Two TN Lawmakers Put Action Over Words

Tennessee Representatives Debra Maggart and Susan Lynn not only SAY that the 10th amendment of the US Constitution protects the rights of the states against a rapidly expanding federal government, but have asked state Attorney General Robert Cooper to take immediate legal action by moving to stop the all-but-passed health care reform bill.

In a letter written to Cooper by Maggart and Lynn, the two representatives correctly claim that, "Under this bill, Tennessee would be forced to expand our Medicaid program, potentially costing the citizens of the state $1.4 billion dollars in additional state taxpayer funds annually" and that "Such an increase would place a great burden on the citizens of this state. It is clear by the wording of the legislation itself that not every state would face a similar and equal burden. We see this as a violation of the equal protection of the law, an affront to our sovereignty, and a breach of the U.S. Constitution."

Interestingly, a Nashville blog recently referred to these two as "yahoos" and "10th Amendment fetishists". This couldn't be further from the truth. In a time of false promises and grandiose words from our elected politicians, these two have risen to a rarely seen level--one of action.

The TLA wishes to commend Reps. Maggart and Lynn for a job well done. It is at times such as these that we need our elected representatives to stand up and take action against a blatant attack on our state sovereignty. We must help them by pushing AG Cooper to follow their recommendations. Contact his office and voice your support.

Tim Cox of GOOOH Shares Vision On FOX & Friends!

Tim Cox, founder of GOOOH (Get Out Of Our House) has certainly had a recent flurry of increased regional and national media opportunities! On Sunday morning, Tim was on the FOX News Channel and sharing the idea and vision of GOOOH. Great job, Tim! Thanks for mentioning the TLA and kudos also to TLA member, Andy Andrew, who is shown giving the GOOOH book to Mike Huckabee. The video of the spot is below.

Ron Ramsey Presents the State of the State

Tennessee Liberty Alliance was pleased to host Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey as the featured speaker at the Monday evening meeting held at Pelissippi State Community College.

The Lt. Governor spoke candidly about pertinent issues that have affected the state recently as well as his plans for the future. Mr. Ramsey, who is a candidate for governor, presented his ideas and philosophies in a short and entertaining way before taking questions from the audience.

Questions ranged from education, TennCare, taxes and red light cameras, to the hot topic issue of halting the current federal overreach with the application of the 10th amendment. Leslie, from the East Tennessee 10th Amendment Group, asked whether he would agree to and sign the 10th Amendment Pledge. Mr. Ramsey did not hesitate in his support and happily sign the pledge after the meeting, making him the only gubernatorial candidate to date in Tennessee to sign.

While the TLA does not directly support any candidate at this time, you can easily review the Ramsey campaign information by visiting his web site here.

Opening Your Home To Big Brother

"Much has been written in the past year about the disastrous impact our recent economic meltdown has had on small business.

It is true, small business creates the majority of new jobs in our economy, so as small business goes, so goes employment. There is also no debate that small business shoulders a greater share of regulatory and paperwork burdens.

Perhaps it would be reasonable to suggest that government's first response be to reduce or remove burdensome taxes and regulations." To read the entire editorial submitted to the Oak Ridger by TLA president and policy analyst, Fred Childress, click here.

'GOOOH'ing In The Right Direction Next Year

Robert Humphries, policy analyst for the TLA, recently wrote a guest column for the Oak Ridger that summarized the October meeting with GOOOH founder, Tim Cox.

Say you've been voting for the "lesser of two evils" for decades? Say your choices never keep their promises anyway? Einstein defined insanity as continuing to do the same thing over and over when the results are never what are desired. Well, maybe you need to try a new method from GOOOH (pronounced 'go'). It stands for Get Out Of Our House.

To read the entire article, please visit the Oak Ridger here. Also, see below for information regarding GOOOH founder Tim Cox's return to Knoxville for a repeat workshop.

Atlas Shrugging In The Nation -- and City.

The future of this country is not the large cities and suburbia -- it is the small towns and communities that develop a sustainable economic ecosystem. We must avoid the thinking that brought us this mess -- and many of our local officials are emulating their clueless and impotent big city and national leaders. History is replete with those who would instill their ways upon others -- as demonstrated by our current mayor and several city council members. This behavior must be rejected by freedom-loving citizens who value their basic human rights. These liberties -- which do not detract or take away from another individual, are your birthright.

To read the entire article contributed by TLA Analyst, Fred Childress, click here.

TLA Members Attend 9-12 Washington Rally

Fred Childress, DK Desmond, Richard Esparza and Andy & Merle Andrew represented the Tennessee Liberty Alliance as they attended the extremely successful 9-12 Rally in Washington DC on Saturday. Tim Cox, speaker at the 9/9 TLA meeting (GOOOH) rode up with Fred and joined them in the activities. Various groups estimated the crowd to be between 1.2 and 2.0 Million. Surprisingly, the 2.0 million estimate came from media giant ABC.

TLA/GOOOH Meeting a Resounding Success!

