The claim: Federal prison under construction on the site of Carswell AFB.
What it really is: Carswell Air Force Base was shut down in 1994 and realigned as the Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Carswell Field (NAS Fort Worth JRB), and is now controlled by the Navy. The base is also host to the Texas Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve Command.
The west side of the base also still serves as Air Force Plant No. 4 and employs 17,000 personnel, who are primarily Lockheed Martin employees.
There is also no Federal prison there. There is however a Federal Medical Center there that provides specialized medical and mental health services to female inmates.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Beaumont / Port Arthur area, Texas
The claim: hundreds of acres of federal camps already built on large-scale detention camp design, complete with the double rows of chain link fencing with razor type concertina wire on top of each row. Some (but not all) of these facilities are currently being used for low-risk state prisoners who require a minimum of supervision.
What it really is: There are several large oil refineries there, and a lot of these places are fenced in due to the fact that not only does it contain expensive equipment, the stuff these refineries deal with can explode...
Via using Google Maps, other then the refineries, some shopping centers, and some warehouses, I really can't find anything that would resemble the claims that are being made for that area.
What it really is: There are several large oil refineries there, and a lot of these places are fenced in due to the fact that not only does it contain expensive equipment, the stuff these refineries deal with can explode...
Via using Google Maps, other then the refineries, some shopping centers, and some warehouses, I really can't find anything that would resemble the claims that are being made for that area.
Ft. Hood (Killeen), Texas
The claim: Newly built concentration camp, with towers, barbed wire etc., just like the one featured in the movie Amerika. Mock city for NWO shock- force training. Some footage of this area was used in "Waco: A New Revelation"
What it really is: Fort Hood is one of the largest Army bases in the country. There are almost 89,000 personal there, and because there are so many people there, the base is going to look like a city, and there are going to be places there that will be off limits and have barbed wire and even guard towers around them to keep people out, not in.
The base itself has been the site of several anti-war protests as well dating back to the Vietnam War. Near the base is a coffee shop called the Under The Hood Café which has become a meeting place for anti-war activists.
What it really is: Fort Hood is one of the largest Army bases in the country. There are almost 89,000 personal there, and because there are so many people there, the base is going to look like a city, and there are going to be places there that will be off limits and have barbed wire and even guard towers around them to keep people out, not in.
The base itself has been the site of several anti-war protests as well dating back to the Vietnam War. Near the base is a coffee shop called the Under The Hood Café which has become a meeting place for anti-war activists.
Millington, Tennessee
Special thanks to Jeffery Newell for debunking this site, via his blog Autistic Skeptic
The claim: Federal prison camp next door to Memphis Naval Air Station.
What it really is: This area is a minimum security satellite prison of Memphis FCI.
The claim: Federal prison camp next door to Memphis Naval Air Station.
What it really is: This area is a minimum security satellite prison of Memphis FCI.
Ft. Campbell, Tennessee
Special thanks to Jeffery Newell for debunking this site, via his blog Autistic Skeptic
The claim: Next to Land Between the Lakes; adjacent to airfield and US Alt. 41.
What it really is: It gives the exact location, but fails to describe the area any further, Implying that they just selected a random military base. Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. You can read more about it here
The claim: Next to Land Between the Lakes; adjacent to airfield and US Alt. 41.
What it really is: It gives the exact location, but fails to describe the area any further, Implying that they just selected a random military base. Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. You can read more about it here
Nashville, Tennessee
Special thanks to Jeffery Newell for debunking this site, via his blog Autistic Skeptic
The claim: There are two buildings built on State property that are definitely built to hold prisoners. They are identical buildings - side by side on Old Briley Parkway. High barbed wire fence that curves inward.
What it really is: Given that I saw the area mentioned with my own eyes, It is a load of bulls*t. but for those who have not, here are some pictures from google maps to debunk this claim.
A UPS facility
A FedEx facility.
My message to the person who picked this area: Really?! Really?!
The claim: There are two buildings built on State property that are definitely built to hold prisoners. They are identical buildings - side by side on Old Briley Parkway. High barbed wire fence that curves inward.
