by Miriam Chu
Donald Trump is causing chaos on the national political stage. As the consultants and media political watchers swoon and grab for their smelling salts, Trump's ratings soar with his every non-PC gaffe. Americans are tired of PC, spineless politicians who never utter a single word unless it's been approved by a focus group first.
Some observations the GOP might make:
-The truth usually offends someone, and that's not a bad thing.
-Any great leader throughout history has been forced to choose between doing the
-popular thing and doing the right thing.
-Usually, the safe and popular route is the road to ruin.
Considering his resonance with the American public, the GOP's bashing of Trump and attempts to exclude him may backfire. Trump's style and message should be answered with equal bravado. The candidate who wins may be the one able to out-Trump Trump.
Will they make Trump part of the problem, or the part of the solution?
The experts assure us that Trump is just a passing fad, but I cannot recall the last time news anchors were spurred by a candidate to debate the proper interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Trump may be a flash in the pan, but I hope the conversation he has inspired is not.
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In 1964, people across the nation were shocked by the murder of Kitty Genovese. According to urban legend, 38 individuals stood by as Kitty was murdered near the apartment building where she lived. Since then, this phenomena has become known as "diffused responsibility" or "the bystander effect," wherein persons are less likely to act or intervene if others are present. However, if one person takes action, leads, others will then join in (see article in Psychology Today).
Today, "We the People" often stand by and wait for someone else to stand up against the increasing government interference in our daily lives. As individuals, we feel helpless to stop the juggernaut. We look about for someone to do something, to be the leader. You and I must and can be that someone who takes action. Others will then be encouraged and take part. Remember, courage is contagious!
These are the three things that you and I can do to make a difference:
- First of all, be informed. The fact that you are reading this tells me that you are concerned. Heritage Action, Freedom Works, Americans for Prosperity and the John Locke Foundation are all good sources for information on the daily legislative issues. The Drudge Report provides a buffet of updates on national and world events. Joining a group like Moore TEA will provide you with information, fellowship and affirmation.
- Contact your elected officials. This is how you can give them real time feedback, positive or negative, as to the actions they make on your behalf. Very few people make this effort, therefore elected officials assume that the feedback they do receive represents many more individuals who do not have the time or initiative to pick up the phone, email or write a note. Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, is becoming increasingly important.
- Donate to candidates (not the parties) that you see doing the right thing. Money is the "Mother's Milk of Politics," and a candidate cannot win without the funds to buy public exposure. The candidate to which you donate does not have to be in your own district or even your own state. Elections have become increasingly nationalized. Senators, Representatives and Governors receive massive amounts of money from across the nation. It is important that we individually support those few elected officials who are fighting to protect the future of our country. Sending money to the parties (including PACs run by the parties, such as American Crossroads) is counter-productive. Last year, the GOP spend a lot of this money to defeat conservative, "Tea Party" candidates. Instead, send your donations directly to the specific candidate's fund.
These three simple actions when amplified by the repetition of other individuals across the country can and will cause change. People are looking for leaders in their own communities. You and I can be leaders.
It is time for "Me the People" to take action!
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Legislative Committee Update
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IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
Read this article and continue to contact U.S. Senators to defeat the Iran Nuclear Deal. Even if we think we do not have the Senators to overcome a presidential veto, it is important that we fight to defeat the Iran Nuclear Deal. We will then see which Senators, and Representatives, voted for the Deal and work to unseat them. George Washington lost, and lost, and lost... until he finally won.
Related
video by an Iraq Vet
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Are You Actually Doing Anything??
Neil Oakley
Are you like me? Do you sit in front of your TV or computer screen and gripe about what the liberals and statists are doing to our country? Do you send out emails or post things on Facebook, knowing that everyone who sees them already agrees with you anyway? Do you want to "do something," but not just anything - something that will really matter in terms of turning our country around? You need to sign up for Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Grassroots Leadership Academy! This is a state-of-the-art training program for citizen activists like you and me who want to make a difference at the federal, state, and local level. AFPF's education programs will build the leadership skills we need to fight for freedom and against the progressive policies and false narratives of the left.
