Wednesday morning, 3/10/10, I drove to Austin and arrived at the Texas Education Agency in time to be present when Fox and other news agencies gathered for a preliminary news conference concerning “testimony to the State Board of Education” (S.B.O.E.). After the news session, we adjourned into the SBOE chambers. I was honored to be given the information and to be invited to testify today and thanks in a large part goes to Jonathan Saenz, Esq., Director of Legislative Affairs & Attorney for the Liberty Institute.

I was up late preparing the one-pager (time limit of 3 minutes) and I appreciate the efforts and help from Dr. John Bell, Hope d’Amore, and Jonathan Saenz. I’ve included at the attachment my summary and I can tell you this: 3 minutes goes by quickly. I did not have time to quickly read though this before my time expired; however, 2 Board members (who had copies of my sheet) wanted to address the items I didn’t cover, and they assured me the items in question would not be removed from the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). I found the Board to be friendly and reassuring about the message I brought. My prayers were answered — and hopefully, this will bring about good fruit for the school children of Texas (and other states) over the next 10 years (at least in the areas of Social Studies, Government, and World History).

Thanks to all of you who lent encouragement and support. It is only with the help of friends, Patriots, and those who pray that we will stand and prevail.

Standing fast for ‘Liberty’,
Gary D. Nunn, Chairman Precinct 4054
SATP Education Tiger Team Leader
***********************************************************************************************************************************

Testimony to the Texas State Board of Education
Gary D. Nunn

Hello and thank you for this wonderful opportunity today. I am Gary Nunn, U.S. Air Force retired, with 24 years — at which time I chose a teaching career. This new career allowed me to use what I’d learned while serving my country and traveling to other states and countries as well. I taught Social Studies – and integrated that across the curriculum, since I taught all classes in 5th and 6th grade Special Education. I became an Administrator and served as assistant principal at both junior high and at elementary and was a Director when the first Alternative Education Programs were put in place in 1996. After 16 years, a year ago in December, I retired but kept abreast of Education. I know how important the standards are that the State Board of Education will pass and that they will be in effect for the next 10 years . Because “what happens in Texas doesn’t just stay in Texas”, I know the standards you enact will be viable across most of the nation.
There were “unelected review members” who had a chance to ‘tinker with Social Studies, U.S. Government and World History and more. Some of the changes were outrageous – and, thankfully, the SBOE has voted to reject many of those proposals. Many of those things have already been addressed and those who did the “revision” did an exceptional job in my opinion. However, a few things, I feel, are yet to be resolved and I trust this Board will address these.

First, Social Studies, Grade 1, page 7, Sections (b)(1)(A) July 2009 Draft:
I understand Independence Day, Neil Armstrong, Daniel Boone, Christopher Columbus were all previously removed – but have now been returned. I’m glad somebody put them back. Thank you.

However, on Section (b)(15) Culture. It used to say: “The student understands the importance of family beliefs, customs, language, and traditions of communities, etc., etc. Families and traditions of families has become unimportant. The community has gained more importance; “ No, really, the word “family” and “families” has been removed. “Family” was taken out in the revision and the word “community” is taking its’ place??? It seems to me those who edited this draft overlooked “the family” as being a vital part of THE CULTURE IN TEXAS. I HOPE that will strike a note with the BOARD and that the BOARD will LOOK AT AND PROVIDE A REMEDY FOR THIS “OVERSIGHT” – THIS BLUNDER, to my way of thinking. It seems the “revisionists” have edited the “family” out of Texas culture – that’s what the Draft Recommendation says.

Second, U.S. Government, Page 2, Section (c)(1)(B) (October 2009 Draft):
Section (c) (1)(B) has been changed, adding something that was seriously lacking – and that concerned me greatly. I understand the Texas Freedom Network and other organizations were attempting to delete from our textbooks any mention of the religious background of our Founding Fathers – however, any objective reading of these Founding Fathers affirms our very existence as a nation is predicated upon universal principles, or Natural Laws, which transcend man-made laws – illustrated in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution and rooted in Judeo-Christian principals, as my friend Hope d’Amore so eloquently pointed out in her letter to Gail Lowe, Chairman of the State Board of Education, from Lampassas.