What it really is: Given that I saw the area mentioned with my own eyes, It is a load of bulls*t. but for those who have not, here are some pictures from google maps to debunk this claim.
A UPS facility
A FedEx facility.
My message to the person who picked this area: Really?! Really?!
Crossville, Tennessee
Special thanks to Jeffery Newell for debunking this site, via his blog Autistic Skeptic
The claim: Site of WWII German / Italian prison camp is renovated; completed barracks and behind the camp in the woods is a training facility with high tight ropes and a rappelling deck.
What it really is: Camp Crossville was a prisoner of war camp during World War II. It housed German and Italian officers beginning in November, 1942 until the close of the war. It is frequently called the "Jap Camp" by local residents. However, no Japanese prisoners were ever housed there. It is located on property which currently houses the Clyde M. York 4-H Training Center near Pomona. A museum is located there which houses artifacts from the POW camp and is open Monday-Friday.
The claim: Site of WWII German / Italian prison camp is renovated; completed barracks and behind the camp in the woods is a training facility with high tight ropes and a rappelling deck.
What it really is: Camp Crossville was a prisoner of war camp during World War II. It housed German and Italian officers beginning in November, 1942 until the close of the war. It is frequently called the "Jap Camp" by local residents. However, no Japanese prisoners were ever housed there. It is located on property which currently houses the Clyde M. York 4-H Training Center near Pomona. A museum is located there which houses artifacts from the POW camp and is open Monday-Friday.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Sheppard AFB, Texas
The claim: in Wichita Falls just south of Ft. Sill, OK. FEMA designated detention facility.
What it really is: It is an Air Force training base, with one of it's runways being shared with the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
I've also taken a look at it via Google maps, and nothing there looks like a prison camp.
What it really is: It is an Air Force training base, with one of it's runways being shared with the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport under a joint civil-military arrangement.
I've also taken a look at it via Google maps, and nothing there looks like a prison camp.
Amarillo, Texas
The claim: FEMA designated detention facility
What it really is: Amarillo is a fairly decent sized city in Texas (over 190,000) and grew in population by nearly 10% between 2000 and 2010, so the city probably has had several building projects happening (most likely for housing).
Considering that it is a large, populated area, it seems highly unlikely that a FEMA detention facility could be hidden here without someone. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that there is a lack of information about this claim, it has lead me to believe that this claim is bogus.
What it really is: Amarillo is a fairly decent sized city in Texas (over 190,000) and grew in population by nearly 10% between 2000 and 2010, so the city probably has had several building projects happening (most likely for housing).
Considering that it is a large, populated area, it seems highly unlikely that a FEMA detention facility could be hidden here without someone. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that there is a lack of information about this claim, it has lead me to believe that this claim is bogus.
Reese AFB (Lubbock), Texas
The claim: FEMA designated detention facility.
What it really is: The base was closed in 1997, and is now a research and business park named Reese Technology Center, and the runways are used by model airplane pilots.
What it really is: The base was closed in 1997, and is now a research and business park named Reese Technology Center, and the runways are used by model airplane pilots.
Mexia, Texas
The claim: East of Waco 33mi.; WWII German facility may be renovated.
What it really is: There was a World War Two POW camp there, but it was convert in 1947 for use as the Mexia State School.
What it really is: There was a World War Two POW camp there, but it was convert in 1947 for use as the Mexia State School.
Ft. Bliss (El Paso), Texas
The claim: Extensive renovation of buildings and from what patriots have been able to see, many of these buildings that are being renovated are being surrounded by razor wire.
What it really is: Fort Bliss has been a army base since before the Civil War, so it's not surprising that some of the buildings would occasionally need to be renovated, even including extensive renovations, in order to remain operational. If the building are being surrounded by razor wire it's probably because they need to keep people out so that the renovations can be completed.
What it really is: Fort Bliss has been a army base since before the Civil War, so it's not surprising that some of the buildings would occasionally need to be renovated, even including extensive renovations, in order to remain operational. If the building are being surrounded by razor wire it's probably because they need to keep people out so that the renovations can be completed.
