Call Your Congressman!

Do you have five minutes? Everybody has a few minutes to spare. Take the time to call your representative in DC. Never forget that they work for you. Doesn't matter how high and mighty they appear they still are your employee. If someone works for you then you have an obligation to occasionally give them direction and feedback.

I called my representative's office this morning and gave them my two cents on three matters that were bugging me and was able to look up the number, get through to a live voice, and get things off my chest in less than five minutes. The trick is know what you want to say. Write a couple notes and keep to your script so you don't ramble. Tell them the problem or your concern and what you'd like done.

The three things I complained about today:
1. Ridiculous & convoluted tax system. Simplify it! Give us a flat tax or national sales tax.
2. Eric Holder, the Attorney General made a blatantly racist statement this week in explaining why the Justice Department won't enforce the law evenly while he is in office. I want him to resign or be fired. My congressman can't make that happen, but he can call for it.
3. The Navy announced that a warship will be named for John Murtha, the late crooked congressman from Pennsylvania. Besides being a worthless crooked politician, in 2006 Murtha maliciously without facts accused Marines in combat of committing cold blooded murder. Nothing any more important than a latrine should be named for that wretched fool.

Will my congressman (Rep. John Boehner) fix those problems? Probably not. However, at least he knows a constituent is concerned about those issues. What he does will let me know if he listens to his constituents.

If your representative hears similar complaints from lots of constituents they are more likely to take action.

National Day of Action

April 15th is commonly referred to as Tax Day since it is the deadline for filing federal income tax returns. Hopefully, in time it will become a nation day of action. I'd propose renaming 15 April as National Beat a Congressman Until They Support Tax Simplification Day! I know it is a little longer than most holiday names (Labor Day, Columbus Day, etc.) but I think it will catch on in time as people get in the spirit. I could recommend a couple congressmen for initial beatings, but spontaneity is important so pick one you feel is particularly adding to the problem. This is not a rant against paying taxes. There are some vital government services and funds need to be raised to pay for those services. I do believe there is excessive spending and a lot of government waste, but that is a subject for another day. Today I'm only complaining about the incredibly bloated and complicated tax code. Go to a flat tax or better yet a national sales tax.

I'm not normally an advocate of violence. However, our representative are no longer responsive to the populace they represent and at some point people will decide they have had enough.