 Welcome to American Liberty Forum, the grateful and indebted offspring of Park Cities Preston Hollow Leadership Forum, founded by Russ Ramsland in 2009. Under Russ’ extraordinary leadership, we’ve had 10 years of relentless exertion and unswerving devotion to the cause of fiscal responsibility, limited government, personal responsibility, rule of law, and national sovereignty. Thanks to Russ, we are smarter, tougher, and more engaged in the political process. With Russ’ blessings, we are ready to take on the next 10 years with a bit of a facelift and new name. The principles are the same and the essence of who we are remains as strong as ever. The only difference will be an easier to say and remember (for our non-Dallas friends) name, as well as, an easier to use, content-rich storehouse of essential information. The ultimate goal, as always, is to educate and motivate the citizenry to participate in the governance of our cities, counties, states, and nation for the noble and godly cause of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness for all. Stay strong, stay engaged, and as Russ always said, “Let’s go get ‘em!”
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 "Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?" Psalm 94:20
"My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law." Psalm 119: 136 The 2019 (86th) Legislative Session was the worst legislative session ever. I feel totally and completely betrayed. Something foul is underfoot - like a pervasive evil that has overtaken the people and the process. The state budget increased by 16%; property tax relief went to hell in a hand basket; election integrity bills were completely obliterated - along with honest elections; mental health bills disguising as school safety bills federalized public education while usurping the last precious prerogatives of parents, and a shocking abdication of responsibility to preserve our history and historical monuments slapped us in the face, sending a shock wave through our state. All done with Republican majorities in both chambers, as well as having a Republican Governor and Lt. Governor. We have State legislators acting as oligarchs, bought and paid for by special interests, thinking that their job is to save the world. At the same time, we the sheeple have bought into the lie of separating Religion & Politics, Church & State, and God & Government. (BTW, God never did that!) The pastors are silent, the flock is asleep, and the elitist, globalist, corporatist foxes have run away with the hen house. The only path we can take to recover the authority we unwittingly ceded to all levels of government is to put God back on the throne. We need a spiritual awakening. We do not have a political problem; we have a spiritual problem. We do not need a political solution; we need a spiritual solution. Indeed, all of the traditional, conventional methods of working with Texas lawmakers have utterly failed and actually mocked us. Said another way, political means and methods are dead to me. And so are the Republican officials who have sold us to the highest bidder. (Except for a few faithful ones.) If you see what I see and feel called to do something, I beg you to do 3 simple things. First, PRAY unceasingly for a spiritual revival, starting in your own heart and then moving massively throughout this nation. Second, JOIN the 153 opinion leaders across the State who have already signed and delivered a letter to Governor Abbott asking him to veto SB 11, HB 18, and HB 19, all really bad bills that destroy due process, obliterate parental rights, and funnel millions to cronies. This call, albeit a conventional and traditional practice, is just the beginning. Expect more bold nonconventional tactics in the future. Third, ASK your pastors to preach the whole Truth: that biblical principles are the basis for everything, including public policy. Write me if you need help here. Governor Abbott Contacts: PHONE: 512.463.2000 or 512.463.1782 after hours TWEET: @GregAbbott_TX and @GovAbbott MESSAGE on Facebook @TexansForAbbott For information on the bill authors, co-authors, and votes, click here.  In today’s world, many organizations and people put a high value on diversity. Diversity has become the gold standard, almost out of thin air, with no rational basis for its value. Yet, diversity seems to be a virtue that everyone must have simply because someone decided that it needed to be important and everyone else jumped on the band wagon without giving much in-depth thought to what they were saying. It is an easy sell and it has sort of a feel-good feeling to it.
However, I disagree with the notion that diversity is a virtue. Virtue means having high moral standards. Virtues are things like honesty, courage, patience, perseverance, kindness, and commitment. Diversity itself is neither good nor bad. Diversity can be beneficial in certain settings, but diversity is not what makes us a great society. Morality and virtue (as listed above) make us a great society. Diversity does not make a great basketball team nor a great ballet company nor a great opera. Diversity does not improve the chances of finding a cure for cancer nor improve the quality of new bridges and aircraft carriers. Diversity does not make my neighborhood safe, and it does not make my church more worshipful. Diversity might make a church choir better because of the need for different parts and different voice qualities, but an all male choir could be just as beautiful. When we talk about diversity in the workplace, I’m all for hiring different types of people, but I want to hire people based on what they can offer my company, to make my company better. I don’t care about their outward appearance, like what color their skin is, what their gender is, or what their religion is. What I care about is how well can they do the job and whether or not they are a good fit for my company. Are they smart, are they teachable, are they capable of growing into a leadership position, do they have a track record, are they good communicators? These are some of the questions I would ask before hiring someone. As a leader of an organization, I want to have the very best people on my team. Forcing me to hire based on arbitrary, exterior characteristics robs me of my freedom to choose what is best for my company or my department and it has no historical, objective data to prove that it has made us any better. (One historical data point that most people get wrong: our nation was not created by a melting pot of diverse people. We were mostly a homogenous group of Western Europeans with similar Judeo-Christian values who were not tired and poor, but hardworking, tenacious, and determined to make a successful new life in a new wonderful country.) “Variety is the spice of life” for some, but I say, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, and this new social experiment of forcing diversity into the workplace and the school yard just doesn’t make sense to me. |
