Red Light Cameras Spark Debate

Updated: Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010, 9:34 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 06 Jul 2010, 9:34 AM CDT

Austin, TX – Red light cameras are sparking debate across the state. Debbie Russell of the ACLU stopped by Good Day to talk about why people oppose the program.

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/good_day/Red-Light-Cameras-Spark-Debate-20100706-ktbcgd

Texans4AcctGovt | June 25, 2010 | 10 minutes

Recorded June 7th 2010 at the Austin Public Safety Commission hearing.
Texans4AcctGovt | June 25, 2010 | 10 minutes

Recorded June 7th 2010 at the Austin Public Safety Commission hearing.
Category:

News & Politics
Tags:

* Fusion
* Center
* ARIC
* Austin
* Regional
* intelligence
* center
* street
* cameras
* police
* surveillance
* John
* Bush
* Texans
* for
* accountable
* government

All Comments (3)

*
Bizziboy
15 hours ago
So when we gonna put cameras on cops who are on duty and in police stations and government offices..? I mean they got cameras on us all the time… but we have no cameras on them….

Every where we go we are on camera. Police government officials should all be on Camera too, after all they are all on our tax bucks… it’s only fair… as we see everyday… civilians are not the only ones to break laws everyday. The more cameras they have on us…. they more we should have on them.
Bizziboy 15 hours ago
*
breezyvibe
2 days ago
The Times Square Bombing was a false flag event . . thusly . . the Austin Police is using the “Problem Reaction Solution” tactic to bring in their surveillance cameras. Our country will soon be like England . . cameras everywhere . .

Can you say “police state”?
breezyvibe 2 days ago
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frosthazard00
2 days ago
these cameras dont prevent crimes and they RARELY help solve them. this is lunacy
frosthazard00 2 days ago

View all Comments »

This is John Bush freestyling with an amazing hiphop group in Austin Texas. This event was put on by Texans for Accountable Government (http://www.tagtexas.org) and Run This Town. It was really great to experience the talent found at the grassroots of this over corporatized industry (music is similar to politics in that regard!). I think John should take up a career as an MC, what do you think??!?!?!??!?!

After giving his big brother a nice buzz cut, Harley came to the lake with Eddie, JB and I.

I actually swam!

What a great sunny day! Time to get to work phone banking for a candidate in San Antonio! Never in the revolution is there a day of ALL play, right?????

<3

Discussing the local pushback against fusion centers!!!!!

I recorded this video blog 12 days ago and had a hard time getting it to play back in qik.com – looks like its running nicely now!

This is my second taping of this (the first had the case to my cell phone sticking slightly in front of the lense. The one couple I wanted to mention by name, but didn’t in take two is Rita and Val – for their support during these transitional time. I love you!

Thanks to Tracy Ward and their entire framily, John Bush, mi familia, Brooke Kelley, the Austin area activists, the StL area activists (Kelly Owens!), the New Hampshire activist community and, of course, my homies in KC with Liberty Restoration Project. Most importantly, huge thanks to those who have opened their homes to John, Brooke and I as we travel the country. Thank you to everyone who has emotionally, financially, and in any other way supported our endeavors. I love, love, love you all <3

peace and love,
Cat

This one is for you, Joyce.

This is not being posted to “cause a division” but to start a conversation. We *must* be having a dialog about reality.

Please read the email strand below and let me know what you think.

If you’ve had any similar experiences, I’d love to hear about them. I have a few stories of my own…..

We are all leaders, we must stop looking up for leadership and start looking within. Today. Change your life today. Lets rise up. Together. De-Centralized. Be Free. Live.

<3
Catherine

_____________________________________

[ronpaul-1100] C4L Omission * * * * * * * * * * X austin X
Reply
John Bush ✆ to ronpaul-1100
show details 7:10 PM (1 hour ago)
Just thought I'd point out a little discrepency I came across recently. Take from it what you will. Note that if you do take offense, it is highly likely that any omissions are the work of national, not state. Messaging must be vetted through the machine.

This was sent out April 4th or 5th via We Texans, aka the Medina Campaign:

We Texans Legislative Action Day

April 15, 2010

Austin, TX

The Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services will hold a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. on April 15. You won’t want to miss this important opportunity to let your Texas Senators know that federal healthcare must be rejected and that the state of Texas must promote a competitive free-market health care industry.
What Can You Do?

