“Holy Smokes We’ve Been Delphi’d Phase 1 of Our Plan to Protect Our Freedom

1. “Holy Smokes We’ve Been Delphi’dPhase 1 of Our Plan to Protect Our Freedom Karen Bracken americadontforget.com

2. What is the Delphi Technique? • The Rand Corporation in the early 1960’s developed the Delphi technique for the purpose of maneuvering segments of the public into accepting predetermined government policies. In the 1970’s and ‘80’s, it was used to convince land owners of the merits of accepting general land use planning maps. It is now being employed by the city and local groups working with the city in order to engineer “citizen consent.” • In order for Delphi to work, it is critical that the targeted group (you) be kept away from the knowledgeable people who could lead them away from the Delphier’s predetermined outcome. • The goal of the Delphi Technique is to lead a targeted group of people to a predetermined outcome, while giving the illusion of taking public input and under the pretext of being accountable to the public

3. How Do I Know If I am Being Delphi’d? • If you are invited to a visioning/consensus session - You WILL be Delphi’d • If you walk into a room and you are handed a comment card - You ARE being Delphi’d • If you are asked to draw a table number or told where to sit- You ARE being Delphi’d • If the room is filled with employees of companies that have a vested interest in the outcome - You ARE being Delphi’d • If you arrive at a meeting and no one is there - You WERE Delphi’d • If you have been given crayons and paper to play games - You ARE being Delhpi’d • If audience participation is suppressed - you are asked to write down your questions for later, Q&A at end of session when many people and the press have left - You ARE being Delphi’d • If you get a survey at home or if you are asked to fill out a survey during a meeting - You ARE being Delphi’d • If your community is involved in a growth plan - YOU ARE BEING DELPHI’D

4. What is the Real Plan? • Get us out of our cars • Control and reduce our use of water, food, land, fossil fuels (control of every human activity) • Create bike paths, move people from the rural land to the Urban Growth Boundary, limit mobility • Stop urban sprawl while increasing vertical sprawl • Replace individual freedom and liberty with collectivism (Social Justice) • Unelected bureaucrats to make all local decisions • Whenever they ask you a question remember the goal before you answer.

5. Words Have Meaning • Consensus - Phony agreement to predetermined outcome-They decided what you really need and have made the decision for you. • Affordable Housing - Subsidized housing • Equity - redistribution of wealth from one group of people to another (from those that work to those that don’t) • Precautionary Principle - No scientific data or proof is needed to create laws, rules, restrictions, regulations. If it “might” cause harm then it must be abolished. • Visioning - process to attain consensus • Social Justice - Opposite of equal justice under the law-Wealth redistribution • Incentivize - Coerced participation • When you hear any word you don’t understand ask for clarification • As soon as they know we are catching on they will change the words and the meanings – APA just did this.

6. Why Do We Need a Planned Strategy? • Would you go to war without a strategic, well thought out, rehearsed plan of attack? • Would you go to war with no guns or ammo? • We ARE fighting for our very lives. We must treat them like the enemy and we MUST defeat them. • We have only 3 opportunities – Visioning, Draft of Plan, After Plan is Adopted • The sooner we shut down the process and get our opinions in the plan the easier.

7. How They Play the Consensus Game? • The outcome is already pre-determined. The questions they ask are vague and lead you to the pre-determined answer. They ask negative questions at times. IE: Is there anyone that does not want clean water, open space, clean air etc? • If this is a meeting to get citizen input why are the priorities already decided? How come we don’t create the list of priorities. WHY-Because they already know what THEY want and they are only going through the motion of making us think these are our priorities. CALL THEM ON IT! • They are well trained MASTERS. These are not nice people. They know what they are doing. • Shills, stakeholders, limited audience Athens, Ringgold • They DO NOT want to hear any opposition • They will avoid your questions, ask you to write them down, hold for later, give you a post card etc. You will never see those cards or get answers!!

8. The Rules We Will Use to Fight Back! • This is THE most important step in the beginning of this process. • They are under strict time constraints. If you can interrupt that process you have a chance to stop the plan right here. • This is where we get back our voice. JUST SAY NO! It’s OK. • QUESTION, QUESTION and QUESTION some more. Do not stop even when they yell at you. • If you are not given the chance to speak STAND UP! • Know the end game in order to circumvent the pre-determined outcome. • We will plan and train • We must recruit (we need a team of 25+ to attend each meeting) • We must support each other

9. How THEY Try To Circumvent Our Opposition? • Time Out - Vote from group to move on • Index cards (to discourage questions) • Hold questions or ask that you write them down • No time for questions • Move tables around - who you thought was a citizen turns out to be a facilitator at another table • Split up groups into separate rooms • Shills, stakeholders, employees, paid lobbyists • All answers lead to their pre-determined outcome - try to stop them from completing surveys • Assigned seats/limited occupancy • Color coding • Play music while questions are being answered to keep people from discussing the questions • Change the words, change the tactics • Change date, time or location at the last minute

