Saluting The Silent Patriots

We at National Write Your Congressman were proud to be a part of showing our gratitude to all the silent patriots in Washington.  Below is the thank you we participated in on Sept. 12, 2011 in the Roll Call.

"A Tribute To Congressonal Staff"

They toil under the dome.  Young, idealistic and dedicated to their bosses, their district, their state, their country.  They answer the mail, creat the schedules, tally the votes, write the press releases and manage the offices.  They are "staffers".

A decade ago their dedication to public service put them in harm's way.  Despite the continued threat, the grueling hours, the countless callers, the minimal pay...they serve our Congress and America.

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Congressional Management Foundation and our supporters recognize and honor the sacrifice and contribution of all silent patriots who serve under the dome.

We thank the staff of the United States Congress.

National Write Your Congressman

"I cannot stress to you how much I value and appreciate the input and insights of individuals in the community I represent.  Whether it is by postal mail, e-mails, faxes, or phone calls, their concerns and opinions are very important to me as a United States Congressman.

I would like to thank you and National Write Your Congressman for the years of outstanding work in informing people about national issues and in helping them connect with their elected officials." -Congressman Chris Van Hollen, 8th District, Maryland

Constituent Opinion

"As an elected official, I can't do my job properly unless I know my constituents' opinions and concerns.  That's why it's so important that citizens take the time to write their representatives to let them know how they feel.  An informed and intelligent dialogue between government and the citizenry is critical to the well-being of our democracy.  I may not always agree with everything that people write to me, but know that I take every letter and e-mail seriously, and always take the time to respond.

I applaud your ongoing efforts to strengthen participatory democracy through the encouraging of constituent correspondence.  Keep up the good work!" -Congressman Jose' Serrano, New York, NY

Edmund Randolph - Founding Father

On May 29, 1787, Edmund Randolph introduced the Virginia Plan he and Madison had written to the Constitutional Convention.  It was the first time the idea of a new form of government was formally presented to the delegates by outlining the fifteen resolves that called for a national executive, judiciary, and legislature.

Randolph was not pleased with some of the additions and revisions to the Virginia Plan the delegates introduced and refused to sign the final document.  He later shocked anti-Federalists when he changed his mind making Virginia the 9th and final state needed to ratify the Constitution.  Patrick Henry accused him of only doing this because of a promised postion with the new government.  Randolph denied the accusation, but was named the United States first Attorney General right after Washington was elected.

50 Year Anniversary of the Peace Corps

On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued an Executive Order #10924, establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency within the Department of State.  Thousands of young Americans answered the call to duty by volunteering.  The agency, which was headed by President Kennedy's brother-in-law, R. Sargent Shriver, chose 750 volunteers to serve in 13 nations.  The goal was to promote peace and friendship through 1) helping peoples of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women in development efforts; 2) to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and 3) to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Today more than 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in over 70 countries.  Since 1961, more than 180,000 American have joined the Peace Corps and served in 134 nations.

Feb. 23, 1945 U.S. Flag Hoisted on Iwo Jima

In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against the Japanese home islands.  Iwo Jima, 700 miles from Japan, was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency landing site for bombers.  On Feb. 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima's shores.

The Japanese garrison numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched men.  The island was covered in intricate and deadly systems of underground tunnels, fortifications, and artillery.  During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from the Japanese infantry.  While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet around Iwo Jima, the Marines continued their bloody advance across the island with remarkable endurance.  On February 23, the crest of the 550 foot Mount Suribachi was taken.  Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press took the now famous photo of 5 Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the American flag.

Two other photos were taken that day.  The 3rd photo had 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the cameras.  Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize winning photo were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

President's Day

Presidents Day is ostensibly a time to celebrate the great men who helped shape the nation.

We once celebrated the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln separately, a honor befitting their  legacies. It’s universally accepted that their accomplishments merit unequal treatment in that regard. It was Richard Nixon who decided to replace Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays for the more generic "Presidents Day", which takes place on the third Monday in February.

