Jan. 23, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement concerning tomorrow night’s State of the Union Address:

“The State of the Union has become little more than a flashy political speech with hardly any substance to it whatsoever. Obama will tout an 8.5 percent unemployment rate, when if the 4 million working-age adults who have been lost from the labor force were included, the real rate of joblessness would be closer to 11 percent, and the underemployed closer to 17 percent. If Obama were not delivering a political speech, he might advise the American people that his ‘stimulus’ spending, borrowing, and printing policies have completely failed to turn the economy around and that a new direction is needed.

“If Obama were honest, he would be forced to tell the American people that the true State of the Union is endangered — by his own arbitrary executive actions in defiance of the separation of powers, the Constitution, and the rule of law. He might tell the nation that public officials cannot simply do as they please; rather, they are guided and limited by the law. He might remind us all that when they do act capriciously, the very fabric of civil society is ripped out from its roots.

“If Obama had any credibility, he would counsel the American people that instead of creating jobs and importing cheap energy from Canada via the Keystone pipeline, he chose instead to bow at the altar of environmental radicalism and is more interested in funneling money to bankrupt ‘green’ energy companies that neither create energy nor jobs.

“In short, if the American people were given a real assessment of the State of the Union, they might realize the immense damage that has been done to the country by the Obama Administration — in health care, the financial system, the national debt, energy, labor, the cost of doing business in America, and more — and advocate a change in leadership.”

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

Jan. 20, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today responded to reports that both the House and Senate were delaying action on legislation that will censor the Internet in the name of protecting copyright:

“It certainly is encouraging to see both houses of Congress delay action on these pieces of legislation that would have aggressively policed the Internet. This is a victory for those who believe in an open Internet. However, in light of recent events, including the prosecution of overseas-based Megaupload utilizing existing laws and diplomacy, it is as clear as day that new laws are completely unnecessary to do what supporters of the legislation say they want. The question becomes: If the new laws are not necessary to get at foreign infringers what is the real reason behind the proposals?

“To which, you have to consider what the proposed pieces of legislation would change. As drafted, they would have provided for DNS blocking, removal from search engines, and shutting off of ad revenue and payment processing — all based merely on the accusation of piracy. So, before a defendant is even able to defend him or herself in court, their business is effectively shut down completely. The government has already been exercising these powers domestically, and in some cases errantly, as with the case of dajaz1.com.

“The bills also provided for private rights of action against Internet service providers, search engines, ad providers, and payment processors that currently do not exist under law. So, instead of the delicate balance that currently exists under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, where protected materials are removed based on legitimate takedown notices, the balance would shift completely to the IP holders, who merely through the threat of action could leverage very popular websites like YouTube, Facebook, Google, and Twitter that have been complying with the law all along.

“Merely shelving these bills, when it is perfectly clear they are unnecessary, is not enough. They need to be dropped completely. If Congress should be studying anything, it should be their own ignorance of the laws that are already on the books, instead of examining more closely whether or not to institute a regime of censorship.”

Attachments:

“Begun, the Cyber Wars Have,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Jan. 20, 2012) at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/the-cyber-wars-have-begun/ .

14 SOPA and PIPA cosponsors drop support, ALG encourages other backers to reconsider support, Press Statement, (Jan. 19, 2012) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=822 .

“SOPA Support Imploding,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano
(Jan. 19, 2012) at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/sopa-support-implodes/

ALG praises Wikipedia.org and Other Websites for Striking Against
Online Censorship Bill (Jan. 18, 2012) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=820

SOPA: Lamar Smith’s copyright hypocrisy, ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Jan. 17, 2012) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/lamar-smiths-copyright-hypocrisy/ .

“Government Already Blocking Internet Access,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 16, 2011) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/government-already-blocking-internet-access/ .

ALG: Internet Censorship Bill ‘un-American’, Press Release (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=807 .

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) athttp://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) athttp://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) athttp://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) athttp://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.

