Vaping Militia Member Roll Call
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I thought they were only on Facebook, maybe that was another group? For those viewing the thread, it's here We Are The Vaping Militia
Sounds a bit militant to me? I'm guessing guerilla tactics with a lot of smoke screens? Only cloud chasers need apply?
Never heard of it. Their mission statement reads "Give us money, to do a lot of generalized non-specific stuff."
I don't give money to places like that. Since it's apparently not of 401C organization why should I pay them to do non-specific stuff?
Did I happen to mention that is costs money to become a member?
Fundamentals of a total scam if you ask me.
I hate the name. I avoided joining for awhile until I found out more about them.
VM was formed specifically to fight at the city, county and state level. They started during the big FDA phase of the fight when CASAA folks were working 25-hour days on Federal stuff and some people felt there needed to be a group that is very LOCALLY focused. Hence "Militia" since that was the original name for what is now the National Guard (who didn't used to be able to be called up by the Feds) They coordinate very closely with CASAA.
The name was chosen by people who live in the middle of the country where such a name is sexy. It's working, they're getting a LOT of younger, active types, amping up vaping activism. I looked up "Militias" on Google, getting ready to argue with them, thinking "racists" etc, and to my shock I discovered that one of the most-common uses of State Militias in the past was to STOP lynchings, stop the kind of damage the KKK did, preserve the rule of law both in disasters AND in mob situations.
I've sat with the Vaping Militia in booths at 2 conventions . One time CASAA didn't have a booth and VM invited us in, the other time it was the other way round. Not cloud chases, though CASAA and VM don't oppose cloud chasing because they don't want to split the community, their focus is on getting people to get off smoking and keeping it legal and keeping the information honest. The only reaction to cloud-chasing I've seen from them is that both CASAA and VM started working really hard to try to get battery safety classes included in any conventions.
It costs money to join the Vaping Militia, but they are perfectly happy to have you join their FB group, that is free. As with CASAA, they also have a regular web page. It is more-important to keep up with local fights, and the Vaping Militia has local groups that coach and tutor and provide information packets to people who are prepping to approach their city councils or county boards. They can give the kind of 1-1 help that CASAA cannot do at that level. The main benefit of actually paying the $30 to join is that you get dog tags, which is a fun fad among people that were paying $30-$100 for a new mod so it's a good fund-raiser. The money goes to keeping their web sites up, paying them to travel to conventions (same as CASAA) and sometimes traveling to a state-level contact. They have had fantastic luck fighting at those levels because they go ahead of time when possible and contact legislators and staffers to educate them when folks are NOT on camera -- which is the same thing the ANTZ do. Talk to people when they can listen.
And the reason I keep saying "They" is because with problems at work and with my Mom I have not been contributing much to their efforts in the last few months -- and because I'm a member not a board member. (I usually say "they" for CASAA for the same reason.)
My recommendation is -- Join CASAA, join the FB pages of both CASAA and VM, work with both groups -- because the ANTZ have just started a VERY aggressive and highly-FUNDED campaign against ecigs focused at the LOCAL level -- which, incidentally, is how the smoking bans spread. We NEED the Vaping Militia. Don't bother to join the Vaping Militia if you object to the $30 fee, just post to our VM FB page if anything comes up in your neighborhood -- city, state, county. And watch the FB page and/or twitter and/or instagram. Or resign ourselves to being a tiny, vilified, minority. The ANTZ have got smokers staying away from vapes in larger numbers by spreading lies, and they are WELL-FUNDED.
Never heard of it. Their mission statement reads "Give us money, to do a lot of generalized non-specific stuff."
I don't give money to places like that. Since it's apparently not of 401C organization why should I pay them to do non-specific stuff?
Did I happen to mention that is costs money to become a member?
Fundamentals of a total scam if you ask me.
You cannot deduct a donation to CASAA either, because they make political recommendations sometimes. Until VM gets non-profit status, they'll have to pay taxes on their donations. I hope they're working on that. VM is very very very far from being a scam. Please let them know right away if something comes up at your city, county, or state level. (CASAA and VM have some crossover at the state level, but CASAA is mostly federal and state, and VM is mostly city, county, and state.)
I'm a dog-tag wearing member of The Vaping Militia. I guess since I'm from the midwest, "militia" doesn't really have any negative connotations for me . . . and I love the imagery of boots on the ground. 
The Vaping Militia and CASAA are two separate organizations with two separate focuses, both of whom are serving an important role in the advocacy space. There's no competition between the two groups and, in fact, we have a very good cooperative working relationship.
The Vaping Militia and CASAA are two separate organizations with two separate focuses, both of whom are serving an important role in the advocacy space. There's no competition between the two groups and, in fact, we have a very good cooperative working relationship.
Sorry Rodger I missed this one going by. #tagsup #VapingMilitia The Hierophant is here weekly reading.
Never heard of it. Their mission statement reads "Give us money, to do a lot of generalized non-specific stuff."
I don't give money to places like that. Since it's apparently not of 401C organization why should I pay them to do non-specific stuff?
Did I happen to mention that is costs money to become a member?
Fundamentals of a total scam if you ask me.
Wow, I guess being the only group to get a ban overturned, starting local advocacy groups across the country, starting vendor trade groups in multiple states, running a webcast and a web radio show, daily fighting for our Vaping rights is all pretty non-specific.
Please join, casaa, sfata, vm, whatever. Join something and be willing to fight the fight. You don't have to join us at the Vaping militia, as one of the founders I wish you well.
Factual vaping Militia Mission Statement--The Vaping Militia is committed to protecting the rights and health of vapors by advocating for safe public use of personal vaporizers. We strongly believe and promote peaceful and professional activism/advocacy.Never heard of it. Their mission statement reads "Give us money, to do a lot of generalized non-specific stuff."
I don't give money to places like that. Since it's apparently not of 401C organization why should I pay them to do non-specific stuff?
Did I happen to mention that is costs money to become a member?
Fundamentals of a total scam if you ask me.
You can join their Facebook Group for Free #tagsup
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