2012-05-15 "Kansas GOP Wastes Time Opposing Old UN Policy" by Mindy Townsend
[http://www.care2.com/causes/kansas-gop-wastes-time-opposing-old-un-policy.html]
There is an enemy in our midst. It’s almost invisible, and when it is visible, it’s under the guise of the innocuous. But that’s what makes it all the more insidious. Is it terrorism? Mutant super virus? No. This is much, much worse. I’m, of course, talking about the United Nations.
There is nothing more threatening than those powder blue helmets. My dear state legislators know this. That’s why they are spending actual time discussing a resolution denouncing Agenda 21 [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/may/07/statehouse-live-critics-united-nations-agenda-21-v/], a United Nations policy on sustainable development.
According to the United Nations [http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/], Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan to make sure that we don’t develop the world all to hell. That is, it’s an attempt to bring the world together to protect the environment. It encompasses both conservation efforts and social and economic elements.
Okay, well, it’s probably some new resolution being pushed through by those commie countries like France and Canada. Oh wait, what? It’s a policy from 1992? Um…
I, quite frankly, don’t even know where to begin with this. It is bananas. Just take a look at how Kansas house GOP members are talking about this two-decade old policy.
According to The Lawrence Journal-World [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/may/07/statehouse-live-critics-united-nations-agenda-21-v/?kansas_legislature]:
[begin extracts]
This is the most aggressive attack on our liberties … that we have ever seen, and it is growing, said state Rep. Dennis Hedke, R-Wichita.
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and
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[Rep. Greg] Smith [R-Overland Park] said he realized that when Agenda 21 is mentioned some people “hear the Twilight Zone music go off” and accuse detractors as conspiracy theorists. But he said Agenda 21 is scary. “It questions the sovereignty of the United States. It questions the sovereignty of Kansas,” he said.
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and
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The resolution states that Agenda 21 is a radical plan that views as destructive “the American way of life of private property ownership, single family homes, private car ownership, individual travel choices and privately owned farms.” The purpose of the resolution is to expose to public policymakers the “dangerous intent” of Agenda 21.
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and
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Jim Mullins, Kansas grassroots director of Americans for Prosperity, said, “We must develop a comprehensive plan to roll back all of the laws and regulations which have been implemented by Agenda 21.”
[end extracts]
It questions the sovereignty of Kansas? Destroying “the American way of life?” Law implemented by Agenda 21? Are you listening to yourself? Are we referring to the same United Nations? No one is a bigger proponent of the U.N. than me, but we’re not talking about an organization that easily get all of its ducks in a row. It didn’t manage to stop the invasion of Iraq.
The U.N. isn’t a coercive body. States Parties go along because they want to. There are so many disparate interests at play in every issue the U.N. tackles that a global conspiracy is basically impossible. What’s more, Agenda 21 isn’t binding on United Nations States Parties. So there are no laws and regulations implemented by this policy. Everything coming out of the mouths of Agenda 21′s opponents is complete and utter poppycock.
But if I’ve learned anything this legislative session, it’s that facts don’t get in the way of a good paranoid delusion. Luckily, at least one person with any sense deigned to speak out against such an utter and flagrant waste of time. According to The Lawrence Journal-World, director of the Kansas Interfaith Power & Light [http://kansasipl.org/] Rabbi Moti Reiber submitted testimony and called the controversy a “baseless conspiracy.”
[begin extract]
In submitted testimony, Rieber noted that Agenda 21 is a nonbinding agreement. He said it is being used by right-wing activists who oppose green energy, stormwater management, bike paths and public transportation by “claiming that the U.N. is going to come to take away the keys to our cars or our rights to private property. This is, of course, patent nonsense.”
[end extract]
Ya think? Well, at least the legislature has passed a budget so the state can, you know, function. Or not. My tax dollars at work.