Liberty Maven

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
– attributed to Edmund Burke

Subject: We got a big response on the REAL ID campaign — it points the way to the future

Our message yesterday about the exchange between Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff and Governor Schweitzer of Montana got a big response. So many DC Downsizers tried to take action all at once that it overwhelmed our website. Some people had trouble sending messages as a result. We’ve fixed part of the problem, and our capacity is about to get better as we install our new servers.

This is a good problem to have. Thank you to everyone who took action yesterday.

The fight against the REAL ID Act points the way to the future. It used to be that the American people just rolled over and submitted every time Congress passed a bad law. No more. Now the American people are fighting back.

We must do the same thing with regard to the vote on the FISA warrantless spying bill that we lost recently. Congress may think the issue is settled, but we must make sure that it is not settled.

We are in negotiations with our coalition allies about the best strategy for overturning the warrantless spying law. Many of our allies are already taking action on the legal front, preparing to mount lawsuits. But there will be a grassroots strategy too.

We’re pushing the idea that we ought to pursue a broad-based legislative attack on all aspects of the Bush-era assault on the Constitution. We have a perfect vehicle to use for this approach, Congressman Ron Paul’s “American Freedom Agenda Act.” This bill was created by a number of progressive and conservative organizations and introduced by Ron Paul. This bill would . . .

* Repeal the “Military Commissions Act of 2006” and thereby restore the ancient right of habeas corpus and end legally sanctioned torture by U.S. government agents
* Restore the ”Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” (FISA) and thereby outlaw warrantless spying on American citizens by the President of the United States
* Give Congress standing in court to challenge the President’s use of “signing statements” as a means to avoid executing the nation’s laws
* Make it illegal for government agents to kidnap people and send them abroad to be tortured by foreign governments
* Provide legal protection to journalists who expose wrong-doing by the Federal government
* Prohibit the use of secret evidence to label groups or individuals as terrorists for the purpose of criminal or civil sanctions

We’re contemplating a number of new tactics to push this bill forward. These tactics would serve to put Congress on the spot, much as Governor Schweitzer put Secretary Chertoff on the spot. But the first step is to start a steady drumbeat of messages hammering members of Congress to become co-sponsors of the “American Freedom Agenda Act.”

Please start that drumbeat today, by sending your elected representatives a message. You can do that here.

Please also consider making a contribution to further our work. You can do that here.

Thank you for being a part of our growing Downsize DC army.

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

This is another great interview with Ron Paul on New York’s WABC radio with Bob Grant. They cover 15 minutes of a myriad of topics including a section where Ron Paul calls McCain and Obama “Tweedledee and Tweedledumb”. Great stuff.

Listen here

(NOTE: If you link to the audio, please include a link to this article as the source. Thanks)

Bob Barr was interviews by Keith Olbermann this evening on MSNBC. The subject matter was geared toward the “fake impeachment hearings” held today. Barr was one of many who testified. Barr masterfully twisted his answers toward his campaign for President. I must admit he does this kind of stuff really well. Check it out below.

The final Presidential candidate we will be rating on the Paul-O-Meter is the Green Party’s nominee, Cynthia McKinney. For a description of the Paul-O-Meter see this article. We have previously completed ratings for John McCain, Barack Obama, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, and Ralph Nader.

You can get in the action too by rating the candidates using our Paul-O-Meter polling application here.

Listed below is our own ratings for Cynthia McKinney.

Read More »

It is now Ralph Nader’s turn to be viewed through the Ron Paul colored glasses of the Paul-O-Meter. The Paul-O-Meter rates the candidates on how closely they resemble Ron Paul on the issues. For a complete description and methodology of the Paul-O-Meter please see this article. Thus far we have rated Barack Obama, John McCain, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin.

You can join in the rating fun by using our web based Paul-O-Meter application here. Feel free to check it out and submit your own ratings for all the Presidential candidates.

Find our own ratings for Ralph Nader below.

Read More »

Recently Bob Barr has been seen cozying up to left leaning bloggers and everyone’s favorite environmentalist, nobel prize winner Al Gore. He has released statements and been quoted in articles saying things that have upset the Libertarian apple cart. The radical and purist among us seem to have implanted Barr with an ultra sensitive warning device that triggers anytime potential non-libertarian words leave his mouth. Requesting anyone labeled “radical” to relax is like asking a starving man to “eat that cracker slowly”, but in this case calm is what is required.

First, Bob Barr issued a press release “clarifying” his stance on federal government bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The release was entitled, “Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, End Government Subsidies.” That certainly sounds rather libertarian, but some found decidedly non-libertarian rhetoric within the article.

Read More »

UPDATE: Chuck Baldwin’s Communications Director posted a comment clarifying his position on a few of the issues. This has modified Baldwin’s overall score. Read the comments for more details.

It is now Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin’s turn to be spun through the Paul-O-Meter. So far we have rated Barack Obama, John McCain, and Bob Barr. Will Chuck Baldwin beat Bob Barr’s current high score of 88? Read on to find out.

