Tuesday, August 30, 2011

U.S. Congress - Midwest Representatives on Twitter

People are using Twitter to talk to their representatives in Congress about getting the U.S. out of Afghanistan. You can see examples of this by searching on Twitter for the expression #AfghanistanTuesday-04. (You can learn all about the #AfghanistanTuesday campaign here.)

And now we've made it real easy: noon Eastern every Tuesday is #AfghanistanHour. Any member of Congress or other politician who wants to step up to the plate and engage with the voters about Afghanistan, that's the time to be present and accounted for!

Below are the most current Twitter addresses for members of Congress from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

(Psst! We've started assembling Twitter addresses for congressmen from the rest of the country, too!)

ILLINOIS

1st District - Bobby Rush: @RepBobbyRush
2nd District - Jesse Jackson, Jr.: @JacksonJrOnline
3rd District - Dan Lipinski: NOT ON TWITTER!
4th District - Luis Gutierrez: @LuisGutierrez
5th District - Mike Quigley: @RepMikeQuigley
6th District - Peter Roskam: @PeterRoskam
7th District - Danny Davis: NOT ON TWITTER!
8th District - Joe Walsh: @repjoewalsh
9th District - Jan Schakowsky: @janschakowsky
10th District - Bob Dold: @repdold
11th District - Adam Kinzinger: @electadam
12th District - Jerry Costello: @JerryCostello
13th District - Judy Biggert @JudyBiggert
14th District - Randy Hultgren: @RandyHultgren
15th District - Tim Johnson: @RepTimJohnson
16th District - Don Manzullo: @donmanzullo
17th District - Bobby Schilling: @RepSchilling
18th District - Aaron Schock: @repaaronschock
19th District - John Shimkus: @RepShimkus

INDIANA

1st District - Peter J. Visclosky: @repvisclosky
2nd District - Joe Donnelly: @RepDonnelly
3rd District - Marlin A. Stutzman: @marlinstutzman
4th District - Todd Rokita: @toddrokita
5th District - Dan Burton: @danburton
6th District - Mike Pence: @RepMikePence
7th District - André Carson: @repandrecarson
8th District - Larry Bucshon: @RepLarryBucshon
9th District - Todd C. Young: @RepToddYoung

IOWA

1st District - Bruce L. Braley: @BruceBraley
2nd District - David Loebsack: NOT ON TWITTER!
3rd District - Leonard L. Boswell: NOT ON TWITTER!
4th District - Tom Latham: @tomlatham
5th District - Steve King: @SteveKingIA

MICHIGAN

1st District - Dan Benishek: @congressmandan
2nd District - Bill Huizenga: @rephuizenga
3rd District - Justin Amash: @repjustinamash
4th District - Dave Camp: @repdavecamp
5th District - Dale E. Kildee: @DaleKildee
6th District - Fred Upton: @RepFredUpton
7th District - Tim Walberg: @RepWalberg
8th District - Mike Rogers: NOT ON TWITTER!
9th District - Gary C. Peters: @RepGaryPeters
10th District - Candice S. Miller: @CandiceMiller
11th District - Thaddeus G. McCotter: @ThadMcCotter
12th District - Sander M. Levin: @repsandylevin
13th District - Hansen Clarke: @RepHansenClarke
14th District - John Conyers: @repjohnconyers
15th District - John D. Dingell: @john_dingell

MINNESOTA

1st District - Timothy J. Walz: NOT ON TWITTER!
2nd District - John Kline: @repjohnkline
3rd District - Erik Paulsen: @RepErikPaulsen
4th District - Betty McCollum: NOT ON TWITTER!
5th District - Keith Ellison: @keithellison
6th District - Michele Bachmann: @MicheleBachmann
7th District - Collin C. Peterson: NOT ON TWITTER!
8th District - Chip Cravaack: @chipcravaack

MISSOURI

1st District - Wm. Lacy Clay: NOT ON TWITTER!
2nd District - W. Todd Akin: @ToddAkin
3rd District - Russ Carnahan: @repcarnahan
4th District - Vicky Hartzler: @RepHartzler
5th District - Emanuel Cleaver: @repcleaver
6th District - Sam Graves: NOT ON TWITTER!
7th District - Billy Long: NOT ON TWITTER!
8th District - Jo Ann Emerson: @joannemerson
9th District - Blaine Luetkemeyer: NOT ON TWITTER!

