New York (PRWEB) January 9, 2008 -- M V Consulting, Inc. announced today that the final numbers for the entire year of 2007 have been tabulated with phenomenal results. The Company's websites have grown at a remarkable pace, exceeding expectations and indicative of positive acceptance by internet users. In addition the Company's sites were involved with several promotions and events that could not be anticipated, and display the impact that has been made to date.

"2007 was a great year. The blogs of the company grew by over 100% in virtually every metric that can be identified. The give away contests sponsored by the company were well received, if predominantly regional. We were surprised and pleased to receive the opportunity to work with TV One on live coverage of the Heartland Presidential Forum on December 1st 2007. That's something you just can't predict and we are thrilled about it, while looking forward to working with TV One again in the future," stated M V Consulting, Inc. President Michael Vass.

Actual performance numbers are considered proprietary by the Company, but percentile growth and other metrics are available for the public. Some of the most important metrics are:

• Visitors to the site tend to be 41% men, and 59% women
  
  
• 46% of visitors tend to be between the ages of 25 - 54
  
  
• 51% of visitors are college educated, with 37% having no college education at all
  
  
• Visitors to Black Entertainment USA for the 12 months ending December 31st 2007 increased by 156%.
  
  
• Individual pages viewed by visitors on Black Entertainment USA increased by 367%
  
  
• The number of visitors from countries across the globe increased by 35%
  
  
• At the Vass site the breakdown was (this blog only existed for the last 4 months of 2006):
  
  
• Visitors for the full year increased by 5900%
  
  
• Individual pages viewed by visitors on Vass increased by 9700%
  
  
• While the number of countries remained relatively flat. The lack of growth in countries outside the USA may be attributable to the increased focus on the Presidential race and candidate's campaigns throughout 2007 as well as the limited time of existence in 2006.
  
  
  The M V Consulting, Inc. corporate homepage was launched in May 2007 and therefore has no comparative numbers. Growth was solid and comparable to the first 7 months of either blog, reaching on average 48 countries across the world.
  
  The Company also owns an online store which features 12 separate and distinct clothing lines, as well as providing custom designed mugs, mouse pads, Teddy bears, gift cards, journals, postage stamps and more. Individual sales figures for this division are not reported.
  
  Results of the Company's SEO division are not reported and considered proprietary.
  

Other events

Several other events occurred in 2007 that were of significant importance. The Company created and sponsored 3 separate contests in 2007.

Robin Roberts book - From the Heart - in association with Authorsontheweb.com

Dinner at the Instinct Restaurant - in association with Instinct in Endicott, New York

$1000 for the holidays - run by M V Consulting Inc. with a $100 bonus added to the winning prize given to Cheryl W of New York State.

In addition to these contests, the company was contacted by TV One, which reaches 40 million people via its cable network channel. On December 1st 2007 TV One had a live webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum, for which it selected 5 political bloggers to comment on live. Of the thousands of potential bloggers available, President Michael Vass was selected for his writing at the Vass blog, and was invited to join the event as one of the 5 bloggers. The company accepted, creating over 9 posts related to the event (prior and after the event) including 6 live during the event.

TV One and M V Consulting, Inc. cross-promoted the event via the individual websites of each company.

Additional items

To date, the various blogs of the Company have created nearly 1000 posts in total. In 2007 alone there was an increase of 201% in the number of posts. The blogs had a total number of posts that exceeded the number of days in the year, thus exceeding publication rates of virtually every other media format and/or syndicated author.

The blogs of the Company have dealt with some of the most topical issues of the year, if not several of the most controversial in perhaps 100 years. Those topics included the death of Anna Nicole Smith and James Brown. The scandals surrounding Don Imus, Duane 'Dog' Johnson, Michael Vick, and Megan Williams. The Presidential candidates of both political parties. Also news involving entertainers and celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Wesley Snipes, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, and more. Not to mention reviews of restaurants, movies, books, and video games and information about Darfur and the Child Solider Prevention Act.

President Michael Vass is also a contributing author for the 1800blogger.com family of blogs. Mr. Vass writes for a total of 8 additional blogs on a regular basis besides those of the Company.

Mr. Vass stated, "This is only the beginning. Growth has exceeded all expectations and for 2008 we have raised the bar. While visitors to the various sites of the Company equaled or exceeded several metropolitan areas of the United States, our goal now is to reach the equivalent population of the major urban centers of the nation, if not New York City itself. Expect to see our clothing lines in colleges across the nation. And we are looking to lock down 2 exclusive sponsors for the various sites, further minimizing advertising clutter and providing an immersive and non-distracting atmosphere near term. Expect more news on other events soon."

For additional information please contact M V Consulting, Inc. President Michael Vass at info@vassconsult.com or 718-344-6921.

About M V Consulting, Inc. and Michael Vass:

Mr. Michael Vass is a former securities industry account executive of good standing, and currently works in the field of investor relations. He has served in the US Marine Corps Reserves, as well as worked and studied in such diverse fields as entertainment, communications, philosophy and chemistry. He has lived abroad, in Moscow and Tbilisi, as well as in various cities throughout the United States.

Mr. Vass is President of M V Consulting, Inc. a diversified private company that maintains divisions in search engine optimization, an online store, political and entertainment celebrity blogs.

It is the combinations of these unique experiences that have led Mr. Vass to the creation of M V Consulting, Inc. The Company owns Black Entertainment USA (www.blackentertainmentblog.com), VASS (www.mvass.com), a corporate website (vassconsult.com), and an online store (cafepress.com/nova68).

Labels: cafepress.com/nova68, Darfur Accountibility Act, Heartland Presidential Forum, holiday contest, M V Consulting, Michael Vass, mvass.com, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts, TV One, Will Smith

Concluded from Final thoughts about the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast Part 4

And another thing. I’m tired of hearing half-truths and lies from politicians. Especially those running for President. I do mean the supposed affordability of Senator Clinton’s Healthcare plan, and the comment from Senator Obama that he is not funded by special interest lobbyists. The health care plan gets its money from our taxes, and that means higher taxes if this plan is approved – don’t allow yourself to be lulled into false dreams that it won’t.

And every candidate, Senator, and Representative receives money from lobbyists. They all have funding from special interests. They all wouldn’t have enough money for the campaigns they are running now if they didn’t, donations from the public may be large to the average person, but they are not enough. To deny this is a lie. If he said he had less than other candidates (like Senator Clinton who leads all presidential candidates) I might have bought it, but he didn’t.

So all in all, this was just a jamboree of feel good left liberal democratic propaganda. There were no real answers, and less definite thoughts than at a real debate.

And one final thing on the Forum Saturday. I was very upset that the moderator called for a sick child to go hug Senator Obama. That was partial treatment, a subtle endorsement, and a ‘kissing babies’ moment that should never have occurred. It was wrong and there is nothing more to say about it than that.

If the next Heartland Presidential Forum is a bit less feel-good partisan self-aggrandizement and more debate oriented, and balanced enough to be welcoming and involving for the Republican Party I will enjoy it more. But that’s my thoughts on it all. It wasn’t bad, and I am happy for the opportunity to work with TV One (I hope they will consider working with me again in the future), but I am honest and this was hope I rated it.

What do you think? What did you get from it if you saw it? How did the Heartland Presidential Forum affect your views of the Democratic Presidential candidates? Will it change or influence how you will vote at the primaries in Iowa in January and the rest of the primaries after that?

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, political debate, Presidential candidates, TV One

Continued from Final thoughts about the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast Part 3

Another thing worth noting was that Senator Clinton was not at the event but on satellite phone, where the conversation could only go one way and she could barely be heard or understood. That meant she had a delay in her response, was allowed to go over her time, and could not be cut off as other candidates over their time were. To be fair this was due to the attempted bombing/hostage situation in New Hampshire Friday, and bad weather at the airport (which was announced to the crowd). Obviously this was an unforeseen difficulty and the technical issues were from the last minute nature of these events.

The last was that of all the candidates, I felt that Senator Obama was the least opportunistic and most direct. He covered more of the questions asked of him, with better details than any other candidate. Still there was a mountain of vagueness and ambiguity in his words and plans. And of course he used a couple of his prepared soundbite quotes, like the often used

“CEO’s make more money in 10 minutes than the people that work for them.”

Of course I have to say, “What’s wrong with that?” I mean where in the American dream or the law is it said that there is a cap on the success ANY American can have? What class did Bill Gates skip, or Michael Jordan violate, that said you can’t make more money than X? So some people are jealous, they feel bad they don’t make as much. But what are those people doing to make their lives better? Do they own their own business, did they go to college, and have they worked to improve their situation? Is it hard to make money, especially large amounts? Yes. And it’s even harder to build a business or run it as a national or global entity.

Do I think it’s fair that a CEO of a mega-corp receives millions as a bonus when a company underperforms? Yes. But shareholders can complain or sell their holdings if they are upset, and that will get the companies attention. The golden parachute doesn’t have to be enormous and inlaid with precious jewels. Then a gain, they did spend decades of their life building careers to get to that position, which often is the last one they ever will have. And if they do well a bonus is a nice incentive.

I’m tired of hearing people presume they are entitled to things just because they are a citizen and exist. I’m tired of politicians feeding into the concept that government must be involved in every aspect of our lives and there to pick up everyone that bruises their knees. It’s not the job of government, and honestly everyone doesn’t get to have all the perks and luxuries as everyone else, least of all those that worked a lifetime to get them.

Concluded in Part 5...

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, political debate, Presidential candidates, TV One

Continued from Final thoughts about the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast Part 2

I mean raising the minimum wage sounds nice, except it has no connection to civil rights. And of course there was no mention that many if not most small businesses can’t afford the higher cost of paying employees. There was no connection between Guantanamo or alleged secret prisons or torture to civil rights.

But these are big talking points for many Democrats and liberals. It made them feel good hearing that it was on his mind. But what I noticed was that it was a convenient way to avoid the real question he was asked.

And every candidate did this. Mixing some of their talking points into answers given to them and failing to really answer what they were asked. Like when Kucinich was asked about immigrant (more on this in a second) being separated from their citizen children because they were deported – by a woman for a pro-immigration organization – and then a question about the pay a woman at Tyson receives. He chose to speak about NAFTA and the WTO, denouncing each. He spoke of the woe that workers are not getting paid enough. He avoided the immigrant issue.

