Yearly Archives: 2006

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::

The House vote on the “Online Freedom of Speech Act” has been delayed. But the need for pressure on Congress to pass this bill has not. The vote will still come soon. Send Congress a message in support of this legislation here.:::

REMEMBER: :::

The incumbent protection laws (campaign finance regulations) are due to be imposed on bloggers and webpage publishers. The mainstream media will be exempt from these burdens. The “Online Freedom of Speech Act” will preserve the Free Press rights of individuals, and place you on the same legal footing as the mainstream media. DC Downsizers have sent 16,158 messages to Congress in support of this legislation. More are needed. Add your voice. Send your message here.:::

IMPORTANT::::

If you’ve already sent a message please add more pressure with a phone call. The toll-free number to call your representative is 877-762-8762. If you can’t get through, the Capitol Switchboard number is 202-225-3121. :::

YOU CAN SPEAK WITH A V.I.P.::::

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is a very important organization. They’re a “proof of concept” for what Downsize DC is trying to do. MPP has passed numerous bills protecting medical access to marijuana. They also sponsor our radio show, “The Downsize DC Conference Call.”:::

You can speak with Bruce Mirken, Communications Director of the Marijuana Policy Project, when Jim Babka interviews him on Sunday. Let’s show MPP some love and respect this Sunday. Listen to the show and call-in. We’ll share the call-in number and listening details closer to air time. Stay tuned and be ready to particpate.:::

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NEW CAMPAIGN FUNDING BILL::::

The Free-Market News Network has interviewed Jim Babka about the bill that would outlaw voluntary funding for political campaigns. You can hear the inerview here.:::

Please listen to the interview and then leave a comment. This is something you can do to promote Downsize DC that doesn’t cost money. The more comments there are on this interview, the more likely it is that there will be more such interviews. Thanks!:::

YOU CAN MEET JIM BABKA IN FLORIDA::::

Date: March 24th — just 8 days from now!:::Event: LP of Florida Convention:::Location: Embassy Suites in Baco Raton:::Details here: www.lpf2006.org:::

There’s much more news to report, but I’ve detained you long enough. For all the good news be sure to check-out the Downsize DC blog.:::

Thanks for being a DC Downsizer.:::

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

March is turning out to be a big month for Downsize DC. Not only have we set a new record for media interviews in one month, but the “odometer” on our membership recruitment just rolled over the 11,000 mark. We’re also out-performing last month in two ways . . .::::::February membership recruitment: 242:::March membership recruitment so-far: 547::::::February messages to Congress: 11,253:::March messages to Congress so-far: 19,281::::::Let’s keep pushing. Remember, today is the vote in the House for the “Online Freedom of Speech Act.” You can tell your Representative to vote YES on this bill by clicking here.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::

Please forward to anyone you know who cares about free expression on the Internet.:::

UPDATE: We’ve so-far sent 14,112 messages to Congress asking them to pass the “Online Freedom of Speech Act,” but we need to send many more before the vote tomorrow. We’re recirculating the message (below) explaining why this is important. Please help us pass this important legislation. :::If you don’t need the explanation below you can send your message to Congress by clicking here.:::

SPECIAL NOTE: I am doing more media interviews than we can publicize in these email messages. So please check our blog for the dates and times of Downsize DC media appearances. You can do so here.:::

Now here’s the explanation of the “Online Freedom of Speech Act” below the fold::::

We had four organizational goals this month. One of them was to do more media interviews this month than in any previous month in our nearly two year history as Downsize DC. The previous record was 9, from May, 2005 (last month I did 8 of them). ::::::Well, I’m pleased to announce that I broke the record yesterday! I did the Alex Jones show to tie the record, and then taped an interview, which we’ll let you know about once it’s available on the Internet. ::::::Today and tomorrow, I do two more — to bring the total to 12. ::: :::Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 :::Stations: Based on the information we have, the show seems to be on several FM, Clear Channel stations in North Carolina, but we don’t have a list of which ones. :::Time: Approximately, we’ve been advised it could be a bit later than… ::: 4:07 PM Eastern ::: 3:07 PM Central ::: 2:07 PM Mountain ::: 1:07 PM Pacific :::Length: 20 minutes :::Guest: Jim Babka, ::: President, DownsizeDC.org :::Host: Allan Handelman:::Show: Rock Talk w/ Allan Handelman :::Topic: The Read the Bills Act :::Internet: check-out http://ifitrocks.com/streams.htm ::::::Date: Thursday, March 15, 2006 :::Stations: WAIF 88.3-FM Cincinnati, OH:::Time: 4:20 PM Eastern ::: 3:20 PM Central ::: 2:20 PM Mountain ::: 1:20 PM Pacific :::Length: 30 minutes :::Guest: Jim Babka, President, DownsizeDC.org :::Host: Roger Yeardley :::Show: Curved Air Show :::Topic: The Read the Bills Act :::Internet: Go to http://www.waifstream.com:::

