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We’ll focus our action today. The best way to stop the torture and spying bills is a Senate filibuster, and Senator Feingold is the most likely person to lead it. Give him the courage to do so!

Call 202-224-5323. Tell his staff you want to encourage the Senator to lead a fillibuster against the Torture/Tribunal bill and, especially, the Warrantless Spying bill.

Do you need

It is EXTREMELY rare that we send two messages in a single day. But we’re doing all we can do to fight against terrible bills being combined and passed as Congress pushes to get back to their districts and campaign. All we can do includes getting the word out through TWO RADIO INTERVIEWS — one tonight and one tomorrow morning, which I’ll tell you about in this message.

I’m going to participate in a 4 PM conference call with representatives

If we the people weren’t paying for it with our tax dollars, it would be funny.

Something bad is about to happen. Only you can stop it, and the clock is ticking. 

We hate to sound apocalyptic. We loathe the politics of fear (even if it works!). So we’re not looking to scare you. But you need to know that the end is near for “archaic” ideas like . . . 

* the right to security in your home and papers
* the right to be free from unreasonable searches 
* the safety net of judicial warrant requirements
* the right to a trial by a jury of your peers in a system of due process
* reasonable bail and recourse for false arrest
* protection from cruel and unusual punishment

Those were great ideals for “dead white men,” but apparently your children won’t need them anymore. Because, you know, the politicians need to protect you and your children from terrorism.

But the politicians need to get a grip, and a sense of proportion. You don’t turn the country upside down for light and transient causes. You’re more likely to die in your car, or be struck by lightening, than be harmed by terrorism. We don’t fret about such risks, so why are destroying American freedom in the name of an even smaller risk? 

A bill is about to pass the House. It permits

Advance warning!

The Drug Czar’s propaganda campaigns are getting more and more ridiculous. Utterly defeated on the argument that marijuana is dangerous – particularly in comparison to legal substances like alcohol and tobacco – our Office of National Drug Control Policy is left telling us that we shouldn’t smoke pot because it makes us lazy. So, we should go to jail for being lazy?::::::One commercial has a teenage boy sitting on a couch talking about how marijuana is safe. How it won’t kill you, how you won’t get started on heroin the next day, how going ice skating with your girlfriend is safer, etc.::::::His two friends were just sitting there on the couch with him, doing nothing. The kid gets up and says something like, “But I think I’ll take my chances out there.”::::::That’s it! That’s the message. Pot makes you do nothing.::::::Of course, many people with painful, debilitating diseases are already “doing nothing.” Some of that marijuana might lessen the pain and allow them to get up and do something. The Drug Czar has no case against using marijuana for medical purposes.::::::That’s why DownsizeDC.org suported the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment that would have stopped federal prosecution of medical marijuana users in states where it’s legal. And we will support it the next time it is introduced.::::::And these silly propaganda campaigns are the primary reason we seek to depose the Drug Czar.

Human Rights Watch needed a grassroots organization to fight an evil bill in Congress.

Welcome to the Sept 10-17 issue of Last Week in Congress. ::::::“Government doesn’t work.” This was the message of the late Harry Browne, co-founder of DownsizeDC.org. Because government doesn’t work, we want to shrink it. Because government doesn’t work, we want it out of our lives.::::::And because government doesn’t work, we’re skeptical of projects and programs that might even seem sensible. For example, we expect the federal government to provide for the common defense, but we shouldn’t rubber stamp every Defense Department budget request. Legitimate security concerns shouldn’t excuse waste, fraud, and abuse.::::::Border security is a legitimate concern, and immigration is a complicated topic. Some oppose immigration because they are not crazy about a growing immigrant voting bloc that supports Big Government candidates. Others fear the Southwest will secede and unite with stagnant, unfree Mexico. And then there is the fear that the borders will be abolished in order to form a North American Union and another layer of government. ::::::On the other hand, “people prohibition” doesn’t sound any more desirable or effective than any other form of government prohibition. Instead, it might just create another layer of illegality, and greater profits for smugglers and other criminals. Moreover, it is arbitary and unjust to let an imaginary line in the sand prevent people on one side from going over to the other to work, live, and do business.::::::We are skeptical that beefed-up border controls will work any better than any other government program. We have doubts about fences and other measures to keep immigrants out. Will they work? Will they be cost-effective? Will they just cause more problems elsewhere? And are they even desirable? DC Downsizers have honest disagreements over these issues.::::::That is why some of you will applaud, and some will oppose, H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The 8-page bill calls for building two layers of reinforced fencing through the most popular areas of entry for illegal immigrants, and for greater surveillance and additional checkpoints elsewhere on the borders and coasts.

Arlen Specter (R-PA) is not exactly our favorite Senator right now. He “sold out” to White House demands in crafting the National Security Surveillance Act. As Ryan Singel of Wired News describes it,:::

Specter’s bill concedes the government’s right to wiretap Americans without warrants, and allows the U.S. Attorney General to authorize, on his own, dragnet surveillance of Americans so long as the stated purpose of the surveillance is to monitor suspected terrorists or spies.

:::The bill got out of committee this week by a 10-8 vote, and is expected to face the full Senate next week. DownsizeDC.org has feared this bill for months, and you can tell your Senator to oppose it by clicking to our No Warrant, No Search campaign. ::::::On top of this, Specter is showing amazing contempt for the democratic process and for the American people. As Singel reports,:::

Specter has moved to have his bill voted upon next week by voice vote, called a unanimous consent motion, according to the ACLU’s Graves. Such a procedure would leave no record of who voted for or against the bill.

:::How convenient: Senators who don’t even have the guts to stand up and be counted can now vote for the de facto repeal of the Fourth Amendment. ::::::Specter’s contempt for us normal folks is also on display in his response to one of our Downsizers: ::::::

Thank you for your email. We will be responding soon.

:::Except, according to our correspondent, they never do.:::

I receive a large volume of E-mails, phone calls, faxes and letters every week from concerned citizens like yourself.

:::In other words, Quit bothering me! :::

By following these simple steps, you will help me respond to your concerns in a more prompt and efficient manner.

It’s more fun to cheer than jeer. We constantly criticize politicians and bang on them for doing the wrong thing. But it’s just as important to support those few who do good things. Representatives Schiff and Flake are doing good things. They’re fighting to prevent Presidents, present and future, from gaining the power to spy on Americans without a warrant. Schiff and Flake need your support and encouragement.

Part of the inspiration for DownsizeDC.org’s lobbying system was the Medicare Prescription Drug bill. This boondoggle was the largest entitlement created in a generation. It is estimated that it will cost more than $700 billion over ten years. And it was passed because just two freshman Republicans, who had previously committed to opposing the bill, gave in to overwhelming pressure from the leaders of their party, including the President. We asked ourselves, “What if they knew lots of people were backing their play and paying attention?” Would they have broken?

In a case that seems a little like Deja vu,