Another item in the propaganda celebration of the left was the fact that everyone involved used the term immigrant. What they were referring to are the people from other nations (mostly Hispanic/Latinos from Mexico) that have entered the U.S. without visas, green cards or any legal documentation. No matter how some may want to spin it, every one of these people are criminals and the name for them is illegal aliens. They are not, NOT, immigrants.

There is no difference between an illegal alien and someone walking into your house, and moving in. They eat your food, use your gas and electricity, and take up your space. They didn’t ask to be allowed in, they don’t pay you rent or your bills, and all the money they make they keep, minus the loose change they drop into your couch as they watch your television, They complain to you that you need to learn their language to speak with them, that you need to get books and magazines in their language, and that you need to spend more money on them while they stay in your home. They have literally broken into your home and effectively stolen your possession of it.

That is an illegal alien, and that is what they have done to America. Sugar coating it, and spinning the name they are called does not change that fact. But during the Forum everyone was on the same page of propaganda, making these criminals (they broke the law the second they entered the nation without documentation) sound like they are tourists being unfairly taken advantage of. Like they had done everything involved to become U.S. citizens but was being treated with Jim Crow laws preventing them. It’s a lie and to try to pull the wool over the actual citizens is insulting. But it worked on the 5,000 in the crowd and I’m sure many who watched the webcast or C-Span coverage.

3 things worth noting though. The first is that Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate to ever have spoken at a debate, forum or any event that I am aware of on the subject of reparations to African Americans. He is in favor of them, and an apology for slavery. No other candidate of any party will speak on the issue. Even when asked directly about it. Not one including Senator Obama.

Continued in Part 4...

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, political debate, Presidential candidates, TV One

Continued from Final thoughts about the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast Part 1...

But it got worse. The form of the Forum was then announced. 20 minutes per candidate, 2 minutes to respond to the questions presented. One question from pre-selected (that’s important) people, and 2 questions from a select group of organizations and political figures would be asked before the candidate could use the 2 minutes to respond. Sounds fairly straight forward and easy to do. I had to wonder why the Forum was expected to take 2 ½ hours.

Well I found out quickly as the event started with John Edwards, followed by Dennis Kucinich, Senator Clinton, Senator Dodd, and finally Senator Obama. With the first question we saw the format in action. One average person would come onto the stage with a story of woe and anguish. They would wax on about how horrible things were for them. Then after a few minutes of this they would as a question something like, “What are you going to do about this”, “or “How will you change that?” Then the mic would go to one of the selected figureheads and representatives who would ask another question which might only be tangially connected to the first story, and then another would do the same.

Then the candidates would respond with some equally waxing response that was more of an attempt to have a soundbite on the news than a hard answer. Basically they were playing to the audience and trying to get cheap votes. I found the answers shallow.

Kind of like when Edwards was asked about what he will do on civil rights, making the laws and system more balanced and fair to African Americans and minorities. The response was both rambling and indistinct. He was told how unfair racial profiling was and how one family was affected by it.

Edwards’s response was that he would stop the profiling, and then he went on. He mentioned that he would close Guantanamo Bay, would close all the secret prisons, would cease spying on Americans, and end any and all forms of torture. He picked back up on the inequality core of what he was asked with a claim to remove mandatory minimums, the unfair and heavy handed practice of giving minorities extreme sentences as compared to Whites (like Genarlow Wilson). He then went on to jump top discuss creating jobs, passing a national healthcare raise the minimum wage to $9.50, empower unions, and oh back to the subject at hand change the disparity in sentences for crack versus power cocaine.

He was posturing on a soapbox to the converted. The crowed loved it. And the responses of the other candidates were all similar in their scope. The “questions” also were all similar in their dreary and bemoanful story-telling. But what was it all really saying?

Well as an example I now know that Edwards has no idea on what to do about the civil rights offenses in this nation. He has no plan, and thus could not point to anything he would change. He didn’t even mention a single case that is on-going that he could highlight as something he would prevent or change if he were President. I mean there are plenty to pick from, Genarlow Wilson – as I mentioned before, Megan Williams in West Virginia, the Jena 6 and many more. I’m sure his staff could have picked one to mention if he cared about it. Or any of the candidates for that matter. Not one had a real answer about this issue, or could reference a single event that happened recently. They all spun this in a manner to get everyone feeling warm and fuzzy though. Lots of style and not a drop of substance.

Continued in part 3...

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, political debate, Presidential candidates, TV One

I happened to be traveling on Saturday, and was out in public watching the Heartland Presidential Forum. I heard a couple of different comments about what some people thought about it. One was

“Show me and honest politician and I’ll show you a dead politician.”

Several had that kind of reaction to the event. Many were just starting to follow the race for the Presidency. Of course everyone that was listening and watching part of the webcast with me was moderately interested. Several had no idea who Dennis Kucinich or Chris Dodd were. None were interested in watching the whole event. Everyone thought I was crazy to be working on a Saturday. But well over 5,000 people were at the Forum, many spending hours (one group spent 12 hours on a bus) to arrive.

