DownsizeDC.org

Consent Chronicle: Are Congresscritters Illiterate?

2013-05-20T15:12:00Z

The new Consent Chronicle replaces the Downsizer-Dispatch. The new name reflects the strategy and spirit of both DownsizeDC.org and the Zero Aggression Project, because...

Even the most coercive power requires consent to survive. We must deny our consent when The State acts immorally.

Today’s e-magazine includes...

Will anyone in Congress read the immigration bill?
Why you should send letters, even if your Rep is NOT reading them.
A tip to make you more persuasive.

TAKE ACTION!

Will any member of Congress even read it the 844 page immigration bill?

DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act requires 50% plus one of the members, to sit and listen to a word for word, start to finish, reading of any bill before the final vote for passage. Why?

Because the mind will procure what the hiney will endure. If members of Congress have to sit and listen to the bills they pass, you can be assured the bills will get shorter and become fewer. We might even manage to Downsize DC!

You can use the Educate the Powerful System^SM to send a letter insisting that your Representative and Senators introduce DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act. Get more information and a sample letter about the 844 page immigration bill at our blog.

Remember, share this blog post with your friends!

WHERE’S JIM BABKA

Do you feel like members of Congress don’t even read the letters you send? Hear Jim give Mark Edge, of Free Talk Live, six reasons you should write to Congress, even when they don’t read what you send them. Listen now.

IMPROVE THE AMERICAN MIND

Our Lexicon: Legalized Counterfeiting

by Perry Willis

What words should you use when each time you talk about the Federal Reserve? Get the details in this lexicon entry.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

DownsizeDC.org thinks it can change the world for $1 a month. Isn't that a bet worth taking? Start or increase a monthly pledge for that amount or more.

Will Anyone in Congress Read the Immigration Bill?

2013-05-20T12:55:00Z

The Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of 8” unveiled an 844-page immigration “reform” bill in April.

Do you think your Senators will read it? Your Representative?

What if they had to? What if every bill had to be read word-for-word by House clerks before a quorum (majority) in each chamber of Congress?

Wouldn’t we get...

Shorter bills...
Simpler bills...
and, most importantly, FEWER bills?

If that sounds good to you, please tell your employees in Congress to pass Downsize DC’s Read the Bills Act.

You may borrow from or copy this letter...

You misrepresent your constituents when you pass bills without reading them.

That’s why DownsizeDC.org’s RTBA requires a full reading of each bill before a quorum in your chamber.

You might think that’s unrealistic, but you’d have it backwards.

YOUR BILLS are unrealistic. The 844-page Immigration bill (S. 744) is the latest example. Too many pages means more complexity and more problems, just like with previous huge bills ranging in size from a few hundred pages to more than 2,000...

* “No Child Left Behind” made education worse.
* The Medicare drug entitlement will add trillions to the federal debt.
* Obamacare is causing employers to drop coverage and doctors to retire early.
* Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank punish honest businesses with useless requirements and paperwork.

What do those bills have in common?

* They were huge
* Congress didn’t read them before passing them
* They all try to solve problems through COERCION.

I will interpret Congress’s refusal to do this in the following way . . .

* The institution you serve is un-reformable
* The institution you serve is criminal
* The Declaration of Independence suggests you should be replaced

END LETTER

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

Also, you can see the list of bills, including their number of pages, that Congress passed in March here.

And in April here.

James Wilson is Policy Research Director of DownsizeDC.org.

Does Congress Think You Are Stupid?

2013-05-13T13:40:00Z

The Senate passed the fraudulently-named “Marketplace Fairness Act” last week. You can see how they voted here.

It forces so-called “large” online businesses to pay out-of-state sales taxes for the products they sell. But a new tax is like a noose. It will only tighten, which means...

Your taxes will go up.

Only the Senate has passed this bill. We need to stop it in the House. So it’s important that BOTH your Representative and Senators hear from you. You can do so using DownsizeDC.org’s “Hands Off the Internet” campaign.

The hardwired message says...

As a constituent, I insist that you oppose any attempts to undermine Internet freedom.

I added these remarks, from which you may borrow from or copy...

That’s why I’m angry the Senate passed the mis-named Marketplace Fairness Act (S. 743).

Supporters claim only online retailers with out-of-state sales exceeding $1,000,000 must comply.

