Category Archives: City Politics

City Politics

Response from Director Campbell & exchange re Quality of Place

28 Comments


Mr. McCutchen, thanks for your reply.

I respect you right to hold any opinion you choose
although we may differ on some of them.

Gary Campbell

 

Joe and Barb M. wrote:

> Director Campbell,

> 

> Thanks for your belated response.  I’m sorry you did not see fit to

> answer the questions posed in either of the two
letters I sent

> you…same goes for the rest of the city government.

> 

> Let me suggest that you and the rest of the official
city

> administration acquaint yourselves with Agenda 21
which the U.N. gave

> birth to and 2 of its subsections “Quality of
Place” & International

> Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, better
known as “ICLEI”. 

> Since North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays is
President & CEO of the

> USA branch, it seems odd you are not aware of it.

> 

> In your conversation with whom I judge to be a
resident of Fort Smith

> you erroneously stated that the city of Fort Smith
is not a member of

> any international group and nothing was said about,
as you so

> ceremoniously state, that they are interested in
taking over the world.

> 

> A second international group which the city signed
onto a number of

> years ago, when City Mgr Harding was here, dealt
with power over

> landowners property.

> 

> Now to “Quality of Place”.  Quality of Place as I stated in my initial

> letter to the Administrator, Mayor and the Board is
a term created by

> the Federal Dept. of Environment, Heritage, and
Local Government….not Dr.

> Florida unless he was/is working for the federal
government.  The

> whole Quality of Place scheme is big parks and a
pack ’em & stack ’em

> endeavor resulting in government expansion, more
rules & regulations.

> 

> Director Campbell, I would hope you would
communicate with the caller

> and relate that you were wrong on all counts.

> 

> Frankly Director, some of your activities scare the
hell out of me. 

> All the non-elected, self-serving commissions,
panels, etc. you are

> involved in bypass the legislative process.  Accelerate Arkansas is

> the one that scares me the most.  Accelerate Arkansas proposes to

> allow the state government using taxpayers’ dollars
to subsidize

> private companies resulting in government owning a
piece of the

> company or corporation. For this to occur, it
requires the repeal of

> the part of the Arkansas Constitution which now
prohibits government

> from investing in private business. This is
absolutely not a function

> of government at any level and this proposition is
in the same

> category as the city of Fort Smith embarking on
various entertainment venues.  Gov. Beebe
supports this repeal also.

> 

> Translations:

> 1. Can be described by the government canard
“private/public

> partnership”….the government always being the
senior partner. 

> Precisely what the Obama administration is doing,
e.g. G.M., Dodge, Banks, etc.

> 2. Government using taxpayer money for forced
redistribution, control

> and growth.

> 3. Fascism: A nexus between government and
corporations, but not

> limited to, providing a symbiotic relationship
between the two, with

> government dictating terms, precisely what is
happening in our nation

> presently and is the same environment in 1930’s
Germany.

> 

>   I noticed
the principals of 1st National Bank of F.S. belong also to

> Accelerate Arkansas.

> Accelerate Arkansas is saturated with self-serving
political/economic

> lifers.

> 

> You call this Conservatism?

> 

> Kindest regards,

> 

> Joe McCutchen

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> —–Original Message—–

> From: Gary Campbell [mailto:gwcfsm@swbell.net]

> Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:05 AM

> To: joeusa@cox.net

> Subject: Correction Offered

> 

> Mr. McCutchen, yesterday I received a phone call
regarding a recent

> email from you.

> 

> Please allow me to offer a correct to your comment
about the City of

> Fort Smith and some international group I had never
heard of.  To my

> knowledge, Fort Smith is not a member of any
international group

> proposing to take over the world.  Such proposal would be done over my

> objection.  I
think you would agree that we need to focus our

> attention here at home for the benefit of our
hometown citizens.

> 

> During the phone conversation, the caller also
mentioned something

> about the City of Fort Smith utilizing the federal
government’s

> definition of Quality of Place. Unfortunately the
caller must have

> misunderstood, since the feds did not invent that
term and I doubt

> that it would have much credence if they had
invented it.  From my

> reading, that the term was coined by Dr. Richard
Florida in his

> research to determine why some cities (e.g. Pittsburgh)
recover from

> severe economic loses and others do not recover
.  As you know, when

> the steel mills left Pittsburgh, it became a
“rust bowl”.  But has

> since recovered and now is a vibrant metropolitan
city.  Dr. Florida’s

> research began back in the 1990’s based on his
hometown’s experience. 

