Family christmas shopping boycott update.

[loudnclear]

The Palmer, Smith, Billings,Moss family from the east coast to the west coast is DOING IT!!! I received a check from the west coast treasurer for the family account today. $7,560!!! This brings our total to
$11,400 for the joint family account. Even with this amount of money in the joint account a few families put half of their savings into their own personal accounts (we have a few west coasters who are fairly well off...they buy cars, rugs, diamonds etc. for gifts...but this year they were willing to join in...afterall, they really have everything they ever wanted).

In case you are not aware, our extended families decided to boycott Christmas shopping and pool our shopping monies to help out a few family members who had lost their jobs or who are too ill to work. Everyone was to write down the gifts they had planned to buy and contribute cash equal to the costs of the gifts to a family account. We were able to get even most of the Repugs in the family to go along (two told us to shove it). Right now we have a total of 79 (including some children) individuals and 18 families participating. We have even asked some neighbors to take on their own families and so far three have done so.

Boy, do we feel good about it!! A lot of family members have struck up e-mail and phone communications with family members even with some who were estranged. It seems that Bush has at least united us in this effort to fight back.

Happy Holidays to all!!!

[Cha]

1. Amazing!

[Habibi]

2. Golly, that's impressive!

I don't have an "extended family" I'm close enough to to even suggest such a thing. But what an inspriration!

[barbaraann]

3. Thank you for posting this.

I've been trying to figure out how to deal with the new economic and social realities the BFEE has forced upon us and your post is a much needed last-minute inspiration.

[KoKo]

4. What a Great Idea! Thanks for posting. This is the kind of family effort

that makes one really see what can be done when we focus "inward" and on what's important keeping ourselves together. ROFL about the two Repugs.

I have more Repugs than two! But, applaud what you are doing and thanks for sharing this "true" Christmas Story with us. Maybe we all can find little ways of doing something similar, even those with all Repug families might find something...I don't know what..but maybe if we dig, we can come up with something.