So, like, uh... Gee. Wow.

I've only been selling buttons and lapel pins for three days and I already have over $5,000 worth of orders. That's remarkable when you consider that the merch only costs between $1.50 and $5. There are seven hundred orders on my desk, and it's up to me to sort 'em, stuff envelopes, and get 'em in the mail. The first batches will be going out this weekend.

I'm a little worried about one thing: I'm not sure I have enough buttons and lapel pins on hand to cover all the orders. This weekend we're going to determine how many more we need to order, and then we'll order 'em, and you'll get 'em.

In other ITMFA news...

Rick Pike in Maryland was kind enough to add ITMFA to the Wikipedia's "Movement to Impeach George W. Bush" entry. You can read it here. Thanks, Rick!

Shalome over at Suicide Girls wrote up ITMFA, and the response from their readers has been strongly pro.

Another reader sent in this delightful picture...

Carlos in New York City sent in these original designs for ITMFA t-shirts.

Glen over at IntelligentDissent.org created this image of an ITMFA-tagged White House.

Scooter sent in the ultimate Texas vanity plates...

This official ITMFA button looks great on my rocker friend's purse...

In Minneapolis someone can't wait for official ITMFA buttons to come in the mail, and so she's looking to borrow a button making machine. Someone help her out!

My buddy Dave looks great with his ITMFA button on...

The Monkey approves.

Okay, gotta go get some padded envelopes.

Some posts I'll write this weekend during my envelope-stuffing breaks:

Do I want Dick Cheney to be president?

Do I really think buttons and lapel pins are going to get the motherfucker impeached?

And an overdue response to Atrios...

Posted at 4:08 PM | Permalink

Thanks to Americablog and Democratic Underground for linking to the www.ITMFA.com—I'm thinking the fact that we've already sold $3,000 worth of ITMFA buttons and lapel pins has something to do with those links. Thanks!

Folks are sending in more pictures of their homemade ITMFA-wear...

...which is wonderful. Keep 'em coming! More going up this weekend!

Some folks want to know why I'm not selling t-shirts. Well, I'm a pretty small operation—it's just me and my laptop and a pile of envelopes that need to have buttons and lapel pins stuffed in them. There are, however, some nice looking ITMFA t-shirt designs floating around out there. I particularly like the t-shirts and other stuff being sold on Cafepress by that freakin' genius at Slapnose.com. Check it out:

Order a t-shirt through Slapnose, if you gotta have a t-shirt, or design your own—but send me a picture whatever you do!

Posted at 1:21 PM | Permalink

So they're in—official, Savage-designed, ready-to-order ITMFA buttons and lapel pins! The lapel pins are going to be $5 each and the buttons are going to be $1.50 a piece or three for $2.50—remember, once the expense of having the buttons and lapel pins made is covered, all profits go to the ACLU. The total cost of the merch was just under $1,000—lapel pins are pricey!—and I'll post a full accounting once sales begin. Here are pics of the actual buttons and lapel pins...

And here's a picture of a lapel pin in action...

Ordering info is up now—it's right there on the left. Buy a lapel pin! Buy a button! We're hoping to get lapel pins sent to every member of Congress, so feel free to order one for your U.S. Rep or Senator, and we'll mail it directly to him or her. While you wait for your lapel pins and buttons to arrive, enjoy these pictures sent in by folks why just couldn't wait for official ITMFA merch to come in...

Whether you're ording my ITMFA merch or making your own, I want you to send in pictures of you proudly displaying ITMFA—send pics (cell phone pics are fine!) to dan@itmfa.com and I will post them here. Help spread ITMFA!

BUY A LAPEL PIN NOW! BUY A BUTTON!

Posted at 9:50 AM | Permalink

I really should have been working on this website all weekend—still no links?!?—but something more important got in the way. (A long-planned snowboarding weekend with my seven year-old.) Still, the ITMFA mailbag is full, and there seems to be a lot of interest out there—and not just in the buttons and lapel pins that I will shortly be selling via this website.

Thanks for mentioning the shirts and linking to them. So far there have been almost 100 orders for 150 shirts. I've added more shirts, including a babydoll, a baseball jersey, a black t-shirt, and a longsleeve. In addition, there are stickers and hats. If people go to the storefront, they'll see all the ITMFA stuff, here: http://www.cafepress.com/gekkoz

This seems to have struck a chord.

Thanks,

Trevor

Some folks have a problem with Trevor's T-shirts: the upside down flag rankles, as it seems somehow disrespectful, as if being against the president requires us to be against the flag and that there's something anti-patriotic about despising the George W. Bush. Larry writes...

The links from impeachthemotherfuckeralready.com to cafepress lead to ITMFA products on which the flag is depicted upside-down.

In case you're looking for comments: I consider this a terrible mistake. It conflates the impeachment drive with the oldstyle counterculture in a way that just makes it easier for the right-wing to vilify and dismiss. The people calling for impeachment are NOT anti-flag, or upside-down flag, or anything of the sort—they want to DEFEND the flag and what it stands for.

