DNC action recs / My 9 things in 9 days

See the Action drop-down on the DNC website: http://www.dnc.org/action.html

Here are my 9 things you can do in the next 9 days:

1. Pool $5 - or whatever you can afford - with other progressives in your community, to rent a van and pay for gas, to take registered Democrats to the polls.

2. Remind 9 friends and family members to vote. Tell them why this election's outcome could affect your personal welfare or well-being. Give them a concrete reason to vote in your interest (and their own).

3. Call 9 media outlets in your immediate vicinity, and tell them about a single issue you think they should cover before the election. Don't know how to find them? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_market#United_States

4. Pick 9 candidates to donate to, even if it's only $1 each. Don't let your $1 be the proverbial missing nail: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=for+the+want+of+a+nail+the+shoe+was+lost. Oh, but I can hear you. One dollar? How much difference could that make? That last bulk mail push, in many tight races, will be funded with the "fumes" left over in the candidates' coffers: http://www.usps.com/consumers/domestic.htm#H10. One of the recipients of that last bulk mail push - funded with your $1 - may write a last-minute big check.

5. Tell your boss - tomorrow - that your doctor has an unexpected opening for your annual physical, and that you need next Tuesday off. Go volunteer to staff the phones - or whatever else needs to be done - at the office of your local candidate. Show up early. Bring coffee. Bring snacks. Be flexible.

6. If you're able, write a big check to the DNC. If not, find out where the DNC needs your help in your local community, and donate time.

7. Buy 1 share of Diebold stock this week. If there are "irregularities" with the machines this go-around, it may become a prudent course of action to agitate from within the company. Lots of unions already hold big blocs of Diebold stock, so you won't be alone.

8. Plan a poll closing party for your friends and family. Required for entry? An "I Voted" sticker. Buy a small white board. This is fun for Win, Lose, or Draw early in the night - and for keeping track of returns from around the country, later on.

9. Your idea here. Please share?

Ides

:kick:

Come on. Everyone on here has at least one good one in them.

Ides

Up

... come on, with yeer ingenuity, ye shoold be good for several!

; )

Talk, cajole, convince, plead, reason with everyone that you know that is reluctant to vote
or convinced that their vote doesn't matter.
Thats what I am doing...as well as donating what I can to the candidates that I believe in.
I live in a verry small rural town...everyone knows everyone and from what is
being talked about at the wee village store, people will be standin` in line at 6:00 am.
Most around here are fair convinced that we are at a crossroads in this country, and that
here...now...each individual vote counts.
Plus I am makin` a huge cake for refreshments.
That is what Buttercup is doin`...;)

Good Mornin` Ides...
What will today bring us?

To get a slice of that cake?

: )

- Dave

and volunteer 9 hours of GOTV phone calling or doorknocking. (I've done 3 so far, signed up for Wednesday evening to do more.)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=paul+wellstone+mesothelioma

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=paul+wellstone+asbestos

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=cheney+dresser+bush+asbestos

For Paul Wellstone's memory, anything.

Ides

Ironic that you should mention Senator Wellstone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wellstone.

Every time I'm tempted to dismiss my more "cautious" friends as conspiracy nuts when they say, "Stay off small planes," I am reminded of how Senator Wellstone died. Some of those "more cautious friends" are people who are pretty savvy, and who have been around the block with this Administration, and with Bush 41's.

When I saw this from William Rivers Pitt, I chuckled knowingly as he described his own set of "more cautious friends" and their similar warnings to him. But then, I couldn't help but think of Senator Wellstone again, of my "more cautious friends," and of their pointed, repeated warnings to me: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WilliamPitt/108

I don't know whether or not Senator Wellstone's tragic death can be ascribed to his zealous and tireless efforts to look into the asbestos connections:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=wellstone+plane+crash+asbestos+cheney

But I do know that questions still remain about the plane crash of another Senator - Senator John Heinz of PA: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=senator+john+heinz+plane+crash+bush

Some of my "more cautious friends" point out that there are persistent rumors that Senator Heinz - a moderate Republican - was on his way back to Washington to speak on the floor of the Senate, angrily, about something "very important," and "very damaging to Bush 41's presidency."

I'm no conspiracy nut. Neither am I asleep to the eerie possibilities. At college, I saw - up close and personal - what privileged trust fund babies will do when cornered. BushCo. has a lot of privileged trust fund babies at its core. They're cornered, right now - in large part through their own lack of understanding of how such modern things as "The Google" and "The E-Mail" work (too many date rape keggers at the finals club, not enough time spent in the real world).

Yes, Virginia: I really did get e-mails that were intended for "the other" David Smith - David R. Smith, VP of Tax at Halliburton. And, yes, Virginia, the FBI really did show up in Houston, Texas and Arlington, Virginia on Friday, July 23, 2004, to demand copies of the backup tapes.

And yes, Virginia, there will be a lawsuit (and prosecutions, I'm betting) - at which all of the cc: recipients of those e-mails will need to do more than stare at their shoes and say, "I was just following orders."

And Cathy Mann, spokesflak for Halliburton, had better learn how to sing a new tune.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=cathy+mann+halliburton+completely+without+merit+halliburton+smith

There are Halliburton whistleblowers who did Senator Wellstone proud. Cathy Manny, Halliburton spokesflak, can't dismiss them all as being, "completely without merit" with a straight face, can she?

- David A. Smith, Editor of www.HALwhistleblowers.org
(not to be confused, ever again, with the as-yet-unindicted David R. Smith, VP of Tax at Halliburton)

Ides...