Jan. 19, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged cosponsors of legislation in both houses of Congress to censor the Internet in the name of protecting copyright to reconsider their support as 14 cosponsors have already dropped support:

“The American people have spoken, with the urging of popular websites like Wikipedia, through hundreds of thousands of emails and phone calls to members of Congress in opposition to a big government takeover of the Internet. It led to no less than 14 cosponsors of SOPA and PIPA to drop their support, eight in the Senate alone. Now it is time for other cosponsors to respond to the will of the American people as well.

“There simply is no constituency for legislation that, in the name of protecting copyright, institutionalizes a system of blocking entire websites, removing visibility from search engines, and targeting ad providers, all based merely on the accusation of intellectual property theft. Existing law already provides for the removal of copyrighted material from the Internet domestically, and dealing with foreign infringement requires diplomacy with relevant nations overseas, not a regime of censorship here at home.”

Attachments:

“SOPA Support Imploding,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Jan. 19, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/sopa-support-implodes/

ALG praises Wikipedia.org and Other Websites for Striking Against
Online Censorship Bill, Jan. 18, 2012 at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=820

SOPA: Lamar Smith’s copyright hypocrisy, ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Jan. 17, 2012) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/lamar-smiths-copyright-hypocrisy/ .

“Government Already Blocking Internet Access,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 16, 2011) athttp://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/government-already-blocking-internet-access/ .

ALG: Internet Censorship Bill ‘un-American’, Press Release (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=807 .

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) athttp://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) athttp://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) athttp://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) athttp://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.

Jan. 18, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the Obama Administration’s decision to reject the Keystone pipeline that would have transported oil from Alberta, Canada to the United States:

“Obama’s decision to say no to the Keystone pipeline is simply devastating to the nation’s economic recovery. The White House is more concerned with giving taxpayer-guaranteed loans to bankrupt ‘green’ energy firms that neither produce energy nor create jobs than with securing natural resources for the American people at a cheaper price and creating tens of thousands of jobs. Obama is officially a jobs killer.”

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

Jan. 18, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised Wikipedia.org and other websites that are striking against legislation that would censor the Internet:

“Wikipedia and other websites are to be praised for going black today, and showing what the world might be like without websites that depend on user contributions. Whether intended or not, SOPA and PIPA will result in a regime of censorship on the Internet, particularly targeted at sites that allow users to upload content without restriction.

“Because of the broad language of the bills in both houses, any site that allegedly ‘facilitates’ features that could be used for posting copyrighted materials could be targeted, along with their revenue streams and visibility in search engines, by the government. The problem is that’s any site that allows uploading, which is practically every social network and blogging website on the Internet.

“Existing protections under the Digital Copyright Millennium Act already provide for the removal of copyrighted material from user-based websites, and give safe harbor to sites that actively remove content that violates intellectual property. SOPA and PIPA will override those safe harbor provisions, and take the posture that websites are guilty until proven innocent. In a free society, that is unacceptable. It is un-American.”

Attachments:

SOPA: Lamar Smith’s copyright hypocrisy, ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Jan. 17, 2012) at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/lamar-smiths-copyright-hypocrisy/ .

“Government Already Blocking Internet Access,” ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano (Dec. 16, 2011) at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/government-already-blocking-internet-access/ .

ALG: Internet Censorship Bill ‘un-American’, Press Release (Dec. 14, 2011) at http://getliberty.org/content.asp?pl=10&sl=5&contentid=807 .

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.

###

Jan. 9, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government released this morning an Amicus Curiae brief by the late Senator Ted Kennedy from 2004 where he argued against the validity of the appointment of Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. to the federal bench in a recess appointment.

The discovery of the Kennedy legal brief is particularly significant in light of President Obama’s appointment last week of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Sharon Block, Terence Flynn, and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board. Ironically, the NLRB “recess” appointment of Block was a staffer for Sen. Kennedy.

Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government points out, “Senator Kennedy vehemently objected to a presidential appointment that occurred while the Congress was in recess, Obama’s appointments did not even occur during a recess and clearly violate the constitutional separation of powers provisions. Kennedy must be spinning in his grave.”

Article 2, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “He (the president) shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law.”

The Constitution continues to deal with appointments during Senate recesses stating, “The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.”

“This last section is where Obama has run afoul of the Constitution, as even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid admits that the Senate was in session, when Obama circumvented the highest law of the United States to make his appointments,” Wilson continued.

Reid kept the Senate in the exact pro-forma Senate sessions in 2007 to block President George W. Bush from making recess appointments. Now, Reid is praising Obama’s decision to break the very Constitution that both of them have sworn to uphold in their oaths of office.

It is anticipated that Obama’s extra-constitutional appointments of Cordray, Green, Block and Fletcher will be challenged in the federal courts. The only question is will someone file Senator Kennedy’s brief to remind the courts just how far beyond the normal constitutional lines Obama has gone.

Attachments:

Sen. Ted Kennedy Amicus Brief filed in Stephens v. Evans and Jordan at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/former-senator-ted-kennedy-opposed-recess-appointments/ .

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

Jan. 6, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson responds to today’s unemployment numbers:

“The private sector is rebounding in spite of the various regulatory stresses created by the Obama Administration. Once again, however, the actual unemployment rate fails to convey an accurate picture of the real employment situation, as it does not include the more than 4 million Americans who have dropped out of the economy since January 2009.”

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

Jan. 5, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today in the following statement urged the House to pass HR 2978 stripping the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of its quasi-judicial powers in light of Barack Obama’s extraconstitutional installation of 3 new members to the Board:

“If the House wishes to prevent the NLRB from issuing rulings when it has been unconstitutionally filled with phony recess appointments, it needs to act immediately. Legislation by Rep. Austin Scott would strip the Board of all its judicial and rulemaking authority, making federal courts the sole arbiter of alleged infractions of labor law.

“Big labor advocates masquerading as bureaucrats should never have so much power in the first place to issue these anti-business rulings, and Rep. Scott’s legislation is the only bill that will do anything about it.

“While federal courts sort out the unconstitutionality of Obama’s lawless actions to fill the NLRB with union cronies, the House can act immediately to pass legislation that will defang the Board from issuing any more rulings on behalf of big labor.”

Attachments:

“Treating the NLRB symptoms not enough,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, September 21st, 2011 athttp://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 .

“ALG Nominee Alert, Richard Griffin and Sharon Block, National Labor Relations Board,” Americans for Limited Government Research Foundation, Dec. 2011 at http://www.getliberty.org/files/Sharon Block Richard Griffin NomineeAlert HighRes 12 30.pdf .

“Obama’s Radical Non-Recess ‘Recess’ Appointments,” ALG President Bill Wilson, Jan. 5, 2012 athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/obama%e2%80%99s-radical-non-recess-%e2%80%98recess%e2%80%99-appointments/ .

“Cartoon: Obama’s New Year’s Resolution,” William Warren, Jan. 5, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/01/obamas-new-years-resolution/ .

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

Jan. 4, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a statement condemned the Obama Administration for making a “recess” appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau even though Congress is not even in recess:

“The appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and all acts he may take while in his post, are not worth the paper they are printed on. Barack Obama has rammed through a phony ‘recess’ appointment when there is no recess, and now he borders on being a tyrant. Obama cannot constitutionally pretend a recess into existence, and yet that is exactly what he has done. This has never been attempted before.

“This is a clear and consistent pattern by Obama of acting as if the Constitution does not apply to him. This is a dangerous pattern that is threatening to tear this country apart, and it’s his fault.

“Congress, per its constitutional prerogative, has deliberately been in continuous session to block any recess appointments from being made by Obama. If Congress wills it, and it has, then there can be no recess. Any appointments made under this pretense, and all of their acts in office, will become constitutionally questionable as to whether a valid appointment was ever made.

“In the latter years of the Bush Administration, congressional Democrats played the same game to keep Congress in continuous session in a move that effectively blocked recess appointments from being made. If the Obama Administration does not like it, it can propose amending the Constitution, but it cannot pretend Congress was in recess when it never was.”

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