The “Repeal the REAL ID Act” is DownsizeDC.org’s oldest active campaign.

It is also one of our most successful. Public outrage from the Left, Right, and Middle has persuaded many state legislatures to refuse to implement it. The Obama Administration, which to its credit doesn’t like this Bush-era law, keeps issuing waivers and deadline extensions on the states.

But REAL ID’s author, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), is holding hearings this week, no doubt to try to build pressure on the Obama Administration to enforce this unconstitutional law.

That’s why it is important to raise our voices today. Tell Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act and replace it with nothing.

You may borrow from or copy this letter…

Rep. Sensenbrenner, the author of the REAL ID Act, along with House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith will try to drum up support for REAL ID by holding hearings this week.

Don’t be fooled by the inevitable scare-mongering of these hearings. You would be wise to take the opposite approach and REPEAL Real ID.

The law simply can’t function…

* 25 states refuse to comply with REAL ID.
* It would strip citizens of those states the right to air travel.
* Which would wreck the airline industry (and overall economy), and anger tens of millions of Americans.

To be blunt, if you insist on REAL ID enforcement, you would deliberately act against the best interests of the United States and the people, and commit political suicide.

Moreover, these states have GOOD REASON to reject REAL ID…

* It is an unfunded mandate on cash-strapped states.
* The Constitution does not empower Congress to regulate state driver’s licenses or other ID cards.
* Nor does it empower Congress to mandate a National ID card or “internal passport.”
* It certainly doesn’t empower Congress to restrict the right of the people to cross state lines!

These states have a the duty to protect their citizens from federal encroachment of their rights.

What REAL ID does is punish American citizens for the crimes of a few foreign terrorists from over a decade ago…

* The elderly, the poor, and divorced women who’ve changed their names are among those who will have difficulty gathering up documents that “prove” their identity — even if they’ve held valid driver’s licenses up until now.
* My identity could be stolen, because my personal information will be collected in a national database which could be hacked into by corrupt government employees or other criminals.
* Just as the government lied about the limited use of Social Security numbers, REAL ID will inevitably be required to do more and more things, and will likely contain tracking technology.

Moreover, REAL ID will NOT protect us from terrorism…

* Any elaborate terrorist plot takes planning and will include terrorists who will be able to legally acquire a REAL ID drivers license.
* To the extent REAL ID has been implemented, it hasn’t played any role in the capture of real or suspected terrorists — not even one. (http://tinyurl.com/7ue3w7l)
* All but two of the 9/11 hijackers were in the U.S. legally and could have obtained a REAL ID card, and ALL of them had a passport allowing them to fly. (http://tinyurl.com/8xllv7q)

It is evident to me that the threat of terrorism is a false pretense to impose a National ID card – a hallmark of totalitarian states. I urge you to obey your oath to the Constitution and serve the American people: Repeal Real ID!

END LETTER

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

And thank you for sharing the blog version of this Dispatch on your social networks: http://bit.ly/zXa8SL

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

Then you may be a criminal. At least, that’s what the Justice Department claims, and they want to strengthen the law to ensure that they have the power to prosecute you.

That’s why I sent a letter to my Representative and Senators to resist this power-grab and protect our freedom to use the Internet.

I hope you do the same, and you may borrow from or copy this letter…

I am disturbed that the Obama Administration wants to strengthen the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to prosecute violators of “Terms of Service” (ToS) agreements on the Internet.

The CFAA was intended to outlaw hacking and identity theft. But its vague language has led three federal courts to rule that employees can be prosecuted merely for violating their employer’s “acceptable use” policy. The feds also prosecuted a woman under the CFAA for violating MySpace’s Terms of Service. (http://www.cdt.org/files/pdfs/CFAA_signon_ltr_2.pdf)

The Administration wants to go further, and make ToS violations explicitly illegal under federal law. There are at least five reasons to oppose this…

1. It criminalizes activities that would not be criminal in the physical world. You can assume a false identity at a party without breaking a law, but using a pseudonym on the Internet could be a felony.

2. The innocent will be unjustly punished. If someone is falsely accused of a real crime like hacking, prosecutors will also charge him or her with ToS violations in order to secure a conviction.

