Dear dfowler
Many thanks for sharing your idea. The recorders deadline is June 19th.
I was just thinking this thread is kind of scattered
it is a bit.
You have been very honest, so let me also be quite straight here:
-We desperately need comitted, dependable, intelligent and spirited volunteers and we need to support them as much as possible.
-We desperately don't need manic depressives who once in a blue moon manic phase stomp their feet in frustration that 'no one is doing anything', create a lot of bustle for a short while and then go away to sulk leaving things unfinished and adrift.
I created a thread a while back regarding contacting big name celebrities. I now think that we should focus more on big name scientists and other science minded individuals
(...) I basically think perhaps we should keep trying to influence congress
Are you indicating that you have changed your mind? (ie. formally you were thinking about lobbying Angelia Jolie, then you were thinking John Holdren and now you are thinking Congressmen?)
I'm asking you guys to work on ways to find these people and contact them.
We could set up a page were we collate whenever a person has entered the spotlight for whatever reason and a way of contacting them, share tips and keep tabs on who has contacted whom.
That would be quite useful but someone has to drive it. Would you put yourself foward to coordinate such an efford?
In terms of political lobbying, you have already noted the discussion on collaborations with CEL
http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=28551
Should I have more formally outlined this with special attention to these criteria
I think that would be helpful
However, it sounds a bit like you don't have a proposal in mind already, but are just impatient to do something and are looking for advice.
If that is the case, it would be good if you could share where you think your skills and strengths lie. How would you like to help?
Writing a lot of letters? Making a lot of phonecalls? Writing pamplets? Help with grant writing?
I think I could help with a page to help with contacting celebrities and sort out whenever a person has entered the spotlight and all of the rest that you said. I'm not positive that I would like to be the projects champion as I think you called it only because I've been through alot and wish to start things slow. By this I DON'T mean I don't want to do alot of work, I just don't want to take on more responsibility than I might be able to handle at this time. Maybe I could set up a contacting celebrity page but don't know any html or any programming. So I will help out in ways that I think I can. If you mean just a regular old style thread with names of new celebs, like Bill Maher, and his contact info etc. than I could certainly do this. I don't know who John Holdren is, and am sure I did not mention him, but that is neither here nor there.
I also want to emphasize that I'm quite stable and as always I'm committed to rationality and reason and doing projects well.
Are you indicating that you have changed your mind? (ie. formally you were thinking about lobbying Angelia Jolie, then you were thinking John Holdren and now you are thinking Congressmen?)
Um no I think we should be contacting celebrities who have a vested interest in healthy living and in particular not dying...and I think we could, and should, be contacting celebrities as well as big names in science as well as Congress and other special interest groups. Because I was out of commission for a while I didn't know about the EU, researchers and public health officials, but I now realize we could be lobbying them too.
As for what you don't want in an imminst volunteer I agree with you exactly. Because I am only working part time right now I believe I could be a consistent help with you guys on projects that I feel I could be good at. I don't plan on being "that guy" who wails about problems and doesn't work hard to fix them. So I'm committed.
I would be good at letter writing, phonecalls, but not so much with writing pamphlets and grant writing as I have lost some skill at being good with remembering alot of details and my memory is still rather not so good. Perhaps if I continue to recover I will one day feel comfortable writing pamphlets, as I was quite good at it before. As for the grant writing I would have to read more up on it and would most likely have to wait until I made more progress in my memory.
Aubrey de Grey mentioned a volunteer lobby effort that he is doing on facebook and I plan on getting involved with that. I will update you on that info. And Tom, from C.E.L., is supposed to get back to me on the lobbying Congress side, so I guess that is under way.
Don mentioned whether I think I might be good at generating ideas for C.E.L., again I told him I might be better at letter writing, but that doesn't mean I won't put in some effort and see where it goes. I also have Lauren here, my girlfriend, who is really great at wrting and generating ideas, so maybe she could help me with these projects too.
In summary, I am ready to work on the celebrity project and the lobbying project with Aubrey and C.E.L. Just get back to me, if you have time, and tell me what would be required of the celebrity project, or I should say, if there is anything that I think may be over my head at this time than I will refrain from doing it. I'll be the best judge of that I think.
thanks for being straight with me too,
Devon
Edited by dfowler, 08 June 2009 - 04:02 PM.