Read the Bills Roundup

From TheHill.com:

Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), one of the Democrats to sign onto an effort to require a 72-hour window for a bill to be posted online before a vote in Congress, said he might vote against a healthcare reform bill if that principle is not honored. . . .

The Washington Democrat withheld his vote last week from a defense authorization bill containing some benefits for his district because he was not given a similar window to study the law. “It’s not because I don’t care about the nation’s defense, but because we had 24 hours to read it," he told the Chronicle. "If you do care about national defense, shouldn’t you care enough to read it?”

R. Cellan in the Missoulian:

To Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus:

To be up-front, we are seniors and depend on Medicare for our health plan. But we can still read, so give us a chance to do so before you enact your health bill. We will take the time, even if you don't seem have enough time.

We all know this is all smoke and mirrors. You don't intend to let us read the bill. You don't want us to be informed. You don't want to face us. You are afraid of us.

Kathleen Hartnett White of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, in the Waco Tribune-Herald:

Law is a most solemn product of our representative democracy. It concretizes the will of the supreme power of the state and binds all citizens to obey. The fate of nations has been shaped by wise and unwise laws.

Take the time. Our Congress must not only read these bills but let us do the same.

Colin A. Hanna of Let Freedom Ring, in the Baltimore Sun:

Amending the House rules to require the online posting of bills for representatives and the public alike to read and review would change the legislative process for the better. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not agree with the American people on this issue. Instead, she is working to stall the "Read the Bill" resolution in the House Rules Committee. If this continues, the resolution will not even be voted on.

There is one way to get around the speaker's roadblock. Rep. Greg Walden, Republican of Oregon, has filed a petition to force the speaker to schedule a vote on the resolution if it attracts 218 signatures from members of Congress. So far, 182 members have signed the petition, leaving it 36 short of reaching the House floor.

Note: this is the "72 hour" rule that we endorse because it will pave the way for the more effective "7 day" Read the Bills Act. You can send a letter to Congress to pass the 72 hour rule here. And go here to tell them to introduce and pass the Read the Bills Act.

Can You Expose the Cover-up of the Cover-up?

Media Alert: Downsize DC President Jim Babka will be on WBCR 1470 AM in Knoxville, Tennessee today (Thursday) during the 4 o'clock hour, Eastern time. It's unclear to us whether you can listen online, but the station's website is www.truthradio.tv

Congressional leaders want to engage in a double cover-up, by hiding a bill designed to suppress evidence in a piece of completely unrelated legislation.

We must . . .

* Expose these cover-ups by letting Congress know that we know what they're doing
* Prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future by compelling Congress to introduce and pass the "One Subject at a Time Act"

Please send Congress a letter for this purpose.

You can use my letter to Congress as a model for you own . . .

There appears to be photographic evidence that government officials have committed the crime of abusing prisoners held in their custody. This evidence should be exposed in a court of law, but instead . . .

The Graham-Lieberman bill (H.R. 2892) would suppress the evidence. This is a cover-up -- a crime on top of a crime. But it gets worse . . .

The Graham-Lieberman cover-up bill lacks the votes to pass, so Congressional leaders are hiding it in an appropriations bill for the Homeland Security Department. This amounts to a cover-up of a cover-up.

The Graham-Lieberman evidence suppression bill isn't an appropriation for Homeland Security, and the criminal actions it seeks to hide were committed by people in the Defense Department, not the Department of Homeland Security.

You are supposed to represent me. You take actions in my name. Please do not participate in these cover-ups. Do not vote for the Homeland Security appropriations bill if it contains the completely unrelated Graham-Lieberman cover-up bill.

I'll be watching to see what you do. In the long run . . .

Please show me that you are a responsible representative by introducing DownsizeDC.org's "One Subject at a Time Act." Each bill you vote on should only be about one subject only. For instance, if you approve of something like the Graham-Lieberman cover-up bill then you should have the courage to vote for it as a stand-alone measure.

END OF LETTER TO CONGRESS

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

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org

Is Your Bank Shorting the Dollar?

It doesn't matter how many times you've sent Congress a letter on a given issue, or even if you sent one yesterday -- every new fact we give you is a new opportunity to tell Congress what you want. Seize the opportunity!

Send Congress another letter telling them to break the Federal Reserve's monopoly control over your money.

My sample letter to Congress gives you three new facts you can use for this purpose . . .

Last April the monetary base (which is the number of circulating dollars) stood at $830 billion. Since then the Federal Reserve has created nearly a trillion new dollars out of thin air. The monetary base now stands at nearly $1.8 trillion, and rose by nearly $100 billion in September alone.

This legalized counterfeiting is why I believe reports that oil producing nations are planning to abandon the dollar. They would be foolish to do otherwise.

The gold market seems to agree. The one-ounce price of gold has risen nearly $400 in the last year. People are trading their inflated Federal Reserve Notes for assets that will retain their value.