Tim Cox, founder of GOOOH (Get Out Of Our House), led 90 people in group sessions that participated in mock candidate selections at the TLA's regular meeting on September 9th the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. GOOOH (pronounced 'go') is NOT just another political party. It is a system that will allow you and your neighbors to choose, among yourselves, the person who can best represent your district. The meeting was 2.5 hours long, but there was not one bored person in the room. It was very interactive and received well by all in attendance.

Groups of six people marked how they would vote on 20 issues of the day, then made comparisons with how the others in the group would vote. Not surprisingly, there were differences of opinion. But, the idea of the process, which continues through various levels of groups, is to end up the "best fit" candidate, selected by the people. The actual web site listing of issues numbers 100. And, when participating "for real" in such a process, you have months to study the issues and decide what person you want, as opposed to the few minutes given in the mock sessions.

And, as to biased media critics who berated some of the primary candidates in 2007 as being "not electable", these final candidates will have the financial backing of $50M from GOOOH, from small donations given at the end (not before) of the process. This method of funding a "real" campaign, directly conflicts with the "big-bucks, back-room" funding of the political parties. Three 3rd District Congressional candidates gave their mission statements for the 2010 campaigns, and all three wanted to build on a "grassroots" campaign, as being promoted by GOOOH. One of them described himself as a "Recovering Republican".

Overflow Crowd Attends Niceley Meeting

Tennessee Representative Frank Niceley discussed the balance of power between sovereign states and the federal government during Tennessee Liberty Alliance’s August meeting at Puleo’s Grill in Strawberry Plains.

An overflow crowd of East Tennesseans joined Rep Frank Niceley in an interactive discussion of factors affecting state’s sovereignty and challenges posed by ever expanding federal control. Niceley, five term state representative from Strawberry Plains, shared historical observations and his ideas on states sovereignty and the proper role of the respective governments during a vigorous interactive discussion.

Members and allies of Tennessee Liberty Alliance came from at least nine counties, some traveled more than 100 miles, and represented a dozen discrete citizen advocacy groups. Elected officials and candidates for elected office had an opportunity to briefly introduce themselves.

Nicely pointed out that Tennessee is one of the better managed states that send more money to Washington than is received in federal aid. Recent legislation that might affect that balance and help relieve Tennessee’s current financial squeeze was discussed. Attendees concerned about responsiveness of elected officials also took interest in Niceley’s introduction of a recent SCOTUS opinion affecting redistricting of congressional districts.

TLA Delivers Petitions in Support of HR 1207

Members of Tennessee Liberty Alliance delivered petitions to US Congressman Lincoln Davis’ Rockwood, TN office in support of HR 1207, the Federal Reserve transparency act. This bill requires an audit and report of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Federal Reserve banks by the end of 2010. The audit is to be completed by the Comptroller General and must include all findings and recommendations for legislative or administrative action deemed appropriate.

Members of TLA also sought clarification of the following inconsistencies:

1. Congressman Davis (TN-4) is a member of the Congressional Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 52 fiscally conservative House Democrats.
2. Congressman Davis’ response to constituents who advocated support of HR 1207 includes the following statement; ”I believe this is a good idea that will bring a greater understanding of the role of the Federal Reserve's actions in response to the economic recession.”
3. In Washington, DC Congressman Davis refuses to cosponsor HR 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act.

Congressman Ron Paul's HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, would require a full audit of the Fed for the first time in its history and would provide answers to the American people about how our money is being spent. Tennessee Liberty Alliance will continue to advocate for an audit of the Federal Reserve System and will keep our members and all allies in liberty informed.

TLA Gets Exposure on Lake Loudon

Kevin Desmond provided some great exposure for the Tennessee Liberty Alliance this Fourth of July weekend! "The TLA banner was seen by hundreds if not thousands of boats on July 3rd and 4th", says Desmond. "Many boats honked horns or gave me a thumbs-up when I was actually outside or on the dock."

Kevin will be donating the banner to the TLA for future use at upcoming activities and events as opportunities arise. Thanks to Kevin for his donation and effort to espouse more freedom and less government. Well done!

Audit the Federal Reserve!

Since its inception in 1913, the Federal Reserve has helped to devalue our dollar by 95%. During the recent economic crisis, it has poured trillions of dollars into the economy with no oversight, made secret agreements with foreign banks and governments, and has refused to tell Congress who is getting the money or to give it the details of what deals are being made.

HR 1207, Ron Paul's "Audit the Fed bill," will demand full transparency from the Federal Reserve for the first time in history by removing all restrictions from Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of the Fed and mandating an audit by the end of 2010.

Help turn up the heat on Congress and convince them to pass Ron Paul's "Audit the Fed" bill. Your petitions, e-mails, letters and phone calls have already made a huge impact, but more of your help is needed right away. . Please take a few moments to tell your Congressman to support HR 1207.

Local Red Light Camera Research Still Available

The Red Light Camera issue has been a hot topic in Oak Ridge, as well as all across the country. Dale Gedcke, PhD is a local research physicist and he has put a lot of time into research into this issue, developing several papers and presentations for dissemination by the Tennessee Liberty Alliance along the way. We are extrememly grateful for his efforts. All of his research is available to review and download by visiting the Resources area above.