Lately, we’ve received many inquiries from other groups about “how to work with JoAnn and Grassroots America.” 

It’s really pretty simple:

Don’t lie.

Don’t steal other people’s stuff.

Don’t trash other grassroots conservatives from your social media sandbox. 

Since our Executive Director has been back out on the road speaking, we’ve had several requests for “Can you send me that funny thing JoAnn said again?” or “What was that Fleming rule of life again?”

She’s an extemporaneous speaker, so who knows? Here’s JoAnn’s updated Wit & Wisdom for Leading from the Front. 

You don’t have to blow out the other person’s light to let your own shine. Bernard Baruch

JoAnn’s Wit & Wisdom

 for Leading from the Front

updated 9.20.23

The battlefield is the mind. This is where satan (and his instruments) attempt to distract from your calling.  Keep your eyes on The Standard to run your race with wisdom, patience, perseverance, and the ability to ignore naysayers, chronic malcontents, toxic do-nothings, and vocal enemies who will only weigh you down.  Fix your mind. Keep it set.  Do not faint in your mind!  Hebrews 12:1-3

Noise and knowledge are different things. Wisdom speaks the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.

The definition of “integrity” is the distance between what you say you believe and what you actually do about it.

Real LEADERS don’t care what haters think and say. Real leaders don’t ask permission to do the right thing, nor do they ask forgiveness for doing it.

Political groupies, who treat all elected Red Team members as rock gods and would never, ever dare to object to anything the Red Team does, are mirror images of the WOKE Left and every bit as dangerous to Liberty. Yep, I mean that.

The political gospel of unity demands that we accept, embrace, and reward all manner of infidelity to liberty principles. Thus, Freedom is murdered – not in one fatal blow – but by a thousand disloyal cuts.  

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” Winston Churchill

The people who “pay the freight” in sweat equity and sacrifice, make the rules. 

When folks are just bound and determined to act like the south end of a north bound mule – stand back and let ‘em.

Don’t waste time crying over anything that won’t cry over you.

Don’t trade squirts with a dumb, smelly skunk.  It wastes your time and makes you stink too. 

In negotiations, never play all your best cards at once.

When a decent, principled person is in the wrong – during a confrontation – leave them a back door to get out of and you will win a lasting ally. Humiliation, like a hammer, should never be the first “correction” tool you grab. 

If the mind is willing and the mission righteous, the courageous can go on and on without many things. 

Identify “walking” billboards. Deploy effectively.

Don’t waste time wishing for a better hand. Play the heck out of what you’ve got.

Don’t be duped by propaganda masquerading as “consensus building.” Some people love the idea of “unity” so much that they’ll doubt a calculator if enough “cool” people disagree with it.

Do good work. Without ceasing, nudge others to be better than they ever imagined.

Never simply check a box. Excellence does not live there.

Let your word be your word. Move Heaven and earth to keep promises. Just get it done.

Stop wasting time waiting for “fairness.”  Doing so assures mission fail.

Living for revenge rots your life and makes your days bitter. Know that every injustice will be made finally and completely right in God’s Courtroom, in His time.

People cannot do what they do not know. Set your standards high once you give your people the tools, the training, and consistent direction. Maintain those standards!

If you perpetually play ping-pong with indecisiveness, You. Are. Random. The safest place for you to be is Off. My. Lawn.

If you want help, define the problem in a one-pager by stating the problem; defining its urgency, and presenting a workable solution based on liberty principles, which are rooted in biblical values. If you can’t put what you want in writing, you aren’t ready to ask for help.

A person, a community, a state, a nation is defined by what it tolerates.

Party unity without accountability is like a bucket of water with a hole in it.

Never react in a way that harms your team’s interests. The scariest people are not those who can be baited into losing control, but the ones who cannot. Pick your fight. Fight smart. Fight to win.  

Thank God for every trial. Praise Him in spite of the pain. Trust Him in all things.

Save yourself extra trips around a hard mountain – learn the Lord’s tough lessons by doing things His Way – the first time.

Faith means do it afraid. Behind the seeming randomness of life is a God who is in control even when we are not.

Lasting success is not measured by the number of followers you have on social media, how many likes, shares or reposts. Lasting success comes from the difference you make in the life of a person each and every time you help them see and become what God uniquely created them to be.

Before you start your day and when you end it, make sure you possess the Right Light and The Only Compass.

Mind how you go. Don’t sit on the sidelines.

Republicans Need to Lead on Property Taxes, Not Bicker About It.

