suitep:

duckandorpenguin:

eveningrelics:

sophaoat:

sweeter-than-cynicism:

apismel1fera:

northray:

msdisdain:

WE NEED 3 SENATORS TO CHANGE THEIR VOTES TO PREVENT DeVos FROM BEING CONFIRMED!!!

The vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Sec of Education was delayed. The hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will now be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 31, according to an advisory from the committee.
And now to act (esp my ME, GA, NC and SC friends)! Betsy DeVos is up for confirmation as U.S. Education Secretary, and many, many educators have expressed strongly that she is not qualified to ensure quality education in this country.

Please consider calling one of the following Republican Senators (key in the confirmation vote) to express your opinion on the appointment. At least 3 of these need to be convinced in order to block DeVos’ nomination. Don’t email. Don’t tweet. Don’t complain on Facebook. Call them!

Then, PLEASE SHARE WIDELY:

If you live in one of the states represented below, PLEASE call YOUR Senator, If you don’t, pick one and call him/her:

Susan Collins (ME) 207.622.8414..&..202.224.2523
Lamar Alexander (TN) 615.736.5129..&..202.224.4944
Lisa Murkowski (AK) 907.586.7277..&..202.224.6665
Johnny Isakson (GA) 770.661.0999..&..202.224.3643
Orrin Hatch (UT) 801.524.4380..&..202.224.5251
Richard Burr (NC) 336.631.5125..&..202.224.3154..&.. 910.251.1058..&..828.350.2437
Michael Enzi (WY) 202.224.3424
Dr. Bill Cassidy (LA) 202.224.5824
Pat Roberts (KS) 202.224.4774
Tim Scott (SC) 202.224.6121
Rand Paul (KY) 202.224.4343

Battlestations, my Yankee Activist peeps

gonna call lamar alexander tomorrow

Booooooost

CALL YOUR DANG REPRESENTATIVES

Susan Collins (ME) 207.622.8414..&..202.224.2523
Lamar Alexander (TN) 615.736.5129..&..202.224.4944
Lisa Murkowski (AK) 907.586.7277..&..202.224.6665
Johnny Isakson (GA) 770.661.0999..&..202.224.3643
Orrin Hatch (UT) 801.524.4380..&..202.224.5251
Richard Burr (NC) 336.631.5125..&..202.224.3154..&.. 910.251.1058..&..828.350.2437
Michael Enzi (WY) 202.224.3424
Dr. Bill Cassidy (LA) 202.224.5824
Pat Roberts (KS) 202.224.4774
Tim Scott (SC) 202.224.6121
Rand Paul (KY) 202.224.4343

IF the state is one you live in call. They don’t really have reason to listen if they don’t represent you. 


If your state is not listed here, signal boost.

Target those first three. Most likely to be sane. Maybe Enzi and Cassidy, but I’m not as familiar with them.

NC Senator Burr on fence about Devos nomination and instructing interns to count constituent responses. Call 202-224-3154.

Source.

suitep:

duckandorpenguin:

eveningrelics:

sophaoat:

sweeter-than-cynicism:

apismel1fera:

northray:

msdisdain:

WE NEED 3 SENATORS TO CHANGE THEIR VOTES TO PREVENT DeVos FROM BEING CONFIRMED!!!

The vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Sec of Education was delayed. The hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will now be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 31, according to an advisory from the committee.
And now to act (esp my ME, GA, NC and SC friends)! Betsy DeVos is up for confirmation as U.S. Education Secretary, and many, many educators have expressed strongly that she is not qualified to ensure quality education in this country.

Please consider calling one of the following Republican Senators (key in the confirmation vote) to express your opinion on the appointment. At least 3 of these need to be convinced in order to block DeVos’ nomination. Don’t email. Don’t tweet. Don’t complain on Facebook. Call them!

Then, PLEASE SHARE WIDELY:

If you live in one of the states represented below, PLEASE call YOUR Senator, If you don’t, pick one and call him/her:

Susan Collins (ME) 207.622.8414..&..202.224.2523
Lamar Alexander (TN) 615.736.5129..&..202.224.4944
Lisa Murkowski (AK) 907.586.7277..&..202.224.6665
Johnny Isakson (GA) 770.661.0999..&..202.224.3643
Orrin Hatch (UT) 801.524.4380..&..202.224.5251
Richard Burr (NC) 336.631.5125..&..202.224.3154..&.. 910.251.1058..&..828.350.2437
Michael Enzi (WY) 202.224.3424
Dr. Bill Cassidy (LA) 202.224.5824
Pat Roberts (KS) 202.224.4774
Tim Scott (SC) 202.224.6121
Rand Paul (KY) 202.224.4343

