Harvey Goes to Washington

It's not the six foot rabbit but my six foot brother. He's a business owner who employs 30-40 people and has been in business about 15 years. During that time he's had almost no turnover in staff. It's like one big family, and my brother feels so strongly about their livelihood (and his too) that he is at the capitol talking about the health care bill and visiting all of the undecided congressmen that he can.

I talked to him yesterday morning, and he said it was surreal because he felt like he was in "The Distinguished Gentleman." It seems most of the congressmen's offices have the requisite good lookin' hottie sitting at the front desk to screen out the people the representatives don't really have time to nor even want to see. Fair enough. So Harvey figured out pretty quickly that the offices don't have any back doors, well, doors that open somewhere other than the main hallway. All he had to do was wait for these guys to exit so he could speak to them, and so far he's talked to almost 20 of the supposed 40 who are on the fence (at last count anyway). Of course they are all polite and give politician's answers (non-answers). But Harvey's not going to let that stop him.

I realize that everyone is not in a position to do what my brother is doing, but I respect him for making the sacrifice of leaving his business for a week. He really can't afford to do that, but he is just that committed, and in case you're wondering, no, he is not part of any group. He is merely an individual who is exercising his freedom to speak to our representatives. Go Harvey!! As he put it to me, "I had to do this because if things turn out badly, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I did everything I could."

May we all be able to live with ourselves if it turns out badly. But I hope that people are not so overwhelmed at this point that they feel they have no voice. That's a lie. Please don't believe it. SPEAK YOUR MIND to your representative. Do something. Whether they appear to be listening or not, they are listening. You still have the power of the vote, and they know it. So don't be shy. Today, it's not too late to send an e-mail or spend a few bucks on a telegram, and if you're not sure where to send it or how, I can help.

First you have to figure out who is your congressman if you don't know already. After you've accessed your representative's page, you can click on his/her contact page to see where to direct your e-mail or to send a telegram. I'm doing both because if the system is down or they're not reading their e-mails, something will get through. If you're sending a telegram and not sure of which service to use, here are a couple of options below, and please note Western Union no longer does telegrams.

Telegram US -- this is a private company despite the appearance of the screen; the link is to the same day option.

American Telegram -- you can scroll down to the same day option.

EDIT:

I hope this guy is right. We'll see. In the meantime, it's still a good idea to contact your representative. Frankly, none of us do that enough, and that's why the country is in a mess.