Apple likes your money but not your values…

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Eric

Apple is feeling the heat as tens of thousands of conservative Christians respond to it’s recent act of secretly removing a popular Christian oriented app called the Manhatten Declaration from it’s iTunes store.  It appears that Apples likes accepting billions of dollars from Christians but has chosen to side with progressives when it comes to Christian values and freedom of speech. 
Manhatten Declaration - iphone bans
According to Catholic.org, “the application allowed signers, which now breach 478,000 individuals, to sign the declaration, read the 4732-word document, post and share events and take a quiz testing the reader’s knowledge of orthodox Christian teaching on the issues of sanctity of life, dignity of marriage, and religious liberty.”

Apple quietly pulled it when approximately 7000 followers of the progressive website Change.org petitioned Apple to have the app removed because some claim it is offensive. I’m sure Apple would respond to offended Christians the same, aren’t you!  Just another example of liberals forcing their agenda down our throats as we empower them to do so in buying their products.

The Manhatten Declaration issued a direct letter to Apple President Steve Jobs calling for the app to be returned. There was NO response.  So, this week over 25,000+ supporters of the Manhatten Declaration have answered with their own petition requesting Apple to reverse it’s decision.  Will apple continue to hold Christian values hostage and support the degradation of the family structure?

If interested, you can learn more or sign the petition here: http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx 

The point is, money can be a tool or a weapon.  Will conservatives & Christians continue to blindly supply their enemies with both?

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Tea Party Dilemma

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Eric

Organizers, I really need your input here…

Since the Tea Parties & 912 groups are mostly run by people who have never done this before, we are all learning on the job!  Some have skills that come in quite handy for such an endeavor; others…. not so much :-)   But we all get an A+++ for effort.

With 20 months or so under our belts, some organizations are still going strong while others are finding it hard to keep members involved.  The reasons vary widely, but most organizers have dealt with this issue at some point. Often, you come up with a “killer idea” that you just know will reignite the fire, right!  Yet, knowing what motivates people is often not what we think, and the results can be discouraging. 

We need to support one another.  We need to hear from those of you who have found the answers, who know what works, who have a strong active leadership team and membership.

We also need to hear from those who are struggling.  Nothing to be ashamed of, we don’t all have psychology degrees, but we can listen and learn from one another.  Share your questions; somone in “your shoes” probably has some great advice.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP THE ENTIRE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT -
Organizers across America are working their tails off every day to turn this country around.  Encourage and assist one another – togther we become stronger.

There are two ways:
1) I’ve posted this on the Blog at FindALocalTeaParty.com so that everyone can respond, ask questions, get input from other organizers, share success stories, encourage others, etc…  Here’s the link: http://findalocalteaparty.com/blog/tea-party-912-website-promotion/tea-party-dilemma/

2) If you have something that you don’t want to post on the board but would like to pose or suggest to the other organizers, simply email me; I’ll forward it on or whatever you need.

I see many Tea Party / 912 sites with little recent activity…  No time to simmer; TURN UP the Heat!

Thank you,

Eric

PS – our Facebook page is taking off !!   If you haven’t already, remember to implement some of those facebook tools for your site.

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Events, Tea Party / 912 Website Promotion | Tagged , | 8 Comments

a HUGE Tea Party / 912 Tool…

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Eric

I want to see your groups flourish; so I don’t send out emails selling anything or hyping anything other than our movement.  I try to provide value in areas where I see that the “mom & pop” 912 Project sites falling behind.  Here’s another awesome way to help build your local 912 Project.

Tea Party facebook like box & friends facesHave you been to websites lately and noticed the side box that shows their facebook fans or friends right there on the main website? Right next to it, there is a “Like” button so that you can like it too!  Wouldn’t that be cool for your 912 Project site?

When someone clicks it, a note will show on their Facebook wall letting all their friends know that THEY Like your site!  Nothing better than “Word of Mouth” advertising, right!  From then on, your group will show in the list of pages that they “Like.”  Many people will click it just because they agree even though they won’t get involved, but their friends might!  Also, whenever you post something to your group FB status, it will show on the pages of everyone that likes your group – so maybe you can get them involved over time :-)

You can see an example here: http://findalocalteaparty.com/tea-parties-by-state/Louisiana-tea-parties-912-project-groups.html

Note: You can do this for FB Pages; I’m not sure about Profiles (a person account being used as a 912 Project account)

This is pretty easy to do; it’s just a facebook plugin that you can install on any pages of your main website.

