"Not One Damn Dime Day"

xoxoxoBruce • Jan 6, 2005 7:10 pm
I got an email advising me that Jan 20th is "Not One Damn Dime Day"

Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day" in America.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.
During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money. Not one damn dime for gasoline. Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases.
Not one damn dime for anything for 24 hours.

On "Not One Damn Dime Day," please boycott Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target.
Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store. Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).
For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.

There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No left or right wing agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing. You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed.

For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.

Interesting concept...you can even protest in secret. :D
Dr. Zaius • Jan 6, 2005 9:04 pm
Maybe I am missing something I don't see where this form of protest really has any impact. It reminds me of those boycott the big oil company drives where they try to put the hurt on Exxon or whoever by not purchasing gasoline for just one day. They just make it all up the next day when we all go back to buying the gas because we need it. Same here. Whatever these companies lose they make up when you go back to buying. A one day dip followed by a one day blip. Seems to me a boycott (if this is one) has to have some bite to be effective. To quote California's governor "No pain. No gain."
footfootfoot • Jan 6, 2005 9:53 pm
Thought of this.
wolf • Jan 7, 2005 1:17 am
Conservative lists have been heatedly discussing not one damn dime day ... and the consensus is to go and spend spend spend at any of the hated retailers on the buyblue.org "redlist".

Bonus points for purchasing firearms and/or ammunition.
cowhead • Jan 7, 2005 2:12 am
I like the idea, but yeah as Wolf said, people will just spend that much the day before or the day after, so although making a brief statement.. ultimately it doesn't make a damn bit of difference.. and the other thing is that it downright saddens me to think that this country has really become this polarized.
wolf • Jan 7, 2005 2:15 am
Actually that was Dr. Zaius' point (blip down/blip up). Don't want to take credit for something that wasn't my work.

Mine was the "I'm buying at Walmart, so there, you Kerry Supporting French Loving Weenies!"
garnet • Jan 7, 2005 9:20 am
Dr. Zaius wrote:
Maybe I am missing something I don't see where this form of protest really has any impact.


No it probably doesn't have much of a financial impact, but I don't think that's the point. The point is to send a message that some of us are sick of the crap that's going on. Maybe it'll send a message to them, maybe not. But I do like the idea. :thumbsup:
lumberjim • Jan 7, 2005 10:21 am
maybe we should all paint our asses green for one day. or we could all wear yellow hats. oh wait...i got it.....let's all shave our heads and hand out flowers at the airports and shopping malls. that'll make em think twice about invading any more countries.
garnet • Jan 7, 2005 10:35 am
lumberjim wrote:
maybe we should all paint our asses green for one day..

I dare ya... :lol:
Skunks • Jan 7, 2005 4:26 pm
What about things which you pay for anyway, in this modern world of ours? Water/gas/electric bills, or rent and tuition?

(There's also "<a href="http://www.adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/">National Buy Nothing Day</a>" the day after thanksgiving, incidentally.)
Griff • Jan 7, 2005 5:01 pm
It's really too bad they didn't come up with something those of us who are not pinkos could be down with.
xoxoxoBruce • Jan 8, 2005 1:35 am
Pinkos? Where did that come from? :haha:
No it probably doesn't have much of a financial impact, but I don't think that's the point.
Agreed...nobody get's hurt. The big companies don't lose except for maybe a random impulse buy. Middle management might be annoyed to have a full compliment of sales staff on hand and half the normal customers, but the way they staff stores these days that would be right ratio, for a change.
Besides it's more American than a roadside bomb.
wolf • Jan 8, 2005 1:55 am
eh, what the heck. Let them have their fun.

