What is Digg?249 Comments
- DeskFlyer, on 10/13/2007, -0/+65It'd be better if it was called the RTFBA.
- austinmcnabb, on 11/06/2007, -3/+40You're right, it's time to do this! I'm gonna do it straight away! am
- inactive, on 11/06/2007, -1/+32Dugg. Lets do it.
- lukas88, on 11/06/2007, -1/+30
Dugg if they change it to RTFBA - Yez70, on 11/06/2007, -2/+27Good Point.
Here's the summary from their site to ease the load. Go there if you intend to take action.
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Help us pass the
“Read the Bills Act” (RTBA)
You can read the text of RTBA by clicking the Draft Legislation tab above, or you can start by reading a summary of the legislation below. Following that summary is a description of our strategy for passing RTBA, and then a call to action.
Part 1: What RTBA does and why
Most Congressmen are lawyers, and many others are businessmen. They know what “fiduciary responsibility” is. For Members of Congress, fiduciary responsibility means reading each word of every bill before they vote.
But Congress has not met this duty for a long time. Instead . . .
* They carelessly pass mammoth bills that none of them have read. Sometimes printed copies aren't even available when they vote!
* Often no one knows what these bills contain, or what they really do, or what they will really cost.
* Additions and deletions are made at the last minute, in secrecy.
* They combine unpopular proposals with popular measures that few in Congress want to oppose. (This practice is called “log-rolling.”)
* And votes are held with little debate or public notice.
* Oh, and once these bills are passed, and one of these unpopular proposals comes to light, they pretend to be shocked. “How did that get in there?” they say.
There's a basic principle at stake here. America was founded on the slogan, “No taxation without representation.” A similar slogan applies to this situation:
“No LEGISLATION without representation.”
We hold this truth to be self-evident, that those in Congress who vote on legislation they have not read, have not represented their constituents. They have misrepresented them.
And since Congress has repeatedly committed “legislation without representation,” strong measures to prohibit these Congressional misrepresentations are both justified and required.
To this end we have created the “Read the Bills Act (RTBA).” RTBA requires that . . .
* Each bill, and every amendment, must be read in its entirety before a quorum in both the House and Senate.
* Every member of the House and Senate must sign a sworn affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that he or she has attentively either personally read, or heard read, the complete bill to be voted on.
* Every old law coming up for renewal under the sunset provisions must also be read according to the same rules that apply to new bills.
* Every bill to be voted on must be published on the Internet at least 7 days before a vote, and Congress must give public notice of the date when a vote will be held on that bill.
* Passage of a bill that does not abide by these provisions will render the measure null and void, and establish grounds for the law to be challenged in court.
* Congress cannot waive these requirements.
The effects of these provisions will be profound . . .
* Congress will have to slow down. This means the pace of government growth will also slow.
* Bills will shrink, be less complicated, and contain fewer subjects, so that Congress will be able to endure hearing them read.
* Fewer bad proposals will be passed due to “log-rolling.”
* No more secret clauses will be inserted into bills at the last moment.
* Government should shrink as old laws reach their sunset date, and have to be read for the first time before they can be renewed.
And all of these things will enable a larger DownsizeDC.org to more effectively lobby Congress for small government.
Part 2: Our Strategy for passing RTBA
Our plan for passing this legislation is simple, but powerful.
* We have submitted a copy of RTBA to every member of Congress.
* We are asking every member of the House and Senate to sponsor this legislation and work for its passage.
* We are mounting a campaign to recruit thousands, and perhaps millions of Americans to lobby Congress to support RTBA.
* We are promoting this campaign with a variety of tactics, from Internet networking, to media interviews, to whatever it takes.
* We will run targeted radio ads, letting citizens know that their Congressman is failing to support this badly needed reform.
The need for this reform is so self-evident that nearly every person in America should support it, and few oppose it. We see no reason why we should not be able to overwhelm Congress with calls to pass this legislation.
* We dare Congress not to pass it. The more they resist, the larger and stronger we will grow.
* We dare anyone to challenge it in Court. The more the lobbyists attempt to defeat this reform, the larger and stronger we will grow.
