BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads

Subject: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: GUEST,Concerned
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 12:44 PM

Have you heard about this?:

On July 29, 2005, President Bush signed a bill which permits and promotes the charging of tolls on existing and planned interstate highways, bridges, and tunnels. Before the passage of the bill, known as SAFETEA-LU, or "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users", it was generally illegal to charge tolls on roads built with Federal funds. What's more, the tolls collected will be automatic, requiring universally compatible toll transponder tags on every vehicle.

SAFETEA-LU makes possible a variety of programs, all aimed at forcing Americans to pay to travel. To wit:

* "Interstate System Reconstruction & Rehabilitation Pilot Program" allows the tolling of existing interstate highways, bridges, and tunnels to fund repair of existing highways.

* "Interstate System Construction Toll Pilot Program" authorizes tolling existing facilities on the interstate system to fund new interstate highways.

* "Value Pricing Pilot (VPP) Program" allows new tolls on existing toll free facilities such as high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, tolls on new lanes added to existing highways, and electronically collected variable tolls on existing and new toll facilities.

* "Express Lanes Demonstration Program" allows tolling to finance new lanes. Automatic toll collection is REQUIRED and revenue collected may be used to provide a reasonable rate of return on PRIVATE financing, operation, and maintenance costs.

* "High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Facilities, SAFETEA-LU Section 1121 (23 USC 166)" authorizes states to build high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on interstate and non-interstate facilities.

Although most of these programs are experimental, the mindset they demonstrate and the precedents they intend to set will have devastating consequences on all Americans. The mindset is that Americans are lab rats in a maze, who must be tagged and tracked everywhere they go. Cockroaches control the maze. The consequences to the heretofore taken for granted freedom to travel and to individual pocketbooks are ominous.

Imagine for a moment what must have been going through the minds of the six-legged elites when they thought up this diabolical scheme. The question is "How do you destroy the national sovereignty of the United States, merge it with the rest of the western hemisphere, build the infrastructure system needed to link up the entire landmass, confiscate private property on a wholesale level, spy on everyone's comings and goings, and trick American suckers into paying for their own demise all in one fell swoop ? The answer: TOLL EVERYTHING!

As with any diabolical plot, many problems and obstacles had to be removed in order to insure success. As the Wicked Witch of the West once said, "The question is `how to do it`. These things must be done delicately, or you'll hurt the spell".

The first obstacle is that it is generally illegal to toll federally funded roads. No problem…just sneak section 1604 into a telephone book sized highway bill and no one will notice. Everyone knows Congressmen and Senators do not actually read the bills they vote on.

How do you get the super rich elites to go along with the plan? Simple…give them a piece of the action. Construction contracts will go to selected insiders and toll facilities will be given to private investors. We will call it "public-private partnership".

But wait! State by state, the local politicians must be persuaded to pass legislation to further the scheme. How to do it? Tell the contractors to write the necessary legislation, line the campaign coffers of key legislators, convince the Governor of each state that it was his idea via more campaign contributions, and sneak the bills through the state legislatures when nobody is looking. After all, state representatives do not read the bills they vote on either.

Yet another requirement in order to pull this off is to keep the unwashed masses in the dark It would not do to have the sheep to find out they are about to be shorn. So how do you keep the press quiet? No problem…we control the press! The watchdog will remain asleep, and no one will find out until it is a done deal. Besides, when the cretins begin to realize what is going on, they will complain to their local transportation officials and wonder why no one is listening. Just don't let the slaves know that the "massa" barking the orders resides in New York City at the headquarters of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

But the Constitution stands in the way of the plot. What to do about the pesky supreme law of the land which prohibits the taking of private land and handing it over to other private entities? How fortunate that the globalist infested Supreme Court, in June of 2005, legislated from the bench by re-writing the takings clause of the 5th Amendment in Kelo vs. City of New London. Now the Supremes say it is okay to force people to sell their land to private developers who promise a kickback to the government, we are free to proceed with the tolling of America.

Still one more problem must be overcome. We must propagandize transportation officials into believing this is a great idea so they can sell it to private investors and politicos nationwide. ADVERTISING is the key. We will get the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials to put up a website called www.innovativefinance.org. It will be a veritable "how to" encyclopedia of fascism, but we will call it "public-private partnership" because "fascism" does not roll so well off of the tongue. Multi-millionaire highway contractors and local politicians will be able to swill at the federal trough to their hearts content. It will be a win-win setup for everyone except regular Americans, who are just being set up.

