Conservatives in Action

HEARING ON END OF LIFE TEXAS SB303/CSSB303

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:03:00 +0000

On Tuesday, May 13, I attended the Public Health Committee hearing on SB303 at the Capital in Austin, Texas. There were approximately 147 witnesses that registered with the committee with 74 wishing to give testimony. Of the 74, 60 were AGAINST and only 14 were FOR. Committee members present were Chairman Lois Kolkhorst, co chair Elliot Naishtat, Rep Nicole Collier, Rep Susan King (STRONG FOR), Rep Sarah Davis, Rep Bill Zedler, Rep Jodie Laubenberg, JD Sheffield, Rep Bobby Guerra, Rep Phillip Cortez, not all members stayed the length of the hearing. State Rep Bryan Hughes questioned some of the witnesses using his court room expertise to better understand the bill.

The committee room was filled to capacity. The witnesses spilled into an adjacent room to accommodate all those in attendance. The hearing started about 6:15pm with other bills being considered first. The hearing on SB303 or CSSB303 begun almost at 8pm and went way into the early morning to 2:37am. Bill and I arrived home at 5am on May 14.

Joe Pojman, Texas Alliancefor Life

The testimony was very emotional with many witnesses telling their stories of horrific events in medical facilities that led to a physical disability or death of loved ones. Contrary to some opinions, SB303 will NOT stop doctors and health care professionals from making mistakes, after all we are human. A bill can not legislate that doctors and medical staff to NOT make mistakes. Attorneys, doctors, nurses, Texasstate representatives and citizens all sat before the board and gave testimony. The last two witnesses were Joe Pojman representing Alliancefor Life (7:58:56) and Elizabeth Graham (8:8:20) from Right to Life. The bill is pending in committee.

Elizabeth Graham, TexasRight to Life

Our Texas Legislative Session is almost at the end and some bills still need to be addressed. The one bill that in my humble opinion is not good for the citizens of Texas is SB303 or called CSSB303 because it favors the doctors and hospitals over the patient and families. As you might well understand the TexasMedical Association is pushing hard to pass the bill. As conservatives we must not shy away from acting on a bill just because it is controversial. Good people may mean well but meaning well has unintended consequences. Please understand that Texas is a strong TORT reform state and that is why we have so many doctors practicing in Texas. So why does SB303 forgive doctors and hospitals their trespasses even before they sin.

SECTION 166.012:

(h) This section does not create a cause of action or liability against a physician, health professional acting under the direction of the physician or health care facility.

(i) A physician, health professional acting under the direction of a physician or health care facility is not civilly or criminally liable or subject to review or disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing authority if the actor has complied with the procedures under this section and 166.046

Does the state of Texasreally want to exonerate all the doctors and hospital staff from even a review or disciplinary action if negligence is found? Ask yourself, if a mistake is made will the doctors or hospital staff acknowledge their mistake if they are not accountable to anyone? Of course not, this is a ‘no brainer’.

Follow this link and listen why we must OPPOSE SB303. The testimony from all the witnesses for SB303 begins at 1:25:57. I read my testimony at about 2am, May 14, 2013.

TESTIMONY ON SB303/CSSB303

http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/committee-broadcasts/committee-archives/player/?session=83&committee=410&ram=13051314410

RED SONJA 2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

The following article was written by Matt Beebe regarding his testimony opposing SB303 at the committee hearing:

https://m.facebook.com/votebeebe/posts/386461878132988

Despite Counsel, Victim Is Hindered by Tort Laws

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/us/even-with-counsel-texas-amputee-is-hindered-by-state-tort-laws.html?_r=0

Anti-Abortion Groups Disagree on End-of-Life Law

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/abortion-texas/anti-abortion-groups-disagree-on-end-of-life-law/

CALL TODAY (leave message)

Must call Clerk to register your opposition first and then call each member

Public Health Committee Chair, Lois Kolkhorst 512-463-0600 lois.kolkhorst@house.state.tx.us

CLERK:DONALD BARBER 512 463 0806

MEMBERS

Rep #49 N Elliot (D) 512 463 0668

Rep #147 C Garnet (D) 512 463 0524

Rep #95 N Collier (D) 512 463 0716

Rep #117 P Cortez (D) 512 463 0269

Rep #134 S Davis (R) 512 463 0389

Rep #41 B Guerra (D) 512 463 0578

Rep #71R S King (R) 512 463 0718

Rep #89 J Laubenberg (R) 512 463 0186

Rep #59 JD Sheffield (R) 512 463 0628

Rep #96 B Zedler (R) 512 463 0374

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

WHO HAS THE LAST SAY AT END OF LIFE?

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:31:00 +0000

What Texans think about pulling the plug?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CLd0DP1Y9g&sns=tw (361)

If your very best friend that you trusted, asked you to jump off a cliff overlooking huge jagged rocks, would you ignore the jagged rocks and jump?

I have provided you with both sides of the issue and also provided you with a link to the SB303 bill. Please read the bill and decide on your own. My decision and the stance my family has taken is that SB303 is a slippery slope and that the patient and family members with the advice of the doctor should have the last say on the End of Life care of a loved one. Relinquishing the patient’s rights to the hospital invalidates the decision of the patient and family members.

This battle to have true reform is an extremely serious one. This bill should be about the End of Life care and what is best for the elderly, disabled and the terminally ill and their families not what is best for the doctors and hospitals. Keep in mind that this bill affects everyone including children. If this bill passes it will be effective September 1, 2013.

Take time to call the Chairman of the Public Health Committee, Lois Kolkhorst, and the members of the committee. There will be a Hearing on Monday, May 13, at the state capital after the session adjourns in Room E2.010. If you feel compelled to give testimony please contact me.

Texas Senate Bill 303

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/pdf/SB00303E.pdf#navpanes=0

Texas House Bill 1444

http://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB1444/id/748962

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

ALERT *** ALERT *** ALERT

Death Panels

SB 303, Death Panel Bill--PUBLIC HEARING, Upon final adjourn./recess, Monday, May 13 in E2.010
OPPOSITION to SB 303 by Terri Schiavo's brother:
I'm Terri Schiavo's brother, Bobby Schindler. I just wrote to members of the Texas House, warning them about the danger of SB 303, that allows hospitals to terminate the care of patients despite the wishes of the families or even the patient.
If Texas allows Senate Bill 303 to become law, the acts that led to the death of my sister will only increase in Texas.
Will you please...tell Texaslegislators to protect Life and vote no on SB 303?
Bobby Schindler
300 N. Essex Ave., 101A
Narberth, PA 19072
OPPOSITION to SB 303 by the conservative American Association of Physicians and Surgeons:
The hospital industry continues to push hard for SB 303, passed last month by the Texas Senate and now under consideration in the Texas House.
House Public Health Chairwoman Lois Kolkhorst (512-463-0600) has set a hearing this Monday, May 13, which could hasten this anti-patient bill towards passage.

The bill would give hospitals nearly unlimited power to end the lives of patients in their facilities and would create, for the first time, a right of a hospital to insert a “do not attempt resuscitation” order into the medical file without the knowledge or consent of the patient or family. SB 303 was written in an extremely one-sided manner to benefit hospitals, to the detriment of patients.
For example, under SB 303 hospitals do not have to provide written notice to patients about an intent to withhold care, but patients do have to provide their objections in writing. In practice, the patient will be dead before a typical patient’s family can wake up to what the hospital did.

This problem is increasingly common. We hear from AAPS physicians who are shocked by what some hospitals are now doing in hastening death, refusing to reduce sedation, or otherwise denying reasonable family requests for their loved ones. Even the media, in a segment aired by 60 Minutes recently, exposed the callous disregard for life at some hospitals. The hospital industry now routinely opposes pro-life legislation. SB 303 gives the wealthy hospital industry more power and less outside accountability than existing law.

Hospital refusal to care for certain patients is not due to lack of money. Hospitals often pay their executives million-dollar salaries, despite claiming to be non-profit. Hospitals receive billions in taxpayer funding. But if a physician ever stands up for a patient against a hospital administration, then he can expect to be kicked off the staff and entered into a National Practitioner Data Bank for supposedly bad physicians. Patients, not hospitals, are the ones who should be protected by legislation.

SB 303gives all the power to the hospitals. Patients cannot even get their medical records quickly, and have no way of knowing if the hospital put in a secret “do not attempt resuscitation” order against their loved ones. The traditional patient-physician relationship would be destroyed by SB 303. Patients will not even have a right to an independent second opinion. This is worse than current law, which is silent on some of these issues. And SB 303 grants hospitals sweeping immunity against any accountability for its anti-patient actions.

Nearly every pro-life and conservative leader has reached the same conclusion about SB 303: it’s a terrible law that must be stopped. But the hospital industry is powerful, particularly among some Texas Senators and a few other groups. Patients and independent physicians know this is a bad bill, and with your help we can stop it in the Texas House.

Please contact your Representative and ask him to oppose this power grab by hospitals. Patients and their families should not be victimized by DNAR orders without their consent and even their knowledge.

###

TERRI SCHIAVO’S BROTHER, BOBBY SCHINDLER, SPEAKS OUT IN OPPOSITION TO SB303

If you allow Senate Bill 303 to become law, the acts that led to the death of my sister will only increase in Texas. The decision to end my sister’s life unnaturally was based on quality of life judgments vs. clinical medical judgments. The calls to our foundation from Texas families feature the same conflict: value judgment on the patient has supplanted objective medical evaluations.
My sister lived for 13 days after the third court-ordered removal of her feeding tube. Texas SB 303 would sanction removal of artificial hydration and nutrition based on the following criteria—all of which were used to end Terri’s life. Under Section 7, Section 166.046(e), artificially administered food and water does not have to be given when the treatment—according to the hospital panel—would:
(1) hasten the patient’s death;
(2) seriously exacerbate other major medical problems not outweighed by the benefit of the provision of the treatment;
(3) result in substantial irremediable physical pain or discomfort not outweighed by the benefit of the provision of the treatment; or
(4) be medically ineffective in prolonging the patient’s life.

http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/terri-schiavos-brother-bobby-schindler-speaks-out-in-opposition-to-sb303/

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

CALL TODAY (working on Sat)

Must call Clerk to register your opposition first and then call each member

Public Health Committee Chair, Lois Kolkhorst 512-463-0600 lois.kolkhorst@house.state.tx.us

CLERK: DONALD BARBER 512 463 0806

MEMBERS

Rep #49 N Elliot (D) 512 463 0668

Rep #147 C Garnet (D) 512 463 0524

Rep #95 N Collier (D) 512 463 0716

Rep #117 P Cortez (D) 512 463 0269

Rep #134 S Davis (R) 512 463 0389

Rep #41 B Guerra (D) 512 463 0578

Rep #71R S King (R) 512 463 0718

Rep #89 J Laubenberg (R) 512 463 0186

Rep #59 JD Sheffield (R) 512 463 0628

Rep #96 B Zedler (R) 512 463 0374

TEXAS ROADS SOLD!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:01:00 +0000

As you all are aware of the battle of the TOLL ROADS in Texasand how Terri Hall has championed NO TOLL ROADS. I was advised that 1604 in San Antonio will become a toll road. I thought you might want to know what the status is of SB1730 and receive an update on the issue. Read Hall’s explanation in her article ‘SOLD: Lawmakers vote to sell-off Texas roads to private corporations’. This article is the last item at the bottom of this report.

It was State Representative Ruth McClendon District 120 in San Antonio who put forth Amendment #4 to add ‘the Loop 1604’ to the CDA, Comprehensive Development Agreements which are identical to Toll Roads. If you look at McClendon’s District 120 map, 1604 is outside her district. It could be this is not an updated map but I called her Austin office to make sure and this is the link given. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/fyiwebdocs/PDF/house/dist120/m1.pdf

State Representative Lyle Larson District 122 map includes part of 1604. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/fyiwebdocs/PDF/house/dist122/m1.pdf

After listening to State Rep Larson speak concerning the CDA, toll roads, I find it very interesting that he sends out the letter below to one of his constituents. IF he wants the toll roads then he must be honest with his constituents. This is the man that aspires to be SD25 Senator. SD25 has Senator Donna Campbell a conservative and we aspire to keep her!

Now is the time for you to call your state representative and let them know where you stand on toll roads.

RED SONJA2013©

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Note from Matt Beebe

I happened to be watching the House debate yesterday and watched this go down... you can watch the video from the House chamber for yourself at the following link: http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av/chamber83/04292013.ram (You have to have RealPlayer to watch)

The House consideration of SB1730 starts at the 2:35:44 mark and continues through 2:47:45. There were four amendments offered and each was subsequently adopted. Amendment #4 was the amendment that added "the Loop 1604 project in Bexar County" into the scope of the bill, and it WAS offered by Rep McClendon as Rep Larson asserted in his emailed response.

You can use either quote, and I’m happy to have them attributed to me.

What I have said – and still stand behind – is that Rep Larson’s email “explanation” was at best disingenuous, as he has (thus far) failed to prevent Loop 1604 from being added to the CDA bill when several straightforward paths existed to do exactly that.

Rep Larson has assured me that he will be working to have the Loop 1604 language stripped in conference committee, so we will need to watch this closely to see how it unfolds – as I said before, "voting against tolls" and "BEING against tolls" are two separate things.

Regards,

-Matt

PS: this link: http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av/chamber83/04292013.ram (same as original link) DID just work for me…

The rest of session is archived here:http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/chamber/83/

Lyle Larson on SB1730:

Good afternoon,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding SB 1730 by State Rep. Larry Philips, relating to comprehensive development agreements of the Texas Department of Transportation or a regional mobility authority.

Though the bill passed with a 113-29, I voted against the measure. It is public record that I have been against toll roads since 2003. I am the only elected official in BexarCounty who has fully opposed toll roads since the Texas Transportation Commission passed a minute order on December 18, 2003 indicating all future road capacity built in the state of Texas would be tolled if proven viable. This was the genesis of the 281 toll plan that has been debated for close to a decade. The facts don't lie:I have voted against toll roads 100% of the time. As past chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and former member of Commissioners Court I have consistently been opposed to tolling a section of road on which we had originally planned and funded three overpasses in 1999.

Unfortunately, it appears that misinformation is being spread about an amendment to SB 1730 that included Loop1604 in the bill. I did not offer the amendment, rather, it was offered by State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, who represents eastern Bexar County. The amendment was adopted by a voice vote yesterday on second reading. You can easily verify this by going to the Texas Legislature Online site. When you click on the link to the 4th amendment, the Journal shows that Ruth Jones McClendon offered the amendment that adds Loop 1604 (the text of the Journal record is copied and pasted below).

Sadly, Terri Hall continues to deceive people about my record on toll roads and clearly doesn't expect people to actually substantiate what they're being told. Please know that my office is always willing to provide you with up-to-date, accurate information at any time, so please feel free to reach out to us should you ever have any questions about my position on any issue.

Thank you again for contacting us. We look forward to continuing to represent you in the Texas House.
Best,

Lyle Larson

Amendment No. 4 http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Actions.aspx?LegSess=83R&Bill=SB1730

Representative McClendon offered the following amendment to

CSSB 1730:

Amend CSSB 1730 (house committee printing) as follows:

(1)On page 6, line 4, between "54;" and "and" insert:

(6)the Loop 1604 project in Bexar County;

(2)On page 6, line 5, strike "(6)" and substitute "(7)".

Amendment No. 4 was adopted.

EXCERPTS taken from

SOLD:Lawmakers vote to sell-off Texasroads to private corporations

by Terri Hall

April 30, 2013

Today, the TexasHouse joined the Senate in voting for SB 1730 to hand 20 Texas highways to private corporations in controversial contracts called public private partnerships (P3s) or comprehensive development agreements (CDAs) despite public opposition. These sweetheart deals are designed to extract exorbitantly high toll rates, as high as 75 cents per mile, and guarantee profits, using taxpayers to socialize losses and privatize profits.

This crucial vote will effect the next three generations of Texans since P3s grant private, even foreign, entities government-sanctioned monopolies for 50 years. By limiting the expansion of free roads and, in effect, guaranteeing congestion on free routes through non-compete agreements, P3s hamper future transportation needs of the public -- for up to 30 years in Texas. P3s also erode property rights taking land in the name of 'public use,' but turning it into a private purpose for private gain.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin calls P3s ‘corporate welfare’ & Rachel Alexander calls them ‘double taxation’. On the first three contracts signed in Texas, all use public subsidies - two combined to total $1 billion in gas taxes. So they’re building the road with tax money but charging Texans again to drive on it. Public subsidies are not only corporate welfare, but also a way to socialize the loss and privatize profits. Some deals use public money (gas taxes, tax-exempt private activity bonds), others public debt (federal TIFIA loans, and State Infrastructure Banks). Either way, the companies also get to depreciate the ‘asset’ on their taxes.

Trans Texas Corridor by a different name

Loop 9 near southern Dallasthrough Rockwall Countyhas long been called part of Trans TexasCorridor TTC-35 project. The planned P3s on I-35 itself are also part of the TTC concept.

Former TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Saenz admitted Loop 9 is part of TTC-35, and after Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he was pulling the plug on TTC-35 for political reasons, Saenz revealed the plan -- still build it by switching each road segment back to its original name and build it piece by piece. P3s are the financing mechanism of the TTC. So as long as P3s are alive, the TTC is alive.

So, disaster has fallen on Texans despite the grassroots’ best efforts to stop the special interest freight train. Punitive toll taxes in the hands of private corporations will undoubtedly restrict freedom to travel and drive up the cost of goods for all Texans whether they ever take one of these toll roads or not. Increasing the cost of transportation hurts the economy, period. Texas’ economic boom is about to go bust.

