Death-Row; one man's plight

I have a dear friend who is facing an incredible family crisis, like none any of us have probably ever faced.  Today she informed me that her brother-in-law has lost his last appeal from The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday.  He is the longest person sitting on death-row in the state of Texas.  He has been there for 30 years.  That was before I even came to Texas.  That's longer than I have been married.  That is a lifetime.  He lives in an 8x10 cell and even now, doesn't know what you will know, that his appeal is denied and his execution date will be reset for sometime in the next two months.

First off, I am an advocate for capital punishment.  Yes, I believe people need to die for their heinous actions BUT, we need to be sure that the person we are punishing is guilty beyond ALL doubt.  This is where this case get's tricky.  Lester was a man who told a series a lies, had no alibi and was in the wrong place at the wrong time and because of his own discrepancies surround the truth made his credibly iffy and so was found more readily guilty.  Four people died that terrible day and other people reacted in fear, ran, accused, and lied, yes, even people who were supposed to defend the law, in the least, stretched it.  This story could be a movie plot, like some of your favorite movies we all enjoy in the theaters.  You know, like "The Fugitive", where a good man is wrongly accused and all roads seem to point to him except in this case, there are no cameras and there is no "cut" and there also seems to be no justice on this of heaven for this man.  Lester's wife has waited for him all these years, standing by him, as does his family and yet, because he is on death row, they can't even see him.  Her email's maybe will get delivered to him, days or weeks later, when the correctional institution seems to get to it and he is treated like an animal on some days by those who order him into his cell or out into the Texas heat or rain.  He is treated as, well, a criminal.  Hmmm - seems to fit when we are dealing with a "wicked" soul but from what I hear about the "rest of this story" he is just a man who failed to tell the truth while a series of crazy events unfolded.

Today, Les's health is failing and he is ready to "go home" but his family isn't ready to see his life come to an end for someone else's crime.  Les knows where he is going and he is at peace with God.  That is Good News, but what about justice and what is right?  This is a scary thing and we all need to be mindful that it is "just by the grace of God" that this could be someone you love. 

Several people have since come forward who KNOW what happened that day, risking their own lives to speak-up about who really was the "trigger" man and how he has gloated with "getting away with murder" and what really happened that day.  See, some of these people are evil in much of what they do.  They were the "bad crowd" your mother warned you about but because this whole incident was sketchy involving law people working the wrong side of the law, political appointed people with careers in play and reputations on the line and even elected officials trying to jockey for position, the truth keeps getting sidelined and Les sits.  He has been treated less than kindly by many during his incarceration, because, well, he is a criminal - right?  Well, my bible says differently.  We are to care and visit those who are in prison.  Even Jesus mentioned them.  I think that makes them in the least, noteworthy.

There are many who may be reading this who may know another side to this story, as it was local news before I got here, but I pray God will bring forth justice and that people will look long and hard and what they could do to help this man before he is put to death.  My understanding is that he wanted to buy an airplane and his wife said no.  He went out and bought one anyway, to cover up the purchase, he took the plane apart to bring it home, piece-by-piece; as if he would be "building" one.  He did have phone records calling this place, as he did buy an airplane that fateful day but no one knew he was there and he lied about it to cover his plan; his plan to have a plane and not tell his wife.  He is guilty of doing his own thing and MANY have come forward to speak on his behalf BEFORE this injustice is carried out.  How many of you have ever bought something against your mate's wishes and hid it?  What if events turned on you.  Who would "stand by you"?  I sure know a LOT of people who have lied on countless occasions and thank God a murder didn't go down on the day THEY did.

Their is also the part about the ammunition that he used.  That too has been played up by the prosecutors in this case, and it was taken a bit far for flavor.  I know SEVERAL people who "pack" their own bullets, buy and collect rare guns and yep, even have been caught in a lie but again, that doesn't make them guilty of capital murder!  It certainly shouldn't be shocking to have "criminals" (who were prepared for an altercation that day) to have their own unmarked bullets from rare guns on hand. There seems to be some common sense missing, which in and of itself is a theme we all have seen played out, again and again in our culture over the last few decades.  The connection was a stretch and unfortunately for Les, a hobbiest who enjoyed guns too, he was the perfect "fall guy" for this fateful day.  This was a perfect storm, to pin it on him, because legal people were involved with this sour drug deal that went south and we certainly don't want to see the "good guys" being exposed for their evil.

I am not saying Les was a totally innocent man nor was he clear of wrong doing, but I am saying, capital murder for a crime he didn't do, seems a bit strong in the least and downright wrong.  Why not give him a new trial and let ALL the evidence come out. I don't understand why he can't get a new trial when there are SEVERAL who will testify to the truth that were not heard from in the beginning.  This is someone's life here and we have to get it right.  We all have seen and heard of people who were incarcerated for years set free because of "new" evidence came for some even that maybe was withheld during the initial trial and people are released for mistakes made.

Praying this story ends with justice and a new trial will miraculously be given where ALL evidence can and will be heard.  There are TOO many questions about who is being punished for these murders and I am praying that God will move where man seems to be stalling.  Another thought is if Governor Rick Perry would step-in to help save this innocent man of capital murder before his execution is under his watch.  It is a scary thing to fall into the hands of the living God and on that day, many will not have a dry eye.  God have mercy!

Did you know...

