If your Senator is on the list below, please call and tell him or her to VOTE NO ON CLOTURE FOR THE HEALTHCARE BILL.

If your Senator isn’t on the list, please send another letter to both your Senators.

There may not be any chances left to protest, so please take time for this extra action if at all possible. Your letter can be very simple. Here’s what I just wrote:

I want the healthcare bill defeated. Oppose cloture. Remember, everything you do relies on force. I do not want to be forced to pay for or submit to the healthcare bill.

END OF LETTER

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

On top of that, here’s a list of the highest priority Senators that must get as many calls as possible. The American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (aapsonline.org) reports that these Senators are still undecided on how to vote. Let’s try to influence their decision:   

Senator Bill Nelson (NE) 202-224-6551
Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) 202-224-4843
Senator Mary Landrieu (LA) 202-224-5824
Senator Mark Warner (VA) 202-224-2023

It would also be very helpful to call your Senator even if he or she isn’t on this list. Every bit helps. Let’s flood them with calls. You can get their phone numbers when you log-in to DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System to send your letter to Congress.

Thank you for being part of the ready and active Downsize DC Army,

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. Congressional offices are usually open as long as Congress is in session. So, if you see the Senate on C-SPAN2 on Saturday, there’s still time to call. However, don’t delay. The sooner you call, the better.

P.P.S. A couple of years back, citizens jammed the Senate switchboard and caused Republicans to switch their votes on a very unpopular immigration bill that seemed certain to pass. Now, we can press some Democrats in exactly the same way. You are not alone and your calls matter.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

We provide their responses here.

The politicians’ ignorant, arrogant, and contemptuous answers underscore the need for the Enumerated Powers Act (EPA). EPA would force Congress to demonstrate its Constitutional authority for each bill it passes. Over the past four weeks the Enumerated Powers Act has . . .

• Gained two more co-sponsors in House, bringing the total in that chamber to 54. Check here to see if your Rep. is one of them.
• Remained at 22 co-sponsors in the Senate. Check the status of your Senators here.

Let’s increase the number of co-sponsors! Please write a letter demanding that every member of Congress sponsor the Enumerated Powers Act.

This is what I wrote in my letter . . .   

Can Congress justify its actions “chapter and verse” — that is, by naming the authorizing article, section, and clause of the Constitution?

You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Sponsoring the Enumerated Powers Act (EPA) will signify to me that you take this oath seriously.

This is not merely a symbolic matter. I have to pay attention to the laws you guys pass, and comply with them. Therefore, I will take your failure to become an active co-sponsor as an endorsement of lawlessness, because that is the choice before you . . .

Will you endorse the Constitution or lawlessness?

The EPA says Congress must pay attention to the Constitution, that “. . . each Act (must) contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act.”

Several members of Congress have been asked to cite where the Constitution permits them to force Americans to buy health insurance. THUS FAR, ALL SUPPORTERS OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATE FAILED THIS ONE QUESTION TEST. Some were even insulted that we would question their power.

In fairness, they were caught off-guard, but now you can give me a researched, thoughtful response. Please tell me, “Where does the Constitution permit you to force Americans to buy health insurance?”

If you can cite specific Constitutional provisions that permit this, I want to hear them, and I insist that they be mentioned in the health care bill.

If you can’t specify any such authority, you are bound by your oath of office to oppose mandatory health insurance.

If you write me saying that you oppose the individual mandate, please know that I’m grateful. But you’re not off the hook, because . . .

You should still co-sponsor the Enumerated Powers Act, and, as a sponsor, work passionately to bring it to a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.

The EPA will actually make your job easier. It will tell you right away if a bill’s provisions are Constitutionally legal.

You expect me to obey the law — to avoid lawlessness. I expect the same from you.

Do not underestimate the importance of this issue. More and more Americans are starting to care about what the Constitution actually says. They understand that Congress’s legitimate powers are limited to those listed in the Constitution, and are further restrained by the Bill of Rights (including the Ninth and Tenth Amendments).

The longer Congress ignores the Constitution, the more we will conclude that the problem isn’t simply that Congress is ignorant of what the Constitution requires, but rather that most members are contemptuous of the Constitution, and are deliberately breaking both the law and their oaths of office.