So for those that were not able to see the Live TV One webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum, or have not read my live commentary on the event, I offer this summary of my thoughts. [By the way, I want to thank TV One for selecting me as one of the 5 bloggers that covered the event live. Each of us had a unique viewpoint and it’s worth reading what they all had to say as well.]

Basically one thing was very clear from the beginning. This was no debate, formal or informal. It was not like any of the usual political gatherings we have come to expect and often ignore on television. But what else might you expect from Iowa?

The event started with no real pomp. Instead there were far too many accolades for various officials and organizations that were involved with creating the event. Oh and gospel singers. Oh and a prayer from a female reverend. Like I said, not your regular political event.

After all the various people involved too their time to blather on about how great it was to be there and see the response of the people from 32 states gathered their, things got under way. Actually it’s a bit unfair to say they were blathering. Yet at the same time, I could have done without the fanfare. I honestly didn’t care who they were or their political affiliation. I wanted to hear the Presidential candidates speak and see how they responded to the questions of average American.

But as the event went forward, I noticed something. More than the fact that this was not a Presidential debate. It was a propaganda stump for the Democratic Party, and liberal viewpoints. That was most likely the reason that though Republican candidates had been invited, only one arrived to participate. Of course since only one arrived, they were denied the chance to speak to the people.

That was perhaps the first clue to what was to follow. It was announced that the lawyers for the event (they needed lawyers for this?) felt it would be an endorsement for the only Republican Presidential candidate to speak. So he was denied, and his name was never mentioned. Nothing like lawyers to make something political even more partisan than it already was. How they thought one candidate could be singled out like that is beyond me since there were 4 other candidates there.

Continued in Part 2...

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, political debate, Presidential candidates, TV One

Now for Senator Obama.

Well this was a bit unfair. Senator Obama listened to a mother about her travails on losing healthcare and the trouble she had in caring for her sick daughter. Then the moderator allowed the child to hug Senator Obama. That is just wrong as it's the old kissing babies tactic that politicians often employ. I don't blame Obama, it was done on the moderators insistence.

As for the healthcare question perhaps the most important thing was his promise that if elected he will have national healthcare, equal to any politician, that will cover every American by the end of his 1st term. He also stated, though not promised, good schools for all and the ability to retie well.

Now are the questions about homes and the current mortgage crisis. One woman described how her family had to chose between their home or the health of their family member. Another woman had to chose etween the home and food.

This was important. his response strts with

"America has lost it's balance. Ceo's make more in 10 minutes than some worers do in a year."

He has used this quote often. But why can't someone have the American dream of building a big company and being paid for it?

but going beyond that He stated that to help mortgage owners he would have a tax exemption, and that those over 60 (or was it 70) would not pay taxes. And there would be and exemption for small businesses (if I heard that right) of 15 thousand dollars. He would also end the current tax cuts promoted by President Bush.

This is because he is not "funded by special interest lobbyists". Sounds great though it is not entirely true. While a large amount of his funding is from private citizens, or bundlers like Ms.Oprah Winfrey, he does recieve money (a lot) from institutions. He recieved, I recall, the 5th most money from pharmacuetical companies - though i may be off on this as I do not have my figures in frot of me.

I will say this. Senator Obama sounded the strongest, most prepared and most descriptive of how he would implement the proposed plans he stated. Perhaps Senator Clinton could have been better in person, but we will never know. If I pick one winner it would be Senator Obama hands down.

I will be providing more indepth thoughts on the Forum in a bit, perhaps tomorrow. I found it interesting.

I hope you have found this informative, and gives you some more insite when you see the soundbites on television tonight and Monday. Remember that this election is critical, and everything that gives you more information to make a decision on is a positive.

I thank TV One for the live webcast, and I hope to have more for you all soon.

Michael Vass

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, Senator Barack Obama, TV One

Had to take a small break. I'm sorry I missed a bit of Chriss Dodd's questins and answers.

So let me take a moment tosun up some of the major point of the Forum so far. As I expected high on the priorities has been Civil Rights - particularly equality for minorities in the justice system. This is a bigger issue among African Americans, Latino/Hispanics and mnorities in this nation. And it's been mostly avoided up til now.

Also the Economy. As I thought, most Americans are concerned about their jobs, and gaining a better wage. We all want more pay, though how smaller businesses will afford it is something no one has an answer for, nor even attempted to comment on.

The last seems to be immigration. More correctly its illegal immigration. This may be one reason several of the Republican candidates didn't show up. This is sad as I think this is the exact reason they should have. To answer those concerned on this issue. It will come up again.

I will note that this Forum seems highly aligned with Democratic philosophy, and I have yet to hear stories or questions that veer away from that view. This seems to go against the stated goal of inclusion of all Americans views. I truely doubt everyone in the Forum is pro-immigration, higher minimum wages (which I might suppor if it wouldn't kill many small businesses). I do agree with the civil rights stance, though I feel that is an apolitical view. It is something that affects every minority regardless of income, education or position.

I'm also glad that many are bringing up the concern of education as that may be one of the most important issues for the future generations.

And without surprise, there have been no question dealing with Iraq, or terrorism, that I was able to hear.

