Yearly Archives: 2009

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…

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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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the Democrats’ health care plans will cost more than a trillion dollars over ten years.

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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.

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

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• it forces small family farms to put ID tags on each animal at their own expense, something factory farms are not required to do

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• even though factory farms are at greater risk of disease outbreaks than are smaller farms, and most contamination occurs at the slaughterhouse

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• it would raise the price of food

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• 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,

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…

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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Don’t believe me? Check the House roll call vote for the final version of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, which funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just 5 Republicans were for it, and only 32 Democrats against.

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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.

A Message from Pamela Browne…

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Today, June 17th, is a bittersweet day for me. My late husband, Harry Browne, was born on this day. To commemorate his birth each year of our marriage, I spent a great deal of time and effort planning a day full of special surprises. Consequently, it was always a happy day.

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Harry has been gone for more than three years now. I miss him more than words can express.

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I know many reading this Downsizer-Dispatch miss him too.

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In these troubling times, we all miss Harry’s voice.

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* Harry understood Austrian economic theory and the business cycle.

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* He also specialized in understanding the damage that Big Government does to our economy — especially when the politicians try to “fix” it.

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We wish we could directly access his wisdom right now, whether it was in his clear, persuasive columns, or his warm, convincing monologues on air.

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I am pleased that there are voices that continue to carry forth Harry’s message, reminding people of the peace of mind that his Permanent Portfolio approach afforded.

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There are also voices who continue to proclaim his dictum that “Government Doesn’t Work.” The brightest and most effective of those voices is DownsizeDC.org.

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Harry was proud to be

Quote of the Day: “We have the greatest opportunity the world has ever seen, as long as we remain honest — which will be as long as we can keep the attention of our people alive. If they once become inattentive to public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors would all become wolves.” — Thomas Jefferson

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Subject: Good news about the “Audit the Fed” bills

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Last Thursday we reported that the “Audit the Fed” bill (HR 1207) had 200 co-sponsors, and that the companion Senate bill (S 604) had zero cosponsors. But in the space of just four days…

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* The House bill now has 224 cosponsors
:::* And the Senate bill has its first cosponsor, Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina

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Your pressure is working. In fact, the Federal Reserve Board has become so worried about this legislation that they’ve actually hired a lobbyist to fight it!

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Let’s keep pushing…

Quote of the Day: “Those who predict price inflation believe that the money multiplier [velocity] will turn upward again. They just don’t know when. Those who predict price deflation believe that the money multiplier will not turn upward again… I am in the inflationist camp. But until I see a sustained reversal [from down to up] of the money multiplier, I will continue to predict relatively stable consumer prices.” – Gary North

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Subject: The Federal Reserve might be powerful, but velocity proves YOU hold some of the cards

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When speaking of monetary policy, do you know what velocity is?

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It’s the speed at which dollar bills are spent — change hands.

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They’re moving slow. That has a lot people bandying around the word, “deflation.”

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It doesn’t make sense. As we’ve reported on several occasions, including the June 5th Downsizer-Dispatch, the Federal Reserve Bank (the FED) is counterfeiting at record levels — doubling the entire money supply in less than twelve months.

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That’s inflation. So why aren’t prices exploding — increasing by 10%, 20%, 50%, or more?

Quote of the Day: “One time in the House of Representatives [a colleague] told me a story about a proposition that a teacher put to a boy. He said, ‘Johnny, a cat fell in a well 100 feet deep. Suppose that cat climbed up 1 foot and then fell back 2 feet. How long would it take the cat to get out of the well?’ Johnny worked assiduously with his slate and slate pencil for quite a while, and then when the teacher came down and said, ‘How are you getting along?’ Johnny said, ‘Teacher, if you give me another slate and a couple of slate pencils, I am pretty sure that in the next 30 minutes I can land that cat in hell.’ [So] if some people get any cheer out of a $328 billion debt ceiling, I do not find much to cheer about concerning it.” — Senator Everett Dirksen, Congressional Record, June 16, 1965

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Subject: How deep is the hole the politicians are digging for us?

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The financial newsletter The Privateer reports…

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“Warnings have been issued from the Treasury that the Congressionally mandated debt ceiling of $12.1 TRILLION will most likely be breached in the second half of this year.”

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This pit of borrowing doesn’t even account for the deepening currency well we reported in last Friday’s Dispatch.  

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The politicians are borrowing and the FED is printing at staggering rates. As their shovels continue to ominously clang and clash, the news gets worse. Again, from The Privateer…

Quote of the Day: “We are in danger of being overwhelmed with irredeemable paper, mere paper, representing not gold nor silver; no sir, representing nothing but broken promises, bad faith, bankrupt corporations, cheated creditors and a ruined people.” — Daniel Webster (1782-1852), US Senator Source: speech in the Senate, 1833

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Subject: Trillions of reasons to audit the Federal Reserve

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Since last September the Federal Reserve has made $9 trillion in transactions that are not reflected on its balance sheet. This compares to $2 trillion in transactions that is reflected on the Fed’s balance sheet.

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What was the purpose of this $9 trillion? Who got how much, and why did they get it? No one knows. Congress doesn’t know, and neither does the Inspector General charged with monitoring the Fed, as you can hear for yourself in the video embedded in a blog post by David Theroux of the Independent Institute.

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Likewise, neither Congress nor the Inspector General knows anything about the profits or losses the Fed may have experienced from the $2 trillion that is reported on its balance sheet.

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Add up the numbers —