Bobbie Bean Talks About Foreclosures, Wall Street, and the American Dream (One of a series of talks that can be viewed on this site at Bobbie’s Videos.)
As a resident of Florida, I decided to run as an Independent for the United States Senate because I feel our country is adrift. We need to get back on course, and if elected, I pledge to pay particular attention to the needs of the average American, the Constitution, job creation, affordable health care, Veteran’s services, civil and constitutional rights, a progressive environmental plan, agriculture, safe and exceptional schools for our children, and national security.
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VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Solar Highways Would Redesign the Energy Grid, Reduce CO2, and Create Jobs
Bobbie’s Favorite Video of the Week: A statement on a current issue of concern (See the Bobbie’s Video Page for past favorites)
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Several years ago, I felt compelled to address the burgeoning violence among our youth after our son was viciously bullied at a middle school in Sebring, Florida. His life was changed forever by that incident. That’s when I joined a coalition of parents and legislators to get an anti-bullying bill passed to provide safer schools in Florida. I’ve spent the last 5 years educating the public on youth violence, bullying, and safe schools and lobbied the legislature in Tallahassee to help pass the Jeffrey Johnson Stand Up For All Students Act, which was finally enacted on April 18, 2008.
Our society has become addicted to violence and it is spilling over into our communities. Our children and families deserve better than that. Our citizens deserve a country where they have abundant job opportunities, a clean environment, an educational system that will produce innovative leaders and safe schools and communities.
I want to hear from you about what you’d like to see changed. I want to hear your views so that I can represent you better. If you vote me into office, I’ll work just as hard in the Senate for all Americans as I did to get that bill passed to protect Florida’s children. I believe that all American have the right to pursue and earn the American Dream. Vote for me, and I’ll promise to shake up Congress and pass legislation that will make a progressive difference in your lives.
- Your Friend, Bobbie Bean
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An excerpt from Chapter 2 of the Bobbie Bean book – the entire chapter is available by clicking on the link in the far right column.
When we arrived at Highlands Regional Medical Center, I gathered Bobbie’s listless body into my arms, kicked in the swinging hospital door, and screamed for help. The nurse came over and checked his pupil response with her pocket flashlight.
“He’s been like this for hours! What took you so long?” she cried.
“As fast as I found out was as fast as I could get here,” I explained, not realizing at the time that Bobbie had been in danger since the first time he’d been hit on the bus in what turned out to be a 2 1/2-hour melee. The swelling continued to increase with each blow from the perpetrator.
“Where did this happen?” she asked. When I told her Sebring Middle School, she replied with a sigh, “Not another one.”
As they rushed Bobbie into an emergency room and pumped him back to life, for the next 22 minutes I wondered if I might have to tell Marilyn that our first-born son had been killed. Sweat poured down my cheeks, my hands shook with grief and fear. During the entire time in the emergency room, I never left his side.
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Trailer for “The Cartel,” and award-winning documentary film by Bob Bowdon
Watch this trailer to an award-winning movie and then email me, call me, and let me know if you think the time has come to change America’s public eduction system.
I Am America – Sung by Krista Branch
I Am America – Version II
Let’s Work Together to Restore
The American Dream!
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Congressional Spending Between June 2009 and March 2010 Reached A Whopping $1,013,162,955
The Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based non-partisan, non-profit organization, recently released some data on congressional spending from June 2009 to March 2010. The Foundation was established to track government spending and encourage greater accountability and transparency in government – http://sunlightfoundation.com/about/. The Senate version of this spending report is due out soon. The statement of disbursements can be found here: http://disbursements.house.gov/.
Largest expense: $80 million for retirement benefits for federal employees
Largest spender: $1.5 million by Pedro Pierluisi (D) of Puerto Rico
Second largest spender: $1.3 million by Jim Costa (D) of California
Zinger spending items: $114,925 by Democratic caucus for weekend getaway at a resort in Williamsburg, Va., to set their 2009 legislative agenda; $362,939 received by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) to run a taxpayer-funded office for up to five years, as designated by Federal law to “facilitate the administration, settlement and conclusion of matters pertaining to or arising out of ” a former speaker’s tenure in the House
Payroll expenditures: $552 million
Travel : $12.5 million ($1.4 million a month)
Publications and research: $11 million
Rep. Howard Berman (D) of California on publications and research (largest spending in that category): $84,000
New York Times newspaper: $93,976
Washington Post newspaper: $78,857
Food and beverages: $2.6 million
Bottled water: $604,000
Catering: $397,000
Catering by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D) of Maryland: $7,536
Average Catering cost per representative: $1,316
Coffee: $84,794
Health insurance: $34.9 million
Student loan repayments: $12.6 million
Computer software and hardware: $23.5 million
Furniture, carpets, and drapes: $3,382,677
- Compiled from data provided by the Sunlight Foundation, the Capitol Hill newspaper “Roll Call,” and America Online news.
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What About the 27,000 Other Wells in the Gulf?
And Who Designed the Cap?
The British Petroleum oil disaster in the Gulf is somewhat under control for now. A plumber who sent BP his idea for plugging the well may well get the credit since the blueprints for the job are exactly the same as what he designed, according to recent media reports.
Now that the well is no longer spewing oil at excessive rates, the problem has served to raise awareness about the risks associated with offshore drilling when companies cut corners and government oversight is lax. The Associated Press also recently raised questions about the minefield of abandoned wells littering the ocean floor in the Gulf. Capped off with concrete that may dissolve over time, they should act as a reminder that the oil industry needs to be more stringently regulated, as this video suggests.
