In the vein of doing something other than irritating and boring many on this board, I'm going to spend some time on sending letters to the incumbents that represent me, Democrat or Republican. I'm going to ask them to essentially justify their job or lose my vote to the challenger.

I want to know why they haven't passed, introduced or supported any

1. meaningful legislation to reduce government spending.

2. meaningful legislation to tackle the earmarks that plague our budget.

3. meaningful legislation incenting oil companies to defray potential excess profits taxes by developing renewable energy sources.

4. meaningful legislation removing tax breaks for large corporate farmers.

5. meaningful legislation to require demonstrable effectiveness of the social welfare programs we have today or cease funding them.

6. meaningful legislation to address the illegal aliens that are bankrupting the municipal government's school and social services budgets and adding significant cost to those of us with health care insurance.

7. meaningful legislation to ensure our returning vets are receiving the physical and mental health care they deserve.

8. meaningful legislation to stop the use of Social Security funds for anything else.

9. meaningful legislation to prohibit elected officials from becoming lobbyists within 5 years of leaving office.

10. meaningful legislation to impose term limits on members of Congress.

11. meaningful legislation to make the most severe sexual offender crimes punishable by death.

12. meaningful legislation to stop our unfair share of the cost of the UN.



[PoorWordUsage] I can and will go on and on. And since they aren't getting anything done anyway, they should have time to fire out the horrid form letters.

Who has some good ones that I missed? Let's try to avoid the Gun, Abortion, Gay Marriage and Iraq issues. I'm not saying they aren't important, they are. It's just that these are the ones I think that divide us and keep the others from being addressed.

When I read the word "meaningful" I have to ask, "Meaningful to whom?"

That's just it. What may be pleasant or desireable legislation to one person might be a thorn in the side of another. Welcome to politics and trying to please the masses.

Bob

Bob, I get the "meaningful" part being up to interpretation. Maybe serious, substantative or documented are better.

There are twelve things on my list. Maybe yours or anyone elses, were they so inclined, has one or 100. I was just asking for more of the universal actions most of us want i.e. lower taxes, less government and a forward thinking energy plan. I guess theoretically some people want the opposite.

As I have my doubts that those who can actually impact our government spend much time here, this is my way of letting my elected representatives know someone cares and is watching them do damned little.

The problem being, we need taxes to sustain our fire, police and roads, these just being a few.
Try living in an area where your roads are better in gated communities then they are in the regular people areas.
Would we want paid for police protection like in some countries?
Did I pay my fire "insurance", or was my place torched because I didn't.

Just a few questions back. I understand some of the questions asked, it just gets to me when people want their taxes reduced, and then are not willing to pay the price that those reductions bring.

How many times have people voted for the incumbent, just because he is an incumbent? This is how we limit legislative terms, or at least should.
We have systems in place, but many are too lazy to use those systems and will just say "my voice doesn't count, or the bigwigs run things anyway, so why bother".

Tom,

I hope you do send the letters. That's far more than the average Joe, or Tom, does in this country. Our electeds don't really know what we want unless we tell them.

Good luck,

Bob

Tom, I think you should run for a House seat.

Pretty easy for us to ask why they haven't done anything. Maybe it's time for new people with fresh ideas to step up and say they want to be part of the solution to all of the problems we have in this state and country.

Emails sent to Amy Klobuchar, Norm Coleman and Michele Bachmann thanking them for their service and asking the questions posted earlier. I also apologized in advance if my assumptions were incorrect and told them they would be doing me a favor by pointing out my errors. I will post any replies I receive.

I'd like a crack at rewriting this list as one of those theoretical people who must think the opposite, which is interesting. I'll put my (additions in parentheses), [substitutions in brackets] and put dashes over anything I delete ///. Okay?

I want to know why they haven't passed, introduced or supported any

1. meaningful legislation to [increase] government spending (on roads, bridges, water systems and other public infrastructure, education, food and shelter for the sick and the poor -- particularly veterans, women and children --, to increase the police presence in areas with the most crime, to protect and enhance the environment, or to insure that future Americans are afforded the same if not greater opportunities than I have had.

