Author Archives: "Archives"

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the Day:::::::Life is not lost by dying,:::life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day,:::in all the thousand small uncaring ways.:::– Stephen Vincent Benet::::::Subject: Mobilizing your Inner Strategist::::::How can you get more of what you want as a DC Downsizer?

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the Day:::::::“There has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse.” :::– Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, April 27, 2005.::::::Subject: Taking new steps to Downsize DC::::::Downsize DC’s three year anniversary is near at hand. With it will come many new things. ::::::* We will launch a refurbished website with a powerful new Congressional Contact System. :::* We will launch the “One Subject at a Time Act.” :::* We will begin doing new types of campaigns::::::We are learning from our successes.::::::* More votes have gone our way in Congress:::* Our Army is growing:::* Our ideas are starting to penetrate the Congressional Echo Chamber::::::June was perhaps our best month all year. We recruited 930 new Downsizers, which was only 8 shy of January’s high-water mark. ::::::On top of that, we slammed Congress with 47,109 messages — THE MOST EVER. ::::::We also made budget. ::::::We’re ahead of last year’s pace for recruitment by 1,117, and for messages by 56,523. ::::::Our monthly pledges are also at an all-time high (you can add to the success by contributing here).::::::And as if that’s not enough, Congress is starting to hear and heed our message about reading their bills. We’re still a long way from forcing them to introduce the “Read the Bills Act,” let alone pass it. But every day my Inbox sees Google-news items in which commentators, members of Congress, and even the President invoke the “Read the Bills” concept.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the Day:::::::”Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.” — Homer Simpson::::::Subject: Beta testers needed for new DownsizeDC.org website and Congressional Contact System::::::Well, we’ve been trying for a long time now, and we think we’ve finally succeeded. So take that Homer Simpson!::::::Of course, we could be wrong, in ways both large and small, which is why we need people to help us test what we’ve done.::::::We are about to unveil a totally revamped website for DownsizeDC.org. And a totally beefed-up Congressional Contact System too. We need dedicated Downsizers to help us test it before we show it to everyone else.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the Day:
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:::”If it’s just not practical to expect them to know exactly what they’re voting on… ummm… shouldn’t we change the system so it is practical?” – Ben Smith, Fighting Words Blog
:::
:::How They Voted
:::
:::Many people are wondering which Senators voted for and against the cloture vote that defeated the Immigration Bill. The roll call vote is available for all to see here.
:::
:::That same week (June 25-30), the House passed 15 bills totaling 338 pages, and the Senate passed 5 bills totaling 22 pages. We provide bill descriptions, the length of the bills, and links to roll call votes at the end of this post, below my signature.
:::
:::If you don’t believe members of Congress actually read the bills they voted for, tell them to pass the Read the Bills Act here.
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:::You can learn more about the Read the Bills Act here.
:::
:::RTBA Coalition
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:::The Read the Bills Act Coalition is an effortless way for blogs, talk shows, and other websites to spread the word about the Read the Bills Act. By joining the Coalition, you will be added to the roll at DownsizeDC blog.
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:::If you would like to add your site to the Read the Bills Act Coalition, find out more here.
:::
:::We have two new members this week:
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:::Liberty and Accessibility
:::Days of Infamy
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:::Tune In
:::
:::Also, Downsize DC President Jim Babka is on the radio again for his regular Friday appearance with Jerry Hughes. They’re going to discuss voter disgust and how we can win on Real ID.

