MAPTalk-Digest Sunday, June 10 2012 Volume 12 : Number 012

001 Fw: New polls: Obama's losing
    From: Rick Steeb <>
002 Re: MAP: The Movement for Peace and Justice in Mexico - coming to the U
    From: 


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj:  Fw: New polls: Obama's losing
From: Rick Steeb <>
Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2012 11:02:42 -0700

- ----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Rick Steeb <>
To: "Angie Aker,MoveOn.org Civic Action" <> 
Sent: Friday, June 8, 2012 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: New polls: Obama's losing
 

I'll contribute to and vote for Obama if and when Cannabis is REMOVED from CSA schedules.

Otherwise it's Gary Johnson.

- -Richard Paul Steeb

 From: "Angie Aker,MoveOn.org Civic Action" <>
To: Richard P Steeb <> 
Sent: Friday, June 8, 2012 9:27 AM
Subject: Re: New polls: Obama's losing
 

  
Dear Richard,
Since our last email, Gallup released another big poll showing Obama down by two points to Mitt Romney.1 And Romney's campaign just announced that they raised an unbelievable $76.8 million in May—$17 million more than Obama.2  So we could really use your help.Please chip in $25. 
–Angie
 
 
Scary
news: Romney is actually ahead in a whole series of recent national polls. And right-wing Super PACs will give him a huge
additional advantage. But MoveOn is pioneering a way to use social media to reach as many people as a Super PAC TV ad campaign
at a fraction of the cost. Can you chip in now?
 

I'll Chip In     
Dear MoveOn member,
Think Obama's a shoo-in? 
Think again. Romney is ahead in a whole series of recent polls. And super PACs are poised to spend huge amounts
of money to sway the race—just like they did yesterday in Wisconsin.
The good news is that in this election the Internet is giving us whole new ways to fight back at a fraction of the cost of
a traditional ad campaign—and we're miles ahead of the right-wing Super PACs figuring out how to take advantage.
You see, today a single YouTube video can get more attention than a big-budget TV campaign. And people are far more
likely to be persuaded by something shared by a friend than what they see on TV.
That's where we come in. With a tiny social media team of just four staff and a few interns,MoveOn.org has figured out how
to disseminate powerful messages to millions of people through social media. For instance, just one video we publicized on
gay marriage alone reached more than 21 million people. To reach this many eyeballs with TV ads, it could cost almost a million
dollars.3
Here's the kicker: We only need to raise $200,000 to fund this entire project for the next few critical months.
Can you chip in $25
to help counter the Super PACs using social media?
In 8 out of 14 national polls released over the last month, Romney is ahead or tied.4 Anyone who says
Obama's a shoo-in just isn't paying attention. But social media is giving us new ways to fight back—andMoveOn.org
is on the cutting edge. 
Research shows that more and more voters are getting news through social media like Facebook and Twitter.5 That's
especially true of those under-30 voters.
We've spent a year working on the computer software and online tools that let us reach these viewers. Our high-tech platform
supports a talented team of volunteer and staff editors who scour the Web for the highest impact progressive videos and graphics.
When news breaks, they're ready to toss a wrench into the conservative spin machine.
But we need to scale up even more. Fox News reaches more than 2 million people per day. We can match that—we need to
match that. We need to reach further into Facebook and other social media realms like Twitter, Digg, Reddit, and Pinterest,
where hundreds of millions of Americans are spending huge chunks of time. The war of ideas is happening in short, 8 to 24
hour news cycles on the web, and we're ramping up to be right on the front lines.
Chip in $25 to help
counter the Super PACs using social media. 
Sometimes, all we need to counter the right's agenda is the right picture at the right moment. When Republicans in
Congress convened a panel on birth control, but didn't bother to invite any women, that image of five middle-aged men said
it all. Thousands instantly shared it on Facebook.
Other times, it's a gripping personal story that changes minds. When there was controversy about the Susan G. Komen Foundation,
we featured a video by a gutsy breast cancer survivor named Linda, who had some no-nonsense words for the people who had
let her down. More than 383,000 watched, as we and our allies mobilized phone calls and grassroots pressure—and Komen
changed course.
It's an entirely new way of communicating, and MoveOn is proud to be a pioneer. We can't stop those right-wing SuperPACs
from buying their old-fashioned TV ads. Yet. But we can beat them by investing in people-power and staying ahead of the curve
in online campaigning.
Click here now to chip
in $25.
Thanks for all you do.
–Angie, Brandon, Carrie, Linda, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "General Election: Romney vs. Obama," Real Clear Politics, accessed June 7, 2012 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=276096&id=43248-3553228-F1RPJBx&t=6
2. "Romney Raises More Than Obama in May," The New York Times, accessed June 7, 2012  
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=276150&id=43248-3553228-F1RPJBx&t=7
3. "TV Cost & CPM Trends," Television Bureau of Advertising, accessed May 27, 2012 
http://www.tvb.org/trends/4718
4. "General Election: Romney vs. Obama," Real Clear Politics, accessed June 7, 2012 
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=276096&id=43248-3553228-F1RPJBx&t=8
5. How Social Media Is Taking Over the News Industry," Mashable, April 28, 2012 
http://mashable.com/2012/04/18/social-media-and-the-news/
Want to support our work? MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 7 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here. 
 This email was sent to Richard P Steeb on June 8, 2012. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.   
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: http://mapinc.org/temp/2008yHRV1HeYg.html

------------------------------

Subj:  Re: MAP: The Movement for Peace and Justice in Mexico - coming to the US in Aug
From: 
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:38:05 -0700

U.S. Supports Mexican Activist’s Peace Caravan
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/u.

