Category Archives: International

AOC Has Nothing on Republicans

File this one under “regionalism is communism”.

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has the gained dubious notoriety of being the promoter of something she calls the “Green New Deal”. However we all know and recognize it as nothing more than Agenda 2030 and agree that AOC is a far-left wing nut.

But wait… it seems like Republicans are outdoing her on the very same thing, yet no one is reporting on it, at least not in the mainstream media…

In 2018, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa teamed up with a bunch of Democrats to found a permanent “Smart Cities Caucus” in the legislature. A group called “Venture Smarter” leads it and their then-leader Zack Huhn (they have since removed all of their team names from the website) argued with this writer in email that he was a “conservative” and had no idea what “regionalism” was…. Hmmmmm.

A quick Google search of Venture Smarter’s website will reveal their tagline is “Venture Smarter’s people and platform power smart growth across cities and regions“. Get it? Cities, and regions, are the focus. Just like what the “new urbanism” cult leader Andrés Duany said: “Cities, Regions, then the UN…”

Then we have a bunch of NH Senators, Republicans no less, who right under our noses, want to allow a Bolshevik-style state-level 3-member appointed commission to be able to override the votes of the townspeople with regard to how they want their town to grow. What is the point of town meeting, then? Knowing they cannot get anyone to support a bill as sweeping as this (SB 306) they have sneakily included it in their proposed budget, hoping no one will notice.

Now comes President Trump with something called “Opportunity Zones”.

From Patrick Wood’s Technocracy Blog: Opportunity Zones were created in Section 13823 of this 131-page bill, “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017”.

When President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in December 2017, few read or understood the small print authorizing the creation of Opportunity Zones. One year later on December 12, 2018, Trump created and signed an Executive Order titled, Executive Order on Establishing the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, which created a highest-level committee that includes the very top leadership of the Administration: the Secretaries of the Treasury, Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Energy and Education; the Administrators of the EPA and the Small Business Administration; the Chairmen of the Council of Economic Advisers and the Council on Environmental Quality and a few other assorted big-wigs.

The EO instructs the Council to “work across agencies” to “assess the actions each agency can take under existing authorities to prioritize or focus Federal investments and programs on urban and economically distressed communities, including qualified Opportunity Zones.” The object is to “minimize all regulatory and administrative costs and burdens.” Furthermore, the EO uses the phrase “public and private investment” no less than six times and then stresses that the Council must evaluate,

Now here comes the kicker:

“whether and how Federal technical assistance, planning, financing tools, and implementation strategies can be coordinated across agencies to assist communities in addressing economic problems, engaging in comprehensive planning, and advancing regional collaboration.”

There are three immediate problems with this Executive Order. First, Public-Private Partnerships have developed over the years as a mainstay of the United Nations to finance Sustainable Development and in particular, infrastructure that supports its Sustainable Development Goals. Second, blanket cross-agency coordination can be a dangerous vehicle to create policies that represent no agency in particular, and that no single agency would ever create by itself. Third, the term collaboration is a buzzword for collaborative governance that brings many types of stakeholders to the table to make binding decisions outside of traditional citizen representation or accountability. Furthermore, regional collaboration adds an additional dimension that promotes regionalism, which is patently unconstitutional. Article 4, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states that “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” Regionalism is not a Republican Form of Government, period.

Wood stated in a Tweet: “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 hosed the little guy, but gave Big Tech billionaires a tax windfall to use to plunder America. This must-read special report will set your hair on fire.”

We know… we personally know people on fixed incomes who had thousands added to their bill in April.

But it’s just easy to root for your team and ignore their fumbles while calling out the other side.

And that is just how and why the two-party system was planned.

Full article: “Opportunity Zones: A Technocrat Deception To Plunder America”

Commuter Rail: NH’s Dangerous Proposition

The NH House Public Works and Highways Committee gave an “OTP” recommendation to SB 241 along party lines.

No Republicans voted with the Democrat agenda to bankrupt NH with a massively costly proposition to extend the MBTA to Concord when it has been proven that only 97% or so of the population would actually use it. These trains would not be of the ‘high speed’ type, but the debt-ridden MBTA out of Massachusetts that averages 33-44MPH on any trip to Boston.

Next step is the full NH House of Representatives will vote… then it’s up to the Governor to VETO SB 241 if that passes.

The BRA is keeping track of this bill as well as other bills that are part of the New Urbanism/Agenda21 fad that would hurt NH. You can see the other bills on BRA’s Bill Watch page.

Read more about SB 241, the bill to expand the MBTA to Concord…

Tell the NH Senate: Remove SB 306 From the Budget!

