Legislative Update

The Texas Attorney General issued an opinion that Poker Runs that pay out cash are illegal. His justification for this opinion was that they were games of chance and therefore come under the Lottery Law and only the state may run a lottery. It is supposedly legal to play Poker in the state if the house does not take a cut of the pot.
After studying the opinion and conferring with an Attorney I decided to host a RUN-N-GUN Poker Run to take the chance out of the game and make it a game of skill. Each entrant paid a fee to play and all the money collected was paid out to the winner. I believe any game which requires skill rather than luck and where no money is kept by the host would pass muster.
I am not an Attorney and I make no guarantee that this will be found legal by a court of law but am personally willing to find out. I shall be hosting another RUN-N-GUN Poker Run the last weekend of October at the Howl-O-Ween Biker Rally in Groesbeck. I will be personally responsible for any action that may be taken as a result of this decision.

-Sputnik

THERE WILL BE A MEETING OF THE AUSTIN TMRA 2 CHAPTER TUESDAY, AUG. 1 7:30P TO 8:30P AT THE ROADHOUSE BAR AND GRILL IN ROUND ROCK, TX HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE
RAGU

T M R A 2
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association

New Chapter
Navarro County
August 7th
Monday Night ************ 7pm

Held at "That Church"
North Business 45 Corsicana, Texas

For Information Call James At (903) 327-2929
or reply to Greg at this email!!!
Spread the word.
Sputnik is scheduled to be there.

Ride Safe & Free (while U steelcan)

Greg Bodovsky
Senate District 22 Advisor
Texas Motorcycle Rights Association
www.tmra2.org
LET THOSE WHO RIDE DECIDE
--
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

UPDATE 7/24/06

Good morning everyone. It was a whirlwind visit with my son and his family during his three week visit. Had too much running around to do but did get to be with them for the last five days in a row. Of course it rained the whole time they were here.
Dropped them off at the airport about 4:00am Friday morning and headed back to the office. Grabbed a few supplies and went right on down to San Marcos to meet up with Dee and headed out for Goldsmith to attend the Black Gold Rally. Jan & Bob Walker had put their travel trailer at our disposal for the weekend and it was very much appreciated. We enjoyed seeing Brois, Bob & Jan, Dean and the rest of our members from the Permian Basin Chapter at the Rally.
This Rally was indeed an experience. Goldsmith has about three hundred population, a convenience store and three Biker Bars. The general public was very friendly and kept checking to see if we needed anything. It was hot and dry but thanks to the Volunteer Fire Dept. constantly watering down the grounds the dust was kept to a minimum. The band Push Rod put on a good show and then I spoke from the stage. The response was not overwhelming except for one fact that came through from the 21 people who signed up to become members. ALL BUT ONE HAD NEVER HEARD OF TEXAS MOTORCYCLE RIGHTS ASSOCIATION!!!
We did get really good coverage from the TV Station Saturday night so possibly more of them will have heard about us by now. We passed out a lot of brochures so I feel confident that there will be more members coming from this event. There is also a large chapter of the Cossacks M/C in Goldsmith and I am sure Dean will have them signed on in the near future. This has the potential of expanding the Permian Basin tremendously.
Don’t forget the Advisor meeting on August 12th. Check around your area and see what Texas articles you can come up with for the Mid South M.I.L.E. and bring them to the meeting if possible.

Sputnik

P.S. for Kanga:
See if you can get a copy of the tape made during our last visit out to the COC meeting and bring it to me please.
Thanks,
Sput

MRF E-MAIL NEWS
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave.
NESuite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice-President of Government Relations
jeff@mrf.org (e-mail)

July 22, 2006

#06NR13 - MRF Announces Federal Motorcycle Safety Grant Program Users Guide

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is pleased to announce the finalization of the National Highway Traffic Administration's (NHTSA) Motorcycle Safety Grant Program.

This program is the direct result of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the supporting State Motorcycle Rights Organizations (SMRO's) and all the individual motorcyclists who have lobbied for this program over the past four years.

This program will provide much needed federal dollars from the Highway Trust Fund to the individual State's to help fund motorcycle safety programs. The grant program runs annually through 2009 and sets aside $25 million dollarsto be spent at $100,000.00 a year per State.

In order to be eligible for the funds The States must meet one of six criteria and two the second and subsequent years. The criteria are that the applying State must have:
1. A motorcycle rider training program
2. A motorcycle awareness program
3. A reduction in fatalities involving motorcycles
4. An effective impaired driving program
5. A reduction in fatalities and accidents involving impaired motorcyclists
6. Use of fees collected from motorcyclist for motorcycle programs must be used for motorcycle programs

The MRF is also pleased that the final program retains all of the same intents set forth by Congress in the original legislation.