The longer you refuse to sponsor the Enumerated Powers Act, the more I will assume this about you personally. I will take this into account as I discuss your re-election with other voters.

END LETTER

You can send your letter here.

Please take additional steps to spread the word, recruit more DC Downsizers, and increase the heat on Congress:

• Ask other people to send a letter to Congress — forward them this message (be sure to clip off the Dispatch footer when you do)
• Digg this message on our Blog: http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/healthcare-reform-amp-enumerated-powers-will-your-congressional-reps-endorse-the-constitution-or-lawlessness
• Start a monthly pledge so we can reach more people
• Make a one-time donation to further our work

Your support is our progress.

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Sources:

Does the Constitution’s Commerce Clause permit the health insurance mandate? DownsizeDC.org has shown that, even with permissive jurisprudence by the Supreme Court, Congress still lacks the authority to impose the health insurance mandate on Commerce Clause grounds.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

Please send Congress a letter using an anti-bribery argument to oppose the cancerous healthcare bill.

You can copy or borrow from my letter to Congress to write your own . . .

Please oppose the so-called healthcare reform bill. I especially object to the fact that my tax dollars are being used to bribe members of Congress to secure their votes, or to reward powerful Senators. For instance . . .

The Baucus bill has the federal government paying the entire cost for the mandated Medicaid expansion in the following states: Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Michigan. This is an attempt to bribe or reward the Senators and Representatives from those states using my tax money.

Other states aren’t getting this sweet deal. Citizens in the other 46 states will have to pay higher taxes to fund this scheme.

I’m sure the so-called heathcare bill is stuffed with other sweetheart deals, designed to win key votes. You guys call this logrolling. I call it bribery. The only reason Congressional leaders get away with it is because they’re using my tax money to do the bribing, but that makes it worse, not better.

Frankly, I think any Congressional leader who offers a tax-funded benefit for a state or district in order to secure a vote, and any member of Congress who negotiates to gain such a benefit, should be brought up on charges and go to jail for violating the anti-bribery law.

The laws are supposed to treat all of us equally. Any law that treats citizens of some states differently is inherently unjust, and any law passed using tax-funded bribery is inherently unethical. I believe the so called healthcare bill is both things, unjust and unethical. VOTE AGAINST IT!

I’m paying close attention to what you do, and will take it into account as I discuss your re-election with other voters.

END OF SAMPLE LETTER

Send your letter to Congress using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

Please take additional steps to spread the word, recruit more DC Downsizers, and increase the heat on Congress:

• Do you have friends who might like the argument made in this Dispatch? If so, send it to them and maybe they’ll join you in pressuring Congress (be sure to clip off the Dispatch footer if you forward this message)
• Digg this message on our Blog so more people will see it: http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/bribery-congressional-leaders-are-using-your-tax-money-to-bribe-other-members-of-congress
• Start a monthly pledge so we can reach more people
• Make a one-time donation to further our work

Your support is our progress.

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Sources:

The Wall Street Journal writes about the sweetheart deal some Congresspersons have secured here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703746604574461434007876034.html

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

Some good things have resulted from our past efforts . . .

I spoke at the Williamsport, PA Tea Party on August 29th. There were over 4,000 people there! The organizing committee had a scroll full of demands for Congress to move in a downsizing direction. Hundreds of people signed the scroll. Included among the demands were our Read the Bills, One Subject at Time, and Write the Laws proposals. Since then . . .

The Williamsport Tea Party Committee has been active, including delivering four busloads of people to the 9/12 rally in Washington, DC. They’ve met several times to plan their long-term strategy. The result . . .

They’ve decided to focus on our “transpartisan,” Downsize DC Agenda proposals, the Read the Bills Act (RTBA) and the One Subject at a Time Act (OSTA).

Tom Anderson, a member of our team and one of the leaders in the Williamsport committee, sent me the following message to describe their thinking . . .

” . . . we believe that this issue (RTBA and OSTA) is the most easily addressable, bipartisan, and most helps us achieve the other demands. In contemplating how to proceed to push this demand, we reviewed DownsizeDC’s efforts . . . and decided that the most effective means toward accomplishing it is to 1) make our community aware of the problem and our efforts, and 2) get them all to push their Congress critters to sponsor the DownsizeDC legislation.”

