Northern Illinois Campaign for Liberty Newsletter, 10-27-09
Northern Illinois Campaign for Liberty
Reclaim the Republic
Restore the Constitution
October 27, 2009
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Upcoming Events:
Details for these events can be found under the “Calendar” at www.northernillinoisliberty.com
Gubernatorial Candidates Forum, November 14th (see note below)
Join us for a discussion with some of the candidates running for the governor’s seat. If you want to make an educated decision at the polls in February, this is a great way to meet the candidates and ask questions about issues that are important to you. Very important: This event has been moved from November 7th to November 14th due to scheduling difficulties. And the location has now been determined. The Candidates Forum will be held at the North Suburban Library in Rockford, 6350 North Second, Loves Park.
The exact time has yet to be finalized, but will be in the early afternoon. Please check back for more details.
Local News:
We now have 60 members and 5 coordinators in Winnebago County. In Illinois there are 7,397 members, and 99 coordinators. If you have not yet joined the Campaign for Liberty, you can do so at www.campaignforliberty.com. Please consider becoming a local coordinator in your area. The training that Campaign for Liberty provides for coordinators is some of the best of any similar grassroots organizations, and, the more coordinators we have, the easier it will be for each one. All it takes is a passion for liberty…will you do it?
We need volunteers to help promote our upcoming candidates forum. It can be as difficult as creating and sending out press releases to all local media…or as easy as putting a flier on a restaurant bulletin board. To make this event successful, we need to let everybody in the Rockford area know about it. Email me if you’d like to help out.
We are also interested in holding Constitutional Classes this winter, using Michael Badnarik’s 8-hour DVD lectures, meeting perhaps every other week for about an hour and a half. I recently went through this course, and it changed the way I look at government, history, and individual rights. If you are at all interested in this, please let me know because we need to know how many people would like to attend this in order to find a location and time that works for most people.
Featured News:
“H1N1 declared a ‘national emergency’ by the President”
On Saturday, October 24th, President Obama declared H1N1, or “Swine Flu” to be a national emergency. This enables hospitals to override normal regulations in order to treat the massive waves of sick people rushing to the emergency room. However, the idea of a national emergency goes back to 1933 and FDR’s War and Emergency Act, which allows the government to nullify the Constitution during a time of national emergency. This obviously concerns Americans, and many people are wondering if H1N1 is so dangerous as to call for a radical declaration such as this. Click here for more info, and we also have some blog posts on our Northern Illinois website about H1N1.
Healthcare Updates
The Democrats are still struggling to pass a healthcare reform bill and will have to push hard if they want to get it through by the end of the year, as was President Obama’s goal. Click here to read the AP article. It is important that we continue to keep the pressure on our senators to vote against this bill.
Sen. Durbin, 202-224-2152
Sen. Burris, 202-224-2854
Audit the Fed
Neither of our senators, Sen. Durbin and Sen. Burris, have cosponsored S. 604, the Senate bill to audit the Federal Reserve. Please continue to call their offices and tell them how important transparency is to America.
H.R. 1207, the House bill to audit the Federal Reserve, now has 307 cosponsors, and S. 604 has 30 cosponsors.
Illinois Corruption and the “Put-Back Amendment”
As anyone who lives in Illinois knows, Springfield is corrupted by Chicago politics. Well, one man is trying to solve this problem and would like to propose the “Put-Back Amendment” that would do just that—put government back in its place and end the “back room dealings of the General Assembly.” The author of this bill, John Bambenek, needs help collecting the 500,000 signatures required to put this amendment on the ballot in 2010. Please visit www.putbackamendment.com to find out more about this amendment. Let me know if you are interested in helping with with this effort.
Featured Blog Posts:
Unalienable Rights
Northern IL Campaign for Liberty Newsletter, October 20
The Threat of Mandatory Vaccinations
Economics and Moral Courage
Up, Up Goes the National Debt
Go to www.northernillinoisliberty.com/blog to read these posts and more.
Featured Resources:
Freedom Under Siege, “Here is Ron Paul’s political manifesto, a courageous book on civil liberties and the rights of Americans that are relentlessly under assault from government. It was written in 1987, on the 200th anniversary of the Constitution, and is back in print for the first time.”
Liberty and Property, by Ludwig von Mises, a small book (53 pages) that is “one of the most dazzling presentations of the case for economic liberty ever written.” Available through the Mises Institute, $5.00.
Note: I figured I better say this so I don’t get in trouble with our ever-watchful government, but I am not getting anything from anyone for recommending these resources. There, I think that covers pretty much all possibilities.
From the Grassroots
I’ve decided to do a short, maybe long, series of articles on simple ways to get involved and start making a difference. Maybe call them stepping stones, just one small step at a time, from simply calling your senator to protesting outside his office—yes, it can be done because that’s where I came from! So, I am going to start with phone calls.
Step #1, Calling your elected officials. Maybe you’re used to it now, and don’t have a problem with making phone calls and registering your complaints or suggestions. Or maybe you’ve never done it. Firstly, you have to find out who your elected officials are and get their phone numbers. Campaign for Liberty has a great tool for easily finding your representatives and senators, just enter your address and it will give you information about your elected officials in DC, from their party to phone number, to a short bio. So, after you find their number, decide what issue to call them about. And I had to say that because it can be hard to pick… “should I tell them I don’t want government healthcare, or government bailouts or…?” Anyways, decide on an issue, and then do the research if necessary to come up with a bill number. Instead of saying, “I support an audit of the Federal Reserve” it is more professional to say, “I support H.R. 1207, the bill to audit the Federal Reserve.” If you’re like me, you’ll want to write down the bill number so your mind doesn’t go blank once you get on the phone. And now you’re ready to call! When you call, be polite, but be brief. Simply state your opinion. “I’d just like to say I support H.R. 1207, the bill to audit the Federal Reserve, and ask that Sen. _______ or Rep. _____ cosponsor H.R. 1207.” They may ask for your zip code, but generally not any more information than that. And resist the temptation to explain everything to the person at the other end of the line. They have no influence over the elected officials, so don’t say, “I’d like Sen. ______ to cosponsor H.R. 1207, the bill to audit the Federal Reserve because the Federal Reserve is a private institution, and under the GAO laws currently is not required to open up their books to Congress and…” because you’ll just annoy the other person. All they can do is mark down that you are either for or against something, they’re not going to write down all the extra history and information. It is just important that they hear your opinion, but you don’t need to explain it to them. And that’s it…call, briefly state your opinion, give your zip code if asked, and hang up. So try it this week…previously in this email I listed some issues right now that we need to contact our elected officials about, so pick one, be it Audit the Fed, or healthcare, and make your first step. Remember, your representatives are in DC to represent you—but how will they know how to represent you if you don’t tell them what you stand for?
If you are not a member of the Campaign for Liberty, please consider joining. Click here to become part of this movement dedicated to prosperity, free markets, the Constitution, and liberty.
Savannah Liston, Winnebago County Coordinator
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.”
– John Adams
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