A New Era to Resolve~

Happy New Year!~ The rest of today and a wake-up away from 2010.

I have labored over my New Year’s resolutions, commitments, pledges and over all, what I like to call, the Hoo Ya. You know the “rally call.” I see 2010 as not just a new year and a new decade but the continuation of a new era. An era of American Patriots who are informed, engaged and stepping out of mediocrity and complacence to protect and defend the American way of life.

I have come to realize that freedom is not a destination, it is a lifestyle, a process by which one lives, and it needs constant and vigilant effort to maintain. Given that I have decided instead of making the typical New Year’s resolutions, to embrace a change of living techniques, ways of thinking and viewing of life

My family and I will survey our personal lives, our own home and our local community for changes needed to coalesce people, be bridge builders and ensure freedom.

We will continue connecting with those around us, interacting and discussing our concerns, steadily building networks of friends. After all a nation by definition is a community of people. If we intend on mending our nation we have to mend its people. There is a saying- “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Having a vested interest in our neighbors and them in us is a huge step in the protection of individual freedoms.

In our home will use our time wisely cutting out those things that are time suckers such as TV, video games, etc, so we can read truly important books like, "The 5000 Year Leap" and "The Real George Washington”. We will do our due diligence to research the daily news for truth and the too-often inaccurate e-mails we receive in an effort to be genuinely informed and not merely reactionary. And we will re-evaluate frequently our motivations.

Last, but by far the most important act is that we continue to pray. We will ask questions daily based on a list of priorities we prepared as a family; God, Family, Church/friends, Country and Career. We will ask for guidance in how we can most effectively spend our time, energy and resources. We resolve to pray earnestly for our leaders to become and remain men and women of godly principles and ask that holy and wise leaders be raised up to help guide us from this present darkness and confusion.

It will take time to get back to daylight, there is no quick fix. If we commit to work diligently together and vow to never again become complacent, to teach our children to be vigilant, I am confident we will prevail!

I look forward to meeting many of you as I travel across our state to help encourage Arkansans to become informed, engaged and empowered!

Happy New Year and richest blessing to you and your family. May God continue to bless America.

God’s Speed

Laurie Masterson

Stuffing Stockings and Reindeer Games~ Throw a Wrench at Construction Industry

The monstrosity of a largely -unread Health Care Bill is going before the Conference Committee probably as I write this, the Senate voted for cloture and sent this devastating 2000-plus pile of paper on it’s way to become the new law of the land.

Not only does the bill include fines and prison time for American Citizens who refuse to comply with it’s egregious and unconstitutional provisions, but just today we learned that only 3 minutes prior to the cloture vote, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) added an amendment that specifically excludes the construction industry (and ONLY that industry) from the small business exemption of mandated health care insurance for 50 employees or less. In other word’s this amendment requires construction businesses with 5 employees or more to insure its employees while other small businesses with fewer than do not.

For instance, suppose a small businessman has a four year-old company that employs himself, his two sons, one son-in-law, and two others. This person, who business has dropped 60 percent in a year, is struggling to stay afloat with the current construction downturn.Now, under this Senate Bill, he somehow must find money for health care insurance for his business to meet the new government mandates. He is faced with closing his business, firing some of his employees, or paying hefty fines and even possible jail time. This mandate will likely seal the fate of this small entrepreneur, who otherwise, might be able to weather the economic storm.

And the new tax credits for small businesses, which our senators both have boasted about, are so narrowly defined that few will qualify. And if they do, the credits only last for two years, making them little more than a slow bloodletting.

Many good people will be affected. There are over 4000 licensed construction businesses in Arkansas, alone, plus who knows how many other construction subcontractors, easily representing tens of thousands of our citizens whose livelihoods hang in the balance.

This is a crippling blow to an already devastated industry with a 20 percent unemployment rate in Arkansas. As one of my Democrat friends put it: “This is a slap in the face for the Democrats. It’s [the Merkley Amendment] a back door for the Unions.”

Instead of being able to focus on our families during this sacred holiday season, we Arkansans find ourselves, along with people across this nation, having to constantly chaperone and press our senators and congressmen as they prance around Washington playing reindeer games, holding secret meetings and stuffing their own stockings.

Senators Lincoln and Pryor each have broken their promise that we would have 72 hours to read the bill and amendments.

In a conversation with Senator Pryor’s office this afternoon I was told Senator Pryor was definitely concerned with this development (the Merkley Amendment) but that enough of his criteria had been met he would be voting for the bill. When told that if this amendment should pass the state’s construction industry is likely to implode a Pryor spokesperson replied: “that’s one way to look at it”.

Meanwhile, over at Blanche Lincoln’s office, she’s reported to also have had “enough of her goals met” and that she, too, would be voting to move the bill forward. Although her spokesperson did add the senator would have some reservations if the Bill came out of committee with this amendment still attached.

Shame on them for shady, back room politics and last-minute amendments that they had not read and don’t understand. But, shame on us if we have not faxed, emailed and called constantly to stop this travesty. Remember the admonishment from Edmond Burke: “All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to stand idly by and do nothing.”