I mean when else can you make a political statement, feel good about yourself doing it, and actually do nothing?
Happy Monkey • Jan 8, 2005 8:30 am
Griff wrote:
It's really too bad they didn't come up with something those of us who are not pinkos could be down with.
If you don't buy something every single day, you're a communist?
Griff • Jan 8, 2005 9:36 am
The idea seems to be to punish commerce for a day, regardless of the business owners position on the war, that sounds pretty leftish to me. You can't blame the Iraq conflict on folks trying to make a living. Find a way to slap down all the officials who supported the war. Avoid doing business with war mongers but don't blame your local coffee/bike/book shop. One mans symbolism is another mans bread and butter. Of course the war mongers will be out spending like mad to prove they're patriotic...
Griff • Jan 8, 2005 10:04 am
Bah, it was just me ranting, as you were.
elSicomoro • Jan 8, 2005 10:20 am
I'm going to protest "Not One Damn Dime Day" by spending some money that day.
Griff • Jan 8, 2005 10:25 am
[SIZE=7]War-Monger![/SIZE]
elSicomoro • Jan 8, 2005 10:32 am
[SIZE=7]Pinko!!![/SIZE]
xoxoxoBruce • Jan 9, 2005 12:50 am
If you two come to blows....I could use one over here. :corn:
ladysycamore • Jan 10, 2005 12:55 pm
Hmph, sounds like someone is out of their "one damn mind"! :D

"(There's also "National Buy Nothing Day" the day after thanksgiving, incidentally.)"


:haha: Yeah right! No one spending money on "Black Friday". LMAOOOOOOO!!!

(that wasn't *at* you Skunks..just at the idea of it) :D
footfootfoot • Jan 11, 2005 9:58 pm
wolf wrote:
eh, what the heck. Let them have their fun.

I mean when else can you make a political statement, feel good about yourself doing it, and actually do nothing?


You mean besides like this? Well, actually you are doing something. Making someone rich, 99 cents at a time.
xoxoxoBruce • Jan 11, 2005 10:04 pm
Bwahahahahahahaha! :thumbsup:
Radar • Jan 12, 2005 1:20 am
I doubt it will do much good, but I won't spend any money that day. I'll just stay home, read a book, and hope that some truly patriotic American sniper attends the party in D.C. and does what's best for America and the rest of the world.
Schrodinger's Cat • Jan 12, 2005 3:07 am
Well, it will be just one more "I don't give a damn day" for me. Maybe I'll need to put gas in my car or not (THAT will certainly show them, whoever "they" are), maybe I'll discover I'm out of bread or milk and go get some or maybe not.

We are dealing with a country where something like 40% of its citizens believe the Bible is the literal word of some entity they call "God." No one is going to make much headway with THAT crowd. I'm glad I'm a cat. We felines have better things to do with our money and our time (such as they are).
staceyv • Jan 20, 2005 10:15 am
well, it's today...I was wondering, do you think that all of the rich people, who tend to be republicans and many of whom voted for Bush, are all out trying to spend as much money as possible?
Trilby • Jan 20, 2005 10:36 am
I'm going with the "paint your ass green" thing.
It's more..."arty".
Radar • Jan 20, 2005 11:08 am
I doubt it's going to work, but it would be nice if it were enough to make people notice that the American people aren't happy that Bush is taking an oath to violate the Constitution for another 4 years. I'm taking part in it. After all it won't cost me a dime to do it.

It's tougher than you would expect to go a day without spending any money though. Right now I'm having a hard time getting motivated. Partly because I've been sick all week, and partly because I can't buy my normal cup of coffee today.
Trilby • Jan 20, 2005 3:56 pm
Let's see...I bought a PlayStation2 and a new phone today...do I feel guilty?

No.
Clodfobble • Jan 20, 2005 4:14 pm
I bought lunch, which is really all I ever buy. But it was a kids' meal!
Happy Monkey • Jan 20, 2005 5:00 pm
All I ever buy on Thursdays is lunch, anyway, and I didn't today. Whee.
lookout123 • Jan 20, 2005 5:18 pm
i bought lunch for a homeless guy that hangs out in front of the gym i go to.
does that count for or against me?
Happy Monkey • Jan 20, 2005 5:24 pm
It's a self-scoring system.
Griff • Jan 20, 2005 5:26 pm
I didn't spend a dime today but it didn't seem to bother the shrub one bit.
Trilby • Jan 20, 2005 5:30 pm
lookout123 wrote:
i bought lunch for a homeless guy that hangs out in front of the gym i go to.
does that count for or against me?


