Liberty
Matters News Service
May 13, 2003
Feds Can't Buy Land In Montana
Montana will no longer allow state land to be sold to the
federal government or its agencies, thanks to an amendment by state Rep. Rick
Maedje, (R-Fortine). Rep. Maedje recognized a golden opportunity to prevent the
feds from acquiring any more Montana property with his amendment to HB 233,
authorizing the state land board to sell unproductive school trust land.
Maedje's inspiration came from Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution,
which restricts Congress "to exercise like authority over all places purchased
by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and other needful
buildings." Montana Code Annotated 77-2-306 now reads: "State land may not be
sold to the federal government or to any agency of the federal government,
except for the purpose of building federal facilities and structures." Rep.
Chris Harris (D-Bozeman) angrily denounced the provision saying; "Iraq could
buy this land. North Korea could buy this land, but our own red, white and blue
federal government can't buy this land." Maedje said he doubted if the
constitutional rights of Montanans could be abused any worse by a North Korean
dictator than they are by our own federal agencies. "The constitution never
intended the federal government to increase its land holdings or jurisdictional
influence without the consent of the people of a state…we have
intelligently arrived at the conclusion that federal agencies have little or no
incentive to abide by the federal Constitution, so we're now going to help them
get back on track."
Montana First To Ban Government
Land Purchases
No More People In Yosemite Park
A two-part series of articles
by Sarah Foster writing for WorldNetDaily, reveals in stunning detail, how the
U.S. Park Service is quietly and systematically attempting to turn back the
clock to pre-Columbian days in Yosemite Park. After a monster storm in
December, 1996, inundated seven square miles of Yosemite Valley, the Park
Service was given $187,321,000 of our tax money to repair the damage. The
Service instead chose to implement the "Yosemite Valley Plan," based on a
"General Management Plan" concocted during the Carter administration. The goal
of the Carter plan was to eliminate hundreds of buildings and campsites, along
with removal of private vehicles to be replaced with mass transit similar to a
"Jurassic Park" system. The cost of the plan is estimated to be as high as $1
billion and will drastically limit what people can do if even allowed into the
park. Camping will be restricted, horseback riding limited, and roads closed to
motor vehicles; all for a $20 entry fee, up from $5.00 per vehicle before the
flood. Rep. George Radanovich, (R-CA), represents the Yosemite district, and as
chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, is
holding hearings on the plan that has resulted in fewer park visitors and the
subsequent destruction of tourism-dependent economies over the past seven
years. Although the plan has been adopted and the Bush administration has done
nothing to stop it, critics hope to convince Bush to end it and start over. No
one seems to know, however, what happened to the $187,321,000, appropriated for
Park repair back in 1997.
Park Wars, Part 1
Protesters Rip Apart New Yosemite
Plan
Roads To Ruin
America is under siege by
anti-business, anti-America green groups that are bent on destroying the fabric
and fiber of our Nation. PETA is accused of subsidizing the terrorist
organizations of ALF and ELF by financing the legal defense of members of those
groups. The Center for Consumer Freedom is sponsoring advertisements on major
news networks that uncover the dark side of PETA. A CCF press release stated;
"Crimes by the ALF/ELF have become so serious that the FBI has had to devote
major resources to investigation." PETA president Ingrid Newkirk retaliated by
blasting CCF as a "[F]ront group for Philip Morris and several logging
companies out West, as well as OutBack Steakhouse." The groups use lawsuits to
thwart any activity of businesses and even extend their influence to military
operations, which has prompted the Defense Department to petition Congress for
relief from some environmental rules. The Greens oppose energy use except solar
and wind. Their lawsuits have forced Washington state and the Bureau of
Reclamation to spend $8.4 million to buy and close the Naches Power Plant near
Yakima. Eco-extremists brag about "over 100 direct illegal actions" committed
against American businesses, government agencies and universities in 2002. Now
that they have successfully strangled logging in the northwest they are turning
their attention to the eastern and southern sections of America. The Sierra
Club and others have filed suit to stop timber sales on more than 25,000 acres
in Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Virginia. And, most chilling of all is this
letter to an employee of Huntington Life Sciences, an animal testing
laboratory. In part: "A message to Claire. You've been marked. We've been
watching you and Kevin…We've been in your house while (you were) in San
Francisco…We've bumped into you at Costco. We've been watching you and
your family. We won't forget the animals you've helped murder at
Huntington…." Somebody get General Tommy Franks.
PETA Called Terror Backer
Greens
And Other Loonies Attack America
Groups Sue Over Ouachita Logging
Organization's Message To Research
Officials