Politics has a huge effect on our finances and as good citizens we should get involved. I just got an email from eFax on how-to-fax-your-senator-or-representative
While there are many ways to contact your senator, faxing offers unique benefits. You’ll bypass busy telephone signals and avoid getting routed to an intern, and you’ll never submit a letter through a contact form and wonder if it’s been received. Faxing your representative lets you compose your thoughts in writing, send them directly to their office, and receive confirmation that the fax has successfully gone through.
They suggest using the eFax service and that is OK. I have an account. But many of us, including me, have a laser printer/fax machine so we can do it directly.
The article has the following links to get the FAX phone numbers:
Senate
House: enter zip code at: Find your Representative then go to their website to get the fax number.
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Maybe it will cause it to stand out. Maybe not. It seems unlikely to me that it would go to an actual fax machine. More than likely, it will be received as a .TIFF file attachment to an email. Would that make it more or less likely to get attention? I don’t know.
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Here’s some more on the topic… It explains towards the end that how faxes are handled depends on the office. Some still use old style fax machines and some have newer digital systems :
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Thanks for the link. According to the article:
According to Sarah Dohl, a former communications director for Texas congressman Lloyd Doggett and a contributor to the “Indivisible” guide, faxes are less effective than in-person visits or phone calls in terms of influencing representatives, but perhaps better than form emails.
I have changed my mind re faxes. I am not inclined to wait on hold for phone calls so probably the most effective way for me is a short, to the point paper letter whose message can be easily summarized. A letter with my signature is a lot harder for a spammer to fake than an electronic document like a fax or an email. But if it is read it will most likely be by clerical staff and it will be summarized according to their interpretation.
There is also the resistbot, which is an sms gateway to email members of Congress.
Text “resist” to 50409.
Paper works, but if you’re sending it to Washington, it may be delayed a long time while it’s checked for biological agents offsite.
Sad to say, but telegrams no longer have a big impact. Western Union stopped offering the service, and it seems that today’s telegrams are delivered almost like a Fedex letter. Once it’s opened, it probably goes in the pile with all of the snail mailed letters.
Do you have a reference that this actually happens?
Thanks for the link. From the link:
Currently all mail directed to the White House, Congress, and the Library of Congress is being irradiated.
How does irradiation affect mail?
In the process of irradiation, mail is exposed to extreme heat. Paper is weakened and may appear to have been aged, with discoloration (e.g., yellowing), and brittleness. Pages may break, crumble, or fuse to other pages. Documents bound with glue may have loose pages. The printing on pages may be distorted or offset onto adjacent pages. If tape is affixed to address labels, the address may be illegible.
Wow. So not clear what is the best medium? Electronic media like email and fax are not basically destroyed by their draconian “security” measures. But they will probably be discounted as spam or fake.
To be clear, your mail will eventually get there and be read, but if you’re trying to influence them for something urgent, I’d do it electronically.
Your MoC will probably never see it, but they do have staffers who tabulate the letters for or against and provide a reply.
Duffle bags of $100 bills delivered by your lobbyist.
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A bag of drugs delivered in the toilet of the Old Ebbitt Grill?
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