Venezuela is facing presidential elections on October. The race between Hugo Chavez and Henrique Capriles is close in the polls; who will win is still uncertain. These days, the biggest concern for the people of Venezuela is that if Capriles wins, will the losing current president Chavez step down peacefully from a position he has enjoyed for more than a decade, or will he resist and unleash a civil war?

President Chavez has accused Capriles of trying to provoke violence by campaigning in places where he knows Chavez has a lot of support. The accusations came after a march which Henrique Capriles did in La Vega, a poor district of Caracas, in which Capriles sympathizers got into a fight with Chavez supporters. The police intervened and Capriles was not allowed to finish the march.

In a military ceremony, President Chavez referred to Capriles recent actions and told the soldiers: “They are going to try to destabilize the country. I’ve been saying it and everybody should be alert.” Declarations like this are creating a very hostile environment while the country is just a few months away from the elections. Chavez insists that the incident which occurred in La Vega is evidence of Capriles destabilization plans, and the president added that Capriles plans should be neutralized.

Henrique Capriles has denied the accusations and stated: “I’m not walking Venezuela’s streets to fight with anybody.” So far the campaign has been peaceful, but there is a risk that it could turn violent in the final rounds. The opposition candidate knows that in order to win, he would need the support of the poor and the working-class so places such as La Vega are necessary campaign grounds for him.

Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington, expressed his fear that most of the country is exposed to, as he stated: “a risk that minor clashes between supporters of both camps could escalate and threaten social peace. The distrust is profound, and arms are plentiful.”

The elections are schedules for October 7 and Capriles campaign has been very intense. He has visited most of the country in his attempt to win over the population and Chavez out of the presidency, a position he has held since 1999. On the other hand because of his cancer treatment recovery, president Chavez  has barely begun campaigning, but still, he has stated that he is sure he will defeat Capriles. He recently made a political rally in the Venezuelan state of Zulia where he claims he congregated hundreds of thousands of people, and said that Capriles efforts would be in vain.

Image Courtesy of  Spanner Dan

The article Rising Tensions in Venezuela’s Elections appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

ConservativeHQ.com Chairman Richard Viguerie announced the first group of conservative leaders to join him in endorsing former Senator Rick Santorum for President:

“…Some 150 conservative leaders gathered at Nancy and Paul Pressler’s ranch in Texas to discuss the Republican presidential campaign”.  There was an overwhelming 75 percent consensus to support Rick Santorum for President. ”The group of conservative leaders named…includes Dr. James Dobson, Gary Bauer, Joseph Farah,Foster Friess, Elaine Donnelly, and many others representing all four segments of the new conservative coalition who are coalescing behind Rick Santorum’s candidacy.

“I’m pleased that, so quickly after Rick Perry suspended his campaign, I was able to announce the firstbloc of conservative leaders who have come forward to endorse Rick Santorum. ”This list of endorsers demonstrates that Rick Santorum is the best candidate to bring together social conservatives, national defense conservatives, economic conservatives, and the newly energized constitutional conservatives of the Tea Party.

“Rick Santorum is the only reliable conservative left in the race.  He has a long involvement in the conservative movement, and he has demonstrated his commitment to hiring conservatives on his Senate staff and in his campaign.  On the issues of vital importance to conservatives, such as the right to life, the pro-family agenda, national security, and fighting the growth of government, he has walked with us even when the path was hard.

“If conservatives want a conservative, not just another establishment Republican, nominated in Tampa and elected in November, it is time for us to start concentrating on consolidating that winning four-part coalition behind one candidate.  The candidate who best appeals to all four segments of the winning 2010 coalition, with the fewest negatives, is Rick Santorum.

“This is an encouraging sign that movement conservatives are finding their natural home in the Santorum campaign and are in fact coalescing behind Rick’s candidacy.”

The text of the endorsement and the list of endorsers released today follows:

“Conservatives are the largest ideological bloc in the American electorate.  In this election cycle, a number of candidates with legitimate claims to conservative support have considered or sought the Republican nomination for President, but this has left the conservative vote divided, empowering those who do not share our views and values.

To defeat Barack Obama, now is the time for conservatives to rally behind the most electable conservative candidate, and we believe that candidate is former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

“In recognition of Rick Santorum’s character, judgment, and especially his commitment to institute an administration that will govern according to conservative principles, we the undersigned endorse former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum for President of the United States and pledge to advance his candidacy.”

The article Conservative Leaders Support Rick Santorum for President appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The U.S. Citizens Association, a non-profit member organization based in Akron, Ohio called for the immediate release of the Federal Election Commission’s findings into the questionable fundraising practices conducted by the Obama 2008 Presidential campaign.

