Crime NoDak, CCP Espionage, and Bill Gates (?) [State Bans Foreign Governments From Buying Ag Land]

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TL;DR: Ain't One. Look At Images?

As tempting as it would be to use this thread to continue gushing over my beloved (North Dakota, to be clear), that can already be found elsewhere and throughout the Meme threads. There is actually a much larger conversation and skeptical speculation to be had in regards to geopolitics, espionage and national security with this. However, I do think some background on the state's politics is necessary for additional context if not for just simply being informative.

To call it a red state would be quite the understatement: it is one of the five least populous (770k) and most rural in the country; it has a 2A constitutional carry policy; it has a straight up abortion ban now save for extreme exceptions (incest, rape, etc.) post-Roe; it has the most churches per capita and highest percentage of church attendance of any state in the country (majority Lutheran protestant); it has been America's 2nd biggest shale oil and natural gas producer behind only Texas for the better part of the last dozen years and is/was instrumental in achieving energy independence; it has swung blue in a POTUS election 1 time (1964 LBJ landside) since 1936. It is a powerhouse of agriculture production.

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It not only wields significant impact on NoDak's economy but is practically a way of life with deep ties to culture and heritage. The state government moves to protect it aggressively at the behest of the people, and when they don't they are overruled thanks to a constitutional amendment that allows the public to hold a referendum on any legislation passed by the state assembly. As an aside, it's also the only US state with a publicly owned bank and has a sovereign wealth fund tied to the revenues of oil and gas production similar to our Norwegian kin back in the ancestral lands. This was an event that took place during the Trump era (2016-2018).

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So it begs the question on how the hell this could happen.

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And while the law is very effective in its restrictions on banning corporations, limited liability companies (LLC) and foreign non-US citizens from buying up farmland, there are some exceptions and loopholes. Gates was able to purchase 2,000+ acres because it was done through a trust, which is allowed so long as the land is leased back to farmers. China was able to do so because the company's purchase didn't exceed 640 acres (mere 300) and it won't be utilizing the land for farming but rather investing in a $700 million corn-milling facility which also qualifies as a business-use exception.

Of course, that is the front. There really isn't any doubt that it'll co-function as a facility for intelligence gathering and military espionage given they picked a location right down the road from the US Air Force base in Grand Forks. This base also just so happens to be the de facto HQ of US drone development and technology in addition to serving as a center of its military communications around the world.

To see the ND governor (a former Microsoft exec fwiw, lol) so apparently giddy about it is annoying. So what the fuck does Gates have to do with any of this, if anything? I don't know, maybe nothing. He could hypothetically buy up millions of acres as a full-on private citizen and he already has the largest portfolio of privately owned farmland in the US (albeit still minuscule the grand scheme).

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It's a question I'm interested in Surebro speculation on though. :D

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This has drawn attention and potential action.


 
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I watched a few videos about a week or 2 ago, on how billionaires are buying up farm land. The video also mentioned that Bill Gates is the largest farmer in the US, if you go by how much farm land he owns. Will try to find video.

Video also talked about local opposition to these billionaire farmers. They have raised prices of farm land to absurd levels that legit small family farms and people actually wanting to farm can't afford to do it.
 
NoRtH dAkOtA iS aGaInSt CoRpOrAtE fArMs. But guys like Mike Appert who owns 48,000 acres or Doug Zink who owns 35,000 acres is perfectly fine.

Is that you, Rob Port? Wah. :P Yeah, 'family corporations' are fine and it's pretty amusing how they've had to amend which exact type of relatives qualify. It's an archaic NPL socialist policy and should stay in place. Tradition, Man. We don't have anywhere close to the amount of Appert or Zink but it's alright. Zink also produces some awesome corn harvest drone videos.
 
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Got to give DeSantis credit for bringing this up.

This issue - allowing foreigners to buy American property - should be a serious and major national discussion.

Yuh, I said in the Pelosi/Taiwan thread that DeSantis spends most of his air time bolstering his culture war credentials (and making cringe Top Gun parody videos) for the plebs but actually has an impressive grasp on the dynamics of the CCP, American industry and the history of how we arrived to the present situation. Once it gets real, I'd like to see him make decoupling from China a centerpiece of his POTUS campaign and then aim to enact it into policy. He's quite a bit more adept than DJT.

 
Yuh, I said in the Pelosi/Taiwan thread that DeSantis spends most of his air time bolstering his culture war credentials (and making cringe Top Gun parody videos) for the plebs but actually has an impressive grasp on the dynamics of the CCP, American industry and the history of how we arrived to the present situation. Once it gets real, I'd like to see him make decoupling from China a centerpiece of his POTUS campaign and then aim to enact it into policy. He's quite a bit more adept than DJT.



