Archives for December 2011

Dec. 29, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Polling in early election battleground states Iowa and New Hampshire finds likely Republican voters deeply opposed to bailing out European banks that bet poorly on the sovereign debt of socialist governments like Greece.

As reported by the National Review’s John Fund, overall, 76 percent of Republicans in Iowa,68 percent in New Hampshire, and 77 percent in South Carolina oppose any U.S. involvement of bailing out Europe through the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“These polls send a direct message to Republican candidates for President, which is if they support another bailout, they’re finished,” Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson declared.

The results have big implications for the 2012 Republican contest for the presidential nomination, Wilson said, whose group commissioned the two surveys conducted by the polling company, inc. in Iowa and New Hampshire in November. Both had samples of 500 likely Republican voters.

“In 2008, Republicans destroyed their brand by supporting the TARP bailouts for banks that were at the heart of the financial crisis. Politically, they were a catastrophe for the base and handed Democrats complete control of government for two years,” Wilson recalled.

In 2010, Republicans promised in the Pledge to America to “prevent Washington from forcing responsible taxpayers to subsidize irresponsible behavior by ending bailouts permanently”.

Wilson said the polling shows that Republicans have “a golden opportunity to restore the confidence of their base as the anti-bailout party” after their failure in 2008 to claim that mantle.

The U.S. currently contributes $65 billion to the IMF in quotas, $27.68 billion of which has already been lent in various bailouts throughout the world, including Europe. Additionally, in 2009, a Democrat-led Congress approved a $100 billion credit line to the IMF, only $5.9 billion of which has been used thus far.

Legislation by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers would repeal the $100 billion line of credit and recover the remaining $94 billion that has not yet been used. In a recent oped for Human Events, she warned, “The specter of European bailouts — and America’s involvement in them through the IMF — is a powerful issue that continues to grow and won’t go away.”

Last year, the IMF, with U.S. support, proposed doubling the current quota subscriptions to the IMF, bringing the U.S. total to $130 billion. The additional $65 billion would replace a portion of a 2009-approved $100 billion credit line.

But the Obama Administration has yet to make a formal request to Congress for the additional funding, as reported by the Washington Post. Wilson called it “simply a matter of time.”

“House Republicans have two opportunities to defeat U.S. involvement in the European bailouts. The first is by passing the McMorris Rodgers legislation, and the second will be defeating any increase of the U.S. quota to the IMF,” Wilson said, looking forward to the 2012 legislative agenda.

Ultimately, U.S. taxpayers should be held blameless for the crisis in Europe, Wilson said, concluding, “European socialism has failed and must be allowed to die. No more bailouts.”

Attachments:

Resisting Euro Bailouts, John Fund, National Review, Dec. 29, 2011 at http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286740/resisting-euro-bailouts-john-fund .

Iowa Poll of 500 Likely Republican Voters, the polling company, inc., Nov. 11-13, 2011 at http://www.getliberty.org/files/ALG – Iowa – Early State Omnibus – Topline Final to Client- 11 14 11.pdf .

New Hampshire Poll of 500 Likely Republican Voters, the polling company, inc., Nov. 18-20 2011 athttp://www.getliberty.org/files/ALG – New Hampshire- Early State Omnibus – Topline to Client – 11 21 11.pdf .

South Carolina Poll of 500 Likely Republican Voters, the polling company, inc., Nov. 18-21 at http://www.getliberty.org/files/ALG – South Carolina – Early State Omnibus – Topline to Client – 11 22 11.pdf .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 22, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ downward revision of economic growth:

“First at 2.5 percent, then 2 percent, and now revised downward to an anemic 1.8 percent, the economy in the third quarter has once again fallen way short of the government’s rosy projections. The Bureau initially exaggerated the actual growth number by 38 percent. This means revenues to the Treasury will again fall short of expectations, blowing an even larger hole in the deficit than projected. This reveals once again that the only way out of our mounting debt problems are dramatic spending cuts, because the growth everyone was hoping for is simply not there.

“The pot of gold Obama promised the American people at the end of the rainbow has turned out to be filled with lead. This is nothing more than Obama’s economic humbug, just in time for the holidays.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Dec. 21, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement demanding Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid convene a conference committee on the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits extensions:

“Whether one agrees with extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits or not, the clear constitutional procedure when there are differences between House and Senate legislation is to convene a conference committee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid simply has no excuse for keeping the American people in the dark about what their effective taxes are going to be once the New Year begins. He should do his job and immediately name Senate conferees to get to work, or else he’ll have nobody to blame but himself come January.

“This could easily be resolved before year’s end, but Reid, for the moment, seems to prefer to pretend there is no such thing as a conference committee. This stalemate is the fault of Reid, the liberal Democrats and Obama for refusing to deal honestly with the House-passed measure to resolve the problem.”

