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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
What state/senator?
edited 1st Feb '17 1:40:15 PM by CrimsonZephyr
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."I'm debating whether I should give Rob Portman a call. This sort of thing always makes me pretty nervous...
My other Senator is Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and from what I've seen he's been pretty critical of Trump, so I don't think I need to worry about him.
edited 1st Feb '17 1:48:21 PM by KarkatTheDalek
Oh God! Natural light!I mean, I live in CA, so calling my senators would take "preaching to the choir" to new levels entirely
I'm praying that Sessions and DeVos get blocked and I'm hoping against hope that 3 repub senators understand that this planet needs a future and blocks Pruitt, but I'm not holding my breath.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas EdisonMy acute social anxiety is making calling hard. I know I'll probably just get a bored secretary, but all the same I'm scared I'll actually have to talk to my right-wing crazy senators and if I have to engage in a dialogue with them I'll probably have a panic attack.
Like, it's hard to contemplate talking to someone who I know doesn't really view me as a person.
You shouldn't feel pressured to make these calls if you have phone anxiety—I don't know of anyone who would blame you for abstaining.
If it helps, though, I guarantee you you won't actually have to talk to your senators. You'll be speaking with staffers only, and there are also scripts available if that would make it any easier. You can pretty much just call, read the script, then say "bye" and hang up.
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."My senators are really, really tearing into DeVos and Sessions already, so I'm trying to think of something else to call about.
Meanwhile...
This is promising.
edited 1st Feb '17 2:13:07 PM by RisingStar
I'd love to see Trump complain about the Go P bailing out on De Vos, whoever he or she is, because of all the calls they've been getting.
This would be another nail on him for his hypocrisy since he promised to give power back to the people and people calling their senators to express their disapproval towards that nomination a fine example of people exercising their power in the political process.
Inter arma enim silent legesDe Vos is a lady who's consistently and successfully attacked public education in Michigan, is a proponent of religious education and "school choice" for charter schools, expressed in her hearing that schools should be able to have guns to defend against bears, which confused the hell out of the people of the specific school she mentioned, and apparently her brother was the guy who used to run Blackwater.
Basically, she's actively dangerous to the public education system.
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Hm...I don't know if I can work up the nerve to do it....I'll need some time to think about it.
I did, however, call my mom and ask her to try calling him. Not only is she a teacher, but she also voted for Portman and genuinely likes him, so her opinion might be worth something (or at least, more than mine). She seemed willing to consider it (she's no fan of Betsy De Vos), so we'll see how that goes.
edited 1st Feb '17 2:36:32 PM by KarkatTheDalek
Oh God! Natural light!Even I hate these "School Choice" Proponents, and I'm a Libertarian myself! School is something that absolutely needs to be Public; it needs to be available to everyone for 'Free' so that a society can run competently. School Choice, in my eyes, is nothing but Re-Segregating the Schools while making a profit off of Poor Non-Whites and Rich Whites.
I don't know if DeVos can be stopped; Too many Republicans are either scared to back off, or too loyal to even consider it. I do applaud Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski for standing up for Public Education, but they aren't enough, and I can't really think of any Republican who'd stop DeVos. She'll probably get in, and then either start dismantling Public Education, give Governors the power to do so, or convince Trump to try to do so.
Yeah if you can't call write. Also do call even the ones who you know are voting against, they'll appreciate the support and on top of that they can try and swing other votes (senators do talk to each other) and being able to say "I've had X number of call on this, believe me voters care" will help them try and swing votes.
Man I wish my country's opposition was actually standing for something.
Just saw a Youtube video showing lawyers working at an airport pro bono to try to help people who have friends and family being detained because of the new ban. Seeing it, I knew I should not scroll down to the comments section, but I did. Now I just feel despair for the future of humanity and find myself again wishing I had a device that opens up a portal to a location based on a target username so I could punch everyone in the face.
* mumbles something incoherent about IP tracers and ICBMs...
Say to the others who did not follow through You're still our brothers, and we will fight for youReally, though, Trump places a blanket ban over seven countries, and there are people trying to compare it to when Obama increased vetting procedures for immigrants from Iraq. Two somewhat similar situations with vastly different targets and motivations. People defend it by saying it's not unconstitutional because the ban isn't on citizens (despite also including green card and visa holders), but can't we have some basic morality in politics?
edited 1st Feb '17 3:02:25 PM by danime91

Just heard Sasse this morning on NPR stumble around trying to defend the blatant partisanship of denying Garland a SCOTUS seat while simultaneously arguing that the comparatively less-qualified Gorsuch should be confirmed on the basis of country over party. He sounds like a smarmy bastard, but if he could be turned, he would be a great asset.
edited 1st Feb '17 1:35:25 PM by CrimsonZephyr
"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."