On October 30, 2009, forty people braved the rain at the intersection of M-61 and US-23 before regrouping at the Catholic Church in Standish, MI.  A total of 65 people listened to speakers discuss the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees.  Dave Hertzberg, Supervisor of Lincoln Township, where StandishMax is located, said his message to Washington about the Gitmo detainees is “Do not send them to America, to Michigan, to Arenac County or Lincoln Township.”  Lincoln Township previously had a close working relationship with the City of Standish, but that changed when the city council voted to receive over 200 Islamic extremists captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and accused of terrorism.

When businessman Dave Munson testified in Washington DC before the Intelligence committee, Anna Eshoo from San Francisco, CA treated him like he was from the sticks and said it was a local issue and not relevant to their meeting.  The government has not released information where detainees may be housed, but breaking news revealed some detainees may be sent to Charleston Naval Base in South Carolina to await trial.

Debra Burlingame is the Founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America and sister of Chic Bulingame, the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, which was commandeered and crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.  Burlingame said, “We are their bosses in Washington DC.  When they get that they are scared!”  The prison at Guantanamo Bay is in a remote location with a 90 mile perimeter, including water and with land mines.  StandishMax is surrounded by trees with 26 homes including a day care.  Detainees must be held in a Military facility and will become the next ground zero terrorist target.  Terrorists admire the Washington sniper that randomly killed ten people, and take an interest in shopping malls, parking ramps, and anything with the word “Federal” on it.  Standish will be descended on by the national media, American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights First and Code Pink protestors.

Former Arenac County Commissioner Kelly Kimball said to tell everyone you meet about the danger.  People can make a difference by calling their congressmen and writing letters.

Statewide concern about Michigan safety attracted participants not only from Standish but also Brighton, Saginaw, Vassar, Eastpointe, and Rochester, Michigan.  Mainstream media did not cover the rally but coverage was provided by Keep America Safe.  Standish Residents will rally every Friday at 4:00 pm until the issue is resolved.

Click to see photos of the event.

MOVIE COMES TO LIFE IN VASSAR

The Sound of Music is more than just a family movie.  The citizens of Austria lived in their country while it was being fundamentally transformed.  On Friday, November 20, 2009, the Western Thumb TEA Party group is very fortunate to have Austrian National Harald Zieger shares his first hand experience of growing up in East-Germany.  The event starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Vassar Public Library, 520 W. Huron Ave.

Born in 1954, Harald was raised in East-Germany and was fully indoctrinated in the communistic brainwashing system. Although the overall scientific education was great, he found it very strict and authoritarian. At 16 years old, Harald was a strong communist. At 22, he met his wife and she brought him to Christ. He was 26 when he finished his Masters degree in electronic engineering, by which time he had two children.

Harald was 31 when he could finally leave East Germany. He managed manufacturing divisions in multi million dollar corporations. Since, then, he has formed companies from nothing into success. He finally fulfilled his dream by starting his own business here in the United States. He is now afraid that his dream may become a nightmare as this country slips into the trappings of the failed political positions he left behind in East and West Germany.

Harald loves America and the people and although he sees how irresponsible politics may be beginning to destroy the hard work of generations, he still believes it is the best country on God's Earth.  Harald Zieger is co-founder of Engineered Control Services, which focuses on leveraging maintenance technologies to enable productive manufacturing operations.

The Western Thumb Tea Party Group is a non-partisan citizen action network whose goal is to ensure that the United States remains the most safe, free, and prosperous country in the world.  Members are committed to educating family, friends and neighbors about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limitations.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and information will be available on health care, cap and trade, and other current events.  The program begins at 6:30 p.m. and will conclude with a question and answer period.  Everyone is welcome.
   

Two quickly upcoming events:

One is a rally in Standish Friday, at the intersection of M-61 and US-23 at 4:00pm (note the time change).

This rally is to bring awareness to the issues involved and to protest moving Guantanamo prisoners to the states, particularly Standish, MI.
Featured speakers include Dave Hertzberg, Dave Munson, Kelly Kimball and Debra Burlingame.

The other is a prayer rally for our country on Saturday at 10:00am at First Baptist Church, 5880 W. Frankenmuth Rd, Vassar, MI.

We would be glad if you could attend the events, and hope to get some good pictures and information for those who can't.

VETERAN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT DEMOCRACY



Are we passing into the final stage of democracy which is bondage?   The Western Thumb TEA Party Group will host American Veteran William Ralph on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at the Vassar Public Library, 520 W. Huron Ave. from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  He will discuss what is taking place in our Government.  If a political party can increase in power to control the “reeducation” of Americans, would that effect you and your family?  In March 2009, a “maverick” Department of Homeland Security Office issued, but recalled within hours a glossary of domestic extremist groups that categorized veterans as potential terrorists.   Americans are arming themselves at an unprecedented rate.  “Over 850,000 people have joined the NRA since November 2008,” according to NRA Field Director Al Herman.  We are living in the most unprecedented time in the history of our great Republic. 
 
