Guest blogged by Winter Patriot
Here’s an invitation [and a challenge!] to all ‘6 or 7’ BradBlog readers:
Some of my friends and I have been quietly working on a very quiet little be-the-media campaign.
We’re ready to go. And you can help.
Psst! A great journalist can explain it better than this lowly blogger. Here’s Chris Floyd:
Winter Patriot has launched a brilliant new DIY activist effort: The Whispering Campaign. It’s very simple. WP has set up a website with a selection of short, succinct, printer-friendly articles detailing some nugget of unexplored or underplayed truth about our times; all you have to do is print them out — and leave them in some public place for passers-by to find and read. As WP puts it: “Ideal locations include book stores, copy shops, libraries, train stations, buses, taxis, laundromats, grocery stores, hair salons, barber shops, rest rooms, gas stations, coffee shops, truck stops… use your imagination!”
It’s real grass-roots stuff — in fact, it reaches all the way down to the individual blade, a personal form of activism either to supplement collective action or to let each person carve a particular path. It’s also a good way of reaching people outside the seething blogosphere or the media/political world in general — the vast majority of the population, in other words.
So scoot on over to the Whispering Campaign and check it out. Start moving that mountain one grain at a time.
Chris gives me too much credit, but otherwise he’s spot-on, I think. It’s a great idea, isn’t it? It’s an old one, tried and tested.
What’s new is the implementation. But I can’t even take credit for that. The Whispering Campaign stands on the earlobes of giants.
Here’s how you can stand there with us:
Join The Whispering Campaign! Print the articles, make copies, and spread them around …
Send quiet messages to all your friends, post silent messages on all your favorite blogs, do any quiet thing you can think of to help publicize The Whispering Campaign and help good information move along its rightful path.
It’s not enough just to boycott the major media. We have to take over their job! We owe it to our fellow citizens to share good information with them. And this is an easy way for you to help make it happen.
Are you ready, you 6 or 7 feisty souls? Good! Now Let’s Start Whispering!!
.
.
.
Good luck with that! The quiet approach, huh?
Here’s another alternate (more aggressive) approach that has been getting some positive feedback:
The Make Every Street (and car) Downing Street Campaign.
(there’s a link to bumper stickers there, too.)
Hope you don’t mind me plugging this campaign again.
I think multiple approaches should be taken here. Be creative, everyone!
.
.
.
No I don’t mind at all. you little cross-poster! Spamming all the threads like that! oh my what shall we do??
Multiple approaches it is! Be Creative indeed!
steal my thread, will ya? 😉
WP –
Great, slippery, slithery idea! But please correct the spelling on the site. "The Deceivers," NOT "The Decievers!"
Thanks, Winter!
When the cause is a noble one — such as spreading the truth about The Downing Street Memos — I really don’t think of it as "spamming" or "stealing the thread" (I know your being tongue and cheek) 😉
The more ideas, the better, right?
(unfortunately, some of the people at Daily Kos don’t think so.)
BTW, I think the Whispering Campaign is a great idea! My suggestion would be to have a short summary "grab you" paragraph at the beginning of each message (bigger type). Something that begs the paper to be read by anyone.
all suggestions cheerfully accepted
whisper on, friends!
It’s perfect WP! I love it! Lets quickly and quietly get it out there.
You should post this idea over on DailyKos for more exposure.
I agree with PetGoat. Brevity is a virtue.
Here’s my first suggestion (I’ll distribute it myself if others approve):
"An investigator with the Florida Department of Transportation, Raymond C. Lemme, was found dead in a Valdosta, Georgia motel room on July 1, 2003. At the time of his death Lemme had told friends of political corruption he had uncovered that went ‘all the way to top’ of Florida’s government.
Lemme’s death was first ruled a suicide, but after compelling evidence pointing to murder had been presented, the case was reopened in late 2004 by the Valdosta P.D. Just as quickly, it was shut down AT THE REQUEST OF AN UNNAMED PERSON IN THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
Who? Why? Will we be allowed to know the truth?
