"Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org" wrote:
> Dear MoveOn member, > > Our country is at war, and many of us continue to feel grief > and anger that this terrible conflict is being fought on our > behalf. It's a hard time. > > It's also a critical time for us to stay involved. As we report > below, together we've had some amazing successes over the last > month, both domestically and in opposition to this war. We > need to keep this momentum building. As a next step, please > consider joining MoveOn's Media Corps -- a group of committed > online activists who will keep the media accountable. Help > make sure that our news media report the war the way it > happens, not the way the Bush Administration wishes it would > happen. > > You can sign up now at: > > http://www.moveon.org/mediacorps/ > > American media outlets have chosen to stifle or simply not > show the most terrible and saddening aspects of this war. > They are reluctant to air the voices of critics who are raising > important questions about its effectiveness and purpose. And > they appear to have acceded to the Bush Administration's > desire to black out pictures or footage of civilian > casualties. > > Now more than ever, it's important that the media report the > full story, unvarnished and unspun. But all we see on TV are > retired military officers and Administration officials > narrating a clean and precise war that bears little resemblance > to the chaos, bloodshed, and tragedy on the ground. > > We need to demand the full picture. Please consider joining > the MoveOn Media Corps right now. The action ideas we send > you won't generally take longer than 15 minutes, but to be > part of the Corps we ask that you commit to taking up to one > action per day. The actions could include calling media > outlets when they air especially bad coverage, pushing Clear > Channel radio to stop censoring anti-war songs, or writing > letters to the editor. > > Sign up right now at: > > http://www.moveon.org/mediacorps/ > > The MoveOn Media Corps is just a part of our ongoing work. > Over the last month, we've launched a variety of impressive > initiatives, thanks to you. This war is tragic, but there > really is hope: more of us are active than ever before, > we're winning domestic policy battles, and we're changing the > international landscape. If we stick together, in the end, > we'll win. > > One exciting internal development is the growth of MoveOn.org > itself. In July 2002, we had a little over 480,000 folks on > our domestic list, with another 390,000 MoveOn members in > other countries around the world. Today, less than eight > months later, there are over 1,300,000 of us in the United > States alone. (Think of it this way -- one out of every 216 > Americans is a MoveOn member.) With our 750,000 international > members, we're over two million strong. > > It's not just that there are a lot of us, of course. We're > also getting things done. In reverse chronological order, > here are some of our events and campaigns since the beginning > of March: > > (*) TUESDAY, MARCH 25TH: Big win on tax fairness > > Almost 10,000 phone calls from MoveOn members helped Democrats > win with a razor-thin majority in the Senate, cutting the Bush > tax cut by half. The AFL-CIO helped make these calls possible > by providing a toll-free phone line to Capitol Hill. > > (*) SATURDAY, MARCH 22ND: Hundreds of thousands march in NYC > > MoveOn members and many others peacefully marched in one of > the largest domestic anti-war events in the last thirty years. > Organizers put the crowd at over a quarter of a million > folks -- and this wasn't even a nationally promoted march. > > (*) FRIDAY, MARCH 21ST: Raised over $500,000 for Oxfam > > Over 6,000 MoveOn members chipped in over half a million > dollars in a matter of days to help support desperately needed > humanitarian aid work in Iraq. If you haven't yet given, your > contribution would still be put to very good use. Go to: > > http://www.moveon.org/oxfam/ > > (*) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH: Launch of Citizens' Declaration > > Our Citizens' Declaration urged folks to pledge a continued > commitment to opposing the Bush war policy and to resolving > conflict through international institutions. The response was > tremendous -- by now, over 550,000 signers from virtually > every country in the world have signed. > > We still encourage folks to sign up -- you can do so now at: > > http://www.moveon.org/declaration/ > > The Citizens' Declaration was also highlighted as the > centerpiece of a Washington Post editorial. "The sentiments in > that statement could be endorsed by much of the American > foreign policy establishment," wrote Robert Kuttner, the > author. You can read the whole editorial at: > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8220-2003Mar21.html > > (*) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH: We win Senate vote on ANWR > > Here's what Peter Schurman, MoveOn's executive director, wrote > to the members from key states who participated in this fight: > > "The Senate voted 52-48 today to protect the Arctic National > Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling, by removing from the > budget bill a provision that would have permitted drilling > there. More than 2,000 MoveOn members helped make this > possible by calling key Senators since yesterday. It may have > made all the difference: two of the swing votes on whom we > focused most attention, Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Mark > Pryor (D-AR), both voted to protect the Refuge. They made up > the margin of victory today." > > (*) MONDAY, MARCH 17TH: Thousands of lights in windows. > > Following on our global candlelight vigil, we asked folks to > put a light in their window every night: > > "It could be a Christmas string or candle, a light bulb, or a > lantern. It's an easy way to keep the light of reason and hope > burning, to let others know that they are not alone, and to > show the way home to the young men and women who are on their > way to Iraq." > > By now, over 96,000 of us in over 200 countries have > registered that we're keeping the light burning. > > (*) Sunday, March 16th: Over 6,700 vigils in 141 countries. > > >From our follow-up message on the global candlelight vigils: > > "People came together in thousands of towns and villages > around the world -- a truly global vigil for peace. The vigils > came in all shapes and sizes. There were vigils with ten > people and vigils with thousands. There were vigils in homes, > in churches, and in open fields. People joined together to > share their commitment to making a better world." > > For some amazing pictures of vigils around the world, go to: > > http://www.moveon.org/vigil/ > > (*) MONDAY, MARCH 10TH: U.N. emergency petition delivered. > > In less than a week, MoveOn members in the United States and > around the world gathered over a million petition signatures > to deliver to the members of the U.N. Security Council. Our > message was simple: "The U.N. Security Council should back > tough inspections, not war." Along with actors Jessica Lange, > Steve Buscemi, and Ethan Hawke, we delivered the petition in a > press conference at the U.N. And it appears that we had an > impact -- the United States and Britain abandoned their push > for a second resolution because they could not get the > necessary votes. > > The final count on our emergency petition was 1,030,775. > > (*) THURSDAY, MARCH 6TH: Dems filibuster Estrada > > With the support of more than 40,000 phone calls from > MoveOn members, the Democrats are now taking a stand against > a far-right judiciary. A filibuster against Miguel Estrada, > a stealth right-wing nominee, has held for six weeks now, and > survived three attempts to end it. Senate Democrats are > learning the power of unity, proving to themselves that they > can prevent the right wing from taking even greater control > over our lives. This filibuster has stiffened Democrats' > resolve across the board, enabling other victories as well. > > For a tactical report on our domestic work from Peter Schurman, > go to: > > http://www.moveon.org/otherside.html > > We'll keep on working -- there's a lot to do, both > domestically and internationally. For now, take a moment to > thank yourself for being a part of this tsunami of action. > We really are changing the country and the world. > > With great appreciation from all of us, > > --The MoveOn Team > Carrie, Eli, Joan, Peter, Wes, and Zack > March 26th, 2003 > > P.S. We do this work with only four paid staff; the folks on > our list pay for our operating expenses and salaries. If you'd > like to chip in, you can contribute by credit card or check > at: > > http://www.moveon.org/support.html > > P.P.S. If you're looking for other ways to help out, think > again about the Media Corps. You can sign up right now at: > > http://www.moveon.org/mediacorps/ > > ________________ > This is a message from MoveOn.org. To remove yourself (Carol Starr) > from this list, please visit our subscription management page at: > http://moveon.org/s?i=1272-2247745-6dsjOKNn9ym06xvMfwrw3w