Projects included in the bill:

-I-35 (many segments), I-820, Hwy 183, US 67, Hwy 114, Loop 12, Loop 9 (in DFW)

-Hwy 290, SH 99/Grand Pkwy, Hwy 288 (in Houston)

-Hwy 183, MoPac (in Austin)

-Loop 1604 (in San Antonio)

-Loop 375 & NE Pkwy (in El Paso)

-Loop 49 (in Tyler)

-Hidalgo County Loop, Outer Pkwy Project, Int'l Bridge Project, & COMMUTER RAIL PROJECTS (in Hidalgo & Cameron counties)

-South Padre IslandSecond Access Causeway Project (in South Padre)

-Hwy 181 HarborBridge Project (in Corpus Christi)

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/terrihall/2013/05/sold-lawmakers-vote-to-sell-off-texas-roads-to-private-corporations/

Here's a link to the FINAL record vote - (Senator Donna Campbell was the ONLY senator to vote against in the senate)

http://www.journals.house.state.tx.us/hjrnl/83r/pdf/83RDAY61FINAL.PDF#page=24

HOUSE JOURNAL SB1703

http://www.journals.house.state.tx.us/hjrnl/83r/pdf/83RDAY61FINAL.PDF#page

END OF LIFE VERSUS THE GOD SYNDROME

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:24:00 +0000

Mission statement – Conservatives in Action

The mission of the Conservatives in Action is to stay informed on issues affecting our Judeo Christian values, and to safeguard our American Liberties and to be fiscally responsible.

Texas Senate Bill 303

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByFvfq9Ya7gzRm1pSGtHWm9aRTQ/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1

Texas House Bill 1444

http://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB1444/id/748962

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

If you were at the End of Life who would you like to make the decision on your care, you and your family with recommendations from your doctor or let the doctor or facility make the final decision?

The very contentious SB303 and HB1444 are kicking up dust in the TexasPro Life community. Worse is the fact that the TexasCatholic Bishops Conference have chosen to be on the wrong side of the fight. They are beating the drums in favor of the beginning of euthanasia in Texas by replacing the patient or family decision making at the End of Life by allowing the doctor or facility to take ‘charge’ of this decision.

My decision to come out and OPPOSE SB303 and HB1444 is not to confuse but rather give direction to a very critical bill. This bill is not in keeping with the teaching of Catholic doctrine. As Catholics we are morally obligated to see that our loved ones receive Hydration and Nutrition, even if the person is in a comatose state. We all know at least one doctor who has the God Syndrome, who believes he is God and can foretell the future. Let’s face it; we are ALL going to die. I personally want to leave my End of Life decision to God and not to the doctor or the facility.

CATHOLICS understand this: This is not a law coming from the Vatican, it is coming from the Texas Catholic Bishops Conference with the support of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Again this is NOT from the Vatican but from a group of ‘experts’ that can make mistakes either intentional or unintentional.

This is an excerpt from a letter by retired Bishop Rene Henry Gracida of Corpus Christi a strong advocate of Pro Life and End of Life.

In 1991 Father Albert Moraczewski of NCBC moved to Houston at Archbishop Fiorenza'a invitation to open a Houston branch office of NCBC. Wishing to make a big splash on the Texasscene Father Moraczewski prepared a pastoral statement for TCC in which he argued that it was ok to withdraw nutrition and hydration from comatose patients. At our next Provincial meeting the statement came up for approval. I objected to the statement yet 21 bishops voted in favor of issuing the statement and only Bishop Ganter and I voted "no."

In my defense I then published in my diocesan paper my long dissent from the TCC statement and it was picked up by a lot of diocesan papers.

Fourteen years later Blessed Pope John Paul II in an address to the Pontifical College on Pro Life taught the same thing that I had published in my dissent.

To this date the bishops of Texashave never retracted their error filled statement issued by the TCC.

Church politics being what they are, I can well imagine that when the TCC asked the NCBC for support in fighting for SB303, the staff of NCBC let their better judgment be impaired as they tried to help the Texasbishops.
For a good analysis of the NCBC letter read my post:

APPELLATE ATTORNEY KASIE DEE MARKS COMMENTS ON THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD OF THE SUPPORTERS OF SB 303

http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/appellate-attorney-kasie-dee-marks-comments-on-the-circular-firing-squad-of-the-supporters-of-sb-303/

Blessings!

+rhg

CATHOLIC DOCTRINE

Delivering Nutrition and Hydration

The SB303 bill’s definition of nutrition and hydration differentiates the types of delivery of food and hydration which is not in keeping with Catholic moral principles. In Catholic moral ethics, we do not distinguish between “natural”, that is by fork and cup, or “artificial” by feeding tube. Both delivery methods are ORDINARY MEANS OF PRESERVING LIFE. The National Catholic Bioethics Centerclarifies the issue¹:

“In principle, the provision of nutrition and hydration by artificial means does not differ in its moral dimension from the provision of food and water by fork and cup. Both constitute ordinary means of preserving life.

“The fact that someone is in a state of unconsciousness and is not expected to recover is not a reason for depriving that person of food and water.

“Whenever a recommendation is made not to provide food and water, one question to ask is ‘What will be the cause of death?’ If the answer is dehydration and starvation, and artificial nutrition and hydration can be easily supplied and assimilated, then not supplying them is a form of euthanasia. Unconsciousness is not a fatal disease. No one dies of unconsciousness.” ¹http://www.ncbcenter.org/document.doc?id=9

From the Declaration on Euthanasia², Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

“By euthanasia is understood an action or an omission which of itself or by intention causes death… It is necessary to state firmly once more that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable disease, or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly. nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action. For it is a question of the violation of the divine law, an offense against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life, and an attack on humanity.”

²http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19800505_euthanasia_en.html

ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
ON "LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS AND VEGETATIVE STATE:
SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS"

In opposition to such trends of thought, I feel the duty to reaffirm strongly that the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a "vegetable" or an "animal".

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2004/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20040320_congress-fiamc_en.html

The sponsor of Senate Bill 303 Texas Senator Bob Deuell frankly stated on TWITTER that “A doctor’s training and judgment must have precedent and protection in these cases.” BTW did you know that Deuell is a doctor? The Texas Medical Association Retweeted his tweet in agreement as they are supporting the bill.

Occupation: Family Physician
Education:George MasonUniversity, MedicalCollege of Virginia
Legislative Experience:Senate Member, 2003 - present
Hometown:Greenville
Party:Republican

Protect families critical medical decisions - oppose SB 303

The following reasons to oppose SB 303 were drafted by Andrew Schlafly, J.D., General Counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
1. Grant hospitals the power to impose denial-of-care directives, such as “Do Not Attempt Resuscitation” (DNAR), against patients without their consent and without even giving them written notice. This bill shifts the burden to the patient or family member to find out if the hospital plans to deny care, and a verbal objection by the patient or family member is not sufficient. The patient or family member must object in writing, and even then a hospital death panel can reject the objection and impose DNAR.
2. Grant hospitals the power to withhold medical records from patients for five (5) days as time-sensitive life-and-death decisions are being made. If the move to withdraw and deny care is in process, the patients and families should be given all records and information so as to begin to look for a transfer so as to be ahead of the draconian countdown of the clock.
3. Grant hospitals the right to deny the ability of independent patient advocates to speak on behalf of a patient and defend the patient’s interests, and instead limits patients to hospital-chosen patient advocates. SB 303 (HB 1444) limits the number of patient advocates and family members who can attend the death panel meeting to 5 while the hospital can stack the meeting with as many as they need to suit their agenda.
4. Grant hospitals the power to create their own death panels, stacked with their own employees, to make “ethics” decisions to deny care to patients. The “ethics committee” is not subject to any review process or regulation or recording, and most facilities do not impose any self-governance on such committees.
5. Grant hospitals the power to transform physicians from being advocates of patient care into becoming adversaries of patients in implementing denial-of-care decisions based on hospital financially based policies. Physicians who desire to care for their patients in the most compassionate manner are forced by their employer to become collaborators in the hospital’s financial profits versus the patient’s care and recovery.
6. Limit patient options to a request for transfer of the patient to another hospital, at the patient’s own expense and without any guarantee that the other hospital would not also use this law against the patient. This ignores that tax-exempt hospitals have a duty to act in the best interests of patients rather than the self-enrichment of multi-million-dollar compensated hospital administrators.
7. Grant hospitals and their employees' complete immunity from legal accountability for denying care under most circumstances.
SB 303 pretends to create a right of a second opinion for a patient, but only if the patient is aware of the denial-of-care directive and only if the patient requests a second opinion in time before care is denied with a result of death. This bill does not establish a right to a second independent opinion; the second opinion under this bill will typically be to another hospital employee controlled by hospital policy.
SB 303 pretends to add safeguards, but the safeguards serve the interests of the hospitals, not the interests of the helpless patients whose care has been entrusted to them.
Please communicate this information to the Representatives on the Public Health Committee and encourage them to oppose SB 303 the Death Panel Bill.

http://www.imakenews.com/hapc/e_article002685522.cfm?x=b11,0,w

It is vital that you understand how critical it is that opposition to this bill is registered with your State Representative. Besides your state representative contact the representatives who are on the committee. Their names are at the bottom. I have received numerous calls and emails on SB303 and HB1444 For and Against. I will certainly be slammed for bringing you the truth. This is from Terry a CIA who says it in a nutshell.

Sonja, I have seen your posts on FB and received your emails on SB303. I know you are doing all you can to get people informed. If people would just take the time to see what is in it they would get concerned. I have posted things about it and sent emails too. Problem is just like so many other things like this.........people are not taking the time to get informed. That is what the Liberals are counting on and it seems to be pretty effective. I will still be praying it doesn't make it through the House.

I think it would be good for you to express your opposition to it because so many people will not form an opinion otherwise. They don't know and will not take the time to find out what it says but they will trust you if you tell them it is bad.

Terry

RED SONJA 2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Public Health Committee Members:
Chair, Lois Kolkhorst 512-463-0600 lois.kolkhorst@house.state.tx.us
Representative Sarah Davis 512-463-0389 sarah.davis@house.state.tx.us
Representative Susan King 512-463-0718 susan.king@house.state.tx.us
Representative Jodie Laubenberg 512-463-0186 jodie.laubenberg@house.state.tx.us
Representative Bill Zedler 512-463-0374 Bill.Zedler@house.state.tx.us

WHO DETERMINES YOUR END OF LIFE? ACTION REQUIRED!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:46:00 +0000

WHO DETERMINES YOUR END OF LIFE?

Alliance for Life FOR

Right to Life AGAINST

National Catholic Bioethics Center FOR

Texas Senate Bill 303

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByFvfq9Ya7gzRm1pSGtHWm9aRTQ/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1

Mission statement – Conservatives in Action

The mission of the Conservatives in Action is to stay informed on issues affecting our Judeo Christian values, and to safeguard our American Liberties and to be fiscally responsible.

Pro Life groups in Texas are in a tug of war over the very controversial End of Life SB303. It is a sad situation that Pro Life groups are not in agreement on this very critical end of life issue. Consequently, sides have been drawn between Alliancefor Life and The Right to Life pro life groups which only confirms that the language of SB303 is not clear to everyone. These Pro Life groups are very well respected and do a great service in protecting the unborn. Unfortunately they are not in agreement with their stance on the end of life issue to protect the elderly, disabled, and terminally ill patients.

As a Catholic, I find it extremely disturbing that the Church did not provide for its parishioners who attend mass on Saturday and Sunday any information on SB303. After all isn’t it the responsibility of the Church to keep us informed on issues relating to our Catholic faith? SB303 is a very significant bill because it outlines what should happen medically at the end of life. As Catholics we must consider any and all unintended consequences of SB303.

The letter from the National Catholic Bioethics Centerattempts to make clear the differences that are causing the controversy between these two pro life groups. It is interesting that even the author of the letter, Marie T. Hilliard, has to clarify her stance in the second to last paragraph.

There are two points that The National Catholic Bioethics Center wishes to clarify, that perhaps pertain more to drafting problems than intent. The proposed statutory revisions, when addressing the rights of the patient or surrogate decision-maker, clearly intend that the surrogate only is the decision-maker if the patient no longer is able to communicate his wishes. Secondly, it is agreed that at the time the patient/surrogate requests a second opinion concerning a Do Not Resuscitate Order, that the order is to be enjoined, unless based on reasonable medical judgment, death is expected in days to weeks and resuscitation would be medically ineffective.

http://www.txcatholic.org/images/docs/NCBC_Ltr.pdf

I appreciate very much the helpful comments received on the SB303 article by Phil Sevilla. What I found to be totally inappropriate was the phone call from an irate supporter of SB303. He could have just explained his stance on the end of life issue. Instead he only sent a Red Flag about the differences.

SB303 was passed by the Texas Senate and will soon move to the Texas House. After reading this very critical SB303 follow your conscience when contacting your state representative. I strongly recommend that you see an attorney for your end of life directive and talk to your family as to your wishes so that there are no misunderstandings when the time comes.

I have provided the websites of Texas Right to Life and Alliance for Life so that you can see what each is saying about their stance. So that you receive a wider scope to the end of life issues, I have also included articles from the very same website that I found the letter from The National CatholicBioethics Centerand articles from the TexasCatholic Conference website. I sincerely hope that you call your state representative and voice your opinion.

RED SONJA 2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

State and national Pro-Life leaders oppose Senate Bill 303

http://www.texasrighttolife.com/a/1038/State-and-national-ProLife-leaders-oppose-Senate-Bill-303

Senate Passes Strong Bill to Help Families Protect Their Loved Ones

http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/

APPELLATE ATTORNEY KASIE DEE MARKS COMMENTS ON THE CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD OF THE SUPPORTERS OF SB 303

http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/appellate-attorney-kasie-dee-marks-comments-on-the-circular-firing-squad-of-the-supporters-of-sb-303/

APPELLATE ATTORNEY KASSIE DEE PATRICK MARKS, J.D. ANALYZES THE ACTUAL WORDS OF TEXAS SENATE BILL 303 (HB 1444) THAT PERMITS PASSIVE EUTHANASIA

http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/appellate-attorney-kassie-dee-patrick-marks-j-d-analyzes-the-actual-words-of-texas-senate-bill-303-hb-1444-that-permits-passive-euthanasia/

Support CSSB303 to Protect Life & Preserve Conscience in End of Life Care

http://txcatholic.org/images/docs/20130429_Protecting_Life_Handout.pdf

Point by Point Refutations of Criticisms of S. B. 303

http://www.txcatholic.org/images/docs/20130501_SB_303_Refutations.pdf

Action Alert: Encourage Texas Representatives to Pass End-of-Life Care Reforms

http://txcatholic.org/action-alerts/331-action-alert-encourage-texas-representatives-to-pass-end-of-life-care-reforms

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

TEXAS SB303 RELATING TO THE 'END OF LIFE' - ACTION REQUIRED

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:57:00 +0000

This is the first of the bills that I will be addressing. After SCHOOL CHOICE failed, I thought it might be time for us to take ACTION. This is a very important bill, so please read it carefully and make your decision based on your religious beliefs. This bill is a perfect example of how good people can disagree on an issue so critical to the end of life question.

Phil Sevilla has taken the time to do research on the End of Life bill which will help you make your decision. Please contact your State Representative and make your voices heard.

There are links in the message below that you will have to activate to read. I no longer activate most links because of the viruses that may occur.

Thank you

RED SONJA 2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

SB 303

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByFvfq9Ya7gzRm1pSGtHWm9aRTQ/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1

Texas Leadership Coalition

Dear Fellow Texans,

Texas State bill, SB 303, relating to “end of life” advance directives, health care, and treatment decisions was sponsored by TX Senators Bob Deuell (Republican - Dist. 2), Craig Estes (Republican - D30), and Eddie Lucio, Jr. (Democrat - D27) and passed the full Senate on April 18, 2013 (24-6) and in now in the Texas House of Representatives for review and approval.

All Texans should be informed about the consequences of this legislation. It can be a matter of life and death

for you and your loved ones. Where do you begin if you haven’t followed this issue in the news and blogs closely? Take the time to read the SB303bill itself. I’ve posted it on my document site highlighting sections that evoke serious concern. Go to: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByFvfq9Ya7gzRm1pSGtHWm9aRTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Be aware that there is a very serious debate going on about the life and death consequences of this bill among

organizations that we respect and look up to as pro-life Christians. On one side we have the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, Texas Alliance for Life, and the Texas Medical Association (to name some of the more visible advocates of the legislation) and on the other side, we have the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Texas Right To Life, Human Life Alliance, American Life League, and Lifetree. These are all honorable and highly esteemed organizations. But both sides cannot be right.

Let’s examine the facts. It will take some study but it’s vitally important that we get this pro-life issue

right for the future of Texas and our nation. May we never forget what happened to Terri Schindler Schiavo,

Nancy Cruzan, and countless handicapped and debilitated Americans who are silently being euthanized

in American hospitals and hospices every day.

Bishop Emeritus Rene Gracida (Corpus Christi, TX) has been closely following the issue on his blog, abyssum.wordpress.com. I’m sure you will understand the issue well and will be able to make up your own
mind if you take the time to read these postings. Here we go.

First a primer on the Euthanasia Movement by Elizabeth D. Wickham, Ph.D. Dr. Wickham is a co-founder and Executive Director of LifeTree, Inc., a non-profit that provides expert information on end-of-life and euthanasia

trends around the world. http://www.lifetree.org/

Repackaging Death as Life- The Third Path to Imposed Death (Three Articles)

Part 1:http://www.all.org/article/index/id/ODE5Mg/

Part 2:http://www.all.org/article/index/id/ODIxMA
Part 3: http://www.all.org/article/index/id/ODIxNg/

Don’t Be Fooled by Those Who Support SB 303

http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/dont-be-fooled-by-those-who-support-sb-303/

The Pro-Life Movement Needs to be Aware of SB 303 and not Hasten the Slide Down the Slippery Slope to Euthanasia
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/the-pro-life-movement-needs-to-be-aware-of-sb-303-and-not-hasten-the-slide-down-the-slippery-slope-to-euthanasia/

Texas is About to Embark on the “Third Path” to Passive Euthanasia
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/texas-is-about-to-embark-on-the-third-path-to-passive-euthansia/

Texas Still Aiming At Forced DNR
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/wesley-j-smith-says-sb303-still-unacceptable/

Death Panel Bill passes TX Senate, moves to House
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/the-association-of-american-physicians-and-surgeons-joins-the-fight-against-sb303/

Texas Lawmakers Attempt to Second-Guess God
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-texas-house-must-not-follow-the-senates-lead-and-try-to-second-guess-god/

I am disturbed by the ambiguities in the Texas SB 303 bill. For starters, it appears a major shift in fundamental Christian moral ethics concerning end of life care that nutrition and hydration (food and water) categorized (page one of the bill) as “artificially administered” when provided through a tube inserted in a vein or in the stomach should ever be withdrawn. Can a patient seriously ill but not in the final throes of death ever be made “comfortable” if he or she is starved to death by being deprived of basic food and hydration?

