Behind the Junk Mail: Judicial Watch Follow-up mailpiece

To be taken off Judicial Watch‘s mailing list email them at info@judicialwatch.org also call them at (888) 593-8442. 

---

I didn’t expect to be back so quickly. But Judicial Watch is acting like some thirsty guy at the club. 

This mailpiece is part 2 of my last post. Read about it here.

Judicial Watch (Wiki page) (SourceWatch page) (Charity Navigator page 2 stars) Tom Fitton is in charge.

The holidays are a busy time of year for me, with lots of travel. I do not check my mailbox every day. I didn’t find this mailpiece after the New Year. They wanted me to read it a week after the big mail package from my last post. Both of these mailpieces are for the final fundraising drive of the year. Get your donations in now so that they qualify for your 2019 taxes.

---

The mailpiece starts off with a little piece of blue paper:

Dear Judicial Watch Member:
I want to make a special effort to reach out and make sure you received my letter last week because we really need the support of every member right now.

The sheer volume of our Deep State investigation and litigation plus our ongoing work fighting for honest elections and against illegal sanctuary policies are putting a lot of pressure on us. It is especially important now that we meet all of our current budget targets and enter 2020 in a strong financial position.

Your generosity has helped us make an enormous impact for open government and the rule of law …and I hope you can continue to support us today with another special gift.

Thank you so much!
Tom

Follow-up mailpieces are not uncommon. I have seen them before. Generally the first one is big. Think a tote bag, a calendar, Christmas cards. The second one is all “Haaay remember that flashy mail package we sent you? Please send us money.” You can’t blame them for doing this. You have to cut through the noise some how. When your core donor is getting 30+ pieces of junk mail a day, you have to stand out, and remind them to send money. The problems happen when the targeted donor has dementia, and sends a check for both mailpieces. Or if you are Judicial Watch you can flat out ask for “another special gift”

---

Main Letter

This entire letter is designed to rile up the reader. It wants people to get mad, and get out their check books.
Phrases like “Deep State” “Trump lynch mob” and mentioning baddies like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and James Comey, are all upsetting to the target donor.

If anyone can explain the red “COPY” in the margin let me know in the comments. I know it is an old document printing thing. You know it has been photocopied if the “COPY” is in black. Making this letter original. But I don’t know the proper words to look up why you would do this. To me it is another clue that this mailpiece was written for people over 70.

Flip over the page and they are praising the target donor with phrases like “patriots like you” and “committed members”.

I am counting on committed members like you to help with an extra contribution before December 31st.

They also slip in the target donor’s name at one point. A person with dementia will think the mailpiece is talking directly to them. They won’t think about the computer code that inserted a name in that spot for millions of other people.

Time for a P.S.

P.S. Clearly, 2019 has been another landmark year for Judicial Watch. As Congressman Nunes attests, no one can question our effectiveness and the enormous impact we’re making fighting public corruption and unlawful government secrecy. Almost daily, my colleagues and I are asked to appear in Fox News programs and other media print, television and online outlets with important developments about the history we’re making together. Stay tuned, and please let me hear from your right away.

This P.S. is OK. The message on the donation slip below is better. I like that they bring the target donor in closer into the Judicial Watch family by saying “history we’re making together”.

---

Note from Congressman Devin Nunes

Today we have very special guest star Congressman Devin Nunes (Wiki page). I am going to assume that Congressman Nunes authorized this use of his name and likeness for this mailpiece. Do I think he wrote this? No. Do I think that Judicial Watch wrote it and a Nunes staffer reviewed, approved it? Yes. “Corrupt cabal” is another phrase that is supposed to get you angry.

---

Donation slip

Urgent Year-End Member Reply

Dear Tom:

I am pround to continue to stand with you and Judicial Watch!

I have enclosed a special tax-deductible year-end gift to help Judicial Watch close its 2019 books strong and ready for all the challenges we face in 2020! My best contribution is enclosed for:

[ ]$25 [ ]$40 [ ] $ ____ Other

They have very effectively used the donation slip to drive home the main message of the mailpiece. It piles on the sense of urgency with it’s “Urgent Year-End Member Reply“. And it becomes an extra P.S., by reviewing all the high points of the main letter.

---

Should you donate to Judicial Watch? I would say no. Not because of their politics, or that they hang out with a congressman that likes to sue parody Twitter accounts, but because they are terrible at running a charity. Charity Navigator gives them 2 stars. From the 2 mailpieces I have written about lately, you can see how 31.7% of their budget is devoted to fundraising. It should be 25% or under.

---

To be taken off Judicial Watch‘s mailing list email them at info@judicialwatch.org also call them at (888) 593-8442. 

Behind the Junk Mail: Judicial Watch

To be taken off Judicial Watch‘s mailing list email them at info@judicialwatch.org also call them at (888) 593-8442. 

---

Once a year my mail carrier goes on vacation. The substitute delivers everything that comes to my address. That is how I know that a woman that has been dead for 5 years still gets junk mail. But this is not about her mail. This is about Judicial Watch trying to slime their way into the mailbox of her children. I was told this would happen. Someone in the direct mail industry told me that the junk mail industrial complex would turn their sites to other people at the same address. So here we are with a big flashy mail package from Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch (Wiki page) (SourceWatch page) (Charity Navigator page 2 stars) was founded in the 1990’s by Larry Klayman and is currently helmed by Tom Fitton. It’s mission is to be a government watch dog by filing Freedom of Information Act requests to keep the government as transparent as possible. Other groups that do the same thing are Muck Rock, and the Sunlight Foundation. Along with filing FOIA requests Judicial Watch likes to make things up. Both the Wikipedia page and the SourceWatch page have sections about false claims made by members of Judicial Watch. Some of the most fanciful rumors spread by Fox News and other right wing media outlets were started by Judicial Watch.

