Possibly one of the best songs coming out of the current liberty movement. Y'all will love it.
And, if you agree with the sentiments here, please come to the April 15 "Don't Mess With Texas" Tea Party at Austin City Hall at 11:30am!!!
HB 2504 by Rep. Lois Kolkhorst (R-College Station) would require public universities to provide transparency to students and the public transparency online regarding: syllabi, curriculum vitae of each regular instructor, a course budget report from the most recent semester, and providing penalty if the university doesn't provide this transparency.
Just in case you're curious. Everything up for tomorrow is on third reading, meaning it's all come through the wringer.
SAFE Texas encourages Texans to wear red and attend both the Voter ID hearing and Rally that will be held TUESDAY, APRIL 7 at 11:30 A.M. to show lawmakers our support for secure and fair elections.
The Voter ID Rally will take place on south steps of the Capitol where we will hear from guest speakers and elected officials. We will then proceed to the hearing where you can sign up to give testimony or show your support for Voter ID by simply filling out a witness registration card.
If you would like to attend the hearing, give testimony or arrive after the Rally, please join us for the hearing in the John H. Reagan Building (JHR), Room 120, located on Capitol grounds at the southwest corner of 15th St. and Congress.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO WEAR RED!
There is so much interest in this bill that the committee room is packed. Rumor has it that the cop who shot Charles Whitman (the UT Tower assassin) is there to testify. Chairman Merritt says that they'll take up HB 1893 by Rep. Driver last, which means it probably won't be heard until after 5pm today.
Well, so much for that. We could have gotten a quantifiable vote on photo identification for voting, but it's not gonna happen today. Rep. Brown withdrew her amendment to HB 71.
The House Elections Committee hearing isn't set until Monday of next week, but it looks like the first House test on voter ID will happen today.
You know, I don't mind using reusable shopping bags, I don't mind not using my air conditioner until June, and I don't mind cutting up the plastic rings from soda can six packs.
You won't believe it, and you'll likely be as appalled as I am.
Please contact the members of the House Public Safety committee!!!! Austinites - if you're able, please plan on showing up at this committee to drop a card in favor of HB 1893! The committee meets at 2pm or upon adjournment of the House floor session, in room E2.014.
On Monday, March 30, the House Public Safety Committee will consider House Bill 1893, legislation sponsored by State Representative Joe Driver (R-113) that would allow valid Concealed Handgun Licensees to protect themselves on Texas college and university campuses.
Please call and email committee members and urge them to support HB 1893 with no gutting amendments. Law-abiding citizens with a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) should not be denied their right to self-defense just because they work or study on the campus of a postsecondary educational institution!
Please contact the members of the House Public Safety Committee listed below and respectfully urge them support HB 1893 with no gutting amendments.
Tommy Merritt (R-7) - (512) 463-07 50
Stephen Frost (D-1) - (512) 463-0692
Joe Driver (R-113) - (512) 463-0574
Lon Burnam (D-90) - (512) 463-0740
Phil King (R-61) - (512) 463-0738
Hubert Vo (D-149) - (512) 463-0568
Tryon D. Lewis (R-81) - (512) 463-0546
Mallory Caraway (D-110) - (512) 463-0664
Eddie Rodriguez - (512) 463-0674
_____
http://www.NRAILA.org
Tea Party Join us for a Tele-Town Hall conference call with Gov. Perry! Join us at 7 p.m. on April 8 for a Tele-Townhall with Gov. Rick Perry. We will be discussing the stimulus funds and how they would affect our state if we took stimulus dollars with federal strings attached. You will have the opportunity to personally ask him questions during this Tele-townhall conference call. We hope that you will take this opportunity to have a real discussion about this very important issue, on: Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Time: 7 p.m. Who: Gov. Rick Perry and AFP Director Peggy Venable Please visit www.afptx.org over the next few days to get updates, including the conference call number and access code. --- Don’t Mess with Texas
The big political story in Austin-area news at present has to do with a $50 million grant that appears to have bypassed the usual process and gone straight to the Texas A&M system. House Appropriations chairman Jim Pitts is all over the news questioning the governor's staff about the grant. There are apparently many questions concerning grants to Perry's alma mater.