North Dallas, Texas
The claim: near Carrolton - water treatment plant, close to interstate and railroad.
What it really is: It's a water treatment plant... and that's all it is. Most cites have water treatment plants. Being near an interstate and a railroad means nothing.
What it really is: It's a water treatment plant... and that's all it is. Most cites have water treatment plants. Being near an interstate and a railroad means nothing.
Eden, Texas
The claim: 1500 bed privately run federal center. Currently holds illegal aliens.
What it really is: While everything is factually true (and it probably does hold illegal aliens there that have committed crimes), what is not mentioned is that the prison is a low-security prison.
What it really is: While everything is factually true (and it probably does hold illegal aliens there that have committed crimes), what is not mentioned is that the prison is a low-security prison.
Bastrop, Texas
The claim: Prison and military vehicle motor pool.
What it really is: My question about this is where exactly is this alleged motor pool at? There is not exactly a lot of detail here.
When I did a Google image search for "bastrop texas military" I saw that a lot of photos were of nearby forest fires, so it's possible these vehicles (if they did exist) were used to transport in solders and even prisoners to fight forest fires.
What it really is: My question about this is where exactly is this alleged motor pool at? There is not exactly a lot of detail here.
When I did a Google image search for "bastrop texas military" I saw that a lot of photos were of nearby forest fires, so it's possible these vehicles (if they did exist) were used to transport in solders and even prisoners to fight forest fires.
Austin, Texas
The claim: Robert Mueller Municipal airport has detenion areas inside hangars.
What it really is: A bogus claim.
If this was true then there would simply be no way to hide it.
There are probably caged areas inside of the hangers there, but that is probably to keep people out, not in.
What it really is: A bogus claim.
If this was true then there would simply be no way to hide it.
There are probably caged areas inside of the hangers there, but that is probably to keep people out, not in.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Lima, Ohio
The claim: FEMA detention facility. Another facility located in/near old stone quarry near Interstate 75. Railroad access to property, fences etc.
What it really is: Using Google Maps I took a look at the two stone quarries that were located in the general area, and what I found was that they were nothing more than stone quarries. Nothing located at these sites are anything you wouldn't find at a stone quarry.
What it really is: Using Google Maps I took a look at the two stone quarries that were located in the general area, and what I found was that they were nothing more than stone quarries. Nothing located at these sites are anything you wouldn't find at a stone quarry.
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio
The claim: FEMA detention facilities. Data needed.
What it really is: These are three very large cities that have multiple construction projects going on, with any one of them being easily mistaken for a FEMA camp by anyone who thinks that anything with fencing around it is a FEMA camp.
What it really is: These are three very large cities that have multiple construction projects going on, with any one of them being easily mistaken for a FEMA camp by anyone who thinks that anything with fencing around it is a FEMA camp.
Ft. Sill (Lawton), Oklahoma
The claim: Former WWII detention camps. More data still needed.
What it really is: Ft. Sill is one of the oldest military bases in the country. The site itself was founded in 1869 and was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
What it really is: Ft. Sill is one of the oldest military bases in the country. The site itself was founded in 1869 and was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
While the fort was the site of a POW camp during World War Two, the lack of any data tells me that the site is only accused of being a FEMA camp is because it is a military base that had a POW camp located there.
McAlester, Oklahoma
The claim: near Army Munitions Plant property - former WWII German / Italian POW camp designated for future use.
What it really is: According to Oklahoma Historical Society the site of the POW camp was built north of the city, while the munitions plant was built south of the town. As for the former POW camp itself, it's most likely been torn down and now used for public use.
What it really is: According to Oklahoma Historical Society the site of the POW camp was built north of the city, while the munitions plant was built south of the town. As for the former POW camp itself, it's most likely been torn down and now used for public use.
El Reno, Oklahoma
The claim: Renovated federal internment facility with CURRENT population of 12,000 on Route 66.
What it really is: There is a is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution there called FCI El Reno (with a minimum security prison camp), but it does not have a current population of 12,000, but a population of 1,000 (with a population of 265 in the prison camp).
