Category → Upcoming Events
Protecting the property rights of all Alabamians
Remember last April when several RLC members were working to protect the property rights of economically disadvantaged property owners in Montgomery? It looks like the national media, Fox 6 and some blogs are starting to pick up on the story. Here are some highlights:
- From ABC News: “We’re calling it eminent domain through the back door,” said Christina Walsh, director of activism and coalitions for the Institute for Justice. In the last week has taken on the case in Montgomery through its grassroots anti-eminent domain organization, the Castle Coalition. “There’s stories of property owners who have court orders demanding their properties be left alone and they come in and demolish them.”
- Reason magazine: The focus there is on what Beito calls “eminent domain through the back door,” which has fallen especially heavily on low-income blacks. “Under this system,” [David] Beito writes, “Montgomery has demolished homes without the normal due process of conventional eminent domain–and often gives little notice. The city alleges that these homes are ‘blighted’ but…at least some are in excellent repair.” Rather than providing the just compensation required under the Fifth Amendment, the city “bills the owner for the cost of demolition and he or she is left with an essentially worthless property.”
- The Daily Caller: Consider Jimmy McCall. Jimmy was in the process of building from the ground-up a home for his family when he was notified it was slated for demolition. After one failed attempt to bulldoze the half-completed home, the city came back under this state law and got what they were fighting for: Jimmy’s would-be dream home was demolished, and he was stuck with the bill.
- Fox News (national): Mayor Todd Strange says he took office after McCall’s home was condemned and demolished. Without commenting on this specific case, Strange argues that the city is aggressively targeting properties that have been neglected.
- Fox News (local): Montgomery has condemned dozens of homes under its blight ordinance, often billing the owners for the cost of demolition. The city then markets the properties to private developers.
- Alphecca.com: Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange is a genuine piece of crap.
David Beito has more at the Independent Institute here and our own Stephen Gordon covers the issue here.
For those of you interested in the issue, the Castle Coalition will be conducting a training workshop on Saturday, August 28. Additional details are located here.
Birmingham/Shelby County “Tea Party – A Celebration of Freedom”
Description: The Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus is pleased to announce our support for the upcoming Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party. “Tea Party -A Celebration of Freedom” will be held on July 4th at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.
Title: Birmingham/Shelby County “Tea Party – A Celebration of Freedom”
Location: Verizon Wireless Music Center (formerly Oak Mountain Amphitheater), Pelham, AL
Link out: Click here
We’ll be announcing additional details soon, but we’re trying to get the word out now so you can place the date on your calendar. Also, the event is in need of volunteers and vendors/sponsors.
Start Time: 5:30
Date: 2009-07-04
Liberty on the Rocks
Title: Liberty on the Rocks
Location: Birmingham
Link out: Click here
Description: What do you get when you mix alcohol with the politics of freedom? An argument can be made that we owe our Republic not only to a lot of bright and brave people, but also to a lot of booze.
In order to bring out freedom fighter in all of us, as well as to provide some networking opportunities and just plain fun, we\’ve now opened the Birmingham branch of Liberty on the Rocks.
The first scheduled Birmingham Liberty on the Rocks event will be held on Tuesday, May 19
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2009-05-19
End Time: 23:45
ALRLC Secretary to hear eminent domain testimony with US Civil Rights Commission on Wednesday in Montgomery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen Gordon
stephen@forwardfocusmedia.com
(256) 874-2985
(BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – April 27, 2009) On Wednesday, April 29, the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be conducting a panel entitled “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.”
“The Commission’s current focus on the ramifications of eminent domain abuse regarding minorities and other protected classes touches on an issue that effects most residents in Alabama,” said ALRLC Secretary and Alabama Advisory Committee member Shana Kluck. “Property rights are a bulwark of a free society and it saddens me that these rights are often ignored or even threatened by the very government that was created to protect them. Considering this is the state where the Civil Rights movement began, it’s time for Alabama to eradicate one of the last bastions of racial inequality and at the same time ensure the protection of property rights for all Alabamians.”