To listen to most people talk today, in the news media especially, you would think that our founding fathers were closer to the far left agenda then even the most liberal of politicians.  I, for one, am tiring of the continual misinformation that is being shared.   Recently I ran across the following again and just had to post it.  It is ridiculous to think our founders were not Christians (again as many in the media and politics would claim); 52 of the 55 signers of the Constitution were members of the established Orthodox churches i n the colonies.  These were men who gave their all; their money, their time, their daily lives and some even their fortunes for the establishment of this great nation and their desire was for all to be free; free from the rule of a government who imposed into their personal choices.  They desired to establish a new land where people could choose and not be forced into "the governments" way of doing things.  Oh my, has the pendulum swung in the other direction.  Take a minute and think about it...

Moses with 10 commandments centered on the top!

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the US Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers carved into the stone.  Each one of these great people are facing the middle and are looking at one individual carved into the middle.  So who are they looking at in the middle?  They are fixated on the only carving with a full frontal view of the image of Moses.  That's right, Moses, God's personal law-giver from the Old Testament.  Remember how he carried the LAW OF THE LORD down to the people.  Seems an appropriate tribute to me and nterestingly enough is that in this display he is also HOLDING the Ten Commandment tables in his arms.  Hmmm - what was that again about separation of church and state?  Ridiculous again we see how modern technology spreads this erroneous discussion that has been taken OUT-OF-CONTEXT!

10 Commandments carved in wood doors.

So what about this?  When you enter the US Supreme Court courtroom you have to open two huge oak doors that are standing at the foot of the room.  On these massive doors are innate carvings.

Yep, you guessed it, engraved on EACH lower portion of EACH door again we find the 10 commandments carved into the wood.  You still think that a relationship with God's word was not important to our country's Founders?  I will continue to show you how our forefathers held to the tenants of Christianity and unashamedly declared their personal convictions.

Moses and 10 Commandments

Let's continue to look at the US Supreme court building as we go inside this highest courtroom in our land.  Located on the wall directly behind and above where these Justices preside when in court is in session is a very large image covering most the wall.  In display we again see an image of Moses clinging to the Ten Commandments again imprinting the beliefs of those in this time with a God who is represented in the teachings of the Bible; the most sacred of all Christian documents.

This is the third image in this historic building showing Moses, the 10 commandments or both and you want me to believe that this was not a significant part of our American history because you say so?  Really?  Wake up people - the images are all around you; at least they were until one-by-one these pieces of American history are being painted over, taken down and archived or some are even being remodeled as they are completely removed.

It has become a relatively new media blitz that has people thinking that this county is not founded on Christian principles because that is what the owners of the media outlets want you to believe.  With the on-set of more and more incredible media technologies filling the airwaves, people are listening to soundbites from liberal personal and they are not fact checking what they are hearing.

Laus Deo - Praise be to God

Over the last 50 to 75 years, even our history books that are being taught in school are being "revised" to take the Christian perspective out and replaced with a more tolerant, politically correct agenda.  Don't just take my word for it, read the book entitled, Freedom's Frame by Rick Green or Original Intent by David Barton.

If we continue our tour of Washington DC pertaining to the question of historians and the American culture in regard to Christianity and the scriptures,  you will find Biblical images scattered about and our countries Christian heritage continually reflected across the city, the government buildings and throughout the paintings, murals and artifacts yet the politicians and the press insist these truths are non-existiant.

Did you know that there are Bible verses etched in stone all over many Federal buildings in DC?  Even the Washington Monument has a permanet reference to God stamped on its peak.  On the aluminum capstone that crowns the building there is an inscription.  It can be found on the east face and is written in Latin. It says "Laus Deo"which when translated means " Praise be to God." Yep!  Right there on top facing the eastern sky!  Amazing!

This on-going attack is being battled at all levels in our culture and sadly, it seems that we are loosing our American Heritage.  Glen Beck has addressed this several times on his outspoken, now ended, television program, The Glen Beck Show. As a child I learned some Latin, and even heard Latin spoken weekly in religious ceremonies.  My older siblings knew MUCH more than I ever did as people began to stray for things of the past and the entire culture wanted to be "modern" in the late 1950's and early 1960's.  This is when the transformation took on a whole new angle.

Ten Commandments

I still remember when there was a full mural covering one of the halls in my south Minneapolis grade school hallway of the Ten Commandments painted from floor to ceiling there to be seen by all everyday.  I also remember when they painted over it and even though I was in first grade, I remember thinking this was odd.  The artwork was extraordinary and beautifully illustrated and it was covered over with a drab, institutional wall coloring that just didn't make sense to me then.  NOW I totally understand it; the Supreme Court ruled and the laws of the land changed yet they still sit with all these religious images surrounding them.  Talk about hypocrisy, since the 1820's the US Supreme Court has opened its court sessions with the prayer of "God save the United Staes and this Honorable Court" yet this same court took prayer out of school?  God save us and save this "honorable" court!

James Madison

James Madison, the fourth president of the United States was known as the Father of the Constitution.  He made the following statement:  "We have staked the whole of all our political Institutions upon the capacity of mankind for Self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Even our United States Congress has begun each session with a prayer since 1774 and that person has been a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid for by the taxpayer since 1777.  Even in our US Senate Chamber an inscription over the south entrance reads “In God we Trust,” and an inscription over the east doorway reads “Annuit coeptis” (“God has favored our undertakings”).

In the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, a statue representing Religion features this inscription: WHAT DOTH THE LORD REQUIRE OF THEE, BUT TO DO JUSTLY, AND TO LOVE MERCY, AND TO WALK HUMBLY WITH THY GOD? Holy Bible, Micah 6:8.   Another statue representingScience has this inscription: "THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD; AND THE FIRMAMENT SHEWETH HIS HANDIWORK. Holy Bible, Psalms 19:1."