What it really is: There is a is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution there called FCI El Reno (with a minimum security prison camp), but it does not have a current population of 12,000, but a population of 1,000 (with a population of 265 in the prison camp).
Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma
The claim: FEMA's main processing center for west of the Mississippi. All personnel are kept out of the security zone. Federal prisoner transfer center located here (A pentagon-shaped building where airplanes can taxi up to).
What it really is: Yes, there is a transfer Federal prisoner transfer center (although it's hexagon shaped, not pentagon shaped) but just because this place exists (which is public knowledge) it does not mean that it is a processing center for FEMA.
What it really is: Yes, there is a transfer Federal prisoner transfer center (although it's hexagon shaped, not pentagon shaped) but just because this place exists (which is public knowledge) it does not mean that it is a processing center for FEMA.
Tinker AFB (OKC), Oklahoma
The claim: All base personnel are prohibited from going near civilian detention area, which is under constant guard.
What it really is: It's a military base, and all military bases have sites on them that you are not allowed to go to unless there is a need for you to be there and would need to be constantly guarded, such as say the hangers where they store the E-6B Mercury airplanes there.
What it really is: It's a military base, and all military bases have sites on them that you are not allowed to go to unless there is a need for you to be there and would need to be constantly guarded, such as say the hangers where they store the E-6B Mercury airplanes there.
Ft. Lewis / McChord AFB, Washington
The claim: near Tacoma - This is one of several sites that may be used to ship prisoners overseas for slave labor.
What it really is: These claims are highly questionable at best, and most likely bogus. Besides the fact that there is no evidence what so ever to back this claim up, it doesn't really make any logical sense.
Why would the government ship people over seas to be used as slave labor when they could be used here?
What it really is: These claims are highly questionable at best, and most likely bogus. Besides the fact that there is no evidence what so ever to back this claim up, it doesn't really make any logical sense.
Why would the government ship people over seas to be used as slave labor when they could be used here?
Sand Point Naval Station - Seattle, Washington
The claim: FEMA detention center used actively during the 1999 WTO protests to classify prisoners.
What it really is: The base (actually called Naval Station Puget Sound) was closed down in 1995, and was divided amongst several entities, including the city of Seattle.
The site itself is now apart of the National Register of Historic Places.
What it really is: The base (actually called Naval Station Puget Sound) was closed down in 1995, and was divided amongst several entities, including the city of Seattle.
The site itself is now apart of the National Register of Historic Places.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Okanogan County, Washington
The claim: Borders Canada and is a site for a massive concentration camp capable of holding hundreds of thousands of people for slave labor. This is probably one of the locations that will be used to hold hard core patriots who will be held captive for the rest of their lives.
What it really is: I've used Google maps to search along the border of this area, and I can find no place that even comes close to looking like a massive concentration camp. Also, the lack of any photos of this alleged facility, and an exact location leads me to believe that this claim is bogus.
What it really is: I've used Google maps to search along the border of this area, and I can find no place that even comes close to looking like a massive concentration camp. Also, the lack of any photos of this alleged facility, and an exact location leads me to believe that this claim is bogus.
Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
The claim: SeaTac Airport: fully operational federal transfer center
What it really is: There is no federal transfer center at this airport, and is most likely being mistaken for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection faculties located there.
What it really is: There is no federal transfer center at this airport, and is most likely being mistaken for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection faculties located there.
Andrews, North Carolina
The claim: Federal experiment in putting a small town under siege. Began with the search/ hunt for survivalist Eric Rudolph. No persons were allowed in or out of town without federal permission and travel through town was highly restricted. Most residents compelled to stay in their homes. Unregistered Baptist pastor from Indiana visiting Andrews affirmed these facts.
What it really is: The area was heavily searched in 1998 by the FBI and state law enforcement agents because it was believed that the terrorist Eric Rudolph was there (in fact he was captured in the nearby town of Murphy in 2003).
