UPDATE 8/25/05
Mike Alvey, Gwen and I attended the Sons of Liberty Riders TEA Party in Oskaloosa, Iowa this past week. It is truly a great experience to spend a few days each year surrounded by Extreme Activists for Liberty. The Party consists of one official meeting to set direction for the next year followed by a few days of food and one on one or small group conversations sharing views. During this trip Penny and Bernie Adams from Virginia traveled thru Pennsylvania enroute to Iowa and picked up a Shadow Ace that Hawk had made available for my use. Your chairman is ready to ride again if it kills him.
Friday was our 46th anniversary so the SOLR Members toasted Gwen for putting up with me for that long. She also received a bouquet of roses. One member said we all try to keep how much we spend on biker’s rights from our mates because if they knew we would be out the door quick. He went on to say ‘except for Gwen and she is a Goddess.”
Headed back to the office early Monday morning I lost ability to breathe again but had oxygen sitting in the truck beside me and was able to once again stave off the inevitable. Slowly traveled the rest of the way to the office while doing oxygen and hit the ground running. We did some probability studies on races for the upcoming election cycle and will have a list of candidates soon. With all our Emails answered we found time to ride the bike about 20 miles yesterday.
We have a meeting scheduled with Charles Soechting for Monday morning at Party headquarters to discuss those races we discussed at the DA meeting and get insight from that side. Currently we feel that every uncontested race needs to be looked at very closely. Someone should run for these seats where possible, win or lose. At least we can get issues discussed that affect the common man. Who knows where that might lead.
The following is a personal goal!!!!
With my wife being a Geriatric Nurse I am very aware of how much nurses spend buying personal items for their patients because the legislature only allows them $30 per month for personal needs. The legislature raised that to $60 per month but nothing got signed during this two month ordeal. The governor says he will add that expenditure to the budget but he needs approval from Speaker Tom Craddick and Lt. Governor Dewhurst. As I say this is a personal deal with me but I would ask that anyone who reads this call the Speaker’s office at 512-463-0056 and the Lt. Governor’s Office at 512-463-0614 and ask that they support adding this issue to the budget. Time is of the essence on this.
Thank you for reading this,
Sputnik / Proud husband of a dedicated Geriatric Nurse
We have copies of the Biker’s Handbook in the office to sell now. We will be sending a few copies of the book to each chapter to sell and return the money to the state office. Each District Advisor present at the DA meeting received a copy to take back to the district and show off. The book is currently in the Biker’s Museum in Sturgis as the Collectors Edition. Each book has been signed by yours truly as my picture is on the front cover. Contact your nearest chapter or call the state office to check it out or purchase a copy.
We received several calls about being involved in a protest ride to the Waco VA Hospital to day. Your chairman immediately contacted the office of Congressman Chet Brooks and US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to learn more on the status of this issue. We were told by Chet’s staff that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs had recommended closing or consolidating 18 hospitals. This recommendation was then changed to doing a year long study to determine what action if any should be taken. We have two of the most powerful legislators in Washington for this issue thanks in large part to the work done by the TMRA 2 Warriors during the staged attempt at removing Congressman Edwards from office by redistricting. They assure me they are on top of this and ask that you be told to contact Waco Mayor Linda Ethridge and/or Bill Mahon, President of the McClennan County Veterans Administration and offer your help to those people to save this hospital. Edward’s staff say if the study does not go our way they will address the issue legislatively. Senator Hutchison has already introduced legislation to keep any action by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from taking place against the hospital due to this study.
It appears we are still receiving ample support from these legislators which I have had the pleasure of being aware of for several years. They should receive your thanks and your support through positive action.
We have finally gotten our taxes figured (late) after taking it to the third CPA. We learned yesterday that we owe $ 2,527.13 in late taxes and there will late charges and interest added to that when it is filed. My wife paid the $204.95 for getting it figured. This amount is not from making a profit. It comes from the taxes held out of the 8 months salary your chairman received last year plus the matching taxes on those withheld taxes.
As of August 12th we had finally managed to catch up our back bills and had $26 left in the account. Financially we are in one hell of a mess as always. As Chairman of one of the most successful SMROs in the country I have just about reached my boiling point at the number of clubs that so proudly do events for charities who in turn use that money to oppose our issues at the capitol while making use of the legislation we manage to get passed or killed at the capitol to benefit all riders Muscular Dystrophy, a favorite charity for the Harley Riders uses that money to lobby in support of mandatory adult helmet laws. Their claim is that money spent treating riders with head injuries could better be spent by them. I would say a good bit of it goes for six figure salaries for the executives who run MD and the cost of their lobbyist. Riders gladly support those expenses while the state secretary of TMRA 2 works three jobs to be able to serve the interest of riders in this state. I wonder how many of those will have a pistol on their bikes after Sept. 1st thanks to HB 823 that the Warriors helped write, rewrite and pass Oh for the days when the wave tossed around by passing riders today was a clenched fist held low on your thigh in passing as a way of saying “Balls – we gott’um, they don’t and we stand together as one.”
Sorry this is so long but I have not posted for a while due top the hectic pace at the capitol.
Ride Free – Ride Sober
Sputnik
State Chair TMRA 2
