The DISCLOSE Act is Back!

Remember the DISCLOSE Act? Or, as we like to call it, the DISGRACE Act; the one in which the Reid-Pelosi-Obama team attempted to silence small, grassroots groups during elections, including the ones this November. Though it failed to pass in the Senate last month, Harry Reid has decided that he is going to try again. The only thing that stopped it before were the three usual suspects: Senators' Snowe, Collins, and Brown. Reid and Obama are pressuring them hard to change their votes to Yes. We must pressure them harder to continue voting NO.

Here is a refresher course on the DISCLOSE Act:

From our friends at Freedom Action about this speech violating bill --

Even if somehow the speech restrictions in this bill were constitutional, their uneven application would be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection under the law. Even the left-leaning Sierra Club has labeled the DISCLOSE Act a two-tiered system that is "unfair and undemocratic" and that smaller grass-roots organizations would be disadvantaged because they lack the resources to cope with "the additional disclosure burdens." The unions and the big non-profit groups get to keep their free speech given to them in the January Supreme Court decision, but the corporations and small non-profits lose theirs under DISCLOSE.

Also, President Obama and some Democrats are dishonestly stating that the Court's decision would "open the floodgates for special interest, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections." However, current federal law and Federal Election Commission regulations already ban foreign corporations from participating directly or indirectly in American elections. (see 2 U.S.C. § 441e and 2 U.S.C. 437g).

An example of how this bill could affect grass root Tea Party & 9.12 groups:

Exampleville, Ohio has two people running for U.S. Congress-Mr. A and Mr. B-in what promises to be a close race. Exampleville's local Tea Party believes in Mr. B. The Tea Party wants to run ads highlighting Mr. B's stance on cap and trade, federal spending, increased taxation, etc, but they don't have enough money to fulfill the new highly complex reporting requirements from DISCLOSE. And DISCLOSE would force them to list their top donors, even if they are not necessarily the specific donors to the ads, in their ads. Besides, the disclaimers required could take up to 14 of a 30 second ad. The Tea Party gives up trying to run ads to support Mr. Republican.

In contrast, Mr. A has some well-funded unions who want to see Exampleville's factories unionized, so the unions run ads against Mr. B and ads for Mr. A. Also, the Sierra Club and the ACLU (groups actually opposed to DISCLOSE) want Mr. A to support their issues, so they also run ads for Mr. A. None of these ads are subject to DISCLOSE's requirements.Guess who wins?

(For those interested, here's a good link with information on the actual language and problems with the DISCLOSE bill, click here: www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr5175)

Remind them that the DISCLOSE Act exempts unions and very large special interest groups!! And the little guy is left without a voice.

We must start putting pressure on these three Senators, and tell them to vote NO. This is SO important as the Left is running scared and are trying to minimize our efforts and impact this November.

Please call the following Senators:

Scott Brown (R-MA)
http://scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Washington DC: (T) (202) 224-4543, (F) (202) 228-2646

Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email
Washington DC: (T) (202) 224-5344, Toll free (800) 432-1599, (F) (202) 224-1946

Susan Collins (R-ME)
http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue&CFID=42880122&CFTOKEN=39747274
Washington DC: (T) (202) 224-2523, (F) (202) 224-2693

City of Cleveland Garbage Goons to Monitor YOUR Trash

If we do not all speak out against this blatant abuse of government power now -- you can bet it will only be a matter of time before you will have Goose-Stepping Garbage Goons in your city too!

From the Plain Dealer --

It would be a stretch to say that Big Brother will hang out in Clevelanders' trash cans, but the city plans to sort through curbside trash to make sure residents are recycling -- and fine them $100 if they don't. The move is part of a high-tech collection system the city will roll out next year with new trash and recycling carts embedded with radio frequency identification chips and bar codes.

The chips will allow city workers to monitor how often residents roll carts to the curb for collection. If a chip show a recyclable cart hasn't been brought to the curb in weeks, a trash supervisor will sort through the trash for recyclables.

Trash carts containing more than 10 percent recyclable material could lead to a $100 fine, according to Waste Collection Commissioner Ronnie Owens. Recyclables include glass, metal cans, plastic bottles, paper and cardboard.

City Council on Wednesday approved spending $2.5 million on high-tech carts for 25,000 households across the city, Read More....

City of Cleveland Mayor Jackson and his Garbage Czar Ronnie Owens can be reached at (216)664-2000.

Cuyahoga County Executive Debate

The Cleveland Conservative Network will be hosting a debate for the Republican candidates for Cuyahoga County Executive. Confirmed attendees are Victor Voinovich & Paul Casey. Matt Dolan has yet to respond but is hopefully expected to be present.

Date: Monday August 23, 2010
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Location: Calvary Chapel
Address: 6770 Brookpark Rd Cleveland, OH (Between Denny's Restaurant and Kane's Auto Exchange)

It's a free event, be there and bring a friend or two!

With the new Cuyahoga County Reform taking the power away from the people and putting it in the hands of one person -- the County Executive (County Czar) -- it is of the utmost importance a competent and trustworthy person be elevated to this office.

It should be noted that the Democrat candidates for County Executive were also invited -- they said they were too busy to attend.

FCC on Path to Most Dangerous Expansion of Federal Power

From The Progress & Freedom Foundation --

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 20, 2010
CONTACT: Mike Wendy
(202) 969-2957

Downes Paper Says FCC Reclassification Effort

Is Far More Than Meets the Eye

FCC on Path to Most Dangerous Expansion of Federal Power

Since Civil War

WASHINGTON D.C. — A growing chorus of experts agree that the FCC's broadband "Third Way" efforts stand on shaky legal ground. The most contentious of these proposals — the reclassification of broadband Internet access into a telephone-like service — has, for obvious reasons, drawn the lion's share of focus and headlines. But, as Larry Downes notes in his new paper, "The Seven Deadly Sins of Title II Reclassification (NOI Remix)," proposals hidden deep within the "Third Way" proposal create a ticking time bomb, one which should be approached cautiously, if at all.

