This site is meant to facilitate the upward flow of information to help our elected officials stay in touch with those they represent. Also as a means to help us (the voters) help our leaders lead.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Ladies of the Lake

Waldo was found Wandering far afield from Muskegon.

Click on any pics to enlarge
Click again to get bigger yet!


Friday I wanted to go to Lake County specifically to Peacock Mi to attend the always fun and filling Lake County Lincoln Day Dinner. I saved gas because I only had to drive to Hart where Goeff and Tammy Hansen gave me a ride the rest of the way. I and my old truck thank them. On the way we picked up the Chair of Oceana Co. Juanita Pierman. I was in my element, lots of good political talk on the way.
As we made the last turn on 4th st. after miles of driving through the National Forest seemingly in the middle of nowhere --- There was Waldo bravely exclaiming that even way out there, they "HAVE HAD ENOUGH".



Then to my extra delight there were more Waldo's at the site of the Lake Lincoln Day Dinner. I was happy to see Mama Waldo there. She is the "Join the Lake County Republicans" sign. That sign gave birth to the "Had Enough" sign. The Runnels were the brains behind that.


Inside, there were around 50 people and plenty of great smelling food. Here is a picture of the Ladies of the Lake who were responsible for the meal and the work that went into it.


I'm getting to know some of these people and my hats off to the Runnels who are the driving force behind this growing enclave of Republican support in an otherwise Democrat Blue county. As in my Muskegon environment the Runnels too know what I mean when I say "Live Dangerously Be A Conservative.


Goeff Hansen was the master of ceremonies and kept things moving along through a packed agenda with wit and humor.

Lots of candidates up and down the line and a lot of auctioning of donated items which fetched high prices due to the generosity of the bidders ably egged on by Tammy Hansen among others. Darwin Booher among others found themselves more generous than they thought they were.


Darwin Booher and Jay Riemersma were the guest speakers who each gave good talks. I was especially happy when Rep. Booher started his speech by saying he was heartened and knew he was at the right place when he saw a sign proclaiming “Had Enough !! Vote Republican” I and Waldo were smiling.

The clear winners of a straw poll were Pete Hoekstra for Governor, Bill Huizenga for the 2nd Congressional, Darwin Booher for the 35th state senate seat, Marc Libants for the 100th state house seat, Michael McManus for Secretary of State and Mike Bishop for attorney general. Here are some general pictures of the crowd etc. plus one of Tammy doing her Vanna impersonation.






It ended up being a long evening due to the ride back to Hart then Muskegon but the time was spent talking politics on the ride back to Hartm which is like mother’s milk to me.

Next morning (Sat) and I was up early blogging and doing a lot of stuff on the Muskegon Patriot site. Our meeting is coming up this Tues the 27th at Whitlow’s banquet room at 7:00. A busy agenda is in store. This is the meeting to get candidates up for an election to be held at our following meeting May 11th, at the same time and place. The meeting this Tues is to continue our process of organizing activities and groups.

We are becoming a group, so far we're working through our growing pains.

Sat afternoon was dedicated to helping the Punter campaign in starting up an ambitious door to door campaign. Fred Bertsch on his way down from Whitehall picked me up at 12:30 and off we went to Ravenna.


Ken and Kay kicked off this drive in Ravenna as it is their home turf. This was just a start in this effort to cover the whole county. This was a test run to see if the system worked. Door to door is actually knocking on doors and talking with the people about Ken and asking for their support while handing them some literature. We also if appropriate ask if they’d be interested in putting a Punter sign in their yard when the time comes.


I’m pretty new to this but seemed to have caught on pretty quickly. Kay had a script for us, to help us get over the nervousness, but the people were so friendly that I soon didn’t need the script. I was happy to see the large number of signs people wanted.

Ken bought our lunch at Ravenna Round Table LLC, 12396 Stafford Street, Ravenna - (231) 853-2106; a nice clean family owned restaurant with a touch of class.

Afterwards, it was back to Ken and Kay’s home where we plotted some strategy and tweaked our door to door and lit drop plans. Fred and I got our marching orders for lit drops in our respective areas. I have to say here that Kay, acting as her husband’s campaign manager is pretty awesome in what she has accomplished with limited resources. She is doing what another campaign would hire 1 or 2 extra staff to do.

This isn’t hit or miss or slipshod either. She has gone to several campaign training events across the state. She has learned and is networked throughout the district. She spends all day on the campaign. She knew nothing about campaigns to start and now is, well a professional, without the pay of course.

She has had Ken attending every chicken fry or public gathering throughout the district on a daily basis. It is starting to work. I saw when we were going door to door that Ken is in his element just plain talking with the voters. His honesty and integrity are coming to the fore.

They are raising money and dipping into their own pocket. They are dedicated. I am impressed with how frugal both Kay and Ken have been and what they have accomplished with so little letting their war chest keep ahead of their spending.

I wouldn't mind seeing more of that in Lansing.

At this point I’d like to make a plea for volunteers to help their efforts. Money is always nice LOL. What we need now however is “boots on the ground”. The Primary is coming up. Ken Punter and Holly Hughes are the two Republicans in the race for the 91st House Seat. Go to my Candidate page and look for their websites.

-----link-----
http://bottomuppolitics.com/candidates_12.html
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Make up your own mind.

I’ve made up mine obviously. Ken Punter’s motto is “People over Politics”. He brings a fresh alternative to “politics as usual” to this race. There is a clear choice.

