Archives
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
:::“The consequences of USDA – and now the courts – denying voluntary BSE testing effectively shield the less innovative, less nimble and less responsive beef processors from the competitive capacity of cutting-edge beef processors like Creekstone.” – Blll Bullard
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SUBJECT: The Cure For Mad Bureaucrat Disease
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Of the 35 million cattle slaughtered each year, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) tests about 1% for BSE, or Mad Cow Disease. But Creekstone Farms wants to test 100% of the cattle they process, at their own expense.
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Quote of the Day:
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:::“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” – H.L. Mencken
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:::Subject: The Five Fatal Flaws of ANY ID Card Scheme
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:::A few weeks ago we introduced Lowell Rogers to you. He’s a tugboat engineer. His employer is about to be brought under a security/identity scheme — a Real ID card of sorts for maritime employees. It’s called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).
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:::Apparently, since the Department of Homeland Security can’t get Real ID implemented, due to the largest state rebellion since the Civil War, they’ve decided to pick us off — one occupation at a time.
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:::TWIC will snag 700,000 to 1,000,000 workers.
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:::But Lowell Rogers won’t take the card. He’d sooner give up his job. He wants to take a stand. But he can’t do it alone.
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:::And Lowell Rogers shouldn’t have to take the card. ID card schemes just don’t work. These showy security plans have five fatal flaws . . .
Our new website had a “white page/error message” problem. Now it’s fixed! Please give it a try.
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:::QUOTES OF THE DAY:
:::“The legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security was very specific on the question of a national ID card. They said there will be no national ID card.” – Tom Ridge
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:::”I was very protective as governor of my prerogatives in the federal system. One thing I never liked from the federal government were unfunded mandates, or the federal government telling me how to run Pennsylvania.” – Tom Ridge
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:::SUBJECT: Real ID, Expensive and Unnecessary
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:::The remarks above, by then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, were made in September, 2004. They seemed to rule out something like Real ID. But Ridge did go on to say that he was working with governors to develop some “basic standards” for drivers’ licenses, and that he wanted uniform identification for workers in security-sensitive fields.
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:::But the drift of his comments suggested a collaborative process, not an unfunded mandate.
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:::Ridge retired from public service shortly thereafter and was replaced by Michael Chertoff, co-author of the Patriot Act. The following May, the REAL ID Act was attached to a “must-pass” Iraq bill, and passed without debate.
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:::Real ID would standardize state drivers’ licenses to make a de facto National ID card. Chertoff envisions it to be used to “cash a check, hire a baby sitter, board a plane or engage in countless other activities.” http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/636479.html
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:::Real ID is also an expensive unfunded mandate. Homeland Security optimistically projects that
We’re pleased to announce that our new website is up and running on the new servers. The “white page/error message” problem is solved. Please give our new website a try.
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:::Quote of the day:
:::“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.”
:::- Thomas Sowell
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:::Subject: Procedural Matters
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:::This message is about procedural matters. Why? Because Procedure matters.
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:::* The budget rules of the House and Senate are such that the federal government is guaranteed to be larger with each passing year.
:::* The political rules are such that every single crisis results in a hastily passed law, with no regard for Constitutionality or cost.
:::* The rules of state are such that the politicians and power-brokers DON’T pay a price for their mistakes — neither for passing ineffective or destructive laws, nor for busting the budget. In fact, saying “Yes” to more spending and new laws always benefits them, and saying “No,” can cost them support.
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:::How do we change these rules? You’ve heard it said, “The devil is in the details.” Yes, the devil, because if you try talking about the budget process or the legislative process you’ll divide folks along partisan lines, or worse, bore people to sleep.
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:::How can we unite people to care about procedure?
Quote of the Day:
:::”If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
:::– George Orwell (“Animal Farm” 1945)
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:::Subject: We think we fixed the website problem
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:::If you’ve had the “white page” problem (rendered in some browsers as an “error message”) with our website over the past month, please try to use it again today. We think we’ve fixed it.
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:::We’ve installed new servers, as well as updated the operating system and software. A group of DC Downsizers did a beta test this week and it went well — no “white pages” or “error messages.” But the real test will be for hundreds or thousands of you to try and use the system at the same time. Let’s test it by sending a bunch of messages to Congress!
