Let Reader's Digest hear from Miles ... - Local News, Politics & Issues - Forums - MilesCity.com

Local News, Politics & Issues

Let Reader's Digest hear from Miles City!

Richard Bonine, Jr

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr

Richard Bonine, Jr

Richard Bonine, Jr

Richard Bonine, Jr

Amorette Allison

Dawn Dee Stirling

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Richard Bonine, Jr

Richard Bonine, Jr

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Richard Bonine, Jr

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Gunnar Emilsson

Mary Pat (Brady) Young

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Gunnar Emilsson

Amorette Allison

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Gunnar Emilsson

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Gunnar Emilsson

Mary Pat (Brady) Young

Amorette Allison

Gunnar Emilsson

Gunnar Emilsson

Amorette Allison

Richard Bonine, Jr.

Amorette Allison

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I've just opened an interesting letter from Reader's Digest in the mayor's office.

Reader's Digest has just launched its WE HEAR YOU AMERICA program for 2011. The magazine will be awarding more than $5M to 100 cities & towns across the U.S. to promote tourism, civic works, job growth, & economic development - however it can help make American hometowns even better places to live.

With so many milescity.com members, we have an advantage in securing some of these dollars for badly needed projects.

Please visit http://www.readersdigest.com and look for the WE HEAR YOU AMERICA frame in the upper right and tell Reader's Digest what makes Miles City the greatest town in America and what we need most. Then, encourage your friends to do the same.

This isn't SPAM, it's a real opportunity and I think we've got a shot!

How could this be spam? It's from you, the mayor. :P I'd assist but I'm not too sure what MC needs.

supporter

I'll help out.

A six-pack of Guinness says this thread devolves into an argument about swimming pools.

Done!! And yes, Richard, I commented about the swimming pool need!

As did I, Kim. Every one of us can CHEER up to 10 times per day. In a few short hours, our rank among cities rose from 1736 to 528.

We can break into the Top 100 by the end of the weekend if everyone participates. Let's do it!

founder

supporter

Whatever happened to Fun2U?

supporter

Hmmm, let's do the math:

$5M / x [x = cost of a MC "casino"] * number of churches +1 / number of indoor-swimmers... carry the 7...

supporter

skate board park?????

supporter

I cheered 10 times today... already up to 351!

moderator

founder

Miles City is currently ranked 239th with 143 "cheers". Grand Marais, MI, (population ~350) is 1st with... 64,221 cheers. I'm guessing someone is gaming the system.

supporter

Grand Marais is a poop hole. Procreateing Yoopers

[This message has been edited by Bob L. (12/11/2010)]

supporter

Here's a direct link to MC's page to save people a few clicks. But yeah the top 10 or so look a little fishy.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

By the way, it looks like you can cheer 10 times a day and there's no time refresh so each time you go there you can just click the cheer button 10 times instead of once.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (12/11/2010)]

supporter

I just wrote, found a spelling error, went to delete, and the whole thing deleted...darn it! Oh well, it is worth typing again! Careful with the delete key. Cindy

supporter

WE CAN DO THIS!

supporter

Same her C.KEE.
It deleted half of mine but would not let edit anything and when I left it printed half my article. Oh well, a skate board park is what this town needs.

founder

supporter

A skate board park is one of many things that would make Miles City better. Many, many things.

I'll vote if we can use the money to fire up the ole' snow plow more than once a winter

supporter

Done 10 times, thanks for the link Levi. But it is going to be hard to catch up to 66000, the current leader, when we are just at 400.

founder

supporter

I think David is right. Someone has a bot a' clickin'.

supporter

We're up to #45.

Ok. We need to pass Libby, MT. They have 784 votes, we have 621. They are rank #41, we are rank #45. Get clicking! I wonder if the STAR would run a front page story on this? It'd help Miles City A LOT.

Edit: I just saw this, and figured I should share it.

PRIZES
3. PRIZES: A total of eleven (11) Individual Prizes will be awarded to individual entrants. The Individual prizes are One (1) Individual Grand Prize of $35,000 (to be paid as cash but it is intended to be used toward the purchase of a road trip across the continental United States and a car to drive in,) and ten (10) Individual Runner Up prizes of $500. Odds of winning and individual prize will vary based on the number of entries received. The approximate odds of winning the Individual Grand prize are 1 in 15,000,000. The approximate odds of winning an Individual Runner Up prize is 1 in 1,500,000.

A total of ten (10) Municipal Prizes will be awarded to nominated cities/towns in the form of a donation to the city/town. For purposes of this promotion city/town is defined as an entity that qualifies as the city portion of any mailable address in the United States. The Municipal Prizes to be awarded are as follows: One (1) Municipal First Place prize of $40,000 plus the winner will appear in the May issue of our magazine and the city/town will be a stop on our RD RV tour, one (1) Municipal Second Place prize of $25,000, plus the winner will appear in the May issue of our magazine and the city/town will be a stop on our RD RV tour four (4) Municipal Runner Up prizes of 10,000 and the winners will appear in the May issue of our magazine and the city/town will be a stop on our RD RV tour and four (4) Category Based Municipal Runner Up prizes of $10,000 and the winners will appear in the May issue of our magazine and the city/town will be a stop on our RD RV tour. Total ARV of the sweepstakes is $185,000.

You may also earn extra entries by providing us with email addresses for friends who you think may be interested in entering our sweepstakes. We will give you one entry per email address you provide us, up to 6 extra entries.

Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a similar prize of equal or greater value in the event that the stated prize cannot be awarded due to circumstances beyond the control of the Sponsor. All taxes, if any are the sole responsibility of the winner. Neither the sponsor nor its affiliates or subsidiaries will be responsible for any loss, liability or damage arising out of the winner's acceptance or use of the prize.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (12/11/2010)]

moderator

founder

Miles City is currently 41st with 792 cheers, ahead of Libby, 42nd with 784 cheers. You get 10 cheers each day so if you cheered 10 times yesterday, you can cheer 10 more today, and 10 more tomorrow....

We are ranked at #40 right now. Doing good!

Pass the message along, wouldn't this be a great prize to win? It is easy to cheer, tell your friends!

supporter

#38 now.

#37

supporter

#36 with 1176 cheers

Sturgis, SD has two cheers. Come on, people. Miles City needs to have at least a thousand times as many cheers as Sturgis.

Currently in 35th place!! Don't forget to cheer every day.

supporter

If you have more than one computer/a smartphone, additional family members can also cheer 10 times per day. We're good for 40 cheers per day.

moderator

founder

Currently ranked 31. Don't forget to cheer again today.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...digest.com

supporter

#30

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

27th!

Outstanding!

We started the weekend in 528th place and, at midnight last night, we ranked 31st. This morning, Miles City surpassed Las Vegas, NV., moved into 26th place, and 3 comments from Miles City are featured on the front page of the WE HEAR YOU AMERICA site.

It'll be a tougher slog from here but let's keep after it. Have you cheered for your city today?

supporter

We are at 25, lets keep it going!

I cheered!

supporter

I hope this is for real. It might be the best hope yet for getting the indoor pool/rec center up and running.

moderator

founder

I think the 1st place "municipal prize" is $40,000 which is better than a kick in the rear but it's not going to build a pool.

I'll keep "cheering" but we need about 1264 cheers per day until the end of the contest on Feb. 7th just to catch up to the current 1st place city. And that's assuming the current first place city gets no more cheers.

supporter

The home page says we can vote 10 times per day? Well I just did my
10 cheers and It only moved us up one vote, to 2021 Total? We are at 23rd!!

The way I read it, each cheer is an "entry". It sounds like it will be a lottery drawing rather than a decision based on the entries.

founder

supporter

Yes, all the pool people need to remember the top prize is $45,000, not $4,500,000. We need some more realistic goals for the money.

supporter

#23 still. Need 96 cheers to pass Bayonne, NJ. We need to pass that pit up. Trust me. And just how do they get $5M in total prizes? Can somebody give me the abbreviated version?

I posted this on my facebook page 20 minutes ago and it's already up 60 votes!

supporter

$45G added to the pool fund would just about double it's current amount, according to the website.
We had a swim meet at Butte's YMCA last Saturday. What a great facility. If only every kid had access to that kind of recreation...

supporter

The cowboys and construction workers there are great, too.

#22 keep clicking.

moderator

founder

#20

supporter

We made page 1. Only about 50 cheers from Bath, NY and then it's a bit of a gap to #18 Reading, PA.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

#19
I've also taken advantage of the extra points by sending e-mails.

[This message has been edited by C.Kee (12/14/2010)]

I love the YMCA in Butte and think Miles City would benefit greatly from a similar facility.