I’ve learned in my short time blogging and playing around the edges of politics that helping a campaign is rewarding in a character building type of way. This is how I get to put my words into practice. This is how I try to keep myself honest.
Candidates in general are always needing volunteers, full or part time. Look through my Candidate page linked above and pick on you like and volunteer. They will take any kind of offer to help seriously. If you want to help once for an event or if you want to become their constant companion (LOL) they will welcome you.

In a campaign every minute of a Candidates time is valuable and called for. Candidates understand how valuable your time is and will thank you for donating it to them.

It’s a personal thing.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Friday, April 23, 2010

Chutzpah

Does Hoekstra have the chutzpah?



Michigan is in dire financial straits. There is lots of waste and duplication of effort in a lot of areas plus outright fraud. Reforms along these lines are nice but where the real money lies is in the Land of the Unions. All up and down the system.

Unions aren’t bad, Big Unions like Big Business or Big Government is.

Chris Christie knew that and he had the chutzpa to say it.


He pulled off a major upset by winning the New Jersey special election for governor. He had campaigned as a conservative. Boy do I hear a lot of that these days coming from politicians all up and down the campaign trail.

Unlike 95% of those talkers, once Chris Christie became Governor he not only kept right on talking like a conservative, which is rare enough but starting trying as hard as he could to effect change.

The state is heavily Democrat. He shouldn’t have won on party lines. The new Governor is a Republican. Unlike Scott Brown Christie did not immediately swerve to the middle once elected.

Michigan is a lot like New Jersey as far debt ridden and the majority of the voters being fed up with failed Democrat policies. In New Jersey they were willing to give full measures a chance.

His first speech to the legislature was absolutely so politically incorrect that I found myself cheering at my computer. Of course I blogged about it at the time. Once at the link scroll down for the actual speech.

-----link-----
http://conservativeinmuskegon.blogspot.com/2010/02/cats-out-of-bag.html
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New Jersey had a budget deficit over $10 billion: wow. Makes Michigan’s short fall seem a lot easier to handle.

But with that $10 Billion to make up the new Governor went to work, he attacked things all the paid consultants I’m sure told him were untouchable. He was honest with the people in what he planned to do as a candidate and he is trying to keep the promises he made. Some of the smaller more member orientated are joining him! His promise was simple, namely to balance the budget and live within their means. By doing whatever was necessary.

To do that he is fighting back against the unions and the war they are waging against him.

Below is a link to the nastiness of the union using their teachers to use their students to fight against Christie.

-----link-----
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/nj_gov_chris_christie_budget_c.html
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Hat tip to Muskegon Pundit for this.

-----link-----
http://muskegonpundit.blogspot.com/2010/04/george-f-will-bringing-thunder-ous.html#links
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Muskegon Pundit’s post brought Christie’s efforts back onto my radar when he linked a George Will article in the Washington Post.

Christie is definitely on George’s radar.

-----link-----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042104451.html
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Some of the politicians I know around here tell me that the voters while they like the rhetoric will not stand for it if you actually try to cut government.
The rest of them seem to think they can’t get elected it they stray from the political middle.

The middle of what is what I’m asking. Inbetween a Democrat and a Republican? The voters are fed up with both. They want someone to do their job period and New Jersey so far has that.

That need to find that safe middle ground might be so here,(I Doubt It) but it seems to be proving false in New Jersey, that dark blue state. Voters at the school board level have just rejected well over half of the proposed budgets for the schools, forcing renegotiations. Part of Christie’s original message was that he was going to create tools to help districts negotiate with Unions; he is making this happen.

-----link-----
http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2010/04/earthquake-in-new-jersey-majority-of.html
---------------

So far the voters are watching Christie’s back instead of sticking a knife there.
If Chris Christie would have tried some half measures I doubt he would have won in the first place or have the continued trust of the voters.

So the question remains in my mind. Does Pete Hoekstra have the chutzpah to actually make these fundamental changes in Michigan?

If he does, he is keeping it close to the vest as far as particulars. That maybe good until the general election; but I’m hoping to see some of that New Jersey Hell Fire in Michigan. Of all the candidates for Governor I think Pete has the tools, hopes he uses them.

The voters I’m betting would like to be trusted and willing to trust and vote for someone who does.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Campaigns, meetings and Where's Waldo Now?

Back to posting on events.

Today Tues. the Punter Platoon gathered at the Punter house to stuff some envelopes, good fun and good food made the job go pretty quickly. Lots of lively repartee and outright sniping kept things going. In the pic below Kay, Ken’s wife is the one at the head of the table. As Ken works for a living he wasn’t there.


After stuffing envelopes I heard that the Where's Waldo sign. (Had Enough Vote Republican) had reappeared in a new place. So off I went to find It's new home. I found it on Harrisburg Rd in Ravenna. That is the fourth place in Ravenna for that critter.



Muskegon GOP had their monthly business meeting.
Click to enlarge pics.

W came to visit and got cornered by Goeff Hansen and by the looks of his expression; Goeff must be raking him over the coals about the TARP mess pretty good. Looks to me like George is looking for a way out.



David Farhat chaired the meeting and some business was done and we talked of the Grand Old Picnic this summer among other things. It was our first meeting in the HQ on Henry St. We will have them there from now on and when it gets cold due to the election we will probably keep it heated till after. We’ll discuss it further at that time.


Jerry VanWoerkam and Goeff Hansen talked of what was going on with the budget and the state legislature. Marve, John and Bob brought us up to speed on the County Commission’s business. Mainly the candidates spoke their pieces. Holly for the 91st along with Kay who stood in for her husband Ken who couldn’t make it.



