American Policy Center » 2010 » May
- The Forces of Freedom Return to Valley Forge
- Fight Agenda 21 or Lose Your Freedom
May 21 , 2010
By Tom DeWeese
Growing numbers of concerned, dedicated Americans are joining the nationwide protests against ever-higher taxes; the outrage of Obamacare; the bailouts and the Federal Reserve; the growing government surveillance society; and the destruction of private property rights through policies including Sustainable Development. The question now among these new activists is “what’s the next step?”
It’s time for action, and to that end, today I am announcing the Freedom Action National Conference, to be held August 12 – 14, 2010 at the Dolce Hotel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Local action, from strengthening State 10th Amendment rights, to exposing the efforts of organizations like the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), is the focus of the Freedom Action National Conference. If we stand firm at home, against federal mandates and international policies, we can go a long way toward limiting the power and growth of the Federal Government.
American citizens can take that stand by first learning the details of dangerous policies like Sustainable Development; biometric surveillance and the growth of Fusion Centers; violations of Second Amendment rights; violations of Constitutionally-guaranteed state sovereignty; the growing government takeover of health care and the use of natural supplements and cures; the reasons why a Constitutional Convention now is the wrong solution at the wrong time; and how many of these bad policies are being enforced through the power and wealth of organized labor. All of these subjects will be detailed at the Freedom Action National Conference.
Featured speakers will begin with a keynote address by Constitution expert Michael Badnarik followed by an extensive lineup of experts and national spokesmen, including: Sheriff Richard Mack; Washington State Rep. Matt Shea; Oklahoma State Rep. Charles Key; Pennsylvania St. Rep. Sam Rohrer; National Rights To Work Committee President Mark Mix; Gun Owners of America Director Larry Pratt; International ID expert Mark Lerner; Constitutional Convention experts Chuck Michaelis and Larry Greenley; IRS expert Steve Hempfling; Illegal Immigration expert Jeff Lewis;Global Warming expert Marc Morano; United Nations Expert William Jasper; Sustainable Development/Agenda 21 experts Dr. Michael Coffman, Tom DeWeese and Michael Shaw; Property Rights champion Dan Byfield; Health Freedom experts Dr. Jane Orient, Scott Tips and Dr. Jeff Marrongelle; Constitution expert and activist Ron Mann; Education expert and author Beverly Eakman; grassroots activists Catherine Bleish and John Bush; and alternative media experts George Shepherd, Gary Franchi and radio personality Sam Bushman.
These experts will not only educate on the vital threats Americans are now facing, but will also focus on action all of us can take to fight back. The 10th Amendment movement is catching fire as state legislators are finding ways to add “teeth” to law rather than mere resolutions. Rep. Matt Shea will explain how it’s being done. Sheriff Richard Mack is teaching local sheriffs that they have the power to say no to federal agents; local communities are learning how to expel international provocateurs like ICLEI. Michael Shaw will explain how it’s done. A new approach to fighting against federal and state intrusion called “Coordination,” is having tremendous success in helping regain local control. Expert Dan Byfield will not only tell of those victories but will also lead a workshop to teach how it’s done. Ron Mann will lead a training workshop to teach new activists how to run campaigns on very little money. And Beverly Eakman will train activists how to break up the outrageous consensus meetings that are being used in public forums to enforce policy without public discussion and debate. All of these processes lead to diminishing the power of the Federal Government – all based on local action – just like the Constitution intends.
The Conference will also feature a “Radio Row” with national and local radio programs broadcasting live from the conference; the second annual Freedom’s Heroes Awards honoring local activists and singer Jim Worthing.
In 1777, George Washington’s tired, starving, defeated army escaped to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to regroup and train for the fight ahead. They went on to defeat the most powerful army in the world.
On August 12, 2010, the forces of Freedom return to Valley Forge to once again regroup, train and rekindle the spirit of Freedom for the coming battles. All concerned Americans should join the Freedom Action National Conference on the hallowed grounds of Valley Forge and begin the drive to Take America Back.