The Williamsport Tea Party committee gets it! RTBA and OSTA are levers we can use to restrain government excess in all areas. Passing these bills will make it easier to achieve other demands.

To support their efforts the committee has invited me to speak to them on Wednesday, November 18, and answer questions about RTBA and OSTA. More than 200 people are expected to attend this meeting.

If you’re in the area on Wednesday, you’re invited to attend the meeting. I’d love to meet you.
The meeting starts at 7:30 PM at the Cinema Center in downtown Williamsport, PA.

Now, for today’s action item . . .

It’s been awhile since we’ve asked Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act. We don’t want them to think we’ve forgotten about it, because that would make them think they’ve gotten away with it. Please send Congress a letter reminding them that you want REAL ID repealed:

You can use my letter to Congress as a model for you own . . .

I want my Representative and my Senators to be the first to introduce legislation that repeals the REAL ID Act. Do NOT introduce legislation that replaces REAL ID with some similar scheme. I’ve asked you to do this repeatedly, and will keep asking until you do it.

My request represents the majority opinion on this matter, so it’s good politics to honor my request. The simple act of introducing such legislation would win you a lot of brownie points nationally, as well.

I’m well aware that the beltway echo-chamber constantly tells you that REAL ID is needed to protect us from terrorism. I think this is naive. No suicide attack will be stopped by an identity card. Terrorists will devise tactics to work around REAL ID, so the only people really impacted by this scheme are innocent American citizens.

I am a firm believer that power corrupts. And the more power gets centralized at the federal level, the more likely corruption becomes. I want identification cards to be decentralized, at the state level. I do not want my life entangled in the federal databases and tracking schemes that will inevitably result from REAL ID.

Please remember — everything you do is based on force. I do not want to be coerced into carrying a national ID card. Don’t be like the Mafia. Don’t fine me, or imprison me, or make me lose my job just because I’m not willing to accept your supposed protection.

END OF LETTER

Send your letter to Congress using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

If you like what we’re doing, please help us to do more . . .

* Start a monthly pledge so we can reach more people
* Make a one-time donation to further the work of your Downsize DC Army

Your support is our progress.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

* Thank the 215 Representatives who voted against the cancerous health care bill
* Spank the 220 House members who voted for it
* Copy our Senators on these messages so they will be reminded of where we stand

Do this . . .

* Check here to see how your Rep. voted: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
* Use our Educate the Powerful System to send your “thank or spank” letter to Congress
* If you don’t recall who your Rep is, you can log in to our system and see their name listed below the letter space on the right side of the page

You can use what I wrote to my Representative as a model for a “spank” letter . . .

Ms. Giffords, I am very angry that you voted for HR 3962. I am copying my Senators on this message because I want them to take note of it, and oppose similar legislation in the Senate.

You failed in your responsibility to read this legislation before voting yes. You cannot possibly really know or understand what you passed, but I will be responsible for all 2,000 pages of it. I am extremely angry that, because of your irresponsibility, I may soon be forced to pay for and submit to a monstrous scheme I do not want!

Please be clear about this — legislation like this is based on force. I am threatened with violence by policemen, bureaucrats, and tax collectors if I refuse to pay for or comply with your grand designs for re-engineering my life.

This complex piece of legislation will entangle my health care in ever-expanding nets of government control, pave the way for a complete government take-over of my health care, bankrupt many businesses, foster unemployment, and increase my taxes, either directly or indirectly, despite promises that this would not happen.

I am further angered that you could have taken simple steps to improve health care that would not have involved 2,000 pages of unread legislation loaded with special interest deals and corporate welfare.

You could have allowed Americans to buy health insurance regulated by the state of their choice, and you could have expanded the contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts to balance the tax treatment of self-purchased health insurance with that provided through employers.

These two simple steps would have solved many of the problems with our current health care system — problems that were mostly caused by government policies in the first place. Instead of taking this simple, peaceful approach, you have decided to vote for complexity and coercion.

I want to remind you that the 10th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits Congress from passing this kind of legislation, but you did it anyway. You have just violated your oath of office.

If you really worked for me, instead of for special interests and the Congressional leadership, I would fire you immediately for gross incompetence. As it is I must wish you the worst of luck in the 2010 election.

