Hot Update: Protect Kids | Tyler Library Smut

Hot Update: Protect Kids | Tyler Library Smut

Nov 13, 2023 | Smith County

Thank you to all the volunteers who attended the October 18th library board meeting – the last one of this year!  There were about 50 people in attendance and as usual we were the overwhelming majority.

Sadly, we now know the library board has gone from bad to worse. They unanimously made the horrible decision to KEEP the book called “People Kill People” in the 14+ section. In case you’ve forgotten, here is the link to excerpts from it  Dirty Book #5 People Kill People.

Anyone who would like to send a professionally-worded email to the city manager about this book is welcome to do so by emailing Ed Broussard at ebroussard@tylertexas.com.

The next board meeting will likely be in mid- to late-January.  We will keep up the pressure by submitting book reconsiderations until we get more results.   Stay tuned for more information.

THANKS SO MUCH for your ‘Never Say Die’ persistence!

Citizens Speak Out in Letters to the Editor

If you are a subscriber to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, you should have noticed articles and letters to the editor about the Tyler Library controversy. Informed citizens sent in great letters that countered misinformation about “book banning,” which is an intellectually lazy buzzword coined by the Left and used by officials who should know better.  Moving books OUT of a section of the library used by minor-aged children is NOT book banning!

How many times must we repeat this fact:  Under the law, children cannot give consent to sexual activity! Sexual activity with a minor-aged child is rape.   It therefore follows that minor children cannot give consent to having their minds and emotions raped by sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar books. What about this concept is too hard for Tyler City officials to grasp?

Inspired? Send your own letter

(limited to 250 words) to the editor:

santana@mrobertsmedia.com and to
opinion@tylerpaper.com

NOW, GOOD STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW

 We have compiled and posted resources for you!

So far, our elected officials have managed to evade direct contact with actual constituents – the voters and taxpayers who have every interest and right to speak out about library standards.  This is especially true when it comes to sexually explicit, pervasively vulgar books that are accessible to minor children.

We are hearing from Tyler residents that city council members are turning down the opportunity to attend coffees and meetings in neighborhoods if the subject matter is going to be “the library.”  We find that appalling.  Don’t you?

Isn’t it interesting how friendly these people are when they are campaigning and looking for endorsements?  EVASION is NOT a good look for an elected official!

The mayor and council members have refused to even put this topic on a City Council Agenda to discuss!  That means they have NEVER legally discussed the issue; therefore, the matter remains unresolved!

Let’s give them another chance!  Interested in inviting your Mayor and Tyler City Council member to an informal meeting in your district?

Click here to see how to organize your own informal “meet and greet” with your city councilman and/or the mayor.

Click here to see which Tyler City Council district you live in! Learn if your council member is up for re-election!

Click here to read WHY we keep saying that our requests are reasonable. Hint:  Texas law backs us up!

Click here for our library project talking points and objectives! All concerned citizens can use these in letters to the editor, in posts to social media, in conversations with neighbors, family and friends, and at a neighborhood coffee with your city council member and/or the mayor.  Share them!

At the end of this exercise, we will either learn that our elected officials are interested in hearing what we have to say, interested in managing city business lawfully, OR we’ll learn that they are still hiding from their responsibilities and ducking their oath of office!

Let’s have an honest conversation about this!

Your Library Project Team Leaders:

Dee Chambless

Christine Bentley

Tom Fabry

Toni Fabry

Our War Against Porn to Kids | Tyler Public Library

Jul 20, 2023 | Smith County

When they won’t listen, we go to war! Follow our local campaign to save kids from public library smut. Learn what to do! 

Can we all agree that our children don’t need access to pornographic and sexually explicit books in our public libraries? 

I’m glad you agree. Then the next question: why do children have access to pornographic and sexually explicit books in the Tyler Public Library? 

That’s right. Shockingly inappropriate, pornographic, and sexually explicit materials are in the teen section of the Tyler Public Library.  

The state of Texas recently deemed these same books unsuitable for minors when, with bipartisan support, they passed the R.E.A.D.E.R Act which prohibits sexually explicit materials from Texas public school libraries. 

