To all delegates to the Libertarian Party of Texas State Convention:
We have a clear, stark choice ahead of us.
We've had these words, or similar verbiage, in our national and state platforms since the mid-1970's.
The Tarrant County (Fort Worth/Arlington) Libertarian Party recently participated in the Fort Worth Gay Pride parade, after taking part in the larger Dallas equivalent for almost a decade.
We were very well-received. You can't imagine the looks of undiluted joy in the faces of the crowd when we pulled this rig through Downtown Cowtown !
We actually won the trophy for Best Non-Profit Entry.
Contrast that greatness with this, from the new Vice-Chair of the Harris County (Houston) Libertarian Party. Yes, this is coming from an official rep of the LP.....
The stats in this thing have been discredited more times than "The Hitler Diaries".
After long and thoughtful consideration, I've decided to support Kathie Glass for the Libertarian Party's nomination for governor of The Great State Of Texas.
Kathie (along with her husband Tom) and I have been opposing each other, off and on, for about two years.
So why the change of heart? I've looked at the facts. And when confronted with new facts, I often change my mind. For documentation, hit the links. You won't understand ANY of this unless you hit the links!!
* Kathie boldly and confidently stands up for the Libertarian Party's positions on ending the Drug War, decriminalizing marijuana use, and legalizing gambling. She's a fighter!
I hope everyone who reads this has a GREAT April 1st, with all that the date implies. I hope you've looked at the facts in the links provided. If you're confronted with new facts, do you change your mind? I hope so.
Most of the documentation for emails and quotes can be found here. Others (unfortunately) are taken directly from emails within the Libertarian Party Of Texas.
I haven't had time to post anything on this site in the last eight days.
I'm chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party. We're in a bit of a struggle within the Texas LP, primarily because of Tom and Kathie Glass, Republican Carpetbaggers from Houston. (They're married to each other, and deserve the honor....)
Kathie hopes to win the LP nomination for governor of Texas.
When we had our Precinct Conventions last Tuesday night, about 17 people walked in that I'd never seen before, or had seen only once. They were obviously there to deny our long-time Libertarian activists a chance to go to our State Convention in April. That's because Tarrant County (Fort Worth) has a lot of "lifer" Libertarians who've seen Tom and Kathie in action for the last four years or so. Therefore, very few of us who are active will ever support either Tom or Kathie for any office. We know them. It's a long, tiresome story that I'll post sometime between now and our State Convention.
I had to go into full-blown "Barbarians At The Gates" mode to keep the Glasses from taking over the County Party, and it worked. Our slate of delegates had an overwhelming victory. To make it better, the Glasses of Houston were there for the event. (Don't ask me why they felt it was their business to infiltrate a Tarrant County Convention.)
I believe they had some limited success with this type of behavior in Denton County, but nowhere else.
We had some great people show up for the first time at our County Convention. I hope they'll come back, despite having been used as pawns by the Glasses. If they continue to show up and help out, they can be delegates to their hearts' content. This is the first year I haven't had to beg people to go.
Once we get the video, I'll post a few snippets of Tom Glass, the Houston interloper, slithering back and forth in the aisles, whispering instructions and passing notes to his unfortunate surrogate. And both of them GETTING IT WRONG!! Tom, you can't just add 11 additional delegates to a slate of 16 delegates when there are only 16 spots in the delegation !!! Good Lord in heaven, man!! You're a freakin' lawyer !!!
Anyway, I have a District Convention to orchestrate this Saturday. Once that's over with, I'll be back to posting regularly. I've missed it. I've seen a dramatic dropoff in ad revenue from this site, and I miss that money, too !
I don't know who put it together, but this Kathie video is pretty funny if you know the back-story.
Click here to return to my April Fool's Day endorsement of Kathie Glass for governor.
Since so many of you begin your Sunday morning devotions with a visit to this site....
Our text for today comes from the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 5:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Please put aside your bibles, and turn to your internet. Visit the site of Dr. Andy Barron, who is running for Texas governor. Dr. Barron's first priority is as follows:
Prayer as a priority - Since 1962 when prayer was eliminated unnecessarily from public schools there has been a steady decline in morals of our society.
