That's right. I'm hosting a contest.
 Quite a few people have done it on xanga, and while it's been entertaining, a nice part of the blogger/xangan culture...it's just not really been something I thought about doing. It's not what my xanga's about, you know? Entertaining. I'm pleased when it sparks the minds of those who comes across it, even if I make folks laugh...but it's not my purpose here.

But, more and more, the trend in my little niche on xanga, on the blogosphere...with all the others here who far outshine me around this internetly neck of the woods -- I've noticed that we've all been a little frustrated, gloomy.
 "What can we do? This doesn't seem to be enough. It's all speeding by us, worse and worse...what the heck can we do to change it? We HAVE to change it."

Well, I was talking to my good friend SaturnNights (if I may be so bold as to call 'em my friend) today and I realized something. There's alot that's wrong, bad, or just not great for all our lives nowadays. Alone, it's difficult to start things that need doing and that the government is doubtful to start out themselves -- though they should. But money's not the answer to all problems, there's always an alternative, if we can just think of it. The answer is always thought and discussion.

So here's the rub; The world needs you. It needs us.

What better way than a contest?

So to get it started here's what we need;
Ideas for what you win. Art, stuff, whatever -- volunteers for making for giving those things (I'm willing to be the main person if I can swing the idea...maybe with help).
And a list of things we need in this country, and in the world, and ways to do it...from there; volunteers.

As you get on your way to achieving it, you get your reward (and it'll be totally unique to this contest), and you change the world.

Maybe not cut-and-paste type easy, but not too hard, right?

It'll keep our summer busy at least, xD goodness knows we're not busy enough.

DISCLAIMER; No idea is too small or too big. And this is a work in progress. I sincerely do want to hear everyone's thoughts on the way this contest works, for participation, etc'.

Problems, things we need to work on;
~~The government's attitude/opinion toward us citizens; that we're almost disposable/expendable, worth ignoring, that we're not their bosses, etc. (Submitted by Nine_Star_Lotus)

Prizes/Rewards/Honoraries (which you get to pick!);
~One Month's Premium on Xanga. (Generously donated by radicalramblings)
~A surprise sketch. (My idea and contribution. I may do something like a flag, or something that reflects your idea. Maybe I'll do a artsy sketch of a photo of you, or what have you. It's up to discussion, and while I don't claim to be the best artist ever, I used to be pretty good. Although, if someone else would like to do this, feel free.)
~"We changed the world" ebook. (Another thing I'm willing to contribute, although I'd love help with this prize, if anyone'd be willing to do that. I think this should be a default prize to everyone.)
~ 1-3 months premium at DeviantArt. For the first and second place winners only...and only if you have a deviant art account that you use. (Generously offered by Dragonqueen08)
~A piece of original artwork by GoGreen, who's sold his art to galleries before, for THE first place winner.

Contest ideas/Entries;

NEW UPDATE;
The only rule is that you accomplish something wonderful and world-changing within about a year, that is...by the end of August 2010. Sound fair enough?

FAQ so far;
How're we eligible for the prizes?
Just document your idea in action, with photos, blog posts, etc. Preferrably as it happens, this way, it's easy to tell you're for real. But it's not a requirement...this is a big project, so it's understandable that you'll be busy. Video's even better, but like I said, photos and blog entries are sufficient. After all, the default prize is an ebook, I kindof need proper amounts of information in order to write about you and what you've accomplished!

So the contest ends at the end of August, 2010. When do we get our prizes?
A week after, to give me time to finish your prizes/organize them for everyone.

Quotes of the Day:

"The State is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." -- Frederic Bastiat, French economist of the 19th Century

"How did I go bankrupt? Two ways. Slowly, and then all of a sudden." -- paraphrased from "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

"May you live in interesting times." -- a proverbial Chinese curse

Subject: The End of Statism (after its rise)

President Bush and the Republican Congress expanded government more than any administration in history. They also laid the basic foundations for a future police state. Now, President Obama and the Democratic Congress have . . .

• Retained, and in some cases expanded, all the Bush-era policies -- the wars, the PATRIOT Act, warrantless spying, REAL ID, imprisonment without due process, extraordinary rendition, etc.
• Begun to extend the already existing foundations for a future socialist state with things like direct government ownership of businesses, the health care bill, cap and trade, and a host of other measures big and small

Put the Bush and Obama policies together, sprinkle in a couple more terrorist attacks, and one or two more state-caused financial calamities, and you have a recipe for . . .

• The destruction of American liberty
• The blossoming of a Leviathan State

Read the signs . . .

We are living through a Statist revolution.

Statism is a mindset that prefers coercion to cooperation. Statists love the State because they are blind to its fundamental nature . . . 

• The State is a monopoly that you cannot easily fire, replace, or even control
• Everything the State does relies on coercion

If you decide that . . .

• You don't want to pay for, or be subject to, the new health care plan, or that . . .
• You prefer to buy and sell using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, or that . . .
• You want to do, or not do, a host of other things that the politicians either require or prohibit,
• Then eventually a policeman will come to your door and threaten you with a gun, to make you submit

People who advocate expansive State action are really saying, "I think you should be threatened with, or actually suffer violence, if you don't fund my pet schemes, or live the way I think you should."

Such people would never go door to door pointing a gun at their neighbors, but the second-hand mechanism of the State allows them to hide their eyes from the violence implicit in what they profess.

Our government was founded to limit this kind of coercion. The American State was given two main functions . . .

• To punish coercion committed by one citizen against another
• To deter coercion by foreign States

Beyond that, nearly the entire Constitution is devoted to prohibiting State violence. This was the purpose of the divisions of power, the checks and balances, and the Bill of Rights. But now those protections lie in tatters.

Everyone is trying to use the State to live at the expense of everyone else, or to micro-manage their neighbors. Our traditional culture of individual liberty, personal responsibility, and peaceful, non-violent cooperation, is slowly dying. We are nearing a point where it may even die completely, suddenly, when we least expect it. As a result . . .

We live under the Chinese curse of interesting times. But we urge you to resist despair. We are even prepared to predict . . .

The End of Statism

Our reason is simple. Statism doesn't work. The violence at its heart always . . .

• Destroys more than it creates
• Multiplies its victims, who become increasingly deperate enough to resist

Our purpose is to recruit and organize that resistance into an army. It's . . .

• Why we do
• What we do
• The way we do it

We know that successful resistance will come slowly, before it comes suddenly. Victory will take time, but the time's going to pass anyway, so why not use it wisely? This is why . . .

We reject all "get powerful quick" schemes as inherently unworkable. We know that societies and movements evolve slowly more often than they leap. History is littered with causes that failed because they couldn't wait to succeed.  

We neither need, nor expect, overnight success. Do you?

What we need instead is constant and consistent progress. And for that we need you, and for you to need us.

Remember where we're going. We're building toward the day when we can . . .

• Reach everyone, everywhere, every day, with the case for freedom and against Statism
• Build a big parade -- a movement -- in front of which opportunistic politicians will want to march. They'll claim we're following them, and we'll let them think that!
• Deploy a huge army to exert relentless, resistance-numbing pressure on Congress, to make them submit

And remember how we're going to get there . . .

• Slowly and steadily, but also surely
• One person at a time
• One dollar at a time
• One simple action at a time
• With each small step building toward the next larger step

The end of the month is here. We did more this month than we did last month. Now we need your financial support to do even more in November. Please . . .

• Start a monthly credit card pledge
• Or make a one-time donation
• You can do so here

Your support is our progress.

Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.