The Power of Ten

Conservative Activist's Handbook

written and edited by Debbie Besselievre

for the Eastern Orlando Tea Party
All rights reserved
January 2011

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 Table of Contents
Introduction Introduction Page 3
Chapter One The Answer Page 5
Chapter Two Power of Ten Page 7
Chapter Three Committees Page 8
Chapter Four Activism 101 Page 9
Chapter Five Holding Them Accountable... Page 10
Chapter Six Letters to the Editor Page 12
Chapter Seven Calling All Writers Page 12
Chapter Eight Calling All Talkers Page 13
Chapter Nine Social Networking Page 14
Chapter Ten Get Educated! Page 17
Addendum Tea Party Covenants & Promises Page 19

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 Power of Ten
How to Organize for Effectiveness
Introduction
When it comes to organization the Liberals have Saul Alenzsky and his "Rules for
Radicals." The Conservatives have... well I can't think of anyone right off the top of my
head, and that may be the problem. We Conservatives have always been an
independent sort, maybe just a little too independent to set up a man or a plan everyone
can follow. However, we do have a written plan we can all follow and it has been in our
hands and under our noses the whole time and we didn't even know it!

I recently attended at tea party group in my city. It was a small group and and poorly
organized. It was hard for me to even find the group and once I did find them they really
didn't have a plan for how to lead their people. "We just post stuff on Facebook," they
said. Well, I am on Facebook and I never saw any posts or events to rally the troops on
Facebook. Facebook is a great tool but it is only one tool in a whole tool box. Used
alone it won't build much of anything.

It concerns me that if someone like me, who is politically active, has trouble getting "in
the know" then what is it like for the newbie who has just woken up, wants to get
involved and has no idea how to do it? At that meeting I went to there were 3 other
"new" people. I know I was frustrated and from the discussion it seems they were too.
When I went back the next week the other 3 were not there. We can't afford to frustrate
volunteers who just show up to help to the point that they never return.

This is where the Democrats outshine and out-pace the Republicans by more than a
Washington mile. They have a strong online presence, they know how to work as a
team and they know how to share information. Their media prowess is well known and
wildly successful. Community organizing is their "thing" an they do it very well. If
Conservatives are going to compete then we need to catch up on the learning curve
and we need to do it fast! Our Country, our families and our lives depend on it! A friend
of mine when to another meeting clear across the country and experienced the same
thing I did, so I am thinking that this is possibly a wide-spread problem given the fact
that the Republican Party has not been able to get everyone on the same page for the
1/2 century that I have been alive and maybe longer. I think the term best used to
describe how we organize is "like herding cats." Have you ever tried to herd cats? It
can't be done! Each independent cat is hell bent on doing what he or see wants to do
no matter what it's master wants. Here is a case in point; I told you about my friend,
well she offered to help organize this group. The response was, "We don't need to get

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organized! We are all leaders!" Oh really? Can you start to see why President Obama
is in the White House? The sad reality is we have no one to blame but ourselves!
What we need now are Conservatives that are humble enough to really want to make a
difference. I promise I will stop being insulting soon. The reality is we don't have time
to waist on prima donnas or power grabbers. Ronald Reagan said it best, "There is no
limit to what a man can do and how far he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the
credit." This should be our mantra. Remember, the Country is counting on us!

Conservatives seem to know we need to get better organized and become a more
cohesive group with a solid message but, somehow, it seems to elude us like trying to
catch rainbows. Knowing you need to do something and knowing how to go about
doing it are two different things.

The mission of this handbook is to fill in the "how" of getting organized and to give you
the tools to effectively use your organization. There is a way to organize highly
independent leaders to work as a team or group. We can do it. We must do it! The
"how" is the purpose of this handbook.

Because this handbook is on organization and activism the outline is very simple and it
is meant to be use and re-used. I would suggest reading it all the way through for the
first time in order to get the overall perspective of why and how you can better organize
your group. Then go back and use the chapters to teach your groups and committees
how to organize.
Remember when this was a symbol of greatness?