The good doctor gives us more specifics on his Issues page:
■Prayer and Religious Speech Protected Under 1st Amendment
■Establishment Clause Requires the Government to be Neutral Toward Religion, and Does Not Justify the Exclusion of Religious Speech
■Legislative Prayer Is a Permissible Acknowledgment of Widely Held Religious Beliefs in this Country
■The Rights of Students to Pray at School
■The Rights of Students to Pray at Graduation
■Equal Access allows individuals and groups to use government facilities for prayer and worship on the same basis that other individuals and groups are given access.
By all accounts, Dr. Barron is a great guy. He has already accomplished more good in the world than I ever will.
Unfortunately, he is focused on reviving one of the problems that our nation's founders were trying to escape.
Dr. Barron grew up in Texas and went to Baylor. The organizations he belongs to are predominantly Protestant, so let's assume he's a Protestant.
Dr. Barron and other Christian Protestants can pray any time, anywhere. In between this paragraph and the previous one, I prayed a simple prayer. "God, please let this be a great post, and if it's okay with you, please let it be emailed around the world. Please help Kathie Glass be elected Texas governor. I want a pony. Amen."
You can't stop me from praying, at least in the Protestant sense of the word. You can't stop me, and I can't stop you. The legislatures can legislate all they want, and it doesn't do a bit of good.
But there's another kind of prayer, the kind that Jesus was irked about in this morning's Bible reading. Dr. Brent Beasley (of my own Broadway Baptist Church) calls this "Egocessary Prayer" (That's a play on words with the phrase "intercessory prayer", where you ask God for blog hits, election results and ponies). "Egocessary Prayer" is the kind I grew up hearing in school, at graduation services, before football games, and before most public events. It basically means "praying out loud in public".
For instance....
Before a Mississippi private academy football game, a preacher gets on the microphone and asks everyone to bow their heads, and asks God to bless (so and so). Then the preacher thanks God for (so and so), and asks that He keep our young men safe on the football field while they are trying to kill each other.
Then the preacher outlines the plan of salvation, not because God is fuzzy on the details, but because the preacher's congregation needs to know that the preacher is earning his pay and trying to convert the Catholics and Episcopalians.
Bonus points are given for length, style, use of verbs from The King James version, and for passion. I once heard the equivalent of a double reverse backflip triple-axle, when a preacher at a graduation service shoveled in something about the superiority of full-immersion baptism.
And then finally, the preacher says "we ask these things in your son's name, Amen."
Then you can go on with your football game, graduation, or city council meeting.
What will happen down in south Texas when someone is asked to lead a public school prayer, and a priest decides to take advantage of the teachable moment and educate everyone on how to pray with a rosary? (Note to Yankees, Europeans, and Aussies: No one living north of Waco can imagine this ever happening.)
Is Dr. Barron prepared to purchase storage facilities for Muslim prayer rugs?
Is there time before a high school graduation to perform the "Festival of Ramen", the only way known to appease The Flying Spaghetti Monster? Will the schools have to make reasonable accomodations for all the tongs, salad sporks, colanders, and cheese graters? And if you think kids coming to school in gang colors are a problem, just wait until those who have been Touched By His Noodly Appendage show up in full pirate regalia.
There are only 2 reasons for Egocessary prayer, as opposed to praying silently:
1) To show off.
2) To evangelize.
There's no point in the first one, and The Founders were opposed to the second. End of story.
One last thing about the Barron candidacy, check out this video. It's only 30 seconds long.
Regardless of how you feel about Andy Barron as Texas governor, regardless of how hard you work to get him elected, or whether you do everything in your power to prevent him from becoming governor, none of that matters.
You don't matter.
Polls don't matter.
Effort doesn't matter.
Planning doesn't matter.
Andy Barron wasted his time becoming a doctor/dentist. If people's health/teeth were going to improve, it was going to happen anyway.
Please check out the video. It's only 30 seconds long. I don't know why I'm bothering to ask you to watch it, since if you watch it, it was bound to happen anyway.
I'm frantically pounding all this into my laptop from the Wake Up America Tea Party in Fort Worth.
During Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Kathie Glass's speech, someone rushed the stage. I couldn't tell what was going on, but the police quickly got him out of the building.
It turns out that he was trying to do something to the U.S. flag.
Flash back a couple of months to our Libertarian meetup welcoming Kathie to Fort Worth. A guy named Larry Kilgore got into a yelling match with Kathie about the option of seceding from the United States.....
Here's a video of Larry Kilgore expressing his worldview.....
That first 15 seconds gets you, doesn't it?
Kilgore is supposedly a military veteran. But he hates the U.S. flag, and the fact that it flies anywhere over Texas.