Pull on your boots and get to Austin
Join us in our first We Texans Legislative Action Day
Let Texas legislators know we expect them to get Washington D.C. out of the Lone Star State
The more Texans there to tell the committee that we don’t want federal healthcare, the better
Never Been To A Hearing Before?

That’s ok. We Texans will all be there together. The committee sits in a semi-circular arrangement and witnesses (me and you) take turns speaking our peace at the podium. When you arrive, you can complete a witness information form which indicates that you would like to address the committee. When your name is called, approach the podium and respectfully tell the committee what you think of the new Healthcare Bill. Even if you’re not comfortable speaking to the committee, please come and support your fellow Texans!
Need A Ride?

We’ve arranged for chartered busses from the locations listed below but we must have your confirmation by Wednesday of this week. Tickets can be purchased for $10 each at The Medina Store
Fort Worth
Houston
Corpus Christi
Tyler
The busses will leave out the morning of April 15th at 8a.m. and depart Austin for the return trip home at 8:00 p.m. Encourage your friends and family to get on-board and buy a ticket.

TAG LiberTEA Party

Texans for Accountable Government will be holding a rally to voice their disapproval of our current taxing structure that evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Come meet other patriots and let’s stand together! Details can be found at http://tagtexas.org/. Speakers include: Talmadge Heflin, Devvy Kidd, and Debra Medina, among others.
For questions or additional information, please contact Gwen at: Gwen@WeTexans.com today, April 5th.
Visit the Medina For Texas website at http://www.medinafortexas.com.

And I then received this from the Texas Campaign for Liberty a few days later:

April 8, 2010

Dear Texas C4L Member,

All over Texas, Campaign for Liberty members are leading the call for a limited special session to pass legislation to nullify the federal Health Care bill BEFORE the November election.

We must keep the pressure on. They must feel the heat, especially Governor Perry. He said a lot of the right things during the primary campaign season; now it’s time for him to make good on his promises. Our Attorney General is working on legislation right now, but we must make sure we have legislation with TEETH, legislation that will protect Texans from any penalties imposed by the Federal government.

Contact info here:

Texas Legislature

Governor and Lt. Governor’s offices

Attorney General’s office

Former Campaign for Liberty state coordinator and Republican primary candidate for Governor of Texas, Debra Medina, has called for a Legislative Action Day. Details are below. We urge everyone who possibly can, to get to Austin on April 15th. We must step up our efforts. We need to reach critical mass to show that Texans mean it: we must say NO to DC, and we WON’T take NO for an answer!!

Spread the word. Take the day off. Bring your family. We have A LOT to LOSE. This is an important and historic event for Texas. Don’t miss it!!

We Texans Legislative Action Day

April 15, 2010, 9 a.m.

Austin, TX

The Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services will hold a public hearing beginning at 9 a.m. on April 15. You won’t want to miss this important opportunity to let your Texas senators know that federal health care must be rejected and that the state of Texas must promote a competitive free-market health care industry.
What Can You Do?
Pull on your boots and get to Austin
Join us in our first We Texans Legislative Action Day
Let Texas legislators know we expect them to get Washington D.C. out of the Lone Star State
The more Texans there to tell the committee that we don’t want federal health care, the better
Never Been To A Hearing Before?

That’s OK. We Texans will all be there together. We need to get as many supporters as we can to attend. Legislators need to know that we are serious about protecting our freedom.

If you want to testify, that would be great too. Here’s what you need to know:

The committee sits in a semi-circular arrangement, and witnesses (you and I) take turns speaking our piece at the podium. When you arrive, you can complete a witness information form, which indicates that you would like to address the committee. When your name is called, approach the podium and respectfully tell the committee what you think of the new health care bill. Even if you’re not comfortable speaking to the committee, please come and support your fellow Texans! (If you can’t possibly make it, contact the committee with your testimony. It will be entered in to the official record. Click here to see some examples.)

LiberTEA Party afterward!

South Steps of the Texas State Capitol

Join the rally to voice disapproval of our current taxing structure the evening of April 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Come meet other patriots and stand together! Speakers include: Talmadge Heflin, Devvy Kidd, and Debra Medina, among others.

