Children & Robocalls about terrorists... thoughts? What is the best response?

[Essene]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crONNOrjMs

"My daughter answered the phone today and began listening to the most disturbing call regarding bombing and terrorists. She ran with the phone to get me, I heard just the end snippet of the call and immediately called the number cited as responsible," http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/20/mccains-robocalls-have-pa_n_136044.html">wrote a reader from North Carolina. "I was so angry and let them have it. I had to explain to my 7-year-old daughter that no one was bombing anyone else. This was a horrific experience."

This is below the dignity of America, plain and simple. Americans need to rise up and voice their anger on this.

Stop calling families with hateful, fear mongering messages which disturb children.

This goes beyond merely irresponsible and creepy. Even when confronted with the disturbing reality of spamming Americans with these unethical phone calls, both Mccain and Palin tried to simply deflect the truth. Several republicans have spoken out on this. More people need to speak out until it stops.

1. Join the "dont call me" political registry http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org

2. Contact the Mccain campaign http://www.johnmccain.com/Contact/

3. Contact Governor Palin's office http://gov.state.ak.us/govmail.php

4. Contact your local GOP politicians and demand they show some moral fortitude on this issue.


Here is my own email to NYC Mayor Bloomberg: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Mayor Bloomberg,

New Yorkers understand the seriousness and caution needed to address matters of terrorism.

Please speak out about the fear inducing "robocalls" going out to families across America. Children are picking up the phone, being bombarded with this irresponsible fear mongering about "terrorists and bombings."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ManvViFZ4l4

Speak out.

This is below our dignity as Americans and completely inappropriate for children.

Please take the lead on demanding an end to this.

[Essene]

1. so.. DU would rather argue about whether Colin Powell is a war criminal than to bump and discuss

How depressing.

[dgibby]

7. You underestimate us. We are quite capable of multi-tasking.

DU is, after all, a place to discuss, persuade and be persuaded. It's a place to come to exchange ideas, settle differences, express feelings, and sometimes argue.

I, for one, appreciate the opportunity DU has given me to engage in the political process, interact with those who share my viewpoint, as well as those who don't (although I seriously question why they don't
:evilgrin:!!!)

I am so grateful for the education I've received from my fellow DUers. I am a much better informed voter as a result, and am much more involved in the political process. It's like getting a degree in political science without having to pay the tuition! (Don't get any ideas, Skinner!:rofl!)

Don't get discouraged about the time spent discussing different topics. Things ebb and flow like the tide around here. Some waves are larger than others in terms of response. Some break on a slow news day, therefore gaining more attention. Some evoke more passion. Some, like the Michele Bachmann debacle, are viewed as a Call to Arms, demanding action. Others are just pure fun, good for grins and giggles, and relieving stress and tension.

In the end, the greatest thing about DU is that we all have the right to express ourselves,and all opinions (excluding trolls, of course) are equally important.

Isn't Democracy grand?

[blue-kite]

2. Yes this is much more important... k/r

[Essene]

3. back at ya

[knitter4democracy]

4. I've wondered about that myself.

My kids often answer the phone before I can get it, and if they heard that call, they'd be scared and would wonder what was going on.

Yet again, the GOP shows that it doesn't actually care about Americans. They're so gung-ho on cheating and doing whatever it takes to win, they don't care about the "collateral damage" along the way. Scaring children? No problem as long as they win. Inciting violence? No problem as long as they win. Making it harder for this nation to heal and instead making the divide worse? No problem as long as they win. It's disgusting.

[blue-kite]

5. Essene dude... I've also compiled a list of rather unsavory types that McCain has...

I don't like negativity but if its ever useful why not whip it out, so to speak, the list I mean!
Cheers
BK

Here's the updated list:

- RICHARD QUINN - White supremacist... hired by McCain, called Mandela a terrorist.
- RICK DAVIS - dodgy lobbyist, paid thief and of course mccain advisor.
- LIDDY- He's likeable isn't he... convicted watergate felon-friend of mcain... proposed to kidnap anti-war activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 RNC, planned a murder of unfriendly newspaper columnist, suggested law enforcement officers should be shot in the head as they don’t have armor there, also hosted a fundraiser for McCain.
- COLSON – Another Watergate thug, Colson sought to hire Teamsters to beat up anti-war demonstrators, and plotted to raid or firebomb the Brookings Institution.
- JOHN HAGEE - McCains own turbulent priest, said Katrina was punishment for homosexuals... The RC church is the 'great whore'.
- FALWELL - more turbulence, even McCain called this huge bigot 'intolerant' before realizing he might need his support... blamed 9/11 on gays, pagans and liberals, said tinky winky was a gay role model (that's really quite funny, surely a joke n'est pas?)
- JIM HENSLEY... Cindys pa, where McCain got his many houses, convicted felon and friend of many unsavory gangsters.
- PALIN - The American Anti-American, free Alaska if you please.
- JESSE HELM - suggested that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a communist dupe...
- KEATING - of course... more convicted felons and McCain representing them as well.
- US COUNCIL FOR WORLD FREEDOM - McCain was advisor, it funded rebels in Nic, linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America.
- DAVID IFSHIN - how did that get here, Ifshin left-wing student who denounced America on Radio Hanoi!
- ROBERT ASHER - , a Republican National Committeeman from Pennsylvania -- and a felon convicted on public-corruption charges.
- CLAYTON WILLIAMS – Oil good ole boy who raised $300K for McCain, once likened bad weather to rape: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it".
- JAMES B FOLWER – State trooper admitted he wrongfully shot dead a protestor in 1960s Alabama, in 1990s when Fowler in Thailand in jail for narcotics. McCain asked state department to help him out. Reason?
- WILLIAMS TIMMONS – the man hired to lead McCain’s presidential transition team once lobbied to get access to Saddam’s oil… other lobbyists were later convicted of acting as agents to Hussein’s government. Timmon’s got off scott free, but evidence shows that he probably knew what was going on and would benefit to the tune of $45 million.
- CARL LINDNER: Hosted a $25k a plate fundraiser for McCain in June. Later discovered that while he was the CEO of Chiquita-Chiquita funnelled over $1 million to the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia (known as AUC)on the State Department's list of Foreign Terror Organizations. Chiquita admitted wrongdoing and was fined $25 million.

[Essene]

6. Nice job. I just dont support seeing the fear mongering

I dont have a problem demanding people account for their associations and principles.

But if, for example, Sarah Palin denounces a pastor who speaks anti-Semitic nonsense... i'll leave it at that.

When there is more serious action in those associations, like with AIP, i think there's an extra burden on the candidate to explain themselves and not to merely denounce the connection.

That goes for Obama as well.

If his ties to Ayers sincerely bothers some portion of americans, hype aside, he needs to be permanently vigilant to calm those fears and to always be 100% crystal clear on his views about terrorism.

The same goes for unethical power peddling.

[dgibby]

8. great work!

This would be an excellent list to send to everyone on our e-mail lists.
If you haven't done it yet, it would also be good to send it to Obama's campaign. Could save some intern a lot of time.

[blue-kite]

13. Ok, sounds good...

Do you have the right Obama-camp address?
Who should I forward the list to in DU for them to forward if they want to?
Cheers
BK

[dgibby]

14. I think it's barackobama.com

[stillcool]

9. sent an email to McCain...again..

I know people think that these emails don't matter, and in a sense I agree. But it matters less if we sit by and do not even bother registering a complaint.

[Essene]

12. emails/calls wont convince polititians to do anything... but...

if there are enough of them, it makes them scared.

likewise, it's a reminder that they are being watched by their constituents.

they know their inaction can be used against them.

[stillcool]

15. exactly..

it may not help, but it certainly can't hurt.

[dgibby]

10. I wonder if parents would have grounds for a lawsuit?

Seems to me it would be worth looking into. Any lawyers on DU who could look into it?

[quantass]

11. McCain wants to win..by any means necessary...so to him its "children be damned".

cuz "Obama didnt want to do townhall meetings with me so this is what it has resorted to".

[greenmutha]

16. The Obama Campaign wants these calls reported to them too.

See original post here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7510660

Excerpt:

"Your voice is the most powerful tool to help fight back against this tide of lies and spread the truth.

If you or your family and friends have received one of these sleazy calls or mailings, help us keep track of them by reporting it.

It's clear John McCain would rather lose his honor than lose this election.

While there's nothing new about these scare tactics, McCain has signaled he'll stoop to any level to win.

There's too much at stake to let the politics of the past derail this campaign. And with just 17 days to go before Election Day, the need to take a stand couldn't be greater.

Reports from folks like you are the only way the full extent of these hateful calls and mailers will ever be known by voters across the country.

Expose John McCain's slimy tactics -- forward this email to everyone you know and make sure McCain's "hate call" tactics get reported:

http://www.fightthesmears.com/report

Together, we'll turn the page on McCain's low road tactics.

Keep fighting the good fight,

Obama Action Wire"

[Essene]

17. thanks for sharing that