FREEDOM WORKS 02/01/2015

Republicans Must Use Reconciliation to Repeal ObamaCare - by Josh Withrow With solid control of both the House and the Senate, one of the clearest mandates delivered to the Republicans in Congress was to repeal the onerous takeover of health care known as ObamaCare. This year, the new Congress has the greatest opportunity yet to fulfill that mandate – by using the budget process known as reconciliation. As millions of Americans are forced to pay a fine for not buying health insurance, and with millions more still struggling with high premiums and deductibles, there is no reason why Republicans should not use a tactic that can place a full repeal of the so-called “Affordable Care Act” upon the president’s desk. Read more here... 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. Read more here... Get the FreedomWorks Special Edition of Atlas Shrugged III - by Logan Albright Half a century ago, Ayn Rand penned one of the world’s most vibrant and enduring books on the dangers of a too-powerful government and the importance of individual freedom. Yet despite its popularity and influence, it took until 2011 and the rise of the Liberty Movement for anyone to successfully adapt this remarkable novel for the silver screen. Now, for the first time, you can buy the third installment on DVD, and the FreedomWorks 2-Disc Special Edition of Atlas Shrugged 3: Who Is John Galt? is available exclusively for mail order. Read more here... 5 Reasons to Oppose ObamaCare - by Anthony Kang 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. Read more here... 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... There's a Quick Fix to Protect Our Email Privacy - by Julie Borowski Today is Data Privacy Day. Many businesses are using the holiday to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our personal information online. That is all fine and well. However, it prompts the question: just how private is what we post online? Of course, our public Facebook posts and tweets are not private. Anyone can read those. Most people, though, have an expectation of privacy when it comes to private emails we send to friends and coworkers. We don’t like to envision a federal bureaucrat reading our emails and possibly passing the contents around to their buddies in the office. Read more here... See What Happened at the Western Liberty Conference - by Richard P. Burke At Western Liberty Network's Third Annual Leadership Training Conference and Expo, 104 attendees from Oregon and Washington spent a pleasant Saturday learning how to take responsibility for their local governments and change the fabric of their political cultures. Attendance was the highest ever for any WLN conference held during a non-election year and more was offered than ever before. Featured speakers included Fox News Contributor Wayne Allyn Root, Dr. Monica Wehby (who ran for the U.S. senate in 2014), and state senator Kim Thatcher. Read more here... Rise Up, Millennials! - by CJ Pearson What truly matters to Millennials? The struggle to find a job after college? Student Loans? Youth Unemployment? All these issues have hit our generation extremely hard, and it's time we rise up and engage our elected officials to find solutions to these very important issues. We can't continue to be bystanders if we want meaningful change. We must fight for that change! I’m a huge indication that age doesn't matter in politics, but it's simply the drive and dedication to make a difference in our government. I'm 12 years old and have worked on half a dozen campaigns, founded my very own political organization, and have been more politically involved than some adults. Why? Democracy isn't passive, it takes active citizens, on both sides of the aisle, to ensure productivity in our country. If you sit on the sidelines, you're not a part of the solution, you're simply the problem. So young people, make your voice heard! Read more here... "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... The Karate Kid Activists - by Aaron Brooks Do you like a true underdog story? Who doesn’t, right? Well, when it comes to being an activist, you will actually understand what Ralph Macchio felt like in the Karate Kid. The odds are stacked against you at every intersection it seems. You find yourself constantly going up against something that is bigger than anything that you have ever faced before, but because of your strong convictions you keep pushing forward. In all honesty, you are never alone. You would be surprised at how many people feel the same as you. I know I was shocked to find support with people that I never thought would step out and move to change the system. Read more here... Check Out the New Free Market News Site CapX Sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update If you want an update like this newsletter twice a week, be sure to sign up for the Freedom Works Morning Update! The Morning Update is your tool to keep up-to-date with all the threats to your freedom. Sign up here. In Liberty, Adam Brandon Executive Vice President, FreedomWorks