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:::We’ll use our campaign against TWIC for the big test. Remember, TWIC is a backdoor attempt to implement the REAL ID national identity card, one industry at a time. If you already know about the TWIC program you can send your message using our new, Educate the Powerful System.
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:::If you’re unsure of why TWIC is so bad, or you would value more information about it, here’s some additional startling information . . .
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Quote of the Day:
:::”I planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don’t know what to feed it.”
:::– anonymous
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:::Subject: Congress is Coming Back Soon
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:::Congress will return to work when the party conventions end. It will be a brief session before they adjourn again to campaign. Short sessions are often full of hi-jinks. Will we be ready to resist?
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:::I’m not sure.
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:::We launched a new website last month. We had to. Congress has made it harder and harder for their constituents to communicate with them through sites like ours. Our new website was designed to make it easier for us to hurdle these barriers. But complex new systems always have problems . . .
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:::Our new site didn’t work for many users. People got frustrated, including us. We identified the likely cause of the problem and took steps to fix it, but that took time. Now, we think we’re done.
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:::Today, our “beta testers” have been called back into action. If they find the website is working ok, we’ll re-launch it tomorrow.
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:::But this month feels::::::
Today (Sunday) I’ll do the FINAL LIVE EPISODE of my two-hour radio show, The Downsize DC Conference Call.
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:::And Congressman Ron Paul is my guest for the first three segments!
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:::Later in the show, I’ll also be joined by…
Quote of the Day:
:::From the Washington Post’s Mensa Invitational in which readers take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and then supply a new definition . . .
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:::”Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.”
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:::Subject: Ron Paul this Sunday, plus other radio stuff
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:::We’ve been quiet lately, not sending many Dispatches. There are two reasons for this. One, Congress is away, and two, we’ve been working to fix some of the technical problems with our new website. We also know that many DC Downsizers are away on vacation in August, so this seemed like the perfect time to take a break and do some house cleaning.
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:::But get ready, we’re going to start pounding on Congress again very soon. In the meantime, I’ll be on the Jerry Hughes show today, and Sunday I’ll be interviewing Ron Paul on the FINAL episode of _my_ radio show.
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:::In addition to Ron Paul,::::::
Change the political environment. Recruit more DC Downsizers. Share this message with others.
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:::Quotes of the Day:
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:::NINTH AMENDMENT: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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:::TENTH AMENDMENT: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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:::Subject: More progress on the “Enumerated Powers Act”
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:::The “Enumerated Powers Act” would force Congress to cite its Constitutional authority for every law it passes. When we last reported to you in late July this bill had 52 co-sponsors in the House, and had just been introduced in the Senate by Tom Coburn, gaining a whopping 22 co-sponsors almost immediately.
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:::Progress has slowed since then, but there is another new co-sponsor in the House. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas came on board on July 23, 2008, just a couple of days after we last contacted Congress about this bill. Maybe some of you made the difference with Mr. Sessions, so let’s keep pushing . . .
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Today, for only the second and final time, I’ll be using MY Sunday radio show, which starts at 3:06 PM Eastern (2:06 PM Central, 1:06 PM Mountain, and 12:06 PM Pacific), to launch a DownsizeDC.org campaign — A Backdoor Real ID Card.
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:::This backdoor Real ID card is called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential; TWIC card for short. My guest, during the second hour, will be Lowell Rogers, a brown-water, tugboat engineer. More about Lowell and the card in just a moment.
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:::But first, I want to announce two other things . . .
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:::First, this is my second-to-last live broadcast. August 24 will be my final episode, and Congressman Ron Paul is scheduled to be the featured guest of that August 24 episode (that’s not today, but next Sunday).
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:::Second, this is MY radio show. This program is about what interests me, and you receive this message because of a promotional arrangement between Yours Truly, and DownsizeDC.org. The guests, topics, and views expressed on the show are not those of the staff, management, and sponsors of DownsizeDC.org.
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:::That’s relevant because for the first hour we’re going to discuss something that may interest you, but it’s not normal political fare. But I believe it’s relevant.
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:::My guest during the first hour will be Frank Viola, co-author of the book, “Pagan Christianity.”
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