Yearly Archives: 2008
Causes and Cures
Two economists, Milton Friedman and Murray Rothbard, agreed that many of the steps Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt took to end the Great Depression only made it worse. Also, that their expanded Presidential powers, new bureaucracies, and curbs on economic freedom had long-term disastrous consequences both morally and economically. Both Friedman and Rothbard promoted the downsize DC message for several decades, and remain admired by many for their work.::::::But the funny thing is, they disagreed about what actually caused the Great Depression in the first place. Friedman thought the Federal Reserve was too deflationary; Rothbard thought it was too inflationary and that the Fed itself should be abolished.::::::They disagreed about the causes, but agreed that FDR’s :::”cure” was worse than the disease.::::::Likewise, we don’t have to agree on everything in order to agree that DC must be downsized. We often get mail from supporters of the 9/11 Truth Movement disputing some of our assumptions, such as that we were attacked by Islamic terrorists on 9/11.::::::We do believe a new investigation of 9/11 should take place, because the federal government already had the tools it needed to prevent the attacks and that those who failed should be held accountable. And if an investigation reveals criminal conduct rather than mere incompetence, the guilty persons should be prosecuted.::::::But here’s a question for 9/11 Truthers: what if there was nothing fishy about the attacks? What if it was indeed true that Islamic terrorists planned and executed the whole thing?::::::Would the War on Terror then be justified?
The Spirit of ’76
Quotes of the Day:
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:::”And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
:::- concluding sentence of the Declaration of Independence, 1776
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:::”We must hang together, gentlemen…else, we shall most assuredly hang separately.”
:::- Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence
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:::Subject: The Spirit of ’76
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:::For weeks now we’ve been fighting, as hard as anyone, to stop the “FISA Amendments Act.”
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:::If this fight is lost, it will be because some folks forgot a unique and important thing about American history. On July 4, 1776, 56 men stood up and agreed to pay the price for our liberty.
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:::They had spirit.
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:::The politicians who walk the halls of Capitol Hill are home in their districts now. They’ll ride in parades and give speeches in front of flags. But the symbolism is distracting. These men and women are NOT what America is all about. They are not leaders. They are not special. Frankly, they don’t deserve the attention they’ll get, because unlike the 56 men who birthed our country, they’re not willing to pay a price for liberty.
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:::They lack spirit. They are either fear-peddlers or just plain afraid.
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:::Some have profited, politically, from a campaign of fear. They’ve expanded their power and the powers of their partisan allies through a sustained campaign of intimidation, both of their opponents and their constituents. This deceitful campaign is called, “The War on Terror.”
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:::Others have cowered, politically, appeasing the fear mongers, in order to gain re-election.
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:::Well, I am not like these politicians, because I am not afraid.
Push the Lever
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the Day:
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:::”A fondness for power is implanted in most men, and it is natural to abuse it when acquired.”
:::- Alexander Hamilton (Source: “The Farmer Refuted,” February 23, 1775)
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:::Subject: Push the lever
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:::To do a lot with a little, find a lever and push it. In the fight to defeat warrantless spying, the mind of Barack Obama is that lever. We need to push on his mind, a lot, before Congress returns to work early next week.
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:::We’re not alone in thinking so. Barack Obama’s volunteers think so too, and many of them have organized specifically for the purpose of pressuring their candidate to oppose warrantless spying and telecom immunity.
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::: This new protest group inside Obama’s campaign launched last week with the title “Senator Obama Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity – Get FISA Right.” By Sunday it was the largest group of its kind on the Internet.
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:::Barack Obama is facing a revolt among his own supporters over this issue. We need to pour fuel on this growing fire.
A comment on Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment”
Quote of the Day:
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:::”Man is not free unless government is limited. As government expands, liberty contracts.”
:::– Ronald Reagan
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:::Subject: A comment on Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment”
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:::DC Downsizers bombarded MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann with more than 1,700 messages yesterday. These messages urged Olbermann to hold his favored president candidate, Barack Obama, to the same standards he has applied to President Bush. Your messages may have had an impact.
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:::But before getting to that, I’d like to update you on our final numbers for June . . .
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:::* We recruited 729 new Downsizers
:::* We sent 70,533 messages pressuring Congress (and Keith Olbermann)
:::* And we also made budget — THANK YOU
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:::This is the first time we’ve sent more than 70,000 messages in a single month. We shattered our old record by more than 19,000. Thank you to everyone who participated to make June such a successful month. Your efforts do have an impact.
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:::They may have had an impact on Keith Olbermann. It seemed to us that his “Special Comment” seemed slightly softer that what it had been advertised to be. And others observing Olbermann have similarly opined. Moreover, Olbermann said some good things . . .
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:::* He accused the Democrats of caving-in to fear-mongering in regard to warrantless spying and telecom immunity
:::* He quoted George Washington on the dangers of political parties
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:::We like both of these things. However,
Keith Olbermann’s FISA Flip-Flop
Quote of the Day:
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:::”Politicians are like bad horsemen who are so preoccupied with staying in the saddle that they can’t bother about where they’re going.”
:::– Joseph Schumpeter
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::: Subject: Olbermann, Obama, & FISA
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:::Part of our strategy for combating the new FISA bill will involve doing doing some new things. One of the things we want to do is pressure Barack Obama to step-up and lead the fight against warrantless spying and telecom immunity. The other thing we’re going to do is pressure Keith Olbermann of MSNBC.
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:::It appears that Mr. Olbermann is going to use one of his “Special Comments” tonight (Monday, June 30) to make an argument for why it’s okay for Obama to support the new FISA bill. We want to urge Olbermann to NOT do this. Here are the details . . .
