Local: Boot Up Texas

Conservatives have fallen dangerously behind in this age of online communication.

Radical left wing activists have been effectively using the internet to drive the public policy agenda, influence mainstream media coverage, and mobilize their so-called “progressive” movement at an alarming rate.

The time has come for conservatives to stand up and fight back against so-called “progressives” who are pushing a left-wing agenda in Texas!!

We invite you to join us on November 19, for the RightOnline™ “Boot Up Texas” Training Seminar. We’ll be joined by one of America’s leading experts in new media and grassroots mobilization – American for Prosperity’s Director of New Media Erik Telford. You’ll learn how you can use internet tools to amplify the voice of the right and send a message to policy makers and the media.

Time:  7-9 p.m.

Date: Thursday, Nov. 19

Place: Hyatt Regency, 1200 Louisiana St. downtown Houston

The Boot Up Texas Training Seminar will cover:

Blogging
Online Video & YouTube
Social Networking
Podcasting
And many other online media tools and strategies

For more information and to register, visit www.afptx.org.

Local: Become a Deputy Voter Registrar

Get Deputized! Come to Sherlock’s on Monday, November 23rd at 7 p.m. to be a part of Voter Registrar Class.

National: Pelosi Rendition of the Health Care Bill

Pelosi’s rendition of the health care bill must be stopped. We are gathering further details and considering action plans. Enough is enough.

A group from Houston Tea Party Patriots are flying to Washington Tuesday, November 3^rd.  If you’d like to join us, please email us ASAP at info@houstonteapartypatriots.org.

Please forward this to everyone you can and ask them to register their email address at www.houstonteapartypatriots.org. We need to connect now more than ever.

According to Rep Brady it looks like this bill could come up for vote as early as Thursday, Nov. 5th. There is no time to waste. We must do all we can to kill the bill in the House.

Click here to view the video from Rep Brady, “Brady calls America to arms over health care.”

Here’s the Plan:

1. Get to Washington on Thursday, November 5^th if you can
2. Contact specific Texas Democrats
3. Contact Blue Dog Democrats

There are a few Texas Democrats we need to focus specifically on.  This is based on their constituent base, voting record, etc.  Their names appear below in RED, with contact info underneath.  Please call/email/fax all of the following representatives.  The most effective method is a handwritten fax.  Tell them Texas does not want Government Run Health Care!!

Congressman Chet Edwards
Waco Office
St. Charles Place
600 Austin Ave, Suite 29
Waco, TX 76701
Phone: 254-752-9600
Fax: 254-752-7769

Washington Contact Info
Phone: 202-225-6105
Fax: 202-225-0350

Congressman Solomon Ortiz
Coastal Bend
3649 Leopard, Suite 510
Corpus Christi, TX 78408
(361) 883-5868 tel
(361) 884-9201 fax

Washington Contact Info
(202) 225-7742 tel

Congressman Ciro Rodriguez
North San Antonio
6363 DeZavala Rd.
Suite 105
San Antonio, TX 78249
P: (210) 561-9421
F: (210) 561-9442

South San Antonio
1313 S.E. Military Dr.
Suite 101
San Antonio, TX 78214
P: (210) 922-1874
F: (210) 923-8447

Charles Gonzales
Phone: (202)225-3236
Fax: (202)225-1915

Henry Cuellar
Washington
phone: 202-225-1640
fax: 202-225-1641

Laredo
602 E. Calton Road, Suite 2
Laredo, Texas 78041
phone: (956) 725-0639
fax: (956) 725-2647

Gene Green
Washington
(202) 225-1688 tel
(202) 225-9903 fax

Houston, Texas
256 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E., Suite 29
Houston, TX 77060
(281) 999-5879 tel
(281) 999-5716 fax

Al Green
Washington
Phone: (202)225-7508
Fax: (202) 225-2947

Houston, Texas
3003 South Loop West
Suite 460
Houston, TX 77054
Phone:(713)383-9234
Fax: (713) 383-9202

Sheila Jackson Lee
Washington
(202) 225-3816 Phone
(202) 225-3317 Fax

Houston Office
1919 Smith Street
Suite 1180
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 655-0050 Phone
(713) 655-1612 Fax

Here’s a link to the Blue Dog Democrats in the House. Please call/email/fax these representatives.  The most effective method is a handwritten fax.  Tell them America does not want Government Run Health Care!!