Attachments:

“Payroll tax holiday blues,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Dec. 21, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/payroll-tax-holiday-blues/ .

“Payroll Tax ‘Holiday’ Another Christmas Tree Monster,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Dec. 20, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/payroll-tax-holiday-another-christmas-tree-monster/ .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Dec. 20, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a statement urged Congress to include offsetting spending cuts in any plan to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits or else defeat it, and praised the House for rejecting a Senate proposal to extend them for a period of two months:

“No deal is better than a bad deal on extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. This plan will blow a $180 billion hole in the budget, and right now there are no offsetting spending cuts on the table to help pay for it. Without offsetting cuts and/or real entitlement reforms, these proposals should not even be under consideration.

“Congress has allowed itself to be caught in the Obama Administration’s class warfare trap. Rather than taking a principled stand on preserving the solvency of Social Security or winding down these perpetual extensions of unemployment benefits, Congress is more concerned about being accused of being heartless. The sad truth is continuing to spend money we don’t have is a dereliction of duty that shall engender future generations with a debt that cannot be paid and an America none of us would ever recognize.

“The Senate majority’s insistence on funding without offsets is nothing short of a complete surrender of the principles that animated voters to the polls in 2010. The House is to be praised for rejecting Harry Reid’s kick-the-can approach to governing.”

Attachments:

“Payroll Tax ‘Holiday’ Another Christmas Tree Monster,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Dec. 20, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/payroll-tax-holiday-another-christmas-tree-monster/ .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Dec. 16, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised congressional Republicans today for holding firm in their determination to delay the implementation of the law which would make 100 watt incandescent light bulbs illegalto sell in the United States effective Jan. 1, 2012.

The delay prevents the Department of Energy from implementing the rules until Sept. 30.

“It is absurd for the government to force Americans to purchase expensive and environmentally dangerous curly cue CGC light bulbs due to an ill conceived attempt to save energy. Congressional Republicans have stood up for American consumers being able to make the choice of what lighting products they wish to use, and that is a small but important step away from the nanny state envisioned by the social engineers on the left,” Wilson said.

Upon learning of the deal, environmental extremist groups who ignore the significant dangers caused by the mercury filled CFC bulbs slated to replace Edison’s incandescent bulb are planning on holding a press conference decrying the effort.

Wilson continued, “The Astroturf enviro movement on this issue is typified by the group Republicans for Environmental Protection, which research has proven is nothing more than another George Soros front group. Congressional Republicans need to reject this last ditch effort to dictate consumer choices and hold firm on the delay of the light bulb ban. Hopefully, the ban will be fully repealed in the months ahead.”

The light bulb ban delay was included as part of the bi-partisan funding deal negotiated last night which is expected to pass both houses of Congress today.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 14, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged members of the House Judiciary Committee to reject HR 3261, warning the legislation would “take the mind of throwing the book at alleged offenders, shutting down their websites, cutting off their revenue streams, locking them up and asking questions later.”

Wilson warned in his letter, “It is un-American to set up a situation where people are guilty until proven innocent.”

The letter points to existing provisions of Copyright Law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and Fair Use doctrine, wherein “Internet users can receive a cease-and-desist takedown notice prior to civil action being taken by an [intellectual property] holder.”

Wilson called these protections “adequate” for intellectual property (IP) holders, and said the new law would undermine “safe harbor provisions that allow users to be notified of any instances of infringement to provide an opportunity to have them removed without penalty.”

Wilson said the legislation “completely averts that process,” warning the first notification a webmaster could receive would be the website being shut down, getting served with a massive fine, or “being arrested under criminal charges for having anything infringing up on the web for longer than 180 days, even if (s)he was unaware of any violation of IP.”

“Such outcomes appear to be rather draconian, and will most certainly have a chilling effect on what is in effect cyber speech: on uploading, posting and sharing files. Existing laws protect copyright and protect innocent users of the Internet,” Wilson explained.

The letter urged members to consider how the new law would affect millions of their constituents: “In the digital age, with the ease of sharing files, images, videos and music, nobody should be served with criminal or civil action for copyright infringement without first being notified of that infringement, and being provided an opportunity to correct it.”

HR 3261 is scheduled for markup in the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 15.

Attachments:

Letter to Members of the House Judiciary Committee, ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec.14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/AntiSOPA-12-14-11.pdf.

“An Internet Without Uploading?” ALG President Bill Wilson (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/an-internet-without-uploading/.

“Internet piracy bill: A free speech ‘kill switch‘,” ALG President Bill Wilson, The Hill (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/198687-internet-piracy-bill-a-free-speech-kill-switch.

Interview with ALG President Bill Wilson, WGEM, Hosts Rich Cain and Lindsey Hess, Quincy, IL (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://my.wgem.com/_Bill-Wilson-Americans-for-Limited-Govt/audio/916294/29404.html.