> Basically, his definition of Quality of Place is a
local issue based

> on three factors: (1) What’s there, (2) Who’s there
and (3) What’s

> going on.  As
an oversimplification, it is focused on a knowledge

> based economy and the factors most dominant in
retaining and/or

> attracting trained/intelligent people needed to fill
for higher paying

> jobs that will fuel a vibrant economy.

> 

> I assured the caller that Fort Smith is not part of
any international

> scheme.

> 

> Gary Campbell

> City Director

> 

> 

>  

City Politics

Response from Mayor on Quality of Place questions

48 Comments


 

From: Robles, Susan [mailto:srobles@FortSmithAR.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 9:36 AM
To: Joe and Barb M.
Subject: RE: Beware all citizens of the Internation Coucil for Local,
Environmental initiative (ICLEI) & Quality of Place….challenge your local
governments!!

 

Joe,

Thank you for your e-mail.

I will tell the City
Administrator to answer your  questions.

Sincerely,

Mayor Ray Baker

city government offenses, City Politics

Follow up on lack of response to Quality of Place questions

20 Comments


THE LEADERSHIP OF FORT SMITH—what does it mean and where is
it taking us?

Gentlemen:                                                                                    February
8, 2010

Last week I sent a memo to each of you asking some basic
questions regarding your knowledge of the history and meaning of “Quality of
Place” and ICLEI (“International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives”),
or if you had any understanding of the aforementioned.

To this day I have had only one response.  Mayor Baker informed me he would instruct
City Manager Kelly to answer my questions. 
As yet, no response from Kelly. 
Apparently Mayor Baker did not read the missive carefully:  I asked that Kelly, the Mayor and all of the
Board of Directors answer the questions posed. Please allow me some latitude to
make suppositions.

1.     
I believe City Mgr Kelly, Assistant Mgr Gosack
and Director Campbell are familiar with Quality of Place and ICLEI’s history
& goals.  Correct me if wrong, but
the city of Ft. Smith, under the leadership of City Mgr Harding entered into an
agreement with an international operation that empowered the city with any
number of edicts, i.e. control over homeowners’ property.

2.     
In all likelihood Mayor Baker is remotely aware
of the two projects by the mere fact that mayors seem to be the primary targets.  It seems reasonable to assume that top
management in the city government, along with city planners are also cognizant of
the invasive process being carried out by Quality of Place and ICLEI.

3.     
By the same token, it would be surprising if the
remaining Board of Directors had any inkling re the proposed takeover of
citizens’ rights and property.

Facts & Deductions: Since 90% of all federal & state
income taxes are paid by 10% of the population the question becomes—who will
use the enormously expensive entertainment venues the city is proposing and why
are they being proposed?  It is highly
unlikely that the 10% of the population paying 90% of income taxes will utilize
these venues—then who will?  Of course it
is the masses who have no financial obligations in government that benefit from
these enormous redistribution schemes, which are Utopist at best in nature.

It is not a proper function of government to provide
entertainment and the real winners are politicians, bureaucrats and those involved
in the construction of the ill-gotten gains. 
These proposed programs result in expansion of government, theft of
producer’s resources, vote buying, and the implementation of the Marxist
philosophy—redistribution of income and dependency on government.

Questions: Are the principals in this inquiry hunkered down
because they got their hands caught in the cookie jar, or are they positioned in
an arrogant stance, or are they colossally ignorant of what is being proposed
& implemented?  Or in the instance of
a cover-up they may want to fly the “Conspiracy Flag”?

In any case, each of you has refused so far to answer the
simple questions posed. 

Obama transparency?

Assistant Gosack, in true government arrogant brute force,
is suggesting that the city government bypass voters on the new one cent
prepared food tax, designed to subsidize the debt-ridden Civic Center and other
proposed entertainment extravaganzas.

Kindest regards,

Joe McCutchen

 

City Politics, Illegal immigration facts, Immigration Law

Citizens whose jobs are stolen by illegals have no recourse when laws aren’t enforced

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                                                                                                January
16, 2010

January
5, Fort Smith City Directors and City Manager Kelly convened. Two gentlemen
appeared before the Board.   Purpose of presentation to state that one had
been fired from his job and replaced by an illegal.   He also had proof that his former company
was hiring illegals, had been caught on at least one previous occasion and was
still contracting with state, county, and city. The second gentleman stated he
sees illegals working around schools and city jobs…Times Record silent.

  The two were informative, concluded by asking
the Board why we are a Sanctuary City. The gentleman fired said the Feds had
tried to buy him off but he wouldn’t be silenced.  He has called all appropriate elected
officials, getting a response was like “chasing a rainbow”.