For over a year, a growing number of community members have made reasonable appeals to the Tyler Public Library Board to relocate materials that are not subject matter appropriate or age appropriate for children to an area of the library that is not accessible to children.

The effort to move these books has largely been ignored by the Tyler Public Library Board! 

They recently voted 4 to 2 to keep the pervasively vulgar and sexually explicit book All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.  These Tyler Library Board members are appointed by the Tyler City Council, and while they are not directly accountable to us, the Tyler City Council most surely is!  

We’re stepping it up a notch to make your voices heard. 

The Tyler City Council, including Mayor Warren, have all been sent information about, and excerpts from, some of the most offensive books. They have ignored appeals for a town hall meeting and have never once placed this serious issue on their agenda. 

Since they have ignored appeals for a public discussion of community standards for our public library, we have no choice but to escalate our efforts; therefore, to ensure all members of the Tyler City Council are fully informed of the subject matter being debated, at least one page of excerpts from a single book title recently found in the teen section of the Tyler Public Library will be provided to them over a period of thirty days. We are calling this campaign the Dirty Thirty.

Click here to KNOW the facts by seeing Dirty Book #1.

When our campaign is over, the Tyler City Council will have been made fully aware of the problem and the solution. It will be up to them to act. 

We intend to help the Tyler City Council understand the following facts:  

  • The sexualization of children through pornographic, sexually explicit materials is a form of sexual grooming that leads to mental health issues and puts them at greater risk of sexual exploitation.
  • Book boundaries are not book bans! The regulation of explicit content does not violate the First Amendment. Between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates public airwaves for indecent and profane content in compliance with federal broadcasting laws, in order to protect children.
  • The removal of sexually explicit materials from children’s collections is supported in legal precedence and comports to Supreme Court decisions, including Board of Education vs. Pico (1982).

These books contain blatant pornography, sexual deviancy, and pedophilia that rape the minds and emotions of children and normalize behavior that promotes the utter degradation of our culture, reducing human sexuality to soul-eating animalistic acts. The destruction of childhood innocence with taxpayer-funded, pervasively vulgar materials readily found in our public library must stop. 
  
The law recognizes that children are developmentally unable to consent to physical sexual activity.  A child cannot consent to mental and emotional rape either!  Parents should and must have the confidence that their children can go to a public library without having their minds raped. Elected officials everywhere should be protecting our most precious resource – children!    
 
It’s just common sense to preserve community standards that will ensure Tyler is a safe and nurturing place for children to thrive. 

We get the government that we consent to!  Let’s show the Tyler City Council that we, the people of Tyler, Texas, do not consent to a government that sexualizes children. 

Let’s get ready to make a difference in Tyler and across Texas!

Most sincerely,

Just the Beginning – Kid Grooming Porn Must Go | Tyler Public Library

Jun 15, 2023 | Smith County

Metropolitan, self-anointed cultural elites preying on children by normalizing smut & pedophilia will not be tolerated. 

In response to many requests, we are sending out our public statement delivered to the Tyler Library Advisory Board on June 1, 2022.

We are shocked and angered by the documented, grossly obscene materials found in the Tyler Public Library.  Only ONE member of the Tyler Library Advisory Board voted to remove the graphically illustrated book depicting lesbian sex. 
 
There are books in the library that are sexually explicit in nature and accessible to kids under the age of consent. There is nothing ‘alleged’ about the sexually explicit material our team has found in these books. Some city library employees want to pass these off as mere ‘puberty and changing bodies’ information.  That is a lie.
 
Providing sexually graphic and explicit books to minors would be a criminal offense if an adult provided them to a child outside the library.  We don’t care in the least that the pointy-headed, self-anointed cultural elites in the American Library Association and the Texas Library Association think these books are brilliant and liberating and highly recommend them.  Most decent people see this as dangerous smut designed to groom children.  Next stop will be the elected City Council.  The buck stops with them.   
 
Most sincerely,

Our 2020 General Election Audit Report

Our 2020 General Election Audit Report

Apr 2, 2023 | Smith County

Ever wonder what a real election audit would reveal?

