JoAnn Shares Her Answers to Various Media Questions About the Trump Verdict

 Your reaction to the Trump verdict? Although I am not surprised, make no mistake – this is a very dangerous, historically significant fork in the road for the United States. Blowing through all due process norms previously afforded to defendants, the judge instructed the jury they didn’t have to find an underlying crime or come to a unanimous decision.

Such brazen abuse of legal and judicial institutions by both the district attorney and a judge in an attempt to politically damage and delegitimize a political opponent can and will dramatically destabilize this nation. The American people need a swift, strong, detailed rejection of the sham trial from respected constitutional “rule of law” experts. The American people instinctively know this was unfair, but they need to be shown every single way the rule of law was bastardized and trampled.  Why? Because if this can happen to a former US President, it can happen to any of us.

What about the hush money, sexual relations, falsifying business records? I haven’t seen the evidence allegedly presented to the jury; therefore, I will not comment on Trump’s alleged actions, but prosecutors can and do win convictions in cases that shouldn’t have been brought in the first place. This case should never have made it to a jury. Bragg’s inflation of alleged actions that were classified as misdemeanors in order to morph them into a felony charge was an unprecedented contortion of the law to “get Trump.” They wanted a conviction and worked backwards to construct the convoluted scenario to get them to the desired outcome.

If Trump’s alleged “crimes” from 2016 and 2017 were so egregious, why weren’t they brought forward in 2018? 2019? 2020? 2021?  It’s 2024.  Political manipulators know timing is everything; but they have sorely misread the American people on this matter.

How do you think Trump being convicted of felony crimes will impact how Smith County residents and Texans overall vote in November?  Smith County citizens are very well informed and will overwhelmingly vote for Trump in November.  Grassroots America intends to work with its statewide coalition to turn out the strongest vote possible all across Texas. The “people connector” turnout tool used in the primary and runoff elections was demonstrably effective. We’re gearing up.

What are the political consequences of the verdict? The lasting consequences go far beyond the political. This “lawfare” verdict is just more evidence that we are living in post-Constitutional America. When personal animus becomes the standard of condemning people and the justice system is perverted to carry out political hatred via convictions based on everything but the rule of law, we are well into Banana Republic territory.  The American people have had a two-tiered justice system shoved in their faces for long enough.  They are looking for candidates and elected officials who understand what time it is in America and fight back – not just talk about it. Historical awareness dictates that this threat to our justice system must be destroyed at every level of government.

As to political consequences, Republicans in Congress need to get a clue. The American people are angry and fed up with political posturing with no results.  Year after year after year, we see the likes of Lindsay Graham and other Uni-party Republicans with veins popping out on their foreheads, pounding the table to assure us that they are going to “investigate” Democrats and their bureaucratic lap dogs for all manner of crimes against the American people. Have we ever seen any of these judiciary committee investigations produce one iota of justice for the American people?  No. Not one.

Thinking, aware Americans are sick of any Republican who is willing to be nothing more than controlled opposition.

How will this impact Trump’s electability?  Yesterday was the day Donald Trump’s election as the 47^th President of the United States was confirmed. His small dollar donations are soaring.  People laboring under today’s growing economic distress who will sacrifice to donate to any political campaign will crawl over broken glass to get that candidate elected.  The giant is now fully awake.

Announcing! 
TEA’s New Open Education Resource  Instructional Materials 

Grassroots America and our Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition’s trusted Education Subject Matter Experts are excited about the possibilities we see in the new instructional materials!  It is absolutely critical to get this right! 

Why This Matters
Holding public education accountable is a top priority! For all of the political cheerleading about “school choice,” the fact remains that MOST children will remain in public schools.  We DO NOT want to see the legislature pass just any school choice bill and use that “checked box” as a “get out of jail free” card to wash their hands of the problems in public education. 

This is especially important when recent rhetoric from Republican leadership has stripped the “free market” incentives from the debate. When Republicans pound the table, promising to “make public schools whole” with more taxpayer funding – even when public schools lose students to parental choice – all financial incentives for schools to improve go out the window!  Today’s school choice models bear little resemblance to the “first step” reform vision of Milton Friedman. True educational freedom AND measurable academic improvements from Texas public schools are a must!  

Background | The Pursuit of Transparent, Academic-based Education
During the “Plan-demic” shutdown of schools, parents and grandparents were better able to see what their children were being taught (or not).  Horrified adults took a stand (and continue to do so) – fighting indoctrination, low academic standards/expectations, overuse of electronic devices in the classroom, dangerous data collection, and the outright sexualization of children.

Resulting Legislative Action
Last year the Texas Legislature passed, and Gov. Abbott signed into law, HB 1605. Among other things, HB 1605 mandated the Texas Education Agency to create and publish its own curriculum.

[Note: Serious concerns about HB 1605 are acknowledged; however, the most urgent focus is the TEA’s response to the mandated creation of open education resource instructional materials, period.  HB 1605 is the law.  Until such a time that law is amended or repealed, we will focus on what the TEA has produced and whether or not it is an improvement over the status quo. We will not waste time obsessing over the fact that the bill passed.  We must deal with reality – the instructional materials – as currently before us. ]

Briefing Notes About the TEA’s New OER Instructional Materials
We are excited to see the strong approach to phonics and classical literature! The materials are built upon a fact-based academic model rather than concentrating on shifting  “feelings” and opinions. We love the foundation laid with historical, character, art, and poetry references from the Bible.  We cheered to discover the presence of CS Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aesop’s Fables, Wind in the Willows, and many rich references to our nation’s founders and founding documents!  Click here to find our helpful briefing notes about this important education project!

Click here to see a few exciting examples from the TEA OER that remind us of classical instruction from places like Hillsdale and Abeka Academy.  

Excited?  What You Can Do!
To begin reviewing the instructional materials yourself, click here.  Scroll down to “Access Materials Under Review” and click the section you wish to review first.  You will be asked to read a notice to reviewers.  Click “accept” to access the materials.  This does NOT commit you to submit a formal review.  If you do wish to participate with others to submit corrections, recommendations, and supportive comments,  we will provide more information on that coordination within the next couple of weeks.

Local School Districts – Know the Facts – Then Effectively Act!
It is a forgone conclusion that public education overall is sorely lacking in rigor and measurable academic results. This is not new. See historic performance reports here.

WOKE-ism is certainly pushed in some school districts. Some school district leaders are condescending, arrogant, and have the self-control of toddlers; however, we urge you to find out the FACTS about your own school district before you paint with a broad, misleading brush. All school districts, superintendents, and school boards are NOT the same.  First, KNOW the facts;  then address the facts to work toward solutions. Speaking from raw emotion and projecting the latest horror story onto your local school district without the facts will make you look hysterical and foolish.  Instead, study, arm yourself with facts, and don’t back down. 

Good News! School District Removes Dirty Books, Rejects Biden Title IX
How about a school district that uses “civil disobedience” in its rejection of the Biden Title IX overreach?  Although there are improvements to be made in Tyler ISD, we are thrilled with this letter from Tyler ISD Superintendent Marty Crawford to the Texas Association of School Boards’ Legal and Policy Services Division (TASB). Dr. Crawford has also cooperatively worked with Christin Bentley (Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids) to remove sexually graphic, pervasively vulgar books. Click here to read the letter.

Find out what your school district is doing to comply with the Reader Act and to protect female students and teachers from Biden’s Title IX rewrite.  Christin Bentley is a terrific resource for you, but be patient!  She’s a busy lady! Email Christin Bentley: thedaughter@protonmail.com.

The Left will explode over these instructional materials. Let’s pull together to make these classical education materials the very best they can be!