Land of Our Fathers-Part II

What happens to a country that sells its soil to foreign corporations--the same soil that was fought for, bled for, and died for since the 1700s? Look at how those foreign countries run their government, steward their lands, treat their citizens, and you will find your answer. America is the land of opportunity for a reason. What sense does it make to be the “Land of Hope” where much of the world longs to come if we sell our land and give the management of it right back to countries who run Communist, Totalitarian, Marxist, Fascist, and Socialist nations who value and treasure nothing we hold dear in America.

Why are we selling the very best of who we are as Americans and giving management back to tyrannical countries? American governance is currently like some sick, cruel joke. We are manipulated by twisted political ideology and psychology telling us that we are free, when indeed we are enslaved to a fake, proxy government system that no longer abides by the American Founding intent. There is no longer any intention of honoring the Constitutional oath of office to which “elected representatives” swear. These so-called elected representatives do nothing but promote self-gain, line their pocketbooks, stroke their egos, finesse their power grabs, and wave their fake, power tripping scepters over a people they swore to serve and protect.

The current mentality of both major political parties in the United States seems to be, “Constitution be damned.” The fabric and sacred underpinning of our nation has been ripped at the seams until our nation is barely recognizable. We’ve elected those who create their own defacto corporate rules, codes, statutes, and corporate by-laws. They forget God, the sacred right of self-governance, and the “bottom-up” model whereby tyrants have no seat at the table. But we cannot blame them only. We the People have failed as watchmen on the wall.

While we rested on our laurels, almost 800,000 acres of Mississippi agricultural land was sold to foreign owned or foreign controlled entities. Did you know that roughly 213 listed Mississippi corporations out of roughly 418 are listed as foreign corporations, and most of these owners are countries that are known to conduct a multitude of business dealings with China? China is diligently working to secure resources using other “host” nations to sustain their livelihoods. That is their motivation--full economic sustainability using the backs and minds of Americans.

The Chinese toolkit is being organized using the goods that our land and We the People have to offer. China is hammering out their domestic concerns regarding all their national shortcomings and achieving their goals of global leadership and global agricultural domination regarding innovation and production. The United States is the global leader in every area regarding agriculture and food security, so it makes us a target for the Chinese—even if they target us illicitly. Espionage has happened in the United States for years whereby foreign exchange students, as one example, steal technology, seeds, and intellectual property.

The risks associated with allowing this are paramount because it jeopardizes economic and national security when our hog herds are purchased, consolidations give them economic leverage over our supply chains, and Intellectual Property theft gives them the edge over our agricultural tech that supports food production. By stealing American Intellectual Property, the Chinese fortify seed advantages therefore undermining American company revenues. This leaves us vulnerable by exposing weaknesses in our crop production. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

In 2022, Chinese Secretary Xi identified quality seeds as the primary answer to solidify stable grain output. The duplicitous nature of this, however, can be quite sinister. Consider this: Seeds are property. They are extremely valuable. They are easily transferrable. They are easily smuggled. They do not need a lot of land. They can be genetically modified when their DNA codes are hacked, and hybrids are made for foreign use. Espionage occurs frequently, and bioterrorism is a clear and present danger. Seeds are a primary avenue to achieve this. Reverse engineering of seeds can be done by hacking the seed’s DNA code and subsequently used to create bioweapons.

Arable Chinese land has drastically decreased in availability, so their eyes are set on arable land to plough here in the States. China seeks to build self-sufficiency through using other countries as their producers. Americans, however, are not allowed to own Chinese land. China has gone abroad with their investments, acquisition of farmland, animal husbandry, and agricultural equipment to name a few. Why does America feel like we need to make sure all other countries are taken care of before we take care of our own?

As mentioned in the previous article, during the Mississippi 2023 legislative session, there was a study committee created by the Mississippi Legislature to study the purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding an interest in agricultural land by foreign governments. The latest official data of foreign ownership in private ag land, forest land, cropland, pasture, and other ag purposes, can be found in this legislative review from the National Agricultural Law Center linked below. All the testimonies, data, and allowable intel at this present time can be found linked below as well. This is not even the exhaustive list!

Research keeps turning up more information and intelligence requiring another article. And bear in mind that some of the most current research is from 2021, and foreign ownership has grown exponentially if trend patterns hold true. We know of 14 counties in Mississippi that are not accounted for on the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website, two of which are Harrison and Jackson counties. Why?

Disturbingly, almost 800,000 acres of agricultural land is controlled by foreign interests in Mississippi. To note, Mississippi House Bill 280 sought to “grandfather in” this acreage before modifying or changing anything else in the bill in the 2023 regular session. To “grandfather in” means to allow an existing condition, right, or rule to exist even when new standards or laws are implemented.”

Thankfully, the bill was stopped on the House Floor by Agricultural Commissioner, Andy Gipson, in the nick of time. The primary author, Rep. Becky Currie, was quite agreeable to stop it once she was made aware of some detrimental issues with it and was in favor of the study committee.

However, to hear Senator Brice Wiggins advocate for “Constitutional Rights” to sell your land to whomever you please as to protect your private property rights is disgusting. He argued it takes a person’s rights away to not be able to sell their land to whom they wish. Is this the extent of his critical thought process? The point is not blanket freedom. That is not freedom. The root issue is principled, life-giving freedom. The Founders warned against unprincipled freedom in which the result, anarchy and enslavement, inevitably ensue. 1 Corinthians 10:23 says, “Anything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” 

It is disheartening to hear Mississippi Forestry Association Executive Director, Casey Anderson, advocate for loose regulations on foreign investors. She does not want foreign owners and managers to be adversely affected because it would have negative consequences on Mississippi families and listed her hypothetical reasons why. Among her reasons was that Mississippians cannot afford to purchase any surplus timber at the current prices and therefore, we need foreign investors and their investments. Foreigners are demanding our timber, and we cannot keep up with the supply of it as a result. Demand affects prices. Mrs. Anderson also advocated for foreign pensions and endowments to be protected. Do people not realize we founded a country against all odds?  We do not need foreign nations to sustain us or keep us!  Americans have gifts, ingenuity, creativity, and resolve. We figure things out without the interference or control of foreigners, especially adversaries.  