Downes, the author of several best-selling books on innovation, writes: "Beyond the hubris of reclassification, there are seven surprises buried in the 116 paragraphs of the NOI—its seven deadly sins," states the author. "In many cases the Commission is merely asking questions," Downes adds, "[b]ut the questions hint at a much broader—indeed, overwhelming—regulatory agenda that goes beyond Net Neutrality and the FCC's attempt at reversal by fiat of the Comcast decision through reclassification."

What are these seven deadly sins?

• Pride: As the FCC attempts to define what services would be subjected to reclassification, the agency runs the risk of both under- and over-inclusion, which could harm consumers, network operators, and content and applications providers.

• Lust: The agency is reaching out for additional powers beyond its reclassification proposals — including an effort to wrest privacy enforcement powers from the Federal Trade Commission and putting itself in charge of cybersecurity for homeland security.

• Anger: The "Third Way" may dramatically expand the scope of federal wiretapping laws, requiring law enforcement "back doors" for a wide range of products and services.

• Gluttony: Reclassifying broadband opens the door to state and local government regulation, which would overwhelm Internet access with a deluge of conflicting, and innovation-killing, laws, rules and new consumer taxes.

• Sloth: As the FCC looks for a legal basis to defend reclassification, basic activities — such as caching, searching, and browsing — may for the first time be included in the category of services subject to "common carrier" regulation.

• Vanity: Though wireless networks face greater challenges from the broadband Internet than wireline networks, the FCC seems poised to impose more, not less, regulation on wireless broadband.

• Greed: Reclassification of broadband services could vastly expand the contribution base for the Universal Service Fund, adding new consumer fees while supersizing this important, but exceedingly wasteful, program.

"Reclassifying broadband Internet to apply common carrier rules designed for a telephone monopoly that has long since disappeared seems foolish enough on its own," concludes Downes. "Add these additional seven deadly sins to the mix, however, and the FCC has proposed perhaps the most dangerous expansion of federal power since the end of the Civil War."

The paper may be viewed here. Larry Downes is available for comment. Please contact Mike Wendy at mwendy@pff.org for more information.

John Kasich releases "Jobs Ohio" Plan (Video)

Please share your thoughts....

From John Kasich --

John Kasich’s top priority is to revive Ohio’s economy and create jobs. With almost 400,000 Ohioans out of work on Ted Strickland’s watch, we know that Ohio’s current strategies aren’t working.

Though once a cutting-edge organization, the Ohio Department of Development has become bogged down with bureaucracy and programs that are not related to economic development. A change is needed.

Ohio’s economic development efforts must be re-aligned to make job creation and economic development a priority and must be rooted in the belief that economic health comes from a strong innovative, flexible private sector, not from government.

A New, Private Sector Economic Development Corporation

As governor, John Kasich will replace Ohio’s government-run economic development functions with JobsOhio, a new not-for-profit corporation which will report to the governor and oversee the state’s efforts to revive the state’s economy and create jobs. A private-sector approach to economic development will be more responsive to the needs of business.

• A board of directors comprised of CEOs will be an important asset for selling the state at the highest levels;

• An expert staff focused solely on economic development will give businesses confidence that their needs will be met and help rebuild Ohio’s reputation as a good place for business;

• The increased accountability of a private corporation will produce better results.

Freeing Ohio’s economic development efforts from their current bureaucratic mindset and shifting them to a new private sector corporation will allow Ohio to more aggressively help existing businesses grow and expand and attract new businesses to Ohio as well.

To read the complete Jobs Ohio Plan click here.

Disclaimer: This posting should not in anyway be taken as our endorsement or implied support for John Kasich. This posting is only meant to serve educational purposes for our members and the general voting public.

Fix Ohio Now - John Kasich (Video)

From Fix Ohio Now --

Disclaimer: This posting should not in anyway be taken as our endorsement or implied support for John Kasich. This posting is only meant to serve educational purposes for our members and the general voting public.

ACORN finally Defunded! Now how about OCHLA?

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a district court judge made a mistake by slapping an injunction on a congressional order to stop the flow of federal funds to Obama's nuts at ACORN. The original and misguided judicial decision interfered with the 2009 Protect Taxpayers from ACORN Act & congressional authority to control how government revenues are raised and spent.

Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns, sponsor of the Protect Taxpayers from ACORN Act, said the appeals court ruling affirms that access to federal funds is "a privilege, not a right." Johanns points out in his press release that ACORN has been under investigation for voter fraud in several states, more than 70 ACORN officials have already been convicted of fraud and since 1994, ACORN has received $53 million in federal funding according to a report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Now we need to defund the Ohio Commission on Hispanic Latino Affairs (OCHLA). OCHLA is an Ohio state agency created in 1977 to advise the Governor, General Assembly and other state agencies on the needs of Spanish-speaking citizens. OCHLA, receiving in excess of $500,000 from the State of OH, has routinely operated as an ACORN type group by actively lobbying the state legislature to provide favorable treatment for illegal aliens in Ohio.

A complaint against OCHLA has been filed with Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles, but Charles is doing his best to ignore the complaint in attempts to shield Gov. Strickland in the upcoming 2010 elections.

It would also be a safe bet that OCHLA has most likely played a hand in the Justice Dept. singling out Cuyahoga County and demanding they print bilingual ballots at an extra cost of $500,00 for the upcoming 2010 elections.

Facing a projected $8 billion hole in our state budget, Gov. Strickland should be ashamed for his continued support & funding of this ACORN for Illegal Immigrants group.