George Washington, the father of our country, is best remembered for holding the militia together during the early years of the Revolutionary War. His time as president is sometimes considered an afterthought to his military escapades. But perhaps his most decisive triumph came in the summer of 1794, when as president he personally led the militia that put down the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington knew that failure to end the insurrection would render the Constitution — and the notion of Federal supremacy — impotent.  It was too important to delegate to others, so he donned his old uniform, saddled up, and marched through Western Pennsylvania, where he quickly scattered 7,000 disgruntled distillers.  How the course of history would have been different had he failed to squelch the uprising.

Abraham Lincoln called his decision to emancipate the slaves the defining act of his presidency and the 19th century.  He was wrong in one regard: it’s arguably the defining action in American history.  What’s often overlooked is how much Lincoln personally struggled with it.  While he found slavery morally contemptible, he didn’t believe the president had the constitutional power to abolish it. Moreover, he was concerned that emancipation would push the border-states into the Confederacy, a potentially lethal blow to the Union. But with the war going poorly, he came to realize that universal freedom and preserving the Union were inextricable; one not achievable without the other. Emancipation was a huge gamble, one that ultimately paid off.

One could argue that Ronald Reagan’s decision to call the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire” marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.  In an instant, he had forever branded the longtime adversary as being on the wrong side of history, a fate that would reveal itself in the ensuing years. Many in the White House, including some of his closest aide, did not want Reagan to use the phrase.  They thought the term "impolitic and un-presidential", but Reagan felt otherwise. He was determined to end the notion of moral equivalency between the two systems, a concept that was gaining steam with the media elite.  With a few simple words he shattered that myth.

On This Day In History - 1st and Last President of the Confederate States of America

On this day in 1861, Jefferson Davis, a veteran of the Black Hawk and Mexican-American Wars, began his term as provisional president of the Confederate States of America. As it turned out, Davis was both the first and last president of the ill-fated Confederacy, as both his term and the Confederacy ended with the Union's 1865 victory of the Civil War.

This Day In History - VOA Broadcasts to Soviet Union

With the words, "Hello! This is New York calling," the U.S. Voice of America (VOA) begins its first radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union. The VOA effort was an important part of America's propaganda campaign against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The VOA began in 1942 as a radio program designed to explain America's policies during World War II and to bolster the morale of its allies throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. After the war, VOA continued as part of America's Cold War propaganda arsenal and was primarily directed toward the western European audience. In February 1947, VOA began its first Russian-language broadcasts into the Soviet Union. The initial broadcast explained that VOA was going to "give listeners in the USSR a picture of life in America." News stories, human-interest features, and music comprised the bulk of the programming. The purpose was to give the Russian audience the "pure and unadulterated truth" about life outside the USSR. Voice of America hoped that this would "broaden the bases of understanding and friendship between the Russian and American people."

George Clymer - Founding Father

George Clymer was a man of wealth who literally risked his fortune on the revolution by exchanging his hard coin monies for the shaky Continental currency.  During the capture of Philadelphia his home was plundered and destroyed by the British

Clymer signed both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  A man of unusual intellectual curiosity, he also served as an officer of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Agricultural Society.  He was one of the first to advocate complete independence from Britain, and was called upon by the Continental Congress to serve as the first treasurer for the United Colonies.  He was given the almost impossible assignment of raising money to support the government's operations, chief of which was the new Continental Army.

In 1791, after a term in the First Congress, Clymer served as Federal Collector of the controversial tax on liquor which led to the Whiskey Rebellion.  He concluded his career by negotiating an equitable peace treaty between the United States and the Creek Tribe in Georgia.

A Bit of Trivia

On this day in 1903, toy store owner and inventor Morris Michtom placed two stuffed bears in his shop window, advertising them as Teddy bears. Michtom had earlier petitioned President Theodore Roosevelt for permission to use his nickname, Teddy. The president agreed and, before long, other toy manufacturers began turning out copies of Michtom's stuffed bears, which soon became a national childhood institution.

Reports differ as to the exact details of the inspiration behind the teddy bear, but it is thought that while hunting in Mississippi in 1902, Roosevelt came upon an old injured black bear that his guides had tied to a tree. While some reports claim Roosevelt shot the bear out of pity for his suffering, others insist he set the bear free. Political cartoonists later portrayed the bear as a cub, implying that under the tough, outdoorsy and macho image of Roosevelt lay a much softer, more sensitive interior.

