The Calrsborg Sewer discussion begins at the 1 hour 2 minute mark.
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Friday, February 10, 2017
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Radical Religious Right Exposed
The Republican Party and the Radical Religious Right Agenda Exposed.
Enforced Uniformity of Religion by the Radical Religious Right and the Breakdown of Democracy in the United States.
It was religious
persecution that drove settlers from Europe to the British North American
Colonies in the seventeenth century which sprang from the conviction held by
Protestants and Catholics alike, that uniformity of religion must exist in any
given society. This conviction rested on
the belief that there was one true religion and that it was the duty of the
civil authorities to impose it, forcibly if necessary, in the interest of
saving the souls of all citizens. Nonconformists could expect no mercy and
might be executed as heretics. The
dominance of the concept, denounced by Roger Williams as "enforced
uniformity of religion," meant majority religious groups who controlled
political power punished dissenters in their midst. In some areas Catholics
persecuted Protestants, in others Protestants persecuted Catholics, and in
still others Catholics and Protestants persecuted wayward coreligionists.
Even though our colonies were founded on Christian values and
were a “Religious Refuge” our government was not founded on the Christian
Religion, that is to say,
America is not a Christian
theocracy or a state where the church has political power, as the religious
authorities in other nations have power -- which is something no one argues for
America and yet here in the 21st Century we are dangerously close to
the same persecutions from the “Christian Right” as they were in the old
country (Europe).
Fortunately for us on December 15, 1791 our founding fathers
ratified the “Bill Of Rights”. THE Conventions of a number of the
States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a
desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that
further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as
extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure
the beneficent ends of its institution.
Amendment I
Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government
for a redress of grievances.
Twenty-five
years ago, dominionists
targeted the Republican Party as the vehicle through which they could
advance their agenda. At the same time, a small group of Republican strategists
targeted fundamentalist, Pentecostal and charismatic churches to expand the
base of the Republican Party. This is not about traditional Republicans or
conservative Christians. It is about the manipulation of people of a certain
faith for political power. It is about the rise of dominionists in the U.S.
federal government.
As
we listen to the current cadre of Republican candidates vying for their party’s
nomination for President of the United States, be aware of their sermons and identify
where they are as dominionists. Learn to
recognize the signs that define and identify the dominionists. We have all heard statements coming from the
mouths of the candidates as they speak to their Evangelical Religious Right base
and supporters since the beginning of their campaigns that identify them as
Dominionists of one definition or another.
Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorino just to
name the top few.
TRIUMPHALISM.
: An attitude or feeling of victory or superiority: as. A: the attitude that
one religious creed is superior to all others. B: smug or boastful pride in the
success or dominance of one's nation or ideology over others.
DOMINIONISM. is defined
as the tendency of politically active conservative Christians to try to control the government. Christians should rule the
world.
Soft
Dominionists are Christian nationalists. They believe that
Biblically-defined immorality and sin breed chaos and anarchy. They fear that
America's greatness as God's chosen land has been undermined by liberal secular
humanists, feminists, and homosexuals. Purists want litmus tests for issues of
abortion, tolerance of gays and lesbians, and prayer in schools. Their vision
has elements of theocracy, but they stop short of calling for supplanting the
Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Hard
Dominionists believe all of this, but they want the United States to
be a Christian theocracy. For them the Constitution and Bill of Rights are
merely addendums to Old Testament Biblical law. They claim that Christian MEN with specific theological beliefs
are ordained by God to run society. Christians and others who do not accept
their theological beliefs would be second-class citizens. This sector includes
Christian Reconstructionists, but it has a growing number of adherents in the
leadership of the Christian Right.
Dominion Theology or Theocracy: is a theocratic
ideology that seeks to implement a nation governed by conservative
Christians
ruling over the rest of society based on their understanding of biblical law, , to reclaim
America for Christ, whatever the cost. As the vice regents of God, they are to
exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our
government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment
media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect
and institution of human society. Dominion Theology is related to theonomy,
though it does not necessarily advocate Mosaic Law
as the basis of government.
Theonomy: Biblical Law
is applicable to civil law, and theonomists propose Biblical law as the
standard by which the laws of nations may be measured, and to which they ought
to be conformed.
Christian Reconstructionism: advocate theocracy and the restoration of Mosaic Law. Christian Reconstructionism advocates
the restoration of Old Testament civil and moral laws in order to
reconstruct present American society into an Old
Testament type Mosaic form and that the three main areas of society – family,
church, government – should all be biblically modeled, the Bible being the sole
standard. This
would include severe punishments for law breakers. Some Christian Reconstructionists would
advocate death for adulterers, abortionists, idolaters, murderers, homosexuals,
rapists, etc.
Today's hard right seeks total dominion. It's packing
the courts and rigging the rules. The target is not the Democrats but democracy
itself.
Dominionists were very close to controlling all three
branches of the federal government from which they could impose their narrow
interpretation of scripture on the rest of society. People so close to full
political power are not going to go away. The American people need to maintain
vigilance and understand the history of how dominionists came to
political power. And we need to embrace democracy with a passion -- for it
was voter apathy that allowed
leaders like Pat Robertson to get so many dominionists elected to Congress in
the first place.