Veterans Day!

There are a few times every year that rouse my esprit de corps, Veterans Day is on of those times. It has been a while since I have donned my US Navy EOD Diver uniform but the spirit, in which I joined the U.S. military, well over 20 years ago, is still alive and well today reminding me of the blessing I received in serving.

Tomorrow Nov 11th is Veterans Day 2009. I hope you gather with your family at some point tomorrow for a moment to think of and pray for those who have fought and are currently fighting to defend our freedoms, protect our liberties and secure our borders.

The horrific murders that occurred in Ft Hood, TX just a few days ago remind us of the incredible sacrifice that our soldiers make on our behalf. Please do not let tomorrow pass without making a conscious effort to celebrate and give thanks for our military. May God bless and protect each man and woman now wearing the uniform as well as each one who has worn it before them. I would also ask you to pray for each of their families, the constant thought of their loved ones being in harms way is especially heavy as we approach the holiday season.

I know that we are in some tumultuous times in our country right now, but I would submit, without equivocation, that we still live in the GREATEST country on planet earth, for which we should be enormously thankful. ~Thank you God for blessing me as an AMERICAN~God’s Speed~ Laurie

From Protest to Action

The day had been filled with congratulations and thank you’s , which is awesome and greatly appreciated. However I truly don’t deserve all the credit or accolades. The scores of TEA Party people that worked diligently to hand out flyers, make phone calls, write letters to the editor, rally, attend meetings, formulate and pay for ads and You Guys, the 6000 people that took time out of their days to go be a part of the solution by voting deserve the credit and recognition for all your efforts.
The people of Fayetteville from all sides united to say ENOUGH! Even though the district was able to solicit endorsements from the City Council, the Mayor’s office, the AFSCME Union, the Chamber of Commerce and the local paper which carried story after story, after editorial, after endorsement. They sent a blizzard of studies, fact sheets, robo calls, mass mailings, letters home with students and even personalized home meetings all around our city to convince people that we needed to spend $116 million plus that much in interest to build a high school for the children. Even after all of that, the PEOPLE were able to examine the facts they presented, which were surprisingly few, and say No, we have not been given nearly enough information to hand over any more of our hard earned money in such tough financial times for everyone.
Yesterday’s election was the largest school election ever held http://bit.ly/251IK5 in Washington Co.. That in itself is a huge achievement! I hope what is accomplished by this historic milestone is that people all across our state realize the power for common good that is generated when a community unites, when concerned people become informed and engaged in the process afforded us to insure our freedoms and liberties.
For the TEA Party movement to continue to be effective we must move from the Protest to Action phase. Use the momentum and credibility we have gained thwarting EFCA (card check) and healthcare, facilitating the resignation of Van Jones, the gathering of millions of Americans from April 15th, July 4th and 9/12 to our first local victory by defeating an outrageous millage increase to now move to sustained action implementing change in our communities. We all need to send a clear and continuous message to our elected officials at every level : We will no longer sit idly by and watch as you leverage our futures and the futures of our children with unresponsive, arrogant, over-reaching and over-spending tactics. Get together now and begin tomorrow joining forces with others in your neighborhoods, churches and offices. Pleas start attending public meetings i.e. school boards, city councils, quorum courts etc. Let them see you are there and interested. Begin to listen and even investigate what is happening in your own back yard, where your voice is the loudest. Also let your legislators know in a civil manner that that they are on notice, that we the people are here to watch and speak - and we aren’t sittin’ down anymore.

So Much going on in AR Politics

The Senate race is becoming quite crowded. When I went to Little Rock to meet with Senator Pryor last week I also met with Conrad Reynolds, candidate for U.S Senate, seemingly a nice man. The fact that he is a veteran, a colonel, was very appealing, being a vet myself. He told me then that he would be hiring K. Ryan James as his communication advisor. K Ryan is a blogger who I have followed for several months now and is really an asset to Reynolds in my opinion.

Several weeks back I met Curtis Coleman, another candidate for U.S. Senate, he strikes me initially as a very capable and convicted person. When he was asked- "how do we know that when you go to Washington you won't do what everyone else has done and cave", his response "you don't". Man I love a guy who can tell the truth instead of trying to blow smoke up your fanny. I do know that his wife is definitely a resource. Their one of those couples you really like to go to dinner with knowing the conversation will always be interesting and high energy. Here is what Jason Tolbert has on Coleman http://tolbertreport.com/2009/05/27/curtis-coleman-launches-website-for-us-senate-campaign/

Then there is Tom Cotton, whom I have never met but also heard good things. He is a veteran and my understanding is that he served in Afghanistan and has just recently returned to Arkansas. Hopefully I will be able to meet Mr. Cotton in the not so distant future. Here is a blog post by David Sanders with some other details- http://arkansasnews.com/2009/08/12/cotton-uproven-but-has-good-story-for-politics/

I saw on Jason Tolbert's blog that Tom Cox's Communication Director, Stefani Buhajla resigned today apparently over a dispute regarding some comments Cox made over the weekend. I never really considered Cox a contender, since the first time I talked to him on the phone I got that hinky feeling, ya know the one like, what is he really saying?

