Monthly Archives: September 2006

We succeeded! Congress left town without legalizing President Bush’s warrantless spying on Americans. ::::::The spying continues of course, because laws only apply to you and me, and not the President. But at least Congress didn’t compound the problem. ::::::Yet.::::::It remains to be seen how the coming election will impact this issue. Will we have divided government? Will the Republicans be humbled, even if they retain control of Congress? Either outcome could save us. Otherwise . . .::::::The trouble has only begun. ::::::We’ll be revisiting this issue. In the meantime, savor this success. Thank you for making it possible. ::::::Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians worked together to make this happen. It shows the potential of making common cause to defend shared values. It points the way to a better future in which we transcend the rigged partisan game of divide-and-conquer, and unite the Downsizer Consensus for an unrelenting assault on a tiny and vulnerable Congress. ::::::In the meantime, September draws to a close. We are only $1,243 short of funding for our September bills. We are a grassroots organization supported by grassroots contributions. Is there 1 person out of the 23,346 people on this list (another record!) who could make a credit card contribution to cover this amount? You can do so here.::::::Can 13 of the 23,346 make $100 contributions?:::Can 26 do $50:::Can 52 do $25:::Can 104 do $12.50:::Can 208 do $6.25::::::You can contribute to pay for September here.::::::Thank you to everyone for an excellent month. I’ll have a report for you about everything we achieved in a few days. ::::::Jim Babka:::President:::DownsizeDC.org, Inc. :::::: ::::::

I have an awful lot to tell you in today’s message. Some of it is good news, and some of it is bad. We’ve asked you to read a lot in the last ten days. Congress makes a DC Downsizer’s job much more difficult before they leave on recess. Frankly, I can’t wait until they get out of town.

Let’s start with the most important item — good news. Our monthly budget need is down to only $2,203. The amount needed is now less than 10cents per subscriber. But only a small percentage of subscribers will respond, which is why we need YOU to consider a generous contribution. (If you’ve already contributed or pledged this month, thank you.)

It’s possible that one person reading this message could make the contribution that covers this entire amount. You know who you are. We need you now. 

“You can’t save the world, if you can’t pay the rent,” said Morton Blackwell. That’s why we begin today’s message with an appeal. We’ve paid the rent — the situation is not that dire. But we can’t afford to begin deficit spending with holidays right around the corner. Please, make a generous donation or monthly pledge today.

Do you DIGG “Read the Bills?”

The world is changing fast. One of the Top 500 visited sites on the web is called Digg — as in, “I really digged that story.” Users promote news or commentary (Digg) or they supress others (bury). If you’ve never heard of it before, welcome to the club.

Our friends at FreeTalkLive have set up a Digg page of their own. It’s called FreeMarketDiggers and can be found here: http://digg.freetalklive.com/

One of the first items they posted was our Read the Bills Act. And it received enough “Diggs” to get promoted. At one point, it was even on Diggs main page! As I write this, it’s on page 2 of Political News pages. The closer to the lead our entry is, the more people will hear about Read the Bills and visit our site. We want that, right?

Your efforts are working. We may kill the warrantless spying bill. Democrats are developing some backbone. Conservative Republicans are fighting the bill too. Yesterday, we were asked to help a Republican Congressman to increase GOP defections in the House (it’s not who you might think). The bottom line . . .

Things have changed dramatically in the last 24 hours. The spying bill has become something of a hot potato. The House and Senate can’t agree on a final version. It’s possible no vote will be held before adjournment in either the House OR the Senate. That would exceed our expectations. Yesterday AM, things looked bleak for us. We were holding on to some hope we could use a procedure, such as a filibuster, to stop a vote from happening in the Senate. But stopping that vote from happening in both wings of Congress? Amazing!

The post-election landscape will change. We could have

Another episode of Jim Babka’s radio show, sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Gun Owners of America, and the Marijuana Policy Project.

We’ll focus our action today. The best way to stop the torture and spying bills is a Senate filibuster, and Senator Feingold is the most likely person to lead it. Give him the courage to do so!

Call 202-224-5323. Tell his staff you want to encourage the Senator to lead a fillibuster against the Torture/Tribunal bill and, especially, the Warrantless Spying bill.

Do you need

It is EXTREMELY rare that we send two messages in a single day. But we’re doing all we can do to fight against terrible bills being combined and passed as Congress pushes to get back to their districts and campaign. All we can do includes getting the word out through TWO RADIO INTERVIEWS — one tonight and one tomorrow morning, which I’ll tell you about in this message.

I’m going to participate in a 4 PM conference call with representatives

If we the people weren’t paying for it with our tax dollars, it would be funny.

Something bad is about to happen. Only you can stop it, and the clock is ticking. 

We hate to sound apocalyptic. We loathe the politics of fear (even if it works!). So we’re not looking to scare you. But you need to know that the end is near for “archaic” ideas like . . . 

* the right to security in your home and papers
* the right to be free from unreasonable searches 
* the safety net of judicial warrant requirements
* the right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process
* reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest
* protection from cruel and unusual punishment

Those were great ideals for “dead white men,” but apparently your children won’t need them anymore. Because, you know, the politicians need to protect you and your children from terrorism.

But the politicians need to get a grip, and a sense of proportion. You don’t turn the country upside down for light and transient causes. You’re more likely to die in your car, or be struck by lightening, than be harmed by terrorism. We don’t fret about such risks, so why are destroying American freedom in the name of an even smaller risk? 

A bill is about to pass the House. It permits

Advance warning!

The Drug Czar’s propaganda campaigns are getting more and more ridiculous. Utterly defeated on the argument that marijuana is dangerous – particularly in comparison to legal substances like alcohol and tobacco – our Office of National Drug Control Policy is left telling us that we shouldn’t smoke pot because it makes us lazy. So, we should go to jail for being lazy?::::::One commercial has a teenage boy sitting on a couch talking about how marijuana is safe. How it won’t kill you, how you won’t get started on heroin the next day, how going ice skating with your girlfriend is safer, etc.::::::His two friends were just sitting there on the couch with him, doing nothing. The kid gets up and says something like, “But I think I’ll take my chances out there.”::::::That’s it! That’s the message. Pot makes you do nothing.::::::Of course, many people with painful, debilitating diseases are already “doing nothing.” Some of that marijuana might lessen the pain and allow them to get up and do something. The Drug Czar has no case against using marijuana for medical purposes.::::::That’s why DownsizeDC.org suported the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment that would have stopped federal prosecution of medical marijuana users in states where it’s legal. And we will support it the next time it is introduced.::::::And these silly propaganda campaigns are the primary reason we seek to depose the Drug Czar.