National: Scozzafava Drops Out

The following article was written by Josh Kraushaar and posted on Politico here.

BREAKING: Scozzafava suspends NY 23 campaign

Republican Dede Scozzafava has suspended her bid in next Tuesday’s NY 23 special election, a huge development that dramatically shakes up the race. She did not endorse either of her two opponents — Conservative party candidate Doug Hoffman or Democrat Bill Owens.

The decision to suspend her campaign is a boost for Hoffman, who already had the support of 50 percent of GOP voters, according to a newly-released Siena poll, and is now well-positioned to win over the 25 percent of Republicans who had been sticking with Scozzafava.

Scozzafava has “probably made her last campaign appearance between now and Election Day,” spokesman Matt Burns told POLITICO. “She’s releasing her support to the two other candidates.”

“I had a discussion with her last night, and we made the decision after I spoke with her. We talked about it, what this came down to was spending. It came down to the ability to defend herself from the get-go. And that’s the reality. She was unable to define herself where the people didn’t know her.”

POLITICO has the full story on Scozzafava’s surprise decision here.

Scozzafava’s statement:

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Throughout the course of my campaign for Congress, I have made the people of the 23rd District and the issues that affect them the focal point of my campaign. As a life long resident of this District, I care deeply and passionately about its people and our way of life. Whether as a candidate for Congress, a State Assemblywoman or a small town Mayor, I have always sought to act with the best interest of our District and its residents in mind-and today I again seek to act for the good of our community.

The opportunity to run as the Republican and Independence Party candidate to represent the 23rd District has been and remains one of the greatest honors of my life. During the past several months, as I’ve traveled the district, meeting and talking with voters about the issues that matter most to them, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received as I sought to serve as their voice in Washington. However, as Winston Churchill once said, Democracy can be a fickle employer, and the road to public office is not always a smooth one.

In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be. The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money-and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record. But as I’ve said from the start of this campaign, this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this District. And, as always, today I will do what I believe serves their interests best.

It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my Party will emerge stronger and our District and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations.

On Election Day my name will appear on the ballot, but victory is unlikely. To those who support me – and to those who choose not to – I offer my sincerest thanks.

Dede

Please click here to read the original article.

National: NoBig3TV4Me – Take a Stand Against Media Bias

Are you fed up with mainstream media’s half-truths and outright suppression of what is really going on in America?

Are you one of the millions of Americans who attended Tea Parties, Town Halls, the 9/12 March on Washington, or countless other historic and newsworthy events and were willfully ignored or intentionally misrepresented?

You are not alone! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

TURN ‘EM OFF

Take a stand against the BIG 3 TV NETWORKS – CBS, ABC, and NBC/MSNBC – for their distorted, biased, and manipulative media coverage.

BLOCK THEIR CHANNELS

The network news blatantly promotes the most far left-wing agenda ever proposed in the history of the United States.

They do not deserve our attention or our patronage – and certainly do not deserve to profit from their careless disregard of the truth.

CONTACT THEIR ADVERTISERS

Network news programming does not generate revenue. It is subsidized by very expensive ads run during the network’s “other entertainment” – comedies, dramas, and reality programming.

Let the advertisers know that we the people are turning off CBS, ABC, NBC/MSNBC, and all of their affiliates, for all of their programming, from Monday, November 9th to Saturday, November 14th.

If no one watches the stations, if no one watches the ads, advertisers rethink their affiliations – and hopefully, networks begin to deliver responsible, accurate, and objective news coverage.

Why now? These dates are in the middle of Nielsen’s Sweeps Weeks, when they’re recording what we watch through our cable and satellite receivers.

Take a stand on Monday, November 9th to Saturday, November 14th. Tune out the big three networks and their advertisers.

RSVP on Facebook here and follow us on Twitter here. Click here to access the flyer.

For more information, please visit: NoBig3TV4Me.org.

Article from Alex Isenstadt “NY-23 race first test of tea party power”

The following article, “NY-23 race first test of tea party power” is from Politico.com.

Tea party activists from across the nation are rallying around the House special election in upstate New York, viewing it as the first electoral test of the nascent conservative movement’s political muscle.

Organizers up and down the East Coast report that activists are making their way into the campaign offices ofConservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman, with the volunteers focusing their efforts in Oswego, Madison and Jefferson counties. While tea party organizers say the election is a unique opportunity to hold the Democratic and Republican parties to account, much of their energy is being directed against Dede Scozzafava, the GOP establishment-backed nominee whom they view as a squishy moderate who represents all that is wrong with the Republican Party.

