jpate86
01-05-2012, 04:52 AM
I am sure that just about everyone who frequents this forum is just as flabbergasted by the NDAA that was signed into law recently. How such a blatant blow our civil liberties was casually slipped into a seemingly unrelated piece of legislation is infuriating. The reasons why the controversial legislation was put into this bill are subject to debate, but I think every citizen who loves America would agree that something is not right. It seems that granting the government the power to detain American citizens without charges indefinitely would be an independent piece of legislation that would also be the subject of fierce national debate (more like outrage).
I am convinced that a majority of Americans are simply not aware of what power the government has now gained. To me it seems like that every cable news network would be devoting serious coverage to this issue, but we all know that was not the case. The only significant personality I know of that covered the NDAA and did not dance around what it is all about was Judge Andrew Napolitano on Freedom Watch.
This is yet another issue that Ron Paul stands alone on with the other GOP candidates. This is also one of very few issues that there is not a reasonable counter argument. If the candidates are asked about the NDAA and why they support this extreme legislation, this could be a huge boost for Ron Paul. Even the most mainstream Republicans would surely be scratching their heads about why the government needs this power, more specifically, why they specifically wanted the authority. This was not a matter of just carelessly worded legislation that can be misinterpreted. This authority was specifically requested by the Obama administration and Congress played balled with this policy.
I am proposing a couple of ways to draw attention to the NDAA, which will naturally boost support for Ron Paul. First, we should all write the networks conducting the debates this weekend (and all debates in the future) requesting that they ask the candidates about the NDAA and why they support it. I bet they have some way for people to submit questions they would like asked. I would hope that if they got an overwhelming amount of requests to address this issue that they would do their job by providing information that the American people want.
Regardless of the political implications that would benefit Ron Paul by drawing attention to this issue, I have started a website with the mission of raising public awareness to the NDAA. The NDAA was the last straw for me. The NDAA was far from the first significant piece of legislation that seems to target American citizens as a threat to our national security. Of course I have no idea what the specific scenarios the government thinks they would need the power they gained from this sneaky legislation. I don't want to get into conspiracy theories or anything of the sort as this would only discredit the cause. There is no need to for that. It is common sense that this is bizarre and something is not right. Nothing good will come from this and I am done with my government treating me, and my fellow Americans, as a threat to our country.
I have bought the domain name NDAAExposed.com (http://www.ndaaexposed.com) and put up a site with a small amount of content. This is a bigger undertaking than I initially envisioned. I need help from anyone who is willing. I will take help with anything that someone is willing to provide. Here are a few specifics I have thought of:
1. Content writing - Finding videos and articles that do a good job drawing attention to the issue. We will also need to write some simple content such as a brief explanation of what the NDAA is what it means to the average American.
2. Social Media - I started a YouTube channel, but we also need Twitter, Facebook, etc. for SEO purposes if for no other reason. It would be great to be dependable people that would be willing to take on maintaining these social media accounts.
3. SEO - I am a software engineer and web developer by profession, but optimizing sites for search engines is an art of its own. I know the basics and that is about all. As anyone with SEO expertise would know, this is a critical task that needs on going attention.
4. Marketing - I am going to put some of my money in initially to promote the site with AdWords and similar ad networks. Of course the goal would be to make the site self sufficient and funded by user donations/advertising.
5. Graphics - I am a programmer, not a designer. I have technical skills with digital image manipulation, but have lack the eye to create quality graphics. We won't need a tremendous amount, but I would like the small amount we do need to look good in order to present a professional image.
6. Transparency/Public Relations - Every penny raised through donations and advertising will be put into furthering the cause. Anyone wanting to get involved should know that there will not be any monetary compensation for your time and effort. It is important everyone involved is doing so for the right reasons. I would like to have a way to make the organization's "financials" transparent. This is always my biggest hang up when considering donating to any cause. I want people to know, backed with proof, that all revenue generated goes to covering the operating costs of the site and promoting the cause.
I am busy with work, family, and life in general as I am sure everyone else is. It will take me a lot longer than I would like to get this site put together by myself. If I could get even just a couple of people to volunteer a few hours to helping out, we could have the site up in no time. The more attention we can draw to the government positioning to protect themselves from their own citizens will only help Ron Paul, and more importantly help the American people get their freedom back.
On a side note, I tried to avoid referring to the website as it being "my website" whenever possible. I don't want this to be my website. I would be thrilled if we could put together a core group of people that are equal partners. Having others involved will keep all of us motivated and the collaboration of ideas is always a good thing. If you have serious interest, send me an email at admin@ndaaexposed.com.
Update:
We have gotten some very good feedback and people volunteering to help. Thanks to everyone!
Here are some things that we have come up with:
Christoper_RC (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?36586-Christopher_RC) came up with an awesome logo concept! We thought it would be a good idea to share it will the everyone and "open source" the project. I will post the images below so anyone who is interested can take the concept and run with it.
I made a system that rotates through quotes by the founding fathers in the header section of the pages. If someone would be interested in finding good quotes by historical Americans, let me know and I will make a little form so you can input them into the database and they will automatically go into the rotation. (credit to mosquitobite (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?7794-mosquitobite))
Another great idea by Christopher_RC (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?36586-Christopher_RC) was to provide users a form letter to send to their Representatives and Senators expressing their concern with the NDAA. I will also utilize an API so users can look up all of the needed info to contact them on the site. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they will get involved.
I uploaded the site (http://www.ndaaexposed.com) with the changes that have been made so far. Not all of the pages are there yet (Home, Mission, Contact work). The quote rotator mentioned above is database driven, although there are only 5 quotes in it right now. Contact form is functional, so please don't spam us with gibberish emails! :)
Once again, thanks for all of the interest and keep the ideas and offers to help coming! We still have a lot of content to put on the site!
Logo images:
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/firstDraft.jpg
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/firstDraft2.jpg
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/scale.jpg
All logo files in a zip file (http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/logofiles.zip) for those who want to contribute to the design
I am convinced that a majority of Americans are simply not aware of what power the government has now gained. To me it seems like that every cable news network would be devoting serious coverage to this issue, but we all know that was not the case. The only significant personality I know of that covered the NDAA and did not dance around what it is all about was Judge Andrew Napolitano on Freedom Watch.
This is yet another issue that Ron Paul stands alone on with the other GOP candidates. This is also one of very few issues that there is not a reasonable counter argument. If the candidates are asked about the NDAA and why they support this extreme legislation, this could be a huge boost for Ron Paul. Even the most mainstream Republicans would surely be scratching their heads about why the government needs this power, more specifically, why they specifically wanted the authority. This was not a matter of just carelessly worded legislation that can be misinterpreted. This authority was specifically requested by the Obama administration and Congress played balled with this policy.
I am proposing a couple of ways to draw attention to the NDAA, which will naturally boost support for Ron Paul. First, we should all write the networks conducting the debates this weekend (and all debates in the future) requesting that they ask the candidates about the NDAA and why they support it. I bet they have some way for people to submit questions they would like asked. I would hope that if they got an overwhelming amount of requests to address this issue that they would do their job by providing information that the American people want.
Regardless of the political implications that would benefit Ron Paul by drawing attention to this issue, I have started a website with the mission of raising public awareness to the NDAA. The NDAA was the last straw for me. The NDAA was far from the first significant piece of legislation that seems to target American citizens as a threat to our national security. Of course I have no idea what the specific scenarios the government thinks they would need the power they gained from this sneaky legislation. I don't want to get into conspiracy theories or anything of the sort as this would only discredit the cause. There is no need to for that. It is common sense that this is bizarre and something is not right. Nothing good will come from this and I am done with my government treating me, and my fellow Americans, as a threat to our country.
I have bought the domain name NDAAExposed.com (http://www.ndaaexposed.com) and put up a site with a small amount of content. This is a bigger undertaking than I initially envisioned. I need help from anyone who is willing. I will take help with anything that someone is willing to provide. Here are a few specifics I have thought of:
1. Content writing - Finding videos and articles that do a good job drawing attention to the issue. We will also need to write some simple content such as a brief explanation of what the NDAA is what it means to the average American.
2. Social Media - I started a YouTube channel, but we also need Twitter, Facebook, etc. for SEO purposes if for no other reason. It would be great to be dependable people that would be willing to take on maintaining these social media accounts.
3. SEO - I am a software engineer and web developer by profession, but optimizing sites for search engines is an art of its own. I know the basics and that is about all. As anyone with SEO expertise would know, this is a critical task that needs on going attention.
4. Marketing - I am going to put some of my money in initially to promote the site with AdWords and similar ad networks. Of course the goal would be to make the site self sufficient and funded by user donations/advertising.
5. Graphics - I am a programmer, not a designer. I have technical skills with digital image manipulation, but have lack the eye to create quality graphics. We won't need a tremendous amount, but I would like the small amount we do need to look good in order to present a professional image.
6. Transparency/Public Relations - Every penny raised through donations and advertising will be put into furthering the cause. Anyone wanting to get involved should know that there will not be any monetary compensation for your time and effort. It is important everyone involved is doing so for the right reasons. I would like to have a way to make the organization's "financials" transparent. This is always my biggest hang up when considering donating to any cause. I want people to know, backed with proof, that all revenue generated goes to covering the operating costs of the site and promoting the cause.
I am busy with work, family, and life in general as I am sure everyone else is. It will take me a lot longer than I would like to get this site put together by myself. If I could get even just a couple of people to volunteer a few hours to helping out, we could have the site up in no time. The more attention we can draw to the government positioning to protect themselves from their own citizens will only help Ron Paul, and more importantly help the American people get their freedom back.
On a side note, I tried to avoid referring to the website as it being "my website" whenever possible. I don't want this to be my website. I would be thrilled if we could put together a core group of people that are equal partners. Having others involved will keep all of us motivated and the collaboration of ideas is always a good thing. If you have serious interest, send me an email at admin@ndaaexposed.com.
Update:
We have gotten some very good feedback and people volunteering to help. Thanks to everyone!
Here are some things that we have come up with:
Christoper_RC (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?36586-Christopher_RC) came up with an awesome logo concept! We thought it would be a good idea to share it will the everyone and "open source" the project. I will post the images below so anyone who is interested can take the concept and run with it.
I made a system that rotates through quotes by the founding fathers in the header section of the pages. If someone would be interested in finding good quotes by historical Americans, let me know and I will make a little form so you can input them into the database and they will automatically go into the rotation. (credit to mosquitobite (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?7794-mosquitobite))
Another great idea by Christopher_RC (http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?36586-Christopher_RC) was to provide users a form letter to send to their Representatives and Senators expressing their concern with the NDAA. I will also utilize an API so users can look up all of the needed info to contact them on the site. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they will get involved.
I uploaded the site (http://www.ndaaexposed.com) with the changes that have been made so far. Not all of the pages are there yet (Home, Mission, Contact work). The quote rotator mentioned above is database driven, although there are only 5 quotes in it right now. Contact form is functional, so please don't spam us with gibberish emails! :)
Once again, thanks for all of the interest and keep the ideas and offers to help coming! We still have a lot of content to put on the site!
Logo images:
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/firstDraft.jpg
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/firstDraft2.jpg
http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/scale.jpg
All logo files in a zip file (http://www.ndaaexposed.com/logofiles/logofiles.zip) for those who want to contribute to the design