ronpaulhawaii
03-14-2009, 12:54 PM
102 just came out today...
Ammunition 101
By Penny Langford Freeman
Working for a member of congress, I’ve seen how Congressmen respond to public pressure and how their offices are run. I’m going to give you a little information that every citizen should know but most do not. Use it to your advantage whether it’s for a “Patriot” candidate or just because your elected official has been ignoring the U.S. Constitution and needs to be fired.
Each member of congress, state or federal, operates two offices. The “official” office is paid for by your tax dollars. The campaign office is paid for by political donations. Because of legalities, these two offices are to remain separate according to the Code of Ethics. They differ from state to state but the rules can be found online and are given to both federal and state officials. For example the U.S. House Ethics Manual can be found at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf
The “official” office has two major roles to play in serving the public interest. The member, who represents a district or state, serves as the people’s liaison by voting on and presenting bills before the legislative body in the capitol. The member also serves as a liaison on behalf of his constituents to government agencies. If he is a state senator, he should act on behalf of his constituents to the state agencies i.e. TX Dot or Texas Medical Board etc. Your federal representatives act on the constituent’s behalf dealing with federal agencies i.e. FBI, IRS, and USDA etc. The representative will have “caseworkers” to serve you in the district offices and many are very good acting on behalf of the constituent. Most do nothing until election season. These “do-nothing” caseworkers, and the member, should be reported in a letter to the editor at the local paper as you are paying their salary.
These two offices, campaign and official, are not allowed to “co-mingle”. It is a violation of ethics for an incumbent candidate, or his employees, to have campaign literature, do commercials or take money for any reason in his “official” office. You have heard the terms “violation of ethics” or “misuse of funds”. This usually means that the member has been caught using taxpayer money for his re-election or personal gain. In addition, he cannot use campaign funds for furnishing the official office or any other activity that involves personal gain, legislation or casework.
Many members who have been caught and reported are forced to resign (think Tom DeLay). Some face the ethics committee for a hearing and disciplinary action. But all must work at defending their actions in public and well they should as they are paid with public funds.
If you have a real slime ball for a representative as he’s voted for every spending bill that comes down the pipe, if he knows nothing about the Constitution, takes all kind of trips on our money and ignores his constituents, maybe you should take a little trip to his office. Reporting what you find is a service to the public and to the cause of liberty.
Ammunition 102
Writing a Better Letter to Your Congressman
By Penny Langford Freeman
In a Congressman’s office, they get so much mail dealing with so many differing topics that it can be overwhelming. So, you have to understand that your representative probably does not ever really see your letter. If he does, it was because it caught the eye and attention of the aid. This aid has been assigned to the task of sending each piece of mail to the respective aids that deals with the addressed topic of the mail piece. I.E., the scheduler would get the letter of invitation to events; the legislative assistant receives the questions on legislation and so forth. Because I was one of those aids that received mail, I’m going to give you some pointers on how to make your “letter to the congressman” stand out and get due noticed.
The first paragraph and greeting are very important. If you are rude, derogatory or send pictures of porn (yes, it happens), you probably know that your letter will go in the trash. Even though you have a right to be disgusted with your representative, you don’t have a right to be threatening. And he has the right to throw it in the trash.
If you know your member on a personal basis, please bold your name and write “personal” at the top of the page.
These are some suggestions on your greeting:
1. make your greeting respectful
2. use the correct title
a. Dr. if he is a doctor or Honorable or Mr./Mrs. etc
b. Congressman, for a member of the House
c. Senator, if he is a member of the Senate (one constituent used to address the Congressman that I worked for as –Centaur, which is a half man/half horse mythological creature, no joke)
d. Mr. President for the President
e. The Honorable Mr/Mrs then the title and last name are correct for all elected officials
Your first paragraph should let the member of Congress know who you are and that it is important that he read your letter. Let him know that you:
1. Are a voting constituent
2. Will send information to your friends and family who are voters as well
3. Is a member of a group of voters, i.e. Chamber of Commerce etc?
4. Have supported him financially in the past (this is a real eye opener to most congressmen)
5. May or may not support him in the future depending on his response to your letter
6. You are politically active
Most letters, in support or rejection of legislation, gets put into a for/against file so that the member will know what citizens think about the issues as a whole. Many will vote according to the will of their constituents or voters.
