Today, for only the second and final time, I’ll be using MY Sunday radio show, which starts at 3:06 PM Eastern (2:06 PM Central, 1:06 PM Mountain, and 12:06 PM Pacific), to launch a DownsizeDC.org campaign — A Backdoor Real ID Card.
This backdoor Real ID card is called the Transportation Worker Identification Credential; TWIC card for short. My guest, during the second hour, will be Lowell Rogers, a brown-water, tugboat engineer. More about Lowell and the card in just a moment.
But first, I want to announce two other things . . .
First, this is my second-to-last live broadcast. August 24 will be my final episode, and Congressman Ron Paul is scheduled to be the featured guest of that August 24 episode (that’s not today, but next Sunday).
Second, this is MY radio show. This program is about what interests me, and you receive this message because of a promotional arrangement between Yours Truly, and DownsizeDC.org. The guests, topics, and views expressed on the show are not those of the staff, management, and sponsors of DownsizeDC.org.
That’s relevant because for the first hour we’re going to discuss something that may interest you, but it’s not normal political fare. But I believe it’s relevant.
My guest during the first hour will be Frank Viola, co-author of the book, “Pagan Christianity.”
Viola is a conservative, orthodox Christian. It’s important to say that, because his book is perceived, by many, to be an attack on religion. It reveals the pagan origins of regular services in a dedicated building, order of worship, professional priests and paid clergy, the sermon, dressing up for Sunday services, choirs, thimbles of wine for communion, and tithing. He accuses the church of being too much like big a corporation, instead of what it should be — of being oppressive, instead of organic.
This book is, to me, one of the most important books I’ve ever read, and I’m eager to get Viola on my show, not only because of the personal interest that I and some close friends have in this particular book, but also because I think it’s part of an important national, downsizing trend.
Perhaps the best way to sum up the downsizing targets came from author Robert Podolsky, tackling an entity he called the B.O.R.G. Matrix. It’s an acronym:
B, as in Big Business and/or Banks
O and R, as in Organized Religion
G as in Government, as in an overarching, intrusive, and expensive State.
There is, in my humble estimation, a growing, post-modern movement that is increasingly impatient with centralized authority figures working from big institutions — what C. Wright Mills called “The Power Elite.”
It’s not just Big Government that’s coming under scrutiny, it’s major corporations, the empire, central bankers, and institutional media who are coming under the microscope as well. The next generation is seeking and finding alternatives based on their niche desires and values, opposed to playing world policeman, questioning our monetary system, and creating their own news sources. Ron Paul tapped into this trend (did I mention he’s coming on my show next week?).
Organized Religion is also getting a major and, in my humble opinion, well-deserved deconstruction. I found Viola’s book compelling. But please, keep in mind, as my non-religious colleague Perry Willis would be quick to point out: We’re building a positive, transpartisan, COALITION — a movement. It will take lots of different types of people.
So if this topic interests you, please tune in for the first hour. If not, join us for the second hour when we return to more standard fare. (NOTE: Last minute schedule changes happen on live radio). Regarding that second hour . . .
Lowell Rogers has been an engineer on a brown-water tugboat for 23 years. He loves his work, and his employer likes the way Lowell does his job. But starting April 2009, thanks to the Maritime Safety Act, Lowell’s employer will have to assume he’s a potential terrorist, unless he has a Transportation Worker Identification Credential — a TWIC card.
The TWIC card will require a criminal background check, and will include Smart Card biometric identifiers. It will place sensitive information about Lowell into a centralized government database. Lowell, as an act of patriotism, will refuse to take what he calls “the Mark of the Beast,” and his 23-year career will come to an end. Here’s why this matters to you . . .
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants you to have a Real ID card that’s very similar to the TWIC card. But DHS is failing to implement the Real ID because state governments are resisting. Twenty one states are refusing to comply with the REAL ID. It’s probably the biggest rebellion against the federal government since the Civil War. So what can the DHS do to overcome this rebellion?