Director
Bill Maddox, the only city official bringing attention to this crisis.

The
Board response lacked concern re the citizen’s job loss.   City
Manager Kelly said “the city is not a lightening rod” (yes, it is) and went on
to say for every one illegal identified “there are 10 or 20 more and that it is
unbelievable how many there are”.  Law
enforcement ignores. Why?

The law:
 8 USC, 1324a, 1324c, 1644.

Any person who knowingly hires/harbors/
transports any illegal alien is guilty of a felony punishable
by 10 years jail + $2,000 fine per illegal alien + forfeiture of vehicle or
property used to commit the crime.

All officers whose duty it is to enforce
criminal laws shall have authority to make arrests for violation
of any provision of this section .

NO LOCAL ORDINANCE, RULE, OR MEASURE SHALL
STOP LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS FROM ENFORCEMENT OF THIS SECTION
.

More selective law enforcement?

The inactivity of policing  agencies, in the  matter of 
illegal immigration results in spiraling high crimes against Americans.

Joe McCutchen

2916 Heather Oaks Way

Fort Smith

646-8261

 

City Politics, Cultural Marxism destroying United States

Newspeak=”Quality of Place”, Oldspeak=Armed Robbery

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We’ve heard a lot about “Quality of Place” lately.  A Collectivist term invented by government,
of government, and for government, specifically the” Department of Environment,
Heritage, and Local Government” to improve quality, sustainability, livability,
and design of residential and mixed-use schemes in urban areas.”  Obviously its usage is to be determined by “officials”.

 It belongs in a
lexicon of politically correct, purposely misleading vocabulary, along with
“partnership”, “giving back”, et al.   In
“1984” it would have been created by the “Ministry of Truth” which was tasked
with creating Newspeak to replace the memories of Oldspeak.

The destruction of our Republic is displayed by the
acceptance and utilization of such devices by our “leaders”, when in fact those
concepts are the opposite of our Founding Principles of Freedom.

Notice how our “leaders” have no problem with implementing
unconstitutional programs/buildings/etc.  
If they ever understood the proper function of government, most lost it
in favor of unearned largesse and/or self-aggrandizement.  

In other words, certain elected and appointed officials
shall decide how individuals should live, work, and play…but of course to do that
they must first separate the producers from their earnings.  It’s called taxation, fees, licenses, also
known in Oldspeak as picking pockets or armed robbery.  In Oldspeak perpetrators would be punished,
hence the need to erase and replace. 
Accountability is replaced with counterfeit “compassion”.  Saccharine helps the medicine go down.

Taxpaying citizens must stop quietly allowing the theft of
their hard earned wages and understand that the proper role of government is to
protect citizens’ individual rights and property, not to redistribute as it
pleases.   Expansion and control is the
agenda, not limiting government which is their sworn Constitutional duty.  Righteous indignation(“meaning well”) on the
part of officials, while engaged in such activities is inexcusable to
Constitutionalists, but that’s Oldspeak.

Barbara McCutchen

Fort Smith


 

 

 

 

City Politics, Politicrats

“Quality of Place” Scheme

35 Comments


Inappropriate expenditures of taxpayer money and questions
of legality?      Dec. 28, 2009

Times Record front page story 12/26/09 “City, County, team
up for parks” 

What is the legal foundation, or is there one, that allows
public schools and universities to become financially involved in a county
project?

Observation, accompanied by some objective thought, one can
only conclude that in this case Dr. Benny Gooden & Chancellor Paul Beran
are putting an inordinate amount of funding into buildings and entertainment,
and from posted statistics, too little into academics.

I suppose one can rationalize and achieve the desired
results with very little effort.  Since
there is a constant hue and cry from politicians and the various education unions
for more funding, it seems here to be appropriate to demand what the authority
is for Gooden and Beran to be so generous with the producers’ taxes, and in
this case taxes that have not been produced, no accounting with reference to
the expansionary processes that will occur, maintenance, insurance, equipment,
salaries, and what the percentages of responsibilities would be.

To the Fort Smith Directors:

Please define “Quality of Place” which is routinely bandied
about.  It is noteworthy that you call
these efforts a “partnership”, but conveniently leave out the producers who
make all your political excursions possible. 
Further note: the government is always the SENIOR partner.

You are presently embarked on very expensive procedures
while most have no chance of succeeding and at the same time, proposing new
taxes on a struggling constituency.  What
on earth are you thinking about?

