Houston Area Liberty Campaign

Last night around 25 HALC members gathered to discuss a relatively boring topic: Bylaws. After about two hours of deliberation the body, in accordance with our bylaws, produced modifications that will ensure the health and effectiveness of HALC for the long-term.

The most notable changes had to do with quorum requirements (reduced), executive committee positions (also reduced) and permanent action groups (no longer permanent).

Reduced Quorum Requirements

Initially quorum (which is required to conduct business at our monthly meetings) was hard coded to 15 members. What we found was we were come up short, meeting after meeting, which led to no business getting done and folks leaving frustrated. Yesterday’s change uses a moving average to determine quorum that will better reflect increases or decreases in participation.

Less Officers

When it comes to Executive leadership it’s best practice to have an odd number of officers. This prevents ties from occurring during voting. HALC has historically had seven officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and three At-Large positions). Last night we reduced this number to five – essentially removing two At-Large positions. This will help us streamline operations and decision making while still maintaining a deliberative body at the Executive level.

No more Permanent Action Groups

The change to our approach to action groups is the biggest change. When HALC first began, the body envisioned three permanent activities: Elections, Party Coordination and Outreach & Education. These groups were hard-coded into our bylaws and a director position established for each. It sounded good on paper – in fact, it still does – yet over the course of the year we could only fill the director position of each action group temporarily. The majority of the time, the action groups sat stagnant and little was getting done at the core of liberty-related activities.

So, the body elected to remove the hard-coded action groups and instead allow for a more flexible set of rules in creating action groups. This means that if the body feels a specific issue is important enough to tackle, then an action group related to that issue can be formed until it is no longer needed. This change will enable HALC to be far more responsive to local developments than in the past.

Drum Roll Please…

We’ve included a full set of bylaws and their revisions below and we look forward to making 2010 a huge year for HALC!

Mass.  State Sen. Scott Brown wins special election to U.S. Senate Massachusetts state Sen. Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, winning a special election over two opponents, the Associated Press projected. Brown — the first Republican senator from the Bay State in 31 years — will give the GOP 41 seats in the Senate, enhancing the party’s ability to demand changes in legislation. (NY Times)  [The NY Times had referred to Coakley as an "advocate" but Brown was a "conservative who's 'lashing out.'"]

You may be asking, why is a U. S. Senate race in Massachusetts so important to me and you, here in Texas?  The short answer is, the winner’s of Tuesday, January 19th’s election is replacing one of the most liberal Senators in Congress, the late Ted Kennedy.  Kennedy was a big proponent of nationalized health care, enlarging the Patriot Act, the IRS, an unfettered Federal Reserve, bank bailouts, auto manufacturer bailouts and pretty much anything that HALC and any of our sister groups are fighting against!! Senator Kennedy’s replacement will be a critical “swing vote” and could be the key to keeping nationalized health care a figment of Hillary, Pelosi, Reid, and Obama’s overly vivid socialistic imaginations!!

See also:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/scott-brown-wins-massachusetts-senate-race.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/us/politics/19brown.html?scp=7&sq=liz%20robbins&st=cse
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/mass-senate-rivals-cross-paths-in-last-push/
http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/19/case-study-in-new-york-times-b

On January 16, 2010, I drove to Austin, Texas to attend a rally at the State Capitol.

This rally was intended to assert the citizens’ desire for Texas Governor Rick Perry to call a special session in the Texas State Legislature immediately for nullification not only of Congress’s proposed health care bill, but ANY bill that Texas citizens felt was unconstitutional and to assert the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that reminds us that the powers that are not delegated to the U.S. government by the Constitution are retained by the separate states and by the people …

Video courtesy of You Tube user Trinity Texas 77, but posted on We Are Change Austin’s You Tube Channel due to You Tube’s censorship

The rally, which was largely promoted by a group called New Revolution Now, featured speakers like John Stacy and State Representative Leo Berman.

What I found was that the most important speakers of that day were the citizens that attended the rally. What I saw was that their voices, although powerful and resonant, were not entirely heard.

Their wish to see Debra Medina, candidate for Texas Governor speak, was not granted that afternoon.

Medina had another engagement in Austin that evening after the rally and hadn’t officially been invited to speak at the rally, but according to sources she had briefly stopped by the Capitol that day after hearing of the overwhelming voices of her supporters.

Our friends at Ron Paul Forums have started an impromptu mini money bomb for Debra Medina today stating:

It’s Friday, pay day. Debra Medina did very well in the debate last night and deserves your support to get her message to Texans. The media is already declaring her the winner.

One of the Forum Bombers in the thread says, “Keep it up! She said on the radio today that she has raised 25K since the debate last night.”

Thanks to all of you who are donating money, time, and resources to get Debra Medina elected the next Governor of Texas.

If you wish to participate in this debate victory celebration, go to https://secure.piryx.com/donate/g79TEURR/medinafortexas/

Do a text search on the page as it seems to come up in a different location than where I was told it is … http://www.texasmonthly.com/

Q: Who do you think will win the gubernatorial debate?

Kay Bailey Hutchison
Rick Perry
Debra Medina
What debate?

So, who do you think won the debate?  Watch the archived video of the debate!!!!

