A GOOD TIME FOR TRUTH

[We could not have said this any better – Thank You Glynn!]
A GOOD TIME FOR TRUTH
by Glynn Adams
Why haven’t we figured out what methods every evil ideology uses to transform or change a nation?  History provides us with many glaring examples of these methods but up until now we have ignored them.   Because we do not read and study history; because we have not applied these lessons of history, we have made the same mistakes others have made and we are now reaping what we have sown.  The Romans, the Greeks, Hitler in Germany, Mao in China, Lenin and Stalin in the Soviet Union and many others throughout history have used the education of children as a means to accomplish their end long before they deployed their armies.   While all these leaders have long been dead, their ideology still lives on in the people.  It was Valdimir Lenin who said, “Give me just one generation of youth and I’ll transform the whole nation.”   You can bet Valdimir Lenin had read Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”   However, the way he read it was, “Train up the children in Communism and they will not depart from it.”   Sometime around the 1900’s, when the Communists became real serious about destroying America, obviously they studied and knew our Constitution, its weakness and strengths, Christianity, the ways of man, and the Bible better than the citizens did.  They read where Benjamin Franklin said “If the citizens ever discover they can vote themselves benefits from their government, it is over for that government.”   What have the Communists and our Communists politicians been doing in this nation for the last one hundred years under the deceptive name of compassion but growing our government and giving handouts to the citizens?    The Communists in the 60s, rewrote our Christian heritage out of our history books while aggressively infiltrating our educational systems, publishing their own textbooks because they knew if they taught our children 6 to 8 hours a day in the way of Communism, even when they were old they would not depart from that ideology.   Foolish Christian parents have for years now sent their kids to these communist re-education camps that teach our children anti-Christian agenda (no Biblical principles, evolution, no right or wrong, abortion, fornication, perversion and on and on) for 6 to 8 hours a day, five days a week.   They would then send them to Church for one to two hours on Sunday and are deceived into thinking that their children are going to embrace the narrow ways of Christianity over the broad ways of Communism.   In America, we have already lost that battle but we won’t admit it or do anything about it.   Foolish and deceived parents in America are also ignorant of their responsibility to God concerning the education of their children.  In Deuteronomy 6:6-7,   God says that parents have the responsibility to diligently and constantly teach their children the ways of God and if they delegate that to a school or church, the parents are absolutely responsible to ensure they are taught God’s Words.   Because of the neglect of parents, the destruction of this nation and our children are being accomplished today through our Communist re-education systems we call public education and we are financing our own destruction with our tax dollars and we can’t see it.    I want to dedicate this article to Alice Linahan and the faithful Women on the Wall who are out- manned and seemly alone in their uphill battles against our government schools because the parents of our children remain passive and unconcerned about what is going on in these Communists camps we call public schools.   Parents will travel miles and weather the elements of heat, cold and rain to watch their children play sports but won’t darken the door of a school board meeting or attend a community meeting held by Alice and her organization.  America is sick unto death and is confused about life’s priorities.   If we don’t change our ways and fight this war against Communism and now Islam, evil shall continue to gain ground and we shall reap the whirlwind and more judgments from God!!!

Breitbart News Launches ‘Breitbart London’ & ‘Breitbart Texas’ Verticals

Breitbart News Launches ‘Breitbart London’ & ‘Breitbart Texas’ Verticals

by Tony Lee 16 Feb 2014, 4:00 PM PDT

Breitbart News launched two new verticals on Sunday—”Breitbart London” and “Breitbart Texas”—that are the first steps in a multi-year expansion effort that will bridge the gap between global and regional news at a time when the rise of anti-establishment forces in politics and new media are threatening the old political and media order.

[VIEW ARTICLE]

