Two hundred and thirty six years ago today, the people of this land had a vision to live with liberty from tyranny, independence from repression, and the ability to pursue prosperity unhindered by a brutal, egotistical regime bent on squeezing every last pound and six pence from its subjects. Things took awhile to get to the point of independence for Americans. The moment when the British began to realize things were getting out of control was when a shipment of tea to the colonies was instead dumped directly into Boston Harbor. The Sons of Liberty were protesting the British Empire's taxation without representation and the tea monopoly held by the East India Company. Sound familiar?

Happy Independence Day! It's Wednesday, July 4, 2012 and we are two days away from when President Obama is supposed to sign into law H.R.4348, the highway bill. Only, it's not just a highway bill. It's also a flood insurance bill, and a student loan interest rate bill, and a Big Tobacco bailout bill. We are asking the President of the United States to exercise his ability to include a signing statement along with HR4348 that makes VOID and NULL Section 100122, the provision that punishes one group of individuals for competing in the same marketplace as the Big Tobacco companies.

SECTION 100122 is unconstitutional under Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution because it singles out a single, law-abiding group and punitively forces their businesses to close because the bar for re-admission into the marketplace is arbitrarily set too high. SECTION 100122 will collect NO NEW TAXES because NO ONE, except for the Big Tobacco companies will be in the marketplace any longer.

OUR MISSION: Our mission is to be heard. If just one of the President's senior advisors explains our case, we will have a real chance of getting them on our side. Twitter, Facebook, phone, petition. Call the White House and leave your comments (202)456-1111. Sign the online petition. Send the White House an email.

Today's Twitter Message: @BarackObama HR4348 punishes me for working. Use signing statement to VOID SEC.100122. Jobs at stake!http://bit.ly/NewTax

Phone Message: I am asking President Obama to issue a signing statement with HR4348 making Section 100122 void because it is unconstitutional and it punishes me and my business. Thank you.

Facebook Message: Mr. President, you have regularly used your signing statement authority to void, append, nullify and add interpretation to provisions of legislation forced upon you by Congress. Section 100122 of the highway bill headed to your desk is a clear violation of Article I Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution. As mentioned in this open letter to you yesterday, Congress certainly has the authority to regulate commerce, but it does not have the right to punish one group in order to arbitrarily grant monopolies to certain industries. Making the practices of small business competition illegal by virtue of setting the bar for entrance into the marketplace unnecessarily high is anti-competitive and a gross abuse of power. That is exactly what Congress engaged in by inserting language into the highway bill to arbitrarily and immediately reclassify small retail tobacco shops as “manufacturers” if they provide services allowing customers to roll their own tobacco cigarettes. This reclassification, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will force the immediate closure of more than 1,000 small businesses across the United States. THEREFORE, we respectfully request you use your signing statement powers to interpret Section 100122 as unconstitutional and unenforceable under your administration. Will you save my job and my freedom, Mr. President?

ONLINE FORM: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

PHONE CAMPAIGN: Call the White House to leave a comment (202) 456-1111

Tell the President: “When you sign the highway bill H.R. 4348, please issue a signing statement to make Section 100122 null and void. It’s nothing more than a favor to the Big Tobacco companies, it will close my business and people will lose their jobs immediately! I’m a retailer, not a manufacturer. This isn’t good government. Please tell Congress you can’t in good conscience interpret Section 100122 as a fair way to conduct government.”

BE STRONG, BE PERSISTENT: We are on the right side of this argument. Even the anchors at CNN realize we are getting the stick right up our nose by those protecting Big Tobacco's bottom line. Why else would Big Tobacco spend millions lobbying for this crappy anti-competitive provision?!

I know you're busy. I know you're angry and feeling betrayed. Me too, but never let it be said we didn't try. Get online and let them know we want our independence.

- GR

Follow Us on Taxtracker

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SATURDAY SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE: Operation 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is ON!

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Warriors! You are part of a group that is fighting to the VERY LAST. During our campaign talking to Congress, we made more than 1 MILLION impressions! I hope we can tap that audience again in the next few days!!