According to the National Catholic Bioethics Center, the following pastoral principles should apply
to all bishops, priests, and medical practitioners:¹

“In principle, the provision of nutrition and hydration by artificial means does not differ in its moral

dimension from the provision of food and water by fork and cup. Both constitute ordinary means

of preserving life.

“The fact that someone is in a state of unconsciousness and is not expected to recover is not a

reason for depriving that person of food and water.

“Whenever a recommendation is made not to provide food and water, one question to ask is

‘What will be the cause of death?’ If the answer is dehydration and starvation, and artificial nutrition and

hydration can be easily supplied and assimilated, then not supplying them is a form of euthanasia. Unconsciousness is not a fatal disease. No one dies of unconsciousness.

“Another question to ask is whether the dying process has begun. If death is imminent, the provision

of artificial nutrition and hydration is not necessary. Death will follow from the underlying disease.”

(¹“Preaching Points on Nutrition and Hydration” http://www.ncbcenter.org/document.doc?id=9

May God bless Texas and inspire our state legislators to do the right thing. It’s a matter of life and death.

PHIL SEVILLA

THE LAREDO SECTOR ON THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER with Chief John Esquivel

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:42:00 +0000

John Esquivel Chief Patrol Agent LaredoSector Headquarters

On April 4, 2013 SREC SD21 Naomi Narvaiz led a delegation to Laredo, Texasto meet with John Esquivel, Chief Patrol Agent of the LaredoSector Headquarters, US Customs and Border Protection. Others in the delegation were Jeff Narvaiz, Trudy and Russell Hayter from Hays CountyGOP, Lori Granados Campaign Manager for Senator Donna Campbell SD25 and myself from Comal County. We found Chief Esquivel to be welcoming and disposed to answer any questions we had.

I have not been to Laredo for at least 10 years or more because of all the problems that the border cities have experienced with the drug cartels. Things have certainly changed. The road entering Nuevo Laredo from Laredohas changed route. You can no longer stroll across the bridge from Laredo to Nuevo Laredo as before. A sign warns that you will have to pass through customs before reentry and a passport is best. There were three of us who were brave enough to go to the booth but decided that we had better wait until we had our passports, another day, perhaps.

After the friendly introductions Chief Esquivel went right into the question and answer session. I made it a point to forget that this man works for the federal government and may not be able to reveal certain classified information. But I do believe that what we did discuss was true and honest. Our hour long conference with the Chief was interesting and revealed information that probably the average Texan or American would not know. In case you might wonder how many sectors Texas has there are five: Big Bend Sector, Del RioSector, El Paso Sector, Rio Grande Valley Sector and the LaredoSector.

The Texas-Mexico border runs almost 2,000 miles, 171 miles of which are in the Laredo Sector. The Laredo Sector runs from the Dimmitt-Webb Countyline to the Zapata-Starr county line. Approximately 1,900 border patrol agents are on duty 24/7 with no gaps in between shifts and do not receive hazardous pay, but are on ‘uncontrolled overtime’. After 5 to 6 years of service, their salary is about $80,000.

The Texas-Mexico border in South Texas is 100% owned by property owners and not the federal government as the case may be in Arizona and New Mexico. The land owners welcome the agents’ access to their land and may even give them the keys to their property.

The one big difference between the Laredo Sector and the El Paso Sector is that that section borders on federal land owned by the Bureau of Land Management making access more difficult. As you can see according to the map below that area is part of the Department of Defense. As Chief Esquivel stated, “they have an interest in environmental issues and they have all the regulations that they have to be concerned with before they allow us to drag roads or improve a road. We do have access but to build something on federal government land is harder than dealing with a property owner who may improve that road for you.” Chief Esquivel also commented that the Laredo Sector has the river while the El PasoSector has barbed wire fencing.

Carrizo Cane grows along the banks of the Rio Grandeprohibiting access along the river banks and provides a natural barrier. The border patrol agent can not see who is in the river or who is on the other side in these areas, hindering the effectiveness of the border agent.

http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/pdf/fedlands/TX.pdf

The following are some of the Q&A from our delegation to Chief Esquivel.

On Sequestration: Every agency in the government took some sort of hit, as did we. We still don’t know what the impact is going to be for the border patrol agent who is out in the field, including me. However I believe with a lot of certainly that the impact will probably be minimal as to what we thought it was going to be. We will continue to operate without any real impact. It is better than just 30 days ago when we were looking at furloughs and a 25% pay cut.

On Immigration: I do not have an opinion because what ever laws are in the books those are the laws we are going to follow. And debating on immigration reform is not at my level. It is at the political level. And we are going to continue to enforce whatever laws are in the books.

Have you seen an increase in illegal entry? The numbers are misleading when you look at them on paper. Our fiscal year is from October 1, to September 30. We are seeing about a 25% increase in illegal entry and apprehensions compared to last year’s fiscal year. However, the numbers are no where near what they were in 2004, 2005, 2006. If you look at it historically when we had fewer agents, we had a lot more apprehensions. The entries are still manageable. The apprehensions are still manageable even though they have a spike.

Do you believe that basically the Border is Secure? Why do you think the illegals are coming in? I think it is seasonal, but you almost have to understand the dynamics in Mexico. The Zeta Cartels had a very, very strong hold of the Nuevo Laredo Plaza, as they call it, a year or two years ago. And now with the infighting and with a lot of their leadership being knocked out you have a lot of lower level managers running the cartel. A year ago or two years ago if you were to transit through Nuevo Laredo to get to the United States you had to go through the big bosses and you had to pay the big bosses if you were going to operate in their lanes. But with the dismantling of a lot of the organizations, now the lower level folks are losing control of that plaza. So people who may not have normally crossed through here may say its OK to cross through Nuevo Laredo to Laredo because the guys that were in charge are no longer in charge. It is not as difficult. That’s one of the reasons.

What about Other Than Mexicans have you seen an increase? Is there a relation between the OTMs and Cartels? We are seeing a spike in OTMs but not anything that is alarming to us. No it is a manageable population to us. Most OTMs are from El Salvador, Guatemalaand

Honduras

. Mexicohas no border patrol and no one guarding their Southern borders and OTMs into Mexico.

Is there Hamas in Mexico? No, as a matter of fact the last time I heard that was probably in 2005, 2006, when a Sheriff here made that statement. He was asked to give us the information and he could not give us that information.

Who are you having more problems with those that want to come here to work or those with the drug cartels?

I look at them the same. An illegal act is an illegal act.

What other method do you have other than the 1,900 agents to patrol the border?

The Customs and Border Protection have drones, which they might fly the area and I probably won’t even know about it. The other thing is that through DHS grants 250,000 low tech game cameras were given to Texas. These game cameras can be moved any where we want. What’s interesting, I don’t know if you know how they work, but that camera takes a picture and sends it to Austin. The state within a matter of seconds sends it back to us and we see aliens traversing the area or people with bundles of marijuana and it is instantaneous. Before, we relied on a ground sensor and we had to actually go to the site and find out that it was a cow. So it’s just great! We have them here, Rio Grande Valley Sector and Del Rio Sector. It’s been very productive for us.

Over looking the Rio Grande at the old bridge and the second international bridge

Nuevo Laredo police department: A year or two ago the Mexican Military basically fortified the border on their side obviously when the drug cartels were dismantled, Nuevo Laredo dismantled their entire police force and got rid of it. Now the military instead of fortifying their border are now doing police calls, robberies, etc. So their footprint on the border is not as large as it used to be a year or two years ago. These are the kind of dynamics that are making it a little easier to go to illegal activity in Mexicoand transfers to Laredoover here.

The cooperation we get from the Mexican government and Mexican Military is great. Mexican Consulate Miguel Angel Isidro Rodriguez is a great partner, extremely great. I can call him at 11pm at night and tell him what we have. There are no us versus them. We are all in this together.

The aliens get accepted back to Mexicoby Mexican Immigration. They try to get their people back to where they came from. If they are stuck downtown they become new recruits for the smugglers. We repatriate at a specific time so that the Mexican government can pick them up and return them without the cartels recruiting them again.

Do you have counterparts in Mexico? I don’t have counterparts in Mexico. The person I deal with in

Mexico

is a general. When ever they receive a drug transaction or stolen vehicle they always communicate with the

United States

authorities to check if the vehicle is a stolen vehicle. Stolen vehicles come from San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. What these smuggling organizations are doing is using these vehicles to transport their cargo. They take the cars south load them with people and go back into the

United States

and head back north.

We are working with partners so we can install license plate readers on IH35. So that we know which vehicle is stolen and even before they make it to the border to pick up their cargo we can stop it before it gets here. .

Matthew Ochoa Operations Officer, Sonja Harris investigative writer/blogger, Trudy Hayter Hays County, Naomi Narvaiz SREC D21 Hays County, Chief John Esquivel, Jeff Narvaiz Hays County, Lori Granados Campaign Mgr Senator D. Campbell SD25, and Russell Hayter Hays County GOP

Chief Esquivel spoke of Francisco Martinez Magna a notorious Mexican national that has been indicted by the United Statesfor alien smuggling. He not only transports aliens but weapons, marijuana and cash. He is a wanted man who has managed to elude both the Mexican and United States government. Magna’s crew steals an approximate 400 vehicles to use in his ‘enterprise’ from the United States and takes them back to Mexico for the sole purpose of smuggling his cargo back into the United States. He also told us how the South Texas Campaign is working to systematically eliminate Magna’s crew in the United States. This method of charting each individual’s criminal activity under Magna has proven to be very successful.

Groundbreaking was initiated this month for a South Texas Border Intelligence Center. This center will house several agencies under one roof for information sharing. The agencies are: Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigation, FBI, DEA, Texas Department of Public Safety, Webb County Sheriff’s Office and the Laredo Police Department.

We thanked Chief Esquivel for his time and hospitality. I believe we gathered enough information to understand the dangers they face and the different kinds of relationships the border patrol has to have in order to eliminate the transportation of illegals into the United States. One thing I totally understand. When he told us that the Mexican government does not have an equivalent border patrol, my head filled with visions of Americans going into Mexico. They are called tourists!

RED SONJA2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part III of III

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:22:00 +0000

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part III of III
Time to get involved!
----------------------------------------------------
"I believe that if moms and dads do not have the right to see what their children are being taught in school, then we are no longer living in a place called the United States of America."
Ken Mercer

Ken Mercer on CSCOPE: Part III of III
Time to get involved!

On Nov. 18, 2012, I tried to “turn on the lights” regarding CSCOPE, the embattled curriculum utilized by 875 school districts in Texas. With the support of hundreds of concerned parents and educators, I requested my fellow Members of the State Board of Education to approve a motion recommending the Texas Legislature give the SBOE oversight and review authority over CSCOPE.

My friends, I was shocked when my motion was defeated by a vote of 9-6. However, within one week CSCOPE had made national news, including segments by Glenn Beck and Fox News that outlined controversial lessons and problems with the online curriculum program.

Thanks to conservative friends and leaders, CSCOPE has removed much of the controversial curriculum. Now the State Board of Education is requesting your help to review the social studies lesson plans in CSCOPE. This is your chance to get involved!

The communication below from my good friend, Barbara Cargill, shares how you can volunteer and make a difference! If you are interested, please submit the online form by April 29th.

Thank you for your prayers and your support!

=============================================

FROM: Barbara Cargill, Chair TX SBOE

Dear Friends,

If you know qualified people who might be interested in serving on a review panel for the social studies CSCOPE review process, please let me or your own SBOE member know about them.

The SBOE is asking for help in appointing reviewers to ensure that the CSCOPE lesson plans for social studies are error-free and of great quality.

Here is a little more information about the nomination process for CSCOPE review panel members. If you go to the TEA website, there is now a separate link for the CSCOPE review. It gives more details. That link ishttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=25769804296

The timeline for the process is also linked to this website.

The link to the nomination form is open now. It lists the panels by grade and subject. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=25769804296

Interested citizens may submit a nomination form through April 29. The CSCOPE Ad Hoc Committee expects to make committee assignments in May. The review panels would then work June 3-16 to review the material.

Thank you!

Barbara Cargill

Chair, State Board of Education

THE GANG OF EIGHT - IMMIGRATION BILL

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:22:00 +0000

Senator John McCain – Senator Marco Rubio – Senator Dick Durbin – Senator Linsey Graham
Senator Jeff Flake - Senator Robert Menendez - Senator Charles Schumer – Senator Michael Bennet

Can we trust the ‘Gang of Eight’ to stand firm on their Border Security, Economic Opportunityand Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 and not give in to Open Borders or amnesty to 11 Million illegals. For your reading I have enclosed an Outline and the full text of the bill below.

Rubio is being mocked, ridiculed for standing for what he believes is true. No matter that in the end Obama will probably have his way. We know what Obama wants, he may say he wants amnesty for the illegals or undocumented aliens that are here but what he wants is more chaos, more hate to destroy the Republican Party. And conservatives are willingly assisting Obama to destroy Rubio. We are intent in destroying our own. Don’t we have the Left to do this? Obama must be smiling smugly that the carnivorous conservatives are eating their own, just like we did in the 2012 primaries.

It still amazes me how intelligent Christians, conservatives and Republicans can get so many issues correct but can’t seem to grasp the complexities of the immigration system. We all know the system is not functioning as it should and that we in essence have a ‘de facto’ immigration system.

As far as I am concerned we have a few conservative men in the senate who are willing to stand up for what they believe, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Mike Lee and Senator Marco Rubio. Please understand that the Left will systematically destroy one by one if we give them an opportunity. We should not let the nefarious Left destroy our senators. We may or may not agree totally with these senators but I believe that they care for America and Americans.

I receive hundreds of emails daily addressing many issues but of late I have received mostly emails on immigration. Instead of using venom pointed toward our GOP, why not use that energy in a more productive manner. First be knowledgeable about what you are writing. That is, before making a statement, read the bill. Understand the terminology. Making comments without understanding the terminology is ridiculous and downright stupid.

**AMNESTY: Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole.

MISDEMEANOR: Law. A criminal offense defined as less serious than a felony. It is an offense punishable by confinement to jail or fined or both. If a fine is paid or jail time served, then compliance with the law has been satisfied.

Ivan Andraza an immigration lawyer explains that, “Technically if a person crosses (the border) one time with no criminal record that’s punishable up to 6 months in jail which is a Class B Misdemeanor in Texas.”

FELONY: a serious crime for which you can be sentenced to prison.

What the bill is doing is modernizing our immigration system to a system that can be monitored. We must know who is in our country. We must know which illegals need to be sent back to their country.   We must address the economy crises we are in and we must stop being in denial. How many American young adults ages 18 – 25 are willing to do hard labor? Who will pick our cotton, our bell peppers, fruit, etc? Who will frame and build our houses? Who will wash dishes and prepare our meals at our favorite restaurant? Who will change the linens and clean after us after we leave the hotel? Who will care for the elderly at the nursing homes? Who?

The American Dream belongs to anyone who is willing to work hard, to follow our laws and be abiding citizens.   It does not belong to any one ethnic group or race. It belongs to all of us.   A misdemeanor does not make you a criminal and should not be a detriment in obtaining a job.

With Battleground Texas on our heels we can not be complacent or underestimate what the Obama Administration is doing to make sure that Texas turns Blue in 10 years.   We must act NOW. According to the PewHispanic ResearchCenter dated October 1, 2012, numbers taken from the 2010 census, there are 4.2 million Hispanic eligible voters in Texas. Remember we are not out there knocking on doors as we should but Battleground Texasis. Granted if the Left gets to these eligible voters first, well you know how they will vote. There is no guarantee how our officials choose once they chase and gain our vote. We must GOTV to all eligible voters in Texas. Texas is not a Battleground state therefore there are no statistics for Texas. We don’t want to become a Battleground state.

We in the Republican Party have to stand strong behind our moral values and our constitution. I am NOT for blanket amnesty or Open Borders. I totally agree with Senator Ted Cruz that we have to stand by the rule of law, so does Rubio. As far as I understand this bill with fines and a waiting period, is NOT giving amnesty to 11 Million plus illegals. This is where the difference of opinions lies. After reading the text of the bill and if you do not agree or have a better idea, please contact your Senator or the Republican senators who worked on the bill. Let your voice be heard!
RED SONJA2013©
Pray, Fight, Never give up!

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/10/01/latinos-in-the-2012-election-texas/**

Once granted Registered Provisional Immigrant status, they can work for any employer in the U.S. RPI status lasts for six years, and is renewable. Individuals with RPI status aren't eligible for federal means-tested public benefits, such as food stamps.

Green cards

After 10 years, immigrants with RPI status will be eligible for lawful permanent resident status, as long as they meet the conditions that other immigrants must meet in order to receive a green card, including knowledge of civics and English. They also must pay a $1,000 penalty.

Border security

Legal status and green cards will not be granted to most undocumented immigrants unless certain border security benchmarks are met. The bill calls for additional Border Patrol agents, drones and other surveillance systems along the U.S.-Mexico border, and additional fencing there.

Complete text of the Gang of Eight’s comprehensive immigration reform deal
http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2013/04/complete-text-of-the-gang-of-eights-comprehensive-immigration-reform-deal/
To provide for comprehensive immigration reform and for other purposes…. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc113/s744_is.xml
Immigration reform bill 101: Get a rundown of the details
Legal status for undocumented immigrants
Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally can apply for legal status if they have lived in the U.S.since Dec. 31, 2011, and haven't been convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors. They must pay a $500 penalty and back taxes.