---

Main Letter

Right off the top they are talking about a Member Proxy Ballot. We will get to that later. Most of the first page talks about all of their on going projects.

The last paragraph caught my eye:

“And since the Deep State within the Trump administration is stonewalling us just as hard as the Obama administration did over our lawful public records requests, it is also clear that 2020 will be just as challenging a year for us as 2019.”

It is interesting that they are saying something negative about the Trump administration. Did they really think that the guy who won’t release his tax documents was going to just open up the government filling cabinet for them?

This page mentions the Member Proxy Ballot 4 times. Are they worried that their target audience won’t remember it from the top of the letter?

I resently learned that the P.S. is the first part of a begging letter people read all the way through. Let’s check out this letter’s P.S.

P.S. As eager as I am to learn that you’re giving your full support to our current work with your Member Proxy Ballot, I am also counting on your best tax-deductible gift to help us start 2020 in a strong financial position. Please let me hear from you by December 31st! Thank You!

That is a well written P.S. It drives home the importance of the Member Proxy Ballot. Your gift is tax-deductible. And they put on the pressure by asking you return it by December 31st. I got this in the middle of December, that doesn’t leave much time to get it there by the end of the month.

Here is the Member Proxy Ballot that was mentioned at the top of the letter.

YES! I cast my Member Proxy Ballot in favor of Judicial Watch vigorously pressing forward in 2020 with all its current investigations and lawsuits to combat unlawful secrecy, corruption and threats to the constitutional rule of law from Deep State operatives inside and outside government. And be sure to hold corrupt politicians like Hillary Clinton in both political parties accountable for their crimes, keep fighting for honest elections and continue to challenge sanctuary policies from coast to coast!

I also give Judicial Watch my personal approval to launch new investigations and lawsuits as events require and to expand other critical programs.

Check the box, sign and date. The more time you spend reading the letter, the more time you spend interacting with the mailpice, the more likely you are to give, and the more likely you are to give more.

---

Verdict

I’m not going to go through each page of Verdict. If you want to see the whole issue I scanned every page and posted it to Flickr. At a glance the photos they use of the people they don’t like, are unflattering. And the photos they use of Tom Fitton make him look like a Dollar Tree version of Rob Lowe.
I want to focus on the ads. I like to joke about who these mailpieces are aimed at. But these ads will put and end to any doubt that this and most the junk mail on this blog is aimed at taking money from the elderly.

Is this an ad for Viagra? No! It wants you to remember in your will.

By remembering Judicial Watch in your will or other estate plans, you could receive important tax benefits while leaving a legacy of freedom for your loved ones and future generations of Americans. Request our brochure, “how to Make a Will that Works”, to help you as you make or update your estate plans.

---

How nice REI has elderly people in it’s catalog now. Nope, Judicial Watch wants to suck money directly from your IRA.

Before you make your IRA withdrawals…
…discover how both YOU and JUDICIAL WATCH can benefit from the IRA charitable rollover
ACT NOW!

THE IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER IS BACK, AND THIS TIME IT’S PERMANENT! MAKING DONATIONS TO JUDICIAL WATCH DIRECTLY FROM YOUR IRA CAN:

Be an easy and convenient way to make a gift from one of your major assets

Be excluded from your gross income: a tax-free rollover

Count toward your required minimum distribution

For your gift to qualify for benefits under the extension:

You must be 70 1/2 years or older at the time of the gift

The transfer must go directly from your IRA to Judicial Watch

Your total IRA gift(s) cannot exceed $100,000 each year

Your gift must be outright

---

This one takes up more than half of the back page

Four Easy Ways
to make a year-end charitable gift

ACT TODAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MANY CHARITABLE WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT JUDICIAL WATCH.
By carefully planning your charitable gifts – an completing them by December 31 -you may enjoy the satisfaction of fighting government corruption while gaining valuable tax benefits.

1. Cash. Charitable gifts are most often made in the form of checks. They must be postmarked or otherwise delivered by December 31 to qualify for tax deductibility for 2018.

2. Donate online. You can easily make a donation via your credit card by calling our offices, or by going online to www.judicialwatch.org. Our website offers a quick and easy way for you to make a year-end contribution right up until 11:59 p.m. on December 31.

3. Donate appreciated stock. With the stock market recovering value since the beginning of the Great Recession, making gifts of appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual funds could bring extra tax savings, while bypassing capital gains taxes that would be due in the event of a sale. Call our offices to receive more details about donating securities, and to receive our brochure, Giving Securities.

4. Take out a Charitable Gift Annuity. Not only will you receive a tax deduction for 2017, but you will receive income for life by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity with Judicial Watch. For more information and a complimentary personalized proposal, call our offices.

Most importantly – act now. As the year draws to a close, act now to make certain you have accomplished your charitable goals for 2018.