It may be best if you have a common sidebar, like a common footer, that you can edit one time and those changes are included on all other pages automatically.

Here’s the steps if you’d like to make your 912 Project site become more social:

  1. Go to your facebook page & copy the URL address  (you know, the http://facebook.com/YourGroup…. )

  2. Go to the facebook creation page for this plugin    http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like 

  3. Paste your facebook URL into the box “URL to Like” on the page above

  4. Choose your other preferences to create the look you want

            a. Do you want to show the face pics of those who “Like” your group

            b. How wide should it be to fit in your designated website area

            c. Do you want the light or the dark color scheme box, etc…

  5. Hit the Get Code button and copy the iFrame code

  6. Open your webpage html editor & Insert the iFrame code

That’s it!  Pretty simple if you’ve ever looked at your website html.  If not, you can go to fiverr.com and find someone to do it for you for $5.

If you have a Meetup or Ning site, they also have ways to allow you to insert this plugin to show on their platforms.  Check with them to see how.

I hope everyone takes advantage of this simple tool, because it can be huge in gaining hundreds of followers in for the 912 Project New York, NY.

Eric w/ FindALocalTeaParty.com

P.S. -  Please take a minute to “Like” my page as well via the link above :-)

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Website Promotion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Your Tea Party needs a Facebook Landing Page

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Eric

NOTE: I believe FB only allows Landing Pages like this for FAN Pages.

Instead of having brand new visitors to your Facebook fan page go straight to your wall, you can direct them to a special page that shows them what you wish to showcase.  Want to them to go to your main website?  Sign up on your email list?  Become a new member?  Or maybe just to “Like” your FB page!

You can dress up your own landing page like this one:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Find-A-Local-Tea-Party-com/165138563515854

First of all, if you don’t have Adobe Photoshop to create some really nice images,
you can also use a similar program that is free called Gimp (go to gimp.org)

There are 3 main steps:

1)      Use an Awesome Profile Photo
2)      Design your Facebook Landing Page
3)      Setup your FB Landing Page

1-The Profile Photo…
Instead of the normal square photo, make the most of that space!  On the Find A Local Tea Party site above, that “photo” image is 200 x 534 pixels.  The nice thing is that it shows on every one of my FB pages and encourages the visitor to “Like” the page and “Suggest” it to their friends.

2-Design your Page…
How to Put “Your Look” on the landing page.   This tutorial even includes a photoshop template that you can download. 
In the tutorial, he gives a dimension that he found optimal for his large page image, yet later on he mentions that FB changed their dimensions.  In case you have problems, from my own recent experience in creating a FB landing page, I found 493 pixels to be the width that worked best.  Mine is also using 2 images on top of each other.  This way it loads faster and it allows me to make the entire lower image into a link.

http://www.standoutblogger.com/tutorials/tutorial-facebook-landing-page-template-psd-included/

3-Setup your Page…
How to Setup The Landing Page so that you can add a new tab to the top of your FB. You can rename this new tab to be anything your want.  I called mine Step #1. (Starts with step 4 of this tutorial)

http://www.standoutblogger.com/social-media/how-to-create-a-facebook-page-for-your-blog/  

 Now, go get some Tea Party FANS!!

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Website Promotion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is your money being used against you?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Eric

In continuing with the question,  ”Are Conservatives Fund Their Own Demise?”,  look at these stats for the heaviest political contributors over the last 20 years.  

Notice where the huge majority of the money in this list comes from - Unions.  Where’s it going?  You know the answer to that!  The numbers are staggering!

Also, look at some of the companies and where they fall in their political giving.  Of all these, notice that the MOST Conservative donating company with 99% on this table also happens to be one that has been smeared and belittled for decades…  We’ve never seen that tactic before!  LOL  

So, Is your money being used against you???
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?order=A

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Are conservatives funding their own demise?

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Eric

Now that we’ve met many goals in the recent election, where do we go from here?