My friend, Dr. John Bell said this: “ rewriters of history delight in debunking historical truth. Even the most educated and articulate fall prey to perpetuating revisionist myths. Most recently, President Obama ignored these historical facts and cultural considerations in his apparent efforts to build goodwill in the Muslim world by declaring America is not a Christian nation. Nothing could be further from the truth. America is by no means perfect and has strayed from her principles on occasion – however, those principles derived from the Christian tradition have served her well for 233 years. For her future, and for the future of Texas, we would do better to “live the sentiment” of “one Nation under God” rather than to deny that part of her history. God bless America – God bless Texas – and God bless the Texas State Board of Education!!!

(A nice turnout of about 40 from the SATP, plus the Boerne Tea Party, plus TV crews from KSAT 12, Fox and Univision)

The line-up of protesters

Talking to the TV cameras

Real reform, por favor!

An acronym – it stands for ‘Bend Over – Here It Comes Again!

And don’t mess with Boerne, either!

]]> http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/1637/pictures-from-healthcare-protest-3-4-10/feed/ 0 http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/1593/does-the-satp-endorse-candidates/ http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/1593/does-the-satp-endorse-candidates/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:57:16 +0000 juliahayden http://www.sanantonioteaparty.us/?p=1593 In a word – no. That is the short answer, here are the longer answers in response to questions that I was asked last week, in an an email from a SATP supporter. In answering those questions in detail, I realized that other supporters might have something of the same concerns; so – herewith, the questions, and my answers to her.

Question #1: I am being questioned by a number of people who have called me today and asked why in the world the Tea Party is supporting and donating to a particular politician?

The SATP does not endorse any particular politician in or running for office. We encourage anyone to run for political office, and we will certainly inform our supporters of any events that we are informed of – but we do not, and cannot, per our status as a 501-c-4 organization – endorse any of them over any other. Now, many of our supporters are also supporting – as private citizens – certain candidates for office. But our mission is educational – sort of what the League of Woman Voters does. Only for fiscally prudent, free-market, strict constitutionalists.

Question #2: Another caller told me I was supporting (a particular candidate) with my Tea Party! She said it wasn’t actually called the Tea Party but the Tea Patriots Party. Can you or anyone help distinguish between a real tea party and others sounding like them? Or is there just no way to identify the groups, and their differences.

There are a lot of us; practically any individual or group can call themselves a Tea Party. In some cities there were three or four competing Tea Party groups. But there remains some basic uniting principles – fiscally prudent, free-market, strict adherence to the Constitution – everything else is pretty much up for grabs. I really have no shortcut for sorting out what is a legitimate Tea party or not. Maybe just common sense, and observation of what they do, as well as what they say.

Question #3: I hope the Tea Party, all of them, will not become something that the nation looks at as an arm of the Republican Party. I am a registered Republican but I am just about as disturbed with their actions in Congress as I am the Democrats.

Most SATP people I talk to are just as furious at the go-along-to-get along Republicans as they are at the Democrats. I do not doubt that the long-time leadership cadre of the GOP will try and co-opt the various Tea Parties – but I also think they are in for a very nasty surprise. The Tea Partiers I know and correspond with, are about taking over both parties from within, and from the grassroots up, and the GOP is immediately and on paper, a little more receptive. If you know a good, solidly Constitutionalist, fiscally-responsible, free-market-supporting candidate running, against a spend-as-usual hack -  would encourage you to support the candidate based on their principals and not just their stated political party.

Julia Hayden

SATP Media Relations

(Luncheon in the Historic Depot Building)

(Setting up, before the rally)

(Audience at the rally)

(Tea Party Puppy)

Great photos, graphs, diagrams from U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

1. What is a primary election?

• A primary election is a preliminary election that is held every two years in which voters choose their nominee in each district to represent their Party on the General Election ballot in November.

2. Who can vote in the primary election?

• Everyone who is registered to vote in Bexar County by February 1 is eligible to vote in the Primary. In Texas, the Primary is semi-closed. Voters do not register by Party when they apply to vote. However, they must choose which Party’s ballot on which they want to vote in the Primary election.

3. When is the primary election?

• Election Day is Tuesday, March 2, 2010. Early voting is from Tuesday, February 16 to Friday, February 26. See www.bexar.org/elections for details.

4. Where is the primary election?

• Voters must vote at the polling location in their neighborhood on Election Day, such as Shavano Park City Hall. They may vote at any early voting location in Bexar County prior to Election Day.

5. Why is it important to vote in the Primary Election?

• This is an extraordinary opportunity for the general public to participate in the election process. In other countries, the government or the political party organizations usually have the responsibility.

