The Mysterious Z

I bet you didn't know that Zorro was a Representative of Ohio!

NextGenDems Summit Video

I'm in the video for about 2 seconds at 4:35, and several other prominent Hamilton County Young Dems are featured in other parts of the vid!

US House to Current Student Loan Holders: "Sorry about your luck!"

H.R. 4872, the Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, includes wording to remove subsidies to private loan providers. That's all fine and well, but Section 2214 of the bill - the section previously touted by the Young Democrats to help those of us currently drowning in student loan debt - only reduces payments and payment maximum terms for "New borrowers on and after July 1, 2014." Other wording earlier in the bill suggests that Federal consolidation loans may not be available for current borrowers come 2014, thus making us ineligible to become a "new borrower." This is unacceptable. If you find problems with this, you should contact your Senators immediately as the bill has already passed the House.

Update: The bill will soon be sent back to the House. Try contacting your House members as well!

Nullification is back in full swing

One of the causes of the Civil War (yeah...that Civil War - 1861–1865) is back in full swing this Congressional season. Championed by Ron Paul supporters, several states have enacted nullification laws in response to the federal government overstepping its bounds:

First introduced by a Ron Paul supporter in Montana, legislation to nullify federal laws and regulations on guns and ammo manufactured in states and staying within state borders has spread all over the country.

The Montana bill was signed by the governor in April 2009, and Tennessee enacted such legislation a few months later.

In February 2010, Utah’s House and Senate passed SB 11, the Utah State-made Firearms Protection Act. And C4L has received word that SB 11 has been signed by Governor Gary Herbert and is now state law!

HB 1285, introduced in New Hampshire, takes Firearms Freedom legislation a step further by mandating criminal penalties for any official who tries to enforce nullified federal laws and regulations in defiance of HB 1285.

Further illustrating the renewed interest across the country in defending our liberties, Virginia C4L Executive Director Donna Holt and her team have started a Tenth Amendment Revolution in Virginia!

In addition to successfully championing the Virginia Firearms Freedom Act through passage in the Virginia House of Delegates with a bipartisan vote of 70–29 (and currently advocating for its passage in the Senate), VA C4L has been closely working with state legislators to pass legislation nullifying any federal health insurance mandate and shielding Virginians from paying any penalties for not purchasing federally-approved health care.

SB 417, the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act, passed in February with wide bipartisan support, and Governor McDonnell is expected to sign the legislation soon. Meanwhile, newly-elected pro-liberty Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is reportedly chomping at the bit to litigate Virginia’s sovereign rights should Washington pass some form of ObamaCare.

In Arizona, HCR 2014, the Health Care Freedom Act, passed the Arizona Legislature in 2009 and will be on the November 2010 ballot.

On February 17, C4L Vice President of Programs Matt Hawes appeared before the Maryland State Senate Finance Committee to testify on behalf of SB 397, the Health Care Freedom Act of 2010.

As Matt told the Committee, “SB 397 will help contribute to this renewed national discussion over the proper role of government in our lives and, more directly, it may help keep the federal government from continuing to expand its unconstitutional health care agenda. It is not only within the power of the sovereign state of Maryland, but it is its duty to stand between its people and an overreaching federal government.”

Downplayed in the News

Having attended the inauguration yesterday, here are the stories the news did not cover adequately:

• There were over two million people celebrating in DC yesterday. The conservative estimates of under two million did not count the people past the Washington monument, on the parade route, and still stuck on the subway or elsewhere in DC. The biggest story of the day was that these two million strangers left the National Mall without fights and with minimal pushing. This is a testament to the unifying power of Obama.
• When Bush first came out, "the boo heard around the world" was created on the Mall. The news cut the crowd mics because some people might find it "insulting." The people on the mall found Bush's presence insulting.
• There was more than the one "O bam a" chant heard on TV. I recall at least three very large ones which the two million people on the mall yelled. The media feared this was too reminiscent of Germany in the last century: was it?

Rate the Debates

We had 90 students turn out for our bi-partisan debate watch party tonight. There were several laugh-out-loud moments! I think this election marks a major turning point for the long-running apathy towards politics both by students and the American public in general. It's great to have everyone involved in the discussion!



(FYI: This movie in its entirety is available for free, online, at slackeruprising.com .)

The 2008 MoveOn Plan

In case you missed it, here's what MoveOn plans on doing this fall to get Obama elected. What they neglect to mention is that there are lingering smears against MoveOn that Fox News and related media are continuing to propagate. Thus, MoveOn involvement has the potential to harm the Obama campaign by association in the minds of this much misled electorate. Where's the plan to stop this brainwashing?