The Breitbart Texas Team Includes:
  • Brandon Darby – Managing Director of Breitbart Texas, a former leftist organizer/activist and Andrew Breitbart protégé, leading Texas efforts for Breitbart News.
  • Logan Churchwell – Assignment Manager of Breitbart Texas, formerly Communications Director for True the Vote, Accuracy in Media, and a Capitol Hill staffer.
  • Sylvia Longmire – Contributing Editor for Breitbart Texas, focusing on border security and Mexican drug cartel activity in North America. Formerly an Air Force Officer and Special Agent, senior intelligence analyst for the California Office of Homeland Security, and author of Cartel and Border Insecurity.
  • Merrill Hope – Contributor Breitbart Texas, focusing on education nationally and locally in Texas. Formerly a contributing writer for the Hollywood Reporter and Education Action Group (EAG) News.
  • Bob Price – Contributor Breitbart Texas, focusing on the Texas political scene, legislative issues, border security, and public corruption.
  • Lee Stranahan – Contributor Breitbart Texas, investigative reporter and filmmaker, focusing on the institutional Left and corruption in the State of Texas.
  • Michael Quinn Sullivan – Contributor Breitbart Texas, former reporter and think tank executive, focusing on legislative issues, grassroots activism, and politics.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/02/16/Breitbart-News-Launches-Breitbart-London-Breitbart-Texas-Verticals

Communist Goal #17 – Concerning U.S. Schools

Communist Goal #17.

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

On Jan. 10, 1963, Congressman Albert S. Herlong Jr. of Florida read a list of 45 Communist goals into the Congressional Record. The list was derived from researcher Cleon Skousen’s book “The Naked Communist.” These principles are well worth revisiting today in order to gain insights into the thinking and strategies of much of our so-called liberal elite.

(Read it and weep for America!)

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/5/8/133540.shtml

AS REPORTED IN WORLD NET DAILY 2/24/13:

http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/students-made-to-wear-burqas-in-u-s-state/#tGBr7SDbKqfoisR4.99

“STUDENTS MADE TO WEAR BURQAS IN TEXAS CLASSROOM”

There is a new controversy emerging and it is taking the country, the grassroots in particular, by storm.  In 45 states, a COMMON CORE CURRICULUM IS BEING USED TO TEACH THE NATION’S SCHOOL CHILDREN.

Founded by Bill Ayers, the domestic terrorist, who largely launched the political life of Barack Obama and Valarie Jarrett, he has created a Progressive school model used throughout the nation and funded by 45 states with tax payer dollars.

CSCOPE is the MICROSOFT platform used in the classrooms as a computer based module — the social studies curriculum is very pro-Islamist leaning.  In fact, the curriculum quickly review the United States Constitution and spends a great deal of time on the Arab Spring.

Excerpt:

“According to students asked to wear the burqas as part of the social studies lesson, the Islamic section was to teach about life as Islamic women.”

No mention of genital mutilation in this social studies class, obviously!

“The burqa exercise focused on fashion and did not mention the fact that to be in public without a burqa in Muslim countries is punishable by death.

At the end of the class, the students were assigned to write a paper about Egypt.  According to one student, they were instructed to discuss “how Egypt was a good country after the Arab Spring.”

No mention of the brutally repressive Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization gaining power in Egypt as a result of the Arab Springs, nor how the President of Egypt has said as recently as two weeks ago, that they will drive Israel into the sea, or that Shariah law is their law of the and including the practice of genital mutilation.”
 
WE ANALYSTS FEEL STRONGLY THAT THIS IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE STEALTH JIHAD INFILTRATING ON THE COMMUNITY LEVEL.
 
DE-SENSITIZING OUR CHILDREN IS ALL PART OF THE CALIPHATE PLAN. 

“Most Amazing Senate Ed. Hearing Ever — CSCOPE”

 

by Donna Garner

1.31.13

 

Texas Senate Hearing on CSCOPE with Sen. Dan Patrick

Today’s Texas Senate Education Committee hearing  on CSCOPE was amazing. I watched the proceedings online from 8:30 A. M. until it finished around 3:15 P. M., and I took notes as fast as I could type. These may not be word-for-word, but I trust that I have captured the essence of the hearing. 

 

Texas Senator Dan Patrick led the hearing, and these are the Senators who worked alongside him to question the witnesses:  Donna Campbell, Larry Taylor, Eddie Lucio, Robert Duncan, Ken Paxton, and Kel Seliger.  (As best I could tell from online viewing, Royce West and Leticia Van de Putte did not attend the hearing.) 

 

What thrilled me is that all of us private citizens who have dug out the truth about CSCOPE and who have been vilified for our efforts were vindicated today because the evidence presented proved we were right all along.

 

FACTS REVEALED IN TODAY’S HEARING

 

CSCOPE was originally produced in 2005-2006  by outside consultants, one of whom was Linda Darling-Hammond who is tied to Obama and the Common Core Standards which is a takeover of the public schools by the federal government.  