“By carefully planning your charitable gifts” There is the problem right there. An older person with dementia can no longer carefully plan any more. They will write out checks to groups like Judicial Watch and forget to file the paperwork with their taxes. If they remember to file their taxes at all.

I had never heard of a Charitable Gift Annuity It’s like a reverse mortgage but instead of the bank owning your home it’s Judicial Watch.

All of their ads are so morbid and depressing. Where is the ad for recurring monthly gifts? You would think they would be all over the steady income of sucking money directly from people’s checking accounts every month. Or is a monthly donation not often enough for Judicial Watch? Do they want people to write a check for every mailpiece and email Judicial Watch sends out?

Should you donate to Judicial Watch? I would say no. Not because of their politics or that they use lawsuits as a weapon, but because they are terrible at running a charity. Charity Navigator gives them 2 stars. They get a 74 for Accountability & Transparency. They want the government to be transparent but they can’t do it themselves. The big one I always look at is fundraising expenses. The industry norm is 25%. They are at 31.7%. That is to high. Perhaps they should spend less money sending blind mailpieces to people who’s lives were ruined by junk mail.

---

If you liked this be sure to read part 2: Judicial Watch Follow up mailpiece

To be taken off Judicial Watch‘s mailing list email them at info@judicialwatch.org also call them at (888) 593-8442. 

Hello Visitors from Newsy!

A few months ago a reporter from Newsy contacted me asking about junk mail. Some reporters want information about specific groups or a person who keeps popping up whenever you start to research scam PACs or scam charities. Not Karen. She wanted the BIG picture. She wanted to know about Big Data and international scams. I warned her that was a hard story to tell. It is so big, and there is so much going on. But she kept at it, for months.

This week Newsy is posting the story: Big Mail. Here is the piece plus a bonus video.

I won’t get to watch it until Monday on Roku. But I can give you some greatest hits of the blog, and a photo of the letter I’m reading in the preview.

Please read the About page for the back story of this blog.

The most important page, really the hart of the blog, is the Are You Drowning in Junk Mail? page. That is where I tell you step by step how to stop a massive junk mail problem.

Big Data part 1: Who or What is Big Data? and Big Data part 2: How to Opt-out of Big Data. Here is where I talk about Big Data and how to stop it.

Wrap up stats and other thoughts. When I ended the blog I made a post with a lot of scary numbers and a walk down memory lane of all the crap I got in the mail.

And just for fun here is the post documenting the most difficult time I had stopping one companies junk mail.

If you liked the story from Newsy, I highly recommend CNN’s story about Maria Duval. And the book that expands on the story.

---

Now for some vintage junk mail:

This mailpiece from Carmen Dumas is from 2014. This is the first page of the 5 page letter. In the preview I’m reading the first paragraph.

Spoiler Alert: Her help isn’t free. She wants $50 or for an extra $5 she will rush ship your lucky numbers to you.

If you all want I can give this scam letter it’s own post. Let me know in the comments.

---

This blog is mostly dark now. I made a Facebook page for the blog where I post news stories that relate to this blog. Elder fraud, scams, Postal workers not delivering mail (where were they when I needed them?) and anything else that catches my fancy.

If you need help stopping junk mail you can email me darthjenni@gmail.com or Facebook chat at the DIJM Facebook page. And unlike Carmen my help really is free.

Anatomy of a Mailpiece: The Jesse Helms Center Foundation

When I was in the storm of stopping junk mail I didn’t have the time to slow down and really get in-depth with how the mailpieces are put together, how they are aimed at the elderly to get money from them.

Thankfully The Jesse Helms Center Foundation has ignored all the requests I have put out for them to stop sending mail to my house.

This includes:

• DMA Choice March 2014
• PaperKarma
• Phone calls, emails to Jesse Helms Center, and John Dodd most recently July 2016
• Emails to their fund raiser American Target Advertising October 2014, October 2016
• Complaint filed with the California Attorney General July 2016
• Complaint filed with the DMA July 2016
• Telling my mail carrier that she is dead

Obviously I need to have another chat with my mail carrier, but in the mean time let’s take a long hard look at the fundraising mail The Jesse Helms Center Foundation is sending out to people.

---

Jesse Helms was the US Senator for North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. The Jesse Helms Center Foundation houses his papers and the museum is host various programs for students and guest speakers.

Mission Statement:
The Jesse Helms Center exists to promote traditional American values and the principles upon which our nation was founded and that Senator Jesse Helms advanced throughout his career. This is accomplished through education, public policy promotion,and historical preservation.The Jesse Helms Center Foundation’s programs are offered at little or no cost to the public. This is made possible by the support of foundations, individuals and corporations who recognize the value of the programs and the non-partisan commitment of the foundation.

 Now that I have told you about the The Jesse Helms Center Foundation and it’s mission, Do you have a picture in your mind of what the fundraising solicitations should look like? Photos of students who participated in the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge? Perhaps a schedule of people in the Distinguished Lecture Series? Maybe a letter talking about how they are digitizing their collections?

How about this:

Stop the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans!

3,000,000,000 Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans

-and-

Petition Demanding Your Senators REJECT This UN Tax

I am sure many of you are scratching your heads going What?! The UN is hurting for money so they wrote a proposal for various global taxes.  The boogie man in today’s junk mail are taxes that may or may not happen, that were proposed by the mostly toothless UN.