* We dare the Courts to declare it un-Constitutional. If they do, we will grow larger and stronger as a result — probably big enough to begin a campaign to amend the Constitution to forbid “LEGISLATION without representation.”
There is simply no reason that any normal, tax-paying American should oppose RTBA. And the more the “powers that be” resist these reforms, the larger and stronger we will grow.
We win either way. And thus, we believe, we will win in the end.
Part 3: A Call to Action
You can help pass RTBA. All you have to do is register to use our easy Electronic Lobbyist system and send a message to your Representative and your Senators asking them to pass RTBA. Registering to use our system will also enable you to lobby Congress on other issues, and to receive our free email newsletter, Downsizer-Dispatch. This free email newsletter will keep you posted on progress with RTBA and other Downsize DC lobbying campaigns. To send your message to Congress in support of RTBA click here: http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=27
Thank you.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org - davymac, on 11/06/2007, -4/+28It'll never pass but ill digg anyway
- LordSkywalker, on 10/12/2007, -5/+29"2. Fill out the simple form to email your representatives here."
You do know Diggers have a reputation for being lazy right? I just spent all the effort I had writing this message. - Enchantrem, on 11/06/2007, -2/+25Dugg. Good bill. Better idea would be not elect lazy bastards in the first place, though.
- dtzitz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21I can't think of a single reason why this isn't a good idea.
- PLUMCRAZY, on 11/06/2007, -5/+21This would bring the congress to a grinding halt and prevent them from doing 1/10th of what they normally do.
GREAT ! ! ! ! ! ! - Zera, on 11/06/2007, -2/+14I think plumcrazy was actually being serious. I mean does anyone actually think the government does anything well? The government isn't good at anything.
Another stifle the government idea is to limit the number of laws. Say, if we restricted laws to 2,000 words each, and then limited each level of government to their own number of laws which they could not exceed, and so they'd have to spend the same amount of time taking old BS laws off the books as they did making new laws.
Another more realistic idea would be to just pass a Constitutional Amendment that states that all laws expire 20 years after they are passed. And then ever twenty years worthwhile laws need to be re-voted in to be re-instated. That way Congress would be forced to focus on the worthwhile laws. - Pokez, on 11/06/2007, -3/+12"This would bring the congress to a grinding halt and prevent them from doing 1/10th of what they normally do.
GREAT ! ! ! ! ! !"
Well, if 100% of what they are doing is *****, then using your math to say they are doing 1/10th less, they will be doing 90% less *****...i dont see the problem. I mean give or take a percentage, i'm sure they do something useful. - jhourcle, on 11/06/2007, -1/+9davymac:
You're assuming that people would actually read this act before they vote on it ... the trick is to slip it into some other bill at the last minute on some bill that politicians aren't willing to oppose. - trentasaurus, on 11/06/2007, -0/+8@drmangrum
It's not about patents, it's about incentives. Gov't workers have little incentives to work hard but private sector workers do. - maisis00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7You are aware that 90% of the posters here never actually read the linked article for a story prior to submitting a comment. Do you see the irony here?
- Qenton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Ahh... But in California we can get this passed without going through the legislature. Sounds like proposition time. :-)
- garthwaited, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I've met Jim Babka, and I've read many of his mentor's books (Harry Browne). DownSize DC is the last bit of inside-out reform I can honestly have hope it may work. The idea has a good promoter (Jim and his wife), and the idea itself is as viral as this article.
You see, the media will just Love:
To have a 7day public screaming period
To have senators brought up on perjury the second they say "I didn't know"
Reporting how many minutes it took to read a bill as part of the description
Reporting bill after bill failing to be reenacted after sunset, because the sun went down reading it
Mugshots of congress people asleep in their chairs, but later signing under perjury they heard the bill
...
And most importantly: They will love 5 second videos of congress critters stammering how they don't supoort reading bills. b) - nestafett, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I know this will sound cliche, but i dont care if i'm significant or not, but i'm going to keep talking because someone may listen who may be significant one day, and who knows, maybe I will be.
but you can make fun of people like me because like Ghandi said..
first they ignore you
then they laugh at you
then they fight you
then you win.
the peoples voices have been ignored, and now people are laughing at new ideas (community chosen news? technology not created for profit? etc...)
and next?
