CAPR's blog

Come and Learn more about CAPR and listen to experts on Administrative Law, and Water Rights at CAPR Snohomish PicNic on May 30 at Langus Park in Everett, between noon and 4:00 PM. There will be music, fun, food, discussion on property rights, water, and administrative law. How are these issues impacting your property use, agricultural lands, and water availability? Come here experts and stories from those who know and are living with the constraints of misguided law.

The Antiplanner spoke in Spokane last Friday at the annual meeting of Spokane chapter of Citizens Alliance for Property Rights. The focus of my presentation was how cities have eroded the property rights protections of the Fifth Amendment in order to promote the density schemes of urban planners. The Fifth Amendment, which says that government may not take private property for public use without due compensation, was once interpreted to mean that government cannot take private property for private use at all and must pay compensation when it take it for public use. But over time it has come to be reinterpreted to mean that government can take property rights through regulation without compensation and it can take private property from one owner and give it to another private party with compensation.

Student of the history of Liberty Lord John Acton famously said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” With this in mind, as Free American Citizens we owe ourselves dutiful attention to the safeguarding of our Liberties. This seems an extraordinary task when we consider the behemoth government has become. It is in consideration of our Freedoms that we reach for what most Americans consider the baseline for the measurement of Liberty, our Federal and State Constitutions. The essence of Political Liberty is self-governance, and this can only be accomplished through interacting with our elected representatives; this is a responsibility we hold as citizens of a Representative Republic both individually and by acting together. Perhaps most damaging to our Liberty is Administrative Law.

We read many articles on the relevance of Climate Change, is it real or bogus? Does it exist and if so is it human caused? Does it have any place in being used as justification for rule and law making? What ever conclusions you have personally come to, this article describes how one can over think themselves into compromising constitutional values based on intellectual belly button gazing on the subject of climate change. http://www.vox.com/2015/5/12/8588273/the-arguments-that-convinced-this-libertarian-to-support-a-carbon-tax

Certainly, the answer is yes! This is the kind of legislation we need in every state. Property Rights, the environment, are important. But we need watchdogs on the expenses, methods, and schemes environmental programs cause...mitigation, land acquisition, development rights, and so on. Good thing this is the focus on Property Rights is ramping up! Let's all cause our legislators to pay attention to Property Rights! http://riponadvance.com/news/government-reform/tom-reed-fights-for-private-property-rights/11408

Governors Results Washington Initiative Take the time to listen to what Governor Inslee is encouraging. Environmentalism on steroids. Wayyyy expensive. Skagit, Snohomish, heads up! Question, is Restoration really Growth Management? Or are these bloated programs just carelessly done? Either way, is the expense, loss of usable land worth the purported results? http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2015040173

This year's Dinner promises to be especially inspirational! 2015 Annual CAPR Spokane Dinner! Important Informative Workshops, Socializing, Networking, and Great Food! Special Guest Speaker Karen Moreau-Foundation for Land and Liberty! 3:30 to 4:30 WORKSHOP: Randal O’Toole -- fellow at the CATO Institute “Transportation Planning versus Property Rights: Where’s the balance?” 4:45 to 5:15 WORKSHOP: Glen Morgan -- Former Director of Property Rights at the FREEDOM FOUNDATION – “Video Projects: How Can Films Advance the Property Rights Agenda? 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

In part, the mission of CAPR is to inform and educate citizens on pressing current issues. To that end, a water forum is scheduled you should attend in order to get all the facts on the current water rights situations and concerns in the Skagit Valley. This forum will reveal information about water rights struggles that will be important to Skagit Citizens as well as those from across the state. Come and learn about how counties, tribes, the department of ecology, and the legislature, have created chaos and the loss of property and water rights of citizens. Find out what is being done about this travesty. Fredonia Grange Water Forum On Tuesday, April 28th, 6:30 pm, the Fredonia Grange, located at 14245 McFarland Rd. Mt.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee had the Communist Chinese flag flown at the state capitol in Olympia between the U.S. and state flag. This was in honor of the Chinese ambassador visiting. On Saturday, April 4th, a small group of patriots, assisted by a Washington State patrolman, took it down. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSsOHOiMhM Representative Elizabeth Scott, (R - 39th), had posted a photo of the United States Flag, the Washington State Flag, and the Communist Chinese Flag flying in front of the Washington State Capitol at Equal height on Facebook, explaining in the comments that the flag was there because the ambassador was meeting with the governor. The grassroots outrage went viral very quickly as people shared the Facebook post.

The Story

In 2003 the Mills family, who are CAPR members, were excited to move into a newly purchased home in Duvall, Washington. Sitting on 2 ¼ secluded acres with many 150-foot-tall fir trees, the property felt like a park. All was well until December of 2006 when a wind storm hit the northwest. During the storm, 24 trees came down, landing on the house and garage, totaling the shed and also a Toyota 4-Runner SUV. The place looked like a war zone and the seclusion was gone with the house standing naked to its surroundings.