LibertyTeeth

A whole lot of groups will be meeting at the Tax Day Tea Party in Olympia, WA on April 15th!

For us in Cowlitz County we have a few choices.

TEA FOR TWO on TAX DAY!
Olympia & Seattle, Washington
Thursday, April 15, 2010
12 pm – 8 pm
Olympia, North Capitol Steps/Seattle, Westlake Park
416 Sid Snyder (Olympia) / 401 Pine St (Seattle)

Olympia: 12 pm – 3 pm with speakers David Boze, Amber Gunn, Kirby Wilbur, Tea Party Charlie, music & more! North Capitol Steps. Then join the caravan heading north to Seattle!

Seattle: 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm with speakers Dori Monson, Liberty Belle, improv comedy, and live music! Westlake Park, downtown Seattle.

For those in Cowlitz that cannot make it up, not to worry, there will be a group at the Allen St. Bridge in Kelso from 12pm to 6pm, so come by and show your support when you can.

Also, We the People are hosting an event on Saturday in Vancouver! So no excuses!

We the People Freedom Rally

Saturday April 17th, 2010
11:30am to 1:30pm
Esther Short Park ~ 301 W. 8th Street
Vancouver, WA.

Our Great line up of Speakers
and live music will inspire and challenge you!

• Victoria Taft ~ KPAM 860 AM
• Rev. Wayne Perryman ~ Author
• Juliana McMahan ~ Evergreen Freedom Foundation
• Samuel Adams (Tom Niewulis)
• Tom Hann ~ Founder We The People SW WA
• Greg Noelk ~ Columnist for Wapathub.org

A Family Friendly Event presented by:
We The People of SW Washington

www.wepeeps.org
www.wapathub.org

I am so very excited to see the renewed energy of my fellow citizens taking action in the upcoming election process and governance.

The Tea Party movement has been such an invigorating and rewarding adventure of true grassroots politics and I am excited to see how it is evolving into a true platform for information, expression and action.

A great example of this is the Washington Patriot Hub and the We The People of Vancouver group, these are citizens coming together to share information and take an active role in both the governance and election processes.

As a citizen who attends my city council and county commissioner meetings often, I used to be one of only a few conservative citizens in the room. Often I was the only conservative to ask questions or make statements. Not anymore.

Local groups like this are providing training and encouragement to citizen on how to involve themselves in the process, how to influence the legislation and policy our elected officials often decide in the absence of the common man.

They are also taking the considerable time to run local candidates though a vigorous vetting process. No longer will we be left with inside politics and endorsements based upon “who you know”. They taking back the right of the People to ask the questions, influence the process and watch the interviews. No back room deals here.

The “Hub” specifically is a great clearing house of candidate and issue information as it is gathered by regular folks and accountable to regular folks.

From the Washington Patriot Hub site:

About The Washington Patriot Hub

“Today’s Committee of Correspondence”

In early October of 2009 many leaders gathered together over coffee and outlined some of the challenges we all faced. They saw the need for a better way for all members to communicate and the idea for the Washington Patriot Hub was born.

The Washington Patriot Hub is not a group or organization. It is a central communication vehicle for groups around the state that share common goals where they see a for change, some of which are:

* Education
* Energy/Cap & Tax
* Healthcare
* Illegal Immigration
* Precincts
* States Rights
* Sovereignty
* US Constitution
* Taxation
* Voter & Census Fraud

Local groups working together can build committees and share the research, planning and manpower so we can beat back the progressive agenda. As we have all learned over the last year, it is a monumental task just trying to keep up with it all. Every group has members that give varying amounts of time that is scheduled around their lives, family and work. With so many issues coming towards us all so quickly, we need to pool our resources and work together. Although we do not agree on all things, but where we do we can be a force for change.

1776 – “Unite or Die”

2010 – “Unite or Fail”

If you are interested in getting involved in your area, check out the sites above. Even if you are just looking for information on candidates, take a look.

I would also encourage you to attend the vetting meetings. What a great opportunity to find out for yourself who deserves you all important vote.

