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Texas Home School Coalition PAC
A statewide political action committee serving home schoolers for more than 20 years
April 18, 2009
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In This Issue
Around Texas
Presidential News
National News
Bedford Battle Moves to the Voting Booth
Around Texas
 

TPRRA Gains Ground in Austin

by Tim Lambert

Last week was a busy one in Austin for THSC. On Tuesday almost 400 home schoolers attended the second of three THSC Capitol Days. They learned about the legislative process and lobbied all 150 Texas House members and 31 Texas State Senators to support the Texas Parental Rights Restoration Act (TPRRA).

 

Legislators Seek to Gut SBOE

by Tim Lambert

One thing that seems to be constant is that if conservatives have power and are making policy, they will be accused of being divisive and "political" and even "not caring about the children." This year is no different, as a contentious debate over science standards on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) resulted in a compromise that took a conservative position.

 

Dallas Daytime Curfew

Support the effort to defeat the Dallas Daytime Curfew.

 

Daytime Curfews, While Perhaps Popular, Are Bad Policy

by Bob Barr

Local governments, from Kennesaw, Georgia to Benicia, California, are jumping on the curfew bandwagon as a way to tighten control of the citizenry. While late-night/early-morning curfews for children have been employed for decades as a way to limit gang and other youth-based violence - often unsuccessfully - the latest, 21st-Century iteration is to extend the concept to daytime hours.

 

Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas' Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment

Gov. Rick Perry today joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states' rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

 

Texas Lawmakers Debate Stripping Education Board of Authority Over Curriculum, Textbooks

Four state senators, fed up with curriculum and textbook battles at the State Board of Education, pitched legislation Tuesday that would strip the board of its authority over curriculum and textbooks and transfer it to the commissioner of education.

 

House Panel to Consider State's Actions in Sect Raid

The House Committee on Human Services tomorrow is scheduled to take a look at how the state handled last year's child-welfare operation at a West Texas ranch owned by a polygamist sect.

 

Why are Rep. Branch and Sen. Wentworth Assaulting 20 Million Texans?

by Mike Ford

House Bill 3458 introduced by Rep. Dan Branch R-Dallas is the same as  Sen. Wentworth's anti-petition bill (SB 690). It will be heard in the House Urban Affairs Committee (see members below).  A hearing is set for THIS Thursday, April 16, at 10:30 a.m. in Room E 2.028.

 

Board That Disciplines Doctors May Be Reined In

A bill that was the subject of a 5½-hour hearing Tuesday would sharply curtail the powers of the Texas Medical Board if it becomes law.

 

Why Does Dallas Need a Daytime Curfew?

by Jim Olvera

Why are Dallas city officials and police so keen on passing a daytime curfew? Curfews are usually imposed for public safety in times of crisis such as natural disasters or riots.

 

Rick Perry: Tea Party Darling

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's star is rising among a new constituency - the anti-tax "tea party" crowd - in the wake of his recent endorsement of a Texas state House resolution affirming the state's sovereignty.

 

Government Fights Back, and Our Budget Boneheads

by Michael Quinn Sullivan

Were you able to be at a Tea Party? It was remarkable -- people gathering by the tens, the hundreds and the thousands in nearly every town in Texas and across the country. All peacefully, and all for the purpose of calling for restrained government spending, low taxes and individual liberty. 

 

Three Cheers for Our Elected State Board of Education

by William Lutz

Here we go again. Another session; another attempt from the social left to neuter this state's elected State Board of Education (SBOE).

 

Perry Stands by Secession Comments

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday stuck by his earlier statement that Texas can secede from the United States - a far-reaching, legally questionable prospect that nevertheless drew Perry a fresh favorable mention by Rush Limbaugh, one of the nation's leading conservative voices.

 

Perry Gets the Buzz and the Bucks, Too

With the fiery rhetoric of a prairie populist, Gov. Rick Perry calls on "Texas patriots" to protest against "bailouts, all this stimulus, all this runaway spending" in the nation's capital.

 
Presidential News
 

Obama Releases Memos Detailing Interrogations

President Obama's release Thursday of four top-secret memos - which gave bracing details about enhanced interrogation techniques used on terrorist suspects during the Bush administration - was welcomed by civil liberties groups but condemned by at least one former top intelligence official, who said the president was endangering the country.

 
National News
 

SEALs End Standoff

by Gary Bauer

The standoff with Somali pirates who had captured Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama came to an abrupt end this weekend after President Obama ordered the Navy's elite SEALs into action. Negotiations were going nowhere, and Saturday evening the SEAL team was dropped by parachute near the USS Bainbridge - one of several Navy vessels that responded to the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. SEAL snipers took up their positions on the Bainbridge and shot the pirates when it appeared they were about to kill Captain Phillips. As always, we are grateful for the incredible courage and skill of the American military.

 

Federal Agency Warns of Radicals on Right

The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

 

You Might Be a Rightwing Extremist

by Gary Bauer

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy is perhaps best known for his line, "You might be a Redneck if..." Evidently, someone at the Department of Homeland Security thinks he may be the next Jeff Foxworthy. According to today's Washington Times, DHS has just released a report warning law enforcement officials across the country about a resurgence of "rightwing extremist activity." But DHS so broadly defines "rightwing extremism" that half of the country could be considered suspect.

 

Republicans Criticize Report on Right-Wing Groups

Republicans on Wednesday said a Homeland Security Department intelligence assessment unfairly characterizes military veterans as right-wing extremists. House Republican leader John Boehner described the report as offensive and called on the agency to apologize to veterans.

 

Friends, Foes Cash in on Palin

Since the conclusion of the presidential election, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has largely avoided the political fundraising circuit. Nevertheless, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee has emerged as an almost unparalleled fundraising force, with both foes and fans minting money off the mere mention of her name.

 

Napolitano Apologizes, Sort Of

by Gary Bauer

Tuesday, we commented on the Department of Homeland Security report indicting half of the country as potential "rightwing extremists" and domestic terrorists. Outrage has been building ever since, and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has apologized for at least one aspect of the report.

 

Homeland Issued 'Extremism' Report Despite Objections

Homeland Security Department officials disregarded warnings from their internal civil liberties watchdogs before releasing a security assessment of "right-wing extremism" that had Secretary Janet Napolitano apologizing to veterans Thursday.

 

Tea Party Triumphs

by Gary Bauer

The coast-to-coast Tea Parties protesting outrageous government spending were a tremendous success. By one estimate, more than 340,000 Americans participated, and that is probably a low number. Fox News recorded an incredible boost in viewership because Fox was the only network where anyone interested in the events could get fair and balanced reporting.

 
 
 
Articles in THSC PAC's weekly E-Newsletter are included because of their potential interest to the home school community of Texas.  Inclusion does not signify an endorsement. We encourage parents to oversee any Internet usage by students.  THSC is not responsible for any material or ads that may be encountered when clicking on links that take the reader away from the THSC PAC web site.
 
Bedford Battle Moves to the Voting Booth 
 

tim06 

Tim Lambert
 
Freedom-loving people have been fighting the adoption of daytime curfews in cities all over Texas, which we have covered for some time. Bedford has been ground zero since last fall as the city council there adopted the curfew without a public hearing; this week they voted again to keep the curfew in the face of growing opposition from business owners, civil liberty activists, and parents of public, private, and home school students.

I said a while back that, in such a situation, the ultimate solution is to change the city council by electing new members who support freedom and oppose daytime curfews. I also said that THSC PAC would endorse candidates for city council races who support our positions and have the support of local home school leaders.
 
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