Local Government Drama and the Rule of Law
As I have informed my Sons of Issachar readers and listeners, some months ago a team of concerned local ratepayers decided that we would stand as a team for the Snowy Monaro Regional Council in the southeastern part of Australia.
Figure 1. Website for the Back to Basics group that stood for election to the Snowy Monaro Regional Council
This is a large area - 15,160 square kilometres, with a population of ~15,000 people. The population density is definitely not as great as Shanghai!
In comparison, Wales UK has a population of 3,107,500 (2021) and an area of 20,758 square kilometers.
Figure 2. Map of New South Wales, showing in red, the Snowy Monaro Regional Council area in the south of the state. This area is 15,160 square kilometres.
There are not many people in our region and it is a large land area. This of course poses problems for the management of resources and roads. The solution implemented by the state government about eight years ago was to amalgamate three smaller councils so that “efficiences of scale” could be applied. However, as many of my readers would guess, there were no “efficiencies of scale” but only “inefficiencies of bureaucracy”.
As we started our election campaign, our team decided to start a Substack column outlining the problems we were facing in the region, and the initial post drew attention to the generic problems of bureaucracies.
I also wrote another post, which some Sons of Issachar readers may not have seen (but may enjoy), outlining my experiences some years ago in Mongolia and drawing comparisons to the problems experienced by ratepayers in our region. This post is included below.
After what seemed like an exhaustive process (it was definitely exhausting!) declaration of successful candidates for the election was made on 2nd October 2024. I was one of 11 councillors elected and the first meeting of the new council was on the 10th October. However, as the meeting date approached, an interesting situation emerged, being that one of the newly elected councillors who had been banned about six years ago from entering council premises, had his ban extended to include in-person attendance of council meetings.
This newly elected councillor challenged the legality of the ban which had been applied by the CEO of the council even before the individual concerned had had the chance to attend his first meeting. After legal advice to the council CEO this week, the ban was overturned. Shortly after, the CEO has resigned.
It is pleasing that the rule of law has been upheld in response to action by the administrative state. However, one thing is certain: the administrative state will not take this lying down.
So, it has been an interesting start to my journey as a councillor, which has had drama associated with it before the first meeting.
Here is the front page of the local newspaper, The Monaro Post.
Figure 3. Front page of the local newspaper, The Monaro Post, Wednesday 9th October, 2024.
Stepping into local government is a challenge and I have spent the past week immersed in the New South Wales Local Government Act. Whilst the responsibilities of councillors are various, the overarching requirement of councillors is that of governance (the council is referred to as the ‘governing body’) and as such the councillors are to ensure that procedures, plans, programs and policies etc all comply with the legislation. There are 749 individual items included in the Act and thousands of pages. I suppose that the positive thing in this bureaucratic morass is that every eventuality seems to have been accounted for and has a policy that applies to all the local governments.
The globalist organisations seem to have found their way into the councils as there is an extensive section on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
There was an election for Mayor and Deputy Mayor on Thursday 10th October and my argument to delay the vote (even by an hour or so) so that candidates could present their credentials and how they fulfilled the requirements of the duties of mayor, was defeated. It was clear that many councillors minds were made up before the candidates were even declared, and certainly the residents present at the meeting weren’t given the opportunity to hear why each candidate for mayor thought they were the best for the job.
There also was an agenda item to consider regarding the resignation of the council CEO. Interestingly, the new councillors were denied access to the CEO’s resignation letter. Given that the council hadn’t met when the CEO resigned (as it had not yet been sworn into office) it is unclear to whom he resigned and what he outlined as his reason for resignation. It does appear that it will be difficult to fulfil councillors’ statutory governance obligations which are clearly outlined in the NSW Local Government Act.
I will keep my readers updated in the months ahead without immersing them too much in the detail of local council politics.
A member of Back to Basics team has written an interesting article that I have linked below discussing this issue, following the public meeting of council yesterday.
STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK
Fluoride in the drinking water recognized by US judge as a problem
Jeff Childers write the excellent substack Coffee and COVID and his post a few days ago highlighted a change in approach to the provision of fluoride in people’s drinking water. This has been accepted for many years as a non-contestible good, along with vaccine., Now - there is recognition that fluoride may do more harm than good.
An article in AP News in late September reported as follows:
“A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
It’s the first time a federal judge has made a determination about the neurodevelopmental risks to children of the recommended U.S. water fluoride level, said Ashley Malin, a University of Florida researcher who has studied the effect of higher fluoride levels in pregnant women.
She called it “the most historic ruling in the U.S. fluoridation debate that we’ve ever seen.””….
“The court case, argued in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, started in 2017. The lead plaintiff was Food & Water Watch, a not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization. Chen paused the proceedings in 2020 to await the results of the National Toxicology Program report, but he heard lawyers’ arguments about the case earlier this year.
“In our view, the only effective way to eliminate the risk from adding fluoride chemicals to water is to stop adding them,” said Michael Connett, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, in an email Wednesday.”
Mr Childers notes that there suddenly seem to be a number of newspaper headlines warning about the danger of fluoride. He concludes by writing:
“Soon, everybody will have always been against fluoride. Ladies and gentlemen, behold: another conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy fact.”
The US Presidential Election
It is only one month until the US presidential election and suddenly it seems that Kamala Harris is everywhere. After granting no interviews in the first few months of her campaign, she has been on 60 Minutes, MSNBC, The View and a sex podcast in the last few days. More interviews are scheduled with friendly hosts. It does suggest that the Democrat party private polling indicates some concerns.
Polymarket, provides “Live and accurate forecasts by the world's largest prediction market”. As of October 9, 2024, the results of their forecast are shown below:
Figure 4. Graphic from Polymarket demonstrating results in various US states, as of 9 October, 2024.
In examining the trends cited by Polymarket, it appears that Trump and Harris were running neck and neck until early October.
October is the month for the well known “October Surprise”. In 2020 the surprise was the Hunter Biden “laptop from hell”, which was suppressed by most of the mainstream media. In 2016 it was the famous Access Hollywood tape where Trump is heard bragging about his exploits with females to Billy Bush.
Undoubtedly, a range of surprises will find their way into the media this month. It is hard to determine what could make a real difference to current voting intentions that are shifting Trump’s way. However, war could do the job!
The Great Walz of China
Since Governor Tim Walz was announced as the vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris, various stories have demonstrated that he is prepared to “spin” the truth to make himself look important. One recent story that was shown to be a lie was that he said that he was in Hong Kong during the Tienanmen Square massacre. It turned out that he was in Nebraska!
Another fabrication relates to how many times that Walz has visited China. He has claimed “dozens of times” but his campaign has stated it is likely to be closer to 15.
In any case, he went to China for his honeymoon and has a close relationship with and admiration for the country.
Sam Faddis, who is a former CIA officer and now has a substack column, wrote this week about The Great Walz of China and Walz’s danger to the US. I recommend readers read the complete article but I have extracted a few key points:
“Law Enforcement Today is reporting that an anonymous source has provided new highly disturbing information about Governor Tim Walz’s financial disclosures and the ongoing House Committee on Oversight and Accountability’s investigation of Walz’s 30 trips to Communist China. According to the whistleblower the House Committee has found that the Chinese Communist Party paid for all of these trips.”…
Mr Faddis provides detail about Governor Walz’s history and relationship with China through a range of educational entities. He concludes his article as follows:
“Walz made clear his position on Communism when he defined it this way in a 1991 lecture. "It means that everyone is the same and everyone shares. The doctor and the construction worker make the same. The Chinese government and the place they work for provide housing and 14 kg or about 30 pounds of rice per month. They get food and housing."
Sam Faddis then continues:
“Communism means slave labor camps, forced organ harvesting, and soul-sucking oppression. It means the literal erasure of Tibetan culture. It means corruption on an almost unimaginable scale. It means a thuggish Chinese Communist Party hell-bent on world domination and the enslavement of humanity.