It was nice to see Ken Berman and Amber Weerstra stand and let everyone know they are running for County Commission seats. Ken will be battling against the County Commission Chairman Kenneth Mahoney for district #1. This will be an uphill battle but Ken seems fired up and already hard at it.

Amber Weerstra is running for the 10th Commission seat. Incumbent Democrat Roger Wade isn’t running this time ????? Because of that this race which leans Democrat gets a lot closer and from meeting Amber she brings a lot of energy to the table. She has a nice website and an active facebook page. People in our party are readily helping her according to their talents. Below are her Website and facebook links.

Web http://amberweerstra.com/donations.htmlFacebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1306131474

I will be adding over the next week the Musk. Co. Republican incumbents and candidates for the Musk. County Commission, to my candidate page on my website.

Check this link next week.
http://bottomuppolitics.com/candidates_12.html

Life is good, WE can make it better.
As Amber said on facebook. “ When a hen gives you an egg, that's involvement. When a hog gives you bacon, that is commitment.”

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1306131474&ref=mfTime to go whole hog I guess.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

My way of Re - Grouping

Some Times I Feel Like a Nut.


Sometimes I Don't



Better yet Sometime WE Don't




Before the Tea Party thing, I had been trying to do all I could to get into politics, not as a candidate but I rather viewed the process as the one real way to affect change in our country, at the top or the bottom. Affect the process. Politics seemed the key.

I tried in vain unsophisticated ways to get a foothold in the Republican Party. While I was allowed the grunt work my ideas weren’t followed. Sometimes later some or parts would be enacted but I was determined and kept charging.

The problem was I was getting opposition from leadership. I don’t know what I expected them to do or how they should react to a newcomer with "wild" ideas; but I think I made some difference just by demanding and barging around, the bottom line was that I was there doing things and learning from my mistakes as well as the few successes I had. The Party finally did get a website built and I had a role in keeping it updated though not in formatting it.

I was allowed to manage the HQ during the 2008 election 5-6 days a week but not to have an effect much on policy. But hey I was a newbie and expected and wanted to do the hands on stuff. The grunt work.

I started looking for other ways to make a difference. I went to all the political events I could afford to. I had started blogging before this political involvement and at one time had 3 blogs going. My second blog which is now my flagship blog I call “Bottom Up Politics” which I set up as an unofficial Muskegon County Republican Website because the Muskegon County Republican party simply had no site. The time was right as the candidates just started to announce, so I had lots of fodder for my blog. I started listing all the candidates and their websites and then set up a calendar for them to send me their fundraisers and other things. I was offering free publicity and a few started to take advantage of it. At our GOP meetings I started taking pictures and writing articles about the meetings. Once on their mailing list I would put up on the calendar any events the County party was having. When I went to party or candidate events, I would take pictures and blog.

The main thing I was always around asking questions and taking pictures.

From this I started to meet the candidates and eventually started helping some I liked. I eventually became the chief cook and bottle washer for a County wide candidate. She called me her campaign manager but I really wasn’t, just a go to guy when something needed doing. In the real sense of the word I was far from a campaign manager. But boy did I love it; and I was learning a lot.

This became my way of trying to get some respect and a foot in the door into the party. I would drive my truck, and still do, all over the lower peninsular if necessary to further my education to further my cause. My cause simply stated was to make the Republican Party at least in my sphere more conservative and to win elections.

Elections are the way in our democracy to put our ideas into practice, like it or not it at least gives us the chance however slim no matter our standing to do it. I was determined to do just that.

My first outright activism was to organize a “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” protest in front of the county building in Muskegon with another blogger friend and a couple of others from the party. It was a meager affair but it was fun and we all still talk about it. Below is my post about it at the time click on the pics to see who the mystery activists are.

-----link-----
http://bottomuppolitics.blogspot.com/2008/07/energy-freedom-march-is-done.html
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Nationally Newt Gingrich had kicked of a petition drive of the same name that went viral (a forerunner of the Tea Party Movement) on his new internet platform Newt.org and through his fledgling American Solutions group. For that date in time it was a revolutionary advance for Republican politics, Newt with the likes of us at the local level were beginning to pull the Republicans kicking and screaming into the Wild West of the Web. Even with my meager website and few successes I feel a part of that success.

With that petition Newt got 1.5 million signatures online that forced candidate Obama to change his platform on the offshore drilling plan. It also forced Republicans across the spectrum to take heed of the new media. Regardless of Obama reverting back on that change after elected, it did have an effect. I was able to say with some justification that what we few we four (Jim, Susie, Tom and I) did at the local level had some effect on that and I was really hooked.

Needless to say when I brought the signs into the meeting of our County GOP before the protest, they were thought funny and of no consequence. Being naïve I blamed it entirely on the party and had the protest anyway. In retrospect I learned that if I had presented the case differently and if I could have rounded up more support ahead of time the party may have been swayed or at least more may have been sympathetic. What I missed with my thin skin was that there were and still are many in the party that are just waiting to be asked in the right way to make a difference.

That is a major key I'm learning is that a lot of people out there want to be asked and they will be happy to help in their own way. The trick I still need to figure out is how to ask and then have something they are willing and capable to do. It is not their fault they do not flock to my ideas but my fault.

The point is, I learned from that failure and I used that failure as motivation to learn more.

I've learned to try with what's available and not let the perfect become the enemy of the good but rather the goal pushing us onward learning from our mistakes and successes.

Well; they say nature abhors a vacuum and in my case I got hooked up with the Tea Party thing last year after I heard Rick Santilli’s rant on CNBC.