For a complete guide to the program and all of the specifics on how, where and when to apply visit: http://www.mrf.org/pdf/Grantguide.pdf

On U.S. Highway 67
From Cedarhill / Midlothian / Venus / Alvarado / Cleburne
This will be 24 hours a day Friday / Saturday / Sunday
There is a very large number of State / County / Local Police more than "50 officers"
I have recieved confermation of motorcycles being stopped and checked for Insurance / Inspection / License Endorcements / Licenseplates and of course please be sure and have everything you need if you are riding without a helmet.
Remember this is America and you do have the right to say no to serches and you do have the right of respect from the police.
If you are stopped please ask the officer for his card with his name and badge number even if you do not recieve a ticket of any kind.
This is very important because we would like to track if any officers are harrassing without cause and violating your civil rights and freedoms of the road.
Thank You & Be Safe out there and if you are traveling in this area please be careful and pass this along to your fellow riders.
Live Free / Ride Free
BIG KID
State Liaison Texas Confederation Of Clubs


Texas Confederation Of Clubs
texascoc@coctexas.org
http://www.coctexas.org
_____________________________

Meeting starts at 1:00 pm.

DISTRICT ADVISOR MEETING
August 12th, 2006 - State Office

INVOCATION

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

REPORTS
Not just what you have done the last three months but your plans for the upcoming election

THIRD PARTY PLATFORMS

Howl-O-Ween RALLY

SOUTHERN CROSS CONFERENCE

PREFILE BILLS

OPEN FLOOR as time permits

ADJOURN

90% of ALL Motorcycle Fatalities Occur on Undivided Roads

Date: 7/17/2006
From: Bruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com

Fellow Freedom Fighters,
For those of you who haven't read NHTSA's latest motorcycle fatality stats, "Recent Trends in Fatal Motorcycle Crashes: An Update" (as first posted to Bruce-n-Ray's Biker Forum by GirlGeek), they are available here: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/Rpts/2006/810606.pdf

I won't present an in-depth analysis here, but I will share twoobservations:

1. The data on fatalities among helmeted versus unhelmeted riders isuseless. Fatalities result from injuries, and injuries result from crashes.The data does not tell us how many helmeted versus unhelmeted riders were(a) in the total population, (b) involved in a crash, and/or (c) injured but not killed. Without any of this information to provide context, the data presented is more likely to suggest where the fatal crash took place (free state vs. lid state) than it is to tell us anything meaningful. Ignore it.

2. Do NOT ignore Table 20: Motorcycle Rider Fatalities by Year and Roadway Type (page 37).

What you will see is one statistic that has remained constant for ten years: About 90% of all motorcycle fatalities occur on roads that are NOT DIVIDED or have NO MEDIAN BARRIER (as opposed to exit/entry ramps, one-way streets, or roads with median barriers). Let me repeat that:
ABOUT 90% OF ALL MOTORCYCLE FATALITIES OCCUR ON UNDIVIDED ROADS.
Do I need to tell you WHY? Because those are the roads where cagers guilty of negligence or inattentional blindness are most likely to commit a right-of-way violation (like turning in front of us) and take us out!More fuel for the fire, folks...

BruceBruce@LdrLongDistanceRider.com
Source:http://pub42.bravenet.com/forum/3562429698/fetch/716681/

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We met with Mr. Badnarik yesterday to discuss his campaign for Congressional Dist. 10 as a Libertarian. We spent about an hour discussing the Libertarian Party and why he decided to run for office as a Libertarian. It was a very informative meeting for both sides. As you maybe aware the Libertarian Party held their National Convention and completely rewrote their Platform. I asked him about these changes and he seemed to be in agreement with most of the changes as am I. There is still a ways to go as it is a work in progress.

Last night we attended the Austin Minutemen chapter meeting. The chapter is in the process of reorganization and there was standing room only in the very large meeting room. Ragoo has accepted the position of Coordinator for the present and he did one hell of a fine job. It was the best run chapter meeting I have attended in several years. Thanks to Casey for getting Ragoo to agree to take the position for now and hopefully it can become a permanent arrangement. This man knows his stuff, was very well prepared and maintained complete control at all times. It was fantastic.

