$725M County Budget Proposal Largest in History
K. Carl Smith Brings Outreach Method to the PBCTP Chapters
“I am a Frederick Douglass Republican” – thus begins K. Carl Smith’s method for penetrating the walls that separate conservatives from minority voters.
On the premise that many minority families hold conservative values (eg. school choice, life, self reliance) and have much in common with us, yet are conditioned by upbringing and / or liberal propaganda to reject conservative thought, Mr. Smith explained how for many, “Republican”, or “Conservative” means “Racist”. Starting from that perspective, it is no wonder that “outreach” efforts are difficult.
In order to “retake control of the narrative” with Black and Hispanic constituencies from the liberal media and the Democrat party, we must expose their ongoing practice of rewriting history and routine accusations of racism against any who oppose them. Example: Lincoln (a Republican) ended slavery, and was opposed by the Democrats who were invested in it, yet the DNC website claims that “Democrats have been the champion of civil rights for 200 years!”
Frederick Douglass, a Black contemporary of Lincoln, has said “The best representation of slavery in politics is the Democrat Party”. He was a strong supporter of the Constitution, life, the limited power of government, and personal responsibility. By identifying with Douglass, in K. Carl Smith’s view, we can begin to explain that conservative principles are color blind, and knock down the wall that limits dialogue.
Mr. Smith holds seminars on his methods, and has helped local GOP groups do effective outreach, and his lectures at the three PBCTP chapters this month were well received. For more information, check out his book: “Frederick Douglass Republicans: The Movement to Re-Ignite America’s Passion for Liberty”
Public comment rails against ‘All Aboard’ (PB Post Article)
50-year S. Florida growth plan raises a ruckus
Potential Progress for Seven50 Opposition
The American Coalition for Property Rights (ac4pr.org), with some help from members of the Palm Beach County Tea Party, has been able to convince three County Commissions (St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River) to ‘opt out’ of Seven50 – the HUD funded regional plan that sets out a progressive vision for “seven counties, 50 years”. Now their sights are set on Palm Beach County.
Predicting significant population growth in South Florida over that time frame along with rising sea levels and constraints on natural resources, the Seven50 plan sees public transportation, high density housing situated close to transit corridors, and restrictions on private land use as the solution. Implementation would involve changes in zoning regulations, and adoption of a regional blueprint which would supersede today’s system of county and municipal land use rules.
Free Speech in PBC
A bit of drama ensued during the meeting as Palm Beach County Tea Party’s President, Mel Grossman was ejected from the meeting by a heavy handed PBSO deputy. The deputy patrolled the room, trying to intimidate the attendees and chastized (loudly) anyone who deemed to whisper to their seatmate. Mel spoke too loudly and thus the ensuing drama. Mayor Taylor also admonished anyone who clapped or called out in support of those speaking. Ultimately, 3 other deputies joined the first one to ensure that the ‘unruly and dangerous’ elderly people in the audience were held in check.
To his credit, County Administrator Bob Weisman met Mel outside the chambers and arranged for him to come back in and speak, although he was asked to remain in the outside seating area after that. The deputy was clearly out of line (at one point dangling handcuffs over Mel’s head), and the Administrator wisely acted to prevent what could have been an ugly scene.
One can only wonder if this deputy has the full support of Mayor Taylor and the Commission. We have observed her in the past harrassing speakers at the podium by standing next to them and glaring, and disrupting the meeting by loudly admonishing against applause. At one point the Mayor joked as if the deputy was actually in charge of the meeting.
Fearing loss of local control and influence by property owners and other citizens, opponents of the plan have been asking county governments to “opt out” of the Seven50 MOU (“memo of understanding”) which they signed in 2010. Our three northern neighbors acquiesced, but so far Palm Beach County has not been willing to accept the premise that any of their authority would be preempted by the plan, nor do they feel bound to implement any of its provisions. Commissioner Hal Valeche, certainly not a proponent of the “New Urbanism”, does not see Seven50 as anything more than a federally funded study that lays out some proposals – that the county can accept or reject (or ignore) at their leisure.
Phyllis Frey, a leader in this fight, along with Mel Grossman, president of PBCTP, arranged for interested citizens to come to the February 4th Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting, to speak “off agenda” during the “Matters by the Public” session.
The 80 or so activists wore red shirts in support of the 15 or so who spoke, and the speakers covered a range of issues, from the impacts to Home Rule, development density concerns, the relationship to UN Agenda 21 and other topics.
For the most part, the session was cordial, and the Commissioners made comments and suggestions, although it was clear none of them saw any reason to “opt out”. There was a little bit of drama, as leader Mel Grossman was thrown out of the meeting room by an overzealous deputy. (see sidebar). In the Sun-Sentinel (“SFL Tea Party Leader Ejected from PBC Commission Meeting) and the PB Post (“About 80 seven/50 opponents pack palm beach county commission“) that part was the lead.
Drama notwithstanding, potential progress was made in the meeting. Seeking a way to address the concerns – namely that home rule would be compromised or that the county would be compelled to implement the seven50 plan, Commissioner Steven Abrams suggested that the County Attorney draft an addendum to the agreement(s) with the Seven50 committee, clarifying that nothing in those agreements in any way compromises our Home Rule or otherwise overrides the County’s planning and zoning. The addendum would be signed by both the BCC and Seven50 officials. The rest of the BCC agreed and County Attorney Denise Nieman said she would return at the next BCC meeting on March 11th. After the meeting, Ms. Nieman spoke with members of the public – including Mel and Phyllis. The latter plan to work with Ms. Nieman’s team to see if the proposed wording would satisfy their concerns.
