Everglades bill to displace Cubans {Sawgrass Rebellion / Land Grab}

Washington Times ^ | February 17, 2003 | By James G. Lakely

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

Hundreds of Floridians, mostly poor Cuban immigrants, will be displaced from their homes in the Everglades because of a little-noticed rider to the 2003 federal spending bills that passed last week.

Residents of an 8.5-square-mile area, which abuts the Everglades National Park in Dade County, Fla., said they feel betrayed by Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and the president they thought would protect them.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

All. But,but, "the Republicans are coming! They'll save US! Yeah right. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Or get worse. "Bad" guys in red. Peace and love, George.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

Guys, Another amendment snuck through without a vote. Wonder why the Demoncrats aren't indignant about THIS addition to a spending bill. Peace and love, George.

[Joe Brower]

[madfly]

ping

[Carry_Okie]

The Sawgrass Rebellion never made the environmental case for why this was a bad thing understandable to the public. That left them with an insurmountable political hill to climb. Now all the Everglades Institute can do is to document the damage or sue.

[TheBattman]

You have got to be kidding...the Corps of Engineers could save money, not flood these people out, and still accomplish the same environmental goals - but refuse to - opting for the more expensive and most beligerant method? No way... [ /sarcasm ]

[TonyWojo]

I beg to differ. The sawgrassrebellion.org website, had a tremendous amount of letters, and other written material regarding the 8.5 square mile area and also about alternative D6.

There were requests to contact Senator Grahams office and other House and Senate members. regarding Alternative D6.

Also links to Property Rights Acition Committee website which mirrored the same info on the Sawgrass website.

There were posts almost on a daily basis on freerepublic from Mid August through mid October regarding Everglades restoration , the 8.5 square mile area, and alternative D6. Not to mention the updates on the Sawgrass Rebellion itself.

As I used to end my posts then and again now

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

[DLfromthedesert]

Or hunt down government thugs.

[Carry_Okie]

I beg to differ. The sawgrassrebellion.org website, had a tremendous amount of letters, and other written material regarding the 8.5 square mile area and also about alternative D6.

A pile of letters on a website isn't making a clear environmental case. They didn't make the case understandable to the public. They weren't effective at getting that message into the popular media.

There were requests to contact Senator Grahams office and other House and Senate members. regarding Alternative D6.

So what? That isn't going to compel a Sentor when there are multi-billion dollar investors with a stake in the outcome.

Also links to Property Rights Acition Committee website which mirrored the same info on the Sawgrass website.

You need to learn more about how the opposition works.

There were posts almost on a daily basis on freerepublic from Mid August through mid October regarding Everglades restoration , the 8.5 square mile area, and alternative D6. Not to mention the updates on the Sawgrass Rebellion itself.

As if I wasn't reading them; I was way ahead of you. From the beginning, when this first went down, I was on the phone to Henry Lamb telling him to make this case or he would lose. I told that to GB Oliver at Paragon too. They didn't. The entire project was an organizational nightmare.

As I used to end my posts then and again now

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

Coming? LOL! You have no clue. It started here over thirty years ago.

[farmfriend]

I'm glad getting Bush elected was so important to you. Sorry you couldn't do it and help these people out at the same time.

[farmfriend]

Ping brother.

[farmfriend]

Jeb walks on water on this forum. This forum actively killed sawgrass. I will never forget. Never. They pulled my threads then banned the members of my chapter for posting them.

[PARKFAN]

You are absolutely correct! This forum actively restricted information on the Sawgrass Rebellion and people, Freepers, who wanted to show at my Tracy rally were discouraged from coming by the veiled hoopla presented by this forum. I was shocked and appalled by FR stand.

I live in the Delta of CA and we are the next step for "restoration" to our pristine swamp origins. The Everglades is a proving ground for taking our farming area leaving USA food production to third world nations that truly do not like us.

[buggyman]

Hi all,

This post was sent to me via the PFUSA list that Kathy Van Tuyl maintains. There are a couple of things perhaps that we should consider more carefully.

