Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Usually wrong but never in doubt

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Four Directions Michigan: Halfway There!

Four Directions Michigan: Halfway There!

by | 152 Comments

This post is in: ,

Multiple people asked me to re-post about the fundraising in a post this evening.

With our early money, this nearly top 10,000 blog will be influencing Nov 2022 outcomes in 4 key states: Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and now Michigan. FOUR DIRECTIONS has secured at 1.5 match for us, and I am trusting their ability to secure the full double-match.
On Wisconsin!

 

Our fundraising goal this year is to do our part to ensure that we win elections in key states with margins that make them too big to steal.  Margins so big that the legislatures don’t dare to subvert the will of the people and overturn the results.  And to form relationships and build the groundwork for wining state legislatures, the House, the Senate and the Presidency in 2024.

At stake in Michigan in November 2022:

  • All 4 elected executive offices in Michigan (Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Lt. Gov.)
  • Control of the (currently) hard-line rabid Michigan State Legislature (House and Senate)
  • Two Michigan Supreme Court Seats
  • Control of the US House of Representatives

H.E. Wolf reminds us of some things that OJ Semans said last night (co-founder of Four Directions):

Whenever we [4 Directions] are involved in an election cycle, the Native American turnout is almost always historically high.

We don’t bring in outsiders – we hire (lots of) local tribal members, and train & supervise them.

Unemployment is high, especially on the reservations, so by paying our local organizers we put food on the table.

It takes time, it takes messaging, and it takes media to get the message out.

When people see that others are fighting for the right to vote, it is motivating to them.

It’s real simple ’cause it’s the truth – and the truth will take you a long ways.

We are currently on Angel match #3 – a $2,500 match! – from Andrew who mostly lurks but sometimes comments.

Now beginning Angel Match #4 of $1,000!  Thank you to another anonymous BJ Angel.  Done!

We have more BJ Angel matches lined up, so you can be sure that once one match ends there is another one to immediately take its place.

As soon as we finish whatever angel match that brings the thermometer to $15,000 At some point on Saturday.

We now have TWO $1,000 angel matches running concurrently.  (RaflW and another anonymous donor)  Example:

A $25 donation turns into:  $25 (you) + $25 (Angel A) + $25 (Angel B) = $75 + $150 (external double-match) = $225.

A $50 donation turns into:  $50 (you) + $50 (Angel A) + $50 (Angel B) = $150 + $300 (external double-match) = $450.

Remember: when we start a new angel match, up to $50 of any donation can be matched, even if a previous donation was matched by a different BJ angel.  Read the fine print for matching in the first comments in the post.

One last thing:

John always likes me to remind people that no one should ever feel obligated to donate in response to any fundraising request here, whether it’s for political fundraising or to support the Balloon Juice site. Everyone is part of the Balloon Juice community, donations or no donations!

Four Directions
MICHIGAN!

Goal Thermometer

Reader Interactions

152Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    The math:  when we have a double-match + a BJ angel donor

    If you donate $50 through THIS thermometer:  Our Balloon Juice angel adds $50 to that, for a total of $100.  Which the FOUR DIRECTION donor double-matches, adding $200, for a total of $300.  So your $50 turns into $300!

    If you donate $10 through THIS thermometer:  Our Balloon Juice angel adds $10 to that, for a total of $20.  Which the FOUR DIRECTION donor double-matches, adding $40, for a total of $60.  So your $10 turns into $60!

    If you donate $100 through THIS thermometer:  Our Balloon Juice angel adds $50 to that, for a total of $150.  Which the FOUR DIRECTION donor double-matches, adding $300, for a total of $450.  So your $100 turns into $450!

  3. 3.

    Omnes Omnibus

    John always likes me to remind people that no one should ever feel obligated to donate in response to any fundraising request here, whether it’s for political fundraising or to support the Balloon Juice site. Everyone is part of the Balloon Juice community, donations or no donations!

    Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen. And I am okay with that.​

  5. 5.

    mvr

    Just put mine up on the other thread. Please make sure it gets counted. And thanks for all you do!

  8. 8.

    Sebastian

    I was once rude on the phone to the very nice man from Four Directions (I blame robocalls!).

    Chipped in $100 as penance.

  10. 10.

    H.E.Wolf

    Thank you to WaterGirl, the donors (and repeat donors), everyone on the cheering squad, and the angelorum chori!

    In addition to the OJ notes, I also jotted down a few things that Lewis, 4D’s finance guy, said:

    “If one minority group can get out and be counted, it’s contagious – people want to vote.”

