In this episode of Connecting the Dots, Dan Happel investigates the hidden power structure behind global governance, focusing on the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Councils of Governments (COGs), and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). These entities, often unelected and operating outside of constitutional checks, are reshaping local governance into regional technocratic systems that undermine American sovereignty.

Joining Dan Happel is Gregg Smith, a retired U.S. Navy veteran and former Bureau of Land Management Range Technician who witnessed firsthand how environmental NGOs and UN-driven programs like Agenda 21 infiltrate land use policy. After nearly 30 years of farming in rural Minnesota, Smith now educates citizens through SaveYourCities.com, a resource dedicated to exposing how NGOs and public-private partnerships erode property rights, self-government, and local accountability.

Listeners will discover in this episode how:

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  NGOs act as Trojan horses for globalist policies, channeling funding and influence into local governments.

  
  


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  COGs consolidate towns and counties into regional blocs, bypassing elected officials and local decision-making.

  
  


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  PPPs blur the line between corporations and government, creating unelected power centers that enforce sustainability agendas.

  
  


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  Agenda 21/2030 frameworks transform land use, energy, and resource policies into mechanisms of control.

  
  


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  Local communities often adopt these programs unknowingly through grants, model legislation, and “sustainability” partnerships.

  
  


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  Solutions exist when citizens educate themselves, organize locally, and push back against unconstitutional regionalism.

  
  

This conversation reveals how globalist strategies translate into real-world impacts on American farms, ranches, and towns and how ordinary citizens can resist by reclaiming authority at the local level.

1. 
   

   Unelected power structures are reshaping governance.
   
   NGOs, COGs, and PPPs operate outside constitutional accountability, allowing globalist policies to bypass local voters and elected officials.

   
   


2. 
   

   Regionalism undermines sovereignty.
   
   Councils of Governments consolidate local jurisdictions into regional blocs that weaken the authority of counties, towns, and states.

   
   


3. 
   

   “Sustainability” is often a cover for control.
   
   Agenda 21/2030 programs use environmental narratives to justify land seizures, resource restrictions, and technocratic management.

   
   


4. 
   

   Money drives compliance.
   
   Grants and federal funds entice local governments to adopt NGO-backed programs, even when they conflict with constitutional principles.

   
   


5. 
   

   Ignorance enables infiltration.
   
   Many local leaders accept PPPs and COG frameworks without recognizing their long-term consequences for property rights and self-rule.

   
   


6. 
   

   Public-private partnerships centralize power.
   
   What looks like collaboration between business and government often results in corporate monopolies aligned with government authority.

   
   


7. Local action is the front line of resistance.
   
   The real battle isn’t in Washington, it’s in towns, counties, and states where globalist policies are quietly being embedded.


8. 
   

   Citizens must reclaim oversight.
   
   Without citizen engagement, unelected regional bodies will continue to erode the Constitution under the guise of “efficiency” or “sustainability.”

   
   


9. 
   

   Exposing deception is half the battle.
   
   Many communities don’t realize they’re trading liberty for grants, partnerships, and promises.
   
   Education and awareness are critical weapons.