Ahmanson 900,000

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Dear Howard Ahmanson

Howard Ahmanson
P.O. Box 19061

Irvine, CA 92623-9061

Dear Mr. Ahmanson,

It is clear from your support of Proposition 8 and your statement that your political goal is "the total integration of Biblical law" into peoples' lives, that you are unfamiliar with the United States Constitution. Let me remind you that our Constitution is based on the separation of church and state.

I find your involvement in the "Yes on 8" campaign abhorrent. Your use of $900,000 to fund a proposition designed to strip citizens of their rights is unconscionable. Here are the many ways your money could have been better spent.

$900,000 could have:

Bought 36 million meals for starving children.
Provided 450,000 notebooks and pencils so that children in need could get an education.
Purchased 151,770 insecticide treated mosquito nets that could cut down the rate of malaria infection by 50%. In case you didn't know, in Africa a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
Provided 1800 water pumps that would have each provided clean water to an entire village
Provided 270,000 fuel-efficient metal ovens to the women of Darfur reducing the number of rapes and mutilations these women presently face as they make long trips to collect fuel wood.
Encouraged music education in the United States by supplying 18,000 instruments to public schools.
Built 15 Habitat for Humanity homes from the ground up

So, Mr Ahmanson, the next time you have $900,000, to give away, I, and 899,999 others urge you to think twice before you act. Use your money to reduce the amount of hurt in the world, not increase the amount of hate.

Sincerely,

Craig

Friday, November 28, 2008

I Sent A Letter

As you know the concept of this campaign is simple, download the letter, sign your name, put it in an envelop, add a stamp, and mail it off. And then tell everyone you know to do the same. If you've sent a letter (or two or more), please add your name to the list. It's the only way we have of knowing when we've hit our goal of 900,000 letters.

Thanks for taking action!

--Craig

Welcome to the Ahmanson 900,000 Campaign

Welcome to the Ahmanson 900,000 Campaign. Howard Ahmanson, in case you're not familiar, was the third largest individual donator to the Yes on 8 campaign. His donation of $900,000 helped pass this hateful proposition.

The purpose of the Ahmanson 900,000 Campaign is to encourage people to send 900,000 letters reminding him that this country is founded on the principle of separation of church and state. Rather than organizing another protest in front of his office, I thought we might get more media attention if the USPS had to deliver truck loads of letters to Ahmanson's Fieldstead Foundation offices in Irvine, California.

Please join the Ahmanson 900,000 Campaign. There is a sample letter you can download. All you have to do is sign it, put it in an envelop, slap a 42 cent stamp on it, and drop it in a mailbox. Since no one will know how many letters you've sent, write more than one letter. Most importantly, let your friends and family know about us.

If you do write, be sure to add a comment with your name (first name is fine) and location to the "I Sent A Letter" post on this blog. Be sure to number your comment with the number following the previous comment. We want to try to keep track of how many letters get written. Hopefully there will be so many that we lose count!

Thanks,

Craig

More About Ahmanson

This is a short excerpt from an article on The Daily Beast by Max Blumenthal. The title of the article is, "The Man Behind Proposition 8." You can read the entire article here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-03/the-man-behind-proposition-8

The campaign for Prop 8 has reaped massive funding from conservative backers across the country. Much of it comes from prominent donors like the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Catholic conservative group, Knights of Columbus. Prop 8 has also received a boost from Elsa Broekhuizen, the widow of Michigan-based Christian backer Edgard Prince and the mother of Erik Prince, founder of the controversial mercenary firm, Blackwater.

While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ public role in Prop 8 has engendered a growing backlash from its more liberal members, and Broekhuizen’s involvement attracted some media attention, the extreme politics of Prop 8’s third largest private donor, Howard F. Ahmanson, reclusive heir to a banking fortune, have passed almost completely below the media’s radar. Ahmanson has donated $900,000 to the passage of Prop 8 so far.

I first met Ahmanson in 2004, when he and his wife, Roberta, agreed to an interview request for an article I was writing for Salon. Their exchanges with me marked the first time since 1984 that Howard had agreed to make contact with a journalist, and the first time since 1992 for Roberta. Howard agreed to answer questions only by email because, according to Roberta, his Tourette’s Syndrome made chatting on the phone with a stranger nearly impossible. He functions “like a slow modem,” she said. Her dual role as her husband’s spokesperson and nurse quickly became apparent.

“My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives,” Ahmanson once said.

Ahmanson 900,000

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Dear Howard Ahmanson

Friday, November 28, 2008

I Sent A Letter

Welcome to the Ahmanson 900,000 Campaign

Howard and Roberta Ahmanson's Address

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