As I understand the bill, that’s true... today.

But do you think we’re stupid?

Like any new tax, this is a noose. It will only tighten.

Consider income taxes. As the Tax Foundation notes (http://bit.ly/X5HsLe)...

* In 1913 (the first year of the modern income tax), most paid 1%; the super-wealthy paid no more than 7%.
* Thanks to a century of stupid wars and destructive “social” programs, in 2013: the LOWEST rate is 10%, and goes up to 39.6%
* And that doesn’t include payroll taxes working people are socked with.

You don’t think this will happen with sales taxes?

* The $1,000,000 bar will likely NEVER be raised, no matter how much inflation we face.
* You’ll be under constant pressure from state and local politicians to LOWER the bar.

Why help them? Since 1950...

… state and local “government” spending jumped from 9.5% of GDP to over 21%. (http://bit.ly/121te0A)

Just like the feds, states don’t have a revenue problem, they have a SPENDING problem. It’s wrong to bail them out.

And it is criminal to force vendors in relatively responsible, well-governed states to pay taxes to corrupt politicians in distant states. Yes, I mean that. It really is criminal; taxation without representation once justified a revolution.

The United States Senate must think we’re stupid! Will the House go along? Well...

I’ll be watching the House closely. If you pass S. 743, that’ll provide yet more evidence that politicians are corrupt and incompetent.

Wise up, or you’ll find yourself out of a job.

END LETTER

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

Jim Babka is President of DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Our Website Was Attacked

2013-05-07T13:45:00Z

Quote of the Day: “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” - Allen Saunders

Hackers attacked our website last week.

We managed to block them. All your user information remained secure. And we’ve created new safeguards to prevent a recurrence. But . . .

Cleaning-up the mess has consumed our attention. This explains our recent silence.

We’ll be back to form soon, but we thought you should know what’s been happening.

Thanks for your support!

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Bills passed in Congress, April 2013

2013-05-01T16:26:00Z

The following are the bills the House and Senate passed last month. The bills were passed by voice vote except where indicated. Roll call votes for the House are found here, and for the Senate here. The descriptions of bills are essentially taken verbatim from the Congressional Record Daily Digest (Index).

SENATE 3 bills, 16 pages

STOCK Act: Senate passed S. 716, to modify the requirements under the STOCK Act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms. 6 pages

District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act: Senate passed H.R. 1246, to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide that the District of Columbia Treasurer or one of the Deputy Chief Financial Officers of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia may perform the functions and duties of the Office in an acting capacity if there is a vacancy in the Office. 4 pages

Federal Aviation Administration: Senate passed S. 853, to provide the Secretary of Transportation with the flexibility to transfer certain funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation Administration. 6 pages

HOUSE 18 bills, 456 pages

Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act: H.R. 254, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 400 yeas to 4 nays, Roll No. 90 6 pages

American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2013: H.R. 1033, to authorize the acquisition and protection of nationally significant battlefields and associated sites of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 under the American Battlefield Protection Program, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 283 yeas to 122 nays, Roll No. 91. 6 pages

Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act: The House passed H.R. 678, to authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under Federal Reclamation law, by a yea-and-nay vote of 416 yeas to 7 nays, Roll No. 96. 8 pages

Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act: The House passed H.R. 1120, to prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from taking any action that requires a quorum of the members of the Board until such time as Board constituting a quorum shall have been confirmed by the Senate, the Supreme Court issues a decision on the constitutionality of the appointments to the Board made in January 2012, or the adjournment sine die of the first session of the 113th Congress, by a recorded vote of 219 ayes to 209 noes, Roll No. 101. 4 pages

Modifying the requirements under the STOCK Act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms: The House passed S. 716, to modify the requirements D306under the STOCK Act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms. 6 pages

Government Accountability Office Improvement Act: H.R. 1162, amended, to amend title 31, United States Code, to make improvements in the Government Accountability Office, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 408 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 103; 6 pages

District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act: H.R. 1246, to amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide that the District of Columbia Treasurer or one of the Deputy Chief Financial Officers of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia may perform the functions and duties of the Office in an acting capacity if there is a vacancy in the Office; 6 pages

Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2013: H.R. 882, amended, to prohibit the awarding of a contract or grant in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that the contractor or grantee has no seriously delinquent tax debts, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 407 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 104. 10 pages

