Posted on 01/29/2002 9:03:21 AM PST by Ethan_Allen
All in the Name of Environmental Protection...
How the Feds and Eco-Elitists Take Private Land for Fun and Profit
By Tom DeWeese
Those who have read George Orwell’s classic book, "Animal Farm" will be familiar with the phrase "everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others." The line was used by the ruling pigs in the story to justify why they were giving themselves special privileges over the other animals. It was necessary, you see, that the leaders have the best – the better to deal with the pressing issues of State.
Citizens of communist countries (the political and economic force Orwell sought to parody) fully understand the reality of the phrase. They well know how communist leaders grow rich, take the best homes and ride in chauffeured limousines. Meanwhile, their "equal" fellow citizens shiver on cold winter nights, lacking fuel for the stove, their cupboards bare as a result of the failed policies of corrupt government control over the private sector.
But it is tragic to know that in some parts of the United States, Americans, too, are learning of the injustice that can result from government agents having far too much power over those subjected to their whims. In rural areas, many homeowners have been fighting a losing battle to hang onto their personal piece of the American dream. There, government agents wage a war of attrition to wear them down and force them off property that many times has been in the family for generations. The agents close off access roads to the property; they determine that simple home repairs are actually new, illegal, development; and they join with powerful, rich private interest groups to insure that elected government representatives create the needed regulations to increase the intimidation.
It’s all necessary, you see, because such lands must be saved from the ravages of the predators called homeowners – for the sake of protecting the environment.
But if one looks a little closer, one might just find that a new human predator has moved into occupy the now-liberated land. They are environmentalists, happily homesteading on once-private property. After being liberated by government goons, the property is supposed to be off-limits to development or private use. But those with power are free to break the rules. Who would enforce them?
So elitist environmental warriors can be found arm in arm with the federal storm troopers, deep in the wood, out of sight of the prying eyes of the public. Deeds to the land can now be placed in green hands. Illegal development can now be constructed. Roads can be accessed. And a good time can be had by all. When powerful interest groups team up with federal enforcers to protect the "common good," mutual profit and personal gain know no bounds.
Apparently, when an elite declares itself the protector of the environment, they really must be more equal than others. Don’t bother rubbing your eyes if it appears that the environmentalists are beginning to morph into little green pigs.....
rest of the article... All in the Name of Environmental Protection...How the Feds and Eco-Elitists Take Private Land for Fun and Profit
Here's the part I wanted to point out: ......."11 County Violations
The Hauters and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation have always had a rocky relationship as co-owners, primarily because of the land's complicated ownership history. Information is so sketchy that county officials at the moment turn to Leigh Hauter's Web site, www.bullrunfarm.com, for information.
An excerpt: "200 years ago this valley was owned by a very, very large landowner. I think his name was Smith." Court records show Eli Hall owned the land and died in 1906, leaving it to his children in 10 parcels, Gallehr said. Wenonah Hauter's father, William Bates, bought eight; the Virginia Outdoors Foundation came into possession of the other two.
But none of the ownership was spelled out legally, so no one is sure who owns the cliffs. The foundation owns 118 acres next to the Hauters and has long desired to add the cliffs to its 187,000 protected acres in Virginia.
Tensions mounted in 1994 when the foundation sued the Hautersover woodcutting on the protected land. And in 1996, the Fauquier County health and building departments found 11 state and county violations on the jointly owned land, including sewer gas odors seeping into a tenant's laundry room, frayed and broken electrical wires and open pipes that let tadpoles through water faucets. Foundation Director Leslie Grayson accompanied a county health official onto the property and found human waste on the ground and goats whose skin had folded over their outgrown collars.
'If they don't take care of their land, how can we trust them to take care of these precious cliffs?' Grayson said.
Leigh Hauter said he was living in Silver Spring at the time and was not around on a daily basis to check on the property.
'The foundation was just as responsible as we were. They own 20 percent. The tenant never told us about the problems, so when we tried getting them to leave, they told the county on us,' Hauter said. 'We took care of the problems afterward.'"......
"The Virginia Outdoors Foundation sells open land to people who agree never to develop it. The Hauters think Currier's deal was an attempt to grab the county's "jewel" at a below-market price. The deal prompted an investigation by then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder (D) into all the foundation's land agreements with the county's wealthy residents. No wrongdoing was found, but the foundation voted to advertise its future real estate sales."......
THE VIRGINIA OUTDOORS FOUNDATION IS AN OFFICIAL DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. When people give a property easement to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, they are in reality giving an easement to the State.
Can thank the Democrat Party, which has a policy of collectivizing farms; and is now affecting that under the guise of land purchases and acquisitions made in the names of "resource planning" and "bio-diversity."
It's a wonder that anybody in rural America has voted for the Democrat Party over the last 25 years.
The Democrat Party is against private, family farm ownership.
The Democrat Party has been focusing on the fact that rural American town dwellers who have not had tracts of land in use, are very much desiring employment in work other than at the local MacDonald's restaurant. This attention follows closely upon the heels of various industries, which have capitalized on such labor pools and have built factories "in the heartland." (When driving cross country on the back roads, so to speak, now and then you can come across some small town which has a rather substantial division of a major corporation "in its back yard.)
Well, the Democrat Party is taking advantage of that success and consequent growth of non-farmers "in the heartland," to propose employment as farming "technicians" who would work the farmland which the government(s) has sub-contracted for that purpose, after the government has acquired the land, again, acquired under the names of "resource planning" and "bio-diversity."
This plan of the Democrat Party in partnership with quite a chunk of "corporate America," is one reason for the C.A.R.A. legislation (and other such legislation) to build a general land-fund by which private farmland can be bought up.
The deal is that the "corporate" investors "get dibs on" farming --- that is, they will for the most part win the bids and farm the land.
Yes, the government and environmentalists make noise about how the land will be acquired for "preservation," but the plan allows for development, contrary to what is marketed to the public eye.
That development is both the farming of the land --- this time in corporate - and - government control, in addition to "research."
That word "research" gets thrown around in meetings and in "their" literature, faster than anything else; nobody really stopping to explain by what they mean by "research;" instead, just the liberal - nodding - of - heads about how great is "research," and we're doing it all for the good of the people through "research;" call it "research stew."
Cause that's the simplest description from here.
Well, one of the best kept secrets from most of "the heartland," is this union of corporate giving to the Democrat Party, corporate giving to universities, government "giving" to universities, universities "managing" the land and doing "research" "UNDER" some department(s) of the federal and state governments, and such land - and - social - engineering thence giving to the investors (and contributors), land upon which to farm and otherwise develop.
That is roughly "what is going on," in the planning and implementation stages extant.
If only the rural American farm families of Iowa, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, etc. would care to wake up and notice ... and then stop wasting their votes on the Democrat Party.
---and in a following reply 5, I added this:
Adding to reply 4, above ---
The investors, that is, the winning bidders for utilization of the land ... they get to use the land and make a profit at it WITHOUT PAYING TAXES ON THE LAND.
Frankly, Wall Street is thrilled at the prospect.
Investment bankers are thrilled.
They have been searching around for enterprise in which to invest, and they have found, in planning, the land upon which to develop BUT NOT PAY TAXES.
Farmers in South Dakota vote for Tom Daschle. They pay taxes on their land.
He plans to acquire their kindred (other peoples' like) land (because he does not want to lose HIS constituency), unbeknownst to them, and sub-contract the use of the land, to investors.
The environmentalist mindset thinks it has won a victory by turning over the land to THEIR purposes of, for example, restoring the sniper nat to its rightful kingdom, and because of THAT, they are happy enough to not trouble themselves too much with the land which is sub-contracted for development.
But the message here, is that nobody is paying any taxes on that land anymore, because the government / state owns it. Furthermore, the contract winners are NOT paying any taxes on the land, because they do not own it.
Now, they're going to give a percentage of their profits to the gov't / university management in situs, but the investors will be happy --- OR THERE'S NO DEAL.
Well, not a problem for the Democrats, because to their way of thinking, they are getting enough of what they want as well as being further along to recognized collectivization of private property; "fools that the corporate investors are, we'll use them and their greed to help pay and pave the way!"
Astute.
It's working.
The corporate investors are too short-sighted to concern themselves with THEIR SHRINKING INVESTOR POPULATION "facing inevitable death." Nope, for now, "let's just focus upon what money can be made in the short term, not to mention how our syndicalism with the socialists helps induce their serving notice to the unions to 'back off!'"
I left that part out; where the unions' membership who have also marched in lockstep with the Democrat Party, are also getting screwed.
...more --- my reply 8 ---
One more thing, to replies 4 and 5, above ---
Those constituents of Sen. Tom Daschle?
They still have THEIR land, and they still pay taxes on it, but they pay more and more --- with the help of subsidies from him --- the cash flow permitting their continuance, but their land is really worthless to them other than maintaining, for a Daschle Moment, their livelihood. Yet they must pay taxes ... to make up for the loss of the tax base elsewhere.
For the most part, nobody other than the federal government could afford to purchase the land which is under such a tremendous tax burden; again, IF the farmers would care to notice THAT!
No heirs will inherit the land SUCCESSFULLY except through creative legislation resulting from public sympathy for the farmers. And there will probably always be some of such legislation because it is good for political candidates. Yet we will have token farm families; culturally quaint, kind of like Williamsburg, VA., and they will be closely watched.
Because the liberals are paranoid about the roots of resistance to government control in this country, which roots go way back to individual self-reliance upon one's own land.
The leftists are attacking ALL the foundations of our Liberty, but tragically, the people who really work for a living, are too busy to notice all of these encroachments.
This thread should be linked with Greens Cut Turner a Break. Read my reply #12 'Where the Deer and the Zillionaires Play', about Turner and his ilk, who ..."often buy a ranch and let the owner run it, turning the former rancher, his former cowboys, and his former cows into living lawn ornaments." It breaks your heart.
For the most part you're right. However, the Washington Times has taken it on on more than one occasion, and this is at least the second article I've seen in the Washington Post (and I don't even read it all that often), and Fox did make that special on 'Vanishing Freedoms' (which I have not seen yet). Maybe we should start giving credit where credit IS due (perhaps we could say thank you to some of these reporters who may be going out on a limb to get the word out). My knowledge of history probably wouldn't fill a thimble, but didn't Thomas Paine start a revolution by printing and distributing 'Common Sense'? Printers and Kinko's? There are so many good writers at FReepublic. I wish some of them would get together and come up with some one- or two-page walloping articles (maybe a theme-a-week to get everybody on the same page) for printing and distributing by us FReepers around the country, to get people off the fence.
Articles will happen but those reporters will need some re-education to clear not a few blind spots. One of the best entry angles is to teach them that they have been deliberately misled those with by a corrupt profit interest. When reporters find out that they have been lied to they get really mad. Then we need to give them a place to go with that anger. One needs to build for them a network of people that they can trust, the "go-to guys" without an ax to grind.
NONE of them offer an alternative to regulation other than less.
What is this? "Government heal thy self?" Since when does a government reduce its own power?
IMHO that is why what I am doing is important. I propose an alternative environmental management system and a way to get it instituted government notwithstanding.
Freeper snopercod can probably cite you a few chapters and verse about how the enivro-weenies are assaulting private property via streams.
I keep proposing the same when it comes to the newspapers; I wish to start a conservative (generally) national newspaper, but almost always I hear how it will not work, and I hear that from conservativism's "higher-ups."
I am struck by David Barton's work with regard to the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights; he has devoted himself to building "a body of knowledge" (much of that by actually collecting the works) pertaining to the First Amendment.
I can see that is what you are similarly up to, to establish a foundation of scientific gathering(s) with which to refute and / or compete against the left's "junk science" and '-tists!'
We should all meet.
I haven't spent much time at FR these past few months - computer wasn't working and I was concentrating on other things, but I ran across a thread where someone was having a discussion with sauropod, something about sauropod trying to get a group to work together on land grabs. I don't if he was able to get a group going, but I've been meaning to talk to him as well. I'm saving the names on this thread. Thanks, ALL.
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