I strongly suggest that ITMFA disassociate itself from upside-down flags.

Larry D.

But displaying a flag upside down is actually a legit distress signal , and if Americans are anything at all right now we're distressed. Not everyone will want an upside down flag on their ITMFA items, though, and I'm not sure I would wear one—wouldn't want to be misunderstood. So that's why the lapel pins we'll be selling soon feature a right side up flag. Like so, Larry:

In other ITMFA developments, Jessica sent in this picture of her homemade ITMFA button—which looks very fetching on her, I must say.

Until we get our official ITMFA gear in, I'm encouraging people to make their own ITMFA merch. Here's another good example of homemade ITMFA gear from a reader named Josh:

Looking good, Josh!

In other ITMFA news, Andy is doing what he can to spread the meme on his blog .

And last but certainly not least, the good folks at www.freewayblogger.com have offered to get get behind ITMFA:

Hi Dan, glad to see ITMFA up and running. Here's what we've been up to in terms of getting the word out. Let me know if you'd like some ITMFAs done... it'd be a pleasure.

scarlet p.
the freewayblogger
http://www.freewayblogger.com

Yes, Scarlet, yes—a thousand times yes!

Posted at 3:37 PM | Permalink

If you're just visiting for the first time be sure to read the previous two posts, below. I'm moving today, and so won't be able to, er, finally finish finishing this blog, which is now up and running—still without links!—until Monday. Forgive me.

In the meantime, here are some letters from readers...

Your recent lament regarding the likelihood of the ITMFA campaign actually resulting in impeachment—“I sincerely doubt that the Democrats have the ability to take the House of Senate,â€� and your expression of despondency at the prospect of three more years of Bush—overlooks one small sliver of hope:  the 2006 elections.

As Elizabeth Holtzman—a former member of Congress who sat on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment proceedings against President Nixon—stated in the January 30, 2006 issue of The Nation:  “The task has three elements:  building public and Congressional support, getting Congress to undertake investigations into various aspects of presidential misconduct and changing the party makeup of Congress in the 2006 elections.â€�  She goes on to say that “[i]f a Republican Congress is unwilling to investigate and take appropriate action against a Republican President, then a Democratic Congress should replace it.â€�

So, perhaps the slogan should be modified somewhat:  VD & ITMFA:  Vote Democratic and Impeach the M-F Already!!

Sign Me: I'm Mad As Hell and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore
Minneapolis, MN

Hi Dan,

I read in Savage Love last night that you set a very admirable (and, in my opinion, achievable) goal of seeing a member of Congress wear one of your tasteful lapel pins on C-SPAN or a Sunday morning political talk show. So I thought about it a little and here's what I've come up with: If we'd like to greatly increase the odds that your goal is met, we need to be aggressive about it. We need people to send tasteful lapel pins to their Congresspeople.

At the same time, no Congressperson needs to receive a dozen tasteful lapel pins from well-meaning constituents. So perhaps there could be an "Adopt a Congressperson" section on the ITMFA website. The names of all of the people in Congress (and I mean all - Republicans, too, just to piss them off) could be listed and people could log in and note when they have sent a tasteful lapel pin to their representatives. Perhaps there shou ld be a letter written specifically for Congresspeople to explain what the pin is, what it means, where the money from the purchase of the pin has gone, and the goal that has been set. It could be the ITMFA tasteful lapel pin for your Congressperson kit!

Just thought I'd share.

Best Wishes,
Raina
Milwaukee, WI

Great idea, Raina. As soon as the pins are in, we'll see about getting an Adopt a Member of Congress feature up on the site! Remember... the buttons and lapel pins go on sale soon. And on Monday I'll get up some letters from people who don't think ITMFA is a good idea.

Posted at 1:45 PM | Permalink

Okay, it's day two and, er, um, still no links. Sorry about that. But I have a good excuse: I've been traveling. I just got back from giving a speech at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It's a nice campus, and there was a nice crowd. (A special thanks to the kids who took me out after the speech and got me drunk at Linda's.) I wanted to buy a UNC T-shirt, but the school color is this swishy powder blue that not even a fag like me could pull off.

Anyway, after my speech a very nice woman came up to say hello, and she was wearing a homemade ITMFA button!

I just got word that our official buttons and lapel pins are ordered, paid for, and could be in as soon as next week. Oh, and they're going to be made in America, not China—so no slave labor to worry about. Once again, any profits will go to the ACLU. Here's what the lapel pins—suitable for sitting members of Congress—and the buttons are going to look like...

But you don't have to wait for the official buttons or lapel pins to come in. I'm actively encouraging people to make their own ITMFA wear. Carrie sent in this picture of her bike...

Way to go Carrie!

Trevor writes...

I read your column today, saw the ITMFA site, and figured I'd put a shirt or two up on Cafepress. I've set the shirts up so they make me $1 per shirt. Any profits realized from these shirts will be donated to the ACLU.

