The Push to Blanket America With Massive AI Data Surveillance Centers
Barrage of new data centers & willingness of local leaders to act in direct opposition to the will of the people should be wake-up call for those who still believe we live in representative democracy.
Government officials acting in secrecy or withholding key information from their constituents about important developments almost always ends badly for the people.
The old saying really is true: Democracy dies in darkness.
We long ago lost all sense of accountability from the federal government, which is now a creature of its own construction, making decisions on its own, with no connection whatsoever to the people it is supposed to answer to.
But the advent of the data center boom in America is quickly revealing that state and local officials are no less an island unto themselves, acting in secret for the benefit of the rich and powerful, and to the detriment of their constituents. Citizens are seen as nothing more than a resource to collect taxes from, and the moment they start to ask questions, they get shouted down, ignored or in some cases even treated like suspected terrorists.
That’s a dangerous place for any country to be, but especially one with a history like that which America will celebrate on its 250th anniversary on July 4th, with citizens coming to the conclusion that their interests are no longer represented at any level of government. It’s becoming apparent that the whole shebang is sold out to the big-money crowd — state, local and federal. That’s called an oligarchy. Not a constitutional republic like what we’re supposed to be celebrating.
Take the case of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, for example.
According to Fox 9 KMSP in Minneapolis, tensions ran high at the Inver Grove Heights City Council meeting on Monday night, June 22, as plans to discuss a controversial data center were derailed by an abrupt adjournment amid looks of disbelief from residents in attendance.
The meeting was set to include a vote on a moratorium on new data centers and a discussion about a proposed 54,000-square-foot data center in town.
But before the council discussed those issues, it voted to adjourn the meeting, rescheduling it for Friday morning.
The room erupted with people shouting, booing, and demanding a chance to speak. Only to be ignored by their elected officials. Mayor Brenda Dietrich left the council chambers without answering questions or addressing citizens’ demands for answers. Sorry, Mayor, but you don’t get to do that if we are still living in a representative democracy, but maybe she knows something we don’t. Maybe that idea only lives in our heads and has been quietly, for all practical purposes, exterminated by unseen power elites?
Many residents were angry, stressing that most people would be at work on Friday morning, leaving them unable to participate in the rescheduled meeting. Did that sway the mayor in her determination to shut down the meeting? Not at all. Take a look at the video below, where the mayor’s arrogance is on full display.
This is the kind of chicanery taking place at city councils and county commissions nationwide when it comes to the barrage of new data surveillance centers.
While we are largely focused on other things, even the illusion of a government by the people, for the people, of the people, is being shattered.
When a developer comes to town proposing a massive AI data surveillance center, he automatically commands the full attention of the local government, in some cases totally calling the shots as to timetables and schedules of public hearings, the length of such hearings and any rules that might need to be broken in order to get the development passed.
Sue Gliva, a city council member at Inver Grove Heights, told Fox 9 the council ended the meeting because it received new information that was “confidential” and needed to be discussed but did not elaborate. Confidential? What ever happened to transparency in government. Who is the boss over these so-called public servants? The people who voted them into office or the wealthy investor class pushing data centers? I think we know the answer. It’s pretty clear from the video above.
The anger and feeling of betrayal that is now building in Inver Grove Heights is not very different from what I’ve seen first hand in my own community of Coweta County, Georgia, where at least six data centers have been proposed and are being ramrodded down our throats whether we want them or not. Georgia Power, the state’s biggest electric utility, is using eminent domain to take people’s land, in an attempt to create power-grid expansions that accommodate the data surveillance centers.
Below is an excerpt from the Fox 9 report regarding the situation in Inver Grove Heights.
Residents in the room voiced their frustration over the lack of public input and the abrupt ending.
“This is like the second or third time you’ve done this now. Recess the meeting,” one person said.
Another added: “There’s no community input on this before you approve a variance for our community.”
Others questioned why public comment was not allowed, saying, “We can’t figure out why we were not allowed to public comment.”
Residents left the meeting feeling unheard, with one person saying, “It ain’t right. I mean — you don’t get to talk. I don’t want to talk to you people. Get lost. Get out of my building.”
Another added: “This is a railroad job.”
What’s next:
The developer behind the proposed data center has threatened legal action if the council makes decisions using anything other than zoning laws. It remains unclear whether a moratorium would affect the proposal for that facility.
Gliva acknowledged the frustration in the room, saying, “I understand how they feel, but we have deadlines also.”
The meeting was postponed to Friday at 8 a.m., a time several residents said will make it difficult for them to attend and voice their opinions.
It is still unclear what new information the council received or how it might affect the moratorium vote or the proposed data center.
This is not an isolated case. There are political dog fights like this brewing in cities and towns and in rural outposts all over America. If you aren’t currently facing one of these data-center monstrosities trying to force its way uninvited into your community, you will likely get to share in the experience soon. Because in the eyes of our government — state, local and federal — you can never have enough data surveillance centers. Why? Because, in their eyes, all they see is money and an opportunity for more crony capitalism through back-room deals, the people and taxpayers be damned. Until these elected officials start to fear us more than they fear the developers and investors behind these projects, we will continue to be treated like the lowly slave class they currently see us as.
We need to get active, get organized and get creative. We need to pool our resources and file lawsuits. At the same time, we need to employ 24/7 non-violent strategic tactics that force our elected officials to remember who they represent. One idea I’ve been toying with is picketing in front of local officials’ private homes and businesses. Confronting them verbally with tough questions whenever they come out of their houses, shops and safe spaces. Make life difficult and make accountability inescapable, all within the law and our First Amendment rights of course. They should not be able to shirk their responsibility and oaths of office simply with a show of hands inside the comfort of an air-conditioned council chambers and go home to sleep easy as if nothing they’ve done was abnormal or a violation of their oath to represent the taxpaying public. Let’s make it real for them. Because if we lose at the local level, we can forget about ever reclaiming the state and national levels.
https://leohohmann.substack.com/p/push-to-blanket-america-with-massive