3. Since almost everyone is guilty of ToS violations, the law could be used by U.S. Attorneys to wage personal or political vendettas.

4. It threatens the First Amendment because it could be deployed to prosecute individuals who criticize the Administration or Congress in comments sections or forums.

5. A ToS is a PRIVATE agreement, and Internet hosts are free to ban violators. Trolls are often banned on websites. Fake profiles on social networks are often deleted. Employees who violate agreements and use their work computer for fantasy football can be fired.

The Justice Department claims it wouldn’t have the time or resources to go after trivial ToS violations, such as lying about one’s age on a dating site. And yet it calls “worrisome” an amendment by Sens. Franken, Grassley, and Lee that would protect most people from ToS prosecutions. (http://bit.ly/vMcl8v)

Criminalizing ToS violations won’t prevent serious computer crimes, but it WILL give the feds tremendous powers to abuse and harass harmless Internet users. Please support the Franken-Grassley-Lee amendment and provide other safeguards to protect the American people from an out-of-control Justice Department.

END LETTER

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

We urge you to encourage your friends to take action and protect Internet freedom. “Like” and “Tweet” this post on our blog.

James Wilson
Policy Research Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. Tomorrow (Wednesday), Jim Babka returns to the guest-hosting seat of Jerry Hughes on his show Straight Talk.

Jim will be joined by Michael Boldin, the founder and executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center.

Boldin’s group was attacked in a “report” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on their Hatewatch blog. Is the Tenth Amendment Center a hater (racist) organization? Is this just an accident or misunderstanding, outside of the normal behavior of the SPLC?

Jim and Michael will talk about the Tenth Amendment Center, and also about the group’s Nullify Now tour.

You can listen live at 2:07 PM Eastern (1:07 PM Central, 12:07 PM Mountain, and 11:07 PM Pacific).

To hear the show on the web, or to find a local station, visit the network’s website.

Affiliates can be found in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Oregon.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

Last week U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, held a hearing on his proposed Free Competition in Currency Act of 2011 (H.R. 1098), which would repeal legal tender laws, restrictions on private mints, and taxes on gold and silver, since such taxes interfere with the metals’ circulation as money. Testifying were the executive director of the Foundation for the Advancement of Monetary Education, Lawrence M. Parks, and George Mason University Economics Professor Lawrence H. White. Video of the hearing is not quite an hour long and you can watch it here:

The full text of the legislation is simple and concise and can be found here:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h112-1098

The legislation would seem to legalize the Liberty Dollar coins whose issuer recently was convicted on vague charges in federal court in North Carolina. Professor White quotes New York Sun editor and Wall Street Journal contributor Seth Lipsky to the effect that it doesn’t make much sense to suppress private money that is sound to protect money that is unsound.

Unfortunately the Free Competition in Currency Act has no co-sponsors and its introduction and this week’s hearing seem to be mainly an educational exercise. But that’s where everything starts.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

Civil asset forfeiture is government seizure of property and cash, even when the owner isn’t charged of a crime. Innocent owners must go through a costly, time-consuming process to get their property back — and even then they may be denied. Police departments get to sell the seized property and keep most of the proceeds. If you’re unfamiliar with this form of legalized theft, we recommend you learn more on our End Asset Forfeiture page.

Back in May, 2009, we predicted that because of the bad economy and budget crunches, police will “increase searches, raids, and seizures to generate more revenue.”

As the letter below demonstrates, our prediction has been proven true.

That’s why I wrote to my Representative and Senators to end this evil practice.

You may borrow from or copy this letter…

According to the Wall Street Journal…

* In 2010, federal, state, and local government stole homes, cars, boats, and cash in more than 15,000 cases
* The total take topped $2.5 billion, MORE THAN DOUBLING IN FIVE YEARS
* More than 400 federal statutes allow for forfeiture, such as (suspected) violations of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act
* Which is double the number from the year 2000
* Top federal officials are also pushing for greater use of civil-forfeiture proceedings, in which assets can be taken without criminal charges being filed against the owner
* Unlike in criminal cases, the poor are not entitled to free legal representation to help them get their property back

This means, to anyone with common sense, that an individual’s property could be seized without due process of law, a CLEAR violation of the Fifth Amendment.