This malicious plan is being implemented all across America. Such plots survive and thrive only in the dark. It is time to turn on the lights and watch the cockroaches run. In Texas, pro-toll politicians have been replaced with anti-toll newcomers. This trend must continue, and spread like a wildfire of truth throughout the country. The alarm clock is ringing. Wake up. Get up. Open your eyes. Get out the roach spray. Fumigate your house. Go wake up your neighbors.

http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/toll_roads_its_the_law_feds_pave_way.htm

(The writer of this article deserves the Pulitzer Prize. He's just a businessman in Austin (owns a hardware store), but he's a political activist. And he did some checking about the toll roads he'd heard rumors about, and he came up with an email from someone who thought he was one of the people in on the secret. Now I understand why the US Supreme Court just ruled whistleblowing by a federal employee is against the law. The govt has managed to keep this out of the public eye so far, but the Mexicans have their bit of this road pushed up to the border and are chomping at the bit, waiting to go. So last year the Sup Court ruled private individuals can take your land if they can generate more tax revenue from it than you do, and now the whistleblowing ruling. They're getting ready to push this thing into Texas, and they want people to not know about it until it's coming into their neighborhoods. 97% of Americans are against toll roads, and if the country learned the private individuals who are going to steal land for these roads include folks like Juan Carlos of Spain, there'd be hell to pay. I mean, King Juan's road is a quarter mile wide and runs from Laredo, TX to Duluth Minnesota. A quarter mile X Laredo to Duluth...that's a lot of land the King of Spain is going to steal. Like I say, this writer's just a hardware store owner. And people ask "what can I do?" Geez.)

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 12:47 PM

I heard this man interviewed, too. Three hours after he submitted this article to infowars.com, the host had him on to discuss it. Apparently they have a live webcam because they kept showing the email to the camera.

This is not whistleblowing because the man doing the story doesn't work for any of the organizations mentioned. So cool. The internet is so cool. They're going to have to kill it, because now, people from Laredo to Duluth are aware of the problem and can fight it in a united way. That neighborhood to neighborhood slime won't work now. So cool.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Bobert
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 12:53 PM

I posted something about this a couple weeks ago...

Yeah, the republican plan is for more and more regressive taxes... Stick it to anyone but the folks who can actually afford governemnt services...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Amos
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 12:53 PM

The other nasty question is what happened to the billions generated by gasoline taxes and earmarked for highway maintenance and improvement?

A

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 12:59 PM

"Before the passage of the bill, known as SAFETEA-LU, or "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users", it was generally illegal to charge tolls on roads built with Federal funds."

Come on. I don't believe it.

"What's more, the tolls collected will be automatic, requiring universally compatible toll transponder tags on every vehicle."

And how is this toll to be collected automatically?

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: artbrooks
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 03:18 PM

New? Not hardly. Both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Turnpikes (to mane just two of many) are (1) federally-funded, (2) part of the Interstate system, and (3) toll roads.

Also, the recent Supreme Court decision affirmed the whistle-blower rights of government employees. What it said was that you can't claim whistler-blower protections if your boss dosn't like something you put in an official communication to the boss.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: artbrooks
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 03:19 PM

Sorry..."name"

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: GUEST,Concerned
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 04:36 PM

This isn't Republicans, to begin with. Clinton began this whole government by trade agreement by signing NAFTA. One of his first acts was to stab the American "working man" in the back. Clinton the "liberal." Clinton the "Democrat." And only the Senate can deal in treaties, by the way, so NAFTA is unconstitutional.

And collection of tolls will be automatic. RFID chips in cars. Mandatory. In Texas they tried to pass that last year and it was defeated by 2 votes in the legislature, otherwise we'd have chips in our inspection stickers right now, and an 8-year mandatory prison sentence for disabling them. These people aren't messing around. The king of Spain's been promised a roadway from Laredo to Duluth, and they are going to tax us to pay for it and jail us if we don't go along with the program.

And tax us on roads we already paid for with tax money. Traditional toll roads were built by private groups, and the tolls over time recover the investment. Fair enough. But THIS project is going to seize Interstate highways (paid for by U.S. taxpayers) and turn them over to private organizations. GIVE them to private organizations, which will then charge us to drive on our own roads. This is a NEW class of tolling. You're going to be taxed to use what you paid to build. Get it? This is new.