Click here to Register Today! You will learn the basics of:
- The benefits of a free society
- How the left operates
- Social media best practices
- Working with legislators
- Mobilizing fellow supporters
Classes will run every Tuesday from 6:30-8:30 pm starting September 8th and ending with the last class on October 13th. The first class will be in the ballroom at the Carolina Hotel, and every subsequent class will be held at Filly & Colt's!
In addition to the certification programs, the Grassroots Leadership Academy offers a series of forums designed to help you get acquainted with AFPF's curricula and get others involved in the movement in a more accessible way. AFPF offers dozens of meaningful and thought-provoking presentations by GLA Staff, presented near you, to groups like Moore TEA! AFPF also offers a series of web lectures from prominent figures in the freedom movement, which anyone can view from the comfort of their own home! Take a look at both opportunities below!
1st step to get involved in Grassroots Leadership Academy
By attending six classes over a twelve-week period, activists will organize an outreach event and learn to become effective citizen activists in their communities. Completing this program will earn participants the Grassroots Activist Certification.
2nd step to get involved in Grassroots Leadership Academy
To obtain Community Mobilizer Certification, activists will participate in the next level of six classes over twelve weeks to further develop their skills as grassroots leaders. Activists will be prepared to communicate "on the record," recruit activists for the cause, create a brand on social media, and engage the community on free-market issues. Completing this program will earn participants the Community Mobilizer Certification.
3rd step to get involved in Grassroots Leadership Academy
At the highest level of certification, activists will fly in for a multi-day, intensive boot camp training on leadership, strategy, and tactics. AFPF's activist academy will give attendees the skills and knowledge needed to become a top-level volunteer or to pursue a career in grassroots activism. Completing this program will earn participants the Grassroots Leadership Certification.
For more information, please contact Misty Odell, Field Director with Americans For Prosperity Foundation-North Carolina, at (919) 402-3163, [email protected], or on Twitter at @MistyOdell.
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Did You Know?
Did you know that even a busy working person with small children can volunteer and make an impact, from home, in less than 5 minutes each day? That true (i.e., it's not a "hook" to pull you into something bigger). Here's how:
You can help with the content of the MTC Website, whice is not only a vehicle that provides our members with information, but a tool for us to communicate with the community, politicians and outside groups. Like everything MTC does, it depends on many hours of personal, uncompensated volunteer time of patriots. You can help them:
Generally: Take a little time each week to submit corrections, point out obsolete content and links that don't work, send a link to an update on a topic, inform us of confusing script, etc.
Specifically: Can you commit to 5 minutes a day, 4-5 days each week? It isn't a lot to ask and if you're not actively part of the fight, you need to jump in.
Politician watchers: Monitor one, specific politician's activities and submit links (example) that will keep the rest of us informed and current.
Topic Watchers: Are you you especially interested in the Iran Deal? The "Debt Limit"? The Convention of States activities in Raleigh? Freedome of speech? Changes in the NC gun laws? Defense spending? If you have a "pet" topic that fires your jets, just submit updates. They can be as simple as a Web address (URL) and an explanatory sentence.
If you're willing to help in this small way, contact the Webmaster.
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| Please patronize the businesses that support Moore Tea Citizens |
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September and October Dinner Programs
Our Dinner Programs for the next two months will feature candidates for municipal offices in Moore County. Who we select for a local office is important not only for our city but because municipal office is often a starting point for someone to jump to the higher offices with broader impact.
The only moderators at these forums are YOU and other residents of your town! We will seat you by municipality so that you can go one-on-one, up close and personal with your local candidates. This is truly democracy at its best! To plan adequate seating, you must RSVP online and indicate your municipality. If you don't live in one of the six towns featured this month, please indicate with which candidates you would prefer to sit.
