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As we approach the 2022 midterms, I believe we all have the sense that just showing up to vote is no longer sufficient. We now have to increase our awareness, knowledge, and involvement -- not just to prevent Texas and Bell County from being lost to the ideological left, but in order to move our party back from the brink of compromise, corruption, and progressivism.

Many have made some movement toward this; others may still be wondering what to do. Here are some of the things we can think about as we increase our political knowledge and involvement.

• Get out the vote: Precinct 303 Get Out To Vote meeting October 19,2022 at 6pm in the Bell County Republican Headquarters located at 204 N. East street, Suite A-1, Belton. You can also make individual efforts by committing to talk to your friends and neighbors about upcoming elections and candidates, and the importance of always turning out to vote, especially in small, local elections and special elections, primaries, etc. I'm sure there are many who would be more likely to turn out if they're reminded of an upcoming election, and what's on the ballot.

• Sign up to be a poll watcher, election clerk, or election judge. The more of us who are involved in the election process the better we can help ensure that our elections are transparent and lawful.

• Build your local political network. The more people who you can inform, and in turn can inform you, the better.

• Attend city/county government and school board meetings. Be present, to aid transparency and accountability. Challenge the status quo.

• Get involved in a campaign, especially locally: school boards, city and county races, mayors, sheriffs, etc.

• Inform yourself regularly and raise the awareness of those around you, both about local, state, and national happenings, as well as candidates, ballot measures, and so on. Commit to finding independent sources for information, and forego the corporate media outlets as a primary source for anything important. Big journalism no longer exists to inform you; it exists to manipulate your opinions and limit your thinking.

• Help clean up voter rolls. There are organizations that can aid you in some of this, such as iv3.us (A True The Vote website). We may also do some of this as a group after the November 2022 election.

I don't believe it's necessary for each of us to do all of those things; rather we should individually move toward committing to one or more activities that will make some sort of difference. In that way, our individual efforts can add up and produce a political force to push us all in the right direction.

I want to stress that none of us should be putting our faith and trust in any group or organization specifically, including ours, to accomplish anything in particular in pushing back against the downslide of our state and nation. Rather, we should each seek to commit individually, and equip each other to find our unique niche and press into it, to inform us all collectively, and augment our collective knowledge, strengths, and weaknesses. Our 303 meeting group can help facilitate and perhaps focus on some of these goals, and some strength and effectiveness can come from organizing as a group -- but it is up to each of us to take up the challenge and to make some sort of difference, regardless of what any group or organization is doing.

Moving Forward in Precinct 303

It's my personal opinion that some of the ongoing goals of organizing our precinct going forward is to:

• Understand what's happening locally in our city, county, and state, and dissiminate this information around our precinct and county.
• Understand the candidates: what they stand for and against.
• Understand ballot measures and their impact, pros and cons.
• Challenge our party establishment when their agendas and canditates at any level don't align with the good of our state and country. We don't just need fresh candidates, we need a new type of candidates that aren't beholden to legacy political empires or foreign interests and money.
• Aid in facilitating us all to be more effective in our political involvment and awareness.
• Participation in Canvassing/Voter roles cleanup efforts, candidate and issue advocacy.

In closing, I would encourage us all to commit to something of the above -- and to remember that we are children of the Most High God, and the victory is His. We cannot seek for our own recognition or notariety. We need to be willing to perform our labor having no expectation of personal benefit or reward. As long as we humble ourselves, seek His face, and seek His will, He will see us through.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. -- Revelation 22:21

The Precinct 303 Sample Ballot for this November's general election has posted on the Bell County Elections Department website.

Sample Ballots for other precincts can be found on the Ballot Samples page.

Today, Sept. 17, is Constitution Day—I am a member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). Every year, Constitution Day is a big deal with our chapters across the U. S. which celebrate the U. S. Constitution, and help Americans understand it better. The U. S. Constitution was signed Sept. 17, 1787 in Philadelphia. It is 235 years old today.

In the spirit of NSDAR’s Constitution awareness, I submitted a Letter-to-the-Editor to our local paper. Maybe it will be published this week. I copy it here in hopes you might learn, like I did, about one of the underused rights of The Constitution.

Dear Editor, Constitution Day is Saturday. Sept. 17. Several years ago, I attended a series on the U. S. Constitution sponsored by a local group. I learned a lot. Good grief, there were things I had never heard of. Like Nullification!

The U. S. Constitution gives our federal government 17 enumerated powers. Much legislation and regulation that happens is outside those powers, in other words: unconstitutional. The same can be said of executive orders.

States do have the power to stop what our elected, and unelected, officials are doing to America. They can use Nullification.

All powers not granted to the federal government in Article I Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution are retained by the states. If a law, or executive order, is not Constitutional, each state has the power and responsibility to refuse to follow it.

Nullification has been used by states in the past. It is not used enough. We should remind our elected representatives that they took an oath of uphold the U. S. Constitution. That means Texas, and other states, should follow only laws and executive orders which are Constitutional.

I carry a pocket copy of the U. S. Constitution in my purse. I like to remind myself what the U. S. government can do, and what it cannot do. I suggest that our national and state elected officials should also carry the U. S. Constitution with them, and refer to it more often!

Sincerely,

Carole Owen

On Sunday, August 28, from 2:00 to 4:00pm in the 3rd-floor Board Room at the Temple Library, some citizens from Precinct 303 in Bell County, Texas will be meeting to discuss how we might take a more active role in shaping the future of our country, by increasing our political education and taking part in the electoral process, among other things.

As we stand at the precipice of the fall of our great nation, we are asking ourselves what we can do to turn ourselves back toward goodness, greatness, and the pursuit of justice across our land. Because none of us individually possess the power to shape the nation ourselves, we begin by exploring what we can do individually and collectively right here in our precinct to make a positive impact on our county, state, and country. "Local action has national impact," as they say.

Please consider praying and fasting, to seek the will of the Living God for our lives and our nation, and then RSVP to info@bell303.com to let us know if you'd be interested in meeting with your friends and neighbors in Precinct 303 of Bell County, Texas, that we might take meaningful actions that can add up to having a positive impact on the direction of our nation starting right here in our neighborhoods.

Where: City of Temple Library, 3rd-floor Board room, 100 W Adams Ave.

When: Sunday August 28, 2:00pm - 4:30pm

Agenda

• Prayer and Pledges
• Introduction by Precinct Chair: why we need your help
• Audience Introduction: what are your pain points
• Previous Precinct Chair, Jeffery Ware
• Education opportunities and how you can help for the mid-term elections: school board, Tea Party, CTRW, join our mailing list
• Q&A

Happy Independence Day, Bell County!