Visit their local office - get to know their staff. Congresspeople depend way more on their staff than people realize to inform their actions - so meeting with a staff member isn't being put off, it is making a connection with people who have influence on the congressperson. The better a relationship you have with them, the more they will take your concerns seriously - and share then with the congressperson.

If you're not adverse to working with a religious group, FCNL (Quaker) has a strong lobbying group, with an agenda of helping everyone learn how to lobby effectively.

https://www.fcnl.org/act/lobby-congress

They are a reliable source of fact-based information. You don't have to be a Quaker to take advantage of the resources - just recognize that you will be exposed to faith-based rationales for actions you likely already support anyway.

Thanks for the info.

Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle regularly consulted FCNL for factual information. They didn't always agree with the action we recommended - but they trusted our facts. (I say "we" because I've been on the governing body off and on for about half of my adult life.)

Since then bipartisan communications have been considerably harder. But over time, we've had a significant hand in drafting some of the progressive legislation that has been enacted. The focus now, given the shift in Congress, is on building community-based lobbying.

Thanks again. IMO, a lot changed in our country with Ronnie Reagan which unleashed lies and dog whistles to divide our nation. It’s a made-up horror story to get votes and advance corporate interests

I like how they model a very specific "Legislative Ask" - something concrete and within their power and jurisdiction. Keeps contacts from being just a list of complaints and demands to "DO SOMETHING".

What access to the levers of power do they have.

The tragic fact is there’s nothing to be done, nothing they can do.

What we’re witnessing is the failure of the American Experiment; failure the consequence of the Framers’ unwarranted fear of the people; failure the consequence of ‘indirect democracy,’ where presidents aren’t elected by the people, where the courts are corrupted by partisan politics, and where the people have no recourse to oppose and remove an authoritarian regime and the tyranny of Republican minority rule.

In my experience, the more local the issue is, the more they can do. In the case of my town in Oregon, my democratic representatives, and both senators have been very active in fighting against plans to build an ICE gulag here.

Seems like the closer you get His Royal Impudence, the more shielded he is from consequences. I see many elected officials speaking out forcefully against what he's doing, and proposing motions to be put to a vote when congress starts next week. If there is something they should be doing but aren't, it's good to speak up and ask for it.

A candidate has been on Reddit for a few days now soliciting ideas from constituents about what they'd like him to run on, and achieve if elected. The suggestions are wide-ranging and often brilliant. Perhaps we need more candidates and officials to do the same.

All very good advice that I appreciate for ongoing political issues.

I was specifically asking what you were going to do about the unlawful seizure and arrest of Madura.

He is a bad guy, and lots of folks are glad he's gone. The provides a flimsy justification for the action. Regardless of what a creep Maduro is, his kidnapping and extradition appears to be in violation of US and international laws, as well as terrible precedent for other foreign tyrants.

The question is, again, what can be done? We've had people waving signs in town, my elected officials have all condemned the actions, and I thank them for doing so.

What do you think we could do?

Your assessment is correct and summarizes the danger we face now.

What do I think we can do? I feel that we’ve fallen through the ice and keep struggling with the REALITY which
Seems to indicate that we have a fascist criminal syndicate actively destroying the hard ice ( our security and safety ) to kill democracy .

I think dramatic action needs to be taken. But there needs to have been planning in place with competent and trusted people able to lead all of us to root out the traitors.

Thanks for your insight. This is beyond madness, I worry for all the children round the world.

EVERY crackpot thing he's done since January is to take media attention and YOUR attention away from Epstein.

He's so tangled in it, along with world leaders, that it can and will take down the entire "WORLD ODOR".

SEX, BLACKMAIL AND MONEY LAUNDERING
Unheard of in the history of the world.

Blackmail an entire party, business tycoons,
and quite possibly 5 stooges.



My commentary:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220810679

DU'ers think he's part and parcel of the business, not a "casual customer"
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220735608

coming out. IF names WERE coming out, then yes, likely he'd purposefully take distracting actions at the time it's happening. But not only is there NOT names coming out, even if they were, Trump wouldn't be attacking Venezuela, because that's WAY too big of scale. Especially when it's for something that Bondi seems adept at managing (as, presumably in this scenario, Garland must have done for 4 years before her), plus Trump effectively distracts the public really easily, just by yapping.

Besides, rich dudes never pay for their fucking actions, so the premise that all of this must be done to 'distract from their involvement' is just not logical to my thinking. Then again, I don't lean towards thinking that any significant number of others were molesting the minor girls besides JE/GM themselves (because there's actually very little evidence thereof), so that skepticism often underlies my thinking on this topic, but to each their own.

Should begin with a Litany of his abuses, and a reminder that the GOP is totally in the bag for his appalling behavior, and end with a call for his Impeachment.
Let no Democrat fail to do so. Primary those that do not toe the line. That’s how the Shield Wall works.
Take a page from their plan, and REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT until it becomes Legend.

RE: how are you approaching this moment

A: Things are only gonna get worse and hella fast


RE: what do you think we should expect from our leaders right now?


A: From the GOP, a lot more GOP Surrender.

From the Dems, more failure.