We served over 660 plates of great Squealer’s BBQ and we made a lot of new friends on that hot, hot day! After the money was all counted and all the bills were paid, MeridianTeaParty.com netted just over $2,800.00 for the Billboard Campaign!

When combined with the many, very generous donations that we’ve received over the past couple of months, we have now raised over $6,800.00! We have exceeded our original goal and we can now accelerate our schedule and get our second billboard up as quickly as possible. In addition, we will be planning a big event for either September or October to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding the November, 2010 elections. 

This success is thanks to all of you who have worked so hard, contributed so much, and given of your time to make our Billboard Campaign a success. As I’ve written previously, we’ve been contacted by other Tea Party Groups around the State of Mississippi who are also working on getting their own billboards up and soon it will be hard to travel through our great State without seeing the Tea Party message. 

Special thanks to everyone on the MTP Events Committee. You people did a huge job in a short period of time and made it look easy! 

We also need to thank all of the local media for helping us get the word out to the public. We really appreciate your help! 

Next, big thanks also go out to everyone who helped us sell tickets because without your efforts all the hard work put in by the Events Committee would have been for nothing. If you volunteered to work or deliver plate, set up, clean up or any other job, your efforts did not go unnoticed and were greatly appreciated. 

Last but not least, thanks to everyone who purchased tickets to the event because your support of this event is what really put us over the top on our goal! Your dedication and involvement will help change America for the better this November.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Visit www.Perdie.com to find out more!

On July 2, 2010, MeridianTeaParty.com will be holding a fundraiser in the middle of downtown Meridian at Dumont Plaza from 10:00am until 2:00pm. We are currently selling tickets for Squealer’s BBQ plates for $7.00 each. We will deliver for purchases of 10 tickets or more!

Great BBQ is an awesome way to kick off the Fourth of July Weekend!!!!

If you will be in Downtown Meridian and would like to purchase tickets you can call 601-323-3363  or find a MeridianTeaParty.com member. You can also contact us here.

If you will not be in the Meridian area, but would still like to make a donation to our billboard campaign, you can do so below:

If you’ve donated previously, we thank you and hope that you’ll consider donating again. If you haven’t donated yet, please help us and donate today! No donation is too small or too large!

If you prefer to mail in a check, make your check out to “Meridian Tea Party” and mail to:

MeridianTeaParty.com
P.O. Box 3399
Meridian, MS 39303

Or donate online securely through PayPal by clicking the “Donate” button below:

Note: Tarver Program Consultants, Inc. is allowing MeridianTeaParty.com to use their PayPal account for online donations. 100% of the net proceeds of every donation made online will go to the MeridianTeaParty.com Billboard Campaign. Tarver Program Consultants, Inc will not charge for this service and none of the funds received and designated for MeridianTeaParty.com will be retained by Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key (1814)

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The billboard is located on I-20/I-59, faces the east-bound lane  and is on the exit for the mall. It will be seen an estimated 28,000 times per day! We are very pleased with the result and excited about the effect it will have on not only the Meridian/Lauderdale County community but also the thousands of travelers who pass through our city every day.

Here’s a photo of the new billboard:

So far, we’ve raised enough money to keep this billboard up for two months. We need to raise about $3,000 more dollars to keep a billboard up until November and change the message one time before November. If you’ve donated previously, we thank you and hope that you’ll consider donating again. If you haven’t donated yet, please help us and donate today! No donation is too small or too large!

If you prefer to mail in a check, make your check out to “Meridian Tea Party” and mail to:

MeridianTeaParty.com
P.O. Box 3399
Meridian, MS 39303

Or donate online securely through PayPal by clicking the “Donate” button below:

Note: Tarver Program Consultants, Inc. is allowing MeridianTeaParty.com to use their PayPal account for online donations. 100% of the net proceeds of every donation made online will go to the MeridianTeaParty.com Billboard Campaign. Tarver Program Consultants, Inc will not charge for this service and none of the funds received and designated for MeridianTeaParty.com will be retained by Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

I have to tell you that this was humbling for me. I saw 6 or 700 people who had given a couple of weeks of their life to pay homage to their fallen friends. How many of us have that kind of loyalty? And they do it year after year. There are very few places in this nation I’d let a child run free, but this was one. You knew this crowd could be trusted. I met guys from Oregon, California, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas and a lot of other places. They are all men and know who they are. There are very few things I have felt as good about as helping with one meal for this group.