Gilbert Baker has entered the race although for months now he has been telling people he wouldn't run and his campaign manager was working for Conrad Reynolds and I guess is now back working for Baker....


I know that there are some other candidates out there, I have even heard that there is a Democrat that will run in the primary against Senator Lincoln, whose numbers are plummeting. I am sure there is no correlation between her numbers and the fact that she has yet to meet with her constituents or that she continues to vote against the wishes of the people of Arkansas She does have 3 townhall meetings scheduled this week .... Pine Bluff, Russelleville and Jonesboro...umm ?

All of this to say that the 2010 election season should be interesting and I highly encourage you to watch the players on the field, I know each of them will have plenty of opportunities for you to "meet and greet", at least as long as they are all still candidates.

Visit with Senator Mark Pryor

Bob Porto and I (along with my 15yr old daughter) met with Senator Pryor and four of his staff members today and here a couple of observations, I will expound later-

The conversation was pleasant. The Senator and his staff were welcoming.

We talked a while about how can the people of Arkansas become accurately informed and effectively engaged. How do we help our elected officials to accurately represent the people when they return to Washington to vote on bills that affect our everyday lives?

Senator Pryor agreed that things were moving to fast and that he was thankful for the slowing down and the involvement of THE People. He assured me that when the final health bill was written by the “Conference” that he would let the people of Arkansas know what was specifically in it and would be open to genuine feedback.

Neither the Senator nor any of the four staff people present (Randy, Tate, Mike and Lauren) knew or had ever heard of Van Jones (Green Czar), the Apollo Alliance or John Holdren (Science Czar). We asked who these people are, who they are accountable to, and are the allegations we are hearing about their past as far as being closely tied to radical revolutionary organizations true? We asked if they are on the government pay roll? while they were unable to answer these specific questions, Tate, Senior Legislative Assistant, said he research it and would let me know what he found out.

The Senator reminded us that President Obama is not the first President to have Czars, to which we agreed but still expressed concern about many of the people, with seemingly dubious backgrounds, that President Obama is seemingly surrounding himself with.

As we discussed the healthcare issue the Senator said that there would be efforts to include tort reform in the senate's healthcare bill, which is contrary to what was expressed at Senator Lincoln’s office. I was personally encouraged by that.

We asked if he supported a Public Option, he replied that he would have to see how it was framed and what form it was written, we all agreed we did’t really understand the coop option.

The Senator said that he had recently talked with a Senator from Rhodes Island, Sheldon Whitehouse, and that Rhodes Island had a “public option” that was working. When we asked is it self sustaining he said he did not know.

When we talked about the public options that we already have such as Medicare/Medicaid the Senator considered those programs were successful because they “helped the poor”, but he did agree that they were “unsustainable”.

I asked specifically if he would vote for EFCA, he replied that EFCA would not be dealt with this year and most likely not next year either.
We were there for just over an hour and appreciated the Senator’s time. We hope that this is one of many open dialogues that the Senator is willing to have with his constituents.

Events of the Day

Directly after spending 13hours in a car with 4 teenage girls on the heels of 10day in Florida makes a person appreciate civility (and sleep), hence my cumbaya moment.


Friends, I cannot express to you the over whelming positive response I have received about our showing today! I tell you this, that because of our unwavering dedication to our beliefs accompanied with our self control and civil demeanor we have gained the respect of Senator Lincoln, her staff and all those in attendance at today’s event~ We have just solidified the meaning of American Patriot.
From the beginning of The TEA Party movement the mantra has been “it is not about left or right it is about America”. Today at Senator Blanche Lincoln’s fund raiser in Bella Vista, AR no truer words were ever spoken.
I was unable to attend the event today but thanks to advanced technologies i.e. facebook, twitter, email, and cell phone uploads I was able to piece together the tesserae of a fine mosaic. Imagine if you will a beautiful park laid in the depths of an Arkansas forest with a babbling brook running through the center and huge boulders as the back drop on an August evening at the end of summer; insert hundreds of citizens from every political persuasion gathered under very conspicuous circumstances, saddled with incredulousness over the most controversial issue facing a nation, and what would you expect? Well that was the scene. Over 150 people (mostly TEA Party People) lined the entrance to Blowing Springs Park this afternoon with signs displaying fears, concerns and downright frustration of the much debated Healthcare issue, while others, perhaps as many as 50 Tea Party people and the remainder democratic supporters walked through what could be described as a conga line to attend a Democratic Fund raiser. For more than 3 ½ hours in close proximity R’s, D’s, L’s, and perhaps even some C’s and G’s sat or stood side by side without incident as Senator Lincoln and others presented their program.
Though there were some early tensions and perhaps some bad decisions made around the table, the day ended with a new found appreciation for civility.
I received this text this evening around 8:30-"Laurie...I just wanted to say that your group was orderly and respectful...you should be proud of the way they conducted themselves" Robbyn Tumey, Former Chairman of the Benton Co. Democratic Party
May God bring a new understanding to Americans as we move forward.~ God’s Speed