John Kline Franked Me! - Parts 1 and 2, Reviewed

While we're waiting on hardcopies of the FOIA from the VA, I thought it would be a good idea to review what was covered in "John Kline Franked Me! - Part 1" and in "John Kline Franked Me! - Part 2, Updated"

After all, it's taken well over a month to get the VA to give up John Kline's "Release Of Name and Address" ("RONA") Request, to determine exactly how the ol' TwoPutter happened to get campaign propaganda from John "Semper Never" Kline, mailed to my modest abode, courtesy o' hardworkin' taxpayers everywhere.

Now, we should review what a Congressional Franking Privilege is; basically, it lets Members of Congress send official mail and instead o' puttin' a stamp on it, they "sign" their name where the stamp oughta go. Oh - and taxpayers pay for this "privilege."

"John Kline Franked Me! - Part 1" brought to light the fact that the newly-noted no-earmarker, the "fiscally conservative" John Kline spent taxpayer dough to do a campaign propaganda mass-mailing - one of which ended up in my mailbox. Since ol' Semper Never isn't my Congressional Representative (the honorable - and I mean that - the honorable Jim Ramstad is my Rep), I called Kline's campaign staff, er, 'scuse me, "District Office" to find out why. It also discusses the non-response from Kline's campaign staff, er, 'scuse me, "District Office." So it's worth takin' another look at, so link here to read it.

"John Kline Franked Me! - Part 2, Updated" discussed the letters I e-mailed to the Disabled American Veterans ("DAV") and Veterans Of Foreign Wars ("VFW"), inquiring if perhaps these two fine organizations I belong to somehow happened to send ol' Semper Never my name and address; I thought perhaps Kline sent 'em some dough and they rented the membership roster. Nope, they both replied; neither organization does that - ol' Semper Never got my info someplace else.

And "Part 2, Updated" also contains the campaign propaganda that ol' Semper Never mailed (at taxpayer expense); that's worth reviewing, too. I'd like to tell ya that: "Just click on 'em to enlarge 'em!", but alas - the ol' TwoPutter just ain't that technologically advanced. So squint real hard, or whip out the ol' readin' specs if ya must, but this is a must read 'cause ol' Semper Never is sendin' out campaign propaganda, and NOT information beneficial to veterans as described in the VA's "RONA Guidelines:

Title 38 of the United States Code authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to release the names or addresses, or both, of any present or former members of the Armed Forces, and/or their beneficiaries:

• To nonprofit organizations (including Members of Congress) when the purpose of the release is directly connected with the conduct of programs and the use of benefits covered by title 38.(emphasis added)

Ladies and Gentlemen, below is John "Semper Never" Kline, patting himself on the back as he gears up for another election. And we'll discuss o' Semper Never's dirty campaigning as we go along, but for now, we're specifically discussing Kline's misuse of the Franking Privilege, which the GOP views as a political tool rather than a constituent service. And the following is clear - John Kline is trying to get the message out that he's a pal; he's NOT telling me about any information I might need to know or any program or benefit that might help me, the ol' TwoPutter, an honorably discharged veteran. So read the following, and stay tuned! Hardcopies from the VA, on the Freedom of Information Act request, should be here any day!