Hipocracy Rears Its Head in the race for Judge in the 247th District Court

Some of you may know, some of you may not know that I am a proud home school mom. It was a decision my husband and I made and committed to long ago, before we were even married, in fact. You may be aware that home schoolers have a very extensive network where we can support one another and provide encouragement and resources to other home school families. One of the things you will learn from being a home schooler is that you have to be able to trust where you get your information from. I also feel that I cannot simply trust everyone that offers up opinions as facts. That’s one of the big reason why we ARE home schoolers in the first place.  It’s a community that I take great pride in being a part of, that’s why I was so concerned when I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Tim Lambert with the Texas Home School Association.

Mr. Lambert who lives in North Texas sent out an email in support of one of our local judicial races in support of John Schmude in the 247th family court. Now, Mr. Lambert certainly has the right, and Mr. Schmude should take pride in his home school connections. However the truth also matters; in fact it should matter more and in the case of Mr. Schumde and the issues he has raised in the 247^th.   The truth may surprise you.

Mr. Schmude has made an issue out of a parenting course that has been mandated by the presiding  Judge of the 247^th Judge Bonnie Hellums who requires that all parents complete a parenting course in any case involving children, a class Mr. Schmude calls “unconstitutional”. Now I’ll admit as a home school mom I am extra sensitive to the Government dictating how I can parent, so I am glad to know that BOTH Mr. Schumde and Judge ML Walker (who is currently the associate Judge in the 247^th, and the other candidate in the runoff) have both publicly stated that as Judge of the 247^th they would cease the practice.  However, Mr. Schmude has used the issue to his political benefit, charging Judge Walker with participating in the practice of the court. However Judge Walker is obligated to do so as the Associate Judge.

Mr. Schumde is under no such obligation. Then why if he thinks the class is unconstitutional has he never pursued that legal course and challenged the Constitutionality of the course?  Why has no other lawyer filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that course in 18 years?  Why hasn’t the Texas Home School coalition challenged the law if they think it’s important enough to endorse in the race? 

More importantly, why if the class is unconstitional has he profited by having his clients TAKE THE VERY COURSE HE CALLS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

That’s right, Mr. Schmude has had all of his clients take the course during his very short legal career.  In fact, Mr. Schumde signed off on the exact same course he calls unconstitutional this past April 2^nd, while he is in the middle of the run-off EVIDENCE GOES HERE.

Now I’m not a Constitutional Lawyer, I’m just a homeschool mom and political activist that lives her beliefs and teaches her children to do the same. I think our candidates should tell the truth. I think our Judges should follow the law, and I think as Republicans we should demand both, otherwise we end up with someone like Denise Pratt and we all know how that has turned out.

 

Cy-Fair ISD: We Have A Spending Problem

"The main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth."-Erasmus

In that case, we're doomed. In our current public education system, we are consistently teaching to a standardized test and that's what we are going to be left with; a population doomed to fail because all they know how to do is to take a test.  There wasn't enough time for critical thinking skills or problem solving, we just need to get passing scores on that *&%^$ test! 

So, how do we remedy that problem?  Back off on TAKS and TEKS and STAAR?  No, we just throw money at it.  Money solves everything, right?  WRONG!  Sadly, you can't teach parents and administrators and teachers new tricks.  It's a full blown epidemic here in Texas; spending like drunken sailors to ensure the proper education of our children.  This election cycle is no different, and neither are the folks at the Cy-Fair Independent School District.  Cy-Fair is proposing it's largest bond in the history of the school district this May, a bond for a cool $1.2 Billion.

I have a problem with that.  Thankfully, I'm not the only one who has keyed in on the spending problem that local school boards, MUD boards and other local municipalities have.  This article written by a contributor to Empower Texans writes this: Local Debt: Few Vote, Everyone Pays.  Author Ross Keceg has this to say:"...your decision to vote in May will directly affect your family’s finances."

Texas' local debt is comparable to California, even bankrupt Detroit.  Even Breitbart is picking up on it in this article titled, Texas Cities Should Learn from Bankrupt, Spendthrift Detroit.  Jess Fields says, "Texans must work to ensure that our localities do not rack up enormous debt and waste money on pet projects we cannot afford. Taxpayers should demand that local governments spend money on priorities, like good public safety and sound infrastructure."

I know what you're thinking, Republicans/Conservatives are ALWAYS railing against bonds and are screaming for a 'no' vote on everything bond related.  I can see how that might be perceived, but it's simply not true.  This issue is simple and our position is reasonable: why would you want to spend so much of the taxpayer money simply to accommodate growth?  The amount being allocated for growth, minus the natatorium is only 11% of the total asking price.

