Texas Free Press

Texas Textbook Wars

2010-06-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard (unless you were living under a rock for the past few months) The Texas Board of Education has been under fire for its recent changes to the textbook standards for our state.

Many have said that the board was trying to "Whitewash" the history books, put organizations like the NRA and the Moral Majority in a positive light, remove Thomas Jefferson from the list of important historical figures, and so on and so on.

So much has the left wing media propelled these lies, that textbooks that meet Texas standards are being boycotted by some. A ridiculous idea if you actually research what the standards are instead of believing everything you hear... like a mindless zombie.

Side thought: Isn't it interesting that conservatives and libertarians are called mindless zombies for FOX News and Talk Radio, and yet it is we who question everything we are told. I for one research anything and everything I am told before I commit to believing it. However, those who repeat the dribble they are fed from MSNBC, The NY Post, The Huffington Post and the like are the informed ones!

Back to the issue at hand. California has passed a law seeking to ban any textbooks that meet the Texas standards. Read more about this latest in California absurdity here.

And if you're interesting in reading the proposed changes on the Texas Board of Education site click here, though it is a little tedious to read through. If you would like to read about the changes that actually made it through, click here.

Hopefully this will help you wade through the liberal slop that's out there.

The Harvey Girls

2010-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

Recently I was watching one of my favorite movies from my childhood, one that I hadn't seen in about ten years; The Harvey Girls. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's the story of love and blooming civilization in the wild west set to the technicolor musical genius of Harry Warren (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics), Lennie Hayton (score).

About ten minutes into the movie Judy Garland, playing the main character Susan Bradley, made a statement that I think all Americans today really need to hear. Her startling comment was simple, straightforward and honest. She said

"The Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness, but it's up to me to do the pursuing!"

What in the world happened to this mentality? I know that is what my parents taught me, and what their parents taught them, so is it just a breakdown in parenting or something more sinister?

Regardless, it's a mindset that we must reclaim. In fact, it is one that our founding fathers shared.

"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

- Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Jefferson also believed that it was not the place of the government to attempt to provide happiness or to take the people's earnings away from them.

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."

- Thomas Jefferson

It's time to bring back common sense, in all areas of life but especially in this area. It is not within the government's job description, obligation, authority, or responsibility to provide us with happiness.

Let us remember this always; in our daily life, our teachings to others, and our votes at the ballot box. It is time to rid this country of its dependence on entitlement programs.

America, it's time to pursue happiness instead of handouts.

Representative Gutierrez Breaks his Oath of Office

2010-05-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

I follow Congress.org on Facebook so I can get updates on the articles they publish and have a chance to reply to some of the comments when appropriate. In an article they recently posted about the Arizona immigration law there was some shocking content.

To begin, the article was concerned with Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and his intentional trespass and arrest to protest the Arizona immigration law. If the law was legitimately unconstitutional, I wouldn't have a problem with a Representative behaving this way. However, when the law is something that the federal government is not only already supposed to be doing but also valid, protesting it goes against the oath members of Congress take when they enter office.

The part of the article that really got me, however, was a quote from Rep. Gutierrez where he had this to say: "Just because you're part of a structure doesn't mean your allegiance and your fidelity is to that structure,". The quote, apparently, was regarding why a Representative would get out and protest in such a way when they normally contain their actions to the courts and "...halls of power". It is a telling choice of words, however, and answers not the question asked, but instead the question of where his loyalties lie.

According to this quote, it is his belief that just because you're an American citizen, it doesn't mean you're loyalties have to lie there. Just because you're a sworn member of congress, doesn't mean you have to have an allegiance to the nation and values you've sworn to uphold and protect.

The Oath of Office was originally: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." but apparently only an oath to uphold the Consitution was required of anyone except the President, who had to swear the full Oath. A specific, shortened oath of "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States" is now required by all members of the Senate and House.

I'm not going to go into it now, but this is one of many major problems our nation faces. People, citizens or not, who want the benefits of living in the United States but who want to hold allegiance to the country of their ancestors. Keeping your heritage alive is fine, we should even encourage it, but your loyalty shouldn't lie with another nation or even the people living in it. Your loyalty should be to the United States and ALL of her CITIZENS.

