TO WORK ON GOVERNMENT LOCALLY OR NATIONALLY - THAT IS THE QUESTION

This is kind of a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" question. Over the past couple of years I've been wondering just where is the origin of 'government off the rails?' Is it a top down problem or a bottom up problem? Who is setting the policies that are taking the country into 14 Trillion in debt? Do local governments have any responsibility? Or do we voters just keep lashing out at the top echelons in DC?

Leading up to the 2010 elections, while Pelosi and Reid were passing bill after bill which were undermining freedom and loading us up with astronomical debt, I emailed, called, and wrote to congresspersons almost every day. By the time November rolled around, I realized this approach was futile. For a myriad of reasons, congressional Reps and Senators didn't give a flying flip about what constituents had to say regarding legislation. There are the lobbyists. And there are the influential non-profits. And there are the backroom deals. And there is the mainstream media turning everything upside down every day with bogus polls and lies. So, I reasoned that unless I am one of the insiders in one of those groups, I really don't have anyone's ear at the Federal level. Congress is unresponsive to voters and everyday constituents back home unless there is some gigantic mass of demonstration somewhere that gets on the nightly news shows. I concluded that I might as well have been throwing darts in a windstorm. (my husband has another way of putting that....ahem.)

So what is an American to do? If you can't clean up the house in DC, then you might as well "Look Homeward Angel" and clean up the house in your own location. The sorry thing I have learned along this path is that our local government is all wrapped up in strings from the Federal government. Some of the strings are just filtered down through the states, but some of the strings are more direct than that. Either way, local government is being usurped by grant money and subsidies coming from the Feds. And local government officials are right in there playing that string-baby game, with their hands out begging for as much money as they can wrangle.

For instance, the so-called Stimulus Bill. If your local government wants Federal stimulus money to come dropping in by helicopter in bucketfuls, then your local government has to make steps to make your town or city look like it is all on board with Federal programs. You want a downtown improvement project? Make sure it is "green." You want new business development? Make sure it is "infill" development. Where is the local autonomy in this picture? (Hint: Somewhere hiding out with Casper the Friendly Ghost or Somewhere Over the Rainbow?.)

How does the local government fit the requirements for the money? The local city council will adopt 2020 Vision plans that comply with the Federal grant requirements made up by the EPA, DOT, and HUD. This has been going on for years with "Block Grants." Now it is much more pervasive than that, with plans for land use, local economic development, housing, energy usage, water control, and other supposed environmental initiatives. The Vision Plans for communities across the country come from the same source, Smart Growth. Smart Growth comes from the same source, the Federal government. The Federal government got Smart Growth from the United Nations....but that is another part of the story addressed in previous posts.

This circumstance is prevalent in towns, cities, and counties all across the country. Finally, some towns, cities and counties are beginning to stand up and say, "NO MORE OF THIS!" This local response is still too rare, though. Why any response has taken so long is a mystery to me, but I think it is because it has taken the general population a while to catch on to the insidious creep of what Federal strings are doing to local autonomy. The amazing thing is that local government officials have only to tell the Federal government, "Thanks, but no thanks." I can only wish that were the case.

One of the first occasions I had to learn about this top down phenomenon was regarding a traffic intersection where a traffic light was requested by citizens to clear up rush hour jams. The City said heck yes the light was needed, but said they didn't have any money for it. The estimated cost for the traffic light was $175,00.00. Lo and behold, the city traffic officials said, "but wait, but wait, the Feds have money....if only you want a "round-a-bout" instead of a traffic light." The cost of the "round-a-bout?" $250,000.00 So, twice the money from the Feds if only you do what they want; construct a "round-a-bout" instead of install a traffic light. I'm not crazy about "round-a-bouts," but that isn't the point. The point is that the Feds used twice the money taken from taxpayers in every other city and state in the country to spend twice as much as was needed to solve the problem. Some of us objected, but the city went ahead with the "round-a-bout." Thank you Arizona and Hawaii and Maine.....or whoever the heck shelled out taxes to put this thing in on our connecting street here in small town North Carolina.

So where do we go for accountability? The Feds? Or our own local officials? The answer has become clearer to me lately. If tea party folks want to clean up the fiscal mess this country is in, then tea party members are going to have to go after the mess in their own local governments. You see, the Feds would not be able to sink the nation with trillions in debt, IF the local governments would stop being on the take. At least this would solve part of the problem....the part that addresses domestic policies. I, for one, don't want string-babies paid for by people all over the country who have no idea what they are paying for. I don't want Federal or State grants for a greenway, or recycling bins with RFID chips, or smart meters, or round-a-bouts, or biking trails, or parks, or light rail, or anything else. I want the Federal government to turn off the tap, but they won't. As long as the greedy, smarmy, local officials are just deliriously happy to catch the bucketfuls of cash with string-babies, this country will never get on its feet and the debt will just keep piling up.

So, what do you think? Do you see this in your home town or city? Can you do anything about the Federal and State revenue streams with strings coming into your community? Does anyone know how to just say, "Thanks, but NO THANKS?"

Do you honestly think congress will ever get the message as long as your local council or State government just keeps taking the money? Not a chance. voters in

THE DELPHI TECHNIQUE

One of the best things about writing this blog is learning so much through the research I've been doing. Over the past two years I have asking myself over and over again, "How in the world are so many people being manipulated into making completely irrational decisions and going in the most insane directions?" Some time ago I found one part of the answer called the Dunning-Kruger effect. You can read that one by clicking on the link in my sidebar on the right.

But today I learned a new part of the puzzle. I had seen a video some time ago of Charlotte Iserbyt explaining the "Deliberate Dumbing Down of America," which is the name of her book. She described the experience of conducting meetings with local school boards, having been taught a particular method, and how she manipulated outcomes, targeting those who would not comply with the foregone conclusions. She described manipulating the townspeople to comply with the prescribed solutions, even against their own normal principles. She, rightfully, along the way, realized how horrible this was and that she was being used as pawn in a larger scheme. So she became a whistle-blower and now has exposed the whole canard.

The method she was taught to use, I learned today, has a name. It is called the Delphi Technique. It was created by the Rand Corporation for the Dept. of Defense in the 1950's in order to be used as psychological warfare. It is a cunning design for creating the illusion of consensus where there is none. Amazing! You must read the article below to catch on to it. To me it explains most definitely how our local governments have been completely snookered into going along with Agenda 21 initiatives such as: Smart Growth, Sustainable Development, Livable Communities, Lands Conservancies, Greenways and more.

The Delphi Technique is most definitely the biggest part of the puzzle I was seeking. I am grateful to the writer of this article, Albert V. Burns, and wish to share the information with you. Let me know if you are seeing what I am seeing regarding this "community consensus" that doesn't exist and yet...policies are being implemented based on this false premise. I'd love to hear what you think.


The Delphi Technique Explained

The Delphi Technique - Let's Stop Being Manipulated

By Albert V. Burns

"More and more, we are seeing citizens being invited to “participate” in various forms of meetings, councils, or boards to “help determine” public policy in one field or another. They are supposedly being included to get ”input” from the public to help officials make final decisions on taxes, education, community growth or whatever the particular subject matter might be.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, surface appearances are often deceiving.

You, Mr. or Mrs. Citizen, decide to take part in one of these meetings.

Generally, you will find that there is already someone designated to lead or “facilitate” the meeting. Supposedly, the job of the facilitator is to be a neutral, non-directing helper to see that the meeting flows smoothly.

Actually, he or she is there for exactly the opposite reason: to see that the conclusions reached during the meeting are in accord with a plan already decided upon by those who called the meeting.

The process used to “facilitate” the meeting is called the Delphi Technique. This Delphi Technique was developed by the RAND Corporation for the U.S. Department of Defense back in the 1950s. It was originally intended for use as a psychological weapon during the cold war.

However, it was soon recognized that the steps of Delphi could be very valuable in manipulating ANY meeting toward a predetermined end.

How does the process take place? The techniques are well developed and well defined.

First, the person who will be leading the meeting, the facilitator or Change Agent must be a likable person with whom those participating in the meeting can agree or sympathize.

It is, therefore, the job of the facilitator to find a way to cause a split in the audience, to establish one or a few of the people as “bad guys” while the facilitator is perceived as the “good guy.”

Facilitators are trained to recognize potential opponents and how to make such people appear aggressive, foolish, extremist, etc. Once this is done, the facilitator establishes himself or herself as the “friend” of the rest of the audience.

The stage is now set for the rest of the agenda to take place.

At this point, the audience is generally broken up into “discussion—or ‘breakout’—groups” of seven or eight people each. Each of these groups is to be led by a subordinate facilitator.

Within each group, discussion takes place of issues, already decided upon by the leadership of the meeting. Here, too, the facilitator manipulates the discussion in the desired direction, isolating and demeaning opposing viewpoints.

Generally, participants are asked to write down their ideas and disagreements with the papers to be turned in and “compiled” for general discussion after the general meeting is reconvened.

This is the weak link in the chain, which you are not supposed to recognize. Who compiles the various notes into the final agenda for discussion? Ahhhh! Well, it is those who are running the meeting.

How do you know that the ideas on your notes were included in the final result? You Don’t! You may realize that your idea was not included and come to the conclusion that you were probably in the minority. Recognize that every other citizen member of this meeting has written his or her likes or dislikes on a similar sheet of paper and they, too, have no idea whether their ideas were “compiled” into the final result! You don’t even know if anyone’s ideas are part of the final “conclusions” presented to the reassembled group as the “consensus” of public opinion.

Rarely does anyone challenge the process, since each concludes that he or she was in the minority and different from all the others.

So, now, those who organized the meeting in the first place are able to tell the participants and the rest of the community that the conclusions, reached at the meeting, are the result of public participation.

Actually, the desired conclusions had been established, in the back room, long before the meeting ever took place. There are variations in the technique to fit special situations but, in general, the procedure outlined above takes place.

The natural question to ask here is: If the outcome was preordained before the meeting took place, why have the meeting? Herein lies the genius of this Delphi Technique.

It is imperative that the general public believe that this program is theirs! They thought it up! They took part in its development! Their input was recognized!

If people believe that the program is theirs, they will support it.

If they get the slightest hint that the program is being imposed upon them, they will resist.

This very effective technique is being used, over and over and over, to change our form of government from the representative republic, intended by the Founding Fathers, into a “participatory democracy." Now, citizens chosen at large are manipulated into accepting preset outcomes while they believe that the input they provided produced the outcomes which are now theirs! The reality is that the final outcome was already determined long before any public meetings took place, determined by individuals unknown to the public. Can you say “Conspiracy?”

These “Change Agents” or “Facilitators” can be beaten! They may be beaten using their own methods against them.

Because it is so important, I will repeat the suggestions I gave in the last previous column. One: Never, never lose your temper! Lose your temper and lose the battle, it is that simple! Smile, if it kills you to do so. Be courteous at all times. Speak in a normal tone of voice.

Two: Stay focused! Always write your question or statement down in advance to help you remember the exact manner in which your question or statement was made.

These agents are trained to twist things to make anyone not acceding to their agenda look silly or aggressive. Smile, wait till the change agent gets done speaking and then bring them back to your question. If they distort what you said, simply remind those in the group that what he or she is saying is not what you asked or said and then repeat, verbatim, from your notes the original objection.

Three: Be persistent! Wait through any harangues and then repeat the original question. (Go back and reread the previous column.)

Four: (I wish to thank a reader of the previous column for some EXCELLENT suggestions.) Don’t go alone! Get as many friends or relatives who think as you do, to go along with you to the meeting. Have each person ”armed” with questions or statements which all generally support your central viewpoint. Don’t sit together as a group! Spread out through the audience so that your group does not seem to be a group.

When the facilitator or change agent avoids answering your question and insists that he must move on so everyone may have a chance to speak, your own agents in the audience can then ask questions, worded differently, but still with the same meaning as yours. They can bring the discussion back to your original point.

They could even point out, in a friendly manner, that the agent did not really answer your question. The more the agent avoids your question, and the more your friends bring that to the attention of the group, the more the audience will shift in your favor.

To quote my informant: “Turn the technique back on them and isolate the change agent as the kook. I’ve done it and seen steam come out of the ears of those power brokers in the wings who are trying to shove something down the citizen’s throats. And it’s so much fun to watch the moderator squirm and lose his cool, all while trying to keep a smile on his face.”

Now that you understand how meetings are manipulated, let’s show them up for the charlatans which they are."

So....write to me and share your ideas. I wonder if anyone out there is seeing this happen around them in their local communities. Unfortunately, where I live, the leadership of our area has already been sucked down the pipes. Undoing this monstrosity called Sustainable Development is going to be an arduous, uphill battle.

Proof Positive: The Delphi Technique and Sustatinable Development

Anecdotal Evidence and Explanation from Idaho written by Anne Wilder Chamberlain