Encouraging Insiders To Submit To Vive

Whelan,

I think this is an excellent idea. I would like to suggest that maybe someone write up a generic letter that each can send to their MP to introduce vivelecanada.ca.

Kevin

Just based on experience, I think it's more likely that MPs will allow someone from the site (such as myself) to interview them rather than submitting something themselves (busy people). One thing CDM has done (I believe) is send 5 questions to MPs and then post the resulting comments (if any--rare for people to reply). We might have more success if we were to schedule phone interviews and ask them about sovereignty, and then publish the results. I work as a journalist and I could do this, it's just a question of demand for it and time.

As Susan mentioned, MPs don't have the time to scour through websites reading opinions. Your best bet would be to go in to see your MP with your opinions, and hope enough people do the same.

I like your idea Susan, and since an election is looming and Vive has received some press in the past...they might want us to know what they think?? Might? But as you say it would mean time from your already busy schedule, it was just an idea and since we know that even judges declare that what is said prior to an election is not credible, maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

Well, if I'm not mistaken, the MP from my former riding writes a column for the local newpaper on a regular basis. Maybe I can write him a letter requesting that he publish his column on here too. He was elected as an Alliance MP, which would make him Conservative now, I guess. So most of the content would be a critique of the Liberals. But I do recall him focussing a lot on the gay marriage issue, even after the rest of the media had started to let it go.

Any opinions? Should I approach him? SUSAN -> would you rather approach him yourself??

-KY



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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"As for the futur

Let's not forget that there are CEO's out there that are happy with the state of our country, and they could be asked to contact the politicians on our behalf.

CEO's generally spend quite a bit of time in contact with MP's for the single purpose of getting information that is going to affect their business.

They actually get the draft of new laws going through the system before the public knows about it, so they can have input or comments before it becomes law.

Just another way of making contact, we need every way possible.



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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca

I write to my MP all the time. His answers are lame and elusive, but in my next letter I`ll ask him to perhaps check out the VIVE LE CANADA website. With all I say, I`ll probably offend him or scare him away or something.

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Dave Ruston

Susan, perhaps you could arrange to appear on CPAC and air our collective opinions ? You would make the most sense, since you are aware of all concerns we have as a group.

(Don't take Doc with you, he likes Ralph too much !!)

We could contribute to your flight costs, if necessary.



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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca

Dave,

They're politicians. They're not afraid of us. We're SPAM that's all.
S - Someone
P - Pointing
A - At
M - Me

Down the SPAM hole with us.

With regards to politicians contributing, I think we'd do better to actually tell them what we want them to do rather than them come on and tell us what they're going to do. Their voice should already be ours. So if we want our voice back lets take it!

Why not have a concensus on policy issues we'd like changed and then lobby the different parties to campaign with our voice? Or once the election is over we lobby the government. Can we put our voice together with the Coalition of Canadians, and the Friends of Canadian broadcasters somehow?

It's my experience that more voices do get more action.

I have emailed Silver Donald Cameron to ask if he would volunteer an article once in a while. We'll see what he says.

Good for you 4Canada, bravo!

Perhaps we can also look for sympathetic people in the major dailies and local papers in our areas. It would reach out to large numbers of people who would have the opprotunity to check out the site. Doing so might require a group of people dedicated to media contacts. Or maybe the person who makes the contact should just make the reporter aware that this is not a centralized organization with official policy positions (yet), but a forum for Canadians to participate in and share ideas.

Right now everyone seems pretty much on the same page, but if there is a real influx of people there is bound to be argument in the forums and conflicting positions. Sooner or later there will be groups that will try to discredit us as well.

I love the idea of reaching out to a wider audience and reeling it into the site. But I think there needs to be a section of constructive policy building, a section dedicated to, as 4Canada put it, to find our 'voice', collective and powerful.

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If we are standing still we are moving backwards.

Its sort of funny to me, that some local papers like the political stories, I tried to encourage mine to do a column giving the readers some info on the provincial and federal agends, as in informing the apathetic voters. I was told thanks for the suggestion but we are a community paper so we let the big papers take care of that...guess the small communities are not affected by provincial or federal decisions?!

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

If any of them are reluctant to do this Susan (or Jesse, etc) should keep their names confidential, so they're anonymous to the rest of us.

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"So many right-wing Christians, so few lions." - t-shirt I saw @ school