Please complete your personal, registered Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans I’ve enclosed, right away! So I can pressure the U.S. Senate to REJECT the TAX!

Then sign the enclosed REJECT the Unconstitutional U.N. TAX Petitions demanding your two Senators to vote to STOP the greedy U.N. bureaucrats’ plan to impose hundreds of billions in taxes on American citizens– for the first time in history.

Then return your Survey and Petitions to me today so the Jesse Helms Center can expose and stop President Obama’s plan before he sneaks this treaty through the Senate.

ONE: Sign and return your REJECT the Unconstitutional U.N. TAX Petitions. I’ve sent you four Senate Petitions: One for each of your two Senators and one for each of the Senate’s majority leaders, Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn. Your Petitions urge McConnell and Cornyn to REJECT the  U.N.’s tax on Americans.

TWO: Complete your enclosed Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans and return it to me today. The Jesse Helms Center will send the results of the survey to key national news outlets, especially conservative talk radio, so they can expose this tax scheme and help us STOP the UN TAX.

THREE: Make a tax-deductible donation of $15, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 or more to the Jesse Helms Center to help fund our massive grassroots and media campaign to pressure ALL Senators – old and new! – to reject this U.N.’s tax scheme.

Did the font just get bigger?!

We are half way through and we need to stop and take a break. A few things I would like to point out:

The Printing: The font size is bigger than your average letter. It gets really big on page 3

The liberal use of ALL CAPS, Bold, Italic, and Underline.

The repetitive nature of the letter. They repeat the “3 part plan” on every page. Twice on page 4.

Here is the Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans. I’m not going to type the questions out. You can read them  yourself.

 

Can anyone tell me where to put my CREDIT CARD INFORMATION?

In the body of the letter they were asking for “$1000 or more”. But now the top dollar amount they are asking for is $500. You have to be consistent with this stuff people. You just cost yourself a $1000 donation.

I also find the “I can’t make a donation right now but here is $9 to deliver my petitions.” very interesting. Even though they can’t get a lot of money out of you today, you are still interacting with the mail. You are telling them that you may donate in the future, or to some other cause.  Is $9 the cost of processing one check these days? They might break even on processing this transaction, but by the time they sell you to other mailing lists the may get their money back. Maybe. But that is for a real reporter to look into.

And finally the REJECT the Unconstitutional U.N. TAX Petitions that we have been hearing so much about.

If the people that process the checks for the The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, operate the same way as the ones who process the checks for psychic scams the “Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans” and the “REJECT the Unconstitutional U.N. TAX Petitions” will be tossed in the trash once they get the credit card information off of it, or grab the check out of the envelope.

---

If all of this seems familiar or formulaic it is because The Jesse Helms Center Foundation uses American Target Advertising for their direct mail. I have written about American Target Advertising here and I also reviewed  America’s Right Turn by Richard A. Viguerie (the founder of American Target Advertising). While American Target Advertising is not listed in The Jesse Helms Center Foundation‘s IRS 990’s (you can find them on their Charity Navigator page.) American Target Advertising did fundraising for Mr. Helms when he was alive, and the mailing list for The Jesse Helms Center Foundation is listed on Viguerie Political Lists website.

I will pull out the best part of Mr. Viguerie’s book America’s Right Turn. He outlines how movement starts and why that movement would want to use “alternative media” to get their message out.

 Issues that motivate:

A perceived crisis

Threats to a way of life

Idealistic revulsion against corruption

Idealistic projections of a better life

Then you need:

A dedicated vanguard

Self-identification as a movement

Communication networks

Money to fund the revolution

Let’s see if this letter checks off all the boxes:

• A perceived crisis: “Stop the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans!”
• Threats to a way of life: The U.N. is going to tax us $4 billion.
• Idealistic revulsion against corruption: “This new tax would make the U.N. less dependent on dues from donor nations. And that Would make the U.N. bureaucrats even more unaccountable, more arrogant and more powerful than they are now.”
• Idealistic projections of a better life: ??? This letter doesn’t talk about what will happen once the bad guys are overthrown.
• A dedicated vanguard: The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, “pro-sovereignty patriots like you”, 3 million Americans, Internet “warriors”
• Self-identification as a movement: The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, pro-sovereignty patriots like you”
• Communication networks:  “We will survey 3 million American patriots and share the results with media outlets.”
  
• Money to fund the revolution: Make a tax-deductible donation of $15, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 or more

I almost had a junk mail BINGO, but they just had to be negative the whole letter.

A few more things you should look for in a mailpiece like this are:

• How many pages is the pitch? (A milti-page pitch in a mailpiece will pull in more money than a one page pitch will. ) 4
• Who are the good guys?:The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, pro-sovereignty patriots like you”.
• Who are the bad guys?: The U.N. and Obama
• Sense of urgency: “Please complete your personal, registered Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans I’ve enclosed, right away! ” and “return your Survey and Petitions to me today“
• Interaction with the mail:  Fill out the “REJECT the Unconstitutional U.N. TAX Petitions” and the  “Patriot Survey to STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans“

---

The only goal of this mailpiece is to scare and upset a person so that they will send money to fight against whatever cause is in the letter. The combination of the size of the font, the liberal use of bolding important talking points, and repeating those talking points over and over, lead me to believe that this mailpiece is aimed at an elderly person.