Reagan Presidential Oath

Did you know that since George Washington first added "so help me God" to his inaugural oath, every president since has likewise asked for God's assistance at his inauguration.  Not totally convinced they all knew what they were asking, but they all have asked for it none-the-less.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law they would begging making law an oligarchy; the rule of few over many.  How have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for almost 225 years in the country is now suddenly wrong and Unconstitutional?  Because we as a nation have strayed from the founders vision and from what the Bible calls, "our first love".  When we were a nation teaching the Holy Bible and encouraging a belief system that included God, we were a nation that was blessed and prosperous; God was for us.  If God is for us then who can stand against us?  But unfortunately we now are a nation that is loosing the favor of God and it is a dangerous thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Here are some more facts you may not have known.  Since 1775, with the introduction of the chaplaincy into the Army and Navy, every branch of the US armed forces has provided chaplains to facilitate the worship of God in our military.

On October 3, 1789, one week after Congress approved the Bill of Rights, President George Washington recognized "the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor," and therefore declared a national "day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceable to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

The first federal judiciary was established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, which required federal judges to end their oath of office with "So help me God".

Capitol Building - Washington DC

From 1795 until the 1860's, Christian church services were held on Sundays in the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., attended by such presidents as Jefferson, Madison, John Quincy Adams, and Lincoln, and many other government officials.

A statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments is featured in the rotunda of the Library of Congress. The Ten Commandments are symbolized in the floor of the National Archives Building in Washington , D.C.

 In front of the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. is a sculpted figure leaning on the Ten Commandments. An inscription reads, “Our liberty of worship is not a concession nor a privilege but an inherent right.” A cross and the Ten Commandments are sculpted on a large trylon (3-sided column) in front of the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C.

Pilgrims Thanksgiving

Based on the Thanksgiving tradition started by the Pilgrims and recognized by other Presidents like George Washington, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November, 1863, as “a day of thanksgiving and prayer to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” All Presidents since then have annually called on the nation to thank God in the Thanksgiving season.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. quotes excerpts from our third President’s bill titled the Virginia Statue Establishing Religious Freedom, which passed the Virginia Legislature on January 16, 1786: “Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens . . . are a departure from the plan ofthe Holy Author of our religion.”

US Constitution

With a longhand version of dating rarely used today, the Constitution was signed on “the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven.”  In 1776, these signers of the Declaration of Independence boldly proclaimed the United States free of Great Britain, “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.”

The Articles of Confederation, which initially governed the United States until the Constitution replaced it, referred to “the Great Governor of the World” and was signed “in the year of our Lord” 1778.

Liberty Bell

 The famous Liberty Bell of Philadelphia is inscribed with the message of freedom found in Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

The Declaration of Independence holds as “self-evident” that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

In the founding era, the word “religion” as used in the First Amendment was defined in the 1776 (and current) Virginia Constitution, by James Madison in his Memorial and Remon-strance, and in other sources as: “the duty which we owe to our Creator and the manner of discharging it.”

Washington

In his first Inaugural Address on April 30, 1789, George Washington repeatedly talked about God’s blessings upon America, saying, “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States.”

Let's go back a bit further in history;  on January, 14, 1639, delegates from towns in the colony signed the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut —the first ever written constitution that created a government—which proclaimed that “the word of God requires that to mayntayne the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God . . . .”

The historic landing of the English settlers at Cape Henry, Virginia, where they erected a wooden cross and held a prayer service. Their first charter granted by King James I to settle Jamestown stated their reliance upon “the Providence of Almighty God” and their work in “propagating” the “Christian Religion” to the native people.

The first representative government in America, the House of Burgesses at Jamestown, first assembled in the church on July 30, 1619, where, as the secretary’s notes state, “forasmuche as men’s affaires doe little prosper where God’s service is neglected, all the Burgesses tooke their place in the Quire till a prayer was said by Mr. Bucke, the Minister, that it would please God to guide and sanctifie all our proceedings, to His owne glory and the good of this plantation.”

The Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris, made with Great Britain to end the Revolutionary War and signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay on September 3, 1783, begins, “In the Name of the most Holy and undivided Trinity.”

Pocahontas Baptism

The baptism of one of Jamestown’s first Christian converts, the Powhatan princess Pocahontas, is memorialized in a painting that has been displayed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building since 1840.

In God We Trust

In God We Trust was first inscribed on U.S. coins in 1864 under President Lincoln, and in 1956 Congress made it the national motto of the United States.

In 1892 in the Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States case, after listing example after example of official acknowledgments of God and Christianity in America, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that “this is a Christian nation.”

Still want to say this "God" thing is not just empty words.  Then explain this to me: how come when our nation was attacked on September 11, 2001 members of congress spontaneously began to sing out, "God Bless America" on the steps of the Capitol building?  Why?  Because deep down in our being, we know when disaster strikes only God Himself is our refuge and strength.  We NEED the Lord!  Father forgive us and heal our land.

Live Nativity Scene

Ok - here is a new twist that I LOVE!  People still have the right to public assembly in this great country so in an effort to take back our Christian heritage, here is a new take on an old tradition.  Back on December 1st the Reverend Patrick Mahoney gathered a group of people to protest by creating a LIVE Nativity Scene to be displayed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The Nativity Project is a reminder that our Constitution provides freedom 'of' religion not freedom 'from' religion. By encouraging people of good will to publicly display Nativity Scenes all across America, we are not only supporting religious liberty and First Amendment freedoms but we are loudly proclaiming the powerful message of Christmas." -Rev. Patrick Mahoney

This was a nationwide campaign to share the message of Christmas and to help confront the continuing erosion of expressions of faith and especially during the Christmas Season.