 

In 2009 CSCOPE was incorporated as a 501(3)(c) non-charitable organization under the TESCCC (Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative), and the 20 directors of the Education Service Centers (ESC’s) make up the board of directors of TESCCC.  To do this incorporation, no legal counsel was sought from the Texas Attorney General’s office nor from the Commissioner of Education/Texas Education Agency. 

 

Now 875 districts are using CSCOPE and pay for it with taxpayers’ dollars costing from $7 to $9 per student to “rent” CSCOPE each school year.  The monies collected by the ESC’s are passed along to TESCCC and then to their fiscal agent, ESC 13 in Austin.

COST OF CSCOPE AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES

The Senators asked the ESC 13 witness how much school districts have paid for CSCOPE over the last several years, but that information did not seem to be readily available.  Sen. Campbell mentioned that Ector County ISD alone had spent $1.7 for CSCOPE just this school year. 

 

Questions were also raised about whether the ESC staffers who handle CSCOPE  full-time are paid by TESCCC/ESC 13 or by their own ESC’s and whether such an arrangement represents a type of double-dipping.

 

Sen. Campbell wanted to know who owns the proprietary property of CSCOPE if it was developed using public funds — “Do the people of Texas own it?”  She also questioned whether only parents should have access to CSCOPE since all Texas taxpayers paid for it. She said there are many good educators who are active and retired who have a commitment to helping children gain a good education and that everyone in the general public should have easy access to CSCOPE — in the same way that they do to copyrighted textbooks.  Sen. Campbell wanted to know where the checks and balances are to verify the content of CSCOPE.

 

Sen. Patrick told Wade Labay, Statewide Director of CSCOPE, that when a governmental body seeks to form a 501(3)(c), TESCCC should have sought legislative authority.  None was sought by TESCCC.

 

The Senators were very troubled by the fact that the Texas Attorney General’s office has said that the TESCCC is a governmental body yet it is using public funds to develop its product; uses public dollars to pay its ESC employees;  has no TESCCC business office; does not post its agenda; does not allow the public into its meetings; and will not allow public access to its minutes. 

 

“PLAYBOOK” RESPONSE FROM EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT

Throughout the hearing, whenever members of the “education establishment” testified (e.g., school administrators, curriculum directors, representatives from Texas Association of School Board/Texas Association of School Administrators), it was as if they spoke from one “playbook” which had obviously been put together by ESC personnel. 

 

The common line used by the education establishment was, “Our district bought CSCOPE as a cost-saving curriculum management system to help our students to raise their academic achievement and to master the new STAAR/End-of-Course tests. Our teachers could not live without CSCOPE.” 

However, when hard data and research were sought by the Senators from the “ed establishment” to prove the effectiveness of CSCOPE, none could be produced — only their subjective opinions.  Almost all of the ed establishment witnesses mentioned their close-knit relationships with the ESC’s, and most said they had first heard about CSCOPE through the ESC’s.  Nearly all said their districts were constantly trained by ESC staff on CSCOPE.

 

CONCERNS OF THOSE CLOSEST TO THE CHILD

When classroom teachers, parents, or the general public testified — the ones closest to the classroom students — they told a completely different story.  One of the most poignant moments in the hearing occurred when a veteran Algebra teacher almost broke down in tears as he told of having to quit his teaching job recently because he was required to teach CSCOPE.  He said he could not look his students in the eyes, knowing that he was “aiding and abetting ignorance…and giving them an allusion of an education.” 

 

A well-credentialed education researcher, who works with many Texas school districts and who intensely dislikes CSCOPE, said she had had doors slammed in her face when she sought to uncover the ideology behind CSCOPE.  She said teachers are afraid to speak out about the content of the CSCOPE lessons and the links that students are directed to investigate.  Several of these links take students to sites where Wiccans are said to be similar to Christians and where Islam and Christianity are harmonized as being similar. 

 

A current classroom teacher of 30 years’ experience told about being offended with the lesson in which students were required to make a Communist/Socialist  flag.  She said her father had proudly fought in World War II to keep our nation free and that our students should be taught American exceptionalism.  She also said that CSCOPE content teaches none of the great novels and does not teach the young readers a systematic approach to reading using phonics.  She complained that CSCOPE instead teaches whole language and that there is no formal instruction of grammar, usage, and correct writing.