Why can't these guys relegate the culture war stuff to the back burner and instead focus on such major geopolitical issues. Is it easier for them to jump on the race / BLM / Transgender / LGBT / abortion issue because it is like throwing chum in water filled with sharks? Is it harder to tackle Chinese and Saudi power because these nations have powerful lobbies and corporate friends over here ?
 
Constitutional carry

<21>

Indeed.

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Abortion ban

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There is/was only 1 clinic in the entire state even prior to Roe vs. Wade being overturned. People take their pro-life stances quite seriously; so seriously that the death penalty was also abolished like 50 years ago around the same time the state was one of the first in the US to decriminalize homosexuality (idiotic to dedicate resources to persecuting people for that). The more recent prog causes like same-sex marriage and adoption will be gone in a flash if the SCOTUS overturns those decisions though.

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Is that you, Rob Port? Wah. :p Yeah, 'family corporations' are fine and it's pretty amusing how they've had to amend which exact type of relatives qualify. It's an archaic NPL socialist policy and should stay in place. Tradition, Man. We don't have anywhere close to the amount of Appert or Zink but it's alright. Zink also produces some awesome corn harvest drone videos.



When you farm 48,000 acres, it's no longer a family farm, it's a corporation. People like him drive the prices up for land, and family farms can't compete. That leads to family farms going bankrupt.
 
Why can't these guys relegate the culture war stuff to the back burner and instead focus on such major geopolitical issues. Is it easier for them to jump on the race / BLM / Transgender / LGBT / abortion issue because it is like throwing chum in water filled with sharks? Is it harder to tackle Chinese and Saudi power because these nations have powerful lobbies and corporate friends over here ?

Because culture war shit is where the votes are and is the centerpiece of election strategies. I have little doubt Ron would make tangible moves on the CCP (he already has) but securing power is always the primary objective for any politician first and foremost. He can't do anything if he isn't holding office.
 
Because culture war shit is where the votes are and is the centerpiece of election strategies. I have little doubt Ron would make tangible moves on the CCP (he already has) but securing power is always the primary objective for any politician first and foremost. He can't do anything if he isn't holding office.
Wouldn't taking on China win him votes from Dems and Independents? The culture war stuff is preaching to the choir, whose votes he already has.
 
Wouldn't taking on China win him votes from Dems and Independents? The culture war stuff is preaching to the choir, whose votes he already has.

Yeah, it might and tbf he holds explicitly anti-CCP pressers written out in big bold letters on the podium. He certainly has his FL re-election locked down but at this point I think he's pressing on in order to boost his national profile. He does a lot of things to draw attention to himself and also grabs free press from goofballs like Newsom clear on the other side of the country.
 
When you farm 48,000 acres, it's no longer a family farm, it's a corporation. People like him drive the prices up for land, and family farms can't compete. That leads to family farms going bankrupt.

You aren't even wrong, but family corporations are allowed within the law as it currently stands and they can swell in size. I say run for state office and campaign on redefining what constitutes a family farm and then have Appert's acres redistributed (little extreme, IMO).

https://sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/business-structures/corporations/farm-corporation.html

A farm corporation is a legal entity that may be established under North Dakota laws, or the laws of another state, by one or more individuals, but not to exceed fifteen shareholders. Shareholders must be related individuals or one of the following:

* A trust for the benefit of an individual or a class of individuals who are related to every shareholder of the limited liability company within specified degrees of kinship.

* An estate of a decedent who was related to every shareholder of the corporation within specified degrees of kinship.

The shareholders must be related within one of the following degrees of kinship:

* Parent
* Son
* Daughter
* Stepson
* Stepdaughter
* Grandparent
* Grandson
* Granddaughter
* Brother
* Sister
* Uncle
* Aunt
* Nephew
* Niece
* Great-grandparent
* Great-grandchild
* First cousin; or
* The spouse of a person so related.

A farm corporation must be engaged in farming which is defined as "cultivating land for production of agricultural crops or livestock, or the raising or producing of livestock or livestock products, or fruit or horticultural products. It does not include production of timber or forest products, nor does it include a contract whereby a processor or distributor of farm products or supplies provides grain, harvesting, or other farm services." (NDCC, Section 10-06.1-01, Subsection 1).

The farm corporation may engage in alternate activities; however, the annual average of at least sixty-five percent of the corporation's gross income over the previous five years shall have been derived from farming or ranching operations. The corporation's income from non-farm rent, non-farm royalties, dividends, interest, and annuities cannot exceed twenty percent of the corporation's gross income.
 
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