We The People – Vancouver: Candidate Vetting Meetings
Meetings on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 PM
Harney Elementary School
3212 E Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98661 (map)

Agenda for April 6th Candidate Vetting:
Sean Salazar – US Senate
David Hedrick – US House Congressional District 3
Shannon Barnett – WA 18th Legislative District

Agenda for April 20th Candidate Vetting:
Arthur Coday – US Senate
Jaime Herrera – US House Congressional District 3
Jon Russell – WA 18th Legislative District

WeThePeople-Vancouver have active teams of people focused on education and civic responsibility.

Join one of the following committees:
Elections Committee
Legislation Committee
Education Committee
Local Government Committee
Events and Fundraising Committee

We look foward to seeing you at our next meeting or an upcoming event.

www.WeThePeople-Vancouver.org

Below is the memo from Casey Bowman, the campaign manager for Jaime Herrera, explaining the “Pro Union Vote” Herrera was supposed to have taken.

I certainly understand her vote, trying to get fair reimbursement for small business owners who are getting short changed by the State of Washington. It is not unlike the poor reimbursement rates that doctors receive from Medicare and other “state run” health insurance. In the end the average consumer pays more to cover the real cost of care. More than a few Conservatives voted for this bill in the House and Senate, they tried to right a wrong, which is more than some have done.

This was NOT a great bill, but that is often the case we you are trying to get something done while a bunch of liberals have the majority. We can fix that by electing more Conservatives like Jaime Herrera!

As always Jaime is a candidate with a voting record, you can see what she has done and will do for yourself. Her voting record can be found here: washingtonvotes.org

From: Casey Bowman, Campaign Manager, Jaime Herrera for Congress

Memo: Jaime Herrera and SEIU

It won’t shock you to learn that there’s a false accusation being made in the race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional Seat, but you might be surprised at just how off base the claim is that Rep. Jaime Herrera is a big union supporter. In 2008 Jaime was endorsed by every major business group in Washington state, including the Association of Washington Business, NFIB, Independent Business Association of Washington, Washington Restaurant Association and others. She has never supported compulsory unionism and never will. She is a strong opponent of “card check” because she has seen the excesses of union leaders and is fully aware of the threats and intimidation that card check would inflict on workers.

To prove the false claim that Jaime is a big union supporter, her detractors point to legislation, HB 1329, she supported involving child care centers. Their claim is that the legislation forced “compulsory” unionization of child care workers. That simply is not true. Here are the facts:

· Washington state reimburses child care centers for care of kids under the state’s sponsorship. Many of these business owners believe that they should receive a better reimbursement rate from the state for caring for the most vulnerable children.

· The bill allowed child care center owners and workers to choose to have SEIU represent the business in negotiating better reimbursement rates from the state.

· The bill said nothing about unionizing the workforce. Child care center workers wouldn’t pay union dues or fees and wouldn’t be forced to join a union, at any time. The bill was at the request of the small business owners of day care centers.

Those are the facts about this legislation. Again, Jaime has never supported compulsory unionism and never will. That is why she is such a fervent opponent of card check. If the facts don’t sound anything like the claims of those attacking Jaime and her voting record, then you should ask them why they are spreading these false claims.

Check out this post on Politico regarding the slow burn FreedomWorks is fanning with its actions.

Tea partiers air doubts about Dick Armey

You may have heard that a Washington, DC-based organization named FreedomWorks recently endorsed David Castillo in the 3rd Congressional District primary race.

FreedomWorks’ website claims the organization is made up of “grassroots volunteers,” and supports those who “fight for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom.”

In the past I have been a supporter of FreedomWorks, they have provided support and infrastructure to conservative grassroots over the years.

However, this endorsement is very disheartening to me; you see FreedomWorks endorsed Castillo without ever asking Jaime Herrera for an interview or even a single piece of information.

I can tell you that Jaime Herrera has a lot of grassroots support here in Cowlitz and throughout this district – she was formally endorsed by the Cowlitz County GOP party delegates (regular folks) last weekend – because she has a record of fighting for lower taxes, less government and more freedom.

So what “grassroots” are they claiming to represent? How did the “grassroots” in the 3rd Congressional District influence this endorsement? It sounds all too hollow, but read on.

In the press release that Castillo and FreedomWorks sent out regarding the endorsement they stated “FreedomWorks has provided organizational muscle to the tea party movement across the country. It is currently at work on a 2010 Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th in Washington, D.C.”