And even U.S. banks are fleeing the dollar. The New York Post reports that U.S. banks used to hold about 2/3rds of their reserves in dollars, but they're now holding nearly 70% in Euros and Yen.

Foreign nations and powerful institutions can escape the dollar, but I don't have the same freedom. Various federal laws force me to conduct my business in devaluing Federal Reserve Notes. I would prefer to use honest, free market money, like gold and silver, but if I attempt to do that YOUR laws threaten to point a policeman's gun at my head.

You're supposed to represent and protect me. You do not work for the Congressional leadership, the Federal Reserve, or the banks. You work for me. Please represent me. Please protect me. Please break the Federal Reserve's monopoly control over my money. Introduce legislation to repeal the laws that force me to use Federal Reserve Notes.

END OF SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESS

You can send your letter to Congress using the proprietary Educate the Powerful System at DownsizeDC.org.

Spread the word to others.

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org. Inc.

Sources:

Federal Reserve report on the Monetary Base: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/BOGUMBNS.txt
Historical Gold Prices: http://66.38.218.33/charts/historicalgold.html
New York Post report on bank reserves in Euros and Yen versus the dollar: http://tinyurl.com/yzxbphx

Source: Downsize DC.Org

Actress Mia Farrow voices outrage at Gaza blockade

American actress Mia Farrow said she was outraged at the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip because of the deplorable conditions it has created for children.

"All people of conscious are offended and outraged by this situation," Farrow told reporters in Gaza, as quoted by AP. "And we sincerely hope that measures will be taken to alleviate this situation as soon as possible."

Farrow visited Gaza in her role as goodwill ambassador for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). In the territory she visited a school where said children appeared badly affected by Israel's recent war on the Gaza Strip.

"The children appear traumatized," she said at a news conference, according to AFP.

"The teachers say that when they hear a loud noise they (the children) look to the sky and cry out and weep. They don't know what the future holds," she said, speaking alongside Egyptian actor Mahmoud Kabil, also a UNICEF ambassador.

"They deserve better," she said, as quoted by AFP.

Later the same day, Farrow visited an elementary school in Sderot, southern Israel, where she reportedly met with the parents of children who were killed by projectile attacks fired from the Gaza Strip.

Farrow, the star of such films as Rosemary's Baby, Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors, was named UNICEF's goodwill ambassador in 2000.

Israel, with Egypt's cooperation, has maintained a land, sea, and air blockade of the Gaza Strip since June 2007, severely limiting shipments of food, medicine, fuel, and hundreds of other essential supplies. In addition, Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants are banned from travelling.

Last December Israel launched a three-week-long onslaught on Gaza that ultimately left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, the majority of them women and children.

An Israeli ban on shipments of construction materials means that Palestinians have been prevented from rebuilding homes, government buildings and hundreds of other structures destroyed during by the Israeli military.

Source: Institute for Middle east Understanding

High Court Ponders Fate of Tax Rebel

The Supreme Court will huddle on October 19 to consider whether to hear the appeal of a strong tax rebel who argues that the federal income tax is unconstitutional on numerous grounds. It is believed to be the first time that a classic tax rebel’s case has gone so far.

The justices met privately, which is routine, to decide whether to hear the case of Thomas T. Scambos, Jr. v. U.S. Department of Justice on October 19. Their decision has not yet been made public. If Scambos prevails, it will be the first time the high court has heard open arguments from a classic tax rebel. It will be a dramatic moment in history that the mainstream media will be compelled to cover.

It requires the approval of four justices for the case to be heard. A possible vote for approval is Justice Clarence Thomas, who also has called for hearing challenges to President Obama’s constitutional qualifications for office on grounds he was born in Africa, not Hawaii. The fearful court refused to accept that challenge. If the other self-proclaimed “conservatives” vote according to the views they voice, the case will be heard.

They are: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito. Scambos has petitioned for a writ of certiorari, which asks the high court to take his case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and directly hear his appeal.

Of his numerous challenges to lower court dismissals of cases by tax rebels, Scambos attacked the rejection of constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against compelling a citizen to be a “witness against himself.” Courts have long agreed that this includes surrendering personal documents.

In 1886, his petition says, “the question of Fifth Amendment protection for the books, records and personal documents of a witness who may be implicated in a crime was first considered in Boyd v. United States, where the Supreme Court expanded Fifth Amendment protection against compulsory testimony to include the books and records of the witness.”

The court said: “Any compulsory discovery by extorting the party’s oath, or compelling the production of his private books and papers, to convict him of a crime, or to forfeit his property, is contrary to the principles of a free government. It is abhorrent to the instincts of an Englishman; it is abhorrent to the instincts of an American. It may suit the purposes of a despotic power, but it cannot abide the pure atmosphere of political liberty and personal freedom.”

The court further said: “And we are further of the opinion that a compulsory production of the private books and papers of the owner of goods sought to be forfeited in such a suit is compelling him to be a witness against himself, within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment. [It] is the equivalent of a search and seizure—and an unreasonable search and seizure— within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.”

Source: American Free Press