Author Archives: "Archives"

A personal message from DC Downsizer, Kraig Clark . . .

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Subject: It’s in your hands whether I give $25,000

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I’ve offered to give DownsizeDC.org $25,000. I’ve done this because I believe in the DownsizeDC.org vision. And I also believe that in order for this organization to become “viral,” significant funding is needed for outreach.

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DownsizeDC.org has spent less than $6,000 on direct outreach. This is because the organization first has to cover its modest operational budget. DownsizeDC.org needs to make sure that the lights stay on, the website stays fresh and operational, while also staying on top of Congress and how they are spending our money.

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Performing these functions allows DC Downsizers to send hundreds of thousands of messages to Congress so that the politicians know we’re here, that we’re informed, that we care, and that we’re not going away.

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DownsizeDC.org, despite their modest budget, has accomplished impressive milestones to date:

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1) 31,358 users have registered to use the site, and sent more than 1,350,316 messages to Congress.

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2) Since DownsizeDC.org was launched in July, 2004, their small staff has launched 106 campaigns.

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3) Since January, 2006, DC Downsizers have sent messages resulting in 16 legislative victories, most of the time stopping bad legislation.

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If that’s what DownsizeDC.org can do without a real outreach budget, then imagine what could happen if more money was directed at outreach, so that, for instance, we could have four times as many members and monthly pledge totals.

MEDIA NOTICE: I will be guest hosting the Jerry Hughes show this week. Look for the details beneath my signature.

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Quote of the Day: “It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.” — H. L. Mencken

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Subject: Today is Bill of Rights Day

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This isn’t some arbitrary, symbolic holiday. It’s a real anniversary. The Bill of Rights was ratified today in 1791 — 217 years ago. We believe that this event, more than anything else, was what has made the United States different from other countries.

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It isn’t democracy or representative government that made America unique. The Greeks, the Romans, and the British had

Quote of the Day: “Those are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others.” — Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

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Subject: We win! No bailout!

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Today is the 16th time since January, 2006 that a critical piece of legislation has gone our way in Congress. The good result today is that the automaker bailout has died in the Senate.

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We’ve long argued that it’s possible to use the divisions between the parities, the chambers of Congress, and the branches of the government, to win major victories, just as the Founders intended!

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This case is an example. The bailout passed in the House but failed in the Senate.

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We think public opposition, including yours, was vital in this victory, especially with the Republicans, who may finally be remembering what it means to be a fiscal conservative. Now, if we could just get the Democrats to remember what it means to be a civil libertarian, we might really have something.

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If we could get more Republicans to be real conservatives and more Democrats to be real liberals then we could swoop in with our huge army to resolve the difference in favor of the Constitution. Constant pressure can make these things happen.

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What we need is to grow, grow, grow. And in a major way,

Quote of the Day: “The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.”
:::– Herbert Spencer, (1820-1903) British author, economist, philosopher

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Subject: This could be your last chance to say NO

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Congress appears ready to give the Detroit automakers a bunch of money and create yet another government Czar, this time a Car Czar, to run the auto industry. Yeah, that’s just what we need.

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Congress may vote soon. If you don’t want this bailout please tell your elected representatives to oppose it. This may be your last chance on this one.

Quote of the Day: “Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.” — Henry Adams

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Subject: Stimulating scholarship

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The politicians want to stimulate the economy by spending money. But if the politicians don’t borrow money and spend it, wouldn’t someone else spend it instead?

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Of course, part of the complaint is that people are saving now rather than spending. But I can remember when politicians and pundits worried that people were borrowing too much and saving too little.   

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It seems that no matter how we poor taxpayers use our money, the politicians and their pet intellectuals always think they have a better idea.

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The politicians are operating from the playbook of a dead economist, John Maynard Keynes. Keynes believed that decreases in consumer spending should be compensated for by increases in government spending. He argued that this would moderate economic downturns. But . . .

(Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that headline.)

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Downsize DC President Jim Babka will be a guest on the Jim Guest Show this Sunday, December 7, 10 am EASTERN (9 Central, 8 Mountain, 7 Pacific) on the Republic Broadcasting Newtork.

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Jim Guest, host of the show, is a Missouri state legislator and prominent opponent of REAL ID. The show is one hour long and Jim Babka is scheduled for the first part. To listen, go here at 10 am Eastern on Sunday morning.

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Subject: We’re closing the gap fast!

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A group of DC Downsizers wants to give us $63,301. They aim to . . .

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• Cover all of our operating expenses for ALL of 2009

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• Free us to grow the Downsize DC Army at a much more rapid rate

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To collect this $63,301 from these top-down donors we need to raise a matching $19,531 in new monthly pledges from bottom-up donors. That’s it. Therefore . . .

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If you started a monthly pledge of 16 cents a day, that would equal $5 a month, or $60 for the year, plus your contribution would secure $193 from the top-down donors.

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• 32 cents a day would be $10 a month (or $120 per year), then matched with $387

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• 64 cents a day would be $20 a month (or $240 per year), then matched with $774

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You can see how this works. The top-down donors pledge big amounts, while the bottom-up donors start smaller monthly pledges to match the big donations. The two meet in the middle to close our funding gap for 2009 and SET US FREE to do bigger and better things faster.

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We’re closing the gap fast!

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To learn how you can . . .

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• Make a top-down pledge

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• Start a smaller, bottom-up monthly pledge that will unleash the top-down pledges

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• Get an “I Am Not Afraid” t-shirt and more

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Go to our secure Close the Gap page.

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Thank you for supporting our growth!

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Jim Babka
:::President
:::DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

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P.S. I’m scheduled to appear on the Jerry Hughes show today. Details can be found on our blog.
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Quote of the Day: “A people who extend civil liberties only to preferred groups start down the path either to dictatorship of the right or the left.” — William O. Douglas, (1898-1980), U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Source: New York Times, 20 January 1980

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Subject: While our attention is elsewhere, the sins of the past become entrenched

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Can you remember when our biggest concerns were . . .

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• The war in Iraq and the threat of war with Iran

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• The Patriot Act

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• Torture

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• Habeas corpus

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• Warrantless spying

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• The REAL ID Act

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It was just a few months ago.

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Do we still care about these things? We should. These issues are now more dangerous than ever, because . . .

Quote of the Day: “[The bailout] was socialistic in every way. It  rewarded market failures. It ripped off average families for the sake of billionaires. It was the worst form of Keynesian planning. It was an open conflict of interest, as the ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs funneled vast sums to Goldman Sachs. It had exactly zero chance of helping the economy. In fact, by draining productive private resources necessary for economic recovery, it makes a bad situation worse.” — Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. 

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Subject: What is a troubled asset?

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When Congress passed the Big Bailout they thought they were giving the Treasury Secretary nearly a trillion dollars to save the credit markets by purchasing and re-packaging bad mortgage securities.

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Secretary Paulson didn’t deliver the plan he sold. Instead, he invested $250 billion in the nation’s largest banks. 

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And now Paulson has declined to spend the final $350 billion of his authorization.

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This means that only $100 billion of the original $700 billion Bailout will have gone to purchase bad mortgage securities.

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Don’t get us wrong. We like it when the government doesn’t spend our money. But we won’t applaud Paulson for “fiscal responsibility.”

It’s been said that, “Taxation is theft.” Perhaps then, this is a parable about government bailouts…
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:::The government gave Citibank (CITI) a bailout package of $306 billion — $20 billion in cash, and the rest in loan guarantees to cover the last 90% of their losses.
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:::The stock itself closed at $3.70 on Friday November 21. One week later, “Black Friday,” it closed at $8.29.
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:::And the only thing that changed was the government bailout, which drove up the price of CITI stock. . .