do you engage with your government?

No. I don't negotiate with terrorists.

reply to post by NewlyAwakened


Communicating with your reps should not be a negotiation, but a demand. You demand that they represent you by voting how you tell them, if they do not comply, they don't get a vote from you next election. Follow through, if people did this, than we would have control over the government again, but a majority don't even know what is going on in congress or senate, unless the MSM want them to know about something.

Originally posted by TKDRL
Communicating with your reps should not be a negotiation, but a demand. You demand that they represent you by voting how you tell them, if they do not comply, they don't get a vote from you next election. Follow through, if people did this, than we would have control over the government again, but a majority don't even know what is going on in congress or senate, unless the MSM want them to know about something.

I think you're being a bit idealistic here. There is no "we would have control over the government". A vote is not control over the government. It's degrading submission to a corrupt system.

We've been indoctrinated to believe democracy is rule by the people. Actually it's rule by whoever has the most sway among the masses. Ultimately mob rule, but mobs are always pulled this way and that by someone.

The buzzword of the USA was once "liberty". Now it's "democracy". The Founders had nothing but bad things to say about democracy (just read the Federalist papers or various things Ben Franklin wrote).

But the love of democracy is great for the elite. It gives them the excuse to do whatever they want. Because the government is controlled by us, and therefore whatever it does is what we want, so it can do whatever it wants and that's cool right?

And the vast majority of us buy into this BS.

Well I say bollocks. I don't vote, I don't write the government, I don't buy into the petty "issues" that we are spoonfed while the Federal Reserve and the bankers' friends run off with all our wealth. I silently and resentfully take it. It will all come crashing down soon.

I aint that political,mostly I have to admit out of laziness or apathy.I dont trust politicians,they dont seem at all genuine,like used care salesmen,but then again I never really had the need to contact my local td.

But once,when I belived in democracy to an extent,and thought I had to make my voice heard about something which was important,I done something crazy, I voted.

Yes. I voted,The lisbon treaty was being forced down our throats by our governmnet and europe.Like I said Im not that into politics,but there was a lot in the treaty I didnt agree with.I also didnt like the scaremongering involved in pushing for the yes vote,And when our Taoiseach/Primeminister was asked after he was pushing for the yes,Did he read the treaty,He said No,not yet!yet he was pushing for a yes,That blew my mind,he didnt know or care what he was selling us.Too busy shmoozing with sarcozy and europe thinking he was onto a good thing,one of the big boys now,he was used and played for the fool he was.

Anyway,thats all fine,politicians are pushing another agenda.let him think he is one of the elite,we the people still have a say, right?. I voted NO,and I was proud of myself,

The results were in.Ireland voted NO, haha yes,People despite the scaremongering didnt feel this treaty was right for Ireland,they knew in their gut it was wrong,And we said No.

And THEY said ,what??? NO??? ahahah dont be silly,try again! Try the other answer,*pats us on the head,and rolls their eyes amongst themselves*

So amazingly,after other polticians in europe said basicly,This wont do, it has to be passed.!There was another vote,???
The scare mongering,lies and political bullying intensified, and people voted Yes,

I was so angry at the whole thing,its all a bloody fix,Even as I type its bringin back the anger I felt at the manipulation of peoples fears.
So,thats when i tried to interact with government,and how most of Ireland tried to interact with them.and it didnt instill too much confidence in their worth/role/purpose,let me tell you that,

reply to post by fakedirt


I have in the past. It is truly very easy now to email them.

Unfortunately, it is just as easy for them to email you back with template dismissals. They go something like "Thank you for...Senator/Representative ________ is deeply concerned about....... he/she is very busy ensuring.........etc".

Sort of like those endless holds on the telephone "Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line and the next available customer service representative will be right with you". Sure it is. Sure they will.

But anyway, have it:

www.whitehouse.gov...

www.senate.gov...

writerep.house.gov...

www.statelocalgov.net...

www.lobbyists.info...

www.govtrack.us...

What really helps is if you show up to their office with a S*** Load of money. It trumps emails.

out of the app. 10 e-mails I have sent
I have not gotten 1 response back.
typical

I must be doing it all wrong.
I read on the news all the time about
people getting personal home visits
and some even have to get new doors.
And some even get free rides in the
back seat of a new car and get their
own room in overnight stays
and get a free pic taken.
But not me, all I get is ignored.

