NWARW april 2011 newsletter

8/7/2019 NWARW april 2011 newsletter

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Northwest Austin Republican Women"Education is Our Focus" Austin, TX March 29, 2011

Inside This Issue

Dates to Remember

April Lunch Menu & RSVP

Dr. Marsha Farney to address

April meeting

Update on HD 48, Voter I.D

NFRW Political Briefing

Letter from the President

Recommended Reading

Dates to Remember in April

4/4 - NWARW Regular Monthly Meeting

4/4 - TCRP Executive Committee Meeting

4/8 - NWARW Executive Board Meeting

4/15 - Tax Day (go to a Tea Party!)

4/21 - 175th Anniversary of the Battle of

San Jacinto

4/24 - Easter Sunday

April Lunch Menu & RSVP:

Our April meeting is on Monday, April 4at Dave & Buster's, 9333 Research Blvd;check-in is 11:15, meeting at 11:45.

Speaker: Dr. Marsha Farney, State Boardof Education Member, Dist. 10

Menu: Sweet Apple Pecan Salad withGrilled Chicken

Cost: $16

RSVP: Contact Cherri Spradling, 821-3696 or by email [email protected] byTHURSDAY, March 31


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Newly-elected Republican Dr. Marsha Farney to

address NWARW in April

Marsha Farney, Ph.D., began her career as an educator in 1991 and was elected to the

State Board of Education in 2010. She currently serves on the board's Committee on

Instruction.

Farney holds certifications that allow her to teach first through eighth grade and English forelementary and middle school. She also holds counseling and principal certifications. Farneyreceived both a bachelors and masters degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Sheholds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from The University of Texas at Austin.

Farney, of Georgetown, has educational experience at every level in the public school system.She taught elementary school in both the North Lamar and Paris Independent School Districts.While employed with North Lamar ISD, she received Teacher of the Year award for EverettElementary and Elementary Teacher of the Year for North Lamar ISD in 1996. Farney workedas a middle school counselor in Pflugerville ISD and a high school counselor in Paris ISD. Shehas also taught in the College of Education at Texas A & M University Commerce, supervisedstudent teachers, trained mentor teachers, and served as a liaison between the university andtwo school districts.

Farney has been a presenter at several professional conferences including the TexasAssociation for the Improvement of Reading, the Midwest History of Education Conference andthe Texas Association of Alternative Education in Austin. Her published works includePromoting the Progress of Education: The History of Georgetown Public Schools, 1850-1966and The American Schools Respond to World War II: A Survey of the American School BoardJournal Articles from January 1942 December 1945. American Educational History Journal,

vol. 29, 2002.

Farney is a member of the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, the TexasReading Association and the International Reading Association.

Farney, an active member of her community, currently serves as a board member of theChisholm Trail Community Foundation; Seton Womens Development Board for Seton

Williamson Hospital; and is a volunteer for the Williamson County Historical Museum. Shepreviously served on the Bastrop Education Foundation Board, the Education, Business andIndustry Coalition in Lamar County, and the Lamar County Reading Council.

As a member of the State Board of Education, Farney represents the counties of Austin,Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, Lee, Milam, Waller, Washingtonand Williamson as well as parts of Brazoria, Fort Bend and Travis counties.

Although State Board of Education members are normally elected to a four-year term of office,all seats will be up for election in November 2012 due to redistricting.


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Update on House District 48 Election ContestStatement from Dan Neil: "With the select committees ruling that we did not meet the burden of proof t

overturn the election results in HD-48, I have decided the best course of action is to withdraw my electioncontest. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to al...l my supporters who worked hard on a campaign thawas ultimately decided by the narrowest of margins. Their prayers and support have made this entirexperience worthwhile even if the end result is not what we sought. I would also like to thank MasterHartnett and the Committee for their hard work on this issue. And I want to wish Donna Howard well ashe continues to represent District 48, which is a special place to live, work and raise a family."