I noticed Miles City was at #22 when I voted yesterday

Some of the cities on this poll aren't small towns (Vallejo, CA comes to mind)-I wonder if they will just disregard the votes from the large cities which are close to even larger cities?

supporter

Bethlehem, PA is at number 17, two ahead us. In the spirit of the season, I think we should at least get to Bethlehem.

supporter

We gained about 600 cheers on Reading, PA since my post this morning. We'll get them tomorrow.

moderator

founder

Currently we are ahead of Reading, PA:

#18 4170 cheers

supporter

Keep it up folks, there's not many towns whose numbers are going up as fast as ours. At this rate we should be at least 15th by the end of the week.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

bump

supporter

7 more to push it over 5000

supporter

The website runs on E.S.T., so you can vote for the next day right now. We are just 34 votes shy of 17th place. Four of mc.com's finest should take a break from debating economics/schmeconomics and vote right now.

moderator

founder

#16 with 5541 "cheers" and just 656 cheers from taking 15th place from Bethlehem, PA.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

There's a couple upstarts on our tail. Crystal Springs, Mississippi and Painter, Virginia were not on the front page yesterday and now they're within a couple hundred votes of us.

supporter

Four of mc.com's finest should take a break from debating economics/schmeconomics and vote right now.

Done. There has to be a smartass retort here, but right now I am drawing a blank.

supporter

Thank you Richard. I am shocked to see you out of witty replies.

Great job Miles City supporters. About 2,000 votes in a 24 hour period. Let's get this snowball rolling even faster.

Hmmm, perhaps all of the schools should have a designated cheerleader for their computer labs.

supporter

Perhaps if we had a modern day photo like this:

that was taken this time of year, we could draw more attention to the indoor pool concept and more cheers for Miles City. Anyone up for doing this.

supporter

Recognize Sigrid?

supporter

No fair, Richard. You are setting up an argument. You really want that six pack of Guinness.

supporter

No... I am testing the commitment level of the fairer sex in Miles City in regards to generating more "cheers".

Does anyone have the names of the girls in the photo?

supporter

Well it took me about an hour to find this but according to the late and beloved Mr. Petro:

Girls at the pool.
L to R
Julie Reinholz (now Etchemendy)
Merle Buck
Marilyn Pyle
Sigrid Rivenes
Betty White (on back end of rail)
Helen Frederickson or Deloris Rogers (I think it's Helen)
Evahlia Barnum
Shirley Leibinger (sitting on pier)
Beverly Gierke (sitting on board)
Carol Horn (on front of rail)

http://milescity.com/foru...7679#11584

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr (12/16/2010)]

moderator

founder

Still at #16 with 7248 cheers. We're now only 377 behind #15 Bethlehem, PA, with their 7625 cheers but the Bethlehemer's are cheering away too. They're hard to catch.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

I cheered 10 times , will cheer again tomorrow ! GO Miles City. !!!

supporter

Bethlehem seems to be our first worth competition, they are clicking at about the same speed that we are.

moderator

founder

No kidding, Levi. Bethlehem is up on us by 636 votes again. Apparently they have a population of ~72,000 so it should be no surprise they're giving us a run.

supporter

.....vs. let's say a "village" like Grand Marais, Michigan, with a population of roughly a thousand?

laughing out loud

supporter

Don't forget to vote over the weekend. You can vote right now for tomorrow!

moderator

founder

#15 with 9221 cheers. Ahead of #16 Bethlehem with 9017 cheers.

Next target, #14 Helena, AL, with 9721 cheers.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Helena, AL? We have to beat them! You just know they are going to pronounce Helena wrong.

founder

supporter

The individual prize is a random drawing. For the towns: Winners of the Municipal prizes will be selected by tallying all of the votes received for each city/town. Each vote counts as one. The city/town with the highest number of votes will win the Municipal First Place prize, the city with the second highest number of votes will win the Municipal Second Place prize, The cities with the next four highest vote tallies will each win a Municipal Runner Up prize. The Four Category Based Municipal Runner Up prizes will be awarded to the remaining top scoring city in each Category. The Categories are (a) city/town with a population of 500,000 or more; (b) city/town with a population of 250.000 - 499,999 (c) city/town with a population of 100,000 - 249,999 population and (d) city/town with a population of 99,999 or less. Vote tallies will be determined by the Independent Judging agency, whose decisions are final in all respects. In the unlikely case of a tie, we will do a random drawing between the tied cities to pick a winner.

Looks as if we would be category d.

supporter

Don't forget that you can cheer 10 times per day and all at once. Keep clicking that button!

supporter

Eight more people need to "cheer" to break the 10,000 mark. Come on people!

Miles City is currently ranked 14th in the nation (with 10,195 total cheers)... that's amazing.

supporter

If anyone's interested I figured out what's going on with Grand Marais. There is a guy that lives there who has been asking internet communities to vote for the town, particularly the followers of a terrible internet comedian named Charles Trippy who has like 365K followers on YouTube. Kind of cheesy but probably not against the rules.

http://www.facebook.com/t...opic=17397

http://internetkilledtv.com/

Of course the guy who did it thinks he's going to win $5 Million and "save" his town.

roll eyes (sarcastic)

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (12/19/2010)]

founder

supporter

Oh, dear. He is in for a nasty surprise when he finds out the TOP prize is a mere $45,000. It isn't saving his town or paying for a pool.

#13 now

supporter

I repeat. Grand Marais is a procreateing poop hole. Procreateing YOOPERS suck ass.

supporter

Am I the only one not following the math on this "share of $5 Million"?

Individual Grand Prize

1 X $35,000 = $35,000

Individual Runner Up Prize

10 X $500 = $5,000

Municipal First Place Prize

1 X $45,000 = $45,000

Municipal Second Place Prize

1 X $25,000 = $25,000

Municipal Runner Up Prize

4 X $10,000 = $40,000

Category Based Municipal Runner Up Prize

4 X $10,000 = $40,000

Am I missing something? Or is that a whole lot less than $5 Million?

moderator

founder

"$5 MILLION IN FUNDS AND PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT"

They must place a very high value on that "promotional support".

laughing out loud

Anything is more than nothing! Plus they may have the connections to pull in others who could provide things necessary to achieve the town's goal. Besides, it costs nothing to cheer to keep on moving Miles City up the list.

founder

supporter

If a town wins, they are included in some RV promotional tour put on by the magazine. I suspect those are NICE RVs.

Has this been put in the paper at all? I don't get the paper, but I am sure there are a lot of people in town that are missing this voting memo because they aren't on here, just like I miss a lot of things because I don't get the paper.

Just a thought, but I am pretty impressed with our status of #13! Good job Miles City!

supporter

Miles City is the number one Montana town on the list, but there are two Michigan towns ahead of us. That is just not right. It is time to overtake Albion.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

moderator

founder

#12 with 13477 cheers. Currently 77 ahead of "Albino" Michigan.

Keep cheering, folks. We need all we can get.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Albino slipped back by us but not by much. The next four are sitting like Dominos ready to fall, we could be in 9th by the end of the day today.

supporter

14 more people need to vote to move to 12th place.

newbie

Just added my daily ten votes. I don't live in Miles City anymore but used my parents address to do my part!

supporter

HAS ANYONE POSTED THE LINK ON MILESCITYHOME.COM???

moderator

founder

#9 with 16015 cheers. Top ten!!

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Wow, lots of clicks since I looked last night. Nice work people.

Keep in mind that this contest goes for another 6 weeks so I hope everybody is ready to stick with it for the long haul and also hoping some of the other towns are getting bored with it

.

supporter

HAS ANYONE POSTED THE LINK ON MILESCITYHOME.COM???

Done.

supporter

Any address works, I know at least ten votes a day come from Kalispell. You don't need a Miles City address.

supporter

HAS ANYONE POSTED THE LINK ON MILESCITYHOME.COM???

Done.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?????

I really don't want the rest of the world (who will be googling to figure out how and why we are "movn' on up" to know that the kind of white trash posting on the other site exists in Miles City. It does NOT help the cause what so ever. They are not representative of the many good people that live in Miles City.

supporter

Sorry, I missed a few days, so if we are 20 votes short, it's on me. I was very surprised to see that we are #9 now. The top two will be very tough to crack, but every other town seems achievable.

And Levi, I struggled with that math too, but wasn't going to 'out' my math ability!

supporter

It takes all kinds to make a world, Richard. There is room in Miles City for "white trash" and for "elitists" who paid attention in high school and know how the shift key works. The key to winning this Reader's Digest thing is to pull together.

NUMBER 8!!!!!

moderator

founder

#8 with 18627 cheers.

We're ahead of Albino, Michigan, again but just barely and we have a long ways to go to catch #7 Gold Beach, Orgeon (currently 22691).

Keep cheering, folks. Every day until Feb. 7th.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

No reason we can't take 3rd. Shoot for the stars.

supporter

D-bag Allen wrote in the We Hear You America Miles City page....