{Bibliography}
“Access Denied |
Americans United.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
https://www.au.org/church-state/december-2015-church-state/featured/access-denied.
“American
Christian Fundamentalist Radicalism.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
http://www.sklatch.net/thoughtlets/pall.html.
“Critical Issues
Commentary.” Accessed December 6, 2015.http://cicministry.org/scholarly/sch001.htm.
Foster, John,
John Fox, Matthew Taylor, David Böecklin, Mathias Tanner, and J. Luyken.
“America as a Religious Refuge: The Seventeenth Century, Part 1 - Religion and
the Founding of the American Republic | Exhibitions - Library of Congress.” Web
page, June 4, 1998. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01.html.
“Freedom vs.
Fear: Restricting Religious Liberty Isn’t The Answer To Terrorism | Americans
United.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/freedom-vs-fear-restricting-religious-liberty-isnt-the-answer-to-terrorism.
“Give Us Your
Huddled Masses (If They’re Christians): GOP Hopefuls Call For Rejecting Muslim
Refugees Fleeing ISIS | Americans United.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/give-us-your-huddled-masses-if-they-re-christians-gop-hopefuls-call-for.
“How I Destroyed
the Republican Party.” The Huffington Post. Accessed December 6, 2015.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/how-i-destroyed-the-repub_b_137310.html.
“Intolerance In
Irving: Texas Islamic Center Stalked By Armed Group | Americans United.”
Accessed December 6, 2015.https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/intolerance-in-irving-texas-islamic-center-stalked-by-armed-group.
Jefferson,
Thomas, Roger Williams, William Penn, Ernest Von Hesse Wartegg, David Cranz, G.
G. Heinsch, Father Andrew White, and James Barr. “America as a Religious
Refuge: The Seventeenth Century, Part 2 - Religion and the Founding of the
American Republic | Exhibitions - Library of Congress.” Web page, June 4, 1998.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01-2.html.
“Rise of the
Religious Right in the Republican Party.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
http://www.theocracywatch.org/.
“Scathing
Scalia: Judge, Law Scholar Criticize Supreme Court Justice’s Marriage Equality
Rants | Americans United.” Accessed December 6, 2015. https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/scathing-scalia-judge-law-scholar-criticize-supreme-court-justice-s.
“The Target Is
Not the Democrats but Democracy Itself.” Accessed December 6, 2015.
http://www.theocracywatch.org/govern_suspending_rules.htm.
“U.S. Department
Of Judeo-Christian Values?: Kasich Proposes New Religious Propaganda Arm |
Americans United.” Accessed December 6, 2015.https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/us-department-of-judeo-christian-values-kasich-proposes-new-religious.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
The Opportunity Fund
The Opportunity Fund is not an Infinite Resource
In 1997 the State Legislature established RCW 82.14.370
Sales and use tax for public facilities in rural counties, (1) this tax is in
addition to all other taxes. This 0.09% sales tax Opportunity Fund is to assist
depressed rural counties, providing limited funding of publicly owned
infrastructure projects, however, the Opportunity Fund is not an infinite
resource and this additional tax is set to EXPIRE in 2023 and quite possibly
may not be reauthorized by the State due to budgetary shortfalls and conflicts
with other counties.
Currently there is a balance in the Clallam County
Opportunity Fund of $3,106,834.00. In the breakdown of Grants and Loans, less
repayment, the fund has provided $11,575,881.00 and does not include the
$1,285,952.00 in grants to the Port for the Composites Recycling and the City
of Port Angeles for waterfront improvements or the $150,000.00 to the Economic
Development Council for “staffing”. Add
to this total the $10 million dollar General Obligation Loan from the State
Public Works Trust Fund for the Carlsborg Sewer Project the total outlay from
the Opportunity Fund is $23,011,833.00.
The $10 million dollar loan is to be repaid from the
Opportunity Fund at a cost of $513,229.00 annually over 20 years, but, the
Opportunity Fund EXPIRES in 2023 only 8 years into the loan repayment schedule
leaving 12 years of payments to be paid from the County General Fund or the
General Fund Reserves. So, for the
commissioners and Clallam County Public Works to state that “the Carlsborg sewer
will be entirely paid for by the Opportunity Fund” is complete and utter
nonsense, a fabrication to quell any possible opposition from county taxpayers
as to the costs and obligations associated with the Carlsborg sewer
project. The citizen of Carlsborg and
Clallam County SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD THIS.
Two previous studies, (Parametrix, Inc., December, 1994 Clallam
County Department of Community Development – Carlsborg Comprehensive Sewer Study
and KCM, Inc., September, 1998 Clallam County Department
of Community Development – Carlsborg Capital Facilities Plan) had
declared the sewer project “Profoundly Cost Prohibitive”. In 2010,Clallam
County PUD #1 found the sewer project “Financially Infeasible” even with the
approved $10 million dollar State Public Works Trust Fund Loan.