Before we get started, you need to know the principles of organization in this book are
not new or spectacular, but they are based on time tested models that are easy to
understand and easy to implement. We all know them, we have heard them before, but
like our Constitution, we have taken them for granted and so the have all but been
forgotten by this generation. You might say, It is time to go back to our roots and

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beginnings on all sorts of levels. I am no genius, I have just been blessed with the
ability to remember. I am nobody special. I am just like you! I am a mom, a daughter, a
sister, a grandmother...a concerned American. When you remember too you will
wonder why you didn't notice it before.
Debbie Besselievre

Chapter One
The Answer Was There the Whole Time!
Over the past few years people have read and discussed the 5000 Year Leap. It was a
firestorm that washed over us as a Nation that reminded us who we are and what we
are all about. We are a nation built on the greatest document of freedom in the entire
world - The Constitution of the United States of America! We were remind through this
amazing book that we are a nation founded on the "Rule of Law." Through the reading
and discussing the 28 principles we became acquainted once again with our Founding
Fathers and the document that God inspired them to write. It is a landmark work that is
a must read for every American.

In writing the "5000 Year Leap" Dr. Cleon Skousen identified 28 principles that the
Founding Fathers used as a foundation for our Constitution. These Principles appear
over and over in the founders writings. So this is great book to read to get the average
person up to speed on the Constitutional Principles very quickly. It is no wonder that it
has been so widely recommended and popular. But did you know that the 28 Principles
are in Part Two of the book? What is in Part One is equally important, and largely
ignored. And I believe Part One is the key to our success as a Conservative movement
in America. It is the key because it is Dr. Skousen's "how" to his "why" in Part Two. In
other words, Part One shows us very clearly how to implement the 28 Principles in Part
Two.

By now I hope you are all running to get your copy of the "5000 Year Leap" because I
am not going to repeat what Dr. Skousen has so eloquently written. You need to go to
his book to get the details. All I will do here is to give you an overview with a strong
recommendation that we start using Part One of the 5000 Year Leap.
Yes, is is true that the Liberals have Saul Alensky's "Rules for Radicals." But we have
Dr. Skousen's "5000 Year Leap" and it contains all the information we need to know

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about how to turn the ship, the USS America, away from the waters of Socialism and
begin to sail in the waters of freedom once again.

Moses
(President)

Aaron - Joshua
(VP's)
Council of 70
(Senate)

Elected Representatives
(A Congress)

6,000 groups of 100

12,000 groups of 50
60,000 groups of 10
(78,000 assistants to govern the people)

More than 3 million people with the power to govern themselves

In the course of history there have been at least 5 times that large masses of people
have had to organize in a big way to carry out a specific mandate. And each time the
people turned to the Lord's pattern of organization to carry out their mission. The first
time it happened was when God moved millions of His children out of Egypt and
towards the Promised Land. The other times were, the Anglo-Saxons, the Pilgrims, the
Mormons, and today, this system resides permanently in the Constitution of the United
States of America!

Each of the above groups organized into groups of 10's, 50's, 100's and 1000's to move
thousands, hundred's of thousands and even millions of people. The plan is laid out in
the Bible, it is simple and the beauty of it is that it works! (See the model above)
Anyone familiar with "Alensky's Rule's for Radicals" knows that he also encourages
people to organize in this way. When Barak Obama ran for the President his election
team used this model to organize and it is one of the reasons he was so effective. The
problem their team ran into is that it was devoid of a key element - they forgot to

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consider human relationships. People do not like to be used and that is exactly what
Obama's election team did. They used these small groups of people for the purpose of
getting him elected and when their mission was accomplished they forgot them. This is
why Obama's team could not be rallied two years later in the 2008 elections - they used
their people and forgot about them.