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, TV One

They just mentioned that we won't hear from Senator Hillary Clinton. This is because of the weather out of New Hampshire, and the bombing there yesterday. She is responding via phone though.

I could barely hear Senator Clinton, at the highest level. But I gathered that on the question of healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions, and/or without coverage the following was the essential answer.

That Americans can keep the coverage they have now if they wis, but if they have pre-existing conditions, too high a cost, or no coverage her plan will be there. I gathered that it modeled the healthcare plan that Congress uses. She mentioed that this could be paid for via subsidies so that it will limit the cost of healthcare plans coverage.

That sounds interesting, and I would love further details. But I think subsidizing can lead it its own problems. But as I did not understand her full response i will not fault this.

I do notice that there is alot of questions and comment refering to illegal aliens as immigrants. As I've mentioned before I disagree with that designation. They are illegal, and until the laws are changed (which I would be upset by) they do not deserve any benefit of being in this nation with out documentation - that being a visa, green card, or other authorize permission to be in America.

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, Senator Hillary Clinton, TV One

I will try to reply when possible to some of the comments that are being made when possible.

For Edwards, as a small business owner myself, where am I supposed to get the extra money to pay all the costs of a business and 9 dollars plus per employee? That does not even include the taxes I need to pay as well. How many others will not be able to afford that too? Is that good for the economy?

As for Dennis Kucinich who was on next, I missed part of what he was asked and stated. I will make clear why in a second.

As I caught it, he was asked why Tyson employees are paid 9.30 9I assune a low end employee) when the compay makes billions. His answe to that and the prior question, what to do for children of parents that get deported as illegal aliens?

What i gathered was that he wants to end nafta, and get out of the WTO. further He wants to provide jobs for all americans and an education for every child from the age of 3 all the way thru college for free. [that sounds eriously like the communist system, and reminds me deeply of the time I spent in Moscow. I would love to hear details on how that could be done. How America could afford such ambitious goals. Though I would love to see every child get a quality education thru college that was equal in the inner city and outside them.]

Now the reason I have missed most of what Kucinich has said is that a guy, observing what I am doing and why, commented

"It means that they are all oing to steal from us. show me an honest politician and I'll show you a dead politician"

I think that everyone would agree with that sentiment. Far too many politicians thes days, regardless of party, are too shady. They are found to be as corrupt, or more, than politicians all over the world. Perhaps it's naive to believe they can do better, but I do think so. It would be nice to see politicians give clear, straightforward, non-soundbite answers.

Back to Kucinich. He mentioned that he wants the vice -president impeached. Wow. Amazing.

Labels: Dennis Kucinich, Heartland Presidential Forum, Michael Vass, TV One

The first candidate was John Edwards. The first quetion delved into the fact that special interest has a huge hold over D.C. and politicians. That these groups promote an America Divided.

The response was not too hard to guess. Edwards mentioned how average Americans, and the poor need to regain power in America. That 35 million go hungry last year and that we need to change this. It was an answer we all can agree with and consistent with what he has always said.

Mr. Edwards goes on to say in the next question to attack corporations, mentioning he spent 20 years taking on corporation. He did not mention the fact that his last job as an attorney made money opposite to how he did for his first 20 years, as I recall.

He plans to enforce the clean air act, and create new anti-trust laws. He wants to take power from corporations and give it to the people. What exactly does that mean? How will that be done? How will he limit that to only major corporations as he implies.

Going on, he was asked about racial profiling and unequal sentances experience by African Americans and minorities. He says he will end racial profiling, remove manditory minimums, provide national healthcare, and raise the minimum wage to 9.5 dollars an hour. He will empower unions remove the disparity insentances for crack and coke.

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, John Edwards, TV One

Since this is a live event I will be blogging sporaticly through out the event, taking notes inbetween. Some of the posts will be very short, and I apoligize if my typing is bad. I will try to be as careful as possible, and I will try to get any quotes as accurate as possible.

One of the first things that I want to note is that the link via TV One is pretty good. While it takes a bit to load up, it comes across on my laptop quite well. The image quality of the streaming video is impressive. As is the sound.

The Forum has gathered a reported 5,000 people, some traveling 12 hours on a bus to get there. The people at the forum come 32 states in total. That goes to show how important this debate, and more directly the election is.

Given this commitment I have to wonder why any of the frontrunners of the Republican party have declined to show up as has been reported. Given this is a very democratic themed debate, still it is the last one before the primaries start on January 4th.

The intros are taking a bit of time. Many people are all taking a moment to stand on their soapboxes, and that's a good thing. But I have to admit it does sound a bit like a revival meeting. I'm far more interested in the debate than the mayor and where they are from.

Correction it's not a debate, and the only Republican who did show was turned away by the lawyers. They were afraid it was biased, though there are several Democrats on hand. Shame. I really wanted to see how he would respond. Even moreso how the frotrunners would. It looks bad when they won't appear before 5000 Americans, but want to take on the highet office of the nation.

More soon.