-----link-----
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZB4taSEoA
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I was hooked. I tried organizing the Republican Party for a Tea Party rally and that went over like a lead balloon. So I started looking further afield and Wendy Day with Melanie Hall and Joan Fabiano were organizing a big march on Lansing, there was talk of an even bigger one in Washington. My finances precluded Washington so I signed on to help in Lansing.

Finally here were individuals and a group that wanted help and were willing to share their wisdom, something I couldn’t find in the Republican party. That may have been my fault as much as theirs but either way there was some chemistry. Then to my chagrin I found two different Tea Party Groups in Muskegon trying to form and unaware of each other so I called both and from that they set up the Muskegon Patriots and Muskegon’s first Tea Party Rally. The rest is pitch fork history. Wink to GordoM (:-)

That was a success but I had nothing to do with it other than what I said, I went to Lansing for the big rally, plus one later in Jackson and a third in Rives Junction, ending up at the Livingston County Republican party Lincoln Day Dinner and I was surprised to see some faces I had seen at the Lansing rally. This county party seemed more active than the one I belonged too. That gave me hope and started the wheels turning about how to affect change at home.

-----link to my blog on the 15/Lansing Rally-----
http://bottomuppolitics.blogspot.com/2009/04/day-in-life.html
-------------------------------------------------

After the 15th, things just got busier and busier as active politics was all I was doing. The Muskegon Patriots faltered due to an internal struggle; and I let it go but kept involved in the bigger movement. I with a blogger friend went to different activist trainings across the state to learn how to make things happen. Kept scouring the web for resources to do that and made connections all over. The bottom line is simple, Nike picked up on it a long time ago. JUST DO IT.

The activist trainings are ok but the real learning comes from actually doing things and I might add from doing them wrong or if your sensibilities prefer; not doing them as well as you are capable of. For me the main thing is forcing myself to do things with others even if sometimes it seems less efficient. The task at hand may be but to build a group or a coalition, fostering involvement is the key.

Well I’ve been doing that with various Tea Party groups and political groups. I’ve tried to teach myself things like computers and the social networking tools like facebook twitter etc. --- they all have their place --- but nothing beats one on one communication.

Along those lines I keep trying to learn how to communicate better in person as well as online. I have been trying to talk in front of people a little, and trying to assert myself in other ways. I hope I’m making progress. I know each time I try something different even if I fail, I pick up some valuable info. I’m 60 years old for crying out loud, I do understand my limitations.

The fun part is when something works out and the joy I feel that something worthwhile is accomplished. It is the same feeling as in writing when all the pieces fall into place and an article seems to write itself.

Like seeing a football star make three effortless moves and trot into the end zone untouched. We know the years of practice that went into perfecting those moves and the uniqueness of time and event that went into that combination falling into place so effortlessly.

Well, I truly resonated with the whole Tea Party Angst against Big Government and Big Everything that has been encroaching upon our freedoms for decades and now seems to have gathered a full head of steam.

As for now I'm working on my moves. I won’t bore you with more,other than to say I’m involved in a hopeful resurrection of the Muskegon Patriots and also I’m involved in Icausus the political arm of the Tea Party. I’m continuing to blog and have set up a “Five County” Republican website to act as an informational hub for the transfer of information and ideas across the “Five County” politicdal lines. I hope simply to disseminate information and foster a stronger sense of unity within the party. Just as with my attempt at a county site this site lists candidates and events along with tools to help visitors understand the Republican party and other tools to help them get involved. The "Five County" websites and or contact information are provided.

Right now through Wendy Day’s state wide efforts, I along with Fred Bertsch have become Muskegon county coordinators for the Health Care Freedom Initiative calling for a state wide referendum on Health Care in the form of a Constitutional Amendment. This is no small task. State wide we need 500,000 signatures.

I'm in favor of this because it will test my abilities, the Tea Party's abilities and Since Wendy recently got the Republican Party on board, their abilities as well. This effort if worked can not only improve and help organize all our groups but teach us how to coexist. Create a synergy creater than our selves; but it all boils down to "Just Do It".

If anyone can get people motivated to do this it is Wendy Day. Now I have to go back to the basic premise of my blog Bottom Up Politics and that is “What can I do today?” In other words I need to start practicing what I preach and preach less.

If I don’t continually force myself out there to do the work, I would be like the candidate that spends all his or her time figuring out what they should do and then fail to put their boots on the ground and do it. That is my stone I constantly carry. I would rather talk about doing something than doing it. It is odd - perhaps mental because my greatest joys come from doing things well as stated before I get great inner joy when things, “fall into place”. Why I have that constant tendency to procrastinate in the doing I really have no clue.

Sometimes the on edge of sanity is the path upon which I tend to walk.

Professional activists and political bigshots may find this post rather silly but what I’m trying to do is learn something from the ground up and question each step of the way hoping that I may be able to put a different spin on the age old art of politics, and try to bring it back into the respectability it deserves.

I don’t want a book on how to win an election, I want to write a book on how I learned to change the process from the Bottom Up. At that point the elections will win themselves. There are plenty of paid political experts what will hurt if one trying to learn his own way?

So I’ll leave you, my worn out but faithful reader at this point; for at this point you are at least dogged if not faithful. Tomorrow I’ll be back with pithier less philosophical posts. Lots of Pictures. I have been doing lots of stuff the last few days and I’ll bring you up to speed on what I’ve found out. Till then thanks for letting me rant awhile.

As always and with Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

A sad Post Script.

Prayers to those hurt by the loss of the Mayor of Roosevelt Park. I know nothing of this and only met the man once; I know only the shock and grief from a sudden unexpected loss and how hard it is to bear. Again; my prayers to those suffering that pain.

