Marlowe began by establishing that all seats at the table will have equal input into the discussion.  He asserted there was no pre-determined solution.  The first goal of the Policy Leadership Group will be to find solutions which will add value to our communities in the form of return on investment (ROI).  Once this is determined we will look towards methods of funding the transportation solution(s) agreed to by the group.

The group expressed the primary objectives they wished to come out of the strategy sessions. Commissioner Beckner said we need to define the challenges. Commissioner Murman wishes to define and prioritize future corridors. Commissioner Crist affirmed the need to find new sources for funding any project due to declining gas tax revenues and also stressed the need for connectivity between all of the areas involved.  HART board chair Fran Davin expressed the need to clarify to the public what can be done with what we have, and Commissioner Higginbotham agreed that the public must be engaged throughout the entire process.  Commissioner Miller questioned whether we are deciding to build our way out of this economy.

Facilitator and consultant Herbert Marlowe stressed again the need to focus on the creation of job, work, and play centers.  He said people should be able to take transit to work, take transit on  lunch hours to shopping areas and back to work, and then take it home at the end of the day.  This is transit oriented development. The adjacent photo is Center Commons in Portland, Oregon, which is the poster child for transit oriented development and comprehensive land plans.

Marlow set a time line for three phases of the study. The first to be accomplished by December 2013 would be the study of job and business growth.  Second is to look at various transportation networks and projected this segment to be concluded by the end of 2014.  Finally, a governance and funding study would be completed by the end of 2015.  Commissioner Murman thought the time-table Marlowe presented was too long and wanted to shorten each of the three to six months.

Everyone expressed the need to reach out to the public. Temple Terrace Mayor Frank Chillura wanted assurance that there will be no secret meetings. The group was assured every meeting and discussion will be open to the public. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn stressed now is the time to act since federal dollars are available for transportation projects.  Commissioners Sharpe and Crist intend to focus on the youth and transit users of tomorrow.  They seem most receptive to major mass transportation undertakings.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that they do not pay taxes, run businesses, are not yet punching a time clock, raising a family, or counting pennies and saving to buy a home or pay their mortgage and utility bills.  Remember those carefree idealistic days?

One of the issues of great concern Marlowe described was the intention to focus on increasing population density (again with the transit oriented development).  The goal is to determine and target specific areas within the county to create the transit oriented work, shop, and play areas and confine people within the areas to multi level high density residential apartment buildings.  We are already seeing this being constructed along Boy Scout Road across from International Plaza and Bay Street, which is near the airport and Westshore Blvd.  The entire concept of linking transportation with economic growth appears far-reaching and will do nothing to improve economic conditions in the Tampa bay area in the short-term or even within the next decade.

Connect Tampa Bay has already scheduled their first transit workshop in Pinellas County on June 1, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM, at Pinellas Realtors Organization, 4590 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, Florida.

As quoted on their website:

“It is said that a small group of dedicated citizens can change the world.  Here’s one example of what a dozen volunteers can do: For the past few weeks the Sierra Club of Tampa Bay has had small groups of volunteers at events all over the bay.  Working together, the volunteers signed up over 1,000 people to support transportation options.”

If you want your voice heard plan to attend this meeting and as many future meetings as you possibly can.  We do not want a small group of “stakeholders” making decisions affecting the future of our county, how and where we live, and how and where we work and play.  Before you go, read this excellent article by Lynn Stuter linked here  to understand the methodology practiced in these “workshops” known as the Delphi Technique.

And if they start to speak about sustainable development, ask them to define what they consider to be unsustainable.

The IRS asked Englebrecht to provide every Face Book posting, every Tweet, and wanted to know everywhere she had spoken, what she said, and who she intended to speak to through 2013.  One round of questions from the IRS involved over 1000 pages of response.  She also heard from the FBI, OSHA, BATFE, and other federal agencies as a result of her tax-exempt application.  Extensive unplanned audits followed quickly from these agencies after the IRS received her application, resulting in a total of seventeen interactions with federal agencies!  She had to hire attorneys, accountants, and others to answer a relentless series of harassing questions, costing her hundreds of thousands of dollars and who knows how many hundreds of hours of time?  What citizen or organization can withstand such an expense?  Not receiving a timely approval for tax-exempt status resulted in an incalculable loss of receipts from contributions due to the limbo status of her organization.  Congressional investigation of this IRS scandal resulted in acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller apologizing for poor customer service!  Miller became commissioner this past November and was not in charge of the IRS during the period of time these conservative groups were being harassed and targeted for intimidation.  Apparently he did know about the actions of the IRS however and failed to inform the President or Congress.

The efforts of True the Vote and other voter fraud investigators throughout the country have resulted in prosecutions or convictions of voter fraud in 36 states in 18 months.  Catherine Englebrecht believes “Americans will stand for the side of truth,” and while she acknowledges it has not been fun, perhaps her ordeal has shed light on the ever-expanding power and intrusive nature of the federal government.

With several serious scandals occurring within the federal government:(1) the gun running scheme Fast and Furious, which resulted in the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry along with hundreds of Mexican civilians and drug gang members; (2) the terrorist attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya and the death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other brave Americans; (3) the Justice Department’s secret subpoena of the phone records of AP reporters and editors, recently revealed to have included other Washington reporters: this IRS scandal appears to be the most egregious to date.  The Internal Revenue Service is supposed to be even-handed and apolitical in its activities in carrying out its duties.  There must be quick and decisive action to ascertain who ordered or encouraged agents to target and intimidate conservative groups by delaying tax-exempt status applications.  These actions were illegal and people must be fired and also criminally charged for their actions.  They must be disqualified from any future employment within the federal government and any pension packages should be completely revoked.  The IRS has the power to ruin the lives of individuals and corporations.  This power must be reined in.  They are not accountable to anyone.  It is time for us to look at a flat tax or fair tax which would strip the IRS of its formidable power.