Trevor has two T-shirts for sale at Cafepress—plain and ringer...

You can order the plain one by clicking here, and the ringer by clicking here .

Tom writes...

"Mommy, Mommy! What does 'ITMFA' mean?"

In order for people who don't habitually use the word "fuck" in daily conversation to be comfortable with the ITMFA slogan, they would have to be able to say what it means to non-Savage Love readers without using the word "motherfucker" or any permutation thereof. I would like to suggest... alternative readings of the "MF" portion of the acronym.

"Moronic fool" is a bit harsh, but definitely better for timid people in church than "motherfucker." "Mendacious fibber" is tautological. Anyway, you no doubt see the problem here.

If a good solution were found, then it would help the popularity of the slogan, as people when asked to explain "ITMFA" could cite the "alternative" reading, slowing down at the "MF" portion with a knowing smile or wink or something, and that sort of thing charms people enough to give a slogan legs.

You raise a good point, Tom, but I believe that even people who don't habitually use swear words will be comfortable with ITMFA. After all, many people who don't swear use acronyms like SOB, SNAFU, and BS, which stand for "son of a bitch," "situation normal—all fucked up," and "bullshit." An acronym like SNAFU or ITMFA often appeals to the profanity shy precisely because it allows them to access the power of harsh language without actually having to utter the offending words themselves.

As for their kids asking what it means, well, that's a minefield all parents have to navigate. I watched the Oscars with my kid, and he demanded to know what a pimp was, and what was so hard out there for them. If I could manage "Daddy, Daddy! What does 'pimp' mean?", I expect that any reasonably capable parent could manage "Mommy, Mommy! What does 'ITMFA' mean?"

Posted at 3:24 PM | Permalink

Welcome to ImpeachTheMotherFuckerAlready.com —the url is a bit unwieldy, I realize, and I have no one to blame for that but myself. I foolishly neglected to buy the more obvious domain name—ITMFA.com—before I wrote about it in my column. By the time I decided to get a domain name, the good url was gone. Too bad, so sad.

If you're just joining us, you're probably wondering what ITMFA all about. Well, it stands for “impeach the motherfucker already,� which, er, I guess you kinda had to know if you found your way to this website. I'm your host, Dan Savage, and I'm the author of Savage Love, a widely syndicated sex advice column. I have been advising people in shit relationships to DTMFA for years (“dump the motherfucker already�) and a Savage Love reader suggested that I attempt to popularize ITMFA.

I approached the idea cautiously. While Savage Love readers have successfully popularized two terms— pegging and santorum—I was apprehensive about ITMFA. Did the world need another anti-Bush slogan? Did we need another anti-Bush website? Instead of launching the campaign, I punted, asking my readers what they thought.

Well, they thought we should go for it—and my readers are usually right about this stuff. One Savage Love reader suggested we come up with a name for a woman fucking a man in the ass with a strap-on dildo, and another Savage Love reader came up with the winning definition. (Much to my Aunt Peggy's consternation.) It was a Savage Love reader who suggested that we name a sex act or byproduct in honor of homophobic/heterophobic Sen. Rick Santorum, and another Savage Love reader came up with the winning definition. If my readers think it's a good idea, who am I to stand in their way?

On this website we'll be documenting the spread of ITMFA—sightings of the stark ITMFA buttons and tasteful ITMFA lapel pins that I'll be selling via this website just as soon as, um, they're back from the factory in China where they're probably being made. Until the goods get here, feel free to create your own ITMFA merch—like these enterprising students at the University of Missouri did...

In the time it took me to write the above post, ITMFA scored it's first little victory. There's a definition up at Urban Dictionary:

1. ITMFA

An acronym suggested by a reader of Dan Savage, the online advice columnist of 'Savage Love'. It stands for Impeach The Mother Fucker Already, and was coined as a slogan calling for the impeachment of President George Bush. It was inspired by a typically direct piece of advice delivered by Savage on a radio programme for a caller to DTMFA Dan Savage is also responsible for the popular adoption of the neologism santorum.

I'd love to see a line of bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing that sensible message: ITMFA. We need a shorthand for the obvious — think of the boost to productivity we'd get if we could cut half-hour conversations about Bush to five simple letters! (From the reader's letter to Savage.)

And a reader just sent in this picture of a t-shirt she made...

Okay, that's all for now—I realize things are still a little rough here. There are no links over there in the links column, and the official ITMFA merch I promised you is not yet available for ordering. But it will be soon—and here's a look at what we're going to be selling...

That's the tasteful lapel pin on the left, and the confrontational button the right. As soon as they're in, I'll be pushing them here. In the meantime, feel free to create your own ITMFA merch—and be sure to send me pictures of you and your friends wearing your ITMFA buttons, t-shirts, thongs, titclamps—whatever—so I can post 'em here. You can email me at mail@savagelove.net.

Posted at 9:50 AM | Permalink