Federal Information Security Amendments Act of 2013: H.R. 1163, to amend chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, to revise requirements relating to Federal information security, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 416 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 106; 28 pages

Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2013: H.R. 756, amended, to advance cybersecurity research, development, and technical standards, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 402 yeas to 16 nays, Roll No. 107; 36 pages

Advancing America's Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of D3212013: H.R. 967, amended, to amend the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to authorize activities for support of networking and information technology research, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 406 yeas to 11 nays, Roll No. 108. 28 pages

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act: The House passed H.R. 624, to provide for the sharing of certain cyber threat intelligence and cyber threat information between the intelligence community and cybersecurity entities, by a yea-and-nay vote of 288 yeas to 127 nays, Roll No. 117. Consideration of the measure began yesterday, April 17th. 40 pages

Making revisions in title 36, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current and make technical corrections and improvements: H.R. 1067, to make revisions in title 36, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current and make technical corrections and improvements, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 409 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 118 11 pages

Enacting title 54, United States Code, ``National Park Service and Related Programs'', as positive law: H.R. 1068, amended, to enact title 54, United States Code, ``National Park Service and Related Programs'', as positive law, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 409 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 119. 223 pages

Specifying the size of the precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins: H.R. 1071, to specify the size of the precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins 4 pages

Awarding posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th commemoration of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church: H.R. 360, amended, to award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th commemoration of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 420 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 123. 6 pages

Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act: The House passed H.R. 527, to amend the Helium Act to complete the privatization of the Federal helium reserve in a competitive market fashion that ensures stability in the helium markets while protecting the interests of American taxpayers, by a yea-and-nay vote of 394 yeas to 1 nay, Roll No. 128. Consideration of the measure began yesterday, April 25th. 32 pages

Providing the Secretary of Transportation with the flexibility to transfer certain funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation Administration: H.R. 1765, to provide the Secretary of Transportation with the flexibility to transfer certain funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation Administration, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 361 yeas to 41 nays, Roll No. 125. 6 pages

VICTORY: Internet Tax Vote Delayed!

2013-04-26T13:16:00Z

The so-called Marketplace Fairness Act never got a committee hearing and markup. The intent was to rush it through because opposition has always been too strong.

But you caught the Senate. A bipartisan group of Senators, from intervening states that don’t have a sales tax, used a procedural tactic to stall. Time is our ally. But the rumor is that a vote could come as soon as May 6.

As of now, the so-called “Marketplace Fairness Act” has the votes to pass. We believe we need to peel off as many as 25 supporting Senators. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to use DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful SystemSM to send a letter. Yesterday, we provided a sample letter with ten reasons you must deny your consent to this Internet sales tax.

URGENT: Internet tax may pass tomorrow

2013-04-25T15:41:00Z

Quote of the Day: “Will the highways on the Internet become more few?” - George W. Bush

That silly-sounding remark, made years ago, has become a valid question.

TOMORROW the Senate considers the Marketplace Fairness Act. Internet retailers, based in one state, will have to pay sales tax to others. Countless businesses will shutter. Others will be stillborn. YOU will have to pay more for the products you buy.

Do you believe you and your neighbors are insufficiently taxed?

If not, tell Congress to DEFEAT this monstrous bill using DownsizeDC.org’s “Hands Off the Internet” campaign.

The hardwired message says...

“As a constituent, I insist that you oppose any attempts to undermine Internet freedom.”

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

That’s why you should oppose S.743 and HR 684, the grossly misnamed “Marketplace Fairness Act.” It forces Internet retailers to charge sales taxes on their out-of-state customers.

Here are ten reasons to oppose it.

1. Internet retailers will have to know the tax laws of 10,000 state, county, and municipal “governments.” Just a tiny degree of empathy, from you, should be enough to secure your opposition to this bill, all by itself! However...

2. It also subjects retailers to audits from ANY of them. (http://on.wsj.com/MxmIro)

3. Messy compliance costs will be passed to consumers.

4. Compliance costs will also close many smaller retailers.

5. Many other enterprises will be stillborn — you’ll never know what you lost.

6. State “governments” that currently have NO sales taxes may enact them to participate in the looting.

7. States will also have an incentive to increase their sales taxes. If one state is making retailers pay 10%, why shouldn’t the others?

