[EM] Letter

[Anthony Simmons]

>> From: Alex Small <asmall at physics.ucsb.edu>
>> Subject: [EM] a few things

>> First, thanks for the favorable comments on the essay.  I
>> give anybody on this list carte blanche to send it (with
>> attribution) to newspapers in Alaska, or any other place
>> with IRV initiatives.  Or, tell me what the paper is and
>> I'll send it, if they don't accept second-hand stuff.

It's a little long for a letter, and short for a column.  As
I recall, you said it was intended as a brochure, and that's
how it reads.  For a newspaper, you might expand it to a
column, ca. 700-800 words, and make the style a bit more
"journalistic".

You'd probably do better sending the piece to the paper
yourself, as there's always the question of ownership, and
you would likely be asked to give permission for an editorial
to be posted on the web.

FFrom election-methods-list-request at eskimo.com  Fri Mar 15 22:15:59 2002
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Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 22:12:02
To: election-methods-list at eskimo.com
From: Anthony Simmons <bbadonov at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [EM] Re:  IRV wins big in SF and Vermont
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>> From: Forest Simmons <fsimmons at pcc.edu>
>> Subject: Re: [EM] Re:  IRV wins big in SF and Vermont

>> On Thu, 14 Mar 2002, Anthony Simmons wrote:

>> > I know you put a lot of effort into that paper.  I hope to
>> > hear that it has been resurrected in a place where it will be
>> > properly appreciated.

>> Your input improved it greatly.


Editing is always a privilege.  So many people have trouble
with letting someone else clean up their writing, but it's a
necessity.

Funny how it works.  I have someone who edits me.  It's
invaluable.  When she writes, I edit.  I guess it's just the
benefit of a writer and a reader working together.


>> It or pieces of it definitely will be resurrected, but I
>> think the shorter essays that we have seen recently are
>> more appropriate for most uses.


What you wrote likely won't see a newspaper without cutting.
It's a damn shame Z couldn't be bothered to respond.  But
there are magazines (not run by people already sold on IRV).
And web sites.  It should be recycled.  A manuscript is like
an idea -- you can give it away and still have it to give to
someone else.  Maybe you can sign it "Sean Penn", post it to
some discussion groups, and watch it circulate on the
Internet forever.


>> Forest

ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

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Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 22:12:04
To: election-methods-list at eskimo.com
From: Anthony Simmons <bbadonov at yahoo.com>
Subject: [EM] Stupid People Tricks
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>> From: "Narins, Josh" <josh.narins at lehman.com>
>> Subject: [EM] Stupid People Tricks

>> Dearest and Kind GentleFolk;

>> What do stupid people do?
>> They hire PR firms.
>> General Dostum hired one to clean up his image as the
>> murderous, thuggish, rapacious pillager of northern
>> Afghanistan, and *he* expects it to work[1]. Imagine what
>> it would do for "us"!

It's actually a pretty smart thing to replace real work with
PR, at least for someone whose highest goal is to convince
the public of something whether or not it's actually true.
But I assume that's not your goal.

A lot of PR is pretty simple.  Just a web site can go a long
way, if promoted properly.  Like CVD.  Some skillfully done
examples are the "civil rights" groups that oppose
restrictions on smoking in restaurants (actually fronts for
R. J. Reynolds) and the Greening Earth Society (front for the
coal lobby).  Not my favorite people, but their consultants
know what works.