Regards, Bob Carr

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Clean Sweep

A little political grunt work.
As people get excited about the Republicans picking up the House and generally cleaning up in November; some of Republicans are cleaning up in a different way.

Yup it was the spring road clean up time under the “Adopt a Highway” plan. The Muskegon County Republicans 3 times a year clean up a 2 mile stretch of Apple ave way out past Mooreland centered on Shaw Rd.
Stu Peterson who runs the show had Ken Punter and Bruce Privacky helping him. I’m ashamed to say I let time get away from me and missed almost all of it. I did manage to eat some of the donuts donated by David Farhat and brought out by Bruce.
The bag count was 9. Stu said the Spring clean up was usually the worst. I remember last fall we only had 3 bags.
Any way here are some pics of the motely crew.



The Mason County Republicans are having their clean up next Sat.

SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2010
STARTING AT 4:30 P.M.
MEET AT PERE MARQUETTE CHARTER TOWNSHIP HALL
1699 S. Pere Marquette Hwy.
Ludington
Further information may be obtained by contacting Chairman Hank Wykretowicz either by telephone at 231.845.7196 or by email at chairman@masoncountygop.org.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Friday, April 16, 2010

Tea Party Tax Day



Click on any pic to enlarge
For short notice our Tax Day Tea Party rally turned out well. Fred and I estimated 150 people came.

Here is a link to Mlive about our event.

-----link-----
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/04/muskegon_patriots_join_tax_day.html
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Here is a link to our website

-----link-----
http://muskegonpatriots.ning.com/
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Here is a short list of people deserving our thanks for helping and making this possible. Michael and Paul manned the sign in table. Sharon and Joyce sold the heck out of our Tea Shirts, buttons and Tea., Fred manned the table for the Michigan Freedom Initiative he also gave a talk on the petition drive among other things; and LeRoy circulate the petition out into the rally and got some petitions signed – after all signatures are the bottom line. Scott came and helped out too. Tammy was ever present helping out along with Paula. We also owe a big thanks to (pictured above) John VanWyck of Lakeshore Entertainment for the PA and manning it; also Oscar Osboe of Double O Audio & Video for a professional video of the event. John and Ozy both donated their time and talents. Paula BTW made up the donation signs for the jars. Fred and I counted up the money afterward and we'll report tentatively at Whitlow's on the 27th at our next meeting 7pm in the banquet room.





Here’s the reason I say “tentatively”. (This is a good thing either way)

Another bit of great news came out of this Rally. LeRoy who held our Constitution Day Rally with Josh Charney at the LST connected with Ron yesterday at the rally. Ron is with the LST and was the one who gave LeRoy and Josh permission to have the Constitution Day Rally at the LST. Well they got to talking and it looks like we can use the LST for our regular meetings provided of course we do not interfere with their events. LeRoy introduced Ron to Fred and I and we will report as we find out more. Probably on the Muskegon Patriots Facebook page.

-----link-----
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=114612739054
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This meeting on the 27th will be to set up to create an annually elected organization and in general to get us better organized so future rallys will be better planned and our member’s talents and passions better highlighted.

All are welcome to come and be a part of the Muskegon Patriots. Remember, we are only as good as our members.

Our Country is only as good as it’s Citizens.

Here are two of my favorite quotes.

1. “Never forget there was only one freedom on which this nation was founded; that was freedom from government.” -Barry Goldwater ...
2. “Unless a decision has “degenerated into work” it is not a decision; it is at best a good intention” Peter F Drucker, “The Effective Executive” pp114 Harper Collins paper back edition, 2006.

In other words, join us volunteer for stuff, start your own thing ---- Get involved.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
Bob Carr

Update >>>>>>>>>>>>>edit below

Talked with Oscar Osbow and he said he could make DVDs available upon request for $5.00 each.
Email him at doubleoaudiovideo@live.com Or go to the Double O website above and get his phone and email.

Oscar is also putting the entire event on YouTube. It was around 90 mins. You Tube is limited to 10 mins. There will be a lot of segments. This involves a lot of work and time on Oscars part and it it free. Thanks Oscar.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Tea for Two -- Me and You

Busy Time

First, on Monday the Muskegon County Republicans held their monthly Caucus Lunch.
(2nd Mon. of the Month at noon, location changes) An informal gathering over lunch with a brief and again informal meeting. This Caucus was held at the Golden Corral on Sternberg.

Click on any pics to enlarge



Main discussion points were our Chairman’s announcement of his withdrawal from the primary race for the 34th State Senate seat, leaving Goeff Hansen as the last man standing. David Farhat our Chair will be taking his considerable talents to the Pete Hoekstra team helping Pete gain the governorship. We all wish him the best.

Goeff Hansen was there and wished David well and said that Team Hansen would be opening up a Muskegon HQ at 3332 Glade by the Hearthstone. Goeff is shooting for a May 1st opening day. Lot's of sprucing up needs to be done. Want to help call me (231-728-3455) and I'll hook you up. I bet Goeff is breathing a sigh of relief now with David out of the race which will free up the always hard to come by resources to fight the real enemy. Mary Valentine the Democrat opponent. The Dems want desperately to win this State Senate seat and will be putting alot of money into this race.

Also at the meeting it was announced that we have a candidate to run against Ken Mahoney. He is Ken Berman. If the name sounds familiar, he is I believe the cousin of the famous sports announcer Chris Berman. Those familiar with Chris announcing will appreciate David Farhat's play on words by saying he hopes Ken “ WILL -- GO – ALL—THE---WAY.