This is the most striking difference between people who believe in God and people who
don't. Both groups can read the same information and get two completely different
results because taking God out of anything removes, also, the core of our human
relationships! When God is at the core of our lives we treat everyone as we would like
to be treated. When we love God and serve Him, then we love our neighbors and we
serve them too. We don't use people for our own purposes and then toss them aside.
Our Founding Fathers knew and understood these principles of organizing in groups of
ten. They were students of the Bible and they studied the society of the Anglo-Saxons.
They knew that people migrated to America in this same pattern of "Groups of Ten."
Many of the thirteen colonies were still governing themselves under this same pattern
when the Constitution was written. It wasn't new to them. They understood it, because
they studied it in the Bible and in History and because they lived it.

Our challenge is going to be if we can replicate the pattern and do it in a way that works
over the long haul.

Chapter Two
The Power of Tens
If we are to implement this system into political activism today then we are going to
need to be smart about how we do it. It has to be done in a way that makes sense and
in a way that functions how people work together. Us freedom loving humans are a
different breed from our liberal brothers and sisters, we want it done now, we are
territorial and we like to be in charge. We are also very loyal to those we know and
love. The beauty of the "groups of ten" system is that it is taylor made for our freedom
loving natures. Everyone is given something they can be in charge of and the power to
move and to act in their own responsibilities! It is a win-win for your average Patriot and
their organizations.

Here is how it works -

The idea is that every neighborhood will have at least one group of about ten, it could
be more or less. Ten is not a set number. The most important thing is that they be
people you associate with - your neighbors, your friends and your family. Your group
should be made up of people who are close to you. The reason for this is that you
already have built in relationships and you will have a natural connection with those

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people. For this reason it will not be hard or difficult for you to keep in touch with each
other.

Leaving out this personal connection is where the liberals failed. But we will not fail!
Our groups of ten will not easily dissolve or go away because your group is made up of
people who are already important to you. Your first job in political activism is to form
your group of ten with your friends, family and neighbors.

The most important activity that your group can do is to meet often to teach and discuss
the principles of the Constitution. Take time to meet and discuss the Founding Fathers,
our History etc. A good place to start is a discussion group on the "5000 Year Leap."
Our larger organization will have other events, activities and classes you can participate
in. Encourage each other to go to these events, offer to carpool, call and remind each
other about the events you want to attend. In other words, care for each other and
encourage each other to get involved, educated and informed.
Once you have formed your group invite them to join in with our larger organization.
Encourage them to attend the monthly meetings, join the website, get involved by
serving on a committee, join Facebook and Twitter or start a blog. (These things will be
discussed in later chapters.) The most important thing will be that at least one member
of your groups serves on each committee in the organization. This way your group
becomes a fully informed micro-group. Your "group of ten" will know about everything
happening in the larger group as a whole. And because you are familiar with the people
in your group, you can be a tremendous resource in identifying people who can help
with specific needs.

The result of this organizational model set up by God in the Bible is that everyone in
your ten's group is being trained on all the aspects of the larger group. This is how new
leadership will be identified and emerge. Potentially, every group will be trained on how
to started their own tea party, 9-12, or other activist groups in every neighborhood, city
and county. It is a perfect system and it works! We know it works because history has
provided the proof!

As the organization grows we will have leadership over 10, 50 and 100 groups. The
beauty of this system is that it trains leaders. What our country needs now, more than
ever, is principled leadership!

This is the Power of Tens!

Chapter Three
Committees
As discussed in the previous chapter it is vitally important to the organization as a whole
and to your smaller "group of ten" that at least one member serve on each committee.

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This way not everyone has to go to every committee meeting. You can send one
person from your group to each committee meeting and then those committee members
can come back share the information within your "group of ten." this is just another layer
on how to keep everyone informed. This organizing model does three things:

1) It allows every "group of ten" to know and share information that is happening across
the larger organization with a smaller output of time and energy on the overall
leadership. This gives the smaller groups responsibility and personal accountability to
manage their own "group of ten."