In addition to serving as a member of the Alabama Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and as Secretary of the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus, Shana Kluck also serves on the state GOP executive committee and is president of the Alabama Republican Assembly. She recently served as the Alabama Field Director and the national Homeschooling Coordinator for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
Confirmed speakers include State Senator Scott Beason, Birmingham community activist and City Council candidate Kim Rafferty, Rev. John E. Smith of the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, representatives of the Alabaster Alabama community, Montgomery business owner Jim Peera, Montgomery business owner Jimmy McCall, Montgomery attorney Norman Hurst, ADECA Compliance Officer Paula Murphy and Jefferson County Land Development Department representative Michael Morrison. Members of the community negatively impacted by Alabama’s eminent domain policies will be providing testimony to the panel.
The panel will be conducted from 9AM to 5PM on April 29 at the Montgomery Campus of Troy University in the Gold Room of the Whitley Conference Hall. The street address is 231 Montgomery Street, Montgomery, AL 36104.
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A new approach to an ignored civil liberties issue in Alabama
Racial minorities and the socio-economically disadvantaged are the people most likely to be taken advantage of during eminent domain issues.
ALRLC Secretary Shana Kluck is also a member of the State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. They will be conducting a panel in Montgomery on Wednesday to investigate the “Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama.” The event is open to the public. If you may be interested in attending, additional information is available here.
University of Alabama history professor David Beito chairs the committee. His op-ed in the Tuscaloosa News highlights how serious the problem truly is. Here’s but one of the cases which will be reviewed by the upcoming U.S. Commission of Civil Rights panel:
For almost five years, [Jim Peera] has fought a pitched battle with City Hall over his plan to renovate a strategic parcel of 121 apartments in the heart of the Rosa Parks Community and rent them to low-income senior citizens. Montgomery has a multimillion dollar development plan for his 8-acre site and is using ‘blight’ to condemn and demolish it.
Peera has withstood multiple setbacks on his investment, including unfounded criminal charges by the city and mysterious fires on his solid block structures. He has repeatedly tried to sell to or partner with the city for a much needed affordable housing development, but it has rebuffed him.
‘They’re used to forcing black folks to give their properties up via imposing hefty demolition liens, as opposed to buying land at fair market value’ he said.
Most recently, the city tried to further devalue Peera’s property by reducing the density from ‘multifamily’ to single family, thus making it impossible to provide affordable low-income housing. Though Peera won in two courts, local bureaucrats, much like they are doing with McCall, meet his legal victories with appeals and other delays.
Peera, who had to flee from his native East Africa after Idi Amin expelled its Asian population, does not easily intimidate and is extremely determined to fight property abuse in Alabama. He is trying to mobilize other Montgomery property owners who face the same plight. Through the state’s freedom of information act, he has obtained the names of over several hundred individuals, mostly from minority neighborhoods, who have had their homes summarily demolished under the blight law.
The former owners have related to him a litany of arbitrary mistreatment, but most were too poor or lacked the necessary information to fight back against the city. ‘What this City Hall is doing is criminal towards blacks and property owners, and it must be stopped’ Peera said.
Media alert: ALRLC spokesperson to be interviewed by Lee Davis
ALRLC spokesman Stephen Gordon will be sharing an hour of live radio with national political correspondent Robert Stacy McCain at 5:00 this afternoon. They’ll be on WYDE’s The Lee Davis Show, which can be heard at 101.1FM though most of central and northern Alabama.
Montgomery/Tri-County Tea Party
Title: Montgomery/Tri-County Tea Party
Location: Alabama State House, 11 N Union
Link out: Click here
Description: What: Tri-County Tax Day Tea Party
When: April 15th at high noon
Where: Alabama State House, 11 N Union
Why: Many people think it is pretty obvious that we can\’t tax and spend our way into prosperity, but the leadership in Washington isn\’t listening to us. As part of a nationwide series of protests on \”Tax Day\”, we will make our voices heard.
Details: We will start at High Noon on April 15th, and continue for no more than an hour. We will have several very good speakers, as well as other plans to make it both effective and fun. More details will follow in the next week or two.