In Liberty,

Texas Campaign for Liberty

–
Please Note: If you hit “REPLY”, your message will be sent to everyone on this mailing list (ronpaul-1100@meetup.com)
This message was sent by John Bush (libertylover512@yahoo.com) from The Austin Liberty Coalition ACTION Group.
To learn more about John Bush, visit his/her member profile
To unsubscribe or to update your mailing list settings, click here

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | support@meetup.com
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GARKO ✆ to ronpaul-1100
show details 7:14 PM (1 hour ago)
I could understand and empathize with some who. Might possibly be inclined to take offense to the perceived omission
But I have risen above such feelings and reactions myself
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

From: John Bush Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 20:10:30 -0400
To:
Subject: [ronpaul-1100] C4L Omission
- Show quoted text -
This message was sent by GARKO (tone40@garkofactor.com) from The Austin Liberty Coalition ACTION Group.
To learn more about GARKO, visit his/her member profile

To unsubscribe or to update your mailing list settings, click here

Meetup, PO Box 4668 #37895 New York, New York 10163-4668 | support@meetup.com
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Katie Brewer ✆ to ronpaul-1100
show details 7:28 PM (1 hour ago)

THE OMISSIONS WERE FROM NATIONAL NOT STATE. Verified.

Katie Brewer
318-617-8292

http://facebook.com/msliberty

http://twitter.com/msliberty

Steering Committee Member for
Texans for Accountable Government

— On Fri, 4/9/10, John Bush wrote:

From: John Bush Subject: [ronpaul-1100] C4L Omission
To: ronpaul-1100@meetup.com
Date: Friday, April 9, 2010, 7:10 PM
- Show quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
This message was sent by Katie Brewer (katieeebug@yahoo.com) from The Austin Liberty Coalition ACTION Group.
To learn more about Katie Brewer, visit his/her member profile
- Show quoted text -

I have no reason to believe this story is not true..

Read below:

____________________________________

Police: Teaching Kids to Mistrust Government Makes Couple ‘Unsuitable’ ParentsBy STEPHEN C. WEBSTERWilliamson County Courthouse, in Georgetown, TexasTexans, beware: If you teach your kids that the “government is out to harm them,” police in Williamson County might just deem you an “unsuitable” parent.That startling claim, leveled by officers in Child Protective Services documents detailing an investigation into an Austin-area activist couple, should be enough to give reason for pause to any staunch conservative in the state.The allegation was made against drug reform activist filmmakers Barry and Candi Cooper, whose home was recently raided and searched after the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department claimed Barry’s voice was heard in the background audio of an allegedly false police report.Once in the couple’s home, officers discovered a small amount of marijuana and charged the Coopers with Class B misdemeanors, resulting in both their arrests. Each immediately bonded out of jail and paid a small fine. Days later, while Candi’s youngest son was visiting his father in east Texas, Child Protective Services contacted the Coopers, revealing that the incident could cost them not only custody of the boy, but also their freedom on felony child endangerment charges.After CPS interviewed the couple, Travis County Deputy District Attorney Dayna Blazey pronounced both Coopers to be fit parents, whose children are healthy, happy and “well cared for.”“[There] is nothing to indicate that the kids are at risk,” she wrote.A message requesting the deputy DA’s comment on this story went unanswered at time of publication.Her conclusion, which falls at the end of documents published below, is almost odd following the numerous pages of text entered by police, who seemingly describe an alternate reality.Among their claims — that Barry and Candi regularly give illicit drugs to their children, that they allow and encourage other kids to use drugs in their home, that they’ve mentally abused their children by telling them that marijuana is good and anti-drug efforts are riddled with lies — the most extreme is that the Coopers are “unsuitable” parents because they create an environment in which the children learn their “government is out to harm them.”The allegation is found atop page five of the CPS report.In another completely dumbfounding, ironic entry, Sgt. Gary Haston of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department — the officer whose testimony appears on the original search warrant affidavit — actually claims he observed the children “crying for no reason” as armed officers invaded their home. [Emphasis added.]

via Police: Teaching Kids to Mistrust Government Makes Couple ‘Unsuitable’ Parents – Stephen C. Webster – Brave New Hooks – True/Slant.

