In the spirit of the burning a candle for solidarity hoax, I recently received the following in my email. Thought I'd share it with everyone; though I have no idea how it would attract the government's attention.
turn your back on the economy!!! Please share this email with as many people as possible...we can protest with our spirit!!!
NOT ONE DAMN DIME DAY
Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day" in America.
On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.
During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money. Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases.
Not one damn dime for anything for 24 hours.
On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Walmart, KMart and Target. Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).
For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.
The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it.
"Not One Damn Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics.
"Not One Damn Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1,200 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan -- a way to come home.
There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed.
For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.
I won't cause a blip. Everybody will buy what they need for that day on the previous day, or the day after. It's not a money message, it's a nobody's doing a damn thing for one day. Including spending a dime.
For me it's going to be 'wife-has-the-car-so-I-can't-go-anywhere-not-even-to-buy-a-damn-cup-of-coffee day'.
The wizened old know it half-assed
in tucson, az
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 | 10:43 PM
Rex, my friend, you are too despairing. If everyone just rolls over for these swine you don't have a clue as to how bad your life is going to become. By not speaking out or takaing some kind of action to protest our hijacked government, you are making a statemnet. Silence speaks volumes.
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Do something even if it's wrong. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
Hairy Houdini has it right. Try to give him an honest read and learn.
Rex D.
in Milwaukee, WI Member
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 | 11:08 PM
You are correct. But if you think everone is going to do this, your disillusioned. If you think everyone is not going to do this, the same. It will be half & half. I'm going to do it anyway just because I'm not supposed to, and I hate 'Big Bush' and 'Baby Bush'. They need to get out the house. I'm saying not much is going to be accomplished. It's going to be like everything else like this that's ever been done. Except now the government has the means for mass control if they need it. They didn't have all of the weapons and vehicles and man power that they have today to use against the people if they have to. I don't really care. We're only here for a short while, than we're gone so I'm going to spend my time here doing what I want to do befoe it's too late. I'm still going to participate though, I never said I wasn't going to.
I'm afraid for the world - hey - okay, dude - listen - beware of Moonies, k?
Shut uP!
Bush thinks its a game he's playing. He doesn't think he's the leader of the free world (duh.)
He's in a passion play about holy wars. In this game, he plays the antichrist and he thinks it's fun.
Christ is played by Moon.
Division between haves and have nots is hastended by their desired division between the saved and the damned.
sounds crazy but i warn you they are serious, and they are taking our god with them to prove themselves. By this I mean to say our earth, our mother god, is no object except it should be destroyed so as bring on the end time noize.
co-homies. unite. expose the right-wing fundamentalist moonie freaks. prevent the end of the world. Identify ignorance. Bend them with love and truth. Many of them suffer from the cult of bush. please do not join them. escape while you can. reality-based community is the shit. spend no money on Jan. 20.
This is no joke.
Hairy Houdini Member
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 10:06 AM
Hey, I know you... You're the dirty brother that killed my rat. I'll never, ever, forget your face.
Guitarface of BLAMF!
in Indiana
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 10:26 AM
I don't see how such a call for a symbolic action could be construed as a "hoax". If enough people did it, it would send a few interesting messages. 1. The economy belongs to the people, and even mega-corporations are nothing without our cooperation. 2. Our cooperation is not a given. We are not slaves to the powerful, nor to our own materialism. 3. The war in Iraq is an instance where the powerful have gone much too far, and we are taking the first steps toward withdrawing our cooperation with this corrupt system.
Hairy Houdini Member
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 10:42 AM
I've often wondered, over the last several months, just how much differently the situation in Iraq would be now if we all just sat down and shut up, instead of actively opposing the insane avts of our government. I can't help but think that the situation would have been worse, if possible. The powers-that-be have been slowed in their pursuit of Empire. We have acted too late, and too quietly to stop the process, and we are certainly not at a stage where Cooler Heads have prevailed. If we remain silent still, we give our approval- George's "mandate", to the futile and twisted acts of our leaders. If we speak out, in one voice, in many forms, we can build a balance of power that will further slow this descent into Hell, and maybe one day, turn us back toward Heaven. PS: So George has a "Man Date"... does Laura know?
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 11:30 AM
...I bet if people boycotted shopping the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas, there would be an impact. What are normally billion dollar shopping days...down to nothing. THAT would send a message. Jan 20th might not be that big of a deal. If a lot of people are watching the inaguration (sp?) on TV, they're not shopping or driving anyway. It's sort of like saying you are boycotting liver, but since not many people eat liver...a boycott probably wouldn't be noticed by anyone but the cows.
Guitarface of BLAMF!
in Indiana
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 11:49 AM
Actually, there are supposed to be a lot of peaceful protests centered around the inauguration, which you're right, is also the 20th. Unfortunately, the protesters will mostly have to buy gas and supplies to get there, hopefully a day or two in advance for (symbolic) purposes of the Not a Dime... I like that Not a Dime coincides with the inauguration, though, since I feel fairly certain that Bush stole this election as well as the last one, just more convincingly this time around (see gregpalast.com for example).
Hairy Houdini
Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 | 01:59 PM
I heard of suggestion that the protest take the form of turning your back on GWB's motorcade while lining the parade route. I sorta prefer a more face-to-face approach, myself. In large primate societies, turning one's back to another is regarded as a sign of submission, allowing dominance toward those we choose not to face. I say that we should line the parade route armed with nothing but our bodies, and show The Boy Emperor a one-fingered salute, show him our Asses Unequalled. As a matter of fact, I now dub all efforts to show The Dubya-ist Man Alive our displeasure to be under the umbrella title of "ASSES UNEQUALLED DAY". Yeah, we'll look back in years to come, sitting around the hydrogen stove, sharing tales. "What did you do during the ASSES UNEQUALLED DAY Protests Grandpa"? Well, Colin, I spent not one damn dime. Your uncle Uncle showed GWB the finger during his coronation parade, and your father cracked him a smile on his webcam, and emailed it to the White House, which is what they used to call it before it became known as Fort Enduring Warfare." "But most of us just sat around in our underwear and got drunk. Talk about gassing up. People came into work the next day hung-over and raring to argue. Several water-cooler deaths were reported, people quit, got fired- it started a snowball effect that rippled thorugh our economy for years. Noone had ever seen anything like it. Some internet genius camed up with the name "ASSES UNEQUALLED", and it stuck. That guy eventually came to lead the WonderGround movement, until the CYA shot him in Jungle Room at Elvis' Graceland Mansion. At least that was the story, anyway".
Not One Damn Dime Day is not a hoax in the sense of the usual email hoaxes on this website. I received that same email around Dec. 15 and I thought it looked like a pretty effective form of protest. Yes, it's "small" because it's only one day, but if several million people participate, Bush WILL notice (if for no other reason than the glitch in the GDP statistics).
I liked the idea so much -- and found that no one had posted it on a website -- that I set up http://www.NotOneDamnDime.com -- same text as the letter above, more or less. For those with mild sensitivities about that cussword there's also http://www.NotOneRedCent.com
The press has certainly noticed already -- this week the email is getting into mainstream press. That's the way that it will become effective -- boycotts need publicity -- so if you like the idea, go spread the email around!
smoop
in MN
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 | 03:01 PM
I'm glad this page exits, I've gotten the stupid foreward twice, from different people, and sent them a link to this each time.
today.