Buy gold put it in the city vault for the kids later. It will have a better effect than yet another park or swimming hole.

Go back to your crack house, make another batch of meth...and hopefully you will blow up.
I don't understand how such stupid people survive earth... Just because you live in complete misery, have no friends, and are a lunatic means you can trash everything about this town. If you don't like it...move to Glendive....or Rosebud...they will welcome you with open arms I'm sure.

{end rant}

supporter

Back down to number 9.

Less rant, more vote.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

I copied and pasted the latest two posts for Miles City:

house of ill repute
procreate head, December 22, 2010

We had a good one once, now one again

needs
procreate head, December 22, 2010

Awhore house, thats what we had and it made the town rich

(The language is not cleaned up on Reader's Digest)

supporter

Wonderful.

roll eyes (sarcastic)

I also see that Glendive has joined the ranks with two votes.

supporter

Those albinos are resilient.

supporter

We need a couple of new suggestions to drive the procreate head comments off the first page. So, next time you vote, take a moment to suggest what the money should be used for.

http://wehearyouamerica....Y&state=MT

supporter

I bet it's the poopheads on milescityhome.com. Probably bigsky from the language. Thanks, whoever told them to vote.

[This message has been edited by Wendy Wilson (12/22/2010)]

moderator

founder

The Albino's whipped us today. They stole position number 8 away from us early and outcheered us all day long. Most of the competition that's ahead of us is cheering as much or more than us so if the trend continues we'll be pressed to make any further progress up the list.
[f] #7 Gold Beach, OR 24533 cheers
#8 Albion, MI, 21763 cheers
#9 M.C., MT, 21330 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN, 18538 cheers[f]

moderator

founder

[f]#7 Gold Beach, OR: 25962 cheers
#8 Albion, MI: 24820 cheers
#9 Miles City, MT: 23968 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN: 19886 cheers[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

24031, #9

supporter

24173 #9

While the other towns are shopping, don't forget to vote today!

[This message has been edited by C.Kee (12/24/2010)]

supporter

Don't weaken pilgrims. There's still over a month of clicking to do. Hopefully some of these other towns in the top 10 lose interest before we do.

supporter

I will see if I can maybe get the rest of the Bonines involved. Between my 12 siblings and our kids we should be good for 200 cheers a day. And I can tell my three boys that they are grounded to the computer and don't get to eat until they have done their 10 clicks.

moderator

founder

[f]#7 Albion, MI: 27429 cheers
#8 Gold Beach, OR: 27279 cheers
#9 Miles City, MT: 26145 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN: 20503 cheers[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

How come the number of cheers aren't in multiples of 10?

I have cheered every day and it will only allow me to cheer 9 times each day.

moderator

founder

How come the number of cheers aren't in multiples of 10?

I imagine some people fail to click "Cheer" all 9 times.

I have cheered every day and it will only allow me to cheer 9 times each day.

When you enter your email address and click "Login" it counts as one time, then you get to click "Cheer" 9 more times for a total of 10 cheers per day.

moderator

founder

[f]#7 Albion, MI: 29018 cheers
#8 Gold Beach, OR: 28367 cheers
#9 Miles City, MT: 28262 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN: 21300 cheers[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Eight more people need to vote to move us up to eighth place, past Gold Beach, Oregon!

supporter

I just voted!

supporter

We are at 8th after my votes today!

moderator

founder

[f]#7 Albion, MI: 31550 cheers
#8 Miles City, MT: 30617 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 29750 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN: 22588 cheers[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

In the time it took us to go up 180 cheers, the time since David posted the stats, Albinion rose over 1000 votes. Wow. I am thinking they have computers at the senior home, or city hall, and people have to click before they day starts or something.

It seems obvious to me there are some computer tricks to this. Cmon MC computer geeks figure out how to register multible votes. Maybe someway to register your whole email address book.

What a terrific showing from Miles City so far! Thank you all for rocketing our city into a Top Ten ranking from 1,736th place within our first 10 days of participation.

Special thanks go out to Levi Forman, David Schott, and Jo Ridgeway for maintaining visibility, performance-tracking, and momentum. We're a more motivated bunch thanks to you. And thanks to those of you who make it a point to cheer for Miles City 10 times first thing in the morning.

While it's true that we only needed rank within the Top 100, it really feels good to break the Top Ten, doesn't it? I'm especially gratified that we smoked Los Angeles right out of the gate and have left Las Vegas almost 30,000 cheers in the south NV dust. And Gold Beach, OR., the hometown of a college roommate at the CSUF Beef Unit. He always got the bottom bunk. I'm glad we're still ahead of Gold Beach.

Nice work!

I just voted, having learned of this today. I'm recruiting more voters -- just posted the link to my facebook, and sent emails to friends that have moved away. Any other ideas?

moderator

founder

[f]#6 Logansport, IN: 37025 cheers
#7 Albion, MI: 34271 cheers
#8 Miles City, MT: 33593 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 31623 cheers
#10 Ligonier, IN: 23363 cheers[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Great job voting everybody. Keep it up. There's no reason we can't make it to third place by the end of this!

supporter

Number 8 with Logansport, Indiana in our sights.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Voting on this has become like brushing my teeth every morning! We are doing it!!!!

founder

supporter

I see someone (named Mike Wallick) is being a jack*ass on suggesting improvements. Sigh. Other people need to go and post some realistic suggestions to what can be done with a few thousand dollars. Let's at least leave a good impression of Miles City on the site.

Could this be put into the Miles City Star to get more people to vote?

supporter

Sheesh, Amorette. I suppose this means you're also going to hate my second idea to erect highway signs proclaiming "Miles City. Birthplace of Amorette Allison, know it all."

Mike,
What is up with you? I didn't think you were this kind of person.

moderator

founder

We're currently about 1550 cheers short of being in 7th place. Cheer, people, cheer!

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

I have no idea why some people are jack*asses. I do know that if we win, the money can be used for something worthwhile, if not the multi-million dollar ideas being tossed around. It shouldn't be a place to insult someone you are jealous of or mock a home that many of us love, for all its flaws.

I will keep voting and keep my fingers crossed the money can be put to good use. Seriously, guys, the Riverside Park restrooms are a horror and this could really make a difference there!

moderator

founder

[f]#5 Asheboro, NC: 47340 cheers
#6 Albion, MI: 41480 cheers
#7 Logansport, IN: 39763 cheers
#8 Miles City, MT: 39602 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 36050 cheers
[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

The destructive comments smear mud in our faces in the eyes of the other towns and the company holding this promotion.

What is going on here is a small group of people are trying to raise a little cash to help our small community out, and then somebody has to come in and post something so negative and pointless.

I just don't understand it. It's like peeing in the pool, why create filth for yourself to swim in? Why would you step up on a stage such as that RD website and pull your pants down? Why make an ass of yourself? It isn't funny, not even close.

For the rest of the people, CHEER ON!

supporter

I wouldn't put complete stock in the names being used to post those comments. I sure wouldn't put my own name on comments like those.

supporter

I thought Mike's comment was kind of funny....Mount Rushmore....Rush Lardbaugh...get it?

"That's a joke, Amorette ole gal, see? Don'tcha get it? Any of this getting through that little old blue bonnet of yours?"

supporter

Posting self-portraits again???

Oh BTW, I am becoming disappointed in the fairer sex in Miles City. I really think a "picture on the pier, this time of year" would do much to help get an indoor pool.

Humor has its place but trashing a site of people you are hoping will give you money may not be the best place for it. Thanks to the people making us look like hicks devoid of any sense of manors or public decorum on the national site.

founder

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I don't mind the personal insults. I still think "bitcharoonatuni" was the best ever. Although I'm not sure how to spell it. If you hate me, that's okay, send me nasty emails or threatening mash notes but leave the national sites for making Miles City sound like a fine community, rather than a place where petty bickering takes precedence over doing something for the town.

The CITY will be the one to receive the money so it might be a good idea to get together with your alderman and discuss what the CITY is likely to support doing with the funds.

We are now 7th !!!!!!!!!! GO M.C. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

supporter

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

supporter

I knew Logansport was going to go down. Albion remains resilient though. To be honest, I didn't think we had any chance of catching Globe, AZ but behold, they appear on the horizon

.

We still have over a month to go so keep telling your friends.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Where's David? Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

moderator

founder

Oh, I'm here. Have no doubt that I'm adding my [cough] ten [cough] cheers each day. My 7-year-old saw me adding my [cough] ten [cough] cheers this morning and wanted to know what I was doing. When I told him he suggested that the town could use the money to either:

1. Build an Eiffel Tower-like structure to attract visitors.
2. Build a statue of the mayor.

http://www.flickr.com/pho...310693654/

supporter

:cough:

:cough:

You know, I am saddened to read what people are writing. IT SAYS:
What makes your town the best? How about knocking off the comments about how nasty Valley Drive East looks and things like that? How about some positives?

supporter

What are the hearts by peoples' names?

