Category: Weekly Newsletter

September 27, 2010

Anti-Incumbent Voting Effects

We have on our web site a new feature, allowing you to easily write your representatives and inform them that you have taken the anti-incumbent pledge. Doing so, will hasten our process of forcing politicians to address our demands for more accountable and responsible representation. Please click here to send your representatives your pledge. On the same page on our web site, you can also look up the candidates for your districts, and there is a link to register to vote for November's elections if you have not already done so.

Continue reading "Anti-Incumbent Voting Effects" »

August 2, 2010

July: Record Month for VOID Donations

Last month, Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy (VOID) set a record for the largest amount of individual donations of any month in its 4 year history. In July of 2010, VOID raised over $10,000 in its campaign to move voters to get control of their politicians by changing the rules on how they get reelected.

VOID's president had this to say about changing the reelection rules:

Continue reading "July: Record Month for VOID Donations" »

June 25, 2010

The Partisan Side of Voting Out Incumbents

Update: July 11, 2010. Someone named Ed emailed me today to advise that the following statement in this article is incorrect: "FlushGov states it is a for-profit site founded by a Las Vegas developer, named Stephen Allen Wynn." Ed states Wynn has nothing to do with FlushGov and that FlushGov is a non-profit web site.

Continue reading "The Partisan Side of Voting Out Incumbents" »

May 22, 2010

May, 2010 Newsletter

Dear Anti-incumbent Supporter,

The Media is finally catching up and talking about the Vote Out Incumbents strategy, which is growing by leaps and bounds amongst the American public. Some incumbents are taking a beating in the primaries. A couple years ago, C-Span's Washington Journal call-in program gave me a couple minutes to explain the Vote Out Incumbents Democracy concept. Thereafter, they refused our calls when the words anti-incumbent, or Vote Out Incumbents, were uttered.

Continue reading "May, 2010 Newsletter" »

February 2, 2010

2010: An Anti-Incumbent Election Year

Feb.2, 2010

I watch, listen to, and read the political news each and every day, and I am enormously impressed that the main stream media political analysts are using the word "anti-incumbent" in their discussions and projections of this year's elections. More and more our Vote Out Incumbents window/bumper stickers are showing up on cars on America's highways and streets thanks to our supporters and members helping fund their production and distribution.

Continue reading "2010: An Anti-Incumbent Election Year" »

December 7, 2009

Dec. 2009 - Newsletter

Dec. 7, 2009

We wish you all the very warmest and happiest holidays.

Last month's off-year elections were overwhelmingly anti-incumbent. From governor's races to local city councils, anti-incumbent voters overwhelmed incumbent supporters. It is crucial that we keep this momentum going and strengthen it into the 2010 mid-term elections.

Continue reading "Dec. 2009 - Newsletter" »

November 24, 2009

Sign In Problem Fixed, Happy Holiday

Nov. 24, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving VOID supporters, and thank you for your support of better government from our U.S. Congress.

We also extend an apology to those who have been inconvenienced by not being able to figure out the Sign In process on our web site. Apparently, a software setting we thought had been set, hadn't in actuality. Our sincere apology. Signing in now takes visitors to a default log in screen where simply entering one's user name and password are all that is required.

We have life, hopefully health, and unprecedented freedom in human history to act on our own and each other's behalf. For all of America's ills, we should never lose sight of these, nor relinquish our disposition to be ever thankful for the good fortune of living in America. There are many worse places one might have called home.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

November 16, 2009

Anti-Incumbent Sentiment on the Move

November 16, 2009

At long last, after decades of mismanagement, waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayers and their dollars, and years of effort and support by Vote Out Incumbents Democracy, the polling numbers show the American public is finding the VOID prescription to be just what the doctor ordered.

Continue reading "Anti-Incumbent Sentiment on the Move" »

September 27, 2009

Andrew Kugler Becomes Newest Board Member

Sept. 27, 2009

I am pleased to announce that with all member votes counted, Andrew Kugler becomes VOID's newest board member.

A board meeting was conducted with outgoing Stephanie Christ, David Remer, and Edward Southwick on Sept. 22. A brief VOID history has been drafted and is currently under review. It will be posted as soon as ready.

Another board meeting will be scheduled in October with our newest director, to bring everyone up to date, and continue charting VOID's success going forward.

VOID has a number of other volunteer roles and titles to be filled in coming months which can be found by clicking here. Please review these roles for your consideration in volunteering to promote the VOID cause toward the 2010 elections and beyond.

September 10, 2009

Nomination Period Ends, Election begins.

Sept. 10, 2009

The nomination period for the election of a new VOID Board director, has closed. Mr. Andrew Kugler is the only nominee received from the VOID membership. The election of VOID's newest director, will therefore, begin tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009.

Members with email addresses on record will receive an email ballot. Those with no email address in our database, will receive postal mail notification of the election and a request for their vote by return postal mail or email. To allow time for postal mail recipients to respond with their vote, the election ballots will continue to be accepted through the 26th of Sept., with the stipulation that postal mailed ballots be postmarked no later than Sept. 21, 2009.

About the Nominee:

Mr. Andrew Kugler is a lifetime family member of VOID. Residing in Texas, Mr. Kugler's resume includes a BSc degree in Geology, Yale University, Ph.D Geology University of Tasmania, and an Independent in the Oil & Gas business for 35 years.

August 24, 2009

Nominations Open for VOID director

August 24, 2009

Yesterday, emails were sent to VOID members, and postal mail dropped in the mail box, calling for nominations for another VOID director for its board.

Stephanie Christ indicated awhile back her desire to step down from the Board when convenient. Mrs. Christ has served as a valuable board member since early in 2006, when VOID was officially formed. Without her years of support and effort, VOID would not have grown to today's level. Mrs. Christ will remain an active member, but, must devote more time to school and family.

Continue reading "Nominations Open for VOID director" »

August 11, 2009

Edward Southwick is VOID's newest Director

August 11, 2009

The number of votes received from VOID members was a bit disappointing, but, all votes received were yea, for Mr. Southwick stepping into the role of VOID's newest director. I wish to thank those who did register their vote, and welcome Mr. Southwick to our board of directors.

August 9, 2009

Board election

Aug. 9, 2009

We have received 3 email votes on Mr. Edward Southwick's candidacy for the Board. There are 5 postal mail ballots outstanding, which if sent by the postmark deadline, would not arrive until Tuesday. Therefore, it is not possible at this moment to declare the election outcome.

The announcement of the votes will therefore, be issued on Tuesday, Aug 11.

August 4, 2009

Nominee for Board of Directors

The following article has been updated, please read the first comment, after reading this newsletter.

Aug. 4, 2009

Good News!

The following email went out to VOID members yesterday, who are eligible to vote for VOID nominees to the Board of Directors.
-----------------------------------------------------

Continue reading "Nominee for Board of Directors" »

August 1, 2009

Board Directors Update

August 1, 2009

In a meeting between board members Stephanie Christ and David Remer last week, Stephanie Christ agreed to become the interim Treasurer. However, later, after conferring with the resigning Treasurer regarding what was required, Ms. Christ contacted Remer and advised that she would not be willing to take on the additional role.

Continue reading "Board Directors Update" »

July 26, 2009

VOID Treasurer Wanted

July 25, 2009

Daniel Summars has been a board member and Treasurer of VOID since its founding. This week, Mr. Summars informed the board of directors, he is stepping down to pursue other ventures. Mr. Summars has been an exemplary Treasurer and board member and we will miss his contributions to VOID. VOID must now seek a replacement.

Continue reading "VOID Treasurer Wanted" »

July 10, 2009

VOID Launches Community Web site

July 10, 2009

As promised near the end of last month, VOID officially announced today the opening of its new VOID Community web site for VOID supporters and members. Our Community site will provide our supporters and members with a place to engage and interact with each other. The announcement was made on the The Rhino Show on BlogTalk Radio today where I was interviewed for a half hour about the VOID organization.

A newsletter will be emailed to VOID supporters and members tomorrow morning with details about the Community web site and its availability to them. It is anticipated that the Community web site will begin to reverse the structure of the VOID organization from a top down PAC to a bottom up voter coordination and interaction organization.

VOID Pres. Radio Interview

July 10, 2009

Douglas Watts, host of The Rhino show on BlogTalk Radio, invited VOID's president, David Remer, to a half hour interview this afternoon. It went very well by all accounts. Douglas Watts was a very supportive and enthusiastic host. Folks can listen to the interview here.

Continue reading "VOID Pres. Radio Interview" »

June 26, 2009

VOID Community Page

June 26, 2009

Work is underway to provide a VOID Community web page where VOID supporters can chat with each other, write up their own essays, form groups by location, and generally share information, tips, gripes, news, or anything else relating to the VOID organization concept, message, and mission.

Supporters will be emailed upon its completion and receive an invitation to meet, visit, and interact with other VOID supporters.

April 27, 2009

Your Support Is Important!

April 27, 2009

Your board of directors met twice in March. We need your help to finish our plans for the 2010 election cycle. We aim to move ever more voters to objectively evaluate their congressional representatives before pulling the lever to reelect them.

Your help and support are needed. Please review the following options and choose as many for your support as you are comfortable providing.

Continue reading "Your Support Is Important!" »

April 12, 2009

What's the Buzz?

April 12, 2009

VOID's Board met twice in March to organize our general agenda for the 2010 election cycle. These were very productive meetings, which brought forth some new projects, better ways to fulfill older ones, and now its your turn.

As promised in February's newsletter, we are sending out an email to all our members and supporters asking for your brainstorming ideas on expanding VOID's reach and public awareness. If you are not yet a member or on our newsletter roster, we would welcome your suggestions and ideas in the comments section to this article.

Hundreds of VOTE OUT INCUMBENTS bumper stickers with our web site address, which we provide, are now seen in half of the states of our union on car bumpers and rear windows. This has, by far, been the most successful public awareness effort to date, besides our web site.

But, we need more avenues and ideas on raising public awareness of VOID's advocacy to improve Congressional performance and responsibility. Give us your ideas and we will give them serious consideration and implement them where resources permit. We are all in this together, and the more each of us contributes to the VOID brain pool, the more successful will be our efforts toward our common goal - renovating the United States Congress to represent our nation and people, responsibly.

February 23, 2009

Ramping Up In March

Feb. 23, 2009

Your VOID board of directors have taken a much needed rest from their intense efforts during the period leading up to 2008's election. We are preparing to get back in the saddle in March. Early in the month, we will conduct a meeting, the large part of which will establish what we learned from the last election cycle, and what we want to do in this cycle.

That March meeting will be followed by a suggestion and brainstorming period in which we will ask all our supporters and members for their ideas and willingness to volunteer a few hours per month, making those ideas reality. Like Edison said, success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

The Board will meet again in April to primarily focus on calendaring our activities, and laying down the strategies, tactics, and resource allocations to achieve those calendar bench marks. We will need, and look forward to, your feedback and ideas the latter part of March to work with. So, please give some thought to how VOID can improve its reach and megaphone its message, and jot them down somewhere where they won't be forgotten when called for. Don't forget slogans and catchy phrases. We are always looking for that turn of phrase that will capture attention and get people thinking along the lines of voting out bad or ineffective Congress persons.

We enormously respect you and your intelligent support for dramatically improving government performance by assisting as many voters as possible to understand the necessity of holding their own representatives accountable and responsible on election day for what comes out of our United States Congress. Voting for a candidate merely because they are affiliated with this party or that, has proved poor insurance against electing some really awful representatives. We encourage all voters to vote based on the results of the government we get.

Poor government results from poor decisions made by our representatives. We will insure that our members and supporters have link access to how their representatives voted on key legislation over the next 2 years. And we ask that you all encourage others you know to check on the record of their representative periodically over the next 2 years. By checking on their representative's votes periodically, they will be much better prepared to make an intelligent decision as to whether their representative was a part of the solution or part of the problem that came out of our Congress and we have to live with.

We don't ask voters to vote for a party they don't believe in. But, we do ask them to vote for a challenger of their choice in their party primary when voting for Congress persons, if the voting record of their representative does not meet the voter's expectations.

As more voters engage in this intelligent voting behavior, more incumbents responsible for bad government will be removed. And the new politicians who replace them will get the message: they won because the incumbent disappointed the voters, and that is not a mistake they will want to repeat. Better government can be the only outcome of more and more voters casting their ballots in this most rational and responsible way.

December 22, 2008

VOID Election Result

By a unanimous vote of 1 member, the current board of directors were reelected to serve another 2 year term as VOID's board.

I would have thought more VOID members would have voted. Without doing polling research, it is not possible to say why other members were not nominated, and why not even a majority of the nominees voted. Perhaps the most obvious explanations are: 1) no one wants to volunteer the hours and time the current Board of Directors has put in these last 2 years, and 2) appearing unchallenged, the outcome seemed to be a slam dunk and therefore did not require the time to vote.

What I can concretely say is this. The reelected Board members will work as hard and smart as they can to further the goals of Vote Out Incumbents Democracy. More, one cannot ask of volunteers.

December 17, 2008

VOID Director Elections

December 17, 2008

Emails were sent to all VOID members yesterday and a correction today, regarding the election of VOID's directors for the next 2 years.

If you did not receive one and are a member, it is due to our not having an email address on record for you. If you are a member and wish to vote, please send an email with your name and request for voting instructions to president [at] voidnow.org

Voting will take place from Friiday morning at 12:01 AM through midnight Sunday of this weekend.

November 19, 2008

VOID Attacked by Spammers

Nov. 19, 2008, Wednesday

Our website has been down for 6 days as a result of a spammer attack using our good domain name of voidnow.org. We had absolutely no control over this, and there is no way we could have prevented it on the Maia Hosting server.

To complicate matters, Maia Hosting shut down our web site, even though the attack was on our mail system, and refused to provide us hosting service for VOID thereafter. Hence, the delay of six days in order to, find out what happened, then research another hosting service, and then transfer all the files and accounts over to the new server.

We thank you all for your continued support and your patience as we worked through this morass. As a sidenote, spammers and hackers cost customers and businesses 50 billion dollars in 2005. That number is now estimated to cost 100 billion dollars this year. At this rate of growth, these criminals should be able to shut down entire economies in just a few short years. What is our government doing about it?

Not much. I called the FBI the day this happened leaving a detailed message. They never returned the call. Our law enforcement doesn't want to hear about it when we are victims of such crimes. Our own government's computer and server systems are being attacked thousands of times per year. Our tax dollars hardly at work.

Sincerely,
VOID Board of Directors
Stephanie, Daniel, and David

November 4, 2008

Election Day: Blues & Celebration

As early as 8PM this evening, we may have clear indications as to who our next president may be. Be that as it may, there are an enormous number of other important races and candidates to be determined from the Eastern most point of Maine to the Western most tip of Hawaii. For 10's of millions of Americans today, a case of the blues will try to settle in because their horse didn't cross the finish line in first place. But, this election is as much about process as results. And the process, though in desperate need of reform, continues to work.

Continue reading "Election Day: Blues & Celebration" »

September 30, 2008

Window/Bumper Stickers Flying!

If the orders for our Vote Out Incumbents window - bumper stickers are any indication, this is going to be a difficult election for incumbents in many districts across the nation. We have ordered 500 more and they should have shipped today.

Those who ordered in the last 7 days, we apologize for the delay, but, your orders will be processed within 48 hours of the receipt of the new shipment arriving at the end of this week. Thank you all for your tremendous support, and for making the Vote Out Incumbents concept VISIBLE in traffic all across the country.

July 24, 2008

VOID Creates PoliWatch for Supporters and Public.

Almost a month ago, I undertook to erect a web site which would engage voters, provide updated political news, commentary, and debate to help VOID supporters and the public at large become more informed and hopefully, more involved in the political process. The site is named PoliWatch. No VOID funds were used to create this site, but, VOID as sponsor of the site will assume the maintenance costs for its existence as agreed in our Board Meeting last Thursday.

The PoliWatch site will serve to introduce the general public, not only to civil political debate, and political current events from varying Party perspectives, but also the VOID organization as its sponsor. We encourage all of our VOID supporters to visit PoliWatch, and use the comments there to engage the public and help them understand the wisdom and potential gains of voting out incumbents who are corrupt, ineffective, or incompetent.

March 9, 2008

First Large Emailing Completed

VOID has completed its first targeted large emailing of over 6000 emails to voters in the San Antonio, Texas area. The intention was to get this mailing out well before the Texas primary. We purchased the list well in advance, but, ran into enormous obstacles finding the right software to deliver 6000 emails in one swoop, and do it in a manner that would meet with our Host Mail Server sending limits designed to protect their shared hosting resources for other account holders.

Weeks went researching, then an injury, and more weeks of research and finally landing the right software, days went by configuring it, working out details with our Server Host, and finally, getting the email out. Regretfully, the email went out after the Texas Primary instead of before, when interest would have been at its height. We had a few very positive responses, and will likely see more in the coming days.

But, we will press on. The Board will meet shortly to authorize the purchase of another list for another targeted audience. This time, having all the infrastructure in place, we can be assured of a timely delivery in a state with its primary or caucus coming up. The email we are sending raises awareness of the need to vote anti-incumbent where possible, and of our organization and its purpose and mission. You can view the email being sent by clicking here.

Your thoughts, recommendations, and suggestions made in the comments here will be read and considered and very much appreciated.