I stepped down from the national group a few weeks ago due to some major leadership issues and internal communication failures. I had the intent of focusing on LOLA Austin and supporting LOLA National as an organization, while not directly engaging with the leadership. I didn’t make it public as I believe in trying to resolve issues in house. The actions of the leadership and supporting women within LOLA this past week have caused me to feel the need to make my distance public as I do not want to be associated with such disrespectful treatment of one of our movement’s most brave women, Brooke Kelley, nor do I want my name associated with such a blatant failure of leadership and accountability. In doing so, I also know people will want to know why I left. I am going to explain that here in this blog, and I ask that if any lady or party involved feels I have told an untruth, or misrepresented the situation in anyway that they address it with me, I will retract/correct any false information.

I want to clarify that anything I say herein is not a personal attack, it is a depiction of the situation from my perspective. It is my hope that once these issues are brought to life that a constructive solution can be found for all of the women involved.

For the full story on Brooke situation with LOLA, please see Todd’s blog here (its the most comprehensive piece I’ve seen): http://letlibertyring.blogspot.com/2010/02/ladies-of-lying-intelligent-tyrants.html

Last summer at PorcFest Allison Gibbs approached me about being in the LOLA Calendar and helping to create a community of libertarian (small “L”) women. I have to admit, I was both skeptical and excited as I have never had a strong community of women in my life.

My masters degree (well, I’m not done, but I”m 3 classes from completion and I will be focusing on that goal for December of 2010) is an MPA, Masters of Public Administration, with a major in Nonprofit Management and a minor in Crisis and Disaster Management. I am by no means an expert on nonprofit leadership, but I do have both experience and education under my belt.

In college I interned at the Central Missouri Humane Society doing volunteer coordination / event planning, my capstone project in my undergrad was conducting a public survey, creating a plan based on the results and presenting a proposal to the American Cancer Society (my team won an annual award from the Communications Department at Mizzou for that proposal! The ACS picked ours!), while working on my masters degree I interned for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners doing legal research, in Santa Barbara I worked for the United Way doing grant underwriting and reporting (for incoming grants) and distribution / report collection (for outgoing grants), in Kansas City I managed a 200+ volunteer thrift store from construction, to opening day, to an average of $2,000 in revenue per day, and finally, I co-founded and have managed the Liberty Restoration Project as the executive director for two years.

I am by no means perfect, nor an expert, but my in depth experience in the nonprofit sector has allowed me to make mistakes and learn firsthand how difficult it is to become a truly successful organization. In fact, one of the things I learned in college and through hands on experience is that an organization without a mission and vision statement, and without a strategic plan, will likely fail in less than 18 months.

I tried desperately to help LOLA develop a solid mission, vision and strategic plan. I actually offered to do this as an outside consultant who would give absolutely no personal opinion on the matter. After scheduling multiple con calls with the board, and subsequently being stood up (they didn’t come on the call, even though I had rearranged my MWLF planning calls for them!), I realized something was up. I later found out that Allison was so afraid of myself and Brooke “taking over” the organization that she deliberately pushed me out of the process and did not communicate her concerns with me, leaving me feeling frustrated and in the dark.

Ultimately, the lack of a cohesive mission and vision has become the downfall of this group. In fact, despite the list of other issues the org faces, this is, in my opinion, the single reason this organization has not gone ANYWHERE.

Issues.
1. Financial accountability – this speaks for itself, none of the women know where the money is going, except the ones who have the cash in hand. This is not OK. Questions have been asked and have remained unanswered for MONTHS.
- Tracy Ward had to beg for months to be refunded for the t-shirts her husband printed for LOLA, both batches. Also, she had to beg to be reimbursed for shipping costs as she is shipping out the calendars.
- There are many discrepancies about which calendar sponsors have actually paid.
- Thousands of dollars have come into the org, and it appears it has only gone to working booths and throwing parties. LOLA core was promised a financial break down for MONTHS and still it has not been provided.

