Monthly Archives: June 2009
A Matter of Honor
Quote of the Day: “Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong” – Thomas Jefferson
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Subject: A Matter of Honor
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The overwhelming majority of Americans agree that Congress should read the bills they pass. Our mission is to tell them about DownsizeDC.org’s Read the Bills Act (RTBA). If we overwhelm Congress with demands to pass RTBA, Congress will have no choice but to follow our orders.
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Directly inspired by DownsizeDC.org, California businessman Jerrol LeBaron has the idea that his state legislators should also be required to read the bills.
Mad Hatters Driven Insane by Tea
PUBLIC APPEARANCES: On Thursday, July 2, and Saturday, July 4, Downsize DC President, Jim Babka, will be speaking at Tea Parties in Ohio. Details below the signature.
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Quote of the Day: “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.” – Mahatma Gandhi
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Subject: Helping the Mad Hatters Understand the Tea Party Phenomenon
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In April, a large number of well-attended Tea Parties drove the media mad. The movement has grown, and we can tell that these displays matter because the Mad Hatters aren’t ignoring them.
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* On air personalities with maturity-levels rivaling Beavis and Butthead could not resist the juvenile references of calling the attendees “Teabaggers,” which according to the Urban Dictionary is a sexual act. Gee, weren’t they clever?
:::* Other alleged reporters sought to portray the attendees as uncontrollable nut jobs who didn’t realize all this spending was good for them.
:::* A Hollywood celebrity joined in the fun, labeling attendees small-brained, delusional people with a racist vendetta.
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As you can see, far from ignoring you, they’ve put your Tea Parties in Gandhi’s ridicule stage… verging on the attack and burn stage.
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Your Tea Parties are driving the media mad as a hatter. But if these rallies keep building, someday the Mad Hatters will be building monuments to you.
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Here at DownsizeDC.org,
Goals and Deadlines, like Cap & Trade
Quote of the Day: “When cryptography is outlawed, bayl bhgynjf jvyy unir cevinpl!” — Brad Templeton
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Subject: Goals and deadlines – Plus, House May Vote on Cap & Trade today!
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Constant progress means inevitable success. If we relentlessly increase…
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* The size of our army
:::* The amount of pressure we exert on Congress
:::* The amount of funding we have available to do outreach, education, and recruitment
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…then we cannot help but reach the point where we can overwhelm Congress and make our message heard by everyone, everywhere, every day
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Toward this end we strive to consistently accomplish more each month than we did the previous month. We have 3 work days left in June, so it’s time to bear down and make sure we meet our goals for the month. Here’s where we stand…
What do real doctors think about health care reform?
We received the following announcement:
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A panel of more than 20 distinguished physicians will talk will lead a discussion
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A panel of more than 20 distinguished physicians will talk will lead a discussion
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National Physician Town Meeting. They will tell specific stories of the
Good offense is good defense
Quote of the Day: “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” – P.J. O’Rourke
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Subject: Good offense is good defense
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When we tell Congress not to pass their planned health care legislation we’re playing good defense, but when we ask Congress to pass legislation that would help restore free market health care, we’re playing good offense and defense at the same time. This is very important to recognize…
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Saying YES to free market health care is the same as saying NO to further government meddling in health care.
Real ID, Pass Act, Audit the Fed
Quote of the Day: “Those who suppress freedom always do so in the name of law and order.” — John V. Lindsay
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Subject: REAL ID, the PASS Act, and Audit the Fed
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The people of Iran are risking their lives, and in some cases losing them, in a bid to gain their freedom. We need not risk so much to restore and retain our freedom, but for that to remain true we must vigorously use our right to petition our government for a redress of grievances. This means…
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We must relentlessly increase our pressure, telling Congress to obey the Constitution, and to undo the constitutional violations they’ve already committed. Our pressure must keep increasing until the politicians demonstrate their submission to the Constitution. To make that happen…
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We must apply more pressure each month than we did the previous month. We’re now nearing the end of June. To make sure we exceed the 36,512 messages we sent last month we’re going to ask you to hit Congress on two issues today, the REAL ID Act and Congressman Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill.
