More How To Be A Part Time Political Activist

In the first post on part time political activism we focused on pretty generic stuff that you could do to become informed and how to get out there. This post is goign to toss out some more resources and dig a bit deeper into you doing your thing. Read On Please.

The first thing we are going to do is go over some internet resources to make sure you are ready to get the scoop.

Resource	What It Does
How to be a part time....	The original post with lots of good information :)
GovTrack	This is where you can read the legislation. It has a better user interface than Thomas.
OpenSecrets	OpenSecrets is the website of the Center for Responsive Politics. CRP is non-aligned& non-profit I believe. It tracks the cash in politics allowing you to see whose vote was bought and what for.
MapLight	MAPLight.org is another money watchdog site. I like it because you can use it to validate information from Opensecrets.
OpenHouse & OpenSenate	Another Sunlight project. Both are wiki style so you can contribute to them. Brand new, and worth your time to look.
Clean Up Washington	A watchdog group that encourages you to get involved and contribute your energies to ending political ethics issues. A bit out of date, but a good read overall. Best to take out an RSS feed on this one so that you don't have to search for updates.
ProCon.org	Our mission is "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan primarily pro-con format. - Taken Directly from the site (Phil)
Local Parties	Your state has chapters of your most likely political parties. For example here is the site for the Texas Republican Party. An interesting thing is to check the National Platform against the state version. Your results may vary. This will be handy if you decide to focus your efforts on the local and state levels.

Whew! If that isn't enough, then you are a stout person. But information isn't the only thing you are looking for. Now you want to take a bit more action than simply giving money and writing opinion pieces. I suggest getting involved in your neighborhood and moving up. Here's why.

• You are already knowledgeable of what is happening in your own back yard. And if you aren't... well you should be.
• Taking action is easier when you are working with friends and neighbors.
• You will learn more in less time.
• You will make an immediate difference that you can see and point to.
  

By working locally you will build a reputation. You may find yourself drawn to an issue or party that ignites a passion. From there you may move to the state level or the federal level.

Alright folks. You've been reloaded and rearmed. Now, go out and change the world. Or at least your block.