The big question I have is Why? Why is this mailpiece coming from the The Jesse Helms Center Foundation and not The UN Sucks Foundation?  Do they have so little confidence in the mission of their foundation, that they have to go so wildly off topic to raise money? Is the cause of getting young people interested in government not good enough? Is digitizing a collection not a sexy enough topic to get people to pull out their checkbooks? If I lived in the town of Wingate, NC I would be a member just for the speakers they bring to town. Why are they spreading fear, when they could be spreading the positivity of what the foundation does every day.

Let’s return to Mr. Viguerie’s book America’s Right Turn for the answer:

Even in the environmental arena, where liberals have had so much success, Warwick sees nuances others might miss: “Certain issues strike a responsive cord with the public, and others don’t.  I mean, some of the worst problems we face in many communities in the country come from toxic spills and solid waste management. Yet it is virtually impossible to raise money around those issues-at least in ‘cold mail’ [prospect mail]. Whereas, if you want to save the rainforest, or cuddle pandas, it’s another story altogether.”

So the core mission of The Jesse Helms Center Foundation is the junk mail equivalent of a toxic spill, and “STOP the U.N. Tax THREAT to Americans” is like cuddling a panda Got it.

---

This space is normally where I tell everyone how to get off the mailing list of whom ever I’m talking about. Instead I’m going to ask for help. If you know who to call or email to get off the mailing list for the The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, comment or email me darthjenni@gmail.com.

I received another mailpiece from them in July. At that time I filed complaints with the California Attorney General and the DMA with no effect.

In the week since I received this mailpiece I have sent a webmail to the The Jesse Helms Center Foundation, emailed John Dodd johndodd@jessehelmscenter.org. I have sent a webmail to American Target Advertising, and I have also sent a webmail to Viguerie Political Lists, and left a message with Marty Anderson who does list management for them.

It shouldn’t be this hard to stop junk mail.

Hello readers from The Daily Beast!

To opt-out of junk mail from Citizens United: info@citizensunited.org

If that doesn’t work contact the direct marketing firm that makes their mail HSP Direct info@hspdirect.com. If that doesn’t work, contact the CEO Jamie Hogan hogan@hspdirect.com.
Contact NOVA List and Sunrise Data Services. They are sister companies to HSP Direct.
Contact telemarketer InfoCision, Call them at (330) 668-1400.

---

A couple of days ago Betsy Woodruff from The Daily Beast contacted me about one of my favorite group of scumbags: Citizens United. It was quite an ordeal to stop junk mail from them a couple of years ago. Email and phone calls did nothing to stop junk mail from them. I had to contact their direct marking firm HSP Direct and their telemarketer InfoCision.

Edit: Part 2: Right-Wing Group Citizens United Again May Have Tried to Trick the Elderly Into Giving It Cash

The reason that reporters are interested in Citizens United right now, is that the head of Citizens United David Bossie is working for team Trump. No wonder Mr. Trump talks like a piece of junk mail come to life.

Citizens United does not care who wins or looses in November. All they care about is making sure the money doesn’t stop flowing to them. They will say anything to get a check out of you.

Do you care about our troops?

Citizens United has got you covered.

You you want to fill out a survey and tell people how angry you are about illegal immigrants committing voter fraud?

Citizens United has got you covered.

Are you worried that “In God We Trust” is going to be removed from US currency?

Not only has Citizens United has got you on this, they will send you a one dollar bill to remind you what it looks like.

And the mailpiece that Betsy really liked:

Woops! Could you resend that $50 check you sent us a while back?

The only problem was that we took her checkbook away in November 2013, and this came in June of 2014.

---

Betsy Woodruff wants to write more about political junk mail. If you are drowning in junk mail and want to tell your story and share the junk mail you get, contact Betsy by email woodruff.betsy@gmail.com or on the twitters @woodruffbets. She is looking for junk mail from David Bossie, Citizens United or anything else that exploits the elderly. You know the stuff I’m talking about: Social Security is going to be taken away, The Death Tax. That kind of nonsense.

How to Stop Junk Mail from the Major Party US Presidential Candidates 2016

Now that both conventions are over and we know who is running for president for the two major parties, it is time for our mailboxes to be flooded with junk mail.

This is not the first step you should take to stop junk mail invading your house. Please follow my instructions for how to put a shield around your mailbox first, or contacting these people will do you no good. They buy and trade so many mailing lists, it is like playing whack-a-mole unless you put up a strong shield first.

---

Today, we will be stopping junk mail from the campaign that is asking for money. This will not stop those #@$#% postcards and fliers that you get during an election. The asking-for-money mailing list is different from the postcard list. The postcard list is based on the voter rolls. If you want to stop getting those, don’t register to vote. Don’t do that! Vote every election.

While I focus on real life, in-your-mailbox junk mail, you should know that they keep track of everything a supporter of a campaign does. How much money you donated, when you donated it, through what channel you gave it (postal mail, email, text). They also sell mailing lists back and forth. When a candidate drops out, one of the first things they do is sell their donor list to the other people running.

This is from the Privacy Policy of one of the PACs:

“Third-party partners. We may share your information with organizations with similar political objectives and viewpoints for the purpose of advancing our own political objectives.”

That 3rd party? That is code for more junk mail.