Am I being too harsh? Please remember, you’re the one using the threat of force against me to control my money and my healthcare. I am merely protesting your love of coercion.

You can still redeem yourself by voting no when this scheme comes back to you for a final vote. I will be watching, and informing fellow constituents of your actions.

END OF LETTER

* You can check to see how your Rep. voted here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
* Send your “thank or spank” letter here: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/114

Please take additional steps to spread the word, recruit more DC Downsizers, and increase the heat on Congress:

* Ask other people to send a letter to Congress — forward them this message (be sure to clip off the Dispatch footer when you do)
* Digg this message on our Blog, located in the center column of the DownsizeDC.org home page.
* Start a monthly pledge so we can reach more people
* Make a one-time donation to further this work

Your support is our progress. Thank you for being a DC Downsizer,

Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

That’s just a little over $30,000 per year.

Clearly the banking lobby is satisfied with Mr. Watt’s performance.

Last Friday, Rep. Ron Paul reported that our Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR 1207) was “gutted” in Rep. Watt’s subcommittee.

In defense of Rep. Watt, however, it’s not totally his fault. His district is the most obviously gerrymandered in North Carolina, following I-85 like a snake from Charlotte to Winston Salem. It is overwhelmingly Democratic, and his re-election has never been seriously challenged. Why should he represent the people when he is electorally invincible?

While we may not be able to hold Rep. Watt accountable, we can fight back. His attempt to eviscerate HR 1207 must be approved by the full Financial Services committee.

We can block that approval, and restore the original bill. It is especially important that each member of the Financial Services committee hear from their constituents the clear message that Rep. Watt’s proposed changes are unacceptable. And you must act now because . . .

The Committee could meet as soon as today (Wednesday).

Every Representative should receive a message. But if your Representative is on the Financial Services committee, they should also get a polite phone call from you.

Please review the list of committee members to see if your Representative serves on the Financial Services committee.

This is what I wrote to one member of the Committee . . .

You may be aware that Rep. Mel Watt’s subcommittee on monetary policy introduced changes to the Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR 1207) that restrict inquiry around transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks, and staff.

These changes have the practical effect of killing the bill, and eliminating the transparency that our economy and financial markets require for stability and sustainable growth.

It is also clear that Rep. Watt does not fear for his re-election, given his willingness to put the narrow interests of the banking industry, his top donors over the last decade, above those of the American people. I’m hoping you will be more responsive to the people.

HR 1207 has over 300 cosponsors in its ORIGINAL form. I trust you will use your influence to remove Rep. Watt’s changes, and bring HR 1207 to a vote on the House floor in its original form.

I’m also sending a copy of this message to my two Senators so that they too will know how important this HR 1207 is to me.

END OF LETTER

You can send your letter to Congress using the DownsizeDC.org Educate the Powerful System.

NOTE: In a video message, Ron Paul indicated that it is especially important that constituents contact the 13 Democrats on the Financial Services committee who already co-sponsored HR 1207, with a VERY polite reminder that you STILL want them to support the ORIGINAL bill, and to resist Mr. Watt’s amendments.

For your convenience, here is that list . . .

Rep. John Adler, NJ (202) 225-4765
Rep. Travis Childers, MS (202) 225-4306
Rep. Steve Driehaus, OH (202) 225-2216
Rep. Alan Grayson, FL (202) 225-2176
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa, TX (202) 225-2531
Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, FL (877) 956-7627
Rep. Dan Maffei, NY (202) 225-3701
Rep. Brad Miller, NC (202) 225-3032
Rep. Walt Minnick, ID (202) 225-6611
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, CO (202)-225-2645
Rep. David Scott, GA (202) 225-2939
Rep. Brad Sherman, CA (202) 225-5911
Rep. Jackie Speier, CA (202) 225-3531

Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army,

Dr. William (B.J.) Lawson
Commentator
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

The latest example is the 1,900 page healthcare monstrosity the House leadership unveiled last week. They want a vote on it this week!

I believe they’re overreaching, and helping to build our movement.

Please send Congress a letter demanding that they introduce and pass DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act.

This is what I wrote in my personal comments . . .