Labels: Democratic candidates, Heartland Presidential Forum, TV One

As the TV One webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum at 2:30 today approaches, I want to review some of the main issues that I think it will and will not cover. Overall I think that the candidates, of both parties, will seek to avoid a large number of issues most people really care about. Expect a good deal of deflection and moves to tangent issues rather than answering the actual questions posed. I doubt that it will be as obvious as the dramatic and highly covered yes, no, and maybe answer Senator Clinton offered on driver’s licenses for illegal aliens in New York State but I believe they will happen none the less.

First off there are the issues that the candidates will avoid speaking about. The issues are widespread and party specific. For the Democrats there is the fact that for 9 months of this year virtually every candidate vehemently stated that the surge in Iraq could not and would not work. They coupled the disbelief in the surge with they demands for immediate withdrawal of troops.

In the past couple of months, the most liberal pundits, reporters, and politicians have verified that the surge has in fact worked. Iraq is safer and more stable now than since Saddam Hussein was removed. Thus we have seen the debates and the public speeches of the candidates have moved from immediate withdrawal and failure, to a need to withdraw most troops (leaving an unspecified amount of troops for an unspecified amount of time) and failure, to not speaking about the subject at all as much as possible. Kind of funny how that went.

In addition Democratic candidates have moved into the subject of national healthcare as their primary talking point. Though all the plans are not fully explained, and the cost (upwards of 100 billion dollars at the least) has no explanation where it will receive funding from (extra taxes from the rich is the general answer. What is rich is a floating income number ranging from 200,000 at the top and 90,000 near the bottom).

For Republicans the key early issue was again Iraq and supporting the surge (and thus highlighting the Democrats willingness to retreat) and being against terrorism al la 9/11. After several months of each candidate mentioning how strong they are against terrorists they all have shied away from using the single greatest attack on American soil in past 60 years for their political gain (mostly).

The new line of discussion, now that the surge has been shown to be working and President Bush has mandated that surge troops will be slowly phased out of Iraq, has become illegal aliens. Each candidate has claimed they will resolve this issue, though there is no plan stated that will deal with the 12 million plus illegals that are in this nation right now, nor any that will be coming in the future. There are half thoughts of paths to citizenship, documentation, healthcare and deportation but no real plans. And lots of one-upmanship over who is tougher on the subject and who has the best past performance. Oh and there are arguments over who is more devoutly religious, and who can do more to prevent higher taxes. Again no real plans though.

So that is what they were all talking about, and what they want to discuss now. It’s a very short list. And yes I do realize they spoke about other things. But that was/is the focus.

Continued in part 2...

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, illegal immigration, Iraq War, nationalized healthcare, TV One

From Michael Vass,


As we enter the month of December I just want to take a moment to share some of the things that are going on with M V Consulting, Inc. and all of its sites. As you may notice there has been a lot of activity in recent weeks. And I’m not planning on slowing down anytime soon.

Currently there is the $1000 Holiday Give Away Contest, which will end on December 15th. I invite everyone to review the rules at the above link or the press release at PRWeb (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb569295.htm ). I’m looking forward to giving away the money and I hope a truly needy family or individual wins. Remember that the entry is free, and no purchase is required.

There is also the TV One webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum on December 1st @ 2:30pm. As one of the bloggers selected to cover this webcast I look forward to sharing my thoughts on all the candidates comments. This is an important webcast as regular people will be providing questions for the candidates, live not YouTube. This is also critical as voting in primaries will start early January.

There is little more important than selecting who will run for President of the United States, and there has not been a more critical election, in my opinion, since the 70’s when I was a child. Every vote counts, as recent elections have proven, and never are they as important as the 2008 election.

You can see my political commentary from 2007 and in the future at Vass or at Presidential Race Blog where I also write.

But in more immediate terms there is the holiday season. Some may have taken a look in the past at my online store and I want to let everyone know that there are many types of t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, posters, jewelry boxes, Teddy bears, sweatshirts, and more available. There are over 10 different clothing lines featured at the store including Anti-MoveOn.org, Sexy Woman, You’ll Do (as seen above, a favorite among many women it seems), Cowboy Ride, and I am the Myth.

Oh, there is also a deal for purchases over $75. And as I mentioned in my press release, I will be donating all profits from the sales at the online store to $1000 Holiday Give Away Contest. While purchase is not required to enter or win, if you do see something you feel would be a great gift for someone or yourself (there are over 200 items available) it will go to help others.

In addition, for those with businesses or who just want to be charitable, all donations made to the $1000 Holiday Give Away Contest will be given out to the winner(s). Every dollar counts and adds to what will be given away.



In the near term I will be doing my annual lists, summing up some thoughts of 2007. In addition I will be reporting the growth of M V Consulting, Inc. and all its sites. It has been a tremendous year.

Looking to 2008, expect to see another $1000 Give Away Contest or several of them. I will continue to follow the Presidential race, right up to the election night. I will get some free time and will be doing a few photo shoots for the various clothing lines. [Anyone interested in being a model for the photo shoot can send a headshot and contact information to info@vassconsult.com] Additional clothing lines will be released throughout the year as well.

I will also be seeking one or 2 corporate sponsors for the various sites. It is my hope that by gaining dedicated sponsors I will be able to decrease the advertising found on each site (though I have tried to do my best to keep it minimal. But it costs money to keep things going. You can donate to help by going to the PayPal donation button at the top left of the sidebar).