Recent victims include…

* James Leito, who hired an armored car company for his check cashing business. That company turned out to be under an FBI probe, and the FBI seized $392,000 that rightfully belonged to Leito. It took years for the money to be returned to him.
* Raul Stio, from whom the IRS took $157,000 of cash deposits in his bank account, even though these were proceeds from his legitimate businesses.
* Jorge Jaramillo, whose $16,000 was taken by authorities although he was going to buy a car from someone who wanted cash; he got the money back only because he had pro bono legal representation.
* Unknown thousands of similarly innocent people who can’t afford to fight for the return of their cash or property.

Asset forfeiture does NOT stop crime. Instead, it encourages government lawlessness. Under the federal government’s Equitable Sharing programs, local police departments can keep up to 80% of forfeiture proceeds if they work with the feds on seizures. This creates a conflict-of-interest by directing police attention away from law enforcement, and toward making money for their departments.

To restore justice and the Fifth Amendment, please introduce legislation…

* That ends federal civil asset forfeiture programs
* That terminates Equitable Sharing
* And that denies federal funds to any state or local government that continues asset forfeiture

Civil asset forfeiture is armed robbery, plain and simple. It should not be tolerated anywhere in the United States.

END LETTER

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s easy-to-use Educate the Powerful System.

Do your colleagues and neighbors know that their goods can be stolen by law enforcement? …that they don’t even need to be charged with a crime? Let them know: Share this Downsizer-Dispatch with them, and tell them you took action — that you sent a message to your representatives, and you want them to join you.

An Important Question: Do you want DownsizeDC.org to miss out on $3,899? Do you want DownsizeDC.org to miss its budgetary goal this month?

DC Downsizers have been given a challenge by Bill Haynes of CMI Gold & Silver.

He says, “I’ll match the first $5,000 of new contributions to DownsizeDC.org” (that’s NEW pledges and NEW one-time contributions; PayPal STILL accepted, but not counted towards the match). So far this month, DownsizeDC.org has received $1,101, which Bill has matched.

Please make Mr. Haynes part with $3,899 more of his money by September 30, and help YOUR DownsizeDC.org to meet its MODEST budget goal.

James Wilson
Policy Research Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

Last Friday, several functions of the Federal State nearly shut down as Democrats and Republicans fought over things like tax funding for abortion providers. It’s the usual con game . . .

* Democrats pretend that you must be “anti-choice” if you oppose tax-funded abortion
* Republicans are right to favor choice when it comes to such funding, but they’re still just cherry-picking the unconstitutional programs that they can best use to manipulate their base

In other words, the politicians are still pretending to fight a “Culture War.” But are the people following their lead? I think not.

It seems to me that times have changed. People are waking up. They’re becoming harder to manipulate. As the letter below indicates, the real Culture War isn’t the one being portrayed by the institutional media. It’s not the conservatives against the liberals; it’s the politicians against YOU.

Please let the politicians know that the main “culture war” you want to fight is against their rampant unconstitutionality. Tell them to oppose all unconstitutional laws all the time.

You may borrow from or copy this letter:

Politicians and their media lackeys tell us there’s a Culture War in the United States. They frame it as pro-life vs. pro-choice, or religion vs. secularism.

They’re lying.

The REAL Culture War is between the Political Class vs. The People, or Statism vs. Liberty

The Political Class . . .

* Invades our personal lives and our bodies, such as telling us what substances we can or can’t take
* Takes money that we might use for charity, and uses it for THEIR pet purposes
* Keeps Americans divided by unconstitutionally involving the Federal State in matters of personal conscience

Americans are waking up to this con-game. We’re realizing that the most important struggle isn’t between the Red States and the Blue States, but between The People and The Political Class.

There wouldn’t be a budget problem if YOU fulfilled your oath of office and Congress exercised only the powers delegated to it by the Constitution.

And there would be NO NEED to raise the debt ceiling if you only spent tax money on what the Constitution permits, instead of on what YOU want. You have no right to fund organizations or governments. DON’T . . .

