(sorry, I can’t do html, links for this post are found at my main blog, http://www.scaryshit.blogspot.com go there to find usable links to the DNC, ACLU, etc.)
Money is power, money is speech, money is the only thing that most political hacks understand.
So, while the congress is out of session, until August 31, why don’t we make a pledge to raise a million dollars for the ACLU. Seriously. How many tens of millions of dollars have the Democratic presidential candidates raised so far this year?
Why should you donate to the ACLU? Because they get shit done. Also, to send a message to the DNC. Every dollar you donate to the ACLU is a dollar the Democrats don’t get, because they folded on FISA (among countless other issues).
For the past four years, some of the most powerful politicians in America have made it their mission to accumulate unchecked government power, relentlessly undermining civil liberties. In unprecedented ways, they are invading our privacy, undermining our Constitution and squelching dissent. All too frequently, they are shamelessly using the “war on terror” as cover for their assault.
Time and again, the ACLU and its members have shown that we can be successful in defending freedom even in the current inhospitable climate. We have built bipartisan congressional support for eliminating certain unwarranted, dangerous provisions of the Patriot Act, and we have inspired a resounding chorus of diverse voices, individuals and community groups all across the country, calling for measures to reverse the government’s unjustified overreaching and to restore our precious freedoms.We have challenged the Patriot Act in court and won. We have squelched numerous government programs designed to spy on Americans. We have won legal victories curtailing executive power. We have defeated the first-ever federal abortion ban in court.
True to its history, the ACLU will continue to build on these successes, and will remain unwavering in our determination and commitment to defending freedom.
Here’s the challenge. Donate to the ACLU. Let the DNC know that you did this. Email me, with the header “I donated.” I will keep track of the donations.
If we want to do this for real, we have to work together. I propose that we make it a challenge to get an ACLU fundraising post on every major blogger’s site. I will get the ball rolling, I challenge Avedon Carol, Booman, and Digby. Not for any particular reason other than they are three bloggers that I enjoy, and I think do good work. Help me spread the meme. Email this post to your favorite blogger, or write your own post challenging people to donate to the ACLU (I’m talking to you, CrazyMonk and LudditeRobot, Pruning Shears, in particular.) and then challenge three other bloggers to take up the meme. We have 18 days to raise a million for the ACLU. Can we make it happen? I think so.