This experienced teacher gave the Senators a copy of the TESCCC/CSCOPE legal document passed out during a CSCOPE 2012 summer training session that states, “To support implementation of this detailed curriculum, districts must have processes and people in place to insure that there is sustained monitoring of the curriculum and that individual teachers do not have the option to disregard or replace assigned content.”  This teacher said that when parents put their children on the school bus to come to school, they are not sending them to school for a controlled and compulsory learning environment.  They want their children’s teachers to be able to be creative and to meet the individual needs of each child.  She said, “I want it recorded for the record that I have never voted for a conglomerate to take over the Texas school system, and parents have not either.”

 

Another witness said there was no need for CSCOPE because the curriculum standards (TEKS) are on the Texas Education Agency website along with many other excellent helps that teachers can use to prepare their students for the new STAAR/EOC tests.  Good teachers working together can create their own timelines and lesson plans.

 

One witness asked why the TESCCC was incorporated as a non-profit.  Was it to be able to hide the content of CSCOPE from the public?  Was it to keep their meetings, minutes, and agendas secret? 

 

TESCCC/CSCOPE PERSONNEL — OOPS!

 

When confronted with this evidence, the CSCOPE personnel at the hearing repeatedly admitted they had “Oops! Dropped the ball.”  As the meeting proceeded, it became clear that a pattern of cover-up by Wade Libya/TESCCC/CSCOPE has been taking place since the public “sleuths” started digging out the facts.  The website has been changed substantially since the Senate Education Committee public hearing was announced. Now Labay says teachers are not prohibited from allowing parents to see CSCOPE materials, but Sen. Patrick could never get a confirmed “yes” that parents could go right now and see fully their children’s CSCOPE materials 24/7.   

 

OBJECTIONABLE CSCOPE LESSONS

When the CSCOPE lesson referring to the Boston Tea Party patriots as “terrorists” was discussed (which had been in CSCOPE for seven years), Labay said it had been removed. 

 

When Labay was confronted with concerns over a lesson teaching the 5 Pillars of Islam, a lesson in which students role play a trek to Mecca, a lesson that teaches Allah is the same as Almighty God,  a lesson on Christopher Columbus that cherry-picks his diary to take out any of his references to his belief in God, and a lesson in which students create a Communist/Socialist flag, he gave a lame excuse about those lessons having been a part of the “old” lessons, having been left in CSCOPE at the request of teachers. 

 

One Senator said he found it perplexing that when these lessons were first revealed by the public “sleuths,” TESCCC accused these concerned citizens of circulating “fallacious claims.”  

 

Senators Taylor and Paxton were deeply troubled about the student project in which students were to design a Communist/Socialist flag.  They cautioned that teaching children to role play and sympathize with a particular cause is indoctrination of the mind, and they asked Labay to tell them who came up with that lesson plan?  Labay gave the lame excuse that there are over 1600 lessons and that ESC 12 CSCOPE staffers are the ones who are in charge of the content. 

 

One of the Senators responded, “Oh, you mean the same group that has the closed door board meetings…We have already talked about several egregious lessons today.  How many more are there that are buried up in the rest of the CSCOPE lessons that we have not located yet?”

NO OUTSIDE, INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF CSCOPE

The Senators kept hammering at the fact that 875 Texas school districts have been using CSCOPE for the last seven years; yet there has been no outside, independent review of CSCOPE to make sure that its lessons align with the SBOE-adopted curriculum standards (TEKS) upon which the new STAAR/End-of-Course tests are based. 

 

Sen. Patrick said he found it highly upsetting that it had taken the chair of the Texas State Board of Education six months to get a password to CSCOPE.  Former SBOE member Charlie Garza testified that he had asked TESCCC to have extra time to study the CSCOPE lessons, but his request was denied. 

 

It was also brought out that besides the per-student CSCOPE rental, TESCCC also makes money by charging publishers $100,000 per event to see the CSCOPE lessons so that textbooks can be produced that align with it.  Other vendors pay fees, and TESCCC also makes money from its yearly educators’ conference. 


Senator Patrick said that the public had brought most of the CSCOPE problems to their attention over the last six to eight months and that he was upset over the lack of transparency and the secrecy demonstrated by TESCCC/CSCOPE.  He said this is the reason we need transparency, open meetings, and posted meetings  — so that a governmental body cannot violate every entity of being a public entity.  “How many more mistakes are there? … What is behind the curtain? … You are in 875 school districts … This is a very serious matter.”