    “I think it’s a minority of people who think the glass is half empty, gloom & doom. If the number of disenfranchised is X, then we get X-plus-more to the polls, we’re going to ramp it up and work harder. Failure is just not an option.”

    “I’m 100% confident in Balloon Juice.” [when discussing the prospect of reaching $25K for MI]

    Lewis is undoubtedly justified in being confident – he’s seen the jackals in action before – but even he is probably not expecting our potential land-speed record for this matching drive. :-)

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @H.E.Wolf:

    Failure is not an option.

    I can still hear Lewis’s voice and intonation as he said that.

    Another thing that stuck with me was his description of the relationship between time and money.

    In terms of being effective …  Time + Money = 2, but Time + Early Money = 3.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    @Sebastian: We have $60 left of angel match #3 left, then we get to see the thermometer jump by the $2,500 from BJ angel #3!

    That will be exciting!

    edit: and we have a BJ angel #4 ready to go right after that!

  21. 21.

    persistentillusion

    @WaterGirl: $25 from me.  The ability of this blog to fundraise for good causes, candidates, un-met needs astonishes me.  I am proud to be a mostly lurking Juicer!

  28. 28.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​I always appreciate your dispelling. Your voice is one that I pay attention to.

    Our household is going to be up before dawn tomorrow, so I’ll wish a good night to all.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    BJ Angel #3 just added his $2,500 match, so we should see the thermometer make a big jump fairly soon.

    Thank you so much, Andrew!

    edit: And there it is!  $14 532!!!

  44. 44.

    The Dangerman

    Dr. Barry Mehler of Ferris University (Michigan, I think) HAS to be a Balloon Juicer (I’ll let you Google). I’d take this guys class in a heartbeat. Iconoclastic curmudgeons have got to stick together.

  53. 53.

    Kristine

    With our early money, this nearly top 10,000 blog will be influencing Nov 2022 outcomes in 4 key states: Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, and now Michigan.

    This is exciting!

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    I am heading for bed, but you can be sure I’ll check back first thing in the morning.

    Until then, we have enough BJ angels to match any donations that will come in overnight.

    Thanks everyone, you are amazing.

  56. 56.

    RaflW

    As we near midnight eastern, I’m kinda goin’ wow. WG posted just less than 14 hours ago, and Juicers have been raising $855/hr ever since.

    It’d be fantastic to have this Michigan position funded by the end of the day Saturday. If it takes a little longer thats fine too. I’m just excited.

  59. 59.

    Another Scott

    Thanks for doing this WG, and everyone.

    ObOpenThread – AlJazeera – Djoker is back in the clink.

    Novak Djokovic has returned to detention in Australia, after authorities ripped up his visa for a second time and declared the unvaccinated tennis superstar a threat to the public.

    The world’s top-ranked tennis player had surrendered to officials in Melbourne for an interview at about 8am local time on Saturday (21:00 GMT on Friday), following a court order issued on Friday night.

    Good, good.

    He’s an amazing athlete, but a menace when it comes to Covid.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    frosty

    I just donated $50. It’s at $15K already!  I needed to get it in soon before everyone else breaks the thermometer!

  72. 72.

    Isua

    Just donated $25. I lived in Michigan for two years and loved it, gotta send a little back to it.

  83. 83.

    Joy in FL

    @WaterGirl: For a long time, I hated it.  No orange clothes, no orange furnishing, nothing orange.
    I do like the fruit : )
    Now I like the color orange and sometimes I love it if it is with other colors and together they delight my eyes.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    @Joy in FL:  Ha!

    I hope no one goes all Jean and Jorts on me for this, but I have noticed some correlation between love of the color orange and being non-conformist.

    Just testing my theory.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    As soon as angel match #4 is complete, we will start the two angel matches that will run concurrently!

    At some point on Saturday, we will have TWO $1,000 angel matches running concurrently.  (RaflW and another anonymous donor)  Example:

    A $25 donation turns into:  $25 (you) + $25 (Angel A) + $25 (Angel B) = $75 + $150 (external double-match) = $225.

    A $50 donation turns into:  $50 (you) + $50 (Angel A) + $50 (Angel B) = $150 + $300 (external double-match) = $450.

  87. 87.

    Mo Salad

    I’m beginning to get Jerry Lewis Telethon flashbacks here.

    “Louie! Tympani!”

    Cue instrumental version of “What The World Needs Now, Is Love, Sweet Love”.

  88. 88.

