Archives
URGENT ACTION BULLETIN
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:::DC Downsizers,
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:::Something really exciting is happening, right now. This message is time sensitive . . .
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:::Lots of new people are joining Downsize DC today because of an article about the Read the Bills Act that is number one on the DIGG rating site. Let’s pour fuel on this fire!
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:::I’m frequently asked: How are you going to compel Congress to sponsor and act on the Read the Bills Act? The answer: By showing up to work every day and continually adding new DC Downsizers we will build an army that can compel Congress to act through overwhelming, mind-numbing, intense pressure.
:::Slow and steady wins the race.
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:::If you’ve already contacted Congress about the Read the Bills Act, then I’m NOT going to ask you to send a message to Congress today using our Congressional Contact System.
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:::Are you surprised?
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:::Instead, you can do something to get lots of people you’ve never met to join and take action. And best of all, it’s FREE.
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:::Your very PROMPT attention and follow-through in response to this message can result in dozens, scores, and perhaps hundreds of new people joining us over the next several hours . . .
Quote of the day:
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:::The Law of Succession: Each president contributes to the upgrading of his predecessors.
:::– political scientist Theodore Lowi
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:::Curing loneliness
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:::It’s easy to feel alone when it comes to politics. Tell another person what your labels are (Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, or whatever), and you may see the lights turn off in that person’s eyes if their labels are different from your own.
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:::Either that, or your seemingly innocent label-exposure could work like a challenge to a verbal duel, and what you may see in the other person’s eyes could be something more akin to anger. “How dare you take sides with THEM! Here, let me fix you by explaining the error of your ways!”
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:::In any case, love or friendship is the least likely response when two people begin to discuss their differing labels.
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:::”Labelism” Labeling others may be an important, unrecognized contributor to feelings of loneliness and isolation in the world. But . . .
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch::::::IN THIS ISSUE:::::::* RTBA Coalition grows!:::* Thomas Jefferson writes a letter:::* A few more ticks of the clock
Last week, my show took a different turn right off the bat. A breaking news item. Five callers. Four emails. The show is only an hour long.
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:::But it still needs to be discussed… what matters most.
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:::The Downsize DC project is predicated on a strategy. It’s the thing that matters most.
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:::In recent weeks, various suggestions have been made — issues we should be tackling and arguments we should be making. In fact, these statements have come from a variety of directions. It’s been impossible to respond to them all.
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:::Today, I want to respond and to offer hope, because we believe there’s one thing that matters — one root strategy that is more important than all others.
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:::Just one. Only one.
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the day (a coda to yesterday’s message):::::::I can see that it will work in practice. But would it work in theory?:::– A British joke about the French (and a Downsize DC joke about politics)::::::Media Notice:::::::I’m on the radio again today, and you can listen. See the details below my signature.::::::Order of the Day:::::::We’re moments away from eclipsing our recruitment and messages-to-Congress numbers for last month, with half of March still to go.::::::Meanwhile, Congress is busy, doing so many things in so many different directions, that we’re finding it hard to keep up. But . . .::::::We have to pause for yet another announcement from our sponsors. Or something like that.::::::We didn’t raise much money to pay many bills yesterday, and if you can’t pay the bills you can’t save the world. So we have to hit it again today. Sorry. That’s just how it is.::::::One contribution of $7,000 to $10,000 would do it, plus buy some more advertising. We know there are people on this list with that capacity, quietly watching our progress. Now would be a good time for one of them to step forward. They could do so here.::::::70 contributions of $100 would also do it. Or, :::140 at $50:::280 at $25:::700 at $10:::1,400 at $5::::::The above numbers are rough estimates only, and do not conform to Sarbanes-Oxley federal accounting requirements, but then, neither does the federal budget. ::::::Anything you could give would help. You can contribute here.::::::Thanks for being a DC Downsizer, and don’t forget about the media notice below my signature, or the contribution links above.::::::Jim Babka:::President:::DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: We won! Again!::::::The “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007” passed the House by a veto-proof majority of 331-94. ::::::There were several poison pill amendments proposed to undermine the intent of the bill, but they failed. The bill we got was largely the bill the whistleblower coalition wanted. ::::::One of our partners at the National Whistleblower Center thinks your efforts helped achieve this outcome. Ask loudly enough, and ye shall receive. Thank you for your messages and phone calls. ::::::It’s ANOTHER victory for our approach. ::::::ANOTHER victory for you. ::::::This is significant, because, after all, how many victories have there really been, outside of the work you do with DownsizeDC.org? ::::::What DownsizeDC.org is doing works, and it will work more-and-more as we grow larger. Let us grow larger today.::::::It’s March 15th: The Ides of March.
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Subject: Whistleblower Protection — URGENT ACTION NEEDED!::::::H.R. 985 is titled the “Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007.” We love the concept. Federal employees who “blow the whistle” on government wrong-doing are an indispensable protection. ::::::If those within government do not tell us when the government is breaking the law there is often no way we will know. Who watches the watchmen? The answer is whistleblowers.::::::Previous legal protections for whistleblowers have been gutted by court decisions. H.R. 985 is designed to restore and enhance these protections. ::::::Whistleblowers protect us, so we should protect them from retaliation by higher-ups looking to cover-up.::::::A vote could be held on H.R. 985 as soon as today, so we need to take action now.
It’s baaack!
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:::We stopped it in the Senate, but now the House has taken up regulating the grassroots — regulating groups like DownsizeDC.org.
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:::Let me be clear. Here at DownsizeDC.org, we’re not doing anything illegal. We’re not doing anything unethical. And we haven’t so much as asked a Congressman to go to dinner. Nor are we supported by big money interests trying to find ways to get a hold of your tax dollars or earn special favors.
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:::There are groups who are doing those things. The supporters of this legislation pretend to be doing something about that. But here’s the kicker: As long as these individuals, groups, and institutions are communicating with their “members,” they’ll be free of any burden under this legislation.
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:::No reporting required for them.
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:::But DownsizeDC.org expects that we’ll be doing at least four fewer campaigns per year and spending $10,000 of our annual donor donations just to keep ourselves in compliance with
Congress, March 5-11
Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::Quote of the day:::::::“How did I go bankrupt? Two ways. Slowly, and then all of a sudden.”:::– spoken by a character from “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway::::::Subject: A lever, or a wand?::::::You have a choice. You can buy a lever to move a big object in the direction you want it to go, or a magic wand that will do it for you, with no muss or fuss. Which will you buy? ::::::It may depend on your perception of reality, but the outcome won’t. The outcome will be decided by reality alone, without regard to human perceptions. ::::::The reality is, levers work; wands don’t. ::::::Metaphorically speaking, DownsizeDC.org gets contacted by lots of people peddling magic wands. We hear it all the time . . .