Take Action

2 Car Signs Only $25.00

Contact:

Mike Benoit
619-449-8175
mblibertarian7@earthlink.net

Yard Signs

Display these attractive LP yard signs! Made of tough corrugated plastic, 8 inches tall and 24 inches wide. $5.00 each, while supplies last!

Contact:

Mike Benoit
619-449-8175
mblibertarian7@earthlink.net

2006 San Diego Libertarian Convention DVD

You can now get the DVD of the 2006 San Diego Libertarian Convention with speeches from Jim Babka of DownsizeDC, Bob Burg of Burg Communications Inc., Sharon Harris of The Advocates of Self-Government, Rob Kampia of Marijuana Policy Project and our own Richard Rider of the San Diego Tax Fighters.

This is a great opportunity to hear these talks if you couldn't attend.

The money collected from the sale of DVD's goes to the SDLP outreach programs.

Please send checks payable to "SDLP" for $19.95 with shipping address to:

SDLP
c\o Michael Metti
1072 Nugent Ct.
El Cajon, CA 92020

Dan Litwin's "Peacmakers"

San Diego Libertarian recording artist Dan Litwin has released his new album, "Peacemakers" (peacemakersrock.com). Listen to the albumn online, then purchase a copy to support Dan and the LP.

Direct Contributions Fuel our Success! Want to see more progress towards electing Libertarians in and around southern California? Supporting the activities of the San Diego Libertarian Party through a financial donation is an excellent way to do your part. Here are some of the things your money will allow the SDLP to do:

• purchase more TV and radio ads;

• produce more press releases;

• purchase more billboard space;

• onduct more free concerts;

• recruit more volunteers;

• earn more "free media" coverage; and

• recruit more candidates

You can support these vital programs by making a financial contribution to the San Diego Libertarian Party. Your support will go a long way to helping make San Diego an even better place to live.

Sincerely,

SDLP

PLEASE send checks to:

San Diego Libertarian Party Treasurer Office
9450 Cuyamaca St., #103
Santee, CA 92071

Note: Contributions to the San Diego Libertarian Party are not tax deductible. Federal and California law require political committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate $100 or more per calendar year. Corporate contributions may be used either for federal elections (Levin) or California state elections, and may also be made in any amount. The first $10,000 received per individual per calendar year maybe used for federal elections. Paid for by the San Diego Libertarian Party.

RICHARD RIDER GUIDE -- HOW TO WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR -- Copyright, 1996, 2007

NOTE: This piece is lovingly prepared by me for the use of limited government advocates. So please don't post this guide on a general interest website that opponents might visit. If you DO post it, or distribute it to allies, just include my authorship and this note, and all will be in well in the universe.

Submitting letters to the editor is the single most cost effective thing an individual can do to influence an issue. The public, the media AND the politicians pay attention to letters to the editor. Indeed, some reports indicate that the letters section is the most frequently read section of a newspaper.

Here are some pointers on how to write and submit these all-important letters:

1. Short, concise letters are always more likely to be published than long, meandering ones. Try to keep them under 150 words -- for big papers, keep them under 100 words. The longer letters are also more likely to be edited -- it's better that you do your own editing.
2. Ever notice how you read letters to the editor in the paper? Most people read the shorter letters first, and then perhaps later they read the longer ones. Thus your shorter letter has a better chance of being both published and read.
3. WHAT TO WRITE? The key is a current topic of interest. Replying to editorials, agree or disagree, is very effective. Every day the news offers us all too many topics on which to comment.
4. Be timely. Try to respond within a day or two of the article's publication.
5. Pick an issue of particular importance to you. Don't be afraid to let some passion show through. And humor.
6. As briefly as possible, state the argument you're rebutting or responding to. Don't do a lengthy rehash -- it's a waste of valuable space, and boring to boot.
7. Stick to a single subject. Deal with one issue per letter.
8. Make two or three solid points for your position on the issue. We all have 23 reasons why our viewpoint is correct, but stifle the urge to list 'em all in a letter to the editor.
9. Don't be shrill or abusive. Editors tend to discard letters containing personal attacks. Even though you're dying to call Jesse Jackson a preachy parasite, stifle the urge.
10. Your letter should be logically organized. First a brief recitation of the argument you are opposing, followed by a statement of your own position. Then present your evidence. Close with a short restatement of your position, or a pithy comment. For example: "Jimmy Breslin says possession of firearms should be limited to law enforcement officers. I say when only the police have guns, the police state is just around the corner."
11. Use facts, figures and expert testimony whenever possible. This raises your letters above the "sez you, sez me" category. For instance: "Anthony Lewis calls for taxing the rich as a way to balance the budget. Is he aware of the fact that if we confiscated the entire income of the top wage earners in this country (those with income above $200,000), this would run the federal government for exactly 8 days?"
12. Readers respect the opinions of people with special knowledge or expertise. Use expert testimony to bolster your case ("George Will claims we need to draft to defend America. But General Edward C. Meyer, Army Chief of Staff, recently stated . . .").
13. Proofread your letter carefully for errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Newspapers will usually edit to correct these mistakes, but your piece is more likely to be published if it is "clean" to begin with. Read your letter to a friend, for objective input.
    
    One suggestion is that a letter shouldn't be mailed right after it is written. Write, proofread and edit the piece. Then put it aside for an hour or more. Rereading your letter in a fresh light often helps you to spot errors in reasoning, stilted language and the like.
    
14. On the other hand, don't let the letter sit too long and lose it's timeliness. With the Internet, the prompt submission of letters has become much more important.
15. Try to view the letter from the reader's perspective. Will the arguments make sense to someone without a special background on this issue? Did you use technical terms not familiar to the average reader?
16. Should your letter be typed? In this day and age, yes.
17. If you send hard copy, try to FAX it in for timeliness. Ideally you submit your letter by email and FAX. Faxes have higher editorial visibility, while the email version makes it easy for the paper to "copy and paste" (and protects you from human error in transcription).
18. In newspaper column publishing (and most emails), a paragraph should seldom be longer than three sentences. Preferably two. People don't read long paragraphs -- including editors!
19. Direct your missives to "Letters to the Editor," or some similar sounding title. Ideally name the specific paper in the greeting so they don't think it has been sent to other publications.
20. Always include your name, address, day-time phone number and signature (if on paper). The papers will not publish this information, but they may use it to verify that you wrote the letter.
21. Most important -- WRITE! Do not try to do a perfect letter. Just give it a good effort and send it off.
22. Letter writing is the one thing that any one of us can do on our own without the need to work through a group. No committees are necessary. Just do it!
23. Lastly, don't be discouraged if your letter isn't published. The editor may have received more responses on that issue than he feels he can handle. Even if not published, your letter gives the editor a better sense of what the public is thinking about an issue -- and what arguments make good sense.

Below you will find the different email lists offered by the San Diego Libertarian Party. All email lists can be subscribed to or unsubscribed to by clicking on the links below. However, you may always email our List Master and request that he subscribe or unsubscribe you to any list.

SDLP Announcement List

This is the Low Volume SDLP announcement list. This is a list where late breaking news and announcements of events important to Libertarians are posted.

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San Diego Libertarian Chat

This is an informal discussion list for San Diego Libertarian activists.

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