As many of you know I have be very active in the grassroots for years, I was an organizer (in a small way) of the first Tea Party rally in Portland, OR in February of 2009, long before FreedomWorks ever got involved, before even Fox News gave us any credence. (Only Victoria Taft gave our local rally any real coverage)

While I appreciate the support FreedomWorks is now providing, the “muscle” has been provided by the People! We the People! It is a citizen’s movement and cannot be leveraged or co-opted for political gains. I resent and protest the idea that some national group, any PAC, is trying to use the people’s movement for their own inside the beltway gain.

So how could this have happened? No input from the real grassroots, no interviews of the other Conservative candidates, not even a request for positions. It sounds so hollow, so…. Politics as usual….

Newsflash!!!! David Castillo used to work for FreedomWorks. Instead of listening to those of us who have been putting our shoes to the pavement in support of smaller government and lower taxes since before Fox News even knew we existed, FreedomWorks made a blind endorsement of someone with an insider’s connection.

Before FreedomWorks brings its DC money into this race and blindly supports one candidate, I urge you to contact them and let them know that they have ignored the grassroots.

If you support Jaime Herrera, you should let them know that, too. Tell them that any organization claiming to represent the grassroots should have an open and fair endorsement process where every candidate gets a chance.

Here’s how you can contact FreedomWorks:
• Submit an online message here: http://www.freedomworks.org/contact
• Call them at 1.888.564.6273

Keath Huff

Hello fellow Conservative, my name is Keath Huff.

As a Tea Party organizer and long time conservative activist I was appalled by the recent voice mail I received about my friend Jaime Herrera.

You may have received that call as well, and like me you may have thought it came from a Democrat.

Unfortunately it did not, though it was almost word for word the same comments a liberal Democrat recently uttered.

This phone call, with its blatantly false accusations, came from a politician, that much is for sure.

And that is why I am contacting you, I will not sit on the sidelines while another “politician” plays the game of destructive insider politics.

While Jaime has been in Olympia fighting to protect us from the Liberal agenda, including the dismantling of the people’s will on I-960, this politician could not even use his own voice for his propaganda.

I have worked hard with many of you to rid ourselves of the politicians and the political games.

We want conservative statesmen and stateswomen and a process of the people, by the people and for the people.

That is why I am asking you to join me in supporting Jaime Herrera for Congress and help me say “no more” to the politics of old.

Now is the time for the people, now is the time for conservative leadership, now is the time for Jaime Herrera.

For more information about Jaime Herrera, or to find out how you can help, visit Jaime Herrera’s Web Site.

Keath Huff

UPDATE

To be clear… The false allegation that Jaime is an absentee legislator is FALSE. The record is clear. Check out her voting record, which is available at washingtonvotes.org

UPDATE 2

Check out the piece written by Liz Mair

“A representative of the Washington State Legislature with whom I spoke
today confirmed that none of the committees on which Herrera serves met
on Thursday; nor were any votes taken in the Washington State House of
Representatives on that day. That, specifically, has one prominent
Republican in the district outraged a…t Castillo’s attack.”

What is astroturf? Well, it is an artificial surface primarily used in sports complexes in place of grass.

It is touted as a more easily managed, consistent and a safer alternative to dirt and the real stuff. Some athletes like the stuff because it is a faster surface to run on, others dislike it because it is less “forgiving” making injuries more likely.

In political circles astroturf describes political groups or parties “manufacturing” grass roots participation (generally considered bottom up) to give the appearance of broad public favor/disfavor for a topic/policy/candidate.

Recent examples of events labeled as astroturf would be the Democrat group Organizing America blasting an email to its members asking them to show up at a town hall in Longview with signs and talking points or when Americans for Prosperity called its members to show up at a town hall in Oregon with the same agenda.

The problem with the astro-turf label in these examples is that this activity really IS grass roots activism. Like minded individuals tend to join together in groups and communicate information about things that matter to them.

This type of “community” organization is less like astroturf and more like a mowed and fertilized lawn. The grass may be watered, but the individual blades are real. These citizens are showing up because they care. The grass may not be wild and “free range”, it may be a little too manicured when a Presidential campaign team has to “remind” supporters to show up, but it is not “fake”.

Real astro-turf is when President Obama called on what was presented as a “random” citizen with a question during the recent Portsmouth town hall who turned out to be the daughter of a presidential campaign aide, from another state.