8. This new tax will bailout free-spending, mismanaged states, relieving them from the need for fiscal discipline.

9. This is a “middle-class tax increase,” something both parties allegedly oppose.

10. Most importantly, TAXATION is theft. If the services offered by “governments” are so wonderful, so efficient, and so free of corruption and cost-overruns, then why do you need men with guns to force people to pay for them? The truth is that you’re forcing people to pay for things they don’t want.

In short, the Marketplace Fairness Act is immoral. I deny my consent to this immortality, and I expect you to protect me by voting NO. But . . .

If you prefer to endorse this criminality by voting YES, please be aware that this will undermine your legitimacy. I have already decided that most of what you do is criminal and illegitimate. Passing this bill will be one more piece of evidence I can use to move others towards my position. It will move us one step closer to Jefferson’s remedy — to peacefully dissolve your criminal gang and institute new governments that serve, rather than dominate.

END LETTER

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

When you are logged in, you’ll see links to your Senator’s information including phone numbers. We encourage you to call them as well because we’re at the final hour. Phone calls, at this stage, are more powerful.

Thank you for Denying Consent!

Do you consent to murder?

2013-04-23T15:40:00Z

President Obama is using drones to murder people, including women and children -- even American citizens. These drone murders kill 49 innocents for every known terrorist. Do these crimes have your sanction?

A Senate committee held hearings about the President’s drone use yesterday (April 23). Please take action now to deny your consent to President Obama’s murderous policies. Here’s the best way to do that . . .

Tell Congress to repeal 2001’s “Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). This is the law that gave us the unending occupation in Afghanistan, and that basically gives the President a blank check to attack anyone, anywhere.

You can copy or edit the following sample letter . . .

The AUMF is obsolete. Those said to be responsible for the 9/11 attacks are dead or captured. But the AUMF lives on, and President Obama is using it to commit murder and create new enemies for America. Specifically . . .

* Obama murdered an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki -- without ever charging him with a crime!
* Then, two weeks later, he murdered al-Awlaki’s 16 year-old son Abdulrahman.
* Former Obama spokesperson Robert Gibbs flippantly declared that Abdulrahman should’ve had a “more responsible father.”

It SICKENS me that my so-called government rejoices in killing a young man for the unadjudicated crimes of his father, and then blames the son for being born to the wrong parent!

But it gets worse....

Obama doesn’t have a clue who he’s killing much of the time. (http://bit.ly/16PgsFE) Whistleblowers have helped us penetrate the shroud of secrecy the President is using to hide his crimes. We’ve learned that the CIA has targeted many people for death, without bothering to confirm their identity. And the President has responded to this with a cover-up, trying to intimidate those who have exposed the truth about his murders.

But the truth is out. We can even measure the extent of the President’s murder campaign. He has killed 49 innocents for every known terrorist.

This criminal program is placing the entire nation at risk. Each innocent person killed has friends and family who must inevitably become enemies of the United States. This is a crucial point -- the President is creating more enemies than he kills.

Please pay close attention to what I say next...

I deny you my consent for this murderous program. Please stop committing crimes in my name. In addition...

Please be aware that I consider Congress to be complicit in the President’s murders. A past Congress passed the AUMF that gives cover to these crimes. And the current Congress has done nothing to repeal the AUMF. So I’m telling you, as my employee...

REPEAL the AUMF!

END LETTER

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

Jim Babka on Free Talk Live's Edgington Post

2013-04-21T13:11:00Z

At Free Talk Live's Edgington Post, he explains why it is still important to write Congress even if you are sure they don't read your emails.

Jim Babka with Gary Franchi on National ID

2013-04-20T13:07:00Z

Downsize DC President Jim Babka recently spoke with Gary Franchi on National ID cards and the Downsize DC Agenda:

Jim Babka with Gary Franchi on Reading the Bills

2013-04-19T13:00:00Z

Downsize DC President Jim Babka spoke with Gary Franchi in February about the Read the Bills Act and several other topics:

URGENT: Hearing on Drone Murders April 23

2013-04-18T14:36:00Z

Special Announcement for those in the Washington, DC Area: On April 23, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights will hold a hearing on Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing. If you’d like to attend, RSVP TODAY by 5pm. Form and more information here.

