”Audit the Fed” Rally and Petition Drop at Representative Dennis Moore’s Office Posted by Amanda77

Posted 07/25/09 Last updated 07/30/09

The "Audit the Fed" rally at the district office of Congressman Dennis Moore (D-Kansas 3rd district) in Overland Park was a resounding success!   Over 150 Kansans met on Friday, July 24^th to present 1100 signed HR 1207 petitions to Moore's staff and protest Federal Reserve secrecy.     Protesters lined the street in front of Dennis Moore's office during rush hour and we received a wonderful response from passing cars.   The creative signs held by protesters almost stopped traffic!

Approximately 10 C4L members and concerned citizens entered Moore's office to present the signed HR 1207 petitions.   Moore's staff was courteous and respectful but couldn't make any promises regarding Moore's position on HR 1207.  Thus far, Moore has refused to cosponsor HR 1207 on the grounds that the Federal Reserve is "politically independent" and needs to remain so.   Tell that to Bernanke when it's time for President Obama to choose whether or not to reappoint him!

Earl Glen recorded the petition drop and posted the video along with a wonderful piece about the event on his Kansas Meadowlark website. 

In response to Bernanke's visit to Kansas City on July 26^th, Earl put together a video of our questions for Ben Bernanke.   Although none of us were invited to the July 26th PBS forum at the Kansas City Federal Reserve, the Liberty Restoration Project organized a protest.  You can find video of the protest as well as additional questions for Bernanke on the Kansas Meadowlark blog as well.

Thank you to all the Johnson County C4L members who worked so hard to make the July 24th rally and petition drop a success.  You did a great job!!  Also, many thanks to members of like-minded organizations who helped us gather petition signatures and advertise the event.  We can accomplish great things when we work together!

Tea Party Success!!! Posted by Amanda77

Posted 07/06/09 Last updated 07/06/09

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!

We collected an astounding 660  HR1207 petition signatures (435 Moore, 225 Cleaver) at the July 4th Tea Parties!!

A whopping 10 volunteers celebrated July 4th by donating time to collect petition signatures.   Working together made us successful at the Tea Parties! 

We now have a total of 700 HR1207 signatures for Moore.  We will need 1300 more signatures to reach our goal of  2000 by July 24th.

If we work together, we will be able to accomplish our goal and present a respectable number of signatures to Moore on July 24th.  

Stay tuned for more HR 1207 Petition drives in the upcoming weeks! 

We are also seeking willing volunteers to help with preparation for the "Audit the Fed" rally planned on July 24th.

Thanks for everything you do!!

Amanda

URGENT CALL TO ACTION - HR 1207 Petition Drive and Rally at Moore's Office Posted by Amanda77

Posted 07/02/09

Friends of Liberty,

Obama recently released plans for his next unconstitutional power grab in the form of a regulatory reform plan.  This plan grants MORE power to the unelected, unaccountable Federal Reserve Bank - the very institution which caused our current economic crisis!  We must confront this new threat with doubled efforts to pressure Dennis Moore to cosponsor HR 1207:  The Federal Reserve Transparency Act.

Thus far, Dennis Moore has refused to cosponsor HR 1207.   What makes his refusal even worse is that he is the Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations - the very Congressional committee tasked with overseeing the Federal Reserve!

Our plan to pressure/embarrass Moore into cosponsoring HR 1207 is simple - gather 2000 petition signatures and have a rally in late July at Moore's office when we deliver the petitions.

We have had recent success gathering petitions at the Health Freedom rally and the Olathe Republican Picnic.  Sam Brownback told us that he approved cosigning S.604, the Senate version of HR 1207!    Many members are also gathering petition signatures from friends, family, and neighbors.

Amy Curtis has recently volunteered to coordinate the C4L efforts in Douglas county as well!!

I have listed upcoming events where you  can help gather HR 1204 petition signatures.  In addition to the few listed, I have a long list of events where we can gather signatures in July.  Please, please contact me if you would like to lead a petition drive in July.  It will only take a few hours of your time and can be a lot of fun!!!

Here are the events this week:

Thank you for all the work you do! Stay tuned for more details on upcoming events!

Dennis Moore's Response to HR 1207 Posted by Amanda77

Posted 06/23/09

We finally got a response from Dennis Moore regarding HR 1207 today.  As we expected, he has not yet been convinced to cosponsor.  Lets work together to change his mind!

Dear Amanda:

Thank you for sharing your support for H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. I always appreciate hearing from citizens of the Third District of Kansas.

Introduced by Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) on February 26, 2009, H.R. 1207 would amend Title 31 of the United States Code to expand the portion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet open to audits by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Specifically, the GAO would be able to audit "deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy" and "transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee." The bill calls for the Comptroller General, the director of the GAO, to carry out at least one audit of the Federal Reserve by the end of 2010. On the day of its introduction, H.R. 1207 was referred to the House Financial Services Committee, where it awaits consideration.

Congress created the Federal Reserve System (or "Fed") in 1913 to serve as the central bank for the United States. The Fed formulates the nation's monetary policy, supervises and regulates banks, and provides a variety of financial services to depository financial institutions and the federal government. It comprises three major components: the Board of Governors currently led by Chairman Ben Bernanke, a network of twelve Federal Reserve Banks, and member banks. One of the Federal Reserve Banks, led by Thomas Hoenig, is located in Kansas City. I often consult with Mr. Hoenig and I value his thoughts on the recent financial crisis. You can read his speeches and testimony before Congress at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's website: http://www.kc.frb.org. 

The Fed is an independent agency, rather than a department of the executive branch whose head can be removed at will by the President. As a result, the Fed is largely insulated from political and private pressures. Congress felt that the Fed's decisions, which can have enormous short- and long-term consequences for America's employment, inflation, and economic growth, would be better left to monetary experts than partisan appointees.

At the same time, by law and practice, the Federal Reserve is accountable to Congress. The seven members of the Board are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate and Congress routinely monitors the Federal Reserve System through formal and informal oversight activities. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve is required to testify biannually before the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. These reports can be found on the Federal Reserve's website: http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/mpr_default.htm. In addition, I encourage you to view the Federal Reserve 101: Credit and Liquidity Programs and the Balance Sheet, which can be found here: http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst.htm as well as the Federal Reserve's Monthly Report on Balance Sheet and Emergency Programs, which can be found here: http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20090610a.htm.

In fact, as the Chairman of the Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, I recently called the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve Board to testify about the Fed's ongoing efforts to expose and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. The hearing, which took place on May 5, 2009, was called "The Role of Inspectors General: Minimizing and Mitigating Waste, Fraud and Abuse." You can read a transcript of the Federal Reserve Inspector General's testimony and view a webcast of the full hearing at:

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/oihr042909.shtml

Congress must ensure tough oversight of the extraordinary actions the federal government has taken to stabilize the financial sector. We heard from the Inspectors General of the Treasury and the FDIC as well. The House Financial Services Committee plans on holding additional hearings in the 111^th Congress on monetary policy the role and actions of the Federal Reserve.

There is no denying that the political independence of the Federal Reserve creates risks as well as advantages. In order to minimize these risks through expanded oversight, I supported the intent of Senator Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) amendments to S. 896, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. The amendments, S.Amdt. 1020 and S.Amdt. 1021, were adopted by the Senate on May 4, 2009, and the bill as a whole passed the House by a vote of 367 to 54, with my support, before being signed into law by President Obama on May 20, 2009.

S. Amdt. 1020 expanded GAO's authority to oversee the TARP, including the joint Federal Reserve-Treasury Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). S. Amdt. 1021 will subject the Fed's recent emergency actions in response to the financial crisis to close Congressional scrutiny. At the same time, it will protect the Fed's independence from political manipulation in its core monetary mission. Specifically, the amendment gives the GAO authority to audit emergency actions taken by the Fed to aid various private firms, such as its actions to assist J.P. Morgan Chase's purchase of Bear Stearns, to provide financing for Bank of America and Citibank, and to stabilize American International Group (AIG).

With the Grassley amendment now enacted into law, the Fed will be subject to unprecedented scrutiny at the hands of Congress. This scrutiny is appropriate, as the Fed has taken unprecedented steps in its response to the ongoing financial crisis.

As part of my effort to keep Congress vigilant in its scrutiny of government funds used in response to the current financial crisis, I was also a leading cosponsor of H.R. 1748, the Fight Fraud Act of 2009, which protects taxpayer money by making it a federal crime for contractors to defraud the government of funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the economic stimulus package. On May 6, 2009, with my support, H.R. 1748 passed the House by a vote of 367 to 59. After being reconciled with S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), President Obama signed the legislation into law on May 20, 2009.

I share your concern for fiscal transparency and accountability, and I will do everything within my power as Chairman of the Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to ensure that American taxpayer dollars do not fall victim to waste, fraud, or abuse. Please be assured that as further measures to strengthen oversight of the Fed's activities come before Congress, I will keep your views in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me. I hope you will continue to keep in touch and please feel free to let me know whenever I may be of assistance.

The Art of Signature Gathering - HR1207 Posted by James Moore

Posted 04/26/09 Last updated 04/26/09

I'm probably one of the biggest 'hams' you'll ever meet. I'm the type of person that when I see a camera aimed in my general direction, I'll give a big smile and wave heartily, even if I'm NOT supposed to be the subject of the picture. I can talk to any stranger in almost any circumstance, so long as there's no reason to think that it will be a bother to the other party.

I haven't always been like this. For me and, I think, most others, it's a learned skill. The key to it is understanding what is or is not a bother to the other party. The most significant factor is time. Almost any distraction from our daily activity, unless it is rude or obnoxious, is usually a welcome diversion when it is kept to a reasonably short time. This is a happy coincidence for mass-action petition signature gathering because the short contact enables the gatherer to make more contacts and get more signatures in a given period of time.

But, to many people it's a struggle to even ask those that they know to sign a petition, especially if it is a subject that could be controversial. The fear of rejection or of a negative reaction by a valued friend can be overpowering.

Here are my suggestions, some of the things that I've found that work well:

1) Decide that the issue is important enough to take the risk of rejection. This really is a tiny risk if you manage it correctly by using the rest of these suggestions.

2) Keep it brief. This is how to avoid the greatest risk of the contact - overstaying your welcome. You should make your talk no more than 15 to 30 seconds long before you ask the person to sign. Wait for their answer before moving on to add more convincing discussion. In any case, don't let it take more than about 2 minutes unless the person has a strong interest in the subject and wants to continue the discussion. Remember that your objective is to collect as many signatures as possible, so, if you have the opportunity to contact more people, that should take priority over a lengthy discussion. Resist the temptation to "preach to the converted" but if someone shows interest, give them an invitation to join C4L and recruit them to gather signatures.

3) Humor is a good thing. Use the disarming power of humor to your advantage. Example: for HR1207, ask your contact, "How much do you know about the Federal Reserve?" The answer will usually be something like, "not much." Your answer can be, "Don't feel bad, neither does your Congressman because the law excludes virtually everything the FED does from audit. Don't you think that should be changed? Will you sign my petition to do just that, please?" However, if the answer to the first question indicates that your contact knows something about the FED and monetary policy, your contact is probably a good candidate to be recruited into C4L. Your answer to the informed contact can be "do you wonder where the trillions of dollars in bailouts have gone? Your Congressman doesn't know, either. Will you sign my petition to require the FED to disclose what they've done with our money, please?" In either case, you've gone from total stranger to the first request to sign in 15 seconds or less and because you introduced humor to the topic, your contact will feel free to either agree to sign or decline without creating a confrontation.

4) Be gracious. Thank your contact for their time and for signing if they chose to do so. Send them a thank you for signing with an invitation to join C4L using the C4L website invitation form. Customize the invitation to include the thank you for signing.

5) Prepare. Take a few minutes to prepare what you want to say before you set out to get signatures. Keep it simple so that you can remember it easily. Practice a couple of times with family members or in the mirror. Mentally review the main points (should be no more than 3) that you want to say as you're about to make your first contact.

6) Don't get discouraged. It's natural to feel some hesitation at doing this when you've never done anything similar. A few stumbles are inevitable. Don't let that stop you from such an important effort. The more contacts you make, the smoother your delivery will become.

Liberty Book Club Book Selections Posted by Amanda77

Posted 06/07/09 Last updated 06/07/09

The first Liberty Book Club meeting was packed with Liberty lovers who created a wonderful list of books to choose from. We will be reading Meltdown by Thomas Woods for our first book and use this poll to vote on the second book!

I can only create polls for 10 books at at time on the C4L Website so we can choose from this list for our second book.  I chose an array of books with various subject matters.  I also combined complimentary short books into one selection to read together.   If everyone likes this method,  I'll take the top five from this vote and add five more books for the next book poll.

Which book would you like to read after Meltdown?

1) America's Great Depression by Murry M Rothbard 

304 pages, available at Mises.org in paperback for $22

Rothbard explains the Great Depression in terms of the Austrian business cycle - pointing the finger at the inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve.

2) The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin

608 pages, available at Amazon.com

"A superb analysis deserving serious attention by all Americans. Be prepared for one heck of a journey through time and mind." (Ron Paul)

"Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magicians' secrets are unveiled. We get a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, their pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A dry and boring subject? Just wait! You'll be hooked in five minutes. Reads like a detective story - which it really is. But it's all true. This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It's all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Creature from Jekyll Island will change the way you view the world, politics, and money. Your world view will definitely change. You'll never trust a politician again - or a banker."

3) The Case for 100% Gold Dollar and Economics in One Lesson together 

The Case for 100% Gold Dollar by Murray Rothbard

75 pages, available at Mises.org for $4

"Rothbard not only argues for the gold standard; he shows how it can be restored in a practical, step-by-step plan. No other system will stop the seemingly endless monetary inflation of the Federal Reserve system. He also makes his strongest case against fractional reserve banking. This essay was written in 1962 and this edition includes Rothbard's sweeping introduction from 1991, in which he argues that the true gold standard is more viable than ever."

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt

183 pages, available at Mises.org for $12

"This book is the best book I ever read on basic economics. If you want to convince anyone of the free market, just give them this book to read."

4) The Law and Common Sense

The Law by Frederic Bastiat

80 pages, available at Amazon.com

"No work before or since has made such a compelling case for freedom. Bastiat's message will influence students of liberty for years to come"

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

92 pages, available at Amazon.com

"Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices." This is just a sample of the wisdom of Thomas Paine in Common Sense."

5) The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard

357 pages, available from Mises.com for free online or in paperback for $22.  The audio files are also available at Mises.com

Rothbard first familiarizes the reader with Natural Law theory. After this ethical introduction, he goes on to address numerous ethical issues, showing how liberty is in the right in every case.

6) The End of America and Give Me Liberty together

The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot   by Naomi Wolf

192 pages, available at Amazon.com

"Readers will appreciate her energy and urgency as she warns we are living through a dangerous "fascist shift" brought about by the Bush administration. Her chapters outline the "Ten Steps to Fascism" citing historical corollaries (as well as the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm), with headings like "Invoke an External and Internal Threat," "Establish Secret Prisons," and "Target Key Individuals." In other words, fascism can exist without dictatorship. Her book's publication through a small press in Vermont that is committed to "the politics and practice of sustainable living" rather than through a large trade house is itself a political act. Highly recommended for all collections."

Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries by Naomi Wolf

376 pages, available at Amazon.com

"As the practice of democracy becomes a lost art, Americans are increasingly desperate for a restored nation. Many have a general sense that the "system" is in disorder -- if not on the road to functional collapse. But though it is easy to identify our political problems, the solutions are not always as clear. In Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries, bestselling author Naomi Wolf illustrates the breathtaking changes that can take place when ordinary citizens engage in the democratic system the way the founders intended and tells how to use that system, right now, to change your life, your community, and ultimately, the nation."

7) Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg

512 pages, available at Amazon.com

"In this provocative and well-researched book, Goldberg probes modern liberalism's spooky origins in early 20th-century fascist politics. With chapter titles such as Adolf Hitler: Man of the Left and Brave New Village: Hillary Clinton and the Meaning of Liberal Fascism-Goldberg argues that fascism has always been a phenomenon of the left."

8) Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror  by Michael Scheuer

336 pages, available at Amazon.com

"Imperial Hubris is overwhelmingly focused on how the last several American presidents have been very ill-served by the senior leaders of the Intelligence Community. Indeed, I resigned from an Agency I love in order to publicly damn the feckless 9/11 Commission, which failed to find any personal failure or negligence among Intelligence Community leaders even though dozens of serving officers provided the commissioners with clear documentary evidence of that failure."

The book is highly critical of the Bush Administration's handling and characterization of the War on Terrorism, and of its simplistic portrayal of Bin Laden as "evil" and "hating freedom." The book is notable in criticizing the idea that Islamist terrorists are attacking Western societies because of what they are rather than for their foreign policies. Scheuer writes:

"The fundamental flaw in our thinking about Bin Laden is that "Muslims hate and attack us for what we are and think, rather than what we do." Muslims are bothered by our modernity, democracy, and sexuality, but they are rarely spurred to action unless American forces encroach on their lands. It's American foreign policy that enrages Osama and al-Qaeda, not American culture and society."

9) The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land by Andrew P. Napolitano

304  pages, available at Amazon.com

"The Constitution was once the bedrock of our country, an unpretentious parchment that boldly established the God-given rights and freedoms of America. Today that parchment has been shred to ribbons, explains Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, as the federal government trounces state and individual rights and expands its reach far beyond what the Framers intended.

An important follow-up to Judge Napolitano's best-selling Constitutional Chaos, this book shows with no-nonsense clarity how Congress has "purchased" regulations by bribing states and explains how the Supreme Court has devised historically inaccurate, logically inconsistent, and even laughable justifications to approve what Congress has done.

It's an exciting excursion into the dark corners of the law, showing how do-gooders, busybodies, and control freaks in government disregard the limitations imposed upon Congress by the Constitution and enact laws, illegal and unnatural, in virtually every area of human endeavor. "

10)  Who Killed the Constitution together with the Constitution of the United States

Who Killed the Constitution?  The fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W Bush by Thomas Woods and Kevin Gutzman

200 pages, available at Amazon.com

"Woods and Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad. "

Visiting Dennis Moore's Office Posted by Amanda77

Posted 05/20/09 Last updated 05/20/09

I visited Dennis Moore's Overland Park office today in hopes of getting his position on HR 1207.  Michael Peterson, the staffer who mans the reception desk, was friendly, courteous, and helpful.  Alas, despite a phone call to the DC office, Michael was not able to provide me with Moore's position on HR 1207.

Michael informed me that Moore's staff is backlogged on their response to emails and letters due to the thousands of questions he received after his vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  It seems his constituents aren't pleased with his vote - surprise, surprise.  They are currently answering emails and letters sent in late April.

I politely urged a timely response to petitions and letters sent to Moore regarding HR 1207 as the legislation is extremely important to the financial welfare of our country.  I also encouraged a response because Moore's constituents deserve to know about his commitment to transparency in government.

I plan to visit the Moore's office again next week with a copy of Meltdown for Moore (or at least Moore's staff).  A printout of the Zimbabwe one hundred trillion dollar note will be included as a bookmark:)  Please let me know if you would like to join me next week to visit Moore's OP office over the lunch hour.

If the OP location is inconvenient, please visit one of Moore's other offices ASAP to politely display your support of HR 1207.  His Johnson County office locations can be found here.

Good luck!

Amanda

Action Alert - Call/Email/SnailMail Dennis Moore's office in support of HR 1207 Posted by Amanda77

Posted 05/13/09

As of May 13th there are 156 cosponsors of HR 1207 including 23 Democrats!I

We need to convince Dennis Moore to join his colleagues and cosponsor HR 1207.   I delivered petitions to his Overland Park office on April 28th and have not yet received a response from his staff.   Lets make sure that he understands the importance of HR 1207.   Please call, email, or snail mail Dennis Moore in support of HR 1207.

Email Dennis Moore by clicking here or contact his local office at the address listed below:

Overland Park, KS
8417 Santa Fe Drive #101
Overland Park, KS 66212
Phone: (913) 383-2013
Fax: (913) 383-2088

Get Behind HR 1207 - the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009! Posted by scshute

Posted 05/06/09 Last updated 05/06/09

The "Audit the Fed" bill - HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 - continues to gain steam in the House of Representatives, due primarily to the efforts of you, the grassroots!

The bill now has 124 co-sponsors as of this afternoon (5/6), including a majority of the Republican caucus as well as 11 Democrats.  Three of the four members of the Kansas House delegation - Todd Tiahrt, Jerry Moran, and Lynn Jenkins - are now signed on as co-sponsors.

Unfortunately, our "distinguished" District 3 representative, Dennis Moore, isn't one of them.

Moore, who's Chairman on the House subcommittee on Financial Oversight and Investigations (what a joke THAT has been!), and as such, oversees not only the disbursement of TARP monies, but would also oversee any investigation of the Federal Reserve, seems to believe that the Fed is doing quite peachy, thank you very much.  Or so his lack of concern for auditing their books would appear to indicate.

So much for Moore being a "conservative" "Blue Dog" who believes in fiscal transparency and accountability!

Moore was also the only member of the entire Kansas congressional delegation to not only vote for the massive TARP bailout - not once, but TWICE! - but also the so-called "stimulus" package and the 2010 omnibus budget, both of which are paid for almost exclusively by deficit spending.  With dollars that are basically being printed out of thin air by an out-of-control, unaccountable, and unaudited Federal Reserve.

It's time to put the pressure on Dennis Moore, starting today.

Take a few minutes to cut n' paste the following letter, and send it to Rep. Moore by clicking on this link which will take you to his E-mail form.  We need to overwhelm him with E-mails, phone calls (202-225-2865, 913-383-2013), and faxes (202-225-2807, 913-383-2088) until he realizes that his constituents mean business - and that we will remember his transgressions with OUR money.

Representative Moore,

Now that over $12 trillion in new spending has been pledged towards our financial crisis, more people than ever are concerned about where their money is going, and if it's accomplishing anything.

But in the face of an ever-worsening recession, the Federal Reserve refuses to furnish Congress and the American people with records of how the Bank is allotting and spending trillions of bailout dollars.  Shrouded in secrecy, the Federal Reserve is a danger to our political process: No one knows where our money is going or what it is doing, and Chairman Bernanke has said that efforts to disclose such information are "counterproductive."

But that's my money they're using, Representative Moore!  $12 trillion!  And without any record of how the Federal Reserve is managing and distributing these trillions of taxpayer dollars, there is no way to know if our present course is sustainable or not.

Representatve Moore, you, sir, should know better than anyone, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Financial Services Committee, that an unaccountable and secret process of printing and disbursing monies - monies that, ultimately, all of US will be responsible for paying back - is NOT the way to foster openness and transparency in our financial institutions.  Transparency that you, as a member of the "Blue Dog" caucus, have claimed to champion throughout your Congressional career.

We must know what is happening with our money, and the Federal Reserve must come clean with the American people.

Please co-sponsor HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, and do everything in your power to see this bill through to a passing vote.

It's time to carry the fight onward with renewed spirit and enthusiasm.  WE ARE WINNING!

In Freedom,
-- Steve

Announcing the Johnson County Liberty Book Club!!! Posted by Amanda77

Posted 05/07/09

Do you want to learn more about Austrian Economics and libertarian theory?  Would you like to strengthen your ability to communicate effectively and open minds to the freedom movement?   Would you enjoy meeting with likeminded people to discuss and learn about the philosophy of freedom?

If so, then join me in forming the Liberty Book Club!   Learning from wonderful books at home is fun but discussing them with a group is even better!   We all know that knowledge is power and we need to use all available resources to win the ideological war roaring through our country!

I think that Tom Woods Meltdown would be a great book to start with.  If you agree, we could discuss Meltdown at the first meeting and decide on the second book at that time.  As many of you know, Mises.com has over 400 books available for free on their website.   There are even class syllabi available for us to use as a study guide!

If you are interested in forming and participating in the Liberty Book Club, click here to vote on the most convenient time to meet.   Also, please let me know where you live so that we can choose a central location to meet.  I'll send an email to everyone on May 14th with the results of the poll and the first Liberty Book Club meeting date and time.

I look forward to hearing from you.  I am really excited about the prospect of studying with a group of likeminded people and hope that you are excited as well!