We’ll do it again next year. Maybe you’ll get a chance to get the same blessing me and the other Tea Party members who were present got.

Wayne

Two (at least 2) bikers came from Hawaii. One of them was an active duty chaplain with USN Submarine crews. At least one gent rode south from Oregon to LA to join up with the group.

I got hugged more than once while handing out flyers. Many of them thought our Tea Party “T” shirts were great. The bikers are with Tea Party ideas.

What fantastic organization they had/have. There was no nonsense about their safety review and instruction either. Everyone paid attention.

They were all politely taking one muffin and then getting out of the way. We had to coax folks into taking two or more muffins. We were afraid for a time that we might have had hundreds of muffins left over. (The leftovers we did have went to Love’s Kitchen).

We have made notes as to how we can do a better job next year. Oh yes, the Good Lord willin’ we will be there in 2011!

Janet and Tom

• Raise Awareness About MeridianTeaParty.com
• Promote Conservative Values
• Increase The Public Visibility Of MeridianTeaParty.com
• Spread Our Message Outside the Borders Of Our County and State
• Remind Voters To Vote In November
• Generate Media Attention

To that end, we have several ideas for billboards and picture of each are shown below. Please review each billboard carefully and note the name of each.

Now that you’ve reviewed the choices, select the ones you liked best in our online poll displayed to your left. The votes will be tallied and the billboards receiving the most votes will be selected in order to become actual billboards around Meridian. You may vote for as many billboards as you would like at one time but you can only vote once per day.

Finally, we cannot rent billboards without your financial help. Please consider donating to our Billboard Campaign to help us fund this worthwhile project. Click on the Donate button below and you’ll be transported to PayPal where you will be able to contributing using a major credit card or your PayPal account.

If you prefer to mail in a check, make your check out to “Meridian Tea Party” and mail to:

MeridianTeaParty.com
P.O. Box 3399
Meridian, MS 39303

Note: MeridianTeaParty.com does not currently have a PayPal account but Tarver Program Consultants, Inc. is allowing us to use their account to enable online donations. 100% of the net proceeds of every donation made online will go to the MeridianTeaParty.com Billboard Campaign. Tarver Program Consultants, Inc will not charge MeridianTeaParty.com any amount for this service and none of the funds received and designated for MeridianTeaParty.com will be retained by Tarver Program Consultants, Inc.

Original Title:
Cloward-Piven crisis strategy – Obama’s playbook revealed by WND editor Joseph Farah

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can learn more details in James Simpson’s great article on this subject.

Hopefully by now you are aware that Senator Chris McDaniel and I have filed a citizens class action lawsuit against the PPACA, the liberty-robbing “Obamacare” statute, in the federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi.  Please see our prior article on this subject here. The response from liberty-loving Americans has been overwhelming — from Big Media, not so much.  I understand their disinterest, though, because really important things like the travails of a billionaire golfer takes up so much of their time. That’s quite alright, because I would rather come directly to you to make important announcements like this:  Lt. Governor Phil Bryant has entered our class action lawsuit against the PPACA as an individual, private citizen.  He is serving as a Petitioner, and is the class representative for a uniquely important class:  employees of the State of Mississippi. 

Lt. Governor Phil Bryant addresses crowd in Jackson, Mississippi

Why this new class is important. 

Congress is now dictating what must be — and must not be — in your health insurance plan.  In other words, they are controlling the health insurance that your employer is offering you.  Socialism is defined as “government ownership or control of all the means of production (farms, factories, mines, and natural resources) and all the means of distribution (transportation, communications, and the instruments of commerce).”  Realize, “socialized medicine” is here, right now.  Even worse, by controlling what health insurance plans must be offered, Congress and the Executive branch are controlling your employer, and thus your employment. 

Your liberty depends on the survival of your republic.  The PPACA is a direct attack on the republican form of government. 