Employment verification

Within five years, all employers will be required to use the federal government's Internet-based E-Verify system to check the eligibility of new hires to work in the

U.S.

This requirement will be phased in, starting with large businesses. Every non-citizen will be required to show a photo ID that matches the photo on file with the government.

Temporary visas

The H-1B visa cap will be increased from 60,000 to 110,000. This cap could go as a high as 180,000 depending on demand. The exemption for advanced degree holders from

U.S.

universities will be increased from 20,000 to 25,000.
Employers would be required to pay H-1B visa workers significantly higher wages than under current law, and first advertise these jobs, at these higher wage rates, to American workers.

W visas for low-skilled workers

A new three-year W-Visa classification would be crated for low-skilled workers. An independent statistical agency would determine how many W visas would be granted, and in what occupations, based on need. Employers who want to use these visas must submit applications to the government. Employers with workplace violations are ineligible for these visas.
Wages will have to match what other workers in that occupation receive in their metropolitan area. The number of W visas will be limited in the first four years (rising to 75,000 in the fourth year). No more than 15,000 W visas will be granted to construction workers in any year -- something the construction industry says could lead to a worker shortage as the industry recovers.

Start-up visas

Foreign entrepreneurs who want to start a business in the U.S.would be granted visas.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/04/16/immigration-reform-bill-101-get-a.html

WHO REPRESENTS ME

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

Senator Marco Rubio (FL) Washington DC 202 224 3041

Senator John McCain (AZ) Washington DC 202 224 2235

Senator Linsey Graham (SC) Washington DC 202 224 5972

Senator Jeff Flake (AZ) Washington DC 202 224 4521

UNA NACION UNDER GOD – A DIALOGUE Austin, Texas Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:28:00 +0000

Adryana Boyne moderator with SPEAKERS: David Zapata RPT Outreach Director, Rafael Cruz father of Sen. Ted Cruz, Brad Bailey Founder of the Texas Solution, Aaron Pena former Texas State Rep, Larry Gonzalez Texas State Rep D52, Manny Rosales former Deputy Coalitions Director of the RNC and Bob Price Communications Director US Border Watch at podium

This is Part II of Una Nacion Under God – A Dialogue which was held on April 6 at the State Capital in Austin, Texas. Voces Action, San Antonio Tea Party partnered with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Conservatives in Action hosted the one day symposium. It seems to me that everyone should know what is happening in Texasconcerning border security and immigration reform. But I am grossly mistaken. Many Texans are unaware of what is at stake if we continue to lose ground. We have an enormous job ahead of us, if we want to Keep Texas Red. The loss of the presidency sent shock waves to the Red States and it was an awaking to the people of Texas.

It is estimated that Texas will be mostly Hispanic in 10 years with Hawaii and New Mexico already lacking a majority of Anglos. By the end of 2014 it is predicted that Californiawill be predominately Hispanic. In San Antonio, TexasHispanics already dominate as the majority. So what are we waiting for? We need to act now. Other states may or may not understand how important it is that we start now to cultivate a relationship with the American Hispanic, so Texas must lead the way. CaliforniaI am afraid is already a Blue state with little or no chance of becoming Red. We can not continue to ignore the reality of the changing demographics of our nation. The time for action is now, not after we become a Blue state.

TOO LATE, NATHAN, TOO LATE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ug_S2dpBk

Again for the sake of brevity I have taken excerpts from the speeches presented by each speaker at the symposium. And again I want to stress that not one panelist wants OPEN BORDERS OR AMNESTY! This symposium was held so that an open dialogue with differing ideas could be voiced on pro immigration. We already hear loud and clear those screaming, Send them all back!” But that is not a solution. And so that we are straight on this issue, I AM NOT FOR AMNESTY OR OPEN BORDERS! Unfortunately there are many Republicans and conservatives that are having a difficult time digesting the difference between amnesty and a pathway to legalization.

I learned many things at this symposium but the one issue that struck me was the question of illegals being criminals. Ivan Andraza the immigration lawyer told the audience during the Q&A time that, “technically if a person crosses one time with no criminal record that’s punishable up to 6 months in jail which is a Class B Misdemeanor in Texas.”

Larry Gonzalez: Maybe it’s not about pandering for votes but it sure is about chasing votes. Let me tell you why. Because we lost to a president I can’t believe we lost to. So the question is how did we lose to Barack Obama in 2012? Main answer, we did not have enough votes! How simple is that. How do we fix that? Go get more votes! I am chasing votes, absolutely I am. So why not start with the fastest growing population in the country, the fastest growing population in the state.

What are we going to do in Texas about this? We are going to talk about our core beliefs. Guess what our Hispanic community cares about, education and jobs. How easy is that? Just focus on those two things. You don’t have to pander to them….just do it and get it done. It is a natural bridge that is why they come here. They want a better life.

If you live in Nebraska and come to Texas, you get in-state tuition after a year. Would you rather have a PhD, a doctor or a lawyer or would you rather have them taking government subsidies? You want them to work. We are on board with the Dreamers but I am not on board on any kind of citizenship, I just can’t do it. I can’t do the amnesty. You want to work; I am going to put you to work. I am going to put you on the tax rolls. You are going to pay property taxes, sales taxes; you are a contributing part of this society. We will be better for it. Education and jobs is a natural bridge to that community.

David Zapata: Our job with the party is to encourage all our party activists to engage. Engage your community, be respectful. Every community cares about the same thing education, jobs, the economy, so they can provide for their families. Sometimes our Republican Party, we get so caught up with the attacks, defending the attacks of the other party that we forget that we have a good message. Strong values that resonate with every community. What we have to do as Hispanics is engage, identify the groups we need to engage with and communicate our message and brag about it. Be ready to talk about what your state leaders have done to keep our state prosperous. Again don’t get so caught up in defending, defending. Share the message of conservatism. Conservatism benefits everyone. As Republican activists, as leaders, as precinct chairs these are the conversations we should engage with others in our community. Do not be afraid of immigration conservations. Be ready to respectfully present your ideas, your message at the local level.

We are the party of the grassroots…engage your community in conservation. You are the leaders of your party and we need you to take the Republican message to everyone, to as many places as you can.

Bob Price: These loud right wing groups that are actually really small, but are very loud, that say we can’t talk about immigration reform until we secure the border. We can’t do one without the other. Because if you secure the border, you are creating more lawlessness because you are creating a bigger market for the drug cartels to do human trafficking and human smuggling. You can’t reform immigration without securing the border because if you do that, there are still people who are not going to qualify and they will cross the border illegally. So you have to address both of these issues at the same time. There was some discussion about chasing votes because this is about chasing votes…its not just about chasing the Hispanic vote. We have to win the battle of ideas.

Right now our policies don’t reflect the core of conservative values of the party. We are supposed to be the party about limited government, and yet we are spending more money on DHS than we are in the FBI and many other organizations. We are supposed to be about law and order yet our policies have created more lawlessness as we go along, human trafficking, and human smuggling. We don’t have a system in place to grant people the right to work legally, so when they are discovered it forces them to go under ground, more lawlessness. We are a party of family values yet we separate families.

Brad Bailey: I got involved. We got the Texas Immigration Solution and talked with so many people like Bob Price and so many leaders about this issue. I always believed this was a third rail political issue. It is hard for our elected officials to touch this issue.

And when we took the platform, we took all the, ‘ship them out now, illegals are our enemies’. We took it to the floor. The anti immigration groups fired up. They started passing out no amnesty stickers. They called us every name in the book. They attacked our platform five times at the state convention in front of 8,000 delegates. And five times over 2/3s of that convention, those 8,000 delegates took our solution over the rhetoric of old. We were supported at the state level. We can no longer let the anti immigration groups and the name calling divide our party.

Every single group I go to 95% are white, 95% are generally 65 years or older. We have to start talking and teaching about how to talk about this, how to be welcoming to our party, how to get new ideas. I hear Ted Cruz telling the story about his father; this story is the best we have out there. We need to stop complaining and talk about our principles. There are so many people coming after us, like Battleground Texasthat is trying to divide us. Let’s be the party that Ronald Reagan talked about, the shinning city on the hill. Let’s talk about this issue but let’s solve the issue. Once we take this albatross of immigration from around our neck we can start connecting with education, on free market principles, on religious freedoms, on entrepreneurialism and not on things that are not working.

Manny Rosales, Ivan Andraza with State Rep Larry Gonzalez

Manny Rosales: We are at a crossroads. Where are we going to go as a party? Ronald Reagan liked to say there are ‘no permanent defeats because there are no permanent victories’.

SOCIAL ISSUES: 55% of Hispanics say that religion is important in their life.

What do we need to grow as a party? We don’t need the Republican Party the Republican Party needs us…the Latino vote. They need us, they just don’t know it.

1. The Republican Party is seen as mostly as old, rich, Anglo insider organization.

That perception is reality. We need more Hispanics in the war. It is a long term approach

The Republican National committee: It lies in the actual structure of the party itself. Every two years we start over again. There is no data base for the next election. It is long term to grow the base. Not short term.
Be careful how we message ourselves. Romney: SELF DEPORTATION; ELECTRIFY THE BORDER; all came out in the primaries.

Brad Bailey and Aaron Pena

Aaron Pena: If we lose Texas, Republicans will never see the presidency for several lifetimes. Once you have Florida, California, New York, and Texas, Ohio, and Illinois, you have enough electoral votes to win the presidency. It is up to the people in this room to make a difference.

My district goes from the middle of the Rio Grand down to South Texas. I have lived there all my life and it is a Democrat stronghold and always has been. Battleground Texas is in Brownsville today. They feel that if they can hold on to that region of Texastheir dream will come true in 10 – 15 years. Part of the understanding of this new dynamic Texas is conservative. I want to see and we all want to wish for, is that we understand the immigration issue. We must understand the drug violence, and the cartel violence that is occurring on the border. What is the border really like? There are dual realities on the border on the one hand it is true, if you look at the major states, the cities in this country, El Paso, McAllen, Brownsville…are some of the safest cities you can live in. But at the same time there is horrible violence that is occurring on some of the ranches. We built a fence around some of the urban regions and all it has done is channeled many people around the rural communities and so those rural communities are where some of the ranchers are at.

In the old days, I lived on the border; we would go across the border for a meal and a haircut. After 911 that is gone. The border is hardened. The cartels have moved in along the border. In 2004 the cartel traffic left Columbia and the Caribbean and moved to Mexico. So now it is on the border. I could always separate the immigrant from the cartels, there is a distinction but there is some melting of the two. The cartels control every inch of the border. In order to come across you have to literally go to the cartel members or the gangs that control the border. It isn’t just an economic thing; they (illegals) don’t want to carry drugs. Farmers and ranchers are dealing with coyotes. These carry machine guns and automatic weapons.

This is having a corrupting affect on our institutions and the moral fiber of our communities. We have a drug cartel law enforcement unit that is supposed to fight against the cartels. Five or six of them were indicted for helping the cartels. These are American law enforcement officers in my county that are assisting the cartels. Their job was to escort them through all the cities and on to San Antonio. That is an indictment of what is occurring, the corruption. Those are realities that are rarely talked about. Starr Countyhas had five or six sheriffs indicted for assisting the cartels. We may occasionally hear about the Hartley’s, whose husband was killed while riding a jet ski. I will tell you that back home these things occur on a daily basis.

We have a great future in front of us. All we have to do is make the decision to change. Because I believe we can make the change. I believe we have a great future in front of us.

I urge you to read and share this article so that others may learn and know what we have to do to grow our party in Texas. Remember this is A Dialogue and discussion is fluid on what to do in immigration reform. Be a part of the solution, be a part of the future of Texas, KEEP TEXASRED! Part III will follow

RED SONJA2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

Quico Canseco, Rafael Cruz, Adryana and Dr Daryl Boyne

SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS during Q&A time:

Sitting Dr Daryl Boyne, Dr Alex Mendes, Dr Richard Land, Bob Price, Brad Bailey, Hon Dianne Costa, Aaron Pena, and Ivan Andraza Standing Manny Rosales, Rafael Cruz and David Zapata

List of U.S.communities with Hispanic majority populations in the 2010 census

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._communities_with_Hispanic_majority_populations_in_the_2010_census

Dr Richard Land Council of Foreign Relations website

U.S.

Immigration Policy

http://www.cfr.org/immigration/us-immigration-policy/p20030

TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSION

http://www.texasagriculture.gov/

VOCES ACTION

http://www.vocesaction.org/

SAN ANTONIO TEA PARTY

http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/

CONSERVATIVES IN ACTION

http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com

TONI ANNE DASHIELL TX GOP COMMITTEEWOMAN – WE BELIEVE!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:56:00 +0000

Toni Anne Dashiell at the NRC

Toni Anne Dashiell was elected as the TexasGOP National Committeewoman on April 6, 2013. She is the current Chairman of KendallCounty Republican Party and is past president of the TexasFederation of Republican Women. The SREC representatives gathered for a special election in Austin, Texasjust for the purpose of electing a committeewoman because of the untimely death of Borah Van Dormolen. Dashiell will now represent Texas at the Republican National Committee through the end of the Republican National Convention in 2016. I have had the opportunity of knowing Toni Anne for several years since I am a member of TFRW, one of the strongest Republican organizations in the nation.

Toni Anne Dashiell, MaryLou Erben, Besa Martin and Sonja Harris

I can tell you from personal experience that Toni Anne is a strong woman and a staunch Republican. Her election to this position was not a surprise to me and probably not to those who know her, as she is a determined and goal minded individual.

The photographs I am using were taken during the Republican National Convention in August 2012. These photographs are a reminder of how fast things can change in the political arena. While we were talking and discussing the coming election of 2014, it struck me that we have to believe that we can. That we can win. That losing the November election should make us more determined and more aware of what we have to do to win.

My interview with Toni Anne Dashiell on April 15, 2013:

NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ELECTED, WHAT WILL YOU DO DIFFERENTLY THAN YOUR PREDECESSOR?

WOW, Borah Van Dormolen was an incredible woman that went across Texas, across the United States. I have been doing that and want to continue to do that. I will focus in Texas. But one element that I want to incorporate, enhance just what she might have been doing, maybe some conference calls or Skype to get small groups of people in senatorial districts and listen, ask for ideas and start putting that together and sharing that with all levels, from local to state to national level. Really engaging with the grassroots on a small level, like mini town halls.

I would like to make the conference calls smaller. Sometimes you get so large that it is hard to get the questions in. I’m going to put this together, starting in May. I am really going to work with all groups. I want to really start putting all the parts together, the Ron Paulers, the Tea Party; we have many things in common. And if we build on our commonality, we only increase our votes. We increase more people getting involved with the party.

WHAT DO YOU THINK REPUBLICANS HAVE TO DO TO WIN IN 2014?

We have got to focus on getting out there with the grassroots and going out there and reaching people that we have never reached before. And having dialogue and getting them one by one. And we have to work that one by one fast.

I saw this at the RNC, but what I feel is that we have to make this personal. We have to get out of our box get out of talking just to the choir and start establishing personal relationships and talking to the people. How they understand it. Typically, we are very logical and we like facts but people get glazed over. Most Americans don’t know all the facts. They want to know how is this going to affect me. Until we come up with the language and the message on how it is affecting you personally. We have to bring it into their light, so they can relate to it. We just have to knock on more doors; we have to be out there. I think we have to take our tradition, which is block walking and phone banking and blend it with the social media to get the young people, but we have got to start knocking on doors again and we have to see them face to face.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WORKING HARD TO GET THE HISPANIC VOTE?

I think getting the Hispanic Vote again is going to be building relationships. Instead of giving money to a project to a Hispanic organization that is trying to develop a park or trying to do something within their church, but they need money. Instead of giving the money let’s work side by side and let’s help them raise the money together. Then they can see our compassion. They can see that we care and then they can see that we have many things in common. We then start building trust and they can come to us and ask us questions.

Toni Anne Dashiell in a serious pensive pose

DO YOU THINK WE HAVE TO CHANGE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! We do not change our platform. I think all issues are important and again I go back to the fact that we have many parts. Every part makes our party stronger and we do not compromise our values and our beliefs, NO.

PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO COMPROMISE ANY VALUES ESPECIALLY SOCIAL VALUES.

We have to work on this now. And I see the organization coming together. We energize our base. If we lose, if we lose it, then we are going to start losing our platform base. Our platform is not going to change, but we will not be able to maintain it.

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY ‘TO MAINTAIN IT’?

What I am saying right now is that we have a platform we can keep because we are the majority in Texas, we can keep it. The conservatives have control. We can continue striving to keep a conservative agenda going forward. If we start losing the elected officials, they will start going to the Democrat side. We will start losing those conservative values and they will start pulling them to the middle and then to the Left. That is why we have to get our base out there working or we will lose our platform.

DO YOU SUPPORT TERM LIMITS FOR OUR TEXAS LEGISLATORS?

Are you talking about these bills that are in legislature right now? I think that the intent is good, but I am not sure that limiting a state wide elected official to only two terms total in whatever offices. I am not sure that that is enough. As I understand how the bill reads, is that if you did one term as Ag Commissioner and you can only go one term as Lt Gov or one term as governor, then you are finished. I think you need a little more time and not to limit it so close. I don’t think that is right for that person that is in there trying to accomplish their goal. And it is not good for us because we are turning them away too quick.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF BATTLEGROUND TEXAS?

You mean the Democrats coming in with the 200 people they have here? I think that we can not take that for granted. We have to work harder because they are registering people to vote. They are building those relationships that we should.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD?

I want them to know that I want to see a grassroots led organization. I felt that they were moving in that direction in the RNC. In the short time that I was there, I think that there is still need…they came out with the Growth and Opportunity Report and if we can keep their feet to the fire to accomplish the recommendations and goals they want to reach, I think we will have a grassroots led organization. We want to go from the grassroots up not from the top down.