2. meaningful legislation to tackle the earmarks that plague our budget (and to balance that budget).

3. meaningful legislation incenting oil companies to defray potential excess profits taxes by developing renewable energy sources. (no change)

4. meaningful legislation removing tax breaks for [the wealthy].

5. meaningful legislation to require demonstrable effectiveness of the social welfare programs we have today or [to replace them with something that can be demonstrated as effective in helping people sustain themselves].

6. meaningful legislation to address the illegal aliens that are bankrupting the municipal government's school and social services budgets and adding significant cost to those of us with health care insurance (, and to protect those same illegal aliens from exploitation).

7. meaningful legislation to ensure our //// vets are receiving the physical and mental health care they [have earned}.

8. meaningful legislation to stop the use of Social Security funds for anything else. (no change)

9. meaningful legislation to prohibit elected officials from becoming lobbyists /////////.

10. meaningful legislation to impose term limits on members of Congress. (no change)

11. meaningful legislation to make the most severe sexual offender crimes punishable by [life in prison].

12. meaningful legislation to [support the UN enough to do the job we built it to do].

Couple questions.

Items 1 and 2. How would you propose to accomplish these?

Item 5. How would you accomplish this and what would by your test criteria?

Item 9. You do realize that this would impose restrictions on certain individual's freedom of speech. Also, this would then make it mandatory that any elected official resign from just about any organization including NRA, DU, PF, local sportsmen's clubs, environmental organizations, you name it.

Item 10. The very reason we went into Iraq when we did was because we got tired of waiting for the UN to get off its dufuss and execute the threats it kept on making. It wasn't that they lacked support, it was that they lack cohunas.

Bob

[quote=BobT]Couple questions.

Items 1 and 2. How would you propose to accomplish these?

--- For Item 1, we could start by taxing the rich back to reality.

--- For Item 2, we could insist that anything worth spending money on is worth raising taxes for -- that's the way my checkbook works.

Item 5. How would you accomplish this and what would by your test criteria?

---I have no idea. I'm just a dude who wandered in here from the fishing forum.

Item 9. You do realize that this would impose restrictions on certain individual's freedom of speech. Also, this would then make it mandatory that any elected official resign from just about any organization including NRA, DU, PF, local sportsmen's clubs, environmental organizations, you name it.

--- You're right. Add "paid lobbyist."

Item 10. The very reason we went into Iraq when we did was because we got tired of waiting for the UN to get off its dufuss and execute the threats it kept on making. It wasn't that they lacked support, it was that they lack cohunas.

--- On this one I guess we'll have to disagree. I think if there is any reason we went over when and how we did it was a matter of too many "cohunas", and not enough brains.

You should add one more: Make it illegal to accept contribution donations from foreign countries or foreign citizens.

When I initially read the first post my immediate thought was identical to that of BobT, "meaningful to who"? And, what may be pleasant or desireable legislation to one person might be a thorn in the side of another. That still holds true!

The problem with this one, and its a big one is that even when something is "meaningful" not every one agrees on just what is worth spending money on. What may be important to me, may not be to you. (and vise-versa)

For your first response you would have to define rich. For the most part, anyone that is visiting this website could be considered rich. For this reason I would suspect that for you as much as me rich is defined as anyone making more than me.

For the tax issue what you determine to be worthwhile and what I do are likely very different. You'd have to solve that question first. Welcome to politics.

All of the organizations I mentioned pay lobbyists. It's lobbyists that get our needs out to the legislature.

The UN didn't have the cohunas to do the job and that's why we finally got tired of the [PoorWordUsage] and took care of the situation. Of course we didn't think it all the way through but nonetheless that't what got us in there. It wasn't a lack of support for the UN.

Bob

17 days later and no response beyond the auto reply "thanks for your email" b.s.

I'm sure they are getting to it....

Vote against the incumbents....if you can stomach the alternative.

Why send letters to those who will only appease you,their great liars! Just vote em all out and see what happens it really cant get any worse!