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Tuesday was our 3rd meeting of the Muskegon Patriots. We had the meeting at Whitlow’s which was supposed to be in the banquet hall but do to some kind of misunderstanding we had it in the bar. It was not optimum but we made do with what we had and made it work.

As with any new group of any kind we are experiencing growing pains, and learning how to make this grassroots movement in Muskegon work. Everyone seems to want that to happen. The devil as they say is in the details. That is why it is good to keep focus on the big picture.

Lots of good discussion was had centering around our group. We will be having elections for leadership posts. Chair, Co-Chair, Sec. Treas, and Sergeant at arms. That election will take place two meetings from now. Anyone interested in running can at our next meeting (April 27th at Whitlow’s) submit a short bio and address the membership. We will be putting all the info online for members also. Then the next meeting we will vote.

The Tax Day Tea Party at Heritage Landing Thurs. April 15th was discussed and there was enthusiasm about it. People volunteered to watch the sales table and the sign in table.

Fred Bertsch gave a short speech about the Health Care Freedom Petition Drive, which turned into a longer question and answer session as members became curious then enthused. Fred said he would be manning a table for the Petitions at the rally. I and LeRoy will be wearing yellow Tea Shirts mingling with the crowd to get petitions signed. We can still use one or two more petition circulators at the rally. We have all the stuff, If interested in that or anything Tea Party oriented feel free to call me anytime. Bob Carr 231-728-3455. PS thanks to all of you who signed and or took Petition Packets with them.

Joyce seems to be the firecracker in our midst with the petitions.

We did pass the hat or in this case a Coffe jug and collected some money, Thanks to all and be assured every dime will be squeezed.

Visit us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=114612739054&ref=ts

and on Twitter http://twitter.com/MuskegonPatriot
-----story break-----

Back to the Republican Front.


Spring Chores

Adopt a Highway



Muskegon County Republican Party does this 3 times a year Spring Summer and Fall.

When April 17th
Time 9:00am

Where Corner of Shaw and Apple ave.
A long drive from downtown Musk.

Google map
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=950+Shaw+Rd,+Casnovia,+Muskegon,+Michigan+49318&sll=43.234386,-85.869741&sspn=0.007426,0.013754&g=1000+Shaw+Rd,+Casnovia,+Muskegon,+Michigan+49318&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=950+Shaw+Rd,+Casnovia,+Muskegon,+Michigan+49318&ll=43.236949,-85.87944&spn=0.029702,0.055017&z=14

The more the merrier. Candidates also welcome.

Stu Peterson has been in charge of for a number of years and he has had to do it himself on occasion. Let’s not have that happen again. I’ve done it 3 or 4 times now and it is pretty easy and takes an hour or so.

Like I say the more the merrier (and quicker).

Give me a call for questions 231-728-3455 or just show up. Stu parks on Shaw on the North side of Apple. He has all the equipment; trash bags, reflective vest and a 5 min. training video; so all you need to bring is yourself. Wear jeans or something you can walk in taller grass once and a while without worrying about the dew. High heels probably wouldn’t work either.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

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I am helping in the vetting of Ted Shundle a candidate for the 2nd Congressional Seat in Mi. This is being done through ICaucus. This will be the 3rd vetting I have helped out with. On the 19th I am going to Grant to help in an all day vetting of the 4 candidates running in the 100th State House District centered around Hart.

ICaucus is a political Action arm of the Tea Party Movement. ICaucus is in effect a special interest group focused on vetting or interviewing candidates and selecting ones that reflect the values of the Tea Party Movement. Such principles as listed below
1. To preserve the economic future for our children.
2. To work for a return to the principles of our governing constitution.
3. To demand limited government.
4. To promote the free market that made our country the leader of the world.
5. To give support for individual rights, and property rights.
6. To provide a platform for giving like-minded people a voice.
I am happy to do this. The process is long and is just starting to show results; but the purpose of ICaucus is to have a mechanism to help channel the Tea Party energy to candidates that reflect our views no matter what party they are in. Here is their website, I don’t know if you need to join to study the site now or not. I would suggest that it would be worth doing.
Here is a link to ICaucus’ home page. If you want to get involved, find your state and get hold of the leader.
-----link-----
http://icaucus.ning.com/
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Below is a link to the video series that shows how money has taken over government. The series is very long but one or two videos a day will put the problems we have with government in perspective.
-----link-----
http://www.ourcaucus.com/
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Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Monday, April 12, 2010

Spread our Wings



Anyone who has been in a community group of any kind whether it be Lions,Optimists, or what have you; know that there are usually just a few who end up doing all the work. Half the work seems to be calling memebers to try to get them to volunteer to do some stuff.

Tea Parties and Political parties are no different.



Part of the reason there is a struggle to get people to volunteer is that there is little meaningfull for them to volunteer for. Something that makes them feel like they are making a difference. If there is then then the next problem is that the leadership isn't promoting it properly.

Breaking news from Rasmussen <<<<<<<<<<< edited 4pm 4/12/10>>>>>>>>>
. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/march_2010/health_care_law .
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

However, once and awhile something just falls in our lap that solves those problems.

Well something has fallen; it's called the Petition Drive for Health Care Freedom. This petition is about getting a question on the ballot whether we in Michigan want a state Constitutional Amendment protecting our right to pick our health care coverage free from penalty.

This whole idea encompasses the anger of overreaching government within our lives. Wendy Day and some key lawmakers have been heading a drive to do just that. The hurdle is to get a ballot initiative on the ballot. To do that we need 381,000 signatures. Normally this would cost over 1 million dollars.

