Thursday, 5 March 2015
Advice From A Father To A Son
Over the years Fathers have been known to share some of the things they have learned along the Way with their Sons.
Among those tidbits might be things like
Son: Someday a Man will come up to you with a Sealed Deck of Unmarked Cards and suggest a Friendly Game,
It won't be.
Or
Son: Someday someone will make you an offer and they will insist that it is REALLY Good but that you HAVE to give them an Answer RIGHT THEN
Tell them you will Sleep on it.
The LCRCC recently was told we had to make an important decision in ONE night.
Nominations to Election only 5 minutes to ask questions.
NOPE can't sleep on it decide NOW
So we ended up with a Sealed Deck of what we are told are unmarked cards.
The question is will we have a shirt left if we sit in on the game?
Will this new deck= Executive Commitee really follow the Rules of Order of the Assembly?
Or will they just do what they want to,.
And if called on something Stonewall.
I put the Question to them and some others the other night.
We have a Standing Rule that was debated upon, voted on and enforced against our national commiteeman Steve Scheffler that NO post on our Facebook Site will be accepted from a Facebook Profile that blocks any Committee Person.
Our Webmaster James Knox is in Violation of that Standing Rule.
I got a mass email on some topics between the Sub-Commitees and the New Executive Board and decided to repsond to everyone with this issue.
I got this reply from our Chair.
Mr Kauffman,
You have quoted a "standing rule". Please share with us the basis of your claim, specifically the minutes from the meeting where this was stated as a standing rule.
My recollection of the discussion differs significantly from your version.
Thank you
Cindy Golding
Chair
Linn County RepublicansSent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
I replied
My Recollection is that the Body Voted
to inform our national Committeeman
Steve Scheffler that we would no longer allow
Posts to our Facebook Site from profiles
that blocked any member of the Committee
My memory is very clear about this yours might
be more Selective.
I really don't have time right now to wade
through all the Minutes to find that meeting
I will bring up your request at the Communicatins
Sub-Committee meeting this weekend.
It would appear that you have no intention of
enforcing the Rules of the Committee you prefer
Stonewalling
Dan Kauffman
PS Some may note
that I have removed Mr Knox
from the mailing list.
I discovered after the other
email that he has me blocked
from his email account and
has reported the only email
he has ever gotten from me
Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to the following address.<james@kbscs.com>:Remote host said:550-5.7.1 Due to the nature of your emails and intent of them your email has550-5.7.1 been blocked from this domain and reported as spam to various spam550 5.7.1 blacklists reporting services. ut1si7874233pab.191 - gsmtp
For the record unlike Mr Knox I have never
organized a Denial of Service Attack on
another Republican
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
Public Servant
So now you have taken a position in the Party and you can sally forth smite monsters and make a difference?
Not Quite.
Sorry you do not get to make policy,
YOU get to preside, assist and implement.
Preside over the Debate.
Assist in the Creation of a Consensus.
And Implement the Consensus
All while being NEUTRAL.
You do not even get to be Don Quioxte tilting at Windmills, but Poncho trotting along with the Supplies
Your Role is Vital and Important but maybe not as glamorous as you imagined.
The facets of this are best described in a Section of Robert's Rules Online covering Presiding Officers.
The chairman sometimes calls a member to the chair and takes part in the debate. This should rarely be done, and
nothing can justify it in a case where much feeling is shown
and there is a liability to difficulty in preserving order. If the chairman has even the appearance of being a partisan, he loses much of his ability to control those who are on the opposite side of the question.
There is nothing to justify the unfortunate habit some chairmen have of constantly speaking on questions before the assembly, even interrupting the member who has the floor.
One who expects to take an active part in debate should never accept the chair, or at least should not resume the chair, after having made his speech, until after the pending question is disposed of.1 The presiding officer of a large assembly should never be chosen for any reason except his ability to preside.
You have now become a Public Servant,
A Servant of the Body.
YOU do not make Policy
YOU help the Body determine ITS Policy.
And if there should be an Issue where your basic Principles are under assault?
