The 5by911 Challenge! $5 Million By 9/11!

It all started with an Instant Message….

[caption id="attachment_36" align="alignnone" width="115" caption="Jeff Strongarden"][/caption]
Jeff Strongarden is a life-long Republican who resides in California.

Dana Smernsky is true-blue Democrat who resides in Florida.

Individually, Jeff and Dan reacted very differently to “The Speeches” – the now-famous convention speeches by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin – and the references in them to community organizers.

Dana, the Democrat, was appalled.

I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. And I’m not even a community organizer!

Jeff, the Republican, was howling with laughter.

Like Michelle Malkin, my sides were in stitches!

Both avid internet users, Jeff and Dana watched on their computers on each coast of the country, as the firestorm of indignation from Democrats and community organizers, and the puzzled responses from Republicans to that indignation, spread across the media and the internet.

Democrats demanded an apology. Republicans tried to explain the joke. For both Jeff and Dana, though they didn’t realize they were both thinking it, what was missing was action.

Surfing a blog site one evening, Jeff sent a now-legendary Instant Message to Dana, who was on the same site. That opened up a dialogue between Republican and Democrat. Conservative and Liberal. But both proud Americans.

From that simple IM, and brought together by just an internet connection, Jeff and Dana vowed to turn lemons into lemonade, and created this site as a labor of love, and a call to action.

As Jeff explains,

“It’s a win-win-win situation. Republicans AND Democrats win because we get to put the issue to rest. Community organizers win because they see that Republicans do not disrespect them – and they see that proven through action, which is much better than just an apology. But best of all, the community organizations win big time through the new donations that are being generated!”

Instant Messages continue to play a role in Jeff and Dana’s online life. After creating the site together, Dana sent Jeff an IM: “Are we community organizers now? LOL”
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