• Ralph Nader, the Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party, and the Green Party will all substantially increase their raw vote totals over 2004.
• Ron Paul received 2.2% in Montanna and 0.5% in Louisiana. Third place in both.
• Ron Paul kept his districts House seat.
• Few of the Ron Paul candidates won. Lamborn of Colorado 5th District and McClintock of California 4th District. It’s been questioned however whether Lamborn is an actual RP backed candidate.
• Maine rejects sales taxes and medical claim fees to fund state health program.
• South Dakota voted not to ban abortion.
• Massachusetts decrims marijuana.
• Michigan voted to allow medical marijuana.
• Washington voted to allow for allowing some terminally ill adults to obtain lethal prescriptions.
• Arizona shot down requiring revocation of business licenses of any employer who knowingly hires illegal aliens.
• Colorado fails to define human life as beginning at fertilization.
• Nebraska bans discrimination and preferential treatment by the State.

Let me include the bad:

• Few of the Ron Paul candidates won. Lamborn of Colorado 5th District and McClintock of California 4th District. It’s been questioned however whether Lamborn is an actual RP backed candidate.
• Colorado fails to ban discrimination and preferential treatment by the state.
• Colorado fails to prohibit mandatory union membership and mandatory union dues.
• Arizona bans same sex marriage.
• Arizona shot down requiring that a majority of all registered voters approve any initiative with spending or tax increases.
• Arkansas bans unmarried cohabitating couples from adopting or being foster parents.
• California establishes the nation’s first comprehensive farm animal rights law.
• California shot down expanding treatment programs for nonviolent drug offenders. (better then prison IMO)
• California banned same sex marriage.
• Florida bans same sex marriage.
• Massachusetts overwhelmingly rejects getting rid of state income tax.
• Massachusetts bans dog racing.
• Montana provides government funded health insurance coverage for as many as 30,000 uninsured children.
• North Dakota votes against reducing or eliminating income tax.
• Oregon votes against requiring that teacher pay and job security be linked directly to classroom performance.

Be the Change Inc YouTube channel

• McCain says he doesn’t support mandatory service.
• McCain says that if Target would have ran things during Katrina it would have gone better, there wouldn’t have been trucks of ice in Maine. If he really believes private organizations would do a better job than why would he advocate the federal government deal with natural disaster?
• McCain claims the reason the military is having a hard time keeping member and gaining more is because it’s not big enough. What?
• The guy from TIME is saying the US government should have mandatory service. McCain dodged the question asking if the US should have mandatory service for all and allow people to go into none military service.
• McCain says he would sign the Kennedy / Hatch Serve America Bill. Said he “love”s Ted Kennedy.
• We should send people to countries which don’t like us… but not money.
• McCain’s hero Teddy Roosevelt.
• Bring ‘all people are created equal’ to the world. Not necessarily military but in other ways. America is exception because of it.

• Obama gets a standing ovation several times longer than McCain’s.
• We believe in individual responsibility and ability… but also mutual responsibility.
• How to get more people into service? Start early with kids in school.
• He won’t have to pander to the union to get his national service plans through like Clinton did.
• The government should encourage voluntarism.
• Every student will get a $4k college credit by “giving back.”
• Big government suppresses private charity/voluntarism is an “old argument.”
• We have to have government. We have to have a FEMA that works. We need to encourage young people to serve so when they get older they are trained to work for those government programs.
• Government should expand the avenues of service.
• To keep more people in the military: restore peoples belief in service, inspiring people
• Universities which keep off ROTC should let them on campus
• Should provide full scholarships for math and science teachers and then make them go work in depressed communities.
• One of the primary aspects of his presidency would be to increase avenues for service in the nation.
• I want every young person to know that they won’t reach their potential unless they work with others.
• American voluntarism is what makes America great.
• Obama likes Teddy Roosevelt too.

All done. Check out the YouTube channel for the interviews.

www.newswithviews.com

While millions of Americans watched the 2008 Republican Convention on television, the well-staged event wasn’t all peaceful and enthusiastic, according to several delegates attending the St. Paul, Minnesota event.