This is the last Downsizer-Dispatch

2013-04-18T13:30:00Z

After nine years of service, the Downsizer-Dispatch ends today. This is happening because we...

have begun testing our new Zero Aggression Project (ZAP) website
will launch the ZAP site in a matter of days
now need a newsletter name that ZAP and Downsize DC can share

Both efforts have the issue of consent in common. So we’ll call our new newsletter . . .

The Consent Chronicle

Do you consent to...

What The State does to you?
What The State does to OTHERS, acting in your name and with your money?

If you answer NO, then...

Downsize DC is the tool you can use to Deny Consent to Congress.
The Zero Aggression Project is the tool you can use to influence your neighbors in the same direction.

Both groups will try to persuade our entire culture to comply with the Zero Aggression Principle...

No one should initiate force against others or delegate doing so to politicians.

Think of what this could mean for your future. What if “the government”...

Obeyed the Zero Aggression Principle?
Never initiated force against anyone and only used violence defensively?

This would mean that “the government” could no longer...

Impose laws of prior restraint -- like drug prohibition, gun prohibition, and mandatory FDA regulations.
Use violence-based funding (taxation)

If both of these things were true, then “the government” would have to...

Fund itself the way all other institutions do, persuading customers to give it money voluntarily
Respond to customer preferences -- not lobbyists

This would be consumer controlled government.

But what if consumers decided to voluntarily fund the federal government at its current level or . . . wait for it . . . AT EVEN GREATER LEVELS!!!?

Could we still complain about Big Government IF the institution is...

Initiating violence against no one
Collecting all of its funds voluntarily
Relying only on the consent of the governed

At that point it would become very difficult to talk about downsizing government. So what does the name Downsize DC mean in such a context? It means . . .

A moral call for The State to downsize it’s initiation of force
A regulatory agenda for The State to downsize the harm it causes
A choice agenda for The State to downsize its monopolistic control

In other words...

We want to emphasize the Zero Aggression Principle and the issue of CONSENT, instead of size.

One easy place to start that transition is the name of our email newsletter. Thus, our newsletter will soon become...

Please take the following action now to make sure the new Chronicle shows up in your inbox...

Add the following email address to your address book: chronicle@poststatism.com
Or add that address to your whitelist

Doing this will make sure the new Chronicle makes it past your spam filters.

We hope you like what we’re doing. We hope to earn your continued support. Monetary votes of confidence or encouragement are always welcome at our secure contribution form.

Thank you!

Jim Babka and Perry Willis
Co-Founders
Downsize DC and The Zero Aggression Project

Coalition Letter against Cyber-Spying

2013-04-17T18:03:00Z

DownsizeDC.org and 33 other organizations sent a letter to your Representative telling them to oppose CISPA, the bill that attacks your privacy in the name of "security."

You can read the letter here.

You can read our arguments against CISPA here.

And you can tell Congress to oppose CISPA here.

Testers needed for launch of Zero Aggression Project Homepage

2013-04-16T13:55:00Z

NOTE: Downsize DC will soon be sending these newsletters from a new email address: chronicle@poststatism.com. Please add it to your white list or address book so you’ll continue to receive them.

We need volunteers to test new software. Here’s the background . . .

Last Summer, immediately after the Supreme Court Obamacare ruling, we called for an open rebellion against our so-called government. This was NOT . . .

A call to arms
An appeal for mass acts of civil disobedience

Instead, it was call for people to terminate their loyalty to the current institutions of government, and to begin declaring this to their friends and neighbors.

We proposed two new initiatives to foster this outcome . . .

The Zero Aggression Project (ZAP)
Deny Consent

Since then we’ve been working hard to create . . .

Strategies and tactics to promote these initiatives
New software and websites to match

In the process of doing this our thinking has evolved . . .

We’ve merged the Deny Consent tactics, shown to you in December, into both ZAP and Downsize DC
The new ZAP will focus on improving the American Mind, using primarily moral arguments
A refreshed Downsize DC will empower you to announce your desire to opt-out of the current institutions of government (we’ll have far more to say about this after we launch the ZAP)

Now, after many months of work, and one early round of testing in December, we’re about ready to show and test the evolved result.

The testing will come first. There will be multiple things to test, including . . .