Southern County - Sep 21, 5:30pm at Filly and Colt's in So. Pines
Join us at Filly & Colt's at Longleaf Country Club in Southern Pines on Monday, September 21st, from 5:30-7:30 pm, for the first of our two local candidate forums! This month, we will feature candidates for municipal offices in Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, Pinebluff, Taylortown, and Foxfire Village. The only moderator at this month's forum is YOU! We will seat you by municipality so that you can go one-on-one, up close and personal with your local candidates. This is truly democracy at its best! Please be sure to RSVP online and indicate your municipality. If you don't live in one of the six towns featured this month, please indicate with which candidates you would like to sit.
Northern County - Oct 19, 5:30pm at Time Out Grill in Carthage
In October, our Dinner Program will feature candidates for municipal offices in Whispering Pines, Vass, Cameron, Carthage and Robbins. The online registration form will be available in two weeks (Sep 22nd).
Lecture Series -- Opportunity to Hear a Different Perspective
and To Question It, Firsthand
Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Owens Auditorium at Sandhills Community College. Until 2014 Sullivan served as a national security adviser to VP Joe Biden and senior adviser to the U.S. government for the Iran nuclear negotiations. Sullivan rose to prominence in Hillary Clinton's State Department and is now a key economic adviser to Clinton's presidential campaign.
The second speaker of the Pauley Lecture Series is Javier Diaz de Leon, Consul General of Mexico in Raleigh, speaking on "Carolinians Need to Know about Mexican Immigration," on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Owens Auditorium at Sandhills Community College. He is the former Head of the Office for Migration and Hispanic Affairs at the Mexican Embassy in the U.S. He is responsible for assisting and protecting Mexicans living in NC and for facilitating trade and friendship between Mexico and the U.S.
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Caucus Announcement
Miriam Chu
Are you tired of DC and the big Establishment Party leaders dictating who you can vote for?
Moore TEA Citizens will be participating in the first ever statewide TEA Party Caucus to be held this October 17, 9:00am - 4:00pm, at Southern Middle School
gymnasium, Johnson Street, Aberdeen.
Our goal is to unify conservative support behind one presidential candidate to prevent the splitting of the conservative vote in the spring primary. Conservatives across the state will caucus that day to tell the political party leaders that we aren't being played anymore.
For more information please see the Caucus website:
http://www.teacaucus.org/caucus-locations/
I will need volunteers to check people in the morning of the caucus and to help count and record votes. If you are interested in volunteering for this landmark event, please contact Miriam Chu 919-721-4152 or [email protected].
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OpEd by Anthony Bruno, Cary, NC
I did not think he would run for president, and it surprised he did, but aside from being wrong, I believe I know Trump as well as most others who observe him from an equal distance.
We can agree, Trump is full of himself, has a huge ego, believes totally in himself and the experts he surrounds himself with. Don't ever expect Trump to hire someone who cannot perform. Getting the job done right is all that matters and may be the driving force behind his candidacy for president.
Immigration became a centerpiece in his campaign because he said what most were too timid to say, "we either have a country or we do not." Although the number of illegals has been consistently cited as 11 million, this number is from 2005. Logic would dictate it is greater. Trump's bombast about deporting them and building a wall was received with a "can't do that" response. Trump doesn't approach anything like that; politicians do! This is why so many have gravitated to him! Our failed immigration policy has been bankrolled by business and other interest groups who benefit, regardless of the fact that low-skilled, under-educated Americans are hurt the most. Their concerns have fallen on deaf ears of politicians "clogged" with campaign donations.
Trump simply said, "They have to go," which struck a nerve no one else was able to.
One last comment on the political influence of the "pro-illegal" cabal: I met with several conservative, black ministers in DC, two years back, who railed against failing immigration policies and who had deep concerns that many young blacks cannot get jobs. They saw a connection to illegals being employed in businesses to which these youngsters applied. I asked several ministers what help they are receiving from black members of Congress. They said, "None." This is how bad it is, when members of Congress refuse to assist their own constituents! If you do not believe this, think of the last time you heard a black politician criticizing our failed immigration policy.
Aside from immigration, Trump has been a breath of fresh air on the campaign trail. Who else publicly stated what politicians would never say? Only Trump says a $5 million donation is an up front "fee," with strings attached, payable on Jan 20th, 2017, by the next president!
