JTMP

Tom Petty Sends "Cease and Desist" Order to Michele Bachmann

Tom Petty has sent a "cease and desist" order to Michele Bachmann asking her to stop using the song, "American Girl" at her rallies. She had her staff play the song at the end of her announcement of her Presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa yesterday. Apparently, Tom Petty caught wind of it and was not pleased, and had the order written up. In 2000 Tom Petty sent a similar letter to George W. Bush asking him to stop using his song, "Won't Back Down" stating, "This use has not been approved. Any use made by you or your campaign creates, either intentionally or unintentionally, the impression that you and your campaign have been endorsed by Tom Petty, which is not true."

This is not the first time that politicians have been asked by an artist or band to stop using a song. Sarah Palin ran into issues with Heart when she tried to use "Barracuda" at her rallies, and recently Rush sent a letter to Rand Paul who was playing Rush songs at his rallies when he was running for the Senate seat in Kentucky. Also, Charlie Crist had to stop using the Talking Heads song, "Road to Nowhere" because David Byrne would not allow it.
 

Last night, Van Jones and The Roots launched the "Rebuild the Dream" movement, calling for jobs and opportunities for all Americans. The Roots played a live concert that was streamed live, and millions tuned in. Watch a great performance by the activist hip-hop band The Roots below. To be a part of the movement, please go to RebuildTheDream.com.

(Photo credit shakira.com)

Shakira visited Israel and met with Israeli President Peres, and with schoolchildren for her global education campaign. Shakira is part Lebanese descent, and visited the Hand in Hand Max Payne Bilingual School in Jerusalem,  where Israeli and Palestinian children, Jews, Muslims and Christians all study together. The school is a "tool to build peace, coexistence and equality", and every class has two teachers, (one Jewish and one Palestinian) and in two languages (Arabic and Hebrew). On her website she says, "My visit to Max Payne school today here in Jerusalem – an inspirational school where students learn together, across all divides, speaking both Arabic and Hebrew, learning and playing together without difference - only reminded me, once again, that the most crucial decisions we can make for a better tomorrow concern how to raise and educate our children.” She also made a special surprise visit to another school that serves Palestinian students, called Beit Tzafafa Primary School in Jerusalem.

Before her visit, a Facebook Page campaign was started to urge her to boycott Israel in support of Palestinian rights, but she felt it was more important to reach the children and said, “Kids in countries like mine or this one, in conflict, need a voice. They need to be put at the top of political agendas, so I knew I had to be here. The most crucial decision we can make for a better tomorrow is how we educate our children,” she said, speaking alongside her host, Israeli President Shimon Peres. “How wonderful it would be if the world would act like a team. We have so many challenges ahead of us, so many problems to solve,” she said. “This is the time to behave like a team, to wear the same T-shirts and to win the match of discrimination, to win the match of inequality and segregation.”

JTMP greeted and met with international visitors through a US State Department program called, "World Learning Visitor Exchange Program", bringing together eight music, theater and arts professionals from Egypt entitled "Promoting Social Change through the Arts". This is all part of the US State Department's "International Visitor Leadership Program".

Some of the goals of the State Department are, "Explore the role of the arts in reflecting society and bringing about social change; examine freedom of expression through using arts for political representation; an opportunity to meet with artists, arts organizations and foundations that cooperate logistically and thematically to achieve shared social, political, or cultural goals; develop a better understanding of the relationship between artists and organizations working together to plan and carry out events related to social justice; and explore the power of art as a means of social change through political and social commentary."

We showed them how we have been using art, music, imagery and video, together with our website, YouTube account, Facebook page and Twitter account to raise awareness on issues and to help bring about social change. We showed them some of our videos, and explained how we produce and distribute our media. We answered questions, and agreed to stay in contact and maybe work on projects in the future together. Please check back on JTMP regularly for any updates on this.

They headed on to New York and other stops to learn about how people in other places are also using art as a medium for social change. To learn more about the US State Department's "International Visitor Leadership Program", please visit:
http://exchanges.state.gov/ivlp/ivlp.html

Cap'n Kirk - Guitarist for The Roots - Earth Day 2010

The Roots to help out with launching "Rebuild the Dream" with Van Jones and MoveOn.org on Thursday night. Tune into www.RebuildtheDream.com on Thursday night for live streaming of the event and more information.

The hip-hop megastars The Roots, whom JTMP filmed on Earth Day last year, is no stranger to music and activism, recently teaming up with John Legend for the "Wake Up" album. Check our JTMP YouTube Channel for many videos featuring The Roots.

This campaign is calling for a rebuilding of the American dream for Main Street, not Wall Street, and is generating a lot of buzz. Justin and the gang at MoveOn describe it as, "It will be led by green jobs visionary and former White House advisor Van Jones. And while he lays out the truth about our economy, hip-hop megastars The Roots and world-renowned visual artist and DJ Shepard Fairey will back him up with some amazing music. I've seen the rehearsals, and it's simply astounding."

They call for more jobs, and strengthening Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. They are calling to help Americans struggling with mortgages from banks that prey on regular working folks. They are calling this a "movement of people standing together".

To join in, check back with JTMP regularly, and you can also visit:
www.moveon.org
www.rebuildthedream.com