Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Fighting the Agenda

If you are a frequent visitor to this website/blog, you know that Agenda 21, and now Agenda 2030 are international agendas that have trickled down to local government and threaten our rights. While we are just a bunch of voting citizens who have banded together to spread awareness and cultivate activism, we do not ourselves take donations of any kind.

However, there are two giants in this cause who have been working on this issue for a long time and provide many pieces of information and other resources that we can use. They are John Anthony, of Sustainable Freedom Lab, and Tom DeWeese of American Policy Center. If you are considering donating to any cause, these would be good ones to choose. The good thing is, you can get something for your donation such as John’s DVD which can be shown to your groups to educate them on the issues.

From Tom DeWeese:

Hello friend of APC,

As you know for more than 24 years APC has led the fight to expose and stop the UN’s Agenda 21 and its Sustainable Development policy. For most of those years it has been a very lonely battle, with few victories to show for my efforts.

Elected officials have ignored the warnings. Property rights have been destroyed.

People have less and less access to their government as non-elected boards and regional government rules the day.

Powerful special interests and planners operate in the dark of backrooms.

The size and power of government have soared. And certainly our nation has been transformed.

The situation became even more dangerous last year as the United Nations rebooted Agenda 21 into Agenda 2030, determined to finish the job.

Barack Obama is leading the way, using the EPA as his main weapon, killing industry, destroying jobs, grabbing power over every aspect of our lives.

The Agenda 21/2030 forces are now convinced that we cannot stop them. During those “wilderness years,” when few were listening to my warnings, I refused to give in.

I traveled the nation, speaking out. In just one year I gave over 100 talks in 35 states. And that pace continues. I hit the air waves on radio. I appeared several times on national programs like Fox News.

As I spoke out a wave of activism followed in my wake. A firestorm broke out in Spokane, Washington. A teacher in Ohio used my materials to create a Stop Agenda 21 class. The state of Alabama passed an anti-Agenda 21 law. And the Republican National Committee added an anti-Agenda 21 plank to its platform.

I was instrumental in bringing the Tea party into the Agenda 21 fight. That helped bring in activists from all fifty states.

More importantly I made it my mission to create tools for activists to teach them how to fight back right in their own communities. APC’s “Stop Agenda 21 Action Kit” was, and is, the most comprehensive source of information ever produced on Agenda 21.

Last year I produced a series of ten Internet Webinars for activists. These featured some of the nation’s leading Agenda 21 experts.

And just a couple of months ago I hosted a special national teleconference call specifically for elected officials to bring them the latest threats and tactics.

These efforts forced pro-Agenda 21 groups to respond and attack me as a danger to their cause.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has produced at least four reports targeting me. They call me a domestic terrorist!

The American Planning Association, the largest Agenda 21 planning group in the nation, was forced to create a “boot camp” to retrain their people to deal with local citizen activists that I taught to oppose them.

One of our targets has been the UN-sanctioned organization called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). This organization helped write Agenda 21 and then set off to enforce its policy in every community in the world. By 2011 more than 600 American cities were paying dues to ICLEI.

To date, APC’s efforts have resulted in getting over 150 cities to stop paying dues to ICLEI. That is an absolutely astounding fact.

The head of ICLEI USA expressed his fear of my efforts. He said, “We are terrified of them… we can’t get new cities to join us. They have made us political poison.” That statement alone is a huge victory!

So why am I writing to you today, telling you all of these details?

Let me be blunt.

For years, many have considered the American Policy Center to be a nice, reliable little organization that does some good work.

Our supporters have been faithful to sustain us at that level. I have been grateful for that support and have done my best to carry out our programs with the limited funds we receive.

But, today, because I have stuck to this issue and never wavered, opposition to Agenda 21 is fast becoming the most important issue in the fight to restore America’s freedoms.

And the American Policy Center is THE recognized leader in this fight.