 

SBOE OVERSIGHT OF CSCOPE CURRICULUM CONTENT

One Senator said he was investigating the possibility of charging the elected members of the Texas State Board of Education with the task of verifying the content of CSCOPE to make sure it is aligned with the TEKS.  Barbara Cargill, the chair of the SBOE, said that the Board has a review process already in place that could be used for CSCOPE since it is being used in 70% to 80% of Texas school districts. 

 

Cargill also mentioned her concern that TESCCC in its incorporation papers states that if TESCCC is dissolved, CSCOPE goes to the federal government.  She mentioned that she is concerned CSCOPE is not aligned with publishers’ textbooks and that it is very confusing for students when they read a CSCOPE lesson (or CSCOPE test) that says one thing and a textbook that says another. 

 

Ms. Cargill complained that CSCOPE does not align itself with the new Science TEKS in which all sides of scientific theories (both strengths and weaknesses) are to be taught. Instead, the only links she could find in the CSCOPE lessons go to material that teaches evolution as fact.

 

Barbara Cargill was asked by one of the Senators whether SB 6 (passed in the 82nd Legislative Session) triggered the explosive growth of CSCOPE since school administrators can now purchase CSCOPE (i.e., instructional materials including software and hardware) with state dollars without those materials having passed through the rigorous SBOE adoption process.  She said that having “100 eyeballs” to evaluate the instructional materials at the SBOE level is far superior to having only a few CSCOPE employees do so.

 

Pat Hardy, also a member of the Texas State Board of Education, verified that CSCOPE is a curriculum [not a “curriculum mnagement system” as claimed by TESCCC/CSCOPE] and that it is the SBOE who adopts the curriculum standards — TEKS.

 

A parent whose children are in the public schools where CSCOPE is being utilized believes that the elected SBOE should have authority over CSCOPE.  However, she has a serious reservation because one of the present SBOE members is a registered lobbyist for Microsoft; and she wonders about the possible conflict of interest and corruption that could bias the SBOE/CSOPE alignment process.   

 

COMMON CORE STANDARDS INFILTRATING CSCOPE?

One retired science teacher said that at some point, Common Core Standards tried to purchase CSCOPE; and she is concerned because the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) is having a convention in California, using public dollars to pay for Texas school personnel to attend.  At this conference,  Common Core Standards and Linda Darling-Hammond will be featured.  Gov. Perry and both Texas Education Commissioners have said Texas will not participate in Common Core Standards.  Since CSCOPE is already in 70% to 80% of Texas’ school districts, the retired science teacher is afraid the CCS ideology could be permeating CSCOPE’s lessons right now.

 

CHILDREN BELONG TO PARENTS — NOT TO THE STATE

One of the last witnesses reminded everyone that children belong to their parents and not to the state; school children should be able to take their CSCOPE materials home each evening; and the public should have open access to see everything except the tests and answer keys. 

 

Pledge to STAND with WomenOnTheWall.Org

WomenOnTheWall.Org – Newest “Pledge Project” featured in 9/19/12 Issue of Region Magazine

 

We are Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents & Constitutionalists….

Standing United to Preserve our Nation & Texas for Future Generations of American Citizens

Our Primary Areas of Focus:

  • America’s Children & Their Futures
  • Abandonment of  our Founding Principles
  • Rapidly Decaying Culture & Society
  • The Sanctity of Life
  • Loss of U.S. Sovereignty
  • Out-of-Control Immigration Policies

Recap of “True the Vote Summit” – Houston, TX 4/27-28/12

WOW Board Members Rebecca Forest and Alice Linahan were among the 400+ attending the 2nd Annual “True the Vote Summit” (TTV) in Houston, Texas – April 27-28, 2012.
What a tremendous event! Catherine Engelbrecht (TTV President) and her team brought in a great lineup of national speakers such as John Fund (author of “Stealing Elections”), Pat Caddell (Fox News Contributor/Political Strategist), Anita MonCrief (ACORN Whistleblower), Tom Fitton (Judicial Watch), Christian Adams (author of “Injustice”), Steve Bannon (Exec. Chairman of Breitbart.com), Hans Von Spakovsky (Heritage Foundation), Rep. Artur Davis (Former Alabama Congressman) and others. Last but not least, James O’Keefe. James most recently made headlines (again) with his famous undercover video demonstrating just how easy it would be for a dishonest person to steal another person’s vote — say, DOJ head ERIC HOLDER’S VOTE!!

