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Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::The question? To impeach or not impeach? ::::::The number? 1-800-259-9231. ::::::It’s been weeks since we ran a live episode of the Downsize DC Conference Call (a call-in radio show heard on the Genesis Communications Network). There’s been a time-change. The show now airs one hour earlier — at 4 PM Eastern — and will do so for the rest of 2006. ::::::But I’m back behind the microphone today. And you can listen live by going to GCNLive.com/listen{LINK}::::::And I want to hear from you: ::::::Should President Bush be impeached? …or censured? If so, why? If not, why not? ::::::The call in number is 1-800-259-9231. ::::::Priority is given to callers, but you can email your comment or question to the show — call AT downsizedc DOT org (this address is only used for the show). ::::::Of course, I’ll talk about the election results. ::::::And you’ll hear from sponsors Gun Owners of America and the Marijuana Policy Project. Both organizations have news and analysis about this recent election, and opinions about the future.::::::The show is on Sunday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern (3 PM Central, 2 PM Mountain, and 1 PM Pacific). ::::::I hope many of you will listen. But we call the show a “conference call” because we want to hear from you. So let me know where you stand. ::::::Jim Babka:::Host:::The Downsize DC Conference Call

Economist David Friedman writes in his blog::::

I recently heard a talk, accompanied by a video, by James Tooley, who has been studying private schools in poor countries—not private schools for the rich but private schools for the poor.::::::The results sound extraordinary. In slum areas of countries such as Nigeria it appears that a majority of poor children are being educated in private schools, charging on the order of five dollars a month. Parents are willing to pay that because they believe they are getting, in various ways, a better education for their children than in the free public schools. Tooley tested a random sample of both private and public school children, and confirmed that opinion; the children going to the (inexpensive, slum) private schools consistently tested higher than the children going to the public schools.

In this election, liberals exploited stem cell research the way conservatives exploit gay marriage amendments . . .

Warning: Congress coming back in session

Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .::::::We’ve been quiet lately, working behind the scenes on future projects. We’ve been waiting for the latest bi-annual game of partisan musical chairs to exhaust itself. And so it has. Yet again. And what is the result?::::::Republicans are out. Democrats are in. Will this downsize government? No. Big Government’s speed of growth may slow because control is now divided between two parties, but the growth will continue as always. ::::::Play this game ten more times and imagine the outcome. Look down the road twenty years and calculate the size of the government you will leave to your children after playing partisan musical chairs ten more times. Do you like what you see? Is it a vision of what you want?::::::Now look at the results for the minor parties. You will see mostly single digits, only two or three tiny victories, and a mere handful of results in double digits, mostly in races with only two candidates. Some of the best-funded campaigns had among the poorest results. Look back twenty years and you will see the same thing. Then look forward twenty years. Is there any reason to expect the results will ever be different?::::::How much money and time must be invested doing the same thing over and over again, with always the same failed results, before the experiment of trying to change things through the game of partisan musical chairs can be judged to have rendered its conclusive result? ::::::Is the partisan political game moving things in a downsizing direction? No. Were downsizing ideas part of the political debate? No. Did anything about yesterday’s election send a message that Americans want to Downsize DC? No. And yet we know from a multitude of public opinion polls that there is a broad consensus in favor of smaller government. Why the disconnect?::::::Could it be that the partisan political game is rigged against downsizing ideas? Yes. Can we change that by continuing to play that rigged game? No. The history of the last twenty years makes the verdict clear. So isn’t it time to play a new game with new rules?

October was another great month for DownsizeDC.org. Here are the details . . .

* We made budget for the third month in a row (Thank You!)
* We cleared an extra $2,040 to spend on advertising (a first!)
* We recruited 493 new Downsizers, our fourth best month this year
* We have a record number of subscribers to the Downsizer-Dispatch: 23,730
* We sent 16,629 messages to Congress

Overall…
* Our Downsizer army now stands at 15,145
* Total messages to Congress now stands at 425,355
* 45,515 people have now heard about Downsize DC through our Tell-a-friend system and tens of thousands more by forwarded emails.

Word has been spreading in other ways too. Here’s what radio talk show host Jerry Hughes told his listeners in early October . . .

In his reply to a Downsizer’s petition to repeal torture, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) promptly and courteously sent a response defending his vote for … the Real ID Act, saying,::::::I supported the REAL ID Act as I believe it to be an important component of national security.::::::Even when sending the wrong reply, Cornyn comes up short.

The October 8 New York Times contains a lengthy but interesting report on the relationship between Church and State (registration required). Many states, as well as Congress, often give church-run enterprises like day care centers tax and regulatory breaks that other non-profit and for-profit businesses don’t get.

Congress keeps victimizing people. That’s bad. But it’s good that we can increase support for the Read the Bills Act (RTBA) by tapping into the latest group of Congressional victims. A prominent member of this group, a movie and TV actor who starred in two of the most popular productions of the 1980s, has already blogged about RTBA in the wake of the latest Congressional atrocity. I’ll tell you more below, but first, some context . . .

Opportunity knocks for the Read the Bills Act

DC Downsizers, I’m in a great mood today. Why? Well, each month, our goal is to raise $14,000, and as of right now, we’re only $146 away from the October finish-line.

But it gets better. A donor has already submitted $5,000 to the Downsize DC effort to help us start November. On top of that, we have now crossed the $5,000 level in monthly pledges. That means our team already has more than $10,000 raised towards the $14,000 needed for November!!!

We have consistently said that when we reach the $14,000 level in month in, month out pledged support, we would do two things.
1) Introduce a One Subject at a Time Act.
2) Launch Operation Everywhere, our plan to get the Downsize DC message out everywhere, everyday. In other words, we’d take the marginal income that exceeded our $14,000 per month need, and invest it in outreach advertising and recruitment efforts. We’d invest heavily in growth.

Well, since we have such a great start on November, I’d like to take the first baby-steps in the direction of