FREEDOMWORKS 02/15/2015

Law Enforcement Issues In Missouri and Other States Spur Unlikely Alliances - via The New York Times And on the national level, longtime political foes FreedomWorks, a conservative group closely allied with the Tea Party, and MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group, are the anchor organizations in a new venture, called the Coalition for Public Safety, to push for changes in criminal justice policy nationwide. “We’re repopulating the right-of-center with what I would call classical Libertarian ideas," said Matt Kibbe, the president of FreedomWorks. He called the familiar squabbles of conservatives with liberals like the Rev. Al Sharpton over law enforcement issues “a tired old debate that misses the point." Read more here... School Choice in Virginia Coming Closer to Reality - by Noah Wall For the last several months, FreedomWorks has been part of a broad coalition dedicated to improving educational choice in Virginia. Over the last month, FreedomWorks activists in Virginia have made over 125 calls to targeted state legislators to strongly encourage support for HB 2238. The legislation passed the house today 57-42. The bill applies to special needs students only, but it’s clear the dam is breaking for educational choice in Virginia. We will continue working with families across Virginia to achieve educational choice for all students. Read more here... Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee on Email Privacy & Civil Liberties In a great show of bipartisanship, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) sit down with FreedomWorks to discuss the importance of Leahy's ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act) Amendments Act to keep government out of Americans' private lives. Learn why "it's not a Democrat or Republican issue -- it's an American issue." Watch here... The Internet: 5 People to Decide Its Future - by Ted Abram A government with moral and legal authority promulgates written rules and universally, impartially and uniformly enforces the rules, which provides a predictable and stable legal order on which to base economic and personal decisions. The law prevails, not the proclamation or arbitrary decision of a ruler, government bureaucrat, the enforcer (e.g., policeman) or judge. Read more here... One Way for Congress to Halt Obama's Executive Overreach - by Tom Borelli via The Washington Times President Obama’s abuse of his authority is being carried out by government bureaucrats running wild with power. Executive branch bureaucrats represent a serious threat to our liberty, and the new Republican Congress must pass legislation such as the REINS Act to rein in the excessive power wielded by the executive branch. Read more here... Top ObamaCare Horror Stories - by Julie Borowski Here at FreedomWorks, we strongly support repealing ObamaCare. Now, as I’m sure you know, some will falsely claim that it’s because we’re cruel or we don’t care about poor people or all kinds of crazy theories. The truth, however, is that we oppose ObamaCare because it is hurting people. Here are some of their stories: Read more here... 5 Reasons to Oppose Common Core Common Core is Costing Us Our Best Teachers - by Logan Albright The United States education system is home to many thousands of teachers. Some are good, some are less good, and some stand head and shoulders above the rest, setting an example in educational excellence that others can only hope to achieve. Stacie Starr is just such a teacher - or at least she was. After a 16-year career capped with winning the 2014 Top Teacher Search, Starr has announced that she is getting out of the teaching game, citing Common Core standards and increased testing requirements as her reason. Read more here... Activists Send Over 20k Messages to Congress: Do NOT Renew the Ex-Im Bank FreedomWorks activists nationwide have sent over 20,000 phone calls and messages to Congress, urging members of the House and Senate to let the corrupt Export-Import Bank expire at the end of June. “We have a rare opportunity in a divided government to end an entire corporate welfare program by merely doing nothing and letting its authorization expire,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks. “In this instance, to advance good policy, Congress only needs to do what they do best- nothing.” Read more here... Elizabeth Warren is Totally Fine With Being Kept in the Dark by the Federal Reserve - by Jason Pye Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has become the populist darling of the far-left by successfully portraying herself to be a vocal opponent of Wall Street and big financial institutions, as well as a hardcore supporter of onerous financial regulations, the costs of which are passed on to American consumers. Her anti-cronyism image, though, isn't all it's cracked up to be. In July, Warren came out in favor of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, which has, on the backs of taxpayers, doled out billions of dollars worth of loans to rent-seeking, politically-connected big businesses. Apparently, this brand of corporate welfare isn't enough to earn her ire. 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... 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