Author Archives: "Archives"

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Repeal the Patriot Act::::::Politicians excel at “the fine art of crisis creation.” Time and again they create policies that fail. Then they exploit those failures to grab more power, and then, almost inevitably, they fail again, only on a larger scale.::::::It’s a vicious cycle and a cancerous death-spiral to our liberty. ::::::9-11 and its aftermath provide a perfect example.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Thirteen more organizations and websites have joined the “Read the Bills Act” Coalition (plus there are a few more in process). Check out the new ones . . .

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::In this issue:::::::* What Congress did last week:::* Babka is on the radio today, and you can listen, call-in, or email questions:::

Bills passed by Congress March 26th to 31st, 2007 . . .

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the EPA must justify its reasons not to regulate greenhouse gases. Never mind that the Constitution prohibits Executive Branch agencies from enacting regulations in the first place, as that is a power reserved to Congress.::::::This is further evidence that the Supreme Court can not be relied on to protect the Constitution when the politicians decide to violate it. Only the power of the people can restore the Constitution’s Separation of Powers , which is why Downsize DC drafted the Write the Laws Act.::::::Even more disturbing, “A divided Supreme Court declined Monday to consider fresh questions about the legal rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Please share with concerned friends . . .::::::Subject: Ethnic ID::::::No one intended it to happen. It was a small thing — just a few letters printed on identity cards. Certainly no one in the Belgian colonial government of Rwanda had any idea that the words “Hutu” and “Tutsi,” printed on pieces of paper, would later enable the murder of between half a million and a million people.::::::Likewise, no one in the Department of Homeland Security intends anything bad by establishing standards for REAL ID cards that include a designation of ethnicity. In fact, this is an entirely voluntary aspect of the REAL ID program. State governments can choose to designate ethnicity, or not. ::::::No one in the federal government intends to force this on the states, or on you. ::::::And of course, what happened in Rwanda could never, ever happen here, in the United States of America. ::::::Still, it gives one pause for thought . . .

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: March Numbers::::::We didn’t quite hit our recruitment and activity numbers for March, but we still did pretty good, and we are still way ahead for the year over what we did in 2006. Here are the numbers . . .

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Four more websites have joined the “Read the Bills Act” Coalition. Check them out . . .

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Today’s action item is simple but important.

Congress passed the following bills last week:::::::HOUSE::::::H.R. 902 – More Water and More Energy Act of 2007 – 7 pages::::::This authorizes a study on the feasibility of using water brought to the surface in the exploration of oil, natural gas, or some other underground energy source. I don’t know why energy companies themselves wouldn’t want to do this research for themselves.