American Dream Home

CON CON CON

Senate Bill 5027 —“American Dream Home”

—Grants are given to the Zoning Commission along with allowance to “lessen public-input” in the process of re-zoning the urban lands/utilities to accommodate.
—Building Department procedure changes radically in cost and time frames, putting a cap on permit cost ($1,200+ -). Imagine having a short time limit to process a permit application. Too bad that the rest of us have had to put up with a lot longer wait for projects going through that department? Our building permit costs were 4 times more than what is being proposed? Why should my rate be so much more than someone newly moving here?
There will be staff increases needed to manage the higher volume of permits, created by the reduced permit fees. AND! More additional staff will be needed to create another government website so grants, that they will get for doing their job, can be tallied and processed. Another case of FOLLOW THE MONEY!
—-Contractors (the selected ones) will be receiving annual TAX CREDITS for 10 years (equal to 4% of the gross selling price of each unit).
—-For low-income homeowners (meaning 80% median) tax credits will be allowed for 12 years, excluding them from paying any property tax on their home for more than a decade.

More Bills are attached to this…

*House Bill 1339 Energy in buildings – Would make a new job/required subcontractor for building homes and small businesses. Removes the use of gas/fossil fuel appliances and heating units from new and existing homes.

Senate bill *SB5190 Middle housing – Cities and Counties can change the zoning for housing to allow multi-unit housing in single-unit housing zones.

*SB5412 Land use permitting/local – Allows the city or county to add houses or apartments or multi-house units to an already established neighborhood that still has undeveloped lots.

*SB5235 Accessory dwelling units – Allows a homeowner to add another home on a single-family property to help reduce the housing shortage. No consideration is taken to ordinances or covenants with respect to the single-family residence or community.

*SB5357 Detached Accessory Dwelling Units Same as SB5235

First Meeting

Last week, we had our first meeting of the “FreedomPod NE Washington” group. We met at the Country Church of the Open Bible in Elk WA at 6:30 pm. We were a small group of ten and it was great getting to know each other.

Do others want to become active?

Our main goal was to find out if there were people near us who felt the calling to get involved and try to change the direction things are going. The first step in successfully doing this is to have active citizens making sure their voices are heard. We have to tell our Representatives what we want!

How do we do this?

If you have ever tried to navigate the Washington State Website (https://wa.gov) website you already know how utterly confusing and deceptive it is. It is purposely setup to be extremely NOT USER FRIENDLY. Just take a look at the home page by clicking on the link above and see if you can tell me how to find that bill about school levies that you want to investigate. If you are successful, meaning you actually find what you are looking for, then my hat is off to you.

The first step is to make sure everyone begins learning from a Free Course, manned by some ladies in Olympia.

Influencing Olympia Effectively

A Course for Activists

www.influencingolympia.com/

We went through how to sign up for the free course above and begin learning. See this previous post describing more about this course here. The first lesson shows you how to create a profile on the Washington State website. After the first lesson easy access is set. You are also armed with a bookmarked page and a login created on that site, which will make voicing your opinion easier later on.

The second lesson teaches you how to easily vote and make comments on the bills that they are working on that day over in Olympia, WA.

The third lesson… and so on, and so on…

House Speaker Fight

Protesting, Megaphone, Hand, Woman, Yelling, Silhouette - Megaphone @clipartmax.com

The House Speaker Fight did have some success come out of it.

7 Fundamental Reforms
from the Speaker of the House Fight

1. It will take only a single congressperson acting on what’s called the “Jeffersonian motion” to move to remove the Speaker if he or she goes back on their word or policy agenda
2. A Church-style committee will be convened to look into – the weaponization of the FBI and other government agencies.
3. Term limits will be put up for a vote.
4. There will be a 72-hour minimum to read bills
5. The Texas border plan will be placed before Congress

- (a 3-prong plan):
- to complete physical border construction
- enforce our laws in the interior
- target cartels & criminal organizations.

6. COVID mandates will be ended along with all funding including EUA.

7. Budget bills will stop the endless increases in the debt ceiling & hold Senate accountable for the same.

None of this would have happened without these men. They’d probably appreciate our Thank You, if you can take the time.

Chip Roy, Tx 21

Andy Biggs, AZ 5

Ralph Norman, SC 5

Matt Gaez, FL 1

Matt Rosendale, MT 2

Bob Good, VA 5

Privacy & Security Expert

It pays to listen when a Privacy & Security Expert offers a FREE Webinar opportunity. Glenn Meder is an online privacy & security expert that will be providing a FREE webinar on:

This is FREE for people who pre-register to attend online.