---

Stopping Junk Mail:

If a candidate is sending you junk mail, call and email their office and tell them to stop. If you are ignored, put your request to be taken off a candidate’s mailing list on Twitter. Tweet at the campaign and the people running it. I found tweeting at them to be more effective than posting on the Facebook page for the campaign. But look closely at that piece of junk mail, is it directly from the candidate, or is it from their PAC? I will give you the contact information for both.

---

Stopping Emails and Phone Calls:

The best way to stop emails is to click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email and follow the instructions. Gmail and Outlook have unsubscribe built into the program. If that doesn’t work, start calling, emailing, and tweeting at them.

The phone calls are harder to stop. The Do Not Call list does not apply to campaign calls. If you get a real person on the line, tell them that unwanted phone calls and junk mail from political candidates is the most important issue in America today.

---

Stopping Recurring Donations on a Website:

This year donating to a campaign through the internet really took off. Bernie Sanders used ActBlue as his main fundraising platform. A part of internet fundraising sites is setting up a recurring donation. They make it very easy to start. But very difficult to stop. Mic media wrote instructions on how to stop recurring donations from both the Clinton and Trump websites.

---

What if none of that works?

If you contact a campaign and the junk mail doesn’t stop, take it to the next level. File a complaint with the DMA, the FTC, and your state’s attorney general.

---

My sources will be:

From the Sunlight Foundation:  Open Secrets and Influence Explorer because they are all about the money trail.

Ballotpedia and P2016 because they list the team that is running the campaign.

The root of all of this information is the FEC fillings by the candidates and their committees.

---

Let’s start off with the Democrats:

• Democratic National Committee, to opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form. Also call (202) 863-8000. Twitter: @TheDemocrats
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to opt-out: email info@dscc.org and call (202) 224-2447.  Twitter: @dscc
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form. Also call (202) 863-1500.  Twitter: @dccc

---

Hillary Clinton, official campaign website, Ballotpedia page, Open Secrets page, P2016 page. She is a former First Lady and a former Secretary of State.

To opt-out from official campaign: the contact page has a webmail form. Also call (646) 854-1432.  Twitter: @HillaryClinton.

Hillary for America’s  direct mail is by Mission Control, Inc (the only junk mail you’ll ever read… twice). Politico talking about Mission Control getting the direct mail contract.

Hillary Victory Fund is using  Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey for it’s direct mail program.

The biggest PAC supporting Team Clinton is Priorities USA Action. Influence Explorer page. To opt-out: send an email to EmailDigital1@prioritiesusaaction.org Twitter: @prioritiesUSA

---

Now for the Republicans:

• National Republican Committee, to opt-out: send an email to email@gop.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. They are assuming you are opting-out of email, let them know it is for physical postal mail, and call (202) 863-8500. Twitter: @GOP
• National Republican Senatorial Committee, to opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form. Also call (202) 675-6000. Twitter: @NRSC
• National Republican Congressional Committee, to opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form. Also call (202) 479-7000. Twitter: @NRCC

---

Donald Trump, official campaign website, Ballotpedia page, Open Secrets page, P2016 page. He is a businessman from New York.

To opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form and call (646)736-1779. Twitter @realDonaldTrump.

Direct mail is by Left Hand Enterprises LLC. It is a front for Persuasion Partners.  Washington Post article that talks about Left Hand and the other direct mail firms that Team Trump is using. Including Wizbang Solutions.

Team Trump has 2 fundraising committees in partnership with the RNC:

Trump Make America Great Again Committee 310 First St SE Washington, D.C. 20003 or PO BOX 1776 Merrifield, Va 22116-9400  and Trump Victory fund. Fortune talking about the joint fundraising partnership.

From Politico:

“Party fundraisers have informed some Trump-weary donors that they can earmark their donations to Trump Victory and another joint committee called Trump Make America Great Again Committee in such a way that all the money will go to the RNC, and none to Trump, according to a finance operative who delivered such as solicitation and a donor who received such a solicitation.”

To opt-out of these 2 groups I would contact the National Republican Committee, to opt-out: send an email to email@gop.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. They are assuming you are opting-out of email, let them know it is for physical postal mail, and call (202) 863-8500. Twitter @GOP. Make sure you mention that Trump Make America Great Again Committee and the Trump Victory Fund are why you want off their mailing lists.

Even though he didn’t want them, there are a few PACs supporting team Trump:

The most active so far is Great America PAC, Influence Explorer page. New York Times article about Great America PAC. To opt-out: the contact page has a webmail form. Twitter: @GreatAmericaPAC

There are other pro-Trump PACs out there but they are having trouble raising funds. One pro-Cruz PAC has flipped and become pro-Trump.

Update August 29, 2016: There is a new scam PAC. American Horizons PAC run by Ian Hawes. Open Secrets page, Influence Explorer page. Politico story about American Horizons PAC and Ian Hawes.
He is fundraising through 2 websites, dinnerwithtrump.org, Facebook page Help Support Donald Trump. And crookedhillary2016.org, Facebook page CrookedHillary2016. Do not give money to American Horizons PAC. None of the money is going to help team Trump.

---

Did I miss something? Are you getting junk mail from different Trump or Clinton groups? Let me know in the comments.

Drowning in Junk Mail – Rules for the Stop Junk Mail Project

After I wrote the last post I realized that I had never told you guys what my rules were. I talk about them throughout the blog, but I never said what they were.