Why would a homeless guy hang out in front of a gym? If I were homeless, I'd hang out in front of Dunkin' Donuts or Wendy's or something.
Guess it worked out for him though.
jinx • Jan 20, 2005 5:32 pm
I bought a cup of coffee.
When I returned home I pulled the lock assmebly out of my dead bolt when I tried to unlock the damn door. Anyway, it ended up being an $85 cup of coffee, so I think Gee-Dub would be pleased with me today. :(
staceyv • Jan 20, 2005 5:48 pm
Gee-Dub...I love it.
I've been in the house all day, but I am so curious about how the stores are doing. Have any of you been in the stores today? Briana, I know you have, was it any different from any other day? A little slower?
wolf • Jan 20, 2005 9:39 pm
Despite my grand plans to purchase large amounts of ammo ... Since I am on day shift all freakin' month, my schedule and plans are quite disrupted.

I had to settle for buying lunch.

But I did engage in commerce, dammit.
lookout123 • Jan 20, 2005 11:31 pm
Brianna - in phoenix, everyplace is a good place for a bum.
Trilby • Jan 20, 2005 11:47 pm
staceyv wrote:
Briana, I know you have, was it any different from any other day? A little slower?


Actually, I was mighty impressed! Nary a soul except for me and the salesguy...and this is a big store (NOT Wal-mart, though) and I got right in and out. Seems even more important when you know that fairly good snow storm hit us today which usually sends EVERYONE out for some last minute thing or other.
elSicomoro • Jan 20, 2005 11:55 pm
I didn't spend any money today, but I didn't mean for that to happen. I've been laid up all week, so I haven't left the apartment much. And I was going to go to the grocery store, but decided against it. Then I was going to order takeout, and decided against that too. It was a complete accident...really.
Trilby • Jan 20, 2005 11:57 pm
Is it the percocets doing this awful thing to you, Syc? ;)
elSicomoro • Jan 21, 2005 12:04 am
That might have been a factor...I came out of that haze around 9:30.
lumberjim • Jan 21, 2005 1:14 am
sycamore wrote:
I didn't spend any money today, but I didn't mean for that to happen. I've been laid up all week, so I haven't left the apartment much.

did you finally go ahead and have your testicles removed, or have you injured yourself in some way that makes you require a cane?
footfootfoot • Jan 21, 2005 1:22 am
Umm, does anyone know how to get green paint off one's ass?
anonymous • Jan 21, 2005 1:26 am
get 5 lesbians to lick it off?
elSicomoro • Jan 21, 2005 1:53 am
lumberjim wrote:
did you finally go ahead and have your testicles removed, or have you injured yourself in some way that makes you require a cane?


Heart catheter procedure last Friday (NSFW).
glatt • Jan 21, 2005 8:56 am
Yesterday I had the day off, because my office is in the "secure zone." I went shopping instead because it's my wife's birthday soon. I spent far far more yesterday than I normally do on any typical day.
staceyv • Jan 21, 2005 11:59 am
I can't find anything online about the results- was it successful?!
lookout123 • Jan 21, 2005 12:45 pm
successful at what? telling GWB you don't like him? i think he already knew half the country disliked him. did it affect the economy in any way, so that people would stand up and take notice? be real.
Trilby • Jan 21, 2005 12:52 pm
That's why I bought my PS2 and new, cool, outta-site phone yesterday! To protest the lame-ness of this protest!

(however, now I am broke again for the next two weeks. D'oh!)
Undertoad • Jan 21, 2005 12:54 pm
I bought something but I didn't use any damn dimes... only dollars, quarters and pennies.
Clodfobble • Jan 21, 2005 1:19 pm
How un-American, UT!! I used a credit card to buy my $4.84 lunch. :)
tw. • Jan 22, 2005 5:52 pm
I bought nothing. but then, i never buy anything. I usually steal from the poor. only a boy would spend. adults have too much control over their emotions to spend. MBAs spend. emotional purchases are the first sign of a mental midget. when looking at facts, an adult realizes that only an emotional MBA mental midget boy spends emotionally. blah blah blah. yadda yadda yadda. I'm more grown up than you. W is the devil. Mental midget. Child. blah blah blah.....
tw • Jan 23, 2005 1:06 am
Many never read Superman comic books. Therefore they would not know of Bizzaro Superman. We now have Bizzaro tw.
tw. • Jan 23, 2005 12:26 pm
only children read Superman ;)
lookout123 • Jan 24, 2005 4:06 pm
i am now going to start investing in drug companies. wolf, which ones do you think tw will be needing the most of?