[This message has been edited by Buck Showalter (12/31/2010)]

supporter

I noticed that too, like little heart trophies.

If you hold your cursor over the heart trophies it states that those people are donators.

moderator

founder

[f]#4 Globe, AZ: 56023 cheers
#5 Asheboro, NC: 51470 cheers
#6 Albion, MI: 49095 cheers
#7 Miles City, MT: 45678 cheers
#8 Logansport, IN: 42336 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 39911 cheers
[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

Well, a new jack*ass has posted that Miles City is a crap hole town. Sigh. I'm sorry if your life is lousy but to blame the entire town will not help. Let's get some folks up and posting GOOD suggestions again!

founder

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I'm with you Amorette. If you see a negative post the only response is a positive post. Keep up the voting.

The saying of there is nothing to do in this town is a bunch of crap. It starts with the parents, get your kids outside and do something with them. Even if its just a walk in the park or take them out to WOODRUF park and walk. Theres bowling, 2 ice skating rinks one with a minium charge and the other one free, the centra has basketball and raquetball. There are plenty of hills around here for sledding. I remember as a kid my parents having to drag us back inside not trying to drag us outside. Ask a kid these days what a pickup game is and they give the deer in the headlight look. Get involved with your kids and find out what there intrest are and make something of it. There is plenty to do around here, don't be lazy and say there is nothing for our kids in this town. There is more to do than alcohol and drugs

I grew up in Miles City, born 1947, left in 1966. There was nt better place to grow up than Miles. It may be cold or hot, but nothing stopped us from being outside enjoying the many things the area had to offer. We fished every summer, the whole time. We camped out under the stars and did things most parents today would not even dream of. Hiking along the Yellowstone and Tongue rivers, building forts along the sloughs, there was no limit to the activities we did. Wish I could bring back the good ole days, Miles City carivals, parades dances, we were just talking about the old country dances in Rock Springs. Some people may thing Miles is a wet spot in the road, Miles Cityians, I envy you, you are definately in Gods Country.

supporter

I post a comment there occasionally but have found that it doesn't always show up.

moderator

founder

[f]#4 Globe, AZ: 57535 cheers
#5 Asheboro, NC: 53336 cheers
#6 Albion, MI: 53036 cheers
#7 Miles City, MT: 48475 cheers
#8 Logansport, IN: 43386 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 41421 cheers
[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

Globe, Arizona is in fourth place. We are in seventh. We out-populate them by by more than 1500 people. Third place is attainable with a little more effort and lip service. Keep it up MC.

Thanks Jo. She posts with each vote she casts. Ten votes, ten positive posts. I will follow suit tomorrow.

moderator

founder

[f]#4 Globe, AZ: 59550 cheers
#5 Albion, MI: 57965 cheers
#6 Asheboro, NC: 55699 cheers
#7 Miles City, MT: 51355 cheers
#8 Logansport, IN: 44195 cheers
#9 Gold Beach, OR: 42924 cheers
[/f]http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

There are quite a few people posting the link on their facebook pages with a word to out of town friends that their help would be appreciated.

supporter

I wonder what projects the mayor is in favor of IF funds are awarded to Miles City??? Who actually decides what they are used for??? Will the funds be given to the city, so our amazing city council can put them in reserves? Or will Readers Digest ultimately decide what we need in our town... Just wondering.....

founder

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We need to win it to start agonizing over what to do with the loot.

founder

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From reading the rules, looks as if a check is cut for the City. Some towns are VERY consistent and have obviously organized, having duplicate requests for the same thing from different people, but I doubt that will make any difference. The "big" prize is supposed to be the promotional articles in Reader's Digest. Be still my bated breath. . .

roll eyes (sarcastic)

what # are we? i can't access this at work

moderator

founder

#7 headed for #8 if people don't get motivated. Genoa, Nebraska, has its sights set on Miles City.

supporter

So, if Miles City wins, then everyone fights over where the money goes......I have voted faithfully every day but I didn't realize this.

founder

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Raises for the Fire Department? LOL

Genoa, Nebraska is a great little town. I spent most summers growing up there. Its a town of about 800, and I applaud them for getting so many votes. I keep voting for Miles City. Let's get it up

supporter

Wow! What kind of marketing plan is Albion using? They have shot up! I love when I click cheer at the same time as several others and see the total jump by multiples of 3, 4, or 5.

supporter

I wonder what the propaganda machines look like in the other leading towns. Do they have a forum that is covering the contest, local papers, word of mouth? How are they getting so many people motivated to cheer day in and day out?

We are still 7th . GO M.C. GO !!!!!!!!

supporter

I have done a little googling just out of curiosity but I haven't really found any message boards like this. Lots of places are using facebook and a lot of local papers have been promoting it.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

top

supporter

Ladies... it is 41 degrees today. How about that "picture on the pier this time of year"?

supporter

The same ladies, Richard? Or new ones?

supporter

I had in mind new ones... but we could turn this is to a then and now thing.

supporter

Must be a fan of goose bumps.

supporter

Look out!
Genoa, Nebraska coming up fast.
Vote or be passed.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

I don't understand how Genoa is even close. It is a town of 800 people with a bar, a coop, and a couple of lutheran churches. MC is ten times as big.

Oh well, we need to push on and see if we can have a top five finish.

supporter

Up from nowhere, Genoa is now almost 400 votes ahead of us.

supporter

bump

founder

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Tell us about your hometown, it says. What makes it the best in America? We have the highest suicide rate in the U.S.A. and if we only had a teen center, it would be heaven.

oh yeah, a teen center would solve everything! There is NO WAY that the teens getting in trouble would go to someplace dorky like a "teen center". They would think of that as very un-cool. Parents need to keep their kids involved in anything the kid finds interesting! Just a good start

[This message has been edited by Mandi (1/9/2011)]

supporter

Bethlehem PA coming up fast. Looks like some towns are taking this thing seriously.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

Hit the link. Hit the button ten times. Wait 24 hours. Repeat.

supporter

Wow, there are some towns rising fast! We are are real danger of slipping out of the top 10!

supporter

We are within 400 cheers of slipping to #10. DON"T RUN OUT OF GAS!

supporter

Down to 10th now and we could easily slip to 12th if we don't pick up the pace.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

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Dang old tenth place, tell you what, come on dang old vote.

supporter

Be sure your votes are counting. Sometimes when I log on the Miles City rank and number of votes resets to zero and the votes aren't tallied. I have to go out to the list of ranked cities and select Miles City for the votes to count. This occurs even though the voting page already indicates that you are voting for Miles City.

supporter

11th place. The race is on. Vote early. Vote often. Encourage others.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

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number 12 - come on people we are falling fast.

supporter

Nice photo, Richard. Now I'm convinced that the Oasis is the place to be.
Is the voting rate from MC lessening or are other towns increasing?

Come on! We r slipping fast!!! Keep voting!!

supporter

Other towns are breaking into a gallop. They are probably contacting everyone they know to ask for support.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

And they might be doing things like registering on more than one computer using more than one e-mail address so that they can cast more than ten votes in a day, not that I would think of advocating such a tactic.

supporter

I just wanted to point out that the latest attempt at humor on the Readers Digest site that bears the name michael wallick was not made by me. After the reaction my last attempt at humor received, I traded a couple of very friendly e-mails with Amorette Allison and resolved to stay out of the fire. I would hope that whoever is wishing to make a stab at Rob Shipley would at least use his/her own name.

supporter

Anyone else having trouble with the site today? I logged on and it said I'd already voted 10 times. This is the first time I've sat at the computer today. I logged on for my husband and the same thing happened. Is the contest over?

supporter

It was a little funky for me today as well.

@Wendy
The site is working ok for me, though the site does exhibit the behavior you describe occasionally. I'm not sure when the counter reset for a person actually occurs, seems to vary from day to day.

The contest is not yet over.

supporter

I sure wish there was a way to contact them about the problems. I can't seem to find any tech support page.

supporter

The girls disappeared.

supporter

So did the heifers.

supporter

Number 12 behind Gold Beach and Bethlehem again. You don't win the race in the middle. Vote!

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

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Just a reminder: At the very best, we could win $45,000, NOT $5,000,000. I think that is very dishonest of Reader's Digest to put that $5 million prize all over the place when most of that is "promotional value." Hard cash, if we are lucky, would be $10,000.

Interesting contest. $10,000 ought to be enough to put in a new urinal or two so that I can stand and don't have to...