You can read the article in question here and visit Rep. Gutierrez's website here in case you feel like leaving him any comments.

Finally, I would urge everyone to be on the lookout for such sentiments from all of their representatives. We can't do anything about the Representatives in other states, but we can do something about our own Representatives here in Texas. If we permit one who share's such sentiments to return to office when we have the chance to vote them out then we are as much to blame as they are for any offense committed. They enter office in OUR name, the name of the PEOPLE of their district and we must be vigilant about knowing what our candidates and elected officials believe.

The Law

2010-05-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I came across Dean Russell’s translation of Frederic Bastiat’s The Law, published by the Foundation for Economic Education when I began a project of my own in which I intended to write an article or small book logically identifying the purpose of the law. I knew that, in order to have any credibility, I would need to begin with a definition of justice that was readily agreed upon in legal circles. To that end I began a search for a basic, well recognized book on the law. I wanted something fundamental, not a specific case study or a text book, but something that treated on the topic as a whole; when I came across the title of The Law in my search I figured it was as good a place to start as any. It turned out to not be what I was looking for at all, however, it was instead exactly what I would have wanted to write, and I doubt I could have done the subject more justice, or written as convincingly as Bastiat did in his treatise.

Bastiat begins by identify the nature and origin of Man and our rights and responsibilities, which are one and the same. He then recognizes that in a state of nature, just as Locke wrote, all men have also the right to use force to defend their rights of life, liberty and property and, further so, the responsibility to defend them, though not excessively. After recognizing this right and responsibility of defense, Bastiat goes on to argue that law is the result of a collective organization of the individual’s right of defense.

In the remainder of the book, Bastiat shows why this is what the law is, why it is best for it to concern itself only with these things, and what areas the law does not (or should not) have any jurisdiction over. He also takes the offensive against himself, asking the questions his opponents, those in favor of using the law to organize human activity such as labor, agriculture, production, welfare, credit, etc., would ask of him. He then answers the questions and shows the results of such endeavors, and how such uses of the law are a perversion of law and justice.

He also examines the position and hypothesis of his opponents and questions with clarity and wit the arrogance and grand assumption they make in their position on the use of law. To validate his examination, and show that he is not merely putting words in the mouths of his opponents, he instead quotes from various works of their own in which they clearly follow the position and hypothesis he had previously boiled down and exposed.

As dearly as I may want to produce here for you his arguments, I will not. Instead, I highly encourage you to obtain a copy of his book and read it yourself as it will inform and entertain you much better than could my re-creations of his arguments. You can purchase copies of The Law by Frederic Bastiat online at a number of bookseller’s websites, request an interlibrary loan from your local library or go to http://fee.org/library/?s=1&au=Frederic+Bastiat&ser=&key=&type2=512 and download a pdf version of this and other works of his which are likely just as worthy of reading. When I say “book”, some may assume that it is lengthy and difficult to read, however, it is in fact quite short (less than 80 pages in its original length) and is also a very easy read for the most part. You will likely be able to finish it in one or two evenings of reading, but may get hung up and weary while reading through some of the passages Bastiat quotes from. Take a short break, return and persevere through these sections as the evidence is important and I guarantee it will be well worth your time, all parts of the book before and after these sections being enjoyable and energetic. I literally had to force myself to put the book down to continue with my day each time I picked it up.

Happy reading to you.

Taxes in Texas

2010-04-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I read the intriguing comments of someone claiming to be a Texan who said,

"...Texas does not have a state income tax. Our municipalities depend largely on property taxes. It's insane to hear well-to-do folks whine about their property taxes when there are virtually no other local taxes (besides sales tax). Probably the only way for people to appreciate the services provided based on our tax dollars is to start taking them away. Start with the rich neighborhoods..."¹

I know many people who have this same mindset and felt that I should address the idea before I was forced to hear it one more time from the uninformed masses who consider themselves so well educated. So let's quickly clear up the facts in this ridiculous claim from the "Texan". Here is a list of just a few taxes that real people pay in Texas on a daily or yearly basis, depending on the tax or fee (which is just another name for a tax).