The Nativity Scene, sponsored by Faith and Action and The Christian Defense Coalition, was held on Wednesday, November 30 at 10:30 A.M.

The groups met at 109, 2nd Street NE (right behind the Supreme Court) at 10:30 A.M., then they had a processional with live animals and actors, in front of the Supreme Court and past the U.S. Capitol Building which ended back at 109 2nd Street.

Edward Andrew Stumm's Parole

On facebook today a friend sent an urgent plea to have letters written to stop the parole of Edward Andrew Stumm.  Stumm is a 67 year old man who back in August of 1993 was found guilty of sexually assaulting eleven mentally-challenged adults who lived in a group home setting where he (Stumm) had a part-time job.  See, my friend's life was personally affected by Stumm's behavior as her brother (a Down's Syndrome man with an IQ of a 3 year old) was one of the victims terrorized by Stumm.  (If you happen to know my friend or more importantly the victim, please don't bring up this situation with him as it still too difficult.)


Many of you are already moved to compassion but there may be many of you who may ask, "What is that to me?"  Well, there is more to this story that you should know.  See, In 1992, Edward Andrew Stumm was a full-time Public School Administrator in Hood County! He used his part-time job as an opportunity to gratify his sexually deviant behavior.  He terrorized his victims through forces sexual acts, as well as threatening torture and violent death.  As I have stated, he was ultimately charged with sexually assaulting eleven of the clients and the jury returned with a guilty verdict and sentenced him to serve: one 99 year sentence for Aggravated Sexual Assault with a Deadly Weapon, three 99-year sentences for Aggravated Sexual Assault, and two 20-year sentences for Sexual Assault. The severity of the sentences deemed appropriate, by the jury who heard the evidence, are indicative of the heinous details of abuse disclosed during the trial.

The terror experienced by the victims of Edward Stumm were, and still are, very real to those he tormented through sexual and emotional abuse.  He came up for parole once already and people were up in arms then that Fifteen years was too little time to serve for all the crimes he committed. Justice demands that Stumm be required to serve his full sentence was the cry after 15 years of imprisonment. People launched a crusade to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to have him kept in prison, where many feel he belongs.

I did my own checking up on this case and as a Texas resident with children, this is a real threat and now with money being short in the prison system decisions are being made (many we don't know about) that are putting us as risk!  Keeping prisoners in prisons cost money...lot's of money and many think it's time to free up this money but letting criminals loose back into society is a troubling solution.  If we as a people would have dealt with atrocities such as this as crimes punishable by death, maybe people would think twice before dabbling in behavior that could end their own life.  I'm not saying all people would be stopped from their choices but eventually they would be stopped when caught and sentenced to pay with their life.

Back to the problem at hand, Stumm will be paroled UNLESS people rise up and begin to DO something.  What can you do?  Write a letter, send an e-mail or send a fax THIS WEEK (9-19-2011 until 9-23-2011) to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Victim Services Division.  Here is the address:

Texas Dept of Criminal Justice - Victim Services Division
Angela McCown, Director
8712 Shoal Creek Blvd, Ste 265
Austin, Texas 78757

Email: victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us

Fax: 512-452-0825

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/victim/victim-home.htm

Please include the following:
Offender: Stumm, Edward Andrew
State ID: 04738957
TDCJ ID: 00648361

You still want more help with this?  Here is a sample letter:  

Dear Parole Board Members:

RE: Edward Andrew Stumm  TDCJ-ID# 00648361

As a concerned citizen, I am writing to ask that you DO NOT grant parole to Edward Andrew Stumm.  In 1992, Stumm was a full-time public school administrator who worked a part-time job caring for mentally-challenged adults.  Stumm used his part-time position as an opportunity to gratify his sexually deviant behavior.  He was ultimately charged with sexually assaulting eleven of his victims. He terrorized his victims through forced sexual acts, as well as threatening torture and violent death.  Stumm received an accumulative sentence of 436 years.  It is appalling that he is can even be considered for parole.  Stumm's heinous acts should preclude any such consideration.  Justice demands that Stumm be denied parole.

Please DO NOT grant parole to Edward Andrew Stumm.  To lessen the emotional trauma the parole review process has on the victims, please grant a five year or greater set-off for future parole reviews.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

Here is another sample letter for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles:

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
c/o Ms Angela McCown, Director
TDCJ-Victim Services
P.O. Box 13401
Austin, TX 78711
Fax # 512/452-0825
E-mail to: victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us

Dear Parole Board Members:

RE: Edward Andrew Stumm TDCJ-ID# 00648361

As a concerned citizen, I am writing to ask that you DO NOT grant parole to Edward Andrew Stumm. In 1992, Stumm was a full-time public school administrator who worked a part-time job caring for mentally-challenged adults. Stumm used his part-time position as an opportunity to gratify his sexually deviant behavior. He was ultimately charged with sexually assaulting eleven of his victims. He terrorized his victims through forced sexual acts, as well as threatening torture and violent death. Stumm received an accumulative sentence of 436 years. It is appalling that he is can even be considered for parole. Stumm's heinous acts should preclude any such consideration. Justice demands that Stumm be denied parole.

Please DO NOT grant parole to Edward Andrew Stumm. To lessen the emotional trauma the parole review process has on the victims, please grant a five year or greater set-off for future parole reviews.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

If you want to view for yourself some information on this case and others go to the Texas Tribune and read about it.  Here is some specific information on Edward Andrew Stumm from the Texas Tribune.  To view information on sample letters go to: Take Action...and make a difference.

