I got a call tonight from John Kerry's "Kids First" asking for a donation.

[gordianot]

see edit

Do not get me wrong I am not a John Kerry basher. I continue to support John Kerry.

My response was I will make a donation when Senator Kerry follows through with his promised statement on the Downing Street Memo "as promised". The response from the caller was "What is the Downing Street Memo"? I took 10 minutes to explain what it is, why it is important, and how it relates to people being killed daily.

I mean it no statement, no public stand from John Kerry, no money!

:grr: :banghead:

[ohioliberal]

1. I can't believe the caller was so stupid

What did he/she have their head in a hole?

[whatgives]

2. Might be a

person not with the Kerry campaign. A funraising org.:shrug:

[globalvillage]

3. Someone has posted multiple times here

that these calls are bogus, and that Sen. Kerry only asks for donations via mail or internet. Also, I have only been asked to donate for specific causes (USO, Kids First, newspaper ads, etc.).
Did they say "Friends of John Kerry"? If so, it may be a scam.
I have never been called, and I am a regular donor.

[gordianot]

5. Kids First

[globalvillage]

11. An absolutely wonderful initiative

aimed at providing healthcare to 11 million children. Nothing to do with the DSM, although I, too, am anxiously awaiting word from the Senator.
I urge you to support Kids First. You can do that via the web when you're ready.

http://www.johnkerry.com/features/kidsfirst.html

:hi:

[gordianot]

12. I do and I will again.

Right now I am damn mad at the killing in Iraq.

[globalvillage]

13. Me too.

:hug:

[fedupinBushcountry]

4. John Kerry's office ?

Are you a resident of Massachusetts ? Did they say what the donation was for, I'm sure it wasn't for his office.

It could be his new PAC, which is helping support GRASSROOT DEMS, or from the JohnKerry.com which is showing ads in Tom Delay's district. Now what office was that again ?

[TayTay]

6. Pay up, he is doing what he said he would do

Kerry said he would raise the issue when he got back to Washington after the last break. He is doing what he said he would do. He has drafted a letter and is circulating it around to get a concerted effort by Senate Dems together to ask for in investigation into the issues raised in the DSM.

Kerry never said he was going to go on the floor. This was spin by the liberal blogs who mis-read what he actually said and this spin was picked up by RW groups who turned it into the lie that Kerry was going to call for *'s impeachment.

Here is Keith Olbermann's blog entry (which was also on his tv show) debunking the myth:

Kerry on impeachment (Keith Olbermann)

SECAUCUS — Last Wednesday, Senator John Kerry told the editorial board of the newspaper in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the "Standard-Times," that he was amazed at the lack of American media coverage of the so-called "Downing Street Memo" — notes of a July, 2002 British cabinet meeting that suggested the U.S. was making all the evidence fit a pre-planned invasion of Iraq.

The words of the Democrats' 2004 standard-bearer?: "When I go back (to Washington) on Monday, I am going to raise the issue. I think (the memo) is a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth..."

Now, let's play Blogosphere-Telephone with that statement.

By Saturday, those quotes, and the original New Bedford story, had been transmuted by a series of foreign and conservative websites into an article that included the line: "Failed presidential candidate Kerry advised that he will begin the presentation of his case for President Bush's impeachment to Congress, on Monday."

Blogs and websites pulsated with the news: Kerry was going to call for the impeachment of President Bush! My inbox pulsated with the missives of angry conservatives ("you're covering up Kerry's traitorous comment") and angry liberals ("corporate lapdog! Why didn't you cover this? Do your job!").

Once again, the first law of the Non-Mainstream Media was being ignored. Be suspicious of everything you read on the internet, not just those things with which you most agree, or about which you live in the greatest fear.

The Senator's office told "Countdown" last night that he never said anything about impeachment and asked our reporter where he'd read that line. The answer was: the websites of NewsMax and Al-Jazeera.

The story originated — on Al-Jazeera.

The New Bedford newspaper story, exactly 746 words long, literally does not include the words impeach, or impeachment.

If this detail is still relevant in these super-heated political times, the story is not true. But at places as disparate as Al-Jazeera and NewsMax, they wanted it to be.

E-mail: [e-mail]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8085423/#050607a

[gordianot]

9. I would like to see him with Conyers.

I also read the Olbermann piece. I want something public an unequivocal.

[TayTay]

17. I want something that will stand up

under scrutiny and is well-researched and is a substantiated call to arms. Senators stand up in the well of the Senate and spout off all the time. Nothing happens. I want a solid foundation for a congressional investigation, perhaps run concurrently with John Conyers' (Blessed be his name) in the house. That would be a substantive event and one that would command the attention of the press.

The letter is a step in the right direction. I will pay up for you. $50 for KErry, another $50 later when a hearing opens. (Even if it is a Democrats only committee.)

[gordianot]

18. Agreed

I intend to send John Kerry a letter with a pledge $50.00 for Kids First. I will pledge $50.00 when Senate hearings start (even if Democrats only) with John Kerry's name added to the list.

I am also setting aside another $100.00 for my state Democratic Party in the 2006 election.

If it is OK with you I will add your DU name to my response.

[TayTay]

19. Ok. Also, for FYI purposes

I have a letter pending to Sen. Kerry. (I am a constituent.) I e-mailed him last week about the DSM and what his intentions were towards it. I have, to date, only received back a, 'got it, forwarded it to the staffer in charge' response. If and when I get something else I will copy it in it's entirety to the DU-P forum.

Pledge of good faith, my friend.

Original response:

Dear (TayTay):

Thank you for contacting me. I
appreciate that you took the time to write
and am glad to hear your concerns. Your
message has been forwarded to the
appropriate staff in my Senate office. I
take into account the correspondence my
office receives. However, due to the amount
of email we receive we are unable to respond
individually to each message.
Again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry
United States Senator

If I do not hear within a couple of weeks, I will resend my original query.

[LSK]

7. good for you

Thats what I would have done.

[wisteria]

8. What was the donation being solicited for?

He has asked for donations for his Kids First Act. I received an e-mail about making a donation on behalf of Kids First so that an ad could be run on TV. I gave a small donation to help out. In regards to the statement, have you not followed what has been going on? He is trying to achieve something more important than just making a statement. Actually, he has spoken to the press about the DSM. He has been soliciting signatures from other senators in support of a letter that will be presented to committee, with a request to address and begin discussions on and possible investigations into the issues the DSM raises.
This action on his part is more beneficial than simply making a speech. Discussion and investigation will bring much more media attention.

[gordianot]

10. Kids First, I have donated several times before and will again.

I do want a public statement from John Kerry.

[FreedomAngel82]

16. Well then that's not up to you

That's up to John Kerry. If you have been following this thread alone you'd see Kerry is busy with other issues circulating with DSM. He's getting support just like John Conyers did. So why don't you just wait and see what happens and back off? You can't get everything you want at the snap of a finger can you?

[LittleClarkie]

14. Excuse the telemarketer

Some of them are quite thick.

http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/takeaction.html

He's workin' on it, he's workin' on it.

[MH1]

15. Beat me to it.

Good!

I gotta go to bed anyway. Glad to see you're on the job!

:toast: