Latest News:
We’ve been getting a lot of requests from supporters who wanted to know how they could get a bumper sticker, campaign sign or other campaign item to show their support for Steve Packard for US Congress.
We’re very pleased to announce that we now have an online ordering system that allows you to purchase these items. A portion of each sale will benefit the campaign, so each purchase is also a donation. Your purchase also helps enormously in getting the word out and building the grassroots support we need.
The store is a CafePress custom product store. This turned out to be the easiest way to put these products out there and offer them to supporters without having to deal with the overhead of filling orders. As of this posting, the store might look a little rough, as we’re still working on the template and interface. However, we’ve gotten so many requests for campaign gear, we didn’t want to wait to start offering it.
Just a quick administrative note:
The campaigns mailing address has changed. If you are sending corospondence by mail or making a contribution in the mail, please use the following address:
Packard 2012
PO Pox 4361
Hamden, CT 06514
Letters or items sent to the old mailing address should still get to us, so do not worry if you’ve already sent anything, but this is the preferred address.
We have been receiving a lot of requests from supporters who want to know what they can do to help out. At this point, we’re still very much in need of monetary contributions, so if you are able to do so, donations are greatly appreciated and will help a lot. However, we now also have some other opportunities for those interested to help out.
- We need experienced Wikipedia writers to help by creating pages on Steve Packard and the campaign. All the information you will need to do so is available on this site in the “info” section or can be found on Steve’s personal site, Depleted Cranium to create a good article. There is also plenty of information on the third district of Connecticut readily available. Because of the nature of Wikipedia, we would prefer that some individuals not associated directly with the campaign take the initiative to create the entries on their own.
- You can help promote us on the web by writing about this page or linking to it on your blog, if you have one. If not, links to us on Facebook, on web forums and elsewhere are helpful too. Anything that gets the message out and generates some publicity or donations. Also be sue to “like” our Facebook page.
- To help get the word out even better, you can submit this page in full or various posts on the page to sites that link to news stories, such as Fark, Slashdot and so on. For example: a congressional candidate who completely opposes SOPA? That mght be something that Slashdot would run with if a few people submitted it.
- For those living in the third district only - We will soon be getting our first batch of campaign items like buttons and bumper stickers. We expect to also be receiving yard signs in the near future. However, we’re going to need to setup some locations where supporters can come in to get these items. If you live in the third district and own a business like a store, restaurant or an office that is open to the public, we would greatly appreciate it if you would consider being a distribution point for our items. We will list your business as a place where supporters can stop to pick up a sticker or other item and you may also get some extra customers in the process. Please contact info@packard2012.org if you are interested.
- Also for those living in the third district - We’re looking at doing some fundraisers in the form of parties or mini-rallies to start things off with. If you are interested in hosting such an event at your home and think you can get some people to attend, please contact us at info@packard2012.org. If you have access to any kind of larger venue, such as a restaurant, a banquet hall, a club or organization’s meeting hall or some other appropriate location and would like to donate it or could arrange for a discounted rate to use it, we would be especially interested.
That is it for now. We expect to have more opportunities for more organized volunteer work soon. Remember, anything you can do to help get the word out or get some donations can really help us a lot. At this early stage it’s all about filling our warchest for the campaign ahead. This is a true grassroots campaign and we can’t do it without you.
I’ve recently received some e-mails asking me what my position is on SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R.3261). The act is aimed at reducing online media and merchandise piracy. It would give the United States government broad and sweeping powers to shut down websites and block IP address ranges within the United States in a manner similar to the internet filters currently being used in the People’s Republic of China. The justification for this is that such policies would be necessary to protect the rights of intellectual property owners (such as record companies, publishers and movie studios) and to stop the sale of elicit and counterfeit items, such as fake prescription drugs.
While these concerns are certainly valid, the kind of power that SOPA would give the Federal government is very unsettling. The government would be given nearly limitless power to control internet content, blocking IP ranges from being accessed by end users and even employing deep packet inspection, which allows the reading and blocking of anything anyone views or transmits by the internet. In other words, when you go to a website or send an e-mail, the government would be able to read it, or institute a program to read it, and then block it at will.
Of course, SOPA comes with the promise of the government that these powers will only be used for the most honorable of reasons, such as to stop dangerous counterfeit drugs from being sold to consumers, and will never be used to violate the privacy of anyone. Yet it offers few requirements to assure that this is actually the case.
That’s absolutely not good enough. The United States was founded on the principle of individual rights and restrictions of the power of the government to invade the lives of citizens. Furthermore, the internet has becomes the greatest communications medium in existence because of the freedom it offers all users to exchange information in a manner that avoids any single entity becoming the gatekeeper.
Many objections have been raised about this legislation and rightfully so. To be perfectly honest, the fact that such a bill would even have a viable chance of passing the Congress and being signed into law scares me. It is unacceptable. Even more disturbing is the fact that even if the law is a violation of the US Constitution, it is entirely possible that it would not be struck down by the Supreme Court simply because the justices currently on the bench lack the technical savy to realize how harmful this affront to liberty and the free exchange of ideas really is.
Therefore, I should make it crystal clear that if elected, not only will I not vote for SOPA, but I will use every legislative tool at my disposal to oppose any bill that provides anything even remotely close to the kind of powers SOPA would give the government. Given my background in the IT sector, I have a very good appreciation of the implications of this bill and I won’t stand for it.
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From myself and everyone associated with the campaign, Merry Christmas to all!
Happy Holidays to all, whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa
that you are celebrating. We hope that your holidays are safe, enjoyable and free from want or need.
We have finished registering for online donations. You can now make donations to the campaign from Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card. Just click the “Contribute Here” button on the left to make your donation.
Individuals can donate up to $2500. The minimum for making donations through the online credit card system is $10. All donations are greatly appreciated.
Please note that you must be a US citizen to donate to the campaign.
Some have inquired about whether we will be taking Paypal for donations. At this time we’re not planning on adding Paypal, but that may change.
There’s no getting around it: Political campaigns are expensive. It’s amazing how fast the bills pile up for everything from website hosting to dedicated phone lines to filing fees. To win this election and bring some common sense to Washington, we’re going to need all the help we can get from our supporters.
US citizens can donate up to $2500, but every dollar helps and even small contributions are greatly appreciated. Getting money early in the campaign is critical to building the momentum we’ll need in November.
As you can see, our website has finally come online. There’s still a great deal of content to be added, so check back frequently for new pages and features as we put the finishing touches on the site.
News releases, updates, information and events will all be posted on this site. You can also check out our Facebook and Twitter pages for news and updates.