As for the claim that the town was under siege during the search, and that travel was highly restricted and that no one was allowed in or out of the town without permission from the government, this is probably just an exaggeration and an misinterpretation of what one person observed. Also, I can find no other claims to back this claim up.
What it really is: The area was heavily searched in 1998 by the FBI and state law enforcement agents because it was believed that the terrorist Eric Rudolph was there (in fact he was captured in the nearby town of Murphy in 2003).
As for the claim that the town was under siege during the search, and that travel was highly restricted and that no one was allowed in or out of the town without permission from the government, this is probably just an exaggeration and an misinterpretation of what one person observed. Also, I can find no other claims to back this claim up.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
The claim: Special Warfare Training Center. Renovated WWII detention facility.
What it really is: Yes, there was a World War Two POW camp there, and yes, Special Forces do train there, but this does not mean that it is a FEMA.
Even if the POW camp has been renovated, it could just be that the base is using it for barracks.
What it really is: Yes, there was a World War Two POW camp there, and yes, Special Forces do train there, but this does not mean that it is a FEMA.
Even if the POW camp has been renovated, it could just be that the base is using it for barracks.
Camp Lejeune / New River Marine Airfield, North Carolina
The claim: facility has renovated, occupied WWII detention compounds and "mock city" that closely resembles Anytown, USA.
What it really is: First, the claim that the sites were World War Two detention compounds (or POW camps) is false. There never were any POW camps there.
As for the claim that the facilities have been renovated, well, both bases are 70 years old, so it isn't surprising that the buildings there are occasional renovated and update from time to time.
There is also no evidence to suggest that the bases have mock cities located on them, and even if they did it still wouldn't mean the place is a FEMA camp, just that it's a place to train in urban combat.
What it really is: First, the claim that the sites were World War Two detention compounds (or POW camps) is false. There never were any POW camps there.
As for the claim that the facilities have been renovated, well, both bases are 70 years old, so it isn't surprising that the buildings there are occasional renovated and update from time to time.
There is also no evidence to suggest that the bases have mock cities located on them, and even if they did it still wouldn't mean the place is a FEMA camp, just that it's a place to train in urban combat.
Kankakee, Illinois
The claim: Abandoned industrial area on west side of town (Rt.17 & Main) designated as FEMA detention site. Equipped with water tower, incinerator, a small train yard behind it and the rear of the facility is surrounded by barbed wire facing inwards.
What it really is: The site that I believe is being refereed to has not been abandoned, and is still being used. There is a water tower at the facility and a train yard behind it. Whether it has an incinerator on site is unknown, but even if it does it would not mean anything because many industrial centers do have their own incinerators.
As for the claim of barbed wire facing inwards at the train yard, if that is true then all means is that either someone messed up while installing the wire, or they could be legally required to have it facing inwards.
What it really is: The site that I believe is being refereed to has not been abandoned, and is still being used. There is a water tower at the facility and a train yard behind it. Whether it has an incinerator on site is unknown, but even if it does it would not mean anything because many industrial centers do have their own incinerators.
As for the claim of barbed wire facing inwards at the train yard, if that is true then all means is that either someone messed up while installing the wire, or they could be legally required to have it facing inwards.
Lincoln, Sheridan, Menard, Pontiac, Galesburg, Illinois
The claim: State prison facilities equipped for major expansion and close or adjacent to highways & railroad tracks.
What it real is: The only reason why these places are claimed to be FEMA camps is because they are prisons (that are run by the state, not the federal government) that are near highways and railroads.
What it real is: The only reason why these places are claimed to be FEMA camps is because they are prisons (that are run by the state, not the federal government) that are near highways and railroads.
Savanna Army Depot, Illinois
The claim: NW area of state on Mississippi River.
What it really is: A weapons testing site that was closed in 2000. The site is now part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
What it really is: A weapons testing site that was closed in 2000. The site is now part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The federal government isn’t coming for your suburban home
Via Salon.com
Agenda 21 isn't an insidious plot to move Americans into overcrowded cities, contrary to Glen Beck's ravings
BY JEFF TURRENTINE
This article originally appeared on OnEarth.org.