Chris Faulkner over at The Next Right has some really sound advice for the already rarin' to go liberty (read: Ron Paul) grassroots, and I think it's worth reading.
Check it out here. Poses the question: what is compelling Kay Bailey Hutchison to run for governor, against an incumbent from her own party?
Don’t Mess with Texas Tea Party Join us as we rally in protest of the Stimulus! We have a lot to be proud of in Texas! Texas is #1 in job creation, most Fortune 500 companies, top state for business, fastest growing state in the country, top exporting state, and our tort reforms rank top in the nation! We don’t need the federal government burdening our citizens with more taxes and debt! Help us in telling them they should leave us alone! We don’t want or need their stinkin’ stimulus! Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 (Tax Day) Time: 11:30am – 1:30pm Location: Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin TX 78701 Click here to RSVP online or to RSVP on facebook click here: http://tiny.cc/Dro5v Confirmed Speakers include: Governor Rick Perry, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, Texas House Representative Wayne Christian, Michael Quinn Sullivan (Texans for Fiscal Responsibility), Peggy Venable (Americans for Prosperity-TX) and many more! Partnering Organizations thus far: Americans for Prosperity, Austin Young Republicans, College Republicans at St. Edward’s University, College Republicans at Texas State, Libertarian Party of Texas, Texas College Republicans, Texas Republican Assembly, Travis County Republican Party, Williamson County Republican Party, Williamson County Republican Women, Williamson County Young Republicans, Young Conservatives of Texas For information on how to become a Partnering Organization, please email Michele Samuelson at Michele.Samuelson@gmail.com or Eliza Vielma at Eliza@afptx.org. (There will be a second rally at 4pm, with State Senator Dan Patrick, at the Capitol South Steps. For more information regarding that event, please email Judy Holloway at having.anaustinteaparty@gmail.com)
It's hard to not blog about federal issues right now, especially when they are as ridiculous as this one.
The Austin Texas Tax Day Tea Party has gained another Texas luminary and taxpayer advocate, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams!
After listening to Florence Shapiro today, I'm more convinced than ever that the efforts to overturn the top 10% rule for college admissions are a mistake unless we first outlaw race-based affirmative action.
The Austin, Texas Tax Day Tea Party is taking place in conjuction with hundreds of similar events nationwide, on April 15.
The House Ways and Means committee is going to hear legislation relating to property tax homestead exemptions for veterans at Wednesday's meeting. There are a couple of bills up relating to this, HB 62 by Aycock and HB 742 by Flores. HB 62 gives a complete exemption for a 100% disabled vet and nothing for 99% disabled and below.HB 742 gives increasing exemptions based on increasing disability rates.HB 742 is the better overall legislation for disabled vets, but HB 62 has a better chance of getting out of committee because it has a smaller fiscal note.It would be really helpful if any vets, disabled vets, and families of disabled vets could call Ways and Means Chairman Rene Oliviera's office and declare their support for HB 742. All you have to say is that you are a veteran and you support HB 742's passage out of committee.Oliviera's Capitol office phone number is (512) 463-0640. The Ways and Means Committee office number is (512) 463-0822.Also, please call your state rep. and ask that they support HB 62 and/or HB 742 as a co-author. This legislation will be considered in committee on Wednesday, March 25. The Ways and Means Committee meets upon adjournment of the House floor session, so calls all the way up through Wednesday morning will be helpful.Please feel free to pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested.
H/T to Mark Krikorian over at NRO. Apparently, there are some folks who think we should celebrate Shamrock Day instead of St. Patrick's Day. Of course, this would be the ignorant greeting card crowd who also think that drinking green beer and wearing green wigs somehow qualifies as being Irish, no doubt. Or possibly the same crowd who are trying to secularize every holiday with real religious significance because they are "offended" by the idea that some people might learn something from it (and yes, Virginia, there was a St. Patrick).