“I went here from Washington, D.C., saying, ‘Now what?’” said Jennifer Bernstone, an organizer for Central New York 912, a Syracuse-based tea party group that so far has about 300 members getting out the vote for Hoffman. “Well, here’s the ‘Now what.’”

Numerous anti-Scozzafava websites have emerged across the blogosphere. Dana Loesch, a St. Louis-based activist, has launched “Dump Dede,” a site that tracks nationwide conservative opposition to Scozzafava and urges viewers to “throw your support behind conservatism, ladies and gents; the clock starts now.”

Michael Patrick Leahy, a Nashville, Tenn.-area tea party activist, has turned his Drudge Report-like TCOT Report into a constantly updated bulletin board of news and rumors slamming Scozzafava.

“Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, Washington Times, National Review, RedState Join Growing Avalanche of Other Conservatives Calling for Scozzafava to Withdraw from Race in NY 23rd,” blared the site’s headline Thursday afternoon.

“They’re all making a concerted effort for Doug Hoffman, and they are making New York 23 a last stand,” said Erick Erickson, who has been urging tea party activists for months to ramp up electoral efforts against the Republican Party on his influential conservative blog RedState. “New York should be a hill to die on for conservative activists.”

Scozzafava faces Democrat Bill Owens and Hoffman in the Nov. 3 contest to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.).

In New York, tea party activists have emerged as the ground troops for the small, grass-roots-oriented Hoffman campaign. Bernstone, the CNY912 activist who in her day job works as an acting coach, said she now participates in nightly 9:30 p.m. conference calls with Hoffman campaign aides.

“We are helping his organization get out the vote for what we believe is the better of the two candidates,” said William Lamar Wells, who heads up CNY912. “This is rapidly elevating.”

“We’re seeing a lot of tea party people coming into the office,” said Rob Ryan, a Hoffman spokesman. “In a very competitive election, they’re providing a lot of manpower to put Doug Hoffman over the top.”

For the tea party activists, the special election represents the next big event for the loosely confederated movement, which began earlier this year with local Tax Day “tea parties,” followed by town hall protests and a Sept. 12 March on Washington.

“I think, nationally, the tea party movement to a person is supporting Hoffman,” said Leahy.

On Thursday, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), chairman of FreedomWorks, an organization that has played a role in coordinating tea party activities, personally endorsed Hoffman and implored his conservative followers to get on board.

“You’re sitting right in the eye of the storm. This country is at a crossroads,” Armey told supporters, according to an account in the Syracuse Post-Standard. “We have a special election. This is the game-changer. We’ve struggled with a Republican Party … that has lost its way. They don’t remember about [President Ronald] Reagan. … They don’t remember about small government. They let their thinking be controlled by self-serving political objects. And frankly, they made a lot of fools out of themselves.”

FreedomWorks is now set to launch an aggressive effort to educate voters on what it says are the differences between Hoffman and Scozzafava. Adam Brandon, a FreedomWorks spokesman, said the organization would have hundreds of members on the ground in the closing days of the contest and will distribute call lists to members across the country who can’t make it to upstate New York.

Armey himself is set to embark on a whistle-stop and media tour with Hoffman and will headline a fundraiser for the Conservative Party nominee. On Wednesday, Armey huddled with tea party activists who are playing a role in the race.

According to an Oct. 15 Siena Research Institute poll, Owens has the support of 33 percent of likely voters, followed by Scozzafava at 29 percent and Hoffman at 23 percent. But Hoffman’s numbers were up 7 points during a two-week period, and Democratic and Republican insiders told POLITICO that Hoffman has now moved into second place ahead of Scozzafava, according to internal polls.

Asked to assess how much credit the Hoffman campaign would give to tea party activists in the event the Conservative Party candidate wins, Ryan said, “We would owe them a great deal of credit.”

For Scozzafava, the ramped-up tea party opposition has coincided with a rough campaign stretch.

On Monday evening, she came under fire after reports circulated that her husband had called police after a Weekly Standard writer peppered her with a series of questions. Two days later, on Wednesday, Scozzafava, appearing exhausted, staged an awkward photo op in front of Hoffman’s campaign headquarters — surrounded by a sea of Hoffman supporters waving Hoffman campaign signs behind her.