People can work at one of their town's polling places: either for pay or by volunteering for the day or for part of the day.

If you volunteer, even if it's just for part of the day, you might get tapped to fill in for someone who has to take some time off. They're very short of help and can use a hand.

There was an article (in the Boston Globe maybe?) explaining that many of those who usually work the polls are well into their 70s and 80s now. 13+ hours is a long and arduous day for many folks in that age group and local election offices are looking for help!

Just returned from City Hall and have my assignment. 6:30 am to 8:00 pm, plus whatever time it takes to make sure the votes are all counted. How worth it is that?

Do it!

Ides, could you please explain for those of us who don't know, how to buy 1 share of stock? Do online trading places allow you to buy 1 share? Anyway... All help appreciated. Sorry if this has been covered already.

glc

Working the polls is a great way to help. As an added bonus, many of those older poll workers have good "war stories" to share (and many of them bring baked goods, too).

Mmmmm, baked goods!

"Ides, could you please explain for those of us who don't know, how to buy 1 share of stock? Do online trading places allow you to buy 1 share? Anyway... All help appreciated. Sorry if this has been covered already."

Gladly, and with a delicious dose of irony!

In 1999, the Gingrich Gang pushed through the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-leach-bliley

Why is this ironic?

Well, it makes it a helluva lot easier to buy stock than it used to be. Chances are, your bank has an "investment" link now. Opening a brokerage account is a snap. You can link your checking to your brokerage account, and zap funds directly from your checking to your brokerage.

Diebold stock is trading today around $44 per share. Your bank's brokerage arm will likely charge you a commission (usually somewhere between $4.95 and $15 - although many give you your first X trades free). The stock ticker is DBD. The interface is usually very intuitive.

The only hiccup first timers seem to have is what "type" of order to place. They get intimidated at this step. A "market" order simply means, "get it at the best current price," without waiting for it to hit a certain level.

Let me know if that does the trick for you.

Ides

Ides...

"Mmmmm, baked goods!"

Yum.... yes. Congo Bars, Brownies, Raspberry Squares, Lemon Squares, Cake, Pie... and the list goes on! :9


Oh, ok --- I remember the old Glass-Steagall act now and the relentless push by Gingrich et al to dump it. One of the things that FDR instituted to prevent the average guy from being fleeced via bad financial advice and uninsured risks.

I called my bank and they have no online or phone interface for stock purchases. Have a message into the person who does that, who wasn't available when I called. Thank you for the advice!


glc

Easy training, eyes on the polls, right to hear any interaction between poll workers, election Judges, and voters.

DO IT!

"Easy training, eyes on the polls, right to hear any interaction between poll workers, election Judges, and voters.

DO IT!"

Definitely. We can't rely on anyone but ourselves/each other to do this. You can do it from your town or city poll worker level or you can do it from your democratic party poll watcher level, but the important thing is:

Do it!

You'll feel good for stepping inside of the situation and doing your best to keep it honest. Even better, you'll be part of history.

glc

...in the shop, after a hiccup yesterday.

Pollwatched 3X, doing GOTV calls, more to do this week & a 16 hour day planned for next Tuesday.

Haven't felt so great or purposeful or energized in aaaaaaaaaaaaaages.

The candidate I'm volunteering for told me directly that he will "concede NOTHING!"

Check this out if you like a no BS, God-loving Liberal family guy who votes the issues our way, and has a sense of humor, to boot. Nice to see a no-smear candidate who puts governance above politics. Just click, it's only a 30 second spot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcSo9he0nJg

... ain't it grand doing this stuff in the Age of the Internet?

We don't have to eat the diet of gruel fed to us by the MSM anymore!!!

Ides

LOL.

Ides

9. Tell 9 friends and family members to read this story: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CorpGovActivist/4

... and bookmark these two websites: http://www.HALwhistleblowers.org AND http://www.BushBunglesBrigade.org.

Ides

9. Tell 9 (more) friends and family members to read this story: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CorpGovActivist/4

... and bookmark these two websites: http://www.HALwhistleblowers.org AND http://www.BushBunglesBrigade.org

PLUS participate in at least 9 phone calls from one or more of the web-enabled lists that others have provided in this thread. Those were great ideas! Thank you for sharing with others on DU!

Ides

Love my XM, too.

Ides

9. I will tell 9 (more) friends and family members - especially undecideds - to read this story: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/CorpGovActivist/4

... and bookmark these two websites: http://www.HALwhistleblowers.org AND http://www.BushBunglesBrigade.org.

PLUS, I will contact 9 friends in time zones other than the East Coast, and remind them to pay ZERO attention to the exit polls for the East Coast. Their vote is vital to help make this a national mandate for the Congressional Democrats.

Ides

... is on a need to know basis.

; )

Ides

... I'm afraid.

Ides

... fewer than 72 hours, now.

- Dave

... 1.

Ides

www.domorethanvote.org is a great database of how to get involved in your area.

www.callforchange.com is the easiest volunteer job in the history of volunteering. just sign up, get an email from moveon with a URL, and whenever you have a few minutes, make some phone calls with a 2-question survey and click buttons to indicate how people respond. this helps with voter ID, getting a good list of supporters' phone numbers so that we can GOTV next Tues.

Ides, I think we can get a few of our lazier friends to do that!

- Dave

up

9. Get 9 friends rip-roaring drunk!

Cheers, all!!!

Ides