May Meeting: The Laffer Curve!

At the Walla Walla Regional Airport Conference Room.

6:30 PM - 7:00 PM: Business Meeting

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Lecture

Jeff Burkhart (of Burkhart and Burkhart PLLC) will be speaking on "The National Debt:  How much do we owe, and why?"

"Economic Liberty and the Constitution"

An Online Town Hall
Saturday, April 16, 2011

Webcast Schedule

10 - 10:15 a.m. (EDT)	"Choosing Liberty": Welcome and Introduction The Honorable Mike Pence U.S. Representative, Sixth District of Indiana Today citizens must choose whether they will live as citizens, or subjects.
10:15 - 11: 15 a.m. (EDT)	"How Our Economic Liberty Has Been Diminished" Dr. Paul Moreno Grewcock Chair in Constitutional History, Hillsdale College Economic liberty was revered by the Founding Fathers, who enshrined its principles in the Constitution. A hundred years ago, those tenets were attacked by the Progressives, who saw property rights as the protection of special interests, and our Constitution's structure as an impediment to progress as they defined it.
11:15 - 11:30 a.m. (EDT)	Break
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (EDT)	"How Our Economic Liberty Can Be Restored" Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President, Hillsdale College Economic liberty can be restored as decisively as it has been lost, but a restoration of constitutional principles cannot happen without citizen understanding and vigilant defense of the principles of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

Click to register!

ACTION ALERT: HB 2067 - Eliminating Reimbursement for Defense Costs of Persons Acquitted on the Basis of Self-Defense

Action Alert Topic: HB 2067 - Eliminating Reimbursement for Defense Costs of Persons Acquitted on the Basis of Self-Defense. Scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Ways & Means at 3:30 PM on April 13^th.

Membership Action Needed:  The Tri-Cities TEA Party Board and Legislative Committee urgently request that all Tri-Cities TEA Party members voice their concerns by contacting their Representatives and members of the Ways & Means Committee, urging them to vote “NO!” on HB 2067!

“As a citizen of the State of Washington and a member of the Tri-Cities TEA Party, I fully expect my vote to be respected. HB 2067, if enacted, will cause all of us to lose our right of self-defense!”

Description: HB 2067 would repeal RCW 9A.16.110 (Defending against violent crime -- Reimbursement. This is an extremely important “check & balance” feature for prosecutors to use in evaluating whether to prosecute a person as a felon for protecting themselves from violent crime! A protection against an over-zealous prosecutor who would no longer have to concern him/herself from having to reimburse a citizen found innocent of a wrongfully filed felony.

RCW 9A.16.110 serves as an important deterrent to over-zealous law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts; thus protecting our right to self-defense!

Read about the bill here, and the full text here.

Please Contact these Legislators in Nearby Districts: 

(all phone numbers are area code 360)

District 8 (North Benton)

            Rep. Larry Haler, R                  786-7986       haler.larry@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Brad Klippert, R                786-7882       klippert.brad@leg.wa.gov

District 9 (Franklin, Adams, Whitman, Garfield and South Spokane)

            Rep. Joe Schmick, R             786-7844         schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov

Rep. Susan Fagan, R             786-7942         fagan.susan@leg.wa.gov

  

District 16 (South Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla and Columbia)

            Terry Nealey, R                       786-7828         nealey.terry@leg.wa.gov   

Maureen Walsh, R                  786-7836         walsh.maureen@leg.wa.gov

House Ways & Means Committee: Be certain to address your email to each individual and the 1^st line of your email should state: “You are receiving this email because of your position on the House Ways & Means Committee …”

Hunter, Ross (D) Chair                    786-7936         ross.hunter@leg.wa.gov

Darneille, Jeannie (D) Vice Chair    786-7974         darneille.jeannie@leg.wa.gov

Hasegawa, Bob (D) Vice Chair        786-7862         hasewaga.bob@leg.wa.gov

Alexander, Gary (R)                          786-7990         alexander.gary@leg.wa.gov

Bailey, Barbara (R)                           786-7914         bailey.barbara@leg.wa.gov

Dammeier, Bruce (R)                        786-7948         dammeier.bruce@leg.wa.gov

Orcutt, Ed (R)                                    786-7812         orcutt,ed@leg.wa.gov

Carlyle, Reuven (D)                          786-7814         carlyle.reuven@leg.wa.gov

Chandler, Bruce (R)                         786-7960         chandler.bruce@leg.wa.gov

Cody, Eileen (D)                                786-7978         cody.eileen@leg.wa.gov

Dickerson, Mary Lou (D)                  786-7882         dickerson.mary@leg.wa.gov

Haigh, Kathy (D)                               786-7966         haigh.kathy@leg.wa.gov

Haler, Larry (R)                                  786-7986         haler.larry@leg.wa.gov

Hinkle, Bill (R)                                   786-7808         hinkle.bill@leg.wa.gov

Hudgins, Zack (D)                             786-7956         hudgins.zack@leg.wa.gov

Hunt, Sam (D)                                    786-7992         hunt.sam@leg.wa.gov.