There also will be some changes in the look of the blog sites. You are welcome to provide me any suggestions on changes you would like to see. I value the opinions of all my readers and those that leave comments, so tell me your thoughts.

You can look forward to better (I hope, I do make them myself) video ads, an improved resources pages, reworked gift store pages, and new video clips of posts (possibly in a news commentator style). These are ambitious (and costly) changes, so give me time but I’m working on it.

Again I thank you all for your readership and commitment to my blogs and sites. Remember to enter the $1000 Holiday Give Away Contest (it’s free and who couldn’t use the money?), and check out the TV One webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum, and my commentary tomorrow.

Sincerely

Michael Vass
President – M V Consulting
info@vassconsult.com

Labels: cafepress.com/nova68, Heartland Presidential Forum, holiday contest, M V Consulting, Michael Vass, t shirt, TV One

Concluded from Pros and Cons of the leading Democratic Presidential Candidates Part 2...

These are a few Pros and Cons of the various candidates that will be appearing on at the Heartland Presidential Forum that will be webcast live by TV One on Saturday.

John Edwards

Pros


• Previously ran for Vice President
  
• Former Senator
  
• Advocate of the poor
  
• Not the psychic of the same name
  
• Native Southerner
  
• Has good looks
  
• Wife has cancer
  Anti-Iraq war (sort of – voted in favor of war)
  
• Pro-abortion
  
  Cons
  
  
• Lost the election as Vice-President
  
• Long-time politician
  
• $400 haircuts
  
• Lawyer (firm made money on questionable circumstances)
  
• Wife has cancer
  
• Not know for a particular strong stance on any issue (except the poor)
  
• Pro-immediate withdrawal from Iraq
  
• Pro-abortion
  
• Anti-school vouchers
  
• A bit of a sensationalist
  

Hopefully this information will be helpful. By no means is this the definitive Pro and Con list. There are several issues I have excluded, and many of the items I have mentioned deserve greater scrutiny. But this is accurate and my opinion. I look forward to hearing yours.

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Iraq War, John Edwards, political debate, TV One

Continued from Pros and Cons of the leading Democratic Presidential Candidates Part 1...

These are a few Pros and Cons of the various candidates that will be appearing on at the Heartland Presidential Forum that will be webcast live by TV One on Saturday.

Senator Barack Obama

Pros


• Lawyer
  
• Current 1st term Senator
  
• Healthcare advocate
  
• First African American candidate with a chance
  
• Liberal in most policies
  
• Oprah Winfrey is major supporter
  
• Not Hillary Clinton
  
• Gained multiple former long-time Clinton supporters
  
• Consistently against Iraq war
  
• Charismatic, compassionate
  
• Pro-abortion
  
• Strong individual citizen support (internet donations)
• 
  
  Cons
  
  
• Lawyer
  
• Relative short public office experience
  
• Black
  
• Has interracial parents
  
• Lived in an Islamic nation (as a youth)
  
• Allegedly a smoker
  
• No military service
  
• Non-traditional name
  
• Pro-Illegal Immigration
  
• Anti-school vouchers
  
• Pro-immediate withdrawal from Iraq
  
• Pro-abortion
  

Continued in Part 3...

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Oprah Winfrey, political debate, Senator Barack Obama, TV One

I want to remind everyone that on Saturday @ 2:30, TV One will have a live webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum, featuring several leading Democratic Presidential candidates, and Republican candidates as well. This forum will feature candidates answering questions from the audience (and I don’t expect that any candidate will be planting questions for this).

I will be covering this Forum on Saturday, and you can expect a few posts from me, for TV One and everyone.

Considering the nature of the forum, and the fact that most Americans have not been following the candidates over the past year as much pundits and political bloggers, I thought that a short Pros and Cons of the leading Democratic candidates would be helpful. I intend to have a similar list for Republicans shortly.

I am only focusing on the leading candidates because of the short time until the primaries. I want to note one candidate that will be at the forum that I will not be doing a Pros and Cons for. Dennis Kucinich was the only candidate of either party to-date that answered any questions on Reparations for African Americans. His answer was for reparations. Every other candidate has refused to even speak on the subject.

With that noteworthy positions stated here is my list of Pros and Cons. I hope it helps those at the forum that get to ask questions, and everyone that will be voting. Please let me know your thoughts as well. [I am trying to be neutral, but of course that is not always possible in all issues. You may disagree with some of the items I list under either category. Let me know your reasons why you disagree, or agree, in the comments.]

Senator Hillary Clinton:

Pros


• Wife of President Bill Clinton
  
• Long-time Healthcare advocate
  
• Determined
  
• A lawyer
  
• A current 2nd term Senator
  
• Well known internationally
  
• First female Presidential candidate with a chance
  
• Forgave the infidelity of President Clinton
  
• Various polls state ~1/2 country favors her
  
• Very liberal in most all policies
  
• Pro Abortion


Cons


• Pro-abortion
  
• Has never directly run or owned any business
  
• Entered elected office after career of President Clinton
  
• Initial attempt to pass Healthcare reforms failed horribly
  
• Consistently appears to hold no actual position on most policies
  
• Speaks like a lawyer
  
• A female candidate
  
• Various polls state roughly ½ the nation strongly dislikes her
  
• Staff has at least 2x planted questions in her public appearances
  
• Had committee member attack Republican candidates by surprise at CNN/YouTube debate
  
• Very liberal (supported MoveOn.org in Gen. Patreaus ad)
  
• Has received the most money from lobbyists and institutions of any candidate of any party
  
• Took $1 million from wanted fugitive
  
• Involved in multiple scandals
  
• Pro-Illegal Immigration
  
• Anti-death penalty
  
• Anti-school vouchers
  

Continued in part 2...