When was younger and stupid contacted them.. With no satisfactory result.. Then years ago residing in a different country emailed the prime minister there with a query surprisingly recieved both a written reply and a telephone call from him regarding the matter that contacted him over.. In recent years the only representatives of the local government that see / have contact with are the soldiers who patrol the border here usually have tea with them once a month when they pass through.. Otherwise only people I see or have contact with are local villagers.. Not much government presence out here in the jungle..

reply to post by fakedirt
Yes I email my US Congressman and One of my Senators every week to either express a concern about a piece of legislation or to actually congratulate them for something I believe they did right. I figure I can't complain unless I try to actually do something to try to change it.

I have and still do, frequently. So far, with the exception of one, I have always gotten the canned form letter replies back.

The sole only exception to this was Denny Hastert. Then again, one of his sons and I went to high school together and were friends and Denny hosted some of the cast parties for our school plays at his house when he was in town. So, it is always possible that it was that factor that got me real replies, but for whatever reason, he did send real replies to my emails and we had a handful of conversations at various points, as well. He is a down to earth good guy and I always appreciated that he took the time to answer my letters when before that and every letter to date since has been replied to with form letters from the others.

I still write, even knowing that it is unlikely that I will get a real response, but it's a sure guarantee that I won't get a reply if I don't try at all.

Take care,
Cindi

reply to post by TKDRL


thanks for the reply.
please keep hacking away. i am.
regards f

reply to post by NewlyAwakened

would you consider voicing your opinion to them with the facts to support it?
i heard on the radio that teflon and dubya could be indicted for war crimes and summoned to the hague.
maybe an overwhelming excercise in disgust towards these two figures may indeed speed up the process.
thanks for the reply
regards f

reply to post by TKDRL


i agree with your statement however i think that the short term tenureships are quite damaging to the populus in the long term. one example, it has been noted on record in the house of commons (uk) that a certain bill regarding european union transfer of power from the uk is back loaded so as to cause the next government a severe headache. maybe the coalition know they will get hammered next time round. strategic planning on their part may ignore the publics demand for a referendum on further transfer of power.

regards f

reply to post by NewlyAwakened


i hear what you are saying.
we have never been in living memory at this pinnacle of global communication before. i feel the internet and some time devoted by all could change what is wrong with all systems. i see reps and mp's overwhelmed by lobbyists and special interest groups and i feel a change of direction is needed towards the will of all peoples. i feel we need to at least be on a higher level of engagement than these groups. it could be the perfect balls on the table scenario by shouting loud enough they have to take notice and they either admit our concerns override all other interests or they show their intentions by favouring the interest groups and lobbyists.
regards f

reply to post by Angrybadger


i know what you are talking about. after the first no, their persistence was unbelievable until they got the answer they wanted.
i agree that it smacked of bully tactics.
furthermore i feel that the majority of the populus in the eu fail to understand that the system is NOT democratic and that the kickers and shakers are unelected.
one more note to add, the bail out money for ireland is not there. i watched two mep's state this on euronews.
one top of this i also understand that the imf is bankrupt. quite sinister!
regards f

reply to post by fakedirt


I do with ATS the secret 1z that is
2nd

reply to post by ABNARTY


the pro forma fill in the blanks are soul destroying. there must be ways and means to turn this around. a live collation database comes to mind where instant approval/disapproval on all topics would be imo a step in the right direction.
i feel if pressure comes to bear on the politicians, they simply cannot sustain ignorance of the will of the people indefinitely.
regards f

reply to post by boondock-saint

window dressing for the masses by the media will only last so long. i feel we all have a chance at changing this by hacking away (not computed related btw!) at the system and encouraging others to, at the very least get clued up on the actual reality of how the machine(s) is/are working.
regards f

reply to post by Expat888


thank you for the reply from asia.
i for one do not think you were stupid in your youth for contacting them. i personally will not give up and will continue to voice my concerns and hopefully one day satisfactions to my elected? government.
btw backpacked almost all terrains bar jungle. would love to but the arthur ritis says no.
regards f

reply to post by fltcui


bingo!!!! that is amongst the best of the replies i have read. i salute you for your insistence/devotion in corresponding with your rep. please keep it up and let me know how you get on.

btw all members, i would appreciate any ongoing sitreps you may have.
regards f

reply to post by Glencairn

nice one cindi.
keep the ball rolling please. it can only improve for all peoples if they do engage with their governments.
regards f