Make 'em Accountable!

One of the most heartening things that I have participated in lately is the money bomb for Accountability Now. From their website:

The AccountabilityNowPAC was originally formed ... as a fundraising vehicle to block a Congressional leadership “compromise” on the corrupt FISA reauthorization bill... The goal of AccountabilityNowPAC is to become a permanent entity on the Washington DC political landscape which will let our politicians know that civil liberties MATTER. Our message to politicians in Washington is loud and clear: uphold constitutional rights and we will support you; abridge freedom in America and we will not be on your side. Democrat or Republican—it makes no difference to us. This is our vehicle to enforce the sworn oath our political leaders take to preserve and defend the constitution.

This effort, spearheaded by Glen Greenwald and Jane Hamsher, has already created some highly visible ads aimed at changing the behavior of specific members of congress.



I believe that this is one of the best vehicles for progressive political action that exists today. I would encourage anyone interested in lessening the corporate influence on congress and the flagrant abuse of the constitution by the executive branch to please contribute today.

Let's Downsize!

Hello friendly readers,

Why is it so hard to find time to get involved in politics these days? It seems like congress is always passing new legislation, and no one has the time to go and read the bills they are considering, let alone write out a comprehensive criticism of the legislation. And it's not like they care what you say anyways, right? Well I think that view is wrong. They do care, but they care a lot more if you and a few thousand others share the same critical opinion.

I may have touched on this subject in the past, but I would like to take this opportunity to advise you, my loyal readers, to point your attention towards the easiest way for stepping into the legislative debate:

Downsize DC

whose credo is:

We believe the federal government has grown too centralized, too intrusive, and too expensive. We believe in constitutional limits, smaller government, civil liberties, federalism, and low taxes. We want to end laws and programs that don't work, cause harm, and violate the Constitution. We want to restore the full force of the 9th and 10th amendments, which reserve most social functions to the people and the states.

Here are a few fun graphics with links to their respective campaigns:

These worthy campaigns, and many more, are being spearheaded by Downsize DC. The best part is that they make it so easy for the public to participate. They have done all the work for you! All you need to do is fill out your contact info (mandatory for all pleas to your representatives anyways) and it will give you a pre-written letter ready to send off to your representatives. Of course they encourage you to add your own voice to the process and they leave a space for personal comments.

I think this system is an extremely effective one for producing significant change in the exceedingly less public oriented congress.

Now you might be asking yourself, "What's so bad about a large government?". Well Downsize DC doesn't attack the size of government for its own sake, they attack bloated, ineffective, wasteful legislation that is genuinely harmful to our public interests. I challenge anyone to visit their site and find one of their campaigns that they completely disagree with. Let me know in the comments if you can find one!