In times of war, we must be wise and not assume that our enemies stay within their borders and play by the rules. Clearly, they do not. So, how does this sound to you… Let’s sell all our land and goods out to foreigners. We will manage it for them, and they can reap the benefit. We can even host shell nations covering for those nations who wish to see us obliterated in the process. “Sounds lovely,” said no principled American ever.

During the October 19^th committee meeting, Senator Brice Wiggins sounded like a broken record when discussing his apparent admiration of the Dutch and their friendliness. Do go back and listen to all the videos and form your opinion on who’s who on the committee and where they all stand on this issue. He’s got one angle to argue. He seemingly seeks to protect foreigners and your right to sell your land to whomever you wish because you can. What happens when you sell your land to Iran? China? Russia? You can say you would not, yet it is being done. Farmers are also selling their land to foreigners and are managing only. We must protect our Mississippi farmers.

 To House Representative Becky Currie’s credit, she told Senator Wiggins she did not give a “Yoo-Hoo” about the Dutch but cared about American citizens, our children, and our grandchildren. One lone hand clap thundered through the meeting room by way of a Mississippi gravel company owner and Patriot who loved what Rep. Currie had to say. Come to think of it, she needed a standing ovation!

Few people in these land committee meetings, it seems, understand that we are in a war that is essentially unprecedented. The nature in which war takes place now is so different than in the past because of technology, a weak America, and a severe lack of good law and the enforcement thereof. If China, for example, is listed as a threat nation, enemy nation, or combatant nation, do you think they will waste their time overall putting their name on Registered Agent lists through the Secretary of State’s website? Of course not! They select, as they have been doing, host nations to circumvent and do their bidding.

We know there are shell countries and corporations, such as the Netherlands. While we do not take issue with Dutch citizens, we take issue being hoodwinked by the CCP and the PRC and other countries who use host nations to pillage our goods and rake our nation over the coals. The USDA has an extremely weak reporting system, and the information on Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural land alone lacks clarity. The system is weak on reporting ownership, use, and change in use. You register with the USDA and your Secretary of State’s office, but after that, there is no transparency or reporting requirements for change of ownership, use of land, or intent.

There are also no enforcement mechanisms. You can have all the good and worthy laws in the world, yet you are only as strong as the enforcement of them. The Chinese can and do circumvent current reporting requirements with ease.

We also must be careful with treaty agreements in our nation and in our states that have thousands of pages “undermining” our Constitutional rights by way of compliance with international agreements, new commission requirements, and unelected men and women who sit on boards regulating what affects you, your family, and what your country looks like now and in years to come. With whom is Mississippi in international agreement? For what exactly? Who sits on those boards? How many are foreigners with foreign interests?  We are not against people from around the world. We are against true enemies of the United States foreign and domestic.

While treaties can preempt state laws that are contradictory and replace earlier federal legislation, treaty power cannot override the Constitution. Treaties do not have that power. Treaties cannot alter the Constitution or authorize acts the Constitution prohibits. Many will argue treaties preemptively override the United States Constitution and the state constitutions, but that is blatantly false. Treaties don’t grant rights. The Constitution does not grant rights. The U.S. Constitution is protective in nature of the rights God gave us. If you can grant it, you can take it. No treaty can supersede your unalienable rights. The Founders warned us multiple times that entangling too deeply with foreign nations is dangerous.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently pulled the plug on foreigners owning land in Arkansas, especially if they are enemy nations and violate Arkansas state law. No appeasing.  This is akin to what we face in Mississippi. This is not hard. Secretary of Agriculture for Arkansas, Wes Ward, was present by video in the last Mississippi Land Committee meeting to explain how they are taking back their land to protect their citizens and state. I suggest familiarizing yourself with the precedent set in Arkansas. I applaud Gov. Huckabee Sanders’

leadership and tenacity to see the threat, the potential threats, and act.

Now, compare that action to Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s official response letter to Ag. Commissioner Andy Gipson. (Can find letter linked in PDF documents below.)  He asked, “Based on the restrictions imposed in Miss. Code Ann. 89-1-23, is the transfer of title in land to any single foreign investor in excess of 320 acres null and void?” In a nutshell, corporations are exempt, and land acquired pursuant to national treaties is also exempt. So why do you think so many treaties are made with foreign corporations these days?

There are many real solutions to shore up our state lines and secure our state treasures, inclusive of our ports, which are also a target by the Chinese. In the next article, I will lay out solutions and steps that can be taken to secure our state and protect her citizens. A people without vision perish. We must be looking years ahead and proactively working to secure the ability to leave our future generations a future where they can enjoy the fruit of their labor--not foreign countries--who wish to see us destroyed.

https://www.mdac.ms.gov/farmland/

Rebecca Chaney is the Director for Restore Liberty Mississippi and a former board member for the Mississippi Freedom Caucus. She is a lifetime Patriot Academy Constitution Coach and has hosted Biblical Citizenship and Constitutional classes since 2020. She has helped to start these classes all across the state of Mississippi. She is a homeschool Mom of seven years to her son and daughter. You can read more of her work at https://substack.com/@rebeccachaney and www.restore-liberty.org