Smart Phones to the Rescue!
Okay, so I’m not the Koch brothers. Obviously, I guess. I mean, I’m not even a brother, much less a rich evil brother. Okay, so maybe evil. I am kinda evil. Oh crap, what I’m trying to say is that I am not a major big giant donor to political causes.
However, you and me and that guy other there and those folks up in the balcony and the woman in the back with the Carmen Miranda hat on and the guy with nose ring attached to a chain that goes to his …. holy crap, that guy needs to sit down … all of us together can be our own brothers and, of course, sisters. We can act together to counter the Koch brothers now, thanks in part to our friend Alfredo at the Dairy Queen.
Alfredo moonlights from his job as a fry cook to work on some of his pet projects and this is one of them.
The Federal Election Commission on Monday night unanimously voted to allow Americans to make political donations via text message, making Androids, iPhones and BlackBerrys the newest weapon in the battle to raise unprecedented amounts of money.
Both parties, as well as campaign finance reform advocates, say the move will allow Americans of modest means to play a greater role in a democratic process dominated this election cycle by billionaires and multimillionaires and political organizations such as super PACs that may raise and spend money without restriction.
Okay, so here’s the deal. We’re gonna call ourselves The Phone Brothers and each of us is gonna set aside $25 a month between now and the election to support Democrats. You can split your donation up into $5 increments or blow the whole $25 on some dude running for sheriff in Pennsylvania. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that we, together, can fight back now, in no small part to the work of Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen.
Thank you, Alfredo
I’m gonna talk to my geek about setting up a special page where you can make a pitch for your favorite candidate to be Phone Brother worthy. We’ll put a link to it on the front page here and start letting you tell us which candidate or cause we should support. I’ll get that done as soon as candidates start using it.
And if anybody has a better suggestion for a name than Phone Brothers, I’m all over it.
Thank you, Alfredo.
Unfortunately, some of us (me for example) are so far down toward the bottom that we can’t even afford a dumb phone so having a roid or iJunk is out of the question. If I had the lucre for something like that then maybe there would have been something around here to eat for breakfast this morning. Alas, such was not the case. (I am working on my latest book “101 Creative Meal Ideas Using Freezer Frost.”)
1I LOVE this and I’m playin’—-even though I only have a dumb phone!
2I don’t think your phone has to be smart – just able to text.
3I’m there with you mb–big medical $$ -if my boyfriend didn’t need computer for school so we have hook up– I’d be at the library
4But I have time and volunteer–that counts!
I have a dumb phone–but I recommend Elizabeth Warren,
Dang Rick is running against the Presidents Health Reform/Romneyish Care
but used it to put his daughter on his health care plan–Asshat!
Democratic all the way in 2012
Dumb S-O-B’s in Michigan just pissed off a lot of women-we need to use that!
Strangely enough, for a man with a Masters of Science in Computer Science, I am one of the least tech-savvy people around. I know how to send a text, but I decry the lack of intimacy of not using voice. In fact, I dislike the whole cell phone thing.
You can’t ever hide from your spouse anymore as long as her end of the leash has any charge left to it. It slows down traffic: invariably that jerk at the front of an angry line of cars has a cellphone to his ear. At least he can’t flip me back. It’s ruined attending any performances: movie, play, burlesque.
At sporting events, where the person in front of me has the phone glued to their ear and is standing up and waving to someone across the stadium – “I can SEE you, can you see ME?” – well, I’ve had to sit on my hands to keep from shoving them down the bleachers.
Even in the middle of a golf course, where the whole point is to flee the outside world, it slows play and is a distraction. Some courses are banning them entirely, or limiting it to one cell per foursome, in case of emergency. No thank you. If I have a heart attack on the course, I don’t want to call for help. That’s where I planned to die. The sign on MY Heaven’s gate says: “First tee –>” so I want to have my spikes on when I get there.
And no cell phone.
I told you: I AM getting more curmudgeonly.
However, as a former semi-professional political operative, I like this idea a lot. Anything that allows me to blast out a message with the line “..press this button to send money” is OKAY in my playbook.
So can someone tell me how this works? When I send my tree-fitty to whomever is running against Michele Bachmann, how do I tag that it’s from the Phone Brothers (or Phoen Brothers, since it’s going to the land of Fargo, the movie)?
Gotta go, Mrs. daChipster is texting me a shopping list.
5How about the “Diet Koch Brothers”?
6Sounds like a plan….. and it works for me.
I have a “dumb phone” but it does text.
Thanks to Alfredo….. and thanks JJ.
I’m feeling just a little more optimistic about the November election.
Maybe we can’t outspend them…. but we can damned (sorry Momma) sure…….out think ’em.
7I’m whole-heartedly in agreement with daChipster. I don’t even have a cell phone. I like the idea of being on a bus going through town and nobody can bother me. I have, on more than one occasion, benefited from those around me with a cell phone in an emergency. However, it’s easy enough to send money over this here magic machine and I do that all the time.
8“Ding a ling” Brothers
9FYI, MoveOn.org sent out a notice recently that planned an alternative strategy to the Super$$ for Republicans media blitz…focus on getting the word out using more modern media formats. In other words, use social media and internet focused compaign. They were asking to raise $200,000 to fund that campaign approach which would especially reach younger voters.
I just thought folks might like to look at not only contributing via one’s phone, but helping campaign via non-traditional channels too.
10daChipster: I luv yew. If the present Ms. Chipster gets tired of you, tell Juanita to hook us up. In an effort to live on my retirement income and my huge medical bills I had to give up my land line. I miss it every day. My former father in law used to have this saying when he wanted to direct attention away from something. He’d say,” I’ll point and you whistle.” Next time we’re at a sporting event and those clowns stand up, I’ll point and whistle while you push them. Make my day.
11I’m in, and I finally got a smartphone a couple years back because my all-but-god-daughter (now 12 going on 21!) starting texting me and I learned that replying is easier if your phone has a QWERTY keyboard!
12I’m in !!!
13Kellybee. I love “Diet Koch brothers!” And I will give as much as I can.
14I’m in with my dumb phone but I can text. Do you do house call tutorials? or have a spare 12 yr old who can?
15Listen. I am not gonna have internet access for the next week and yes, I will live to tell about it. Anyway I WANT Y’ALL TO KEEP ME UP ON THIS. Thank you. I think it is a good idea and we need to talk about it EVERYWHERE. well of course, the ultrarighteous will do it too but anyway….
16All I can say is, thank heavens for the geek websites. About a week ago, I upgraded to an Android smartphone, and I’d like to shake hands with the motherless bastards who wrote the alleged official documentation. Look, boys; do you want to document the device, or do you want to pimp apps?
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