American Dream Montana

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="044d4c03.jpg"> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>American Dream Montana</B></div> <div> Welcome to the American Dream Montana web site.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Current Events"><U>Current Events</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Mission"><U>Our Mission</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SMART GROWTH"><U>SMART GROWTH</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="RESPONSIBLE PLANNING"><U>RESPONSIBLE PLANNING</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IMPACT FEES"><U>IMPACT FEES</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IMPACT FEES II"><U>IMPACT FEES II</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="INCREASED COSTS "><U>INCREASED COSTS </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="COMMUNITY RIGHTS"><U>COMMUNITY RIGHTS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Planning Myths"><U>Planning Myths</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sprawl For Me"><U>Sprawl For Me</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="County Growth Policy"><U>County Growth Policy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Planning Task Force"><U>Planning Task Force</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Join/Contact Us"><U>Join/Contact Us</U></A>FEE'S</div> <bR> <div> A message from the chairman</div> <bR> <div> Dear Friends:</div> <bR> <div>       American Dream Montana was started to counter a very organized and well-funded movement, SMART GROWTH.  As with most policies of the extreme political left, the rhetoric does not correspond to the reality.  SMART GROWTH is not "smart," and it is "anti-growth."</div> <bR> <div>       Nonetheless, the organizational skills of the Smart Growth crowd, along with their seemingly inexhaustible sources of funding, have given the smart growth/anti-growthers influence far beyond that which their limited numbers would suggest possible.</div> <bR> <div>       Flathead County is considered by the smart growthers to be ripe for their destructive social (or socialist) experiment, Smart Growth.  For Smart Growth to succeed, the power of government is necessary to force it on the people.  If given a choice, the majority of the public would never voluntarily submit to most Smart Growth policies.  Who would voluntarily support public policies designed to eliminate single-family home ownership?  Who would encourage the cities to implement policies designed to create traffic congestion, simply to discourage automobile use?  Who would support policies forcing high-density development into our suburban neighborhoods?  What rural property owner would ask their local government to "lock up" their rural property, preventing its use?  These are just a few of the Smart Growth goals that depend on the power of government for their success.</div> <bR> <div>       Flathead County is at a cross roads and the smart growth/anti-growthers know it.  They view the counties new Growth Policy effort and the creation of a new Long Range Planning Task Force as the opportunity they need to use local government to force their destructive political agenda on the citizens and property owners of Flathead County.  </div> <bR> <div>       Unfortunately, the smart growthers in Flathead County may not be that far off the mark.  The Smart Growth "green" group, Citizens For A Better Flathead, and their supporters, have attempted with some success to dominate the county's new growth policy effort over the past several months.  The county's new Long Range Planning Task Force is top heavy with public officials and bureaucrats.  Some, like county road superintendent Charlie Johnson, who is vowing to impose "impact fee's" (new property taxes) on county property owners.  Others, like the vice-chair of the task force, Joe Russell, who has privately stated that:  "Within a few months we will shut growth down in Flathead County."</div> <bR> <div>       With the success this year of the Democrats in electing many green smart growth extremists to the State Legislature, smart growthers have even more reason to be optimistic.  Bills attacking family transfers, minor subdivisions, and virtually any aspect of what might be considered "property Rights,” are introduced on almost a daily basis, with frankly, little chance that they will can be successfully blocked by the Republican minority.</div> <bR> <div>       The only long-term solution to restoring common sense to these issues that are so vital to the well being of this generation of Montanans, and critical to future generations, is organization.  We cannot simply set around and lament the loss of our freedoms and liberty's to these special interest groups. These special interests and their destructive agenda represents a small radical minority.  <B><U>We are in the majority</U></B><B>.</B>  We need to act like it!</div> <bR> <div>       That is exactly what AMERICAN DREAM MONTANA intends to do.  With your support, AMERICAN DREAM MONTANA will be that long-term solution.</div> <div>                                                                                                                Russell Crowder, Chairman </div> </td> </tr></table></body>