We have to believe that we can win with hard work and a more positive message.

RED SONJA2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

YES, WE CAN BELIEVE IN AMERICA!

UNA NACION UNDER GOD – A Dialogue Austin Texas Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:48:00 +0000

Panelists at the Una Nacion Under God – A Dialogue

The panel consisted of Ivan Andarza, an immigration attorney, Dr Alex Mendes Director of Hispanic Ministries, Evangelical Free Church of America, Dr Richard Land President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Hon Diane Costa former Mayor of Highland Village, Adryana Boyne National Director of VOCES Action, Dr Daryl Boyne President of VOCES Action, Hon Todd Staples, Texas Agriculture Commissioner, and Hon Francisco ‘Quico’ Canseco Former US Congressmen

On Saturday, April 6, 2013 Una Nacion Under God – A Dialogue hosted by VOCES Action, Conservatives in Action and the San Antonio Tea Party partnering with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples brought a most needed Hispanic Outreach conversation to the state Capital in Austin, Texas.

The purpose was to have an open discussion of why we lost the Hispanic Vote and its impact on our November 2012 election and how important it is that we win the Hispanic Vote for future generations in Texasand throughout the nation. Other issues were also discussed such as the Guest Worker Program, Dream Act, and Border Security. Other issues which not only affect the Hispanic Voter but all voters, like the economy, jobs and moral issues we are presently facing.

What an excellent opportunity to not only listen to knowledgeable panelists in their field but to participate by asking questions. It was interesting to listen to each of the panelists as they not always agreed on each solution but were in total agreement that a guest worker permit be implemented to help ease tensions bringing the ‘illegal immigrant’ out of the shadows. Despite some harassing rhetoric from anti-immigration groups before the event, not one panelist expressed a belief in amnesty or open borders.

These are my thoughts: what is apparent is that some Texans do have a difficult time discussing immigration reform. We must not let the Left lead this conversation. We have as much right to discuss and grow our Republican Party as the Left. We must lead the discussion, after all aren’t we the party of Lincoln?

Sonja Harris and Adryana Boyne

I felt inspired just working with Adryana Boyne the National Director of VOCES Action. She is energetic, vivacious, and passionate. Without her commitment to helping Hispanics realize that they do have a choice in the political arena, this dialogue would not have been possible. VOCES Action is a non-profit organization promoting conservative values which focuses on the Hispanic population.

It takes a lot of dedication in working towards a winning solution and for a successful symposium such as Una Nacion Under God – A Dialogue. Those directly involved with the planning were Texas Agriculture Commissioner Staples, Jeff Judson, Jon Kaplan and Sharon Hall for the San Antonio Tea Party and myself and of course Adryana Boyne who also served as the moderator. Bob Price from Texas GOP Vote was the videographer and speaker on the second panel and I assisted with the photography.

Bob Price

Sharon Hall, SA Tea Party

The following are excerpts taken from each person that spoke in helping communicate the right message we should take to our clubs, groups, friends and family in order to better understand the Hispanic and how to win the Hispanic Vote. Every item that was discussed was important but for the sake of brevity I chose to use excerpts. If any of you are interested in listening to the entire session of five hours, just let me know. Commissioner Staples and Dr Land had a great round of discussion on the pathway to legalization vs the pathway to citizenship.

HON QUICO CANSECO: The economy is suffering and it affects the Hispanic population. We are now looking at a 10% unemployment rate among Hispanics.

HON DIANNE COSTA: If you look at how Hispanics get their information it’s through the media. We know that the media tends to be a little left. This is where they are getting their information that’s one of the reasons why we have to come out on the TV stations and debate so they (Hispanics) can hear the other side of the argument because typically they have been hearing only one side. It is out fault, we have been hesitant. We have to educate them. I think there is this misconception that Hispanics are just interested in immigration. They are worried about the economy as well. They are worried about the very same things that we are.

DR ALEX MENDES: We need to speak to the issues of justice and compassion. We must address these issues in the same way Lincoln and Martin Luther King did. My policies have nothing to do with my politics but with the bible.

DR RICHARD LAND: What is amnesty and what is not? Amnesty is what President Carter gave those young men who avoided the draft during Vietnamand went to Canadaavoiding the war. A felony, breaking the law, up to five years in prison and a significant fine, he let them come home no fine, no probation, no penalty. “You all come on home, we have your back.” That is amnesty.

I would have let them come home, but I would have required that they work for two years at minimum wage at veterans’ hospitals taking care of the guys that took their place.

What is being proposed for those on undocumented status is that they come forward; agree to register, to under go a background check, to make certain that they have not committed a crime either in their country of origin or where they are now. Agree to pay a fine. They agree to pay any back taxes that are due, they agree to go on probationary status and begin learning to translate for citizenship. Part of the fine that they are being assessed is to be used to provide them with a temper proof identity card, probably a thumb print. A thumb print never changes and you can’t counterfeit it. They would need this in order to work and pay their taxes and to be law abiding citizens to invest in our country so in the future they would have an opportunity to become citizens. They would also agree to learn how to read, write and speak English. That is NOT amnesty and anyone who insists that it is, is being dishonest or they have a problem with the English language themselves.

It is a fantasy to assume that we are going to deport millions of people or that we will deport someone who has been here for 20 years. Secondly, parts of our economy would rise to a halt if we deport all the undocumented workers. I don’t know how houses would be built in Texas.

IVAN ANDARZA: I have to tell them, the undocumented worker; there is nothing I can do many times. Right now, we are in a recession and in four days the VISA’s are gone. We are not fulfilling the needs of our economy. Not enough VISA’s are available so we have to go to a lottery. Businesses can not plan because they do not know if they are going to get VISA’s for their workers. It is impossible to plan and so for businesses this is crippling. I have never had any immigrant ask me when do I get benefits, it is always when can I work?

Dr LAND: We need a high tech program, a worker guest program. We have to keep in mind that only 70% of the undocumented people here do not want to become residents. They want to work here, save money and go home and open their own small businesses.

COMMISSIONER STAPLES: What we need are not 20^TH Century solutions but 21^st Century solutions. Our immigration laws are antiquated. Immigration is a complex problem and we need multi ways to get it fixed. We need to be pro legal immigration that needs to be the message that goes out. We welcome people who want to live the American Dream. We want this nation to be an upward mobility opportunity for success for those that want to be honest, if you want to work that is who we are. That needs to be our message and that needs to be our voice.

Why are we communicating that citizenship is a prize for violating our laws. That is a troubling message we send. Not so much for those here today but what about the 20 million five years from now.

Dr LAND:Secure the workplace. You can’t secure the border unless you secure the workplace. You have to turn off the magnet. If I lived in Mexico and I weren’t part of the elite, I would come here too. An identity card and E Verify system first, penalty so that they will not hire undocumented workers. 90% of those coming across the border will STOP! The other 10% are coming here for other reasons.

Dr Daryl Boyne and Commissioner Todd Staples

DR DARYL BOYNE:With E Verify you have to be very, very careful. It is the labor unions who do not want the guest worker permits. It is a threat to their power.

CANSECO: Work VISAs and student VISAs are a pathway to citizenship no matter what. A pathway to citizenship is built into our immigration system. Glaring situation, we have an unwillingness to enforce laws that are in the books. Our VISA system is so horrible to understand and so unfair. We have got to realize that we have a broken system and the government is growing. Remember, those guys of 911 were here legitimately but they overstayed. Had we had a government system to put a stop to … ‘Hey your VISA is expired, you have to go back home.’ This is so simple to do….you know the IRS will follow you wherever you are. There is no willingness to find them…the same on border security.

ANDRAZA: Most could not pass the English exam. So they did not become citizens. Most will not become citizens and they want to go back home…

Dr LAND: We must acknowledge a pathway to citizenship OR we will be accused of not welcoming the immigrant.

COMMISSIONER STAPLES: We need to be welcoming. We do not want to reward people for violating our laws. Citizenship is a prized possession that we have.

Dr MANDES: It is not enough to say that we are not chasing votes, because we are. How about talking to a person who is in fear and undocumented? Our laws come from our values. How can we make laws without addressing our values? Every immigrant that has come has been dumped on. It is not a racial issue as much as an economic one.

DR BOYNE: We have come up with solutions in the past (for immigration) with Reagan, GW Bush, and John McCain but Obama has not done anything on this issue.

Groups promoting Anti Immigration are: FAIR, NUMBERS USA, and CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES. John Tanton has an organization US Inc. Their agenda is zero population, people are bad. We have Lincolnon our side. We are the heroes of coming up with solutions for all Americans. We have been slandered, we have been misused. We can not let these groups speak for us. Let us not let the Democrat Party label us as racists.

MODERATOR added WOMAN ON THE WALL and STOP THE MAGNET to the Anti Immigration groups.

COMMISSIONER STAPLES: WashingtonRepublicans are chasing votes I could not agree with you more but Texas Republicans have been leading for years on this issue. Regrettably there are racists today but I refuse to let them be the voice of the Republican Party.

ANDARZA: Hispanics are up for grabs. They were there for us to take. Most voted for Obama than Romney because they had a fear that Romney was going to deport them.

Dr LAND: Immigration is a moral issue, a cultural issue. It is the right thing to do. I am a conservative before I am a Republican.

I will be writing Part II to Una Nacion Under God – A Dialogue so that you know what the stakes are and how important it is that Republicans respond to welcoming the Hispanic Vote.

RED SONJA2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

Dr Richard Land Council of Foreign Relations website

U.S.

Immigration Policy

http://www.cfr.org/immigration/us-immigration-policy/p20030

TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSION

http://www.texasagriculture.gov/

VOCES ACTION

http://www.vocesaction.org/

SAN ANTONIO TEA PARTY

http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/

CONSERVATIVES IN ACTION

http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com

MEET TOM PAUKEN CANDIATE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR OF TEXAS - PART II

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:27:00 +0000

This is Part II of my personal interview with Tom Pauken who is seeking the position for Governor of Texas. We must not be blind to the achievements and failures of our Texas leadership at such a critical time as now. With Battleground Texason our heels we must elect a governor who will Keep Texas Red.

In Part II Tom Pauken discusses the importance of vocational education for students who may not want to attend college but would rather learn a skill for a Blue Collar job. We are in dire need of Blue Collar jobs and skilled workers to fill jobs in Texas and across America. Pauken has worked hard in trying to remedy this situation.

Pauken addresses our crisis in water and immigration situations. He also speaks out against the Public Venture Capital Fund saying that Texas should NOT be part of this business.

Please take the time to read Part I and Part II of Pauken’s interview. I’ll bet you learn something. I will be interviewing Attorney General Gregg Abbott when and IF he decides to run for governor and the same with our Governor Rick Perry if he decides to run for reelection. STAY TUNED….

RED SONJA 2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

AS TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSIONER WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS YOUR BEST EFFORT?

The two initiatives that I am proudest of as chairman of the Texasworkforce commission is

My emphasis on returning to recognizing the value of vocational education. When I came in 2008 there was this emphasis of everybody going to a university and neglect of vocational education, almost a denigration of it. That the skilled trades were somehow second class jobs that we don’t need that anymore. I have been arguing for four years that we need to recognize and appreciate the value of what we historically call the blue collar jobs. There are jobs in many areas that don’t necessarily require college degrees. I called for more emphasis on vocational education at the high school level and also at the post secondary level at our community colleges and our Texas state technical colleges’ institutions which are in different parts of the state. I am glad to see that finally that view is beginning to prevail. I worked on that for four years and we have a terrific coalition that has come together. State representative Jimmie Aycock is leading an effort with HB5; House Bill 5 reforms education in getting away from this one size fits all approach. I see the ability to put together a coalition very similar to what we did in the Reagan Administration to do some good things and again common sense solutions to problems we had based on our conservative principles.
The second issue that I am very proud of is that I am a Vietnam veteran myself and I remember coming home from Vietnam and landing in Oakland and going to the San Francisco airport to return to Texas. We were not exactly greeted warmly at San Francisco at the end of 1969 when I came home. When I was in the Reagan Administration, we set up a program entirely by Vietnam veterans to help our returning veterans. It was called the Vietnam Veteran Leadership Program. We sunseted that program after four years, but we did a tremendous amount with the support of president Reagan to recognize the value of the service of our veterans and to help some of our returning Vietnam veterans who had lingering problems in terms of unemployment, underemployment or other issues associated with their experience with Vietnam. When I came in as Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission, the first thing I did was put together a new program called the Texas Veteran Leadership Program run entirely by those young men and women who served in Iraq or Afghanistan that answered our country’s call at a very difficult time. So to help them make a successful transition back to civilian life in Texas. My point was just like Texas is the number one place in America to do business it should be the number one place in America in terms of thanking our veterans and thanking them the right way by helping them get back to work. With over 10,000 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and again it’s a program peer to peer run by those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to help those who also have served and are coming back to Texas.

DO YOU THINK EDUCATION IS THE TOP PRIORITY RIGHT NOW FOR TEXAS?

I think there are two aspects of that in terms of education. There are a number of issues involved which we have to address. Transportation and Water are major issues. But let’s talk about education first. There are two parts of that, one is in my estimation we have

1) A multiple pathway approach to a high school degree. Let’s recognize some young people are oriented towards going to college and may have an emphasis on math and science, or some might be more interested in the humanities and fine arts. We can have those pathways for students interested in math and a pathway for young people who want to go into career in technical education to also get a high school diploma with a coherent sequence of vocational courses. Everybody gets the basic foundation, but we recognize that kids have different talents and different interests. So that is one area that I have worked long and hard on and we are finally making progress in the legislature but without the support, unfortunately, of the governor. Having said that, we also need to address

2) Our school finance problem. I led the fight against the Robin Hood school finance team back in 1993 when Ann Richards sought to oppose it with a constitutional amendment which would take property taxes from some districts and redistribute it with the state as the redistribution agent to other districts. We defeated that proposed constitutional amendment by a margin of two to one and yet she went ahead and passed it legislatively. It should be declared an unconstitutional violation of our prohibition in the Texas Constitution against the state wide property tax. But unfortunately the Supreme Court has failed to do that. I want to get rid of Robin Hood. Right now there are 374 districts in the state of Texaswho are punitively taxed. We have a lot of people who are living in their homes and property taxes are way too high. $1.1M that is transferred from 374 districts to the so called property-poor districts. That is the wrong way to fund public education and we need to eliminate the Robin Hood portion of school finance and replace it with a revenue or alternative tax to an extended sales tax or a slightly higher sales tax. We have got to lower our property taxes. We have people for all practical purposes who have paid off their mortgages but have a perpetual lien on their own property. This is wrong! I think it needs to be changed and If I am elected governor we will get rid of Robin Hood and in due respect to Rick Perry and Gregg Abbott both have defended the existing system. It is not working and the school finances are so complicated that it is time to come up with a common sense alternative that is fairer and more equitable and a system which we can support.

Why do we wait until the courts act? Why don’t we be pro active and come up with a common sense alternative on this unfair Robin Hood taxing scheme.

WATER

Water is a huge issue and again there is a tendency to kick the can down the road. I am for the 2^nd Amendment and I am against ObamaCare. During the Reagan Administration I led the fight against the Liberal elements which now dominate the national political scene. But we are in charge here in Texasand we keep putting off addressing these serious issues. There are major problems with drought. We have huge issues; I was just in West Texas recently and one of the cities out there may run out of water well within the year. It is time to come up with a long term solution to this situation. Representative Allan Ritter of Southeast Texas is trying to do something about it and

Republican Bill Callegari who is a water engineer from Katy has some excellent ideas on addressing it. Jerry Patterson our land Commissioner has been talking about it, but there has been an absence of leadership from the top on this issue.

It is time to get people together and say, “How do we fix the problem.” Those are essential services, water and transportation of the state of Texas. Why aren’t we doing something about it… Why are we funding… why do we have this $3M in debt for this cancer problem. It is not an essential service to the state of Texas. Cancer is a terrible disease, but so is Alzheimer's, so are the problems in regard to heart disease. The state is in the business in providing slush funds. They hand out grants to all these areas. I support the effort of Senator Eltife to end that debt obligation. That could go away and focus more on addressing the essential needs of the state of Texas, particularly water and transportation as well.

IMMIGRATION

I am not for amnesty and I am very concerned. Obviously it is a very complicated issue but I don’t believe the solution is amnesty. I am also very concerned that we have had serious efforts on the part of the drug cartels from Mexicoto come into Texasto buy property. I don’t want to be a scare monger here, but I hear too many reports from credible sources that in South Texas in the evening on some roads, you just don’t drive on the back roads because there are some serious problems with regards to the movement of drugs in Texas and also the supporting of officials both appointed and elected officials in South Texas by the drug cartel leaders. So I really think we in all due respect to the Federal Government…we in Texascan’t count on Homeland security protecting us, we got to be as self sufficient as possible. If I am elected governor I will make sure that we have a person in charge of overall law enforcement at the state level with strong intelligence background what he or she needs to do in terms of providing the types of leadership to address the efforts of these drug cartels on our side of the border and how best to combat those.

I was in the intelligence business when I was in the military in

Vietnam

as an army intelligence officer. Obviously, it is the area that is fraught with concern in terms of how best to do it. But I think we can not count on Homeland Security providing the kind of security and intelligence that we need here in Texas to address this overflow from the huge problems of the drug cartel and it is in Texasand it might not be just be in South Texas. I also hear reports in the North Texas area that they have made inroads.

WHERE DO YOU SEE TEXAS IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

I think ….reality is that Texas has to continue to lead the nation as we currently do in terms of business with encouraging private sector job creation. We have been very fortunate with the energy bill we have to make sure that economic development continues to pay. I have worked hard on the Workforce Commission to support tax and regulatory policies that encourage economic growth and private sector job creation.

Having said that, what I worry about is what happens if nationally there is a economic calamity.

Cyprus

…We wake up one morning and you suddenly find that you have been prudent and you have your savings in a bank and they are talking about taxing it at 20%.