* subsidize non-profit corporations and charities; instead, clear all tax and regulatory requirements that obstruct their fundraising and progress
* subsidize or protect for-profit corporations; instead, eliminate tax and regulatory hurdles for ALL businesses, and allow research and development to go unhindered
* send aid to states and local governments; instead, eliminate all the “unfunded mandates” you have imposed on them
* send “aid” (or is it bribes?) to foreign nations; instead, eliminate ALL embargoes and trade restrictions so that Americans can be free to charitably help whomever they wish

In other words, stick ONLY to the powers given to you under the Constitution.

I’ll be watching what you do.

END LETTER

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

And we invite you to follow us on Twitter and re-tweet this to your followers: http://www.twitter.com/DDCDispatch

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

The “Internet kill switch” bill was promoted by Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins in the last Congress. The bill would have granted President Obama the power to shut down much of the Internet in the event of a “cybersecurity emergency.”

The good news is that Congress adjourned before passing it.

The bad news is that, on the very same day Egypt’s dictator Hosni Mubarak imposed an Internet blackout on his country, Collins announced her intention to re-introduce the bill.

But as the letter below indicates, giving the President this power is extremely dangerous and won’t protect us from cybersecurity attacks.

Please tell Congress to defeat this bill using DownsizeDC.org’s Hands Off the Internet campaign.

You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .

I oppose the Collins-Lieberman bill giving the President a “kill switch” that can cut off most Internet traffic.

This bill . . .

* Authorizes the President to issue a declaration of a national cyber emergency to “critical infrastructure”
* Empowers the President to force the owners and operators of the infrastructure to implement the President’s response plan – including shutting down parts of the Internet
* Exempts the President’s actions from challenge or judicial review

This power isn’t even necessary to prevent or stop cyber attacks. Private operators of the Internet infrastructure already have an incentive to keep their systems safe. It’s called the profit motive.

As a report from Oxford and the London School of Economics reveals, the chances of a “cybersecurity emergency” are slim . . . http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/44/46889922.pdf

* Cyber attacks will be localized and have short-term impacts
* A successful prolonged attack is highly implausible, because it would mean the attacker knows methods and means not known to the information security community
* A “cyberwar” involving computer viruses and worms is highly unlikely, because these attacks can boomerang on the attackers

Giving the President this “kill switch” is also dangerous to the First Amendment . . .

* In a crisis, people need information that may be kept from them because of the kill switch
* Activists employing their free speech rights could be censored and punished because of the actions of “hacktivists”

Supporters of this bill claim that the President already has god-like power over the Internet under the 1934 Communications Act. But that’s not a good argument for a new law. You should instead repeal the old law and OPPOSE the Kill Switch bill.

END LETTER

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

And we encourage you to tell this to your friends. Follow us on Twitter and re-tweet: http://twitter.com/DDCDispatch

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

We need to defeat this bad bill, HR 4173, which is a whopping 2,319 pages long.

To achieve REAL financial reform we need to pass Ron Paul’s Free Competition in Currency Act instead. Please send a letter to Congress pushing for both of these outcomes.

You may borrow from or copy the following sample letter for this purpose . . .

In addition to supporting the “Free Competition in Currency Act” please vote NO on the big Obama-Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, HR 4173. Ron Paul’s currency bill addresses the root causes of the financial crisis, while the regulation bill does not.

The financial crisis was caused by . . .

* The Federal Reserve keeping interest rates artificially low
* The Federal Reserve inflating the money supply to satisfy Congress’s deficit spending
* Government policies encouraging or forcing financial institutions to issue credit to undeserving people

Together, these policies caused the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the mal-investment of easy money. The result was the Great Recession.

What does the Obama-Dodd-Frank bill do to address these problems?

NOTHING!

Instead, it sets up a “Consumer Protection” agency whose regulations will conflict with other regulatory agencies:

* Congress wants to continue the policy of pressuring lenders to continue lending to borrowers with bad credit
* And then when those borrowers default, financial institutions will be blamed for “predatory lending”
* And I won’t be surprised if some of these institutions are bailed out at the same time that they are being scapegoated

Worse, the Obama-Dodd-Frank bill will create armies of new regulators determined to harass Main Street businesses who did nothing to cause the crisis!