February 15, 2008

VOID Wants Volunteers

Through the generosity of our membership, Vote Out Incumbents Democracy has funds to direct email voters in some targeted cities about VOID and The Plan. But, to date, VOID has grown to this point on the hundreds of volunteer hours provided by a handful of people. We have reached our growth limit without more volunteers. VOID is reaching out to thousands of voters, and three people volunteering to run VOID simply cannot handle the work load anymore. We have grown too big and our operations too complex for a 3 person Board of Directors to carry the workload.

On the one hand, this is great news. We have succeeded in growing beyond our resources. On the other hand, the bad news is we cannot grow further nor efficiently without help from VOID supporters. Volunteers who can email others, who can research the web and copy and paste some challenger information, who can reply to some newly interested persons, who can blog on other sites about VOID, are all needed if VOID is to continue to grow and change the way Congress abuses us and our tax dollars.

If you can help with a few hours per week or month, please CLICK HERE to provide us with information so we can contact you. And thank you for your continued commitment and support.

November 29, 2007

Milestone Achieved for VOID

We have arrived. VOID has received sufficient memberships and donations to afford the expense of reaching out directly to voters. To all our members and supporters, thank you for your dollars and support, which have brought us to this major milestone in our growth as an organization of independent-minded voters. We are about to reach out directly to 15,000 registered voters in multiple direct email campaigns in 3 different states. This is just the beginning. Our goal is to reach 25 million registered voters in all 50 states.

Continue reading "Milestone Achieved for VOID" »

September 30, 2007

Get Yours Before the Primaries

Window Sticker imageThe Primary Elections begin in just over 2 months. Get your Vote Out Incumbents Window/Bumper sticker and get folks to think about their option. The Primary elections are a crucial time to vote for challengers instead of current office holders failing to produce results. Order yours now, just $3.00, and all revenues support the VOID effort toward more responsible government.

June 12, 2007

You Can Make it Happen.

Special interests in the form of lobbyists and wealthy campaign donors are, by definition, different than the common interests of the American population. One need look no further than this difference to explain why our borders were not secured with dispatch after the 9/11 attacks. The majority of Americans assumed border security after 9/11 would be a no brainer. Yet, more than 5 years after 9/11, we have borders which are still as insecure and porous as on Sept. 10, 2001.

Continue reading "You Can Make it Happen." »

April 8, 2007

April 2007

We have been busy as you can see by our web site changes. But much more has been taking place behind the scenes. The web site has added menu functions. We have given the site a face lift, and reworked everything, insuring that all of the major browsers and versions successfully represent and navigate the VOID web site.

Continue reading "April 2007" »

February 22, 2007

2007 - Readying for 2008

Dear VOID supporter, we hope your holidays were enjoyable and thank you again for your support in 2006.

The Board met at the end of January and among other things, we reevaluated our membership fee structure. We are pleased to announce that individuals may now become voting members of Vote Out Incumbents Democracy for $15, and family membership is now only $25.

We extend our deepest appreciation to last year's members for providing us with working funds to accomplish our mutual goal, a more responsible government. We hope that far more supporters will continue to assist us by becoming members at the new lower rates. Also, we trust our current and previous members will appreciate renewing their membership at the substantially lower rates. If you have not yet become a member, please click here to make your support of VOID official.

Continue reading "2007 - Readying for 2008" »

Links


Contact Us


Or, Postal Mail to:
VOID
PO Box 1271
Spring Branch, Tx.
78070-4902


T-Shirts
Tee Shirt Image

Click on T-Shirt Image to order through our page on the CafePress web site.

Comfortable t-shirt. 100% cotton Hanes Authentic Tagless T-Shirt is preshrunk, durable and guaranteed. 6.1 oz. cotton.


VOID Car Stickers
Bumper Sticker Image
Order your 'Vote Out Incumbents' window - bumper sticker.

Just $3 each. Each order helps VOID raise funds to spread the Vote Out Incumbents message around the country.


VOI Yard Signs
VOI Yard Sign image

Order your 'Vote Out Incumbents' yard sign.

At cost for members. At cost, plus $3 for non-members. Spread the Vote Out Incumbents message, and help drive the reelection rate down in 2012. That's the message our politicians will not ignore.


WHY TUESDAY?
The USA ranks 139th globally in voter participation. So, why do we vote on Tuesday, smack in the middle of the work week?


GET THE MONEY OUT
Sign the Petition to get the money out of politics and governing.


Legal

Federal ID #
83-0445374

Disclaimer!

The views expressed on these pages belong only to their authors, and may not, in any way, reflect the views of the VOID organization.

This blog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.





Credits