Anyone who read the blog I posted on Tuesday about the UN's Agenda 21 who thinks "it can't happen here" needs to read the following news story posted today on our Breaking News site. Retiring Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) has introduced a new piece of legislation that will result in pressuring local communities into implementing "sustainable development" programs that will result in a massive redistribution of wealth and loss of private land rights. World Net Daily (WND) is reporting that the Livable Communities Act (S. 1619) will enforce federal Sustainable Development zoning and control of local communities by creating a massive new "development" bureaucracy known as The Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. This office will be armed with $4 billion in federal grants which they will use to pressure local communities into developing plans that are more in keeping with the radical UN plan known as Agenda 21. In a nutshell, Michael Shaw of Freedom Advocates told WND, "They call it 'smart growth.' It literally means they draw a circle around the community and say nothing will be developed outside of this wall. Land inside the wall goes up in price as shortages develop. You end up with highrises, with people living on the top floors, stores on bottom floors and offices in the middle. Humans wind up living in the sky. They never touch the ground or leave the building." As radical as it sounds, the U.S. signed onto Agenda 21 in 1992 along with 178 other nations, and Shaw believes Dodd's new law can be traced back to the same UN policy. Not surprisingly, the bill is being touted as a way to fight traffic congestion and urban sprawl while "encouraging" local communities to create high-density population centers linked by mass transit networks. Even though they say implementation of the law is "voluntary," experts say it's nothing of the kind. Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center, a grassroots group promoting free markets and limited government, told WND the bill is a "socialist trap."  "The Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities would end up overseeing development in every community," he said. "They say it's voluntary, but it really isn't. The $4 billion in grants will be used by radical green groups, who helped write it, to force your city council to comply. If your city says no to the pressure to take the grant money, the radical greens will tell your citizens that their city officials are losing them millions of dollars that is owed to the community. Then, when the council caves into the pressure and takes the money, it will force compliance. That is not voluntary, it is blackmail." Homeowners would end up paying exorbitant costs and losing control over their own homes, according to DeWeese. "To get the money, a community must meet environmental standards," he said. "That requires houses to be equipped with new roofs, new windows, and efficient appliances. They did this last year in Oakland. It costs an estimated $35,000 to make a house comply with the environmental regulations. They say homeowners can't sell their houses if they don't meet these standards." Unfortunately, Dodd's bill is being fast-tracked through the Senate by liberal lawmakers whose time - and control - may soon be coming to an end. It has already been passed by the Senate Banking Committee and is on its way to the floor for a vote. Concerned citizens are asked to contact their Senators today and tell them to vote against the Liveable Communities Act (S. 1619). Read more about Agenda 21 and the Earth Charter on our New Age blog. /?p=194