Even the one good aspect of the bill, an audit of the Federal Reserve, was severely weakened in the conference committee.

But the main problem with this bill is that it increases the power of the very people who helped create the crisis. Consider these insights . . . http://www.aei.org/outlook/100968

* Donald L. Kohn, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board: “Many central bankers and economists, myself included, were a little complacent coming into the crisis. We thought we knew enough about the basic structure of markets and the economy. . . . The reality is that we didn’t understand the economy as well as we thought we did. Central bankers, along with other policymakers, . . . failed to foresee or prevent a financial crisis.”
* Economist Arnold Kling: “The regulators made the same cognitive errors as the regulated.”

Politicians and regulators do not know any more about the economy than the businesses and consumers they regulate. But Congress can do much more damage than any business can . . .

* You have vast powers to create laws and regulations that impact the entire economy — no business or consumer can do that
* You suffer no personal consequence equal to the vast size of the mistakes you make, plus . . .
* You have a disturbing tendency to bailout big businesses and special interest groups to protect them from the consequences of their mistakes

At the heart of the problem is the fact that government is a monopoly. And the solution is for you to restore my freedom to choose. Ending the Federal Reserve’s monopoly control over what I use for money is a good place to start . . .

* Americans are essentially forced to use just one currency unit, the dollar
* The dollar’s value is NOT determined by the free market, but by the Federal Reserve Board
* This monopoly control by the Fed causes wild price fluctuations and mal-investments in a complex economy

Ron Paul’s Free Competition in Currency Act provides the real financial reform we need. It repeals the legal tender law and allows other forms of money to compete.

* Individuals and businesses could negotiate their own terms of purchase, using any form of money they mutually agree on
* The open competition will force the Federal Reserve to stop inflating, thereby ending the booms and busts caused by the Federal Reserve’s policies
* Power and choice will be in the hands of the consumer

I insist that you oppose the Obama-Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, HR 4173. Instead, Support the Free Competition in Currency Act!

END LETTER

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

We also urge you to tell your friends. Share this on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/downsizedc

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

‘Shotgun Sellout’: House Democrats cut special deal with NRA
House Democrats held a shotgun wedding between campaign finance “reformers” and the National Rifle Association today in announcing a carve out for the powerful gun lobby in a bill responding to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

The “Shotgun Sellout” exempts large organizations from the most burdensome regulations of the DISCLOSE Act, “Democratic Incumbents Seek to Contain Losses by Outlawing Speech in Elections,” while pistol whipping genuine grassroots groups.

“The Democratic majority has decided that established, powerful interest groups should be exempted from the proposed draconian regulations, while small advocacy groups should have their voices silenced by the DISCLOSE Act,” said Center for Competitive Politics President Sean Parnell. “Exempting the National Rifle Association from these regulations while local groups such as the Oregon Firearms Federation would face stifling regulations if they choose to exercise their First Amendment rights simply cannot be considered ‘reform.’”

“This sort of special carve out for an established interest group is just the kind of insider manipulation that gives the public the sense that Congress is unresponsive to the concerns of ordinary Americans,” said Allison Hayward, CCP’s Vice President of Policy. “How can it be that invasive and onerous disclosure requirements are proper when applied to small, regional interest groups but not large, wealthy national groups?”

“This exception could serve to entrench political organization, discourage local participation in civic groups, and undermine the civic involvement that Alexis de Tocqueville identified as uniquely American and one of America’s great strengths,” she added.

According to Capitol Hill sources, the Rules Committee will likely hold a Wednesday hearing to advance the DISCLOSE Act to the House floor by the end of the week.

Read the rest here.

A personal message from Jim Babka . . .

Best-selling author Peter McWilliams died ten years ago today, June 14, 2000.

I remember when I heard the news. I can still feel the sickness and anger that I felt that day.

I didn’t know Peter personally, but I admired him. Some of my colleagues were good friends or acquaintances of his.  [Read his story further down below].

Peter was an eloquent champion of limited government and personal freedom. But his life was cut short by the War on Drugs. The federal government denied him the medication he needed to live and thrive.