Pssst! Have you heard about Agenda 21? The secret plot to collectivize private property — hatched by United Nations internationalists and midwifed by operatives ensconced within our own government — all in the name of “ending sprawl” and “encouraging sustainability”? The seizure of suburban homes by jackbooted, gun-toting U.N. thugs? The involuntary relocation of displaced suburbanites to cramped dwellings in densely packed cities?
No? Seriously? You haven’t heard about any of this? Don’t blame Glenn Beck.
His magazine, The Blaze, put Agenda 21 on the cover of its January/February 2012 issue; the article contained therein, its editors promised, would expose “the global scheme that has the potential to wipe out freedoms of all U.S. citizens.” Beck then stretched this warning into a dystopian science fiction novel that came out last November titled (what else?) Agenda 21. In it, suburban and rural homeowners are stripped of their property and carted off to overcrowded cities, where they’re forced to live in bunker-like apartments, wear government-issued uniforms, and generate power for the grid by walking on piezoelectric “energy boards.”
In truth, Agenda 21 is the sort of nonbinding, suggestion-filled “action plan” the United Nations generates whenever it holds any kind of major international summit. It emerged from the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and dedicated to addressing the most vexing environmental problems of the time. Beck, who has made a fine living catering to the tinfoil-hat crowd, is trying to pass off U.N. bullet points as a precursor to real bullets. But you don’t have to believe the folks in the black helicopters are eyeing your redwood deck as a future landing pad in order to push the theory that a cabal of environmentalists and elected officials has it in for the ‘burbs, and won’t rest until every last Olive Garden in America is razed and turned into, well, an actual olive garden.
Last August, Stanley Kurtz, who has lectured at Harvard and the University of Chicago, wrote an article for the stalwart conservative journal National Review that appeared under the provocative headline “Burn Down the Suburbs?” It opened with a zinger: “President Obama is not a fan of America’s suburbs. Indeed, he intends to abolish them.” Kurtz’s article was in many ways a rehash of observations made previously by Joel Kotkin, a writer who specializes in analyzing demographic shifts in cities and suburbs. In 2010 Kotkin, a former New York Times columnist, wrote on his blog that “for the first time in memory, the suburbs are under a conscious and sustained attack from Washington.” He later told one interviewer that the Obama administration was “the first anti-suburban administration in American history.”
For Beck, Kurtz, and Kotkin, all the evidence one needs to back up such breathless assertions can be found in the language of sustainability and “smart growth” used by environmentalists and their allies in government. Alas, what’s being heard and what’s actually being said are two different things. The champion of sustainability says: “We need to reduce sprawl by encouraging greater density.” But the anxious suburbanite hears: “We’re tearing down the houses on your cul-de-sac and replacing them with a 20-story Brutalist apartment building, complete with its own wastewater treatment plant.” The champion of sustainability says: “It’s time to shift from last century’s car culture to the new century’s culture of mass transit.” The anxious suburbanite hears: “We’ll be sending someone around for your Escalade shortly. Fortunately for you, the D train will soon be stopping at your new building — right next to your on-site methadone clinic!”
As someone who was raised in the suburbs and still has deep family roots there, I think I know what’s fueling this anxiety. And instead of scoffing at it, I believe the champions of sustainability should be emphasizing how ideas that fall under the rubric of smart growth benefit all of us, wherever we reside. Their new message needs to be: if you really love your suburban quality of life, then know that the greatest threat to it isn’t coming from bureaucrats, environmentalists, or liberal politicians. It’s coming from that brand new, almost-completed housing development going up right next to yours.
Did you move to the outskirts of town to be closer to nature? So did my parents, who relocated from Dallas to a quiet lakeside community in the Texas Hill Country in 1997. Back then, the 15-mile drive to their house from central Austin took 30 minutes and led you through farmland, ranchland, and protected wildlife habitat. A peaceful after-dinner drive to “count the deer” was a favorite pastime. “It wasn’t considered a good night if we didn’t count at least a hundred,” my mother recalls. Now, she says, they’re lucky if they see three or four. Between 1990 and 2010, the human population of their community grew by more than 240 percent — turning it from a quiet refuge to a busy exurb. Once, my parents could look outside their window and see green hillsides; now “it’s just the rooftops” of the more than 2,000 single-family homes permitted for construction since the year they moved in.
