Smart People Can Write Letters to the Editor Too!

Have you ever read the letters to the editor in a newspaper and been bowled over by how ignorant people are? Have you ever sat at the breakfast table mumbling to yourself about how the world would be a better place if people would just listen to you? Well...why aren't you doing something about it? If you're intelligent, your chances of getting your opinions published in the paper are very very very good. All you need to do is whip up a quick email!

Margaret and I have each had several letters to the editor published in our local papers over the last few years. In fact, look for Margaret's letter to the editor in tomorrow's Sacramento Bee (May 1).

Here are some tips for getting your letters published in the Sacramento Bee (taken from sacbee.com):

Keep it brief -- 200-word limit
The best letters are short and limited to a single point. The average length of a published letter is around 150 words. Yes, we publish letters that are longer, but we publish many more that are shorter. In any case, letters are likely to be condensed in the editing process.

Make it timely
Your letter should refer to a recent event and arrive within two weeks following the event. It is not required, but it helps if you can reference a story in The Bee.

Pace yourself
Letter writers are limited to one letter a month. We count that month as 30 days from the publication date of your last letter.

Use e-mail
Since letters received electronically don't require re-typing, there is less delay between when the letter is sent and when it appears.

You still need to include your full name, street address and daytime phone number.

The e-mail address is opinion@sacbee.com.




 
posted by Chris at 2:49 PM

  Mark Your Calendar!

May 8 is Election Action Day. A coalition of a whole bunch of cool groups is kicking off a big-ass voter registration and education drive. The staff of Motelmag.com is pleased to announce that we will be joining in on the fun. Go to http://www.americavotes.org/ to sign up to volunteer! 
posted by Chris at 11:01 PM

  Voting Machines ... oh my

I just sent an email calling on California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley to decertify paperless electronic voting machines in California elections, and I hope you will send one, too.

The call for decertification arose following the disenfranchisement of thousands of California voters during the March 2, 2004, election due to technical problems with electronic voting systems. In Alameda County, problems with Diebold smart card encoders affected one-fourth of the County's polling places; in San Diego County, encoder problems affected nearly 40 percent of the County's polling places. In Orange County, thousands of voters were given the wrong electronic ballots; many were unable to cast votes in contests for which they were eligible, while others were allowed to vote in districts in which they did not reside.

It only took me a few seconds to send an email, and I'm hoping you'll send one, too. Click here to send an email.
 
posted by Margaret at 9:38 AM

  Earthday Approaches. Are You Ready?

Earthday, April 22 (and the weekend following), is fast approaching. I know one candidate who won't be participating (or shouldn't be, Mr. "I won't sign Kyoto")! At the Earthday site you can find information on upcoming Earthday events and on ongoing Earthday campaigns.

Want to get more specific? I know one candidate who is participating in Earthday, and he's looking for volunteers to do Earthday events. 
posted by John at 8:24 PM

  Margaret and I volunteered at the "No CARB (Cheney, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Bush) Bake Sale" at 20th and K Street last night. This was part of a nation-wide bakesale coordinated by Moveon.org. It was HUGE!

There were two tables set up on either side of K Street...one in front of Faces, and the other in front of The Depot. We were there from 7pm to almost midnight, and must have sold a ton of cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and misc. other dessert items. Everything was homemade and donated by people who want to help get Bush out of office. People were stopping by to drop things off and to help out all night long.

The volunteers were great, the customers were entertaining, the baked goods were tasty, AND we raised a grand total of $2045.86 for MoveOn.org! Hot damn!

Click here to see pictures of the event!

Click here for pictures from other bakesales around the country. 
posted by Chris at 11:55 AM

  More about Radio.

It looks like Air America has hit a bit of a snag. That doesn't make their message any less important, but now might be a good time to reintroduce folks to another liberal rabblerouser, a voice who has been on the airwaves for a few years now, and who also happens to be from Texas. That's right, little doggies, we done got us a liberal Texan. And his name is Jim Hightower.  
posted by John at 10:14 PM

  The new message from Michael Moore rocks!

"I have never seen a head so far up a Presidential ass (pardon my Falluja) than the one I saw last night at the 'news conference' given by George W. Bush. He's still talking about finding 'weapons of mass destruction' -- this time on Saddam's 'turkey farm.' Turkey indeed. Clearly the White House believes there are enough idiots in the 17 swing states who will buy this. I think they are in for a rude awakening."

[ read the rest here ] 
posted by Margaret at 5:14 PM

  As I said on the main blog, I've been watching a lot of international news, particularly News World International, which is produced by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Co.). It's amazing what our news doesn't tell us, and how they taint the news. There are way more civilian hostages in Iraq than I've heard about on U.S. news stations. So, your assignment for today is either to watch some international news, like News World International or CNN International, or (if you don't get these channels) to visit international news web sites such as BBC News, CBC News, and Guardian Unlimited World News. Check out what the rest of the world is hearing and reading!  
posted by Margaret at 8:30 AM

  Give Cookies A Chance!

MoveOn.org is having a Bake Sale for Democracy on April 17 -- join a local bake sale or start your own! Raise money for progressive candidates. Learn more here! 
posted by Margaret at 5:06 PM

  I've been listening to SO much Air America Radio lately....this is the greatest thing EVER! If you live in one of the cities where it's on the air, you must listen to it. If you're not fortunate enough to live in one of those cities (like us), listen to it on the Internet.

It's making me incredibly happy to hear so many people who are as angry as I am about what the Bushies are doing to the country.

Also, Howard Stern has been sticking it to the man lately too! Finally! We're taking back talk radio! 
posted by Chris at 6:50 PM

  Sign up for the Kerry campaign at: http://www.johnkerry.com/signup/ 
posted by Margaret at 9:29 AM