The Rock Springs Urban Renewal Agency has officially lost its progressive mind. Its recent proposal that Rock Springs adopts an ordinance that punishes the owners of vacant buildings on private property is completely ridiculous.

Private property is a cornerstone of the American way of life. The idea that the community has some extraneous right to derive economic benefit from real estate, beyond the property taxes that are already collected, is an insult to the people who actually own the property. This is especially true in our current harsh economic environment, and the proposed fines amount to a double hit on owners who could already be facing a loss of income from the inability to find paying occupants for their property.

The URA is promoting the belief that you don’t have the right to “not” use your property. James Madison once said, “It is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties.”  I argue that “not” using your own property is a protected “free use” of that property and punishing you for leaving your property vacant is a blatant violation of your private property rights. This is nothing more than a veiled attempt to usurp the right of private owners to determine for themselves the best way to manage their own private property.

Even more disturbing, this ordinance could be used as a weapon to force owners to release property into the market that they would otherwise be unwilling to sell. A property owner, who might able to afford their annual property taxes while they wait for a more favorable real estate market, might not be able to afford the additional tax burden that this ordinance would impose, and be forced to sell the property. A perfect opportunity for a URA that has shown themselves to be more than willing to buy up prime real estate and enter into competition with private business.

This should be a wake up call to property owners in Rock Springs that the URA does not have their interests at heart. Rather than focusing on their original intent, to be a tool and a resource for local businesses and to promote development in downtown Rock Springs, they have become just another bureaucracy exerting themselves over the people who really create economic development. They are permanently tying up valuable real estate, competing with the businesses that they were supposed to be supporting, and looking to expand their power and influence.

If you are a property owner in Rock Springs, I urge you to make it very clear to the URA Board of Directors that you want them to stop interfering with your private property rights. I also urge you to give the members of the Rock Springs City Council a call and let them know that you don’t want to be punished for exercising your right to the free use of your own private property. The government already has no business being in the commercial real estate business. Giving them the ability to levy punitive taxes on their competition in that market is just plain dangerous.

WisdomWorld would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We celebrate this holiday as a thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed on us as individuals, families, communities, and as a nation. We also celebrate it as a reminder of the sacrifices that have been made, both now and throughout our history, that have allowed us to succeed as a people and as a country.

As you spend time with your friends and family, please take a moment and reflect on the words of President George Washington, as he announced The United States of America’s first official Thanksgiving Day in 1789, and those of President Abraham Lincoln, as he proclaimed Thanksgiving Day in 1863, beginning the annual celebration that has continued until this day:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.”

-Proclamation of President George Washington, October 3, 1789.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.”

-Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863.

.

A few years back I wrote an article about the failures of the Endangered Species Act, but I only touched on the political implications of the Yellowstone wolf recovery program.

JD King, an aspiring filmmaker, has produced a documentary about the wolf reintroduction that was eye opening, sad, and scary all at the same time. I urge you to take an hour of time out of your busy life and watch this educational film about the effects that the wolf reintroduction is having on real people in the wolf recovery zone. JD also delves into the real agenda behind the program, and backs up his bold claim that “it was never about the wolves.”

The following link will take you directly to the movie on JD’s website, where you can watch it for free for a limited time, but don’t stop there. Browse JD’s website and learn more about him, his movie, and the people who were part of it. This is an extremely important essay, and I highly recommend it. In fact, while you’re there, buy a DVD copy of his movie or make a donation. He worked hard on this film, and donations will go toward making sure as many people see it as possible.

CryingWolfMovie.com

I haven’t decided which candidate I support for the Republican nomination. I like Ron Paul, and I am with him about 99% on domestic policy and 100% on individual liberty and constitutional principles, but I think his foreign policies are a little too isolationist. I like Herman Cain, but I think his inexperience has shown through a little too much, and I agree with Santorum and Bachman that his 9-9-9 plan, while a good idea in principle, would just give the government one more revenue stream to abuse, and it wouldn’t work without a constitutional amendment. I agree with Bachman and Santorum pretty much down the line on economic and foreign policy, and regulation reform, but I have never related to the “Religious Right” and I have concerns that they would both become morality police. In addition, Bachman is a bit abrasive, and Santorum doesn’t come across as a commanding leader. Huntsman? Uh, no. I had high hopes for Perry, but he has shown himself to be anything but a strong presence. He is a terrible debater, and the vetting process has aired too many conflicts of interest in his past. Besides, all he ever does is attack Romney, which would be okay, I guess, if Romney didn’t stuff each and every attempt he made.