2) It trains new leadership in a way that allows individuals to act within their own comfort
zone. Many activists burn out because they become overwhelmed at the amount of
work that needs to be done. This system supports the idea that "many hands make
light work." So when we all take an organized share of the burden the size of the job
feels lighter even-though it may still be very large.

3) Activists are working one on one with the people closest to them. Not only does this
strengthen their personal relationships by fighting for a common cause but it also gives
each person a sense that they are personally vested in that cause. They become
responsible and accountable to their friends, families and neighbors welfare and safety
through the work they do.

Chapter Four
Activism 101
There are a number of way you can join us in becoming a grassroots activist. We have
already discussed in this handbook how you can help by forming your own "group of
ten." What we will cover in this chapter is how you can work with your groups to make a
difference by educating others, holding your elected officials accountable and
networking with others to encourage them to do the same.
The following chapters will cover the basics of political activism by participation in the
following areas:
Calling your Elected Officials
Writing letters to the Editor
Writing in Op-Ed's and Blogs
Calling Talk Radio Shows
Social Media
Education

Thanks to the internet a lot of our work as grassroots activists can be done at home in
our pajamas. Through the internet you can make a difference and an impact that was

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never possible before now! This time in history is like no other. While our News
organizations are failing in their job to be a watchdog on our government, the internet
allows ordinary people to exercise their citizenship like never before! You can take a
stand - YOU can make a difference - all you need is to know how. This handbook will
help you with the know-how, all you need is to supply the desire! Online activism is only
a click away...

Chapter Five
Holding Our Elected Leaders Accountable

Your representatives in your City, State and Washington want to hear from you. Without
your voice they are left to themselves (and the opposition) to decide what is best for the
citizens they represent. If you are not talking to your representatives we can promise
you that the other side is talking to them! If you do not speak up and tell them what you
want then guess who they are going to listen to? Constituents can have a real impact
and help sway votes and shape policy if they will communicate with their elected
officials.

It is easy to find your elected officials using the internet as a tool. Search for local
leaders on www.myflorida.gov and search for your state and national leaders on
www.senate.gov or www.house.gov You can also search for their own website by
searching for their names. Many of these websites contain addresses, home address,
phone numbers and email addresses. Some of them allow you to email directly from
the website.

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Your legislators were elected to represent you! You should not be shy in letting them
know that you are interested in what they are doing and letting them know what you
think.

Writing
Writing is one of the most common ways to do this. When you
write to your legislators make sure to keep it local, keep it personal
and keep it concise.

Your representatives need to know how the decisions they are

making affect your life, family and business.

When you are writing to them address the letter to "The

Honorable..." and write your letter on your business letterhead if possible to keep it as
professional as possible.
Keeping your letter to under one page lets your representative know that you value their
time and can make your point quickly.

Be sure to always be respectful and pleasant because you will get more traction if you
do not put them in an adversarial roll.

When writing please keep your letter to one issue. Be sure to include any specific
information like bill numbers, articles or URL's that will help them know what you are
specifically talking about.

When you address your letter, be sure that you have their specific room number so that
your letter can be received promptly.

The last thing is to make sure that you hold your representative accountable for your
communication and to let them know that you will be following up with them. Make
yourself a contact form where you can record who you wrote, the date, the issue and if
your received a response. This allows you to follow up with them if you don't get a
response.

Calling
When you need to call your representative to ask them to support a
bill or not support it be sure to keep your communication
short. The person on the other end of the phone is usually
getting a lot of calls in these situations so be brief.

When you call ask to speak to the legislator or their aide.

Thank them for taking your
why you called, i.e. to
for their name and title for
asking for information then
information to the representative.
call and identify yourself. Tell them
support bill number 3. Then ask them
your notes. If they know that you are
they are more likely to pass the

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You can also leave a message on their voicemail. If you are too shy to talk to someone
call after hours and leave a message. If you do leave a message be sure to leave your
email address and ask them to send you an email confirming they got your message.