SUGGESTED FOOTNOTE FOR THIS AND ALL WHISPERS: "This message was furnished by a neighbor of yours who believes in democracy."
re #8 if you think that would help, be my guest.
this has to be a team effort if it’s going to achieve anything at all.
re #9 — I think you should feel free to distribute it yourself whether others approve or not 😉
I find this to be a very impotant tool. In the same kind of way as the Freeway Blogger. I was recently talking to a friend about this sort of thing. I think it will have a big impact because people will take them home.
*bfg*
I’ve been doing this since just after the last election – printing out little articles and leaving them in public places – sticking them between books on the shelves at the library, leaving them between pages of magazines in the dentist office and newspapers at cafes and laundrymats, posting on community bulletin boards, even tucking them in between boxes and the pages of special order catalogues at garden centers and building supply stores.
(Bet the people at Home Depot wonder, WTF? *L*)
Thanks for making it easier.
re #12: Thanks Mark.
To you and anyone else who sees this as "a very impotant tool":
Please help spread the word!
re #13 here’s a bfg for you too, Kes!
thanks for your encouraging words!
a little viral marketing never hurts a good cause 😉
I checked out the site. I love the idea of it but I agree with Robert Lockwood Mills that the articles should be more enticing and shorter. They might even have pictures or cartoons, if possible. Think tabloid!
As long as the articles highlight major stories that the media hides its all good. But cartoons… will not make people think "HEY! WHY DIDN’T I HEAR THIS ON TV?!"
The articles should have very clear points and then some hard factual evidenc to back it up. Like with the Downing Street Memo, talk about what the memo means (Bush committed impeachable, war crimes) and then post the actual documents, or at least detailed excerpts.
re #4 Please call them the Downing Street MINUTES. A memo is a note. Minutes are the offical record of a meeting.
Good idea to place articles in public places. Kudos to all you wonderful hard working patriots!
My suggestion is to place a provocative headline such as "What Happened" in larger print at the top. I will be including one or two websites for visitation at bottom of message.
Keep smiling, it wins friends and really confuses the enemy.
DaveM (#18):
We’ve lost the "minutes" / "memo" war. Let’s admit that. A quick google search reveals 2600 articles for "Downing Street Memo", but only 1170 articles for "Downing Street Minutes". No big deal.
If we write about these smoking-gun documents, I think it would be wise to include both terms. Anyone that discovers this for the first time will get more information that way.
Remember, at this point, we should be going after the people who do not know what these minutes/memos are.
The key is "curiosity".
Those uninformed people should feel compelled to discover what Downing Street is all about — ON THEIR OWN. They should not feel as though they’re being force-fed this information. The truth is on our side. There is no need for a lot of unnecessary "persuasion". A message which is explicit with it’s bias will turn people off — especially moderate Republicans.
Yes — it is curiosity, especially in this case, that will eventually kill the neocons.
Half-sheet essays are more accessible. A full sheet of small type
can be off-putting to someone doing laundry evenings after work.
Maybe a half sheet on both sides?
Stop_George — Hey!!! Don’t say we’ve lost the "Downing Street Minutes" war, PLEASE!
What we say (or even think) holds a lot of power. Never give up, and NEVER say we’ve lost. This fight is worth far too much to all of us.
Sign this petition to Demand that Congress hold full hearings.
Here’s the link:
New Downing Street Minutes Petition
Watch the new flash movie
==================================
I slayed the dragon with my pen that was mightier than the sword.
Oops – I forgot to end my bold — sorry 🙂
Kira:
Sorry — you misunderstood me.
I was talking about the specific phrase that the media uses to identify the Downing Street minutes.
The term "memo" outhits the term "minutes" 2600 to 1170.
The terminology war is the war that we’ve lost. But, as I’ve said — that particular loss really doesn’t matter.
Ah! Thanks for the clarification, Stop_George! LOL.
