Letter to Congress, Only investment is 5 minutes and a stamp

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
Mr. Robert Atwell
XXX XXXXXX Rd
Valley Park, MO 63088-1133

May 22, 2008

Representative Todd Akin
Independence Avenue and 1st Street, SE
Washington, DC 20515-2502

Dear Representative Akin,

I am writing to demand that you, as the elected representative from my district, respond to the demand for a solution to the rising cost of oil. The transportation, airline, and auto industries are all being hurt by this high cost of oil. This high cost of oil is not only affecting these industries but it is also hurting the public sector. Schools, police forces, fire departments, public highways, cities, municipalities, and states are all being affected by this costly oil. If this exorbitant spending continues we will be looking to change a once prosperous nation into a third world country. All the economic indicators point to this direction. Let us concentrate on our national priorities.

The solution:
• Limit Congressional Spending
• Eliminate Funding to Programs that are no Longer Needed or Necessary
• Eliminate the Pork Spending
• Limit the Powers of the Federal Reserve or,
• Eliminate the Federal Reserve
• Take Control of our Money Supply by backing it with Something of Value (Gold, Silver, etc.)
• Eliminate the Need for Foreign Oil, Drill Domestically but Responsibly, Use our Reserves, and/or Actively Invest in an Alternative Fuel Source(s)

By limiting Congressional spending we limit the amount of money in circulation. This means the Federal Reserve can stop printing more paper money and by doing this stops inflating our money supply. This will help bring back value to our failing dollar. As I write this letter our dollar is worth 24 cents in Kuwait. This devalued dollar does not just impact America it impacts the globe.

Spending is the root of our devalued dollar. The more Congress continues to spend the more money we will have in circulation because the Federal Reserve will continue to print more money and will continue to adjust interest rates. There are no bail outs for the self-employed. Fuel is our biggest expense in the transportation industry, and with these high prices everyone loses. Without truck drivers this country’s highways are useless. Without the other industries our way of life as we know it ends. As a Congressional member you have an obligation to the people of our state to improve the health of this economy and the only way to do this is to stop the spending.

Samuel Clemens once said, “The root of all evil is not money but the lack of it.” I believe his statement to be correct. If we as ordinary citizens must be responsible for the debt we incur why is it not possible for Congress to act responsibly when incurring the debt we now have. Spending is the root of our problem.

An error is never corrected if we do not accept that an error in judgment was made. Accepting this fact is the first step in correcting the current problem with our economy. Take responsibility for what has happened to our economy. Bring value back to our dollar and save what jobs that we have left in this country.



Sincerely,


Mr. Robert Atwell



Copy, paste, edit to your liking. Send to your representative. Your investment is 5 minutes of your time and a stamp. Public opinion still matters in this country.

Representative Offices - United States House of Representatives, 110th Congress, 2nd Session
 
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greg334

Veteran Expediter
Ratwell,
I applaud you, bravo....

I take another approach, I write short personal letters that talk about the plight of my family or put a personal spin on things.

I learned from congress staffers that the short to the point letters without complicated solutions and some personal things in it are read instead of long letters that scream demands. Remember until you write "I have gathered 65,000 signatures for your recall", letters need keep their attention.
 

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
Ratwell,
I applaud you, bravo....

I take another approach, I write short personal letters that talk about the plight of my family or put a personal spin on things.

I learned from congress staffers that the short to the point letters without complicated solutions and some personal things in it are read instead of long letters that scream demands. Remember until you write "I have gathered 65,000 signatures for your recall", letters need keep their attention.

Thanks. I appreciate the help.
 

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
Ratwell,
I applaud you, bravo....

I take another approach, I write short personal letters that talk about the plight of my family or put a personal spin on things.

I learned from congress staffers that the short to the point letters without complicated solutions and some personal things in it are read instead of long letters that scream demands. Remember until you write "I have gathered 65,000 signatures for your recall", letters need keep their attention.

Anyone wanting to change it and post a different version please feel free in doing so. I appreciate all input.

My intentions are to help and any help from this community is a step in the right direction.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Anyone wanting to change it and post a different version please feel free in doing so. I appreciate all input.

My intentions are to help and any help from this community is a step in the right direction.

Not to criticize but are you preparing a recall for your senators and congressmen?

I met with the Levin recall people before I left home, they need website work and I offered to set it up for them - let's see if they get it together.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Keep it short, simple and to the point. Devalued dollar, the Fed printing money, pork spending, the gold standard, quit spending, yet invest in alternative energy, eliminate the need for foreign oil, use our reserves (do you even know what those are for, and some of the ramifications that could result if we used them up?), balance the budget, you're all over the place. And then you tell a Congressman that he has not an obligation to the people who elected him to represent them, but an obligation to an entire nation (which is wholly incorrect). Then you throw a line in there like, "This ladies and gentlemen is the root of our problem." How did Todd Akin suddenly become "ladies and gentlemen?" Who are you talking to?

Pick an issue, keep it short, simple and to the point. One paragraph, tops, on the issue, and then another paragraph on how it affects you and your family on a personal level.

I like the thought behind it, though. Keep up the good work. :)
 

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
Keep it short, simple and to the point. Devalued dollar, the Fed printing money, pork spending, the gold standard, quit spending, yet invest in alternative energy, eliminate the need for foreign oil, use our reserves (do you even know what those are for, and some of the ramifications that could result if we used them up?), balance the budget, you're all over the place. And then you tell a Congressman that he has not an obligation to the people who elected him to represent them, but an obligation to an entire nation (which is wholly incorrect). Then you throw a line in there like, "This ladies and gentlemen is the root of our problem." How did Todd Akin suddenly become "ladies and gentlemen?" Who are you talking to?