We did, so our local government watchdog committee got to work to organize and execute a thorough audit of the 2020 Smith County General Election.

“To summarize, there were serious problems with records management and chain of custody controls on virtually every aspect of the 2020 General Election processes:  provisional ballots, military/overseas ballots, limited ballots.  Logs were missing, yielding incomplete and inaccurate records management.  The record boxes were an embarrassment.  Smith County’s slogan is ‘Striving for Excellence.’  This was NOT excellent!

“The team focused on Absentee voters because there were paper records to audit.  The same problems existed with In-Person voters, but the machine records were not available or auditable.  Who knows the magnitude of those problems?” JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director

Read Mrs. Fleming’s entire statement to the Smith County Commissioners Court.

Election Audit Chair, Tom Fabry’s Audit Summary.

View the Public Forum Presentation Materials that were presented at the GAWTP meeting on February 13, 2023.

Watch the Channel 7 KLTV News story on the audit.

2020 General Election Smith County audit Final Report

The next phase of this project will include the creation of an exportable Audit Template that can be used in any Texas county to conduct a similar audit.

If you are interested in working with our team as a Beta tester in your county please contact Tom Fabry at tcfabry@yahoo.com. Serious inquires only please – as this is a time and labor intensive process!

Smith County Jail in the Spotlight – AGAIN

Mar 16, 2022 | Smith County

Grassroots America Seeks 4+ Years of Documents from/to Texas Commission on Jail Standards

What Every Taxpayer in Texas

Should Know about

County Jail Overcrowding

Myth vs Facts

 

Operating Texas County Jails Is Expensive.

What you don’t know could hurt your wallet!

Bottom line – up front:  The Smith County Jail is overcrowded – again, which may slap a remedial order on the jail and a fine on taxpayers from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Some very expensive remedies may be straight ahead.  With a new jail that we’re still paying principal and interest on, how did we get here…again?  

Click here to see our fact-finding Public Information Act Request, which will yield important information necessary for due diligence and long-term policy and procedural recommendations.

While this situation in the backyard of Grassroots America’s Smith County home base rocketed this irksome topic to the top of our stack this week, this post will educate any taxpayer in any Texas county about county jails – a complicated, expensive, hot political mess often convoluted by purposeful political spin, myths, and misunderstandings about jurisdiction and statutory authority. Be very cautious about the over-use of COVID as an excuse.  As you read on, you will see there are far, far many other reasons for overcrowding.

The following was compiled by JoAnn Fleming who is supposed to be on medical leave; however, Fleming has almost 30 years of institutional knowledge on local government and has served for many years on county jail committees, as a county commissioner, and a policy advisor to elected officials.  We hope her notes are educational to our readers.

Educate Yourself – Separate Fact from Fiction

Your County Sheriff and Commissioners Court DO NOT set County Jail Standards! The State of Texas does!  So, don’t start scolding your commissioners court and sheriff about housing inmates in tents – local government does not have that authority.  Contact your State Senator, State Representative and be sure to let the Governor, Lt. Governor and House Speaker know your position on any of the rules made and enforced by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.  Also remember, any promise or move the Legislature makes can be nuked by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and House Speaker unless the Legislature has the courage to 1) pass rules that will get legislation to the floor for a vote and 2) override the Governor’s veto.

Brief History of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards

1975: Texas Legislature created the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to implement a declared state policy that all county jail facilities conform to minimum standards of construction, maintenance, and operation.

1983: Legislature expanded Commission’s jurisdiction to include county and municipal jails operated by private contractors.

1991: Legislature added the requirement for count, payment, and transfer of inmates when precipitated by crowded conditions as well as expanding the Commission’s role of consultation and technical assistance.

1993: Legislature expanded the role of the Commission by requiring that it provide consultation and technical assistance for the State Jail program.

