Ten years ago this month, Congress passed the so-called Patriot Act without taking the time to read or debate it. It was signed into law on October 26, 2001. This tenth anniversary is the perfect time to call for its repeal.

That’s why I wrote the following letter. We encourage you to write a letter of your own, or copy or borrow from this…

The Patriot Act should never have been passed. Ten years later, it should be repealed for at least four reasons…

First, the Patriot Act attacks the First Amendment…

* Americans can be investigated for what they read and write, and what websites they’ve visited
* The Feds can “gag” my bank, my librarian, and my Internet Service Provider, preventing them from telling me if I’m under investigation

Second, it undermines the Fourth Amendment… (http://tinyurl.com/yehnak2)

* The Feds do not even have to show “reasonable suspicion,” let alone “probable cause,” to gain access to my records
* Because I can be investigated without my knowledge, I have no means to challenge illegitimate searches

Third, there is little reason to believe terror acts have been prevented by the Patriot Act…

* If the law was used to foil terrorist plots, the Administration would boast about such instances
* Instead, foiled terrorist plots are frequently sting operations using undercover operatives and informants

Fourth, there is reason to doubt whether protecting the people from terrorism was ever the Patriot Act’s real purpose…

* Expanded wiretap and search authority are used in ordinary domestic criminal investigations, not just in terror cases
* The Executive branch has a “secret” interpretation of the Patriot Act that is inconsistent with a plain reading of it (http://tinyurl.com/3nn47kn)
* Meanwhile, the FBI continues to collect data collection through National Security Letters — some 40-50 thousand are issued per year (http://tinyurl.com/3varjc9)

How is it permissible for the Executive to have “secret” interpretations of the law? What is the Executive doing with the information it secretly collects about us, without our knowledge? Shouldn’t citizens of a Republic be ASHAMED of this behavior by their “government?”

The Patriot Act attacks our freedom, our values, and our way of life — the very things its supporters claim it protects. It promotes secrecy and prevents accountability in our federal government. It has fostered a Big Brother culture throughout Washington DC that led to similarly egregious legislation like REAL ID and the FISA Amendments Act.

Put an end to this dangerous trend. Stand up and speak out on behalf of the Bill of Rights and against the Surveillance State. Introduce legislation to repeal the Patriot Act.

END LETTER

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

If you want to increase the pressure on Congress, there’s one other thing you can do. Help grow the Downsize DC Army. And the best way to do that is to start a monthly credit card pledge. You can do so for as little as a dollar. Our top monthly pledger gives $250. Any amount you can do will help.

In fact, this is a great time to pledge, thanks to Bill Haynes, of CMI Gold & Silver.

Bill has agreed to match $2,500 worth of new monthly pledges with $5,000 of his own, by December 31. Think of it this way: Start a new pledge of $1, Bill’s contributes $2, tripling your first month’s investment. Remember, any amount will help us reach the goal.

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 House is considering H.R.2885, the “Legal Workforce Act.” This bill MANDATES that ALL employers use the “E-Verify” employment verification system. We strongly oppose this bill. It is REAL ID on steroids.

Many reading this have spent years fighting successfully against REAL ID. It seems a shame to lose the battle now simply because the politicians have finally found something — immigration — that scares enough people to make us submit.

We understand that some people who say they want to shrink the federal state just as much as we do, still support E-Verify. They claim this new dictate is needed to combat illegal immigration. We seem to be “heretics” in this case because we believe…

• E-Verify is a disease far worse than that which it seeks to cure; in fact…
• Illegal immigration is NOT the “problem” many politicians and pundits claim it to be.

That second bullet point may stun you. You may reject it immediately, or find it hard to believe. But we do NOT make this claim lightly. We base it on what we think is good evidence and reasoning. If you’re tempted to reject our position please take a moment to consider our evidence and arguments. You can always decide against us if you find our case unconvincing. James Wilson presents our analysis in an essay at the Downsize DC Foundation website.

But, even if you support strong immigration restrictions, E-Verify is still a terrible proposal. It infringes on YOUR right to work, injures small business, and encourages identity theft.

That’s why DownsizeDC.org is giving you a new campaign you can use to tell your elected representatives to oppose the E-Verify national ID system.

The hard-wired letter to Congress begins,

Please oppose H.R. 2885, the “Legal Workforce Act.” Fight any bill that mandates E-Verify or any other national ID system.