- Battlecry, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Not to mention your representative hardly ever takes email seriously. If you're really serious about getting this bill passed, you have to call, physically write a letter or see them in person. Email is worthless, which is why all those online petitions are worthless too.
- andyman1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I still have fingers crossed that someone will find a similar, clever name that makes the acronym RTFM.
- spyd3rweb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6lets just get rid of the federal government from passing laws period, it wasnt intended to legislate on everything possible.
- Zera, on 11/06/2007, -0/+5@drmagnum: I'll respond in this debate with one of your own sentences:
"Your assuming that all people need an incentive to do a good job. There are many who do a good job due to a solid work ethic alone. Granted, those are rare, but they do exist."
They are VERY Rare! Yes, people do exist who do a good job no matter what. Great! That doesn't change the fact that if everyone around that person was doing a better job, the hard worker would get even more accomplished. Remember that the government is slow to change, mostly because it has a monopoly on nearly everything it does. In the cases where the government doesn't have a monopoly, it still falls victim to a phenomenon of higher job security than in the private sector. Artificially high job security means that workers are often paid more than they are worth, and are less effective at their jobs because they aren't as concerned with loosing their jobs. Also, nearly all government employees receive additional benefits that aren't possible in most private sector jobs, merely because those jobs cannot be competitive and have those benefits to offer.
Its important to note, that being critical of government jobs and government employees is NOT bashing the employees themselves. It is bashing the system that contributes to the problem of the government not being good at anything. And when I say the government isn't good at anything, I mean that in every case, I've never found something that the government does that is more effective than the same task done in the private sector. Since the government often does not have to be competitive, and can afford to lose money had over fist (and not go out of business) it continues on.
We are addicted to these government services. These services which kick back pennies on the dollar of our original tax investment. But the services seem 'free' and so its very difficult to stop the spread of government because people keep forgetting that half their paycheck is continually stolen from them, and spent on things that would be far less expensive, or far superior in quality had they purchased it themselves.
The government has a monopoly on force, and taxes are forced, all government programs are forced on you whether you want to pay for them or not. IRAQ and Vietnam is forced on us. We are forced to pay for murder whether we agree with it or not. Using force is an infringement on everyone's liberties, and so we should allow the government to use as little force necessary, and the government should be as small as we can possibly make it. - DrScott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Let's hope that nobody reads the bills of the Read The Bills Act and it gets passed without any problem.
- photinacook, on 11/06/2007, -0/+5Downsize DC has got hundreds of new members as a result of this posting and asked current members to digg it to keep momentum going. You are all right who say it will never pass--WITHOUT YOU. The people can and will force this on a reluctant Congress. I am not exactly the only voter who is fed up with reading about horrble antiConstitutional stuff that Congress never even read.
Join Downsize DC!! - manfrin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I am.
- FastZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Me too. I'm average.
- stinkfart, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I have been a Downsizer for awhile, also. In fact, it is the only charity I give $$$ on a monthly basis (the others hear from me once a year). DownsizeDC is at a critical growth phase right now where they need regular monthly microdonations to help get some consistent pressure behind the RTBA.
They have a great tool on their web site just for lazy people like most Diggers. Once you sign up for a free account on their web site, they have a form letter already written for you and all you have to do is click Submit and it sends it off to your congresscritters. Of course, if you are feeling like writing, you can use their site to replace or augment the form letter with your own wording.
Using their web site to send correspondence is good because they watch the numbers closely and it helps them to know how active their supporters are, and how much support they have for some initiatives vs. others. - gotrevgo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I doubt the framers imagined a day when this would be needed. If you're going to enact a law, you have to know what it says, if not have a thorough understanding of every line's impact. It's too easy to say "I didn't know I voted to a bridge to nowhere" unless it's an admission of breaking the law itself. I'd be surprised if could pass, as it would be a significant check. Of course those who enact the laws don't want to be tangled up in them.
