any one seen/heard about this?

[Guest guest]

A.Viguerie " <rav@...> wrote:

A. Viguerie CONTACT: Mark

Fitzgibbons, (703) 392-7676

GrassrootsFreedom.com OR

(703) 408-3775

9625 Surveyor Court, Suite 400 FOR RELEASE

January 16, 2007

Manassas, Virginia20110

Congress to Send Critics to Jail, Says Viguerie

Congress Wants to Blame the Grassroots for Its Own Corruption

Manassas, VA. The following is a statement by A. Viguerie,

Chairman of GrassrootsFreedom.com, regarding legislation currently being

considered by Congress to regulate grassroots communications:

In what sounds like a comedy sketch from Jon s Daily Show, but

isnt, the U. S. Senate would impose criminal penalties, even jail time, on

grassroots causes and citizens who criticize Congress.

Section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill currently before the Senate,

would require grassrootscauses, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or

more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report

quarterly to Congress the same as the big K Street lobbyists. Section 220

would amend existing lobbying reporting law by creating the most expansive

intrusion on First Amendment rights ever. For the first time in history,

critics of Congress will need to register and report with Congress itself.

That amendment was introduced by Senator Vitter (R-LA). Senator

Vitter, however, is now a co-sponsor of Amendment 20 by Senator

(R-UT) to remove Section 220 from the bill. Unless Amendment 20

succeeds, the Senate will have criminalized the exercise of First

Amendment rights. Wed be living under totalitarianism, not democracy.

The bill would require reporting of paid efforts to stimulate grassroots

lobbying, but defines paid merely as communications to 500 or more members

of the public, with no other qualifiers.

On January 9, the Senate passed Amendment 7 to S. 1, to create criminal

penalties, including up to one year in jail, if someone knowingly and

willingly fails to file or report.

I started GrassrootsFreedom.com to fight efforts to silence the

grassroots. The website provides updates in the legislation and has a

petition to sign opposing Section 220.

Thousands of nonprofit leaders, bloggers, and other citizens have hammered

the Senate with calls in opposition to Section 220, which seeks to silence

the grassroots. The criminal provisions will scare citizens into silence.

The legislation regulates small, legitimate nonprofits, bloggers, and

individuals, but creates loopholes for corporations, unions, and large

membership organizations that would be able to spend literally hundreds of

millions of dollars, yet not report.

Congress is trying to blame the grassroots, which are American citizens

engaging in their First Amendment rights, for Washingtons internal

corruption problems.

--30--

NOTE to EDITORS: A. Viguerie pioneered ideological and political

direct mail and has been called the funding father of the conservative

movement for his role in helpin build dozens of conservative

organizations. He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How W.

Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause

(Bonus Books, 2006).

" Disease is the retribution of outraged nature. "

Hosea Ballou

" Some remedies are worse than the disease. "

Pubilius Syrus

" Toliet water was MEANT to be FLUSHED, not WORN! "

Angel

" If having endured much, we at last asserted our 'right to know' and if,

knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and

frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those

who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals, we

should look around and see what other course is open to us. "

Carson

" My toxicasa (world) is your toxicasa (world). "

Judith Goode

" For cheese does not prove equally injurious to all men, for there are

some who can take it to satiety, without being hurt by it in the least,

but, on the contrary, it is wonderful what strength it imparts to those it

agrees with; but there are some who do not bear it well, their

constitutions are different, they differ in this respect, that what in

their body is incompatible with cheese, is roused and put it in commotion

by such a thing; and those in whose bodies such a humor happens to prevail

in greater quantity and intensity, are likely to suffer the more from it.

But if the thing had been pernicious to the whole nature of man, it would

have hurt all. "

Hippocrates