I am buried under calls and letters from people asking for help in their community. Now even elected officials are calling for help. That’s huge!

The amount of people visiting the APC Internet web site has doubled in just the past few months as desperate people are learning about us and downloading our Sustainable Development special reports and articles.

In short, the American Policy Center has become a big deal. We have become a national leader. And we are facing an opportunity that I have worked towards for over twenty years. Victory over Agenda 21.

But… as I face this avalanche of new found responsibility, I am struggling to meet it armed with the funding base of a much smaller organization.

Simply put, if I can’t raise more money to fund our new responsibilities, APC will have to stand on the sidelines and watch as this opportunity for victory is lost.

I need to produce and distribute more materials. A copy of my manual on Sustainable Development should be sent to every single county commissioner and city councilman in the nation. Every mayor and every state legislator should hear from us.

That’s just what our opposition has done. And that is why they’ve been winning over the past several years.

But there is no way APC can do that under our current funding. I can’t even consider it, even though I am getting calls daily from activists pleading that I do so. I have the materials – just not the funds to get them out to the public.

I have worked my whole life to reach this moment. I can see victory just over the next hill. But I don’t have the funds to get there.

As you know, APC receives no grants from large foundations or corporations and I would never accept grants from the government. So I have only those individuals who will voluntarily contribute to my efforts.

Will you please make a donation today for at least $25? Click here to contribute now.

But, whatever you and I do together – we must do it now. We cannot wait. People across the nation are determined and ready to fight now.

We can’t miss this opportunity to strike a death blow against such a dire threat to our freedom.

I have never been more excited about our ability to win. We have ICLEI on the run. Elected officials are finally asking for our help.

But I must have the funds to fight it.

This is our issue. We are the ones to fight it. This is our time.

Please stand with me now.

Yours in Freedom,

Tom DeWeese
President

Wind Turbines, Rusting Giants of the Environmental Watermelon Religion

Turbines kill birds on a large scale around the world and disturb humans and wildlife. According to Save the Eagles International, “contrary to what we are told, wind farms will cause the extinction of many bird and bat species” because birds are naturally attracted to tall structures.

While millions of birds and bats are dying needlessly, wind turbines and solar panels are still installed around the world despite the fact that they produce inconsistent energy that cannot possibly replace the consistent and cheap energy produced by coal. The world’s economy needs fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and hydro-power that provide a constant source of electricity, not the small scale partial or intermittent Aeolian or solar energy.

Read more…

Smart Growth America Recruiting

You’ve read about how some towns are members of Smart Growth America, an NGO that is pushing regionalism, urbanism, trains, and compact housing among other things.

Be aware that your town may be seeking training from these folks in the way of free annual workshops.

Read about it here:

http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/technical-assistance/free-annual-workshops

Smarter Community Development Meeting

*FREE* Event: 9/19 Smarter Community Development in NH

What: i2i Symposium Series “Smarter Community Development for New Hampshire”
Where: Take Root Coworking – 359 Central Street, Franklin, New Hampshire 03235
When: September 19th, 9:00am-12:30pm
Cost: FREE*
Registration:*You must register to attend. Registration ends 9/12. Register HERE!

The New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) invites you to experience internationally acclaimed sustainability and regenerative community planning expert Bill Reed to discuss new ways New Hampshire can address community development in the 21st century.

Bill will lead an engaging conversation that will focus on holistic community development strategies that will help New Hampshire communities build effective, long-term visions that take into account local evolving economic and social patterns.

Attendees will enjoy a breakfast supplied by local businesses and have the opportunity to learn more about the great work being done to revitalize downtown Franklin.

Deadline to register is September 12. Space is limited.

(Perhaps you can still register…)

No Choice – How HUD Controls Your Property Rights

Editor’s note: We are not here to sell things but we feel this DVD could be a very good informational tool to be used at local meetings and gatherings to help people better understand why regionalism, HUD, and other federal agencies are so dangerous to local control.