Our first, Zero Aggression Principle-based campaign using a new and improved version of the polling software we tested in December
New petitioning software people can use to register their agreement or disagreement with our positions
New recruiting software so that you can track and measure the results of your educational outreach efforts

After we test each of these components, and make sure they’re ready for heavy use, we will then roll them out for our entire list to use. So here’s the question for today . . .

Do you want to help us do this early testing? If so, you must . . .

Sign-up to be a tester here
Pay attention to the emails we send you so you’ll know when and how and where to do the testing
Be prepared to give us feedback about your testing experience and any problems you encounter

If this sounds like fun, and you want to help, please sign up here.

Thanks!

Jim Babka
President
Downsize DC & The Zero Aggression Project

CISPA: Would you sacrifice the rule of law for security?

2013-04-12T13:03:00Z

Quote of the Day: “If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy.” — Philip Zimmermann

Next week, the House is expected to vote on CISPA, the “cybersecurity” bill that attacks your privacy.

Tell Congress to defeat it using DownsizeDC.org’s “Hands Off the Internet” campaign.

The hardwired message says...

As a constituent, I insist that you oppose any attempts to undermine Internet freedom.

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

That’s why you should oppose CISPA (HR 624).

Networks have the right to defend themselves from attacks. But I want the services to which I subscribe to ALSO compete with each other to see who can provide me, their customer, with the best identity protection. This is common sense...

Decentralized, diversified cybersecurity systems, operating in a voluntary and free environment, minimize damage from any particular attack.

CISPA goes the opposite direction.

Worse, the House Intelligence Committee ignored weeks of patient, grassroots demands to provide greater privacy protections. As a result, CISPA... (http://cnet.co/10Nx10N)

* Allows the military and the NSA to collect my personal information...
* Allows companies to keep, rather than delete, my personal, confidential information even in violation of the privacy policies we mutually agreed to...
* Seems to allow companies to preemptively hack “suspected” cyber-attackers, in violation of the presumption of innocence.

CISPA essentially allows private corporations to...

* violate the Fourth Amendment on the federal government’s behalf, and...
* even launch criminal cyber attacks under cover of Congressional legislation.

In short, CISPA is an attack on the sanctity of contracts and the rule of law. It’s also an attack on the freedoms we enjoy via the Internet.

If Congress passes CISPA, it will only further prove that it has lost legitimacy and the consent of the people. This will increase the need to explore new forms of government.

END LETTER

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

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

If you found this action item valuable please share with others who are prone to be like-minded. Better yet, share the letter you sent with those friends.

You can follow Jim Babka on Twitter @JimBabka

Obamacare: Do “Good Intentions” Matter?

2013-04-08T13:54:00Z

NOTE: Downsize DC will soon be sending these newsletters from a new email address: chronicle@poststatism.com. Please add it to your white list or address book so you’ll continue to receive them.

Quote of the Day: “With the rise of the state, statesmen became possible—men whose vision embraced truly grand adventures and enterprises in exploitation, oppression, plunder, and mass mayhem.” - Robert Higgs

I wrote this letter telling Congress to repeal the “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare).

I invite you to write a letter of your own, or borrow from or copy from this...

Remember...

* If something is immoral for an individual to do personally, then...
* it’s also immoral for an individual to do it as an agent of The State.

So let me ask. Would you...

* point a gun at a doctor...
* force him or her to fill out a bunch of forms...
* and mandate (or prohibit) certain treatments or drugs?

Is this moral?

Can such threats of violence POSSIBLY “help” patients?

Can “good intentions” trump morality?

Doesn’t aggression and coercion create unintended consequences?

Consider the unintended consequences of Obamacare. As Shikha Dalmia notes (http://bit.ly/Z3CmWp), Obamacare’s incentives encourage...

* employers to drop coverage for employees...
* individuals to forgo insurance until they get sick, leading to...
* premium hikes of 20% or more

Plus, doctors are responding to the aforementioned threats. Obamacare will lead to doctor shortages, as many will retire sooner than planned rather than deal with its burdens. (http://fxn.ws/10kHhNO)

Is any of this a surprise?

Obamacare was ill-conceived from the start, and couldn’t “work” because its foundation is _coercion_ rather than free, voluntary choice.

Repealing Obamacare, and getting the federal government out of medical care completely, is the only MORAL course.

Because you are my employee, I order you to follow this moral path.

