Archive for March 23rd, 2010

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

March 23, 2010

Once in a while someone comes up with some very good ideas what follows was commentary over at Texas Fred’s blog. Enjoy!

Congressional Reform Act of 2010

1. Term Limits: 12 years only, one of the possible options below.

A. Two Six year Senate terms
B. Six Two year House terms
C. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

2. No Tenure / No Pension:

A congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security:

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund moves to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, Congress participates with the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

7. Congress must equally abide in all laws they impose on the American people.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work.

8. All contracts with past and present congressmen are void effective 1/1/11 .

BZ

Be of good cheer: What we think about what just happened‏

March 23, 2010

Leave it to Downsize D.C. to be optimistic!

Be of good cheer. There are many silver linings in what may seem to be a completely dark cloud. Let’s think about what just happened . . .

* Statist Democrats have waited three decades to take over healthcare
* Their last attempt, in 1993-94, was a bust
* And aside from those two years, they haven’t controlled Congress and the White House since the Carter years
* Now, it’s already fairly obvious that their current control won’t last long

After all . . .

* The American electorate leans conservative/libertarian and libertarian/liberal, NOT Statist Liberal
* Public dislike for Statism is why the Statist Republicans got fired in 2008, and it will likely cause many Statist Democrats to be fired too, starting this year

We think this explains the Democrats’ suicidal determination to pass their healthcare bill now, at all costs, in spite of the massive public opposition . . .

It was now or never!

Even so, public pressure, including tens of thousands of letters from DC Downsizers, forced the Statist Democrats to make major changes . . .

They had to drop their “deem and pass self-executing rule,” by which they hoped to make the Senate healthcare bill the law of the land, without ever voting for it.

You made the House Democrats do something they didn’t want to do. You made them cast a direct vote for the hated Senate bill.

Tax-funded bribery is also becoming a major issue. Witness the furor over the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. Public pressure made the Statist politicians retreat on this issue as well.

You also killed the so-called “public option,” which would have put us on the fast track to fully Socialist healthcare. As it stands now, the bill Congress actually passed more resembles Socialism’s kissing-cousin, Corporate Fascism. This is why . . .

We find it both amusing and a bit nauseating that the Statist Democrats claim they’ve struck a blow against the health insurance industry. In reality, they’ve just forced every American to become a customer of the insurance industry! This bill is . . .

* A bonanza for the big insurance companies, NOT a strike against them
* A system of crony capitalism with government in control but corporations pocketing the profits
*Which is most accurately called Corporate Fascism

Perhaps most important, but little noted, your opposition forced the Statist Democrats to jury-rig their bill, so that various provisions start at different times. They had to do this in order to hide the bill’s true costs, but this has also left their scheme more vulnerable to repeal! In other words . . .

* The bill may be the law now, but . . .
* Its various programs, mandates, fines, taxes, subsidies and regulations don’t all get started now, so . . .
* After the election, just 7 short months away, some or all of these things may be reversed

But that’s not all. Our Constitution’s robust system of checks and balances is also about to swing into action . . .

* Many state governments are rebelling against this corporate fascist healthcare bill
* And many legal challenges are being crafted for the judicial branch to consider

It could be that our country is about to have a major discussion about the proper Constitutional role of the federal government, and that could lead us to win a far larger battle than the one we think we’ve just lost. Remember . . .

* State governments, playing their proper role in our federalist system, have so far saved us from having to carry federally controlled national id cards (under the REAL ID Act)
* And the court system, though far from perfect, has often acted to restrain Congressional over-reach (with our recent campaign-finance victory being just one positive example)

But that’s still not all. There’s one more major force to be considered, before any final verdict can be rendered about the ultimate fate of this Statist healthcare scheme. And that force is the most powerful one of all — the market!

Please take note . . .

* Moody’s has warned that the U.S. credit rating may be downgraded from AAA in response to our government’s orgy of Statist spending and borrowing
* And the bond market is already hinting at this outcome through prices indicating that U.S. government bonds are becoming more risky than many private bonds

Remember what Clinton’s adviser James Carville said back in 1993: “I used to think if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president, or the pope, or a .400 baseball hitter, but now I want to come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.”

Carville’s point was correct then, and it applies now. The bond market can veto this scheme by raising the cost of funding it to an un-payable level. If this happens it won’t be bad news, it will be good news, because then the politicians will have to economize, just like you and I do.

So here’s what we think. We may have lost a battle, but we’re far from losing the war. Indeed, this seeming defeat may sow the seeds of ultimate victory. Be of good cheer, and continue to fight. There are many things we must do. For instance . . .

We need to get more candidates to adopt the Downsize DC Agenda in the coming election. If you’re a candidate running for Congress, endorsing the entire Downsize DC Agenda, we want to hear from you. FRONT-RUNNING U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul, who is having a money bomb today, endorsed four parts of the Downsize DC Agenda, in an interview with me, which you can watch at his website. Just look for the video titled, “Rand Paul and DownsizeDC.org.”

We ALSO need to spank the current Congress for passing the healthcare bill, and pressure all of them, Republican and Democrat alike, to repeal it. Please send Congress a letter for that purpose here: https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/114

You can borrow from or completely copy this sample letter . . .