Now that is

Cyprus

. That is going on in Europeas we speak. I am very worried about affect policy engineered by Ben Bernanke encouraged by the Obama Administration which has kept interest rates artificially low where we buy our own paper. At some point the bubble is going to burst; there is too much government debt out there and what happens? How does Texas address this? How do we become more and more self sufficient to protect our people if there is a serious economic crisis?

We have got to stand up for Texasand its nice to howl at the Obama crowd. We have to be pro active and not always reactive. For example in 2005 we had a Republican president, we had a Republican control of the Senate and Republican control of the House. Where were our leaders, where was our Governor and Attorney General why didn’t they go to Washington and say we don’t want you to extend the Voting Rights Act for another 25 years. It is unfair to Texas.

Why is Texasunder the control of the Department of Justice? Where was our leadership in terms of being pro active at a time when we were in control of the federal government making sure that would not happen? We did nothing. The sad thing is now we send millions of dollars in fighting the unfair actions on the part of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice. But where was the preventive medicine so to speak? Why didn’t we block it or stop it back then?

I give also the example of Medicaid that I talk about in my book, On Bringing America Home, that we need to block grant Medicaid back to the state otherwise it is going to bankrupt everybody. But we had a Republican president GW Bush from Texas. Why didn’t our leadership go to Washington and get a waiver and practically allowing us to block grant it back to Texas? Rhode Island, a Democrat state headed by a Democrat governor, got a waiver. This is an absence of leadership. We are always reacting to things and it is great to be against something just like ObamaCare which I am against it. Where are our leaders?

What are you going to do differently that works better, costs less and is more driven by the consumers and not by the control of a centralized government that I think is missing.

The current politicians who pass themselves off as conservative don’t do that. In fact they duck the tough issues. They take the easy ones that all of us are for. This does not do anything to solve long term problems and I think decision making ought to be based on what is the good for our state and not who gives the most money or what prominent lobbyist has a lot of influence in Austin wants to get on behalf of the client. This is crony capitalism, we have said it about the Obama Administration and there is crony capitalism in Austin. We need to get rid of it.

Why is our state involved with the promoting of the Public Venture Capital Fund? It’s called the Emerging Technology Fund. I was in the venture capital business in the private sector and it is hard not to make money in the private sector. I worked for an absolutely brilliant business man but I don’t think that either the state government or the federal government ought to be in the public venture capital business. That Emerging Technology Fund has not been successful and has been drying on our state revenue base and it needs to go.

END OF INTERVIEW

TEXAS Attorney General Greg Abbott warns of Arms Trade Treaty - will FIGHT to protect our 2nd Amendment

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:03:00 +0000

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott alerted social media on April 2 that Secretary of State John Kerry had voted for the Arms Trade Agreement by calling it a "strong, effective and implementable" treaty.

"This is a victory for the world's people. The Arms Trade Treaty will make it more difficult for deadly weapons to be diverted into the illicit market. ... It will be a powerful new tool in our efforts to prevent grave human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

What Kerry failed to say was this treaty is a violation of our Constitutional rights. As citizens we have the right to bear arms under the 2^nd Amendment.

This is the RED ALERT from the Attorney General. I urge all of you to please share this email with as many friends and relatives as possible, especially with those outside of Texas. Red states that have Blue Senators should be contacted by their own constituents.

Obama is anxious to sign this agreement and cares little about our Liberties. The agreement has to be ratified by the Senate by a 2/3 vote. As the Attorney General told us, “If we lose we are unraveling the fabric of our country.”

RED SONJA2013©

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

Your Liberty-- as a

United States

citizen -- was weakened and threatened yesterday when the Obama Administration helped the United Nations pass the Arms Trade Treaty. Immediately after this disappointing vote, I wrote a letter to President Obama urging him not to sign the treaty.

If the President signs the treaty allowing the UN to be involved in regulating firearms in the U.S., Texas will lead the charge to have the treaty overturned in court as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

I need your support. Please help us get the word out by referring 3 of your friends right now https://apps.facebook.com/155020844651115/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sp&utm_campaign=20130402_greg-abbott_email-sp&utm_content=body_text_referring-three-friends-1, and forwarding this email to 5 of your friends. Together, we can make a difference.

America

is exceptional in part because our Constitution safeguards our individual liberties – including the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment.

The new UN treaty threatens your rights:

it doesn't recognize the individual right to keep and bear arms or the fundamental right to defend yourself, your family, or your property;
it empowers a new UN bureaucracy focused on firearms restrictions that will be run by international bureaucrats who are not accountable to the people of the United States.
it could impose firearm registration requirements that may empower international authorities to get information about American citizens and businesses.

This UN treaty does more than trample Second Amendment rights. It also threatens to erode all liberties guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution by giving the UN power to govern our lives.
Your voice must be heard on this issue.
When the Constitution says, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” it means no one—including the UN—can infringe upon that right.
UN treaties do not trump the Constitution. And with your help, we will make that message clear to President Obama and this administration.

Sincerely,

Greg Abbott

April 2, 2013

Sent via facsimile and U.S.mail

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The Arms Trade Treaty agreed to today by the United Nations (UN) is a threat to Americans’ Constitutional liberty. I urge you to reject that treaty. If you sign it, and if the U.S. Senate ratifies the treaty, Texas will lead the charge to have the treaty overturned in court as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Americais exceptional in part because our Constitution safeguards our individual liberties – including the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment. During your reelection campaign, you consistently claimed to support Second Amendment rights. Yet the day after you won reelection, you announced your support for the Arms Trade Treaty, a UN agreement on firearms restrictions. That treaty:

- Fails to recognize the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms or the right to defend one’s family, person, and property;

- Empowers a new UN bureaucracy focused on firearms restrictions that will be run by international bureaucrats who are not accountable to the people of the United States;

- Employs vague and sweeping language that could be used for any number of future restrictions on Second Amendment rights; and

- Places no defined limits on the UN’s power to interfere with Second Amendment rights.

The UN has concluded its negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty. It is now up to you to sign it - or reject it. Do not sign this treaty.

Agreeing to the treaty does more than trample Second Amendment rights. It also threatens to erode all liberties guaranteed to Americans in the Constitution by establishing the precedent that the UN has some level of authority to govern our lives. The very reason we fought for independence was to free ourselves from dictates by leaders in other lands. This treaty contradicts the underpinning philosophy of our country.

I recognize that the ostensible purpose of the treaty is to combat the illegal international trade of weapons into third-world war zones. The treaty could, however, draw law-abiding gun owners and gun store operators into a complex web of bureaucratic red tape created by a new department at the UN devoted to overseeing the treaty. For instance, the treaty appears to lay the groundwork for an international gun registry overseen by the bureaucrats at the UN.

The treaty also contains a vague and open-ended call for heightened domestic regulation of imported firearms, which make up a large percentage of the market for new firearms in this country. Indeed, the most troubling aspect of the treaty is the vagueness of its language. As with most so-called international-law documents promulgated by the UN, the draft treaty is not written using the precise, unambiguous language required of a good legal document. Instead, the treaty employs sweeping rhetoric and imprecise terminology that could be used by those who seek to undermine our liberties to impose any number of restrictions on the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms.

Treaties do not trump constitutional liberties. Even if you, as the President, signed and the Senate ratified the UN Arms Trade Treaty, our Constitution remains the Supreme Law of the Land and would supersede any treaty provision that violated Second Amendment rights. When the Constitution says, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” it means no one—including the UN—can infringe that right.

These principles have long been recognized by the United States Supreme Court. In Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S.1, (1957), the Supreme Court ruled that the United States cannot use its treaty power to violate Constitutional rights. In that case, an international agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom provided that dependents of American service members stationed in the UK would be tried for crimes by military tribunal and thus deprived of certain Sixth Amendment rights, including the right to trial by jury. When the wife of an American serviceman was accused of murder and convicted by a military court, the Supreme Court reversed the conviction. The Court rightly concluded that “no agreement with a foreign nation can confer power on the Congress, or on any other branch of Government, which is free from the restraints of the Constitution.” Id. at 16. In a passage that should be required reading in our public schools, the Supreme Court affirmed that “The United States is entirely a creature of the Constitution. Its power and authority have no other source. It can only act in accordance with all the limitations imposed by the Constitution.” Id. at 5-6. For that reason, the Supreme Court “has regularly and uniformly recognized the supremacy of the Constitution over a treaty.” Id. at 17.

As Reid v. Covert demonstrates, the Second Amendment is by no means the only constitutional right that can be threatened by international agreements. Regardless of their position on gun rights, all Americans should oppose any treaty that does not adequately protect our constitutional rights. If the Second Amendment can be trusted to international organizations that do not share our constitutional traditions, then why not the First Amendment? Why not the Fourth Amendment or the Fifth Amendment?

Our Nation’s Bill of Rights is a rare and precious thing. It does not exist anywhere else in the world. And the UN cannot be trusted with it. The UN includes foreign governments that have shown hostility to the kinds of constitutional liberties guaranteed to Americans. All Americans are harmed when unaccountable international bodies like the UN are empowered to interfere with our protected freedoms.

If the Arms Trade Treaty is ratified or applied in a way that violates the right of law-abiding Americans to keep and bear arms, it will be null and void. That will be little comfort, however, to law-abiding gun owners who would no doubt wonder why the United States entered into a treaty that empowers the UN to interfere with their Second Amendment rights. Rather than reach that point, the better course is to stop the treaty before the Senate can even consider it.

If the Arms Trade Treaty is not stopped at the federal level, I – and my fellow state attorneys general – will take up the fight to preserve the Constitution. Ratification of this treaty would compel immediate legal action to enforce the Constitution’s guarantee that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Sincerely,

Greg Abbott
Attorney General of Texas

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagNews/release.php?id=4353

UN Adopts Landmark Arms Treaty To Regulate Multibillion-Dollar Global Weapons Trade

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/un-adopts-arms-treaty-global-weapons-trade_n_2999505.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7vPTotGa2M

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN AND THE TEXAS GOP GRASSROOTS CLUB

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 22:00:00 +0000

US Senator John Cornyn

Steve Munisteri chairman of the Republican Party of Texas has done a great job with the Grassroots Club. On April 1, the Grassroots Club members were invited to a brunch at Cisco’s Restaurant in Austin with Senator John Cornyn. To help grow the membership, Munisteri initiated this first brunch and was satisfied with the turnout and will have events like this one for its members in the future. For only $8.25 per month you not only help the TexasRepublican Party, but get a few perks as well.

As members, Bill and I decided to attend because I wanted to hear Senator Cornyn explain his vote on the Continuing Resolution on the Affordable Health Care Act, ObamaCare. Members were able to ask Senator Cornyn questions he failed to address during his very light, less then 7 minute speech to the attendees. Cornyn’ speech had the usual rhetoric on jobs, economy, budget and employment. Unfortunately the Obama Administration is just not cooperating with the Republicans. Obama is not saying anything different now than what he has said in the past on the economy.

Cornyn addressed the question about our aid to foreign countries that don’t like us, like Egyptand Pakistan. But he also explained that the aid we give to Israelcomes right back to us. Israel spends every penny to buy arms, weapon systems and planes from the United States to defend themselves. He was questioned on all the ammunition that is being bought by the Obama Administration. He said that the administration has not given any answers and finds that scary. In fact, he said, he is not even sure that this is a fact, but would not doubt it. He is currently looking into these allegations.

I just received the following information on the ammunition being bought by the Obama Administration, from Senator Ted Cruz’s office on April 2, 2013 at 2:29 pm. It looks like a tally dated January 2013 on where the ammunition is going. I think I will pass this information on to Senator Cornyn. Maybe he just received this information also???

http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=9cde768f-bb3a-4fd9-8176-1745c21519c2

There were two questions from the floor that interested me and I transcribed his answers from my digital recorder so that you know exactly how he answered.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT YOU DID OR DID NOT VOTE FOR LAST WEEK ON OBAMACARE CONCERNING THE AMENDMENT AND THE RESOLUTION?

“Thank you. That’s been another one of those pesky things that have been floating around. I was proud to co sponsor, Ted Cruz’s amendment to repeal and defund ObamaCare. I have done that so many times. I can’t tell you how many times I have done that now, and have to count them up, maybe I would have to take my shoes off… but the fact of the matter is that ObamaCare is going to bankrupt our country. We were also successful in the Continuing Resolution and that is the Appropriation Bill that kept government funded through September 31, through the end of the fiscal year. We were able to withhold about another billion dollars in funds that implements ObamaCare. But I did vote for the Continuing Resolution because it kept the appropriations down at the level of the Sequester. In other words, it did not give the 85 million dollars back and it kept the government operating and it kept our Defense Department. It gave them some additional flexibility, I thought they needed in order to keep us safe.

So there was some rumor that somehow I voted to fund ObamaCare or voted against defunding it. This is not correct.”

IMMIGRATION ANY UPDATES YOU CAN GIVE US ON THIS?

I think our current immigration system is broken. That is pretty obvious. I think to anybody. My friend Marco Rubio calls us a ‘de facto’ amnesty now. And we have to stop the source which means not only do we need to secure the border but we also have to deal with the 40% of illegal immigration that comes from people who enter the country legally but overstay their visas. That’s the part that most people are not as aware of, because there is no tracking system whatsoever. They melt into the landscape. Now, it’s a simple fact of life, I think, in politics and particularly in the state like Texas, we need to do a better job of being inclusive and talking to everybody and getting everybody up to the table and talking about this issue. We can not send this message that we don’t welcome different people, but we do. We believe that legal immigration is important and we oppose an illegal immigration system. There is also, the last thing I will mention, parts of this are a consensus items, like for example, people get masters degrees and PhD’s in math, science and engineering at the UT of Texas and Texas A&M and we kick them out. Even though there are a lot of jobs that they could help create if we allow them to stay here. We are not producing enough qualified American Citizens in those areas. First of all we should produce more Americans who are highly qualified to do the jobs. But I don’t see anything wrong with allowing people who have a lot to offer this country to help grow our economy and who really want what we all are blessed to have which is the American Dream. Why we shouldn’t have a legal orderly system to allow that to happen.

https://www.widgetmakr.com/render/67427d0a-135a-4c87-a0a4-012aeca5f568

MEET TOM PAUKEN CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR OF TEXAS - PART I

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:19:00 +0000

Rick Santorum and Tom Pauken

The last time I visited with former Texas Workforce Commissioner, Tom Pauken, was on January 8, 2013. He quietly informed me that he might run for the governor of Texas. I didn’t waste any time asking for an interview. Never turn down an interview when you can enlighten voters. If and when other candidates officially announce their candidacy for the office of the governor, I will ask them for an interview. We need to know what their intentions are in running our Texas. And how they intend to keep it RED!

We need to keep focused on our conservative values if we ever expect to make it past the Obama administration. With so much going on the national front we must now turn to our very own situation in Texas.

Governor RickPerry has made it clear that he will not make any decisions on reelection until after the Texaslegislative session is over, even though he seems to be getting ready for reelection or maybe another run for president. Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott keeps a ‘mums the word’ about running for governor even though the signs are there. He has an awesome war chest. The rumors couldn’t be louder that he is running, yet we really have not heard anything ‘official’ from either office holder.

In the meantime Tom Pauken has made it official that he is running for governor of Texas. I took time out to interview him on March 24 and was quite surprised at some of the things he said. Now is the time for all of us to pay attention to what is being said concerning our TEXAS. Our goal has to be to KEEP TEXAS RED!

My interview with Pauken focused on education, water, and immigration. He also spoke of transportation being a huge issue but did not expand on it. He mentioned the Voting Rights Act and Battleground Texas. His views should give us further insight as to what he thinks are the obstacles and remedies for a healthy RED Texas.

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RUN?

I decided fairly recently to run for governor. I worked in the Reagan Administration, ran a federal agency and saw a president who was intent on providing common sense solutions to the serious problems facing our nation at the time. I have been chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission since Rick Perry asked me to come down and serve in 2008 and served in that capacity for four years. So I just became frustrated that I think quite frankly a lot of our leadership is focused more on sound bites instead of long term solutions to the serious problems facing Texas based on our conservative principles. Specifically on the education problem, we have an educational system that is designed by liberal Democrats. Sandy Kress an architect of the Bush/Kennedy ‘No Child Left Behind’ Bill.

The bill is pushing a system on the educators and our kids in the state of Texas designed to push everybody to go to a four year university. We have neglected vocational education. We neglected giving the young people at the high school level and the post secondary school level of the opportunity to learn skill trades. If that is the direction they want to go in instead of this one size fits all approach to education. I have been leading the effort to reform that because we have a shortage of skilled workers. We are losing a lot of young people who wind up dropping out of school who otherwise, if given the opportunity, would be able to excel in vocational education and learn a basic skill or get a license which would allow them to make a good living.

HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO RAISE AND DO YOU THINK YOU CAN OVERCOME THE MILLIONS MORE THAT PERRY HAS?

We have just started, that’s why we filed the paperwork just the other day. We have had our first organizational meeting and I have just begun raising money and building an organization. We will not have the kind of money that Rick Perry has or Gregg Abbott if he chooses to get in the race. But I think we will have a very strong organization and I think we will be able to raise enough money in order to do what is necessary to win this race. It will clearly be a grassroots race.

I would not be running if I did not think we have to have a different style of leadership and we have to have a more serious approach to solving problems in our state and also addressing the threat of leftist effort to take over this state in five years and the hub of that is in San Antonio, Texas. The Obama group (Battleground Texas) has come in and they are very slick and very sophisticated in terms of their technology and they are mobilizing activists all over the state under the radar screen to lay ground work to take over Texas. And with all due respect to our current leadership, they are more focused I think on raising money and getting elected and reelected all off sound bites. This is serious business and these are serious people. We need to have the type of leadership that marginalizes them and lays out a common sense agenda that can attract the majority of Texans not just Republicans but Democrats and Independents. We can’t just be on auto pilot and rest on our laurels because today Texasis a Republican state.