Most members will throw out those letters that come from out side of their district, UNLESS, they have future political ambitions.
The most effective letters are sent during an election year as you can imagine. House members come up for re-election every two years and so are more readily available to requests from their district.
Senators are re-elected every 6 years and are staggered according to the election code of their state. Senators are not as responsive to the will of the people because they count on the forgetfulness of the voters. (and voters are very forgetful) Let them know that you will not forget their votes on issues that important to you.
Your letter should be short, to the point and address one topic. If you think that a member of congress is going to sit down and read an epistle or rant on your thoughts of the last 10 years, you are wrong.
A letter that a member is most likely to read will have:
1. A respectful greeting
2. One or two lines that are to the point
3. Your requested action
4. You address and phone number included
Request a Meeting
Not only should you write your member of congress often, but you should also call for regular meetings. If he gets to know you as a person of action, he will have more respect for your views. Call and ask for the scheduler. Say that you are a constituent and that you are requesting a face to face meeting to address a very important topic. Do not let the scheduler put you off. You pay her/his salary so be tenacious about it. Call until you have a date and time set for your meeting. You can also check the schedule of congress to make sure that you are requesting a meeting at a time when you know your representative is not voting on the floor.
When You See Him in Public
When you are out and about at community activities, introduce yourself to your congressman. Do not feel inferior or in awe of him. He is a person who gets paid with your money. Make friends with him as friends listen to friends. And he may forget your name at first but if you let him know who you are over and over he won’t forget your face. Soon you’ll be on a first name basis. Take advantage of this time with him as he is keeping his face out in the public for the next election. Talk to him about his last vote. This will let him know that people are on constant vigilance.
All of these suggestions are given so that you can be more affective in pressuring your member to listen to the will of the people. I know that it takes work but eternal vigilance is our duty if we are to regain our freedom in a peaceful manner. We call it the “Revolution of Love” so let’s show our members of Congress that if they love their jobs, then they must show some love to the people who pay their salary.
Ammunition 101
By Penny Langford Freeman
Working for a member of congress, I’ve seen how Congressmen respond to public pressure and how their offices are run. I’m going to give you a little information that every citizen should know but most do not. Use it to your advantage whether it’s for a “Patriot” candidate or just because your elected official has been ignoring the U.S. Constitution and needs to be fired.
Each member of congress, state or federal, operates two offices. The “official” office is paid for by your tax dollars. The campaign office is paid for by political donations. Because of legalities, these two offices are to remain separate according to the Code of Ethics. They differ from state to state but the rules can be found online and are given to both federal and state officials. For example the U.S. House Ethics Manual can be found at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf
The “official” office has two major roles to play in serving the public interest. The member, who represents a district or state, serves as the people’s liaison by voting on and presenting bills before the legislative body in the capitol. The member also serves as a liaison on behalf of his constituents to government agencies. If he is a state senator, he should act on behalf of his constituents to the state agencies i.e. TX Dot or Texas Medical Board etc. Your federal representatives act on the constituent’s behalf dealing with federal agencies i.e. FBI, IRS, and USDA etc. The representative will have “caseworkers” to serve you in the district offices and many are very good acting on behalf of the constituent. Most do nothing until election season. These “do-nothing” caseworkers, and the member, should be reported in a letter to the editor at the local paper as you are paying their salary.
These two offices, campaign and official, are not allowed to “co-mingle”. It is a violation of ethics for an incumbent candidate, or his employees, to have campaign literature, do commercials or take money for any reason in his “official” office. You have heard the terms “violation of ethics” or “misuse of funds”. This usually means that the member has been caught using taxpayer money for his re-election or personal gain. In addition, he cannot use campaign funds for furnishing the official office or any other activity that involves personal gain, legislation or casework.
Many members who have been caught and reported are forced to resign (think Tom DeLay). Some face the ethics committee for a hearing and disciplinary action. But all must work at defending their actions in public and well they should as they are paid with public funds.