You may borrow from or copy these additional comments…

E-Verify is supposedly intended to crack down on illegal immigration. What it will REALLY do is crack down on law-abiding American workers and employers.

1. This Act would require each American to ask permission from the Federal Government when hiring or being hired.
2. The Social Security Administration estimates 3.6 million Americans would have to visit an SSA field office each year in order to KEEP their jobs (http://bit.ly/d0cEj6).
3. It creates a de facto National Identification System that could grow to include biometrics such as fingerprints, DNA and/or an iris scan. This is tantamount to an unconstitutional, warrantless search.
4. It won’t be long before employers will be required to verify whether employees are delinquent in the payment of federal, state, or local taxes, in compliance with child support or alimony decrees, on a terrorist watch list, or accused of a crime.
5. Errors in the verification process will be practically immune from timely legal redress.
6. This bill doesn’t protect employers from criminal prosecution should they employ an individual later proven to be in the U.S. illegally, or who has successfully assumed a fake or stolen identity.
7. The loss of jobs will be staggering as employers substitute machinery for employees or outsource employment to avoid the vexations and costs of compliance.
8. The loss of tax revenues will likewise be huge, as jobs go underground.
9. It will create a massive black market for fake identities, especially for short-term jobs where illegal workers will be long-gone before there is any chance of detection.
10. Finally, it will make it very difficult for law-abiding victims of identity theft to find work.

In summation, E-Verify will lead to both more bureaucracy and a bigger black market, greater surveillance and less freedom, plus higher unemployment and identity theft. Sometimes, the cure is worse than the alleged disease. Oppose E-Verify!

END LETTER

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

We encourage you to tell us what you think about E-verify and our handling of this issue. You can do this by clicking “Reply.” We won’t be able to respond to everyone, but your comments will be read, and carefully considered.

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.

Isn’t this just more evidence that the TSA should be ABOLISHED, instead of reformed?

I wrote a letter telling Congress to do just that, and I invite you to do the same.

You may borrow from or copy this letter…

The TSA is under fire. So, it is trying to make some improvements, such as…

Transitioning away from “naked” body scanners. Their “reforms” even include a trusted flier program to enjoy a more streamlined screening experience. Sounds good, right?

But this proposal requires you to give up even MORE of your privacy.

It is fundamentally wrong that the people must request permission, from the federal government, to board an airliner.

The Supreme Court said in United States v. Guest (http://tinyurl.com/3dh25r8) that “The constitutional right to travel from one State to another, and necessarily to use the highways and other instrumentalities of interstate commerce in doing so, occupies a position fundamental to the concept of our Federal Union. It is a right that has been firmly established and repeatedly recognized.”

The very existence of the TSA, however, spits in the face of the Constitution…

• In violation of the Fourth Amendment, it conducts unreasonable searches against EVERY flier, almost all of whom provide no cause for reasonable suspicion
• In violation of the Fifth Amendment, it denies the right to fly to those who refuse to cooperate — depriving them of liberty without due process of law

It is not surprising that an unconstitutional agency will abuse its power. Here’s just ONE list of ten TSA outrages: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/274033/ten-tsa-outrages-charlie-cooke

No wonder people don’t want to fly. According to the U.S. Travel Association (http://tinyurl.com/3canjfy)...

• On average, each person avoids two to three trips a year because of the hassles of airport-security screening
• Which amounts to an estimated $85 billion in lost business for hotels, restaurants, airlines, and other travel suppliers
• And there’s a huge loss of productivity from those who DO fly. Think of the time wasted at airports because travelers have to arrive early, uncertain about how long it will take to get through security

YOU know as well as I that if private screeners treated passengers the way the TSA does…

• They’d face lawsuits from the public and likely investigation by the Department of Justice
• And probable criminal prosecution under state laws

Heck, you or your colleagues would probably want to haul them up before a committee to demand answers!

Ironically, private screeners would NOT DARE treat their customers this way…

• Airlines have an interest in keeping their passengers safe
• Airlines also have an interest in making the passenger experience as enjoyable as possible

Under a private airline security system, airports, airlines, and their insurance companies would develop innovative, un-intrusive methods to keep passengers safe. The most effective methods would be adopted by more airlines, who unlike the TSA must satisfy customers.