“Legislation by Rep. Lamar Smith equals Internet censorship,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/legislation-by-rep-lamar-smith-equals-internet-censorship/.

Bipartisan Letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Darrell Issa against Internet Censorship Bill (Nov. 8, 2011) at http://gov20.govfresh.com/issa-and-lofgren-dear-colleague-letter-versus-sopa/.

Three Libertarians Raise Concerns about the Stop Online Piracy Act, Cato Institute (Nov. 7, 2011) at http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/three-libertarians-raise-concerns-about-the-stop-online-piracy-act/.

“Guilty until proven innocent,” By ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, Nov. 16, 2011 at http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/193901-guilty-until-proven-innocent.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 13, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today called comments by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Lafe Solomon “a deplorable threat against any company that is considering moving operations to a right-to-work state.”

Although the NLRB’s recent dispute with Boeing after the company set up a manufacturing operation in right-to-work South Carolina has been resolved, now Solomon has said that “If we were ever faced with a similar pattern, we might well issue a complaint.”

The original complaint had accused Boeing of “retaliation” against the Machinists union for past strikes in its plant facilities in Washington state. The complaint was dropped after Boeing agreed to have its new 737 jet built in Washington, not South Carolina.

Now, Wilson said that the NLRB’s Solomon wants to make sure other companies don’t try the same thing.

“This is a not so subtle threat against every company that does not have millions of dollars to defend themselves against the coercive threats of big government and big labor,” Wilson said, adding, “It sets a precedent against companies from expanding manufacturing operations into states that protect workers’ freedom of choice.”

Wilson said the only solution was to pass legislation by Rep. Austin Scott that would remove the quasi-judicial powers from the NLRB to act against employers, HR 2978, the “Protecting American Jobs Act”.

“Cases like those that were lodged against Boeing would be impossible under this Rep. Scott’s legislation,” Wilson explained.

The law would strip the Board of all its judicial authority, making federal courts the sole arbiter of alleged infractions of labor law.

“The NLRB is not a court, it is an agency of the executive branch, and yet for nearly a century, its rulemakings have been granted the weight of court decisions. No longer,” Wilson declared.

In an exclusive interview with ALG, bill sponsor Rep. Austin Scott described the bill and said the labor disputes were better handled in the courts. “It takes away the judicial authority of the National Labor Relations Board, [and] puts the decisions in the courts,” he said, adding, “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for this agency. The unions and corporate America can fight it out in the courts without doing it on the taxpayer’s dime.”

A poll conducted by the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend on behalf of ALG found that 66 percent of respondents thought the agency had too much power “to officiate legal proceedings over private U.S. companies in its own court system”.

The bill has already attracted 38 cosponsors, who Wilson said were “supporting the only legislation that would rein in this out-of-control agency.”

“The Boeing case was only a symptom of the problem. Now the NLRB’s threat to file more suits against any other company thinking about setting up shop in a right-to-work state makes the solution crystal clear. Congress needs to strip the NLRB’s adjudicatory powers so this never happens again,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“Treating the NLRB symptoms not enough,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, September 21st, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/09/treating-the-nlrb-symptoms-not-enough/.

the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend poll on behalf of Americans for Limited Government regarding National Labor Relations Board, Aug. 19-23, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/NLRBPoll8-19to8-23-11.pdf.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 13, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in opposition to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith’s manager’s amendment to HR 3261:

“Even with the changes proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, this bill will essentially criminalize the Internet, making it impossible to upload and share content. Any service that allows for storing files or posting hyperlinks could be targeted, and on the Internet, that’s everything. In cyberspace, this is like trying to pass a law against breathing. Copyright can be protected on the Internet, but it will be done by adapting copyright law to the technology, not by outlawing the technology.

“This legislation will still give government the power to censor the Internet in the name of protecting copyright. It will still threaten any website, including social networks and search engines that allow users to upload content, with being shut down. This legislation will still take the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and chuck them in the garbage. Those safe harbor provisions protected websites that provided easy takedown procedures for potential infringing materials, and already had a system in place for their removal.

“The bill will still allow copyright holders to pursue private actions against alleged infringing websites with the force of law behind them, including seeking the termination of advertising and payment services, whether the site is foreign or domestic.

“Finally, even with its so-called ‘savings’ clauses, this bill will still risk placing unfeasible, court-ordered technology mandates on Internet service providers requiring websites to somehow prevent their services from being used to post infringing material, even if doing so is technically impossible. To avoid litigation, Internet companies will simply stop allowing uploading and file sharing.