Congress passed the Patriot renewal bill in 2006, only to discover later that someone had inserted a provision allowing the President to appoint U.S. Attorneys without Senate approval. This year, Congress passed the stimulus bill with the AIG bonuses.

Nearly everyone in Congress was shocked when they learned what they had passed. This happened because Congress didn’t read these bills before they voted on them. This is irresponsible.

Will you ever learn?

Now the House leadership wants a rapid vote on a 1,900 page health care bill. This isn’t just irresponsible, it’s crazy. This so-called health care bill has become a cancerous tumor. Plus, as usual, I’m sure there will be last minute insertions that will surprise everyone once they’re exposed to the light of day.

The best protection against all this insanity is DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act (RTBA). Unlike watered-down proposals currently being considered in Congress, the RTBA will allow the people to read the final versions of bills for seven days before a vote. It will also require each member of Congress who votes yes for a bill to swear that they’ve read it — goodbye to the claims of shock when the actual contents of a bill are actually implemented.

Behind the “read the bills” movement is the understanding of the American people that the legislative process is un-representative, ignorant, and distasteful. Members of Congress who continue to ignore this problem will fuel a bigger and louder backlash.

END LETTER

You can send your letter to Congress here.

We also invite you to add your website or blog to the Read the Bills Act Coalition. Membership will help build awareness about RTBA, and in return we will list your site on our main page. You can learn more at the DownsizeDC.org site.

Today we welcome 2 new members to the Coalition:

• Reboot Congress
• Titusville Patriots

Finally, last week Congress passed a total of 15 bills amounting to 525 pages. You can see what bills were passed below my signature in the blog version of this Dispatch:

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/healthcare-and-read-the-bills-will-you-survive-the-1-900-page-tumor

Thank-you for being a DC Downsizer.

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

“The State is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else.” — Frederic Bastiat, French economist of the 19th Century

“How did I go bankrupt? Two ways. Slowly, and then all of a sudden.” — paraphrased from “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway

“May you live in interesting times.” — a proverbial Chinese curse

• Retained, and in some cases expanded, all the Bush-era policies — the wars, the PATRIOT Act, warrantless spying, REAL ID, imprisonment without due process, extraordinary rendition, etc.
• Begun to extend the already existing foundations for a future socialist state with things like direct government ownership of businesses, the health care bill, cap and trade, and a host of other measures big and small

Put the Bush and Obama policies together, sprinkle in a couple more terrorist attacks, and one or two more state-caused financial calamities, and you have a recipe for . . .

• The destruction of American liberty
• The blossoming of a Leviathan State

Read the signs . . .

We are living through a Statist revolution.

Statism is a mindset that prefers coercion to cooperation. Statists love the State because they are blind to its fundamental nature . . .

• The State is a monopoly that you cannot easily fire, replace, or even control
• Everything the State does relies on coercion

If you decide that . . .

• You don’t want to pay for, or be subject to, the new health care plan, or that . . .
• You prefer to buy and sell using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, or that . . .
• You want to do, or not do, a host of other things that the politicians either require or prohibit,
• Then eventually a policeman will come to your door and threaten you with a gun, to make you submit

People who advocate expansive State action are really saying, “I think you should be threatened with, or actually suffer violence, if you don’t fund my pet schemes, or live the way I think you should.”

Such people would never go door to door pointing a gun at their neighbors, but the second-hand mechanism of the State allows them to hide their eyes from the violence implicit in what they profess.

Our government was founded to limit this kind of coercion. The American State was given two main functions . . .

• To punish coercion committed by one citizen against another
• To deter coercion by foreign States

Beyond that, nearly the entire Constitution is devoted to prohibiting State violence. This was the purpose of the divisions of power, the checks and balances, and the Bill of Rights. But now those protections lie in tatters.

Everyone is trying to use the State to live at the expense of everyone else, or to micro-manage their neighbors. Our traditional culture of individual liberty, personal responsibility, and peaceful, non-violent cooperation, is slowly dying. We are nearing a point where it may even die completely, suddenly, when we least expect it. As a result . . .

We live under the Chinese curse of interesting times. But we urge you to resist despair. We are even prepared to predict . . .

The End of Statism

Our reason is simple. Statism doesn’t work. The violence at its heart always . . .

