Quote of the Day: “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.” — C. S. Lewis
Do you like the way we write the Downsizer-Dispatch? Here’s what we try to do for you on most days . . .
* Use the shortest, most precise words
* Construct simple declarative sentences
* Compose slim, easy to read paragraphs
We also . . .
* Try to focus on the most crucial facts and arguments
* Organize our case into convenient lists, like this one
* Avoid unnecessary detail
In short, we try to respect your time.
Now . . .
Can the same approach work for public education? We’re about to find out. We’ve created a new website for the Downsize DC Foundation. But, before we show it to you . . .
Please don’t be confused!
This is NOT a new website for DownsizeDC.org. Instead . . .
It’s a new website for our educational arm — the Downsize DC Foundation.
Downsize DC will now have two separate websites, filling two different functions, because . . .
We have two separate organizations tailored to two different sections of the IRS code . . .
1. DownsizeDC.org, Inc is a 501(c)4 that educates Congress
2. The Downsize DC Foundation is a 501(c)3 that educates the public.
We’ve shown you an “under construction” preview of our new Foundation site before, but now, thanks to the financial support of many DC Downsizers, all of the underlying software is done.
We proposed it, you funded, and we did it.
When you go to the site you’ll see . . .
* An introduction to our educational mission in the right hand column
* A list of subject areas in the left hand column
* A list of articles filling the center column
The subject areas are . . .
* Your Money
* Your Freedom
* Your Security
* Your Brain
* Your Power
* Your Progress
* Our Lexicon
* Our Heresies
Notice what most of these things have in common?
YOU!
Our main subject is you, and your life.
In addition to trying to impart information in the most efficient way possible, we’ll also be focusing on how things impact you and the people you love. We’ll share ideas about how you can have more money, freedom, and security, PLUS . . .
* We’ll describe critical thinking tools in the section we call Your Brain, and . . .
* Strategic ideas to make you more powerful in the section we call Your Power.
But you may like the two sections that are NOT about “you” the best . . .
* Our Lexicon is a special section where we’ll define words that we plan to use on a regular basis. These words will be tools you can use in debates or conversations. And . . .
* Our Heresies is where we’ll make provocative proposals that contest conventional wisdom, but that we think point the way to the future. You’ll be challenged and sometimes thrilled by these new, outside-the-box approaches.
We begin with a revised reprint of an essay we sent out as a Dispatch. This article got rave reviews . . .
Your Brain: How to think about regulation
Do we really solve the problem of human imperfection by giving one small group of imperfect people vast power over all the others?
We follow this essay with a related item . . .
The Truth About Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle
The author says: “Because of what I was taught about The Jungle in government schools I really believed that, ‘once upon a time,’ people actually died in meat vats and were processed and sold in cans to the American public. But The Jungle, and my history lessons, were both fictional. Human beings were never sold as food, and the truth is that our food supply is safe NOT because of The State, but because businesses serve their customers.”
In addition to the above items, the first entries in Our Lexicon will be . . .
The State
We suggest that where you once referred to “the government” you should instead refer to The State. This short article explains why, and how you’ll benefit from doing so.
Followed by . . .
Our Lexicon: The Coercive Entity
Where we argue that this is another good thing to call The State.
And . . .
Our Lexicon: Statists and Statism
Where we argue that these two simple labels are the most descriptive terms for most mainstream political beliefs. We suggest that you will benefit from using these labels in preference to all others.
And this is just what we’re offering you on the first day . . .
More will follow, fast and furious. If we do our job right, by sharing powerful information in a highly efficient way, then we hope to be rewarded by having you as a regular reader, and by having you share our work with others too.
Go. Take a look at the new DownsizeDCFoundation.org.
Thanks to all those who donated to make the creation of this new tool possible. We hope you’ll find it of value over the weeks and months and years ahead. Remember, your contribution is our budget!
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.