Speaking of Romney, Romney is obviously the most polished. He has the support of most of the moderate Republicans out there, and is probably the most likely to receive votes from the independents in the general election, but I just can’t get over his history. Obamacare is Romneycare on a larger scale. Yes, it was done on a state level, which is where such experiments should be done, but it is the very thought that he believed it was okay for the government to interfere in the everyday lives of his constituents, on such a dramatic level, that makes me look at him a little warily. It also seems to me that he has a tendency to pick sides based on populism, rather than principle, and because of it, he has had to rewrite his positions as the job he runs for gets bigger. I’m not sold on his second amendment credentials yet, and he has a long way to go to sell me on the others as well. He has done a good job of reinventing himself as a true conservative during the campaign, but I worry that once the primaries are over, he’ll slip back into being a moderate liberal.

Newt Gingrish - Photo by Gage Skidmore

Which brings me to the last guy at the table. Why isn’t Newt Gingrich getting more credit for his debate performances? He has been 100% solid on each and every one of them. I was a huge fan of his during his tenure as Speaker, but I soured on him after the whole “sittin’ on a bench with Pelosi” fiasco and kind of wrote him off. As I’ve watched the individual debates though, I’ve found myself to be nodding my head every time he talks. He seems to have a solid grasp on what really needs to be done to turn our country around. He has a proven ability to work with the other party effectively without compromising his conservative principles. He understands fiscal policy. He understands foreign policy. He understands that overregulation is choking American entrepreneurism. He is a proven leader, who has showed remarkable ability to get things done, and is never afraid to tell it like he sees it.

While a lot of people are throwing their support behind Romney (mostly I think because people see him as the likely winner and people like to be able to say they picked a winner), I think I’m starting to lean toward Gingrich. Sure, he isn’t the strong individual libertarian that Ron Paul is, but I think he is true conservative, and a true leader, who is worthy of a little bit closer look, and a lot more credit for his performance in the debates. He may not have as much money, and he may not even have much of a chance, but I’m not here to ride the coattails of media favorites. I’m trying to decide who should get my vote be the President of the United States, and right now, unless there are some changes in the field, that guy is probably Newt.

La Restinga Harbour-El Hierro, by Pepelopex

There has been a confirmed undersea volcanic eruption off the coast of El Hierro, in an area known as ‘La Punta de La Restinga’. Seismic activity has slowed down since the eruption, which may offer some peace of mind to island residents who were temporarily evacuated earlier this month as speculation of an impending eruption grew.

The undersea eruption occurred early in the morning of October 10th, 2011. Scientists are continuing to monitor seismic and volcanic activity. The Canaries News website offers up to date information, and links to official government webpages for more information (official sites may be in Spanish).

El Hierro, El Golfo by Bjoern.Hoernitz

The Canarian Autonomous Government has raised the alert level to yellow, as they fear a possible impending volcanic eruption of El Hierro.

Reports from the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN)say that they have measured over 900 seismic events in the last week (September 20-26); with over 8,100 events since July 16. In addition to the sesimic events, GPS measurements have indicated surface deformations (inflation) on the volcano of ~35mm.

So far, all located seismic events have been located at 10-14km in depth, suggesting that there is magma movement, but not necessarily indicating that the magma ball is rising to the surface.

The official government website for the volcanic activity of the Cary Islands can be found here:
http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/dgse/sismo_hierro.html

Note, that the website is in Spanish. It may be easier to follow updates on the Canary News Website:
http://www.canariesnews.com/

Cheyenne attorney Bruce Moats, on behalf of plaintiffs Rose Mosbey, Island Richards¹, Leighton Wessell, Holly Dabb, and Rock Springs Newspapers, Inc, a Wyoming corporation, has submitted a motion for final declaratory judgment in their lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the December 30, 2010 appointment of Don VanMatre to the Board of Sweetwater County Commissioners by then commissioners Debby Delai-Boese and Randy Walker.

The plaintiffs are no longer seeking VanMatre’s removal from the board, asserting in the motion that VanMatre has, in fact, become a “de facto” member of the Commission. As stated in the filing, the “Plaintiffs have no desire to throw ‘a monkey wrench’ in the administration of Sweetwater County and place a cloud over the decisions made by the Commission in the more than eight months that Van Matre has served on the Commission.”

Instead, the plaintiffs have limited their motion to request that the court enter a final ruling that the action by the previous commission was a violation of the Wyoming Open Meetings Act.