Every NH municipality and the voters that direct them should be concerned.

When John Lynch was governor, he created a commission to address a phony “water crisis”. Now, some are using a manufactured “housing crisis” to promote the proliferation of “high-density” construction.

Last December we sounded the alarm about HB 104, a bill that would have given a state-level appeals board the right to override the decisions of local boards with regard to land use. The NH House rightfully dispensed with this bill in committee. The Union Leader, a major newspaper, agreed.

Along comes SB 306 in the NH Senate sponsored by Republican Senators Giuda, Carson, Bradley and Representative Hinch along with several Democrats. SB 306 proposes a similar state “board of appeals” with even more draconian power over municipalities, and a $400K price tag to boot! Word has it that the NH Senate has tabled the bill and instead, is planning to include it into the budget they are preparing for the end of May. This budget will then be presented to the House to see if they will concur.

According to the actual wording of the bill, sweeping authority would be given to a 3-member board as follows:

679:5 Authority; Duties.

I. It shall be the duty of the board and it shall have power and authority to hear and affirm, reverse, or modify, in whole or in part, appeals of final decisions of municipal boards, committees, and commissions regarding questions of housing and housing development. This includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Planning board decisions on subdivisions or site plans.

(b) Board of adjustment decisions on variances, special exceptions, administrative appeals, and ordinance administration.

(c) The use of innovative land use controls.

(d) Growth management controls and interim growth management controls.

(e) Decisions of historic district commissions, heritage commissions, and conservation commissions.

(f) Other municipal permits and fees applicable to housing and housing developments.

(g) Matters subject to the board’s authority may include mixed-use combinations of residential and nonresidential uses. Such different uses may occur on separate properties, provided such properties are all part of a common scheme of development.

As you can see, this overreaching provision would basically nullify the vote of the townspeople; taxpayers who have given their boards direction for what should happen in their own towns. Planning, zoning, historic, heritage, conservation, ALL commissions are affected in that SB 306 will allow developers to OVERRIDE those directions using this 3-member state ‘board of appeals’!

This dangerous provision must be stopped. If allowed to be included, would be a blatant power grab and a direct attack on every municipality’s right to direct its own future. It nullifies the vote of the people.

Write to the full NH Senate and let them know you will not tolerate this power grab at the state level. Write to the full House and ask they demand this provision be removed from any budget they are asked to approve.

Local control is at stake.

References:

Bill Text HB 104:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2019&id=11&txtFormat=html

Bill Text SB 306:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?id=989&txtFormat=html&sy=2019

2019 NHMA Bulletin #6 – Page 3:
https://www.nhmunicipal.org/Resources/LegislativeBulletin/176

Letter Seacoast Online
Land use boards beware of Senate Bill 306
May 8, 2019
https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20190508/land-use-boards-beware-of-senate-bill-306

High-density is the Bolshevik model to fix the fake housing crisis (9 mins)
https://youtu.be/pcuIcfBwhTg

Commuter Rail: Drilling Down on Demand, Cost and Quality of Life

No one we know wants this, but nevertheless they are doubling down on efforts to promote it. Click the graphic for a larger view…

commuter_rail_map

“In 2014 the NH DOT released a detailed analysis of proposed options for bringing rail to the NH Capitol Corridor. The preferred first step would be to extend the existing Boston-Lowell commuter rail line to Nashua and Manchester. A future project would extend the line to Concord. The Manchester Regional Commuter Rail line would run 8 round trips between Manchester and Boston and 17 to Nashua.”

“SB 241 is currently in the House Public Works and Highways Committee. Manchester State Representative Joshua Query, who participated in the discussion with Klobuchar and sits on that committee, is optimistic that it will receive a positive recommendation from them. It will also need to go through the finance committee before it passes through the NH House and arrives on the desk of Governor Sununu.”

Interesting to note that SB 241 is one of the bills Bedford’s taxpayers would like to see squashed, citing the fact that “Trains are old technology and usually a taxpayer boondoggle. Not only that, their installation encourages Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), which translated means more “stack’n’pack” housing.”

Read more…

Trump, the UN, and the Arms Treaty

There was much hoopla surrounding Trump’s supposed withdrawal from the the UN Arms Treaty. But are Americans being hoodwinked by mere theatre?

The US Senate never ratified this treaty in the first place!

And in fact, UN Agenda2030 has as one of its goals, complete disarmament.

Why then has Trump administration funded Agenda2030 more than anyone, at any time in history? (see paragraph 5 in link)

More pablum for the masses? And what about those Heritage Sites, tho?

Independence Hall Now Owned by the UN?

Imagine going to visit “the birthplace of America – where the ideals of freedom, liberty, independence, etc. were enshrined – only to find that these symbols have been watered down, transferred, or stolen, and subsumed into a “global vision” that lacks substance, sovereignty or liberty of any kind.

And yes, U.S. of A. is a “republic” not a “democracy” in the first place – but the powers that be are replacing either/both of those anyway…

The United Nations takeover of United States’ landmarks is sending a clear message to newer generations – that the days of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, independence, and the like are somehow gone – magically evaporated in the wake of a new world order that no one voted for, only a tiny elite few championed, and yet everyone is supposed to yield and submit to.”

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/zQIJf3gmsDQ

The UN has declared that “World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.”

Secretary Carson Has Heard Us

From American Policy Center…

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson has heard us!

He has taken steps to roll back at least some of the worst components of the Obama-era attacks on private property and federal overreach.

Specifically, HUD announced that it is withdrawing use of a computer assessment tool that maps every single neighborhood to gauge if the community is in compliance with “fair housing” grant rules.

This “tool,” enforced by HUD, has made every community which applies for its grants to complete an “Assessment of Fair Housing,” using its computer program – or “assessment tool” to identify all “contributing factors” to housing discrimination.

The information to be gathered includes a complete breakdown of race, income levels, religion, and national origin of every single person living in the community.

HUD then uses this information to determine if the neighborhood meets a preset “balance,” determined by HUD.

Second, HUD has demanded a detailed plan showing how the community intends to eliminate the “contributing factors” to this supposed “imbalance.”

The community is then obligated to do this assessment every five years!

To produce the community’s plan for compliance, HUD rules demand that a wide array of “interested parties” participate in its creation. Guess who they are?!! Planners. Civic activist organizations. Affordable housing developers.

In short – all the people who have a stake in gaining political power or big bucks from the grant programs.

This is nothing but social engineering of every neighborhood in America.

Remember, just a few weeks ago I warned of cities like Minneapolis and the state of Oregon taking steps to eliminate zoning protections for single family homes. That assault on private property is a direct result of the HUD AFFH regulations. The goal is to eventually force everyone into stack and pack high rise apartments in the name of Sustainable Development Smart Growth.

It is the destruction pf private property rights and property values. And it is a ploy by the federal government to dictate policy over local office holders.

Secretary Carson is trying to take action to roll back this outrageous federal overreach leftover from Obama and restore private property protection.

Secretary Carson knows that the only true fair housing is private property in which the owner is able to build personal wealth. That is the only true way to eliminate poverty – not social engineering that damages the rights and futures of everyone!

But those powerful Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the National Fair Housing Alliance are outraged and have filed a law suit to stop Carson.

Two months ago, when Secretary Carson asked for public comment on his plans to roll back the AFFH rule, APC submitted 1,000s of comments from our supporters opposing the very existence of the rule.

He heard us. He is trying. But he is being blocked every step of the way by those socialist forces who are determined to destroy the very existence of private property along with your ability to choose where and how you want to live.

According to these social engineers, for you to live in a home of your choosing is now racist and a social injustice!

My American Policy Center (APC) is one of the only groups in the nation fighting for the protection of private property.

I am sounding the alarm.

I am teaching local activists how to fight back.

I am reaching out to local and state officials to warn them of the trap if they accept these grants.

If you would like to support Tom DeWeese’s efforts, you can donate here.

Form-based Codes: Replacing the Everyday American City With the ‘Ideal Communist City’

In another insightful piece by Kathleen Marquardt of the American Policy Center, she speaks about form-based code, AGenda 21 / Agenda 2030, and the planned society of the future.

Excerpt:

“A form-based code is a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law. A form-based code offers a powerful alternative to conventional zoning regulation.

Several years ago, I wrote a series of articles for News with Views, explaining Sustainable Development. Today two of them are popping up regularly in the media. Back when I wrote these two articles, people would not believe that all this planning and organizing could have been dreamed up by the Power Elite, let along set down as part of the blueprint for Agenda 21.”

The Wildlands Project is another offshoot of Agenda 21 / Agenda 2030.

Read the full article here.

The End Game

Call it what you will — Agenda 21, Agenda 2030, The “Green New Deal”, United Nations SDGs, Sustainable Development, Livable Cities, “New Urbanism” — it’s all just socialism/fascism/corporatism and the goal is to control people, not make their lives better.

Related: Phyllis A. McKenna | The Equality of Socialism: All Equally Miserable is spot on with her observations and clear explanation.