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The de facto national ID card that the REAL ID Act would create, seems to be going nowhere. The people don’t want it, and 25 states are refusing to impose it. This has been a significant victory for the idea that the people can pressure their government into submission. But…
Health care victory may be easier than you think
ATTENTION: Iowa citizens, as well as DC Downsizers who live in the districts of Blue Dog Democrats, please be sure to read this message!
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Quote of the Day: “Of course, no one knows what the bill would really cost in operation. But the history of social insurance and welfare programs is sky-rocketing expense well beyond original projections. Go back and look at the initial cost estimates for Medicare and Social Security, and you will run from the room simultaneously laughing and crying.” — Doug Bandow
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Subject: Health care victory may be easier than you think
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But the true cost is likely to be vastly higher. In fact…
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The consulting group HSI Network estimates that the real price tag would be closer to $4 trillion.
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As a result, support for the plan is declining, both in Congress, and among the public.
Time to slaughter NAIS
Media Announcement: DownsizeDC.org President Jim Babka will appear on the Liberty Roundtable Tuesday morning. See the details on our blog.
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Quote of the Day: “Increasingly, we are seeing consumers join forces with farmers in letting the USDA know that NAIS is not a solution for animal health, food safety or food security.” – Judith McGeary
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SUBJECT: Time to slaughter NAIS
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The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is the sickly runt of the Big Government’s herd of programs. It’s time to put it out of its misery.
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NAIS was a bad idea from the start . . .
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- it addresses a “problem” of animal disease control that current laws and agencies already cover
- it forces small family farms to put ID tags on each animal at their own expense, something factory farms are not required to do
- even though factory farms are at greater risk of disease outbreaks than are smaller farms, and most contamination occurs at the slaughterhouse
- it would raise the price of food
- through computer hacking and counterfeit RFID tags, NAIS actually makes our food supply more vulnerable to terrorists and other criminals
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No wonder, then, that NAIS has faced substantial resistance,
Complexity, Simplified
Media Notice: Today (Friday), Jim Babka is scheduled to appear on “Straight Talk w/ Jerry Hughes,” starting at 3:05 PM Eastern. Listening details can be found on the DownsizeDC.org blog.
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Quote of the Day: “You will be assimilated.” — The Borg (from Star Trek)
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Subject: The complex health care issue made simple
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If politicians can complicate an issue then they know our minds will freeze, our attention will wander, and we’ll let them do whatever they want. The health care issue is a classic example.
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There are tax issues involved, state and federal regulations, and massive price distortions caused by programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. And the proposals for “reform” are tangled in jargon…
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* Connectors
:::* Mandates
:::* Comparative effectiveness
:::* Guaranteed issue
:::* Pools
:::* Community rating
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Hard-working taxpayers can’t possibly have the time and energy to understand it all. But we think the complexity can be simplified to two simple questions:
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* For whom does your doctor work?
:::* Do you pay for your health insurance directly?
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If your doctor tailors his or her care to the policies of your insurance company, or some government program, then you don’t really have a doctor who works for you, and health care hasn’t really been reformed.
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You’ll know health care has really been reformed when the following things are true…
There must be more to the bill
Quotes of the Day: “The Democrats’ failure to pass a troop funding bill that will actually get our armed forces the money they need is nothing less than a disgrace.” — House Minority Leader John Boehner, June, 2008
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“It’s going to be an interesting fall as Republicans try to explain their vote against legislation that they’ve described as funding for our troops in a time of war, because I’m confident their constituents will be reminded.” – a White House Official, June 2009
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Subject: There must be more to the bill
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The Democrats are pro-war, the Republicans anti-war.
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What could me more convincing than that?
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“But wait!” you will probably say, “There must be more to the story.”
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You’re right of course.