In a preliminary injunction hearing held in February, Judge Keith Kautz ruled that there was not enough evidence to remove VanMatre from office. Surprisingly, also in his ruling, Judge Kautz seemingly re-interpreted the Wyoming Open Meetings Act to mean that a violation can only take place if a vote is taken. That ruling has worried open meeting advocates and members of the Wyoming press. The plaintiffs in the case challenge that interpretation based on the language of the statute and previous Wyoming Supreme Court opinions that say members of a governing body merely have to reach a “collective commitment” outside of a public meeting for a violation to have occurred.

The motion, filed last Wednesday, includes new evidence that contradicts testimony given in February’s hearing, including discovered phone records that show past Commission Chairperson Debby Delai-Boese spoke with Don VanMatre by telephone for 44 minutes on the day before the appointment, and computers records that contradict Delai-Boese’s and commission secretary Belinda Bridewell’s testimony about when the recording of Delai-Boese’s official remarks at the December 30 meeting occurred.

The phone records raise questions about earlier testimony from VanMatre that he had no discussions with any member of the Board of Commissioners concerning his possible appointment before the December 30 meeting. The new evidence supports and gives new light to earlier testimony by Green River Star journalist David Martin testified that when interviewing VanMatre he said that the appointment had been “dropped on me overnight.” That testimony was supported by that of journalist Tim Boulware, who also heard the exchange. Martin also testified that when he interviewed Delai-Boese immediately after the meeting, she told him she had contacted VanMatre about the appointment the night before.

The Plaintiffs ask the court to make a final ruling, taking into consideration the new evidence, the specific language of the Wyoming Open Meetings Act, and previous Wyoming Supreme Court decisions, and rule that the appointment of Don VanMatre to the Board of Sweetwater County Commissioners was done in violation of Wyoming’s Open Meetings Act.

A complete copy of the motion can be found here:

Motion for Final Declaratory Judgment, PDF, 108 KB

An anonymous source is reporting that three dead bodies were recovered from sector 135 in Noida, India. The first body, a male employee of TCS, was reportedly shot and the body thrown in a nearby drain. The second was reportedly the beheaded body of a five to six year old child found in a field. Details about the third body are still unknown. No other information was available.

UPDATE 1: As of this time, WisdomWorld has been unable to independently verify the information provided by the anonymous source.

UPDATE 2: India Today has an update on this story. Reporting only one body, a male TCS employee, with the cause of death currently unknown. [India Today]

Kids, kids, kids, kids, kids!

Now that I’ve said the word “kids” a bunch of times, everything I say from here on out must be true, right? It has to be.

Last year, Ann Owens, executive director of the  Sweetwater County Child Development Center, went before the people of Sweetwater County and asked for almost ten million dollars to pay for new and upgraded facilities in which to provide their services. While chanting the “kids, kids, kids” mantra, she was able to convince the cities of Rock Springs and Green River, and the County Commissioners, that she had  shovel ready projects, that could be funded by a sixth-cent capital facilities tax, ready to go. The elected councils and board of commissioners approved putting it on the ballot, and the people of Sweetwater County were then bombarded with more “kids, kids, kids.” When people went to the polls, they passed the ballot measure.

Now that we are paying the new increased sales tax, and the money is finding its way into a bank account, ready to be spent, we are learning a whole new set of truths:

1. The projects weren’t shovel ready.
2. The CDC isn’t a government entity, and doesn’t have the legal authority to spend sixth-cent money on a non-government owned building.
3. There was no plan to deal with either of these problems. The only plan was to work it out later.

So here we are, a year later, paying higher taxes, and being told that not only do we have to pay for these new facilities, but we, as taxpayers, have to accept ownership of them, and be responsible for them indefinitely. We are being told that there isn’t any choice as to whether a government entity takes ownership. We are being told that our only choice is which government entity will take ownership, and, of course, if we don’t like it, we must be against the kids. Both the City of Rock Springs, and the Sweetwater County Commissioners have already held votes determining that they wouldn’t take ownership. Mayor Castillion of Green River has indicated that they were amenable to taking ownership, but they haven’t yet made it official.

I’m only going to spend a little time here on why this tax initiative was a bad idea in the first place. Most importantly, the capital facilities tax was provided by the legislature as a taxing mechanism for local communities for that purpose. Capital facilities. Not nonprofit organization facilities. Not charitable facilities. Capital facilities. Facilities that are to be owned by the public and for the use of and benefit of the public. It was never meant to provide free money for non-governmental organizations no matter how genuine their service or how altruistic their mission. This tax initiative had no business being on the ballot, and the four city councils and the board of county commissioners that allowed it to be put there were downright negligent in their duties to vet the issue responsibly. They didn’t do their legal homework, and they didn’t perform the due diligence that they commit to when they take on the job of being our representatives in government.