Copyright 2009 Tri-County Tea Party Coalition
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This page was last updated: April 3, 2009
Things To Do Before
Sign Up to Attend or Volunteer
Invite Friends & Family
Make Signs (Samples)
Buy Tea Bags
Spread The Word!
Things To Bring
Friends
Cameras & Video Cameras
Signs
Tea Bags
Bell or noise maker
Good Manners
Montgomery Tea Party Location!
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
Parking at Cramton Bowl
1022 Madison Ave
Montgomery, AL 36130
Parking at Paterson Field
1201 Madison Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36101
Parking: Parking downtown is severely limited, and there is no place nearby for participants to park. However, you can park at either Cramton Bowl or Paterson field. Trolleys run every 20 minutes from both locations to the Alabama State House.
Additional speaker info here.
I’m pleased to say that plans for the Montgomery Tea Party have been finalized. Speakers at the event will include:
Kevin Elkins, News Radio 1440 talk host
Greg Budell, WACV 1170 talk host
Tim James
John Rice
John Killian, Birmingham pastor
State Senator Harri Anne Smith
State Representative Greg Canfield
State Representative Barry Mask
Ashley Johnston will read an excerpt from a Patrick Henry speech
Also attending and speaking if time permits will be State Senator Scott Beason and State Representatives Robert Bentley and Cam Ward.
But that’s not all. We plan on having a 5-minute segment where anybody attending the Tea Party can come to the microphone and speak for 30-seconds each. We will have Adam Brooks from Christ Community Church singing “America the Beautiful”, and Birmingham-based Alabama Pipes and Drums will kick us off with “Scotland the Brave.”
Start Time: 12:00
Date: 2009-04-15
Our First YouTube: Party Like It’s 1773
We’ll be posting Alabama Tea Party events on this site. If you have any additional information, corrections or updates about Alabama events, please contact Shana or leave a comment below.
Also, feel free to subscribe to our brand new YouTube Channel, or one of our other rapidily developing social networks.
The Most Important Polical Event in Alabama in 2009
On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists boarded ships and dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party was the symbolic start of our battle against British tyranny and taxation. On Saturday, August 9, 2003, the Alabama Tea Party was the symbolic beginning of our overwhelming defeat of the largest planned tax increase in Alabama’s history.
On April 15, we’ll be throwing another Tea Party – this one to begin the overthrow of the greatest expansion of federal spending in our nation’s history. In conjunction with other Tea Parties to be held across the nation on April 15, the Birmingham and Shelby County Tea Parties have merged in order for Alabamians to provide the most incredibly successful event possible.
It’s important that as many people as possible attend so we can ensure that our elected representatives in Washington hear our demand for limited government and a return to our constitutional roots. We’ll be holding a family-friendly rally starting at 6:30PM on Wednesday, April 15th. It will take place at Veteran’s (Spain) Park on Valleydale Road in Hoover. Additionally, Sean Hannity will be running a live stream from Tea Parties across the country and the Birmingham Tea Party will be one of them.
We’ll have speakers, information tables, family and whole lot of fun. Also, don’t forget to your home-made, family -friendly signs, banners and posters. As we’ll be going from 6:30PM until well after dark, make sure you bring lawn chairs or blankets, something to eat or drink, and are prepared for wet weather should rain be in the forecast. Don’t forget diapers and bottles for the little ones.
Here are a few of the speakers from our tentative speaker line up:
Seats Available for Eagle Forum Dinner
We have a few seats available at the RLC table for the Alabama Eagle Forum dinner to be held this Frinday (March 27, 2009) in the Birmingham Metro area. If you are interested in one of these seats, please contact Shana Kluck as soon as possible.
ALABAMA ADVISORY COMMITTEE to the U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Title: ALABAMA ADVISORY COMMITTEE to the U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Location: Troy University – Montgomery Campus
Link out: Click here
Description: Civil Rights Implications of Eminent Domain Policies and Practices in Alabama
Alabama victims of property rights abuse will be featured at the event.
Exact time and location will be announced as soon as details are finalized. Here’s the anticipated schedule:
Date: 2009-04-29
Panel I Begins at 9:15 PM
Panel II begins at 2:15 PM
Open Session for the Public begins at 4:30
This event is open to the public.