Pick an issue, keep it short, simple and to the point. One paragraph, tops, on the issue, and then another paragraph on how it affects you and your family on a personal level.

I like the thought behind it, though. Keep up the good work. :)

Where is the "not an obligation" at? This letter will be sent out to all my rep's so the ladies and gentlemen is appropriate. They collaborate. He has an obligation, he is a public servant.

Thanks for the advice. Change it as you like, but all these solutions are a possibility. I added invest in alternate fuels because if they are going to spend spend on something that does good for the nation not pork.

Talking about the devalued dollar has alot to do with why we are paying so much for oil right now.

Change it and put your version out here.
 

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
Not to criticize but are you preparing a recall for your senators and congressmen?

I met with the Levin recall people before I left home, they need website work and I offered to set it up for them - let's see if they get it together.

I would support a petition for a recall. I have written numerous letters on several different issues and I have Sen. McCaskill's attention and support. So we will see where we go from there.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Where is the "not an obligation" at?

You wrote in the letter to Todd Akin, "As a Congressional member you have an obligation to the people of this country..." which is incorrect. His only obligation is to his constituents in his home district. That's why you write to your Congressman, instead of mine.


This letter will be sent out to all my rep's so the ladies and gentlemen is appropriate. They collaborate.

I only saw Todd Akin's name in the salutation, not multiple recipients. If you plan on sending the same exact letter to multiple recipients, then "ladies and gentlemen" should be replaced by "sir" or "madame" as appropriate.

He has an obligation, he is a public servant.
Correct. But his obligation is not all inclusive. His obligation is to his district, not to anyone else. That's why he's called an elected representative. And it's also why if you send that letter to my Congressman, that my Congressman will ignore it, as you are not one of his constituents and thus has no obligation to you in particular. But I do know what you are saying, as it's the Congress that makes the laws and controls the purse. Just keep it in perspective.

Thanks for the advice. Change it as you like, but all these solutions are a possibility. I added invest in alternate fuels because if they are going to spend spend on something that does good for the nation not pork.

Talking about the devalued dollar has alot to do with why we are paying so much for oil right now.

Change it and put your version out here.

Like I said, your letter will be much better received (i.e., read) if you keep it short, simple and to the point. If you have a dozen issues to cover, even if related to each other, rather than dealing with all of them in a single letter, each issue should be addressed in its own letter.

Incidentally, I don't need to change it and put my own version here, as I don't have a version that is anything like this multi-issued rant (don't take that the wrong way, as I like the rant, I just don't think it's an effective rant for a letter to a Congressman). My version would contain a single issue. I write to my Congressman (Ed Whitfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and my two Senators (Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, one of which I know personally) on a semi-regular basis, whenever there is something I want to tell them. I do not write to the other 5 Congressional representatives from my state.
 

ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
You wrote in the letter to Todd Akin, "As a Congressional member you have an obligation to the people of this country..." which is incorrect. His only obligation is to his constituents in his home district. That's why you write to your Congressman, instead of mine.




I only saw Todd Akin's name in the salutation, not multiple recipients. If you plan on sending the same exact letter to multiple recipients, then "ladies and gentlemen" should be replaced by "sir" or "madame" as appropriate.

Correct. But his obligation is not all inclusive. His obligation is to his district, not to anyone else. That's why he's called an elected representative. And it's also why if you send that letter to my Congressman, that my Congressman will ignore it, as you are not one of his constituents and thus has no obligation to you in particular. But I do know what you are saying, as it's the Congress that makes the laws and controls the purse. Just keep it in perspective.



Like I said, your letter will be much better received (i.e., read) if you keep it short, simple and to the point. If you have a dozen issues to cover, even if related to each other, rather than dealing with all of them in a single letter, each issue should be addressed in its own letter.

Incidentally, I don't need to change it and put my own version here, as I don't have a version that is anything like this multi-issued rant (don't take that the wrong way, as I like the rant, I just don't think it's an effective rant for a letter to a Congressman). My version would contain a single issue. I write to my Congressman (Ed Whitfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and my two Senators (Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, one of which I know personally) on a semi-regular basis, whenever there is something I want to tell them. I do not write to the other 5 Congressional representatives from my state.

I might take you up on changing the obligation part. You are right.

I write to all of mine. I keep them with a job.

Thanks for ranting about my rant. No disrespect.
 
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ratwell71

Veteran Expediter
You wrote in the letter to Todd Akin, "As a Congressional member you have an obligation to the people of this country..." which is incorrect. His only obligation is to his constituents in his home district. That's why you write to your Congressman, instead of mine.




I only saw Todd Akin's name in the salutation, not multiple recipients. If you plan on sending the same exact letter to multiple recipients, then "ladies and gentlemen" should be replaced by "sir" or "madame" as appropriate.

Correct. But his obligation is not all inclusive. His obligation is to his district, not to anyone else. That's why he's called an elected representative. And it's also why if you send that letter to my Congressman, that my Congressman will ignore it, as you are not one of his constituents and thus has no obligation to you in particular. But I do know what you are saying, as it's the Congress that makes the laws and controls the purse. Just keep it in perspective.



Like I said, your letter will be much better received (i.e., read) if you keep it short, simple and to the point. If you have a dozen issues to cover, even if related to each other, rather than dealing with all of them in a single letter, each issue should be addressed in its own letter.

Incidentally, I don't need to change it and put my own version here, as I don't have a version that is anything like this multi-issued rant (don't take that the wrong way, as I like the rant, I just don't think it's an effective rant for a letter to a Congressman). My version would contain a single issue. I write to my Congressman (Ed Whitfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) and my two Senators (Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, one of which I know personally) on a semi-regular basis, whenever there is something I want to tell them. I do not write to the other 5 Congressional representatives from my state.

Changes done... Thanks again for your help.
 
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