Go to www.freedomactionconference.com for all the details and to register today.
Tom DeWeese is the President of the American Policy Center and the Editor of The DeWeese Report. TThe DeWeese Report is now available online, for more information click here.
Randall O’Toole Misses the Fine Print
May 7, 2010
By Tom DeWeese
At a recent property rights conference in Bozeman, Montana, anti-Smart Growth spokesman Randall O’Toole was taking part in a panel discussion when he was asked a question concerning my opposition to Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development. Said the questioner, “DeWeese calls the sustainability doctrine ‘a complete agenda of control,’ that has been largely embraced by most aspects of the government.” O’Toole was asked to comment on that.
O’Toole responded by downplaying the significance of the UN and Agenda 21. Whether it is true or not, he said, it is not relevant in the process of addressing the issues, and in fact, will most likely diminish credibility because it starts sounding like a “black helicopter” conspiracy. Instead, O’Toole said, the focus should be that “they are taking away our rights.” He then said, “it really isn’t the UN. It is our own urban planning profession and the American Planning Association.”
O’Toole’s comments have actually enlightened me to an issue that has been a puzzle for years. Why do so many in the Washington, D.C. conservative/libertarian movement ignore Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development? I’ve witnessed their passion to oppose the combined scams dealing with global warming and Cap and Trade. Sustainable Development is totally based on the premise that global warming is destroying the earth and that reducing green house gases through sustainable policy is the only way to prevent it.
Of course, O’Toole, with his ties to the CATO Institute and the Reason Foundation, aggressively opposes Smart Growth policy, which is one-fourth of Sustainable Development policy – yet he never mentions it. How can he be so involved in parts of the puzzle and yet leave out the major pieces? Now he tells us – to do otherwise would make him and his cohorts seem “silly” to the powers in government. We wouldn’t want that. O’Toole wants to be taken “seriously!” So, he will just deal with the immediate policy in front of him and ignore its roots. Got it.
Well, I beg to disagree with Randall O’Toole on so many levels. Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development are about much more than planning commissions and development. It is an entire philosophy that encompasses every aspect of our lives.
To ignore Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development is to disregard the REASONS behind and the EFFECTS of the policy in our daily lives. For example, O’Toole says we should just “focus on explaining the importance of our property rights.”
Here’s one problem with that “simple” approach. Today’s public school education curriculum no longer teaches the importance and virtues of property rights. So chances are we will find ourselves dealing with planning commissions, city councils and even congressmen who have absolutely no concept of property rights. So simply arguing property rights in a council meeting will label you as a “tin hat” just as fast as bringing up the UN – in fact, I’ve seen it happen.
To simply focus on development policy without the reasons behind it leaves one puzzled as to why government would want to implement policy that makes no economic sense. In deed O’Toole’s remarks reveal his failure to grasp the root of such policy. In a recent interview, O’Toole said, “The big problem is political. We’ve had this huge anti-automobile, anti-sprawl movement for the past several decades, and it has just been building up. The Obama Administration has bought into it.”
Those comments show a complete lack of understanding by O’Toole about where such dangerous policies come from. What is this anti-sprawl “movement” that has been building up? Ignore the UN and you miss the thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) that operate within its structure that are the root of that “movement.” That is where the policies are conceived and written. It isn’t just some magical ignorance on the part of planners. The NGO’s don’t think the UN is a far-out conspiracy – it’s their bread and butter to enforce this outrageous policy.
Further, ignore the UN and its Agenda 21 policy and you miss events like the UN’s 2005 World Environment Day in San Francisco, where Mayors from around the world were hosted and recruited to impose Sustainable Development in their communities. The Mayors were asked to sign two documents to pledge their commitment to sustainable policies, to be implemented on a specific time table. These Mayors didn’t think this was some kind of black-helicopter conspiracy – they signed the documents and are now implementing the policies.
Right behind them was the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which met in Chicago just one week after the UN San Francisco meeting, focusing on the same Agenda 21/Sustainable Development policies. Unlike Randall O’Toole, the largest and most official organization in the nation representing Mayors had no trouble supporting the “conspiracy” of the UN.
And then there is ICLEI – the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. ICLEI helped write Agenda 21 and now works to implement the policy on the local level. At least 544 American cities now pay dues to ICLEI for it to help implement Agenda 21 in their cities. ICLEI is quite proud of its UN connection and to Agenda 21 and says so clearly on its website at www.iclei.org. If you want to fight Smart Growth in those 544 American cities then it is quite necessary to take on ICLEI and that means exposing its ties to the UN. How, then, Mr. O’Toole is it helpful to just tell them they are violating property rights?
Finally, the full concept of Sustainable Development is rooted in what we call the three E’s – Social Equity, Economic Prosperity, and Ecological Integrity. To simply focus on the planning aspects of Sustainable Development is to miss the entire social aspect of it.
Another term for social equity is the “Third Way.” The term is used to explain Sustainable Development as an economic scheme different from Capitalism and Socialism. In the comparison, Sustainable Development is defined in near utopian terms as Capitalism is dismissed as ownership by the wealthy elite which care nothing for protecting the environment; and Socialism, according to the Sustainablists, is inefficient and run by a political elite.
Instead, say the Sustainablists, the third approach is “anticipatory,” which controls problems today to avoid them tomorrow. That, they say, is accomplished though strict environmental regulations, financing “green” industries, and planning for future generations. And that doesn’t simply entail local development, but a comprehensive plan to control every aspect of our lives, from population control to food intake, to health care.
Sustainable Development’s Social Equity plank is based on a demand for something called “social justice,” a phrase first coined by Karl Marx. Social Equity means that individuals must give up selfish wants for the needs of the common good or the “community.” Through such a policy, everyone has the right to a job with a good wage, a right to health care and a right to housing. To assure those rights, wealth must be redistributed. Property ownership is a social injustice which brings wealth to some. Business and property are to be controlled by all of society. How can a self-proclaimed property rights advocate like Randall O’Toole simply dismiss or ignore such policy, especially when it is now entrenched in every government planning decision?
The third plank of Sustainable Development is Economic Prosperity – implemented through the creation of Public/Private Partnerships (PPPs). I call PPPs government-sanctioned monopolies because they create an elite of specially chosen businesses that are granted “non-compete” clauses and Comprehensive Development Agreements to guarantee profits. That is not free enterprise. Incidentally, two of the most powerful forces in the nation working to implement PPPs are Randal O’Toole’s CATO Institute and the Reason Foundation, both heavily funded by corporations which are the direct beneficiaries of PPPs. Could that be the reason he refuses to use the term Sustainable Development in a derogatory way?
All of these issues are equal parts of the UN’s Agenda 21 and its policy called Sustainable Development. Leave out one part and you cause confusion and lack of understanding. Yet, O’Toole says discussing Agenda 21 and Sustainable Development “is not relevant.” And that is why we are losing the fight against top-down government control – lack of understanding of where the policy is coming from. If O’Toole and his partners at CATO and Reason would join our forces to expose Agenda 21 and the evils that come out of the UN, local civic officials would stop laughing about black-helicopter conspiracies and unite to stop it.
If you don’t know who or what you are fighting, you are already at a disadvantage. Mr. O’Toole, you said you don’t care if you are right – jut that you win. Well, I don’t want to just win a skirmish; I want to completely defeat them.
The Freedom Movement, so necessary to end the growing tyranny in our nation is being destroyed from within. Tom DeWeese, president of American Policy Center and editor of the DeWeese Report gives a special report on whose behind it. Click on the image below to watch this powerful video featured on YouTube.
Read the article Left-Wing McCarthyism, written by Tom DeWeese, reporting on the Sourthern Poverty Law Center.
Tom DeWeese is the President of the American Policy Center and the Editor of The DeWeese Report. TThe DeWeese Report is now available online, for more information click here.