Did you escape to the suburbs because you hated big-city traffic? Even if all the deer hadn’t been run out of my parents’ exurb, there’s no such thing as a “peaceful after-dinner drive” near their home anymore. The residents of their community average 2.6 vehicles per household, and those vehicles now jam the single artery leading into and out of town. More than three-quarters of these drivers are solo commuters; fewer than 10 percent carpool. What used to be a half-hour drive to and from central Austin can now take twice as long.
Did you move to the suburbs for safety and stability? Perpetrators of property crimes love sprawl; it’s great for business. The combination of low-density, single-family housing with an absence of pedestrian culture means more back doors for the jimmying and more windows for the breaking, all conveniently hidden from the eyes and ears of potential witnesses. From 2001 to 2011, my parents’ idyllic community saw its own crime index rise substantially.
Sprawl destroys the defining character of suburbs by conferring upon them many problems associated with urban areas: crime, congestion, paved-over wilderness. And yet Stanley Kurtz assails urban growth boundaries — which draw a literal line in the sand, then limit development beyond it — as a liberal scheme “to force suburban residents into densely packed cities.” But if that’s true, why did the citizens of conservative Virginia Beach, Virginia, establish one back in 1979? The answer is that their “green line,” which has restricted sprawl to the city’s northern half, has preserved the unique agricultural character of the southern half; as a result, today there are nearly 170 working farms within the city limits. Similarly, these boundaries didn’t seem so sinister to the Tennessee General Assembly, which passed a law in 1998 requiring every independent county in the state to adopt them, explicitly citing a statewide need to “minimize urban sprawl.”
Mass transit, too, offers far-flung suburbanites relief from sprawl’s ill effects, in this case by reducing their commute times and increasing the amount of time they get to spend at home. So why would Joel Kotkin blithely dismiss it as “offer[ing] little to anyone who lives outside a handful of large metropolitan cores”? Has he ever talked to an exasperated exurban commuter? The first decade of this century saw 60 percent population growth in America’s exurbs. As they added 10 million people to their numbers, the number of road miles driven by Americans increased by nearly 200 billion. Even putting aside the amount of atmospheric CO2 that all those extra miles represent, you’d think Kotkin would see how giving people mass-transit options promises to improve everyone’s commute — drivers included.
In the century since they first appeared on our physical and cultural horizon, the suburbs have earned the right to consider themselves every bit as American as our gleaming cities and rolling farmlands. There’s no stealth plan to “abolish” them. There is, instead, a perfectly transparent plan to include them in the list of communities that must be brought into the sustainability fold if we’re ever to address climate change effectively, protect wildlife habitat, and ensure that we don’t pollute or deplete our resources to the point of no return. Smart growth is great for cities — but it’s great for suburbs too. People who love them should understand that any concerted effort to make them cleaner, prettier, safer, and less congested is a conspiracy worth joining.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Shawnee National Forest - Pope County, Illinois
The claim: This area has seen heavy traffic of foreign military equipment and troops via Illinois Central Railroad, which runs through the area. Suspected location is unknown, but may be close to Vienna and Shawnee correctional centers, located 6 mi. west of Dixon Springs.
What it really is: Completely bogus. Using Google maps I can find nothing that resembles a prison camp inside the national forest that is near the two correctional centers.
As for the claim of foreign military being in the area, none of these claims come from reliable sources, it's just all copy and pasted from other sites without any additional information to back up the claim.
What it really is: Completely bogus. Using Google maps I can find nothing that resembles a prison camp inside the national forest that is near the two correctional centers.
As for the claim of foreign military being in the area, none of these claims come from reliable sources, it's just all copy and pasted from other sites without any additional information to back up the claim.
Greenfield, Illinois
The claim: Two federal correctional "satellite prison camps" serving Marion - populated as above.
