Dear Virginia Libertarians, In my years of activism, rarely have a seen a movement to slap back Big Government that has as much momentum as the one underway now to stop NSA spying on Americans.
Right now a coalition organized loosely under the umbrella StopWatchingUs is working to stop a bad bill in the U.S. House - and advance a good bill, the USA Freedom Act sponsored by Justin Amash and others. Virginians like you are in a particularly powerful position this week as we reach a critical juncture in the fight to end mass surveillance. ********************************************************* ACTION TO TAKE: Please make two quick calls right away! The "USA FREEDOM Act" would end the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' call records and institute other critical surveillance reforms. It has more than 140 cosponsors, including a majority of the members of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill. We're also confident that it has enough support to pass the House of Representatives if a full vote is called. Meanwhile, forces loyal to the NSA are pushing for bills that offer insufficient reform to -- or even work to entrench -- the mass spying programs. Here's why Virginians can play such a pivotal role in this debate: Two of the lawmakers with the most influence over this debate are from Virginia: House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. We need as many Virginians as possible to call both of them right away -- it should only take a total of about two minutes -- and urge them to act on the USA FREEDOM Act. You can tell them: "I support genuine reform to the NSA's mass spying programs, not fake fixes. As a Virginian, I urge you to call for a vote on the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act right away." Call Bob Goodlatte: (202) 225-5431 Call Eric Cantor: (202) 225-4000 ********************************************************* Then, please add your name to the action page at http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/va_nsa/ so we know you called. If you'd like more information on the USA FREEDOM Act, you can read up at the ACLU's page: https://www.aclu.org/support-usa-freedom-act . I believe this is a PRIME opportunity for the LP VA and especially VA candidates to take a lead on this issue. In particular, to contact LP VA members and anyone else candidates and others can reach to urge action - and to be sure to let Josh Levy at Free Press and others know that Libertarians are their support. This could tie nicely into Libertarian campaigns where candidates are running on issues related to the Fourth Amendment and stopping the government's mass surveillance. Please let me know if any of you do take any action on this. This is something we can blog about and cover in other ways at LP.org and other national LP media. Please also pass this on to any other VA activists / candidates whom you think might get involved. Thanks! Carla Howell Political Director National Libertarian Party 202-333-0008 x 222 ############################################################# Have an announcement you'd like to post? SCC members & many committee heads are all authorized to post; or you may send your announcements to the List Master: <webmas...@lpva.com> <mailto:webmas...@lpva.com?subject=Announcement>. ############################################################# Unsubscribe: Send an email to sts...@lpva.com with no subject and "Unsubscribe Announce" as the text. ############################################################# Libertarian Party of Virginia http://www.LPVA.com Phone: 703-715-6230 ############################################################# Want to see past messages? Check the Archive: http://www.Mail-Archive.com/announce@lpva.com/ #############################################################