Cigarettes
Cigar, Tobacco Products
Crude Oil
Diesel Fuel
Fireworks
Gasoline
Hotel Stays
Inheritance
Insurance Premium taxes
Liquefied Gases, such as butane, protane and compressed natural gas.
Loan Administration fees
LOCAL Property taxes
LOCAL Sales and Use taxes
Manufactured Housing taxes (I don't think many "well-to-do" people will have to deal with this one)
Mixed Beverage taxes
STATE Property taxes
STATE Sales and Use taxes

Not to mention all the business taxes that are in place for businesses who then just pass them along to consumers. Additionally, the services that the above quoted person mentioned (trash collection, street lights, road repairs and so on) are paid for by other fees and taxes, not through property taxes.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to be free to keep a little more of my hard earned cash. What would you do with an extra 15-30% percent of your income back in your hands each year?

1. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/05/billions-texas-federal-disaster-aid-during-perry-tenure
2.http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxes/#TexasTaxes

Texas Can Thrive On Its Own

2010-04-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

Everything's bigger in Texas. Texans know this and so does the rest of the world. However, I think Texans forget just how much of this Country's population resides within our borders.

The entire population of the United States is only three hundred million with almost twenty five million being Texans, according to the U.S. Census Estimates. That means that our little ol' state contains nearly ten percent of the entire population of our Country, not to mention the fact that over twelve percent of the United States Armed Forces is comprised of Texans. Besides having a strong presence in the Military and the Country in general, Texans also have a huge sense of pride and determination, something that we were forced to rely on during the Great Depression.

During the Great Depression, Texas among several other states suffered the wrath of the Dust Storms. All of the crops were dead in Texas and many people expected the government to step in and bail everyone out by sending seeds or money. However, the man in the Oval Office, President Hoover, had a different idea. Though many label him a "Big Government" President, Hoover had many outlooks and viewpoints that Libertarians and Constitutionalists (and anyone else fed up with Big Government, for that matter) can relate to.

Hoover believed in "rugged individualism", that is, the idea that people could succeed through their own efforts and take care of themselves, rather than depend on government hand-outs. He referred to his beliefs as liberalism in its original form.

In his concession speech after the 1932 presidential campaign, Hoover made the statement "you cannot extend the mastery of government over the daily life of a people without somewhere making it master of people's souls and thoughts...Every step in that direction poisons the very roots of liberalism. It poisons political equality, free speech, free press, and equality of opportunity. It is the road not to more liberty but to less liberty. True liberalism is found not in striving to spread bureaucracy, but in striving to set bounds to it. True liberalism seeks all legitimate freedom first in the confident belief that without such freedom the pursuit of other blessings is in vain."¹ A statement as true today as it was then.

Hoover believed that we Texans could and would pull ourselves out of the problems facing us with the generosity of our neighbors and our own determination to survive and thrive. So why are those Texans any different from the people that fill our state now? I don’t believe that they are.

Federal aid comes into our state on every possible avenue into every possible aspect of our lives. For example, in fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010) Texas received over $1.6 billion dollars in federal funding for selected Education programs, over $1.5 billion for selected Health and Human Services and over $300 million for various other services such as Unemployment, Bioterrorism Grants, Justice Assistance among other programs.² Money also flows into the state through FEMA; since 2001 the organization has sent more than $3.45 billion to Texas for declared disasters.³

It also seems that most of this money has strings attached. In 2010, Texas Gov. Rick Perry turned down the opportunity for our state to apply to receive up to $700 million in federal aid for Education. Perry is quoted on the subject as saying “I will not commit Texas taxpayers to unfunded federal obligations or to the adoption of unproven, cost-prohibitive national curriculum standards and tests”.⁴ Far from improving over time, it seems that federal aid will now come with even more government involvement; the new Health Care Bill adds Education legislation stating that those colleges that receive federal aid will have to have their textbooks approved by the government. You can read more about this at Big Goverment.com.

I for one think that President Hoover would be mortified to see just how much the government is trying to meddle in people's lives today. However, I for one also am proud to see that Texas is starting to take a stand against it. Let us take care of our own people and problems. According to the Texas Comptrollers office, as of March 15th, 2010, Texas is the 11th largest economy in the world, we have to stand up and protect that. If we allow the federal government to continue to try and clamp down on our money through taxation and regulations, we will lose all modicum of freedom.