Ben Dover.

supporter

Slipped to #13. COME ON!

founder

supporter

The restrooms in Riverside Park are a 1970's era steel shed, not a WPA project. The rock wall (what is left of it) and Denton Field are WPA. We are trying very hard to come up with a way to replace those Riverside Park restrooms with something nicer and a few thousand would help. Won't buy an indoor pool to solve all our problems but might held us improve the parks.

supporter

Back to #12, but just barely.

supporter

I was watching the news this morning at 5:55 when I saw a big bus.
It said Readers Digest on it and there was some former beauty queen
on the show being interviewed. I guess they are going to visit 100
small towns and tell their stories. You probably already know that
but just in case I thought I would post this.

supporter

15 votes behind Gold Beach. Two people get together and have the pleasure of moving us up a notch.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

Bumping up and reminding folks that $10,000 will not buy an indoor pool so we need to think of something we constructively do with that amount of money. Restore the Florence Stacy Fountain in Wibaux Park, maybe.

supporter

I can think of 4-5 people who post here that are turning 50 this spring... maybe a birthday party is in order.

supporter

Ten grand would easily cover the cost of a fish cleaning station at the Roche Jaune access.

C'mon folks. If everyone who posts on the mc.com website would get their 10 "cheers" in every day, Miles City would move up fast. If I can get my husband's and my 20 cheers in every day, you certainly can. And I haven't lived in MC for 48 years. It is still home and I would like to see it prosper in any way it can.

supporter

There are only 18 days left to cheer - let's finish strong and see if we can move-up!

founder

supporter

The birthday boy in my family doesn't turn 50 until midsummer. Can you hold the party until then?

I think the site is on Eastern Standard Time, so if you vote after 10 PM tonight you can't vote again tomorrow morning. However, I do believe that you can vote at 9 PM for one day and at 10:01 PM for the next day and get 2 days worth of votes in for one evening (or at least I did that once-maybe it is variable and I just got lucky)

It sounds like they are announcing the 100 towns and cities they will be visiting sometime in the next few days. If they are driving a big bus, I wonder if they will just stick to one region (such as the East Coast) or if they will actually drive all over the country?

supporter

The birthday boy in my family doesn't turn 50 until midsummer. Can you hold the party until then?

Perhaps. One birthday is on May 5th. Maybe we should start then and party our way through the BHS.

supporter

....and how is this different than any other year?

supporter

The site seems goofy today. I signed in and it let me vote twice then said I'd reached my maximum 10 votes. My daughter's and husband's log-ins didn't even allow them to vote before it said it had reached the maximum 10. And the city total had not updated with my votes from yesterday nor registered the few votes I was able to make. Are we being sabotaged?

supporter

I had the same issue. I logged in and submitted nine votes signed out and got only five votes with the second email address and then got eleven votes with my third address. Kinda weird.

founder

supporter

My suggestions for voting:

Turn your sound off so you don't get that annoying "whahoo."

Click slowly. Clicking too fast confuses it.

If it seizes up after a few clicks, refresh and it should let you continue voting.

Don't expect to win $5 million bucks.

supporter

I was only able to cheer 5 times, but I watched the number change by 3 with the 1st cheer, 5 with the 2nd cheer, and then by 2 each subsequent cheer, so got 14 cheers in total.

supporter

Aw, I thought the Wahoo was cute.

Not expecting miracles. Just enjoying our success so far and hoping we can get back into the top ten. Have at it, voters.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

It does seem like something odd might be going on. We only hit 100K I think day before yesterday? And now we're at 122K. At that rate we should have 200k in a week when it took us all this time to get 100k. Almost seems like they decided to double the cheers in the last month or something? Anyway, I'm just going to keep clicking.

supporter

Miles City is now number 11 again. Splendid work! Keep it up.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT
Got to wonder, in a nation with fifty states, how is it that Michigan and Illinois are home to six of the top ten towns?

supporter

Got to wonder, in a nation with fifty states, how is it that Michigan and Illinois are home to six of the top ten towns?

I think a quick check of the unemployment map explains the "how". Lot's of people with nothing to do but "surf".

founder

supporter

I keep clicking but am getting awfully discouraged. It will not pay for an indoor pool, people. Will you PLEASE think of something reasonable to do with a few thousand dollars and stop dissing the current swimming lake?

supporter

I keep clicking simply in the hopes that your town could win a few lousy thousand to go along with the other donations in the name of getting a pool/rec center. Someday. It's the only way it will ever happen, a little at a time, be patient. I have no doubt it is still generations away.
I won't get discouraged as easily, not at all in fact.
It not that difficult to build a new outhouse, why not dream and save for something a little more impressive? I know you can do it. Work hard, think positive, it will come.

supporter

I thought something like $5000 in "duck money" was raised a couple of years ago to fix the restrooms at Riverside Park. Was that not enough or did it get spent on other things?

founder

supporter

Much more than $5000 was raised but new bathrooms are much more expensive than people think. We are very close, if we can get the CTEP grant written. Then the bathrooms will be part of an overall park improvement project.

supporter

We're number 11 now. Keep voting folks.

supporter

We can argue about how to spend money after we win some. If Waterloo, Illinois wins while were are arguing, I am pretty sure they won't be spending their money here.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

To add or possibly answer what Barb was saying about the cheer number raising by two or three each time you vote, well, I imagine that you are probably not the only person at that moment cheering. So you are seeing their results as well. BTW, this thought didn't occur to me, somebody much earlier in the thread pointed it out.

We are still at #11 with 13 days left. Keep voting people!!!!

http://wehearyouamerica.readersdigest.com/index.jsp

[This message has been edited by Sharlene (1/25/2011)]

supporter

It won't let me vote this morning, it says I already did...and I logged out and back in. Oh well, I'll try again later.

supporter

13 cheering days left and we are at number 11?
Seems like we ought to be able to pry one of those Illinois or Michigan towns out of the top ten.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

[This message has been edited by Bill Freese (1/25/2011)]

founder

supporter

Gunnar, I am appalled at you! I have just about had it with this contest because every time I go to vote, someone is bashing Miles City instead of saying how wonderful it is!

I just voted and amazingly there is another argument between people voting for Miles City. I don't understand. Do people really want Miles City to sound like a town of total fruit loops? Why can't people just vote and make normal comments without all the nasty stuff?e I'm afraid they may decide Miles City wins some money but insist it goes to mental health care!

founder

supporter

Sophomoric comments and bickering is just embarrassing. If you can't say anything positive about Miles City, please just vote and move on.

founder

supporter

Interesting how the Reader's Digest filter works. It allows people to be called leftwing dipsh*ts. I assume leftwing is okay but how come the "obscene language" filter allows the word dipsh*ts? As a leftwing dipsh*t, I'd like to know. I got censored when I posted and I didn't even use a single off-color word. It didn't like the word "nasty."

supporter

heh....your constant ranting about the pool supporters in this thread, Amorette, draws a troll like me like a moth to the Coleman lantern.

One thing I think you and I both can agree on, though, is that this silly contest is unlikely to flood Miles City with hundreds of thousands of dollars for civic improvements.

That said, I will abstain from future posts to the RD site. However, I still think my fish cleaning station idea is well within the expected costs, and would make a lot of folks happy.

founder

supporter

I like the fish cleaning station. Makes a whole lot more sense than expecting $10,000 to buy an indoor pool. And, for the last time, the Oasis is NOT a cesspool. Spotted Eagle, on the other hand, you would hate to see the e.coli counts for the water out there. It is untreated. Shudder. And fish poop in it!

supporter

Amorette said:

And, for the last time, the Oasis is NOT a cesspool. Spotted Eagle, on the other hand, you would hate to see the e.coli counts for the water out there.

Pay up, Amorette

The girls and I are thirsty.

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr. (1/26/2011)]

supporter

Just twelve bickering days left.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT
Love it or hate it, let's all vote for it.

supporter

Just evening things up.

supporter

And this is "evening" because the stars are out?

supporter

Way to go, Richard.

Did anybody notice that Polson gets a beautiful indoor pool next? We (KATS) sent congrats and offers to help them form a USA sanctioned swim team plus inclusion in our meet schedules. Good old Gina horned right in on that one, and they actually appreciated it.
Be patient, good folks, it will come someday.

founder

supporter

I went to the City Council meeting last night. They should spend the $10,000 on repairing and padding the chairs for the public. The High School can give them the name of the company who did the seats in the auditorium. My buttocks and the buttocks of many citizens would be eternally grateful.

supporter

From this point forward, I think Amorette should be affectionally referred to as the Beer Wench.

"I went to the City Council meeting last night. <snip> My buttocks and the buttocks of many citizens would be eternally grateful."

This sounds kinda bad. Why would new seating at City Hall make the buttocks of the citizens happy? Just what is the City Council up to now that the citizens need to have their collective buttocks protected/padded?

supporter

Every time you vote, you get another entry into the competition for the individual $35,000 prize. I am already having an argument with myself about how I am going to spend that money. Charity or Vegas? Charity or Vegas?
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

How about you donate to the 50th charity birthday bash for your baby brother?

