"we're putting the band back together"

This is for jacflash, from Saturday's PvP:

( You're starting a band? )

idea: the Dear Congresscritter Club

I wanted to throw around an idea I came up with last weekend. The remaining Democrats who survived last week are already saying that the Democratic Party needs to move even further to the center in order to survive. We need to make sure that our representatives get the message about what is and isn't acceptable.

We all say that we plan to write a letter to our Congresscritter about this issue and that one, but how often do we get around to doing it? I know I don't, and one of the major reasons that I don't get around to it is that I'm only one person. It's easy for me to tell myself that my letter isn't going to make a difference.

So I propose that once a month, motivated people get together for an evening to write letters. Bring laptops, typewriters, or a pen and paper. Go over the news issues from the last thirty days that you think need to be addressed. Brainstorm ideas with each other about how best to make your point. Trade pithy phrases and bon mots. When you're done, print out everyone's letters and make sure they get addressed, stamped and mailed.

I don't know about the rest of you, but that's the kind of motivation that I need -- peer pressure! Peer pressure is the only way to get me to do anything. Moreover, making it a semi-social event will, I think, help bring people in who may not otherwise get around to writing on their own time. And it's often easier to write a letter when you're bouncing ideas off other people.

Talk to me. Am I way off base or is this something that's worth a shot?

A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.

[warning: left-wing buffoonery ahead. But it had me in stitches, guys, I swear to ya.]

17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists: http://www.alternet.org/election04/20433/