FREEDOM WORKING 03/10/2019 DEMS TRYING TO CENSOR FREE SPEECH/SINGLE PAYER INSURANCE LEADS TO RATIONING OF HEALTHCARE!

President Trump Welcomes Fight Against His 2020 Democratic Opponents and Their Socialist Agenda   Via The Washington Times President Trump campaigned on Making America Great Again. Now, he’s running to Keep America Capitalist. Even as he courts deals with communist leaders in China and North Korea, Mr. Trump sees the “socialist” label as a potent weapon against Democratic foes in 2020, saying their leftward lurch threatens to undo everything America stands for and put handouts ahead of hard work. When Sen. Bernard Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, leaped into the race, Mr. Trump’s campaign said it didn’t matter, “because every candidate is embracing his brand of socialism.” “Everywhere socialism has been, everywhere it’s been implemented, it’s produced poverty, misery, repression and despair,” Mr. Trump told rallygoers in El Paso, Texas. “You take a look no matter where. Yet, there are those trying to implement socialism right here in the United States.” READ MORE HERE     Dems Try to Censor Free Political Speech With HR 1   By FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon via Washington Examiner The Orwellian H.R. 1 “For the People Act” threatens the very existence of our First Amendment right to speak and associate freely. The bill proposes a radical expansion of government control over political speech, including provisions that would force 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations to disclose their donors, force private digital companies to release customer lists, and broaden the definition of a lobbyist to include even the most basic political action. Democrats are calling this an anti-corruption bill. It’s not. The H.R. 1 “For the People Act” is one of the most brazen assaults on free speech we’ve seen in decades. Passing this legislation would have a devastating and permanent chilling effect on political speech. Political donations and speech are classified as protected speech under the First Amendment. There is no constitutional requirement for the source of that speech to reveal itself. In today’s hyper-polarized political climate, linking your identifying information to political speech comes with very serious risks. That’s why votes are kept private, charity donations can be made anonymously, and reporters enjoy the right to keep their sources anonymous. READ MORE HERE     Listen to Episode 31 of The Freedom Files With Adam Brandon Featuring Erick Erickson!   Erick Erickson, Editor of The Resurgent and host of the Erick Erickson Show, joins FreedomWorks' Jason Pye to talk about his start in radio, political blogging, Georgia politics, the future of the conservative movement, and his infamous cinnamon rolls. LISTEN HERE     Dad of Sick Child Explains Why Single-Payer Always Leads to Rationing   Via The Federalist The reintroduction of Democrats’ single-payer legislation has some families contemplating what total government control of the health-care sector would mean for them. Contrary to the rhetoric coming from liberals, some of the families most affected by a single-payer system want nothing to do with this brave new health care world. As this father realizes, giving bureaucrats the power to deny access to health care could have devastating consequences for some of the most vulnerable Americans. To summarize the Twitter thread: The father in question has a 12-year-old son with a rare and severe heart condition. Last week, the son received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator to help control cardiac function. But because the defibrillator is expensive and cardiologists were implanting the device “off-label”—the device isn’t formally approved for use in children, because few children need such a device in the first place—the father feared that, under a single-payer system, future children in his son’s situation wouldn’t get access to the defibrillator needed to keep them alive. The father has reason to worry. READ MORE HERE     It's Up to Congress to End the NSA's Unconstitutional Warrantless Spying on Innocent Americans   Via Washington Examiner A congressional aide hinted that the end of the National Security Agency’s collection of program metadata might be closer than thought — so close, in fact, that if the aide’s account is correct, no new data has been collected over the past six months. But even if the NSA has suspended this particular violation of privacy without legislation, that doesn’t absolve Congress of its responsibly to end authorization. And if the suspension is real, it proves that the program is not as vital as its defenders have claimed. But Congress must not complacently reauthorize the collection of this data when the Freedom Act expires later this year. Just because the program is rumored to be on hold doesn’t mean that the NSA couldn’t decide to start collecting that data again. The safeguarding of rights requires constant vigilance. READ MORE HERE     SOCIAL SHARE OF THE WEEK     Socialism is all about the equal sharing of misery...for everyone but the politicians! SHARE ON: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and INSTAGRAM     States Take Next Steps of Conservative Justice Reform Following Passage of the First Step Act   By FreedomWorks Federal Affairs Manager Sarah Anderson Via The Daily Caller Chatter around criminal justice reform opportunities continues loudly following the successful bipartisan federal First Step Act. States and localities alike are taking hard looks at ways to build common-sense policies that further reform efforts around the country. It’s a rare area where bipartisanship exists. An aspect of this issue that affects every American, regardless of his or her degree of involvement in or separation from the criminal justice system, is what happens to offenders after they serve out their sentence and return to society. Any rational citizen should want offenders to successfully reenter society. Yet, few truly know the difficulties that face offenders upon reentry, no matter how faithfully they may have rehabilitated themselves. The bottom line is that we must ensure that their efforts to rehabilitate themselves are not in vain. Thankfully, many states are leading the way. READ MORE HERE     Taxpayers on the Hook for Millions for Lobster Tail, Booze, Toys in End-of-Year Federal Spending Binge   Via The Washington Free Beacon Federal agencies billed taxpayers millions for lobster tail, alcohol, standing desks, golf carts, and more frivolous expenditures before budgets ran out at the end of the fiscal year. A new analysis released by OpenTheBooks.com found 66 agencies spent $97 billion last September, the final month of fiscal year 2018. The end of the year taxpayer-funded spending spree included contracts with Coors, millions on iPhones, furniture, and CrossFit equipment. "In the final month of the fiscal year, federal agencies scramble to spend what's left in their annual budget," OpenTheBooks.com said. "Agencies worry spending less than their budget allows might prompt Congress to appropriate less money in the next fiscal year. To avoid this, federal agencies choose to embark on an annual shopping spree rather than admit they can operate on less." Resulting government expenditures included $4.6 million on lobster tail and crab; $673,471 on golf carts; $1.7 million on pianos, tubas, and trombones; $9.8 million on workout and recreation equipment; and $7.7 million iPhones and iPads. READ MORE HERE     THE REGULATORY UPDATE The EPA's New Administrator and the Resignation of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb     On today's Regulatory Update, we discuss the good things we can expect from new EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, and the potential positive impacts from the resignation of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb! WATCH IT HERE     If This (Horror) Story of Government Spending Doesn't Change You, Nothing Will   By FreedomWorks Center for Economic Freedom Director John Tamny via RealClearMarkets The truth about Silicon Valley’s economics is an inconvenient one for members of the right convinced that the center of technological innovation is a hive of socialists. Please. Just the same, the Valley’s relentlessly capitalist ways similarly mock members of the left who defend government spending as compassionate. No, it’s waste. Plain and simple. All wealth is initially created in the private sector, and government spending is the wasteful consequence. We know it’s wasteful because we know that bad ideas in government almost never die. Government is the polar opposite of superrich Silicon Valley. Which brings us to a front page Wall Street Journal article from Tuesday. Even though airplanes can transport passengers from Chicago to St. Louis in less than 1 hour, Amtrak (our national train service) has a train route in place that can similarly transport passengers between the two cities. The problem is that what takes less than an hour by plane takes 5 ½ hours by train. Sadly, the Amtrak story gets worse. READ MORE HERE     FreedomWorks In Action