OHIO

1st District - Steve Chabot: @RepSteveChabot
2nd District - Jean Schmidt: NOT ON TWITTER!
3rd District - Michael R. Turner: @RepMikeTurner
4th District - Jim Jordan: @jim_jordan
5th District - Robert E. Latta: @boblatta
6th District - Bill Johnson: @RepBillJohnson
7th District - Steve Austria: @SteveAustria
8th District - John A. Boehner: @johnboehner
9th District - Marcy Kaptur: NOT ON TWITTER!
10th District - Dennis J. Kucinich: @repkucinich
11th District - Marcia L. Fudge: @marciafudge
12th District - Patrick J. Tiberi: NOT ON TWITTER!
13th District - Betty Sutton: NOT ON TWITTER!
14th District - Steven C. LaTourette: @SteveLaTourette
15th District - Steve Stivers: @RepSteveStivers
16th District - James B. Renacci: @repjimrenacci
17th District - Tim Ryan: @timryan
18th District - Bob Gibbs: @RepBobGibbs

WISCONSIN

1st District - Paul Ryan: @reppaulryan
2nd District - Tammy Baldwin: @reptammybaldwin
3rd District - Ron Kind: @repronkind
4th District - Gwen Moore: @RepGwenMoore
5th District - F. James Sensenbrenner: NOT ON TWITTER!
6th District - Thomas E. Petri: NOT ON TWITTER!
7th District - Sean P. Duffy: @RepSeanDuffy
8th District - Reid J. Ribble: @RepRibble

Six Outcomes from #AfghanistanTuesday

#AfghanistanTuesday on Twitter is starting to get traction. It's time to ask, "What -- besides awareness -- might be achieved by having everyone talking about the war in Afghanistan every week?"

We need suggestions from everyone. Here are six of mine.





OUTCOME ONE: #troops #home

One of the most important things we can accomplish on #AfghanistanTuesday is to advance the discourse on bringing our troops home.

The best way to do this is to stop asking "if" ... and start dictating "when."

The sooner we start to talk specifically and realistically about troop withdrawals -- real withdrawals, not token numbers -- the sooner we will be on our way to a solution.

I have made my own suggestion: withdraw a brigade a month. Other people will certainly advance other ideas. This needs to be debated, and decided.

I've started marking the #troops #home topic with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-01.

OUTCOME TWO: cut #military #spending

The vast majority of Americans are furious about the economic pain they are confronting, and the continued waste of trillions of dollars on the military and war.

As with the question of troop withdrawals, it's time to stop asking "if" and get down to debating "how much." Should we cut the military budget $50 billion/year? $100 billion? $200 billion? More? The sooner we start talking specifics, the sooner our government can start following our instructions.

I've started marking the cut #military #spending topic with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-02.

OUTCOME THREE: #October2011 actions in other cities

There are already #October2011 actions to protest the war in Afghanistan planned in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Bloomington, IN, and Trenton, NJ.

More are being scheduled each week. People need to look for actions in their own cities.

People need to initiate actions in their own cities, if they are not already happening.

I've started marking the topic of #October2011 actions with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-03.

OUTCOME FOUR: #Congress and #election2012

A valuable outcome of #AfghanistanTuesday would be to separate the current members of Congress who are hearing their constituents on Afghanistan, and taking action, from those who are on autopilot, or #AWOL.

2012 is an election year and we should get representatives who follow our direction on ending wars and cutting military spending.

The days of hiding from the electorate are over. Just about every member of Congress is now on Twitter. I've listed the Twitter accounts for congressmen/women from the midwest states, and the rest are easy to find simply by Googling. (We've even started assembling some Twitter addresses for congressmen from the rest of the country ....)

Now we've designated noon Eastern every Tuesday as #AfghanistanHour -- the time for members of Congress and other politicians to join the #AfghanistanTuesday conversation.

I've started marking #election2012 tweets with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-04.

OUTCOME FIVE: prosecute #warcrimes

Now for a couple of really tough ones.

Many/most Americans feel squeamish when they hear the term "war crimes." However, as citizens we don't have the luxury of turning a blind eye to the crimes of our leaders: our leaders' crimes become our crimes.

A good place to start is with an authoritative review of U.S. war crimes over the past decade. Michael Haas' website is an excellent resource.

Again, we need to move the discussion beyond "if" to "when and where" U.S. war crimes will be prosecuted.

I've started marking tweets about the prosecution of #warcrimes with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-05.

OUTCOME SIX: #stopFBI repression

Finally, a painful reality: in the United States today, anyone expressing dissent qualifies for surveillance and persecution by the FBI and other federal agencies.

An important outcome of #AfghanistanTuesday is for the American public to become aware of this problem, and assert its absolute Constitutional rights to free speech. No "ifs," "ands," or "buts."

A valuable place to start is by signing the petition of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

I've started marking this topic with the hashtag #AfghanistanTuesday-06.

. . . AND COUNTING . . .

These are my suggestions for important outcomes from #AfghanistanTuesday. What do you think we can hope to accomplish?

PLUS . . . Check out the master list of #AfghanistanTuesday blog posts!


Related posts

It all started with the October 8, 2011, march against the Afghanistan War in Chicago headed "US/NATO Out of Afghanistan NOW!"