Write Your Congressman

"What makes ours a strong and independent nation is the importance that we place on self government.  As a Representative of the people of Montana, I place the highest importance on hearing from them and learning what they think about issues important to our state.  Every piece of mail that arrives in our office comes across my desk first.  I then distribute the mail to my staff.  This way, I get the first look at the ideas and concerns of the people of our state.  There are no filters to their messages, and I depend on this connection with the people of Montana." -Congressman Denny Rehberg, Montana

Democracy Only Works When Americans Participate

"As I have always said, Arkansas Comes First, is more than just a slogan.  It is my commitment that as a U.S. Senator I will work hard every day to represent the interests and concerns of the prople of Arkansas.

Since a majority of my time is spent in Washington representing Arkansas, I welcome the thoughtful phone calls, emails and letters from constituents back home.  Whether a suggestion or a criticism, this correspondence helps me make the best possible decisions when casting votes or supporting legislation.  I also place responding to the incoming mail and phone calls among my highest priorities.

Democracy only works when Americans participate in their government, and when their voices a heard.  I encourage the National Write Your Congressman organization to continue its efforts in helping bring public officials and their consittuents together."  Mark Pryor, Senator, Arkansas

Challenger Space Shuttle

At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Chanllenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe was on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space.  Christa was a 37 year old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire who won a competition that earned her a place among the seven member crew of the Challenger.  She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January 23, was forced to wait six long days as the Challenger's launch countdown was repeatedly delayed because of weather and technical problems.  Finally , on January 28, the shuttle lifted off with Christa McAuliffe and Astronauts Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair, Ellison Onizuka,  Greg Jarvis, and Judith Resnik.

Seventy three seconds later, hundreds on the ground, including Christa's family, stared in disbelief as the shuttle exploded in a forking plume of smoke and fire. Millions more watched in horror as the tragedy unfolded on live television.  There were no survivors. 

President Kennedy's Inaugural Address - A wonderful read

Jan. 20, 1961

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.	1
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.	2
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.	3
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge—and more. Please follow the link to read or listen to the entire speech:   http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural2.htm

Jan. 20, 1981 Ronald Reagan the 40th President of The United States

30 Years ago today Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of The United States, gave his inauguration speech.  President Reagan was a man who did not believe that government had the answers.  He was a believer in the constitution and "of the people, by the people, and for the people."  He addressed this in his speech.

"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price." 
 
For complete speech:  http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres61.html

The Purpose

"The American Revolution was a political, not a social revolution; it was about emancipating individuals for the pursuit of happiness, not about the state allocating wealth and opportunity. Hence our exceptional Constitution, which says not what government must do for Americans but what it cannot do to them." -George Will

Power From The Consent Of The Governed

"More than 200 years ago, our country's founders brilliantly established a representative system whereby the government receives its power from the consent of the governed.

Constituent communication is a crucial tool that allows myself and other elected officials to better represent those who elected us to office.  Without it, the voice of the people is in danger of going unheard.

Thank you for the good work you do at National Write Your Congressman to encourage Americans to take an active role in our cherished representative democracy." -Congressman Mike Pence, 6th District, Indiana

The Right To Petition Our Government

"There is nothing more important to an elected official than direct communication with the people he or she represents.  This is the basic concept behind a successful representative democracy and enshrined in the First Amendment - the right to petition our government.  National Write Your Congressman is to be commended for their part in keeping this important democratic tradition alive."

The issues presented by National Write Your Congressman are clearly stated, concise, and balanced, allowing the individual to make an informed decision and make their position known to their representative." -Congressman John L. Mica, 7th District, Florida

NWYC's Contribution To Democracy

"We in Congress are elected by our constituents to represent their views in the legislative process.  My role here in Washington D.C. is to represent the people of the 18th district of Texas.  I take my responsibility to my constituents very seriously.  For me to accomplish this goal I must know their opinions, thoughts and concerns on all the legislative issues.

The National Write Your Congressman (NWYC) program facilitates communication between my office and my constituents:  a communication that is fundamental to the well being of our government, our society, and our country.  I would like to thank the NWYC for its outstanding contribution to our democracy, and I applaud your efforts.  Thank you." -Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, 18th District, Texas