Dugg, but the e-mail verification is lame - I've never had to do this previously with a form that was "delivered' to my lawmakers. - catalysis, on 11/06/2007, -1/+5This bill will pass after about $200M in pork is added and a provision is attached which allows congressmen to not read the bills.
- cheezedaze, on 11/06/2007, -2/+6As a man who loves his digg.com, I can't help but wonder how much influence we could possibly have when currently (at the time I'm writing this), the other most popular stories are "Funny things people actually said in court, word for word. Hilarious!", "CeBIT 2007: Girls", "Porn: From The Inside", "Beware Canned Atlantic Herring in Russia (PICTURES)" - I don't think us diggers are "positioned to place the right kind of pressure on our representatives" as well as some may think.
- saganite, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"Are you ***** kidding?
Seriously little boys...it is time to accept the fact that Digg is INSIGNIFICANT. Why? Becuase all of YOU are insignificant. Less than 1 person in 1000 have EVER heard of Digg. And few fewer than that are active visitors.
No one will ever make a decision due to whining little bitches on Digg flooding inboxes. You don't ***** matter and NEVER will."
LMFAO
but seriously call your congress people, people...our modern legislation situation is a disgrace. - FatShady, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8"It's our destiny..."???
I think you give diggers too much credit. - soultax, on 11/06/2007, -0/+4Actually, they're well-prepared. Try to break it by overwhelming it with messages to Congress. They'd love that.
- creatr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My goodness, Downsize DC and its campaigns like RTBA are without a doubt the most hopeful grassroots effort I have seen in years! They are right on target! This campaign is worthy of backing from everyone and every organization across the political spectrum. A large part of the genius of RTBA is that it is COMPLETELY Non-Partisan!
It's long past time for us as citizens to DEMAND that our "representatives" in Washington actually begin representing OUR best interests.
And, by the way, YES, I HAVE read the "Read The Bills Act" in its entirety! :) - jwaddell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"This bill would drastically limit the throughput of congress, making normal operations difficult or impossible, especially relatively low priority stuff."
OK, so you've pointed out what's great about RTBA, but where's the bad? - seattleshortbus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3BRILLIANT.
- forsytjr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This bill is a no-brainer. Digg it NOW.
- lpferris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@battlecry:
It entirely depends upon who your representative is regarding their attention to email. Obviously the old farts who should be voted out anyway could give a crap about email and the "series of tubes" called the Internet. The younger generation however pays a lot of attention to email from their constituents. And yes, I say this from personal experience. - ranma5080, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Great idea.
- Arcesius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm going to be terribly ironic and digg this without reading the article.
- pezguy, on 11/06/2007, -0/+3All they need to do is get the bill introduced by one member of Congress. Then they can shame the rest of Congress into voting for it. How would each individual Representative and Senator look if they vote against this bill? They'd be explicitly saying that they don't feel as though they don't have to read the bills they pass.
- synapz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Right. That'd be the point... to force them to make small bills.
- jcferris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This is a great idea. Now if we can just get our members of congress to pass this bill. There is no doubt that it would slow down the growth of government.
- EdWardMD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4A good bill - if you have not sent a message to your 'misrepresentatives' today - (Read the Bills Act - http://www.downsizedc.org/read_the_laws.shtml ; Send a message to your 'representatives' - http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=27 .)
DrEd
"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government." --- James Madison.
Phenomenon Archives: The Monopoly Men http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3388799387341337020
"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." --- Thomas Jefferson
Aaron Russo's - America: Freedom to Fascism http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4312730277175242198
"Someday the status quo will be more painful and difficult than changing and then America will change." "America Needs a Regime Removal, Not a Regime Change."