As far as whistleblower protections, believe what the media tells you if you want. The ruling kills whistleblower protections. If you report on govt breaking the law, you now go to jail. They've already tried to extend the ruling to the press, too.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 04:59 PM

Let me welcome you statesiders to the land of the 'milked' motorist. Over here in the UK we are experts in the art of being victims of government emascultion of car owners. We have to pay an annual 'Vehicle Excise Duty', this was introduced in nineteen canteen, with the avowed intent of using the monies raised to build newer and better roads, but then it was called Road Tax. This varies from about £90 pa for a small fuel efficent car to about £3000 pa for an LGV [Truck] Now they have abandoned all pretence of it being a predicated tax, and it just goes into the pot along with the income tax and the VAT [value added tax], and all the other fancy taxes.
Then you have the taxes we pay on road fuel, a gallon of fuel [UK gallon] costs about £4:50 [US $8:20 US] up here in the highlands, that is about 40% to the retailer/multi national fuel company, and 60% to the government in taxes, both VAT and Excise Duty in this case.
Now they are charging motorists to enter the centre of London £5 a day for cars, and they are buiding toll roads around big cities [Birmingham]
So all I can say is that it makes a chenge for you to follow us in this respect, rather than for us to follow you. Like into Iraq and all that crap.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Metchosin
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 05:02 PM

Guest, could you explain exactly what tolls on US highways have to do with NAFTA? I'm not certain I see the connection.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Tootler
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 05:09 PM

The government here in the UK have proposed something similar. They want to turn existing, free, Motorways into toll roads, they claim to reduce congestion. Of course it won't; it will simply push traffic on to other, less suitable roads and produce even more congestion.

The government say they will reduce petrol and/or car tax in compensation for the tolls. No one believes them (surprise, surprise) so the vast majority of people are against the proposal.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 06:02 PM

When the US Interstate system was proposed during the Eisenhower administration, it's purpose was as an "Emergency Response" measure. It was nominally based on complaints that in a country as large as the US it was incredibly difficult to move large quantities of heavy equipment and freight on existing US highways. "Trial journeys" by military convoys of fairly modest size in the 1940s and before were consistently disastrous, requiring weeks or months to cover a couple of thousand miles, and leaving heaps of broken vehicles littering the country.

The Interstate system was proposed to be paid for principally by the vehicle and road use taxes on commercial freight, which would have first priority for the use of the new system, subject to the exclusive use by the military in time of emergency. Later changes to the laws and regulations formally accepted the use of the proposed Interstate highways on a "courtesy" basis by private vehicles and drivers, with a nominal amount based on observed usage to be contributed from general fuel taxes to the construction and maintenance of the roads. Tolls were prohibited generally.

Standards for construction were published, but in order to qualify for Federal funding there was a delay of about 3 years before the first "qualified" contracts for construction were released and "official construction" could begin. In the meantime, in a few places, State highway departments "pre-started" by beginning road constructions that were intended for "acceptance into" the Interstate system when (and if) the roads built under Federal contracts connected.

In Kansas, a "quasi-state" Kansas Turnpike Authority was formed to build, in advance of the Interstate contracts, a new highway of about 240 miles, from the South border where connection with a proposed Interstate Highway in Oklahoma was expected, to Kansas City in the far NorthEast corner of the state.

In Oklahoma, a similar "Turnpike" was constructed from around Tulsa to an expected junction with the same Interstate segment, a distance of about 100 miles. Oklahoma also "pre-constructed" a number of shorter stretches to "Interstate specification" that were exepected to, and largely did, connect eventually with the Interstate system.

In nearly all of these "pre-constructions" the roads were built as toll roads with the promise that the tolls would be removed when the roads were accepted into the system as Interstate Highways.

Approximately 30 days prior to the "official" connection of the Kansas Turnpike with Interstate 35 at the Oklahoma border, someone "suddenly discovered" that existing toll roads could continue to charge tolls as part of the Interstate system, under a "grandfather clause" inserted without general public knowledge sometime during the intervening few years.

All of the above cited roads remain toll roads today, and Oklahoma has been one of the principal lobbyists for additional tolling on more sections within their state.

At about the time that the "grandfather clause" on tolls became public, the argument was that "back east" the states had already built numerous toll roads that were "nominally to Interstate standards," and that it would save lots of money if they were allowed to be made part of the Interstate system.

Any toll road that is currently part of the Interstate Highway system must have been completed and charging tolls prior to becoming part of the system. The intent obviously is to change that.