See how to purchase the DVD from Sustainable Freedom Lab at the end of the article.

Our federal government is dismantling personal property rights in the largest attack on local rule in our nation’s history.

By accusing communities of discrimination and civil rights violations, HUD has ignored Congress and used the Fair Housing Act to grant themselves the authority to control local planning and land use.

HUD’s rule, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) forces communities that accept HUD grants to comply with aggressive federal planning schemes or face bankrupting government-contrived lawsuits.

Our newest DVD, “No Choice – How HUD Controls your Property Rights” blows the lid off HUD’s actions in clear terms all community members can understand.

People do not see the gradual property confiscation because local officials want the grant money and people trust HUD’s goals of helping the poor and ending discrimination.

But, communities can no longer afford to surrender their property rights and choices in exchange for federal agencies “granting” back the money that was always theirs.

People need to understand that government is not helping their communities. These grants are strip away community rights for the sole purpose of adding to federal power over our towns, counties and states. That is why I created this DVD.

SFL’s new DVD, “No Choice” exposes all of HUD’s tactics. The video is broken into 10 chapters to make it easy to access and share information.

Chapter 1: Property Rights Matter – If government can control your property, it can control your behavior. This chapter shows the frightening power the federal government can exercise in anyone’s life when it controls your property.

Chapter 2: Fair Housing Act and AFFH – Explains why and how this administration contorted federal law to grant themselves power over local land use and even overturn voter’s decisions.

Chapter 3: HUD’s New Legal Force – The video details the landmark legal case that gave birth to HUD’s AFFH power grab and the man who makes millions of dollars suing local communities. When people see this chapter, they get steaming mad.

Chapter 4: Creating Your Own Liability – HUD enforces their AFFH rule by encouraging grassroots civil rights organizations to sue their own communities for supposed barriers to fair housing. See how HUD’s actions tear communities apart and pit neighbor against neighbor.

Chapter 5: Regional Annexation – Regions appoint unelected councils that take choices away from voters and divest authority from local public officials. Regions are also easier for the federal government to manage. Learn how HUD’s new rule forces smaller communities to join regions whether they want to or not.

Chapter 6: The Binding “Obligation” –Every community that applies for HUD’s most popular grants must sign a single statement that can lead to a devastating False Claims Act lawsuit. To avoid lawsuits, counties and towns are crumbling to meet HUD’s demands. This chapter shows how legal experts interpret the wording.

Chapter 7: HUD Gets Tough – HUD is issuing compliance reviews, threatening to withhold grant money, engaging in False Claims Act lawsuits, disparate impact suits and taking record numbers of actions against communities. This chapter outlines some of the cases. You will want to share this with your public officials.

Chapter 8: More than Affordable Housing – Everyone in America should watch this single chapter. HUD is no longer merely about affordable housing. The agency has already said their new rule is just a platform for advancing a suitcase full of costly programs in communities. Learn about “upward mobility”, “socioeconomic diversity”, “Regional Equity Assistance Centers”, “behavioral messaging” and more programs that threaten to remake your community. HUD has even partnered with the departments of Education and Transportation to redesign entire communities. If your town refuses to comply, local officials can expect the grant funds to be withdrawn or to face charges of civil rights violations, or failure to affirmatively further fair housing and more.

Chapter 9: How to Stop AFFH – The 2nd circuit Federal court explains how to avoid the increased liability from HUD grants.

Chapter 10: Resources – We can stop HUD and the federal government from centrally planning our communities. This chapter outlines more tools and programs to help you learn about and end government overreach.

Purchase the DVD here and show it to your groups!

The New Urban Agenda Heads To Habitat III

Yet another ‘non-binding international agreement’. The New Urban Agenda will be adopted this October and will shape city development for the next 20 years. ⁃ TN Editor

The agenda is a non-binding international agreement designed to shape urban development over the next two decades. It will be formally adopted at the UN Habitat IIIsummit in Quito, Ecuador, from October 17-20, 2016.

