FREEDOMWORKS 01/29/2015

1. FreedomWorks Activists Demand Email Privacy FreedomWorks activists sent nearly 5,000 messages to their representatives to support email privacy reform. In the two weeks leading up to Data Privacy Day, activists around the country made it clear that it is unacceptable that emails older than 180 days can be accessed by the government without a warrant. FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe commented, “It’s time to get the government out of your inbox. Why should the government be able to read emails older than 180 days without a warrant? Our activists are sending a clear message to Washington: It’s time to bring the Fourth Amendment into the 21stCentury.” Read more here... 2. Federal Meddling in Education Requires a Federal Fix - by Logan Albright via TheBlaze Just a month into 2015, the year is already being hailed by some as “the year of school choice.” With Congress likely to hold a vote to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in the coming months, three new federal bills provide the language necessary to restore local control of education, and kill off Common Core standards once and for all. Read more here... 3. 5 Reasons to Oppose Common Core - by Trey Grover 4. Restaurants Struggle to Comply with Calorie Labeling Requirements Under ObamaCare - by Tom Borelli The command and control mandates of ObamaCare continue to cause unintended consequences for businesses. In another example of government gone wild, the federal government is now forcing restaurants to post the calorie information of its menu items. Late last year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule under ObamaCare that requires retail food establishments with the same name and 20 or more locations to list calorie information for its standard menu offerings. Read more here... 5. Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Protect Private Property - by Logan Albright Today, Senator Rand Paul held a press conference to introduce a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to restore the due process protections of the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act, would rein in government’s ability to seize private property without clear and convincing evidence that a crime has been committed. The practice of civil asset forfeiture is one of the most egregious abuses of the justice system, by which state and federal law enforcement agencies can partner to seize private property believed to be involved in a crime. This is a clear violation of the “innocent until proven guilty” principle on which America, along withmost other nations in the developed world, has always prided itself. Sometimes the forfeited assets are not returned even if no criminal proceedings ever occur, and to add insult to injury, policy departments have been allowed to retain portions of the money received to spend as they see fit, creating an obvious conflict of interest. Read more here... 6. Watch Matt Kibbe in the Latest Episode of Free to Exchange In the second half of the show, host Ben Powell speaks with FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe about his book "Don't Hurt People and Don't Take Their Stuff." Watch here... 7. Is Obama Really a Middle Class Economic Hero? - by Wayne Brough via Real Clear Markets In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama extolled the virtues of "middle class economics," as a means of spurring economic growth and creating a more inclusive economy. Just what this entails is unclear, but President Obama says this "means helping folks afford child care, college, health care, a home, retirement, and my budget will address each of these issues, lowering the taxes of working families and putting thousands of dollars back into their pockets each year." On closer examination, the policy agenda the president is laying out is a tired mix of class warfare, new taxes, and more government spending. For the most part, the president painted a rosy economic picture, highlighting increased job growth and shrinking deficits. While these trends are signs of a strengthening economy, there is much more that could be done to spur economic growth. It is not unusual for presidents to take credit for good economic news, but their actual impact on the economy is much more difficult to discern. One could just as easily point to the spending restrictions in the Budget Control Act as driving the recovery, restoring a degree of fiscal discipline that has brought the deficit down under $500 billion. Rather than debate the sources of the recovery, it is important to identify opportunities to spur further growth in a recovery that has been tepid when compared to earlier recessions. Read more here... 8. "Free" Federal Money is Never Free - by Michael Greibrok While the federal government often entices states to promote its agenda by promising “free” federal money for the states that adopt their programs, this money is never free, and always comes with strings attached. When the federal government offers “free” money for a program it is really just hoping to get the states hooked on the program before the giveaways disappear, much like a drug dealer who offers you the first hit for free. Read more here... In Liberty, Jackie Bodnar Director of Communications, FreedomWorks