• Destroys more than it creates
• Multiplies its victims, who become increasingly deperate enough to resist

Our purpose is to recruit and organize that resistance into an army. It’s . . .

• Why we do
• What we do
• The way we do it

We know that successful resistance will come slowly, before it comes suddenly. Victory will take time, but the time’s going to pass anyway, so why not use it wisely? This is why . . .

We reject all “get powerful quick” schemes as inherently unworkable. We know that societies and movements evolve slowly more often than they leap. History is littered with causes that failed because they couldn’t wait to succeed.

We neither need, nor expect, overnight success. Do you?

What we need instead is constant and consistent progress. And for that we need you, and for you to need us.

Remember where we’re going. We’re building toward the day when we can . . .

• Reach everyone, everywhere, every day, with the case for freedom and against Statism
• Build a big parade — a movement — in front of which opportunistic politicians will want to march. They’ll claim we’re following them, and we’ll let them think that!
• Deploy a huge army to exert relentless, resistance-numbing pressure on Congress, to make them submit

And remember how we’re going to get there . . .

• Slowly and steadily, but also surely
• One person at a time
• One dollar at a time
• One simple action at a time
• With each small step building toward the next larger step

The end of the month is here. We did more this month than we did last month. Now we need your financial support to do even more in November. Please . . .

• Start a monthly credit card pledge
• Or make a one-time donation
• You can do so here

Your support is our progress.

Perry Willis
Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

We’re pleased to welcome BJ Lawson to the pages of the Downsizer-Dispatch as a Commentator.

Here’s BJ’s first call to action . . .

Your success promoting the Audit the Fed bills has scared the banking cartel into offering a fake alternative, the so-called Federal Reserve Accountability Act (S 1803).

Please send Congress a letter opposing S 1803, and favoring the real Audit the Fed bill, S 604.

You can use my letter to Congress as a guide to your own . . .

I want my Senators to oppose S 1803, and support S 604 instead. I also want my House Rep. to reject any attempt to foster a bill similar to S 1803 in that chamber.

S 604 would perform a real audit of the Federal Reserve, but S 1803, the so-called Federal Reserve Accountability Act, would actually help the Fed avoid accountability! It would . . .

* Severely limit the scope of any audit,
* Set unreasonable time-frames that will delay or postpone certain audits indefinitely,
* Permit some audits to be performed only one year after a program has been terminated.

Give me a break!

It should be perfectly obvious to any reasonable person that active Federal Reserve programs need the most accountability. And what about programs that are never terminated? Focusing audits on terminated programs is like closing the proverbial barn door after the cow is gone, while giving on-going programs a permanent pass.

Frankly, it seems to me that S 1803 is a fraud designed to preserve the status quo while fooling some Americans into thinking you’ve enacted a real reform. Where did this idea come from anyway? The banking lobby?

You politicians constantly claim that citizens who aren’t doing anything wrong have nothing to fear from their government. Well, if the Federal Reserve isn’t doing anything wrong then it too has nothing to fear. S 1803 actually enhances my suspicion that the Federal Reserve is probably doing lots of bad things!

The cure for this is transparency.

The self-serving political claim that Federal Reserve transparency would disrupt the financial markets is simply wrong. Financial markets require honesty and transparency for the efficient allocation of capital, and for systemic stability. The lack of transparency for Federal Reserve actions is actually the source of market disruption, and creates constant chaos in our international financial relationships.

Please audit the Fed! And make sure it’s a real audit, not a fake one.

Believe me, I’m paying close attention to how you represent me.

END OF SAMPLE LETTER

You can send your letter to Congress using the DownsizeDC.org Educate the Powerful System.

Please take additional steps to spread the word, recruit more DC Downsizers, and increase the heat on Congress:

* Ask other people to send a letter to Congress — forward them this message (be sure to clip off the Dispatch footer when you do)
* Digg this message on our Blog, which is located on the center of the DownsizeDC.org home page
* Contribute so we can reach more people

Dr. William (B.J.) Lawson
Commentator
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

However, the bill also included a provision to cover-up the prisoner abuse crime we told you about last week.

This cover-up provision couldn’t have passed on its own merits. That’s why the Congressional leadership attached it to the completely unrelated DHS funding bill.

