Subject: Re: Mermaid Militia - sit rep Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 22:16:27 -0700 (PDT) To: , From: Dawn Fox
I'd also like to suggest that people charge up their cell= phones the night before and bring the phones along so= we can make sure to meet up at the same place and avoid any lost= marchers.  I also suggest circulating cell phone numbers= for this reason.
 
--Dawn 

James Lesczynski= <lesczynski@keepandbeararms.com> wrote:
So far, I count the following= people as more or less committed to our "Mermaid Militia" stunt= for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade:
Jim Lesczynski
Bob= Armstrong
Bonnie Scott
Dawn Fox
Nic Leobold
Joseph= Dobrian
Thomas Ruks
Catherine Ruks
Craig= Milem
Craig's friend?
Rosemary Rossi
Gary Snyder= (yes?)

If know of anyone who would like to participate= but isn't on the list above, please let me know. Likewise, if= you are on the list above but do not intend to participate,= please let me know. We're going to try to keep this project= fairly low maintenance, but it's going to involve a little bit= of planning and coordination to make it successful. Please bear= with me, and please read this email to the end, because I'm= going to be asking for at least a little bit of help from each= of you.

To reiterate, the idea is to do some fun outreach= and political t! heater at the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Our specific idea is to= march together as "the Mermaid Militia". And what sort of= weapons do the Mermaid Militia carry? Water guns, of course. :-)= (Imagine the headlines: "Libertarians announce Guns For Tots 2:= The Mermaid Militia".) Bonnie also suggests water balloon= grenades, along with our mermaid costumes. We'll also have= pro-freedom marching cadences, as well as some sort of fun= outreach material.

The hardest part to coordinate is= going to be our costumes. We want to keep it fairly simple so= the costumes aren't a burden in dollars or time. At the same= time, everybody else in the parade is going to have very= creative costumes, and we don't want to look lame. Our costumes= also need to be "uniform" because we are supposed to look like a= platoon of mermaids.

Bonnie is the costume coordinator,= and she can fill us in the details. If I understand it= correctly, we are going to look like para-military mermaids. For= now, what! we need is for everyone to get themselves a white tee shirt and a pair= of green pants. Bonnie will add ruffled material to the bottom= of your pants to make it look like a mermaid tail. She is also= making a decal to attach to the front of each of our tee shirts.= (I think it's a sea horse with a statue-of-liberty= head.)

Probably the biggest burden for all of you is= going to be acquiring the green pair of pants. (The rest of the= project will be lots of _fun_, I promise, especially the parade= itself.) DON'T spend a lot of money; just go to the cheapest= discount store near you. We aren't going to be picky about the= shade of green. They can even be sweat pants, but you probably= want to get something lightweight, since it will probably be hot= that day and we'll be. If anyone comes across a good bargain,= let the rest of us know..

I also want to get some more= squirt guns, even though we have a lot remaining from Guns For= Tots I. I hope to get each of us a long rifle-like Super! Soaker to shoulder. The rest of our toy guns we can give away to the= kids in the crowd. I'll try to get them cheap, and I'll pick up= the tab, but if any of you wanted to contribute a couple bucks= to defray the cost, I would appreciate it. Bonnie will also need= to be reimbursed for her costume materials; she can tell you how= much, but I think it will only be a few dollars each.

We= need somebody to buy the water balloons (grenades). Who can take= care of that?

We need somebody to write and photocopy= some simple propaganda about who we are, the proposed toy gun= ban, etc. Who can take care of that? Maybe Thomas or= Joseph?

I will write a press release, no later than this= weekend, and issue it on Monday. The Manhattan LP will pay for= that cost out of its treasury.

I will also register us= for the parade tonight. The cost is $50. ($30 for 3-15 marchers,= plus $20 for Bonnie's jeep, which we're going to decorate and= ride on/march behind.) I was going to ask the ML! P for reimbursement for that, but I think I will pay for it as an= in-kind donation to the chapter.

Bonnie is going to be in= the city on Saturday afternoon to preview the costume= accessories. Bob, can you stop by my apartment on Saturday to= take a look and finalize the ideas? The rest of you are also= welcome to attend, but don't feel obligated.

On the big= day, we will need to get to Coney Island _early_. We are to= assemble on West 16th Street between Surf and Mermaid Avenues.= They would like all participants to arrive no earlier than 10 AM= and no later than 12 NOON. It's going to be a huge mob of people= and challenging to find each other, so PLEASE let's avoid= Standard Libertarian Time and be prompt. I think the subways to= Coney Island are currently messed up due to construction, so= we'll need to account for that too.

Did I forget= anything? If you have any questions, comments, or criticisms,= please send them along.

This will be FUN, FUN, FUN!= Everybody ! who isn't participating is going to really miss= out.

http://www.coneyisland.com/mermaid.shtml

Jim= Lesczynski

P.S. If anyone has Craig Milem's email= address, please forward this.

"I would much prefer that= muggers use realistic toys than real guns. It's safer for the= victim and the police."
-Chris Garvey

"Don't come= uptown with that bullshit! Get outa my 'hood! Get outa my 'hood!= Get outa my 'hood!"
-NYC Councilmember Robert= Jackson


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