Kagi, Ruth (D)                                   786-7910         kagi.ruth@leg.wa.gov

Kenney, Phyllis Gutierrez (D)         786-7818         kenney.phyllis@leg.wa.gov

Ormsby, Timm (D)                            786-7946         ormsby.timm@leg.wa.gov

Parker, Kevin (R)                              786-7922         parker.kevin@leg.wa.gov

Pettigrew, Eric (D)                            786-7838         pettigrew.eric@leg.wa.gov

Ross, Charles (R)                             786-7856         ross.charles@leg.wa.gov

Schmick, Joe (R)                               786-7844         schmick.joe@leg.wa.gov

Seaquist, Larry  (D)                          786-7802         seaquist.larry@leg.wa.gov

Springer, Larry (D)                           786-7822         springer.larry@leg.wa.gov

Sullivan, Pat (D)                                786-7858         sullivan.pat@leg.wa.gov

Wilcox, J.T. (R)                                  786-7912         wilcox.jt@leg.wa.gov

Thanks to the Tri-Cities Tea Party!

“One Nation, One Flag”

UPDATED! AND BUMPED TO TOP!

"One Nation, One Flag,"  the theme of our 2nd Annual Patriotic Rally!

Time: Friday, April 15, 2011 · 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Location:  Walla Walla County Courthouse, 315 West Main Street, Walla Walla, WA

The event will start with an invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. 

Reverend Wayne Perryman from Seattle will be our keynote speaker, with several local residents also making comments.  Music will be provided by the State Line Quartet.

Please wear your Walla Walla Tea Party Patriots t-shirt.  If you don't have one, they will be available for sale at the rally.

Note: Dixie needs volunteers to help with set up, tear down, and clean up.  If you can help with set up, please show up no later than 4:30 PM.  If you can help with tear down and clean up, please stick around afterwards.

See you there!

Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

This has been on the news for a few days, but from Representative Jim Moran, D-Va:

"If you are a federal employee, I think you need to start conserving whatever financial resources you have. Be very careful about large purchases. Make sure you have enough money at least for the mortgage, or the monthly rent and car payment and so on. Because this could be extended."

On the face, this is sound advice.  And, from this, one would believe that Representative Moran is a fountain of financial wisdom and restraint.

However, prior to the 2010 elections, Representative Moran was the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee (and remains on it as the ranking Minority member).  Which means he had a direct role in the current budget fiasco, specifically in that the 111th Congress did NOT pass a budget before adjourning.  Plus, he's a long standing member of the "Tax and Spend" party. 

Representative Moran could have helped PREVENT this situation.  His decision to support the Democrat agenda, while offering such conservative financial advice to individual citizens (regardless of whom they work for), is a measure of the disassociation and hypocrisy that we face in Washington, DC, these days.

And it's insight to the people who voted for the financial problems that we face today.  Even as we face a financial meltdown, they continue with their failed policies, and ignore the impact on the American people.

First Ad of Presidential Season

Obama 2012.

Brought to you by the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

UPDATE, 4 April 2011:

The Obama 2012 team actually has released their first, web only video.  But, as Ed Morrissey at Hot Air notes, it's "[t]he Obama 2012 launch, featuring everyone but Obama".

County Sales Tax change proposed

Martha e-mails that the time frame for written comments on the proposed sales tax increase has been extended to  Friday April 1, 5:00 PM.

Please email your comments to the commissioners at: wwcocommissioners@co.walla-walla.wa.us 

These are difficult times but we need to prioritize where our tax dollars go.  No more tax increases!  Remember, we are Taxed Enough Already!  Let's stop this proposed tax increase dead in its tracks

"Title Only" Bills introduced For Budget in Olympia

From the Associated Press:

As state lawmakers push forward into tough budget negotiations, they are proposing a stack of "title-only" bills relating to a wide range of budget issues.

Sen. Ed Murray, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, introduced 22 such bills, which contain only a brief – and often vague – description of what they would do.

The measures proposed by the Seattle Democrat cover a broad scope of budget provisions, relating to everything from "fiscal matters" and "state government" to "criminal justice" and "higher education."

Lawmakers say title-only bills provide flexibility while helping them to avoid missing deadlines.

Please read the entire article.  Senator Murray does have a good rebuttal, but this is too close to Nancy Pelosi, when she said "We have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what's in it."

Blog Changes, Part 2!

I've added "Reaction" buttons to the bottom of each post.  Since comments are not enabled, I'm experimenting with being able to respond to a post by "Like", "Don't Like", and "So What?"

"We The People"

A great video, courtesy of Martha.  Enjoy.