Monthly Archives: August 2008

The following daily news summary is provided courtesty of our coaltion partners at the Open Society Institute . . .

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July was a busy month in Congress, as the honorable servants of the people rushed to get bills passed before their five-week vacation. Through August 1, the Senate passed 39 bills totaling 2,022 pages, while the House passed 92 bills and 2,267 pages. Fairly “impressive,” considering that the Senate was in session for 20 days and the House for just 15 during the month.
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:::Many of these bills were brief, and were concerned with veterans affairs, federal buildings, and other topics most of us agree are necessary and proper. But Congress also went beyond the Constitution’s limits and passed bills seeking to regulate our lives and manage the economy. Congress passed bills relating to:
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Quote of the Day:
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:::”Drill, drill, drill!”
:::– Larry Kudlow, “Kudlow & Company” CNBC
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:::Subject: Drilling is “One Subject”
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:::There’s long been a moratorium on drilling for oil and natural gas on most of the outer continental shelf. This moratorium expires every year, unless it’s renewed, which it constantly is. And yet, Congress has never actually voted on this moratorium. Instead . . .
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:::The moratorium is always attached to completely unrelated spending bills in order to secure passage and sidestep a potential presidential veto.
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:::This could not happen if Downsize DC’s “One Subject at a Time Act” was the law of the land.
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Only three Sundays of live broadcasts to go and my two-hour radio show (yes, ONLY the radio show), “The Downsize DC Conference Call,” will come to an end.
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:::Next weekend, I’ve got guests. So I want to take one last opportunity to explain, in detail, why we do what we do at Downsize DC. And that will be the focus of this week’s show — “What’s So Special About Downsize DC?” 
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:::Which brings me to my question for the week: What is your most important or favorite thing about Downsize DC? Maybe it’s one of the campaigns. If so, which one? Maybe it’s something else.
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:::Whatever it is, the best, MOST QUOTABLE ANSWER will receive a special prize::::::

The following daily news summary is provided courtesty of our coaltion partners at the Open Society Institute . . .

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Study Cautions Against Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities, Washington Post, August 8, 2008

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According to the Associated Press . . .

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“Two Iraqi officials say the U.S. and Iraq are close to a deal under which all American combat troops would leave by October 2010 with remaining U.S. forces gone about three years later. A U.S. official in Washington acknowledges progress has been made on the timelines for a U.S. departure but offered no firm date. Another U.S. official strongly suggested the 2010 date may be too ambitious.”

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While the silly politicians continue to debate tax increases or decreases to supposedly deal with energy and environmental problems, the voluntary sector continues to create real solutions. The latest is the 2010 Honda Hybrid which is projected to get 40 to 50 miles per gallon. We need to Downsize DC so the voluntary sector can have more resources to spend on creating real solutions.

The following daily news summary is provided courtesty of our coaltion partners at the Open Society Institute . . .

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Israel mulls military option for Iran nukes, AP, August 7, 2008

On July 16th I speculated that investment money has been sloshing from sector to sector, with the latest benefiary (then) being commodities. I also speculated that the money would soon begin sloshing back into the stock market. That seems to be happening. Oil, gold, silver, food, and other commodities are all falling, while the stock market is rising again, as is the dollar.

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Additional speculation: within 6 to 8 months money willl start to slosh back into the housing sector.

We want to shift resources from the political sector to the voluntary sector, for very good reasons. While politicians are urging people to save gas by inflating their tires, private innovation (the Michelin company) is working to do away with the need for air in tires altogether . . .