1.      
Riverfront baseball diamond, or some other
tomfoolery

2.      
Failed Convention Center

3.      
Marshall’s Museum

4.      
West End Park

5.      
Ben Geren…soccer fields (for illegals?),
softball fields, aquatic center, etc. etc.

Because some low level bureaucrats say we “need” does not
translate to affordability.

Methinks Judge Hudson, Mayor Baker, City Directors, Benny
Gooden, Paul Beran, et al should put together some detailed statistics on the
total cost, maintenance, personnel, insurance, need, and then put it to a
public vote.   I am concerned about the
appropriateness and legality of putting public school and college money into a
county project. Perhaps you may want to reconsider.

Kindest regards,

Joe McCutchen

Fort Smith

Cc: citizens     

P.S.  Have found the
definition of the term “quality of place”. It was created by the” Department of
Environment, Heritage, and Local Government” to improve quality,
sustainability, livability, and design of residential and mixed-use schemes in
urban areas.”

This could be straight out of Orwell’s “1984” and the
Ministry of Truth’s creation of NEWSPEAK, in conjunction with their destruction
of OLDSPEAK.  (Erasing the past, as in
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES by which a few prosper & the many
are enslaved.)

                                                                    arkansasfreedom.net 

city government offenses, City Politics

City budget redistributes wealth

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An open letter to Fort Smith city officials:                                                      November 29, 2009

No “frills” budget you say?

Zero % inflation and a 3.4% increase in Fort Smith city
budget over 2009?

A quote from the T.R. stated “in the face of stagnant or
shrinking revenues” …how is it that the budget can be increased 3.4%?  No mention of the cost of city government
takeover and expansion of the sanitation department and at the same time
Sanitation funds dropped $1.4 million or 9%.   (?)

It is contemptible that City Directors owe their allegiance to
city employees versus the revenue producers that subsidize this behemoth.   Earlier this year you gave another 3-3 ½ % increase
to all city employees.   The rationale is
to “boost morale”….what have you done to boost the morale of struggling taxpayers,
especially those who have lost their jobs, e.g. Whirlpool, Altes Sanitation,
etc. etc. etc.

City employees are not an endangered species and can be
replaced in 24 hours at less cost and more productivity, but that would not
bode well for the ensconced political protection racket.

Here comes that bureaucratic phrase again, “Quality-of-Place”.   This feel good, “compassionate” phrase is
designed to lull citizens into a deeper comatose state, while expanding all
sorts of previously failed and future failed government initiatives.   For now, they are off the table, but not for
long.

$38 million in capital recreation projects?  You boys have been drinking the same brew or
smoking the same cig that the Nomadic Kenyan imbibes.

1.      
$20 million for a baseball field? (or some other
“quality of place” expensive government expansion foolishness.)

2.      
$10 million for an aquatic center, 2 girls’
softball fields in Ben Geren Park.

3.      
OMG, $4 million for trails??

4.      
$1 million for a dome over Creekmore Park

5.      
$500,000 for soccer fields (to keep the illegals
off the streets?)

6.      
$500,000 for “fishing tournament facilities”.

Nothing about the civil rights museum, commonly known as the
Marshall’s Museum.  Why?

You have and are betraying the revenue producing citizens,
who many if not most are fighting for their economic lives as the depression,
expands….yes, EXPANDS.  Words to describe
your actions that come to mind are angst, disgust, contempt, double-speak, etc.
etc.

All governments, and in this case the city of Fort Smith, is
on an unrelenting drumbeat for government expansion, reducing the citizen
revenue producers to only that….revenue producers.  Your acts are nothing more than Marxist….a redistribution
of wealth.  You know “from each according
to his ability, to each according to his need”… known in some circles as
Communism.

Kindest regards,

Joe & Barbara McCutchen    Fort Smith        arkansasfreedom.net    CC: taxpaying citizens

city government offenses, City Politics

Public Servants or Public Thieves?

33 Comments


Public Servants or Public Thieves?                                                            November
19, 2009

Only in government is failure,  success, e.g. the Fort Smith Convention Center
is a failure but it was rewarded with $1.8 million per year in taxpayer “turn-backs
“for 11 years.  This sugar hole will dry
up next year and the public thieves, through use of force are taking dead aim
again on taxpaying citizens.

The thieves; the Board of Directors, the Mayor and other
enablers are proposing 2 avenues to raise taxes…both unconstitutional and using
force.

1.      
A prepared food tax for up to 3%, which Claude
Legris states will raise $1.8 million, precisely the same amount as the state
is giving in turn-backs.  Convenient
math?  It is said that the Center
generates nearly $700,000 in yearly revenues.

So how much does it take to run this White Elephant
yearly? 