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:::Five months ago Olbermann was quite critical of George W. Bush for promoting “textbook fascism” designed to “immunize corporate criminals.” The fascism to which he referred was the telecom immunity provision of the FISA Amendments Act. He had similar rough words for the way the bill would eviscerate the Fourth Amendment.
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:::Well, on Friday night Olbermann announced that he was going to do another one of his trademark “Special Comments.” Specifically, he said . . .
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:::”Speaking of FISA, following up on what he said here last week, John Dean has reviewed the newest version of that bill and again concluded, nothing in it gives the telecoms criminal immunity, only civil immunity. So Monday on Countdown, a brief Special Comment on FISA: How Senator Obama can have his cake and eat it too.”
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:::It isn’t difficult to figure out Olbermann’s plan for the presumptive Democratic nominee to both have and eat his cake. He’s been hinting at it for the past week. Here’s Olbermann in his own words . . .
Good Numbers!
Quote of the Day:
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:::”If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.”
:::– Carl Schurz, (1829-1906) German born U.S. Senator and Union Army general during the US Civil War
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:::Subject: Good numbers for June!
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:::DownsizeDC.org has grown in all directions this month. Here’s the breakdown . . .
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:::Pressure on Congress
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:::In March you, DC Downsizers, sent more than 50,000 messages to Congress for the first time, setting a new record of 51,390.
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:::This month you’ve soared passed 60,000 messages for the first time, setting yet another record — 67,470 messages as of this morning!
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:::Overall, DC Downsizers have sent 298,635 messages to Congress in 2008, which is 104,784 messages ahead of last year’s pace.
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:::Recruitment
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:::Also, as of this morning,
The AMA Writes the Laws
QUOTES OF THE DAY:
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:::”It would be unconstitutional for Congress to create a statute stating that it was a crime to engage in conduct forbidden by the AMA, or by particular HCBPs, or by the health care industry as a whole. This is because neither the AMA, nor the HCBPs, nor the health care industry more generally are governmental entities, and Congress does not have the power to delegate law-making authority outside of the government.”
:::- DEFENDANTS JOINT MEMORANDUM, United States v. Stephen J. vs. Linda K. Schneider
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:::”Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”
:::- Sir Thomas More, in Robert Bolt’s “A Man For All Seasons”
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:::SUBJECT: The AMA Writes the Laws
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:::Should the American Medical Association (AMA) have the power to write laws? Some bureaucrats think they already do.
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:::DownsizeDC.org proposed the “Write the Laws Act” (WTLA) to prevent unelected bureaucrats from writing regulations that have the force of law. Only elected representatives should have that power. We believe there should be “no legislation without representation.”
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:::Sadly, we’ve just learned that the problem WTLA seeks to fix is even worse than we thought. Unelected bureaucrats in the Justice Department have now taken to treating the standards of a private organization, the AMA, as if they had the force of law.
We have a Filibuster!
Quote of the Day:
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:::”It [the State] has taken on a vast mass of new duties and responsibilities; it has spread out its powers until they penetrate to every act of the citizen, however secret; it has begun to throw around its operations the high dignity and impeccability of a State religion; its agents become a separate and superior caste, with authority to bind and loose, and their thumbs in every pot. But it still remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men. “
:::– H. L. Mencken
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:::Subject: Feingold will filibuster the warrantless spying bill
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:::Good News on FISA
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:::Yesterday DC Downsizers bombarded the Senate with thousands of messages requesting that their Senator’s filibuster to block the “FISA Amendments Act of 2008.” Last night word came that Senator Russ Feingold will do exactly that!
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:::Thanks to Senator Feingold we will now need only 41 nay votes to defeat this bad bill.
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:::With a little more work we can . . .
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:::* Preserve the 4th Amendment’s protections against warrantless spying on American citizens
:::* Force the telecoms that collaborated with previous illegal spying to defend themselves in court
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:::We may also have some breathing room. The Senate is trying to leave town, and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid announced last night that they probably won’t have time to deal with the FISA bill before they go. We’ll be coming back to this campaign. In the meantime . . .
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:::It would be nice to call Senator Feingold’s office — particularly if you are registered to vote in Wisconsin — and praise him for having the courage to filibuster the “FISA Amendments Act of 2008.” You can call his office at 202-224-5323.
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:::National Animal Identification System
Filibuster!
Quote of the Day:
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:::”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action, but a habit.”
:::– Aristotle
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::: Subject: Ask your Senators to filibuster the warrantless spying/telecom immunity bill
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:::Victory is still possible in the fight against warrantless spying and immunity for the telecom companies that collaborated in previous illegal spying. Just this morning the Politico reports that . . .
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:::Senate leaders may split the warrantless spying and immunity provisions into two separate bills, and hold two separate votes.
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:::This is a sign of significant divisions in the Senate that we may yet be able to exploit to defeat the Senate version of HR 6304.
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:::The divisions are deep enough that there still isn’t a Senate version of the House bill, or a bill number. And there are still multiple ways we could win this fight.
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:::One strategy is to find a Senator willing to filibuster, and thereby block a vote.
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:::MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reported last night that there’s pressure on Presidential candidate and Senator Barak Obama to filibuster — to show he can lead his party and stand up to the Republicans. Senators Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold have stated strong opposition to this bill and are also strong potential candidates to filibuster.
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:::Toward this end we’ve changed the message to the Senate on our old campaign against the “Protect America Act”, to read as follows . . .