Battlestations, my Yankee Activist peeps

gonna call lamar alexander tomorrow

Booooooost

CALL YOUR DANG REPRESENTATIVES

Susan Collins (ME) 207.622.8414..&..202.224.2523
Lamar Alexander (TN) 615.736.5129..&..202.224.4944
Lisa Murkowski (AK) 907.586.7277..&..202.224.6665
Johnny Isakson (GA) 770.661.0999..&..202.224.3643
Orrin Hatch (UT) 801.524.4380..&..202.224.5251
Richard Burr (NC) 336.631.5125..&..202.224.3154..&.. 910.251.1058..&..828.350.2437
Michael Enzi (WY) 202.224.3424
Dr. Bill Cassidy (LA) 202.224.5824
Pat Roberts (KS) 202.224.4774
Tim Scott (SC) 202.224.6121
Rand Paul (KY) 202.224.4343

IF the state is one you live in call. They don’t really have reason to listen if they don’t represent you. 


If your state is not listed here, signal boost.

Target those first three. Most likely to be sane. Maybe Enzi and Cassidy, but I’m not as familiar with them.

NC Senator Burr on fence about Devos nomination and instructing interns to count constituent responses. Call 202-224-3154.

Source.

leavethesky:

cavesalamander:

byyourleave:

For the millions of you that will lose your insurance if Obamacare is
repealed please call Paul Ryan. It took me about two minutes, most of that waiting patiently for the recording to end.

Paul Ryan is
conducting a phone poll on the ACA (Obamacare), hoping to hear
overwhelming popular opposition to it. If you would like to express your
support for the Affordable Care Act, call (202) 225-3031. Press 2 to
weigh in on the issue. You’ll hear a brief recording about HR-3762, Paul
Ryan’s proposal to gut the ACA, and
President Obama’s use of his veto power to stop it. Then, you will have a
chance to indicate your opinion with the press of a button.

Press 1 if you support Obamacare, 2 if you oppose it.

There is also an option after making your choice to leave a voicemail for Speaker Ryan, which I did, and recommend doing, but is obviously not required.

You don’t have to talk to anyone!! Should be easier on anxiety that way.

But make sure you listen to the options.

You will have to listen to 2-3 minutes of blatant lies and propaganda, but it’s worth it to tell this monster that he’s got it all wrong on ACA.

leavethesky:

cavesalamander:

byyourleave:

For the millions of you that will lose your insurance if Obamacare is
repealed please call Paul Ryan. It took me about two minutes, most of that waiting patiently for the recording to end.

Paul Ryan is
conducting a phone poll on the ACA (Obamacare), hoping to hear
overwhelming popular opposition to it. If you would like to express your
support for the Affordable Care Act, call (202) 225-3031. Press 2 to
weigh in on the issue. You’ll hear a brief recording about HR-3762, Paul
Ryan’s proposal to gut the ACA, and
President Obama’s use of his veto power to stop it. Then, you will have a
chance to indicate your opinion with the press of a button.

Press 1 if you support Obamacare, 2 if you oppose it.

There is also an option after making your choice to leave a voicemail for Speaker Ryan, which I did, and recommend doing, but is obviously not required.

You don’t have to talk to anyone!! Should be easier on anxiety that way.

But make sure you listen to the options.

You will have to listen to 2-3 minutes of blatant lies and propaganda, but it’s worth it to tell this monster that he’s got it all wrong on ACA.

leavethesky:

cavesalamander:

byyourleave:

For the millions of you that will lose your insurance if Obamacare is
repealed please call Paul Ryan. It took me about two minutes, most of that waiting patiently for the recording to end.

Paul Ryan is
conducting a phone poll on the ACA (Obamacare), hoping to hear
overwhelming popular opposition to it. If you would like to express your
support for the Affordable Care Act, call (202) 225-3031. Press 2 to
weigh in on the issue. You’ll hear a brief recording about HR-3762, Paul
Ryan’s proposal to gut the ACA, and
President Obama’s use of his veto power to stop it. Then, you will have a
chance to indicate your opinion with the press of a button.

Press 1 if you support Obamacare, 2 if you oppose it.

There is also an option after making your choice to leave a voicemail for Speaker Ryan, which I did, and recommend doing, but is obviously not required.

You don’t have to talk to anyone!! Should be easier on anxiety that way.

But make sure you listen to the options.

You will have to listen to 2-3 minutes of blatant lies and propaganda, but it’s worth it to tell this monster that he’s got it all wrong on ACA.

How Best To Harass Your Local Civil Servant

beesmygod:

paidforbyyourtaxdollars:

Since @beesmygod​​ has been posting a lot about bothering your local elected representative, I thought I should help a little as someone who understands government work. I live & work outside of the US, but I suspect this is applicable to many local & state/provincial governments.