1997: Legislature affirmed that counties, municipalities, and private vendors housing out-of-state inmates are within the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ statutory authority as set by the Texas Legislature:

It is the duty of the Commission to promulgate reasonable written rules and procedures establishing minimum standards, inspection procedures, enforcement policies and technical assistance for:

The construction, equipment, maintenance, and operation of jail facilities under its jurisdiction (county, municipal, and privately-operated local detention facilities);

The custody, care, and treatment of inmates (this includes the mandatory staffing ratio of detention officers to inmates; standards for observation of inmates; quantity of food served to inmates; jail climate control; outdoor recreation time; medication schedules; health care; visitation; separation of males and females by sight and sound; separation of inmate populations by classification of low, medium, maximum risk, suicide risk, and health issues); Note: It is important to remember that local jails house many who are pre-trial (legally presumed innocent).The remainder are either serving short sentences or are awaiting transfer to state prisons. Some jails are under contract to house federal inmates.

Programs of rehabilitation, education, and recreation for inmates confined in county and municipal jail facilities and privately-operated jails under its jurisdiction.

To read more about the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, click here.

More about jail facilities

As stated previously, local jail systems are regulated by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards – an agency that came about as the result of a federal lawsuit involving inmate conditions.  If legislation passed to allow tents for housing inmates, the tents would need to be in compliance with all the standards imposed by the federal ruling, and the tents would likely be approved only for low-risk inmates.   Tents for more dangerous populations of inmates require far more detention officers.  Due to space requirements, tent jails would likely require locating them out in unincorporated areas of counties. This would drive up operating costs – including staffing, transporting meals three times a day, transport costs for inmates to and from courts, and would also pose the thorny question – Who wants a jail tent city close to their rural neighborhood?

Jail overcrowding has many causes.  It is also dangerous for jail staff!

Solutions for jail overcrowding require a complete “end to end” review of detention – from arrest to trial to release or transfer to state prison. This review must include policies and procedures for the Sheriff’s Office, the Jail, the District Attorney’s Office, the District Clerk’s Office, the Courts, Probation Department, Pre-Trial Release, and any other unit involved in the criminal justice process.

Each part of the inmate process from arrest to book-in to holding to magistration to bond-setting/or pre-trial incarceration to investigations to trial-date setting to the actual trial/plea deal to the preparation of getting an inmate “paper-ready” to go to state prison must be analyzed for bottlenecks that slow down the process.

Time is definitely money in the criminal justice system.  The more days an inmate spends in a local jail, the higher the tab rises for local taxpayers.  Local taxpayers pay for all medical care for inmates, which can include kidney dialysis, cancer treatments, surgeries, dental care, medications, and hospitalization.

A few questions you should ask:

How many jail vacancies exist for detention officers?  Remember the 1-48 ratio of detention officers to inmates must also include a staffing or shift relief factor for sick leave, family leave, vacation, compensatory time, training, etc. The number of high-risk, suicide watch, and female inmates can also drive up staffing requirements as can the layout and configuration of jail cells

Are detention officer vacancies due to insufficient pay, an unsafe work environment due to policy failures, or mismanagement? Exit interviews should be required and reviewed to get the answers.

Are trials held every week?  If not, why not?

Are reports sent in timely to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards?

Are the local Judges, District Clerk, Sheriff, District Attorney, and mental health professionals working together for timely processing of inmates though the criminal justice system?

  1. As we review documents from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, we will report back our findings in a way that will help educate readers across Texas.  We will definitely engage Smith County officials after we gather the facts.

Remember, an informed taxpayer is a wiser taxpayer who is better equipped to separate fact from fiction and better able to detect what we call “courthouse myths.”

Accountability is everybody’s business.  Just do your homework first! 

Read our public information act request

Want Your Tax Dollars Used for Covid-19 Bribes

Aug 21, 2021 | Smith County

by Tom Fabry, Chairman 
Grassroots America’s Local Gov’t Watchdog Committee 

Tyler ISD: $500 Reward for Employees Taking C-19 Shot 
On 8/23, the Tyler ISD school board listed two Covid-19 related items on the meeting Agenda. 1) Give employees who take or have taken a gov’t-approved C-19 shot(s) a $500 stipend (prize).  2) Give an extra 10 days of paid sick leave if they take the shot and become ill or are later diagnosed with C-19.

