First in the Nation / First Amendment

On July 10, the Salem Times Register published an article about my campaign as a write-in candidate for U.S. President in 2008. Salem, Virginia is the town where I grew up from the time I was 8 to 18. The Salem Times Register is the first newspaper in the country to give any coverage of my campaign. Considering the fact the my candidacy is beyond the realm of underdog, the newspaper deserves recognition for upholding the values of the Free Press and Democracy. It’s always interesting to read an article that has been written about oneself. Not in the big headed, self important way — I’m interested in seeing what the other person thinks I’m saying. Ms. Tabor did a good job conveying the basics of the campaign and my biography. I’m glad she included my quotation about the “Money Question.” With the wild movements of the Stock Market and the price of oil, the Sub-prime Meltdown we’ve been experiencing since August of 2007, the Federal Reserves’ half a trillion dollar infusion into the US Financial system, the tanking and bailing out of Bear Stearns, Freddy and Fannie — all these events underscore the fact that the economic system in this country is not sound as President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson have recently been reassuring reporters.

Today’s Presidential Advertisement – Volunteering

I created this animated gif to put on my personal myspace page. I’m hoping to attract more eyeballs to my campaign website. I should probably create a campaign myspace page which is something I have been putting off. Just more work. Oh, by the way, if you interested in volunteering on my campaign send me an email to silver @ 6hourday.org (all one word, no spaces) and let me know what you can or what you would like to do. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you. Thank you for your support.

Over Easy: The need for a critical Free Press in America

Boy, I sure do have it a lot easier than the other U.S. presidential candidates this year.  No nagging reporters calling to wake me up at 8:30 in the morning interested in my views upon Palestine and Israel.  By the way I support a Palestinian State.  And secondly, my views on foreign aid are this:  the United States should only offer humanitarian, food/agricultural, educational, and medical aid.  Additionally, US foreign aid should not consist of economic support or military supplies to any country.

Fifteen days ago, on Saturday June 21 just before 1:30pm, I sent my first press release to the nation’s major media  outlets.  I used a list of resources provided at  www.fair.org ’s website.  Unfortunately seven of the email address were outdated.  I added a few more, Marketplace, The New Republic, and a few major political blogs (thru their email webforms — politico.com & dailykos).  Here are the lucky recipients of this once in a life-time political scoop.

To: fair@fair.org, info@ap.org, letters@usnews.com, letters@time.com, letters@newsweek.com, letters@tnr.com, national@washpost.com, nywireroom@dowjones.com, editor@usatoday.com, washington@nytimes.com, national@nytimes.com, news-tips@nytimes.com, letters@latimes.com, rush@eibnet.com, atc@npr.org, newshour@pbs.org, hardball@msnbc.com, dateline@nbc.com, today@nbc.com, nightly@nbc.com, Colmes@foxnews.com, Hannity@foxnews.com, Ontherecord@foxnews.com, Oreilly@foxnews.com, Foxreport@foxnews.com, ftn@cbsnews.com, 48hours@cbsnews.com, earlyshow@cbs.com, evening@cbsnews.com, 2020@abc.com, nightline@abcnews.com, pitches@marketplace.org

Here is the letter I sent to them.

Subject: Citizen, Silver Persinger, write in US Presidential Candidate

Dear News Maker or Editor,

I am writing today to inform you of my national campaign for US President as a write in candidate.

I have been reluctant to contact you since I announced my campaign on May 1 largely because I felt that you would not be  interested in an individual citizen’s effort to participate in the national political dialog; particularly since I have no large grassroots following.  And secondly, because my platform is antithetical to the corporate media’s economic interests and stranglehold on the “free press.”

However, I am an advocate of the free press and view a free press as a necessity to a functional democracy.  The main reason I am contacting you today is because my “announcement” to the internet alone has not yielded significant results — both my website, www.votesilver.org and my youtube video have received fewer than 200 views.  It is my hope that there is some independence within the media to report matters of national significance.  Objective reporting is a necessity in a democracy and there is no other way for a candidate without money to garner national attention and popular support.

I do not expect to win the election but it is my hope that I can contribute to the national dialog and influence the debate on social and economic issues — however, I can’t do it without your help.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully yours, Silver Persinger
804-683-7845

To date, I not received a single email or phone call in relation to my campaign.  This is a reflection of both the abysmal state of our democracy and the compliance of the media in perpetuating the current economic model and suppressing citizen activism.

Instant Runoff Voting would do much to improve the health of our democratic system.  Ensuring the majority is not divided amongst itself and providing more representative government, politicians, and policies.

Your assistance in spreading the word of my campaign is essential.