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The
book, the plan & the website
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Summary: The
book is done. The plan is taking form. The web site is up. |
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The
book > P-poll: are you happy now?
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Here
you have it, a brand new political pamphlet, in the spirit of the old
Common Sense. Just one
difference: where Thomas Paine argued for independence in 1776, P-poll urges citizens and U.S. Reps to declare their
interdependence. As
you may have guessed, the book explores the disconnect between us citizens
and our representatives, approaching the problem from several perspectives.
Notable sections include a "prefuss," a conversation between two
average citizens, and an instruction manual for a happiness machine. In sum, P-poll:
are you happy now? is about the
move from analog to digital democracy. Buying
a copy is a nice way to support this cause, as any profits will help Auroras
Voice. P-poll:
are you happy now? is on
sale at Amazon.com. P.S. I had been holding
off on promoting the summer vigil and the underlying cause until the book was
available. Looks like I have no excuses now. |
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The
plan > summer camp
As
you may recall, I have been planning a vigil this summer to take place at or around
the steps of the Capitol. Calling attention to the opportunity for a national
legislative preference poll (aka the P-poll) is the goal. Up till now, the idea
was to picket for a few hours every evening, from 7-10, for 40 days in a row.
It
occurs to me that to achieve the goal it might be better to do something a
little more radical. My plan is to camp on the National Mall. This would make
it somewhat more of a continuous 40-day vigil. I submitted the permit
application to the National Park Service; they administer the National Mall and
handle demonstration permits as well. There appear to be no prohibitions on
camping there, but the request may be rare. When I hear from them, I'll tell
you what they said. (Yes, the lawn just off the Capitol steps would be better,
but overnight activity is not permitted there.)
The "campsite" is the green area, as
near the Capitol as possible. (Click
for a larger view.)
One
note about this plan: Cindy Sheehan. Say what you will about her politics,
there is no arguing with her tactics--they were very effective. Here was one
woman, one who had a special complaint regarding the Iraq war/occupation, but
certainly not the only one. What made her stand out was her commitment to that
emotion in the form of a lengthy demonstration. There are war protesters in
every state and war protests just about every day. What made hers different
were time and place. She camped near the President's ranch for about 30 days.
That is why we know her name. (Of course, it's not my name I want people to
know, just P-poll now, that's
all, and what it's all about.)
One question: why 40 days? I'm not exactly sure, but 40 seems to be a transformative number.
The
web site > p-poll.org
We
have a first draft. It's at http://www.p-poll.org.
I still need to develop the "Questions" section, but other than that,
the site is pretty much done. In fact, if you have questions, please send them along. That
would help get me going.
Budget
Now
that I understand the plan, I know how much it will cost. The budget for this
year from January to July is about $5,000. (I can't plan much beyond July and
the end of the vigil just yet; the success and failure of that event will
determine the next step.) Thus far, I've raised a little more than $3,000, so I
am short about $2,000. I will be approaching prospective donors individually.
If you wish to contribute, feel
free.
Tax-exempt
status (not yet, but working on it)
Although
I incorporated Auroras Voice as a Florida non-profit corporation, that doesn't
give us the desired 501(c)(3) status. For that, you have to submit Form 1023 to
the IRS. (It's long, about 25 pages in all.)
Thanks
to the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, I found an excellent tax
attorney who is helping with me with Form 1023. Again, Auroras Voice may be a
special case, but if we find the right language, we stand a good chance of
being granted tax-exempt status.
By
the way, the IRS gives you 27 months to apply--a pretty generous amount of
time.
Radio
interview
This went pretty well for
being the first time out. The show's host pitched me mostly softballs and I hit
mostly singles. No word on the airdate as of yet.
P.S.
Please remember that buying
the book is a nice way to support this effort.
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Auroras Voice 521 Southridge Road Delray Beach, FL 33444-2229 561.901.3467 |