Hey, this show might bore you a little. After all, it’s full of technical detail about an excruciatingly mundane issue — campaign finance deform (yes, I meant to spell it that way). ::::::Frankly, I think the enemies of democracy want us so bored that they can do whatever they want to us and we won’t lift a finger to stop them. ::::::But this issue is important! …and it needed to be discussed. ::::::First, because we (the Downsize DC Team) were successful in yet another fight to Downsize DC (it’s starting to be a trend). ::::::And second, because this issue, campaign finance regulation, is the single largest explanatory factor behind our inability to change DC via the ballot box: It’s the Pareto Principle applied to the question, “Why are incumbents so easily re-elected?”::::::Please listen. Please learn. The mp3 of this episode is “attached,” at the end of this blog post. ::::::Oh, and I promised, during the show, I’d link to these two items. Even if you don’t have time to listen, please read this stuff. ::::::Source article for today’s Gun Owners of America Update. ::::::Perry Willis’ “What you should know about our election system”

Lies, Damned Lies, and The New York Times

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .
:::
:::Quotes of the Day
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:::”I’m sure senators on both sides of the aisle are being pounded by these talk-radio people who don’t even know what’s in the bill.” Sen. Trent Lott
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:::”A decent respect for our constituents means when they have very serious problems with an important piece of legislation, perhaps we should back off.” – Sen. Jeff Sessions
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:::In This Issue:
:::
:::*It Was Just Too Big
:::*Last Week in Congress
:::* New RTBA Coalition Member
:::
:::It Was Just Too Big
:::
:::The quotes by Sens. Lott and Sessions above reflect two opposing views not just of the now-defeated Immigration Reform Bill, but of how a Senator should represent the people. Sen. Lott blames the bill’s critics for not knowing what’s in it, as if he had any intention of reading the entire bill himself. This is not unlike President Bush’s condemnation of the bill’s critics, which we wrote about two weeks ago.
:::
:::But we admit Sen. Lott had a point: many of the bill’s critics really didn’t know everything that’s in it. That’s because the bill was an incredible 762 pages even before the Senate considered amendments.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Repealing the REAL ID Act::::::Oh, those poor Senators. They’re really traumatized. They heard from far too many of their constituents over the immigration bill. The news is full of quotes about it. Senators feel assaulted, intimidated. ::::::Don’t you feel sorry for them?::::::Maybe we should give them a break? Go easy on them? Let them catch their breath?

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: Victory!::::::The immigration bill is dead. It fell short by 14 votes. Better yet, the whole issue has become so controversial, in so many different ways, that no further action on immigration is expected any time soon.::::::Fox News has reported that the Senate phone system crashed yesterday, from so many calls coming in.::::::We call this overwhelming, inescapable, resistance numbing pressure!::::::But the media, as usual, is getting the story wrong. The professional reporting class seems unable to contain more than one idea or fact in their heads at any given time, so they’re all reporting that the bill’s defeat was due to its supposed amnesty provisions. ::::::It is to laugh. ::::::The truth is that nearly everyone, on all sides of the issue, opposed this bill, for every reason imaginable.::::::The truth is that hundreds of groups like DownsizeDC.org were organizing opposition to this legislation for many different reasons. And one of the biggest objections was the REAL ID provisions.::::::Congratulations to you for the role you played in killing this horrible bill. Now, we have a prediction to make . . .

Today’s Downzier Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::In this Dispatch . . .::::::* Urgent new action needed on immigration bill:::* Urgent action needed on Republican presidential debate:::* Please help us::::::Subject: Today is the day to make the Senate dance on the immigration bill::::::The Senate voted yesterday to proceed with the immigration bill. Today they will vote on amendments to the bill. The most important of these is Baucus-Tester #1236, which would strip out the REAL ID oriented electronic background checks this bill would require for you to hold a job. THIS AMENDMENT MUST PASS.::::::THE VOTE WILL BE HELD TONIGHT! SO WE MUST ACT TODAY!::::::* We must do everything we can to make sure this immigration bill fails.:::* We must do everything thing we can to make sure Baucus-Tester #1236 passes::::::EVERYONE must send a message today asking for both of these things, and then, when you see your Senators’ phone numbers on your computer screen, call both Senators and say . . .:::

“I’m urging the Senator to vote against the immigration bill, and for amendment #1236, Baucus-Tester. I am absolutely opposed to electronic background checks as a requirement for employment. The Senator’s votes on this issue will affect how I vote in the next election.”

::::::You can send your message and make your phone calls here.::::::Then, when you’ve done this, contact several of your friends and ask them to do the same thing.