But, that’s not what Walz sees. Whether because he has been bought or because he is just hopelessly naïve he sees the future, and he apparently wants that future for all of us. We cannot afford to let this man anywhere near the White House. The Great Walz of China is a mortal danger to us all.”
It looks like we may see the dream fulfilled of the communist infiltrators of the US government in the 1930s and 1940s, as outlined by Whittaker Chambers in his book Witness. At last - a real Commie in the White House!
A New Type of War in the Middle East
I have promoted the weekly newsletter World Affairs Brief in previous newsletters. Joel Skousen, who produces the newsletter, always has insightful analysis about world affairs. This week, he has written a detailed article about war in the Middle East.
He writes:
“The traditional form of war between two nations or groups of nations where one or both tries to conquer the other by invasion of troops backed by armored forces and air and missile strikes, has given way to a new long-distance, perpetual form of war. Except for the one-sided Israeli invasion of Gaza, almost everything else in the Middle East war zone has been “tit for tat” retaliation with both sides trading rockets and ballistic missiles or air bombing campaigns from afar without ever breaking open into all-out warfare. Lately, however, each cycle is upping the ante. Hezbollah and the Iranian-backed Houthis have been Iran’s “modest” retaliatory response until now. Israel has traditionally started each cycle trying to provoke a war with Iran with air or missile strikes against Iranian militia targets in Syria to which Iran has rarely responded until recently when it has sent in two barrages of ballistic missiles into Israel—but only after Israel tested Iranian sovereignty by assassinating a Hamas leader in Tehran. The latest Iranian missile blitz on Israel was provoked by Israel killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. But now things are escalating fast as Israel struck Russia’s Syrian coastal airbase with multiple rockets. Israel is rumored to be on the verge of striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, which will be the ultimate red line for Iran and could lead to all out war if it does.”
The situation is fraught in the Middle East and Joe Biden (or his controllers) seems to be intent on pouring fuel on the flames. Many Western governments also appear paralyzed in relation to policy, because of the important votes of Muslim populations. This will be an ongoing disasters and one of these could well deliver the anticipated “October Surprise”.
The Real Crime Statistics for US Illegal Immigration
No one knows how many illegal immigrants have ventured into the US since Joe Biden took power in 2021 and upended President Trump’s restraining order. However, the number may be in excess of 20 million.
Joel Skousen in his newsletter World Affairs Brief has highlighted some shocking statistics that haven’t received widespread media attention:
“ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has released some alarming news about the number of migrants convicted of murder living in the US, as the Daily Mail reports:
More than 13,000 immigrants who have been convicted of homicide either in the United States or abroad are currently living freely in America, according to ICE—which claimed they “slipped through the net.”
The immigrants are classified as 'non-detained' by ICE, meaning they are known to the agency and they have pending immigration cases in America, but they are not behind bars either because they are not prioritized or ICE cannot find them, reports NBC News.
The data comes amid several high-profile murders of Americans allegedly perpetrated by illegal immigrants, including the brutal slaying of University of Georgia student Laken Riley, 22, in February.
Michael Shellenberger has the ICE documents on X @shellenberger
No matter your politics, these new numbers are shocking. Of the 7 million migrants that ICE released while their cases are being processed, 663,000 have criminal histories, 13,000 were convicted of homicide, 16,000 of sexual assault, and 1,845 face homicide charges.”
All Americans should be alarmed and outraged that the Biden-Harris administration has allowed such a situation to occur. Now Kamala Harris is trying to promote herself as being “tough on the border” but if Americans believe this and vote for her, the US is doomed.
I truly admire you tenacity and commitment, Reuben. Wishing you a wonderful weekend
Tanja
It looks like a a tough road Tanja and the outcome is uncertain. The key is to stand on the principles of natural justice and the rule of law. It will be interesting to see how everything comes out. Hope you have a great weekend too.