Presidential Eligibility and Election ID Card

In all my life I would have never thought how dishonest people would become when dealing with the top of our own National identity.  I guess it is being young and naive that you believe that all people in America LOVE America and want to keep her free and established as our founders did.  In recent years, it has become clear to all of us that there are just as many agendas here in America as there are agendas in the world.  Nothing is new.  Nothing is surprising. Tyranny is always looking to raise it's head and there will always be a group that is trying to conquer the other.

Yesterday, I saw that Arizona is taking the lead with some of the most advanced legislative action regarding proof of eligibility to hold the highest office in the land, president.  Representative Judy Burges has introduced another bill (as her last one fell short last year because of some last minute political maneuvering) that has 16 members of the Senate as co-sponsors.  It will only take 16 votes in the Senate to pass.  In the House there are 50 co-sponsors with the need for only 31 votes for passage.  There are ten other states who are addressing this issue as well (controlling 107 of the electoral college votes).  Seems many are interested in fixing a gap in the current interpretation of the demands set by the U.S. Constitution regarding federal election procedures that allowed Barack Obama to be nominated, elected and inaugurated without providing proof of his qualifications for the office of president in the 2008 elections.

New Hampshire has created a simple legislation to address the issue requiring an affidavit from a candidate stating that their qualifications including age, residence and being a "natural born citizen".  Georgia has gone quite a bit further with legislation HB37 by Representative Bobby Franklin that not only demands original birth certificate documentation but it also provides a procedure for and declares that citizens have "standing" to challenge the documentation.  They go on to state that each political party shall provide each candidate ... original documentation that he meets the qualifications of Article 2, Section 1, Paragraph 1 and Article 2, Section 1, Paragraph 5 of the U.S. Constitution to serve as president of the USA if elected to such office.

So according to the "liberal" media it is just a "minority" of "right-wing" conspiracy theorist who think that Obama was not eligible under the U.S. Constitution to serve as Commander and Chief.  Hmmm - so why are TEN states forming legislation to have candidates PROVE eligibility to serve?  Because the liberal media has is WRONG again!

Time for a New Texas Speaker of the House

As many of you know, Joe Straus has been the speaker of the house for the Texas legislature these past few years and he is in this position as a Republicans.  What you may not know is all the politics that went on behind the scene to get him elected.  Many democrats voted him into this seat as they knew that the speaker appoints the key positions over all the committees.  He is able to appoint all the "chairs" and he did so by giving key Democrats chairmanship over key committees.  Each committee chair sets up the docket or the agenda of bills and sets the of b
ills to be discussed.  With a liberal republican as the speaker the Democrats got their agenda in without the people being the wiser. 

Well this maybe worked when the house was sitting with 76 Republicans to the 74 Democrats as was the case in the last legislature when the "special eleven" Democrats came across the isle to "help" elect him.   These special eleven have been known to call themselves as the "cardinals" and the speaker is their "pope".  They joined together with the other liberal Republicans and with all the Democrats (who were in the minority) and together they created a working majority and elected this liberal Republican (Joe Straus) as House Speaker – that is, he was the choice of Democrats more than of Republicans.

Well now we have a 99 Republicans and YOU the voter need to be made aware of what is going on here in our Texas house and what you can do to fix it.  There is very little about Speaker Straus that would show him to be a republican except for the capital "R" that is put in parenthesis behind his name.  What better way to express my point than to show you his own voting history. 

Here are a few of the bills that this current speaker has supported:

• SB 419 - vote 672 in 2005:  A bill that would make it easier to perform late-term abortions.
• SB 6 - vote 327 in 2005:  A bill regarding homosexuals as foster parents.
• HB 10 - vote 929 in 2007:  A bill regarding expanded casino gambling.
• HB 2265 - vote 749 in 2007: Increased gaming and gambling.
• HB 168 - vote 357 in 2005: Increased sale and consumption of alcohol during Sunday morning church hours.
• SB 1626 - vote 852 in 2005: Making it easier to sell alcohol without community approval as is currently required.
• SB 1 - vote 946 in 2005: Increasing the state budget spending by an amazing 19% over only two years.Groups that supported the speaker:
• In the 2007 session he received a 100% voting record from the radical pro-abortion group NARAL.
• The pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood contributed to his re-election campaign.

Here are some of the bills he opposed:

• HB 2685 - votes 384, 437 and 1407 in 2007: Using statistically-proven methods to strengthen marriage and reduce divorce by encouraging premarital counseling.
• HB 2136 - vote 592 in 2007:  Parental rights, opposing a bill to let parents kno w the service-referrals that school counselors are making for their children.

Some additional facts regarding the Speaker and Bills that were killed:

• Voter ID - which had a 90% support rate among Republicans and had passed the Republican Senate and Governor Perry was ready to sign but it was killed in the house by him and his liberal group of politicians.
• A popular pro-life bill which had 70% support among Republicans and had passed the Republican Senate and Governor Perry was ready to sign but was killed in the house by him and his liberal group of politicians.
• An independent political science professor (Dr. Mark Jones of Rice University) has now statistically proven just how successful the Democrats have been under this Republican Speaker and has authoritatively documented that the Democrats passed more of their agenda under Republican Speaker Joe Straus than they did when Democrat Pete Laney was their Speaker.

So with 99 Republicans elect this year, this issue is resolved, right?  WRONG!!
The following information came from David Barton (former Vice-President of the Republican Party of Texas)and rather than re-writing his entire letter, I thought I would just copy it here for you...