Legris comes up with a statement “there has to be a very
solid education (propaganda?) campaign to the effect it will not put
restaurants out of business, which it won’t”. 
Legris, how do you know?  What do
you know about the liquidity of the various restaurant businesses?  Legris goes on to say “40% of the revenue
will come from people who live out of town”. So it is perfectly acceptable to
pick the pockets of out-of-towners?  By
the way Legris, where did you purchase your crystal ball?

Your statement regarding an “education campaign” denigrates
the mentality of our citizens, and for that Claude you need to be summarily
fired.

2.      
Here comes that phrase “Quality-of-Place” again.
Don’t you love the way parasitic bureaucrats can come up with such devilish
phrases?  Our city government has no
shame.  They will “just reinstate a business
license” to fund the Elephant. Who is the ultimate recipient of tax increases?

FORCE?  You bet!  You are the same bunch that in the midst of a
deepening depression (job losses, bankruptcies, foreclosures, plants shutting
down and/or moving away), gave city employees a 3% raise, and the simpleton J.P.’s
are doing the same thing for county employees. 
Where, pray tell, do you think the money is going to come from or do you
care?  Maybe an illegal Bail-out from the
bankrupt federal government?

A convention center is nothing more than a gigantic wart on
taxpaying citizens—shutter it.

You’ve recently destroyed a private business, along with a
number of jobs (Altes Sanitation), taken on an amusement park that is a proven
failure, proposing to take over Ben Geren Park, building soccer fields for
illegals, proposing to dump millions in tax funds to develop the riverfront
(have you ever core-drilled that baby?), and no telling what your involvement
is in Chaffee Crossing and the Federal Marshalls’ Museum.     Deals, deals, deals. 

Kindest regards,

Joe & Barbara McCutchen     Fort Smith                                                  arkansasfreedom.net 

 

City Politics

Fort Smith sewers, U.S. Marshall’s Museum and other conundrums.

262 Comments


Fort Smith sewers, U.S. Marshall’s Museum and other
conundrums.              July 16, 2009

A couple of decades ago the federal government issued an
edict, I think it was the EPA, for Fort Smith to bring their sewers and
directly related assets up to speed. 
Apparently, this has not been accomplished since the Board asked the
citizens to extend the sewer tax for another 12 yrs.  If the 12 yrs is correct, that adds up to 24
yrs and still no guarantee that the recognized deficiencies will be corrected,
which prompts the question…have all the monies that have been generated from
the sewer tax been directed to the sewers and related deficiencies, or have
some of those monies been spent on needed or nebulous projects?

Is the sewer tax money deposited into a special account
earmarked for sewers, or is it being deposited into the general fund?  What is the projected cost to finish the
sewer projects, and how will the 2nd funding deposits be
handled? 

24 yrs to complete a project is not acceptable.  If I am wrong on the time frame, please
correct me.

Now comes the Taj Mahal, a
monument dedicated to politicians, bureaucrats, and other government types,
commonly known as the U.S. Marshall’s Museum. 
This architectural disaster, a $50 million, 50,000 sq. ft. enterprise
being foisted on the citizens of the city and state in the throes of a
depression is disgusting. (Driven by Whirlpool lately?)

Our benevolent leaders (easiest job in the world spending
other peoples’ money) have given $3 million to this “feel-good” project which
gives the appearance of another “civil rights” monument.  The city of Fort Smith dumped in $100 grand,
Sebastian County $115 grand and Beebe & the state legislature $2 million,
200,000.  The ubiquitous Sandi Sanders,  over lording this project with her expensive
taste for architects, fundraisers and consultants is demonstrated by paying
some fellow named Russ Hodge from Ohio $2,000 per day for a “full days’” work…..Yeeehaa!!

My question to city leaders, is
there a point in time, if & when this monstrosity (from my prospective) is
completed, that the city will have to take over its maintenance?  The old library would have been a proper,
sensible place for the museum and a place the citizens could embrace without
all the add-on features being proposed and the price tag would have been
miniscule. (Remember the $33 million bequeathed to the civic center by
taxpayers?)

This project is being billed as a project
funded by private donors, then why all the taxpayer money?  A lie from the get go?

Apparently someone has rattled Frankie Hamilton’s cage,
backing off her $30,000 consultant scam and severing her relationship with
Cranford Johnson, the consummate Arkansas Public Relations monopoly.

I remind each of you once again, we are in a depression, and
priorities should be sewers, streets, water and flush these nonessential
projects.  Jacking up downtown is not a
proper function of government.

Kindest regards,

Joe McCutchen                                 Cc:
citizens                  arkansasfreedom.net