If you want to keep internet poker take 30 sec.......

[Idahaddatpot]

http://www.pokerplayersalliance.org/...rt_052206.html

If you enjoy and want to keep enjoying internet poker take a few seconds out of your day and light these phones up.

[kyleb]

Uh, wasn't this voted on and passed already through the committee?

[Karak567]

You're about a week late. They already passed it to the house from committee. Thanks for trying, though.

[o0mr_bill0o]

oh, hostettler was on that committee? no wonder... he's probably the biggest moron in the house.

[jedinemesis]

A couple of things. I work for a senator dealing with just this sort of mail that comes in from constituents.

First of all, don't even waste your time calling or writing a Senator or Representative who doesn't represent you. Your mail will either be disregarded or sent to your own Senator/Representative who may very well disregard it becuase it wasn't sent to him/her.

Also, don't be a jerk. It really pisses the staffers off when you threaten. If you want, you can say something about their stance on this issue having a large effect on how you decide to vote, but don't be stupid about it. Keep it civil or you may be ignored.

If you get a very non-committal response or a response that simply restates the facts without actually saying anything, it probably means that the Sen/Rep disagrees with your position. Don't be surprised if this happens. It's fairly common. Sometimes it means that they actually don't have a position yet, but that's not typical.

Many Senators don't answer all of their mail. The office I work for tries to, but we get roughly 7000 pieces of e-mail & regular mail each week. If you want a response, respectfully request one, and give the office a good two months to get back to you before you write again. Unless, of course, the bill is actually scheduled for debate & a vote.

Don't confuse House and Senate bills. Don't ask a Senator to vote against H.R. 9999. They can't they don't vote on House bills. You can ask them not to support a Senate version of H.R. 9999.

Finally, actually go vote in your primary and in November. Find a candidate who you can support and vote. It's way more useful than letter writing.

Will

[rjoefish]

Dear Will;

I'm graduating from college with a polisci degree, get me a job.

Thanks

[ElSapo]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, don't be a jerk. It really pisses the staffers off when you threaten.

[/ QUOTE ]

You shouldn't be a jerk - not in talking to anyone. I can get behind that. But the part about not pissing off staffers made me laugh.

Many congressional staffers (not all, but a lot) think they run the town and the government, when in reality they open the mail. Pissing them off is about the last thing I'd worry about. And the implication that if you -do- irritate one, your comment or complaint will carry less weight, is disturbing.

Of course, the fact that staffers -can- lose your comment if you irritate them is one of the reasons they seem to think they have some sort of real power or influence. But in the end, they're just opening the mail.

("Staffer," in this case, being one of those people with zero influence in the office and who's primary function is to try and stay awake during hearings, make copies and, yes, open the mail. They do get nice shiney badges and get to tell tales of being locked down in the Capitol, but still, who cares...

...However, if you are someone with responsibility, authority and policy-expertise, I have a lot of respect for the job you do.)

[jedinemesis]

[ QUOTE ]
Of course, the fact that staffers -can- lose your comment if you irritate them is one of the reasons they seem to think they have some sort of real power or influence. But in the end, they're just opening the mail.

("Staffer," in this case, being one of those people with zero influence in the office and who's primary function is to try and stay awake during hearings, make copies and, yes, open the mail.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am under no illusion that I have any sort of real power or influence. 80% of my job is just processing mail. I've never even met the Senator that I work for. However, the people who answer the mail (not me) are the same people who write policy memos to the Senator, making recomendations on what legislation to support and what not to support. You're right, they go to the hearings, then they tell the Senator about the hearing and what they think should happen. Also, the people who open the mail are the same people who either leave or move up within a year.

What I resent is people making presumptions about something they don't really understand.