Cupcakes and Candidates - February Meeting

Waco Tea Party Turns 5!

It's hard to believe but the Waco Tea Party turns five in February!

Come celebrate with us, enjoy a cupcake and meet a candidate. We invite citizens, elected officials, and all candidates to attend our 5th birthday party with us.  

Senator Brian Birdwell will be giving the celebratory message to the audience.

Thursday, February 20th
6:00 - 9:00 PM

West Waco Library
5301 Bosque Blvd
(Behind Cotton Patch, next to Target)
Waco, Texas

Please consider bringing $5 with you to help us pay for activities and events.

Racism in America - Ugly Accusations Unfounded

In response to a recent article in the Waco Tribune by guest columnist, Ms. Alice Pollard, the following article was submitted by our webmaster, Michael Simon:

The Waco Tea Party and tea parties across this country seek freedom and prosperity for all Americans.  The best way to secure freedom and prosperity is to remove the barriers of big government regulations and controls, escalated government spending and onerous taxation.  
The human race, as a whole, yearns for freedom and prosperity.  It is a universal principle that our forefathers understood as being “endowed by our Creator.”
It is sad that some find it necessary to interject ghosts of America’s past in an effort to dilute the vital debates regarding America’s future.
It appears that racism is still strong in America.  I say that with a heavy heart.  My father, his father and generations past saw America repent for her racial transgressions of past decades and centuries.  Thank God those times are far behind us.  We can move on now, right?  
Just this past Sunday, in reaction to criticisms of President Obama, Alice Pollard characterized the “Tea Party crowd” as “leftover losers from the election who cannot accept that a black man is president of the United States.”  
Her racially charged message asserted that tea partiers “might have shed the white sheets, but we know what they mean.”  Her message not only offends the memory of those who worked hard to overcome racial barriers, but it clearly shows a lack of regard for bringing down those very walls within the heart of her own community.
Ms. Pollard expressed sadness that U.S. Representative Chet Edwards was “shown disrespect” at his town hall events. But how could that be?  Congressman Edwards is not a minority.  How could a white man bear the brunt of a racial attack?  
Could it be that this is not a racial issue at all?  Could it be that we are in the midst of an ideological struggle between the conservative ideals of a constitutionally limited government and the forces of government harboring power by enabling an entitlement society and spending the nation’s wealth into massive debt?
Thomas Sowell was right when he wrote, “Almost never do these reactions include factual or logical arguments against the administration's critics. Instead, there is indignation, accusations of bad faith and even charges of racism.”

Yes, racism still exists in America, but only in the minds of those still willing to play the victim.  Its accusations only serve to deflect from the discussion of real ideas that focus on the future of freedom and prosperity in America.
Ms. Pollard suggests that there is “no excuse for rudeness and disrespect, especially toward the revered office of the president.”  Where were those ideals when President Bush was being burned in effigy and depicted as Hitler by many who opposed him?  It’s shameful that any president is depicted that way, but no president is above the fray of criticism.
This country is in a sore spot economically.  The unemployment line is growing longer by the day, the dollar continues to drop, the debt continues to mount, and we’re faced head on with continuous bouts against a government ever pursuant of growing its bounds of governing while costing this nation dozens of trillions of dollars.  This happened under President Bush, and it has continued to get worse under President Obama so far.  
These are real issues facing real Americans every single day.  President Obama is the president, and the buck stops at his desk.  It is time to focus on real, affordable solutions for America can that will lead to the greatest freedom and prosperity that this nation has ever seen for all Americans.
The American forefathers understood that “all men are created equal.”  Freedom means all things for all people.  To the founders of America it meant opening up America to be a melting pot of cultures from across this globe.  It meant being a beacon of hope for the world’s oppressed and downtrodden.  It was intended to be a place were anyone -- regardless of race, creed, sex, or whatever special people group you can imagine -- could achieve the goals that would enrich their lives and the lives of the people around them. 
It meant creating an American government limited in scope to allow absolute freedom for the people the government served.  The United States Constitution did just that.  The original intent of the Constitution was to limit the federal government within the bounds of its timeless words penned in ink and sealed with the blood, sweat and toil of a generation that rose from the ashes of tyranny and gave us freedom.

Today’s generation is witness to an American government that has vastly outgrown its just bounds.  We are witness to unrestrained debt in the dozens of trillions.  The American people and American businesses are being forced into regulations and limitations placed down upon us by the hand of big government.  This is not freedom.
Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist 33, gave future Americans this charge, “If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.”  That is exactly what Tea Parties are doing.
We are using our Constitutional freedoms to stand up and say “Stop!”  Enough is enough.  American cannot sustain her debt.  It’s time we scale back, and do it quickly, or the America we love will enslave us all to a mountain of debt that will restrain us all from prospering.