Mr. Badnarik spoke to the chapter and drew several outbursts of applause.
They brought a few good bumper stickers but my favorite said,

The Constitution isn't just a good idea,

IT'S THE LAW

After the show tonight I will be heading to Wisconsin to speak at the American Biker Party National Convention in Wisconsin. Next week I will be at the Black Gold Rally.

Ride Free - Ride Sober
Sputnik

This Bill currently has 100 Co-sponsors. Joe Baton who chairs the committee introduced the Bill. Mike BUrgess and Gene Green are on the committee and have Co-sponsored it. Mike Conaway is also on the committee.

Sputnik

They don't advertise this much. I'd like to see it. A HELL of a lot more important than teaching the TAKS test!!!Greg
Project V.O.T.E. (Voters of Tomorrow through Education) is an innovative, private-public partnership designed to help students become knowledgeable, responsible voters at an early age and to stimulate a life-long commitment to the election process. This non-partisan, cooperative statewide voter education program promotes voter participation by introducing students to the mechanics of the electoral and legislative processes through hands-on experience. The curriculum, which focuses on students Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grades, is designed by teachers, for teachers, for implementation in the classroom. The project's objectives are to make the voting procedures easy to understand and to encourage students to make informed decisions.

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/projectvote/index.htm

-- First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me.
Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

July 7, 2006
#06NR11 - URGENT CALL TO ACTION
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) reports the United States House of Representatives will hold a legislative hearing on HR 2048, the "Right to Repair Act". The resolution was forwarded to full committee on May 25, 2006.

This legislation is important to all motorcyclists who want the right to choose where to have their motorcycle repaired. HR 2048 would make the same computer diagnostic information, tools and training available to the owners of every type of vehicle including motorcycles that currently is only afforded to those under the dealership umbrella. The deliberate withholding of pertinent information compels independent repair facilities to turn business away forcing vehicle owners to return to the dealership when any kind of computer diagnostics is necessary. The MRF believes every American has the right to choose who performs the diagnostics on their motorcycle or automobile. Furthermore, consumers should have the right to choose where, how and who will ultimately repair their vehicles and also have the right to do the necessary work themselves. Automakers should not be making service decisions for consumers.

The key to the bill's success is hearing that their constituents at home support HR2048. Call your member of Congress and tell them the following:
1. Identify yourself as a resident of the state of __________
2. Let them know you are calling on behalf of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Assoc., or the Confederation of Clubs, or Texas Abate Confederation.
3. Tell them you support HR 2048, the motor vehicle "Right to Repair Act"
4. Ask them to co sponsor HR 2048
5. Tell them HR 2048 was forwarded to full committee on May 25th and ask them to vote for the bill
6. Let them know that this will be scored as a "key vote" by every vehicle owner in Texas.


Joe Barton 817-543-1000 Henry Bonilla 210-697-9055 Kevin Brady 936-441-5700

Mike Burgess 972-434-9700 John Carter 512-246-160 Mike Conaway 325-659-4010

Henry Cuellar 210-271-2851 John Culberson 713-682-8828 Lloyd Doggett 512-916-5921

Chet Edwards 254-752-9600 Louie Gohmert 903-561-6349 Charles Gonzalez 210-472-6195

Kay Granger 817-338-0909 Al Green 713-383-9234 Gene Green 713-330-0761

Ralph Hall 972-771-9118 Jeb Hensarling 903-675-8288 Ruben Hinojosa 361-358-8400

Sheila Jackson-Lee 713-655-0050 Eddie Bernice Johnson 214-922-8885

Sam Johnson 972-470-0892 Ken Marchant 972-556-0162 Mike McCall 512-473-2357

Randy Neugebauer 806-767-9168, 325-675-9779, 432-264-0722

Solomon Ortiz 956-541-1242, 361-884-9201 Ron Paul 361-576-1231, 979-230-0000

Ted Poe 281-446-0242 Silvestre Reyes 915-534-4400 Pete Sessions 972-392-0505

Lamar Smith 210-821-5024 Mac Thornberry 806-371-8844, 940-692-1700

If your area code matches any of these then call the number. It will be a local call. It wouldn’t hurt to call them all.
Sputnik

To see what the Texas Motorcycle Rights Asc. is working on go to www.tmra2.org, choose legislative update………To see what the MRF is working on go to www.mrf.org, and to see what the Texas COC is working on go to www.coctexas.org

Subject: TMRA2 meetings

List in the calender the Austin Minutemen meeting is being moved to July 10th at 7:30PM at the Moose Lodge in Austin.
And the next district advisor meeting is August 12th.

Thanks
Terri