Every kid who’s ever put hand over heart and recited the Pledge of Allegiance knows that we live in a republic:  “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 

In fact, we have been blessed with what James Madison called “the compound republic of America,” having been guaranteed that each state is a sovereign republic in itself, not just the national government.  In this unique and hugely successful system of government, federal control over the states is an anathema: 

This separation of the two spheres is one of the Constitution’s structural protections of liberty. “Just as the separation and independence of the coordinate branches of the Federal Government serve to prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either front.” 

Printz v. U.S., 521 U.S. 898 (1997) (Scalia, J).  We’ve spent so much time focusing on the separation of powers amongst the three branches of government that we’ve forgotten about the very vital separation of powers between the States and Congress.  If the federal government dictates what the States can do, our republic is destroyed, and liberty-robbing tyranny is all that can result. 

Congress has chosen to commandeer our state employees, even our elected officials, with the PPACA.  Lest you think that “commandeer” is too strong of a word to use, consider that the federal government now controls the terms and conditions of employment for all state workers everywhere.  States now must offer health insurance plans dictated only by the federal government; we all recognize that a health insurance plan is one of the most important aspects of the employer-employee relationship.  In fact, since it is nothing more than a form of compensation, it really is the most important aspect. 

In the Printz v. US case I cited above, Justice Scalia said:  “When we were at last confronted squarely with a federal statute that unambiguously required the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program, our decision should have come as no surprise.”  I think you can guess that the Court’s response was rather chilly toward the federal government’s overreaching.  In FERC v. Mississipi, the Supreme Court said that “this Court never has sanctioned explicitly a federal command to the States to promulgate and enforce laws and regulations.” FERC v. Mississippi, 456 U.S. 742, 761-62 (1982).  Congress may not commandeer state officials, or any state employees, in order to implement federal law.  In substance, this is exactly what Congress has done with the PPACA.  This is a clear violation of state sovereignty, and utterly destructive of the Constitution’s guarantee of a compound republic. 

This class, that of state employees, is uniquely important.  Do you really want Congress to dictate the terms of employment between your state government and your state officials and civil servants?  Realize, this is 180 degrees out of phase with the intentions of the Framers, and with the clear statements implementing their vision found in the Constitution that they wrote. 

Why is it important that Lt. Governor Bryant is a petitioner? 

Lt. Governor Bryant is showing that any elected official can do this.  Actually, any state employee can do this, but we all recognize how important it is for us to get our elected leaders to take point, and lead. 

Lt. Governor Bryant has a long history of fighting for conservative beliefs and traditional values.  His persistence in promoting conservative public policy stems from his belief that people, not the government, know best how to take care of themselves.  The way I see it, he has been fighting for liberty — freedom — for years.  I cannot think of a better person in this great State to represent the new class we have added. 

He’s also a candidate for Governor.  Think about this — why shouldn’t our candidates, whether currently in office of not, be petitioners?  Why shouldn’t we go to town hall meetings, campaign rallies, and press conferences in order to push them into action, not just into making statements? 

Here in Mississippi, as in other states, most people want for our state to enter into the lawsuit filed in Florida by fifteen other states.  Governor Haley Barbour (the very effective chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a former RNC chairman) has been pushing our Attorney General — a Democrat — to get into the lawsuit, but to no avail.  Governor Barbour is quite resourceful, and we hope that he will find a way to work around this obstacle.  Regardless, Lt. Governor Bryant isn’t waiting for anyone — he’s taking action now. 

Put up or shut up. 

Here in Mississippi, I’m proud to say that we’re up to two prominent elected officials (Senator Chris McDaniel and Lt. Governor Phil Bryant) who are taking positive, substantive action to save our healthcare system from the clutches of socialism, and our republican form of government from Congress.  How many does your state have?  None?  Well then, maybe it’s time that you made them earn their pay. 

Write a letter, fax or email to the elected officials in your own state and tell them it’s time to stop posturing.  Are any of them hiding behind their Attorney General, saying “gee whiz, I want the state to get involved, but we can’t force the AG to do it, sorry guys”?  Tell them it’s time to put up, or shut up.  It takes courage for an elected state official to do what Lt. Governor Bryant is doing, but that is precisely what we demand of our elected officials — courage to do what is right.So, what are you waiting for? 

Get busy.