Monthly Archives: July 2006

Single Subject Act?

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::

He who makes the rules, rules. Congress has taught us this lesson. Through gerrymandering and campaign finance laws they’ve turned the House and Senate into private clubs for incumbents. These rules have effectively closed the ballot box as a viable means for controlling government. Rules matter.:::

This is why DownsizeDC.org has now crafted two bills that would change the rules by which Congress operates — the “Read the Bills Act” (RTBA) and the “Write the Laws Act” (WTLA). Change the rules, and you can change everything. :::

By proposing rules changes that most people can support, we can recruit an army large enough to compell Congress to adopt our proposals. The right rules can give you tremendous leverage. Congress taught us this when they passed the “Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act” (McCain-Feingold). We learned. And we intend to use what we’ve learned.:::

RTBA and WTLA will not be the last rules we propose. They are but two parts of what will become a comprehensive Downsize DC legislative agenda. We aim to become America’s shadow legislature. If Congress refuses to do its job, they shouldn’t be surprised if others decide to do it for them. We intend to do just that.:::

Next on our agenda is a single subject rule. :::

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That guy you hired

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::

Forward this to friends who care . . .:::

Quick. You need help. Desperately. Get out the yellow pages, or do a web search. Look under “people to tell you what to think.”:::

Don’t find it? Maybe it’s in the government pages?:::

Oops. Sorry for the bother. You’ve already hired someone to tell you what to think. He’s called the Drug Czar. His job, paid for with your tax dollars, is to tell you what to think about national drug policy. :::

That’s it. That’s all. That’s what the Drug Czar does. He tells you what to think. :::

Aren’t you relieved? :::

As you go about your labors today put a smile on your face. You’re working, in part, to pay for that guy you hired to tell you what to think about our nation’s narcotics laws. Isn’t it comforting? Just think how confused you’d be without that Drug Czar guy to do the heavy mental lifting for you. :::

What’s that you say? You didn’t know you hired someone to do that? You don’t need it? You don’t like the name “Czar?” You won’t have a smile on your face as you labor to pay his salary?:::

Well, perhaps you just need more information. Don’t you know that this guy lobbies state legislatures to keep them from passing drug laws the federal government doesn’t like? And don’t you know that this guy works hard to defeat medical marijuana initiatives, and keep voters from voting the wrong way? Isn’t that worth something to you?:::

No?:::

Well, then perhaps you’ll want to know that there are some in Congress who want to fire the guy and close his office. In fact, his job is up for renewal right now, and there’s legislation that would send the Czar packing. You might want to let your representatives know that you don’t need no stinking Drug Czar. If you feel so moved, you can send your message here.:::

Thank you for being a DC Downsizer.:::

Perry Willis:::Communications Director:::DownsizeDC.org, Inc. :::

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Strategy Session

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch…:::We’re really excited about Jim Babka’s radio show yesterday. He’s going to replay it again in August. And then, probably again at some other point in the future. Why?

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Downsize DC Conference Call – July 16, 2006 edition

Conference Call for July 16, 2006.

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What the DC Downsizer movement needs most

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch… :::On today’s Downsize DC Conference Call, a call-in radio show sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Gun Owners of America, and the Marijuana Policy Project, I’m going to pick up where I left off last week. Or should I say, I’m going to skip ahead?

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Downsize DC Conference Call – July 9, 2006 edition

An mp3 of my radio show on “the failure of political parties” is attached to this post. ::::::The show set a record with six callers. I also had five emails before or during the show and couldn’t get to any of them. Several more messages have come since. Several agreed with me, but had specific modifications. Only one seemed tense or upset with me. I was reluctant, as you’ll be able to tell by listening to my voice, because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I understand the attraction of partisanship, and I think most of the partisans I know are good people, who believe they’re doing the right thing. ::::::I didn’t have time to fully elaborate my position. We have roughly 42 minutes on air each week. After callers, there just wasn’t time to expand on several points. However, I’m not interested in returning to the issue for a second episode at this time, so I’ll share more of the points I wanted to make below.

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Downsize DC Conference Call – June 25/July2, 2006 edition

Downsize DC Conference Call – June 25/July2, 2006 edition

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Downsize DC Conference Call – June 18, 2006 edition

I’m behind on posting archived shows. My apologies. We’re going to strive to “get back on track” now. The show is attached to this blog post (see below) in mp3 format. ::::::The Downsize DC Conference Call is sponsored by… :::

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Downsize DC Conference Call – June 11, 2006 edition

I’m behind on posting archived shows. My apologies. We’re going to strive to “get back on track” now. The show is attached to this blog post (see below) in mp3 format. ::::::The Downsize DC Conference Call is sponsored by… :::

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Downsize DC Conference Call – May 21, 2006 edition

I’m behind on posting archived shows. My apologies. We’re going to strive to “get back on track” now. The show is attached to this blog post (see below) in mp3 format. ::::::The Downsize DC Conference Call is sponsored by… :::

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