“Censorship is never the solution. Internet piracy can be combated without a regime of suppression that threatens activities that are protected by the First Amendment. This will have a chilling effect on what is in effect cyber speech: on uploading, posting and sharing files. That it is the heart of the Internet, and it is being gutted by this legislation.”

Attachments:

“Internet piracy bill: A free speech ‘kill switch‘,” ALG President Bill Wilson, The Hill (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/198687-internet-piracy-bill-a-free-speech-kill-switch.

Interview with ALG President Bill Wilson, WGEM, Hosts Rich Cain and Lindsey Hess, Quincy, IL (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://my.wgem.com/_Bill-Wilson-Americans-for-Limited-Govt/audio/916294/29404.html.

“Legislation by Rep. Lamar Smith equals Internet censorship,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 12, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/legislation-by-rep-lamar-smith-equals-internet-censorship/.

Bipartisan Letter from Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Rep. Darrell Issa against Internet Censorship Bill (Nov. 8, 2011) at http://gov20.govfresh.com/issa-and-lofgren-dear-colleague-letter-versus-sopa/.

Three Libertarians Raise Concerns about the Stop Online Piracy Act, Cato Institute (Nov. 7, 2011) at http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/three-libertarians-raise-concerns-about-the-stop-online-piracy-act/.

“Guilty until proven innocent,” By ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, Nov. 16, 2011 at http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/193901-guilty-until-proven-innocent.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 12, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised 83 cosponsors of legislation by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers that would bring an end to any U.S. involvement via the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out European banks that bet poorly on sovereign debt:

“All indications coming out of the recent European summit are that the IMF will play a leading role in bailing out European financial institutions that bet poorly on sovereign debt through some $200 billion house of cards scheme. This would include regional European central banks ‘lending’ money to the Fund only to be funneled back into European bond markets, all in violation of the Article VII of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, and the Lisbon Treaty’s Article 123 prohibition on monetizing the debt.

“This means U.S. taxpayers, who have already poured at least $20 billion into propping up Portugal, Greece, and Ireland through the IMF, will again be on the hook when the European governments default on their debt. The 83 cosponsors of this legislation deserve the thanks of American taxpayers, who don’t want to have anything to do with bailing out the bad decisions of foreign banks and European socialist governments.

“HR 2313 should be passed immediately, so that whatever remains of the nation’s $100 billion credit line to the IMF is pulled back before it is wasted on a costly bailout that will not work. Now is the time for the House to draw a line in the sand.”

Attachments:

“Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers says ‘No’ to IMF European Bailouts,” Video, Dec. 5, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/rep-cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-says-no-to-imf-european-bailouts/ .

“Obama says U.S. ‘stands ready to do our part to help’ bail out Europe,” ALG President Bill Wilson, Nov. 29, 2011 at http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=3880 .

“Democracy cancelled in the lands that founded it,” ALG President Bill Wilson, Nov. 17, 2011 at http://blog.getliberty.org/default.asp?Display=3823 .

“U.S. has already provided $20 billion to bail out Europe,” By Robert Romano, ALG Senior Editor, Nov. 3, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/11/u-s-has-already-provided-20-billion-to-bail-out-europe/ .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

Dec. 9, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged members of the House Judiciary Committee to reject legislation he said would “give the government power to censor the Internet.”

“Nobody likes Internet piracy, but this legislation is going to create a regime of Internet censorship in the name of protecting copyright. This will particularly endanger social networking sites, search engines, and any website that allows users to upload content of being shut down,” Wilson warned.

“Why would anyone want to give government the power to shut down websites?” Wilson asked, adding, “There are already sufficient protections for copyright under existing law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.”

Wilson expressed concern that the “safe harbor” provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act would be undermined by the new legislation, which protects social websites that provide for easy takedown procedures for potential infringing materials.

“Under current law, rights holders can inform a website that it has infringing material and ask that it is removed, and failing that, can already take action,” Wilson noted. “This takes the safe harbor provisions of current law and throws them in the garbage for websites that have been diligent in following the rules.”

The legislation, HR 3261, would also allow copyright holders to take private actions against alleged infringing websites with the force of law behind them, including seeking the termination of advertising and payment services.

Wilson called it “overkill,” calling it a “death sentence for Internet service providers” noting that websites can have millions of pages, and that under the legislation revenue streams or the website itself could be shut down if just a single page of a site is found to have infringing material.

“The bill also risks placing onerous mandates on Internet service providers that would require websites to somehow prevent their services from being used to post infringing material, even if it’s technologically impossible to do so,” Wilson warned.

“This bill will be the end of social networking all together and it must be defeated. Censorship is not the solution to Internet piracy,” Wilson concluded.

HR 3261 is expected to be voted on in the House Judiciary Committee next week.

Attachments:

“Guilty until proven innocent,” By ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, Nov. 16, 2011 at http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/193901-guilty-until-proven-innocent.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.