If you don’t, that’s just another piece of evidence that this “government” has lost its legitimacy.

END LETTER

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

James Wilson
Policy Research Director
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Bills passed in Congress, March 2013

2013-04-07T23:52:00Z

Page numbers of bills are based on the pdf display of the latest version from the Government Printing Office.

SENATE: 3 bills, 582 pages

Stan Musial Memorial Bridge: Committee on Environment and Public Works was discharged from further consideration of S. 166, to designate the new Interstate Route 70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting St. Louis, Missouri and southwestern Illinois as the ``Stan Musial Memorial Bridge'', and the bill was then passed. 4 pages

Further Continuing Appropriations Act: By 73 yeas to 26 nays (Vote No. 44), Senate passed H.R. 933, making consolidated appropriations and further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, 574 pages

Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation was discharged from further consideration of S. 540, to designate the air route traffic control center located in Nashua, New Hampshire, as the ``Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center'', and the bill was then passed. 4 pages

HOUSE: 5 bills, 560 pages

Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013: H.R. 338, to amend title 18, United States Code, to include certain territories and possessions of the United States in the definition of State for the purposes of chapter 114, relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 421 yeas to 5 nays, Roll No. 58. 4 pages

Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013: The House passed H.R. 933, making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, by a yea-and-nay vote of 267 yeas to 151 nays, Roll No. 62. 270 pages

Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act: H.R. 749, to amend the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to provide an exception to the annual privacy notice requirement. 4 pages

Requiring a study of voluntary community-based flood insurance options: H.R. 1035, to require a study of voluntary community-based flood insurance options and how such options could be incorporated into the national flood insurance program, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 397 yeas to 17 nays, Roll No. 63. 6 pages

Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2013: The House passed H.R. 890, to prohibit waivers relating to compliance with the work requirements for the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families, by a recorded vote of 246 ayes to 181 noes, Roll No. 68. 6 pages

Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act: The House passed H.R. 803, to reform and strengthen the workforce investment system of the Nation to put Americans back to work and make the United States more competitive in the 21st century, by a yea-and-nay vote of 215 yeas to 202 nays, Roll No. 75. 270 pages

Why You Lose Elections

2013-04-05T12:16:00Z

Why You Lose Elections

by Jim Babka

I know the SECRET to defeating partisan incumbents. By sharing it with you, I hope to cure...

The Citizens United Disease

We get nasty messages whenever we say anything good about the Citizens United decision (CU).

This is a by-product of self-serving brainwashing from the political class. Both incumbents and the media have incentives to lie about campaign finance laws in general, and the CU decision in particular. Here’s the truth...

Campaign finance laws...

Protect partisan incumbents from challengers.
Help the regime media dominate public opinion.

These incentives lead both incumbents and the media to tell big lies about the CU decision...

Lie #1: CU overturned a century of campaign finance law.

False. It only overturned aspects of two decisions from 2003 and 1990.

Lie #2: CU allows corporations to make unregulated campaign contributions.

False. Corporate donations are still regulated. All candidate donations are still regulated. CU does only one narrow thing...

It allows corporations, including DownsizeDC.org, Inc., to spend money advocating for or against candidates, as long as that spending is NOT coordinated with a candidate. All direct contributions to candidates are still regulated.

Now, to fully comprehend why the political class hates this narrow change so much, you must understand...

The Secret to Defeating Incumbents

The best way to defeat an incumbent is to get him or her to spend lots of money
But that will only happen if the challenger also has money

Here’s my favorite example...

George Nethercutt defeated Speaker of the House Tom Foley in 1994. That hadn't been done in 134 years (or since).

Nethercutt had FAR LESS money than Foley. But he had ENOUGH funding to make Foley start spending his own money. Then, something funny happened...

The more money Foley spent, the more he lost ground!

People noticed and poured more funding into Nethercutt’s challenge. So Foley did the only thing he could. He spent more money too.

And the more he spent, the more his poll numbers fell!

Here’s how the logic works...

The incumbent has already peaked. That’s what it means to win office. He can't go much higher, no matter how much money he spends. But...

The challenger starts in the basement. She can only go up. But that climb requires dollars.

Simply put...

Money matters more to challengers than incumbents
Regulating contributions benefits incumbents by crippling challengers

So why do incumbents amass large war chests if the extra dollars lack marginal value?