(See Chicago Antiwar March - October 8, 2011 )









In the tallgrass prairie native to Chicago, there are certain flowers that are very pretty but if you try to cut them down, they just come back ten times as strong.

(See Never Try to Silence a Tuesdayista )















Want to compose #AfghanistanTuesday tweets that people read, retweet, reply to, think about, emulate ...? Want to really start something with your #AfghanistanTuesday tweets?

(See Compose #AfghanistanTuesday Super-Tweets! )


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Making an Impact on #AfghanistanTuesday


October 6, 2011, marks ten years of U.S. war against Afghanistan. Ordinary Americans are saying, "Enough is enough!"

One of the ways they are showing how they feel is by making time every week to remember what's happening in Afghanistan and push for change. On Twitter, this takes the form of #AfghanistanTuesday.


What do people tweet about on #AfghanistanTuesday? One of the most obvious is to demand action from our elected representatives:

@RepBobbyRush Your #Chicago #Illinois constituents want to know what you are going to do to get us out of #Afghanistan! #AfghanistanTuesday

Virtually every member of Congress has a Twitter account now. What do they use them for?

Another way to tweet on #AfghanistanTuesday is to let people know how you are participating:

I'll be in #FreedomPlaza in #DC until the U.S. gets out of #Afghanistan! @StopTheMach2011 #October2011 #AfghanistanTuesday

(There will be a lot of these kinds tweets, now that actions are planned in DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Trenton . . . and even London!)

Many people use #AfghanistanTuesday to tweet about important news updates:

59% Want #Troops #Home from #Afghanistan http://bit.ly/p8AzYA #tcot #Obama "Good #War" #AfghanistanTuesday

#Afghanistantuesday Energize anti war feelings & put to the streets Oct 8. 4 my take, see Chgo channel 21 Friday @ 6:30pm

The Invisible Dead and "The Last Word":briLawrence O'Donnell #AfghanistanTuesday http://bit.ly/pEhPHo via @AddThis #war #Afghanistan

And of course, there's no limit to what people can tweet about on #AfghanistanTuesday! Some other recent examples include:

#AfghanistanTuesday Refuse to go to work on that day. Call in sick day. All people. Country will stop functioning as long as wars continue.

#Afghanistantuesday War is business. Find out who is making the money and target them or their partners through the media and boycott

"War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus."-Antoine De Saint #AfghanistanTuesday #tyranny #psychopathic

There's already been tremendous participation in #AfghanistanTuesday on Twitter. But we're just getting started! Week by week, we're looking for a growing tsunami of activity to show that Americans mean business about getting out of Afghanistan. What's important is that EVERYBODY start participating!


So now it's up to you. What will you be tweeting about on #AfghanistanTuesday?


Related posts


Want to compose #AfghanistanTuesday tweets that people read, retweet, reply to, think about, emulate ...? Want to really start something with your #AfghanistanTuesday tweets?

(See Compose #AfghanistanTuesday Super-Tweets! )





People assemble every week -- in growing numbers -- to lift their voices together in opposition to continued U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.


It may get loud . . . .

(See #AfghanistanTuesday - ALL LINKS)





Tuesdayistas are people who (a) take time each week to participate in a national (and now global) conversation about ending the war in Afghanistan; AND (b) help spread the word by reaching out to others (who will reach out to others (who will reach out to others .... to do the same!

(See I'm a Tuesdayista!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

A Brigade a Month

It's time to move beyond generalities and to talk logistics. We need to get out of Afghanistan, and do it at the pace of at least a brigade a month.

A brigade is about 5,000 troops, and a brigade a month is the pace at which we pulled combat troops out of Iraq. With about 90,000 troops in Afghanistan, we can get nearly all of them out by the end of 2012 if we start now and withdraw a brigade a month.

In my opinion, we need to shift gears from talking in the abstract -- e.g. "We should be out of Afghanistan!" -- to talking about the specifics of how that's happening. We should talk about it expertly and conscientiously and relentlessly.

Moreover, we should talk about it with specific people - starting with the politicians who hope to be (re)elected in 2012. "A brigade a month" should be our non-negotiable minimum requirement. Politicians that want to derive advantage from their incumbency should start making it happen now. Politicians who can't meet this standard should find other employment, because we are going to work to get others elected who can make it happen.

This is a picture of what it looks like when we are troops are coming home:


Keep this picture in mind.

"A brigade a month."


P.S. - Here are links to my previous posts in June, 2011, and December, 2009, in which I tried to be a trusting Team Obama player, hoping that he was going to get the job done. He has not gotten the job done.

People are using Twitter to talk about withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. You can see examples of this by searching on Twitter for the expression #AfghanistanTuesday-01. (You can learn all about the #AfghanistanTuesday campaign here.)

"A brigade a month."