For a detailed description of the Paul-O-Meter look here.

NEW: If you’d like to rate the candidates on the Paul-O-Meter please do so on our Paul-O-Meter user rating application here.

Continue reading to see our ratings for Chuck Baldwin.

Read More »

It is now Libertarian candidate Bob Barr’s turn to be spun through the Paul-O-Meter. We rate the candidates on 20 criteria to see how closely they match up with Ron Paul on the issues. Thus far we have rated Barack Obama and John McCain. Read all about the Paul-O-Meter here.

NEW: Now you can submit your own ratings using our new Paul-O-Meter web polling service. Check it out here.

Our rankings for Bob Barr are below.

Read More »

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

“It will be necessary for us to be a nation of men, and not laws.” – Dick Cheney

“We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans…” – Bill Clinton

Subject: The Worst of All Worlds

Why did nearly half the Democrats in the House vote for the “FISA Amendments Act” that’s now pending in the Senate, when most of them had opposed warrantless spying and telecom immunity before? The answer is that they were bribed, using your tax dollars.

The Washington Post claims a deal was cut: the Democratic Leadership would support the FISA bill if the President would agree to add $95 billion in DOMESTIC spending to the latest Iraq appropriation.

In other words, House Democrats voted to continue the war and sold the Fourth Amendment for $95 billion.

Republicans say they want less spending. Democrats say they want less war. What’s their compromise? More spending and more war.
Read More »

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

HEDRICK SMITH: A more fundamental question confronts all of us. The 4th Amendment protects us against unreasonable search and seizure without probable cause. So does the strategy of (terrorist) prevention collide with the Constitution? When the government is doing this kind of data mining, has it moved from individualized suspicion, getting an individual warrant, to generalized suspicion, to check everybody to find out who are the bad guys?

PETER SWIRE (White House Privacy Counsel, 1999-01): Yeah. Check everybody. Everybody’s a suspect. Everybody’s phone records, everybody’s email is subject to government scrutiny. And if you’re good, we won’t bother you, and if you look a little strange, then you might get on a watch list.

HEDRICK SMITH: Isn’t that a huge change in Anglo-Saxon law? I mean, Anglo-Saxon law is based on “Get a warrant.” The 4th Amendment is based on individual suspicion.

PETER SWIRE: Right. General warrants was part of the reason for the American Revolution. It was that the king’s agent could go in and search a house everywhere, search a whole neighborhood with one warrant. And the Boston people said, “We don’t like that. We’ll have a tea party. We’ll fight you.” We said no.
– from FRONTLINE

Subject: Dangerous votes pending

Two dangerous votes are pending this week. You know about the “FISA Amendments Act.” We’ve been hammering on it for weeks now, and you’ve been hammering Congress. The other dangerous pending vote is a resolution that’s a virtual declaration of war on Iran.

House Concurrent Resolution 362 urges the President to blockade Iran, stopping all sea traffic in and out of the country. It has 220 co-sponsors. The Senate version is Senate Resolution 580. It has 32 co-sponsors.

In the space of a week we’re facing the virtual repeal of the 4th Amendment and a major step toward a major new war.

* If you think your gasoline prices are high now and the economy is in trouble, just imagine what will happen if a U.S. blockade removes Iranian oil from the world market.
* Just imagine how the rest of the world will react to that.
* Imagine how many Muslims will be radicalized by this action.
* Imagine how many new recruits there will be for terrorist cells.
* And imagine what will happen to the last shreds of your rights in the face of an escalated terrorist threat.

Is all of this what Americans thought they were asking for when they went to the polls in 2006 to repudiate the Bush administration? Meanwhile . . .

The non-elected branch of government, the U.S. courts, has handed down a ruling in favor of the 4th Amendment protections that Congress seems intent on repealing. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California has just issued a key ruling in Al Haramain v. Bush, one of the cases challenging the NSA’s warrantless spying program. There are a lot of details to this decision, but what you need to know is this . . .

Those challenging the government and the telecoms over the warrantless spying program have a case, and would be allowed to present their evidence in court, in spite of the state secrets privilege, IF ONLY Congress would allow them to do so by NOT passing the “FISA Amendments Act.”

We are deep in the grip of a reckless Congress and lawless White House, with only the courts as our only option to get it right. It’s up to us, as individuals, to make sure that the politicians understand that they do NOT have the consent of the governed in these matters.

Please send Congress a message asking them to prevent an attack on Iran. Use your personal comments to tell them you also oppose House Concurrent Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580. You can do so here.

Please also send another message asking your Senators to support a filibuster of the “FISA Amendments Act.” Use your personal comments to mention Judge Walker’s ruling and that you want the cases against the telecoms to be able to move forward. You can send that message here, using our old campaign against the “Protect America Act.”

When you’ve done that, please also call your Senators. Ask them to support a filibuster and to vote against the “FISA Amendments Act.”

Congress must know that they do NOT have your consent on either of these issues.

Please also make a contribution to further our work. You can do so here.

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

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