SB 855, that awful transportation tax being peddled by Sen. John Carona this session, is up on the calendar for tomorrow's Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee hearing. The notice says the bill will be considered during the afternoon portion of the meeting.
1. Allow local governments to increase the gas tax by up to 10 cents a gallon. As an added hit, this new tax would go up every year without a vote – the legislation indexes the tax it to an obscure federal government formula that exceeds the rate of inflation!
2. Counties would charge $1 per hour per vehicle for “use of a parking space” without any apparent restrictions -- potentially $8,760 a year!
3. A $250 fee on new residents, and everyone's drivers' license renewal would double.
I spent a good deal of time last session trying to stop legislation that would discourage citizens from filing open records requests (a good deal of time arguing with Republicans, even). It seems you can't really keep that stuff down though. Like the weeds currently choking my backyard, they pop up defiantly every chance they get.
The latest piece of junk is HB 3641 by Rep. Doug Miller (R-New Braunfels). This bill, if passed, would allow governments to file suit in Travis County District Court (oh boy) whose open records requests take up a large amount of time and effort. To clarify - if the government in question feels like the request is exorbitant, then a suit can be filed.
And while that's bad enough on it's own, Comal County requested that this bill be filed because they've got a problem with an individual in Canyon Lake. They actually identified him to the Herald-Zeitung!
So we know that this is a personal attack. It's made rather more suspicious having been filed by Rep. Miller, who garnered heavy support from former rep. and thorn-in-the-taxpayer's-side Carter Casteel. But then, Rep. Miller does represent Comal County, and it makes sense they'd go to him with what they perceive is a big problem. Rep. Miller needs to recall, though, that he also represents the Douglas Kirks of Comal County - and county governments don't vote.
Government should be absolutely, completely open to the people it serves. By what right, and under what circumstances, should government be able to file suit against a citizen? The answer is that government has no right. It has no grounds or standing.
This legislation goes against practically everything Rep. Miller should be standing for -open and accountable government, a government "of, for, and by the people," and a government that does not retaliate against its citizens.
Please call your legislator and urge him/her to oppose HB 3641.
Looks like this time, we'll escape the unholy wrath of the disgruntled - Jason Embry at the Statesman has a thorough debunking of the rumor going around that someone is seeking to oust Joe Straus as speaker, at least for the rest of this session.
Texas Insider was the only place to post any kind of story on the rumor, though sources at the Capitol have said they heard the rumor before it got posted there (even Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer says in the Statesman blurb that he heard it from a Straus staffer last week).
I said it yesterday, I'll say it again - an open challenge to Straus is a waste of time and effort in a busy and increasingly important legislative session. And despite what Martinez-Fischer and Rep. Jim Dunnam had to say in the Statesman article about not being entirely happy with Straus, they truly have no reason to complain when you look down the list of key committee chairmen (Dunnam especially - he's got the Select Committee dealing with the stimulus, what more could he possibly hope for?).
Session is just about half over, and we're still not into the really big stuff. There's no good reason for the rumors about a coup to circulate - it's all boredom, conjecture, and pot-stirring.
Happy 258th birthday to one of my favorites, James Madison (I love that our birthdays are mere days apart, I might add ;-)
I'm in a hurry, so I will pass on the information from today's alert from Americans for Prosperity:
This Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee will hear testimony on Senate Bill 690. This anti-democratic bill will — if passed — effectively kill your right to petition for city charter amendments by increasing signature requirements.
In Houston alone, the signature threshold would jump from 20,000 signatures to 100,000 — a five-fold increase! For other Texas cities, the signature requirement will at least double.
State Sen. Mario Gallegos (D-Houston) sits on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, and we believe he is one of two swing votes who could prevent this bill from making it to the senate floor.
Please call Sen. Gallegos' office today and encourage him to vote against Senate Bill 690. His Senate office number is: (512) 463-0106. His district office number is (713) 742-5000.