They can “pick off the herd” — hit one industry at a time until so many people have Smart Cards no one is left to resist. Those with the Smart Cards may even begin to think it would be “just” if everyone had one. It’s a classic totalitarian strategy, summed up by the German Pastor Martin Niemoller . . .
“…first (they came) for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . and by that time there was no one left to speak up.”
Lowell Rogers may be among the first that they’re “coming for,” but he won’t be the last. The President has issued a presidential directive, HSD12, aiming to force all federal employees AND CONTRACTORS to carry a Smart Card. This means government employees and contractors will be the first part of the herd they pick-off. There are 1.8 million federal employees, excluding elected officials, the military, and employees of the Postal Service. But it won’t end there.
DHS is also attempting to impose Smart Cards on truckers and railroad workers, covering another 3.5 million workers. And the maritime/TWIC portion of the strategy will apply to about 700,000 workers.
If DHS can “come for” these 6 million people, how long before you think they’re going to get you too? Preventing this from happening starts with defending Lowell Rogers. He’s willing to stand up and resist, at the potential loss of his career. How about you?
* Please tune in today to meet Lowell. Call-in and ask him questions.
* Please send Congress a message asking them to repeal and defund the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC card).
Of course, during today’s show, we’ll have a Gun Owners of America update as well.
The two-hour show starts at 3:06 PM Eastern (2:06 PM Central, 1:06 Mountain, and 12:06 PM Pacific), and maybe you just have questions about Downsize DC.
If so, I’d also love to hear from you at 1-800-259-9231.
Or, if you prefer, send us an email (just type this out as it sounds): CALL at DOWNSIZEDC dot ORG.
You can hear the show online at gcnlive.com/Listen_Live.html
In fact, Genesis Communications now has streaming options through cell phones!
Or you can tune in to one of these stations . . .
* WCER 900-AM Canton, Ohio
* WBCR 1470-AM Maryville/Alcoa, Tennessee
* KLID 1340-AM, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
* KGEZ 600-AM, Kalispell, Montana
And if for some reason you can’t catch the live show, my network, Genesis Communications provides a podcast of the show, available a couple of hours after it goes off air, up through the next broadcast.
In fact, if you want to listen to last weeks show, it’s still up there — at least until I go live with today’s show.
Happy Listening,
Jim Babka
Host
Downsize DC Conference Call
P.S. I will be appearing at first annual, “Connecticut Liberty Forum,” to be held September 27-28, 2008.
I will be speaking there on Saturday, the 27th about “Making Congress Accountable.” Also appearing at this Bristol, CT event, with radio sponsorship by WDRC radio, will be . . .
* Michael Cristofaro, Plaintiff in the New London, CT eminent domain case, will talk about that case, after he and Susette Kelo are presented with the very first CT Freedom Fighter Award.
* Robert Levy, Senior fellow in Constitutional Studies, CATO Institute. His topic: “Is the Supreme Court Eroding Our Liberty?” Mr. Levy will stick around to sign copies of his new book, “The Dirty Dozen – How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom”
* Also speaking… Alan Schaeffer, Alliance for the Separation of School & State; Jim Gilchrist, the Minutemen; Bob Schulz, We the People Foundation; Dr. Katherine Albrecht, co-author of “Spychips,” and several more.
I want to encourage you to come to this event — to meet me and hear the other speakers. Please use the code “Downsize DC” to get a discount when you register in advance. Complete details can be found at http://nheld.com/CTLibertyForum.htm
And if you’re coming to Bristol, CT, please let me know by hitting Reply to this message. My wife Sue and I like to make time to meet with DC Downsizers when we’re traveling. We will be in touch.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Downsize DC Conference Call is Jim Babka’s show, and DownsizeDC.org is just an advertising sponsor. The views expressed on the program and the topics chosen by the host, do not necessarily represent the opinions, beliefs, or objectives of the board, staff, and supporters of DownsizeDC.org. This Downsizer-Dispatch is presented as part of a promotional relationship between DownsizeDC.org and Jim Babka.