Monthly Archives: August 2007

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Quotes of the Day:::::::From “The Devil’s Dictionary” by Ambrose Bierce . . .:::

Representative: In national politics, a member of the Lower House in this world, and without discernible hope of promotion in the next.::::::Senate: A body of elderly gentlemen charged with high duties and misdemeanors.

::::::Subject: Why we’re confused, and what to do about it::::::We admit it. We’re confused. We would like to be able to tell you what is happening with the so-called FISA “modernization” bill — which may legalize government spying on American citizens — but we can’t. No one understands what is going on with this bill, including the members of Congress.::::::There are so many different versions of this bill, and amendments to it, and back-room negotiations and deals being made, that no one really knows anything about what will come to the floor. And yet, Congressional leaders want to rush to a vote before they recess. ::::::This shouldn’t be happening, and it couldn’t happen if DownsizeDC.org’s “Read the Bills Act” was the law of the land. ::::::There’s also a lot of lying going on. For instance, President Bush has claimed that the FISA law hasn’t been updated since 1978. TRUTH: The FISA law has been updated more than 50 times since 1978, including multiple times since Bush was elected.::::::President Bush signed these updates into law! Our elected leaders really are scoundrels.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .
:::Last week, the Senate passed ten bills amounting to 1126 pages of legislation. But that was child’s play compared to the House, which managed an astonishing 32 bills or 1460 pages of legislation. This included authorization bills to continue funding for the Departments Justice, Commerce, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. You would think Congress would take at least a couple of days, if not weeks, looking at each department. Instead, these lengthy bills were rushed through along with dozens of others. A full list of the bills Congress passed is available at the end of this Dispatch, below my signature.
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:::There was one refreshing development. On Thursday, ranking minority member Rep. McCrery of Louisiana forced the House Ways and Means committee to do something it rarely does: read the 481-page bill they were considering. That’s right – not even Congressional committees bother to read bills drawn up by committee staffers and/or Administration bureaucrats. Otherwise, Congressional Quarterly wouldn’t have found it newsworthy. See the story here.
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:::Rep. McCrery’s move may have been a stunt, a stalling tactic because he was upset with the Democrat majority in the committee. But we applaud Mccrery’s move, and encourage other members of Congress to pull this “stunt” in their own committees. It will guarantee that at least some members of Congress will have actually taken the time to read the bills they pass.
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:::But, of course, it’s not nearly enough.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: Stop the gang that can’t shoot straight::::::The next few days will be crucial for the preservation of the Bill of Rights.::::::It is vital that you forward this message to anyone you know who cares about the Constitution, and who distrusts the competence and honesty of the federal government.::::::We need as many people as possible to help us stop the latest self-destructive federal power grab.