Read about Agenda 2030 to understand what is behind ‘regionalism’ and the push by the federal government to hand out grants so towns an cities can start complying.

Read more: The New Urban Agenda Heads To Habitat III

Locals: “Regionalism is Communism”

Watch these guys… they get it.

They discuss regionalism and its purpose, how it relates to the Russian Revolution, and what the consequences would be for the people of NH if they don’t wake up and oppose things like Common Core and “master plans” and the taking of your land and water.

If the above video does not appear on your device, use this direct link:

https://youtu.be/6FVZa1f7jg0

Souhegan CoC Plans “Discussions”

The Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce is planning some regional-style discussions for September 8, 2016-January 12, 2017. If you want to stop things such as transit-oriented neighborhoods, and compact cities, now is the time to speak up!

Name: IMPACT: Regional Issues Series
Date: September 8, 2016
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM EDT
Website: Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce
Register Now

The economic climate of New Hampshire and our Souhegan Valley region is changing and creating challenges to continued growth. A number of factors are impacting these changes, such as demographics, our business climate and the rural/suburban nature of area and state. In this series, we will examine five of the factors affecting or prohibiting the potential economic development of the Souhegan Valley and New Hampshire as a whole.

From September to January, the Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce and Nashua Regional Planning Commission will host a speakers series, bringing a panel together to discuss these factors. Our purpose is to educate, spark discussion and broaden understanding of the issues to our citizens.

Series Topics:

Regional Transportation – September 8 at the Milford Town Hall Auditorium. Would a regional transportation system make sense for the Souhegan Valley? Is it necessary and would the impact be positive? We will discuss the potential for extending bus service from Nashua, how a potential rail project would impact our region, and what would be the return on investment to our towns. Special Guest Speaker is NH Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan.

Workforce Development & Population Health – October 13 at Souhegan High School, Amherst. Local businesses are facing a crisis in the lack of a plentiful, skilled workforce. Although the unemployment rate is low, businesses cannot find the workers they need to grow and meet demand. We will examine the reasons for this crisis and discuss how our education system, demographics and health of our residents affect this issue.

Infrastructure – November 10 at Pine Hill Waldorf School, Wilton. How does the physical (roads,bridges, water and sewer) affect our communities’ potential for growth? What about the digital (broadband and cell phone coverage)? Maintaining infrastructure is one of the topmost challenges and expense facing our towns.

Energy – December 8, Hollis Social Library, Hollis. New Hampshire is one of the most expensive states for energy for bother residential, commercial and industrial. The high cost of energy directly affects our manufacturing sector, the number one provider of jobs in our state. We will look at how energy costs impact our potential for growth.

Tourism, Arts & Culture – January 12 (snow date Jan. 19), Brookline Town Hall. The Creative Economy, attracting visitors, the NonProfit world and more.

All workshops are free and open to the public.

Website for Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce

HUD to introduce “socioeconomic diversity” to Depts of Ed and Transportation

Barack Obama is spending the next months dismantling the last shreds of our free market America.

HUD is his weapon and he wields its new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule like a concrete block. He batters communities into changing or ignoring their own zoning laws and allowing the government to dictate community planning.

Local officials submit to the government out of fear they will lose grant money or face bankrupting lawsuits.

As civil rights plaintiff firm Relman, Dane and Colfax said, just the threat of removing the money is enough to bring most communities in line. If it takes lawsuits to force them to abide by HUD, says attorney Michael Allen, “My firm stands ready to do its part. Anyone with me?”

Legal motivation is only the beginning. On June 8, 2016, the AFFH program evolved into a master plan that enables federal control of virtually every aspect of local planning and community living.

For months, the agency warned officials that the new AFFH was merely a platform for HUD’s aggressive interpretations of the Fair Housing Act. Interpretations that impact education, transportation, jobs and housing. Affordable housing is now nothing more than a launch pad for total community control.

Please help me stop this insidious program.

In June, HUD sent an official letter stating their intention to partner with the Departments of Education and Transportation to introduce “socioeconomic diversity” into elementary and secondary classrooms.

Here is why.

HUD is not content with people living in in areas they can afford. The administration argues if low-income families cannot afford to live in affluent areas, then local zoning laws are depriving them of opportunities. That means the community must correct the imbalance or risk facing charges of economic segregation and discrimination.

That is what happened to Baltimore County when three HUD residents joined with the local NAACP to complain to HUD that they did not live in prosperous enough areas. HUD forced the County to build 1000 new affordable homes and move 2000 section 8 recipients, all into affluent areas.

Obama then moved beyond affordable housing into classrooms.

He wants to desegregate schools that have been integrated for decades, using enforced diversity quotas. The administration will convert existing federal offices into regional Equity Assistance Centers for “the preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans for the desegregation of public schools.”

Got that. Obama says your community is guilty of discrimination if people live in neighborhoods they can afford, and HUD will address the problem by desegregating your school and calling it “socioeconomic diversity.” This change will happen regardless of local officials’ opposition, regardless of local school board decisions and regardless of voters’ choices.

SFL is fighting this in communities right now and, please, we need your help.

DOT is involved in the partnership because, according to Transportation Sec. Anthony Fox, “too many people lack the transportation options they need to pursue…high quality education, good paying jobs, and affordable housing.”

That means the HUD partnership will soon dictate planning outcomes that include high-density housing and mixed use developments near transit-oriented living.

Does that sound like regional planning? It should. The new AFFH application requires grant recipients to merge their zoning plans with those of the larger region, thereby enabling the region to annex the nearby smaller communities.

HUD’s platform has spilled over to Common Core in an effort to control what HUD calls, “adult outcomes.”

In Westchester County, still fighting back from 7 years of HUD’s relentless attacks, the government is shutting down parents that oppose Common Core.

Obama is threatening to withdraw Title I funds, the education money the feds send to the states, if the County has more than 5% of its students skipping the Common Core high stakes testing.

Obama knows that nearly 20% of parents already pulled their children from the damaging tests.

In spite of three laws prohibiting the federal government from interfering in local educations, they are not only interfering, they are hostilely taking it over and silencing any opposing parents or school boards.

We must stop HUD and all federal agencies from crushing local rule and turning community members into subjects.

H/T: John Anthony

How One Town Defeated HUD Grants

This information is courtesy of John Anthony the Founder of “Property Value Defense”. He is but one of the few people keeping us informed on what other towns are doing in other states to keep HUD influence out of local affairs.

Ringwood is a wooded community in a beautiful lake area of northwestern, NJ. Over the years, the borough has accepted HUD grant money as a pass down from larger Passaic County.

In July 2015, HUD underwent a radical change. While the agency’s grant names and terminology remain the similar, HUD took copious latitude in redefining their authority under the Fair Housing Act; and their revised enforcement methods establish severe legal risks never before encountered by most communities.

HUD’s “radicalization” can be hard to grasp, especially when jurisdictions have a long history of accepting their funds, as was the case with Ringwood.

In this edition, I included excerpts from the Borough’s public minutes. They are an excellent record of what can happen when local public officials stay informed and works together with community members.

EXCERPTS FROM JULY 19, 2016 MINUTES FROM RINGWOOD NJ

Pam Herbig, 14 Maple Road, Ringwood
I am here about the Passaic County Community Development Block Grant Program, I oppose the grant, and it is in conjunction with HUD. You should have sufficient time to read and understand about this program. If you continue to accept the HUD grant, we will be forced to prepare detailed taxpayer finance studies of our schools, retail, housing and other community agents to HUD. Mr. Obama is trying to pass this. I request you postpone this resolution until you have time to go over it, I think it will be a detriment to Ringwood, we don’t need this in Ringwood. If you don’t accept it, we won’t have it.

(You will notice that Mayor Speer already knows of the HUD changes. He also makes it clear he is “in favor of going for the CDBG program for this next cycle.”)

Mayor Speer
I have been looking at this since 2013. Stanley Kurtz does great reporting on what is going on with this fair housing rule. They have a gag order against Westchester County. He can’t even speak to his people about what they are doing up there. I am by nature opposed to any kind of Federal zoning. I am in favor of going for the CDBG program for this next cycle.

We are part of the Passaic County CDBG jurisdiction. In Passaic County you have four cities that go on their own for CDBG funds. There are 12 towns that are in the jurisdiction of Passaic County. We are going to be grouped in whether or not we sign this agreement. They are going to be producing a document, an AFH document for this next round. That is going to discuss the demographics of the Borough of Ringwood and its housing opportunity. In the previous three-year cycle of CBDG, it was called an analysis of impediments. I am not too concerned about them forcing development down our throat especially when we have COAH. We have to try and meet some kind of standards somewhere. The Highlands Council came out and told us we have three or four buildable lots in Ringwood.

Al Frick, Wayne, NJ
I have been following HUD for the last eight years. I grew up in the city and I moved to the suburbs. If you have taken CDBG grants before, everything changed in July 2015 with the affirmative fair housing was always in there. They added 377 new pages. In one section they say we won’t change your zoning, but if your zoning happens to conflict with the Fair Housing Act, then that is of concern. They never really spell out for you what the Fair Housing Act now happens to control. Once you sign on the line, you sign a contract that you will do whatever the plan turns out to be for that Fair Housing Assessment.

The data that you must use is HUD data. You must invite participation from the community, civil rights groups, community developments, community development organizations and developer. When these people are in on your plan, they have to be in for every step of the way. If they don’t like what you are doing, they concede. There are a lot of strings attached to this that was not attached before. You have the zoning issues, the call for participation from outside groups, and the identification of solutions. HUD will provide you with a list of 40 barriers that you should consider. Once you take the money you can’t get out of it.

(Al makes an important point below. The wording in the AFFH ruling is accurate, but somewhat deceptive. Actually,HUD wants nothing to do with a community’s zoning laws. However, to affirmatively further fair housing, grantees may be required to ignore or change them themselves. In other words, HUD is in control.)

The rule does not impose any land use decisions or zoning laws on any local government.
However a paragraph later says, but we will assist recipients to adjust their land use and zoning laws to meet their legal obligation to Affirmative Fair Housing.

Nancy Masasi Wanaque, NJ
Some of the things that Wanaque said is we want the funding for our roads and sewers. We don’t use it for housing. It doesn’t matter. If you sign up with a resolution, you are agreeing to follow all the rules of COAH and the AFH, you are going to fill out this application. You are providing them with the information that you are not compliant with these new regulations. This Council is from a region, not local people. You can have civil rights groups from other areas to come in to your town and tell you what they think you will need. I would ask you to consider not voting for it until you have thoroughly vetted the entire process and know what is going on.

Connie Hernandez, 18 Pequot Terrace
I am against the HUD program. A long time ago there was talk about putting apartments on top of the hopping areas. We don’t have the infrastructure for a lot of additional kids and transportation. Can you consider not voting on this resolution tonight?

(As you can see, the Council moved to delay the vote and study the HUD issue further.)

On a motion by Councilman Marsala, seconded by Councilwoman Schaefer the Council tabled Resolution 2016-171 I order to educate themselves in the changes to CDBG.

Ryan Bolton, 28 Glen Road
Thank you for having the public comment section going on for so long, he also thanked the Council for scheduling the public hearing dedicated to the petition.

At the next meeting in August, the Council voted on the HUD issue. Two members, who were also Passaic County employees, abstained. The remaining four attending Council members voted unanimously to reject accepting HUD money through the County.

This is what happens when informed public officials and community members work together.