John

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: artbrooks
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 06:30 PM

GUEST, Concerned, I got my information from reading the text of Supreme Court decisions. Try it...data from the source is often more accurate than information from the blogosphere. I also just went and read (skimmed) the text of SAFETEA-LU. Not much similarity there.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 08:04 PM

I'm trying to see a positive outcome of making all long distance highways toll roads....

It would reduce the consumption of energy used to drag goods large distances, thus fostering more localised manufacture due to them being more competitive?

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Bobert
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 08:10 PM

Clinton a Democrat??? Hardly... Best "pure" Repub the Repubs have had since Nixon...

It's still a regressive tax and no one can argue it isn't!!! Okay, you can argue it but you will loose the argument 101 times out of 100...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 08:36 PM

Regressive - yep, doing anything that would inhibit the lunatic monopolisation of production at one point on the globe (cheapest labour), and dragging it all around the world would definitely be a regressive step for those making money from that game.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 09:38 PM

There's also the difficulty that few places have the fortuitous coincidence of resources to locally fabricate onions, potato(e)s, wheat, corn, rice, bananas, peaches, coal, petroleum, fresh milk and eggs, and basic iron, steel, aluminum and plastic - and deepwater fish products - all within "local" distance of most homes.

You can grow okra just about anywhere though.

John

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: pdq
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 09:42 PM

That's right, JohnInKansas. Okra and marijuana.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Barry Finn
Date: 01 Jul 06 - 11:27 PM

Air America must be looking for newer markets, there a war on cocaine going on at the moment & they want everybody's name that crosses state lines without a good reason & those with good reason too.

How they gonna collect tolls from me automatically when I don't have a bank account? Pay cash? Then they won't be able to track my illegal movements.

Talk about truckers making tail gate deliveries, here comes the Rail Road to the rescue. Talk about tracking.

The only benefits I can see coming out of this is we, the Joe Shmoes
are gonna pay through the nose with our alrealy road/gas taxes, now we'll be paying the added costs that will be charged by the industries that use the highways in their normal course of business. Which means pretty much that the cost of everything will go up.
Smugglers everywhere beware.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Jul 06 - 03:58 AM

Actually we little guys have it pretty easy. When we fuel up, we pay a simple cents per gallon tax, and whatever state we happen to be in gets to keep it all. There's an additional Federal tax, but it doesn't really enter into the equation.

When a commercial hauler buys fuel, a tax is collected, however it's not considered a fuel tax. It's a "road use tax." Theoretically, the state where the fuel is sold is only supposed to get it's share, based on the pro-rated number of miles the truck is driven in that state. When the driver enters the next state, he/she has to prove that the tax was paid, and tell them exactly where he's going and how many miles will be driven in that state, so that the second state can collect their share of the road use tax that another state has collected.

This works fine, except when you buy fuel in California, where they maintain that they get to keep it all and refuse to pay anything to another state. This means that the driver/carrier has to pay the tax twice on any fuel purchased in California.

In the interest of fair play, of course, California does claim their share, for miles driven in California, from other states where fuel burned in California may have been purchased, which incidentally again may or may not result in the driver/carrier paying the tax twice, since some other states are becoming reluctant to forward to California the bit corresponding to the portion of fuel burned there but purchased elsewhere.

As to toll roads, a fairly recent survey put the average turnpike toll at about 15 cents per mile per axle, but many places charge a non-linear rate that adds in a "gross weight" charge in addition to the per axle fee for vehicles with more than 3 axles. (i.e. car with small trailer, or large pick'em up). Bridge tolls etc. tend to be much higher than the cents per mile rate, especially for heavy vehicles, which in some areas does have an impact on people towing moderately large campers etc.

John

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Jul 06 - 07:02 AM

The "official story" on the 2005 enactment may be found at Federal Highway Administration SAFETEA-LU

The link to "Legislation" leads to Federal Highway Administration Legislation where one can (in principle at least) download:

1. Public Law 109-59 (as passed by Congress and signed by President)

2. Enrolled Bill (the bill as presented to the President for signature) H.R. 3

3. Conference Report (H. Rept. 109-203)

Some warnings:

All downloads from this repository (.gpo) have the same default filename. (getdoc.pdf in the case of the .pdf downloads.) You MUST change the name at the time of download, or before starting the next download, to avoid having the second or subsequent downloads overwrite the first, etc.

No indication is given at this site of the size of any of the downloads. These are large documents, so saving the .pdf to file for later reading is probably to be recommended for those who might be that interested.

PL 109-59 downloads as a 5,588 KB (approx 5.46 MB) .pdf file, and is the complete 836 page law.

