Fun with mail merge
Not one to shy away from letting my elected officials know how I feel about them, I got back on my high horse and went after several area legislators who felt it necessary to join in on the latest piece of junk legislation, “defending” the sanctity of marriage.
Showing less sense than the U.S. Senate, the Pennsylvania House, in an uncharacteristic burst of legislative activity quickly introduced, voted on, and passed a bill that seeks to amend the state’s constitution to define a valid marriage as one only between “one man and one woman.” Not since voting themselves a pay raise in the middle of the night have the wheels of Pennsylvania government run so smoothly.
Feeling feisty, and inspired in part by a recent episode of This American Life, I collected the names of the Pittsburgh-area Democrats who voted for the measure and harvested their addresses (use as you see fit) from the House website. I drafted a letter, did some mail merge magic, and soon had a stack of 20 neatly-printed letters and envelopes, sharp enough to get the attention of any congressman. It’s as close to instant activism as you can get. Thank you, Microsoft Office!