#1 - The 8.5 mile area has several competing interests. The Cuban population is less than cohesive, with three identifiable groups with three different agendas. Then there is Madeline Fortin and her small group, with an ill-defined agenda that infuriates the other three. As a Norte-Americano, Madeline is unable to communicate with the other groups and has managed to alienate herself from the Miccosukee(sp?) Tribe (yet another interest) as well. Madeline is a hard-core hard-nosed uncompromising property rights activist who is less than accomodating of other people's views. She has the right credentials, the right principles, guts, intelligence, and all the qualities we admire, but she is politically and socially naive. Cuban and tribal interests are equally naive. They rely entirely upon a politically well connected attorney to manage their affairs. The cards in this game are held by a small group of Homestead bankers, outlying property owners/speculators, and of course, gang green. Unless and until the people of the 8.5 square mile area are able to sit down and resolve their differences and get on a single sheet of music, they will lose just as sure as God made little green apples. There's a valuable lesson here for the rest of us.

#2 - On the western side of the Everglades, in Collier County sits another group who, unlike the 8.5 square mile people, have managed to get their act together and are making positive things happen. I'm talking about the Golden Gate Estate people and their PRAC (Property Rights Action Committee). They've managed to hang together without shooting themselves in the foot. They've managed to get involved in their local political arena, have done their homework and are relatively united in terms of picking a course of action and sticking to it. They seem to work together.

Dade County (8.5 mile area) and Collier County (PRAC) do not communicate with each other. They're separated by distance, entirely different culturally, distrustful of each other, and parochial in their views. Further, the recreational groups in both Collier and Dade are unable to support the agendas of either, without cutting their own throats. The various alternatives posed by the restoration plan were, intentionally or unintentionally, devised precluding any meaningful alliance between property owners and access interests.

Agriculture, essentially non-existent in Collier County, is all but dysfunctional. Comprised primarily of small nursery operators, the industry neither has a connection with the land nor any particular interest in their communities. Dade County Farm Bureau for example, is controlled by a nitwit with lots of money, but no discernable brain matter. The typical leadership that we'd expect from Farm Bureau or other ag interests, does not exist. Even the state Farm Bureau Federation disowns them.

A small group of recreational groups meets regularly and has some talented people who look out for their interests, but are unwilling to provide leadership outside of their special interests. There are a few individual exceptions, but generally, the recreational groups have their hands full with their own problems and won't get into the dirty politics of property rights.

It's easy to criticize the Sawgrass Rebellion's effort mounted by Paragon, Lamb and others. It's not so easy however, to make sense out of the realities of south Florida. There are snakes and alligators in that swamp, and until you've experienced it, it's hard to imagine what could be done different.

As outsiders, all we can do is watch and give encouragement. There are no reasonable alternatives on the table. There is no discernable plan to follow. There is no political leadership. There are no solutions. There is only the swamp, with a few hardy souls who chose to call it home and of course, an army of bureaucrats who use it to support their coastal lifestyles and gated communities.

Individual freedoms and liberties, I'm afraid, are going to be severely compromised in this part of Florida. When approachd to have a rally in Dade County for example, the local Cubans were afraid of being arrested. Others, would not participate because a parade permit was not obtained. In Florida, permitting is required for a yard sale. Yet others, were intimidated by the greenies who had labeled us as "militia."

Hopefully, out of this mess, someone will rise to assume leadership and put together a clear and consise message that others will follow. If not, then on your next visit to the People's Republic of South Florida ... stop by and say hi to Madeline, Bill Lohta, and those who will remain to fight ... they're great people.

Larry

[pabianice]

http://www.savemiscoe.org

[Coleus]

ping

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Everyone down in this community voted for President Bush and his brother, and they're being sold out,"

It would be interesting to find out where Ms. Fortin's political loyalties lie.

She's blamming President Bush, and Governor Jeb Bush for the actions of the 1898 Democrat-controlled Congress that passed this law, during the governorship of Bob Martinez (D), and for the Amendment snuck into the 2003 budget by Florida State Senator Bob Graham (D).

Far be it for me to put a damper on all the (way less than honest) Republican bashing going on this thread, but the clear message here is that we have got to stop putting Democrats in office, at any level of goernment.

Oh, I guess that argument could be made that Jeb Bush could refuse to allow the work to go on, in spite the fact that it's law. But I thought that conservative movement was one of respect for the law, and respect for the system.

Some people I guess, lacking the ability to get a politician elected that they agree with 100% of the time, would rather see one that would violate laws and procedures in order to advance their particular agenda (see Clinton, William Jefferson). But that's not the conservative way, is it?

I feel for these people losing their homes, I hope that something can be legally done to help their cause.

Thanks for the ping.