Four people, including liberty-minded patriots Chanda Seymour (of We Are Change-Austin), John Bush (Director of Texans for Accountable Government), environmentalist activist Robin Schneider (Texas Environment Organization), and Dan McCarthy (a 22-year-old Texas State University student, running for mayor of San Marcos) were arrested on August 9th by UT-Austin Police Department.  The individuals were charged with their various “crimes” by Austin Police Department, as that is the handling law enforcement agency in the area with the jail facility.  Their “crimes” ranged from exercising their rights of free speech and peaceful assembly at the Obama event at UT’s Austin campus ["criminal tresspass", Ms. Seymour and Mr. Bush], to collecting ballot signatures for a petition [Ms Schneider], to walking on a public sidewalk and not stopping when ordered by Austin PD University of Texas Police Department to do so [Mr. McCarthy]!

Contact University of Texas Police Department @  512-471-4441.  Let them know what you think of them violating the First Amendment.

photo by Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Here are videos of the arrests….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gr1BIDi97M&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP3kJwjG0RE&feature=player_embedded

Read the rest of this entry »

Social Security, with its ‘trust fund’ filled with Treasury IOUs, is in serious fiscal trouble, but you wouldn’t guess it from stories by the mainstream news media. Reporters and columnists have downplayed the program’s budget shortfall and claimed that fixing the broken system would be a “snap.”
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[From the Business & Media Institute, original article here]

Social Security with its ‘trust fund’ of IOUs is in serious fiscal trouble, but you wouldn’t guess it from the mainstream news media.

This is a historic year for the largest government program: Social Security, which turns 75 in just a few days. The program is also running a deficit for the first time since 1983, and ahead of estimates.

Initially, Social Security was created to provide supplemental income to elderly and disabled people who could not work, and was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt Aug. 14, 1935.

Social Security is in the red six years earlier than forecasted, and for the first time since 1983 (the last time the program was “fixed”). Downplaying the significance of the problem, The New York Times reported March 24, that the program is facing a “small” $29 billion shortfall this year because the high 9.5 percent unemployment rate is cutting into payroll tax collections that fund the program’s benefits. Oh, and because there isn’t actually a trust fund with all the money previously collected by people paying into the system.

Read the rest of this entry »

[From Pat, on The We Texans-Austin Meetup Group, Original article here]

Gateway Pundit Lists 70 Socialists in the Democrats’ Ranks

The Socialist Party of America announced in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently belong to their caucus.

This admission was recently posted on Scribd.com:

American Socialist Voter–
Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA?
A: Seventy

Q: How many of the DSA members sit on the Judiciary Committee?
A: Eleven: John Conyers [Chairman of the Judiciary Committee], Tammy Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Luis Gutierrez, Melvin Watt, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler, Linda Sanchez [there are 23 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of which eleven, almost half, are now members of the DSA].

Read the rest of this entry »

Support Local Growth Together (SLGT) is partnering with Habitat for Humanity Houston from Sept 13-19. They are looking for volunteers. If you are interested in helping out, see the details below.

We are proud to announce that the SLGT team is set to embark on one of its largest community projects to date. SLGT has partnered with Houston Habitat for Humanity to raise walls, hammer nails and lay roofing over six days in an effort to support affordable housing. From September 13-19, SLGT members, friends and businesses will team up to build a home in Houston Habitat’s newest neighborhood, Milby Park in Northeast Houston.

SLGT and Houston Habitat have the shared belief that quality of life can be improved through partnership, sustainable practices and community building. With your help, and thanks to a generous grant from the Turner Foundation, SLGT and Houston Habitat will be able to provide a local family with the opportunity to make the dream of homeownership a reality.

About Houston Habitat for Humanity
Since 1987, Houston Habitat for Humanity, along with thousands of sponsors and volunteers, has built more than 825 affordable homes for purchase by hard working, low-income Houstonians. Qualified Houston Habitat homebuyers agree to a no-interest mortgage and contribute 300 hours of “sweat equity” in lieu of a down payment. Partner families are also provided with classes on money management and home maintenance. More information about Houston Habitat and the Houston Habitat ReStore, a discounted building supply outlet, is available at www.houstonhabitat.org or by calling 713-671-9993.

How You Can SLGT

BUILD: We need 150 volunteers over six days. That’s a lot of folks, but we know that you’re up to the challenge! Just follow these simple steps:

• Go to www.houstonhabitat.org
• Click on “VOLUNTEER NOW”
• Click on “Access Code”
• Enter Access Code “SLGT”
• Click on “Access Schedule”
• Select date(s) to volunteer
• Click on “Sign Up”
• Fill in the requested info
• Recruit your friends and family! (Note: You must be 16 years old to be on the jobsite)
DONATE

• We need local restaurants, stores or guardian angels to provide lunch for our hard working volunteers. They’ll be sweating up a storm in the September heat, and we will definitely have hungry stomachs to feed.
• Can’t make it out to build? Houston Habitat still needs your support!

Please take a moment to donate here.
GET INVOLVED FOR THE LONG HAUL: Connect with us to stay updated on events and to learn more about how you can Support Local and Grow Together.

SLGT Facebook | Twitter

Houston Habitat For Humanity Facebook | Twitter | www.houstonhabitat.org

The History of Children: A Legal and Policy Overview

This is your LAST CHANCE to join CHILDREN AT RISK for a fascinating, enlightening, and informative event that is open both to attorneys needing CLE credit and individuals interested in the history of children throughout time!

We are pleased and honored to have Dr. Christopher Greeley presenting the History of Children: A Legal and Policy Overview CLE luncheon at the United Way of Greater Houston on August 10. This talk will provide a historical overview of the place that children have had in society, focusing on the legal framework of the role of children in the family and society, and how this role has changed over time. There will also be discussion on societal forces which have impacted the lives of children throughout time, including historic threats to the well-being of children and the social structures which have been erected over time to protect children and aid families in need. CLE and CEU credits will be provided.

Dr. Greeley is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine. He also serves as the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He has dedicated his life and career to the protection of children and is thoroughly published on the subject of child abuse.

Register for this event online
Or call 713-869-7740

by Kaili Joy Gray aka Angry Mouse

Congressmen Embrace Escalation as Evidence of War’s Folly Grows

Though one would have expected that the massive release of some 92,000 classified documents Sunday underscoring just how poorly the war is going would have changed some minds, the Obama Administration has gotten its way once again, with the House of Representatives approving the $59 billion emergency funding bill to keep the war going by a 308-114 vote.

There was, at the very least, some vigorous debate in the House today, with Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D – OH) and Ron Paul (R – TX) at the center of the opposition to continuing the war. At the end of the day, however, all the new evidence about the disastrous war was ignored in favor of pumping tens of billions of dollars into the conflict.

The 308-114 vote was saw a majority from both parties supporting the war, with only 12 Republican and 102 Democrats opposing the conflict. A secondary vote calling for US troops to withdraw from Pakistan was voted down 38-372.

The House was forced into the direct vote last week after the Senate rejected a number of domestic spending amendments attached to the bill in a procedural effort by the House early in the month. Read the rest of this entry »