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr. (1/27/2011)]

After reading the post on RD.com, its embarassing to think what people from other towns must think of Miles City. Its disgusting how people have put down Miles City in order to make their point..."We need a new pool because the Oasis gives you skin diseases" for example. If I didn't know how ridiculous that statement was I would cringe and think we were a bunch of dirty hicks. Was it really necessary to bring up Miles City's teen pregnancy and suicide rates because really a teen center isn't going to change any of that. Kids who are being bullied to the point of thinking about suicide aren't going to want to go to a teen center to hang out with the jerks that make them feel that way in the first place. Sure it might give kids something to do until 10 pm but there's still time afterwards for them to get into trouble. Are people airing Miles City's dirty laundry to guilt people into voting for us?

I moved to Miles City because this is where I wanted to raise my children and I saw a thousands of opportunities for them. Why are people so procreating blind to the things Miles City can offer?! I'm only 23 but it seems teens now don't have even half the imagination I did!

supporter

Oh, I think they do.

supporter

Ten days left. When you go to the Reader's Digest site to post something insulting about Miles City, don't forget to vote ten times while you are there.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

After reading the cesspool post on RD I would think they may want Miles City to use the money for both mental health treatment and education!

Knock off the nasty remarks. You're only making yourself look stupid.

supporter

We've cracked the top 10 again!!!

Miles City has jumped past Waterloo, Illinois, but it's close...let's pour it on and finish strong! Keep voting!

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Did anyone suggest the money go toward updating EMI's recycling project? $10,000 would make great headway for that ~ and whether you're for or against the pool, $10,000 isn't a drop in the hat for that project...

supporter

Done, K.

We're number 10! We're number 10!

founder

supporter

We're back in the running for a piece of the pie. Keep it up MC.

Regardless of what everyone's' opinion of how the money should be spent is. There are a few things to keep in mind.
1) They don't tell you who gets the ultimate say in where and how the money will be spent.

2) Any amount of money will help.

And last but certainly not least,

3) The money should go to the youth in our town. Not on us old folks (although I am only 24)...I'm about to have a baby in June and the thought of the money going towards the kids is the best idea to me.

The one thing I do know and I'm going to complain about this is, that in the 2000 census their was about 9,000 people living in Miles City and the number one town Grand Marais, Michigan had about 350 residents. I think that people could have pulled together a little more on this one. I've been voting since I found out, but who knows. I guess they really really want it!

founder

supporter

The fellow who lives in Grand Marias has been running a very effective internet campaign based on the theory that the money will save his town. I am afraid, when he wins, he will be disappointed.

supporter

Still number 10. Keep voting, folks!

That's really sad

Oh my goodness....very, very sad. Now I feel bad for saying that...but still.

supporter

Come on folks. We are closing on # 9. We can do this. Keep cheering every day. Recruit more people to cheer. We can do this.

supporter

Well, you have to admit, Grand Marais has a better use for the money than Miles City does (saving their harbor).

supporter

One week left. Vote. Vote. Vote.
http://wehearyouamerica....Y&state=MT

founder

supporter

I feel sorry for poor Grand Marias, based on what the guy says. I gather the town is dying on the vine. The $45,000 he will win will not save it, though. Maybe he is hoping the Reader's Digest publicity will do the trick.

So, anybody know anybody who actually READS Reader's Digest any more?

Yesterday when I checked, we were 11,000 votes away from #9. Right now we are only about 4,000 votes away. Keep voting we only have a week left!

supporter

So, anybody know anybody who actually READS Reader's Digest any more?

Only for the jokes.

supporter

Just now I got on, cheered, and we went over 260,000 votes - about 1,000 away from overtaking Asheboro, NC for #9! Let's do it!

supporter

Gosh! We are closing fast on the number 9 position. It is amazing just to watch the way those votes roll in.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

We're looking real solid in 10th place and really close to taking 9th. 6 days left.

supporter

We picked up over 17 thousand votes in the last 24 hours. If we had that many votes every day from the start we'd be in first place by about a hundred thousand.

supporter

Come on folks. Get everyone at work cheering. Get the kids cheering. Get the grandparents, aunts and uncles. Only 6 days left and we are on the move.

supporter

We've moved into # 9 position! Way to go. Keep it up for 6 more days.

supporter

The milescity.comies have done a great job leading the way on this project. But # 10 is right on our heels and # 8 is a ways away. Besides cheering ourselves we all need to convince new people to start voting for the next six days. We have lots of techie folks so use your facebook contacts, and text and tweet and use your e-mail to reach out to new folks for this final push.

# 8 can be caught if everyone of us reaches out to gather new voters. Let's show what a force milescity.com can be when we lead the way.

supporter

Only five

cheering days left.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

Looks like Fairbury Illinois has some computer weenies developing bots to rig up their votes....how come we can't get one of our computer geniuses, like Larry, Dave or Bert, to do the same for us?

supporter

I got in 18 cheers today. I got up to 8 and the cheer button didn't come back out, so I closed the site and came back in and it gave me 10 more cheers. Count went up 29 in that time.

I got 4 extra cheers today!

founder

supporter

The suggestion that the money be used for the new bleachers for Denton Field is brilliant! Denton Field belongs to the City so they can spend it with no problem. I know they are short on the final cost and $10,000 could really help there!

supporter

No, we must have a pool!

supporter

Could easily go over 300,000 today if everyone cheers!

supporter

Four

cheering days left.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

supporter

After I casted my votes for today I had a few minutes to spare, so out of curiousity I looked further down the chart just to see which other Montana cities I would see among the places voted for.

I cherry-picked, so I didn't look through every page, but among those I spotted ranked in the thousands: Colstrip with 40 votes...Sidney with 20...Ismay with 10...Bozeman with 6....I think Roundup had 3.

I'll keep voting for Miles until this thing's over. If we get 10-Grand, we get 10-Grand...that's still enough money to do SOMETHING with.

supporter

Two

days left to vote.

VOTE http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT VOTE

9213 towns listed.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...k.jsp#9201

9169 towns with at least one vote.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...k.jsp#9161

3106 towns with 10 or more votes.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...k.jsp#3104

1070 towns with 100 or more votes. Someone made a serious effort to vote.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...k.jsp#1061

277 towns with 1000 or more votes. Someone made an organized effort to vote.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...nk.jsp#270

99 towns with 10,000 or more votes.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...nk.jsp#100

27 towns with 100,000 or more votes.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...ank.jsp#21

10 towns with 300,000 or more votes.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...rank.jsp#9

Even if we are not in the money, we can be proud.

supporter

We have pulled within 12,000 cheers of # 8. We were recently behind by over 30,000 cheers. With two days left we can close this gap if everyone exhausts every possible way to cheer. That means reaching out to others and encouraging them to cheer. Let's do this.

supporter

woo HOO!

laughing out loud

The way these rules are stated doesn't look like were going to win a dime... hopefully I'm wrong. Read to the prizes below and you'll see what I'm seeing. I just copied and pasted from Readers Digest webiste.

When you cheer your city, it will be placed into one of the following four municipal categories:
(1) population of 500,000 or more.
(2) population of 250,000 - 499,999
(3) population of 100,000 - 249,999 population, and
(4) population of 99,999 or less.

Municipal prizes will be awarded in each of these categories. When you cheer your city for the chance to win one of the municipal prizes, you will also be entering yourself to win one of the personal prizes. Limit of 10 entries per person per day.

PRIZES

Municipal
A total of ten (10) Municipal Prizes will be awarded (in the form of a donation) to nominated towns or cities. All winning municipalities will appear in the May issue of Reader's Digest, and will become a stop on the Reader's Digest RV tour.

One (1) First Place Prize of $40,000 (Most likely #1 Grand Marais MI)
One (1) Second Place Prize of $25,000 (#2 Fairbury Il)
Four (4) Runner Up Prizes of $10,000 (#3 Albion MI, #4 St. Johns MI, #5 Aintsworth NE, and #6 Genoa NE)
Four (4) Category Based Runner Up Prizes of $10,000 each. This is where we get screwed.

For the population of 99,999 or less that prize will go to #7 Jacksonville Illinois.

For the Population of 100,000-249,999 that prize will go to #39 Frederick Maryland.

For the population of 250,000-499,999 that prize will go to #38 Louisville Kentucky.

And for the population of 500,000 I have no idea I checked all the populations to #60 and didn't find a population over 500,000.

Please tell me I'm wrong

supporter

Well the only win I'm really counting on is the Individual grand prize. The 35 grand for a car and road trip all over the country. Will do a traveling documentary, in each small town I'll check out the pool, public restrooms and well-being of wild cats. If there's a meeting going on I'll pop in and just rate the folding chairs for hardness.
LOL
It's interesting how the voting has picked up in the last few days. Too bad it took so long to get going!

supporter

One

day left to vote.

