"Don't be afraid to follow-up. People look at what is in front of them rather than what is in the pile on the corner of the desk. I emiled 3 VA Congressmen yesterday and got the following replies:

Senator Warner - I was told that an aid was looking into the federal and state distillation laws and would get back to me in 2 weeks or so.

Senator Kaine - An aid I spoke with previously wants to know if we have gotten any traction from other congressmen - he likes the idea and is looking for someone to team up with.

Congressman Whittman - Nothing yet

I call it being politely pushy. Alli."

On Tuesday, September 24th, I made a follow-up call to Congressman Wittman's office reminding them that I had not gotten a response from my letter and emails.

Today I got a call form one of his aids. He is not in DC but knows all the folks in the DC office that can help. I am sending him our proposal and a brief history of our efforts to legalize hobby distilling. He pointed out that the liquor lobby will be our biggest enemy in this fight. He is sure they are watching this forum every day. They will try to tell Congress that our hobby is poisonous, a fire hazard, filling the streets with uninspected booze, and all of the other non-true myths out there. We will get prepared for that fight when it comes.

Follow-up calls work! They will respond when you ask. As ineffective as our Congress seems to be these days, they are very busy doing what they do, so you have to get their attention. Come on boys and girls, let's make our voices heard.

Alli

Called Senator Hagen NC. My email was buried, the lady dug it out of the in mail and said she would follow up with. Called Senator Burr NC. Talked to William Glenn. He said a person has been assigned the proposal and will be in touch. Called Congressman Meadows of the 11th district.Talked to Adam Smith. He didn't find it but ask that email him directly and he would work with it. Zymurgy Bob, I enclosed your cover letter also to show we have people working on it from other parts of the country. Sent the contact list also to show the other Senators and Congressman that have been contacted

Hi Alli, I called Tom Kennedy and left msg.regarding packet I sent. I then called Sen. Ed Markey's office and the woman I spoke to could not find any info on receiving the packet. I told her what it was about and asked if I could re-send it and she said that would be fine. So I sent it again to Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Stephen Lynch. It can't hurt, right?

I am beginning to think we are basically being ignored. Boo Hiss
However between being legal, being ignored and being in trouble, if legal is not possible, I'll take ignored all day.

"Beginning with Rockefeller, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan coming together to buy the presidency and install McKinley, and the follow-up of the banksters creating the Feral Reserve soon after, the U.S. has been a model of modern feudalism ever since. Mr. Rockefeller rather famously quipped that he wanted ""workers not thinkers"", so get with the program and quit thinkin' that there is a system of representative government that actually represents you . What it represents is the corporations that have purchased it. Their lawyers and lobbyists are the ones who craft the bills that our so-called ""representatives"" vote for... and then maybe read later. The whole point of their involvement is to limit access to the marketplace to none other than themselves. Small time independents and interlopers are persistently put upon by government regulation and compliance police to keep them from eroding away the foundations of their pimps' money pumps. It's sad and pathetic, but it's the truth.

The ""Honorable"" prostitutes that we send to Washington, to become millionaires, have no interest in doing anything but keeping their snout nuzzled against the public's teat... in other words, getting re-elected. The key to seeing that happen is to simply deliver the goods legislatively for their puppet-masters, while trying to refrain from getting caught texting pictures of their junk, or soliciting sex in public restrooms. Obviously it's a challenge that many are just not up to meeting. Sadly we watch old time, feel good, movies from the propaganda machine like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, hoping and thinking that maybe, just maybe, a real Mr. Smith will somehow appear, but alas... we continue to witness an unending stream of scorched wort and mulm rather than any cream of the crop.

The system is rigged, and it ain't in our favor. Bread and circus is all that they have any interest in seeing maintained. Keep the workers just alive enough that they can still manage to drag their buried in debt, failing health, selves back into work each week, after a weekend spent howling at the moon of self medication and diversion. Ever wonder why the major league sports franchises have been granted special exemption from the anti-trust laws that prevent monopolies? Welcome to the 21st Century's Rome. ""You deserve a break today"", so ""relax and enjoy"", it's Monday Night... ""is everybody ready for some football?!"" Welcome to the Coliseum, the gladiators will return after this station identification.
Why do ya think that the government ""education"" mills don't teach real history? Why do ya think that they don't teach people to think?

Keep writin' yer letters and emailing your ""representatives"", and when ya get tired of being waltzed around by yer Willy and or outright ignored, check out Open Congress and take a look see at who's money has bought and paid for the ""Honorable"" whores that you're appealing to. Remarkably they vote with astounding clarity where their real benefactors' interests are concerned, and this too is there for the reading... but then again, who has that kind of time these days?

http://www.opencongress.org/money_trail

Sorry to make my first post such a cynical downer, but that's the problem with reality... it is a persistently unavoidable bugger."

Melanie Matthews from Senator Burrs office called saying she could not open the proposal I sent though web site. Email directly to her. Followed up with her and she is looking at it now. Not much going on with Kay Hagen. Jesse with Mark Meadows said Adam Smith is with Homeland Security now and not at their office. Faxed a copy of proposal and Congressmen contacted to Jesse. I know they have hard copies in their hands

Called Melanie from Sen Burrs office. Doesn't look like he would or will sponsor the proposal cause he is not apart of the committees that deal with it(???). Jesse from Mark Meadows was heading in the same direction until I said something about Rep, Lewis and Price of the W & M committee and all of the other forum members that have contacted their Congressmen. He sounded up beat and more positive about our proposal. Will follow up in a week or two.

I have tried calling my reps offices and nbody ever answers the phone. No response to emails I send, nor any response back on the proposals that I faxed and mailed out. I even put a self addressed stamped envelope in every one I sent out.

Biscuit's right - keep the calls going until you talk to someone. Remember that the guys that represent your congressional district work for you since you and others elected them. They may be overwhelmed, but they still have a job to do. When you do get them, be sympathetic to their position . Be nice. Try to get on a personal level at some point. You deserve a definitive response to your request. If the one you talk with can't answer your questions, find out who in their office is the one you need to talk with and ask that they call you back. This is why we called it The Squeaky Wheel - that's you!

Alli