Well, if you’re like many Tea Party / 912 organizers, you may be wondering how to keep your membership active after “The Shellacking.” Many groups have been struggling with this issue for several months: patriots are continuing to educate themselves, but getting them to walk the streets in true grassroots activist fashion is another story.  It can be frustrating, I know.   Five or ten percent are doing all the work.  Much of that is because they are busy working their tails off or being responsible, engaged parents.  So, how do we reenergize them, especially after Nov 2?

In some ways, we have to meet them where they are.  For most of us, time outside of our responsibilities is limited; so, why not better utilize a tool all of us are wielding – the dollar.  When you buy a computer, do you buy an Apple from Steve Jobs who donates heavily to the Democrats, or do you buy a Dell from Michael Dell who supports conservatives? 

Look, I often think of how crazy it is that union members pay unions dues to essentially fund their own demise, but aren’t conservatives doing the same thing!  We buy products and services every day; how much of that is being used against us?  To destroy patriotism, to belittle our faith, to rewrite history, to kill capitalism, to deceive our own children! Conservatives can no longer go quietly about our lives allowing (or hoping) our elected representatives to carry our weight. The restoration of America has to become part of everything we do, not just an emergency response because this threat will not cease.

We have to make it a priority to support those that support us; this is critical.  Simply educating our members on something they are already doing is a no-brainer. And, it’s simple.  Take notice not only of the companies, but also follow their brands. In some cases the company name is not familiar, but they may provide many nationally known name brand products.

Realizing where some of these companies stand will surprise you.  Here is a sampling  (I have not verified the data)…

From The Right Wing Troll website (last updated 7/16/2005)

Listed below are companies which support conservatives according to the site along with the percentage of contributions going to conservatives:

Ace Hardware Corporation 100%
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. 100%
Best Buy Co., Inc. 100%
California Pizza Kitchen, Inc. 100%
Cintas Corporation 100%
CSS Industries, Inc. 100%
Curves International Inc 100%
Dollar General Corporation 100%
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. 100%
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. 100%
Fruit of the Loom 100%
In-N-Out Burgers, Inc 100%
Kohl’s Corporation 100%
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. 100%
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. 100%
Michaels Stores, Inc. 100%
Nordstrom, Inc. 100%
PETsMART, Inc. 100%
RE/MAX International, Inc. 100%
Russell Stover Candies Inc. 100%
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. 100%
WinCo Foods, Inc 100%
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. 99%
Chick-fil-A, Inc 99%
Huffy Corporation 99%
Pier 1 Imports, Inc. 99%
Raley’s Inc. 99%
Gold’s Gym International, Inc 98%
Outback Steakhouse, Inc. 98%
Kelly Services, Inc. 97%
Williams-Sonoma, Inc 97%
CBRL Group, Inc. 96%
McDonald’s Corporation 96%
Exxon Mobil Corporation 95%
Geico 95%
Hershey Foods Corporation 95%
TJX Companies Inc., The 95%
Applebee’s International, Inc. 94%
AutoNation, Inc. 94%
Urban Outfitters, Inc. 94%
Wendy’s International, Inc. 94%
24 Hour Fitness Worldwide, Inc. 93%
Darden Restaurants, Inc. 91%
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc 91%
AirTran Holdings, Inc 90%
Circuit City Stores, Inc. 90%
International House of Pancakes (IHOP Corp.) 90%
Panda Restaurant Group, Inc 90%
Chevron Corporation 89%
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The 89%
Saks Incorporated 89%
Activision, Inc. 88%
Dell Inc. 88%
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. 88%
Kroger Co. 88%
Meijer, Inc. 88%
Office Depot, Inc. 88%
OfficeMax Incorporated 88%
Publix Super Markets, Inc. 88%
Zale Corporation 88%
Ahold USA, Inc. 87%
ConocoPhillips 87%
TIAA-CREF 87%
Hallmark Cards, Inc. 86%
America West Holdings Corporation 85%
American Greetings Corporation 85%
Oracle Corporation 85%
Brinker International, Inc. 84%
EarthLink, Inc. 84%
Helzberg Diamonds 84%
Limited Brands, Inc. 84%
Molson Coors Brewing Company 84%
Papa John’s International, Inc 84%
Staples, Inc. 84%
USAA 84%
Marriott International, Inc. 83%
Menard, Inc. 83%
Shell Oil Company 83%
Target Corporation 83%
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. 83%
Home Depot, Inc. 82%
Southwest Airlines Co. 82%
SUPERVALU INC 82%
Campbell Soup Company 80%
YUM! Brands, Inc. 79%
Longs Drug Stores Corporation 78%
May Department Stores Company 78%
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 78%
Heineken N.V. 77%
Procter & Gamble Company 77%
Weyerhaeuser Company 76%
Albertson’s, Inc. 75%
Continental Airlines, Inc. 75%
Intel Corporation 75%
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 75%
Nestle S.A. 75%
General Motors Corporation 74%
Georgia-Pacific Corporation 73%
Guess?, Inc 73%
MBNA Corporation 73%
US Airways Group, Inc 73%
Family Dollar Stores, Inc. 72%
Ford Motor Company 72%
Harley-Davidson, Inc. 72%
Motorola, Inc. 72%
T-Mobile International AG & Co. KG 72%
United Parcel Service, Inc 72%
Allstate Corporation, The 70%
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. 70%
Safeway Inc. 70%
Qwest Communications International Inc. 69%
Covad Communications Group, Inc 68%
Federated Department Stores, Inc. 68%
Northwest Airlines Corporation 68%
Bank of New York Company Inc., The 67%
Sears, Roebuck and Co. 66%
Verizon Communications Inc. 66%
Burger King Corporation 65%
SBC Communications Inc. 65%
Sprint Corporation 65%
Walgreen Co. 65%
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. 64%
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company 64%
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 64%
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company 64%
Books-A-Million, Inc. 63%
BP PLC 62%
Coca-Cola Company, The 62%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, The 62%
Bank of America Corporation 61%
Capital One Financial Corporation 61%
Constellation Brands, Inc. 61%
Rite Aid Corporation 61%
Xerox Corporation 61%
Blockbuster Inc. 60%
Amazon.com, Inc. 59%
Hewlett-Packard Company 59%
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc 59%
International Business Machines Corporation 58%
Jones Apparel Group, Inc 58%
MetLife, Inc. 58%
Wells Fargo & Company 58%
Carnival Corporation 57%
Countrywide Financial Corporation 57%
Delta Air Lines, Inc. 57%
Microsoft Corporation 57%
Wet Seal Inc, The 57%
AT&T Corp. 56%

