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I'm not sure what he means by "conversation", but I signed up.

I could almost bet what direction he's going.


mattimm400

I will be out of town so I just wrote him an email that I'm STILL against gun control in any form, and that parents need to start doing their jobs instead of abdicating to the tv.

He will surprise me if he doesn't vote for whatever Herr Fuhrer comes up with, but for now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I actually talked to him face to face a couple of weeks ago. He's told me he has already co-signed on a mag limit bill in the house, but "he wants to hear what Iowans like me have to say." What a joke. Regardless I plan on taking part.

I tried to sign up this afternoon but only have a cell phone.  I put it in anyway but was filtered out.  I called the contact information on the page and the system wouldn't let me in to any of the voicemail options there.  

Between this and Senator Harkin, it seems a lot of politicians have issues with phones working.

Just discovered the same exact issue. What a crock.

These "tele-townhall" meetings are a cop out anyway. Loebsack doesn't have to risk going in front of an angry crowd. Has less of a risk of having a stupid remark of his recorded and played back over and over. If things get too out of hand there's always the mute button, or the "oops technical difficulties" hangup. But now he can go forward spouting that he's held a townhall meeting with his constituents, without actually talking to us face to face. he'll blame the difficult logistics of planning one of these while defending this poor excuse of accountability.

Just one more thing to write him about...

Thanks for trying though Yammer. Hopefully one of our kind gets in and makes plenty of good points...

I signed up, received the call (I think), but no one was there, then it hung up. No call back, no number to call, I just was out of luck. Interesting since I have sent him emails indicating I'm against any anti gun laws.

I wonder if it would work to set up a google voice phone number that is forwarded to a cell phone, for those of us who don't have landlines.

Anyone know?

I participated in the hour long tele-townhall meeting last night.   Once connected, one could listen to the comments.  To make a comment, or ask a question, one had to dial "0" and give your name and topic to the operator.  This placed one in line to have aturn to speak. Loebsack  would acknowledge the caller and they would have their opportunity to speak.   This was the first time I have ever been involved in this type of thing.  I wanted to make a statement, but was too far back in the que and the hour was over before I had my chance.

Overall impressions:

Too few callers understood what the 2nd Amendment is about.  Predominantly, it was in reference to hunting.

If a Fud can be reassured that his shotgun is exempt....he has little interest in any other firearm restrictions.

The fact that Iowa hasn't had a mass shooting in a long time, or the fact that Iowa hasn't had a homicide committed with a rifle since 2010, hasn't lessened the fear that something like that is "just around the corner" if we don't act now.

From Loebsack's comments, I assume he is on board with a mag capacity limit.  Mag capacity came up several times in the hour long conference and various limits were proposed ranging from 5-20 rounds.  No logical reasons were offered for a caller's preference and for most it seemed like they chose  a random number.

Mental health access and reporting Dr.'s concerns to NICS and other law enforcement entities was not mentioned by many callers, beyond the fact that everyone thought something should be done.  The fact that HIPPA shields law enforcement from knowing when a person may be at risk wasn't mentioned.  Loebsack mentioned that there is a lack of resources to fully fund meaningful health care oversight.

It seems far easier to enact some kind of gun control legislation for law abiding citizens than wrestle with thornier issues of patient privacy and the civil rights of the mentally ill.  

The mental faculties of our fellow citizens are depressingly shallow.  People offered the most banal, ill-informed opinions on gun control.  Some thought it was a conspiracy fostered by gun/ammunition manufactures to promote hoarding and increase sales.  Others wanted to tax ammunition/firearm sales to make a pool of money to pay for gun violence victims' health care.

The experience was about what I expected it would be.  I am still thinking about other conversations, but overall I found it very discouraging.

Just what I expected. Did anyone with common sense get to speak, or were all the callers cherry picked?

You're assumption is correct. He's co-signed on Carolyn McCarthy's mag limit bill. H.R. 308 Given his voting record of following the party line roughly 9 times out of 10, I'd be willing to be he rubber stamps any anti-2A proposal that comes across his desk.

I'm thinking about writing an Op/Ed tonight about these BS tele-townhall meetings. They provide little to no accountability, and then non-landline users are not permitted. What a farce.

I asked one of the "operators" about cell phone use and they replied that they use land lines to verify that the address comes from within the district.

I called the 866-914-IOWA number which reroutes to the Davenport office.  The kind lady there said there was no way to participate without a landline.  When I brought up the fact that the extensions for voicemail didn't work for myself and others when called after hours, she indicated that they were indeed getting voicemail.  

Apparently the system must work.

Taxes charged to my cell phone with a billing address in this district means I should be heard too! This tele-town crap has been a cop out since Giffords got shot. It does not give adequate time or availibility to speak to Nosack, and I am betting that I am not the only one in this district that feels this same way. I am tired of reading about him being in IA for a PR stunt, but has no time to speak or be seen by the voters.