In addition to the national speakers, the summit featured an Election Integrity Panel of activists from around the country detailing the work they have done in their communities to ensure free and fair elections.

TTV has developed a well-organized national volunteer program which provides training and the needed technology to support and equip fellow citizens as they work to protect and defend the rights of legitimate voters in their own communities.

With the growing number of reports of election fraud in our nation, it is vital for citizens across the country to do their part to make sure that the votes of legitimate/eligible citizens are not diluted or stolen.

Catherine’s message to the conference included this important quote:
“Thank you for being an important part of this movement to preserve the sanctity of our vote – which in turn will preserve nothing less than the very foundation of our liberty.”

We couldn’t agree more Catherine!

Please visit:
SIGN UP and get busy! Time is running out …. when the dust settles on November 6th it will be too late. Once a fraudulent vote is cast, it can’t be taken back!

Grassroots Activists “Pledge” Further Engagement in Texas House

PRESS RELEASE 1/27/11

Vowing to remain actively engaged in the legislative process, several Texas Tea Party groups and other conservative organizations released an Internet video today thanking “The Texas 15” — the fifteen members who voted against Rep. Joe Straus for Speaker. Noting the dismissive remarks in the press, along with what they regard as efforts by some members to extract retribution on the “15,” leaders of many conservative organizations released a high-definition video online today at www.womenonthewall.org expressing their thanks to those “voting on principle.”

“On November 2nd, the people of Texas sent a clear message that they’d had enough of business as usual in Austin. On January 11th, these 15 brave men and women responded to that message by standing against the establishment,” Ken Emanuelson of the Dallas Tea Party said of the video. “They stood with the people and the people won’t forget it.”

Citing recent articles by veteran capitol reporters such as Dave McNeely and others, many leaders say they find the terms used such as “Astroturf” not only inaccurate but offensive, according to Rebecca Forest, Co-Founder of WomenOnTheWall.Org, the producer of the video.

“Tea Party, immigration, pro-life groups and many members and leaders of the Texas GOP came together in a united front to replace Straus — hardly “Astroturf.” Forest continued saying, “The Straus uprising was based largely on his actions last session but even worse to some, was his inaction as he attempted to give the House members a ‘warm and fuzzy’ type of public servant experience.”

Other Conservative and Tea Party leaders revealed new initiatives designed to “keep a keen eye” on the workings of the 82nd Texas Legislature. As an example they highlighted the Texas Tea Party Patriot PAC’s Government Accountability Project which will enlist group members to shadow, report and publish factual information pertaining to elected officials’ records at the federal, state and local levels. “Citizens have an ongoing responsibility in the process of governance that ends not at the ballot box, but extends with daily observation of the votes, words and actions of our elected officials,” Suzanne Guggenheim, one of the organization’s founders, said.

Wayne Richard, a talk radio host in the DFW market and former House District 66 candidate weighed in on the issue. “In today’s political climate it is imperative we elect legislators who have the backbone to vote as their constituents’ desire. Since the opening of this current session, we have a good indication as to who is willing to stand for principle and who isn’t. The people are awake and taking interest in future elections. Texans will remember who they can count on in November 2012.”
###

David McNeely: Straus vote shows Right Wing groups losing power
http://itemonline.com/opinion/x1221296783/Dave-McNeely-Straus-vote-shows-Right-Wing-groups-losing-power

Tea Party Caucus Membership Will Not Shield Legislators Who Vote for Straus in 2011

 
In defiance of calls by key conservative leaders in Texas for a Conservative Texas House Speaker in 2011, Rep. Lois Kolkhorst [R-HD13] and Rep. Beverly Woolley [R-HD136] have decided nevertheless to elect Joe Straus for a second term as House Speaker.  
 
In response to their decision, Women on the Wall has today released the new Houston version of their current ad campaign — Fall of the RINOS — Texas House “Speaker Showdown”TV ad which is featured on You Tube at the STOPJOEINFO Channel. The Houston version of the “Speaker Showdown” adwill air in key Houston and DFW districts in the lead up to the January 11th vote.  (View at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iqd8wnOlpE).
 
“It is truly amazing that these two legislators have decided to thumb their noses at the grassroots who overwhelmingly support a change in House leadership,” said Rebecca Forest, Co-Founder and President of Women on the Wall.  “No matter what their conservative ratings have been in the past, if they vote for Straus they will face a well funded challenger in the 2012 Republican primary.”    
 
Heritage Alliance recently conducted a poll of 28,980 Republican primary voters in 77 GOP held Texas House districts and found that nearly 90% of the respondents wanted a more conservative speaker than Straus.  
 
“For starters, neither Kolkhorst nor Woolley are dyed in the wool conservatives in the same vein as Ken Paxton,” said Forest “and anyone who suggests either of these women are the “Tea Party Queens” of Texas misrepresent the truth – pure and simple.”  
 
“RINO hunting in Texas is really being taken to another level with Straus supporters running for cover under Sen. Dan Patrick’s newly formed “Tea Party Caucus” said Alice Linahan, a leader with the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition and Texas Project coordinator. Adding, “The caucus is rapidly being exposed as the most recent attempt to trick less informed constituents into believing Joe Straus is “conservative enough” to pass the litmus test.”  
 
Battle lines are being drawn in the Republican Party across the nation but most certainly in Texas where establishment GOP moderates are spending millions to hold on to their power in the House.  Conservative groups, emboldened by the recent victory in the courts (Free Market Foundation, et al. v. David A. Reisman, et al) pledge to run opposition candidates in the GOP 2012 primaries.

Texas Tea Parties Plan for “Speaker Showdown” in Austin on January 11, 2011

Resolute Media Group, Emergent Consulting, TCOT Report, Women on the Wall, Kaufman Tea Party, and Tea Party Movement 911 are putting together a staging area for all the Tea Parties going to the Capital Jan. 10th and the 11th.

“We The People” Texas 2011 and Beyond”.

We have secured a conference room for both the 10th and 11th and doors open at 8AM.

We would like you to join this open house project, come in register that you were there, pick up materials such as surveys and information that you can hand deliver to the State Reps offices.  This will be especially important Monday morning before the caucus. We will stay open so you can come back and enjoy some Texas hospitality.

We will also have media there for you to share your story and opinion and document the real stories and numbers of Tea Parties that are there for the two days!

The strategy is also to announce this event in a big way before the caucus and vote so the State Reps on the bubble will know that we will be there and either way  the vote goes we are networking and planning to primary them depending on their vote. Do they want to be on the list that is a target after the vote.    That is their choice.

We The People – 2011 and Beyond
Location – La Quinta -Capital
300 E. 11th Street
Austin, Texas

Date: Jan 10th 8 AM -8 PM
Jan 11th 8 AM -8 PM

Alice Linahan
Managing Partner
Resolute Media Group
Resolute Media Group Facebook
alice@resolutemediagroup.com

This is not to replace any Protests or Rallies  planned at the capital it is just to have a central meeting place and staging area for all Tea Parties to congregate, network, and plan for how to move forward in 2011 and beyond.
If you would like to join our other great sponsors please contact me ASAP and we will add you to the list.

Internet video targets House Speaker

by Gary Scharrer / December 3, 2010 

The woman behind an internet video campaign to oust House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, says she hopes to raise enough money to run TV ad spots before Texas lawmakers return in January to elect a leader for the upcoming legislative session.

Numerous conservative activist groups are injecting themselves in the House speaker’s election, motivated by a huge Republican majority gained in last month’s election and distrust of Straus’ willingness to push conservative causes.
But that effort is largely viewed as “a hail Mary” by Straus supporters.

Rebecca Forest, founder of a small group called “Women on the Wall,” says Straus must be replaced by a more conservative leader to make sure such issues as immigration reform and voter ID pass next year.

Forest is pushing a “stopJoe” campaign with an Internet video and request for contributions to take the video spot, or a similar version, to television.

Forest, however, would not say how much money the group has raised, how much it wants to spend on the anti-Straus campaign or identify major contributors.

She is among dozens of conservative leaders leaning on state Republican lawmakers to dump Straus.

“It’s important that we have a speaker that reflects our values,” Forest says, noting the Republican Party’s historic 22-Housse seat pickup in the election, which will give Republicans a huge, 99-51 seat, advantage.

“He failed miserably on every single issue,” she contends. “We want another option.”

