More on the Gravel road

I was in SL last night, and Astrophysicist McCallister (the leader of the Official Gravel HQ in SL) contacted me with urgent business. He said he hadn't paid me for the yard signs, and they were in fact using them, so he wanted to pay me. I allowed as how I'd price them using the same formula as I did for the t-shirts (i.e. X times the retail price), and he promptly paid me that exact amount. He said he'd spent the entire day doing damage control. After I read the post he referred me to, I understood why he was so anxious to pay me and why his day was so bad. You can read about it here:

http://secondchoices.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/has-mike-gravel-sold-out/

Apparently everything's OK with me doing work for him, since I've charged him (and he's paid) my "usual and customary" fee. It doesn't hurt that I'm a citizen of these United States. It all gets very complicated, but because this is an official presence in SL, it falls under the Federal Election laws, and they just aren't quite up-to-date on things like SL. Astro is breaking new ground, and I'm a part of it in my own little way. Who knew I'd be part of something so important?

President Gravel?

From my Second Life work designing flags, yard signs and t-shirts for Presidential Campaigns, I was contacted by the man who is building the official Second Life campaign HQ for Mike Gravel, Democrat candidate for US President. I made some items for them, and was paid handsomely (although when it's converted to US dollars, it was a pittance). In the process of making these items, I had occasion to visit his website.

To put it bluntly, he's a nutcase.

Let's look at some of his stands on "issues":

• The War in Iraq: "Immediate and orderly withdrawal of troops followed by aggressive diplomacy." Does anyone believe that diplomacy will work with people who have the means to, and have vowed to give their lives to destroy the USA? Well, I suppose nutcases do.
• Iran: "Senator Gravel firmly opposes a military confrontation with Iran and advocates a diplomatic solution to the current situation." Instead, we must aggressively move to change the regime in Iran. Again, diplomacy (ala Chamberlain) will not work.
• A Fair Tax: "Eliminate the income tax and replace it with a progressive national sales tax." How, exactly, is a progressive tax "Fair"? A flat national sales tax (perhaps with a credit for those in poverty) is closer to fair, but there is no such thing as a fair progressive tax.
• Global Warming / Climate Change: "We must reduce America's carbon footprint in the world by passing legislation that caps emissions and improve [sic] energy efficiency while generating energy from low-carbon sources." Mr. Gravel has, like most other politicians, bought into the idea that global warming is some how the fault of humans, and can somehow be fixed by humans. It's a popular stance, and sure to get him lots of votes, but it's wrong-headed. Sure, we've got to protect our environment. On the other hand, it's wrong for humans to get so conceited as to think we have much to do with major climate change. The only good point in this statement is that he wants to promote the generation of energy from low-carbon sources. Guess what the best low-carbon source is? Nuclear. But he dare not say that word.
• Universal Healthcare Vouchers: "A National Health Care Voucher plan will provide health care for all Americans." This one is difficult for me, since I have excellent health care coverage at a minimal price. I do know that health care is a major problem for many Americans, but I'm not sure I want the federal government "fixing" it. Take a look at any program where the government has stepped in to "help". Agriculture, Welfare, Flood Control, Disaster Relief ... the list is nearly endless. You can count on the government to screw it up and then mire it in so many layers of bureaucracy and red-tape that it could never be "un-fixed". No thanks, nutcase.

Mike Gravel's big problem is name recognition. And that won't be fixed by him spouting the same crap as all the other Democrats.

When I was asked to do the signs for his HQ, the leader told me they would put up a sign acknowledging my help. I asked him not to. I pretended it was because I didn't want to give the impression that I was supporting any particular candidate while I'm trying to sell flags for all candidates. In reality, I didn't want to be seen as giving any support to Sen. Gravel's campaign. I don't mind making signs for a paying customer, but please don't let anyone think I agree with what the signs say!

UPDATE: I just got an e-mail from in-world that the Campaign HQ opens officially today. The note didn't include a SLURL, so I can't tell you where it is.

UPDATE again: Here's the SLURL for the Gravel HQ. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Digital%20Zion/112/110/26