Airline security may have been “private” before 9/11. But it was still tightly regulated. Congress should abolish the TSA, AS WELL AS federal regulations. Airlines and their insurance companies would be held liable for hijackings, terrorist attacks, or other mishaps.

I would feel safer on an airliner with PRIVATE security and DEREGULATED procedures.

END LETTER

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

CHALLENGE: Make Bill Haynes of CMI Gold & Silver http://www.cmi-gold-silver.com/ pay out $5,000!

YOUR BENEFIT: Every NEW dollar you give will be worth $2, thanks to Bill. Start a pledge, or make a donation. If you give $10, then it’s value is $20 — $100, then it’s worth $200. 

THE GOAL: Existing pledges and PayPal support + Bill’s challenge + matched funds from generous donors like you = Budget Achieved!

Thank you for being a DC Downsizer,

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.

The Texas House unanimously passed a bill holding Transportation Security Agency (TSA) agents accountable for touching people’s private parts without probable cause. In response, the Department of Justice threatened to ground flights in Texas. DoJ’s threat caused the bill to die in the Texas Senate.

It’s possible the bill will be revived in a special legislative session. While we support the purposes of this bill, we believe the best solution is for Congress to just get rid of the TSA altogether.

That’s why I sent the following letter to my Representative and Senators. We encourage you to send a letter as well, and you may borrow from or copy this . . .

I am OUTRAGED that the DoJ threatened to ground flights in Texas if it passed a law simply requiring probable cause for TSA agents (or other government personnel) to touch people’s private parts as part of a search.

Where in the Constitution does the federal government have the power to declare any state a virtual “no-fly” zone? Do we live in a dictatorship?

Reports come in every day of children, young women, the elderly, and disabled persons being “handled” by TSA agents, inappropriately and for no reason. States have EVERY RIGHT to protect their citizens from sexual assault.

But the TSA’s groping of private parts is only part of the problem. The “naked body scanners” and pat-downs of travelers are themselves unreasonable searches and seizures that violate the Fourth Amendment. If there is no cause to suspect that someone will do harm, there is no cause to search him or her!

Furthermore, these searches are an enormous waste of time and resources. The TSA’s procedures are “security theater,” in which it PRETENDS to be “doing something” to keep us safe, without actually making us safer.

Is there an alternative? Yes!

I would feel MUCH safer if airlines provided their own security with NO federal control or regulation. Airlines have every incentive to prevent hijackings and bombings.

* Insurance companies would essentially regulate airlines, insisting that safety concerns be addressed. Premiums would regulate behavior.
* Airlines would compete with each other to provide a safe, hassle-free, and enjoyable flight experience for the customer.

This is common sense, isn’t it?

But if the TSA fails, even once, my best guess is that there will be calls to double their budget, and make the pre-flight experience even more miserable.

The federal government needs to cut costs, and the TSA serves no useful purpose. Please abolish this agency.

END LETTER

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

And we invite you to our blog and “Like” and Tweet this Dispatch.

James Wilson
Policy Research 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.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is urging people to call the White House TODAY, and urge President Obama to veto any Patriot Act renewal that doesn’t contain civil liberties protections.

We agree. This is a good opportunity to remind the President that he promised to reform the Patriot Act when he was a candidate.

You can learn more at the EFF website, and we borrow some language from here in our letter below.

But we need to maintain our pressure on Congress too . . .

* Tell Congress you want them to REPEAL the Patriot Act outright
* Any renewal must contain the strongest possible civil liberties provisions

Please tell Congress what you want.

The hardwired message says, “Repeal the Patriot Act. Do NOT renew any of its provisions.”

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

If renewal appears inevitable, I urge you to do everything in your power to protect civil liberties.

As uncovered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the FBI used the Patriot Act’s “roving wiretaps” provision to listen in on the phone conversations of young children . . .for five days! https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/03/documents-obtained-eff-reveal-fbi-patriot-act

Can there possibly be a good reason for this? The FBI won’t tell us. As the EFF also reports, when the FBI responds to Freedom of Information requests, it redacts crucial information.

Even when a member of Congress, such as former Sen. Russ Feingold finds out about FBI abuses, he feels compelled to reveal it to other members of Congress only in a classified setting. This is simply wrong. The FBI must be subservient to Congress, NOT the other way around.

And the FBI is able to launch investigations – called “assessments” – based on ZERO factual evidence. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/us/27fbi.html?_r=1

It appears to the common citizen that the FBI is acting like it did in 1950 and 1960′s, when it wiretapped people like Martin Luther King.