Please forward to anyone you know who cares about free expression on the Internet.::::::Dear friend,::::::The “Online Freedom of Speech Act” would preserve the First Amendment’s “Freedom of the Press” for individuals on the Internet. ::::::It would place bloggers and webpage publishers on the same legal footing as the mainstream media. ::::::The Federal Election Commission is under court order to impose the burdensome incumbent protection laws (otherwise known as campaign finance regulations) on the Internet. Political expression on your blog or web page would be regulated. But political expression on blogs and web pages owned by the mainstream media, such as NYTimes.com, would be exempt. The “Online Freedom of Speech Act” is designed to prevent this from happening. ::::::Only Congressional action can prevent us from having two tiers of citizenship in this country when it comes to the Freedom of the Press. Unless the “Online Freedom of Speech Act” passes only the mainstream media will retain full, unregulated freedom of expression on the Internet. ::::::The first step in passing the “Online Freedom of Speech Act” will come this Thursday, when the House is due to vote on the measure. The situation is more complicated in the Senate, where the “Online Freedom of Speech Act” has been combined with a very bad bill, the so-called Lobbying Reform Bill. There is time to work things out in the Senate, but . . .::::::There is no more time in the House. There the vote is likely to happen this week. Please act now, and tell your Representative to vote for the “Online Freedom of Speech Act.” Do not delay. It’s now or never. You can send your instructions to your Representative:::by clicking here.::::::Thank you for your participation.::::::Jim Babka:::President:::DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Congratulations and thanks to the New Hampshire House of Representatives who on March 8 voted overwhelmingly, 270-84 for House Bill 1582:::::::Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:::::::1 Prohibition Against Participation in National Identification System. The general court finds that the public policy established by Congress in the Real ID Act of 2005, Public Law 109-13, is contrary and repugnant to Articles 1 through 10 of the New Hampshire constitution as well as Amendments 4 though 10 of the Constitution for the United States of America. Therefore, the state of New Hampshire shall not participate in a national identification card system; nor shall the department of safety amend the procedures for applying for a driver’s license under RSA 263 or an identification card under RSA 260:21.::::::2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.::::::You can listen or watch the 22-minute floor debate here. It is the March 8 afternoon recording and begins at about 4:08:38 into it. It is inspiring to listen to New Hampshire’s elected represenatives speak out for liberty!::::::Thanks to Pat McCotter for sending this news and these links to us.::::::

Jim Babka will be on the Alex Jones show for an hour tomorrow. This is a big show with a big audience, broadcast in 50 cities. You can listen on the Internet. Go to www.GCNLive.com and click on “Listen Live.” Then click on Channel 1 or 2 to get the free feed. ::::::Time:::::::1:00 PM Eastern:::Noon Central:::11:00 AM Mountain:::10:00 AM Pacific:::Recorded RE-PLAY available on-line at 10:00 PM Eastern::::::Stations by State::::

Last month we recruited 242 new DC Downsizers in 28 days. But so far in March, we’ve recruited 365 in just 13 days! Welcome to all the new DC Downsizers!

This morning’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::

Please forward this to anyone you know who thinks Congress should serve rather than rule.:::

Dear friend,:::

What would happen if you required your boss to tell you all the people he or she deals with before you would take instructions about how to do your job? You’d be fired on the spot. :::

Well, Congress is doing exactly that. Congress wants reports filed on citizens who use grassroots organizations to communicate with their elected representatives. :::

But doesn’t Congress work for you? Shouldn’t you be able to use grassroots organizations like DownsizeDC.org, Gun Owners of America, AARP, or the Marijuana Policy Project, to communicate your desires to YOUR representatives. Shouldn’t you be able to issue instructions to YOUR public servants without them placing burdens on how you do that?:::

Congress wants every grassroots lobbying organization to file reports with the government. Reports about you! Reports about who you are, what your business interests are, and how much money you contribute. But shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t Congress, and all the people who work for Congress, be the ones who are filing reports (available to YOU) about how they spend their time, who they meet with, who writes the bills they sponsor, and who buys them meals and pays for their travel? :::

The Lobbying Reform Act, currently pending in Congress, has it exactly backwards. Congress wants to exploit the recent Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham scandals, involving wrong-doing by people in Congress — not wrong-doing by YOU — to regulate how you communicate with your public servants. :::

This is how Congress operates. Congress does something wrong, and then exploits its own bad behavior to regulate not itself, but the people it is supposed to serve. Congress wants to rule rather than serve. The Lobbying Reform Act would make you, the boss, submit to Congress, rather than the other way around. But it gets worse . . .

Yesterday’s Progress – Sun 3/12/06