Alex Jones - TerrorStorm - Fear & Propaganda CIA Tools of Tyranny. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7516705476148472744
Congress.org: http://www.congress.org/ This is a good site to post the facts. I always include my prepared comments (a list of most of the pressing issues - impeach, 911, Constitutional rights, renewable energy, family rights, global warming, DU, etc.) on anything I post (vote) on: ADD YOUR OWN. Support Ron Paul for President 2008 - Our First and Best Hope in Decades Representative Ron Paul Is Running for President 2008
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/16438882.htm
Ron Paul: Next President Of The USA? http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2007/120107ronpaul.htm
To see for yourself:
http://www.house.gov/paul/bio.shtml - Who is Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul.org/
http://www.house.gov/paul/legis_tst.htm - List of Ron Paul's articles.
http://www.house.gov/paul/ - Website
SECRETS OF THE CIA - A Disturbing Documentary http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8085945499556832271
Operation Northwoods - FOIA Top Secret Document for False Flag Operation on Cuba. http://emperors-clothes.com/images/north-i.htm
Pearl Harbor Attack Known by FDR (FOIA UNClassified Documents) http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=408
What is the Problem with Equality - Presumptive Equal Shared Parenting http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/04/09/15/ward.htm
Tesla - the missing secrets of Nikola Tesla http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5834867580747017149&q=*****.corps&hl=en
Experts Warn North Pole Will Be "Ice Free" by 2040 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2499663,00.html
"The Coast Is Toast: Take the Money and Run" http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/07/03/ward.htm
HBO's "Hacking Democracy" http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hacking+democracy&search=Search
Frontline's "The Dark Side" The Iraq War Scam http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/darkside/view/
Uranium: Deja DU - The Agent Orange of Eternity http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/04/09/07/ward.htm
Phenomenon Archives: Heavy Watergate, The War Against Cold Fusion http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2229511748333360205
SAVE AMERICA! DEMAND AN HONEST VOTE! BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!
STOP SPENDING AND START SAVING! - CUT THE GDP - GOVERNMENTS EXIST BY THE PEOPLE'S SPENDING - WHEN OUR 'REPRESENTATIVES' START RETURNING THE CONSTITUTION - WE CAN START SPENDING AGAIN. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/16/MNG2KH9P4767.DTL
Dei Jurum Conventus - (God's Rights (Unity)/Convention)
Ed Ward, MD; http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EdWard-MD/ , http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/arc_ward.htm
Independent writer/Media Liaison for The Price of Liberty; http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/ - mcmikemn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The Read The Bills Act is one of 3 major Acts that DownsizeDC is trying to get passed, and each of them has the potential to *greatly* lessen the bloat of our government! DownsizeDC also works on many other issues, all relating to making our government more consitutional.
- Xtopherous, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Most people don't want to do that, but they will send canned messages. One hundred canned messages is still better than no messages at all and it will at least get the sender thinking about what else he or she can do, even if the receiver does nothing at all.
- ThePict, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3No, no, no. The bill would be read in chambers. I imagine the chambers would be pretty empty during the readings of things like TPA, but the rules state that if the Rep/Senator must *attentively* hear or *attentively* read the bill. The purpose is to bring to bear some *accountability*, so if some stupid bill passes, someone can pin the representative to a wall and say, "I see you voted for provision X in bill Y. That doesn't seem to be in line with your stated platform. Can you explain?"
A side effect of forcing bills to be read in chambers is that the bills will have to be shorter, more concise, and not over-burden the bill with excessive conditions. One tactic of fascist states is to outlaw enough stuff that anyone can be defined as a criminal, that way anyone can be picked up and 'disappeared' at their discretion. Can you honestly state that you've never done anything illegal? - garthwaited, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@Alex76 who said: "Most congressmen are not lawyers... Furthermore, I doubt that there is anyone in Congress that has read every word of even his own bills. They have aides to do all that stuff for them..."
False and False.
Most legislators ARE lawyers. I believe this is true for US Congress, too. I'm certain they would tell any "small town" lawyer to go to hell if one tried to lecture them on 'the law'.
Also, Dr. Ron Paul has read every word of every bill he has ever submitted, and he has submitted more then most.
They are almost all to repeal bad laws other representatives voted on without reading them! - TheKosmikKid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Digg it, and check out DownsizeDC.org, the nonpartisan grassroots site that is dedicated to Congressional accountability.
- kw1531, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It is a shame that a bill like this is needed but it IS needed. I went to DC with Jim Babka of Downsize DC last year and was sickened to see how insulated and out of touch our elected representatives are. RTBA is our best chance to regain control of our government and our country.
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