But even more important that these FBI abuses of power, is the fact that the FBI has powers it can abuse. These powers are unconstitutional, and must be withdrawn. Barring that, they must be curtailed . . .

* Require that secret National Security Letters and Section 215 orders can only be used to obtain records linked to suspected spies and terrorists, not innocent Americans.

* Protect the free speech rights of people who receive these government demands

* Stop blank-check “John Doe” roving wiretaps – by requiring foreign intelligence investigators to identify their surveillance target

* Let the “lone wolf” wiretapping provision expire, because it unconstitutionally allows the government to spy on people inside the U.S. who have no link to any foreign organization.

Better yet, REPEAL the Patriot Act in its entirety!

END LETTER

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

And we invite you to follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DDCDispatch

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.

Thankfully, countless other groups took up the charge, and secured nullification in 24 state legislatures.

Because of all that pressure, the Dept. of Homeland Security is once again extending the deadline for states to implement REAL ID.

Let’s build on the momentum. Tell Congress to kill REAL ID.

You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .  

I am pleased Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano extended the deadline for states to implement REAL ID from this May to January, 2013. If she hadn’t done this, people in states that haven’t implemented REAL ID could have been denied the right to board an airplane.

But the Secretary can’t repeal REAL ID. Congress can, and should.

The REAL ID Act . . .

* Forces innocent American citizens to carry an “internal passport” or National ID card in the form of a standardized state driver’s license . . .
* Where their personal information is barcoded and put in a central database . . .
* Which makes them MORE vulnerable to identity theft

REAL ID also violates fundamental liberties. It will be needed not only to board an airplane or enter federal buildings, it could also be required to earn a living, and even to purchase firearms or prescription drugs!

In states that have implemented REAL ID, innocent citizens are forced into longer and multiple visits to the DMV, and to track down records and documents to “prove” their identity.

And states are forced to spend money they don’t have to comply with it. No wonder two dozen states have chosen to “nullify” REAL ID.

The REAL ID Act is a phony piece of legislation that exploited anti-Moslem and anti-Mexican sentiment. But it can’t prevent either terrorism or illegal immigration! The only people it regulates are innocent Americans.

America is better than that.

Show us that YOU’RE better than that. Repeal REAL ID and replace it with nothing.

END LETTER

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

And if you have friends who value liberty and privacy, we encourage you to forward this Dispatch to them.

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.

The computer and by extension, the internet, has played an intricate role in expanding liberty. Wikipedia, founded by an Objectivist, has put the life of many influential libertarians from Lao-tzu to Ludwig Von Mises as well as their life’s work on an easy to read internet encyclopedia. The Cato Institute informs followers of their crusades over social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. During the 2008 Presidential Election, Representative Ron Paul made headlines for his record-breaking money bombs, millions of dollars raised by individuals over the internet. These “series of tubes” have blessed our movement immeasurably. But with every blessing, there is a curse and this curse often takes the form of internet search forums including Spokeo.com.

Spokeo, whose catch phrase is, “Not your grandma’s white pages”, allows anyone to type in a name and locate a human being. Whether you are looking for a long lost friend, a runaway spouse or trying to find a reclusive celebrity, Spokeo can be your personal private investigator with just the touch of a few buttons. For no charge, you can find where someone lives, their marital status, their relatives, how much their house is worth and their hobbies. For a flat monthly rate, Spokeo will give you nearly anything else you want to know about that person including photographs.

This website and websites like it should alarm not just libertarians but anyone who is worried about the safety, security and privacy of themselves and their family. For years, Americans had to worry about what the government knew and wanted to know about them. Now, this has spilled over into the private sector where websites like Spokeo are trying to make a profit by exploiting the private lives of ordinary citizens.

While there is no way to escape the growing curse of the internet or of websites such as these, there are several precautions you can take to avoid their intrusions. First, know that just because you are not in the phone book does not mean that you aren’t on Spokeo. A family member of mine argued that since he was unlisted, Spokeo wouldn’t have his information. I found him in thirty seconds. Second, be careful about what you post on social networking sites. Spokeo gathers much of its information from sites such as Facebook. When setting up your profile, make sure to exclude sensitive material about yourself or your family from the page.

