Ron Paul Blimp Questions??? I have answers.

[Mark]

Mark... We've all already given to the Ron Paul campaign. The Ron Paul Blimp project is for us that have made the maximum contribution. I have only 1,000 dollars left for the BIG TEA PARTY 07. With all the negative questions you have concerning the Ron Paul Blimp project, I had mistakenly though that you were contributing to this project. My mistake.

Mark me down on your list of sponsors for the Ron Paul R3VOLUTION blimp!

Who said I wasn't? I didn't. See, people follow me around and talk junk to me.

I PM'd you.

Excuse me if I'd like some clear facts before I give my money to someone.

And please quit trying to antagonize me. Thank you!

 

[Mckarnin]

why was the cost of the sign initially included/free and now is not? (because the guy that owns the blimp is a RP supporter).

Why was it initially supposed to be painted directly on the blimp and now is a banner to be draped over it?

What would the retro-fit time be to put a scrolling banner on instead or later?

-n

btw: could you put the detailed research page back up? I wanted to go over some things in that again and cache a copy!

thanks,

-n

Made a note and will look into it after some sleep.

 

[voytechs]

***Warning, my own personal opinions factor in to this message highly***

Without talent and hard-work there is no blimp. The blimp would not be where it is now, in fact it would probably not have even entered our imaginations were it not for Trevor and Elijah. I don't think a little pay so they can relax and focus is a bad thing. They've shown they have the talent to make this dream become a reality and I think swapping them out for independently wealthy volunteers over a few thousand when we are talking about a $400,000 project (that will generate millions more in free advertising) is a bad idea.

I agree with you. Lets get'er done.

For those that feel very strongly against paid for profit organizations, feel free to start you own not-for profit competing company, and let the market decide. You have 7 days to get off the ground.

Otherwise, there isn't that much time left until Wednesday and its time to fulfill our pledges to make this baby fly. I especially like the idea of a second blimp at the superbowl. Lets not get too anal about this. You buy bumper stickers, yard signs, RP clothing, billboards from various advertisers, and these are all for profit companies. Now we have a major advertising company, dedicated 100% to RP, and thinking really really big with ways to promote Ron Paul, as cheaply as possible. All you got to do is buy their product which is in its purity "promote Ron Paul from the air outside of MSM control" and get "Air Force Ron #1" off the ground.

 

[Man from La Mancha]

They haven't been posting here because they have been so busy. The only reason I have been able to do it is because I haven't slept since yesterday AM because I thought it was worth the investment to answer people's questions.

Thank you so much it helps tremendously! Could you ask for volunteers that can contact the Company 24 hrs day to answer questions 24 hr a day in this forum so then you too can get some sleep.

.

 

[Mckarnin]

I bet that a lot of the naysayers might relax if there was some act of faith from the the official campaign. Have you guys convinced the official campaign to pay for your services? Even if they only bought 2.7 minutes as a symbolic gesture it might help you a lot.

To the best of my knowledge it would joepardize everything we are doing if an official campaign for any official were to become involved. I will check to make sure I answered accurately later.

 

[Dutch]

The transparency page is still there - there's just no link to it.

http://www.ronpaulblimp.com/Transparency.php

Dutch

 

[BrianK]

To the best of my knowledge it would joepardize everything we are doing if an official campaign for any official were to become involved. I will check to make sure I answered accurately later.

Thank you. Please keep in mind, I'm not saying they have any involvement in the running of your company. But if you are an advertising company it seems logical that they can legally purchase your services just as they purchase TV/Radio ads. I know you have some good lawyers that know much more about this than me though.

 

[BlueGecko]

Well, hopefully your 1k per mo webmaster get's it sorted soon. [/I

Its 1k a week

Didn't you hear, the free market does not apply to RP forums subsection Blimp

(Meaning their were no bids although its a reasonable guess the lowest bid would be $1)

 

[John P Slevin]

It is absolutely absurd to question the motivations of those running the blimp project.

The consistent complaint here is based on ignorance of campaign finance law. I have years of experience with PACs. Anyone can check the facts I'll recite below at fec.gov

The ignorance of those who seek to belittle the Liberty Advertising people simply is stunning. A PAC CANNOT donate more than 5,000.00 to the Ron Paul campaign. A PAC CANNOT accept more than 2,300.00 per donor, AND, depending on which kind of PAC was formed, the money given could COUNT AGAINST money which otherwise could be donated to Ron Paul's campaign.

The reason(s) for the change in media messages, the logos on the blimp, also is caused by federal campaign law. Law dictates that one CANNOT list Ron Paul's campaign website and say it is not an ad for the campaign. It IS. The law sees it that way.

What those involved with Liberty Advertising have done, what they are offering, is a brilliant solution to a problem all of us have. They've got a kick-ass team over there. Bringing Brad Smith on board is simply the BEST way to proceed.

All those questioning motives because Liberty Advertising is a for profit company ought to ask themselves a basic question. If people wanted to fleece supporters, couldn't they do so by posing as a non profit?

OF COURSE THEY COULD. PACs pay money too...salaries, bonuses, etc, anything is allowed, as long as it is reported.

Those who have criticized the blimp project should read something, learn something before they speak.

American campaign finance laws make it very difficult for people to get together and throw the bums out. That is the whole point of campaign finance law, to protect those in power.

I sleep better each night knowing that people like Trevor et al exist, that they have the desire, imagination, spark, ambition and the pure ability to attempt something like this.

More power to them.

The decision to create a new company in order to put the blimp in the air, to put it in real simple terms, is brilliant.

