Should this be true, this would be a truly outrageous, unwarranted, unsanctioned action on the part of any of these presumptive tea party leaders. This would be a dangerous mistake of biblical proportions that would do untold damage to the credibility of all Tea Party members and groups, and could undermine the entire conservative movement.

Clearly, as the strength of Tea Party movements resides in our grassroots foundation and the decentralization and independence of the Tea Party groups themselves, any self identified Tea Party Leader (I didn't vote for any of these people) who would presume to speak for, or bargain in behalf of our national movement and the hundreds of thousands (some will argue, millions of independent Tea Party members), regarding the insane amnesty legislation of the 'gang of 8', is delusional, and does so without any authorization or demonstrable support of the Tea Party movement as a whole, and without regard for the hard work that so many citizens have put into creating this thriving movement of conservative Americans.

Indeed, if these rumors have any basis in in fact, or in any way prove to be true, and that there are any self serving, self identified Rogue Tea Party Group Leaders pretending to speak for our movement as a whole, or otherwise attempting to act or bargain on behalf of the Tea Party movement, or implicate the good name of our movement in connection with these dangerously misguided comprehensive immigration reform proposals, there should and will be consequences and accountability for these 'leaders' and for the groups unfortunate enough to have allowed these fools to implicate our movement in supporting these immigration proposals.

If any of these rumors prove to be factually correct, I will be among the first to call for a complete investigation into how these self important, presumptive leaders and groups have undermined our movement, with the objective of removing these failed leaders and disbanding these rogue tea party groups.

Comments: 0

Should this be true, this would be a truly outrageous, unwarranted, unsanctioned action on the part of any of these presumptive tea party leaders. This would be a dangerous mistake of biblical proportions that would do untold damage to the credibility of all Tea Party members and groups, and could undermine the entire conservative movement.

Clearly, as the strength of Tea Party movements resides in our grassroots foundation and the decentralization and independence of the Tea Party groups themselves, any self identified Tea Party Leader (I didn't vote for any of these people) who would presume to speak for, or bargain in behalf of our national movement and the hundreds of thousands (some will argue, millions of independent Tea Party members), regarding the insane amnesty legislation of the 'gang of 8', is delusional, and does so without any authorization or demonstrable support of the Tea Party movement as a whole, and without regard for the hard work that so many citizens have put into creating this thriving movement of conservative Americans.

Indeed, if these rumors have any basis in in fact, or in any way prove to be true, and that there are any self serving, self identified Rogue Tea Party Group Leaders pretending to speak for our movement as a whole, or otherwise attempting to act or bargain on behalf of the Tea Party movement, or implicate the good name of our movement in connection with these dangerously misguided comprehensive immigration reform proposals, there should and will be consequences and accountability for these 'leaders' and for the groups unfortunate enough to have allowed these fools to implicate our movement in supporting these immigration proposals.

If any of these rumors prove to be factually correct, I will be among the first to call for a complete investigation into how these self important, presumptive leaders and groups have undermined our movement, with the objective of removing these failed leaders and disbanding these rogue tea party groups.

Comments: 0

For decades, corporations (particularly oil & gas) have manipulated Texas law and corrupted the state Railroad Commission to utilize state eminent domain practices to 'put Texans off their land" whenever it suited the needs of corporate greed or convenience.

Each time Legislators promised 'reforms' that would protect Texas families, farms and communities from these unfair, for-profit takings, they've come back with regulations that weakened property owners rights, effectively denying Texans control over the property they may have owned for generations.

Clearly, Corporations, Corrupt Legislators, and the Railroad Commission use assertions that 'jobs' and 'economic gain' for the community to stack the deck against property owners and their rights, but true Texas Conservatives see through this non-sense and recognize the greater issue that is at stake. No property owner will ever be safe, no family ever secure in their farms or homes, so long as any government can seize our property purely, and solely for the benefit or convenience of another person or corporation.

Pure and simple, our current eminent domain practices allow Corporations to put Texans off their land, whenever the Corporation determines that 'they'd like to own that property', or that 'a property would make it more profitable or convenient for them to put property owners off said land'.

American's recognize how vital it is for citizens to have property rights protection. We understand that no person should be forced to sell or give up their legally owned property to benefit anyone else, especially if the don't want to sell their property to anyone. We likewise understand that if one party to a transaction is unwilling or unable to pay the asking price for a piece of property, our Government should not condone the use of eminent domain practices to be used to 'force' property owners to sell their property for what the putative buyer is willing to pay!

