First thing I do when I get home from work is,

[bluescribbler]

I Check my emails.

Today there were 99 new emails in my inbox. Of those 99 emails, 2 were not from some politician or nonprofit group begging for money.

I am not a wealthy man. I'm not as careful with my money as I might be, because I like to have a good time. But I do work hard for the money I get. I am a machinist. I have worked in my trade for more than forty years. This often requires me to be on my feet, performing physical tasks, and paying close attention to the results of my efforts. Today, for example, I spent the day standing over a lathe boring a part to a tolerance of .0002". For those who cannot grasp the significance of that tolerance, I present an illustration. The average human hair measures .008" Imagine, if you will, splitting a human hair into 16 equal parts. That one part, that one sixteenth of a human hair, is the maximum error I was permitted on this part. I was exhausted when I got home.

Now don't get me wrong. I do support some of the politicians and many of the causes who beg for money. But I can't send money to all of them. I have to pick my spots. I have rules I abide by. The rules vary. If you are a politician or aa PAC, the first rule is, Do you support positions which I support? If not, then you won't get my money. The second rule is, Will you appear on my ballot? If not, then you won't get my money.

If you are a nonprofit, the first rule is, Is your cause something about which I care deeply? If not, then you won't get my money. The second rule is, are you really helping people who need the help? If not, then you won't get my money. The third rule is, are you spending money wisely, getting the best results for the money spent? If not, then you won't get my money.

These artificial fundraising deadlines really piss me off. For the past month I've been getting these emails, each day ramping up the "urgency", as if I could give two shits about their deadlines.

The main reason I get so many emails is because I am active in my local community. I preside as chair of my ward Democratic Committee, and as vice chair of my city committee. I also contributed to John Kerry's Presidential campaign, and to (less than) a handful of other campaigns. That doesn't mean that I'm a soft touch for any Democrat who's running for Congress in Bumfuck, AZ.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Every day I get emails from candidates I've never heard of

running for office in states I've never lived in. I unsubscribe, but it's getting to be a PITA.

[napi21]

2. Congrats to you for having rules & sticking to them. I'm with ya on the artificial deaadlines too!

There's one more thing that has me really miffed. I gave a small amt. to a particular candidate, and THE VERY NEXT DAY that same candidate was crying "PLEASE (my name), this is almost the end of the year! We NEED to make our goal!"

Can't these guys use the same technology they use to beg for $$ to stop, at least for a couple of days, pestering the people who already gave them some bucks? Has me swearing at them while I supported them!

[Ohiogal]

3. If our country

Had a time limit on political campaigns like some countries do, then there wouldn’t be this incessant need for begging for money.

https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/10/21/450238156/canadas-11-week-campaign-reminds-us-that-american-elections-are-much-longer

[patricia92243]

4. Mark them as spam.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

5. The global right-wing and ultra-wealthy are causing more stress....

in working people in many small ways and it's stretching us thin mentally, emotionally and economically. A few predominant examples are.....

* They contribute huge amounts to political campaigns and think tanks, causing us to react with millions of small contributions to counter their largess. This will only get worse with time.

* They drive inflation, much of which is caused by huge debt that mainly benefits them.

* They work to cut government benefits and programs that provide basic support for lower income people, causing charities to try and make up the difference.

* They work to have their tax rates cut, which gives them more to contribute to right-wing causes and also eventually shifts that tax load onto us.

Therefore, as more of the burden of helping those less fortunate is shifted directly onto workers and as economic inequality worsens, we see more requests for help by email and snail-mail. Every day in the news, we see increasing bad news of human suffering as time passes and this will get worse as effects of climate change take hold.

We share your frustration as we see so many people and organizations that really do need help. Many economists are saying it's only going to get much worse in the next 10 or so years.

Going beyond my rant of frustration, thank you for supporting Democrats as best you can. That's about all we can do.

[OxQQme]

6. Not quite 99, but many emails

and unknown phone calls on my cell.
My life was spent working for family owned, no benefits, bidnesses.
I contributed to ActBlue and Bernie last election cycle, so I guess I'm seen as an easy mark from everywhere.
I also gotta pick and choose.