Again, record all the information on your contact form. When you do this it allows you to
follow up with them and you will know when you called, who you talked to and what was
said. Again, hold them accountable!

Chapter Six
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the editor are an extremely important weapon to the grassroots activist. These
letters allow you to comment and respond to local and national publications. Many of
the legislators staffers watch the letters to the editor so they know what the public is
thinking about any particular issue. Use these tips when writing letters to the editor:

• Check each publication for guidelines for writing and submitting letters to the editor.
• A letter to the editor should be short and too the point. Usually the rule is under 250
words, which is about one page.
• Be truthful and make sure your facts are correct. A newspaper will not print letters that
contain wrong information.
• Make sure your letter is current to the issues written in the paper. Don't wait days and
weeks to respond to an article.
• Use correct grammar and spelling when writing letters to the editor.
• Include your contact information as most publication will not publish letters from
anonymous sources. They also may want to verify facts or ask you questions.
• Not all letters are published so if yours is not be aware that it was not ignored. The
editors and staff read all the letters so keep trying.

Chapter Seven
Calling All Writers
There are plenty of opportunities to write articles in today's world
of grassroots activism. The internet and publications give a wide
variety of ways to write to help inform people on Conservative
Principles. It is important for conservatives to write, blog, submit
op-ed's etc. When writing a larger article it still needs to be
concise and to the point. Remember that people have short
attention spans. Most will not read more than 700 words or about

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3 pages.

Be honest and relevant. Do not try to make more than one point. Make one point and
make it well. Stay on your main argument and make your most important argument at
the top of the page because some people only read the first few sentences and move
on, so make sure they read your most important point right away.

Use facts and statistic judiciously because you don't want your point to get bogged
down in a mountain of facts.

Blogging
Blogs are websites where a person or group of people can regularly post, comment,
make commentary, share content or links that are of interest on a wide variety of topics.
It is very easy to start your own blog and share your opinions with the world. The first
thing you need to do is to define your goals and select a focus for your blog. There are
millions of blogs out there so find something that is unique to you or an area where you
have an expertise.

We recommend that you focus your blog on your local government, national issues from
a personal perspective or monitor the bias of local, state and national media.
Blogging takes some time but it is usually less time than you think. Blog post can be
informal and short. You can post a link with a comment, an action item or a short
observation. The important thing is that you blog something on a regular basis so that
your readers can count on you. You can also start a blogging group so you can share
the job.

Some places you can start a blog are:

www.trinity.net
www.bloodspot.com
www.ning.com
www.wordpress.com

Eastern Orlando Tea Party has a website with blogging and article publishing
capabilities so if you are interested helping us blog we can make arrangements for you
to have editor status.

Chapter Eight
Calling All Talkers
Some activist are writers and some are talkers. We have need of the talkers too.
Everyday, millions of people listen to talk radio. By calling into a radio show you have
the opportunity to share your message with thousands of listeners if you call into these
shows. Here are some tips for calling in:

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Make notes on what you want to say before you call in. Decide what point you want to
make and how you want to present it, that way you will know what you want to say and
how to say it.

Every radio show has a call screener that will ask you who you are and what you want
to talk about. Have a one sentence answer prepared on what you want to talk about.
You are more likely to get on the air with local or state talk shows than on a national
show.

You CAN get on a national show easier when there is a guest host, at the top or bottom
of the hour or when there is a caller on the line.

Above all else use correct grammar, don't say "uh" or other space fillers, be pleasant
and conversational.

Chapter Nine
Social Networking
There is power in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. It is an excellent
way to communicate and organize. If you do not have a Facebook and Twitter account
now, the first thing you can do is to create these accounts. To create a Twitter account
go to www.twitter.com. To create an account on Facebook go to www.facebook.com.

