Monthly Archives: March 2007

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: We won! Again!::::::The “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007” passed the House by a veto-proof majority of 331-94. ::::::There were several poison pill amendments proposed to undermine the intent of the bill, but they failed. The bill we got was largely the bill the whistleblower coalition wanted. ::::::One of our partners at the National Whistleblower Center thinks your efforts helped achieve this outcome. Ask loudly enough, and ye shall receive. Thank you for your messages and phone calls. ::::::It’s ANOTHER victory for our approach. ::::::ANOTHER victory for you. ::::::This is significant, because, after all, how many victories have there really been, outside of the work you do with DownsizeDC.org? ::::::What DownsizeDC.org is doing works, and it will work more-and-more as we grow larger. Let us grow larger today.::::::It’s March 15th: The Ides of March.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: Whistleblower Protection — URGENT ACTION NEEDED!::::::H.R. 985 is titled the “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007.” We love the concept. Federal employees who “blow the whistle” on government wrong-doing are an indispensable protection. ::::::If those within government do not tell us when the government is breaking the law there is often no way we will know. Who watches the watchmen? The answer is whistleblowers.::::::Previous legal protections for whistleblowers have been gutted by court decisions. H.R. 985 is designed to restore and enhance these protections. ::::::Whistleblowers protect us, so we should protect them from retaliation by higher-ups looking to cover-up.::::::A vote could be held on H.R. 985 as soon as today, so we need to take action now.

It’s baaack!
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:::We stopped it in the Senate, but now the House has taken up regulating the grassroots — regulating groups like DownsizeDC.org.
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:::Let me be clear. Here at DownsizeDC.org, we’re not doing anything illegal. We’re not doing anything unethical. And we haven’t so much as asked a Congressman to go to dinner. Nor are we supported by big money interests trying to find ways to get a hold of your tax dollars or earn special favors.
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:::There are groups who are doing those things. The supporters of this legislation pretend to be doing something about that. But here’s the kicker: As long as these individuals, groups, and institutions are communicating with their “members,” they’ll be free of any burden under this legislation.
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:::No reporting required for them.
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:::But DownsizeDC.org expects that we’ll be doing at least four fewer campaigns per year and spending $10,000 of our annual donor donations just to keep ourselves in compliance with

Congress, March 5-11

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the day:::::::“How did I go bankrupt? Two ways. Slowly, and then all of a sudden.”:::– spoken by a character from “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway::::::Subject: A lever, or a wand?::::::You have a choice. You can buy a lever to move a big object in the direction you want it to go, or a magic wand that will do it for you, with no muss or fuss. Which will you buy? ::::::It may depend on your perception of reality, but the outcome won’t. The outcome will be decided by reality alone, without regard to human perceptions. ::::::The reality is, levers work; wands don’t. ::::::Metaphorically speaking, DownsizeDC.org gets contacted by lots of people peddling magic wands. We hear it all the time . . .

Our Downsize DC project is predicated on a strategy. It’s the thing that matters most.
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:::In recent weeks, various suggestions have been made — issues we should be tackling and arguments we should be making. In fact, these statements have come from a variety of directions. It’s been impossible to respond to them all.
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:::There’s one thing that matters — one root strategy that is more important than all others.
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:::Just one. Only one.

Harry Browne tribute. Show description elsewhere on our blog. ::::::mp3, attached at the end of this blog post.

So far, so good

NOTE: I’ll be on the radio today. Details appear below . . .
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:::Today’s topic . . .
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:::THE LATEST OUTRAGE
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:::John Whitehead recently wrote a shocking but very important piece for the Rutherford Institute. I’m going to quote liberally from it.
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:::This stuff is truly horrifying . . .
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::: “Prior to the elections that transformed the makeup of Congress, the Bush Administration pushed for the inclusion of two stealth provisions into a mammoth defense budget bill. The additions made it easier for the government to declare martial law and establish a dictatorship.”
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:::Did you catch that? Key words: election time + mammoth + defense budget bill + stealth provisions. Yes, that’s a formula for something bad to happen. Sure enough, something bad did happen. Whitehead continues . . .

Today’s Downszizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Please bring this item to the attention of concerned friends . . .::::::There is no reason for the federal government to spend more than it takes in, except in the event of a truly national emergency, such as a _declared_ war. But . . .::::::The federal government has routinely spent more than it brings in, year after year, for many decades in a row, even when there was no war. This is irresponsible. ::::::Funding government through borrowing transfers the costs of today’s government to future generations. This is a sin.::::::Congress does this because it wants to be free to hand-out goodies without having to tax you for it.:::This is wrong.::::::And this behavior means that future taxes, that should go for future government expenses, will instead go to pay the ever-growing interest on the ever-growing national debt. This is bad. ::::::We must change the incentives. We must make Congress pay a personal cost today for doing the bad things they’re doing right now. We have an opportunity to do that, starting right now, and right here.