SHEEP, DONKEYS, AND DUPES, - MOVING TOWARD EXTORTION

It has been said that people possess a herd mentality. If some admired (for whatever reason) person makes a testimonial supporting some product or another, that is supposed to inspire other people to go out and buy that product. Advertising has used this endorsement tool forever. It evidently has a proven track record. Joe Namath endorsed shaving cream, and then every red-blooded male in the country went running to the store to buy Namath's brand of shaving cream. ("Take it off!" "Take it all off!") In this way, someone leads another person into an action voluntarily, albeit through influence of celebrity

Somehow, along the way, over the last several decades, the American people have been inundated with the psychological pull of this celebrity endorsement method. But the United States government has gone way beyond this idea of leading through endorsements. Having decided that Americans are all sheep responding to the herd direction, the U.S. government decided to turn Americans into another animal; hybrid sheep-donkeys...part sheep, part donkey. Let me explain.

We've seen another ploy in the advertising world also, where someone is dangling a carrot in front of the target customer, i.e. donkey, to make them buy something. Coupon shopping is one simple example. Donkeys cut out coupons every week from their newspapers and head straight to the grocers to get their carrots; a dollar off this or .50 cents off that. Customers (donkeys) are spending their extra time and energy to grab the carrots dangled in front of them. The United States government is observant of this activity and now decides, "Hey, those donkeys like carrots, so we'll give them some." The government wants an action? The government creates a carrot. The government wants a lot of people to desire the carrot? The government creates a celebrity to endorse the carrot. The government creates a sheep-donkey. This new hybrid is someone who wants to do what everyone else is doing, but also wants a carrot for the effort.

Now common sense would expect that people would not follow the herd for carrots unless the action benefits them. So, let's continue on with the next step of psychological behavioral science and say we want the sheep-donkeys to want a carrot that is really a rotten turnip. First you have to convince a lot of sheep-donkeys that the rotten turnip is good for them. It doesn't taste good. It gives them indigestion. It may make them deathly sick. It may be a slow death, not immediately apparent. But the rotten turnip photographs nicely and has a slick ad campaign to make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. The sheep-donkeys all look toward the celebrity endorsement and want to be just like that fellow. The rotten turnip still looks pretty good, is said to fix everything wrong in the world, and after all, scientists are saying this is the elixir from the Gods and will be good for all. Buying into the ad campaign for health, well-being, redemption and salvation, now the sheep-donkeys become dupes. Sheep-donkey-dupes. Or SDD's for short. Carrots are no longer carrots. Celebrities are now civil servants. And the dangling desired object will make you sick.

So what is a government to do? Once the celebrity has worn off and the carrot is exposed as a rotten turnip, the government has one more tool in its toolbox. Extortion. Here is where celebrity has failed and the carrot is exposed as a rotten turnip, but the government still wants what it wants and will not be denied.

The government sends the salesmen out to sell the rotten turnips to the sheep-donkey-dupes. Some of the SDD's are still buying into the rotten turnips, but some have seen the tragic consequences of eating the rotten turnips and refuse to buy them anymore. Some sheep-donkey-dupes have even decided to become critical thinking humans again. These former SDD's have to be ridiculed and disenfranchised as renegade radicals.

In steps the extortion team with bags of money and threats. "Here is the program, SDD's." "You will buy these rotten turnips or else!" "Or else you will be shunned, re-educated, or in debtors prison."

And so it goes today with our government selling rotten turnips to the remaining sheep-donkey-dupes.

Government salesmen have sold Agenda 21 to local communities just this way. The Smart Growth policies are sold by extortion. Sustainable Development now equals stars...like those little gold sticky stars your elementary school teacher put on your homework. If you don't adopt the policies sold by the Federal government, you will be cut off at the knees, never receive loan financing again, and be shut out from all government programs. The block grants for the needy in your community just dried up. The transportation spending you were counting on just disappeared into thin air, actually only offered now for bike lanes and walking trails. The damage assessment team will be descending upon your schools like locusts to make sure your children turn into good little sheep-donkey-dupes,too. The "star" designation for your city went somewhere else unless you straighten up and fly right.

So, we have come a long way with our Federal government "progress." It used to be a little voluntary cooperation here and there. Then it became encouraged cooperation through endorsements by either the likes of Al Gore or civil servants, now even Coca-Cola. Next came the fake government agenda, the regions, the stakeholders, the corporate shills. Want to bet Coca-cola gets gold stars and tax breaks for donations to the World Wildlife Fund? Nevermind the bet. We know they are. Bet you didn't get a tax break today.

In your city, town, or county, the extortion game is being played out. Your community is being told, by regional governance boards, bureaucrats, and planners from the American Planning Association, that if you want Federal money, fame, recognition, and status, your community better cough up property rights, matching grant monies, less energy usage, give up cars, and put everyone into a concrete jungle with boundaries far away from anything that may be considered "sprawl." (That means 1 acre lots or suburban living, by the way.)

Sheep-donkey-dupes are all to happy to sell out your rights using your money to get their carrots...I mean rotten turnips. Wise up out there....a carrot is not what you think it is. And those sheep-donkey-dupes don't care about your freedoms or rights.

A PANDEMIC OF STUPIDITY - SMART GROWTH VISION PLANS

Time was when I used to love to drive over to Charlotte for shopping and events. This was 20 years ago when it was still easy to navigate the roads and streets, before congestion, when parking was easy and the commerce I sought was readily accessible. It was an enjoyable day or evening trip for the most part. Occasionally I would go to Spirit Square for an event or go to the first Friday art crawl with friends when Jonathan's restaurant was still there. I would run over to Providence Rd. for shopping and dining. I would go to the ASID Designer house event which raised money for the symphony. I would go to a favorite Dr. on East Blvd. upon the need. Gradually that all changed. Now I cringe when even thinking of going to Charlotte. What used to be a fun trip to the city is now a nightmare with odd traffic patterns, fighting traffic congestion, less available parking, and mob scenes in shopping malls. Everything is more difficult to access.

What changed?
Smart Growth is what happened. Growth is one thing. Smart Growth is quite another thing. Smart Growth is planned high density and traffic congestion....by design. The same Smart Growth disease that occurred in Charlotte has come to Gastonia and, sadly, most cities in America.

The Charlotte Vision Plan 2010 is nearly a carbon copy of the Gastonia Vision Plan and of every other plan in the country. Isn't that strange? How could individual cities and individual city councils and mayors in individual topographical locations somehow come up with the same template for their formerly unique cities???

Take a look at the "Overview" of the Charlotte Vision Plan:

To create a memorable Center City Charlotte, future development as well as funding initiatives and improvements will be guided by these principles:

Pedestrian: A Walkable City. Create comfortable and interesting neighborhoods at a human scale.

Mixed: Encourage growth that supports a mix of housing, retail, office and civic spaces, throughout neighborhoods, blocks, and even buildings.

Balanced: Each new initiative for Center City should be considered according to its impact on the larger picture. Memorable cities grow comprehensively.

Leveraged: Optimize each private and public investment through coordination and partnerships between government, neighborhoods, developers and businesses.

Varied: Offer a range of experiences to the community, including urban alternatives such as multi-family housing, mass transit, active parks and vehicle free living.

Designed: Discover the "architecture of Charlotte" that is unique and of the highest standard.

Now take a look at the Gastonia Vision Plan:

1. Make improvements to pedestrian paths and create safe,
walkable, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.
2. Support the revitalization of declining neighborhoods.
3. Increased opportunities for homeownership for various housing
types.
4. Vibrant recreational centers, including walking trails, and
connections to area greenways.
5. Mixed-use transit oriented development centers combine retail,
services, and offices with medium-scale residences to fill the
transition from commercial uses to surrounding neighborhoods.
6. Promote regional cooperation to ensure development outside the
City’s municipal boundary is complementary.
7. Increased opportunities for mixed used high density residential
development with commercial business and health service centers.
8. Redevelopment of abandoned commercial and industrial sites.

Problems cited are:
1. Large lots and low density discourages walking and
bicycling.
2.Street networks tend to consist of two-lane roads
handling far more vehicles than they were designed
for funneling traffic onto major arterials, causing and
congestion on major streets.
3. Roads are designed for mobility of cars as opposed to
accessibility for all modes of transportation.
4. Streets with multiple lanes of traffic; often lack sidewalks.

It goes on to say:
"Therefore, it is essential that the City encourage smart growth and sustainable development principles, which will build from the City’s source of strength–structured around a historic and vibrant downtown, diverse residential neighborhoods, infill development within the Center City, and nodal development along the commercial and institutional spines of the City’s major corridors like Franklin Boulevard and US 321."

If you haven't been here lately, you should see the traffic congestion along Franklin Blvd. created by Smart Growth principles. Evidently there is no other plan but "Smart Growth." There is no development, but "Sustainable Development." The entire country has become a cookie cutter pattern designed by environmentalists who believe space belongs to wildlife and not to people. And there lies the rub. The planning is not for people. In fact it is anti-people planning. In fact, the planning is un-American. The planning has been forced on the U.S. through the U.N., through corrupt American politicians and a corrupt process called "regional governments" who are unelected bureaucrats demanding Smart Growth for bribes....oops, I mean government grants.

It doesn't have to be this way. Believe me. I have one little acre of property. There is wildlife all over my property. I have frogs, birds, bugs, trees, bushes, weeds and wildflowers. I have chipmunks and way too many squirrels. I have hickory nuts and acorns. We have lots of permeable land. I've grown cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots. We have butterflies and dragonflies. We have occasional owls and hawks and bats. We have an occasional raccoon and rabbits and box turtles. We have occasional black snakes and, once in a while, a very unwelcome copperhead. I even have a walking trail all around the wooded backyard. My one acre lot is supporting a lot more wildlife than if you crammed a high rise apartment building on this one acre. There isn't anything going on here that thwarts wildlife. Maybe I should apply for a government grant for all the wildlife I support with my one little acre. What do you think??

I tell you all of that because neighborhoods with larger lots support more clean air, better water distribution, and "livability" that condensed, high density, congested, "Smart Growth" planned areas ruin. My quality of life on this one acre is environmentally sound for both my family and wildlife!

Smart Growth is just plain dumb. But worse than that, Smart Growth is corrupt politics. And sadly, it is now pervasive in our country in the way that the Asian Carp and Kudzu are pervasive. It is a pandemic of stupidity and political tyranny.

Cramming people into smaller and smaller areas is not good for the quality of life we all seek, that is assuming you actually want good quality of life for people and the surrounding wildlife. If you only care about a wild planet without people, then that's another thing. Maybe you should move to Mars.

Study Smart Growth and STOP IT NOW!

So here's another one from the little town of Davidson, NC

Davidson preserves its small town character and community assets in the face of explosive development pressure from nearby Charlotte. Adherence to smart growth principles and regional collaboration on industrial development projects are Davidson’s strategies for upholding its community’s high standards.

Read below, just so you know:
Cities Across the Country Under Smart Growth
Smart Growth Principles

WATCH YOUR BACKYARD

While we are watching Osama Obama insanity and Trump or no Trump speculations, our local governments are busy trying to pull a fast one right in our own backyards. The 'fast one' is the adoption of plans from "supposed" consensus, without public referendum, and without the voters realizing the serious implications of these plans.

Next week there will be a local vote by our city council on a 2020 Vision Plan for our city. If you look online there is a 2020 Vision Plan for cities in all states across the nation. It may be dated 2030, or 2015, or 2035. It may be called a "Comprehensive Plan, or a Vision Statement." This "Plan" is showing up in small cities and big cities all across the nation. And they all say pretty much the same things. And the fact that they all promote nearly identical guidelines and principles should be a red flag to any red-blooded American.

The Vision Statements or Comprehensive Plans are written deliberately with vague language that sounds like an environmentalist's wish list. All of them, without fail, include language derived from the EPA and Smart Growth. For instance, you will see phrases such as "best management practices." Where does that phrase come from? Smart Growth. What is Smart Growth? It is a theory of environmentalism developed by central planners based on the United Nations' plan for global control of sovereign nations called Agenda 21. It has been adopted as the preferred Federal money granting tool of the EPA, DOT, and HUD. Smart Growth is a plan to create high density mega-cities using infill development practices, thereby limiting the supposedly evil practice of "urban sprawl." The infill high density development practices are intended to create wildlife corridors where human activity is limited. What it actually does is create limited living space for humans, make open space off limits to human development, and restrict automobile travel by funding light rail rather than roads, create precedent for takings of private property, among other things.

The catch phrases are many, including "sustainability, livable cities, walkable communities, connectivity, stakeholder councils, consensus statements, mixed use development, regional governments," and more. The proposed benefits are supposedly clean air and water, lower ozone, green environments, equality, affordability, and lots of other nice sounding promises. Envision people jam-packed in high density housing piled on top of each other, higher taxes, and higher costs of living, The actual outcome of Smart Growth is far different than is advertised. The actual outcome is more like your worst nightmare with draconian zoning restrictions, more traffic congestion, less available land, and lots of money spent on indoctrination "educating" people on how great Smart Growth is.

What does this have to do with the Gastonia 2020 Plan - A Vision For Our Future? The Gastonia 2020 Plan explicitly cites Smart Growth as the guideline for the Plan. By passing a 2020 Plan drawn up by central planners, our council is basically deeming itself irrelevant. How is that? Because the 2020 Plans are written to be compliant with regional governments who are unelected by local voters. Regional governments are all on board with Smart Growth. By turning over local responsibility for local planning to a central planner from a regional government, the door is wide open for the States and the Feds to walk right in with Smart Growth laws. The 2020 Plan is written by planners who are all on board with Smart Growth. Our council has turned over its elected responsibility to do its own research and planning by handing over their jobs to some unelected boards and councils. All our council has to do is sit there and listen to the proponents of Smart Growth and pass the plan, thinking the grant money will start rolling in. The council has not asked for alternative plans from any other independent planners who might have a different vision to present. In short, our council is about to pass a Smart Growth Vision Plan for our city as a guideline for every aspect of our lives and use that plan as a regulatory tool, without referendum from the voters, without explanation of the consequences to property holders, and without concern for Constitutional liberty. The Gastonia 2020 Plan, just like the Carolina Thread Trail agreement, gives the mayor and the city council free reign to stomp all over private property rights and local voter control using Smart Growth as the jack-boot.

Council members will tell you the 2020 Plan is not written in stone. They will tell you Smart Growth is not yet law. However, the 2020 Plan and Smart Growth are what is called "soft law." What that means is the 2020 Plan is used as a regulatory tool to be used by the council until they, or the State, or the Feds, decide to pass "hard law" based on Smart Growth, i.e. the 2020 Plan. The 2020 Plan is the proverbial "camel's nose under the tent." If it can be implemented locally, without referendum, without voter consent, it can be used as precedent for more draconian laws passed in the legislatures or by local councils as the public loses more and more say in the issues.

For a glimpse into how Smart Growth has worked out in Portland, Oregon, read below:

Smart Growth Plans Are A Failure in Portland, by Randall O'Toole, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
"Smart-growth planners believe that Americans live the wrong way, and they use land-use regulation to impose on others what they believe is the right way to live. Surveys consistently show that all but 15 percent to 25 percent of Americans want to live in single-family homes with a yard, but planners think we would be better off if a much higher percentage lived in high-density apartments or condos."
"After the first high-density developments saturated the demand, planners supplemented land-use mandates with tax breaks, below-market land sales and other subsidies to developers who built high-density housing. This means Portland neighborhoods continue to be invaded by mid-rise and high-rise developments, even though there is no more demand for dense housing."
"Increased densities destroyed the small-town atmosphere that once made Portland attractive. Congestion is worse, housing and consumer costs are high, and urban services such as fire, police and schools have declined as the city took money from these programs to subsidize high-density developers."

I urge the Gastonia City Council to step back from this 2020 Plan and begin doing the real work they are elected to do by researching and presenting to the public real plans that include the voters consent, not just some hand-picked "stakeholders." I also urge citizens of Gastonia to let this Mayor and Council know that we will not be turning over our liberties to an unelected regional government or central planners from the Federal government or the United Nations.


“The true foundation of republican government is the equal right of every citizen in his person and property and in their management.” –Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 1816.

More resources:
Cato-at-liberty.org.
American Planning Assoc. Smart Growth Plan Is Just Plain Dumb