Both of these sites are simple to use. Just follow the instructions! If you need help
setting up these accounts please contact a member of the steering committee. We will
also hold classes in the near future on how to use social networking sites.

We also have lists of members twitter and Facebook ID's so that you can start following
members. Let us know and we will email these lists to you.
Below is an article I wrote a while back about the power of social media. It is good idea
to reprint it here because the message is so important! If you will do the things in this
article you will be very successful using social media!

 Getting the Message Out: Social Networking for

Conservatives
"Take Twitter, for example. "So many Republicans now
want to get on Twitter because they know it's 'cool,'"
Rob continues. "But few are taking the time to really
think about what they should use it for. When that
happens, you get far too many 'I'm sitting on the tarmac

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waiting for my plane to take off' tweets. That's when you just further become part
of the joke and not the solution." ~The Daily Beast

Social Networking has become a huge medium for carrying the political message for
Conservatives.  Right now the Conservatives are on fire with their discovery of
Facebook and twitter, but they have yet to understand its power and how to use it.  For
nearly two years now I have been using Facebook and Twitter as an assignment with
my non-profit, SolveNow, to learn all the nuances of social networking in order to teach
others how to use it.

Conservatives are notorious for being slow to understand new technologies. We have
been referred to as dinosaurs for good reason; it is a moniker we earned. Social
Networking is something we must get better at doing.  So in the spirit of education and
sharing I am going to give you some tips and tricks I have learned.  I hope you will use
them and then share them with others.  If we are to win this war we need to understand
the tools of battle and how to use them effectively, or it will be like handling and loaded
weapon without knowing how to use it, it is just best to leave it alone. We had our clocks
cleaned by the democrats in this arena the last election and we STILL have not got the
hang of it 2 years later!  I am 52 years old and if I can do this then so can you!! So here
we go:

It is called “social networking” for a reason – it is so you can “network” with other
people.  That means you need to be out there making COMMENTS everywhere you
can!  Leave comments on posts.  Others will get to know you by the comments you
make and that is how they will know you well enough to ask you to be their friend.  You
get to know others by the comments they make and that is how they get to know you! 
So COMMENT – A LOT! 

Don’t be afraid to have people disagree with you.  People disagree, it’s what we do. 
You cannot influence or persuade without having a discussion. If someone says
something you don’t like, you DON’T have to respond! It is not like you are going to see
them anytime soon! And if they become really annoying you can hide or delete them
and their nasty comments. A word to the wise, do not be disagreeable when you are
disagreeing!  You can disagree and have a civilized discussion.  There is NO room for
being hateful, name calling or using offensive language.  Keep it respectful!  Be brave
and be strong, grow a thick skin! Our Republic is at stake!  If you don’t fight this battle
now with words then we will be fighting it later with guns.  You don’t know “scared” until
that happens!

If someone posts something you really like, for heaven’s sake don’t just click the “like”
button!  REPOST IT!  If you just click like, never make a comment and never share then
how are all the people in your network ever going to see it? How will it ever be shared
with their friends and so on?  Social networking, blogging and internet news sites are
driving the news today.  Most of the people following me see the news days before it
hits the TV or radio. You can get messages out faster if you REPOST information for
your friends to see it and encourage them to send it on. If you read it that is great, but

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don’t your friends deserve to read it too? It irritates me when I see all those LIKE
thumbs and nobody has bothered to pass it along. LIKE it all you want to – but also
SHARE it! Again, you need to fearless with this one and NOT be worried what other
think of you.  After I had been doing this a while I stopped a few times, I just needed a
break from it.  I had so many people beg me to keep going because they counted on me
everyday to tell them what is going on in the world. So be BOLD!  SHARE and REPOST
– it is your duty!

Recommend your Conservative friends to other Conservative friends!  Don’t be shy! 

