FREEDOM WORKS MORNING UPDATE 06/24/2014

1. BUSTED: Cochran Staffer Caught Stealing FreedomWorks for America Signs
Photo evidence and a police report filed on the night of Sunday, June 22 reveals a Thad Cochran staffer and member of the DeSoto County GOP executive committee stealing FreedomWorks for America (FWFA) yard signs supporting his runoff opponent, Chris McDaniel. FreedomWorks for America had been conducting a statewide tour to distribute an additional 20,000 lawn signs and 40,000 door hangers.
The witness who took the photo evidence fears blowback from the Cochran campaign if his identity is revealed, though he is conducting interviews on the condition of anonymity. See more here...


2. Grassroots Update: Mississippi
Our grassroots activists in Mississippi are doing an amazing job! We're ready for a busy weekend of get out the vote efforts.
We had a great day going door to door in Hernando, talking to voters and reminding them to go vote on Tuesday.
Desoto County rocked the sign waves with three different groups out in full force. We had a guy stop and ask us for signs for his yard. Lots of cars honked to show their support and really energize the volunteers! See here...


3. Capitol Hill Update, June 23, 2014
House & Senate/Schedule: Both chambers remain in session this week, and both will recess on Friday the 27th and return home for the 4th of July week. Both chambers will return on July 7th.
House/Energy: The House will spend much of Wednesday and Thursday considering three energy-related bills:

• H.R. 3301, the North American Energy Infrastructure Act, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), which would expedite the process of approving oil and natural gas pipelines across our international borders. This bill is obviously aimed at allowing for the Keystone XL pipeline, though it would affect all pipeline proposals more broadly.

Read more here...
4. Good News! Majority of House Now Supports ECPA Reform!
Good news! The Email Privacy Act has reached 218 cosponsors!
FreedomWorks is supporting the Email Privacy Act introduced by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas). The bill would provide the same privacy protections for emails that apply to other forms of correspondence. Believe it or not, the major privacy law on the books does not apply to emails. Enacted by Congress in 1986, the Electronics Communication Act (ECPA) has not been updated to reflect our current privacy needs in a world where so much sensitive information is now stored digitally. Read more here...
5. House Passes Amendment to Limit the NSA's Spying - See How Your Representative Voted Here

On Thursday night, the House of Representatives voted on an amendment (H.Amdt. 935), led by Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY), that would require the NSA and other intelligence agencies to follow due process and obtain a warrant to collect the communications of American citizens. Congress has come close to passing limitations on government surveillance since Edward Snowden exposed the extent of the NSA's intrusion into our privacy, but consistently came just a few votes shy.
But this time, a huge bi-partisan majority voted to defend the 4th Amendment, passing Massie's amendment, 293-123. 135 Republicans and 158 Democrats joined forces for this momentous vote, with 94 Republicans and 24 Democrats voting against it. Read more here...
6. Tea Party Leaders Star in Atlas Shrugged Part III
Former congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul will make his acting debut in the third installment of the Atlas Shrugged film trilogy, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The film also will feature several other prominent conservative personalities with little or no acting experience, including Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity.
Hannity and Wilkow also play TV commentators in the movie, while Norquist along with talk-show hosts Rusty Humphries and Phil Valentine portray political cronies. Matt Kibbe, CEO of the Tea Party group FreedomWorks, plays a man who is instrumental in starting a grassroots effort in support of John Galt, the mysterious man who may have something to do with the disappearance of some of the most productive people in society. Read more here...
7. The Left's Assault on Food Freedom

The prohibitionists are at it again. With Michael Bloomberg no longer around to impose his values on hapless New Yorkers, I suppose it was inevitable that someone would take up his mantle as Nutritionist-in-Chief. Granted, Michelle Obama has tried her darnedest, waging a relentless war on fat people ever since her husband took office. But when it comes right down to it, First Ladies aren’t allowed to make laws. That power is vested in Congress, so it will ultimately take a congressman—or woman—to ruin fun and flavor for the nation at large.
Enter Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut congresswoman who thinks what we eat and drink is her business. This enterprising Democrat has taken it upon herself to draft legislation levying an additional excise tax on sodas and other sugary drinks, which she describes as doing “serious damage” to our health. Read more here...
In Liberty,
Jackie Bodnar
Director of Communications, FreedomWorks