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Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: On Veteran’s Day::::::**This is a national call to action on one the most urgent ethical and legal issues to ever face our nation. We must all spread the word and get our friends involved.** ::::::I love America. I’m guessing you do too. ::::::But for me America is not a place, a piece of land, or a pretty flag. It’s not a military parade or a stirring anthem. For me, America is an idea. ::::::America is the one place where the huddled masses can come to breath free — that is, if they’re not subject to the “water cure.” ::::::Orwellian euphemism reaches its zenith as the war criminals who now run our government call water-boarding an “enhanced interrogation technique.” ::::::Water-boarding is said to simulate drowning. But it really simulates dying. ::::::French journalist Henri Alleg was a victim of water-boarding torture in 1957. His description . . .
Michael Cloud is the guest today on my one-hour radio show, the Downsize DC Conference Call. He and Carla Howell, proprietors of the Committee for Small Government, are leading the charge to end the income tax, via ballot initiative, in Massachusetts.
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:::Yes, end the state income tax. Even better, replace it with nothing. I guess you could say, “Downsize Beacon Hill!”
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:::How is this possible? What are the benefits? What are the chances?
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:::In 2002, Howell and Cloud put this initiative on the ballot and
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::This week, the Senate began debate on H.R. 2419, the “Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007,” which would “provide for the continuation of agricultural programs through fiscal year 2012.” The bill passed the House in July, and was formally received in the Senate in September. In theory, Senators have plenty of time to read it.
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:::But why would they bother? The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has been working on its own farm bill, S. 2302, called “The Food and Energy Security Act.” On Tuesday, Nov 6, the text of this bill was introduced for debate as an amendment/replacement of the House version.
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:::Assuming the Senate passes its own version, both bills will go to conference committee, where a few members of the House and Senate will iron out differences in the two bills before offering a final version for both chambers to vote on.
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:::None of this is unusual. It’s how a bill becomes a law.
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:::Just one thing: the House version is 860 pages long. If that sounds ridiculous, well,the Senate version is 1362 pages.
Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Recruit more Downsizers. Forward this to others.::::::Quote of the Day: ::::::“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”:::- John Belushi as Bluto in the movie “Animal House”::::::Subject: Status of legislation repealing the 4th Amendment::::::The 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects Americans against searches and seizures without a warrant. In August 2007 the Democratic Congress repealed the 4th Amendment, in fact if not in name. They did so at the request of a Republican President. The instrument of this repeal was a bill called the “Protect America Act.”::::::In the wake of this crime against the supreme law of the land the Democrats have claimed that they are working to undo the damage they did. They claim to have not fully understood the real impact of what they passed. This could actually be true given that they did not read the “Protect America Act” before they voted on it. ::::::It is less true that the Democrats are really working to undo the damage. It increasingly appears that the Democrats are just going through the motions, making minor changes to impart the impression that they have restored 4th Amendment protections when really they have not.::::::Why the charade?
Today’s Downsizer Dispatch . . .::::::Recruit more Downsizers. Forward this message to others.::::::Quote of the Day:::::::“Now let me state the present rules, the lawyer then went on, :::These very simple guidelines, you can rely upon: :::You’re gouging on your prices if you charge more than the rest, :::But it’s unfair competition if you think you can charge less! :::A second point that we would make to help avoid confusion… :::Don’t try to charge the same amount, that would be Collusion!:::- “The Incredible Bread Machine” by R.W. Grant::::::Subject: Prices are magic::::::How many popular beliefs actually correspond to reality? Consider this one from Iran . . . ::::::
“The CIA has overthrown Iranian governments in the past. Therefore, the CIA must have been responsible for the Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution.”
::::::Don’t laugh. The American public is equally susceptible to preposterous beliefs.
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .:::From around the Web:
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:::”This year a Democratic majority took power on Capitol Hill. But new leadership has done nothing to address an old problem: Lawmakers racing to pass bills they haven’t actually read.” – Ed Feulner, Washington Times
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:::We most certainly agree. Last week, the Senate passed 314 pages of legislation. Not to be outdone, the House passed a whopping 646 pages. If the parties won’t change, we must change the process. And that is why we are pressuring Congress to pass the Read the Bills Act.
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:::”[Rep. Bill ]Johnson said the new [SCHIP] bill was a political ploy. It was about 300 pages long and introduced around midnight the night before with ‘zero input’ from moderate Republicans who didn’t even know it was coming, he said.’We had, literally, an hour to look at it, read 300 pages,’ he added. – Debra Pressey, News-Gazette
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:::Rep. Johnson, we applaud your conscientious concern about not having time to read the bill before voting on it. Does this mean we can expect you to vote against any bill you haven’t read? Does this mean we can expect you to introduce the Read the Bills Act?
Subject: Good numbers::::::We’ve had good growth this month . . .
Small footprint, big impact
Subject: FISA strategy::::::Okay, we’re coming to the decision point of our fight to repeal the bad aspects of the so-called “Protect America Act” (PAA) Remember, the PAA violates the 4th Amendment by permitting government spying on American citizens without a warrant. ::::::Here’s what we need to do . . .
What’s happening on Sunday’s Downsize DC Conference Call (radio show)?
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:::Potluck. Or, as my friends Ian and Mark would say, “free talk.” How are some suggestions . . .
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:::* Why is Downsize DC so great?
:::* Why did cough syrup go up by a $1 this week?
:::* How will Downsize DC save the world?
:::* Which political cliché do you hate the most?
:::* Who is the most overrated politician and why?
:::* Whose the worst TV commentator and why?
:::* In a just world would Jim Babka be President? Why or why not?
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:::But those are just suggestions.
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:::I don’t have much idea what I’m going to talk about, except . . .