Use social media to introduce people you know to other people, the same way you
would introduce them at a party.  If we are to stand together as a Conservative
Movement we have to learn social graces, we have to know each other.  We have to
learn who we can depend on, we must learn to identify and associate with other great
Americans. We can’t do that without introducing our like-minded friends to other like-
minded friends.  We are not a country club keeping everyone out - find your voice,
become outgoing and introduce! On Facebook, you can introduce in two ways – 1) Grab
your friend's URL on their page and post it on your page with a message on it about
why you like and recommend this friend.(The URL is the code at the top of the page that
a computer uses to take people to that page). 2) Recommend your friends to others by
using the link on everyone’s page at the bottom left side that says “recommend
friends.”  On twitter, they are much better about allowing you to share the people to
follow, you just send out lists of your favorites on #FF, which means – Follow Friday. You
can gain massive amounts of followers in a very short time. Now that you know you
have no excuse - Just DO IT!

To become more effective politically use Facebook and twitter together.  Either one is
great used alone.   But when you put them together – “oh my gosh” - you can drive the
message in a way that is more powerful than anything you can imagine! For example; I
use twitter to find the news.  Twitter is a constant scroll of information coming in “as it is
happening” by people I count on all over the world.  I find the news as it is breaking.  I
only spend an hour or less doing this in the evening before bed.  When I find a story I
want to share I retweet it.  Then it is on my page waiting for me the next day.  When I
get up in the morning I take all those stories I retweeted the night before and pick the
best of the best and send them to my Facebook friends. A word of caution: READ
EVERY STORY all the way to the end before you post it, don’t post articles or videos
you haven’t seen or watched, to do so is very bad form.

This brings me to:

Guard your integrity!  If people think you are a nutcase or a whack job they will NOT
trust you.  Make sure your news is accurate and from a good source. Use the brain God
gave you please and don’t POST the sensational just for its own sake.  The real news
today is crazy enough without posting stuff that is made up! I delete a lot of people who
do this.  It is just not worth my time to read hyped-up drivel. We share to educate so be
careful of your sources.  Find the sources you trust and use them.  Some of my
favorites are: Fox News, American Thinker, The Daily Caller, Drudge Report, Human
Events and others.  If you follow me you will know who I use and where I get my

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information from. If you go outside your trusted sources always be sure to verify.  I
skipped this step a few times because I was busy, only to have to retract it later and
apologize to everyone. That is embarrassing and not worth it.  Take a few minutes and
check your sources; you can Google anything so you really have no excuse not to do it.
If you can’t find the story leading back to a credible source it is probably false – don’t
post it!  Stay away from fringe elements on the right!  We have our crazies, just like the
liberals do!  And if you DO make a mistake and post something weird – APOLOGIZE
and admit you were wrong, it can only increase the trust levels. And above all, in your
posts, don’t become annoying, we are not here to annoy – we are here to educate! I
became annoying the other day and I had to apologize.  If you are annoying people they
will hide you, or worse, they will delete you and trust me, you don’t want to be deleted –
it makes everyone feel bad.

Follow me on Twitter @debbiebess

Friend me on Facebook – Debbie Besselievre (with that last name I am not hard to
find!)

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and send with credit attached to the author.

Chapter Ten
Get Educated!
I saved this topic for last because it is the most important! You
cannot do anything else written in this manual until you become
educated on the principles our Nation was built on, namely, our
Constitutional Principles. I saved this subject for last because it
is the one you need to remember the most! I cannot emphasis
the importance of education enough - knowledge is power! We
need all the power we can get! So get started today!

A good place to start learning these principles is in the "5000 Year Leap written by Dr.
Cleon Skousen. We have copies available to you. Purchasing them from our group will
also help us fund part of our activities.