Pre-Registration

5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Big Tech, Big Brother and Thieves Who Spy on You Without your Consent.

Per Tom DeWeese at American Policy Organization, the following information was received in an email today…

“…Big tech and big brother constantly know your location, all of your texts and what you are searching for. Worst of all, they can access the cameras and microphones that you already have in your house. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Big tech companies like Facebook and Google are some of the most profitable companies in the world, even though everything they offer is for free. That’s because YOU are the product. The data they collect from you is proven to be their most valuable asset. And they use that data to manipulate you. But here’s the good news…

A majority of Americans report being concerned about the way their data is being used by companies (79%) and the government (64%). So, if you feel this way, you are not alone. The problem is eight-in-ten U.S. adults think they have very little or no control over the data that government (84%) or companies (81%) collect about them.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But the truth is, reclaiming your privacy is A LOT easier than you think. The trick is, you need to know where to start.

That’s why I’ve asked my friend Glenn Meder, an online Privacy and Security Expert, to prove that in his Webinar on January 12^th at 5:00PM Pacific Standard Time (7:00PM CENTRAL TIME).

5 Ways to Protect Yourself from Big Tech, Big Brother and Thieves Who Spy on You Without your Consent.

You Are Not Powerless

You can protect your browser, computer, and smartphone from data thieves using simple techniques right now. Glenn is going to give you a whole bunch of free tips in this webinar. If you’re like most people and feel overwhelmed because you don’t think you can protect your data, then you need to hear the strategies Glenn is giving away for FREE!
It’s time to take back your privacy.

See you there!

Spokane Tax Assessors

Appraiser Humor — The cartoon above was found on Tom Konis’ FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/tom.konis). A prime example of Appraiser humor.

Tax Budget Mysteries

Spokane Tax Assessors (Tom Konis) had this cartoon on his FaceBook page. Revealing?

Did you know that the Assessor’s Office is given a total dollar amount to generate for each fiscal year? Who it is, that gives Spokane County this number to collect, has not yet been discovered. That is just another topic that this FreedomPod in NE Washington needs to do a search and rescue research mission and then broadcast for you.

“Fair market values” are then set, by using percentage amounts across different regions of the County and basically dividing up portions of the pot between citizens that live there. Above is an image displaying the regional percentage divisions that tax rates will increase next year. Check how much more you will pay next year. The Spokane County Assessor’s Office’s basis for calculating a property’s “fair market value” is that they must generate this total dollar value.

We live in Elk, Washington and the percentage of increase will be 27.98% in this region, our taxes will be going up an additional 27.98% next year. Hmmm. In the past 3 years, they have escalated 100% already, doubling. Now, I can look forward to another 1/3’rd raise even if the housing market dives. Hmmm.

Want Change?

The entire process that figures out how much to assess and where to spend our property tax dollars has very little voter involvement at this time. This is really not good. For things to improve, as taxpayers, we need to become aware of and be active participants in what is going on.

These decision-makers have no one holding them accountable for unreasonable decisions that affect our lives.

We must educate ourselves to stop this. Am I willing to take what steps are necessary to pay attention to and counter unreasonable tax levies? YES. We will share what is found on this blog. We will also begin recruiting others interested in making a positive change.

Remember! If our elected officials are not voted back into office they can not continue to impose unwarranted taxes on us. Organizing and voting is the most important citizen action we can take. BTW, Tom Konis got back into office running unopposed. What a shame. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone who is a working-class citizen in this position instead of a Realtor? See, Conflict of Interest here.

Charlie Kirk

American Response to The Great Reset, A Turning Point USA Publication

Charlie Kirk and the Turning Point USA organization is a must-read for increasing your understanding of how things work. Friends from our association with the John Birch Society invited us to go see a speaker named, “Charlie Kirk” at a Valley church in Spokane. On YouTube, he has podcasts that our friends listen to on a regular basis. He was one of the best speakers we have heard.

A Must Read

One of the most helpful books that we got was entitled, “The American Response to The Great Reset“. On their website this book is available for a single donation, you will be glad you got it. This is a thin paperback that is an easy-read with only 39 pages.

The Great Reset TOC — The American Response to The Great Reset, A Turning Point USA Publication TOC

What is at the root of what is going on today in politics? With just one afternoon of reading, your entire outlook will turn around. Gladly, you will not be able to ignore what is going on anymore, because you will no longer be unaware. You will understand a lot more. Behind-the-scenes policies are driving the political climate in today’s world. The pictures above show the book cover and the table of contents page.

Turning Point USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk. The organization’s mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.

“The College Scam” by Charlie Kirk addresses so much about a college education that you really should delve into this one if you are putting your child through college.