A bit of respite from all the excitement of tomorrow’s Texas Gubernatorial debate from the University of North Texas campus in Denton.  It can be viewed on KERA-TV, TXA-21 (KTXA-TV), and heard on KERA-FM.

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”   Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Below the double line is a dialogue between Debbie, who is involved in Debra Medina’s campaign and Jill, a firm Rick Perry supporter.  Debbie’s comments are in lavender, her personal thoughts in light teal and Jill’s comments are in black.

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I mentioned 11 objections I had to Perry and she replied to a few of them.  You can scroll down and see how we started the conversation.  It’s not terribly long.  This might help some of you who have asked for talking points for Perry supporters. Feel free to use this or pass it along.  I removed her surname and address out of consideration.  Thanks Read and Julia for the input.

Thanks for your reply, Jill.

My replies are in color inserted below.
Debbie

On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 12:40 PM, Jill  wrote:
Here’s how I look at it and this is strictly my personal opinion:

I’m not going to agree with every candidate I support completely.  Heck, I don’t agree with my mother or husband 100% of the time but on the non-negotiable issues like pro-life, I do!

On the Gardasil and Transcorridor issues I call Perry a “Responsive Leader” because when he heard how we felt about them, he backed off.  That is more than I can say for those in Washington or KBH!

There was an outraged uproar – by the legislature AND the people!  Actually, Perry did NOT back off.  The legislature passed a bill overriding his executive order.  Perry didn’t even sign that into law and instead let it pass without signature.   He lost all credibility in my eyes when he issued that mandate.   Stepping out and mandating something that should be a private decision for parents and young women.  He cannot consider himself pro-life after doing that.  Girls died, girls were left permanently disabled, and sterilized.  Young women have had repeated miscarriages since getting the shot.  It’s really horrific.  Research it for yourself.  Did you get the shot?

The TTC is not dead, it’s been broken up and renamed, but the basic project is still in the works.  Check out http://www.nascocorridor.com/ It is indeed alive and well.  This is a corporation that is still working on it that has offices here in DFW.

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Ms. Debra Medina, in a joint press conference with the U.S. Border Watch reveal her plan on Tuesday, January 12th to secure the Texas border. Curtis Collier and Bob Price of U. S. Border Watch have endorsed Debra Medina and were also be present to address border security.

The press conference was held at the University of Houston, University Center Building 565 Grid E7, Bluebonnet Room 250.

This press conference was held because the Texas border was once bountiful with thousands of acres of fertile land bearing fruit trees and exotic wildlife. Under the Texas leadership of the last few decades, however, the beautiful paradise called the Rio Grande Valley has become a war zone where lawlessness rules. Families and property owners live in fear of drug cartels and threat of human trafficking. Debra Medina has worked hard to identify and understand the problems that have led to the shift from paradise to war zone along the Rio Grande.

Below is Ms. Medina’s complete Press Release and Border Security Plan.

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FAIR WARNING: Governor Medina Will Secure the Texas Border

HOUSTON, TX, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 – Debra Medina, Republican Candidate for Governor today released her plan for securing the Texas border in a joint press conference with the U.S. Border Watch.
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Rick Perry, Debra Medina, Kay Bailey Hutchison

After months of dodging Debra Medina, Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchinson will finally go toe to toe with the liberty candidate on Jan 14 in an state-wide televised debate. KERA, the sponsoring station, says it is inviting newcomer Debra Medina to be part of its GOP gubernatorial debate next week. Medina, who was initially excluded from the televised debate, was finally invited after KERA decided she meets longstanding, station criteria.

Among issues considered was whether Medina has actively campaigned, generating media and public interest. Guidelines also allow for considering political polls, but KERA says polls played a minor role in the decision. KERA says there was very little recent polling data to consider.

This Texas Debate on January 14 will mark the first time Hutchison, Perry and Medina have squared off on the same stage even though the March 2 primary is less than two months away. The statewide broadcast from the University of North Texas’s Murchison Auditorium will include a live audience. Questions will be posed by a panel of journalists and voters.

Viewers will be able to stream the debate live at www.TexasDebates.org and viewers will be able to submit questions via the website.

KERA’s official press release.

**ARCHIVED VIDEO OF THE DEBATE**

[From ImpeachObamaCampaign.com]
* Use caution when accessing Interpol’s website…

With the signing of an under-publicized amendment to Executive Order 12425, Barack Obama has fundamentally altered your constitutional rights. His actions are undermining your rights to protect personal privacy from a foreign internationalist police agency named Interpol. A one-paragraph executive order may seem inconsequential to many, but this action has far-reaching implications and threatens the sovereignty of America.

Obama’s secretive executive order amended an order issued by President Reagan in 1983. Reagan’s order recognized Interpol as an international organization and gave it privileges and immunities commonly extended to foreign diplomats. Reagan opened the door to allow Interpol to operate in partnership with the U.S. but with significant constitutional safeguards. Specifically, Interpol’s property and assets remained subject to search and seizure by American law enforcement, and its archived records remained subject to public scrutiny under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Interpol had to answer to the FBI and U.S. courts under Reagan’s order. These safeguards were stripped away by Obama’s action the week before Christmas without debate or explanation. Obama picked the holiday season to make this radical change, to minimize media coverage.

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