What some of us who are not in favor of this bond are asking is that the district reevaluate some of the things that are being requested.  Like $20 million for a new and upgraded phone system for the teachers and staff?  We would like to see it broken up into smaller pieces so that the voters are not being asked to pass such a large debt package in one up or down vote.  We even have a PAC that we've formed in an effort to defeat the bond, called Citizens For Fair Bond Elections.  We have organized to change the tactics of school boards that want to push through enormous debt commitments on the community that they serve.

One of the other problems that we have, other than the enormous asking price is the way the election is being held and the timing of it.  It's being held on a weekend in May, when most of the voters aren't paying attention to such things.  When challenged as to why the district didn't hold the election in November, they responded that they would save $60,000 dollars.  Hmm, saving $60,000 to spend $1.2 billion?  That doesn't really add up.

Almost as egregious as the timing of the election is the location of the polling places.  The polling places are none other than public schools.  Not only are they being held at schools, they are changing the locations of the schools from day to day.  How many of the average voting population are going to try and find their location to vote?  You guessed it, not many.  Not enough to defeat the bond, and the school district and the pro-bond PAC that was created is counting on that very fact as well.

The aforementioned PAC has amassed $55,000 in donations.  From concerned citizens?  Some, maybe, but mostly from vendors that will benefit from the passage of this bond.  Who do you suppose would benefit most from the opportunity to build new schools?  Architectural firms and you can bet that they have donated to the pro-bond side to the tune of $10,000.  That leaves a little question if this is in fact 'for they children' as the school districts and pro-bond folks always like to shove down our throats.

So, let's get out and vote this thing down!  Here are the locations of early voting and election day polling places.  Click on the link and share it far and wide.    Ross Keceg says, "A few loud, informed voices can make a tangible difference."

Hey, "Giuliana and Bill", 'Carry' On!

If you have been reading my blog posts for any length of time now, you know a little bit about me.  In case you are new, I'll give you a brief introduction: I'm a conservative mom who home schools her children.  I am a precinct chairman for my precinct, I serve on some committees for the local Republican party; in other words, a bad ass in every sense of the word.  I believe that the government should stay out of the private sector, no meddling or spying or snooping or monitoring private lives and cell phone calls, etc. 

With all of the things I mentioned, I think it goes without saying that I am for the second amendment, you know, the amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms and that right shall not be infringed upon.  I'm not sure how much clearer our founders could have been about that particular right.  Hell, there's a lot that I thought was pretty clear in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, yet here we are as a nation saddled with a mountain of debt and the unconstitutional Obamacare looming on the horizon. Not only that, we have women that want to murder their unborn children all the way up until their due date and those same women are self-professed feminists who want to be empowered to have a career and a family and the right to choose.

Those are the same people who are advocating that if a woman is being raped or molested, they should pee on themselves or vomit on command.  No, that does not say 'victim' at all.  Those are the same group of people who idolize Wendy Davis, the democrat who is now running for Governor of Texas, who is supposed to be such a strong, independent woman.  The same woman who we also found out, relied on her ex-husband to foot the bill for law school and, who immediately hit the road once the bill was paid.  Oh, yeah, real independent.

I don't know if any of you have heard of the show on the E! Network called Giuliana and Bill.  It's a pretty fluffy show and it's all manufactured drama, just like all of the other reality TV shows out there.    I had it on as background noise while folding the clothes and I keyed in on something that really disturbed me.  So, the set up was that Giuliana is afraid of staying alone at the couple's home in California.  She decided a way to remedy the situation was to protect herself and get a gun to keep by her bedside.  So far, so good, right?  Well, Bill decided that he wasn't going to stand for that.  In an effort to help her decide NOT to get a gun, he took her to a local gun store with a range inside.

She picked a gun to shoot and they went to the range for practice.  While she's in there, she's jumping every time there's a bullet being fired.  She fired the gun a few times and didn't seem to hate it, but after they left the store (empty handed, of course) she confesses she has a fear of guns and was really scared in the gun range.  Then, her husband Bill, 'pats her on the head' and says something equally ridiculous like, "Oh, honey, guns should be in the hands of professionals, like the police or the military."  Really?!?

I thought you and your kind were all about empowering women!  But...but...I thought women should be strong and courageous!  I thought the conservative movement was the one with a war on women and was the one who wanted women to be kept barefoot and pregnant and in the kitchen making sammiches for her man.

Yeah, 'carry' on, Giuliana and Bill, 'carry' on.