Regardless, now we are stuck with this boondoggle, and we have to deal with problems in the present.

How do we do that? Well, if you ask Ann Owens, the answer is clear. They should be bailed out. By who? Well, by  you of course. It’s not enough that the taxpayers gave them the unprecedented gift of $10,000,000.00. She wants you to take ownership of the buildings, along with the long term liability that is associated with it. And how is she selling this idea? By showing up at government meetings with dozens of challenged children and their parents in a blatant attempt to shame our representatives into taking responsibility for fixing this mess.

Do you think, though, that when Ms. Owens is organizing these government sit-ins that she tells all of the parents, “Hey, I’m really the one that royally screwed the pooch on this one, and never mind I’m paid a pretty good salary to do this job, but I’d really appreciate it if you’ll come on down to the courthouse with me and strong arm our elected officials into fixing this crap basket, and if they don’t, I also hope you’ll stand by me and make sure everyone knows that they are all against the kids, kids, kids, Kids, KIDS!!!!”

I doubt it.

Since there is a huge fear of political reprisal against any elected official that dares to lay blame in the right place for fear of being labeled as “anti-kid,” I’ll do it. The blame for all of this lies squarely at the feet of Ann Owens, executive director of the Child Development Center, and its board of directors, who forwarded this ballot measure without doing the proper planning and legwork. It lies squarely at the feet of Mayor Hank Castillion and the members of the Green River City Council that voted to approve this ballot measure without properly vetting it. It lies squarely at the feet of former Mayor Tim Kaumo and the members of the Rock Springs City Council that voted to approve this ballot measure without properly vetting it. It lies squarely at the feet of our previous county commissioners — Debbi Delai-Boese, Paula Wonnacott, and Randy Walker — who had the final say on whether a sixth-cent tax proposal got put on the ballot, and who shirked their responsibility to properly vet the initiative. Finally, it lies squarely at the feet of the 7,360 people in Sweetwater County that voted to give ten million freaking dollars to a non-government entity, without having any idea how the money was going to be spent, because it was for the “kids, kids, kids, kids, kids!”

The reality is that everyone here wants what is best for the kids, but what is best for the kids isn’t necessarily a blank check from the taxpayers. The people of Sweetwater County gave the Child Development Center ten million dollars! Gave it to them! Based only on shady assurances and half-assed plans. We don’t deserve the attempt by the Child Development Center, its employees, or its clients, to shame us into going to extraordinary lengths to clean up the discombobulated wreck that they drove us into. They need to knock it off!

Here’s what should happen:

First, the shame tactics have to stop. The Child Development Center already got its ten million, and it’s going to get its remodel and its new building. Ann Owens is paid to do her job, let her do it. You employees are paid to do your job too, quit pretending your altruism is greater than that of the people who are paying your wages. You parents are fighting the wrong battle. Everyone involved at every level is already doing the best they can to do what’s best for your kids. You don’t have any enemies here. Enough with the whining and the show-boating, its only going to create ill will, and it has already jeopardized any future sixth-cent initiatives.

Second, the City of Green River should agree to take ownership of the proposed Green River facility. They have already indicated their support, they just need to make it official.

Third, the City of Rock Springs should agree to take ownership of the Rock Springs facility. Other than Councilor Zotti’s lone dissension, the approval for this ballot measure was unanimous amongst the city council, and they have some serious responsibility to make this right. The first dispersements of tax money should be used to pay the mortgage on the building in conjunction with the transfer of the title.

Finally, the Sweetwater County Commissioners, working together with the two cities, the CDC, and the County Treasurer, should take the lead in developing the framework for the memorandums of understanding that are going to be necessary to make this stink pile smell a little bit better.

There are going to be arguments that Sweetwater County should own the building in Rock Springs, and it’s a valid argument, but keep this in mind. Sweetwater County is already funding the CDC at a rate of about $300,000 a year. Green River funded them around $25,000 last year. Rock Springs? Zero. Nada. As the libertarian that I am, I have serious reservations any time public money is funneled out to non-government entities, but the voters have spoken, and that includes the voters in Rock Springs, who voted overwhelmingly to support the CDC. It’s time for Rock Springs to step up to the plate and take a couple swings. They don’t get to hide in the dugout for this inning.

In the end, the lesson is that just because someone chants “kids, kids, kids, kids, kids,” before they tell you something, it doesn’t mean that they are telling you the truth, or even that they have the first idea about what they are talking about in the first place. Next time, pay attention, and know what the hell you’re voting for.