The first red flag regarding Obama’s 2008 fundraising came when the Washington Post reported that the “Obama campaign was allowing donors to use largely untraceable pre-paid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity.”

The problem with these pre-paid cards is that is makes it impossible to determine if foreign nationals are contributing to a campaign, or if single donors are giving multiple small donations, thus exceeding the contribution limits, or even if an outside group is purchasing these cards for individual donors to evade the reporting requirements.

It is also known that the Obama campaign received 47% of its donations from donors giving less than the$200 limit that would require automatic reporting. In comparison, John McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign received 26% of his donations from less than $200 donors.

According to multiple press outlets and the U.S. Citizens Association independent investigations, the Obama 2008 Presidential campaign failed to identify the sources of millions of dollars of campaign contributions that appear to have been illegally accepted by the campaign. Various media reports have pointed to the unknown sources as having illegally come from outside the United States and exceeded the contribution limits that would require reporting donor information to the Federal Election Commission.

The FEC launched an audit of the Obama 2008 campaign in April of 2011, but no results of the investigation have been released to the public. According to reports in Roll Call, during the 2010 cycle, the Obama campaign led all organizations when it came to sending refunds to individual donors. Following the election, it disclosed disbursement transactions totaling more than $5.7 million in refunds.

“The FEC claims these audits take three to four years, or even longer to complete. That’s unacceptable,” said Lance Davis, Executive Director of U.S. Citizens Association. “President Obama has been in full campaign mode for at least the last year. We’re in 2012 now. Is the Obama campaign still accepting questionable contributions and where are they coming from?” Mr. Davis continued.

“The last thing the American people need is to find out in 2013, that Barack Obama’s campaign did receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals in 2008 and 2012, and hid it from the voting public. At that point the hay’s in the barn, there’s nothing that can be done. Maybe that’s what they’re hoping for,” said Mr. Davis.

Davis continued, “Roll Call reports that as of the end of March (2011), Obama for America had spent nearly $3 million on legal fees since the 2008 election. In all, the president’s campaign spent three times more on lawyers after Election Day than in the two years preceding it. That alone should give the American people pause.”

The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $3.38 Million. More than 520 listed their “state” as “IR”, which the FEC often uses as an abbreviation for “information requested.” Another 63 listed it as “UK”, the United Kingdom.

But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah,Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France. The Washington Post reported in 2008 that “the Obama Campaign allowed donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity…”

“Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign also chose not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides acknowledged. Instead, the campaign is scrutinizing its books for improper donations after the money has been deposited.”

Mr. Davis says this practice of disabling security measures could lead to single donors being able to give multiple donations of $199 without being reported. “In fact, almost half of the money Obama raised in 2008, almost $200 Million came from donors giving less than $200, twice the number of John McCain.

But the research indicates that one donor in particular, who listed his name as ‘Good Will’, his employer as ‘Loving’ and his occupation as ‘You’ donated more than 1,000 times for a total of $17,375. The Obama campaign did nothing until notified by the FEC. Who knows who this person and thousands of other Obama donors really are or where they are from?” Davis says.

Mr. Davis sites reports from the Obama 2012 campaign that they plan to raise One Billion Dollars for the President’s re-election. “If they reach that number, how much of it will come from legal American donors and how much will be from illegal foreign sources or those donating over the legal limits?

We are demanding the FEC release the results of its audit now so all Americans have the full story of Obama’s so-called ‘record setting’ fundraising. The American people can then decide if they want deep pocketed foreigners picking our President.”

mistydawnphoto / Shutterstock.com

The article Research and Results of Questionable Obama Fundraising Sources appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

2012 Presidential Candidates are answering the calls from thousands of Alzheimer’s disease advocates around the country asking leaders how they would stop Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects 5.4 million Americans and cost the nation $187 billion last year.

Three presidential candidates – Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann – are the first to release videos discussing how they would address the Alzheimer’s crisis and lead a national effort to stop the disease. The videos represent the first indication that the fight against Alzheimer’s will be an issue in the 2012 Presidential race. To view all three videos, please visit:http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/alz2012/.

“Alzheimer’s disease will cost our nation $2 trillion over the next decade if we don’t act,” said George Vradenburg, co-founder and chair of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, who led the effort to gather comments from all 2012 candidates. “These three candidates emphasize that a strategy of curing Alzheimer’s disease can be a critical driver in reducing health care costs, with the proper regulatory environment and private and philanthropic partnerships and investment. We look forward to hearing from the other candidates, including President Obama, on how they would address Alzheimer’s.”