Update on Voter Identification - Senate Bill 14On Wednesday, March 23, the Texas House of Representatives met to debate Senate Bill 14, the photovoter identification legislation. Democrats did their best to lengthen debate, calling points of order thawere all overruled and filing numerous amendments to drag out debate. In the end, the Republicansupermajority passed the bill, with one Democrat voting with them, and the final vote was 101-48. Thnext step is for the House and Senate to choose conference committee members, so the differences in thversions passed in each Chamber can be reconciled. We are nearing the finish line on this issue!

Political Briefing from the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW)

The NFRW is proud to support Congressman Devin Nunes' (R-CA) Public Employee Pension TransparencAct (H.R. 567) to bring about a better understanding of the future insolvency of state and local retiremenplans to American taxpayers.

Background: Currently, 7 million retirees receive benefits from state and local governments. In addition27 million Americans have been promised benefits. Research shows the the state pension, health care another retirement benefit plans are currently underfunded by $1 trillion. Other research suggests the plancould be underfunded by as much as $3.23 trillion. Under the current disclosure guidelines, there is a lacof understanding about the value of state and local pension plan assets and liabilities which in turn hindertaxpayers from understanding the financial obligations of their government.

What does the legislation do? State and local pension plans will report two sets of information to thSecretary of Treasury which will be made available to the public on a website. The first set of numbers wildetail current public liabilities based on existing accounting methods-methods largely determined by thpension plan itself. The methods and assumptions used in this first set of numbers will also be reportedThe second set of numbers will detail the current pension liabilities but will do so using uniform guidelinesThose guidelines will include more realistic discount rates, as well as controls to assure assets are countedusing a reasonable estimate of fair market value.

State and local governments that refuse to report their public pension liabilities will be denied the ability t

issue federally tax-exempt bonds. Federal subsidies of state and local debt would remain unavailable untthose entities comply with public pension transparency rules. Congress would preempt any calls for afederal bailout by making a clear policy statement that the American taxpayer will not bailout state andlocal governments that have recklessly promised unaffordable benefits to their workers.

-Information courtesy of "Public Pension Reform: Transparency and No Bailouts" Office of Congressman DevinNunes

Read the bill atwww.thomas.gov
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr567http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr567http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr567http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr567


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Letter from the President

Since our last meeting, there have been some major events shaking up the world. The Japanese aredealing with a catastrophe unmatched in memorable history. The earthquake that struck Japan was sopowerful that the Earth's axis was affected, and we lost 1.26 milliseconds of daylight as a result.Thousands are still missing in the wake of the earthquake and tsumami, and radiation leaks fromdamaged nuclear power plants threaten the health of the survivors. For information and assistancerelated to the catastrophic events in Japan, including help locating friends and family in devastated

areas, contact the U.S. Department of State'sBureau of Consular Affairs. For information on how youcan help the people of Japan visit theU.S. Agency for International Development(USAID).

Meanwhile, the United States has entered into a military conflict in Libya; as I drove to work thismorning, I heard that 2000 Marines are headed to north Africa, on a course not dissimilar to that theirpredecessors once took, when the first Marines fought the Barbary pirates in Tripoli. There are manyquestions about this conflict that have not been answered; President Obama's address to the nation onMarch 28 seems to have created more confusion than it allayed. In response to the speech,Congressman Michael McCaul (TX-10), who represents some of our members, said "The Presidentmust provide Congress and the American people greater details about our military commitment toLibya and beyond: how many of our men and women in uniform will be dedicated to this operation,

how much will it cost, how will we pay for it, and what event or events, such as the removal of Gadhafifrom power, will mark the end of our military involvement." You can read the Congressman's fullresponse byclicking here.

These are trying times, and it seems that these larger affairs demand our full attention. Our attentioncannot be wholly consumed by the events of the world, since there are still issues we face here athome. Here in Texas, we are facing a severe budget problem at the state level, and the debate on thebudget, Rainy Day Fund, and more starts in earnest this Thursday and Friday. There are city counciland school board elections taking place on May 14. There is no such thing as "down time" when you'reinvolved in politics, and I would argue that as citizens of this country who have the right to vote andwho pay taxes, we are all involved in politics.