10. Our Plan • Post schedule for meetings - Register with americadontforget.com • Select a team leader - Train and build teams • Organize your team and your plan before each meeting • Letters to editor, flyers for the community, set up a table outside super markets with flyers • Create small signs - (Equal Justice not Social Justice, Affordable Housing=Subsidized Housing, Social Justice=Collectivism) • The name of the game is to stop them from completing the session • Support other county leaders - know who they are

11. Our Plan • There will probably be 16 sessions (1 for each county) Train the trainer sessions by Karen or group trainings • Train and prepare for each session - Anti Delphi sessions before each meeting with your team • Utilize FOIA – do some research on consultants (Clarion) I have a lot of info on them already. • Find a volunteer to video each session

12. Our Plan - Prior to the Session • Be sure to register for the session (what type of citizen are you) I use a fake name. • If session is full go anyway (these are public meetings) • Determine a meet up spot prior to the meeting • Have a list of questions (it is best to have questions prepared), bring a note pad and pen • Select “speakers” and “supporters” • Team 1 speaker with 1 supporter for round table set up. No more than 3 “friendly folks” at a table. If theater seating we must form a diamond (assign 4 point people - the rest fill in between the point people. • Do not attend the session with Tea Party shirts, pins or anything that will associate you with a group. • Be sure to have documentation to back up statements with you. IE: Definition of Sustainable Development, J Gary Lawrence complete statement about hiding LA21, Joan Veon interview How ICLEI Was Created, Federal Register where it is stated HUD grants used to implement A21 etc. It is better to be prepared than to have nothing to back up what you might be forced to say.

14. Our Plan - On Arrival • Act like you do not know each other (keep track of your partner) • Do not sign the log book. If you must, use a fake name, no email address • Do not put your real name on name tag (do not wear tag) • Do not allow them to assign you a seat • When you enter you might find people already sitting at tables. • Scope the seating set up and seat yourself accordingly • Speakers spread out (1 per table) • Supporters - find your speaker partner • Then fill in – Appear larger than you are • Once seated be sure to get to know the people at your table • If theater seating - 4 point people sit and others fill in the diamond • PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS TAKING PLACE

15. Our Plan - During the Session • Be flexible and prepared to change plans on a dime • Ask for an introduction of participants to expose and document the fact that not many in the room are everyday citizens • THE GOLDEN RULE - Stand up and demand the people you have identified be excluded (out of co., advisory meeting participants, stakeholders) • SPEAKER=Stands up and states our question SUPPORTER=Clap (a lot), supporting statements • Do not ask questions or make comments in silence at your table. • Ask questions, challenge, ask for explanations • Do not allow them to dance around answer • GET an answer, repeatedly circle them back to your question • FIND YOUR VOICE - This is not the time to be good little obedient soldiers • Be polite at ALL times. Making you look like the “bad guy” is part of the plan. • Be sure someone is assigned to record the entire session • Take any handouts they give out with you at the end of the session

16. Answering Surveys/Prioritizing • Written, computerized, on-line, mail • BUSINESS AS USUAL, KEEP MY NEIGHBORHOOD AS IT IS • Know the end game - answer questions to circumvent the end game (Open Space - LOW, Easier Access to jobs - LOW, Large home with large yard - HIGH) • How come protecting private property rights are not on the list? How come no indication that policy will always be decided by elected officials? How is Amoratization of Non- Conforming Uses going to be handled? • Protecting private property must be on the list. If not, shut the meeting down until it is. THIS PROVISION MUST BE IN EVERY PLAN!! • Rate which is most important (Leave as is, large homes big back yard) • Answer questions in the opposite of what they want. Lets discuss this strategy. • Know the language.

19. Greenville, SC/Cookeville, TN • Conducted 9 meetings with 350 participants. Included facilitators, stakeholders and a very small amount of citizens. This represented .0008% of the population. • March 25, 2008 meeting – 50 participants • The results reported by the facilitators were amazing. • Cookeville, TN sent out 400 surveys and received 154 responses. This equated to .00616% of the population. No meetings were held.

20. Greenville, SC Results • Participant Results • Protection of natural resources (25 votes) • Proposed animal shelter (24 votes) • Need for better land use controls (21) • Protect private property rights (20) • Road improvement for most of the rural areas (12) • Too much government (9) • Facilitator results entered into the final report from this meeting • Clean Air/Water (4.77) • Preserving rural areas, farmland and open space (4.75) • Maintain natural beauty (4.75) • Historic preservation (4.26) • Limiting development of flood prone areas (4.13) • Community appearance/design (4.09) • PRIVATE PROPERTY AND TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT NEVER MADE THE FACILITATORS REPORT!

21. Our Plan - After the Session • Meet back at original meeting place for a debrief - What happened what went wrong. What worked. • Everyone that attended will be requested to write a few paragraphs about their experience and what went on at their table. We can use these situations as learning tools. • Prepare for the next session

22. A Glimpse At The Real World • You Tube videos • One Bay Area website • Survey Results from other areas • Google Delphi Technique, You Tube Beverly Eakman, One Bay Area, Bay Area, Heather Gass, Rosa Koire • All can be found on: americadontforget.com