When I was state chairman, it was still a Democrat state. Guess what, the Democrats were resting on their laurels. We went out and organized. In fact, we organized and we put county chairmen in all 254 counties and all of a sudden they woke up one day and found out we were the majority party and the Democrats were the minority party. And it has been the case ever since. But it did not happen by accident and it did not happen because GW Bush was elected governor. It happened because the grassroots came together and built up a very powerful network. That to me is what is so exciting about the tea party and the grassroots people who came back and got involved in 2010 because we can’t have this top down machinery. In this top down approach where you are lucky to get 15 minutes of time and they all hire a bunch of people and they say the right things but it is not real, it is not authentic conservatism. And we have got to put a conservative plan by a new conservative team back in place.

I said the other day when I was asked by a reporter, “Tom what’s this you came to Austin as an outsider.” When the governor asked me to chair the Texas Workforce Commission and I leave Austin as an outsider. And quite frankly, we need more outsiders coming into Austin, just like we did it in the Reagan Administration. We were a bunch of outsiders who President Reagan brought with him. When he got elected and his words to us were, “We are coming into here to Washington to drain the swamps.” And we did a pretty doggone good job of it. But there’s a very insular attitude down in Austinthat is why I favor term limits. I think two terms is enough for a state wide elected official and I support Senator Kevin Eltife legislation in his proposed constitutional amendment which would limit statewide elected officials to two terms. I have been a long time supporter of term limits and I believe that will pass the legislature and I think the voters will approve that constitutional amendment. I really think that we have got to go back to the grassroots and the tea party and other good people around the state and they have made a very important start. And if we are going to defeat the Left and continue to make sure that Texas is run by conservatives then it is up to us to put a new team together to make sure that happens.

WHAT WAS THE POSITION THAT YOU HELD IN THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION?

I was on the president’s White House legal council staff. I was on his transition team and on his WH legal council staff. In fact, I was working in the executive office building in the spring of 1981 when we had the terrible news that the president had been shot and we did not know for a brief period of time whether he was going to live or die. Fortunately, not only did he live, but went on to do a terrific job as president of the

United States

. The President nominated me to build an agency called the Action Agency which had originally been called Office of Economic Opportunity. Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney headed it up during the Nixon Administration and currently called the AmeriCorps.

But when I was made head of the Action Agency I inherited an agency that had been run by a very left wing individual in the Carter Administration. A man by the name of Sam Brown who during the time I was in

Vietnam

literally was part of that faction that was supporting the other side in that war.

MEET TOM PAUKEN CANDIATE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR OF TEXAS- PART II – EDUCATION – WATER – IMMIGRATION

HE IS RISEN!

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:52:00 +0000

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. John 11:25-26

JESUS' LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:58:00 +0000

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not parish but might have eternal life.

John 3:16

First saying

Nailing Jesus to the cross

“Then Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they no not know what they do.”

Luke 23:34

Second Saying

Thief to “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23:42, 43

Third Saying

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother “Woman, behold you son.”

Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

John 19:26, 27

Fourth Saying

And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:46

Fifth Saying

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.”

John 19:28

Sixth Saying

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

John 19:30

Seventh Saying

Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.

Luke 23:46

From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

Mathew 27:45

SAME SEX MARRIAGE AND HOLY WEEK

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:39:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70RqS4Om6U

It seems that more and more of God’s natural laws are being challenged by those who wish to have their own personal desires met. Already abortion is legal throughout Americaand euthanasia is legal in some states. Nine states and the District of Columbiapresently allow same sex marriage. The Supreme Court will hear a landmark case in the middle of our Holy Week that could possibly redefine marriage.

California passed Proposition 8 in the November 2008 election making ‘only marriage between a man and a woman’ valid. Two California couples have challenged the ban questioning its constitutionality. It is a shame that so many of our elected officials have ‘evolved’ and now believe in same sex marriage. These same officials are now leading the charge for validating these marriages. We are being bombarded by TV ads promoting same sex marriage saying it is ‘fair’ to allow these unions. Pew Research Centeron Religion and Public Life reports that in July 2012 Democrats favored same sex marriage by 65%, Republicans by 24% and Independents by 51%.

Parents have enormous responsibilities. The most important is that we entrust to our children our moral values following God’s laws. We as parents are supposed to stand firm so that our children follow our lead but instead what is happening in America today, parents are willing to throw away their Christian values for the secular values of their children. We see this all around us.

It is not enough that parents are bending in fear of losing their children’s love but that they too follow values they believe are inherently wrong. Making abortion legal will never make it moral. Making same sex marriage legal will never make it moral. America is thirsty for Jesus Christ but don’t know where to find Him, reminds me of the song, ‘Looking for Love in all the wrong places’. Instead young people have adopted celebrities to mimic their lifestyle or follow the celebrity’s religion. A word comes to mind, paganism. Are we there yet?

We must pray for our children and grandchildren and America. Can we turn back the tide? I don’t have the answer. I spoke to a friend who is a strong Christian who commented “I hope that Jesus remembers me. I didn’t succeed but I was faithful.”

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

NOTES FROM PHIL SEVILLA

President Texas Leadership Coalition

What Can We Do?

Holy Week is the best time for all of us Christians to get on our knees, to storm Heaven, and beseech the Lord to have mercy on our nation.

Utilize the resources provided by the U.S.Catholic bishops in the references below.

Pray, pray, pray that between now and summer our Supreme Court Justices as a majority uphold our nation’s founding principles and protect the sanctity of the institution of marriage. Pray especially for Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Roman Catholic. He may very well be the deciding vote to swing a close 5/4 vote on these landmark cases.

Other Christian nations have fallen in the face of the homosexual assaults worldwide. These include Canada, Spain, Portugal, and Argentina. The United Statesis one of the most influential nations in the world. If she falls, the U.N. and the European Union will arguably fall into line and many nations will topple like dominos. We cannot let that happen. Prayer does change the course of the world.

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/life-marriage-liberty.cfm

Justices Hint at Fears of Acting Too Quickly on Gay Marriage

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-case.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=igw

Two-Thirds of Democrats Now Support Gay Marriage

http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Two-Thirds-of-Democrats-Now-Support-Gay-Marriage.aspx

SAUL ALINSKY AND HIS CONNECTION TO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 05:24:00 +0000

Being a Native San Antonian I have to admit that I love my hometown, but maybe it is only the memory I love. Having attended Catholic schools from K thru 12^th grade I am very well aware of the importance the church places on giving to the poor. Missionary nun from Belgium at St. John Berchman taught me during my elementary school years and the Sisters of Diving Providence taught at the high school where I attended, that pretty much should have made a Socialist according to some. I was one of the founding members of St. Matthews Catholic Church in the North Side of San Antonio thus cementing my life as a Catholic. I mention these schools and St. Matthews because you will read in the articles I reference about the missionary nuns from Belgium and about a divine providence sister, Christine Stevens.

I have witnessed so many changes since my childhood that I really don’t recognize my beloved city anymore. Events have come and gone and San Antonio still stands as a testament to the people who have loved and cared for its survival, but at what costs? From afar I see the inner deterioration and decay prevalent today.

There are a multitude of stories to tell just from my own experiences but for the sale of brevity I will address only the connection of San Antonioand Saul Alinsky and the Catholic Church. Yes, we all know about Alinsky and his Rules for Radicals. We also know that he dedicated his book to Lucifer using these words.

Lest we forget at least and over the shoulder acknowledgement to the first radical:from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins – or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom-Lucifer

Saul Alinsky

We also have an insight of his own morality described in a Playboy interview.

PLAYBOY: Having accepted your own mortality, do you believe in any kind of afterlife?

ALINSKY: Sometimes it seems to me that the question people should ask is not “is there life after death” but “is there life after birth?” I don’t know whether there’s anything after this or not. I haven’t seen the evidence one way or the other and I don’t think anybody else has either. But I do know that man’s obsession with the question comes out of his stubborn refusal to his own mortality. Let’s say that if there is an afterlife, and I have anything to say about it, I will unreservedly choose to go to hell.

PLAYBOY: Why?

ALINSKY: Hell would be heaven for me. All my life I have been with the have-nots. Over here, if you’re a have-not, you’re short of dough. If you’re a have-not in hell, you’re short a virtue. Once I get into hell, I’ll start organizing the have-nots over there.

PLAYBOY: Why them?

ALINSKY: They’re my kind of people.

http://www.progress.org/2003/alinsky14.htm

We can’t fully understand the impact of what happened in San Antoniounless we know about Archbishop Robert E. Lucey and the labor unions during the period of 1960-1968. Lucey was the Archbishop of San Antonio from January 21, 1941 – May 23, 1969. He appointed Father Sherrill Smith as designated speaker for the archdiocese on matters pertaining to the unions and the Mexican working man. Lucey was determined to secure a living wage for the Mexican worker.

“The Mexican working class in San Antonio did not believe in themselves. They were afraid to make any demands to their bosses. They did not want to lose their job. It was my task, under Archbishop Lucey, to change that mentality and convince them that they could make a difference for themselves.”

FATHER SHERRILL SMITH

http://www.uiw.edu/sanantonio/Lucey.html

Doing my research I could not find where Father Smith went to Chicago but I did find this very telling news article dated Thursday, November 30, 1967, written by RickCasey where Smith did encounter Alinsky at St Mary’s University. Smith and Alinsky had a verbal exchange during Alinsky’s speech.

The Good Government League controlled San Antonio from about 1955 – 1975. It was only the North Side of San Antoniothat reaped the benefits of economic growth while the West and South Sides of town were ignored. According to Robert Vasques’ article, ‘The COPS Revolution’ he explained that “in effect city officials were stealing from the poor West and South Side neighborhoods to provide funds for developers in the affluent North Side suburbs.”

Given all these circumstances the sleepy town named San Antoniowas ripe for an awakening. So during the time the GGL was up to its sordid games, Communities Organized for Public Service was doing just that, organizing. C.O.P.S. organized early in 1974 and the Catholic Church played a big part in its inception and success.

Ernie Cortes

What might not be commonly known is how Saul Alinsky is connected to San Antonio.  And 
herein lies the unintended consequences.  There are many players contributing to this story 
but the common denominator is Ernie Cortes.  Cortes is the charismatic Hispanic whose 
influence changed San Antonio forever.  It was Cortes who went to Chicago to learn at the 
Saul Alinsky Institute at the Industrial Areas Foundation.  It was Cortes who founded C.O.P.S. 
in 1974 with money donated by various churches and individuals from San Antonio.  If you 
are interested you can read an interview with Ernie Cortes at this link
http://digital.utsa.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15125coll4/id/275/rec/22

Ernie Cortes is directly responsible for introducing Alinsky techniques to San Antonio through Father Edmundo Rodriguez, a Jesuit priest. Father Rodriguez worked at Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of the oldest Catholic churches in San Antonio and help found C.O.P.S. Father Rodriguez was not new to the issues to the Mexican worker or the plight of the poor. I have enclosed videos of Father Rodriguez explaining the situation in San Antonio when he arrived. There is one video when he went to St. Matthew’s to speak which I find interesting because it triggers memories about my days at St. Matthew’s.

http://sites.uiw.edu/chicanohistory/interviews/rev-edmundo-rodriguez/

There were other Catholic churches in the beginning and there are still to this day priests who support C.O.P. S. After Lucey came Archbishop Francis Furey, May 23, 1969 – April 23, 1979, he was a staunch supporter of the death penalty and C.O.P.S. He was instrumental in bringing Archbishop Patrick Flores to San Antonio. Furey felt that the San Antoniocommunity needed a Hispanic Archbishop to better understand the people. Archbishop Patrick Flores, August 23, 1979 – December 29, 2004, helped establish PADRES, Priests associated for Religious, Education and Social Rights and supported C.O.P.S. These Archbishops were not necessarily interested in the Socialist part but the methods used to organize. Organization was an essential tool to help the poor and the Mexican in the San Antonio and other heavily populated Mexican areas.

The Mexican American Experience:An Encyclopedia - Page 104

Archbishop Jose Gomez, December 29, 2004 to 2010 is presently the Archbishop of Los Angeles. It was during his tenure that the chancery’s Justice and Peace Commission was disbanded because of its failure to oppose same sex marriage as a constitutional state amendment. It was also during this time that he vehemently opposed Hillary Clinton as a speaker at St. Mary’s University. I could not find any connection with C.O.P.S. The present Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller was appointed on October 14, 2010. He has resurrected the Life, Justice and Peace Commission in the archdiocese.

When C.O.P.S. was first conceived it was a vision for economic change and helping the poor Mexican worker but the unintended consequences are morally decaying San Antonio. Today C.O.P.S. is heavily tied to the Democrat Party. Some priests in San Antonioand surrounding areas support C.O.P.S. Because the Catholic Church has given life and refuge to C.O.P.S. in the past, entrenchment of the Democrat Party exists. Democrats guard their turf like wild dogs. They refuse to give up the power and control they have over San Antonio. The truth of the matter is that Democrats want Texas and are willing to fight for our state.

The Democrats are the party of pro choice, same sex marriage and divisiveness contrary to the doctrine of the Catholic faith. Pope Francis is not going to capitulate on any of these issues. Since his election there have been enough articles written whether he believes in Liberation Theology or not. He does not believe that Liberation Theology belongs in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Democrats guard their turf like wild dogs. They refuse to give up the power and control over San Antonio and other parts of Texas. The truth of the matter is that Democrats want Texasand are willing to work and fight for our state. ‘Battleground Texas’ is currently working in Texas to turn our Red Stateinto a Blue State. Battleground Texasis certainly going to use the Hispanics to join them in their destructive agenda by using their illusionary message of inclusion. Cortes under the guise of elevating the Hispanic has undermined the very essence of the Mexican American family values. Times have changed and times are changing. It is time to welcome our fellow Hispanic Texans to our conservative Republican Party, which is more in keeping with Hispanic family values.

This is part I of a series of III

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

COPS/Metro is a broad-based organization affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). It was formed in 1974 to develop the capacity of San Antonio’s disenfranchised to participate fully as citizens in the life of the community and to have a voice in the public decision-making that affects their lives. It succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. Through COPS/Metro, ordinary citizens learned the skills of public life and built power to leverage over $1 billion in public projects to improve drainage, streets, housing, education, health care and job training. http://therivardreport.com/fight-crime-not-immigrants/

NOT ONLY CATHOLIC CHURCHES BUT OTHER CHURCHES AND ORGANIZATIONS

Current dues-paying member institutions include:
American Federation of Teachers
Colonial Hills United Methodist
Divine Providence
Divine Redeemer Presbyterian
El Divino Salvador United Methodist
First Unitarian Universalist
Holy Family
Holy Redeemer
Holy Rosary
Immaculate Conception
Intercongregational Leadership of San Antonio
Macedonia Baptist Church
Our Lady of Guadalupe-Helotes
Sacred Heart
San Antonio Alliance
San Antonio Mennonite Church
Sisters of the Holy Spirit
St. Agnes
St. Benedict
St. Bonaventure
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Gabriel
St. John Baptist
St. Leo
St. Leonard
St. Margaret Mary
St. Mark the Evangelist
St. Mary Magdalen
St. Philip of Jesus
St. Timothy
Westlawn United Methodist

http://copsmetro.wordpress.com/member-institutions/

Texas Monthly - Dec 1977 - Page 234 - Google Books Result

S.A. to Selma, priest answered 'calls for protecting the weak'
“Some called him a socialist. Some called him a communist. He was a pain in the butt for a lot of people, but he was not a guy looking for publicity or who organized people to do what he was doing. He just went and did it,” said Monsignor Larry Stuebben, a seminary classmate and longtime friend who gave the homily at Smith's funeral earlier this week.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/S-A-to-Selma-priest-answered-calls-for-3959914.php

ORAL MEMOIRS OF ARCHBISHOP FRANCIS FUREY

http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/buioh/id/2175/rec/9

http://contentdm.baylor.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/buioh/id/2175/rec/1

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part II of III

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:26:00 +0000

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part II of III
When the Lights Suddenly Turn On –
The Roaches Run and Hide!
16 March 2013
----------------------------------------------------
"I believe that if moms and dads do not have the right to see what their children are being taught in school, then we are no longer living in a place called the United States of America."
Ken Mercer

Ken Mercer on CSCOPE: Part II of III
When the Lights Suddenly Turn On – The Roaches Run and Hide

On Nov. 18, 2012, I tried to “turn on the lights” regarding CSCOPE, the embattled curriculum utilized by 875 school districts in Texas. With the support of hundreds of concerned parents and educators, I requested my fellow Members of the State Board of Education to approve a motion recommending the Texas Legislature give the SBOE oversight and review authority over CSCOPE.

My friends, I was shocked when my motion was defeated by a vote of 9-6. However, within one week CSCOPE had made national news, including segments by Glenn Beck and Fox News that outlined controversial lessons and problems with the online curriculum program.

In January 2013, the lights again were “turned on.” State Sen. Dan Patrick, the new Chair of the Senate Education Committee, announced he would hold a public hearing on CSCOPE. Among his reasons:

…There are questions about CSCOPE as it currently exists in many of our districts that need to be addressed. We need total transparency concerning any program that is now in the vast majority of our schools in one form or the other…

Any system where the Chairman of the State Board can't get a password to explore the CSCOPE site in detail for 6 months, requires teachers to sign an agreement that could subject them to criminal penalties, and is not easily transparent to parents, needs to be closely examined by the legislature.

With Sen. Patrick’s bold announcement, the political “roaches” began to run and hide.

On Jan. 31, Sen. Patrick’s committee discovered that even though 875 Texas school districts use CSCOPE, there has not been any outside review and oversight of CSCOPE to ensure its lessons align with the SBOE-adopted curriculum standards.

I need to add that in 2011, lobbyists used the new funding allotment in Senate Bill 6 to take away the power of the SBOE to review and approve “digital” curriculum (such as CSCOPE). Before SB 6, a school district could use state funds to buy only instructional materials that had that had gone through the Texas State Board of Education’s public review process and had been reviewed and certified by the SBOE as “conforming” to state standards.