In the past month, USAgainstAlzheimer’s reached out to the campaigns of all 2012 presidential hopefuls, including President Obama, seeking a video response to how they would address the Alzheimer’s crisis. The following are excerpts from the videos received thus far:

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich has long made Alzheimer’s disease one of the centerpieces of his campaign, outlining a series of proposals in his new “21st Century Contract with America” that emphasize the need for greater brain science research, medical innovation and a more agile Federal Drug Administration. “Alzheimer’s affects millions of people, and it affects the families of millions of people because an Alzheimer’s caregiver is twice as likely to have a health problem as somebody who’s not a caregiver. Alzheimer’s is going to cost us between now and 2050, as much as 20 trillion dollars, and that’s why it’s very important that we take steps such as I’m proposing in my brain science initiative,” Gingrich said. To see Gingrich’s video, click here: http://bit.ly/snq9k7.

Ambassador Jon Huntsman aims to increase funding for research and bolster public-private partnerships to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. “[Alzheimer's] carries a tremendous human toll, but also a financial toll, driving up health care costs by hundreds of billions of dollars a year. It is a disease with no treatment and no cure, but that doesn’t mean there is no hope. Experts believe a cure is possible by the end of this decade, but only with a sustained, targeted, and national commitment,” said Huntsman. “Now it is time for us to declare a War on Alzheimer’s, and rally the American people around the belief that this disease is beatable.” To see Huntsman’s video, click here: http://bit.ly/tQuvTf.

In her message, Rep. Michele Bachmann referenced the development of the polio vaccine and how this cure gives hope to those seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s. She said, “It was once predicted we would spend$1 billion a year on polio, maybe even more. Today, polio costs us virtually nothing, because Jonas Salk found a vaccine — a cure — and I’d like to see that same thing happen with Alzheimer’s. Because I believe a cure is always better — and cheaper — than more care.” To see Bachmann’s video, click here:http://bit.ly/v1WAHN.
Currently, 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s and the disease impacts 14.9 million caregivers nationwide. In the coming decades, the number of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s will triple. Without a cure, over 10 million baby boomers will die from the disease.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. and remains the only disease in the top ten with no means of prevention, treatment or cure. It is a disease that destroys not only one’s memory and shortens one’s life, but disables one’s physical capacities as well. Despite the personal and financial toll Alzheimer’s inflicts, the National Institutes of Health invests only about $450 million per year toward Alzheimer’s research — less than $90 per person living with the disease.

USAgainstAlzheimer’s is a national advocacy campaign and advocacy network committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020. An independent non-profit organization working in partnership with the Alzheimer’s community, USAgainstAlzheimer’s works to advance policies and elect candidates dedicated to stopping the disease by supporting research for a cure.

For more information about USAgainstAlzheimer’s, visit http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/.

Image Courtesy of  Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

The article 2012 Republican Candidates and The Struggle for Alzheimer’s Desease appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Those who have been watching the presidential debates or followed the 2012 presidential election know that there was one additional member on stage in last weeks’ debate in Orlando. Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, made his first appearance at the presidential debate chiming in with his occasional policies, but has so far not made any drastic changes to the presidential race.

Being his first debate, the candidate did not have as much experience as the others, but he seemed confident and will hopefully get more face time during the next few debates to really increase his following. Johnson was perhaps the least in-focus candidate throughout the night with a lot of the attention still being directed to frontrunners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

“I got four minutes tonight,” he added, “I tried to make the most of it. I’m not complaining. That’s four more minutes than I had a week ago.” Although only appearing for a total of four minutes in the debate, he got some main points across and managed to include the most note-worthy line of the night.

“My next door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel ready jobs than this administration.” Despite just getting laughs, this line also made Johnson stand out and was highly talked about days following the debate. Johnson is known to have similar stances as Ron Paul including his libertarian views and being anti-government.

He even answered that he would choose Ron Paul as his Vice President if he was elected into office as president after a hypothetical question during the debate. Some think that his entrance in the race might hurt Ron Paul or divide the support down the middle because of their similar views.

One position that he made clear in the debate is that he would promise to propose a balanced 2013 federal budget on his first day in office. When Johnson left office in New Mexico, his state had a balanced budget, along with only four other states across the country. His other positions include legalizing marijuana and supporting “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

He also supports withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan and other countries that are not related to American defense such as Libya. He is also known for his frequent vetoing on legislation, and he said in the debate, “I promise to veto legislation where expenditures exceed revenue.

And if anybody doubts my willingness to veto bills, I think I vetoed more bills than any governor in the history of the United States. I think I vetoed more bills than all the other governors in the country combined.” Johnson will have to do some catching up in the race, and still only has support in the single digits, but he may have the track record and comic relief to gain the support he needs.
Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

The article Gary Johnson: Meet the Newest Addition appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.