And you cannot find it in yourself the ability to support the stand chosen?
You Resign.
And enter the maelstrom of Polticial Debate as a Free and Independent Citizen.
The Race Is On
Well the Race Is On and it's Western Iowa coming up the Back Stretch.
Walker to Headline Multi-County NW Iowa GOP Fundraiser April 24
Linn County is Falling Back it's Trying Not To Break.
Though there WAS a time we also had events like this.
We had a HIGHLY Sucessful Spring Event,
A Chili Cook Off. I recall a few years ago we too had a headline draw at it
Herman Cain. We PACKED the Long Branch to the rafters.
Then it was decided to move it to the Fall and later to also move into a venue that could hold at the most 20% of the crowd that we could handle in the Past.
Yee, I DID support the last one. I think my ticket purchases were about 16% of their revenue,
But we lost 3 years of momentum and continuity and turned a roaring success into a dismal disaster.
Moving was not the only facter,
Having a Screaming Fits about Volunteers putting more than 5 mints on Tables and Public Humiliation of Hard Working Volunteers that even to reports that got back to me, Embarrassed the Long Branch Staff.
Had already motivated some of our more dedicated volunteers to
LEAVE.
Some may say that what I write on this website causes volunteers to leave
THEY WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
But it is not me writting here that motivates them to leave.,
But what I write About.
Me writing here seems to motivate some of them to share with me the reasons they plan to leave.
Which has given me in some cases the opportunity to try to talk them out of leaving.
With mixed sucess.
However we now have a moslty New Executive Board
So maybe things will be different
Maybe at the March Meeting they will surprise us with New Plans for a Spring event that will rival the NW Iowa one and equal what we have acheived in the Past.
That is if they have not spent all their time since the last meeting,
Devising New Methods of Taking Over what Sub-Committees still funciton and can do their Jobs.
A Linn County Version of
We Are From the Executive Board and We Are Here To Help You.
Accept the Joys of Assimilation,
You no longer have to Worry about what to think do or say.
Simply Stay Silent, Remember What Your Place Is
and Do What You Are Told
Monday, 2 March 2015
Good Enough
Despite what a lot of people might prefer, doing what is required is sometimes mandatory.
Regarding the issue I will bring up in this post.
I have one beginning statement.
What is Good Enough for Our National Committee Man
Ought to be also Good Enough for the Linn County Republican Central Committee Webmaster
A few years ago the LCRCC debated and passed a Standing Rule.
No one may post on any LCRCC Facebook Webpage from a Profile that Blocks any LCRCC member.
This was enforced against the National Committeeman for the State of Iowa
The Linn County Republican Central Committee Wemaster is in violation of this Standing Rule,
Not for the first time either,
I submit what was good enough for Iowa's National Commiteeman is Good Enough for the LCRCC Webmaster.
It is time he does what is REQUIRED.
The new members of the Executive Board were not around when the Central Committee took this action,
The Chair was Co-Chair at that time and was not always around in those days either.
So they may be excused for not knowing.
That is no longer the Case,
Now they do not have to take any Action themselves the Communication Sub-Committee is quite able and willing to handle this matter, since there are precedents in place.
What we require is that the Executive Board if they do on wish to handle it themselves not get in the way.
As long as Little Jimmy Knox can run and hide behind the Chair's petticoats this situation will fester.
And if he should be able to do that?
The Executive Board WILL be in Violation of the seciton of the Linn County Republican Party Constitution which states
The Executive Committee is subject to the orders of the Linn County Central Committee, and none of its acts shall conflict with actions of the Linn County Central Committee.
Sunday, 1 March 2015
What You Don't See Is What You Don't Get.
The Linn County GOP Facebook Group Page Admins are being run ragged cleaning up redundant Posts.
It is not that our Webmaster is incompetant it is just that he seems to be lazy.
He relies on autoposting that he has set up and makes NO attempt to edit the mess it often makes
For instance recently his autoposting pulled in a post from one of our Legislativer representatives which included the vital information for Republcans that he had just watched Episode 8 of House of Cards.