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

Last chance to hear the little "wahoo" ten times.

The home page says the Reader's Digest team is in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky today. Looks like an interesting little town.

supporter

Zero days left to cheer according to Reader's Digest, and it let me cheer anyway. Whee.

supporter

It goes through midnight Eastern today, the 7th. I am amazed at how people come to our RD website and ask for our cheers. Grand Marias and Rancho Cordova are the two that I have seen. Have any of you asked others to come to ours? Seems a little brazen. I hate politics even at this level!

supporter

Sure enough. Their countdown must have been written by a real computer programmer. Programmers always start counting with zero.

So, zero

days left to cheer. Be sure to get in and vote ten times on day zero.
http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

Quite an effort folks!
#9, Miles City, Montana, 394401 votes

supporter

Not to mention a thread with

posts.

Good job guys. The way I figure it, based on the rules, we are not going to get any money. It looks to me like the top 6 cities automatically get money, and then 1 city in each category. It looks like both cities 7 and 8 are in category (d) with us - population less than 99,000. So the city ranked #7 will get the money, and us and the city ranked #8 won't get anything

.
We did well, though. If only they gave the money to the top ten and category didn't matter.

let's say we do get some money. who would decide where it goes?

founder

supporter

IF some city is proved to have been sucked up into space by aliens or some other fluke that gets us a few bucks, it goes to the City government itself. So, it would be up to the Council. Fortunately, we will not have to worry about that.

Guess the new pool will have to wait.

Oh thank goodness! At least we know that if left to the council, an honest and useful decision of how to use the funds will be made. Say in effort to prevent dispensaries from obtaining business licenses or maybe they can help retire the County's ambulance debt. Maybe it can be contributed to the general fund!

I had feared that it might be left to the citizens of the community to decide.

But as you say Amorette, the odds are not favorable...

with the council that we have now, the money will expire. it will have to go to one committee and then to the next and then back again and then to another before they can make a decision. as far as i am concerend i am embarrased to have the council we have now. all they do is fight with each other unless it comes to a vote for something the mayor wants and then they seem to get along long enough to vote NO. If a person watched closely enough you can watch council president ahner dangel the strings for his little puppets and get what he wants without acctually having to be mayor.

[This message has been edited by sloth (2/13/2011)]

supporter

So what did we win? According to the website:

http://wehearyouamerica.r...Y&state=MT

Miles City is a past winner, and is ineligible for the new contest.

supporter

Where do you see that?

Freakin scammers

supporter

On the right, above the blue "Miles City" banner, there is a ribbon that says "past winner". And there is no way to vote.

In contrast, go to the upper left and type in Helena's zip code 59601. The cheering bar on the left shows up.

Footnote: I just cheered for Helena ten times, which moved us up from 845 to 419! C'mon everyone....cheer for Helena and help us get the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame!

founder

supporter

WHAT? I have never been a fan of Reader's Digest and my opinion has NOT been helped by this 'contest.' If we won, they never told anyone.

supporter

Helena's up to 251! Thanks Miles Citians and Miles City expatriates for voting for Helena!

Before crying foul, let's give Reader's Digest a reasonable opportunity to respond to Miles City ahead of the mention of municipal winners in the May issue of the publication. We were informed of the contest by mail to the mayor's office and I expect that we'll be informed of any prizes in the same manner. I'll update the thread as soon as we receive official news.

Ours was an unbelievable demonstration of community support for projects in Miles City. Many thanks to all who supported the "Let's Hear From You America!" campaign. Let's build on that momentum during our next Community Needs Assessment process later in the year. Remember: It's your local government.

So I was curious as to what Miles City won in this contest, so I called up Readers Digest and now I need to rant a little bit.

1st, I call there customer service line, I explain what information I am trying to get and was told they couldn't help me, I asked how is this possible when its a contest there magazine is putting on. I was put on hold and eventually disconnected.

2nd, I call back and get another barely understandable person. After 20 minutes on the phone she says she cannot help and needs to message her management and they will call back. I stated I will hold to which she responded it will take 24-48hrs. I asked what country she is located to which she replied The Phillipines. I asked for a # that is located in the USA.

3rd, I call the USA # and got Lisa in Wisconsin. She was understandable, I explained what I needed. She put me on hold. Lisa then politely stated she has to email the sweepstakes dept to get the information and was unsure how long it would take to get a response. To Lisa I am grateful as the honesty is appreciated and she didnt sound like a skipping CD saying the same thing repeatedly.

Anyways, I got no usefull information from the time spent on the phone. Lisa is going to email me when she heres from the sweepstakes dept and I will gladly post on here ASAP!

A Miles City local received a check last week for $500 from the Reader's Digest contest, "We Hear You America." The check was deposited and the individual is waiting to make sure the check clears their account, at which time the money will then be donated to a local program.

supporter

What? Why would they send a check to a local citizen? The contest was for the town. What a scam.

supporter

Amorette...Wendy...you need to remember....LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

supporter

What? Why would they send a check to a local citizen? The contest was for the town. What a scam.

It sounds like this was not a municipal prize, as the check was sent to an individual. Perhaps the person should just keep the money for themselves!

supporter

Har, har, Gunnar. I get my laughs over on the trivia game site whenever I see your score.

Hmm, I just voted for Miles City, so it looked like the "past prize winner" glitch was fixed.

I voted for Miles City today also. I received an email from RD asking me to cheer for my hometown (they had Greer SC which is where I live). I went to the website and typed in 59301 and Miles City MT came up so I proceeded to vote for MC. And all this was done before I saw this thread. So folks, maybe MC can win this time!

supporter

Wow, I can't say I missed logging in to click that thing 10 times every day. Phillipsburg, KS already has 28K cheers and they want...wait for it...a new swimming pool

.

founder

supporter

There was more money in individual prizes than in municipal prizes. The 'big bucks' was in the 'promotional advertising.'

.....

Is anyone voting this time? We are currently in 56th place. There are barely more than 1000 votes.

supporter

Fool me once, shame on you
Fool me twice, shame on ______

I thought the contest was over last month. Did they change the rules?

They didn't change the rules, they started a second contest,so we cn try again. Yes I've been voting.

supporter

Congratulations to Genoa, Nebraska, for receiving $10,000 for the construction of their new pool!

Poor Miles City....will you ever get a cement pond?

supporter

From this Genoa website:http://www.ci.genoa.ne.us...ctions.asp

The city's park covers 32 acres and has picnic shelters with barbecue grills, camping facilities with electrical hookups, playground equipment, heated swimming pool, two lighted ball diamonds, two sand volleyball courts and restrooms. Two unsupervised playgrounds have swings, merry-go-round, teetor-totters, slides and much more. Recreation programs for youth include summer swimming lessons and youth ball programs.

Those rapscallions!

supporter

I noticed that about Genoa too, but didn't want to bring this up again...
No, I fear Miles City will not ever get a pool. I remain convinced that only several Miles Citians understand the concept and benefits of a real pool, meanwhile The Oasis satisfies the needs of kids wanting to jump into water and splash around on a hot summer day as long as town folk will continue to provide that.
Oh well. I still support any effort, just don't have much hope of seeing it in this lifetime. I swim nearly every day but don't get to visit Miles City but once every few years, the lack of a pool doesn't diminish my love for that town and some of its people.

founder

supporter

[This message has been edited by Amorette Allison (3/25/2011)]

supporter

Right. What I saw regarding Genoa was a comment thanking Readers Digest for a ten thousand dollar contribution TOWARD their community pool endeavor. This concept has been discussed here already.
Every time any pool discussion comes up you again remind me that we have to distinguish between a REAL POOL and whatever you might consider a pool.
What I, and now you, call a MOTEL POOL is typically about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, right? What a great place to splash around in.
What I call a REAL POOL is one that could be used for actual, official swimming activities. They are never even so much as an eighth of an inch under 25 yards long and generally have six to eight lanes across to determine width.
They cost millions, by the time they are enclosed and necessary amenities are added.

Right, the cost, combined with the lack of understanding what it is and why we need it continue to doom the entire dream. But that's okay. It is what it is.

edit

Amorette, you deleted your excellent response, why?

[This message has been edited by Jeff Denton (3/25/2011)]

I promised a response to the list following notification from Reader's Digest regarding the "We Hear You America!" contest. Evidently, the publisher is hearing from America in a big way right now because it's issued the following press release in an attempt to address the confusion, frustration, and anger of many communities like ours over the way this contest was administered.

(OFFICAL PRESS RELEASE)

WE STILL HEAR YOU AMERICA !

OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO READER'S DIGEST "WE HEAR YOU AMERICA " CAMPAIGN -13 MILLION CHEERS, NEARLY HALF OF AMERICAN TOWNS PARTICIPATING - SPURS NEW ROUND OF PROMOTIONAL & ECONOMIC STIMULUS

Added Support Offered to Towns Across U.S. Increases

by $2.5 Million for a Total of $7.5 Million

NEW YORK (March 8, 2011) - Reader's Digest, the world's largest global editorial brand with a reputation for "getting to the heart of the matter" and capturing the best of America, is expanding its "We Hear You America" campaign in response to the overwhelming participation of towns and cities across America. A new round of cheering (voting) at rd.com begins today, so towns that worked so hard to rally their communities the first time around but missed out on prizes - and towns that are new to the campaign - will have another chance to win promotional and economic stimulus.

"With nearly half of every municipality in the U.S. participating, clearly America is responding to our campaign. In the spirit of the Reader's Digest mission to simplify and enhance the lives of Americans, we've now increased our financial and promotional support from $5 million to $7.5 million to help even more towns during these difficult economic times. We still hear you America !" commented Dan Lagani, President, Reader's Digest Media.

The next top 10 winning towns in this second phase of the contest, which runs from March 8, 2011 through May 16, 2011, will receive funds ranging from $10,000 to the Grand Prize of $40,000, plus promotional support through coverage in Reader's Digest outlets that include the 30 million-readership strong, flagship magazine, rd.com (with more than two million unique visitors each month), Reader's Digest Special Interest Publications and our new iPad app.

Beginning today, people are encouraged to log on to rd.com and "cheer" for their towns in order to win economic and promotional stimulus for their towns. The complete rules and instructions are available via www.rd.com/wehearyouamerica.

In addition to the prize-winning towns listed, 90 others have been selected as part of the "We Hear You America" RV tour covering 100 towns in 100 days, hosted by Supermodel and 2011 Celebrity Apprentice star Niki Taylor. The tour commenced on January 18 and continues through mid-May. Those towns were chosen on the following basis: 1) impassioned stories that were collected on our "We Hear You America" website via rd.com or 2) inclusion in a past or upcoming "Best of America" issue; or 3) inclusion in the Reader's Digest book Off the Beaten Path or 4) were among the top 10 winners in the first phase of the contest.

As previously announced on Facebook, following is the complete list of 100 stops on the "We Hear You America" tour, including the 10 winners and their prizes, from the first round of the contest:

1. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 New York , NY

2. Friday, January 21, 2011 Cary , NC

3. Saturday, January 22, 2011 Conway , SC

4. Monday, January 24, 2011 Greensboro, NC (pop. 250k-499,999) $10,000

5. Monday, January 24, 2011 Asheboro , NC

6. Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Charlotte , NC

7. Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Hickory , NC

8. Wednesday, January 26, 2011 North Charleston , SC

9. Thursday, January 27, 2011 Clemson , SC

10. Friday, January 28, 2011 Atlanta , GA

11. Friday, January 28, 2011 Duluth , GA

12. Friday, January 28, 2011 Porterdale , GA

13. Saturday, January 29, 2011 Hinesville , GA

14. Tuesday, February 01, 2011 Lexington , KY

15. Wednesday, February 02, 2011 Louisville, KY (pop. of 500k or more) $10,000

16. Thursday, February 03, 2011 Cincinnati , OH

17. Friday, February 04, 2011 Dayton , OH

18. Friday, February 04, 2011 Rabbit Hash, KY

19. Monday, February 07, 2011 St. Louis , MO

20. Tuesday, February 08, 2011 Jacksonville, IL (pop. 99,999 or less) $10,000

21. Wednesday, February 09, 2011 Ava , MO

22. Thursday, April 07, 2011 Greensburg , KS

23. Thursday, February 10, 2011 Branson , MO

24. Friday, February 11, 2011 Little Rock , AR

25. Friday, February 11, 2011 Wrightsville , AR

26. Friday, February 11, 2011 East End , AR

27. Saturday, February 12, 2011 Murfreesboro , AR

28. Monday, February 14, 2011 Memphis , TN

29. Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Hunstville , AL

30. Thursday, February 17, 2011 Helena , AL

31. Sunday, February 20, 2011 Daytona Beach , FL

32. Monday, February 21, 2011 Deland , FL

33. Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Orlando , FL

34. Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Kissimmee , FL

35. Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Tampa , FL

36. Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Plant City , FL

37. Monday, February 28, 2011 Jackson , MS

38. Tuesday, March 01, 2011 Brandon , MS

39. Wednesday, March 02, 2011 Collins, MS

40. Thursday, March 03, 2011 Flora , MS

41. Friday, March 04, 2011 Belzoni , MS

42. Monday, March 07, 2011 New Orleans , LA

43. Monday, March 07, 2011 Gretna , LA

44. Wednesday, March 09, 2011 Avery Island, LA

45. Friday, March 11, 2011 Kenner , LA

46. Sunday, March 13, 2011 Smithville , TX

47. Monday, March 14, 2011 Austin , TX

48. Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Houston , TX

49. Tuesday, March 15, 2011 Galveston , TX

50. Friday, March 18, 2011 Phoenix , AZ

51. Friday, March 18, 2011 Scottsdale , AZ

52. Saturday, March 19, 2011 Tucson , AZ

53. Saturday, March 19, 2011 Globe, AZ

54. Monday, March 21, 2011 Fredonia , AZ

55. Tuesday, March 22, 2011 Las Vegas , NV

56. Wednesday, March 23, 2011 North Las Vegas , NV

57. Thursday, March 24, 2011 Henderson , NV

58. Friday, March 25, 2011 Barstow , CA

59. Monday, March 28, 2011 San Jose , CA

60. Monday, March 28, 2011 Menlo Park , CA

61. Tuesday, March 29, 2011 San Francisco , CA

62. Wednesday, March 30, 2011 Oakland , CA

63. Thursday, March 31, 2011 Modesto , CA

64. Thursday, March 31, 2011 Stockton , CA

65. Friday, April 01, 2011 Sacramento , CA

66. Saturday, April 02, 2011 Reno , NV

67. Tuesday, April 05, 2011 Salt Lake City , UT

68. Tuesday, April 05, 2011 Sandy , UT

69. Friday, April 08, 2011 Genoa, NE Runner-Up ($10,000)

70. Friday, April 08, 2011 Ainsworth, NE Runner-Up ($10,000)

71. Sunday, April 10, 2011 Bloomington , MN

72. Monday, April 11, 2011 St. Paul , MN

73. Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Minneapolis , MN

74. Wednesday, April 13, 2011 Eden Prairie , MN

75. Thursday, April 14, 2011 Minnetonka , MN

76. Friday, April 15, 2011 Duluth , MN

77. Saturday, April 16, 2011 Grand Marais , MI Grand Prize ($40,000)

78. Sunday, April 17, 2011 Muskego , WI

79. Sunday, April 17, 2011 Kohler , WI

80. Sunday, April 17, 2011 Kewaskum , WI

81. Sunday, April 17, 2011 West Bend , WI

82. Monday, April 18, 2011 Milwaukee , WI

83. Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Chicago , IL

84. Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Aurora , IL

85. Thursday, April 21, 2011 Fairbury, IL Second Place ($25,000)

86. Monday, April 25, 2011 Albion, MI Runner-Up ($10,000)

87. Monday, April 25, 2011 St. Johns, MI Runner-Up ($10,000)

88. Tuesday, April 26, 2011 Flint , MI

89. Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Detroit , MI

90. Thursday, April 28, 2011 Allen Park , MI

91. Sunday, May 01, 2011 Berea , OH

92. Tuesday, May 03, 2011 Cleveland , OH

93. Tuesday, May 03, 2011 Euclid , OH

94. Tuesday, May 03, 2011 Mentor, OH

95. Wednesday, May 04, 2011 Ashtabula , OH

96. Saturday, May 07, 2011 Washington , PA

97. Sunday, May 08, 2011 Bethlehem , PA

98. Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Philadelphia , PA

99. Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Boston , MA

100. Thursday, May 12, 2011 Manchester, NH (pop. 100k-249,999) $10,000

About RDA

RDA is a global media and direct marketing company that educates, entertains and connects more than 130 million consumers around the world with products and services from trusted brands. With offices in 44 countries, the company reaches customers in 78 countries, publishes 90 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader's Digest, the world's largest-circulation magazine, operates 83 branded websites and sells nearly 40 million books, music and video products across the world each year. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.

Consequently, I wouldn't recommend further participation.

supporter

So basically this...

is the only good thing to come of this thread.

Oh, that and the lovable beer wench owes me a six pack of Guinness.

founder

supporter

Sad to see that something as "American" as Reader's Digest has fallen so low.

founder

supporter

>>Sad to see that something as "American" as Reader's Digest has fallen so low.

Reader's Digest
Bunch of Commies if you ask me.

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