leave the ones alone that are responsible, and arrest the ones that break the law; and get rehab and treatment for people who abuse it like we do to drunk drivers and alcoholics. Recreational and medical marijuana users just want to be treated equally, fairly, and justly.

JTMP would also like to point out that medical marijuana is not for everyone and not for every health issue. Although it has been shown to cure cancer and many other diseases, many times it is used simply as a treatment to alleviate pain. If you are considering using medical marijuana, please seek a competent and licensed doctor, and only under their recommendation and guidance should you try it. Some cautions to watch out for is Sativa strains of medical marijuana have a very strong "head buzz" that can cause anxiety and psychotic attacks, but that is very rare. The "body high" relaxing Indica strains might be better for you. Get informed and educated on the different strains of medical marijuana and the different cannabinoids that have such great health benefits before making a decison and trying it. Ask your doctor, the pharmacist at the dispensary, and there are many websites where you can get information on strains and cannabinoids such as Leafly.com and SCLabs.com.

All we Progressives ask is that adults have the right to access recreational and/or medical marijuana safely and legally, and get this nanny prohibitionist state off our back. There are people who abuse alcohol and prescription pills every day, yet we allow the alcohol and pill prescription system to conduct commerce; all we ask is the marijuana and hemp industry have that same right. For more information and how to get involved in expanding recreational and medical marijuana in your state, please visit Marijuana Policy Project and sign the petition demanding President Obama remove marijuana from the Schedule 1 Category of the Substance Abuse Act. For information on expanding medical marijuana rights for patients or yourself, please visit Americans For Safe Access; and a reminder JTMP will be covering the ASA Unity Conference April 5th-7th here in DC so check back!  (Photo credit: Laurie Avocado/CC)