Several delegates — who are avowed Ron Paul supporters — claim they were treated shabbily at best, harshly at worst.

“While almost every other GOP contender for president was permitted to speak at the convention, Ron Paul was not. The word was that Paul was invited, with the natural caveat that he (like the other speakers) endorse McCain for president, which Paul was reportedly unwilling to do,” said a McCain delegate from West Virginia.

“Instead, Paul held a separate ‘convention’ for one afternoon at the Minneapolis Convention Center,” said the WV delegate.

The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee were unnecessarily nervous about the presence of Ron Paul delegates at the XCel Energy Center, and sometimes that fact was reflected in unwarranted actions, such as someone yanking away a banner proclaiming the word “Liberty” being held by a handful of Paul delegates outside the building, according to several delegates.

In fact, several told NewsWithViews.com that while the Rep. Paul delegates demonstrated little, if any, support for McCain throughout the convention — mostly sitting quietly on their hands while the rest of the crowd erupted around them — they caused no problems and were respectful and polite, including the Paul delegates from West Virginia.

“The Ron Paul movement has brought thousands of young people into the political process — shouldn’t the GOP find ways to welcome them rather than alienate them?” said “Patrick,” a delegate and Ron Paul supporter from Maine.

The actions of the GOP should surprise no one, but it’s worth documenting anyway.

When asking the delegation for nominations for president, after McCain was included the person presiding asked for any more names, Ron Paul was clearly yelled several times and was ignored without any recognition.

The following states did not give all their votes to John McCain:

• Alaska: 24 McCain, 5 Ron Paul
• Idaho: 26 McCain, 6 ?
• Maine: 20 McCain, 1 ?
• Minnesota: 35 McCain, 6 ?
• Oregon: 26 McCain, 4 Ron Paul
• Utah: 2 Romney, 34 McCain
• Washington: 36 McCain, 4 “Dr. Paul”
• West Virginia: 2 Ron Paul, 30 McCain

There may have been more states but this is all I noticed.

Sadly, states like Nevada and Montana where Paul received more votes than McCain, all their delegate votes went to McCain due to party loyalists taking over state conventions. It’s also sad that some states did not give Paul, Huckabee or Romney the votes they had actually received.

When Ron Paul received votes the announcer did not repeat his name nor vote count. Just McCain’s. However, for Utah she repeated Romney’s 2 votes. For Washington, the other announcer cut off the one repeating the vote so that Paul’s name could not be said. When repeating West Virginia’s results she caught herself about to repeat Paul’s 2 votes and quickly stopped, going on to repeat McCain’s only. I guess they think if they ignore him, not say his name 3 times… he won’t show up / go away. I think they’re mistaken.

They reported Romney got 2 votes and Paul 5. That’s obviously not correct. He was explicitly given 15 votes.

Arizona delegates made mention of Barry Goldwater being another great politician from Arizona. As did a few randomly interviewed people after the convention. Funny… John McCain, at least on domestic issues, is practically the antithesis of Barry Goldwater. Barry Goldwater Jr. had endorsed Ron Paul and was at the Rally for the Republic continuing his support just yesterday.

http://www.ballot-access.org/…

On June 30, the chair of the Maine Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in state court, to remove the only independent candidate for U.S. Senate from the November ballot. The case is Knutson v Department of the Secretary of State, Kennebec County. The Secretary of State had determined that the candidate, Herb Hoffman, has 4,000 valid signatures. The lawsuit argues that the Secretary of State is mistaken. The specific dispute includes whether a signature is valid if the signer gives a Post Office Box address, and whether certain signatures were properly witnessed.

Hoffman is a former Democrat who supported Dennis Kucinich for president. Hoffman became disillusioned with the Democratic Party, partly because of how Kucinich was treated, and partly he disagrees with the stances of the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate on foreign policy. If Hoffman is removed from the ballot, there will only be two choices remaining on the Maine ballot in November for U.S. Senate.

Can’t give people a choice. They may not choose correctly. Maine residents, it’s for your own good, really.

http://www.ballot-access.org/…