William Ralph has a distinguished 20 year military career with the Dept of Defense and has traveled or worked in  more than 20 countries worldwide.  He is Director of Business Development at Castra Security which helps businesses secure their facility using Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection including barriers, fencing and video surveillance.  Ralph is President of  Dominus Defense Business Development Group and is strongly experienced in the start-up and leadership of new operations involving our federal government, aerospace and defense industry.

The Western Thumb Tea Party Group is a non-partisan citizen action network whose goal is to ensure that the United States remains the most safe, free, and prosperous country in the world.  Members are committed to educating family, friends and neighbors about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limitations. 

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and information will be available on health care, cap and trade, and other current events.  The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and will conclude with a question and answer period.  Everyone is invited.

Come join us in a rally at Covenant Medical Center, 800 Cooper Ave, Saginaw MI 48602 on Saturday, Oct 24 from 12:00 to1:00 p.m.  We will be there to support our health care workers, and our health system.  While there are improvements that can be made, we don't need a government overhaul.  Read our press release.  Help support our health care workers and encourage discussion on real ideas to improve health care.  Hope to see you there!

Though it got a little chilly, we had a good time protesting media coverage at the TV-5 building in Saginaw.  It was great to meet others with the same concern.  Check out the pictures from the event.  Stacey got a video clip as well.  There were over 100 people in attendance.  TV-5 news reported on the event, and showed some video footage on the news, but hasn't uploaded it to its web site; just a short article with a photo not from the event.  A number of cars driving by honked their horns in support.  Thanks to all of you who attended the event!

A message to all members of Citizens in Action

Visit the link below and see what obama's camp has planned to promote his healthcare reform! WE MUST COUNTER-ATTACK!

They are striving to set a call for the most calls to Congress in one day--in support of Healthcare Reform! Their goal is 100,000 calls.

We can do better than that! We need to make sure the phone lines are tied up with calls in opposition!

So MAN THE PHONES! ALL DAY AND EVENING on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20! Call your representatives--then call other representatives! JUST BE SURE YOU CALL!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/oct20hostattend/

Who wants to be a reader?  Actually five people signed up, one person twice.  You can check it out by logging in.  If you have questions, send a message to purifyingflame @ gmail.com with subject "Reader."

Send Congress a pink slip!

Would you like to send a pink slip to everyone in Congress?  Now's your chance.

Check out our photo video of pictures from our 9-12 event at the Caro Courthouse!

Nationwide the TEA Party Groups are planning to have a Prayer Meeting the last Saturday of each month.

The Western Thumb Tea Party Group is a non-partisan citizen action network.  Our goal is to ensure that the United States remains the safest, freest and most prosperous country in the world.

Our members are committed to educating family, friends and neighbors about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limitations.

OUR CORE PRINCIPLES

Limited Government:  As our founding fathers recognized, restraining of government is necessary to protect the liberties of the people

Fiscal Responsibility:  Government at all levels must learn to live within its means.  To saddle future generations with the crushing burden of our excess spending is unconscionable.

Personal Responsibility:  Liberty is unsustainable without responsibility.  Each citizen must take responsibility for the consequences of his or her own actions while respecting the rights and dignity of others.

Rule of the Law:  Consistent, independent and uniform application of the law is critical to a free and prosperous society.  The laws of God underpin all successful governments and societies.

National Sovereignty:  We must maintain a strong national defense, effective security for our borders, and sole control over our laws and land.

Help us keep our freedom of choice as Americans!  The Western Thumb Tea Party Group is meeting at the Vassar Public Library on September 10, at 6:30PM.  This week Mary Beth Erdman, founder of the Port Huron Tea Party, will share her experiences as part of the 9/12 March on DC.  We will discuss the current events, and then provide time for questions.  All are welcome!

Some of us made it to the Brighton, MI TEA Party Express Rally on September 8th.  It was a great rally with a number of speakers and some songs.  Guests included Mark Williams, Joe the Plumber, the Rivoli musicians. We had a great time, there were maybe four thousand people there.  Photos are now uploaded!

Our Facebook Page:  Western Thumb TEA Party Group

We now have a Facebook page!  You can keep current with our updates on Facebook as well.

Do you have any questions/comments?  Want more information?  Contact us at:

marge731@gmail.com

The Western Thumb TEA Party Group welcomes you!

Click on the folders to the left to navigate the different pages.
Main: The main website page
Activities and Events:  Local meeting and gatherings that you could attend and get involved
Photos:  Pictures of our events
Documents and Articles: Information on how our country is being run that may be of interest or affect you
Contact Us: Information about us and ways to contact us.
Press Releases:  Press Releases we have sent out

Today, on August 21, 2009.  The Western Thumb TEA Party Group Web Page is born!  From it's modest start we want this to be a place for information on our activities, and for the up-to-date information on things happening in our government.

The Western Thumb TEA Party Group welcomes you to our site!  This group had its humble beginnings with a house gathering in Vassar, MI in June.  It's growth has been fueled by the dedication of its volunteers, and the concerns of the citizens of our community, looking for ways to become involved and holding accountable those in government.  We stand for those principles expressed in the Constitution that has made our country a bastion of freedom and has led to the prosperity of America.  We welcome all who share a love of this country and want the best for it.