Some background on SB 690:
On February 5, Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) introduced Senate Bill 690, which proposes doubling the threshold percentage of signatures required for citizen-initiated municipal charter amendments from five percent to 10 percent of registered voters. The bill also eliminates the alternate minimum number of signatures — 20,000 — relied on by activists in larger Texas cities.
SB 690 does not fix any problem. The purpose of SB 690 is to further restrict citizen participation in local government. SB 690 effectively cancels a right Texans have enjoyed for decades — the right of citizens in home-rule cities to propose amendments to their charters, which is the overarching legal framework for their municipalities.
The hurdles for a successful petition to get a city charter amendment referendum are already very high. As a result, such elections rarely occur under today's requirements.
Members of the Texas Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee include:
Chair: Sen. Royce West, Royce.West@senate.state.tx.us
Vice Chair: Sen. Robert Nichols, Robert.Nichols@senate.state.
Member: Sen. Jeff Wentworth, Jeff.Wentworth@senate.state.
You can read the bill’s language by clicking here.
State representative Dan Branch proposed a companion bill in the Texas House (HB 3458) on March 11. We have the ability to stop the House bill dead if the Senate committee turns SB 690 down.
The Texas Insider has an article today concerning a list circulating in the Texas House - a list of House members who will support an effort to remove Speaker Joe Straus from his position "when the time is right."
Deja vu all over again!
The article does not cite any names; representatives who have signed the petition, or list, are so far choosing to remain anonymous.
It's hard to say, I think, whether a challenge to Straus would happen, and whether it is even necessary or smart to challenge him and vacate the chair. There's a lot going on in Texas politics right now (as Robbie Cooper put it yesterday, covering Texas politics for a blog is a full-time job), and we have a lot of business to address. Personally, I think the time to worry about who was going to lead the Texas House and how they would do it once elected was something to concern House members back in January. We're two and a half months in, and the House is only now starting to really hear legislation in committee. There is every possibility that Governor Perry will have to call a special legislative session just to ensure the budget passes, and that's just the beginning, as there are a lot of pressing matters (TXDoT comes to mind) that need to be addressed.
I wouldn't venture a guess about who the supposedly disgruntled members are, but I think it's safe to say that as long as Straus has the support of the original bipartisan group that chose him to challenge Craddick, any effort to remove him will be met with the same kind of resistance Craddick mounted last session against his detractors.
I already mentioned Justin Epker, Mike Pearce, and Nate Lambert (more here). A couple more local filings by conservatives have come to my attention, and some are in the greater Austin area and of high interest to Blue Dot Blues.
Lots going on, but I thought y'all might want to know that there is now a grassroots movement supporting Debra Medina for Governor.
The Texas House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding will be holding a public hearing and taking testimony in Arlington this Saturday morning. If you live in the DFW area and can attend tomorrow to testify, I encourage you to do so.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING |
COMMITTEE: |
Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, Select |
TIME & DATE: |
10:30 AM, Saturday, March 14, 2009 |
PLACE: |
Arlington, TX |
CHAIR: |
Rep. Jim Dunnam |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'll be a guest on the Scott Wilder Show on The Word 100,7 FM in Dallas today; Dwayne Horner is guest-hosting and has asked me to come on to talk about voter ID.
Read more...The Senate hearing on SB 362 is dragging on and on, mostly due to Democrats' constant playing of the race card and the ideology hammer. I really can't watch another moment of this tonight and am going offline to do productive things. If this continues into tomorrow (and it looks as though it definitely will), I'll be back with either the liveblog or a Twitter stream.
UPDATE 2:15: Debate begins! But I've lost the livefeed due to an "invalid socket error" with RealMedia.
UPDATE 1:03: Burnt Orange Report has a rundown of liveblogging taking place - though you'll have to stomach their accusations of "voter suppression" to read it. Capitol Annex is liveblogging here.
UPDATE 12:25: The Senate is standing at ease, after passing Duncan's resolution to hold the hearing 19-12 (that's a flatout partisan divide, for those keeping score). Van de Putte is telling the press that Republicans aren't playing by "fair rules." She's been kicking and screaming most of the morning about the Dems not having "time to prepare" - since they've got invited witnesses and I've seen several action alerts from D camps, I think she's exagerrating.