    RevRick

    Wow! Within a week we went from struggling to reach one eighth of our goal to two thirds of the way there. Way to go, Juicers!

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    @Mo Salad: Just $29 left!

    I am curious about how the concurrent angel match will go.

    If we blow through that $1,000 quickly, I think we’ll do another one.

    edit: what the hell, I will do the $29.

    Angel Match #4 is now complete!

  91. 91.

    RaflW

    @WaterGirl: Orange is absolutely my favorite color. I even wrote a poem about it once.
    I don’t have it handy on my phone, it was in a writing class about 15 years ago. But I managed to get it published in a very niche magazine (RFD, a Journal of Radical Faeries).

    ETA: Yay @WaterGirl! I know the front page is busy this morning, but maybe a new Saturday post for 4G will get this blogathon to the finish line? Either way, it’s going amazingly.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    Angel Match #4 is now complete!

    Let the concurrent angel match begin!

    TWO $1,000 angel matches running concurrently.  (RaflW and another anonymous donor)  Example:

    A $25 donation turns into:  $25 (you) + $25 (Angel A) + $25 (Angel B) = $75 + $150 (external double-match) = $225.

    A $50 donation turns into:  $50 (you) + $50 (Angel A) + $50 (Angel B) = $150 + $300 (external double-match) = $450.

    Now that you see how the math works… $5 turns into $45, and $10 turns into $90!

  93. 93.

    WaterGirl

    @RaflW: Published poem, nice!

    Your concurrent match has begun!  (Yours and Ms. Anonymous)

    Note: It’s 11:50 am, we are at 218 donations, and the thermometer reads $16,528.

  94. 94.

    Wolvesvalley

    Here is another $50 for the concurrent matches.
    Way to go, BJ Angels!​ (And all the jackals who are pitching in!)

  95. 95.

    Mo Salad

    And another $50 on to the #5 double. I told you my ADHD scrambled brain would take to this like crack. Hitting 4 of the 5 matches so far along with the original $100 seed a few weeks ago is much more fun than committing to $500 three weeks in advance.

    Instead, I’ve parlayed it into $1,450. Actually, more, the original 100 has an eventual match also.

  98. 98.

    TxTiger

    @watergirl

    I don’t know if I still qualify for super-duper extra matchy-match but I just donated $50.

    My appreciation for the BJ community increases daily. I lurked on the zoom book club the other evening and loved seeing faces for the nyms. Perhaps at some future zoom I will come out of hiding and contribute!

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @TxTiger: Yes, you do qualify for the super-duper extra matchy-match!

    Your $50 is now $450!

    All the matches work for any amount up to $50.  $5 turns into $45, and $10 turns into $90!

  104. 104.

    Caphilldcne

    Donated $100 to my home state of Michigan. Thank you Four Directions for keeping it blue in ‘22.

  109. 109.

    Joy in FL

    @WaterGirl: When I hated the color orange (childhood and young adulthood), part of why I hated it was that it felt like an attempt at forced cheerfulness. I still hate anything that feels like it is trying to make me see the bright side or impose positivity, but I don’t associate that with the color orange any more.

    So maybe as I have become more deliberately non-conformist, I’ve grown to enjoy the color orange and sometimes even love it : )

  112. 112.

    BeautifulPlumage

    I kicked in $100…part of my year end giving. Gonna go kick some into the BJ bucket next – I love this ad- free blog!

  121. 121.

    coyoteville

    WaterGirl,

    I just donated $33 ($36.30 if you count the 10% tip to ActBlue) for the “concurrent matching”.

  130. 130.

    WaterGirl

    @Mo Salad: I appreciate it, we all appreciate it, and we will especially appreciate it come November!

    We can’t control the outcome, but we can sure as hell leave it all on the field.  No regrets.

    edit: small point, this one is actually #5 and #6 (two angels, one concurrent match)  with any luck, #7 will be rolling out soon.

  135. 135.

    Joy in FL

    @RaflW: Yes, I think when I was a kid, I saw orange in color combinations that were ugly as far as my taste went.

    It is a beautiful color in itself. For me, so much depends on context.

  143. 143.

    No One You Know

    Thanking all those involved for this. Kicked in my mite thanks to the repost because I missed the first one.

  145. 145.

    WaterGirl

    The concurrent angel match is now complete, and I’m sure RaflW will be adding his $1,000 as soon as he sees my email message.

    Angel match #7 is beginning! BJ Angel #7 lives in Michigan.

Comments are closed.