If you have a more recent list, please forward it to me.

For continual updates, join the facebook page called Buy Conservative.
Here’s their address: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Buy-Conservative/105421832828791
Here’s a eye-opener from their site: “If every one that voted Republican 2004 shifted just $100 a year from Blue-supporting companies to Red-supporting companies that would shift $5 billion in the United States economy in one year to the side of the republicans.”

Another site to track the money is http://www.opensecrets.org/
Feel free to forward any great sources for this type of info to me. This will be a topic of focus on our blog.

So, Will we continue to fund our own demise? 

Eric w/ FindALocalTeaParty.com

PS – take a minute, go to our site, www.FindALocalTeaParty.com, and make sure your info is correct such as your logo image, contact info, website addresses, etc…  In some cases, members may have added your site and not used the exact data that you would have used.  If so, simply click on the “Organizer Sign In” link and request that your password be emailed to you. Then, you can login and make any changes.  Or, reply to this email for help :-)

Posted in Buy Conservative, FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Examining Black Loyalty to Democrats (entertaining)

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Eric

More and more black conservatives are stepping out to expose the liberal lies that have kept their race in poverty for so long. Zo gives an entertaining look at why it’s the Republicans that have always been the party to help his race…

Posted in Exposing the Race Lie, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Tea Party, is your Facebook address helping you??

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Eric

Facebook is huge, but the usual Tea Party facebook address is uuuuuggggglllllyyyyyyyyyy! Who can remember an address like “http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55223597239889183″ ?? Not many of us. Hey, our brain is full of info on the czar kingdom, we need to work smarter! We need to promote our groups in ways that make it easier for local residents to find us, right? Would you ever put that address on a sign? What about a business card?

There’s this little trick to having a nice, clean, easy to remember Facebook address for your Tea Party of 912 Group. Check out http://www.Facebook.com/username

You have to pick a name that is unique, but then, It’s Yours! And your ugly facebook address can look more like this: http://www.facebook.com/texasteaparty

Grab your name before someone else does. No kidding – check out the shocker at facebook.com/teaparty      Not what you expect :-)

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Website Promotion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tea Party / 912 Website Tips – Things that your website should be doing

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Eric

Hey guys, while browsing the many tea party & 912 sites out there, I’ve realized a few things that everyone should be doing but many are not.  Many sites are even appearing to “die off” because members have lost interest, and eventually, so did the organizers. You have to keep your members engaged.

We want to help everyone grow their groups; so here are some simple things that everyone should be doing:

1)  Facebook – first, if you don’t have a Facebook page or group for your organization, Get One!!

You’re missing TREMENDOUS EXPOSURE!  Facebook has over 500 MILLION members including most of your town!  Also, it is better than email for making contact with your members and building those relationships.  Many Facebook users will get your updates immediately on their cell phones!  Many groups have made their Facebook the main source of information, not their website.  It’s easy to do, if you need help, go to http://americanmajority.org/resources/guides/  for a nice step-by-step guide.

2) If you have a Facebook site, UTILIZE it for gaining New members.  Be sure to complete the details on your INFO tab.  Many people will see your group on the pages of their friends, decide to visit your site to learn more, yet if there are no details on your info page, they are left hanging. Let them know why you formed, what you believe, what you’re doing to change America’s course!  Put links to your website, mailing address, etc… Let them know your organization is Alive and Active.

3) Each of your sites represent your effectiveness!  If someone goes to your meetup, ning, facebook, twitter, etc…and see that the last post was 2 months ago, they won’t be impressed.  In fact, they’ll probably think the whole organization is dead.  If you have these sites, keep them updated daily. I know, it can be a pain, but the more you update them, the more your members will as well.  It’s better to not have them, than to leave them dormant because this just hurts the reputation of your entire organization.

4) Use Vanity domains.  Buying your own website domain name is cheap and easy.  With a short domain name that points directly to your website, you can put your website on small political size signs. They will fit now :-)    Also, they are much easier to remember for branding purposes than some long name that people can’t remember (ie. www.meetup.com/yourstatenameteapartypatriotfighters)  You know, you’ve seen them!  Also, you can have these vanity domains point to your meetup, facebook, ning, etc… wherever you wish to make an easy access for members or new prospects.

5) Link to your Facebook, Twitter, Meetup sites FROM your main website!!  This is a big one I see often.  A group may have a small website that isn’t very active, yet, they have a huge Facebook  or meetup following. HOWEVER, from their website, you would never know:  there is No link or mention of their Facebook page on the entire website.  There are some nice widgets you can use that will even copy activity from your Facebook page right to your main website in real time. This way, your site never looks inactive and people can join your Facebook page right from your website.

6) Have a sales letter.  If a new visitor lands on your website, they to find info on your organization’s purpose quickly and easily.  If they have to dig just to find out what you believe, THEY WON’T.  Within seconds, they will leave if they don’t see a “sales letter”, About Us page, or something that summarizes why they may be interested in your Tea Party / 912 Project.

Finally, if you make any changes, be sure to log into your FindALocalTeaParty.com account and let everyone else know of your updates. 

Hope this helps.  Let me know of any questions you may have.

Best,

Eric w/ FindALocalTeaParty.com

P.S. >  Don’t forget!  Email other groups in your state; let them know about our website :-)

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Website Promotion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Conservative Liberty Walk for the Consitution

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Eric

I just received this email and wanted to make sure that all groups know about it.

There is a Liberty Walk for the Constitution, that will be held October 24th at 1:00 p.m. across the nation (checkout websites below).  I know it is on a Sunday (one week from tomorrow), and that is probably why it was chosen.  It is after church; so most people will not be working.

There is a big push to get the word out and get more cities on board. They need organizers in these cities to help show a national presence to demand that congress “OBEY The Consitution!”  You can sign up on the website to get started.  Everything needed to stage your own Walk is there on the site including the graphic file for a banner.

Learn more at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF-pXZEqGYo

Or visit the website at http://libertywalk.us/

It’s an easy way for average Americans to get involved, and for your existing members to contribute!!  It can help bring new members into Tea Party / 912 Projects across America.

Nov 2 – Just 16 days away!

Eric w/ FindALocalTeaParty.com 

P.S. – from my last email, has everyone linked to your website to your group’s facebook page yet?

Posted in FindALocalTeaParty.com Past Emails, Tea Party / 912 Events | Tagged , , | Leave a comment