The battle is won, but the war rages on - once the committee convenes, there's no telling what kind of shenanigans we can expect. Yesterday someone said they'd keep a running tally of times the race card gets played; I think we'd run out of bandwidth if we tried.
Will update again later.
--
The big day is here, and the Senate is currently discussing the resolution that will allow them to call a meeting of the Committee of the Whole Senate. A few mobile uploads on Facebook show that there was quite the line of Republicans ready to testify in favor of the bill; Gardner Selby with the Statesman confirms that about 120 members of the public signed up to testify (of course, some of them were likely Democrats).
Senator Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) is right now spelling out all the things that the Senate isn't "bending the rules" for; she's talking about the "artificial elevation" of this issue (voter ID) and she wants to put off the hearing on voter ID in order to take up "more important issues." Van de Putte and others are determined to drag this out all day - Sen. Royce West is digging up old procedural rules and asking questions, you name it. At about 10:30, Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) interrupted the proceedings to recognize a visiting high school group.
Quorum Report revealed this morning that the Senate Democrats have invited Attorney General Greg Abbott to testify. I don't think there's been word yet about whether he'll be there (update - Van de Putte says he's "ignoring" the request and that Senate Republicans aren't doing enough to get him there; update 2 - QR stating that AG's office says the Chair (Duncan) advised him not to appear because Abbott would be needed to represent the state in any legal proceedings).
Several people are "live-tweeting" the proceedings. @gardnerselby, @longhornderek, @elisewho, @corriemac, @stephanieklick and others. Elise Hu (KVUE) also has pictures and a liveblog going here.
I'll update this post throughout the day. If you have the ability, I suggest tuning in online.
I'm sure I should be blogging about other things, in an effort to promote conservative values in a pro-active, positive way. And I'll get back to that, but first I've got some things to say to my fellow Republicans.
Hopefully, if you're reading this, you're mostly just annoyed that yet another blogger is stuck on this subject, because you've called your state senator and already plan to be at the Capitol tomorrow wearing red to support SB 362.
I'm scheduled to speak, with Ryan Gravatt of the Patriot Group, to the Williamson County Republican Women tomorrow from 11:30am to 1:00pm, at the Allen R. Baca Community Center in Round Rock.
We just paid $72 for the vehicle registration. If HB 9 had been in effect and applicable to Travis County, we could have paid up to double what we paid ($147).
$72 base fee
+ $60 local option mobility improvement fee
+ $15 for a vehicle emissions fee
= $147 total fee
This is doubling the fees for driving on public roads. And it does not relieve congestion or improve air quality as the number of drivers is consistently and continuously increasing.
I admit fully to being a Newt fan (I wore a "Draft Newt Gingrich" t-shirt when he spoke at the RPT convention last June), and I found this to be very exciting information.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation's weekly Policy Cast covers the Carona/Truitt transportation tax this week. Check that out here.
The Foundation identified several alternatives that would generate additional funding for transportation projects:
• End the diversion of transportation taxes and fees to non-transportation functions;
• Identify opportunities for cost savings within state and local transportation entities and their respective contracting processes; and
• Rely on true user fees such as tolls and train fares that connect the actual user to the transportation service they receive.
I don't know what's sparked this, but it seems like there are quite a few young conservatives running for local office in the upcoming May elections.
I hate to say I told you so, but....I told you so.
The top 10 percent rule took quite the beating yesterday as Sen. Shapiro's SB 175 passed out of the Senate Higher Education Committee 4-1.
Now, I'm all for getting rid of top 10 percent. It's a bad rule for college admissions, blatant backdoor affirmative action that was always going to sell good students short - I agree with Sen. Shapiro, in fact, when she states that top students who happened to be in the top 15 or 20 percent of their graduating class are often having to choose to leave Texas for school, and that's a "brain drain" for our state (she might want to look at how tuition prices affect those decisions....). But in getting rid of it, we need something in place to prevent race-based affirmative action, something none of the legislation on this issue this session does.