THE SITUATION: As you might know, the White House is NOT able to sign the highway bill, yet. Congress stuffed so much stuff in the bill, the evil dwarves on Capitol Hill are still putting the final touches on the bill before they send it to 1600 Penn. Consequently, President Obama was forced to sign a ONE WEEK extension of current law while he waits for the new bill. The new bill contains that POISON provision that will stop all RYO operations indefinitely, and now it appears that bill won't be signed into law until July 6.

THE SOLUTION: Between now and JULY 6, we are still operating AND we have a new target. We are going to ask President Obama to save us.

The President does NOT have the authority to "line item" veto stuff. The White House lost that authority in 1998 when the U.S. Supreme Court took it away. BUT, the President CAN issue a "signing statement" along with the bill he signs into law. That means he can write little notes on the new law that say things like, "I don't like this provision, so I'm not going to enforce it," and stuff like that.

This is our last chance before the bill becomes law. The President will not veto this massive bill because it contains 95% of what he wants. We're going to tell him we are part of the 5% he must disavow in the signing statement.

Get ready warriors. We have to be great in numbers and very loud. The target is much smaller now, so the number of people involved in this effort on our side is going to be key.

ON TWITTER: Definitely follow @GeorgeRenome and @JulieRauzan.

EVERY DAY: check http://taxtracker.wordpress.com for new daily messages. Also, follow these people to see what they're tweeting:

@phillyduff
@RYOTennessee
@RYOConsultants
@RollinSmokes
@RYO_Kansas
@RollNSmokeJohn
@RYOMississippi
@tom456h
@AlexTermini
@JoshuaSBaba
@BruceHendren1
@TraderJackJamie
@Jbugos
@ceo4105
@MissouriRYO
@TraderJackPeggy
@BeyondBeautiful18
@Jcaboman
@Jemsob

TARGETS: Watch http://taxtracker.wordpress.com for George's updates on who and how to target. In the meantime, post on Facebook accounts for the White House. Send several messages by posting on their different posts. If they post a news release, "comment" on that. If they post a picture, "comment" on that. If they respond to you, respond right back.

Today's Message: @BarackObama pls VOID the #BigTobacco bailout in the highway bill! It eliminates #jobs from our economy! http://bit.ly/NewTax

FACEBOOK: Start by posting messages on http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse and http://www.facebook.com/barackobama

TWITTER: Start by tweeting a few messages to:

@whitehouse
@WHLive
@blog44
@BarackObama
@AskObama
@MichelleObama

OUR MISSION: Hit it hard and MAYBE we can convince the White House to undo what Congress perpetrated on us. Let's go.

Not on Facebook? Not familiar with Twitter? You can still use traditional methods to spread our message!

We are focused solely on the White House right now. Call them. Email them. Use this link for their contact information forms.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/write-or-call

Call to leave a comment about the highway bill: 202-456-1111

Tell the President: "When you sign the highway bill, please issue a signing statement to make Section 100122 null and void. It's nothing more than a favor to the Big Tobacco companies, it will close my business and people will lose their jobs immediately! I'm a retailer, not a manufacturer. This isn't good government. Please tell Congress you can't in good conscience interpret Section 100122 as a fair way to conduct government."

To fill out the online comment form: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

• We are tracking the federal legislation that was secretly slipped into a transportation bill (S. 1813) as a way to fund a rural schools initiative (Senate Amendment 1825 — Baucus). It received no debate or discussion.
   
• We have assembled a federal team to attack this threat from Big Tobacco head-on, and will fight the Amendment as it now moves to the House of Representatives.
   
• Thanks to a recent article in the Washington Post, members of Congress are now aware of this Amendment and the unusual way that it came to be part of the federal highway bill.
   
• We will continue to fight Big Tobacco’s corporate greed and their attempt to use government to eliminate anyone that they perceive as competition.
   
• Here’s what you can do to help now:
   
  • Comment on the Washington Post article about how you oppose the Amendment and the way in which it received no debate.
     
  • Email your Member of Congress asking him/her to oppose the classification of Roll Your Own retailers as tobacco manufacturers in the Senate Federal Highway Transportation bill.
    
    

    Local Congressman for Norwalk 4th Congressional district of Connecticut James A. Himes email

    Local Congressman for Orange 3rd Congressional district of Connecticut Rosa L. DeLauro email

    
     
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