Post by TheJap on Mar 30, 2010 1:58:49 GMT -6
The importance of writing your senators and representatives CANNOT be overlooked. Like it or not, these are the people that end up passing our laws. Such a tiny fraction of Americans write their elected officials, each letter they get is assumed to be the viewpoint of a significant number of people in their district. We want our voices heard, and these are the people who need to hear it.
Work, you say? It's really not difficult. Grab a list of your senators here: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and a list of your representatives here: writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml . Take a note of which ones are Democrats and which are Republicans. We'll write two letters that you can fire off to everyone on each list.
Remember, emails are fine and dandy, and I encourage everyone to send them, but the impact of a real, signed letter in the mail is MUCH bigger. Google basic letter formatting, print out your email, stick a stamp on it (you remember those, right?) and send it out, it's really not difficult.
Start out both letters by flat-out saying you are writing to encourage them not to support ACTA (spell the damned name out the first time you use it, nubs). Then give them a brief, somewhat unbiased description of what it is (in case they have no clue, which is entirely possible). Then go into party-specific details (I'll get to this in a minute), then end by encouraging them to support Net Neutrality in general (something they'll have heard of before).
Party-specific details for Democrats: Mention how the act will enable, and in some cases force ISPs to remove all sources of data that may appear to be copyright infringement, without investigation. Then QUICKLY follow up with how this severely limits the ability of the lower-class and middle-class to provide content on the internet, as access to their content can be swiftly denied at the first complaint without investigation. Mention how the only way to effectively fight off false claims will be to have the backing of a large company, which effectively puts corporations in control of the internet and destroys Net Neutrality, since none of the "little people" can put up with the hassle of providing content. NEVER SOUND PARANOID, just do your research and be clear. Keep it to a page, single spaced, or it'll end up in the trash (bin).
Party-specific details for Republicans: Start as above with the invasive ISP bit, and go on to mention how this will enable the government to police the content of individual's and business' websites and servers and force the removal of questionable content without the necessity of investigation or trial. Be big on protecting personal privacy and the interests of small businesses, and repeatedly mention Net Neutrality as the way to keep everyone safe. Sounding a little paranoid is sometimes okay, but in general keep it well-researched and level-headed. Again keep it to a full page or so, or it's getting tossed.
Send your letters to EVERYONE, now via email, tomorrow via post, and if you're up for it, call their offices and talk to them about it (yes they actually take calls). Hell, send a letter to Obama if you like (not that that one's getting read, I'd guess).
Spreading the word among friends and chans is all well and good, but the people we need on our side are the people we're always complaining about. And the best way to do it is a hand-addressed, hand-signed letter actually written by you. They hate copypasta as much as the rest of us, and don't give a damn about online petitions.
Lets get this shit done, Anon. Get to writing.
Work, you say? It's really not difficult. Grab a list of your senators here: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and a list of your representatives here: writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml . Take a note of which ones are Democrats and which are Republicans. We'll write two letters that you can fire off to everyone on each list.
Remember, emails are fine and dandy, and I encourage everyone to send them, but the impact of a real, signed letter in the mail is MUCH bigger. Google basic letter formatting, print out your email, stick a stamp on it (you remember those, right?) and send it out, it's really not difficult.
Start out both letters by flat-out saying you are writing to encourage them not to support ACTA (spell the damned name out the first time you use it, nubs). Then give them a brief, somewhat unbiased description of what it is (in case they have no clue, which is entirely possible). Then go into party-specific details (I'll get to this in a minute), then end by encouraging them to support Net Neutrality in general (something they'll have heard of before).
Party-specific details for Democrats: Mention how the act will enable, and in some cases force ISPs to remove all sources of data that may appear to be copyright infringement, without investigation. Then QUICKLY follow up with how this severely limits the ability of the lower-class and middle-class to provide content on the internet, as access to their content can be swiftly denied at the first complaint without investigation. Mention how the only way to effectively fight off false claims will be to have the backing of a large company, which effectively puts corporations in control of the internet and destroys Net Neutrality, since none of the "little people" can put up with the hassle of providing content. NEVER SOUND PARANOID, just do your research and be clear. Keep it to a page, single spaced, or it'll end up in the trash (bin).
Party-specific details for Republicans: Start as above with the invasive ISP bit, and go on to mention how this will enable the government to police the content of individual's and business' websites and servers and force the removal of questionable content without the necessity of investigation or trial. Be big on protecting personal privacy and the interests of small businesses, and repeatedly mention Net Neutrality as the way to keep everyone safe. Sounding a little paranoid is sometimes okay, but in general keep it well-researched and level-headed. Again keep it to a full page or so, or it's getting tossed.
Send your letters to EVERYONE, now via email, tomorrow via post, and if you're up for it, call their offices and talk to them about it (yes they actually take calls). Hell, send a letter to Obama if you like (not that that one's getting read, I'd guess).
Spreading the word among friends and chans is all well and good, but the people we need on our side are the people we're always complaining about. And the best way to do it is a hand-addressed, hand-signed letter actually written by you. They hate copypasta as much as the rest of us, and don't give a damn about online petitions.
Lets get this shit done, Anon. Get to writing.