Another time GOP members we able to see an important Republican event on the Linn County Fan Page of the Webmasters children opening their christmas presents in not just one Video but two Videos posted one after the other,
Not too long ago the Group Page admins put up a post giving the 3 dates for the Office Subcommitte meetings,.
The Fanpage had multiple posts,.
Now it might be a matter of opinion whether One or Three posts were better
BUT
I do believe that TWELVE posts one after the other for the Three events might have been excessive,
The Communications Sub-Committee has on numerous occasions pointed this out to our Webmaster only to be responded to with Insults.
" If you present this YOU will look like an uncommunicative old fart! Obvious to me this is a personal attack, but one YOU will look bad as you present this."
"Your ego is the issue Bill but do I ask you to turn it off?"
"I will not be reporting to the communications team. PERIOD. "
"Blah blah blah"
The Chair of the Communications Sub-Committee wants the autoposting turned off.
I would be satisfied if the Webmaster simply cleaned up his messes.
One of tht two needs to be done,
The results of his clutter at times makes our Facebook Pages look like they were put up by a Lazy Teenager,
I fail to believe that any company or business would accept this as professional.
The Last Executive Board helped create this mess, let us see if the New One can pass the Test of being part of the solution
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Et Tu Brute?
One of my Readers is displeased with me.
They left a comment
It is good to see Jeremy participating again, But unlike the Past this time we differ a tad.
I am not one of those Libertarians who feel Govenment can or should be abolished and Taxation eliminated.
I feel there are some things Government needs to do.
That has to be paid for some way.
One of the ways in the Past we have, as a State chosen to fund road repair and upkeep, has been through a Fuel Tax.
Now I realize everyone seems to want what they want and also wants someone else to pay for it,
But when the Musical Chairs get down to a single one,.
Someone gets to set down, the rest are left standing,
Fuel Tax seems an almost Libertarian type of tax anyway.
Users pay nonusers don't.
Yes I know that non drivers will pay some higher for goods and services due to increased fuel costs but again that is their portion of the Road Usage.
Another thing to take into consideration is how inflation eats away at buying power.
That effects the State's ability to fund what it needs to fund as well as it does our abilites to pay our bills.
In this case we are not talking about an abuse of this principle.
We are not talking about Built In Annual Funding Inceases that are several multiples of the inflation rate such as the Democrats like,'
No we are talking about an increase that raises the buying power of the Fuel Tax Levy to about
75% of what it was 27 years ago,
That does not seem excessive to me.
Should anyone disagree, Feel free to use my comments section to respond with YOUR ideas on how Road Repair and Upkeep should be funded and how to maintain the needed level of funding.
Of course if they spend this money for something else besides roads and bridge repair all bets are off,.
Lest anyone misunderstand. A Raise in Taxes does not make me jump up and cheer,
I participlated in Three Campaigns to Oppose Raising the Local Option Sales Tax,
We won Two we had a combined War Chest for those two of less than 8K we faced City Hall, The Chamber of Commerce most of the large Corporations and Old Money in the County who for those two Referendums spent a combined total of about One Million dollars.
Like I said we won twice and the third time they buried us,
All three campaigsn were run out of the Star Lite btw the Way. It has turned into a Conservative Hub over the years.
So I think my Anti-Tax credentials are overall pretty good, much better than those of anyone who did not show up at the Star Lite back then to oppose LOST
THAT Tax cut all of us a lot deeper than this one will,.
This one IMO is Much Ado About Nothing
Friday, 27 February 2015
No Free Lunch
Tanstaafl
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
Made famous in Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is a concept that seems beyond the grasp of a lot of people.
There are decisions that I feel people should make for themselves and then there are things that the government needs to do.
In my opionion roads without ruts and safe bridges fall among the latter.
So we have a Fuel Tax increase and along with that comes screaming that sounds a lot like Stuck Pigs,
Over what exactly?