There has been a coalition which has been getting signatures since the kickoff on March 22nd. We only have till June 26th. For this to succeed we actually need 500,000 signatures as there will be many duplicate signatures and others thrown out for various reasons.

This is a grass roots effort. As Wendy Day in the video below says, this is being done on a wing and a prayer. Wendy one of the originators of the first tea party in Michigan again as the video shows provides the solution to the second problem (leadership). PS hat tip to Jason Gilman and his gorup in Manistee, sure looks like they had a nice crowd for their Petition Drive "Kickoff" in Traverse City.
-----video------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbLBlLaaL1Q
----------------

Now it's up to interested groups to get on board and realize that if they are at all Center right in their thinking, this drive is an opportunity to gain volunteers and motivate them. It is a basic question of freedom.

The Tea Party groups were some of the first on board. They realized that this was something the vast majority of their memebers were in favor of. They realized that this could help answer the age old question of "now that I'm a member what can I do".

Well this is something that anyone can do in a big or little way within their own circle of friends or with a small group to help blanket larger events or venues.

This has fallen into the Tea Party lap and now the Republican Party has jumped on board. They realized too that this was a God send for getting younger college age people involved in their organization. This resonates with the majorlity of Americans. This is something that can energize volunteers. I'm thankful to see this. I heard from Fred Bertsch our Co-Coordinator for Muskegon County that he went to the Tea Party Express this weekend to get signatures and saw the place covered by college students getting signatures. He said it did his heart good.

Here is an email from Wendy Day about the Drive so far. Be sure to get on her mailing list. Get with a county coordinator, get some petitions, get some signatures. The links don't copy through but here is a link to her site Michigan Health Care Freedom

-----link-----
http://www.michiganhcf.com/
--------------

This latest update from Wendy

-----email Wendys latest update-----

Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom

Join Our List

Find a Tax Day Tea Party Rally near you!
April 15th

Michigan Activists
Tea Party Patriots

Wendy Day will be speaking in Caro, MI at 3:30!
If you are planning to circulate petitions, check out this short training video:

Circulator Training Video

Have questions? Reply e-mail or call us 517-223-2050

Coalition Members

Caro Tea Party
Tea Party West Michigan
SE MI 9.12
Muskegon Patriots
Ludington Tea Party
9.12 Liberty Tea Party
Retake Our Gov
Michigan Taxpayers Alliance
Wayne County Taxpayers
Common Sense in Government
U.P. Liberty
Michigan Taxes Too Much
SW Michigan Tea Party
Manistee Tea Party
Michigan GOP

Don't see your group listed? Let us know and we will add you to the list!

Dear Robert,

This weekend two exciting things happened in the Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom effort. First, the Republican Party has pledged to help us by working to collect 100,000 signatures. We are excited to add them to the long list of groups and individuals who have committed to working on getting this amendment on the ballot in November.

The GOP Fix-it Centers are willing to serve as drop off locations as well as places to pick up petitions. You can check the website to find a location near you. If you would rather, please feel free to return your petitions to your County Coordinator or group leaders instead. Of course, you can always mail your petitions in to the address on the bottom of your sheet.
Second, the Tea Party Express rolled through Michigan this weekend, providing a prime opportunity for signature gathering. Thousands of signatures were gathered across the state this weekend. April 15th Tea Party Rallies will serve as another great day for circulating petitions.
Did you know:The health care bill provides money for a trust fund to pay for things like sidewalks, bicycle lanes and playground equipment.

At 2,300 pages, not even those who voted for this bill know what is in it. But we will provide you with facts as we get them so you can talk to folks about the realities of the healthcare takeover.

Story from the street: One of our volunteers, Mike, was visiting his local library with his daughter yesterday just after lunch. He saw a man outside gathering signatures for Michigan HCF. When Mike asked the man how many signatures he had, the man replied that he had collected 80 so far. Mike said, "Wow, how long have you been collecting?" The man replied, "Oh, I got these all this morning."

Want to be a circulator? Contact your County Coordinator or us for petitions.

Group Spotlight: The Manistee Tea Party was out in force at the Traverse City Tea Party Express stop this weekend. They were armed with clipboards and petitions and spent the entire event working the crowd. They also had been making the rounds and gathering signatures from candidates running for office. Way to make the politicians take a stand!
If your organization or group wants to join the Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom coalition, let us know.

Many hands make for lighter work; so encourage friends and relatives to gather signatures as well; we would be grateful for any help to achieve our goal of 500,000 signatures.
Please check back to our site, www.michiganhcf.com to get petition pickup and drop-off locations and times. A click-on map will be up by the weekend. If there are big festivals or events in your area in the next few months, let us know so we can make sure to have circulators there.

We are so proud to be standing with you as we fight for freedom!

Sincerely,

Wendy Day

Getting Signatures
Wondering where to go to get signatures? There are many events coming up in the next few weeks that are going to be great for getting signatures. You can check out the Michigan Activist Calendar to find events and liberty groups near you.

You also may want to keep a petition with you. One volunteer reported getting signatures at the gas station while pumping gas. Way to multi-task!

Polling shows that almost everyone is mad about the way this bill was passed and/or the content. Let's give them a voice!

Help Us Succeed!
We need your help. If you can donate any amount of money to help this effort, we would be so appreciative! Donate by going to www.michiganhcf.com and make an online donation or mailing check to:

Michigan Citizens for Healthcare Freedom
PO Box 27361
Lansing, MI 48909

-------------------------------------------

Fred
Bertsch and I are coordinators for Musk. County call 231-728-3455 for questions or to get and or sign petitions. We will be needing as many people as possible to sign or to get petitions for their friends to circulate. We need people for our Tax Day Tea Party rally in Musk. Feel free to call any time or day.