As Republican Women, we walk on paths blazed by busy women who might have spent their timedoing other things. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, told by even her husband that she had better things to do,took her seven children with her when she campaigned for women's suffrage. During her time, hermajor issue took a back seat during the Civil War, Reconstruction, the assassination of three UnitedStates presidents (Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley), and more. Elizabeth did not live to see the fruits ofher labor, yet she never tired or faltered. She and other early Republican women were successfulbecause they did not let the world's preoccupation with other matters deter them.

We have a duty to our daughters and granddaughters to continue to stand up for liberty, no matterhow the world shakes. What happens in Austin, at the Capitol or the county courthouse or city hall,has long-ranging consequences that can be damaging for generations. Thank you for all you do for theRepublican Party, for Texas, and for the United States.

-Michele Samuelson
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5378.htmlhttp://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5378.htmlhttp://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5378.htmlhttp://www.usaid.gov/http://www.usaid.gov/http://www.usaid.gov/http://mccaul.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=29&parentid=7&sectiontree=7,29&itemid=1160http://mccaul.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=29&parentid=7&sectiontree=7,29&itemid=1160http://mccaul.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=29&parentid=7&sectiontree=7,29&itemid=1160http://mccaul.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=29&parentid=7&sectiontree=7,29&itemid=1160http://www.usaid.gov/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5378.html


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NWARW Officers 2011

Michele Samuelson, PresidentSusan Friedrich, 1st VP/Membership

Melinda Field, 2nd VP/ProgramsPat Dollar, Recording Secretary

Tina Wheelock, Corresponding SecretaryCherri Spradling, Treasurer/PAC Treasurer

NWARW Committee Chairmen 2011

Gloria Heyl & Virginia Heyl, AwardsMurlene Johnston, By-Laws

Joyce Melugin, Campaign Activities

Kathie Holliman, FundraisingBillie Jean Zinter, Legislative

Carolyn Isbell & Elaine Lehmann, HospitalityCarol Gontko, Telephone

Interested in joining NorthwestAustin Republican Women?

Women AND men are welcome!

Dues are:$24 for Active Membership

$12 for Associate Membership

$36 for Supporting Membership

Your dues may be paid at the check-intable at one of our meetings, or by

sending a check payable to NWARW PACto Cherri Spradling, 12501 Phoebe Court

Austin TX 78727-5126.

Our next Executive BoardMeeting will be onFriday, April 8, at 1:00pmat the home of Pat Dollar

4204 Bluffridge Dr.

Click here for a map

All members are welcome to attend!"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are

punished by being governed by those who aredumber." - Plato

Recommended Reading - Women's History Month (March)

Women and the Republican Party 1854-1924 by Melanie Susan Gustafson

Melanie Susan Gustafson examines womens partisan history as part of t

larger history of womens political culture. Contesting the accepted notion th

women were uninvolved in political parties before they formally got the vo

Gustafson reveals the length and depth of womens partisan activism betwethe founding of the Republican party, whose abolitionist agenda captured tloyalty of many women, and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Women and the Republican Party, 1854-1924 presents the complex interplaypartisan and nonpartisan activity, the fierce debates among women about tbest way to make their influence felt, and the ebb and flow of enthusiasm womens participation within the Republican party. She also profiles the leadi

women Republicans and activists, both familiar (Susan B. Anthony, ElizabeCady Stanton, Jane Addams, Mary Church Terrell) and less well known (AnDickinson, Victoria Woodhull, Judith Ellen Foster, Mary Ann Shadd Cary).
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4204+Bluffridge+Dr.+Austin+78759&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4204+Bluffridge+Dr,+Austin,+Texas+78759&gl=us&z=16http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4204+Bluffridge+Dr.+Austin+78759&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=4204+Bluffridge+Dr,+Austin,+Texas+78759&gl=us&z=16

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NWARW april 2011 newsletter