Archives

Jim Babka, President of DownsizeDC.org, was interviewed by Wikinews last week. Though brief, this interview provides an excellent summary of what Downsize DC stands for and does. You can read it here.

Truth or Satire?

Congressional candidate Richard Matthews has an excellent statement on the Enumerated Powers Act::::

Richard Matthews is in full support of the Enumerated Powers Act. It was first introduced in 1995 by Rep John Shadegg of Arizona’s Third Congressional District and in Maryland is co-sponsored by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of the Sixth District. This bill has been reintroduced every two years but has never entered into the agenda of it’s assigned committee (Judiciary, and Rules), nor been offered for a up or down vote on the floor.::::::The Enumerated Powers Act is a simple bill that requires Congress, on every bill, to site the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of the Act in question. This straightforward bill should be supported by every member of congress without hesitation.

Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: Harnessing the power of “social confirmation”::::::We often think of sociology as a soft science, or as not a science at all, but sociologists are increasingly delivering interesting experimental results. One such result has something to teach us about the work of trying to Downsize DC.::::::Three sociologists at Columbia University, Duncan Watts, Matthew Salganil, and Peter Dodds, conducted the following experiment . . .

• They recruited 14,000 people to register at a website
• This website allowed people to listen to, download, and rate songs by unknown bands
• One group was given only the names of the songs and the bands, while . . .
• The other group was also shown how many times each song was downloaded

The results were startling, and highly informative . . .

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.
:::
:::Quote of the Day:
:::
:::”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
:::
:::Fact of the Day:
:::
:::U.S. policy is at war with itself in Afghanistan. The Afghan army is destroying poppy fields in the service of America’s “war on drugs.” Meanwhile, the American army is fighting the Taliban to protect the Afghan government, and Afghan farmers are paying the Taliban to protect their poppy fields from the Afghan army. Thus, the harder we fight the “war on drugs” in Afghanistan the harder it becomes to win the war against the Taliban. Source: Newsweek, April 7, 2008
:::
:::Subject: Bush administration continues lying
:::
:::Courtesty of Ed Brayton, more evidence of lies from the Bush administration . . .
:::
:::Our new Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, gave a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on March 27. In the speech Mukasey asserted that national security secrets would be exposed in court unless the telecom companies that participated in the Bush administration’s warrantless spying program receive immunity for their actions. 
:::
:::This is a lie.

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.
:::
:::Quote of the Day:
:::
:::“Democracy is the theory that the people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
:::– H.L. Menken
:::
:::Fact of the Day:
:::
:::633 Iraqi civilians were killed and 701 wounded in February — a 30% increase over January.
:::1,720 Iraqi civilians were killed in March and another 4,140 were wounded — a 31% increase over February.
:::
:::Subject: Government stupidity
:::
:::The most incompetent institution in the world — otherwise known as the federal government — has a new plan to protect you from terrorism. Get this . . .
:::
::: Fishermen on Lake Erie must now carry passports, in case they cross the invisible border with Canada that bisects the lake. Then, thanks to the so-called Department of Homeland Security, when the fishermen return to shore, they must drive to a government office and have their pictures taken.
:::
:::Do you feel safer?

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.
:::
::: Quote of the Day:
:::
:::”Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.”
:::– Oscar Wilde “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” 1891
:::
::: Fact of the Day:
:::
:::British dentists have been forced to go on holiday because they’ve fulfilled the annual work quotas allotted to them by the National Health Service. The dentists are denying treatment to patients because the government will not pay them to do the work. More than 7 million British citizens are unable to find an NHS dentist. Universal access?
:::
::: Subject: End the Ethanol Scam
:::
:::The politicians want us to burn more ethanol in our cars. Like most plans concocted by politicians, this one is a terrible idea that is having devastating consequences. Here are the facts about ethanol . . .
:::
:::Ethanol consumes more energy than it produces. A study by Cornell and UC Berkeley found that corn converted to ethanol consumes 29% more energy than it creates. Most of these energy losses come from the burning of extra fossil fuels. Energy losses from other sources of ethanol, such as switch grass (45%) and wood (57%) are even worse.
:::
:::Strike one for ethanol.

We received word, and have confirmed, that Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen’s office is accepting feedback on Real ID. Tennesseans, just call 615-741-2001 to voice your opinion.::::::We don’t know if it’s that easy in the rest of the states, but the phone numbers for governor’s offices are easily found on the web. Calling your governor about Real ID certainly won’t hurt, and may help a lot in defeating it.::::::

Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.::::::Quote of the Day:::::::“..the Bill of Rights does not come from the people and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes from the nature of things. It declares the inalienable rights of man not only against all government but also against the people collectively.”:::– Walter Lippmann::::::Subject: Ron Paul’s “American Freedom Agenda Act”::::::Please ask your Congressperson and your two Senators to co-sponsor Ron Paul’s “American Freedom Agenda Act.”::::::This bill would . . .

Change the political environment. Recruit more Downsizers. Share this message with others.
:::
:::Quote of the Day:
:::
:::”The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws.”
:::– Walt Whitman (“Notes Left Over” 1881)
:::
:::Subject: Government reports a future flood of red ink
:::
:::The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare programs released their annual report over the spring break. They continue to project a future flood of red ink.
:::
:::

:::
• The 75-year unfunded liabilities are projected to be $42.9 trillion

:::

:::

:::
• The “infinite horizon” liabilities are projected at $101.7 trillion

:::

:::Please note that these figures do not include projections for continuing to service the ever-growing national debt, which are included in the report from the Government Accountability Office we use for our “Unfunded Liabilities” campaign.