We must force Congress to stop combining unrelated legislation into one bill. Protest what they did with the cover-up measure and tell your representatives to introduce and pass DownsizeDC.org’s One Subject At A Time Act (OSTA).

Here’s what I wrote in my personal comments . . .

The Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892) is a perfect example of why we need OSTA. The prisoner abuse cover-up law it contained had absolutely nothing to do with the funding or activities of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security).

Those opposed to the cover-up measure had an ethical responsibility to oppose the bill as a whole. There was no urgency to pass this bill. Congress could have funded the DHS at current levels with a continuing resolution. That’s why I think a vote for H.R. 2892 was really a vote for the prisoner abuse cover-up.

Those who voted for this bill failed in their duty to uphold the law. Those who failed to protest the inclusion of the cover-up bill in unrelated legislation are likewise guilty. But it gets worse . . .

Jameel Jaffer notes that this law also paves the way for my government to hide nearly everything related to military activities during the Bush years.

I also believe this cover-up will put our troops in greater peril than if the photographic evidence of prisoner abuse was revealed. America’s enemies will say that . . .

1. Our politicians are hypocritical when they demand openness from other countries
2. Censoring the photos is evidence that they are more terrible than anyone can imagine
3. Obama wants to cover-up this Bush-era scandal because he’s continuing the same policies

If “protecting the troops” can justify the cover-up of possible war crimes overseas, I fear Congress will next use “national security” as an excuse to hide government wrongdoing at home.

Please uphold the law and do your job as my representative. You can best achieve this by taking two actions . . .

1. Introduce legislation to repeal the prisoner abuse cover-up law
2. Introduce DownsizeDC.org’s One Subject At A Time Act

END OF SAMPLE LETTER

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Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org

P.S. Yesterday, and this morning, Downsize DC President Jim Babka was on air for radio interviews. Not all interviews are, or even can be posted here in these Dispatches. But we will post interviews on the DownsizeDC.org blog, which features an RSS feed, as well as on our Twitter page, DDCDispatch. Please check the blog regularly, or sign up for the RSS feed, or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news.

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Our own James Wilson has analyzed this issue on our blog.

The good news is that President Obama isn’t going to Copenhagen to sign a treaty, but he may sign a proposal that could lead to a treaty at a later date. The Copenhagen proposal is designed to create an international scheme to control carbon emissions (and the entire world economy in the bargain).

President Obama wants to have the “cap and trade” (cap and tax) bill passed before he goes to Copenhagen.

Our goal should be to send him to Denmark empty-handed.

Cap and trade should be defeated because . . .

• It hasn’t worked in Europe
• It probably isn’t the best way to control carbon emissions, assuming you believe that’s important
• The climate models that supposedly justify cap and trade have been consistently wrong

Cap and trade needs 60 votes to come to the floor in the Senate. If we can stop that from happening now then there’s no way that 67 Senators will come together later to ratify a treaty for the same purpose, especially if that treaty cedes American sovereignty to international organizations.

We must defeat cap and trade. We must send Obama to Denmark empty-handed.

Please send Congress a letter opposing cap and trade.

You can use my letter to Congress as a guide . . .

Please pay attention to the climate change models. They have consistently predicted global warming, and been consistently wrong. We’ve had global cooling over the past eleven years, NOT global warming. Mother Earth disagrees with the climate models, and mother always knows best.

If you haven’t kept up with the science please check out this BBC article: http://tinyurl.com/ygwaaqp

Please also pay attention to the fact that cap and trade hasn’t worked in Europe. Meanwhile . . .

Science and industry are creating all sorts of innovations that will be much more effective than your politically designed regulations. These innovations are happening because consumers want green solutions! I’m especially excited by the recent breakthroughs in “cold fusion” as reported on 60 Minutes: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955212n

Freedom works! We need more freedom and fewer coercive, top-down government dictates.

I want my two Senators to vote against cap and trade, and I want my Representative to vote against it if it comes to another vote in the House.

END OF SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESS

You can send your letter here.

Please take additional steps to spread the word, recruit more DC Downsizers, and increase the heat on Congress:

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Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Check out these recent posts on our blog:

Will Copenhagen Treaty cede U.S. Sovereignty?
President Obama keeps a promise
Congress responds to Constitutional questions
The latest news about the “Read the Bills” idea

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation