True Majority: The Vigils Were Just the beginning

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An email I got from True Majority:

A few weeks ago Cindy Sheehan began her vigil outside the President's vacation home in Crawford, Texas and inspired the peace movement to stand up with her. Since people like you have done so much to support her as the human face of the movement to end this war. Here's a report of what your support has accomplished:

On Wednesday night TrueMajorityACTION members turned out for one of the biggest Internet-organized vigils ever. Over 100,000 people attended the joint TrueMajorityACTION/MoveOn/Democracy For America vigils in every state and the District of Columbia. More than 1,600 vigils in all. Almost 2,000 news stories ensued.

But that was just the latest action. Here is a sample of what else you've accomplished in the last two weeks (more details below):

Donated funds to get more Gold Star moms and military familes down to Crawford
Sent a member of Gold Star Families for Peace to follow President Bush with questions when he left the ranch <1>
Provided media help on-the-ground in Crawford and D.C. for Cindy and other moms to organize press conferences and handle the flood of interview requests, so their voices can be heard more widely <2>
Sent folks to help Cindy keep the camp running, and fix up her website <3>
The coming weeks will be full of other ways we can all help end the war, and we'll keep you informed as they develop. If you have friends who would want a chance to get involved, invite them onto the list. They'll thank you for thinking of them and our movement will get stronger.

To spread the word, just forward them this email with a few words about why you're a TrueMajorityACTION member -- they can join up at www.truemajorityaction.org

Or, you can simply use this link: Tell-a-friend!

With gratitude,


The TrueMajorityACTION Team

Here are more details about how TrueMajorityACTION members have been supporting Cindy's vigil:


<1> TrueMajorityACTION members were offered the opportunity to donate funds so that Cindy (or other allies) could follow Bush whenever he left his Crawford ranch. Just two days later your support helped Sabrina Gorsham, the high school sweetheart of Cindy Sheehan's son, follow President Bush to Illinois when he went for a tour of the Caterpillar plant there. More than twenty reporters interviewed her as she stood outside the plant's gates and asked the same questions Cindy has been asking: "Why are our soldiers dying in Iraq? When will they come home?" We continue to follow the President wherever he goes.


Cindy herself described it best in her blog: "True Majority has raised money to dog George Bush when he leaves the ranch. Every time he leaves, there will be a GSFP member, MFSO members, VFP members, and Code Pink members who will protest him and say "Meet with Cindy." We will not let him have a 5 week nice vacation when there are millions of people in harm's way in Iraq due to his careless policies. The people of Iraq and our soldiers are suffering. Why should George have a nice vacation?" (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/10/13342/3953)


<2> TrueMajorityACTION members urged us to do more. So we asked Cindy what else she needed. When her vigil ballooned into an international media event, just answering the crush of phone calls on her cell phone became more than one woman could do. Your donations got her the help she needed. We hired experienced media professionals to sort out the media requests, help Cindy develop a coherent schedule and conduct press conferences- making it possible for Cindy's voice to be heard as loudly as it has.

<3> When the sheer number of people who descended on Camp Casey threatened to turn the scene chaotic, your donations funded some willing hands to help organize the camp, and keep things clean, peaceful, and focused. Gold Star Families for Peace and their ally Military Families Speak Out are small, volunteer groups without a budget for things like web design, so TrueMajorityACTION donations funded a full-time web developer who has been updating their sites so they can speak out more effectively. Critically, it's now easier for these two worthy groups to accept online donations directly.

TrueMajorityACTION.org is a grassroots group which envisions a nation where people care about their fellow citizens, and together enjoy freedom and broad prosperity. We believe participating in an effective government is the best way to be mutually responsible for our community.