And the committee hearing yesterday revealed Sen. Shapiro's stance on the issue of affirmative action quite well.
Under [Shapiro's plan, UT would admit students ranking in the top 1 percent, the top 2 percent and so forth until half of the slots were filled. The remaining slotsWhy is race in the mix? Why does it need to be considered at all? Can a person's worth not be determined solely on merit?
would be filled through what she called a “holistic” approach by school
admissions officials, taking into account leadership, special talents, race and other factors. [emphasis mine]
Hutchison sent Perry a fundraising letter.
Let's be honest. There is A LOT of speculation in Austin about Gov. Perry's ultimate intentions. We're in the middle of what is shaping up to be a tough legislative session, the kind that could make or break Perry's long-term goals. The campaign structure one would expect, especially in the face of Hutchison's seemingly well-oiled machine, doesn't seem to be there. Now, I did see a Perry 2010 sticker on my way to the office this morning - but all the "join our efforts" calls, emails, etc have come from Hutchison's camp. While all of Texas seems to be in "wait and see" mode regarding the Republican primary, Senator Hutchison's engines are lit and the orders are full speed ahead.
There are rules, too, about what Perry can and cannot do in terms of campaigning right now - and I'm sure that even without the rules, Texans would be mighty put out if he were perceived to be campaigning instead of working with the legislature right now.
None of that explains the fundraising letter, though. I'd be very interested to see if Hutchison's campaign says anything. Even if they don't, it's a fair piece of political levity for the day.
In an opinion issued today, Attorney General Greg Abbott stated that a representative who announces a run for governor in the first year of a two-year term does not have to resign from the House of Representatives.
ACTION ALERT!
Senate Bill 362, requiring photo identification to vote, will be heard before the Committee of the Whole Senate on Tuesday, March 10.
This is one of the best chances we will have to let our voices be heard concerning the issue of voter identification. What can you do?
1 - Show up on the south side of the Capitol at 7:45am on Tuesday. Wear RED!! We have to show up early in order to go through security for the gallery in the Senate chamber.
2 - Be prepared to testify in favor of SB 362. If you are willing to testify in front of the committee, contact Eric Opiela at eopiela@texasgop.org. You can also sign in at the committee hearing as "in favor" of SB 362 without having to actually testify.
3 - If you cannot attend on Tuesday, you can submit written testimony that will be handed in to the committee. Please forward it to Eric Opiela at eopiela@texasgop.org
4 - Call your state senator and urge him or her to support SB 362. Contact information can be found here: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/Members.htm.
This is an issue that many citizens, regardless of ideology, very strongly support. Even if you have never testified before a legislative committee, we urge you to come out and support voter ID by joining us at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:45am.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST THIS ON YOUR BLOG, OR TO LINK TO THIS POST. We need to get the word out to as many people as possible, especially in the central Texas area!!
Americans for Tax Reform's Patrick Gleason takes Rep. Vicki Truitt and Sen. John Carona to task in a recent blog post on ATR's website. HB 9 and its companion in the Senate (SB 855) are the "local option transit" bills that I blogged about here and here.
Viable and pro-growth alternatives include the following:
1) End the gas tax diversion to education and other ventures not related to education. Revenue derived from this tax should go toward transportation. Furthermore, the current gas tax rate generates sufficient revenue.
2) Implement a competitive bidding process for transportation projects. Nearly 90% of engineering contracts for roads are implemented without any competition or second opinion. When this happens, it is the taxpayers who suffer.
This week, HB 9 was referred to the House Transportation Committee. I would keep a sharp eye on this one - it's legislation that creates taxes, and that is always bad news for hardworking families.
This year, Young Conservatives of Texas will celebrate 29 years of being Texas' leading political organization for conservative youth - in Austin!!
Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) is attempting to enter the race for Most Unreasonable Nanny State Politician with his HB 1867, a bill that would require check-out clerks to "ask the customer if the customer would like to purchase a reusable bag... at reasonable price."
No, really. This isn't a joke.