I looked at the figures, I believe that it will cost me a bit less than $2 a month,
But some of you might be thinking you live a very boring life and never go anwhere, For others it will cost more,
There is a lot of truth in that. So I looked at the
And I discover that the per capita gasoline consumption of Iowans is about 510 gallons a year.
So a 10 Cent Tax incease will hit them about $51 a Year or a tad less than $1 a week.
Last time I was in Hy Vee a diet coke cost me $1.59 plus deposit,
So we are not speaking of a Tax Increase that threatens the stability of the State's economy.
Also I have what some might call a pessimistic attitude,
They might even say my idea of positive thinking can be summed up by the words, "It could have been worse."
In this case that is true,
The last time the Fuel Tax Levy was increased was in 1988 and since then adjusted for Inflation and in Cosntant Dollars it has DECLINED by about 50%.
You can check that yourself at
What does that mean? It means WITH the 10 Cent incease our Fuel Tax Levy is in Constant Dollars 25% LESS than it was in 1988.
These matters of High Finance aside. There are other reasons why unlike others I am not that incenced over this Tax Incease,
I have more important things to concern myself with,
I have a President who feels like he needs to do what the Legislative Branch of the Government is not doing In His Opinion,
AND
He feels like he does NOT have to do what the Legislative Branch writes into Law,
In other words he feels he can govern by Executive Edict.
That is on the National Level,
On the Local Level it seems to me that we ALSO have Executives who feel like they should Govern the Central Committee by Executive Edict.
Neither is too concerned with small matters such as what the Constitution says or the Rule of Law.
Oddly enough I wonder if all the fuss and feathers on the Local level about a Tax increase that adds up to somewhere between 50 Cents to $1 a week might not be Misdirection.
Watch the shells see where the pea goes.
Let me see in one hand I have 50 Cents to $1 in the other my Basic Rights and Liberties are being attacked.
Which hand should I pay attention to?
Another thing I have noticed absent,'
In none of the Comments Sections where they are railing about the 10 Cent Tax Increase have I seen a Single Responce admonishing them
What does this have to do with Electing Republicans!
Still it is nice to see that they feel it is necessary to Rise Up on matters of Principle to Lash Out at other members of Our Party when they feel they are not living up to the Principles We are supposed to Stand For,
I mean that is What I Do.
And here I thought they did not approve of such activity and it turns out that might be the one thing on which we agree.
Thursday, 26 February 2015
The Webmaster Who Ran Away And Hid
Here are some posts that can be found on the LCRCC Facebook Fan Page
We have been under attack for years, are you going to fight for your party?
My friends of Linn County GOP I got to ask you this. If you knew there was a burglar knocking to enter your home through your front door, would you let them in knowing this?
Then why would you allow Iowa Conservative Union members participate in your organization? They have for the past 6 months or more publically published how they are working to 'destroy the LCRCC' and continual bashing all of you!
I ask you to give this some serious thought. You just voted in new officers...
See More
Now First of all this looks more like personal attacks rather than GOP business but more than that it demands action be taken against another Conservative Group for actions taken solely by ME..
And it does this while HIDDEN.
In that there seems to be a Block on my reading this unless I use someone else's profile
Which means I cannot respond in my Own Name on the LCRCC Fan Page. to these charges
Now is this because I have been a nuisance, say putting unwanted things on the Webmasters personal FB Page?
Nope that is something Our Webmaster specializes in.
The only reason I can think of him doing it this way is that he wants
To Throw Charges at Me
and Then
Run Away and Hide.
For Evil To Flourish
They say for Evil to Flourish all that is needed is for Good People to Remain Silent.
It is also a good idea for Good People to think from time to time on the Nature of Evil its different Forms and how it has Shown its Face in the Past.
Some think because we do not see a Great Evlil ie people being marched off to Death Camps there is not much to worry about,
They over look the reality that a mulititude of Small Evils can and have equaled a Great Evil.
Then there are Incremental Evils that appear small at first and without attention can grow very large.
They also Forget the Past and sometimes they hear something and they think now that sounds good I will use it, without considering or even Knowing where it came from.