2. Planning – Despite my attempts to help create a strategic plan, despite the core women saying they wanted to create a plan and be a part of the process, despite surveying the grassroots and hearing exactly what they want in an org such as LOLA, the leadership has refused to allow any planning whatsoever and has engaged in a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants style of leadership. This has created a huge issue as every woman involved has their own vision of what LOLA should be and those visions differ – if women knew exactly what they were signing onto, if they weren’t personally in line with the vision, they could choose to participate in an org that moreso fits their needs. As of now its sounds like the board and executive director do not want to support street activists, although half of us are street activists and got involved thinking this was a group about promoting such action by strong women.

3. Communication – I have not met one core member of LOLA who feels they can openly and timely communicate with Allison about issues within LOLA. For 8 months I have heard comlaint after complaint about her refusal to answer questions, respond to emails, return phone calls, or even update the group on what is happening. In fact, when we had a con call last month that was supposed to be an opportunity for woment to speak directly to the leadership, Allison was prevented from speaking by the board and the board refused to address our issues stating they were taking a 3 month break. Communications from Angela Keaton have been hostile and very unprofessional.

4. Leadership – the organization has a complete and utter lack of effective leadership. Issues that could have been resolved with a simple conversation, or the creation of a simple plan have been pushed to the side and the will of the women involved completely shut out. A true leader can identify flaws in themselves and work accordingly to correct any issues. In LOLA, dissenters and question askers, as polite as they may be, are demonized, margionalized, and shut down. Sound familiar? This is not leadership, this is fear mongering. Real leaders don’t hide, they look you in the eye and address the issue. Closing your eyes doesn’t mean the entire world has gone dark – pushing problems aside doesn’t mean they have been resolved.

5. Lack of professional behavior. Calling names, talking behind backs, being snyde, making threats, spreading rumors are all behavior that indicate a lack of respect and love for the other. It is also the reason I didn’t join a sorority in college.

In Phoenix, AZ I was able to express my concerns about the organization to Angela and Allison. When nothing changed we were told we’d have a “come to Jesus meeting” in Atlanta. We had a meeting, no concerns were addressed so the board said we’d have a con call to address all concerns. We had the call and not only were concerns not addressed (to this date the women have not received questions about where the money has been spent, or any of their other concerns), but I was treated so poorly by the board that I decided to resign.

Again, I’m not going to claim perfection, nor claim that I handled things perfectly, but I am being honest and open and I really have nothing to hide, even my flaws. All of these concerns would be easily addressed and all of this drama avoided if we simply engaged in open communication. The board and the executive director have actively worked to stifle communication and refuse to answer questions from their members, supporters and donors. This is not fair. If an org leadership, which is funded by the grassroots and is the recipient of much time and energy by members of the grassroots, is not going to be held internally accountable, I think its high-time the movement starts holding them accountable. I would expect the same for LRP.

Here is my proposed solution. A third party to conduct a PUBLIC conference call – have the board and the executive director available to answer questions to the lola core members, donors, supporters, and curious onlookers. Only through a process of openly communicating and honestly answering the concerns of those involved can we find a solution. Maybe the solution is multiple women’s orgs, maybe the solution is new leadership within LOLA, maybe the solution is a decentralized model instead of a national level org. We’ll only know if we explore the options together as a family.

I want to be involved with a community of loving, active and supportive women. If you want that too, let me know, maybe we can be friends and work to support and uplift eachother

LOLA, it was a good learning experience and I wish you the best. Create a mission, create a vision, answer the unanswered questions and focus on your goals – you’ll do great, if you decide exactly what it is you want to do. If its throw parties at c4l conferences and work booths, then by all means, set that as your goal – but be honest about it so people like myself can make the choice to create a community in which we desire.

If any bloggers or alternative media wants to learn more, I’ll gladly share with you my email correspondence with the lolacore group and any responses from the board and the executive director. I will keep emails authored by non leaders within the org confidential unless they ask me otherwise. Remember, if you’re going to be a nonprofit, you’re accountable to the community, so this is NOTHING personal.

I will not engage in active bashing of any women in this group, nor will I work to unfairly smear the name. I am simply expressing the truth as I see it in an attempt to find closure and moveon.

I ask that the ladies who ARE actively engaged in saying hateful things about me to consider speaking directly with me – I would do you the justice of treating you like a real woman and speaking to your face.