Get this book and teach it to your friends, family and

neighbors. Form a reading and discussion group and
learn the principles together. As you go along you will
learn of other important works and authors our
founders read and studied. Among these are:
• Alexis deTocqueville
• Cicero

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• Henry Blackstone
• Polybius
• Thomas Hooker
• Montesquieu

The best thing you can do is to become familiar with the founding documents
themselves:
• The Constitution
• Declaration of Independence
• Bill of Rights
• The Federalist Papers

Study the writings of our Founding Fathers. Read their

biographies - get to know them and what they believed.
Much of our history has been stolen from us because we
don't know what we have been missing! You must read,
read, read and read some more! Your education of our
great heritage is your responsibility as a citizen. Please
take this responsibility seriously!

We also have a website where we post articles, videos and ongoing educational events.
We encourage you to make the most of as many of these as possible.

You can visit our website at www.easternorlandoteaparty.org

Welcome to Eastern Orlando Tea Party and Welcome to the movement to

reclaim America! God bless you in your efforts and God Bless America!

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 Addendum
Tea Party Covenants & Promises

We the Participants in the Eastern Orlando Tea Party, by virtue of our voluntary
and independent association do present to all interested parties our specific Covenants
and Promises with which our formation, avocations and undertakings shall be
conducted we hereby affirm to the following:

Non-Profit - There is not profit motivation, commercial or personal financial

advancement or interest that will benefit any of the founders, organizers or participants
of this organization. Cost incurred by this organization will be meet only by donations
and fundraisers allowed under our non-profit status.

Political Party Affiliation - This organization is not a political party. We are

not, have not been or ever will be an appendage or affiliate of any political party. All
citizens of broad and varied political parties are welcome to participate in our activities.

Voluntary Participation - Any citizen wishing to participate in any of our

meetings, gatherings or events, or, who choose to assist or support any of the needs of
this organization, do so voluntarily, when they choose to do so. There is no specific
attendance requirement or commitment of involvement required of anyone, at any time,
for any purpose.

Common Interests - The participants of this organization come together as

Americans with common interests in a number of issues pertaining to our county, state
and local governance. However, our Main concerns are 1) to protect, defend and
preserve the Constitution of the United States with the desire to advance the principles
of virtue our country was founded on, with emphasis on; integrity, honesty, transparency
and the rule of law in the actions of our government, elected and/or appointed officials.
2) Insisting that our government and/or elected officials implement and maintain laws of
fiscal responsibility, restraint, and accountability in managing the affairs of government.
3) Advocating the decrease in the size and scope of the federal government and
allowing free markets to prosper in order to create jobs and economic freedom for all
Americans.

Standards of Conduct - We welcome the participation of all concerned

citizens to join with us with the understanding that participation comes with the
expectation to maintain the highest standards of conduct in all of our actions, writings
and speeches while participating in all Eastern Orlando Tea Party events, meetings, etc.
Polite, responsible restraint and appropriate behavior in our actions, speech and

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writings is imperative to the successful accomplishment of our collective goals. Though
we advocate and defend freedom of speech, protection of our liberties, question with
boldness, and hold our elected and appointed officials accountable; and challenge the
unlawful acts of the same, we denounce and condemn, without equivocation, the use by
anyone any - hate speech, ethnic or racial epithets, swearing or the use of foul
language, or any slanderous or libelous behavior in any of our meetings, events,
writings, speeches or personal behavior. Any participants, outside infiltrators or third
parties who engage in such behavior will be excused to find other organizations, venues
and methods in which to express themselves.

Abhorrence of Violence - We MUST emphasize that the Eastern Orlando Tea

Party, denounces, rejects, and abhors all acts of violence and/or threats of violence
(written or verbal). We do not condone or support the imposition of will upon or the
intimidation of public officials, citizens, protestors, political parties; nor the removal of
public officials or the overthrow of government through any act of violence, or threat of
any violence whatsoever to accomplish any end. We believe that any person who
engages in any act of violence or any threat of violence should be held accountable to
the full extent of the law and such persons are hereby denounced by us and are not
welcome in our presence under any circumstances.

Covenants and Promises used and adapted with permission from the West Orlando Tea Party

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