All should recognize however, that whenever government grants are accepted, there are strings attached. And having an addendum or an opt-out, no matter how it is worded, does not relieve interested citizens from having to continue to monitor various development projects from appearing on Consent Agendas for passage without discussion. Also – most if not all on our County Commission, are in support of the goals of Seven50 and other regional planning initiatives – and one shouldn’t just assume that all regional planning is good or bad. As citizens, it is up to us to watch what is going on, hold our elected officials accountable, speak out, educate others and vote!
Action Alert – Defeat Seven/50 at the PBC County Commission
2/4/2014 ACTION ALERT REMINDER
FOR PATRIOTS OPPOSED TO UN AGENDA 21 A.K.A. SEVEN/50
Our Challenge! We must have hundreds of Palm Beach County residents to support our speakers in our quest to defeat seven/50.
ACTION RECOMMENDED:
Join fellow Palm Beach County residents as we support the American Coalition 4 Property Rights in their effort to defeat 7/50 in Palm Beach County. We have been challenged by our friends in Indian River County, Pt. St Lucie County and now Martin County. The results speak for themselves: Victory in Indian River and Pt. St. Lucie Counties, and hopefully in Martin County. We had record crowds at all of above county meetings, including 350 people cheering on our speakers at the commission meeting in Pt. St. Lucie. Surely we can top the 350 supporters when we all show up on Feb. 4th at the meeting.
Please wear RED to show our solidarity.
EVENT:
Palm Beach County Commissioners Meeting
PLACE:
County Commission Building 301 N. Olive, WPB (one block north of Clematis St.)
TIME:
Tuesday February 4, 2014. 2:00 PM
TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE:
Please call Mel Grossman at 561 627 2774 if you need transportation.
BACKGROUND:
The following links provide background information on the struggle against seven/50.
Tea Party, other activists wage campaign against regional development plan
Vero Beach Mayor Fletcher on Seven50 2m53s
The American Coalition 4 Property Rights
AC4PR’s Stunning Presentation to St Lucie County Board
We are not the masses
Convention of States
Are you concerned about the abuses of the federal government? The government regulates things they have no business controlling, there’s a massive imbalance between federal and state power, and the spending and debt is out of control.
But there’s hope! For the first time in many years, the people and states have a chance to check the runaway train of the federal government.
Article V of the Constitution provides a way for the states to call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution. Mark Levin has explained the Convention of States process in his bestselling book The Liberty Amendments, and now there’s an organization that can turn an Article V Convention of States into a reality.
Citizens for Self-Governance (CSG) recently launched the Convention of States (COS) Project with the expressed purpose of urging and empowering state legislators to call a Convention of States. Under the COS Project plan, this convention would be called “for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.” Only amendments that fall under this category would be germane and up for debate.
I wholeheartedly support the COS Project’s plan, and I hope you will as well.
I support the Convention of States Project because believe a Convention of States is our last chance to halt the runaway power of the federal government and restore the Founder’s vision. This will be the most important project of this generation, and I hope you’ll consider getting involved!
If you’d like more information, you can talk to me or visit their website at www.conventionofstates.com.
The FairTax Act
The current tax code has been grossly manipulated to reward elite interests. Compliance has become increasingly difficult and expensive. The federal income tax is extremely unfair to wage earning Americans and the average citizen of your district. Your leadership is imperative and is respectfully requested on this important issue.
The Fair Tax is fair to all Americans, and simple to understand. The Fair Tax bill represents an idea whose time has come. National polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans want fundamental tax reform. I am one of those Americans. I live, work, and vote in your district. I am personally requesting your support for the Fair Tax.
I ask you seriously to consider the Fair Tax for the following reasons:
The Fair Tax Act offers long-needed tax relief to all Americans; allows us to keep 100 percent of our paycheck; allows families to save more for home ownership, education, and retirement; protects and ensures funding of Social Security and Medicare; empowers the low-income earners; puts choice and control back in the hands of every American; stimulates economic growth; removes hidden taxes; eliminates the Internal Revenue Service; and stimulates job creation and taxes ALL Americans fairly.
I urge you to become fully informed about the Fair Tax bill through Americans for Fair Taxation (FairTax.org). They can be reached at 1-800-FAIRTAX (324-7829).
School Board Member Marcia Andrews and Common Core
It was a packed room to hear District 6 School Board Member Marcia Andrews at Wellington’s Total Wine & More on Monday.
The Common Core Standards are an attempt to unify K-12 education across the nation around a set of grade-specific core skills, ostensibly aimed at raising the worldwide competitiveness of American students. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and much anecdotal evidence has surfaced that when the standards are translated into curricula, they represent a “fundamental transformation” that many would argue is not needed or wanted.
Implementation of the standards in Florida was mandated by then Governor Charlie Crist in 2010 and has been rolled out in kindergarten and first grade, with movement to the higher grades about to begin. As they roll out, opposition has been growing across the state, prompting Governor Scott to reject the assessment part of the program called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers), leaving open the question of how assessment in the state will proceed. This, and the move to slow things down while the debate continues, shared by Ms. Andrews and others on the School Board and in the state-wide Florida School Board Association, has the possibility to create chaos in K-12 education as teachers are trained, materials are adopted and the rollout continues in the face of a groundswell of opposition.
Ms. Andrews and District Director of Secondary Education Diana Feldman gave the group an overview of history and plans for Common Core in Florida, and fielded many questions from the floor regarding required reading lists, data collection on students, the autonomy of local teachers to shape the curriculum in their classroom, and other hot-button issues.
Although few who have formed positions regarding Common Core would have been swayed by the session, it was informative and gave us the impression that the School Board is listening.