Why he picks Kathie Glass speeches as a backdrop for his protests is a mystery.
I'll tell you this much....put Larry Kilgore in a steel cage deathmatch with Kathie Glass? My money is on Kathie.
This could be an interesting feud.
Hit "Next Post" to read about Adrian Murray's speech. Hit "Previous Post" to see what preceded all this.
, I'm writing this from the Wake Up America / Tea Party rally. To see pics from the concourse, go to the bottom of this and hit "Previous Post". I heard Barack Obama in Dallas during the 2008 campaign, when he was at the peak of his popularity. That was nothing like this. There are some hacked off people in this country.
But if we're not careful, we're going to Demoblicans with Republicrats. We'll see.
The first speaker I got to hear was Dr. Suzanna Hupp, whose parents were killed by a deranged gunman at a Luby's cafeteria in Killeen TX. According to Dr. Hupp, the only missing element in the scenario was a good guy with a gun. She had left her pistol in her car. Had she been able to bring it into the restuarant, her parents would probably be alive today.
An armed society is a polite society.
She went through a litany of every mass shooting we've had in America. Every one of them was in a "Gun Free Zone". INCLUDING THE ONE ON AN ARMY BASE.
You could feel the withering contempt in Dr. Hupp's voice, as she patiently explained how gun control laws are some of the most racist ones on the books.
The best summary I've found of her experience and her current goals is on.....Ted Nugent's website. You've gotta love Uncle Ted.
The next speaker is Brigitte Gabriel. She doesn't like Islam very much. Go here to have a look at her website.
I'm getting ready to hear something about the Ground Zero Mosque....but it hasn't happened yet.
She's concerned about terrorist organizations working across the Mexican border. (Any mention of the Mexican border is going to be a hit , I think.)
Maybe a Youtube of Ms. Gabriel's speech will be posted sometime. Giving a summary of her talk is like trying to transcribe a Lebanese auctioneer.
She just threw down some stuff about making America "Energy Independent", which is a bullshit goal. As long as the Middle East is "Dollar Dependent", we're in good shape.
Now she's reading Muslim prayers that they're teaching and making students memorize someplace in the public school system. I don't believe a word of it.
I don't think they teach anything in the public school system.
Gabriel just asked all the veterans to stand and be applauded. The crowd has gone nuts. She's asked them to remain standing while she rants. They remain standing. They're still standing. The Korea vets are getting tired and they're sitting down, mid-rant. Another old guy with Viet Nam patches on his jacket just took a seat. The Gulf War vets are shuffling impatiently, but they're holding strong. Ah....you can all be seated now.
Kathie Glass is the next speaker. She's our Libertarian candidate for Texas governor, and I can't wait to hear what she's going to say about Texas Republican governor Rick Perry in front of this crowd. This will be a juggling act.
Kathie starts off by mentioning Texas and Ronald Reagan in the same sentence.
She goes through what she calls The Texas Bullwark Plan....
1) Secure the border using the Texas State Guard.
Kathie outlines the plan, and the Constitutional rationale behind it, and gets some applause !
2) Restore Texas sovereignty
Push back against Obamacare, and make use of nullification ! Somebody just rushed the stage, and the cops lead them out. Probably a lobbyist.
3) Put our fiscal house in order.
Eliminate various taxes. Make use of the line item veto.
4) Strengthen our private property rights. She doesn't rip Perry on Eminent Domain and the Trans Texas Corridor.
"It was the 'experienced' politicians who got us into this mess, and it won't be the 'experienced' politicians who get us out of us." - Kathie Glass
Kathie just threw down a good testicle joke, something about growing a pair, but I didn't catch all of it.
Kathie did great.
Next up - Debra Medina. Gonna catch a bathroom break.
No I'm not. Medina just said "We need a Free Texas with two things: Private Property and Guns".
The first Tea Party event in Fort Worth was a somewhat impromptu happening behind one of my favorirte watering holes, The Cowtown Bar & Grill. There may have been 150 people there.
That was then, this is now. We've moved on to the Fort Worth Convention Center. I don't think the first Tea Party even had a stage. There was just a microphone on loan from the country-rock band who started the thing.
The presentation has gotten more professional, while my photography skills have remained the same:
Here's Tarrant County Libertarian Party chair John Spivey, helping our LP candidate for Texas governor, Kathie Glass, convert a few Tea Partiers.
