Quote of the Day:
“Rust never sleeps.”
— Neil Young
Subject: Eleven victories so far, but . . .
We’ve won eleven legislative victories since 2006. This shows the potential of our simple strategic plan to get what we want by pressuring Congress.
Most of these victories have come with the aid of coalition partners. This shows the power of numbers. This is why we want to build a Huge Army of DC Downsizers. Doing so will give us the strength, on our own, to compel passage of things like the “Read the Bills Act” and the “One Subject at a Time Act.”
But there’s another factor that’s vital to our continued success. WE MUST BE RELENTLESS, because the forces of Big Government never quit.
A case in point is the ongoing effort by some in Congress to alter FISA, the legislation that governs how the Executive Branch engages in surveillance of suspected terrorists and their potential allies here in America.
FISA creates special courts to issue warrants for surveillance activities. It’s worked well since 1978, and has been updated numerous times. Sadly, last year, the Bush administration, and Republicans in Congress, won passage of the “Protect America Act,” which removed the need for warrants. Gladly . . .
We were able to apply enough pressure to influence Congress to let the PAA sunset out of existence. This was one of our victories, and it was a big one.
But the forces of Big Government, like rust, never sleep. The politicians are constantly trying to rust away remaining Constitutional limits on their power. The latest attempt may come in the next few days, before Congress adjourns on May 22.
Congressional proponents of warrantless spying are desperately attempting to push a new bill through Congress before that date. It’s up to us to make sure they don’t succeed. We must remind Congress that we’re paying attention to this issue, that we care about it, and that an election year is not a good time to ignore us.
If we keep up the pressure, if we’re relentless, than we have a good chance to secure a permanent victory.
If Obama is elected president, then the danger on this front will probably pass (though Obama will present new challenges we will have to meet). If McCain wins, then any desire he may have for warrantless spying powers will probably be blocked by an expanded Democratic Congress.
No matter which candidate wins there will be new dangers and opportunities, but this particular danger is likely to fade away. We will have won the final victory.
We’ve sent Congress a whopping 64,536 messages on this issue so far. Now we need to send a lot more, before the May 22nd deadline. Please help us achieve a FINAL victory on this issue. Tell Congress you’re opposed to warrantless spying. You can do so here.
And please do one thing more . . .
Our ability to recruit a Huge Army of DC Downsizers, and achieve far more than eleven victories, is totally dependent on our ability to do expanded outreach and recruitment. And doing that is entirely dependent on us first covering our small annual operating budget of $186,000.
Money raised above that amount will go to recruitment, which is the supreme key to ultimate victory.
We’ve made steady progress toward this goal. But our ability to actually meet the goal is totally dependent on you. We have no one else to ask. And these cheap, nearly free appeals we place at the end of our messages, are the only way we raise money. We don’t spend your money raising more money. We spend it on our mission.
Please help us reach the point where we can expand our recruitment efforts at a rapid rate . . .
* Start a monthly credit card pledge. It could be as low as a few cents per day — $3, $5, $10, $15, $20, or $25 per month. Or, . . .
* Help us earn a $1,000 matching contribution from DC Downsizer James Marquart. You can do so by making a one-time donation of $100 or more — your contribution will be worth $200 to us. Or, . . .
* Help us with whatever size contribution you can afford.
Your contribution is our budget. Your investment is our expansion. You can contribute here.
Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.