The State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) of the Republican Party of Texas just passed a resolution calling on Republican members of the State House to select their Speaker in Republican Caucus and then carry that selection to the floor of the House and pass it there. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/
In this manner, Republicans rather than Democrats will select the Republican Speaker of the Republican-controlled House. If the Republicans in caucus choose Joe Straus as their Speaker, that is fine; at least the decision will have been made by Republicans rather than Democrats.

Regrettably, however, following the passage of that common-sense resolution by the State Party, Speaker Straus' liberal Republicans called the State Party and threatened to withhold $170,000 they had pledged unless the Party rescinded its call for a Republican Speaker to be chosen by Republicans.

Republicans have worked too hard to allow a handful of liberal Republican State Representatives to give the House over to Democrats. In fact, in this election, there will be a significant increase in the number of conservative Republicans elected to the House, making it even more important that the Speaker be chosen by Republicans. In order for our last decade of hard work in electing conservative Republicans to not go to waste, I urge you to:

1.    Contact your state representative. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

2.    Send them a copy of the SREC resolution. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=2

3.    Ask your Representative PUBLICLY to announce their support of the resolution for Republicans to select the Republican Speaker by signing on to the website provided for that purpose. http://www.unifiedrepublicans.com/

Texas has become the envy of the nation by enacting conservative economic and social policies in the legislature. Let's not let liberal Republicans join with Democrats to stop that progress. Please act today to contact your state representative. After all, what is controversial about Republicans simply meeting together, deciding who will be the Speaker candidate, and emerging with a single voice?  What could be more unifying?

Please act today. And please share this information with your conservative friends.

---end of letter from David Barton.

There are 150 State Representatives in our Texas House so 76 is the magic number.  Speaker Strauss has already announced that he has more than enough support to win re-election as the chamber's leader as he has 122 lawmakers (more than 4/5th of the House membership) who promise to vote for him when the Legislature convenes in January.  Immediately after the elections newly elected Republicans were being "wined and dined" regarding all the "opportunities" that would be available to them if they would "pledge" their support.

With redistricting as one of the many items on the upcoming agenda for this legislature, we NEED a Conservative Speaker MORE than ever before. Voter ID and Pro-life agenda were already stopped under his leadership.

Finally,  here is a list of the 25 members of the Texas House (listed below) who have NOT pledged (this number is now less than 25 as some have now pledged) to Straus.  Look for YOUR representative and see if they have pledged support or not.  Either way (if your rep's name is here or not), contact them and express YOUR opinion and then make the phone call and send them a copy of the resolution that David Barton stated above.  Ask them to PUBLICLY state their support of the resolution and while you have them on the phone voice your outrage if they support Straus!  What we saw in this last election is that WE THE PEOPLE need to continue to SPEAK UP!  We need to make our ELECTED officials HEAR US!

25 Members (Number is the District and the "X" = new member):

• 2 Flynn
• 3 Cain X
• 6 Berman
• 7 Simpson
• 9 Christian
• 12 White X
• 26 Howard, Charlie
• 30 Morrison
• 45 Isaac X
• 61 King
• 66 Taylor, Van X
• 74 Gallego (now has pledged to Straus)
• 82 Craddick
• 83 Perry
• 85 Landtroop X
• 88 Chisum
• 96 Zedler X (he withdrew his initial pledge to Straus)
• 101 Burkett X
• 106 Anderson X
• 107 Sheets X
• 117 Garza (now has pledged to Straus)
• 134 Davis X
• 136 Woolley

Here are the names of the infamous eleven: (as published and distributed at the State Republican Convention in Dallas 2010).
BEFORE the primaries and the elections, these were the remaining ten of the original eleven...Reps. Jim Pitt,s Rob Eissler, Byron Cook, Edmund Kuempel, Jim Keffer, Burt Solomons, Charlie Geren, Tommy Merritt (lost his primary), Delwin Jones (lost his primary) and Brian McCall (resigned to take an appointment to head a Texas college).  If Speaker Straus would have been "elected" among only Republicans, he would never have won this seat.  There were only 10 liberal Republicans who joined Democrats to elect him and he rewarded these ten with choice assignments and committee chars.  The gang of 10 was now down to the gang of 7 (again BEFORE this November election).

A Final List of Reasons Why We Don't Want Joe Straus as our Republican Speaker: (as published and distributed at the State Republican Convention in Dallas 2010).