We should all be phoning, faxing, e-mailing our Texas House members and demanding that they 'strengthen the rights of Texas property Owners', and stop the creeping socialism that allows Corporations and their elected lackeys on the Texas Railroad Commission to "take property" from Texans, and turn it over to for-profit corporations for 'development'.

I've provided a sample message that you can cut and paste to suit your needs when faxing, e-mailing or writing your House member:

Dear Representative So-and-So;

After nearly a century of giving the industry carte blanche, Texas is finally considering whether to rein in the granting of eminent domain rights for pipelines. The Legislature is debating competing bills (HB 2748 by Lewis and HB 3547 by Oliveira) about how and where eminent domain is decided. And courtrooms are filled with lawsuits from landowners facing down the pipeline companies, and increasingly, Texas Citizens and Residents are beginning to realize how little citizen property rights matter to their elected representatives in Austin.

As our law is currently written, common carrier pipelines (those willing to carry products from companies other than their own) are granted the power of eminent domain in Texas. We have, in statute, a very specific list of requirements a company must meet in order to be classified as a common carrier. The problem is we don't have any state agency charged with overseeing whether companies are or are not meeting those requirements. Until this time companies have essentially been self-classifying as common carriers by simply checking a box on a permit application with the Texas Railroad Commission and then arriving on the doorsteps of Texas landowners, holding up that application as proof of their eminent domain powers.

A Texas Supreme Court ruling in 2012 upheld landowners’ right to challenge a pipeline's common carrier status and it found the Texas Railroad Commission needed to do more in checking companies’ assertions that they were indeed opening their pipelines up to other companies. While the Supreme Court decision will not end eminent domain rights for pipelines altogether, companies are now expected to have to prove they qualify.

Two competing bills in the House address this issue. HB 2748 by Rep. Tryon Lewis wants to give authority to the Railroad Commission to certify common carrier status while HB 3547 by Rep. Rene Oliveira would place those decisions in the hands of the state administrative courts. Additionally, Rep. Lewis' bill states that the Railroad Commission's finding on common carrier status would be considered a "conclusive determination" meaning landowners would then have no right of appeal in the courts.

Clearly HB 2748 would empower Corporations and their lackeys on the Railroad Commission to undermine the property rights of Texas citizens, and deny them due process and appeal rights. Families, Farms, entire communities would be uprooted and removed from their land, simply to satisfy the greed and convenience of corporations. Texans consider this unfair, and we will not stand for anymore of this type of eminent domain carpet baggery being used to harm Texas Residents and their property rights!

As with so many elected offices in our State, the railroad commissioners get so much of their contributions from the oil and gas industries, there are questions about how independent they are. The question then is: What is the correct balance that provides as much protection as possible for landowners to ensure their property is not being taken needlessly for a project that is not public? It's not enough for Corporations and the Railroad Commission to assert that 'jobs' and 'economic benefits' will be created to justify their taking of property that Texans have bought or owned, sometimes across many generations. Nor is it ethical for State Government to allow eminent domain practices to be utilized when Corporate Carpetbaggers don't want to 'pay' property owners what they might ask for their property. Realistically, if one party to any transaction is unwilling or unable to pay the asking price, our Government has no business utilizing eminent domain to force property owners to accept less!

The Railroad Commission has a history of complicit cooperation with pipeline companies in trampling private property rights in Texas. We have no faith that they will serve as objective arbiters in this matter. For that reason, I strongly support HB 3547 (Oliveira) which is currently in the House Calendars Committee and strongly oppose HB 2748 (Lewis) which is scheduled to be voted on by the full house this Friday, May 3.

As your constituent, I will expect you and your Republican Colleagues in the Texas House to oppose and Vote No on HB 2748, and I will likewise expect all of you Vote Yes to support HB 3757 which demonstrates the proper respect for the property rights of Texans, and that strengthens protections for Texas property owners.

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information with your friends and family and groups in other Texas State Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information with your friends and family and groups in other Texas State Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information with your friends and family and groups in other Texas State Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0

A 'yes' vote is the same thing as voting for TOLL TAXES in the hands of a private, foreign corporation since it gives TxDOT and toll agencies a blank check! STATE representative is here

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx?utm_source=TURF+-+April+29%2C+2013&utm_campaign=Bait+%26+Switch%3A+No+chance+to+vote+on+selling+TX+roads+to+private+entities&utm_medium=email

Please share this information (without Representative Burkett's information, obviously) with your friends and family in other Legislative Districts!

Comments: 0