These items, which could run well over $1 million, were inexplicably placed on the “Consent Agenda,” meaning these issues were to be considered “uncontroversial” or like a routine expense grouped with numerous other items and passed as a group without debate.  Had several concerned citizens not spoken up, the Board may have simply glossed over the Administration’s resolutions and approved them – without any debate!

Despite citizen objections, the Board passed the stipend unanimously.  The extra sick leave resolution was correctly tabled for more study.

Public Statement Delivered to the Tyler ISD Board
Grassroots America’s Local Watchdog Chairman Tom Fabry made the following public comments to the Tyler ISD Board AGAINST both resolutions:

“Nowhere in TISD’s five stated core beliefs is there a single word about delving into staff’s private medical decisions.  So NOT only are these $500 stipends NOT part of TISD’s Core Mission, but they are also NOT a prudent use of taxpayer funds.

“The stipend is a retroactive policy!  But it only applies to those getting the shot – what about those people that have natural immunity or have recovered from a C-19 infection? These folks have antibodies that are reportedly much better and longer lasting than the shot.  Add that to conscientious objections for closely held religious beliefs and the program is discriminatory.

“The same discriminatory problems apply to extended sick leave for those opting-in to the stipend (bribe) and who take the shot.  Again, those who have natural immunity often should NOT get the shot – why are they not protected by your largesse?   Or what about getting the booster which some now are advocating?  Does that qualify for another stipend?  How about booster #2, or 3 or X??

“Then there is the financial exposure to the taxpayers.  The stipend is over $1 million at full opt-in!  Has there been an analysis of the cost of extra paid leave?   No, because there is no hard data.  So, this would be like signing a blank check and planning to have a lot of substitute teachers on retainer.

“Moreover, various studies have shown massive numbers of so-called Covid-19 cases that have been incorrectly classified as actual Covid cases versus “Having ‘X’ illness WITH Covid.”  Again, what is the financial exposure? And how do you manage and subsidize who has a “real” Covid illness?

“But the final and only argument that matters is this:  Health decisions are a PERSONAL and PRIVATE matter.  You have no idea whether there are mitigating health reasons that warn of potentially fatal side effects. And you have no business questioning a person’s deeply held religious beliefs.

“I’ve read the Board Goals that you have listed on the web site.  I applaud you for publishing quantifiable metrics actually focused on the mission of this school District.  So, I encourage you to stick to your mission – increase the achievement of TISD students in the core competencies of reading, math, and graduation rates.    If you are going to give stipends – do it for exemplary student achievement gains!   Thank you.”

ACTION You Can Take!
Pay property taxes to Tyler ISD? Don’t like this use of your tax dollars?  Call the school board!

Find the Tyler ISD Board contact information by clicking this link and then clicking each name on the list. Note the District Map to the right of each name.  This will help you determine which elected Trustee represents you on the Board by simply clicking on the district links in the District Maps column. Having trouble locating the information? Email Watchdog Committee Chairman Tom Fabry: tcfabry@yahoo.com

Live in Another School District?
This is happening in other school districts across Texas.  Click here to look up your school district by County. When you locate the school districts in your county, then you can select the school district information that will give a link for your School District’s website.  On your School District’s website, you can find your elected school board members and their contact information.  Having trouble locating the information? Email Watchdog Committee Chairman Tom Fabry: tcfabry@yahoo.com

Stern reminder
If you pay property taxes on a home and/or business, you have every right to question what these School Board Trustees do with your tax dollars!  It does NOT matter if you do not have kids in public school – YOU pay for everything the School Board approves to spend money on!  You have a fundamental right to ask questions.

I guarantee if you start asking questions and observing what is going on in your school district, you will begin to see that you need to pay attention to the School Board races that come up on your May ballot.

Don’t just sit there and stew about it, say something! As JoAnn always says, your silence to an elected official = your approval!

Encouraging you to engage your elected officials,

Tom Fabry
Chairman, Grassroots America’s Local Gov’t Watchdog Committee
tcfabry@yahoo.com