• He joined John Sharp (D) to host a fundraiser for Patrick Rose (D-incumbent) to defeat conservative challenger Jason Isaac (R - who WON!)
• Texans for Economic Development (TED) is a pro-gambling PAC run by the former head of the State Democratic Party.  Last cycle TED spent $3000,000 in their attempt to defeat conservative House members including Reps. Betty Brown, Nathan Macias, Bill Zedler and Rep. Phil King.  Three of these conservatives lost because the Straus family gave $80,000 to TED. Rep. Phil King was the lone survivor.
• TED ran large amounts of its money through Parent PAC, whose consultant is Roy Fletcher - a business partner with Bil Clinton campaign strategist James Carville.  Like TED, Parent PAC also targets conservatives in the Texas House (and on the State Board of Education), having spent almost $1 million to remove Conservative Republicans.  (Several of Straus' Republican lieutenants also wrote out large contributions to Parent PAC.)
• Speaker Straus' political director is Gordon Johnson, a Democrat who ran TED.  Straus chose as his original Chief of Staff former Democrat State Rep. Clyde Alexander; his new Chief of Staff is Denise Davis, who was a central figure in the House coup to overthrow former conservative House Speaker, Tom Craddick.
• In the spring primaries, Speaker Straus used his resources in attempts to defeat the more Conservative candidate (such as as Van Taylor, Charles Perry and David Simpson) running against a liberal Republican House member.
• This year, 64 Conservative state legislators formed GOPAC-TX in "increase the number of Republicans serving the Texas Legislature by recruiting, training and funding conservative candidates."  After an excellent and effective beginning, Austin lobbyists report that the Speaker put out the word they were to give NO more money to GOPAC-TX; hence, funding has dried up for this outstanding conservative organization committed to defeating Democrats.
• Conservative State Senator Dan Patrick formed Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas (ICROT) for a purpose similar to GOPAC-TX; ad while 90% of House and Senate Republicans joined the group as charter members, Speaker Straus and six of his lieutenants refused to do so.
• Rene Oliveira is a big tax and spend Democrat House member, receiving an abysmal 35% rating from Texas for Fiscal Responsibility.  Nevertheless, Speaker Straus made Oliveira Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee with the responsibility of handling all tax policy; Oliveira has announced that he is seeking $3-4 billion in new tax revenues.
• Speaker Straus made lieutenant Todd Smith Chairman of the Elections Committee and Smith was able to prevent the Voter ID bill from coming to a vote, even though that measure had received the support of 93% of Republican voters in the primary.
• Speaker Straus made Republican lieutenant Burt Solomons Chairman of State Affairs Committee and Solomons kept the pro-life sonogram bill as well as all immigration legislation from coming to a vote.  Incidentally, as a reflection of his philosophy, Solomons had previously even objected to teaching that American is a blessed and unique nation (i.e., American Exceptionalism) and he also adamantly opposed a house bill to have Texas students recite portions of the Declaration of Independence.
• Speaker Straus made Republican lieutenant Edmund Kuempel Chairman of the Licensing Committee and while Straus' other lieutenants kept measure such as Voter ID, immigration and the pro-life sonogram bill from coming to the floor, Kuempel did get pro-gambling bills to emerge from his committee.  (The Straus family owns racetracks and gambling interest across the state and supports gambling and VLTs).
• Control of redistricting for the next ten years and Texas is expected to gain 4 new US congressional seats as well as draw improved prospects for Republican  state legislative districts, Speaker Straus made Delwin Jones (former Democrat and most liberal Republican in the House) Chairman of the Redistricting Committee.
• Speaker Straus inexplicably appointed Democrats Mike Villarreal and Aaron Pena to head redistricting hearing in cities such as San Antonio, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Lubbock, etc. (The testimony collected in those hearings will unquestionably be used in lawsuits filed by Democrat and liberals to contest the redistricting lines that will be drawn next year by Republican leaders and Speaker Straus is aiding this inevitable Democrat challenge.)
• Straus' Republican lieutenants were dispatched into primary races to work against conservative candidates; and in seats where conservative Republican members were retiring (e.g., David Swinford, Frank Corte, Joe Crabb, etc.), they worked to replace the retiring conservative with moderates and liberals.
• Straus Republican lieutenants Charlie Geren, Jim Keffer and Byron Cook aired radio ads supporting Democrat Mark Homer over conservative Republican Kirby Hollingsworth, helping the Democrat to a narrow win.
• Straus Republican lieutenant Jim Keffer did mail pieces for Democrat Mark Strama to help him defeat his Republican opponent.
• Straus lieutenants Dan Branch and Jim Pitts are helping Democrat Ellen Cohen against her Republican challenger, doing events with her in her district.
• Power Houston Democrats Sylvia Garcia (Democrat County Commissioner in Harris County) and Elyse Lanier (wife of the former liberal Democrat mayor Bob Lanier) sponsored a Democrat fundraiser for Speaker Straus with numerous Democrat officials and high ranking union officials.

There are additional examples, but these are sufficient to affirm tat the greatest threat to the conservative Republican gains in the Texas State House is not from Democrats but instead may be from Speaker Straus and his "Republican" lieutenants.

In closing, "Once...I said, 'This is a wonderful time to be alive,' and I meant that.  I meant that we're lucky not to live in pale and timid times.  We've been blessed with the opportunity to stand for something - for liberty and freedom and fairness.  And these are things worth fighting for - worth devoting our lives to.  And we have good reason to be hopeful and optimistic.  We've made much progress already!  So, let us go forth with good cheer and stout hearts - happy warriors out to seize back a country and a world to freedom!" - Ronald Reagan's words from March 8, 1985.

the Elana Kagan, Obama Connection

Seems there is some controversy surrounding this newly appointed justice to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan.  It seems to becoming quite clear why she was Obama's choice for the recently vacated seat and the reasons for their connection are in the least, very interesting.  You see, Ms. Kagan was the Solicitor General for all the suits that were filed against Obama with the Supreme Court regarding Obama's proof of natural born citizenship.  Some are saying that this was a "payment" for all of her hard work in helping him with all his legal issues.  See, all the requests that came across Kagan's desk were denied and never heard by the court.  The American people were totally kept from the truth regarding all of this as even Congress didn't bring up these facts during the confirmation hearings on Kagan. 

David and Barbara Mikkelson are the couple behind Snopes and they have posted on their site that, "No, Virginia, There is No Obama/Kagan Connection."  They are still saying that they are "correct" in posting that this "rumor" is "false" but they have never explained all the United States Supreme Court dockets (listed below) that are all signed off by ELana Kagan.