Like it or not, this is Barack Obama’s economy.  This is his presidency, and the buck stops at his desk.  President Obama strongly pushed for the stimulus package claiming it would stop unemployment from rising past 8%.  We are now at 10.2% and that number shows no immediate signs of dwindling.  Post stimulus, his promise to the American people has been broken.
This current recession is not racist.  It does not discriminate.  It is affecting all Americans.  We are desperate to find jobs as they continue to disappear.  We are worried about our economic future as congress and the president continue to advocate erratic spending and even more government programs.  We are weary of a Federal Reserve that, according to the Federal Reserve in St. Louis, has increased America’s dollar supply by nearly 120%.  Our money is quickly become worth less than the paper it’s printed on.
While the American people are on the ground struggling, the president and congress continue to seek new federal programs that will further tap our struggling businesses and citizens for even more of their hard-earned money.  American freedom cannot survive at this pace.  
The uprising of American citizens is not about a president, much less his skin color.  Those that make that ridiculous claim are just as blinded by race as the bigots that adorned white sheets Ms. Pollard referred to.  This is about his policies and the warped direction they seem to be taking this country.
For generations, Americans have sat silent.  They have complied with the onerous regulations in hope of trying to overcome and succeed.  Today, the hope for personal success has been squashed as we have created an entire country that has become enslaved to debt.
People continue to lose their jobs.  Over 120 banks have closed their doors.  Lenders are hoarding cash instead of issuing loans.  The American dollar continues its downward slide against the Euro and the Yen.  
President Obama has presided over a record $1.4 Trillion deficit since taking office.  That’s more than George W. Bush amassed in his 8 years. The promised improvements to America’s foundation have yet to come to fruition.  In many ways, Our economic situation is more bleak today than it was in February when the stimulus package passed.

How is any of this good for America?  How is any of this good for future generations of Americans? Silence is consent.  We cannot afford to remain silent in the face of unrestrained government spending.  We must stand up together, and keep standing, in order to preserve freedom and return this country to its constitutional roots. 

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Tea Party Poem

This poem was noticed on Facebook and we thought it was so good we felt we should share it.

If you have a poem, song, or story, please feel free to send them to us.

The Tea Party Expressed – 9/12/09
By Dave McIntyre © 2009

1773

The king was in his counting house, counting out the money
His staff was sitting on their butts, drinking port and rummy,
The Queen was plotting spending with other people’s money,
The Parliament was fast asleep, hands folded on their tummy.

Across the sea Americans worked hard to make a life,
Each married woman had a husband, each married man a wife,
They worked, they saved, respected God, and made their kids a home,
And wanted from their government, just to be left alone.

“But it’s not enough,” the king did cry, “I have more stuff to buy!”
He looked around for things to tax, America caught his eye.
“They are not paying their fair share! Which is everything they’ve got.
More government is what we need, to pay for what I’ve bought.”

“I’ll tax their work. I’ll tax their play. Their income comes to me!
I’ll tax their life. I’ll tax their death. I’ll even tax their tea!”
These rebels thought what was theirs was theirs. They thought they owned their gold.
But the King knew best, he’s have his way! They’d do what they were told!

But the people stood on their hind legs, Cast the tea into the sea.
And shouted “Can you hear us now?” The rest is history.

236 years later . . .

. . . Obama’s in the People’s House, handing out the money.
His staff is with the lobbyists, their cigarettes smell funny.
Queen Nancy’s scolding all of us, as if she were our mummy.
The press is in Obama’s pocket, kissing on his bummy.

At home the average Joes and Janes try hard to make ends meet,
They pay their bills, obey the laws, stand on their own two feet;
They support the troops, salute the flag, pray God their souls to keep.
And when America is threatened, they can generate some heat.

“I’ll bring you change,” the President said, “I’ll keep us free and strong.”
But then he started doing things that the people thought were wrong.
He used the TARP to dole out cash, to the Constitution he took axes,
And over all he appointed folks who don’t even pay their taxes.

He seized car companies and closed car dealers down the line,
But curiously his union pals – they seemed to do just fine.
He racked up debts and placed big bets, spending without end.
With king and thug he bowed and hugged, said “Forgive us, we have sinned!”

He selected czars to rule the land, skipping checks by the FBI,
Crooks, Commies and nut jobs took their seats, while the press turned a blind eye.
Oh they had plans as they looked ahead, to control American life,
Our daughters and sons, and God and guns, and the definition of man and wife.

But the health care scam was the most revealing of all – it promised us all apple pie.
It would serve more people, it would cost less dough, it would work when pigs could fly.
Yes, ninety percent would get worse care, but Acorn would get by,
If the young would just pay a fine for their health, and old folks would just up and die.

At this the American people asked from their elected reps to be heard.
But the Dems in particular laughed it off, and flipped a collective bird.
And the President made it abundantly clear, “Heed their cries I won’t –
As I take from those who work and save and give to those who don’t!”

“Yes, I’ll bring you change!,” Obama cried, “This won’t take very long.”
“And when I am done the Red Chinese can buy us for a song!”
But the people stood up on their hind legs, the “Tea Parties” came to be.
From the Joes and Janes a roar went up from sea to shining sea.