Or when an Obama delegate claimed to be a physician in support of ObamaCare at Congresswoman Lee’s town hall and it turned out she really just plays one at town hall meetings.

Astroturf is not a bunch of seniors emailing each other to show up at a town hall to get their voice heard; it is when unions pay “protesters” or “supporters” to show up at an event and the union handles the transportation and sign construction.

To be sure astroturf does exist, but it is usually much more deceptive and underhanded than sending out an email to a list of “members”.

So before labeling a bunch of your fellow citizen’s as astroturf, look for people getting paid to show up or lying about who they are, that type of “organization” is the foundation on which astroturf is truly built.

Congressman Baird apologizes (sort of) to ObamaCare opponents on Wednesday. Congressman Baird released an “apology” for his remarks calling the Town Hall “protesters” un-American, brown shirts (tactics) and Timothy McVeigh “like”.

You can read the apology here: http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/08/12/breaking_news/doc4a83521378f98293357175.txt

He has also announced that he will indeed hold town hall meetings of his own, stating “My hope and trust is that we can have the kinds of informative exchanges that I have valued for so long and that reveal the very best of public discourse,”

The first Town Hall will be held in Clark County:

Date: Tuesday August 18

Time: 7:00-9:30pm

Location: Skyview High School Auditorium

1300 NW 139th St Vancouver, WA 98685

This is a recent posting by Roxanna Huff. This family is under attack by what is in my estimation a power drunk Health Department who is punishing them for asking questions and holding the department to the letter of the law.

What would be funny, if it were not so sad, is that throughout the D.O.T process (Direct Observed Treatment) not once has any representative from the Health Department “Observed” the complete treatment. Why? It would require them to sit and watch medication being dripped for over an hour. This is a clear case of process and power health care, not outcome based health care.

Unfortunately this is what we all have to look forward to as the government turns our healthcare over to the domain of government bureaucrats.

December 29th, 2008
Roxanna Huff

We are enduring a search of our personal property (medicines), invasion of privacy (the county’s presence to watch us give our children their medicine), restriction of movement ( we have to check in with the Health Department of whatever location we are in if we are not at our residence at 8:30AM/PM), a government taking (we provide (refill/pay for the medicines but have not control over their use), disruption of our health care ( M (the head of Clark county HD) states he is in total control of our children’s TB treatment and will override our physicians advise if he does not agree).

All this and we have not been charged with a crime, we have not been convicted of a crime, we are not under investigation for a crime and NO ONE IN THE JUDICIARY has reviewed or is even aware of this situation.

While our ONE child was contagious she was on isolation (that we complied with and agreed with) but now she has been taken off of isolation because she is no longer a threat to the community and has 3 negative Sputum and 3 negative Sputum cultures to prove it. She is still sick but NOT a threat to the community…. however, by a supposition of guilt that WE (Tony and I) will not give her her medicine and she possibly, could, maybe, slight chance that she could go positive we are having our constitutional rights being taken away (without due process).

Let me add that when our daughter ‘was’ positive the Health Department did NOT come to our house twice a day, five days a week like they are now. They came once in the morning for five days a week. They did not come on holidays or on the weekend…. so I was giving her her meds every night 7 days a week and 2 mornings a weekend thus I was fully responsible for more that half of medicating my child (and ALL of her IV meds were given by me) and the proof of my love for her, my desire to get her well, and being responsible to give her her mediciines was that she is NOW NON CONTAGIOUS! If I had not given her the meds, (except when the HD was here to watch), she would NOT have turned negitive. The small amount of times they were here were NOT enough to help her. (we also paid for all the meds, refilled the prescriptions, etc)

It was only after she turned negative and we asked questions about ‘no more of their coming’ that a nurse began to get rude and intrusive (she went as far as beginning an illegal search of my home and I had to physically step in front of her). Immediately after this we were slapped with a 2 year Health order (not a court order, a health department order served by the Sheriff) to observe ALL of our children take their medicines twice a day, five days a week. (Two of our children are not even on meds but they listed them on this order). Some of the Medications that they insist on monitoring are VITAMINS !