“I think, whether it’s tea party folks or any other group, they have a right to support who they feel best represents them,” said Matt Burns, a Scozzafava spokesman. “I think it’s a healthy thing when there is political involvement from people at any level.”

Tea party activists, who maintain they are independent of either major party, say their involvement in the special election is proof they aren’t aligned with the Republican Party.

“We’re not a part of the Republican Party, and I think that’s beginning to show to people,” said Wells.

Asked how his conservative-oriented organization felt about taking on the Republican Party, Brandon, the FreedomWorks spokesman, responded without missing a beat, “I feel as pure as can be. I have a smile on my face.”

“For those who criticize us as an arm of the GOP, I hope those folks are watching,” added Brandon.

For the original article, please click here.

National: “If Obama were a Marxist, what would he think?” Article

Those who know little about Marxism will find much in this article to think about.

I don’t disagree with anything you’ll read except this:  the fullness of any Marxist push over time will always involve a Bolsheviks-v-Mensheviks-type battle for complete control.  We already have some earmarks of that going on in the Democratic Party and with supposed allies who are decidedly Marxist or increasingly anarchist.

What the article did not go into at all is how Marxism is structured and practiced in The West.  Marxism is a methodology for advancing the development of the communist state.  Consequently, a Marxist is by definition a communist.  Marxism extracts its best ideas from the Bible, leaving out God, of course.  Marxists engage in very long range planning and use an incremental development method at all levels of recruiting, organizing, and messaging.  They are skilled opportunists who love a crisis for the many avenues of action it opens to them.  Marxist community organizers, issue planners and campaign directors are masters of conceptual strategies such as targeting, layering, strategic paths, multiple organizations with interlocking leadership, all with varying degrees of vertical integration, etc.  Connectedness was a hallmark of Marxism long before the digital age of communications.  The connectedness reaches into every bureaucracy at every level of government in America, including ‘government’ schools.  And it is pervasive in both big and small business by virtue of regulation.  It has even invaded The Church.

President Barack Obama’s personal history, political background, rhetoric and appointment of ’shadow government’ czars suggest he is not only familiar with the Marxist method but is comfortable using it. But is Obama a Marxist?

People captivated by leftist rhetoric who are ‘brought along’ incrementally often do not even know they have become Marxists either in their thinking or behavior because the term Marxist may never come up in conversation or appeals for action.  Certainly most Democrat voters would never describe themselves as such.  Activist Democrats are much more comfortable with designations such as Liberal Democrat, Social Democrat or Progressive Democrat, which all are the same animal but at different stages in its development.  At any rate, all these labels mean “Communist.”  Marxism sells the notion that its practitioners are the best ‘change agents’ because of their ‘caring, compassion and concern’ for the poor, the forgotten, the used, abused, the dispossessed.  Because of the failures of their opposition, they have very little trouble constructing a boat of truth in which to float their lie.

To my mind, there are two great American tragedies.  One is that African Americans were once made slaves in an otherwise free land and that Americans shed American blood to right that wrong.  The second is that the media’s reaction to Joseph McCarthy in the 1950’s and beyond ensured that American students would never be taught about communism or how to identify a communist.

So, is it any wonder today that so many people can’t tell when they are voting for one or becoming one themselves?

-Teague Cuddeback

Two defining life events lead Teague Cuddeback into a career embracing writing, teaching, politics and public service.  Her favorite documents are The Bible and The United States Constitution.  She is an honor graduate of Georgia State University and specializes in socio-political communications.  An eighth generation Texan, she currently resides on the Texas Gulf Coast.

National: HR 615

On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn, which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan that they would force on us. (Under proposed legislation they are exempt.)

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his Website and sign his petition here:

http://fleming.house.gov/index.html (If you can not access the site on first attempt, please try reloading the page.)

From Congressman Fleming’s website:

Over the past few weeks, members of Congress and the American people have come to know the details of the Administration’s proposed health care plan. Call it whatever you like, I believe this proposal is nothing more than government-run health care. As a physician, I am amazed at the number of bureaucrats in this House who are quick to claim a government-run health care plan is the reform this country needs. In response to this, I have offered a resolution that will offer members of Congress an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is, and urge their colleagues who vote for legislation creating a government-run health care plan to lead by example and enroll themselves in the same public plan.