Konni Burton, Founder and CEO, The Texan

Everything is bigger in Texas and — as every homeowner knows — that includes our property taxes.

Texans have long demanded relief, but this legislative session is already nearing its end and we still have no idea if the Republican controlled Senate and House will come to an agreement on the type of appraisal reform offered — if any.

Unfortunately, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dade Phelan are publicly feuding over the path forward to reforming taxes and appraisals, while Gov. Greg Abbott has talked up a good game but offered no actual game plan.

Patrick claims the public is on his side by pointing to a poll released this past week by the Texas Association of Property Tax Professionals. But upon closer look, the poll actually shows Texans would welcome either chamber’s appraisal reform plan.

During my time in the Senate, I saw this same kind of feuding between Lt. Gov. Patrick and then Speaker Joe Straus. It’s a ridiculous game of cat and mouse between the House and Senate to see who will blink first over each chamber’s priority legislation. And this “competition” festers and rears its ugly head among the state reps and senators too. There’s retribution, stalling, and childish antics between the two chambers when each doesn’t get their way.

I hated it then, and I hate it now.

So it comes as no surprise that they’re at it again. What is so frustrating to me is, this isn’t the typical Republican vs. Democrat major policy disagreements that we’d all expect, but rather Republicans fighting each other on an issue that they should gladly be working together on to solve!

Republican leadership and Republican elected officials need to set aside personal egos and show voters they are united and working together to solve this pressing issue for their fellow Texans.

Republicans have all three branches in Texas government and have had for at least 20 years now. But if Patrick and Phelan want to keep the political map from looking as blue as the weather map in February 2021, then they need to stop this public squabbling and show voters Republicans can work together, not act like quarreling children.

It is time they get in a room, talk face to face, and come to an agreement on relieving the crushing weight of property taxes. And frankly, if they don’t initiate it on their own, Gov. Abbott needs to step in and make it happen.

There is good news. They both actually already agree on a major component of the property tax plan. The bad news is that both men seem hell bent on digging in their heels over one aspect of it — with the possibility of derailing it all.

From the Battle of the Alamo to the discovery of oil at Spindletop, Texans have a proud history of tackling tough problems head-on. The property tax problem is no different and Republicans need to show us they are united.

We have a massive budget surplus. We have a bureaucracy with more state boards and commissions than the number of counties in Texas.

It shouldn’t be that hard for Republicans to unite on reining in our bloated government and take the burden off of everyday Texans. And when they do that, they’ll secure the Republican majority for years to come.

Government is the servant, not the master of the People! 
Assume the role of master before it’s too late.

 JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, Grassroots America – We the People

“Government is the people’s business, and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid. With all the profound wording of the Constitution, probably the most meaningful words are the first three, ‘We, the People.’” – Ronald Reagan

A community, a state, a nation is known for what it tolerates. The independence of a free people is utterly dependent upon the principle “Government is the servant and not the master of the people.”

Both sides of the servant/master equation are at fault for the mess we find ourselves in today.  

First, too many elected officials don’t believe they are public servants. They believe they are our all-knowing, enlightened masters and are either ignorant of their statutorily-mandated duty to conduct open government and to hear our redress of grievances against them, or they willfully, wantonly ignore that duty and behave as if they are accountable to no one – least of all the taxpaying rabble.

Then there’s the amiable, “nice guy/gal” types who just aren’t used to swimming with political sharks, are easily buffaloed by people with law degrees, just want to be loved, enjoy being in the “cool” group, and soon find they are in over their heads. The result? An elitist oligarchy that starts conducting the people’s business in back rooms just because they’ve come to believe they are smarter than the people who pay the freight, and they figure somebody in the justice system will always be there to save their bacon.

This is how we’ve completely lost sight of the American Revolutionary War principle of Liberty found in our Declaration of Independence.  We have lost “Consent of the Governed” in our local communities, in Texas, and in this nation, leaving government to stomp all over our liberty and pillage our children’s heritage for Big Government Utopias we never asked for.

The second ingredient in this toxic, public corruption-breeding stew is the fact that most people do not see themselves as the masters. Most people – the intended Masters of Government – fall into at least five discernible categories:

1) the ignorant, who just don’t know any better;

2) the afraid, who fear business or social retribution for speaking out against the local ruling class;

3) the clueless groupies, who treat all elected officials as rock gods and would never, ever dare object to anything they do – especially if the officials are Republican;

4) the cronies, who love sloppy, stupid government as long as their head can be in the trough and their pocketbooks on the receiving end of special deals; and

5) the above-it-all detached ostriches who just don’t give a rat’s rear end.

