I agree about the mailing issues. The important thing to do is send your message simply and personally. They ignore these reworded letters from party machines.
Jim From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rick Schaefer Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:03 AM To: The Chevelle Mailing List Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Off Topic - Tea Bags I've got to chime in here. I LOVE the sentiment. I'm so frustrated about this - I bought my first house in 1983 in after returning from overseas in the West Texas oil patch. Within 2 years it lost 25% of its value due to price of oil dropping to $10 and lose of 400 military positions at my base . NO ONE helped me with payments or anything else, Took 13 years for the value to return. When I sold it, i got $500 (before real estate fees) more than I paid. Having said that; PLEASE DON'T just put a Tea Bag in an envelope & mail it. It won't make it out the door of your local Mail Processing Center. The machines we use to process mail will eat it. And in the process eat LOTS of other letters with it. Most people don't realize that when you drop a letter in a mail box - NO human touches it until the carrier drops it in a mail box at the destination. The process is 99%+ automated. The machines process 10+ letters per second. When 1 letter jams a machine (and the irregular shape of Tea Bags surely will) - at least a dozen more letters pile into the jam before the machine can sense the jam and stop. Emptying or partially emptying the Tea Bag would help your letter get through - but then maybe we lose some of the symbolism. My recommendation would be to mail the Tea Bag in one of those small brown packing envelopes that are not put thru the canceling & sorting machines. My Editorial Comment - Everyday I pull jams out of machines that are caused by people mailing: Pens - Cassettes (not so much any more) - Thumb drives - coins - jewelry (cheap & expensive) - Hankerchiefs (the convicts at our local prisons use them for paper ???) - and most anything else you can think of. PLEASE don't mail this stuff. It won't arrive alive - if your lucky it will get to the destination a week late in a body bag. And in the process of jamming the machine it will tear up OTHER folks letters. Including birthday cards, credit card payments, personnal letters etc etc. If you've ever recieved a letter in a bag OR a payment never reached its destination- this is most likely what happened to it. Having said all that, I agree we must do something to make the politicians in Washington take notice. On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 8:49 AM, Daniel Solomon <[email protected]> wrote: Sorry if this off topic post bothers anyone. I normally only post stuff about Chevelles, just a little frustrated at the way Congress has been spending my hard earned money. Thought this sounded like a good idea. Dan "It is a mistake to allow any mechanical object to realize you are in a hurry." http://www.freewebs.com/chevelles1970/ IF THIS IS NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA, DELETE IT, IF IT IS COMPLY! There's a storm abrewin'. What happens when good, responsible people keep quiet? Washington has forgotten they work for us. We don't work for them. Throwing good money after bad is NOT the answer. I am sick of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan. I am sick of Congress raking CEO's over the coals while they, themselves, have defaulted on their taxes. I am sick of the bailed out companies having lavish vacations and retreats on my dollar. I am sick of being told it is MY responsibility to rescue people that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford. I am sick of being made to feel it is my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes. I, like all of you, am a responsible citizen. I pay my taxes. I live on a budget and I don't ask someone else to carry the burden for poor decisions I may make. I have emailed my congressmen and senators asking them to NOT vote for the stimulus package as it was written without reading it first. No one listened. They voted for it, pork and all. O.K. folks, here it is. You may think you are just one voice and what you think won't make a difference. Well, yes it will and YES, WE CAN!! If you are disgusted and angry with the way Washington is handling our taxes. If you are fearful of the fallout from the wreckless spending of BILLIONS to bailout and "stimulate" without accountability and responsibility then we need to become ONE, LOUD VOICE THAT CAN BE HEARD FROM EVERY CITY, TOWN, SUBURB AND HOME IN AMERICA. There is a growing protest to demand that Congress, the President and his cabinet LISTEN to us, the American Citizens. What is being done in Washington is NOT the way to handle the economic free fall. So, here's the plan. On April 1, 2009, all Ameicans are asked to send a TEABAG to Washinton , D.C. You do not have to enclose a note or any other information unless you so desire. Just a TEABAG. Many cities are organizing protests. If you simply search, "New American Tea Party", several sites will come up. If you aren't the 'protester' type, simply make your one voice heard with a TEABAG. Your one voice will become a roar when joined with millions of others that feel the same way. Yes, something needs to be done but the lack of confidence as shown by the steady decline in the stock market speaks volumes. This was not my idea. I visited the sites of the 'New American Tea Pary' and an online survey showed over 90% of thousands said they would send the teabag on April 1. Why, April 1?? We want them to reach Washington by April 15. Will you do it? I will. Send it to; 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington , D.C. 20500 ... Forward this to everyone in your address book. Visit the website below for more information about the 'New American Tea Party'. I would encourage everyone to go ahead and get the envelope ready to mail, then just drop it in the mail April 1. Can't guarantee what the postage will be by then, it is going up as we speak, but have your envelope ready. What will this cost you? A little time and a 42 or 44 cent stamp. What could you receive in benefits? Maybe, just maybe, our elected officials will start to listen to the people. Take out the Pork. Tell us how the money is being spent. We want TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. Remember, the money will be spent over the next 4-5 years. It is not too late. -- Rick Schaefer 72 TPI El Camino