And we have the usual Temple Courtyard full of T-shirt vendors. These folks had the best selection, my favorite being "Capitalism" in the Coca-Cola logo.
This is me with The Statue Of Liberty.
A T-Shirt that gets straight to the point....
Here's Dallas Congressional candidate John Jay Myers, trying to convert Mike Coyne into someone who will purchase a T-shirt (John Jay eventually gave us all a freebie).
This guy, Princeton Benson, is affiliated with GAME CHAINgers (more on them later). They're an African-American conservative group affiliated with Pastor Stephen Broden. Everyone at this booth has been working out a lot more than I have.
And this made me happier than an old hog in new slop. I had heard this guy, Gregory Parker, on a local radio show a few weeks back. He's written a book called "Global Warming...Really?"
It's not every day that one has the opportunity to meet a published skeptic.
I now have a signed copy. Will post about it soon.
That's all for now. Gonna go inside the convention center and listen to the rants. Hit "Next Post" below to learn more about the Wake Up America/Tea Party Rally.
W here to begin, where to begin....
Last night I went to Billy Miner's for a Kathie Glass for Texas Governor campaign rally.
There are a lot of good reasons to support Kathie Glass, but let me get to the no-brainers first.
The Democrat in this race, Bill White, was Secretary Of Energy for Bill Clinton/Al Gore. According to several reliable sources, White actively campaigned for The Goracle Of Music City prior to The Goracle's decision to leave politics and enter the environmental salvation racket.
The Republican in this race, incumbent governor Rick Perry, was Gore's Texas campaign manager in 1988. Perry eventually left the Democrat party and had a falling-out with The Goracle over climate change.
Well, at least Governor Perry owns a thermometer. And compared to Bill White, his hair is stunning.
But he has defiled himself.
Kathie Glass, the Libertarian, is the only candidate for Texas governor who has never campaigned for Al Gore.
'Nuff said.
A few other reasons:
First and foremost in Glass's 5 Point Plan is a promise to use nullification and interposition to get around ObamaCare and Cap'n'Tax. What does this mean in plain English? Texas is a sovereign state. We have rights. There is nothing in the constitution that says the federal government can force you to purchase a product from a private company when the purchase has nothing to do with a government activity (i.e. - driving on the government's roads). "Therefore, we the Texas Legislature and Governor declare ObamaCare to be freakin' nullified between the Red River and the Gulf Of Mexico." Next issue, please....
Also included in the 5 Point Plan - stronger protections against Eminent Domain Abuse. It doesn't matter how well Tony Romo is throwing the football, Kathie Glass isn't going to let the government steal anyone else's house so Jerry Jones can build Tony a new playpen.
And then there was this guy....
It's safe to call him a "single-issue voter".
This dude, Larry Kilgore, showed up at Ms. Glass's rally, wound up tighter than a 3-day clock.
Intense.
Outraged.
Long before the QandA session began, I could feel his intensity level overpowering everything else in his corner of the room.
Hell, I was just there to support our gubernatorial candidate, hang out with Spivey and Coyne, and maybe eat a cheeseburger.
Larry Kilgore showed up ready to draw a line in the sand, splatter the blood of the traitors across Billy Miner's barroom floor, and secede from The Union.
Here's a video of Mr. Kilgore in action. You gotta watch it. If you get past the first 15 seconds, I promise you, you'll watch all of it.
Mr. Intensity stood during the Qand A, and asked Kathie something like HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SECESSION ?????
Glass tried to respond that secession from The Union was an extreme position, and that....
Mr. Intensity was immediately outraged, and went into a well-rehearsed rant about why Texas should LEAVE THE UNITED STATES and stood to leave. Several other people tried to throw their 2 cents in. Even with a microphone, Kathie had trouble making herself heard.
After Spivey restored order, Glass and Kilgore argued back and forth for a few seconds. Kilgore didn't like the way the argument was going, and once again turned around to walk out.
Kathie Glass, like the transplanted Georgia Peach she is, calmly and politely said "Don't you walk out on me, sir. Please don't make me talk about you behind your back !"
But he was gone. Gone elsewhere to pursue the dream of an independent Lone Star State.
Glass went on to explain that we have a great system, and a great constitution. We just need to elect politicians who understand it and respect it.
Freakin' brilliant. Don't make me talk about you behind your back. Some of us think she may have hired the guy to show up. This was a great night. Time well spent.
If I had to pick someone to go head-to-head with The Teleprompter Jesus, it would be Kathie Glass.