What is truly incredulous is how these agencies are able to communicate with one another so well when it comes to targeting politically and ideologically conservative groups, while they do not seem to be able to share vital intelligence and other information when it comes to pursuing domestic terror suspects or groups.

For Immediate Release

14^th May 2013

Fix the Budget by Cutting Climate Waste

Media Statement by Viv Forbes

Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition.

Any quotes taken directly from this statement may be attributed to Mr Forbes

The Carbon Sense Coalition today called on the federal government to reduce the burden of the Climate Industry on all taxpayers and consumers.

The Chairman of Carbon Sense, Mr Viv Forbes, said that the biggest national scandal today was how the whole government apparatus, including the nationalised research and media industries and parts of the opposition, was totally captive to a religious belief that a destructive war on carbon energy will somehow provide benefits to some future generation of Australians by cooling the climate and preventing extreme weather events.

“This is a delusion.”

Quote: It was the great Milton Friedman who said “There is only one tax on the people and that is government spending.”

Cutting expenditure, not re-arranging expenditure, must be the total focus of this budget.

And the first candidate for spending cuts must be the totally useless Climate Change Industry.

Every department, program, research grant, travel grant or salary with climate, warming, carbon, sustainability, renewable, sequestration, clean coal, ethanol or IPCC in its title or mission statement should be abolished forthwith together with its staffing. This list must include but not be restricted to:

• The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) and its dependants, saving about $3.2 billion.

• The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, saving about $10 billion.

• The Emerging Renewables Program, saving about $126 million.

• The Clean Technology Innovation Program, saving about $200 million.

• Subsidies to Coal-fired electricity generators, saving about $5.5 billion. (This has to be the ultimate madness – the government levies a crippling carbon tax on coal-fired electricity generation to force them to close and then pays huge subsidies to the same generators to delay their closure).

•  All Climate Change “Research” focused on carbon dioxide, saving about $300 million.

• “Contracts for Closure” – payments to ensure closure of some electricity generators (unbelievable – surely the carbon tax will do this).

• The Coal Sector Jobs Package – payments to coal mines to offset the cost of the carbon tax- just abolish the tax.

• Coal Sector Assistance Package – Subsidies to some Coal Mines (another stupidity – repaying some of the carbon tax they took in the first place).

• Everything funded under the Clean Energy Future Plan.

• All renewable energy subsidies.

• The Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund.

•  The Ethanol Production Grants Program – a subsidy per litre of ethanol produced.

• All climate change officials, lawyers, inspectors and auditors everywhere, maybe 13,000 of them saving, say, $2 billion per year.

• The offices of the Climate Commissioner and the Clean Energy Regulator – whatever they cost is wasted money.

• The whole Carbon Capture and Storage empire – The National Low Emissions Coal Initiative, the CCS Flagships Program, the National Carbon Dioxide Infrastructure Plan, and the Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.

• Support for all the International Climate Forums and Conferences via APEC, CEM, G20, IEA, IEF, IPEEC, IRENA, IPCC and all the travel costs associated with attendance.

• All handouts under the Green Precincts Fund – $15M spent to date.

• All government advertising, market research, media monitoring, media advisers and logo designers promoting the carbon tax, the Department of Climate Change, smart meters or other climate and green energy initiatives.

• Donations to Green Friends such as the Climate Institute, the Australian Conservation Council, Climate Works Australia, Green Cross Australia, and the ACTU – $3 million spent already.

To “balance” all of these reduced expenditures the government must also abolish the carbon tax and all fuel taxes not related directly to public road usage and applied to road construction and maintenance.

Note: The above list probably includes errors, double counting and omissions, but such is the confusion and proliferation of the alphabet soup of what poses as “Climate Policy” that it is doubtful if anyone could prepare an accurate and comprehensive list. The only feasible solution is to start cutting, biggest first. None of them will be missed, except with relief by taxpayers and consumers.

Viv Forbes,

Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition

www.carbon-sense.com

Rosewood    Qld   Australia
forbes@carbon-sense.com

Why are American children being encouraged to pretend to be Muslims?  Where is the separation of church and state when it comes to Islam?

To watch the video, click here.

This past week, Vendors using the Square Account mobile phone application, which processes credit and debit card transactions, received an updated user agreement dated May 9^th, 2013.  In this agreement, Part One, Section 6, states “By creating a Square Account, you also confirm that you will not accept payments in connection with the following businesses or business activities: [this section has been modified to add item number] “(23) sales of (i) firearms, firearm parts or hardware, and ammunition; or (ii) weapons and other devices designed to cause physical injury.”  It stands to reason the credit card companies and banks will follow.  How many gun show vendors use Square to process their sales transactions?  How soon will banks and credit card companies follow suit?  Is this merely a conscientious decision by the owners of Square to not accept transactions involving firearms or other weapons, or is this a result of collusion with anti-Second Amendment officials in our government to “infringe” on our Second Amendment rights and circumvent Congressional legislation?

Below is a video from Americans for Prosperity regarding the federal control and power grab through Common Core.

The call in number is 1-800-757-3718 on May 15, 2013 @ noon!

Lindsey will have 10 min for remarks, and then will open up the line for Q&A.  Plan to join us and please invite others you know that are also concerned about the issue and may have questions.

BE SURE TO MARK YOUR CALENDARS!