In 2011, however, lobbyists worked to delete the requirement that state funds be restricted to “conforming” textbooks and instructional materials. The lobbyists used SB 6 to create a means to bypass the SBOE’s review of these materials. Those changes opened the door for digital materials such as CSCOPE to bypass the authority of the elected SBOE.

Now in 2013, the Senate Education Committee is investigating CSCOPE.
State Sen. Donna Campbell opened her sharp questioning at a recent hearing on the curriculum system by asking:

Who owns the proprietary property of CSCOPE?
Was it developed using public funds -- "Do the people of Texas own it?"
Why doesn’t the general public (including parents) have easy access to CSCOPE in the same way they do with copyrighted textbooks?
Where are the checks and balances to verify the curriculum content of CSCOPE?

Senators Larry Taylor and Ken Paxton were deeply troubled about a student project in CSCOPE in which students were to role play and design a Communist/Socialist flag. Was this a lesson in education or indoctrination?

Other lessons that upset the Senate committee included references to the Boston Tea Party patriots as "terrorists” and a lesson on Christopher Columbus that purposely deleted every reference in his personal diary to his belief in God.

A classroom educator testifying against CSCOPE provided the senators a copy of the 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." Apparently, CSCOPE requires that educators lay aside their professional expertise and does not allow them freedom to waver from the scripted lessons to provide any individualized instruction to their students.

Sen. Patrick and his committee clearly were outraged that CSCOPE was developed by a collaborative of Regional Education Service Center directors who acted without the proper authority to set up such a structure. This collaborative, known as TESCCC, is considered by the Texas Attorney General to be a governmental body, except it:

uses public funds to develop its product and then sells CSCOPE materials to public schools, so that the taxpayer is hit twice.
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.
does not allow public access to its minutes.

I share that outrage over the lack of transparency and the possible “double dipping” of taxpayer funds while going around the established authority, review, and oversight of the elected members of the SBOE.

I applaud Sen. Dan Patrick and his colleagues on the Senate Education Committee for wanting further scrutiny of CSCOPE and the TESCCC collaborative.

Later this week I will publish a third and final report detailing the resulting actions and legislation proposed by the Senate Education Committee members to deal with CSCOPE problems. I will need your help to ensure the Senate and the House pass that legislation.

POPE FRANCIS TO FILL RED SHOES

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:20:00 +0000

“Francis, go and repair my house, which you see is falling down.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA3WUgFhcXQ

White smoke flowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney letting the hundred thousand or so that gathered to hear the news that a pope had been elected by the 115 cardinals. Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a 76 year old Argentinean, was selected to lead the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013 as the 266^th pope. Pope Francis had at least 77 of the 115 votes necessary to be elected. He has many firsts, first non European in over 1,200 years, first Jesuit priest, first from the Americas and the first Francis.

It is said that Pope Francis is a humble man who does not indulge in luxury. I am curious how he will adapt at the Vatican. When he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aries he refused to live in the archbishop’s house. He remained in his simple home where he rode the bus to work and cooked his own meals. The Pope assumed the name of Saint Francis of Assisi which should give us some insight into his papacy. He is a defender of the poor as was St Francis of Assisiwho founded the Franciscan order.. Poverty was the foundation of the Franciscans. He is sending a strong message to the faithful, that we cannot forget the poorest among us.

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying to a gathering of Latin American Bishops, “We live in the most unequal part of the world, which has grown the most yet reduced misery the least. The unjust distribution of goods persists, creating a situation of social sin that cries out to Heaven and limits the possibilities of a fuller life for so many of our brothers.”

John L. Allen, jr of the Catholic National Reporter wrote about Jorge Mario Bergoglio on March 3, 2013. He noted that, Bergoglio is seen an unwaveringly orthodox on matters of sexual morality, staunchly opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception. In 2010 he asserted that gay adoption is a form of discrimination against children, earning a public rebuke from Argentina’s President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

As Catholics we should all be elated that Pope Francis will stand firm on matters pertaining to life. “Francis, go and repair my house, which you see is falling down.” These words were true in the time of St Francis of Assisi and true as they are today. Pope Francis has many challenges ahead of him. We can only wait and see what surprises this pope has in store for his flock. We pray that Pope Francis will be guided by the Holy Spirit as he guides the 1.2 Billion Catholics world wide.

To read more about What Pope Francis is all about read his Lenten Letter of 2013. Follow link http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/our-first-encounter-with-the-spirituality-of-pope-francis

The Catholic Church Shifted Southward Over the Past Century

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/02/11/world/europe/the-catholic-church-shifted-southward-over-the-past-century.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig&_r=0

Profile: New pope, Jesuit Bergoglio, was runner-up in 2005 conclave

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/papabile-day-men-who-could-be-pope-13

WHO WILL WEAR THE RED SHOES?

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 04:28:00 +0000

It’s hard to say who will wear the red shoes that Pope Benedict XVI literally walked out of. Tuesday, March 12 starts the first day of the conclave where 115 elector cardinals will begin the process of electing a new pope behind closed and tightly secured doors of the Sistine Chapel. While Pope Benedict will not take part in the selection of the new pontiff, he did lay down some strict rules. If any of the cardinals violate the confidentiality of the conclave the penalty is excommunication. This is so like Pope Benedict as he was Pope John Paul II enforcer.

Pope Benedict resigned effective February 28, 2013. He is the first pope in 600 years that has not lived out his life as a sitting pontiff. Pope Benedict gave his reason for resigning as his poor health and the desire to leave the church with someone better able to stand the strenuous schedule a pope keeps. I am of the opinion that Pope Benedict is a man of great humility and understands himself and the situation of the church very well. The Church does have its problems, the sexual abuse and the Vatican bank scandal to name two. These are challenges the new pope will have to face.

I AM NO LONGER THE POPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E6LyZfXjf0

A helicopter ride took Pope Benedict to his retirement place, Castle Gandolfo, where he delivered his last public speech and most probably his last public appearance as he has said that he would not interfere when the new pope is elected.

First we must understand that the new pope will be human. There has been so much speculation from political pundits that are plain ridiculous. The liberals want a more modern pope, someone who will understand our changing times. The new pope will never, I repeat he will never embrace abortion, same sex marriage, euthanasia, cloning, or any thing that would hurt the family. Morality does not change and that is the wonder of the Catholic Church. The Church brings strength, stability and moral courage to a chaotic world.

What we might expect is a pope who will be a leader of the 1.5 Billion Roman Catholics world wide. It is reported that the third world countries account for the largest growth in Catholicism. The cardinals are looking for someone who will be a spiritual leader, someone who will inspire the world, as well as a theologian, and an organizer in the Vatican. I doubt if one man can fit all these areas. But then again miracles do happen. It seems that most everything is political and even if not divided by political party, there are those who want to reform the Roman Curia which is the Vaticangovernment and those who want a traditional pope.

Leading contenders are Archbishop Angelo Scola from Milan, Cardinal Odilo Scherer from Brazil and two American Cardinals, Timothy Dolan and Sean O’Malley. Don’t hold your breath for an American Pope because I am not. Even though it might be time for a Cardinal from a Latin American country, I still think that tradition is strong among the Italian cardinals and that it will be a European pope. But let’s wait and see.

There is no doubt about the troubled times we live in, so we must not only pray for Pope Benedict XVI but for the cardinals as they weigh their decision for a new pope. Wonder what name the new pope will take? Black smoke, no pope selected. White smoke, we have a pope!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Q2okfy7dI

VOTER FRAUD WESTON MARTINEZ PART II

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:50:00 +0000

Scott Garfield/TWD productions LLC

We all agree that it’s time that dead people in San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas stop voting. Weston Martinez has become synonymous with stomping out Voter Fraud in San Antonio. I spoke to Weston on March 3, 2013 in order to get an update on the Voter Fraud bill that I knew he was working on. He told me that SB554 has been a collaborative effort among grassroots activists and conservative leaders in San Antonio. Michael Berlanga is one of the former candidates that is also working with him.

Weston Martinez at the Texas State Convention

Senator Donna Campbell sponsored SB554 and presented the bill to the SREC meeting on March 2 and spoke on the importance of this bill for Texasin protecting the sovereignty of our vote. Weston said that Senator Campbell “has shown great leadership and has not wavered in adversity as a politician would.”

Weston told me that Skipper Wallace, Chairman of the Texas Republican County Chairmen’s Association, has agreed to add this bill as a priority to the agenda of the 83^rd Legislative session. He commented that, “Wallace will be supported by the Republican CountyChairs across the state of Texas and that he was personally very excited that this bill is being filed. He further noted that voter fraud is rampant throughout our state.”

It is important that the community as a whole becomes involved in eradicating voter fraud. The local media has done an excellent job in performing unbiased investigative reporting on this issue. Reporter Brian Collister’s story in November, Voter fraud allegations persist in Bexar balloting, helped to uncover fraudulent votes. You can help by contacting your state representative and ask that he/she support the Voter Fraud Bill SB554. If you personally know of any voter fraud in San Antonio or in Texas, contact Weston Martinezat weston@westonmartinez.com This bill is a perfect example of citizens like Weston who take the time to investigate and to involve the grassroots to action.

PRAY, FIGHT, NEVER GIVE UP!

NOTES ON THE BILL FROM WESTON MARTINEZ

(E) [the property stolen is an official ballot or

official carrier envelope for an election; [(F)] the value of the property stolen is less

(5) a felony of the third degree if the value of the

property stolen is $20,000 or more but less than $100,000, or the

property is:

(C) an official ballot or official carrier

envelope for an election;

(6) a felony of the second degree if:

(A) the value of the property stolen is $100,000 or more but less than $200,000; or

(B) the value of the property stolen is less than

$200,000 and the property stolen is an automated teller machine or

the contents or components of an automated teller machine; or

(7) a felony of the first degree if the value of the

property stolen is $200,000 or more.

READ TEXT OF BILL: http://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB554/2013

Status of SB554

http://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB554

Voter Fraud Allegations Persist in Bexar Balloting

http://www.woai.com/content/blogs/briancollister/story/Voter-fraud-allegations-persist-in-Bexar-balloting/kK1ewkr4cEKibY3xF6QLPw.cspx

Is Ballot Mystery Voter Fraud?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47xYsMiWCKY

Complaint filed:Absentee ballots sent to San Antoniocemetery

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/Complaint-filed-Absentee-ballots-sent-to-San-Antonio-cemetery-177471861.html

San Antonio Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/poll/results/9109382

WHO REPRESENTS ME IN TEXAS?

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx

WESTON MARTINEZ ON VOTER FRAUD IN BEXAR COUNTY

http://redsonja-conservativesinaction.blogspot.com/2012/11/weston-martinez-on-voter-fraud-in-bexar.html

CIA’S SPEAK OUT ON VOTER FRAUD

Tks for all u do! I'm convinced it happened in my d Precinct too. The staff was 80% black in a demographic area with less than 20% black!!! MD

Let’s be clear. Neither the Republican Party nor the Democrat party on a state or national level will do anything even when presented evidence (hard copy, witness testimony, and complaint) of fraud. I know this to be an absolute fact from past elections. One state rep had an entire page of “voters” from a precinct that apparently had more voters than residents, and the election officer present did not have a signature on that page… (This was 2 election cycles ago) K and MD

AIR SHOWS and WH TOURS CANCELLED OBAMA BLAMES SEQUESTRATION

noreply@blogger.com (Red Sonja) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:39:00 +0000

This is really what the White House is all about. It’s the “People’s House.” It’s a place that is steeped in history, but it’s also a place where everyone should feel welcome. And that's why my husband and I have made it our mission to open up the house to as many people as we can." – Michelle Obama

!!!! SEQUESTRATION WAS IMPLEMENTED ON MARCH 1!!!!

The U.S Military, will be cancelling all participants at air shows and all AFB’S as of April 1. That means just what it states: there will be no U.S.Military aircraft teams or other aircraft participating at air shows worldwide!!! No Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, Demo Teams, or any ANG aircraft, no fly-by, NOTHING! This statement is on the Blue Angels website. Other than the media accounts, I could not find the White House notice of cancelled WH Tours.

WOAI radio in San Antonio, Texas announced that the schedule for the Thunderbirds air show had been cancelled at Randolph AFB due to sequestration. Then I heard that the Obamas were cancelling all White House tours also because of sequestration. For some reason this really hit a nerve. Obama gets to travel and spend millions on his ‘vacations’ and the rest of us who enjoy going to see air shows with our families during the summer won’t be able to because of sequestration, so he claims.

I sure hope that many of you have had the privilege to tour the White House because it is the ‘People’s House’. Taking photographs are not permitted in the WH but when I went as an invited artist, during GW Bush’s term, I was permitted to photograph the inside. Even Michelle Obama understands this very simple concept. Blaming this situation to sequestration is ridiculous. What Obama is doing is throwing a tamper tantrum or if he is not, he is taking this opportunity to crush our American traditions.

What better way than to eliminate a source of pride, the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds. These teams travel the world exhibiting our might in the air. The air shows are used to recruit and inspire. Yes, they probably do cost but there are so many other areas where money can be saved and it should not be messing with our traditions. We like to feel proud to be an American. We like to see our Navy and AF pilots flying planes into formation and doing next to impossible stunts high up in the air.

Our children and grandchildren may never have an opportunity to witness an air show or visit the White House. I fear that the AmericaI have lived in is vanishing. As Americans, we take so much for granted. Growing up in San AntonioI attended countless air shows at Kelly AFB and now the reality is that our children and grandchildren may never witness an air show. How sad for Americathat our traditions are fading away and in the next four years Americamay vanish altogether.

The Air Combat Command claims that the money saved from the air shows will be used for ‘combat readiness training’. Sorties which usually have a mission will meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and war time air defense. That sounds scary to me. What is the Obama administration really up to?

The last air show I attended was with Bill and my son and his children at Andrews AFB in 2010 with the Blue Angels flying. I am sharing these photographs so we can all remember when Americawas America.

BLUE ANGELS

http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/

2013 AIR SCHEDULE

http://www.airshowsreview.com/airshowdates2013.htm

THUNDERBIRDS

http://www.airshow.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=1&Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=thunderbirds

Sequestration measures cancel Thunderbirds’ appearances past April 1

http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/05/sequestration-measures-cancel-thunderbirds-appearances-past-april-1/

WHITE HOUSE TOURS AND EVENTS

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

INSITE THE WHITE HOUSE

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house

GOP ridicules White House tour shutdown

http://dailycaller.com/2013/03/06/gop-ridicules-white-house-tour-shutdown/

Conservatives in Action

HEARING ON END OF LIFE TEXAS SB303/CSSB303

WHO HAS THE LAST SAY AT END OF LIFE?

TEXAS ROADS SOLD!

END OF LIFE VERSUS THE GOD SYNDROME

WHO DETERMINES YOUR END OF LIFE? ACTION REQUIRED!

TEXAS SB303 RELATING TO THE 'END OF LIFE' - ACTION REQUIRED

The Pro-Life Movement Needs to be Aware of SB 303 and not Hasten the Slide Down the Slippery Slope to Euthanasiahttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/the-pro-life-movement-needs-to-be-aware-of-sb-303-and-not-hasten-the-slide-down-the-slippery-slope-to-euthanasia/

Texas is About to Embark on the “Third Path” to Passive Euthanasiahttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/texas-is-about-to-embark-on-the-third-path-to-passive-euthansia/

Texas Still Aiming At Forced DNRhttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/wesley-j-smith-says-sb303-still-unacceptable/Death Panel Bill passes TX Senate, moves to Househttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/the-association-of-american-physicians-and-surgeons-joins-the-fight-against-sb303/

Texas Lawmakers Attempt to Second-Guess Godhttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-texas-house-must-not-follow-the-senates-lead-and-try-to-second-guess-god/

THE LAREDO SECTOR ON THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER with Chief John Esquivel

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part III of III

THE GANG OF EIGHT - IMMIGRATION BILL

Green cards

Border security

Legal status for undocumented immigrants

Employment verification

Temporary visas

W visas for low-skilled workers

Start-up visas

UNA NACION UNDER GOD – A DIALOGUE Austin, Texas Part II

TONI ANNE DASHIELL TX GOP COMMITTEEWOMAN – WE BELIEVE!

UNA NACION UNDER GOD – A Dialogue Austin Texas Part I

MEET TOM PAUKEN CANDIATE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR OF TEXAS - PART II

TEXAS Attorney General Greg Abbott warns of Arms Trade Treaty - will FIGHT to protect our 2nd Amendment

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN AND THE TEXAS GOP GRASSROOTS CLUB

MEET TOM PAUKEN CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR OF TEXAS - PART I

HE IS RISEN!

JESUS' LAST WORDS FROM THE CROSS

SAME SEX MARRIAGE AND HOLY WEEK

SAUL ALINSKY AND HIS CONNECTION TO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Ken Mercer Update on CScope - Part II of III

POPE FRANCIS TO FILL RED SHOES

WHO WILL WEAR THE RED SHOES?

VOTER FRAUD WESTON MARTINEZ PART II

WESTON MARTINEZ ON VOTER FRAUD IN BEXAR COUNTY

AIR SHOWS and WH TOURS CANCELLED OBAMA BLAMES SEQUESTRATION

The Pro-Life Movement Needs to be Aware of SB 303 and not Hasten the Slide Down the Slippery Slope to Euthanasia
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/the-pro-life-movement-needs-to-be-aware-of-sb-303-and-not-hasten-the-slide-down-the-slippery-slope-to-euthanasia/

Texas is About to Embark on the “Third Path” to Passive Euthanasia
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/texas-is-about-to-embark-on-the-third-path-to-passive-euthansia/

Texas Still Aiming At Forced DNR
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/wesley-j-smith-says-sb303-still-unacceptable/

Death Panel Bill passes TX Senate, moves to House
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/the-association-of-american-physicians-and-surgeons-joins-the-fight-against-sb303/

Texas Lawmakers Attempt to Second-Guess God
http://abyssum.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-texas-house-must-not-follow-the-senates-lead-and-try-to-second-guess-god/