[Politics]

[oyceter]

I feel like I basically got nothing done in January because I was sick through most of it--one of those awful colds where you just keep coughing and coughing and not getting any rest because you're coughing so much. Thankfully, it's now gone.

Questions re: calling your members of Congress: Does it matter if you call during business hours, or is voicemail left after hours okay? And if they've already made a statement on something, is there a point to calling about that issue?

I have also started doing stuff for one of my local Indivisible groups \o/! I still need to look into more cybersecurity stuff as well. And I am doing that thing where I am reading way too much news. Some of it is necessary for volunteer work, and some of it is useful for work, but I really do not need to be refreshing five sites all the time, along with my personal social media accounts. I tried setting up something like Flipboard or another aggregator, but it feels a bit disorienting. I like being on the news provider's website and getting a better sense of their style and what they report on and etc. I suppose once I've figured it out for many sites, the aggregator will make more sense.

Comments

[the_rck]

My impression is that calling after a politician has made a statement can still have an impact and that that's true whether one is objecting to the content or supporting it. Constituent support stiffens spines. Constituent disagreement scares most representatives.

[laurashapiro]

Thank you so much for working with us! We really value your efforts. <3

Sorry to hear you've been so sick. That sounds terrible.

I need to limit my Twitter intake. It's too easy to go down the rabbit hole.

[larryhammer]

Janni is hip-deep in our local Indivisible group, and has even (v. briefly) appeared on local TV news coverage of events.

(In order to spread what bandwidth we have, I'm working on the climate change angle instead.)

[gwyneira]

I tend to email instead of calling about issues my MoCs have already made a statement on (especially if I support their side, which I usually do). This is partly because I have so much phone anxiety that I have to save up my phone spoons, but it's also because it's easier for the staffers to tabulate email responses. I do think it's important to show support, though.

[oracne]

I can't follow all the news, though of course I have spells of nonstop checking. I start freaking out. I've been balancing each march/protest with a day of introversion, or hanging out with the Adorable Tots. I send a fax or sneak in a phone call here and there, trying to go for business hours - it's been very difficult to get through to our Republican senator.

I am trying to focus a bit more on voter rights and immigration stuff, so I signed up to do voter registration after citizenship ceremonies, and potentially be a court escort for immigrants (it will require taking vacation days, so I can't do it often).

And I unfollowed most of my family members on the book of faces, though I did not tell them that.