Forest, of Austin, is a co-founding member of the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas and is now executive director of the newly formed Texas Alliance for America Legal Defense & Education Fund. She formed Women on the Wall in 2008 as a way to highlight issues important to women and mothers, she says.

The group is “not a members organization,” she says. In other words, it might not be larger than the three directors named in the paperwork used to charter it as a non-profit organization with the Texas Secretary of State. There is no contact information on the group’s website. The group’s physical location provided in the incorporation document is a storage area near Lake Travis.

The proliferation of front organizations that can prosper without accountability and disclosure of funding sources will likely continue, says Denise Davis, chief of staff for Straus, after the United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United – a landmark case in which the court, by a 5-4 vote, removed restrictions on corporate funding of independent political advertising. The Internet also provides easy access for groups to spread a message, she noted.

“Some of that will have to be answered through disclosure,” Davis says.

Forest also signed a letter last month circulated by various conservative groups agitating for Straus’ ouster. More than 6,000 other Texans have signed the letter.

The role of “outside groups” trying to influence a House speakers’ race is unprecedented, Davis says. The Texas Constitution contemplates the House speaker to be selected by the 150 state representatives based on relationships among the members, she says: “I think there are some folks who are not as interested in the constitutional structure.”

Straus still has “solid” support from about 120 members, says Davis, who was parliamentarian and special council to former House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. It takes 76 votes to win the two-year term as speaker.

She characterized the campaign to defeat Straus as a “hail Mary strategy” by some individuals backed by third party groups.

Forest says she and other leaders in the anti-Straus movement believe “there’s a very, very good chance” they can convince House members to elect someone else as speaker.

It’s important for lawmakers to understand, she says, “this is our government. We elected them to do things that are important for us, and they don’t own it. If enough people are raising cane, (legislators) need to be paying attention or they won’t be here next time around.”

Forest says she and others also want House rules changed to ban incumbent speakers from contributing campaign money to other lawmakers. She called that a form of bribery because it obligates members to vote for the speaker.

 “That needs to end. That is unacceptable,” she says.

 http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2010/12/post_154.html

Former TX HD 66 Candidate Wayne Richard on the Texas Speaker’s Race

by Wayne Richard
StandWithWayne.com

Five months ago I began a quest to educate and motivate the voters in North Texas about the upcoming House Speaker election when the new Texas House of Representatives session begins January 11th.

Our current Speaker, Joe Straus, is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) elected through a parliamentary procedure which included a majority of Democrats and a “gang of 11 Republicans”; legal but very inappropriate as well as a great injustice to the citizens of Texas.

When my efforts first began to OUST STRAUS, many said he was too powerful and I was wasting my time trying to facilitate the election of a more conservative Speaker.

“Too powerful” was a common phrase we often heard while battling the 19 year incumbent representing District 66 who was also the leader of the “Gang of 11”. Even as a first time candidate for the Texas House challenging the Chairman of the Calendars Committee, we all saw what happens when the people garner their strength and are willing to step forward; VICTORY can be attained.

History is repeating itself as we are now witnessing a tidal wave of citizen activists all working to accomplish the impossible; to unseat another RINO and move our state towards a conservative future.

These efforts are taking on many forms of activity. Some as straightforward as people calling their District Representatives and insisting they vote for a true conservative to those groups working on more sophisticated means to share the message.

I am engaged with a group who supported my campaign last year and we are currently working to spread the facts through new media (You Tube) as well as old media outlets (TV).

A powerful and effective video has been produced which exposes exactly who Joe Straus really is. Currently he is attempting to undergo a metamorphosis, portraying himself as a pro-life, fiscal conservative. We cannot allow Madison Avenue techniques to redefine who this man actually is and what special interests and lobbyists he clandestinely represents.

Watch the video and learn the facts. http://stopjoe.info/
The video has already been recognized in D Magazine and Texas Monthly. But we need your help getting this message out to as many people as possible. If you are so inclined please consider donating to the cause as we are hoping to begin running this commercial on cable in strategic House Districts as we enter the Christmas season. Even a $25.00 donation will be helpful. We also need you to forward this message to your friends as Internet based grassroots communication efforts are what brought victory to conservatives in the November elections. But this battle is not over!

With your help, we can defeat another RINO and usher in a new era of Texas style conservatism.

God bless Texas, Wayne

StandWithWayne & StandForLiberty