Roanoke Tea Party

Update: 10-26

After the previous blog post and our radio show, I have received a number of people questioning…..what is so wrong with this ICLEI organization and what is so wrong with George Allen?  As for ICLEI, I am reposting this article from July that lays it out the basic case against ICLEI membership. But before we get to that….lets talk about George Allen.

The main point of the last post was the shameful decision to debate Tim Kaine six months before the primary to select a GOP nominee. But Allen does have a less than fabulous record that many people seem to over look.

I quote Red State.com

“..former Senator Allen is going to have to address some serious problems other than the disastrous campaign waged in 2006 (he may need to talk about that too). Those problems are, put succinctly, his voting record, which is out of step with most of the grassroots activists engaged in Republican primaries today. I’m already getting lots of emails about this and, frankly, most people just want some accounting from Allen.

But during his one term in the U.S. Senate, some Republicans complain, he backed President George W. Bush’s proposals to increase spending; supported No Child Left Behind, a costly program to create a national education report card; favored a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries; and voted to expand the Hate Crimes Prevention Act to include crimes based on sexual orientation.

There was also the vote for the debt limit, the flip-flop into support of ethanol, gun control issues, the morning after pill controversy, and, perhaps most troublesome to tea party activists, the money he took from Freddie Mac concurrent to his refusing to push for government sponsored enterprise (“GSE”) reform.”

You can look through his Senate voting record here. And that doesn’t even get into his term as governor (which has plenty of problems). Allen is the same kind of politician that got us into the mess we are in. Why are we going back to him now? Allen’s popularity is as perplexing to me, as the McCain nomination in 2008.

As for ICLEI….

The editorial board of the Roanoke Times keeps firing barbs at the Roanoke Tea Party in regards to our opposition to Roanoke Counties’ continued relationship with the United Nations sponsored organization ICLEI. Blogs, opinion pieces and now a wonderful cartoon have been produced, meant to make us appear as foolish for this opposition. Below is reasons for our concern. I will remind you that the track record of the Roanoke Times Editorial board is to go merrily along with the Obama administration’s systematic destruction of the United States, but you can decide who is more reliable on this topic.

I present the information below and will leave it to your good judgment to read, reflect and do your own study. Information on ICLEI and Agenda 21 are readily available. 8 other counties across the nation have severed ties with ICLEI based on the information below. One recent areas was Albemarle County Virginia. Click this link to hear their presentation to their BOS. And click here for a fledgling site dedicated to presenting this information for other groups in Virginia.

There are a host of local tea party groups and organizations working against Agnda 21. Click here for more information.

Are you Doubtful about the continued efforts by the Roanoke Tea Party to convince Roanoke County to sever ties with ICLEI?  Perhaps you journeyed here, curious about what nuttiness was available on this site. Why on earth is this an issue?

Lets walk through a few quick things. Then you can look this stuff up for yourself and decide for yourself if I need to be fitted with a tinfoil hat.

Is Roanoke involved?

Roanoke pays $1200 a year to be a member of ICLEI. The relationship with ICLEI is no secret.

Would anyone wish to dispute this fact?

What does ICLEI Do?

ICLEI’s stated goals on page 6 of their latest strategy guide include:

”Management of global environmental goods: Climate, Biodiversity, Water, Food. 
Municipal planning and management: Sustainability management, land use and development, climate change adaptation and resilience management, procurement.
Transformation of infrastructures: : Transport, building, energy. 
Policy innovation: Local Agenda 21 with stakeholder involvement, green economy, security,social development.”

Any question ICLEI is trying to promote the United Nations initiative Agenda 21?

Why is that a problem?

Here are some key quotes from Agenda 21 and supporting documents from the UN’s own documentation.

“Agenda 21 proposes an array of actions which are intended to be implemented by EVERY person on Earth…it calls for specific changes in the activities of ALL people… Effective execution of Agenda 21 will REQUIRE a profound reorientation of ALL humans, unlike anything the world has ever experienced… ” Agenda 21: The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet (Earthpress, 1993)

According to the UN the following things are not sustainable. “Ski runs, grazing of livestock, plowing of soil, building fences, industry, single family homes, paved and tarred roads, logging activities, dams and reservoirs, power line construction, and economic systems that fail to set proper value on the environment.” -UN’s Biodiversity Assessment Report.

“Participating in a UN advocated planning process would very likely bring out many of the conspiracy- fixated groups and individuals in our society… This segment of our society who fear ‘one-world government’ and a UN invasion of the United States through which our individual freedom would be stripped away would actively work to defeat any elected official who joined ‘the conspiracy’ by undertaking LA21. So we call our process something else, such as comprehensive planning, growth management or smart growth.” -J. Gary Lawrence, advisor to President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development.

Based on an Executive Order from President Clinton, in 1992 all government agencies use sustainable development as the starting point for their policies. The EPA, HUD and other agencies actively advocate for sustainable development in the terms Lawrence described above. The new Obama Rural Council Executive order reaffirms this concept. (Feel free to look these things up, they are readily available)

Is there any doubt that Agenda 21 is antithetical to America’s concept of freedom and property rights? And is there any doubt this concept is actively being promoted by governmental and non-governmental organizations?

What does sustainable development look like?

Look at the Roanoke County Comprehensive Plan. Look at how many times it states that people will be “encouraged” to live in “clustered developments.” Sustainable development, in a nutshell equates to setting up zoning regulations to “encourage” people to live in very limited designated areas and leave 90% or more of land as undeveloped. Look at the wide swaths of land that people will be discouraged to live on. Do you live there now? In theory, you won’t need to drive a car so you won’t emit as much carbon. No one seems to want to answer the question on exactly how the county will encourage this? Presumably by regulations, taxes and fees. Nothing is set up yet. But the framework is certainly in place for it.

The county has already agreed to “adopt a community greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 30 percent by the year 2020, or a 3 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions per year. This reduction target will apply to emissions produced by County government facilities and services as well as the emissions produced by the entire County?”

If you have reviewed the current plan, on the County website, is this not already set up in the current plan?

If the plan and the maps are on the website, is it really a conspiracy theory? If the county has an operating relationship with ICLEI that they pay for, is there not some concern this group has had an impact on zoning regulations?

What policies could the county put in place to reduce carbon emissions by 30%, short of some very radical changes to zoning regulations to eliminate numerous vehicles from the road. How will this be “encouraged?”

The stated goal of the UN is to destroy the concept of personal property. “Land… cannot be treated as an ordinary asset, controlled by individuals and subject to the pressures and inefficiencies of the market… The provision of decent dwellings and healthy conditions for the people can only be achieved if land is used in the interest of society as a whole.”

Since property rights are essential and foundational to the very heart of our natural rights, these programs cannot be accepted lightly.

If someone would like to dispute any of this…there is a comment section below. You can use the Google machine just as well as I.

If you are concerned like me, join us on Tuesday evening at the Board of Supervisors Meeting and ask for two simple things. Sever ties with ICLEI and review all of our zoning and carbon emission policies.

Chip Tarbutton

President Roanoke Tea Party