Mexican poet-turned-activist Javier Sicilia has received the U.S.
government’s backing for his planned month-long peace caravan in that
country aimed at drawing attention to drug-related violence and
communicating his anti-drug war message.

Sicilia, who heads the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, or
MPJD, was received here Friday by U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Earl Anthony
Wayne and spoke to him about his plans for the caravan, which is scheduled
to begin on Aug. 12 in San Diego and cover several southern U.S. states
before making its way to Chicago and New York and ending in Washington in
mid-September.

The United States has a long history of supporting freedom of expression,
including peaceful expressions of protest and dissent, Wayne said in a
U.S. Embassy press release.

He added that he appreciated the “courtesy” of MPJD leaders in sharing
their points of view and plans.

The statement said the goal of the caravan will be to create awareness
about drug violence, weapons trafficking and trans-border issues such as
migration and money laundering.

U.S. activists, including representatives of the San Francisco-based human
rights advocacy group Global Exchange, will take part in the peace
caravan.

The 56-year-old Sicilia, who formed his movement after his son was
murdered last year by suspected drug-gang members, says the United States
shares the blame for the tens of thousands of drug-related deaths in
Mexico over the past five-and-a-half years, citing the high demand for
illegal drugs there and the north-to-south flow of weapons to Mexican drug
cartels.

He wants the United States to stop providing aid to Mexico under the
Merida Initiative, a U.S.-funded regional plan to battle drug cartels and
other transnational criminal networks.

The activist also supports legalizing narcotics and insists that drugs
should be treated as a public-health problem not as a national security
issue, a stance that President Barack Obama does not share.

This summer’s caravan will be the first outside Mexico and the third since
MPJD was founded last year.

The most recent one took place last September in southern Mexico and was
aimed at raising awareness of the pain suffered by victims of violence,
including large numbers of Central American migrants who are preyed upon
by drug traffickers and corrupt officials.

Sicilia’s group, made up of relatives of victims of violence, also is
demanding an end to Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s strategy of
deploying tens of thousands of army soldiers and federal police to
drug-war flashpoints, saying it has only made the country less safe.

Since Calderon took office in late 2006, organized crime-related violence
in Mexico has left more than 50,000 dead, 10,000 missing and 120,000
displaced from their homes.

> anyway, please forward this and/or help, as appropriate
>
> http://movimientoporlapaz.mx/faq/invitation-to-the-us-peace-caravan/
>
> We are dedicated to giving voice to the families of victims of this
> violence and to publicizing the real costs of this war. We have made it
> clear that the Mexican state must stop denying its responsibilities, which
> it does by criminalizing the victims of violence. Instead, it must accept
> that there are victims, and that it is the Mexican government’s
> responsibility to provide justice and reparations to them. With this in
> mind, we have asked for a change from the current security strategy to one
> focused on human security.
>
> To these ends, the Movement has organized two “caravans” that have
> traversed the North and South of Mexico. These actions prompted meetings
> with the President and Legislature to seek policy alternatives to war.
> These experiences have allowed us to see first-hand the grave situation we
> face as a society.
>
> As part of our quest for peace and justice, the Movement would like to
> extend to you a cordial invitation to be part of a new endeavor: the US
> Peace Caravan. This caravan will leave this August from San Diego, CA and
> arrive in Washington, DC in September.  This initiative seeks to promote
> dialogue with American civil society and its government regarding the
> following themes: the need to stop gun trafficking; the need to debate
> alternatives to drug prohibition; the need for better tools to combat
> money laundering; and the need to promote bilateral cooperation in human
> rights and human security in two priority areas: promotion of civil
> society and safety, as well as protection and safety for migrants.
>
> The MPJD seeks the support of the diverse array of groups we believe would
> be interested in promoting and end to, or alternatives to, the
> aforementioned policies. We believe that the solutions must emerge from
> within civil society and from a regional dialogue. For these reasons, we
> invite you to be our counterpart in an exercise of civilian diplomacy that
> can return peace, justice and dignity to the victims of this war. We hope
> we will be able to count on your valuable participation as an ally and
> partner in this historic event.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Javier Sicilia
>
> Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad
>
>> The Movement for Peace and Justice in Mexico
>> http://www.thenation.com/article/168235/movement-peace-and-justice-mex
>>
>> -snip-
>>
>> The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity is planning a caravan
>> through the United States that will bring the discussion of the War on
>> Drugs to Americans. Beginning in San Diego on August 12, the caravan
>> will
>> travel through more than a dozen cities on its way to Washington, DC.
>> Earlier this month, Sicilia traveled to the United States to meet with
>> grassroots organizers in Latino and African American communities, asking
>> them to join the caravan and the dialogue.
>>
>> -snip-
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

------------------------------

End of MAPTalk-Digest V12 #12
*****************************