If you have a real slime ball for a representative as he’s voted for every spending bill that comes down the pipe, if he knows nothing about the Constitution, takes all kind of trips on our money and ignores his constituents, maybe you should take a little trip to his office. Reporting what you find is a service to the public and to the cause of liberty.
Ammunition 102
Writing a Better Letter to Your Congressman
By Penny Langford Freeman
In a Congressman’s office, they get so much mail dealing with so many differing topics that it can be overwhelming. So, you have to understand that your representative probably does not ever really see your letter. If he does, it was because it caught the eye and attention of the aid. This aid has been assigned to the task of sending each piece of mail to the respective aids that deals with the addressed topic of the mail piece. I.E., the scheduler would get the letter of invitation to events; the legislative assistant receives the questions on legislation and so forth. Because I was one of those aids that received mail, I’m going to give you some pointers on how to make your “letter to the congressman” stand out and get due noticed.
The first paragraph and greeting are very important. If you are rude, derogatory or send pictures of porn (yes, it happens), you probably know that your letter will go in the trash. Even though you have a right to be disgusted with your representative, you don’t have a right to be threatening. And he has the right to throw it in the trash.
If you know your member on a personal basis, please bold your name and write “personal” at the top of the page.
These are some suggestions on your greeting:
1. make your greeting respectful
2. use the correct title
a. Dr. if he is a doctor or Honorable or Mr./Mrs. etc
b. Congressman, for a member of the House
c. Senator, if he is a member of the Senate (one constituent used to address the Congressman that I worked for as –Centaur, which is a half man/half horse mythological creature, no joke)
d. Mr. President for the President
e. The Honorable Mr/Mrs then the title and last name are correct for all elected officials
Your first paragraph should let the member of Congress know who you are and that it is important that he read your letter. Let him know that you:
1. Are a voting constituent
2. Will send information to your friends and family who are voters as well
3. Is a member of a group of voters, i.e. Chamber of Commerce etc?
4. Have supported him financially in the past (this is a real eye opener to most congressmen)
5. May or may not support him in the future depending on his response to your letter
6. You are politically active
Most letters, in support or rejection of legislation, gets put into a for/against file so that the member will know what citizens think about the issues as a whole. Many will vote according to the will of their constituents or voters.
Most members will throw out those letters that come from out side of their district, UNLESS, they have future political ambitions.
The most effective letters are sent during an election year as you can imagine. House members come up for re-election every two years and so are more readily available to requests from their district.
Senators are re-elected every 6 years and are staggered according to the election code of their state. Senators are not as responsive to the will of the people because they count on the forgetfulness of the voters. (and voters are very forgetful) Let them know that you will not forget their votes on issues that important to you.
Your letter should be short, to the point and address one topic. If you think that a member of congress is going to sit down and read an epistle or rant on your thoughts of the last 10 years, you are wrong.
A letter that a member is most likely to read will have:
1. A respectful greeting
2. One or two lines that are to the point
3. Your requested action
4. You address and phone number included
Request a Meeting
Not only should you write your member of congress often, but you should also call for regular meetings. If he gets to know you as a person of action, he will have more respect for your views. Call and ask for the scheduler. Say that you are a constituent and that you are requesting a face to face meeting to address a very important topic. Do not let the scheduler put you off. You pay her/his salary so be tenacious about it. Call until you have a date and time set for your meeting. You can also check the schedule of congress to make sure that you are requesting a meeting at a time when you know your representative is not voting on the floor.
When You See Him in Public
When you are out and about at community activities, introduce yourself to your congressman. Do not feel inferior or in awe of him. He is a person who gets paid with your money. Make friends with him as friends listen to friends. And he may forget your name at first but if you let him know who you are over and over he won’t forget your face. Soon you’ll be on a first name basis. Take advantage of this time with him as he is keeping his face out in the public for the next election. Talk to him about his last vote. This will let him know that people are on constant vigilance.
All of these suggestions are given so that you can be more affective in pressuring your member to listen to the will of the people. I know that it takes work but eternal vigilance is our duty if we are to regain our freedom in a peaceful manner. We call it the “Revolution of Love” so let’s show our members of Congress that if they love their jobs, then they must show some love to the people who pay their salary.