Under the current draft of the Democrat healthcare legislation, members of Congress are curiously exempt from the government-run health care option, keeping their existing health plans and services on Capitol Hill. If Members of Congress believe so strongly that government-run health care is the best solution for hard working American families, I think it only fitting that Americans see them lead the way. Public servants should always be accountable and responsible for what they are advocating.

Together we will work to ensure that any plan that is good enough for American families is good enough for every member of Congress.

View Resolution

If you would like to download a letter and ask your representative to consider supporting House Resolution 615, click here.

To see a list of Representatives who currently support H. Res 615, please click here.

National: RED ALERT: New Health Care Strategy from Tea Party

The following message was sent via National Tea Party Patriots – this is part of a national Tea Party Effort.

Thank you to Amy Kremer and the Tea Party team for putting this together.

Greetings Patriots,

There is only one thing that can stop our government from taking over the health care system.  The only thing that can stop this bullet train to socialism is YOU and millions of grassroots activists like you!  We must do this NOW!  There is no time to wait!

According to the experts in DC, the legislation will probably go to the floor of the Senate on October 19th and to the floor of the House on October 26th.  So what we must do NOW is continue the action plan from earlier in the week and take the following action steps:

• First action step is to contact Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine and the two Senators from Arkansas.  These Senators need to hear from us more than any other Senators. When contacting their offices, let them know that while you may not live in their states, their votes effect all Americans.  Additionally, you will be happy to support their next campaign if they listen to the American people.  If they don’t listen to the American people, you will be happy to contribute to the campaign of their opposition.  Their contact information follows:
  • Senator Olympia Snowe (ME)
    Chief of Staff: Unknown
    Washington, DC (202) 224-5344 / (202) 224-1946 fax
    Auburn (207) 786-2451 / (207) 782-1438 fax
    Augusta (207) 622-8292 / (207) 622-7295 fax
    Bangor (207) 945-0432 / (207) 941-9525 fax
    Biddeford (207) 282-4144 / (207) 284-2358 fax
    Portland (207) 874-0883 / (207) 874-7631 fax
    Presque Isle (207) 764-5124 / (207) 764-6420 fax
  • Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR)
    Chief of Staff: Elizabeth Burks (elizabeth_burks@lincoln.senate.gov)
    Washington, DC (202) 224-4843 / (202) 228-1371 fax
    Little Rock (800) 352-9364 / (501) 375-7064 fax
  • Senator Mark Pryor (AR)
    Chief of Staff: Bob Russell (email address unknown)
    Washington, DC (202) 224-2353 / (202) 228-0908 fax
    Little Rock (501) 324-6336 / (501) 324-5320 fax
• Second action step is to take action NOW by emailing all of your Senators and Congressman at this easy to use Capwiz! Please do this now!  You can send emails to your Senators and Congressman in one easy step that will take less than one minute! Can you please take this extra step now to fight government takeover of health care?
• Want to take one more action to make a difference?  Please contact all of your local media and national radio talk shows to have your voice heard on opposing government takeover of health care! You can find all of the contact information for all of your local and national media here. Call the media today!  Call tomorrow!  Ask your friends and family to call too!

Want to know more about what is going on with the fight against government takeover of health care?  You will get really angry when you read about the latest tactics of a Vapor Bill and other tactics here.  You can stay up to date with breaking news on the fight against government takeover of health care at Live Pulse on Politico.

One last thing, if you sent emails to the Chiefs of Staff earlier this week or last week and some of them were undeliverable, it is because they have shut down those email accounts.  We are working on getting new email addresses for those chiefs of staffs. The Chiefs of Staff email addresses that do not work are Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Ensign, Kerry, Bayh, Bunning, Stabenow, Bill Nelson, Wyden, Bingman, Baucus, Tester, Schumer, Bennet, Menedez, and Pryor.  Once I receive any corrected information, I will send it out to all of you.  If any of you can provide an email address for the Chief of Staff for any of the Senators mentioned above, please let me know.

Thanks for all you are doing to fight this battle right along with the rest of us!  If you want to do more to save your country, please forward this email to at least five people.  We need to melt the phone lines NOW! Have your voice heard before it is too late!  Act NOW!

Please see original Action Alert from earlier this week by clicking here.

National: Kill This Bill!

The following message was sent via National Tea Party Patriots – this is part of a national Tea Party Effort.  Let’s all do our part to Kill the Bill!