How to be an activist and not getting arrested

Hey Folks,

OK, Folks, Christmas is over and back to work. We need to act now to save this nation. Make sure your Congressman goes back to DC with an understanding of how you feel about the health care plan(s), cap-n-trade, etc...

Here is an interesting email. There an article that outlines how to write you Congressman and be heard. And, an article on how to be an activist and not getting arrested.

Don

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: "Congress.org"
Sent: Dec 22, 2009 12:47 AM
To: Don Sipe
Subject: Tell Congress Your Story

December 22, 2009
Tell Congress Your Story Forget philosophical arguments or dry lists of statistics. When writing your Member of Congress about an issue, it's more important to talk about yourself. That's the message from Christopher Kush, a grassroots advocacy consultant in Washington, D.C., and author of "The One-Hour Activist," a step-by-step guide to effective advocacy. In this interview, he tells Congress.org members about the need to share how policy decisions will affect them personally and how to write in a natural voice. Read the interview with Christopher Kush on effective advocacy. How Hard is It to Pass a Treaty? If you think passing a health care bill is taking forever, wait until you see what it takes to approve a climate-change treaty. Congress is still several steps away from the drawn-out process of considering a treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of an international effort to combat global warming. But with world leaders from more than 190 countries gathering in Copenhagen to develop an agreement, it's coming up. President Obama visited Copenhagen last week as part of an effort to negotiate a non-binding agreement to reduce emissions. He is also pushing the Senate to approve a bill that would create a cap-and-trade system of trading pollution credits. Read more about how treaties pass the Senate. Acting Out in the Capitol For an activist on a shoestring budget, holding a sign in the halls of the U.S. Capitol or speaking out at a Congressional hearing can be a cheap way to make yourself heard. But it carries a hidden cost: The chance you'll be arrested. After making it through the metal detectors at the Capitol, activists looking to reach the eyes and ears of lawmakers have vast creative bounds — they can stage a "die in" against the Senate's looming health care bill or rally in the Rotunda in favor of AIDS research funding. But the line between a creative protest and an arrestable offense is a blurry one. "You can never guarantee you won't be arrested, no matter how mild your intervention is," said Gael Murphy, a co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink. Read more about the line between activism and arrests. Follow Congress.org on Twitter Congress.org is now on Twitter! Throughout the day, we're posting links to our latest stories and other valuable news and information about Congress on the popular micro-blogging site. To read us, simply go to twitter.com/congressorg. If you're already a user of Twitter, just click "Follow" to see us in your regular feed. You can also follow our sister site, Roll Call, at twitter.com/rollcall , or the Congressional Quarterly environment team at twitter.com/cqclimate. You can also use Twitter to share your favorite stories, Soapbox alerts or bill information with your friends and colleagues. And don't forget to become a fan of Congress.org on Facebook at facebook.com/congressorg. How They Voted End debate on health care overhaul The Senate agreed to this motion to invoke cloture on an amendment making changes to the $871 billion health care bill. The vote allows debate to proceed and prevents a filibuster. Vote: 60-40 in the Senate. Want to track votes cast by your Members? Become a registered user and sign up for our weekly MegaVote newsletter.	A New Look Visit the redesigned Congress.org! We have more news throughout the week. Our reliable tools for advocacy remain unchanged and we'll be adding more in the weeks ahead. Get on Your Soapbox Want to make your voice heard concerning issues important to you? Get on your soapbox and make it happen! Our Soapbox feature allows you to give exposure to your issue and lets other Congress.org users take action on the alerts you create. Registered users are now allowed four free soapbox alerts per month! Track Your Lawmakers Want to track votes cast by your Members of Congress? Sign up for our regular MegaVote newsletter. Signed, Sealed, Hand-Delivered! Did you know that you can have your message hand-delivered to the door of your Members of Congress? For a small fee, we can give your letter "Extra Impact" to help make your voice heard. Select that option when filling out your message on any topic. Add Us Don't forget to add congressorg@capwiz.com to your address book to ensure prompt delivery of this newsletter each week. Unsubscribe Don't want to get this newsletter anymore? To unsubscribe or change your email address, click here.
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