Lastly, look for ways to delete yourself from such sites. Spokeo gives you an option to delete yourself by clicking on the “privacy” tab located at the bottom of the website. Though this should permanently delete your information from the website, be skeptical and verify their promise every few months or so. When it comes to retaining your liberty and privacy, every possible precaution should be taken. Tell your friends and family about Spokeo.com and keep your eyes peeled for any other privacy stealing websites.

Forty-five days after 9/11, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act without reading it. This new law was supposed to protect you from terrorism, but it has really left you unprotected against lawless federal agents.

The Patriot Act contains numerous violations of the Fourth Amendment. It gives federal agents vast new powers that have been abused to investigate innocent Americans.

In 2001 and 2006 concerned members of Congress urged expiration dates on some of the Patriot Act’s most controversial powers. Regrettably, Congress has constantly renewed those powers, despite a multitude of FBI abuses. Last year, the extension was passed with just a voice vote!

Now, another expiration is at hand — February 28, 2011. Unfortunately, Rep. Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has introduced H.R. 67 to renew the provisions for another year.

If you support Constitutional government please send Congress a letter asking for repeal of the Patriot Act, and opposing H.R. 67.

The hardwired letter on this campaign reads . . .

Repeal the Patriot Act. Do NOT renew any of its provisions.

To this I added the following personal comments, which you may copy from or borrow for your own letter . . .

All of the following provisions of the Patriot Act violate the Constitution . . .

* Roving wiretaps, where my calls can be monitored without specific warrant
* The infamous “library provision” where The State can monitor my reading habits
* National Security Letters that allow federal agents to spy on me without a Constitutional warrant, and where the service providers who share my private info can’t tell me about it
* Requirements that my bank report my financial activities to federal cops and bureaucrats

This is only a partial list. Nearly everything in the Patriot Act violates the Constitution, which you swore to defend.

Please take note — you did NOT swear an oath to defend me and my fellow citizens from every threat that makes you nervous. It’s the Constitution that you’re supposed to worry about first.

Everyone agrees that terrorists should be caught and stopped. But before 9/11, the federal government already had all the tools it needed to prevent that attack. The failure to prevent 9-11 was due to incompetence, NOT the Constitution.

Now, the Patriot Act has made federal incompetence more likely, NOT less. It has caused federal agents to lose their focus. The Justice Department’s Inspector General reports that between 2003 and 2006 the FBI granted itself nearly 200,000 NSLs, but most of these were directed at innocent Americans, NOT potential terrorists.

What this tells me is that you are endangering me, NOT protecting me. This kind of abuse is why the Constitution limits State power, because no mere human can be trusted to use unlimited power wisely.

In conclusion . . .

* The Patriot Act should not be a law because it was NOT read before it was passed.
* The Patriot Act should not have been passed because it violates the Constitution.
* The Patriot Act would not have prevented 9-11, and it is NOT needed to combat future terrorist acts.
* The Patriot Act has been constantly abused, in spite of the usual worthless political promises that it would not be.

Please obey your Constitutional oath of office. Repeal the Patriot Act, and OPPOSE any extension of its provisions.

END LETTER

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

And please tell your friends about this campaign. “Like” us on Facebook and share this: http://www.facebook.com/downsizedc

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.

That’s why DownsizeDC.org is introducing our Hands Off the Internet campaign.

If you like what the free market version of the Internet has done for you, then please take action to protect it from interference by The State.

In the coming weeks and months we’ll use this campaign to address specific issues. But Congress should also be told right now where you stand on the issue as a whole. That’s why we’re asking you to send a letter to your Representative and your two Senators telling them that you value Internet freedom.

The hard-wired letter says . . .

Please oppose any attempts to undermine Internet freedom.

You may borrow from or copy these additional remarks, or write something of your own . . .

I know Congress will deal with many Internet-related issues this year. In any bill that you consider, I demand that you protect my rights . . .

* to contract with the Internet Service Provider of my choice
* to speak and publish freely on the Internet, including my right to remain anonymous

I also demand that you oppose . . .

* government monitoring of emails and web activies without a search warrant
* any bill allowing the President to take over the Internet under the pretense of “national security”
* the FCC or international agreements from regulating the Internet
* all taxation on Internet transactions
* the creation of a State-issued and State-controlled Internet ID.

The free market, State-free Internet works. Leave it alone.

END LETTER

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

And check out these new posts at the Downsize DC Foundation . . .