“Enough!” they said, “of your circus and bread, of your promises you can’t keep!
Enough of your passing laws in the night, seizing power while we’re asleep!
Enough of your lies and your socialist ties, and your taking of what isn’t yours!
Enough of your leading the law of the land on a Magical Mystery Tour!”

“2010 is coming my friend, and 2012 behind that,
It’s the end of career politicians my friend, both the leftist and corporate fat cat.
We know what made America great, it wasn’t ‘redistribution of wealth,’
It was hard work, and prayer and helping a friend and responsibility for yourself.

It was teaching your kids to respect the law, because the law respects us,
When a citizen works for three-score years, we don’t throw him under the bus.
It was power at the bottom, not at the top, not big boys on Capitol Hill.
It was leaders that heed us, taxes that don’t bleed us, not sticking the kids with the bill.

This poem has no final verse, there is no end to this song,
‘Cause there is no end to self-government, no end to righting wrong.
If we want One Nation Under God, and life with tyranny gone,
Then there is no end to vigilance. The Tea Party must go on!

* Dave McIntyre gave us permission to use the poem.  Please do not interpret this as an endorsement or support for any political party or campaign, it is for informational purposes only.

Sports Fishermen and Anglers Beware, No Fish for You!

Many Americans are so busy with their personal lives and hobbies they do not pay attention to politics.  I understand that sentiment, however I also know that if Americans do not get involved in politics or activism,  some politician or government agency is going to get involved in your life.  

When I first heard about this story I thought about all the men I know that fish.  Most of those men do not pay much attention to the political world until it directly affects them.  Well boys, here is one story that may grab your attention.  This article was sent to me, I'm not sure who wrote it, so don't shoot the messenger when you read it.

The White House report can be found by visiting this site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/09_17_09_Interim_Report_of_Task_Force_FINAL2.pdf

Here is the article (I did not edit it):

Feds to 60 Million American Anglers: We don't need you

PASS THIS ON!!!!!

IRVINE, Calif. USA – October 5, 2009 – A recently published administration document outlines a structure that could result in closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas across America.

The White House created an Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force in June and gave them only 90 days to develop a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S. coastal, ocean and Great Lakes waters.  Under the guise of ‘protecting’ these areas, the current second phase of the Task Force direction is to develop zoning which may permanently close vast areas of fishing waters nationwide. This is to be completed by December 9, 2009.

Dave Pfeiffer, President of Shimano American Corporation explained, “In spite of extensive

submissions from the recreational fishing community to the Task Force in person and in writing, they failed to include any mention of the over one million jobs or the 6o million anglers which may be affected by the new policies coast to coast. Input from the environmental groups who want to put us off the water was adopted into the report verbatim – the key points we submitted as an industry were ignored.”

Recreational fishing generates a $125 billion annual economy in the United States and supports jobs in every state according to government figures. Through the Sport Fish Restoration program, anglers have provided more than $5 billion through excise taxes on fishing tackle to fishery conservation and education for decades.

In addition to the economic aspects, anglers lead the nation in volunteer conservation efforts on behalf of improving fish habitat, water quality and related environmental areas. “There was no mention of the fishery conservation efforts which anglers have led for over 50 years in every state – an environmental success story that has no equal in the world”, said Phil Morlock, Director, Environmental Affairs for Shimano. “The Task Force did not make any distinction between the dramatic differences between harmful commercial fishing harvest methods and recreational fishing, even though we spelled it out for them in detail,” added Morlock.

Claiming to be the result of a public consultation process the report states, “Having considered a broad range of public comments, this report reflects the requests and concerns of all interested parties.” 

The original White House memo and not surprisingly the Task Force report contains multiple

references to developing a national policy where Great Lakes and coastal regions are managed, “consistent with international law, including customary international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” ‐ a 300‐page treaty the U.S. has never ratified.

“We question what implications there will be for state authority and jurisdiction in the Great Lakes and coastal regions if the U.S. adopts the U.N. Treaty,” said Pfeiffer.

The report makes it clear that future authority for implementing the policy for coastal and inland waters will fall under White House jurisdiction with a new National Ocean Council comprised of over 20 federal agencies at Cabinet Secretary or Deputy Secretary level. No reference to Congressional jurisdiction is indicated.

“This significant change in U.S. policy direction is the result of a 90‐day fire drill process as ordered by the President that, not surprisingly, lacks balance, clarity and quality in the end product,” said Morlock. “People who simply want to take their kids fishing on public waters deserve better from their government,” he added.

Shimano is joining with other members of the recreational fishing industry to urge anglers to

contact their members of Congress and the administration to request this process be required to adopt the economic, conservation and social contributions of recreational fishing as key elements of the policy. It is critical that we ensure Congressional oversight and state jurisdiction and management continues.

E‐letters can be sent to the administration and members of Congress by visiting

KeepAmericaFishing.org. The future of fishing is in your hands.

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Toby Marie in D.C.!

A little different version of the speech in Waco...

Tobys Speaking @ Washington @ Yahoo! Video

And more video from Greg Jones!

Washington Tea Party @ Yahoo! Video