What it really is: The site itself is called FCI Greenville, and is a medium security prison that has a separate minimum security prison camp for female inmates, making it necessary for there to be two completely separate facilities.
The prison itself holds 1,180 inmates, with 320 inmates in the prison camp.
What it really is: The site itself is called FCI Greenville, and is a medium security prison that has a separate minimum security prison camp for female inmates, making it necessary for there to be two completely separate facilities.
The prison itself holds 1,180 inmates, with 320 inmates in the prison camp.
Marion, Illinois
The claim: Federal Penitentiary and satellite prison camp inside Crab Orchard Nat'l Wildlife Refuge. Manned, staffed, populated fully.
What it really is: With the exception of the facility being located in Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, everything else is technically true.
The actual facility is called the United States Penitentiary, Marion, and it actually use to be maximum security prison that was built replace Alcatraz, and houses and housed multiple famous and high profile criminals, including Clement Rodney Hampton-El, Zachary Chesser, John Gotti, Viktor Bout, Tony Alamo, and even Pete Rose.
The site itself is now a medium security prison, with a minimum security prison camp. The prison holds over 1,000 inmates, with 350 people in the prison camp.
What it really is: With the exception of the facility being located in Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, everything else is technically true.
The actual facility is called the United States Penitentiary, Marion, and it actually use to be maximum security prison that was built replace Alcatraz, and houses and housed multiple famous and high profile criminals, including Clement Rodney Hampton-El, Zachary Chesser, John Gotti, Viktor Bout, Tony Alamo, and even Pete Rose.
The site itself is now a medium security prison, with a minimum security prison camp. The prison holds over 1,000 inmates, with 350 people in the prison camp.
Chanute AFB, Illinois
The claim: Rantoul, near Champaign/Urbana - This closed base had WWII - era barracks that were condemned and torn down, but the medical facility was upgraded and additional fencing put up in the area. More info needed.
What it really is: The base was closed in 1993, but many of the buildings were converted into civilian and commercial use, from light manufacturing, to retirement communities.
The former base also includes a museum called the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum.
As for the actual claim about the hospital, well, hospitals tend to be expanded to accommodate the population, therefore it is necessary to construct new additions to a hospital, and because construct sites tend to be dangerous places (and has equipment that tends to get stolen) it is necessary to put fencing up around such a site.
The only military presence left at the site is a youth boot camp for troubled youths ages 16 to 18 called the Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy that is run by the Illinois National Guard and Air Guard.
What it really is: The base was closed in 1993, but many of the buildings were converted into civilian and commercial use, from light manufacturing, to retirement communities.
The former base also includes a museum called the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum.
As for the actual claim about the hospital, well, hospitals tend to be expanded to accommodate the population, therefore it is necessary to construct new additions to a hospital, and because construct sites tend to be dangerous places (and has equipment that tends to get stolen) it is necessary to put fencing up around such a site.
The only military presence left at the site is a youth boot camp for troubled youths ages 16 to 18 called the Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy that is run by the Illinois National Guard and Air Guard.
Pekin, Illinois
The claim: This Federal satellite prison camp is also on the Illinois River, just south of Peoria. It supplements the federal penitentiary in Marion, which is equipped to handle additional population outside on the grounds.
What it really is: There is a federal prison there with a prison camp on grounds. The prison is called FCI Pekin, it's a medium security prison, it holds 1,200 prisoners, and it's prison camp holds 300 minimum security prisoners.
What it really is: There is a federal prison there with a prison camp on grounds. The prison is called FCI Pekin, it's a medium security prison, it holds 1,200 prisoners, and it's prison camp holds 300 minimum security prisoners.
Scott AFB, Illinois
The claim: Barbed wire prisoner enclosure reported to exist just off-base. More info needed, as another facility on-base is beieved to exist.
What it really is: No such facilities exist on the base, nor near the base. In fact the airfield there is open to commercial aircraft, and other civilian facilities there as well, including colleges.
What it really is: No such facilities exist on the base, nor near the base. In fact the airfield there is open to commercial aircraft, and other civilian facilities there as well, including colleges.
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