What he went through, I wouldn’t wish on anyone, let alone my family and friends. But we have it in our power to prevent similar tragedies from happening to others. Please tell Congress to return to the Constitution, and end the insane War on Drugs.

You may copy or borrow from the following letter . . . 

Today marks a cruel anniversary in the barbaric history of the War on Drugs. On this day, ten years ago, the federal government caused the death of the best-selling author Peter McWilliams.

Do you know his story?

* In 1996 Peter was diagnosed with cancer and AIDS
* The medications he needed to treat these diseases caused extreme vomiting, and he could not keep them down long enough for them to work
* That same year, Proposition 215 legalized medical marijuana in California
* Under the recommendation of four physicians, Peter started using marijuana.
* The marijuana controlled his nausea, restored his appetite, and allowed his medications to work

Marijuana saved Peter’s life, for the moment. This led him to fund research into medical marijuana and to start a business supplying it to buyer’s cooperatives. The DEA took notice, raided and trashed his home, and even confiscated his computer, which contained the manuscript of his latest book.

Peter was charged with being a “drug kingpin!” And then, he was hamstrung, legally. The federal judge in the case took away his defense, barring any mention of . . .

* California’s medical marijuana law
* his terminal illness
* how medical marijuana allowed him to keep down his medication and prolong his life

While the legal process dragged on, the government prevented Peter from using the marijuana that controlled his nausea. Peter was required to pass drug tests. He complied, even though his life was at risk, because . . .

* Peter’s mother and brother had to put up their homes as collateral to post his bail
* If he failed the test, their homes would have been seized by the government

Peter’s health deteriorated until he died at the age of 50. The vomiting had taken a tremendous toll on his alimentary canal, as well as his heart, and even his teeth. Despite the suffering, he never lost his sense of humor. And the reason I most admired him was that he felt sympathy for his tormentors, rather than rage. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=508

Marijuana saved Peter’s life, but the War on Drugs destroyed it.

Peter’s most noted book was “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do.” It promoted the idea that each person can do whatever they please with their own bodies and property, so long as they don’t interfere with the right of others to do the same. So let me ask you:

* What business is it of yours what people choose to do with their bodies and property?
* Where in the Constitution is the federal government empowered to deny people like Peter McWilliams the medicine they need?

Sadly, Peter wasn’t the only victim of your War on Drugs. He was just one victim among many. The long list of your victims includes . . .

* terminally ill patients for whom marijuana (or some other illegal drug) could ease pain and nausea
* people with psychological problems for whom now-illegal drugs could help calm them or clear their minds
* young people whose futures are ruined not because of drugs, but because of a “criminal” record
* innocent adults and children on our streets, in Mexico, and across the world caught in drug turf warfare
* innocent victims of no-knock SWAT raids and asset forfeiture
* young people who get hooked on drugs precisely because, unlike legal drugs such as cigarettes and alcohol, they’re available to be bought and sold on the streets and school grounds

The United States leads the world in incarceration rates, mostly because of non-violent, consensual crimes like drug possession. Apparently President Obama wants even more people in prison. He wants increased funding for interdiction, law enforcement, and the continuation of bloody drug wars across the border.

I suggest you do something else. Read and learn from Peter’s books – especially “Nobody’s Business.” And then put an end to this stupid, immoral, and unconstitutional War on Drugs.

END LETTER

You may send your letter through DownsizeDC.org’s Educate The Powerful System.

And we urge you to spread this message far and wide. Share it on Facebook.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

You can find background on this issue in these Downsizer-Dispatches:

• http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/write-the-laws-act-does-the-clean-air-act-cover-greenhouse-gases
• http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/climate-change-amp-write-the-laws-act-do-you-want-bureaucrats-to-rewrite-laws

And you can read the one-paragraph resolution here.

Keep in mind that we’re not taking a position on climate science. We simply believe the EPA has no constitutional authority to regulate greenhouse gases without specific legislation from Congress. In addition, the EPA’s proposed regulations violate the intent of the Clean Air Act at the cost of harming the economy. Finally, as the letter below shows, CO2 emissions are already falling, without government involvement!