6. What is a precinct convention?

• The purpose is to elect delegates and alternate delegates to attend the next level in the political process, which is the Senatorial District (SD) Convention. Participants will also propose resolutions for the SD Convention to consider. The Senatorial District Convention is an all day event scheduled for Saturday, March 20. The locations and times vary, although they are usually held in a location such as the Blossom Athletic Center. Delegates at the SD Convention then elect delegates for the State Convention.

7. Who should participate in the precinct convention?

• Anyone who voted in the Primary is eligible to attend their Party’s convention. Therefore, the convention is closed because voting is a prerequisite to participation.

8. When is the precinct convention?

• 7:30 pm or after the last voter has voted.

9. Where is the precinct convention?

• At the voter’s polling location.

10. Why is it important to participate in the precinct convention?

• Voters get a chance to be heard twice.

11. What are dates to put on the calendar?

• 02/16/10 – Early Voting Begins
• 02/26/10 – Early voting ends
• 03/02/10 – Primary Election Day

This information contributed to the SATP Website by –

Etta Fanning

Dagne Florine

Garrison Keillor plays off the Tea Party name, saying most Americans prefer coffee to tea.  Though a board member of the San Antonio Tea Party, I too prefer coffee.  And though Mr. Keillor and I both understand the historical reference of the Tea Party name, he finds it rhetorically useful to ignore.

Mr. Keillor next invokes the almost incomprehensible human suffering from the Haitian earthquake, apparently trying to tar Tea Parties with responsibility for natural disasters.  Keillor’s prose is evocative.  But wrapping himself in the pathos is a polemical tool, an emotional appeal unrelated to the substance of his argument.

Keillor correctly notes that healthcare reform proposals are too murky to explain clearly, but he blames that on trying to attract Republican votes.  Obamacare did not rely on Republican votes, and the legislative contortions arose from attempts to draw in less ideologically committed among his own party, such a Ben “Sweepstakes” Nelson of Nebraska.

Keillor also correctly, albeit argumentatively, formulates the basic divide over Obamacare: whether health care should be a legally enforceable right.  He and the left wing say “yes.”  The San Antonio Tea Party believes rights remain as they were at our nation’s founding: not what the government might give you but protection from what the government might do to you.

In not one of the amendments comprising the Bill of Rights and nowhere else in the Constitution is there anything that the government must give you.  Everything is focused either on organizing and running the government or on liberties the government must respect.

The reason is simple.  Government creates nothing.  Whatever government possesses, it has taken from those subject to it.  To give a dollar to one person, government must first have taken the dollar from others.  For you to have a legally enforceable right to the dollar, you must have a legally enforceable claim on the fruit of others’ labor.  American history has a sordid episode when such claims existed: slavery.

Keillor tries to tie left-wing policy nostroms to Christian doctrine.  I am hardly a theologian, but I don’t recall anything about Christ having a economic policy or saying people have a right to look to the state for support.  If Christ demands a left-wing economic policy and left-wing economic policies are shown, as they have been, to impoverish people, where does that leave religion?  As to the implied relationship between Tea Parties and Pat Robertson, if Keillor won’t blame us for what comes out of Robertson’s mouth, we won’t blame him for what comes out of Jeneane Garofalo’s.

The headline on Keillor’s column says Tea Parties “should wake up and smell the coffee.”  After last Tuesday’s special election in Massachusetts, perhaps Keillor himself has some smelling to do.  That a little-known Republican is replacing Ted Kennedy in the United States Senate testifies to overreaching by the left wing.  The people of Massachusetts did not like where they were being taken and screamed halt.  In Massachusetts.  The only state carried by George McGovern.  What does Keillor think will happen in states with more conservative leanings?  To quote another columnist, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post: “You would think lefties could discern a proletarian vanguard when they see one.”

Back to the tea or coffee issue, Keillor may not be aware of the historical connection between the Boston Tea Party and the American preference for coffee.  Both stem from the British tax on tea.  Tea was initially preferred in America as it was in Britain, but Americans despised the British tax.  Switching to coffee became a way to express solidarity against unfair taxation.  No wonder so many Tea Partiers drink coffee.  If Mr. Keillor comes to town, I’ll buy him a cup.

1.  What motivates your interest in the TEA Party movement?  (You may choose more than one response.)

a.  I support the mission statement and want to keep abreast of its activities.

b.  I would like to get more involved in the activities of the organization.

c.  I would like to affiliate with like-minded patriots.

d.  Other (please specify)  _____________________________________________

2.  In which of the following activities do you have an interest in participating?  (You may choose more than one response.)

a.  Meetings

b.  Rallies

c.  Tiger Teams/research

d.  Logistics support

e.  Telephone/email contacts to participants

f.  Telephone/email contacts to elected officials

g.  Other (please specify)  ______________________________________________

3.  At the present time, by law our organization may only educate and advocate on issues.  Do you believe the organization should be able to:

a.  educate only.

b.  educate and advocate on issues only.

c.  educate and advocate on issues and candidates for public office.