Labels: Heartland Presidential Forum, moveon.org, political debate, President Clinton, presidential candidate, Senator Hillary Clinton, TV One

In a little less than 6 weeks America will decide which candidates will be running for the Presidency of the United States. This next election will be perhaps the most critical for America in decades. Definitely for those Americans that have grown up with the internet, cell phones, and cable television this is the most definitive moment in American government they have ever witnessed.

Because of that TV One will be presenting a live webcast of the Heartland Presidential Forum from Iowa. This debate will likely be the last held prior to the primary voting that will follow shortly in January 2008. The debate will be taking place on December 1st 2007 at 2:30pm. Expectations are that 5000 citizens will be at the forum, and some will be able to directly ask the candidates questions about their plans and goals for America.

Also in conjunction with this Forum and webcast, TV One has gathered several bloggers that will discuss the various aspects of the political landscape leading up to the debate, and who will blog during the live debate as well. This will be a chance for you to be directly aware of what the candidates have to say about the issues you care about; and to be able to hear the thoughts of other average Americans about the answers given.

I am proud to say that I have been selected as one of the bloggers to be involved with TV One and the Heartland Presidential Forum webcast.

To that end I want to take a moment and review a bit about the many issues I have been blogging about since the beginning of the year in regard to the 2008 election. Long time readers to my site will be familiar with much of this, while newer visitors may find information that they may have missed.

I started the year by sending out letters to several of the Presidential candidates. Those candidates were in both the Democratic and Republican parties. In those letters I asked each candidate several questions that were prevalent in the minds of many people, and continue to be today.

Examples of some of the questions are

“Lastly, what is your position on the various laws and actions that are in place or proposed to impede illegal aliens from entering this nation from our southern border only? Do you agree or disagree with the thought that more should be done to protect our largely unwatched northern borders, especially since there has been evidence of how dangerous this lack of attention has been. – To Senator Hillary Clinton, Dec. 16, 2006”

“In recent weeks a great deal has been made of Representative Ellison’s informal swearing in using the Quran. As an individual of the Mormon faith, if you were to be elected President, would you use The Book Of Mormon to be sworn in on? (Please excuse my ignorance about your faith but I believe that is your religious text) Do you feel that your religious background would have any affect on your performance if elected President? Would it have any affect in dealing with dignitaries and governments that hold a different religion, and if so what? What place do you feel religion has for any elected official, if any? – To Mitt Romney, Jan. 10, 2007”

“As a fellow African American I'm sure you are aware that there are several issues that are of great impact to the Black community. One of the most important may be the issue of education. What have you done to improve the number of African Americans that finish high school and/or seek higher education? If you were to be elected President, what plan would you follow that will improve the education system in America? – To Senator Barack Obama, Jan. 22, 2007”

“Another matter that was received in a mixed manner was your choice of police commissioner and the law enforcement policies during your term of office. During your time as Mayor, Mr. Amidou Diallo and Mr. Patrick Dorismond were murdered by police officers in a disturbing manner and Mr. Abner Louima was tortured by police officers which was then attempted to be covered up. These policies and your defense of the police department created a significant atmosphere of anger and cries of racism among the African American, Hispanic/Latino and other minority groups in the city; that was not covered significantly across the nation. For those African American and minority voters in the nation, what are your views on law enforcement? Where do you stand on Affirmative Action and other reforms that address racial inequality? – To Rudy Giuliani, April 5, 2007”

Other questions and letters can be found at my corporate website in the Presidential candidates section, or via search at any of my blogs.

I have also been running a poll tracking the opinion of average Americans on who should be the next President of America. [The exact question is - If the election was held today who would you vote for? – The list of candidates does not include Fred Thompson who entered the race far later than any other candidate.] As of this post Senator Barack Obama leads with 52% of respondents. Senator Hillary Clinton trails behind in second with 22%, followed by Senator John McCain in a distant 3rd (9%). These can be found on the poll on the sidebar of all my sites. Feel free to place your vote as well, I will update this the day of the TV One Heartland Presidential Forum webcast and the following Monday.

So to sum up the introduction, I try to be neutral in my questions and views of the Presidential race at this time. While we as a nation are trying to decide which candidates of either party are the best choices for the nation to choose between, I feel it’s most important for me to raise questions about what we need to know from any candidate. This next election is far too important. And I’m glad to say that TV One agrees.

Expect more everyday, and if I can several times a day, until the debate. And check back during or after the debate. Hopefully together we will be able to find the best choices for America, because anything less diminishes us all.

Labels: election 2008, Heartland Presidential Forum, Iowa, Mitt Romney, political debate, presidential cantidates, Rudy Giuliani, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, TV One