Start Time: 9:00
Date: 2009-04-29
End Time: 17:00
RLC National Convention 2009
Title: RLC National Convention 2009
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Link out: Click here
Description: Dear Friend of Liberty,
You are cordially invited to attend the RLC National Convention from March 27-29, 2009 at the Embassy Suites (9300 Baymeadows Road; phone 904.731.3555) in Jacksonville, Florida. The Convention will be held in conjunction with the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida Convention.
We are expecting upwards of 75 RLC Delegates from our chartered affiliates across the country. It is important that as many of our state chapters as possible have a representative at the Convention. Thus far, we have confirmed delegates from Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia and also expect delegates from California and Indiana.
Key links for the Convention:
* Convention Agenda
* Convention Business
* REGISTER to Attend ($100 registration fee)
* Book Your Hotel Room ($84/night with mention of the RLC).
We expect well over 100 attendees from all across the country and hope you will be among those attending. We want to meet you in Jacksonville!
RLC Convention 2009 will mark the RLC’s eighth biennial Convention. The Convention Committee has invited prominent liberty stars to participate in panels, debates, and seminars. Many RLC Advisors and state legislators are expected to be in attendance. Business that will occur at the Convention includes elections of new national officers and by-laws revisions and updates, however you must be a dues-paying RLC member (with dues paid by Feb. 27, 2009) to vote.
The Convention Agenda is now final. Our featured guests are former Reagan White House Aide Dan Quiggle and Lawrence W. Reed of America’s oldest libertarian organization, the Foundation on Economic Education. Mr. Reed will address the federal reserve.
Most important of all, this Convention will provide an opportunity for fun and fellowship with other libertarian Republican activists across the country. Expect to have a GREAT time.
The total Convention cost is $100 for all RLC members or non-members. The total fee ($100) include the a banquet, a dinner, room rental fees, technology and equipment fees, and costs for speakers. The cost for those wishing to attend the Saturday evening banquet only is $65. (Note: There are no member discounts and those unable to attend the Friday night events still must pay the full price if they want to attend all Saturday sessions. Those RLC members who wish to only attend the RLC Business Sessions may do so free of charge.)
To register for RLC Convention 2009, simply use our secure PayPal online system. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can fill out this form (pdf) and send it to the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, P.O. Box 3322, Kissimmee, FL 34745-3322. Checks must be made out to the Republican Liberty Caucus.
Interested parties may also RSVP at our Facebook page (Facebook subscription required) and confirm your registration (optional) via this form. Don’t forget to book a hotel room and arrange transportation to and from the airport.
We look forward to seeing you in Jacksonville!
Warm Regards,
Bill Westmiller
Chair, Republican Liberty Caucus
Start Date: 2009-03-27
End Date: 2009-03-29
Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party Tax Rally April 15th
Title: Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party Tax Rally April 15th
Location: Veterans Park (?) in Hoover
Link out: Click here
Description: Hey Rainy Day Patriots and patriots of all kinds- The date, time, and place of the next rally to protest the outragous actions of our govenrment has been established. The rally will be at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road in Hoover, Shelby County, Alabama. On April 15th, we wish to see the Veterans Park on Valleydale Road flooded with patriots and signs to show our government just how awful their actions have been.
Time: 6:30pm until the park closes.
Bring: Your signs, your passion, and your pride in the Constitution!
Please RSVP to bhamteaparty@gmail.com
Start Time: 18:30
Date: 2009-04-15
Press Conference
Title: Press Conference
Location: Alabama State House
Link out: Click here
Description: State Senators Scott Beason and Quinton Ross will holding a press conference at the Alabama State House to discuss the Evergreen Baptist Church Eminent Domain Protection Act and The Elizabeth Swain Property Protection Act.
NOTE: This press conference will probably be rescheduled for the week of April 20th.
Please contact Senators Scott Beason at: (334) 242-7794 and Quinton Ross at: (334) 242-7880 with a resolute vote of encouragement for their stand for private property protection.
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 2009-04-07