Tax the Rich? The Tale of Warren’s Money

Lilliputian Liberty

Quote File: Gun Prohibition vs the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

How to Create a Local Free Market Currency

For more great quotes, factoids, and insight, go to the Downsize DC Foundation Home page.

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.

That’s because REAL ID – which is a de facto national ID card – lays the foundation for a future police state.

That’s why so many people have fought against it so hard for so long. And thanks to that resistence REAL ID still hasn’t been implimented, six years after it became law! A big part of this is because of your pressure.

And now there’s more good news . . .

There’s a silver lining in the monstrous, 1,926-page appropriations bill (H.R. 3082). This bill rescinds funding for a REAL ID “hub.” The House already passed the bill, and the Senate will consider it as soon as TODAY.

This hub would have created a centralized ID verification system, where states share driver information with each other. Without this hub, REAL ID suffers a fatal blow.

That’s why we’re asking you to tell Congress to support this cut in REAL ID’s budget, and to repeal REAL ID altogether.

You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .

I’m glad that the House is rescinding funding for a REAL ID hub in the H.R. 3082 budget bill. My Senators should ensure that this rescission remains in the bill.

But you should do more. Repeal REAL ID entirely.

* REAL ID assumes I am a foreign terrorist or illegal immigrant, and that I must “prove” my innocence
* I am punished with higher fees, more red tape, and longer DMV lines
* And my private information will be centralized, making me more susceptible to identity theft and other dangers

Furthermore . . .

* The REAL ID law still exists as an unconstitutional, unfunded mandate on the cash-strapped states
* 21 states will still be out of compliance when it is scheduled to take effect in May, 2011 http://www.seattlepi.com/local/431425_realid08.html?source=mypi
* By de-funding the verification hub, there’s no longer any point in forcing the states to implement REAL ID

This is America, land of the free. It’s not the land of “Your papers, please.” Help restore liberty to America and repeal REAL ID.

END LETTER

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

And please share this good news with your friends. Share this on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/downsizedc

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

P.S. New articles at the Downsize DC Foundation:

* Strategic Thinking: The Rubber Band Syndrome vs. The Mental Depth Charge
* Our Lexicon: Coercion

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.

http://ohmygodronpaulwilleatallofourbabiesandourbabiesbabiesandtheirbabiesbabiesuntiltherearenobabiesleft.com/

————————–

By Richard Deekbag

What a joke! All these idiots complaining about their junk being touched by the TSA. I say we should just stand there and take it like real men. I say, “If it’s for national security then TOUCH MY JUNK, PLEASE!!” It’s the patriotic thing to do. If you opt-out of the junk-touching then the terrorists win, pure and simple. If you opt-out of the junk-touching then you hate America!!

I do think there is room for the TSA to improve this process though. It appears that all females get to be felt up by female TSA agents and all males get to be fondled by male TSA agents. This is a discriminatory practice. The TSA should ask the traveler if he or she is a homosexual. If the answer is affirmative then the traveler should be appropriately touched by a member of the opposite sex.

Yes, all touching in the name of national security is appropriate. Other than that small change I applaud the great work of the TSA over the past few weeks. The skies are infinitely safer and there can be no one who says they aren’t friendlier with this policy in place. In fact, they just published a children’s book to help children adapt to the new policy. Here’s is the cover:

This is a great effort by the TSA. They didn’t have to do this. In fact I heartily recommend you contact the TSA via their TalktoTSA website and let them know how much you appreciate them caring enough to do a free hernia check on children as well as adult air travelers. They are so damn good at it they don’t even ask you to turn your head and cough!

Now let’s turn our attention to the terrorist-harboring, enemy combatant-infested, treasonous organization known as Wikileaks. The bottom line is that everyone associated with Wikileaks should be waterboarded for fun and then executed. As patriotic Americans we cannot tolerate having the truth told about government lies. We must protect the lies! These bald-faced lies are crucial for national security!

The American people need to understand that truth is treason when it comes to protecting the homeland. They act like the government exists solely for them! How utterly ridiculous! They need to pay attention in the public school classroom so they learn some important lessons about their government.

Government is their God and their God is good. America is not a nanny-state as some say. It is a God-state. It always does what’s in the citizenry’s best interest whether they like it or not. Everything it touches turns into a success story! All the wars are won and over quickly. There is very little national debt. The budget is balanced year after year, when adjusted for inflation. And of course, the government protects the free market by regulating it perfectly! But I digress.

