As a blimp project observer

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[Indy Vidual]

The money is coming in now! :)

Many people are finally ready for real change.

http://www.1life1time.com/images/rp.jpg

Congressman Ron Paul: Archives (http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul-arch.html) (Dr. Ron Paul in his own words and brilliant writings)

[Hook]

Since all expenses are less than 10% of the blimp cost, I don't think most of us care that much.

[Hook]

If those guys pull it off, they deserve the money. And if someone else thinks that it is easy, let them start another PAC and blimp and compete for donors funds.
Isn't that what the free market is all about?

[Indy Vidual]

If those guys pull it off, they deserve the money. And if someone else thinks that it is easy, let them start another PAC and blimp and compete for donors funds.
Isn't that what the free market is all about?

Yes it is.

[Mental Dribble]

You can really only count on volunteers for so much. There needs to be someone there ALWAYS. Not "oh crap i have to run back to work"

The reality is everyone is not independatly wealthy and people have bills. I think this is a fiar appraoch that will get the job done. Profit is not barely paying your bills, I trust these guys to do everything they can to bring it in under budget and over expectations.

[wisconsinite]

If those guys pull it off, they deserve the money. And if someone else thinks that it is easy, let them start another PAC and blimp and compete for donors funds.
Isn't that what the free market is all about?

Good luck to anyone else who thinks they can find another blimp to lease on a per month basis on short notice and be able to raise the money through a PAC considering the restrictions involved.

[Hook]

Good luck to anyone else who thinks they can find another blimp to lease on a per month basis on short notice and be able to raise the money through a PAC considering the restrictions involved.

So now you know why these guys are worth their service charge.
Glad to help.

[Maverick]

I think many of us are just curious as to why this whole thing has ballooned beyond the original $350k price tag that the blimp company quoted for the lease. I don't quite understand why all of this "crew" for the blimp is suddenly necessary. I had thought the blimp company would be taking care of all the necessities as part of the lease agreement. Unless the lease involves the blimp company saying "Ok, here's the keys. You can figure out the rest. Have fun?"

[slantedview]

Good luck to anyone else who thinks they can find another blimp to lease on a per month basis on short notice and be able to raise the money through a PAC considering the restrictions involved.
Exactly.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[Mental Dribble]

Maverick, while i dont know fopr sure i think the issue was yea, the blimp company will drive it around. But who will manage the media? Who will manager all of the interactions with thw crowds and trying tpo hype this up? thats not the blimp companies job. further they want to do this RIGHT so the yare getting online web cams, sending out massive press releases and making this a top notch operatiuon. Now if u jsut wanted it to float around thats different but we need to maximize the dollars we are putting into this by getting reports ONTO the blimp, to hype up excitement and get the word out there!

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[Hook]

Yeah, I'm not down with the whole mega-project it has become. But it only adds about 10% to the base cost of the blimp, and no one else is doing a comparable project, so I'm going ahead and donating. I'm sure most other people will as well.

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[lemnad]

I'm donating. Its a good idea to get organized. Loosely organized groups can only do so much effectively. Blimps get big attention. Every town or city is goes over will report on it in the news and papers. Heck I about break my neck trying to get a look at a blimp when I see them and read what they say (I'm usually driving). The publicity and attention this would garner is worth many times the actual cost. I run into a WHOLE LOT of people who still have no idea who Ron Paul is.

[Bodhi]

I'm donating. Its a good idea to get organized. Loosely organized groups can only do so much effectively. Blimps get big attention. Every town or city is goes over will report on it in the news and papers. Heck I about break my neck trying to get a look at a blimp when I see them and read what they say (I'm usually driving). The publicity and attention this would garner is worth many times the actual cost. I run into a WHOLE LOT of people who still have no idea who Ron Paul is.

I don't think blimps are the most effective form or advertising for the money. If they were we would see them all over the place.

That being said I would chip in just for the kicks but it seems a few individuals are actually trying to profit from the project. I do not and can not support an individual that needs a "salary" to support Ron Paul.

[BlueGecko]

If it is only 10% overhead that would make sense but...thats not counting certain expenses that haven't counted yet!

Check the website plus are they really done with the positions, I think they want to pay a treasurer plus who knows what? maybe a third cameraman or an assistants assistant...:rolleyes:

[jcims]

I think many of us are just curious as to why this whole thing has ballooned beyond the original $350k price tag that the blimp company quoted for the lease. I don't quite understand why all of this "crew" for the blimp is suddenly necessary. I had thought the blimp company would be taking care of all the necessities as part of the lease agreement. Unless the lease involves the blimp company saying "Ok, here's the keys. You can figure out the rest. Have fun?"


Hi Maverick.

For $350K the blimp company will take care of getting the equipment from point A to point B. However, if you want to be sure someone to be there to greet it, or the press to know when you're getting there, or a website to track the progress, or people to sell more advertising to keep it afloat longer, you need a support crew. Remember, this blimp is going to be on the ground longer than it will be in the air, and there are a lot of opportunities to make use of that time...the blimp crew will just go grab a bite to eat and let that thing buffet in the wind...someone else is going to have to make use of that time if we want to benefit from it.

I think the main problem is that the initial idea that everyone liked was flawed, it's like saying 'they said they were going to use the anti-gravity barge to get all of that stuff to the coast, but now they are saying we need to use a train and pay a bunch of fuel costs'. The original idea just wasn't going to work for reasons that weren't immediately apparent but just as fatal... The question then is, do you just throw up your hands and say 'well, at least i tried', or do you dig in and try to find a solution that works?

I'm glad they went this route, and i'm glad they built in a fully structured company from the outset. This way there are no surprise costs halfway into it. Maybe a few volunteers will step up to replace some of the paid positions, maybe some will get cut. Reality isn't going to think big for you...you need to do that and let reality hem you in. That's what appears to be happening here, and i think it was the right way to go.

[constituent]

If it is only 10% overhead that would make sense but...thats not counting certain expenses that haven't counted yet!

Check the website plus are they really done with the positions, I think they want to pay a treasurer plus who knows what? maybe a third cameraman or an assistants assistant...:rolleyes:

baristas.


c'mon, laugh. you know it's funny. that's an expense even i could get behind!:p:D

[leonster]

I think many of us are just curious as to why this whole thing has ballooned beyond the original $350k price tag that the blimp company quoted for the lease. I don't quite understand why all of this "crew" for the blimp is suddenly necessary. I had thought the blimp company would be taking care of all the necessities as part of the lease agreement. Unless the lease involves the blimp company saying "Ok, here's the keys. You can figure out the rest. Have fun?"

The more I look into it... the more I understand. While I think *some* things are excessive (videographers, press kits, crew jackets, too many managers), overall I support the general idea.

That idea is... think BIG... not just a blimp floating around, but turn it into a media frenzy.

I'd love to see that media frenzy... but try to keep it grassroots and "rootsy" as much as possible, too... give the impression of a bunch of grassroots people banding together to do this, not a slick professional company doing it.

[JohnnyWrath]

My opinion is that most of the media coverage will be about the upcoming "political mastermind" Trevor and his "brilliance" instead of Ron Paul and the grassroots effort.

[cero]

well lets hope it aint so

[Mark Rushmore]

My opinion is that most of the media coverage will be about the upcoming "political mastermind" Trevor and his "brilliance" instead of Ron Paul and the grassroots effort.

More importantly, that can lead to historical revisionism whereby November 5th didn't show any authentic support for Ron Paul's message or freedom, nor will December 16th: rather they are just "a brilliant use of harnessing the internet" by Trevor. As you'll recall the talking heads for a long time assumed that rather than spontaneous bottom up support, this must have been some top-down political coup by a CyberCampaign Guru.

This just plays into that alternate narrative and undercuts the legitimacy of the rEVOLution as a real movement.

I remain a firm neutral on the blimp - save your posts.

[torchbearer]

I think many of us are just curious as to why this whole thing has ballooned beyond the original $350k

was the initial cost of just leasing the blimp, not anything else. $200,000 will seal the deal. $350,000 will get it in the air and flying, $500,000 will keep it going!

[Minuteman]

More importantly, that can lead to historical revisionism whereby November 5th didn't show any authentic support for Ron Paul's message or freedom, nor will December 16th: rather they are just "a brilliant use of harnessing the internet" by Trevor. As you'll recall the talking heads for a long time assumed that rather than spontaneous bottom up support, this must have been some top-down political coup by a CyberCampaign Guru.

This just plays into that alternate narrative and undercuts the legitimacy of the rEVOLution as a real movement.

I remain a firm neutral on the blimp - save your posts.

This is a fear of mine also. It has already started to some extent. The media has been trying to figure it out since the movement started. Now all of a sudden, the person who the media touted as being responsible for 11/5 has a advertising agency. Honestly, i never visited the 11/5 website, i havent seen the Teaparty website, but i have seen an abundance of Youtube videos and that is what got me to donate on 11/5.

Im sure this all started out with the best intentions, im just not sure where those intentions lie at this time.