ALWAYS REQUEST A CALLBACK

  • If you want someone to actually look at your issue, to do more than write “Feedback noted” in a complaint system resolution field, ask for a callback. Demand a callback. You can ask for an email too, but I will be blunt: the effort that is put into returning an email is less than half of the effort you force me to put in when I call someone back.
  • Pick a phone number you will be reached at during 9-5 hours (b/c that’s when government workers do their callbacks). Calls are what I recommend simply because a call requires that person to put more effort into addressing your complaint even before they pick up the phone. They have to do more than send a pre-written email template to brush you off, and it allows you to actively engage back with them rather than starting from square one when you send a return email and end up in the system at the bottom of the queue again.
  • If you go with an email, pick an email address that you check regularly. You can even make a professional looking email address for your complaints, which is guaranteed to get better answers than if you ask someone to email xxbigdaddysephirothxx@gmail.com
  • When you make your complaint, ask what the time you can expect to wait is, and if you don’t hear back by that length of time, call back and raise hell over it. If there is a ticket system of some kind for tracking complaints (and there usually is when we’re talking government work and accountability), ask for your ticket number. Keep it on hand. Keep all of your numbers on hand.
  • Be prepared for a callback. Have your feedback/goals already written down somewhere you can easily pull up on the fly so you don’t get caught flatfooted. Don’t get sidetracked. Stay on point and have a clear end goal – you want to see your local representative support a specific bill, you want them to issue a statement on a subject.
  • Get a name. Get a phone number you can call them back at. Make them accountable for anything they say or promise.
  • DO NOT USE ABUSIVE LANGUAGE. DO NOT MAKE THREATS OF VIOLENCE. If you use abusive language, I don’t have to engage with you. In fact, if what you write is vile enough, I can refuse to answer future complaints from you. So be passionate, be angry, be uncompromising, but keep that language clean and keep it clear of threats. I can’t do anything to get rid of someone who is pissed but does not cross the line.

I answer a lot of dumb complaints in my particular field. After a while, it gets easy to start tuning complaints out and assuming that people are just mad for no good reason. Callbacks force me to engage. They force me to look into a problem before I call someone back – to actually investigate instead of assuming. It’s harder to tune someone out when you’re holding me accountable.

a really really great post from a professional who knows how it works

How Best To Harass Your Local Civil Servant

beesmygod:

paidforbyyourtaxdollars:

Since @beesmygod​​ has been posting a lot about bothering your local elected representative, I thought I should help a little as someone who understands government work. I live & work outside of the US, but I suspect this is applicable to many local & state/provincial governments.

ALWAYS REQUEST A CALLBACK

  • If you want someone to actually look at your issue, to do more than write “Feedback noted” in a complaint system resolution field, ask for a callback. Demand a callback. You can ask for an email too, but I will be blunt: the effort that is put into returning an email is less than half of the effort you force me to put in when I call someone back.
  • Pick a phone number you will be reached at during 9-5 hours (b/c that’s when government workers do their callbacks). Calls are what I recommend simply because a call requires that person to put more effort into addressing your complaint even before they pick up the phone. They have to do more than send a pre-written email template to brush you off, and it allows you to actively engage back with them rather than starting from square one when you send a return email and end up in the system at the bottom of the queue again.
  • If you go with an email, pick an email address that you check regularly. You can even make a professional looking email address for your complaints, which is guaranteed to get better answers than if you ask someone to email xxbigdaddysephirothxx@gmail.com
  • When you make your complaint, ask what the time you can expect to wait is, and if you don’t hear back by that length of time, call back and raise hell over it. If there is a ticket system of some kind for tracking complaints (and there usually is when we’re talking government work and accountability), ask for your ticket number. Keep it on hand. Keep all of your numbers on hand.
  • Be prepared for a callback. Have your feedback/goals already written down somewhere you can easily pull up on the fly so you don’t get caught flatfooted. Don’t get sidetracked. Stay on point and have a clear end goal – you want to see your local representative support a specific bill, you want them to issue a statement on a subject.
  • Get a name. Get a phone number you can call them back at. Make them accountable for anything they say or promise.
  • DO NOT USE ABUSIVE LANGUAGE. DO NOT MAKE THREATS OF VIOLENCE. If you use abusive language, I don’t have to engage with you. In fact, if what you write is vile enough, I can refuse to answer future complaints from you. So be passionate, be angry, be uncompromising, but keep that language clean and keep it clear of threats. I can’t do anything to get rid of someone who is pissed but does not cross the line.

I answer a lot of dumb complaints in my particular field. After a while, it gets easy to start tuning complaints out and assuming that people are just mad for no good reason. Callbacks force me to engage. They force me to look into a problem before I call someone back – to actually investigate instead of assuming. It’s harder to tune someone out when you’re holding me accountable.

a really really great post from a professional who knows how it works