Author Archives: "Archives"

Your efforts are working. We may kill the warrantless spying bill. Democrats are developing some backbone. Conservative Republicans are fighting the bill too. Yesterday, we were asked to help a Republican Congressman to increase GOP defections in the House (it’s not who you might think). The bottom line . . .

Things have changed dramatically in the last 24 hours. The spying bill has become something of a hot potato. The House and Senate can’t agree on a final version. It’s possible no vote will be held before adjournment in either the House OR the Senate. That would exceed our expectations. Yesterday AM, things looked bleak for us. We were holding on to some hope we could use a procedure, such as a filibuster, to stop a vote from happening in the Senate. But stopping that vote from happening in both wings of Congress? Amazing!

The post-election landscape will change. We could have

Another episode of Jim Babka’s radio show, sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Gun Owners of America, and the Marijuana Policy Project.

We’ll focus our action today. The best way to stop the torture and spying bills is a Senate filibuster, and Senator Feingold is the most likely person to lead it. Give him the courage to do so!

Call 202-224-5323. Tell his staff you want to encourage the Senator to lead a fillibuster against the Torture/Tribunal bill and, especially, the Warrantless Spying bill.

Do you need

It is EXTREMELY rare that we send two messages in a single day. But we’re doing all we can do to fight against terrible bills being combined and passed as Congress pushes to get back to their districts and campaign. All we can do includes getting the word out through TWO RADIO INTERVIEWS — one tonight and one tomorrow morning, which I’ll tell you about in this message.

I’m going to participate in a 4 PM conference call with representatives

If we the people weren’t paying for it with our tax dollars, it would be funny.

Something bad is about to happen. Only you can stop it, and the clock is ticking. 

We hate to sound apocalyptic. We loathe the politics of fear (even if it works!). So we’re not looking to scare you. But you need to know that the end is near for “archaic” ideas like . . . 

* the right to security in your home and papers
* the right to be free from unreasonable searches 
* the safety net of judicial warrant requirements
* the right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process
* reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest
* protection from cruel and unusual punishment

Those were great ideals for “dead white men,” but apparently your children won’t need them anymore. Because, you know, the politicians need to protect you and your children from terrorism.

But the politicians need to get a grip, and a sense of proportion. You don’t turn the country upside down for light and transient causes. You’re more likely to die in your car, or be struck by lightening, than be harmed by terrorism. We don’t fret about such risks, so why are destroying American freedom in the name of an even smaller risk? 

A bill is about to pass the House. It permits

Advance warning!

The Drug Czar’s propaganda campaigns are getting more and more ridiculous. Utterly defeated on the argument that marijuana is dangerous – particularly in comparison to legal substances like alcohol and tobacco – our Office of National Drug Control Policy is left telling us that we shouldn’t smoke pot because it makes us lazy. So, we should go to jail for being lazy?::::::One commercial has a teenage boy sitting on a couch talking about how marijuana is safe. How it won’t kill you, how you won’t get started on heroin the next day, how going ice skating with your girlfriend is safer, etc.::::::His two friends were just sitting there on the couch with him, doing nothing. The kid gets up and says something like, “But I think I’ll take my chances out there.”::::::That’s it! That’s the message. Pot makes you do nothing.::::::Of course, many people with painful, debilitating diseases are already “doing nothing.” Some of that marijuana might lessen the pain and allow them to get up and do something. The Drug Czar has no case against using marijuana for medical purposes.::::::That’s why DownsizeDC.org suported the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment that would have stopped federal prosecution of medical marijuana users in states where it’s legal. And we will support it the next time it is introduced.::::::And these silly propaganda campaigns are the primary reason we seek to depose the Drug Czar.

Human Rights Watch needed a grassroots organization to fight an evil bill in Congress.

Welcome to the Sept 10-17 issue of Last Week in Congress. ::::::“Government doesn’t work.” This was the message of the late Harry Browne, co-founder of DownsizeDC.org. Because government doesn’t work, we want to shrink it. Because government doesn’t work, we want it out of our lives.::::::And because government doesn’t work, we’re skeptical of projects and programs that might even seem sensible. For example, we expect the federal government to provide for the common defense, but we shouldn’t rubber stamp every Defense Department budget request. Legitimate security concerns shouldn’t excuse waste, fraud, and abuse.::::::Border security is a legitimate concern, and immigration is a complicated topic. Some oppose immigration because they are not crazy about a growing immigrant voting bloc that supports Big Government candidates. Others fear the Southwest will secede and unite with stagnant, unfree Mexico. And then there is the fear that the borders will be abolished in order to form a North American Union and another layer of government. ::::::On the other hand, “people prohibition” doesn’t sound any more desirable or effective than any other form of government prohibition. Instead, it might just create another layer of illegality, and greater profits for smugglers and other criminals. Moreover, it is arbitary and unjust to let an imaginary line in the sand prevent people on one side from going over to the other to work, live, and do business.::::::We are skeptical that beefed-up border controls will work any better than any other government program. We have doubts about fences and other measures to keep immigrants out. Will they work? Will they be cost-effective? Will they just cause more problems elsewhere? And are they even desirable? DC Downsizers have honest disagreements over these issues.::::::That is why some of you will applaud, and some will oppose, H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The 8-page bill calls for building two layers of reinforced fencing through the most popular areas of entry for illegal immigrants, and for greater surveillance and additional checkpoints elsewhere on the borders and coasts.