Trump said all politicians were losers who talk but do nothing. Does anyone not agree? Consider the following:
- Public education is worse today than it was before the Dept. of Ed. was created. There are more than 250 education programs and tens of billions spent annually across the country, yet millions of students cannot read at grade level and many cannot add or subtract two numbers in their heads!
- Generational poverty remains as the 'war on poverty" is on life support and the white surrender has been raised as the "war on drugs" has been lost.
- Cronyism has made the eight richest counties in the US the ones surrounding DC, while murders in many urban cities have been rising.
Such disturbing news only confirms that politicians talk yet do little to address the same systemic problems our grandparents wrestled with. That is why Trump's slogan, "Make America great again," has resonated.
Trump also touched on something no politician does, the donors who "govern" behind closed doors. While most politicians w
ould not want to be seen taking a check from a donor and only appear with regular working class citizens, Trump calls out the hypocrisy. He also touched on patronage in DC, pointing out that ambassadors and other high profile officials are chosen not on merit or qualifications, but via networking among cronies! Patronage cripples responsible government at every level. The higher we go, the worse the negative impact. Trump said he would never appoint a person who was not the best qualified. And I believe him.
Trump openly criticized Common Core (CC), the untested national education standard forced on the states by the Dept. of Education (ED) with threats of withholding committed funds if they refused to adopt. How many Americans know this? It never made the media! I spoke with a professor of English Literature from Harvard who helped develop the Massachusetts pubic education standard, the best in the country. I asked her why Mass. replaced its standard with CC and was told, "For $250 million!" The media never reported this either! In total, the ED threatened to withhold $4 billion if CC was not adopted and 45 states knuckled under.
Thankfully, parents across the country saw the problems first-hand and are pushing states to replace CC, as we are doing here in NC.
Trump has repeatedly said he is the best person to negotiate on behalf of the US. He has forty years of deal making. I know I would prefer Trump speaking directly with China, Iran, Russia or any nation who are more adversaries than allies, then I do Bush, Obama, Kerry, or Clinton! And you can bet whomever is our lead negotiator would never sell out the American people as we have seen time and again.
Imagine President Trump sitting in the Oval Office when he learns there was a six month wait at the VA. What do you think Trump would do? Unlike Obama, Bush, and Clinton who all had problems in the VA, Trump would get on the problem immediately. He would fix a thirty year problem at the VA in less time it would take VA execs to call a meeting!
To those "afraid" of what Trump would do. Consider what is currently being done. For the 1st time in U.S. history, our debt exceeds the size of our economy, while Congress is spending $1 trillion more than we pay in, with nearly $400 billion paid annually in interest on this debt, rather than on government services. We are borrowing money to pay the interest we owe! The corruptible collusion must end, yet can anyone name a candidate running who will end it?
When the political Establishment--with its $2 billion bankroll (Hillary, Jeb, DNC, RNC)--comes after any candidate, we know his message is resonating.
Now, you may be surprised that Trump would not be my first choice. But unlike any other, Donald Trump would be a positive "game changer," long overdue! Thanks for indulging me.
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On the Road!
This space is usually reserved for my "Meet a Member" column. I am sorry to say that I forgot to grab a member at our last monthly meeting and wrest all kinds of personal information from him or her. And I can tell you that I will not be able to submit a "Meet a Member" column for either September or October as my husband, Joe, and I will be in Europe from Labor Day through the third week or so in October.
We will be doing a 100 kilometer pilgrimage on foot on the El Camino in northern Spain and then spending 30 days with our Eurail pass visiting countries in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
However, during that period I will have access to the numerous electronic devices Joe will be carrying in his backpack. My good intention is to meet some interesting people on my travels and introduce them to you in the upcoming MTC newsletters.
While my general rule while traveling is to avoid talking about religion or politics with the people we meet, I might make an exception for politics this time but I'll have to play that one by ear.
We regret having to miss the candidate forums at the September and October meeting and are particularly sorry for not being able to attend and volunteer for the State Caucus. Here's wishing Miriam good luck with this most interesting event and she better email me with all the details.
Adios from the two peregrinos!
-Nancy Kasko
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