The Rules for the stop junk mail project:

Spend as little time as possible dealing with the mail.
I wrote a blog about the mail so I spent about 1,000% more time touching, photographing, researching the mail than a normal person should. If I hadn’t documented everything, I would have spent about 1-3 hours a week on the mail. Put all the mail in a box. Sort through it once a week, enter it into PaperKarma, then call and email the people who sent the most junk mail in a week.
This philosophy is what lead me to going after the fundraising companies and direct mail firms. If I could go above the piece of mail in my hand and stop another 5, or 10 charities who use the same direct mail firms, that would save me time.

Spend as little money as possible.
I only used postage to send Form 1500’s out. I bought all the supplies at the dollar store or Wal-Mart using the money that was sent to me in the junk mail.

When dealing with the people who work in the direct mail industry, treat them with respect. 
Call it social engineering. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Use whatever philosophy you need to get you through the interaction with them. You need their help. You need them to do what you want them to do. Coming at them from an angry place will get you nowhere. These people are at work and have a job to to. Do you like it when people come out of nowhere and start yelling at you at work? No. If someone is throwing a temper tantrum are you going to go out of your way to help them? No. Of corse I say all of that and I blew up at someone. Even I had a breaking point.
One thing I did learn is that instead of saying “I need to get my relative off your mailing list.” Say “I need to get off your mailing list.” It was a lot easier to get the person on the phone to help me if I became the person who’s mail I was trying to stop.

Keep emails as short, and on point as possible.
The emails I sent were very short:

Subject line: Remove from Mailing lists

Body of email:
Please remove
Name
Address
from your mailing lists.
Thank you,
Name

No long story about your loved one. They don’t care. If they cared about the pain their junk mail causes, they would work to stop the out of control selling and trading of personal information in the direct mail industrial complex.

Keep track of when the mail should stop. Follow up when it doesn’t.

I used one of the calendars that came in the junk mail to keep track of when junk mail from each group should stop. Use whatever system works best for you. Following up is very important. They are counting on you forgetting about them in 8 weeks. If you get something on the 9th week call and email them that day. Don’t let them push you around. If you have to, email the CEO of whatever group you are trying to stop. Every mailpiece they send after it should have stopped is another email and another phone call, until the junk mail stops.

If the junk mail doesn’t stop, tattle on them to anyone who will listen.

I’m not going to be ignored, junk mail

They have promised that the junk mail will stop in 8 weeks, twice now. But after 16 weeks the junk mail hasn’t stopped. It is time to take it to the next level. If not for you then for the next person who has the same problem with the same people. If enough complaints are filed someone will take notice. File complaints with the DMA, and your state’s Attorney General.

While it won’t stop the junk mail you can also file complaints with the FTC and the  U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Many a criminal investigation was started with someone seeing a lot of complaints with the FTC or the USPS.

If you really want to make a stink go to the media. Reporters are always looking for a good story, and everyone hates junk mail.  Every local TV station and newspaper has a customer advocate “On your side” reporter.  Contact them and tell them what you are going through to stop junk mail, who won’t stop after all that hard work, and how it has affected your family. This story from ABC15 Arizona is a perfect example of the type of story I am talking about.

Are there any other rules for stopping junk mail I should have?

Drowning in Junk Mail – Wrap up stats and other thoughts

Hi there everyone. This blog is coming to an end. The junk mail has stopped for good. Some days my mailbox is empty. I thought I would give the blog some closure, and take a peak into the box of junk I have been holding on to for a year.

The average American household receives 848 pieces of junk mail per year.
From April 2014 to December 2014, 8 months she received about 1,786 mailpieces.
From January 2015 to September 2015, 9 months she received about 155 mailpieces. Her peak week was 154 mailpieces.

---

Money spent about $220. Some it was bankrolled by money found in the junk mail.

Postage and stamps – $150 This is so high because of all the larger mailpieces that got a Form 1500, and all the jerks that had to go to step 2.
Envelopes $8 all bought at the Dollar store.

Glitter $6
Princess money $1
Permanent markers – $2 for 2 packages of permanent markers from the Dollar Store.
Paper $4 (I think it was on sale) the cheapest ream of paper from Wal-Mart.
Toner – $25 It takes me about a year to go through a cartridge. Even printing on the lightest setting, was no match for the 100+ Form 1500’s I printed out.
Avery Mailing Labels – $23

A lot of that was optional. You don’t need Avery mailing labels or glitter.

---

I think a lot of people have been waiting for this. The big box of all the crap that I have gotten over the past year.

Over 100 form 1500’s. This does not include all the mistakes I made. And there were a lot of mistakes. I tossed in the DMA complaints that I had a paper copy of into the photo.

Happy photos of happy politicians.

Greeting Cards. I can to open a Hallmark store now.

Membership cards. What would you like to be a card carrying member of? I have plenty of choices.

Note pads. This is not all of them. I used 3 of them for taking notes about the blog.

Post cards. Because you never know when you will need a post card from Jesse Helms.

This cheap travel clock from National Association of Blind Veterans is a favorite of mine. Mostly because it has a cover over the clock face, rendering it useless for a blind person. The face is just a piece of paper. I sent this off to Melanie Hicken a CNN reporter along with a pile of junk mail. I like to imagine that in the middle of the big fancy NY CNN office there is a reporter with this cheap clock on her desk.

Bookmarks and prayer cards. Note that I wrote my own prayer on one of them.

