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