Under the Austin Pink Dome, special interests abound, unconstitutional retroactive bills to distribute corporate welfare are signed into law, the state pours money into “Welfare for Sports and Big Tech,” and powerful legislators in both parties manipulate the system and profit from it.  Meanwhile, we’re still begging for secure elections, property tax relief, accountability for public schools, and for somebody, somewhere to stop groomers, pedophiles, and pointy headed educrats from corrupting our children with deviant smut.

In Washington, DC, federal officials shred the US Constitution every day, and leadership for both parties just stand by and let it happen.

Local government officials tell you that your county, city, school district, fill-in-the-blank special taxing district is as “lean” as it can be with no waste.  They declare they’ve cut your taxes and that taxpayer-funded bonds for noble causes will only cost you pennies, yet your property tax bills keep skyrocketing.

Tolerating political chicanery and unbridled corruption will get you more of the same, and in bolder, bigger doses.  When will you decide you’ve had enough?

Grassroots America believes YOU can, and YOU must hold elected officials accountable. Our mission is to empower, educate, and unite those citizens who care about their children, grandchildren, and Liberty; those who do care about Truth; and those who are sick of the mess we find ourselves in.

If you’re fed up, sign up for our alerts. Attend a meeting. Raise your hand.

“As long as rulers are above the law, citizens have the same type of freedom
that slaves of any era had on days when their masters chose not to beat them.”
James Bovard

Most homeowners and businessowners will see an inflated property tax bill! (Rent increases for renters.)

Haven’t seen your property tax bill yet?  It’s on the way! Once you see it…

Are you confused by the Grand Canyon distance between the tax-cutting promises made and the reality of what you now owe?

Are you frustrated because no matter how many times politicians tell you they’re reducing your property taxes, your bill keeps climbing?

Are you puzzled because your local elected officials have bragged about holding the tax rate steady for the past bajillion years, but your property tax bill still increases – every single year?  

Are you suspicious when folks pushing local bond elections for courthouses, convention centers, schools, and parks say, “People over the age of 65 won’t pay more”?

You should be suspicious!  Every time a bond election passes for a “noble” cause, the property tax debt burden for ALL taxpayers goes up.  The result?  The taxes of folks over the age of 65 will NEVER go down because this long-term debt will not be paid off in your lifetime! Weren’t you promised your taxes would go down someday?  We think people asking you to pay more should at least tell you the truth – the whole truth!

We call all of this The Long Con.  The deceivers count on the average citizen not understanding simple concepts these politicians twist and distort to their re-election advantage. Then, queue the clapping seals trained to treat these deceivers like royalty every time they walk into a room. This is how the long con of the “How Can We Fool Them Today?” strategy works.

What can you do? Learn how to spot the long con and reject it!

Watch the short 25-minute video below produced by Republican State Senators Bob Hall and Paul Bettencourt.  It is instructive and eye-opening.

Hall and Bettencourt discuss bonds, appraisals, the property tax burden in Texas and how some local taxing entities are maneuvering around property tax reforms AND defiantly issuing debt for bond projects the voters rejected at the ballot box.

Watch and learn. Prepare to push back on the long con in your community!  

We vigorously reject the smut, deviancy, grooming, and culture rot aimed at kids.  All of it is designed to de-sensitize children so they will accept the advances of sexual predators.  The Cultural Marxists are aiming for normalization of pedophilia.  The signs are everywhere.   

We will work with anybody to help parents and grandparents save their children from this evil.  We don’t just intend to “fight it” as some politicians like to say.  We will call it out, expose it, define it as purely evil, and unite with others to chase it over a cliff and into the sea. (I hope most of our readers understand that reference.)

When Chris Hopper with Texas Family Project asked us to share his organization’s joint statement with American Principles Project (Terry Schilling), JoAnn decided to just call Comptroller Glenn Hegar to talk it over first.  After listening, she asked him to send a written statement Grassroots America could share.  He was willing to do so.

We are sharing both statements without editorial comment.  These statements and the seriousness of the matter will lead to further discussion of statutory jurisdictions and whether or not existing statutes provide the proper “ammo” we all need to fight this evil. 

Time for answers and solutions – not idle talk.

Read the joint statement from Texas Family Project and American Principles Project.

Read Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s statement.

As always, please let us know if you have
a “protect the kids” project your group
wants to share with others
or something that needs exposure.
Resist the evil until we win!