And! Oh, it gets better! There's a fine levied if the clerk fails to ask the question! $200-$600. For the individual who failed to ask. And then the business that employs this poor schlub? Also gets a fine - $200-$500.
Y'all, seriously - this seemingly innocuous, small-time nanny-state mentality is where the Big Freaking Government comes from. Everything Barack Obama is getting away with, in the bailouts and the bloated spending bills, starts with little things like this. The whole kit-and-kaboodle of liberal agenda items starts with fines and regulations like this.
We have really big fish to fry this legislative session, and because conservatives are having to focus on things like local option transit taxes, Anchia's bill is one of the many that have a tendency to slip through committee like greased pig poo, show up on the floor and get passed with nary a whimper of protest. But the grassroots have the kind of voice that can stop this from going anywhere - if they speak up.
Yes, that means you.
So. Here's Anchia's Capitol office phone number: (512) 463-0746. He's already filed the darn thing, so yelling at them won't help you any. Just tell them you're opposed to HB 1867 and that you're going to call your state representative and say the same thing. And then, call your state rep. Not sure who that is? Find out here. Tell the person who answers the phone that you want to speak with the person in charge of legislation. Then tell whomever that is that you are a constituent and that you oppose HB 1867 by Anchia. Do it calmly - trust me, you help your cause a lot more if you're polite and calm when talking with underpaid Capitol staffers.
H/T Daniel Greer.
We're going again!
Round two of the Tea Party Movement is happening on April 15 at cities nationwide, and AUSTIN is already on the list!
Event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=52390099617&ref=ts
(separate website coming later today for you non-FB-types)
Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party website is http://www.taxdayteaparty.com
The ATX event will take place at the State Capitol (south steps) from 12:00pm to 1:00pm on April 15.
More info, etc coming soon - feel free to invite EVERYONE YOU KNOW to show up!
Happy Texas Independence Day!
In college, when I would participate in various Texas Independence Day events with my Young Conservatives of Texas chapter, people would inevitably ask us: "Independence from what?"
The scholarly answer was, of course, that on March 2, 1836, 60 men gathered in Washington-on-the-Brazos declared their independence from Mexico. Texas became a republic, a nation unto itself, and it would remain thus until 1845, when it was finally annexed into the United States.
The more emotional, and still scholarly, answer is this: on March 2, 1836, led by Sam Houston and a number of other brave men, Texas declared her independence from a tyrannical nation bent on forcing her into submission through war.
Today is the 173rd anniversary of that fateful day. It is also, by coincidence, Sam Houston's birthday.
Declaring independence was a major step, but it would be two more bloody months before Houston was able to defeat Santa Anna at San Jacinto. The Republic of Texas would exist in a state of constant fear of attack from Mexico; that and other reasons such as debt and the inability to foment necessary infrastructure would lead Texas' greatest men to support annexation. In 1845, the United States Congress annexed Texas as a territory (the language had been changed to allow for easy passage - Texas was a nation, and it would have taken a 2/3 majority vote in Congress to annex another country). This last helped bring on two wars - the war with Mexico that eventually led to the acquisition of California, and the American Civil War.
173 years after Houston and others signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, I believe it is prudent to consider what they would think of the federal government today - inaction on the southern border as a virtual civil war breaks out in northern Mexico, extreme intervention in the economy, unfunded federal mandates, etc. If it is still up to the state governments to be a check and balance against the federal government (and since our Constitution still stands, I believe they must be), then today's Texan leaders need to consider what that looks like.
Again, happy Texas Independence Day, y'all!
Consider this a placeholder for a longer post - but in the meantime, go read what Warner Todd Huston has to say about Bobby Jindal over at The Next Right.
Lastly, I have to express my own disappointment in those that beat the man up so for his reply to Obama. I thought we were the party of ideas? Why are we so chagrined with a less than stellar delivery when the ideas were pretty solid? Are we going to throw Jindal under the bus so soon just because he doesn't perform like Charlton Heston? I sure hope not. We are better than that, aren't we?
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