Who Is My Congressperson?

I want to put together a simple, user friendly tool to get the information constituents (you, citizens of the United States) need to contact and influence the people (politicians) who are suppose to be representing the needs, desires, and welfare of the people. People seem to be resigned to politicians being corrupt and only fulfilling the desires of the rich. Money is not what gives them power, it is knowledge and others refusal to use their own. It is important that we think…all the time. Just because something is legal, does not make it right and just because something is illegal, does not make it wrong. Think for yourself and say what you think, even if it seems preposterous. The more we do that, the more we see the truth and the stronger we get. One person saying no to all this does make a difference, even if everyone around you is still saying yes. Do what is right, no matter what the media shows you. The majority of people given the chance to do the  right thing, do what’s right.  Power to the People!

First off, to find out who your Congresspeople are you usually need your nine digit, super zip code (5 + 4). If you do not know yours off the top of your head you can go to the USPS Zip Code Lookup page and find out.

To find out who your US Senators are (there are two Senators per state), see the Senators-by-State list (of the Senators of the 111th Congress at the time I wrote this) at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. You can also look this information up at the Project Vote-Smart Elected Official Biographical Information Database at http://www.votesmart.org.

To find out who your US Representative (Congressperson) is in the US House of Representatives (you have just one – there is one Representative per Congressional district) visit WriteRep at https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml, which will allow you to look up your legislator by ZIP code (5+4 zip) and send them a message.

There is also the site Congress Merge, http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm, which is the all encompassing online congressional directory.

State Representatives can be located here, http://www.votesmart.org/official_state.php and last but not least, your Local Representative can be found here, http://www.votesmart.org/official_local.php.

Tell them what you think, what you would like to see change, happen, etc. I think this is a good start.

Now go make a difference.

-Cara

A Little Bit of Political Humor

I would like to dedicate this entry to my B.F.F. Donyetta C. for sending me this link. Thank you very, very much!

The site is updated daily until November 4th. Make sure to turn on your volume! It is interactive and “spot on” as my foreign friends love to say so much. : P

Enjoy and don’t forget to vote!

-Cara

When People Don’t Think For Themselves

It started with Producers Nicole Salazar and Sharif Abdel Kouddous’s arrest. Here Nicole Salazar tapes her own violent arrest. They were arrested while covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. They had their press ids with them.

Then Amy Goodman came to the location they were arrested at to obtain more information on the arrests and this is what happened to her.

When people don’t think for themselves they arrest people without knowing why. These officers are not under control. Do you see the way they violently, without any thought, abuse Nicole Salazar and manhandle Amy Goodman? I mean these are large men, throwing women around, God bless America. They are too amped up. It is unprofessional and a shame they use these ignorant officers to control the public. They do not have the intelligence to think beyond what they are told. They are scared and not trained properly.

Here is what Amy Goodman has to say about what happen.

Here is what you can do about it from the Democracy Now! web site:

The Ramsey County Attorney’s office is in the process of deciding whether or not to press felony P.C. (probable cause) riot charges against Democracy Now! Producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Please contact Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner by all means possible to demand that her office not press charges against Kouddous and Salazar.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner
RCA at co.ramsey.mn.us (cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org)
651-266-3222

Susan Gaertner for Governor
info at susangaertner.com (cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org)
(612) 978-8625
(612)804-6156

The St. Paul police have already issued a citation to Amy Goodman charging her with misdemeanor obstruction of a legal process and interference with a peace officer. Contact St. Paul City Attorney John Choi by all means possible to demand that the citation be dismissed immediately.

St. Paul City Attorney John Choi
john.choi at ci.stpaul.mn.us (cc: dropthecharges at democracynow.org) (651) 266-8710

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, as was a photographer for the Associated Press.

IMPORTANT

Be sure to cc: dropthecharges@democracynow.org on all emails so that our team can deliver print outs of your messages to the St. Paul City Attorney and Ramsey County Attorney offices.

For updates: http://www.democracynow.org

Media Coverage on the Arrest of Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers

This is not my America. I will not allow this to happen. Will you?

-Cara