What if we all sent a letter like this -----

[AmandaRuth]

I don't know if I am blowing smoke out my arse, but would something like this help? As far as the Thoreau quote, I am not sure if it was his, I just remember it making a big impression on me as a teenage.

Director (name)
People for the American Way
Address Address
City state

Director (name)
National Organization for Women
Address Address
City state

Director (name)
Planned PArenthood of America
Address Address
City state

Director (name)
Sierra Club
Address Address
City state

Director (name)
Leading Labor Group
address address
city sate

Director (name)
leading civil rights group
address address
city state

Dear Mrs and Mr and Mrs. and Mrs.

All of you have contacted me for money in the past year, and, in some cases, I have donated. In one case, I have donated money for the past 25 years. The reason i am writing is that i am increasingly frustrated by what I perceive as a lack of a unified message from progressive organizations.

As you know, the rightwing groups have a coordinated message and even go so far as to meet weekly to jointly examine how to advance the conservation message, with weekly, even daily release of "talking points". I see no such coordination with progressive organizations, and with the ease of the Roberts confirmation, passage of CAFTA, and the bankruptcy bill, I am deeply worried about the direction of this country.

In August of this year, I attended a local Democratic meeting which had a speaker from a leading civil rights organization. The topic of this meeting was judicial appointments, and I was left shocked, when I asked what coordination/effort was being made on the part of progressive organizations, his included, to lobby/organizes as respects the Supreme Court nomination. I was told none, that the progressive organizations virtually do not talk to each other and have no common goals.

I remember reading a Thoreau quote years ago that basically said "everything in nature is connected together" . I believe that all progressive organizations can find common goals, strong labor laws help the environment, labor laws help women's rights, abortions will be decreased as the poverty rate declines and so forth. Coordination can be as simple as a weekly conference call between organizations, and I am sure it will take time to find a common agenda and ground. It may be that this is already being done, however, I haven't heard of it.

I am sure with the Roberts confirmation, I will be receiving donation solicitation letters from many of the organizations listed above, and until i have some indication that you are al working together, I won't be donating and I will encourage others to do the same.

Respectfully,

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

[AmandaRuth]

1. kick

i really want some feedback.

[frankly_fedup2]

2. What I am going to start doing is put a small letter inside their

return envelopes stating:

Take me off your mailing list, NOW, also, no one is to call my home soliciting. I donate to whom I choose and when I choose. Sending me Christmas cards to use, address labels, and mini calenders for the next year are very nice gifts; however, they do not make me feel guilty for keeping them and not donating to your organization. Someone sent a nickle in their mailing. I pulled the nickle off and put it in my change purse. You are wasting more of your funds doing this then simply asking for a small donation.

You have bought the same mailing lists as everyone else who has inundated me for donations. No sooner do I make a donation, then I get mail from every charity that could be related in some way to the one I donated to.

To be honest, this is such an aggravation, and if it continues, I do not know if I will ever donate (in my name) to anymore charities.

Kindest regards,

xxxxx xxxxxxxx

Not really making a political statement here, just wanting the junk mail in my mailbox to end.

I will send this form letter every time they continue to send me the junk mail asking for donations until it stops (that is the postage prepaid ones).

For credit cards, I just mail back the original mailing they sent me because their return envelopes are always postage prepaid.