Simply, to scare off strong challengers!

So here’s what the challenger faces...

The more she can force an incumbent to spend his war-chest, the more likely that incumbent is to lose
But to force an incumbent to spend, the challenger must start with a competitive amount of money
Raising money is easy for the incumbent, because he has access to sell
But raising money is hard for the challenger, because she has to start from scratch and her prospects are, initially, poor

Nearly all start-up businesses face this problem.

So they borrow or raise large amounts from wealthier people. This also used to work in politics. For instance...

A major donor gave Eugene McCarthy $200,000 to start his 1968 presidential campaign. McCarthy claimed that this capital allowed him to scare Lyndon Johnson out of his re-election race.

But this kind of challenge is now illegal.

Imagine how much the economy would struggle if was illegal for start-up companies to raise large amounts of capital. So...

The CU decision was a TINY step toward correcting the problem.

It would be better if corporations and wealthy people could donate large amounts to challengers directly. But until we get this natural freedom restored, allowing corporations to do independent expenditures could be the spark that starts a viable challenge to incumbent power.

Meanwhile, ask yourself this...

Is there more or less cronyism since the campaign finance laws were passed?

I think the answer is obvious to any honest observer. Cronyism has grown worse. This is the natural outcome of protecting incumbents from challengers.

Please be clear about this -- The campaign finance laws don’t deliver what they promise. They give us the exact opposite.

So how can we solve this problem?

First...

We must fight for what the regime media already has -- a fully functioning freedom of the PRESS.

Free speech may not cost money, but running a press does.

The establishment media can already join together in groups to raise unlimited amounts to dominate the public discussion about politics. YOU must have this same right. We’ve pushed this argument before the courts in case after case.

Second...

We must also challenge the doctrine of “compelling state interest,” which allows the Courts to throw away your rights just because The State claims it has a compelling reason.

We began this fight with our Danielczyk brief, and now we’re working to continue it with a brief in a case called Shaun McCutcheon v. FEC.

This brief is already underway. But we need a little more money to finish paying the bill.

You now know things about CU and the campaign finance laws that very few Americans understand. But this knowledge is useless if you do nothing with it. If you won't act, who will?

Please make a generous, tax-deductible investment into Downsize DC Foundation so we can finishing paying for the McCutcheon brief.

Jim Babka
President
Downsize DC Foundation

If you found this article valuable please share it. You can follow Jim Babka on Twitter @JimBabka

They want to track your every move

2013-04-03T13:41:00Z

NOTE: Downsize DC will soon be sending these newsletters from a new email address: chronicle@poststatism.com. Please add it to your white list or address book so you’ll continue to receive them.

Quote of the Day: “The American heritage was one of individual liberty, personal responsibility and freedom from government ... Today, it is the government that is free -- free to do whatever it wants. There is no subject, no issue, no matter that is not subject to legislation.” - Harry Browne

Several Senators want to stuff a National ID card into an Immigration bill. It would include biometric technology, used to track your every move.

We knew they would eventually do this. We predicted it during our REAL ID revolt eight years ago.

That revolt worked! The grassroots took action. 25 states won’t comply with REAL ID.

But now we must tell Congress AGAIN that...

We do NOT consent to a National ID System!

You may borrow from or copy this letter...

Oppose Senate plans to cluster a National ID System into the Immigration bill.

Remember...

* REAL ID remains unimplemented
* Attempts to make E-Verify mandatory failed

If you think “the third time’s the charm,” expect a public backlash.

Remember the opposition to SOPA and CISPA?

If we don’t want the feds to spy on our online activities, do you think we’ll take kindly to...

* a mandatory National ID card...
* with biometric scanning technology...
* allowing government bureaucrats to track our every move?

What gives Congress any right to make me take this mark or ask you for permission to get a job?

* You have no such power in the Constitution
* You have no power to force private business owners to act as immigration police
* More importantly, you have NO MORAL RIGHT to prevent someone from earning a living

Oppose ANY form of National ID, and oppose the Immigration Bill if it includes a National ID.

I’ll be watching what you do. Imposing a National ID scheme strengthens the case that you represent tyranny. Keep this up and we’ll have to consider “declaring independence” from you.

END LETTER

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

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

If you found this article valuable please share it. You can follow Jim Babka on Twitter @JimBabka