A couple of DVD’s. One of them with the Fox News all-stars on the cover.

Calendars. How nice you have a different photo for each month. I have a different calendar for each month!

Window clings. Why yes I do support one of the worst charities in America.

Fake checks. Whatever you do don’t cash these. It gives the “charity” access to your bank account.

Of course the crap from St. Joseph’s gets a photo all it’s own

By far the strangest swag I received was a bag of dirt. Sadly I don’t know where they are right now. They were lost in the piles of junk mail.

And the granddaddy of them all. Over 1,600 return mailing labels. Keep in mind I used hundreds of them, and didn’t make a dent in the pile.

---

The blog maybe slowing down, but if you still want stories about junk mail, the elderly, scams, scam PACs, scam charities, and anything else that catches my fancy you can follow the Facebook page I set up for the blog.

One last thought: I do not make money from this blog. The ads you see are not from me. WordPress has to cover it’s costs some how.  Ethically I can not monetize this blog. Can you imagine the ads that Google ads would put on this blog with all the political, and charity links I have put on it?

Drowning in Junk Mail – This Month in Junk Mail – September, 8 pieces

This is it. Put a fork in me, I’m done. After doing this for a year an a half I am stopping this project.

Her estate is settled, and she is only getting junk mail now. But just because my junk mail stopping project is done, doesn’t mean I am done with junk mail for good. I have a few more junk mail stopping tips to write about. I also have a wrap-up post to do (come on don’t you want to know how many calendars I got over the past year?). I am also taking everything I learned, and everything that I think needs to be changed and putting it into a letter and sending it to the Senate Special Committee on Aging and anyone else I can think of. The biggest of all is I am helping a couple of CNN reporters research the junk mail industrial complex. If you want to talk about your battle with junk mail with a reporter contact Melanie Hicken melanie.hicken@turner.com. They just wrapped up a report on the BBB if you want to see the kind of work they do.

---

Here are the 8 pieces she received in September. Last September she received about 150 pieces of junk mail.

---

These 3 are all about her house. One is from a Farmers Insurance agent in her city to renew her policy. The other 2 are from Homeowner Rights Law Group (800) 969-4754, dealing with the fallout of her reverse mortgage.

---

Not even death can stop junk mail from the local cable company.

---

This is from Care More.  They are “One of America’s leading architects of integrated medical care to the elderly.” Whatever that means.

---

National Anti-Vivisection Society, Wiki page, Charity Navigator page, opt-out here navs@navs.org and call (800) 888-NAVS. Some of you may not know what a vivisection is. It is a the dissection of an animal while it is still alive. BTW that link on the the word vivisection is not for the weak of stomach.

---

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wiki page, Charity Navigator page. To opt-out: call (877) NAACP98 that is (877) 622-2798, or the national office (410) 580-5615, or the membership hotline (866) 636-2227.

---

Sweepstakes Clearinghouse 2000 E Lamar Blvd Ste 600 Arlington TX 76006

You win Sweepstakes Clearinghouse. Only telling the post office she is dead, and stopping all of her mail will stop you.

---

One last bit of revenge on Sweepstakes Clearinghouse. I hope you guys like glitter.

Drowning in Junk Mail – This Month in Junk Mail – July

The Daily mail is continuing  it’s Godzilla like rampage all over big charity in the UK. They took one man’s massive pile of junk mail and traced it all back to him not checking one box:

The Daily Mail’s chart of where Mr. Rae’s information was sold

Mr Rae’s son Chris summed it up the best:

“The way charities have treated him is absolutely disgraceful … If what they have done to my father is legal, then the law needs to change.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

---

Now back to my own junk mail nightmare.

In the month of July she got 7 pieces. Last July she got about 220 pieces of junk mail.

---

Citizen Guardian (202) 469-3433, (540) 630-6400 and email info@CitizenGuardian.org Citizen Audit page, Open Secrets page, Charity Navigator page. Contact Engage Direct Mail at  info@uscomplianceservices.com to opt-out.

I have a feeling that after what I did last month, this will truly be one of the last mailpieces I will get from them.

---

This mailpiece is very interesting. On the outside it is for Second Amendment Foundation (Wiki page, run by Alan Gottlieb. SourceWatch page for Mr. Gottlieb. Great article about Alan Gottlieb. Charity Navigator page. Opt-out here: Call (425) 454-7012 or email info@saf.org. It will take 90 days to be dropped from their mailing list.) But on the inside it is an ad for the Neptune Society.  How much is the Neptune Society paying the Second Amendment Foundation for an ad in a Second Amendment Foundation mailpiece?

---

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wiki page, Charity Navigator page. To opt-out: call (877) NAACP98 that is (877) 622-2798, or the national office (410) 580-5615, or the membership hotline (866) 636-2227. Mail from them should stop next month.

---

These 3 are all about her house and the fall out of the reverse mortgage.

---

Nature’s Wave, Pro Wave Energy System, Rife Model 101 Frequency Generator PO Box 490300 Leesburg FL 34749-0300. Dead website, no phone pick up, no reply to email. This maybe zombie junk mail. BBB page F rating. Here is another company that sells the same thing. Royal Rife wiki page, QuackWatch page. I have already filed a Form 1500 about these guys.  But if they are a zombie company there may be no way to stop them.

---

Only one Pre-paid envelope to send out this month.