This is a slippery slope.. how far will they go? Will your child be threatened to be taken away because you chose to get a second opinion? Will your home be invaded by the health department because you have AIDs (we do not have Aids, but what about those that do ?) and they want to monitor your intimate life? Will the police be able to sit in the parking lot of a bar and arrest you before you get into the car? Can the law arrest you because you MIGHT commit a crime? Will you be arrested for lying in the sun and you MIGHT get cancer? Will you be fined for smoking in your own home? (I hate smoking but it is an individual right) How about those of you that have chosen not to immunize your children because it is poison to them? Will they force you?

Ridiculous? yes… but that is what is happening to this family. Without a crime being committed we are being abused by the BIG Stick that Dr. M threatened us with. Yes, when I asked him what rights do we have and what does the law require he said, “You do not want me to bring out that big stick!” He did bring it out…. and for no reason of guilt, and he has been beating us with it for months… . We have no way to protect ourselves right now… we have to put up with it without due process, only on the HD’s presumption of guilt towards us…

We did not adopt these children and bring them to America to let them die…. I promise you that I am a responsible adult… We are tax paying, law abiding, Business owners, and citizens. My husband served this country for 12 years in the Navy. We have NO criminal record. We have 8 children of our own, so we did not adopt these beautiful 6 children for us. We adopted them because we wanted to give them LIFE in the land of the FREE and the Brave. We took them from Communism and dictatorships so they would have an opportunity to grow up Free and have a chance to live the life that everyone deserves.

We adopted the sick child (that we originally did not know was sick) because we wanted to give her the BEST medical care that she could not afford to get in her birth country. We have done that. They wanted us to leave her there and come home just with her siblings, but we could not do that…. she would have died there within months. Now we feel that all that we did to adopt these six children (without the financial, emotional, and physical help of the HD) we are being denied the right to medicate our child with the prescriptions that the TB specialist and our pediatrician prescribe. WE are enduring great stress, much abuse by the HD and a ripping away of our rights as parents and Americans.

If you want to help … please call or email your politicians to encourage them to not let this bullying continue. IF you value your own rights as parents and Americans, please take a stand against this injustice. It will not stop here… this will empower the Government to the next step. We must fight against this violation of our Constitutional rights. Socialism may seem good to some…. but let your rights be violated and it will not be so warm and fuzzy.

Ron Marshall P.A. will be representing the Health Department.
Dr. Melnick: he is sitting in as the head to the Cowlitz County HD.. .he lives and works in Clark county.
Our local HD employees has stated that they are understaffed and their budget does not allow for this (punishment through an Health Order), but that does not seem to matter to the man with the BIG Stick.
Even while questioning the authority of their violation of our rights we have always complied to the Direct Observed Therapy as described to us. We have asked for the OUR files of the many months of compliance from the HD and they have stalled in getting them to us. We have a hearing with the HD on Jan. 15 and we may or may not have them then.
I would also like to see the small amount of funds that go to our local HD being used for the public in a good way, not to bully this family or any family. As a tax payer I question the use of taxpayer money… does anyone else wonder about this?

One of the bright spots in the ’08 election cycle was the election of Tom Mielke to the Clark County Board of Commissioners.

Unfortunately, before he can take office the current Commission is proposing a 90% increase in building & development fees!

This will be the single largest fee increase in Clark County history and come on the heels of a $1.2 Million settlement for fee overcharges.

The current commissioners need to hear from all of us that now is not the time to increase the cost of affordable housing in Clark County and that they should not be hindering whatever development we may get in the current economic conditions.

They should also explain such a large increase in fees and how/where the increase in revenue will end up? What new or improved services will new home buyers or business developments gain for the increased cost of building in Clark County?

A hearing will be held on December 30th, 2008 at 10am. If you can come out and voice your opinion I would strongly encourage it.

These are the cost of government that the average voter rarely if ever thinks about, but it could cost him/her ten of thousands more in a new home.

****UPDATE****

In response to overwhelming concern from our members about the proposed Clark County fee increases, I am forwarding the actual proposed fee increases. As you can see, this goes way beyond building permits. Stormwater and transportation fee increases are dramatic and the fee increases will cripple short plats and new home based businesses. Again, I cannot urge strongly enough that you plan to attend the Tuesday, December 30, 2008, hearing at 10:00 am at 1300 Franklin, 6th floor.”

~Steve Madsen, BIACC

For those of you who cannot make it in person, I have included the Commissioners’ email link below. Please send them your comments before the 30th.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Commissioners’ Email: boardcom@clark.wa.gov