The College Scam TOC — The College Scam by Charlie Kirk TOC

John Birch Society

We joined The John Birch Society because it believes in working for less Government, and upholds the Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Another reason we are members of JBS, is that they are a Christian-based organization. The information that the John Birch Society constantly sends us helps so much in our journey to learn about how to monitor our elected officials.

Pictured above is their twice-a-month magazine, “The New American“. I try to read all of it before the next one comes. The reading that needs to be done is a lot but I am hoping that soon we will be able to join together and split the work between us. You read that one, and I’ll read this one, and we each will make a brief outline to share with everyone.

With all this increased effort of reading all this, I am learning enough of the terms that when I talk to professionals at this I am understanding more. How many acronyms are there in the world? Really?

In addition to this magazine, we get emails about important things happening that usually have a podcast or video we can watch about whatever notice it is. JBS also tells us about things we can attend. If they are close, we try to make a point of going because it is amazing what you can learn from people in person. There are many helpful shortcuts to wade through the information.

Become Active

The Activist's Handbook — The Activist’s Handbook – Learn how to: Restore freedom, take the offensive, change the debate & hold elected officials responsible, by Tom DeWeese

Our resolution for 2023 is to become ACTIVE in our local politics and not sit back to just complain. My husband and I are two typical working-class citizens, who always make an effort to vote responsibly. Voting alone is not enough as corruption invades our freedoms. Government overreach has spiraled way out of hand. Our votes are not honestly counted.

Our own laziness and failure to learn the ropes, have allowed this situation to escalate. The government is betting on the citizens not pushing back. They take steps to make it difficult to participate. Our freedoms fall prey to big money and its lobbyists who have worked tirelessly to set things up for their greedy motives. No one is manning the gate and there are no consequences if we don’t act now.

Have laws passed that you would never vote for?

Solutions

We were fortunate to be able to travel over to Coeur d’Alene ID one evening, early in December 2022 to learn from an impressive speaker. We are so grateful for the great wake-up and smell-the-coffee call for Peter and me.

Tom DeWeese, is the founder of the American Policy Center, https://americanpolicy.org/. His name and his organization and a lot of the topics he presented to us were totally unfamiliar. With a little more reading a lot is revealed. Check out, “Agenda 21“, which is a topic we had not even been aware of.

Tom DeWeese has been a protector of American Liberties and a supporter of Less Government for over 4 decades. Living on the east coast, he is responsible for a lot of the successful citizen movements successfully taking place. He is the author of many books, search on Google, or Amazon and see for yourself.

We purchased one of his books at the lecture, entitled, “THE ACTIVIST’S HANDBOOK – How to Fight Back In Your Community“. This book is $89 on Amazon but on the AmericanPolicy.org site, it is $35. We are using this textbook as a guide to activate ourselves in our community. Tom DeWeese, talks about establishing a Freedom Pod and that is what we doing.

Join Us

Please come if you are interested in joining us in this effort. We are meeting on Tuesday night at 6:30 pm, at the Country Church of the Open Bible in Elk Washington. Come as you are. We will discuss initial setup needs, the best times to meet, and what current books, meetings, and classes are available.

Influence on Olympia

Do we have any influence on Olympia?

We certainly can if we apply ourselves and do some learning. If you are like I am, discussing politics can really get confusing very easily. But, luckily I am doing something about this overwhelming confusion by learning what is going on gradually. As citizens, we do have a right to be able to Influence Olympia.

Influencing Olympia Effectively

A Course for Activists

www.influencingolympia.com/

This course is one of my first steps. You can signup and view the videos at your own pace and it is FREE. It teaches you how to navigate their ominous Legislative website at www.LEG.WA.GOV.

When you signup be sure to click on both options to receive info… it’s a must before going forward. This is a FREE online course to learn how to interact with our legislators of Washington state.

After taking this course you will be able to participate effectively. Look forward to never being surprised about a new bill passed that you never would have wanted to be passed. Preparing for this new session we can find out about bills in time to join in voicing our opinions before they are voted on. We can actively participate.

NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING:
Spokane County Republican Central Committee
Monthly on the first Tuesday of the month
Tuesday, February 7th, 6-8pm
Spokane GOP, 901 N. Monroe, Suite 335, Spokane, WA 99201, USA
Parking is not good downtown, so carpooling is a good idea and so is early arrival to guarantee you can get a seat. We will be attending so contact us if you’d like to share rides.

Wondering what “GOP” stands for? I certainly did. Grand Old Party. Really. Hmmm.
check out the definition at Dictionary.com (https://www.dictionary.com/e/tea-party-gop/)