World Net Daily (WND) has posted that Kagan's name is on at least nine dockets involving Obama and his eligibility to be President and Snopes has a link on this as well, yet  Snopes still concludes there there is NO connection.  Not sure I am following the math on this one.  Snopes lists the dockets too and even highlights Kagan's name on them, yet they say there is NO connection?  I don't understand their reasoning as all of this seems pretty obvious to me.

I have included all the links in this blog for you to check it out for yourself.  After reading all this, I would hope you have ONE more reason to vote this November.  Not only am I upset about the conflict of interests and total disregard for the process that has permeated this administration, but I am also upset at those in Congressmen and women who did NOT expose this and stop this nomination. 

Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08M38     November 25, 2008
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09A381
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-8145   January 12, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-1234   April 7, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #08-10382 May 15, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-6790   October 1, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-581     November 13, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-724     December 22, 2009
Supreme Court of the United States - Docket #09-8857   January 29, 2010

Remember that all of this "controversy" is swirling because there are still so many questions that have not been answered regarding the birthplace of Barack Obama, Jr.  There is still no birth certificate stating that Obama was born in Hawaii among the passport documents for Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro that were recently released by the State Department on July 29, 2010 regarding Obama's Citizenship. In these recently released documents, Dunham's husband, Lolo Soetoro petitioned the Immigration and Naturalization Services of the State Department in 1967 to obtain a waiver to return to the United States to rejoin his wife and her infant son, Barack.

An Indonesia timeline was recently compiled by World News Daily (WND) created from information gathered from the State Department's July 29 Freedom of Information Act.  This information shows that Lolo Soetoro returned to Indonesia on July 20, 1966, after completing his studies at the University of Hawaii.  Soetoro was required to complete a mandatory two-rear residence requirement in Indonesia before he could be granted a visa to return to the US.

There is a document dated September 14, 1967, as an apparent attempt to establish the nationality of Barack Obama Jr. by a person named Mix who submitted a poorly typed and difficult to decipher memo to the file but failed to identify their official position with the State Department at the time.  This memo was written pursuant "to inquire from Central office regarding the status of the aplicants' spouses' child by a former marriage." (sic)  The next paragraph reads:

"The person in question [Barack Obama, Jr.] is a united states citizen by virtue of his birth in Honolulu, Hawaii Aug. 4, 1961. He is living with the applicants' spouse in Honolulu. He is considered the applicants step-child, within the meaning of Sec. 101(b)(1)(B), of the act, by virtue of the marriage of the applicant to the childs' mother on March 15, 1965."

The person writing the document does not indicate that they ever SAW any birth-certificate document to establish the citizenship of her son, Barack Obama, Jr., but instead, it suggests that is was written as a result of conversation, possibly with the mother, and was accepted as is without documentary verification.

In contrast, various forms in the Freedom of Information Act release clearly indicate when corroborating documents have been presented. For instance, an examining Immigration and Naturalization Service and State Department official filing a particular report had examined the divorce decree between Barack Obama's mother and his father, Barack Obama Sr., to establish that the parents were legally divorced.
In the two separate releases of Freedom of Information Act documents July 29, what should have been a clear opportunity to see a birth certificate for Barack Obama Jr. was lost when the State Department destroyed any and all passport documents that may have existed for Dunham prior to 1968.  The released State Department documents make clear that Barack Obama Jr. was listed on his mother's passport. However, as WND has previously reported, the State Department claims Dunham's application for her 1965 U.S. Passport No. 777788, issued July 19, 1965, was destroyed at some unspecified time in the 1980s, apparently pursuant to a General Services Administration directive.

Lacking Dunham's application for her 1965 U.S. passport, it is impossible to determine what documentation, if any, she submitted to the State Department to establish her son was a U.S. citizen. WND has reported that in a passport amendment submitted Aug. 13, 1968, Obama's mother identified her son with an Indonesian surname and asked the State Department to drop him from her U.S. passport, bolstering evidence Barack Obama Jr., became a citizen of Indonesia when he moved to the Southeast Asian nation with his mother and stepfather in the late 1960s.
Since 1961, the Obama family has always maintained that Barack Obama Jr., was born in Hawaii. However, as WND has reported, the family has changed its story about his hospital of birth, first claiming it was Honolulu's Queens Medical Center then changing it to Kapi'olani Medical Center.  What has yet to be produced is a long-form certificate of birth that lists the hospital where Obama was born and the doctor that attended the birth.

In, June, Tim Adams, a senior elections clerk for the city and county of Honolulu in 2009 made the claim that Barack Obama Jr., was definitely not born in Hawaii and that a long-form, hospital generated birth certificate for Obama does not exist in that state.

The birth address reported in the Honolulu newspapers in 1961 announcing the birth of Barack Obama Jr. was the address where his grandparents lived, suggesting the grandparents may simply have applied at the Hawaii Department of Health for a short-form Certificate of Live Birth. WND has also reported that newspaper birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers in 1961 did not necessarily indicate a baby was born in the state. Hawaiian law in 1961 allowed "an adult or legal parent of a minor child" to apply to the health department and, upon unspecified proof, be given a birth document in the form that is known as a short-form Certification of Live Birth.  Under Hawaiian law at that time, a family wishing to register the birth of a baby outside Hawaii was permitted by the Hawaii Department of Health to list a family residence in Hawaii as the birth address, even if the mother was residing outside Hawaii at the time the baby was born.  Moreover, WND has reported that being a U.S. citizen does not by itself fulfill the requirement under Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution that the president be a "natural born citizen."

Information used above from WND - No Birth Certificate.
CHECK IT OUT FIRST...here are some sites to use:
Snopes.com
FactCheck.org
urbanlegends.about.com
PolitiFact.com - Obama White House Fact Check