DownsizeDC.org proposed the Write the Laws Act to prevent this kind of bureaucratic mischief.

Please send a letter to your elected representatives. Ask them to support S.J. Res. 26, and introduce the Write the Laws Act.

The opening line in the letter to Congress is, “Please introduce DownsizeDC.org’s “Write the Laws Act.” You can find a summary and the full text of the bill here: http://www.downsizedc.org/wtla-legislation ”

You may borrow from or copy these additional remarks . . .

Please also support S.J. Res. 26. This resolution invokes the CRA (Congressional Review Act) to overturn the EPA’s “endangerment” ruling on Greenhouse Gases. But the CRA doesn’t go far enough, so please also introduce the Write the Laws Act (WTLA).

Let me be clear that I’m not disputing the science regarding global warming, and your own position on global warming should have nothing to do with where you stand on S.J. Res.26. Here’s why . . .

* The EPA claims authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act
* But this was not Congress’s intent when it passed the Clean Air Act
* And whereas the Clean Air Act applied to large facilities emitting ozone-causing pollutants, the EPA’s greenhouse gas ruling would apply to small buildings, schools, and farms
* This will destroy jobs and increase prices during a recession

In addition, U.S. CO2 emissions hit a 14-year low in 2009, without government regulation!

Even better news, the Energy Information Administration estimates that a large majority of the decline resulted from increasing energy efficiency within the economy, and an ongoing reduction in the carbon intensity of our energy usage — part of a permanent trend. Only about one-third of the drop in CO2 emissions was because of the temporary effects of the recession. http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2010/05/co2-emissions-fall-to-14-year-low-in.html

Private owners already have a financial incentive to be energy-efficient, and to demonstrate to customers that they are environmentally conscious. Please allow these natural forces to continue working. Don’t strangle us with top-down dictates.

Finally, your oath of office requires you to constrain the EPA. ALL regulations should be decided by Congress, not by unelected bureaucrats. Article I of the Constitution says that legislative power is vested in CONGRESS, not in Executive Branch agencies like the EPA.

When a controversial issue like greenhouse gases comes up, Congress should . . .

* hold hearings
* weigh the evidence
* consider expert testimony
* weigh the costs and benefits
* and THEN pass (or not pass) appropriate legislation in keeping with constitutional limits

Use your power to support S.J. 26. Then take action to stop executive agencies from writing their own regulations. Introduce DownsizeDC.org’s “Write the Laws Act.” The power to regulate and legislate belongs ONLY to you members of Congress!

END LETTER

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

And spread the word! Forward to friends and Digg this on our blog. http://tinyurl.com/2ex4wgw

James Wilson
Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.

You can copy of borrow from my sample letter . . .

Please do not entangle us in more top-down federal regulation. Specifically, oppose the attempt to attach Amendment 4174 to the latest appropriations bill (H.R. 4899), or to any other bill for that matter.

This amendment would force local governments to unionize their police and firefighting employees. This is a decision that MUST be made by local ELECTED governments, and NOT by the increasingly dictatorial federal government.

I would add to this that the unionization of supposed public servants appears to be a real problem. Government employees seem to be looting the taxpayers they are supposed to serve. For instance, according to the New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/27v8jbq

1. Roughly 3,700 retired “public servants” in New York are receiving pensions in excess of $100,000 a year
2. 22 retirees receive more than $200,000 per year, and one receives more than $300,000      
3. The city’s firefighters have not yet provided information on pensions, even though this is required by law, and the police department wouldn’t disclose the names of those who are receiving these kinds of huge pensions
4. These out of control government union pensions are a big reason states like New York are in danger of going bankrupt

Mark Perry, of the University of Michigan, points out that the top recipients of New York pensions, as described in points 1 and 2 above, would, all by themselves, rank as the 178th largest economy in the world! This is an outrage!

Please do not inflict this problem on the entire country. Please protect local self-rule and fiscal sanity. VOTE NO on Amendment 4174, or any other proposal remotely like it.

I am watching what you do very closely.

END LETTER

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

Perry Willis
Vice President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Official email newsletter of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation.