EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
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August 11, 2003

Coming: National Call-in to Congress Day 
Federal Action on Federal Civics Ed

"The American History and Civics Education Act of 2003"-- H.R. 1078

On July 11th, we sent out an "Urgent Alert on the New Civics,"  Your response to that alert stopped the immediate passage of this bill! You were amazing.

Thank you. Your calls, emails and visits with your Members of Congress had an immediate impact. Instead of being added to the "consent calendar" and being passed by a voice vote with no House hearings, no amendments and no debate before the end of July, H.R. 1078 was left hanging for action after the August break. Whew! Close call!

Instead of a bill already signed into law, your action means we have caused a significant, and, hopefully, a decisive delay.

Now, we need your help to organize a national call-in day. We need to follow up that good work.

Here's what we'll be sending you if we get enough support for this action:

WE WILL SEND OUT:
1.) the date of the call-in day(s) in early September when Congress reconvenes after the summer recess;

2.) an 800 # for you to use and distribute to your own groups. This 800 number will connect you to the Congressional switchboard;

3.)  instructions about asking to be connected to your own Members of Congress and a sample script to lobby them to oppose H.R. 1078.

But first, we need to raise the money to support this call-in!  If you or your group can help with this project, here's what it will do:

$1000 will pay for 5,000 calls
$  500 will pay for 2,500 calls
$  100 will pay for 500 calls
$    50 will pay for 250 calls
$    25 will pay for 125 calls

And so on. Wouldn't it be great to swamp the switchboard, reminding Congress that the stakes for educating our children for freedom are very, very high? Can we remind them that teaching about our unalienable rights, private property, and our national sovereignty are what education is all about in America!

If we can get the financial support to make this work, it is a go. If you or your group can help support this action, please send us a contribution made out to:
EdAction
1402 Concordia Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102

Tell us it's for the "National Call-in to Congress Day."

If we can make this successful, we can do much, much more to let Washington know that the public is awake and passionate about educating our kids for freedom.

And one more very important item --
Please use August to lobby your members when they are home. 

When they are out for their town meetings or their fundraisers and such, be there to talk to them personally. Raise the issues with them, and, more than anything, encourage everyone you know in your state to do the same.

If your members have inadvertently signed on as an author, because it sounded like a good bill, encourage them to remove themselves as authors. If they can't see their way to doing that, then ask them to do three things:

1. Amend H.R. 1078 by replacing the "key ideas that shaped our country" in HR 1078 with the founding principles as stated in the Declaration ofIndependence. They are:
a)   national sovereignty;
b)   natural law;
c)   self-evident truths;
d)   equality of all people;
e)   God-given, inherent, unalienable rights; including
f)   the right to life;
g)   the right of liberty; and
h)   the right of private property;
i)   the purpose of government;
j)   popular sovereignty.

2. ) Amend H.R. 1078 by deleting Section 5 which sets up a national alliance of teachers of American history and civics. By doing this, the federal government is putting the radicals in charge of what civics will be taught in our schools.

3. ) Vote against it. H.R. 1078 is in clear violation of the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A vote against it would make a wonderful lesson in government, teaching the public our founding principles of freedom.

The idea of limited government is non-existent if the 10th Amendment is ignored. The 10th amendment is our constitutional defense against unlimited, expansive government, and we ignore it to our eternal peril.

We hope to hear from you. Let us know if your state's organization will join us in promoting the "National Call-in to Congress Day." We have to act together. No state, no organization can do this alone.

Thank you.

Julie Quist
EdAction, National Call-in Director

EdAction - 105 Peavey Rd, Ste 116, Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931 - edaction@lakes.com - (c) EdAction - All rights reserved.