It is time to stand up for ourselves and remember the strength that President Hoover saw in our state, to make the commitment to help each other because it's the right thing to do, and to prove once again to the federal government that our state can thrive just fine without them.

References:
1. http://www.hooverassociation.org/hoover/speeches/challenge_to_liberty.php
2. http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Federal_Funds/Watch_2010/Federal_Funds_011510.pdf
3. http://motherjones.com/mojo/2009/05/billions-texas-federal-disaster-aid-during-perry-tenure
4. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31522.html

Learn to Live as They Did

2010-04-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

If you've listened to the news or the radio much in the last year, you've probably heard someone mention that the Country is headed towards a financial meltdown. While people may differ on their view of what will bring this meltdown upon us, most people generally agree that it is coming.

Well, this leaves most of us thinking, "What can I do; how do I prepare?". There are a few simple things that we can all do to help ensure that we are able to put money and goods aside while living within our means and preparing ourselves and our families for what is surely on its way.

While researching Depression Era Mentality in regards to food, clothing, money, and "stuff", I found these wonderful "rules of thumb" from that time period:

1. "Don't spend money you don't already have in your pocket.
NEVER put ANYTHING on credit. Don't do it. Nothing good will ever come of it. If you need it, SAVE for it. I know what you're thinking, "Saving... what is that?". Though it may be a foreign concept to many of us, this is how people functioned and thrived for many generations.

2. "Don't pay someone else to provide something that you can learn to do or to make yourself."

This is pretty straightforward and simple. Though learning how to knit a new set of winter sweaters for your family may not be easy, it is straightforward and simple. I crocheted sweaters as Christmas gifts for my brothers this year, and though I had to start the projects in the Central Texas heat known as August, the resulting sweaters were well worth the effort!

Ask your friends and family about skills that they have! You may be surprised to find out that your aunt knows how to knit and your co-worker grows all her own food. These skills may not be common place anymore, but they are still more common than you may guess.

3. "Never buy anything you can use - only what you can't live without."

How often do we buy things only because "it would be nice to have" but not really because it's needed? I would argue this is the case with most purchases. Realistically, people won't be able to make the shift into this type of mentality overnight. But if you slowing and steadily cut back on your discretionary spending and instead pledge a certain amount of your income to a savings account each month, you will be pleasantly surprised how quickly your money will add up!

4. "Don't buy anything until you have twice the purchase amount."

This doesn't mean since you have a five dollar bill in your pocket you can go ahead and get that venti, half-caff, low-fat mocha; that's something you can definitely live without, even if you think you can't.

Instead, I would apply this rule of thumb to large purchases that would require you to save before hand. If you're saving for a car, wait until you have twice the purchase amount before finalizing the deal!

5. "It's doesn't matter how much money you can make, but how much money you can save!"

Save, save, save, save, save! I was recently asked about my financial goals in life and how much money I felt I needed to make in order to afford the lifestyle that I would like to have. I think my answer rather shocked the questioner.

Really, I don't think about my finances in that way - instead, I think about lowering my bills and financial obligations to the lowest amount possible so that I can live on as little as possible.

But I think this idea is completely backwards to most people. The common wisdom would state that more money is necessary to live comfortably. Whereas, if you are debt free you will end up with more money out of each check than most Americans who live paycheck to paycheck due to credit card, mortgage, auto, and student loan payments.

So again I say, save, save, save.

There you have it, five fairly simple rules to live your life by; simple and by no means easy. But I for one would rather know that I am doing everything I can to position my family and myself in such a way that we can be stable and happy, regardless of the economic status of our Country at any given moment.

Wouldn't you?

Texas Free Press

2010-04-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, while reading CanadaFreePress.com I realized that many of the articles were written about or by Texans.

I am proud to see so many of my fellow Texans with the desire to better, not only our State, but our Country. Because of this I felt that there needed to be a place for Texans to focus their efforts and bring about the real changes needed for our State to thrive.

If you are a Texan and would like to contribute articles to our site, please feel free to contact us and watch for new articles in the next few days!