After our last meeting when we elected officers a former Chair from another County who often visits our meetings asked me if I noticed that the person who won the office of Secretary promised to
Make the Trains Run On Time,
OUCH
The two Greatest Quotes from the Facistic States of the 20th Century were.
Hitlers Ein Volk Ein Reich Ein Fuhrer (One Folk, One Regime, One Leader)
and
Mussolinis's Make the Trains Run On Time
But at least he did not march up to the podium and Scream
One Central Committee, One Executive Board, One Chair!
However we do know that the Gentleman is not that enthusiastic about thngs such as Constitutions and Rules of Order when he thinks they get in the way of What HE Thinks everyone should be doing,
He looked me in the eye once and told me that we should get RID of Robert's Rules of Order because they got in the way of Gettiong Things Done,
I knew at that moment that I would never forget that being said and never Trust this person in a position of power,
He also when we were voting on removing a member of the Committee for a Violation of the Constitution ie supporting a candidate running against a Republican Huffily Grumped "What does THIS have to do with GETTING REPUBLICANS ELECTED" and Out of Order I might add but Rules of Order do not seem to matter to him and voted against enforcing the penalty in the Constitution,
I am Odd in that I THOUGHT I was supposed to support Getting Republicans Elected BECAUSE they SUPPORTED the Constitution and Rule of Law.
The Logic that we should IGNORE a Constituion, ByLaws and Rules of Order to help Elect someone who will uphold A Constitution and Rule of Law escapes me.
So we do not need Great Evils we have a multitude of Small ones trying to Grow Larger.
Someone needs to stand up and not be Silent,
But I will admit if I ever start to go into a meeting and I hear a bunch of people chanting
One Central Committee, One Executive Board, One CHAIR!
I'm Getting Out
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
I'm Shocked, Shocked I Tell You
I'm shocked, Shocked I tell you said the Chair that our Webmaster is putting inappropriate Posts on Linn County GOP Pages.
Or so we are told.
"I have chosen to focus on re-aligning our LCRCC to be prepared for the upcoming intense election cycle. I don't have time to follow what others are saying on FB."
The Chair also used a version of something I have seen before.
The phrase "What does this have to do with getting Republicans Elected!"
That seems to crop up anytime the Subject of Violations to the Constitution, ByLaws, Rules of Order or other Inappropriate Behaviour is mentioned,
Though in this case it looks like our Chair has created a Permanent Get Out of Jail Free Card,
"I have chosen to focus on re-aligning our LCRCC to be prepared for the upcoming intense election cycle."
That would be the election in about 2 years?
And since there will never be a time when an election will be MORE than 2 years away,
It would appear that the Chair is saying our Webmaster can do anything he wishes to because she will ALWAYS be too busy to pay attention.
By the way our Chairs definition of derailing the LCRCC and Meetings can be loosely translated as
Diagreeing with me and insisting that the Constituion, ByLaws and Rules of Order be adhered to .
With the subject of the SHAMEFUL incident where the Webmaster slandered a Formerly generous Republican Donor on LCRCC Fan Page and EVEN put his call for a boycott on the Facebook Pages of some 20 people INCLUDING the Facebook Page of a Sitting Congressman the Chair states
"You know full well that - as soon as I became aware of the issue to which you refer - I asked James to remove the post. He did."
Really? That is IT?
No Public Retraction and Appology to the Business that was slandered?
No Appology to the people including our Congressman whose Facebook Pages were smeared our Webmaster's spleen?
How about ANY sort of action Taken by the Executive Board to disipline or admonish him?
Nothing
But the Chair has a lot of vague charges to fling at me.
There are some differences.
I do not represent the LCRCC
This website does not belong to the LCRCC
I am pretty specific when I make a charge about the Chair or the Executive Board's actions.
When I deem the Constitution, ByLaws and Rules of Order are Violated I WILL speak up.
It is true there was a time when the Office of Parliamentarian required me to be Neutral.
That is no longer the Case.
OOPS
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