So — because I misread your post I did happen to make a good point and that is that we must remember the "power of words." We must remember to always believe that we are winning this fight!!
You’re doing great work SG – I’ve followed your site since 2004.
Keep it up!
Winter Patriot:
I’m ecstatic over the notice Chris Floyd has given to your Whisper Campaign! This is just the beginning.
Psssst! Have you heard … ?
Here’s a little something for all those who voted for simplicity: Ten Good Reasons To Impeach George W. Bush, the first in an emerging series of a one-page messages from The Whispering Campaign!!
Here’s another one-page message for all you brief-freaks out there: Ten Amazing Facts About Voting In The USA
Never let it be said that we ignore our suggestion box !
The Whispering Campaign continues
WP re: #15 re: KBE #13 – What I meant to say was I’ve been dropping off articles ABOUT the election since just after the INAUGURATION – and actually, I thought I got the idea from someone on this blog – maybe you?
ADD is a wonderful thang *L*
At any rate – I think this is a great way to get out information, especially in rural areas like mine where not everyone has or even knows how to use a computer. The cognitive dissonance level is pretty high, but continuously shining a light on these issues will eventually wake at least a few people up.
WINTER PATRIOT`THIS IS G-R-E-A-T! I’M FROM THE BLUE STATE OF MINNESOTA WHICH HAD THE HIGHEST VOTER TURNOUT IN THE COUNTRY IN THE 2004 ELECTION AND I’M PROUD OF THAT. UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME, I LIVE IN A RED ZONE IN A TINY TOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHIPPEWA NATIONAL FOREST–JUST IMAGINE "NORTHERN EXPOSURE". I CAN’T WAIT TO PUT THESE LITTLE MESSAGES ALL OVER TOWN. WE’VE SEEN SOME WEAKENING HERE LATELY AND THIS IS A GREAT WAY FOR ME TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT. THANKS! 😀
re #28: Thanks for your kind words, Karen.
Just to keep everyone up to date:
Here are the newest posts at The Whispering Campaign:
One page, large font
Ten Good Reasons To Impeach George W. Bush by Gary Steven Corseri
Ten Amazing Facts About Voting In The USA by Angry Girl
Seven Things We Learned About 9/11 In 2004 by Jeff Wells
One page, normal font
Eight Things We Learned About 9/11 In 2004 by Jeff Wells
Two pages , normal font
Impeachment Time! by Greg Palast
What The Downing Street Memo Really Means from Media Matters
Unleashing The Resistance by Karen Kwiatkowski
Please help keep this kicked at DU.
I’m not sure if anyone might have come across this or posted it elsewhere (if so, sorry for doing it again). This article shows the difference now between Britain and America regarding the whole war DSM issue and as the article states
"In Britain they have scarcely made a dent, but in America they have developed an unexpected momentum. Initially circulated on left-leaning websites, they have now broken out of the blogosphere and into the mainstream. The big newspapers have editorialised on the topic; last week Democratic congressmen held unofficial hearings into the memos; whole campaigns have formed solely to publicise their existence."
So your work has been worth it. Lets hope for better things to come.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1511720,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comme...511720,00.html
sorry! still having trouble with links! :blush:
Hi Donna, Thanks for the link. You may find this a useful linking tool. Bookmark it if you do…
WP – great idea. It’s one of those, "Why didn’t we do that before?" things.
There will soon be a "whipering campaign" around my neck of the woods.
Damn. I can’t seem to send out a message without a typo. We may do a "whipering campaign" but we’ll definitely do some whispering.
no problem, Arry, We can have any kind of campaign we want to, especially if we do it qui-et-ly.
Re #33
Hi Torqued, thank you very much for the linking tool, I am very grateful. 🙂
To test it out – have any of you seen this yet? Blair’s eldest is about to become a republican intern.
This dimwit didn’t get it to work and I’m in a rush so will try your link sometime in the future Torque. Here it is old fashioned way at the moment
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news...ixnewstop.html
re 43 just what a sinking ship needs: another rat!