Here is something that cannot be just a coincidence. Head of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange has a curious middle name. It is a name he has in common with another man who is wrong on every damn thing. Assange’s middle name is Paul. I, am of course, talking about the crazy, kooky, and quixotic Congressman from Texas, Ron Paul.

It’s obvious that Ron Paul needs to have his head examined. Paul has come out in support of Wikileaks revealing the truth about our government. This amounts to treason. Congress recently censured Charlie Rangel for ethics violations. His violations pale in comparison to Ron Paul’s constant violations. Ron Paul should be censured and thrown out of Congress. After all he actually believes in and follows the Constitution. How utterly ridiculous!

So to recap, Americans should live by these tenets:

1. The first person to use “National Security” as an excuse, always wins!
2. Touch my junk, please! It’s patriotic!
3. Touch my junk, please! Or the terrorists win!
4. Julian Paul Assange should get a medal… tied around his neck and be dropped from a plane over the Pacific Ocean.
5. Truth is treason, government lies must remain secret! It’s patriotic!
6. Truth is treason, government lies must remain secret! Or the terrorists win!
7. Ron Paul believes in the Constitution. Censure Him!! And don’t get me started on his supporters.

America! F@%& YEAH!,

Richard Deekbag

————

There’s been a backlash against airport screening procedures. Passengers object to scanners that reveal their naked bodies, and to enhanced pat-downs that would be considered sexual assault anywhere else.

John Tyner summed it up perfectly: “Don’t touch my junk!”

We object to the TSA’s new procedures. But they are just the latest in a long list of indignities imposed upon you since 9/11, such as . . .

* Being forced to remove your belt and shoes when screened
* Seeing your toothpaste and nail clippers confiscated

These violations presume that you sacrifice your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures when you want to board a plane, but the politicians didn’t amend the Constitution to achieve this. They just ignored it.

Congress created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to screen passengers and baggage after 9/11. But the TSA was ill-conceived. Potential terrorists already residing in the U.S. have little incentive to use airplanes in their plots. There are too many other, easier targets. Please take note . . .

Airline-related terrorism attempts since 9/11 — such as the shoe bomber and the underpants bomber – originated overseas, outside the TSA’s jurisdiction.

The entire TSA scheme is like trying to close the barn door after the cows have already escaped.

This is why our new “Don’t Touch My Junk” campaign calls for the outright abolition of the TSA.

Instead of the TSA centralized nightmare, we need a decentralized system where each individual airline provides its own individual approach to security. This would confront terrorists with multiple security systems to crack, while giving consumers choices about how much or how little they want in terms of security checks. Best of all . . .

It relies on the self-interest of the airlines to protect their customers.

If you agree, please tell Congress to abolish the TSA.

The hard-wired letter says, “Please abolish TSA, and permit airlines to provide their own security plans.”

You may also borrow from or copy these additional comments . . .

The TSA has caused . . .

* Increased wait times and delays
* Silly bans on carry-on items
* Humiliating searches
* Arbitrary harassment, and . . .
* TSA employee theft of passenger possessions http://www.prwatch.org/node/9621

These burden have caused more people to drive rather than fly, leading to more highway fatalities. http://tinyurl.com/23ygrp9

This results in a victory for the terrorists. They get us to change our way of life, and kill more Americans in the process.

The TSA’s new invasive pat-downs and embarrassing naked body scanners will cause even more passengers — who don’t want the TSA to “touch (or see) my junk” — to drive instead of fly. This will lead to even more deaths. And the scanners themselves may cause cancer. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/300735

But the TSA isn’t even necessary. Amusement parks, stadiums, and skyscrapers provide their own private security. Airlines should be allowed do the same.

If you abolish the top-down TSA control and adopt a free market in airline security . . .

* Airports and airlines would be held liable for security lapses that cause harm
* They would compete and innovate to produce the most customer-friendly, low-cost, efficient forms of security
* Diversity of security methods would make it harder for potential terrorists and hijackers to plan attacks

You should order the TSA to get rid of the body scanners and end the new pat-downs. But be a visionary leader, and do more. Abolish the TSA.

END LETTER

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

And please share this with your friends who are also concerned about the shredding of our Constitutional rights. For instance, you can share this on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/downsizedc

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

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