Friday, February 02, 2007
1. STOREFRONT
2. REPORT AND PHOTOS FROM DC TRIP
3. THE PLAN
4. TO UNSUBSCRIBE
1. STOREFRONT -- Long complicated story made short: This afternoon Allen Michaan, owner of Oakland’s landmark Grand Lake Theatre, icon in the impeachment movement,and all-round good guy, gave me the key to the storefront (he’s the landlord) next to his theater and said, “Let’s get rid of these guys!” The place needs some cleaning up, and tomorrow morning (Saturday, Feb 3), from about 10 a.m. until about 2 pm, I’m going to be down there (3208 Grand Ave., Oakland) getting a start on the cleaning and on the Plan (item # 3 below). Come on by -- say hi. Fill out a Beach Impeach postcard and mail it to your senator or representative or friends or family. A more “formal” announcement next week.
2. REPORT AND PHOTOS FROM WASHINGTON -- Our attempt to recreate “IMPEACH!” on the National Mall on Saturday, January 27, came “this close” to being a grandslam home run, but in the end wound up as something like a bunt single. Instead of a crowd of 1,000 people, 200 showed up. We did our credible best and captured a few nice images, but overall this was not the breathtaking success that we created in San Francisco on January 6. My report from DC, plus a couple of “IMPEACH!” photos taken from atop the Washington Monument, are posted on the home page at www.bodiescount.org
3. THE PLAN -- On a Saturday in the second half of March (probably March 24, but possibly the 17th or 31st -- I haven’t decided yet), at 100 different locations around the United States, we are going to recreate -- simultaneously -- what we did on January 6 in San Francisco. During the next several weeks, I and whoever will help me are going to coach people who want to organize an event in their own locales on just what needs to be done.
This idea seems to be thick in the air. Even before I’ve publicized it, I’ve received emails and phone calls from people in 8-10 cities around the US: “That thing at the beach was fantastic -- how can I do that here in my city?” Off the top of my head, I’m in contact with people in Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, St. Louis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Washington DC, and New York City, who are interested in organizing a 100-foot “IMPEACH!” event. And now, today, I’m starting to publicize it for the first time. Are YOU interested?
There is a finite list of things you’ll need to do to pull this off:
-- Choose a good site, and obtain a permit if indeed a permit is required.
-- Obtain the tools and materials needed to outline the message “IMPEACH!” in 100-foot letters.
-- Make sure you have approximately 1,000 people signed up. (A very handy online event organizing tool created by the good people at Working Assets makes this job fairly easy.)
-- Engage your own photographer, and alert the media in your area.
-- It would be best to have a team of about 10-20 people to help you pull this off, but each event will need one person to assume responsibility. (While organizing such an event alone is probably not optimal, I have proved to my own satisfaction that it can actually be done.)
If 100 events like the one we staged in San Francisco are held simultaneously around the country, we will have an international news story. Our politicians will be emboldened to stand up to our current disastrous administration and begin the proceedings that will force them from office. And we can start again in trying to build a safe and peaceful and just world.
If you have an inkling that you’d like to organize an event in your town, I make you two promises: 1) I’ll do everything in my power to support you, and 2) the next 7-8 weeks of your life will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.
If you’re considering it, or even if you’re just curious, shoot me an email (newsham@mac.com) or give me a call (415-305-8294). And PLEASE ALERT anyone in the United States (or anywhere, actually) who you think might be an appropriate organizer in his/her locale.
4. TO UNSUBSCRIBE -- I’ve folded all my email lists into this one, which for the next two months will be all-impeachment all-the-time. I promise to try to send no more than one email per day between now and the end of the project. If you’d like OFF the list, I completely understand. Thank you for your past support, and may I ask you to please take fifteen seconds to unsubscribe -- go to www.bodiescount.org, hit the “email list” bar at top of page and follow the unsubscribe instructions.
Thank you.
Onward!
brad
newsham@mac.com
415-305-8294
2. REPORT AND PHOTOS FROM DC TRIP
3. THE PLAN
4. TO UNSUBSCRIBE
1. STOREFRONT -- Long complicated story made short: This afternoon Allen Michaan, owner of Oakland’s landmark Grand Lake Theatre, icon in the impeachment movement,and all-round good guy, gave me the key to the storefront (he’s the landlord) next to his theater and said, “Let’s get rid of these guys!” The place needs some cleaning up, and tomorrow morning (Saturday, Feb 3), from about 10 a.m. until about 2 pm, I’m going to be down there (3208 Grand Ave., Oakland) getting a start on the cleaning and on the Plan (item # 3 below). Come on by -- say hi. Fill out a Beach Impeach postcard and mail it to your senator or representative or friends or family. A more “formal” announcement next week.
2. REPORT AND PHOTOS FROM WASHINGTON -- Our attempt to recreate “IMPEACH!” on the National Mall on Saturday, January 27, came “this close” to being a grandslam home run, but in the end wound up as something like a bunt single. Instead of a crowd of 1,000 people, 200 showed up. We did our credible best and captured a few nice images, but overall this was not the breathtaking success that we created in San Francisco on January 6. My report from DC, plus a couple of “IMPEACH!” photos taken from atop the Washington Monument, are posted on the home page at www.bodiescount.org
3. THE PLAN -- On a Saturday in the second half of March (probably March 24, but possibly the 17th or 31st -- I haven’t decided yet), at 100 different locations around the United States, we are going to recreate -- simultaneously -- what we did on January 6 in San Francisco. During the next several weeks, I and whoever will help me are going to coach people who want to organize an event in their own locales on just what needs to be done.
This idea seems to be thick in the air. Even before I’ve publicized it, I’ve received emails and phone calls from people in 8-10 cities around the US: “That thing at the beach was fantastic -- how can I do that here in my city?” Off the top of my head, I’m in contact with people in Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, St. Louis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Washington DC, and New York City, who are interested in organizing a 100-foot “IMPEACH!” event. And now, today, I’m starting to publicize it for the first time. Are YOU interested?
There is a finite list of things you’ll need to do to pull this off:
-- Choose a good site, and obtain a permit if indeed a permit is required.
-- Obtain the tools and materials needed to outline the message “IMPEACH!” in 100-foot letters.
-- Make sure you have approximately 1,000 people signed up. (A very handy online event organizing tool created by the good people at Working Assets makes this job fairly easy.)
-- Engage your own photographer, and alert the media in your area.
-- It would be best to have a team of about 10-20 people to help you pull this off, but each event will need one person to assume responsibility. (While organizing such an event alone is probably not optimal, I have proved to my own satisfaction that it can actually be done.)
If 100 events like the one we staged in San Francisco are held simultaneously around the country, we will have an international news story. Our politicians will be emboldened to stand up to our current disastrous administration and begin the proceedings that will force them from office. And we can start again in trying to build a safe and peaceful and just world.
If you have an inkling that you’d like to organize an event in your town, I make you two promises: 1) I’ll do everything in my power to support you, and 2) the next 7-8 weeks of your life will be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.
If you’re considering it, or even if you’re just curious, shoot me an email (newsham@mac.com) or give me a call (415-305-8294). And PLEASE ALERT anyone in the United States (or anywhere, actually) who you think might be an appropriate organizer in his/her locale.
4. TO UNSUBSCRIBE -- I’ve folded all my email lists into this one, which for the next two months will be all-impeachment all-the-time. I promise to try to send no more than one email per day between now and the end of the project. If you’d like OFF the list, I completely understand. Thank you for your past support, and may I ask you to please take fifteen seconds to unsubscribe -- go to www.bodiescount.org, hit the “email list” bar at top of page and follow the unsubscribe instructions.
Thank you.
Onward!
brad
newsham@mac.com
415-305-8294