The Carlsborg Sewer Project will be unable to pay for its
self from the out-set, the financial plan shows a “capital contingency deficit”
of $94,496.00 in construction year 2015 and the entire financial plan is based
on “ASSUMPTION, PROJECTION and ESTIMATES” in the number of “FUTURE” connections
and ERUs over 40 years. Their “estimated
Base Case” 2.15% annual growth increase in Carlsborg is PHANTOM GROWTH, given
the fact that Carlsborg has lost 3% of its population every year since
2010. http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml#none (search for Carlsborg CDP.)
Clallam County Commissioners and Clallam County Public Works
have Carlsborg and Clallam County on the fast track to an enormous and
devastating financial impact. Clallam County is Going For Broke.
Opposition to the Carlsborg Sewer Ordinance
Opposition to the Carlsborg Sewer Ordinance and the Carlsborg Sewer Project.
The Carlsborg Sewer Project and all of the “ASSUMPTIONS,
PROJECTIONS AND ESTIMATES” of the financial plan will financially destroy the
Carlsborg Community and Clallam County.
It has been said by Bob Martin of Clallam County Public
Works that “these figures are not arbitrary.”
In fact they are arbitrary and are based on phantom growth. In fact their projected 2.15% annual increase
in new development is in direct contradiction to the U. S. Census Bureau,
American Community Survey for the Carlsborg Census Designated Place (CDP). http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml
POPULATION: http://www.towncharts.com/Washington/Demographics/Carlsborg-CDP-WA-Demographics-data.html
1.
The CDP has lost 3% of the population annually
since 2010
2.
The CDP has the largest proportion in Clallam
County of those 70 years old or older on fixed incomes at 35.1% and the largest
proportion in Clallam County of those 60-69 years old at 32%.
3.
The CDP has a median age of 65.6 years old, on
fixed incomes, more than all other areas in Clallam County.
4.
The CDP has the largest proportion of single
women in Clallam County age 60-65 years old at 17%.
1.
The CDP has median earnings of $19,375.00,
second smallest in Clallam County.
2.
The CDP has median household income of
$22,583.00, second smallest in Clallam County.
3.
The CDP has the largest proportion of Social
Security Income in Clallam County ay 42.4% and is ranked #1.
4.
The CDP has the second largest proportion of
Retirement incomes at 37% out ranked only by Bell Hill.
1.
The CDP
has only 547 housing units of which 56% are mobile homes in mobile home parks
and are EXEMPT from the sewer system UNLESS it can be proven or determined by
local or state department of health that their on-site septic systems have
failed and are unrepairable.
2.
The CDP has the largest proportion of home
values less than $50,000.00 at 20% of the total housing units in the CDP and is
ranked #2, second only to Port Angeles East.
The cost of the Carlsborg Sewer at $17,754,371.00 divided by the phantom
2,324 “estimated ERUs in 40 years” is financially infeasible as 2 previous
studies and Clallam County PUD have stated and will create an extraordinary
financial burden on Carlsborg and Clallam County no matter how the county
“incentivizes” it by arbitrarily inflating the connection cost to $8,000.00 per
ERU to make the $500 carrot and stick discount
look more enticing to property owners.
These commissioners and Public Works have manipulated facts and figures
through “assumptions, estimates and projections”, conflated ERUs with actual
physical connections and lied about on-site septic systems as the cause of the nitrate
contamination of wells in the Carlsborg UGA that were never tested.
To quote Ann Soule’s
Groundwater Monitoring for Nitrates in the Agnew-Carlsborg Area, Clallam County, Washington 2004
“While the majority of samples indicate “good” groundwater quality, three of the 125 wells tested have nitrate levels in exceedence of the drinking water standard of 10 mg/L nitrate (as N). In these instances a history of nitrates near or above this level has been documented, particularly in a portion of the Agnew community near Barr Road.”
“The presence of “hot spots” where unusually high nitrates are found highlights the importance of protecting the wider region’s relatively uncontaminated groundwater quality. Sources of nitrate contamination likely include sewage, animal waste, and inorganic fertilizers. Nonpoint pollution is by nature difficult to identify and remediate.”
“In Agnew, There is a cluster of wells with nitrate levels elevated above 1 mg/L between Abbott and Barr Roads and Old Olympic Highway (see Figure 4). Within this “cluster,” two wells contain nitrates in exceedence of the drinking water standard (10 mg/L); all others have levels ranging from undetected to 5 mg/L.”
“In Carlsborg, There is no discernable pattern to the nitrate levels in this aquifer elevated above 1 mg/L, however, there is a noticeable gap in geographic coverage for the central area, surrounding the old mill workers’ neighborhood and the industrial park (see Figure 5).”
This PIPE DREAM will fail just like Belfair in Mason County and leave the citizens of Carlsborg and Clallam County holding a filthy bag full of debt.
 |
| (Fig. 3) Carlsborg Urban Growth Area outlined in red. The red dot in the center was the only well tested inside the UGA in the entire study. |
 | ||
| (Fig. 5) Carlsborg Urban Growth area closer view in red outline. The red dot in the center is the only well tested inside the UGA in the entire study. This demonstrates the County's lie about the on-site septic systems contaminating the wells and ground water in the UGA |
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