 

[Mark]

See mac, I asked a question at 6:21, it's now 7:05, and still no answer, so,

I suspect she missed my question about pledging to not get paid until the blimp is paid for:


Today, 06:21 AM

Would you ask all involved to put off getting paid until we see real results first? (blimp is in the air)

 

[Mckarnin]

Without talent and hard-work there is no blimp. The blimp would not be where it is now, in fact it would probably not have even entered our imaginations were it not for Trevor and Elijah. I don't think a little pay so they can relax and focus is a bad thing. They've shown they have the talent to make this dream become a reality and I think swapping them out for independently wealthy volunteers over a few thousand when we are talking about a $400,000 project (that will generate millions more in free advertising) is a bad idea.


Ok obviously there is a large discrepancy betweeen the two camps. Baby steps? Offer the webmaster job for expenses/ small stipend see if anyone bites?
Offer cameramen for volunteer/ small stipend plus expenses ?
Have direct link to transparency page on web site?

Please take back to group/ trevor/ whoever

Sorry if come across as angry but whether you're expenses are justifiable or not, you need to get the blimp to fly= need support. A way to get support is work with RP forums. Independently wealthy volunteers ? Alot of people are wealthy but would donate a full month or two of their life to RP. Super tuesday is two months from now. Many people would use up vacation/ take leave/ sabbatical without having to be wealthy. The point is that the original revolution took sacrifices, and that was inspiring to not only to look back on but to those who joined the cause.

Sacrifices have been made and will continue to be made. One point that is more emotional than business oriented is the fact that all those who were involved in this project (way before it became an LLC) were constantly bombarded with threatening emails and PM's or people who didn't like some little item who bombed their email from multiple addresses with hate mail, or those who posted rude messages on forums repeatedly. There is a lot of pressure when you take this much responsibility. That is what those involved with this have done, take on a lot of personal responsibility and put their reputations on the line to get this blimp into the air.

 

[Mckarnin]

Thank you for the answer, but I would think that people that have proved themselves my becoming independantly wealthy in their chosen occupation would be the most idea ones, I agree the FEC pro is worth it, but don't these already rich lawers care as much for Freedom as we do?. I will support this project no matter what is decided, but I would think the PR benifits of having top people working for nothing would creat a large impact.

.

This topic has generated much discussion on our end and will continue to do so. I will be sure to take all of your concerns to future discussions of payment.

 

[Mckarnin]

Well, hopefully your 1k per mo webmaster get's it sorted soon.

Thanks

 

[Man from La Mancha]

I sleep better each night knowing that people like Trevor et al exist, that they have the desire, imagination, spark, ambition and the pure ability to attempt something like this.

More power to them.

The decision to create a new company in order to put the blimp in the air, to put it in real simple terms, is brilliant.

Welcome aboard, hope you will post more. I think the no. 1 problem is a lack of communication to the people that will be donating and answering their objections.

.

 

[Mckarnin]

Thank you so much it helps tremendously! Could you ask for volunteers that can contact the Company 24 hrs day to answer questions 24 hr a day in this forum so then you too can get some sleep.

.

I'll see. Liberty Advertising has to be careful about who can reply to their emails and speak on their behalf. Not that I'm so great but it takes some screening.

 

[Mckarnin]

See mac, I asked a question at 6:21, it's now 7:05, and still no answer, so,

I suspect she missed my question about pledging to not get paid until the blimp is paid for:


Today, 06:21 AM

Would you ask all involved to put off getting paid until we see real results first? (blimp is in the air)

Got it and I'll ask.

 

[tremendoustie]

It bothers me when people refer to "the grassroots" deciding something or other. The grassroots is a linguistic shorthand (just like "society") and as such doesn't make decisions. It is possible to determine that the grassroots supports something post facto by observing the individual choices of the people involved, but that isn't the same thing. Even a brief period of reading of discussions among identified supporters of Ron Paul will quickly reveal that opinions are very divergent.

If Liberty Political Advertising succeeds it will do so because individuals have chosen to do business with them. If people choose not to do business then it will fail. That is the only way to logically determine what the "grassroots" has decided.

Fair enough. It is true, though, that in a grassroots situation oftentimes one person or a few people agree to take the lead in developing a particular idea, with the support of others. My point is that it is dishonest to those people who supported the leaders in developing an idea, if those leaders turn around and use their position to do something entirely different. If they had been clear about their intentions from the beginning, people would have the option of choosing different leaders. Moreover, this case is especially flagrant, because many of the people who pledged based on the earlier idea will go ahead and donate money without realizing the whole plan has changed.

That said, it's good to hear that Trevor et al are working so hard, and I thank them for their efforts. I still don't agree with using this as a platform to launch a company, but it's good to have some transparency. I think it is very important that on the website a clear description of what the responsibilities for each position will be, and what will occupy those 40+ hours be included. Also, I think there are definitely positions that could be eliminated. A clear business case should be outlined for each position, and salaries should be commensurate with the duties performed. A clear reason should be given why the particular position could not be handled by the grassroots, if it cannot.

We should have a discussion about each position and whether we need it to be a paid staff position, or if it should exist at all. Normally, as a private company, the leaders would have the right to run it as they see fit, but since this was started by co-opting a grassroots effort, I think at the very least you have a responsibility to let the supporters have some control over what functions should and should not be performed by paid staff.

 

[macdee]

Sorry...

I was cooking my diner. Did I miss anything?

 

[vodalian]

Thanks

Hey, don't thank me, thank the donors!

 

[moberley]

I expect that you already plan to do so, but do you plan to include the responses to questions you're answering on the official Liberty Advertising website? I don't mean immediately as I realize some of the answers are still developing and that you're making this effort by delaying sleep. But it would be nice.

Kudos for your public web forum diplomacy. A skill that must not be underrated.