I’m very angry that the healthcare bill was passed. It costs too much and regulates too much. It will harm healthcare, not improve it. Please introduce legislation to repeal this bill immediately. Those who voted for it may think the issue is now settled. It is not. I will continue to pressure you until you stop COERCING me to live according to your dictates. Please obey your Constitutional oath of office. You can only do this by introducing legislation to repeal the cancerous healthcare bill that Congress just passed.

END LETTER

You can send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

Repeal Anti-gun ObamaCare!

March 23, 2010
Help GOA Repeal Anti-gun ObamaCare!

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

Monday, March 22, 2010

Well, it was a long, hard fight.

You spent nearly a year working with GOA to kill the anti-gun ObamaCare bill, even though much of the time, people were saying that its passage was inevitable … that it was going to pass no matter what we did.

But as you know, it wasn’t inevitable, and we almost beat the anti-gun legislation that passed last night.  By 4 pm yesterday, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi still did not have enough votes to pass this monstrosity!

If you were watching the “sausage making” on Sunday — or have been listening to the news today — you know that we narrowly lost the battle over ObamaCare.  [Click here to see how your Representative voted.]

That’s the bad news.  The good news is that we only lost a battle… for the war is not over.  Here’s what your GOA is doing to stall ObamaCare in its tracks:

* Gun Owners of America has been working in Virginia to pass legislation that will exempt citizens from purchasing ObamaCare.  This legislation has passed both houses and is now sitting on Governor Bob McDonnell’s desk.  He is expected to sign this bill tomorrow, making the Old Dominion the first state to take such an action.  Other states are looking to follow Virginia’s example, and you can be sure that GOA will be involved in those states, as well.

* GOA is ready to assist the 38 states which are now planning to file suit against the anti-gun health care law as soon as the President signs it tomorrow.  Over ten years ago, GOA helped Sheriffs Richard Mack and Jay Printz sue the federal government after the Brady Law required law enforcement to run background checks.  You may remember that in Printz v. U.S. (1997), the Supreme Court ruled in our favor.  We will now try to parlay that victory and make the same case here, namely, that the federal government can not force state authorities to act on its behest.

* Finally, GOA is committed to targeting the sell-out congressmen who turned a deaf ear to your letters, phone calls and emails.  For almost a year, Gun Owners of America has been the ONLY gun group at the national level working to kill this legislation.  Some thought this was an impossible battle… but what they don’t realize is that even though we narrowly lost, the fight has been well-worth the effort.

Why?  Because the sleeping giant has been awakened… the American people have been radicalized and they are ready to kick the bums out of office.  This sentiment would not have happened if we had remained silent and had sat on our hands.

So with your help, we will make legislators pay for their arrogance in November!

But to do all of this, we are going to need your help.  Will you stand with us?

We need 100% participation from our members to help make a difference.  We realize that times are tough, so even if you can spare only a few dollars, would you please help us take on the giant Obama-machine?

Please go to the GOA website and tell us you’ll be part of this effort to repeal ObamaCare.  At http://gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm you can contribute to GOA.

Thank you.  Every little bit helps!

DOW Insider

March 23, 2010

GUNNISON BASIN BIG GAME LICENSE ALLOCATIONS MEETING SET

GUNNISON, Colo. – The Colorado Division of Wildlife will be holding its big game license recommendation meetings for the Gunnison Basin game management units on March 31 at the Gunnison DOW office, 300 W. New York.

Deer and elk license numbers for the 2010 seasons for Game Management Units 66 and 67 will be discussed starting at 10 a.m. A second meeting to discuss deer and elk license numbers in GMUs 54, 55 and 551 will start at 1 p.m.

For more information, contact the Gunnison DOW office at (970)641-7060.

ANGLERS ASKED FOR INPUT ON FISHING REGULATIONS

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Colorado Division of Wildlife invites local anglers to participate in “Angler Roundtable” meetings throughout southeastern Colorado.

The DOW re-evaluates state fishing regulations every five years.  These public forums give anglers a chance to provide input to the fishing regulations process and hear the latest information affecting their favorite fishing waters.

“We want to hear from anglers during this process,” said Doug Krieger, senior aquatic biologist for the SE Region. “Colorado’s anglers represent a diverse group who enjoy fishing for everything from catfish to trout. This is a great opportunity for anglers to provide input regarding allowable methods of take, size requirements, and bag limits.”

DOW biologists regularly evaluate fishery management and collect data from state waters. They conduct fish sampling, creel census and angler satisfaction surveys, research studies, review fish stocking strategies, and examine water quality and water quantity. That information will be considered in the decision-making process for setting the new regulations for the five-year period (2011-2015).

Anglers are encouraged to bring suggestions about how DOW can improve the fishing at their favorite lakes and streams.

The forums are in the following locations:

Leadville: April 13, National Mining Museum, 120 W. 9th Street, 6:30 p.m.

Colorado Springs: April 20, Division of Wildlife, 4255 Sinton Rd., 6:30 p.m.

LaJunta: April 21, Thyme Square Soup & Salad, 302 Colorado Ave., 7 p.m.

Lamar: April 22, Division of Wildlife, 2500 S. Main St., 7 p.m.

Trinidad: April 26, Trinidad Jr. College Sullivan Center, 600 Prospect St., 7 p.m.

Westcliffe: April 27, Cliff Lanes Bowling Alley, 25 Main St., 7 p.m.

Pueblo: April 28, Pueblo State Parks Auditorium, 640 Reservoir Rd., 7 p.m.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.