------------------------

The Muskegon Patriots are having their 2nd Tax Day Tea Party at Heritage Landing April 15th. Also a general meeting April 13th at Whitlows. The info is on their site. Below is a site to their event page.

-----link-----
http://muskegonpatriots.ning.com/
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To keep track of Tea Party events in Western Mi. see the Tea Party of West Michigan Events page linked below.

-----link-----
http://www.teapartyofwmi.org/events
--------------

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

Friday, April 9, 2010

Petition, Hannity and Pete

Click on any pics to enlarge



Fred got an urgent call Thurs. morning at the “Carmen Breakfast Group”. The call was from Mark Petzold at the Tea Party of West Mi. in Grand Rapids pleading for “Health Care Freedom” petitions. Seems that even though they had their Kent County “Petition Drive” kickoff Wed. the day before they were already out of petitions. The TP of West MI. was having an event next to the Hannity book signing at Schullers book store in GR to promote them and sell shirts, flags and what not. They thought that this would be a great place to get signatures.

Fred and I agreed. We saved 50 petitions for ourselves and bundled up the rest (about 300) and off I went. I decided to get there early so I left around 4:00. The actual book signing was to start around 7pm. It was cold and windy.

Before I even got out of Muskegon it started snowing pretty heavily. Luckily it was short lived and the snow stopped before I got to GR; but as you can see by the pictures of the set up for the TP of WMi from 4pm and the next pic from around 7pm it was still cold and the wind kept threatening to blow the tent away.


It didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits however and there was a slow but steady stream of people buying Tea Party stuff and signing petitions; as they walked to the Book signing. Our location was on 29th st. just behind the Book signing and a lot of people parked by us and walked up the alley to the bookstore.

I hung out and help out. I’m glad I did. When they got overloaded I managed to get some signatures also. I only picked up about 15 but they were from 8 different counties. I bought a “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag which I’ll unfurl at Muskegon’s April 15th Tea Party at Heritage Landing. So far we have Location secured. John VanWyck is providing a professional sound system. The mechanics of it are getting worked out. Invitations are being sent out on facebook and our ning site plus the Tea Party of West Michigan site. Please see our facebook and ning sites also. sign up join the fun.

From where we were behind the book store, we couldn’t see Schulers or the line of people getting numbers for the book signing. I decided to walk up there and see what I could.


First thing I saw was the Hannity “Conservative Victory” bus parked in front of the bookstore. As I walked in I was impressed with the size of Schulers. The place had between 700 to 1000 people and it was only half full.

The Hannity show was actually being filmed in the back. It was hard to see but I stood on a bench and with my camera overhead I got a pic of Hannity and Hookstra. For the rest of the people waiting with their Numbers, there were at least two big screen TVs of the actual show as it was being taped. People in one spot were sitting on the carpet watching and giving an occasional cheer.




One line of Pete’s I liked was something to the affect that before there was Barack Obama we in Michigan had Jennifer Granholm. Hannity was making the case basically for how Michigan especially Detroit was the poster child for failed liberal policies. Pete’s statement fit right in .

I do have an ego lol. Here is a pic of me with Pete who was gracious enough to let happen. I went back to mingling and found some familiar faces below. The Beck Clan from Fruitport had showed up. LeRoy is heavily involved in the Muskegon Partiot Tea Party and Chris of course has been part of the major events in Muskegon as a speaker on Veteran Affairs.





Big news from Wendy Day. Wendy has been talking with the State GOP Party and had a big pow wow that day with them. It has been decided that the Party will lend a hand with this “Health Care Freedom Petition Drive” (much like the Tea Partys have done from the get go). I called up the fix Michigan Center in GR and asked Jeff Orzechowsky about it. He confirmed it and said the Fix Michigan Centers throughout the state were going to jump into it with both feet.

Jeff said they were shutting down other activities for a while like phone banking to concentrate on getting signatures. He mentioned a rough goal of a thousand signatures a week once they ramp up and a state wide Republican goal of 100,000. For Wendy this must feel like a breath of fresh air. While 100,000 signatures is only one fifth of the 500,000 we want, her job now must seem more readily attainable. This also may open some doors to keep the funding coming in so she can keep the enormous job of printing the petitions.

A brief word on what I’ve learned so far as far as her job goes. She first off is all into this. She is crisscrossing the state like a gubernatorial candidate and she started out with pretty much nothing at the start other than her indomitable spirit.

She has already organized a loose state wide distribution system of County coordinators. She has spoken at various “Kick Offs” across the state. She has personally provided us in Muskegon with a few thousand petitions and business cards along with circulator instruction sheets, sign up sheets, and business cards. Yesterday at the event she had provided yellow hats for the circulators so they can be easily picked out in a crowd. As county Coordinators, Fred and I got a gift card from her to Staples for misc items such as long clip boards, more envelopes etc.

Needless to say, again Fred and I need more petitions. I’m going to GR and pick some up from the Fix Michigan Center today. Wendy said she will be mailing out some to us Monday also and we should get them Tuesday. We need all the petition circulators we can get. It’s simple and free, Fred and I will provide the material through Wendy. Talk with your friends about it, your neighbors, where you work, in your Rotary or other group; the ways are endless. We at Muskegon Patriots will need people to walk around at the April 15th Rally and other events. However you want to do it – with us or alone we need you – every signature is gold even if you only get 5 signatures we need them.

Give me a call and I’ll hook you up. 231-728-3455. Do it at your leisure.

Well I’ll keep you posted

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

COUNTER