The Enrolled Bill, as sent to the President for signature, is somewhat smaller, being "only" 2,139 KB (approx 2.1 MB) and 835 pages (the font is a little smaller).

The Conference report is rather large, at 21,388 KB (20.9 MB) and runs 1,231 pages. (A rather long download on dialup – especially when you don't know how much download you're waiting for.)

A summary is also available at Summary Information and is probably short enough to read online, although a 67 KB .pdf can also be downloaded. Although there's a lot of hype and buzzwords, there is some useful information in the summary, that may place what's been done in better context if one is willing to believe there are no hidden gotchas in the full act. I'll remain suspicious until I've finished reading at least.

John

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: GUEST,Woody
Date: 02 Jul 06 - 09:00 AM

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041033.cfm

June 26, 2006

Bush Issues Executive Order on Eminent Domain

by Pete Winn, associate editor

Last Friday marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court's infamous Kelo decision.

It has been one year since the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that shocked the country and attacked the fundamental American doctrine, "A man's home is his castle."

Now the backlash is under way.

President Bush marked the anniversary of the Kelo v. New London ( Conn.) decision by issuing an executive order barring the federal government from taking private land for someone else's private use.

Specifically, Bush's order said "it is the policy of the United States to protect the rights of Americans to their private property" by "limiting the taking of private property by the Federal Government to situations in which the taking is for public use, with just compensation, and for the purpose of benefiting the general public."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Bush's order specifically requires agencies that answer to the president to make sure, when they exercise eminent domain, that people's property is taken only for a public use, such as a road or airport, rather than what Kelo allows — the taking of private property for any use, including commercial development.

"Kelo interpreted the Fifth Amendment to allow state and local governments to condemn private property for the benefit of private developers," Hausknecht said, "to build privately owned improvements on that property for the hope of a public benefit, such as a higher tax base."

The ruling, cited by family advocates as an egregious example of judicial activism, sprung from a 1997 case in which the city of New London, Conn., allowed the New London Development Corp. to seize Susette Kelo's entire neighborhood for a shopping mall. Kelo and some of her neighbors sued — and lost.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, applauded Bush for taking executive action.

"The protection of homes and small businesses and other private property against government seizure or unreasonable government interference is a fundamental principle of American life and a distinctive aspect of our form of government," Cornyn said.

Cornyn has authored legislation — The Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act (S. 1313) — which puts into federal law for the full government what Bush's order does for the executive branch. His bipartisan bill now has 31 Senate co-sponsors.

A House bill, H.R. 4128, passed the lower chamber with bipartisan support by a vote of 376-38 and is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee. That bill would restrict federal economic-development funding to states where municipalities engage in eminent domain abuse.

"The Supreme Court's decision last year represented a radical departure from the decisions handed down interpreting that constitutional provision over the last 200 years, and the president's action was an important step toward righting that wrong," the Texas senator said. "But Congress must act soon."

Good news, bad news

The Kelo decision has brought both good news and bad news, according to Steve Anderson, a senior staff attorney for the Institute for Justice. The bad news is that Kelo opened up a floodgate of government property seizures.

"We did a study from 1998 to 2002, which showed more than 10,000 instances of eminent domain abuse around the country," Anderson told CitizenLink. "But in the last year, since Kelo, over 5,700 properties are being threatened or condemned for private development — that's nearly triple the yearly average."

The good news, he said, is that the ruling has unleashed a response from state legislatures and grassroots activists.

"The one thing the court got right is that states are free to pass laws that are more restrictive and pass laws that are more protective of their residents," he said. "We've seen that occur in about half the states. About 25 states have passed some kind of reform."

In addition, citizen-driven initiatives are being placed on the ballot in a number of states this fall, including California.

"We've seen an unprecedented grassroots rebellion because of this decision," Anderson said. "Quite frankly, it hits home."

It's ironic, Hausknecht said, that the anniversary of Kelo comes so close to July 4, America's Independence Day, because the Founding Fathers were very protective of private property in the Constitution.

"Property rights were near and dear to everything the Founders believed," he noted, "and part of the abuse of rights that England committed against America dealt directly with property rights."

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 02 Jul 06 - 09:46 AM

Hmmm, did someone want to steal Daddy's Ranch for a new Shopping Mall?

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: GUEST,Concerned
Date: 30 Jan 07 - 09:32 PM

DUNCANVILLE — Austin police, fire and emergency medical vehicles will have to pay tolls on Central Texas' three existing turnpikes unless they are pursuing a suspect or responding to an emergency, the Texas Transportation Commission decided today....