4.  In view of the upcoming 2010 primary and general elections, what role(s) do you believe this organization should play?  (You may choose more than one response.)

a.  precinct organization

b.  candidate forums

c.  voter registration

d.  door-to-door canvassing/education

e.  get-out-the-vote efforts

f.  fund raising

g.  other  (Please specify)  ____________________________________

5.  Should this local organization coordinate efforts with other groups/organizations in agreement with our mission?

a.  Yes

b.  No

c.  Undecided/No response

6.  Tiger Teams are issues-oriented groups within the organization to research, educate, recommend strategies and actions to the organization, and act on those issues.  On which of the following Tiger Teams do you now participate?

a.  I currently do not participate on a Tiger Team

b.  2^nd Amendment

c.  10^th Amendment

d.  Audit the Federal Reserve

e.  Cap and Trade

f.  Education

g.  Health Care Reform

h.  Illegal Immigration

i.  Media (internal or external communication efforts)

j.  Watchdog/Intelligence

k.  Other  (Please specify)  ___________________________________________

7.  On which of the following teams or potential teams are you interested in participating?  (Please choose only your top four choices.)

a.  I do not wish to serve on a Tiger Team at this time.

b.  2^nd Amendment

c.  10^th Amendment

d.  Audit the Federal Reserve

e.  Candidate forums

f.  Cap and Trade

g.  Coordination with other organizations

h.  Education

i.  Fundraising

j.  Government liaison (Federal or state)

k.  Health Care Reform

l.  Illegal Immigration

m.  Information technology (web support, social networking)

n.  Logistics (event planning, venues, transportation, multimedia)

o.  Media (internal or external communication efforts)

p.  Meeting hospitality/networking

q.  Precinct organization

r.  Taxation

s.  Watchdog/Intelligence

t.  General volunteer

u.  Other  (Please specify)  ___________________________________________

In order to help us better organize across our many districts and precincts of south Texas, it will help to have updated information on our many participants.  Again, this information will be solely for internal use and not available to outside individuals or groups.  To help us accomplish our critical mission, please supply the following information; please include all participating family members from the same address.

Name:  ____________________                 Age (select one):  _____  over 65

Email:  ____________________                                                      _____  45-65

Telephone:  ________________                                                       _____  30-44

_____  under 30

Name:  ____________________         Age (select one):      _____  over 65

Email:  ____________________                                                 _____  45-65

Telephone:  ________________                                                   ____  30-44

_____  under 30

Name:  ____________________          Age (select one):        _____  over 65

Email:  ____________________                                                      _____  45-65

Telephone:  ________________                                                       _____  30-44

_____  under 30

Physical address (where registered to vote, including zip code):

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY!  You may return it to us by a) printing a copy and bringing it to the next TEA Party meeting, b) mailing it to SATP, 10650 Culebra Road, #104, PMB 548, San Antonio TX 78251, or c) emailing it to shh12778@sbcglobal.net.

The Weatherman, Dexter Wright, Digs Deep into the Climategate   

The 9 mm Won’t Save You!

Whoever leaked the incriminating e-mails deserves a medal for saving the U.S. economy from certain ruin.

 Climategate:  Is It Criminal? 

The British Parlament has convened hearings to investigate East Anglia University and the Climate Research Unit to uncover “unethical” and ”illegal” activities. 

 Climategate:  Just Sign on the Dotted Line

The Jones Gang, “Forget credentials and just get signatures.”  Opponents speak out and have been speaking out:  Heidelberg Appeal (4000 scientists,72 Nobel Prize winners), Leipzig Declaration (reputable scientists), and the Oregon Petition (31,000 scientists).  And still the Jones Gang persists!

 Climategate: The Truth Hurts When It Hits You in the Head

Evidence that the climate computer models have failed.

Climategate: How to Hide the Sun

An effort to distort and discredit solar impact on climate.  Solar flares track with global warming.  

Climategate and the Migrating Arctic Tree Line

A case “discrediting proxy tree data” in the Mann “hockey stick” graph depicting global warming. 

Climategate’s Stubborn Facts

Distorting facts that are inconvenient to a desired conclusion.