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/01/26/26texdot.html

We paid to build the roads--tax #1, pay continuing taxes with licenses and gas fees to maintain them--tax #2, now they're turning them over to private "authorities" that'll charge us tolls--tax #3, and on top of it all, the emergency personel we're taxed to pay for will have to pay tolls when they use the roads.

Excerpts from the 2003 Omnibus Transportation Bill (HB 3588), passed by the lobbyist-infested Texas legislature:

"The commission by order may convert a segment of the free state highway system to a turnpike project and transfer that segment to an authority, or may transfer an existing turnpike project that is part of the state highway system, whether previously tolled or not..."

"An authority may impose a toll for transit over an existing free road, street, or public highway transferred to the authority under this chapter."

"...an authority may not pay compensation for public real property, parkways, streets, highways, alleys, or reservations it takes..."

"An authority has full easements and rights-of-way through, across, under, and over any property owned by the state or any local government that are necessary or convenient to construct, acquire, or efficiently operate a transportation project or system..."

"Tolls, fees, fares, or other usage charges are not subject to supervision or regulation by any agency of this state or another governmental entity."

The law allows the department to acquire real property for a turnpike project and to "provide a location for an ancillary facility that generates revenue for use in the construction, maintenance, or operation of a turnpike project, including a gas station, garage, store, hotel, or restaurant."

The 'quick take' provision of the law provides that the department may file a declaration of taking with the clerk of the court, immediately serve a copy of the declaration on each person possessing an interest in the condemned property, file evidence of the service with the clerk of the court, and may thereupon take possession of the property pending the litigation.

http://www.corridorwatch.org/ttc/index.htm

And then today I read how the companies that are going to own the new toll roads are buying up media, so locals who depend on newspapers for their information won't know what's going on. See, they're selling this as "the Austin toll road system" and "the Dallas toll road system," but this is THOUSANDS of miles of roadway. They just want to keep locals in the dark about it:

Toll Road Giant Buys Newspapers to Silence Critics
Australian toll road giant Macquarie agreed Wednesday to purchase forty local newspapers, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, for $80 million. Macquarie Bank is Australia's largest capital raising firm and has invested billions in purchasing roads in the US, Canada and UK. Most recently the company joined with Cintra Concesiones of Spain in a controversial 75-year lease of the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road.

Sal Costello, the leading opponent of toll road projects as head of the Texas Toll Party, says the move is directly related to a 4000-mile toll road project known as the Trans-Texas Corridor. It will cost between $145 and $183 billion to construct the road, expected to be up to 1200 feet wide, requiring the acquisition of 9000 square miles of land in the areas through which it will pass.

"The newspapers are the main communication tool for many of the rural Texan communities, with many citizens at risk of losing their homes and farms through eminent domain," Costello wrote.

Many of the small papers purchased, most have a circulation of 5000 or less, have been critical of the Trans-Texas Corridor. An article in the Bonham Journal for example, states, "The toll roads will be under control of foreign investors, which more than frustrates Texans."

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/15/1570.asp

This is what's going on in Texas. If you haven't heard about it in your area, it's because the govt and media has been successful in keeping it out of the limelight. Look up "NAFTA superhighway" and you'll see this road system will eventually run from Central Mexico up into Canada. And to pay for this system, the legislatures and courts have legalized the theft of your land, and if you don't own any land, you'll contribute to the construction of the roads with license-scanned toll charges.

The above post about Bush's "Executive Order against emminent domain" is misleading. Bush said property can be taken for a roadway, and that was the goal from the outset. They grossly violated rights in New London, then Bush says it won't be allowed again, unless roadways are involved.

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 31 Jan 07 - 04:01 AM

Time for another revolution....

Subject: RE: BS: U.S. Govt creates national toll roads
From: Wolfgang
Date: 31 Jan 07 - 02:36 PM

A regressive tax is a tax imposed so that the tax rate decreases as the amount to which the rate is applied increases

100 miles 10 Dollars, 200 miles 15 Dollars would be a regressive tax.
100 miles 10 Dollars, 200 miles 20 Dollars would be a proportional tax.
100 miles 10 Dollars, 200 miles 30 Dollars would be a progressive tax.

You seem to be against a regressive tax according to the above definition, Bobert? Good idea. Any good environmentalist should agree with you.

Or do you mean something completely different which has nothing to do with the definition of regressive tax as quoted above?

Wolfgang