Not Uncommon

Iron County, Michigan, is not uncommon. It
is like many other small communities around
the world where the many permit the few
aggressive individuals to rule.

I wanted to do a piece on the Nobel Prizes
given what's happened this year with the
Peace Prize. The sensible commentaries are
everywhere already and I feel duplication
of those is unnecessary. Obama has come
clean about this one thing and said that
he didn't deserve the prize, leaving nothing
unspoken given the absurdity of that
situation.

But I thought to look at the rest of this
year's awards, and noticed the following in
the Literature award for this year:

"Müller made her debut with the collection
of short stories Niederungen (1982), which
was censored in Romania. Two years later,
she published the uncensored version in
Germany and, in the same year, Drückender
Tango in Romania. In these two works,
Müller depicts life in a small, German-
speaking village and the corruption,
intolerance and repression to be found
there."

http://tinyurl.com/yer4e7d

2009 literature award is made to Herta Müller.

The problem in Romania was fixed by the
overthrow of the totalitarian regime. What
will fix similar problems in Iron County?
Do we need to replace our entire political
structures and fill the positions with
people who have the community's interests
as their guide? Shouldn't we be doing that
anyway?

Bill Vajk

Middle School

A special meeting if the Iron River city council
was called for and held on October 1, 2009.

West Iron County School is willing to participate
in the reuse of the Middle School. Currently the
special Middle School Committee consists of 17
individuals. Iron County Doings questions whether
or not this committee creates a "public body" as
envisioned by the Michigan Constitution and the
Freedom of Information Act.

Can a committee with a membership of 17 individuals,
all with their own areas of interests, create a
successful "Authority" to own and manage the Middle
School. A six page Authority Agreement to be signed
by one official from each municipal government and
the school district was provided.

Although the Iron County Economic Development
Corporation (EDC) is currently a party to the
planning and it is Iron County Doings understanding
the the actual rentals and management of the property
will be the responsibility of the EDC, the EDC has no
responsibilities outlined in the agreement presently
being addressed. Furthermore, while there was some
discussion about Iron River's Downtown Development
Authority (DDA) paying the bulk of Iron River's share
of the anticipated expenses, the DDA is not a
signatory for this document. And the DDA has no
elected officials, nor has the DDA ever sent a
student to the Middle School.

The agreement does not yet work for the school
district. When an approved agreement is available
we will publish it for you.

Bill Vajk

Who Is In Charge of the Henhouse?

That local governments in Iron County, Michigan, are
corrupt is the responsibility of three distinct groups,
the politicians themselves, the public, and "the media."

So far as the media goes there are several varieties
here, the same as exits everywhere in the US. We
have a TV station WLUC, Marquette. We have a
radio station, WIKB both AM and FM. We have two
newspapers, Iron Mountain Daily News and the
Iron County Reporter.

And then we have the internet. Presently there are
three outlets. Two are discussion groups based on
Yahoo, and there is Iron County Doings, that you are
reading presently. Iron County Doings is a serial
electronic publication registered as such with the
Library of Congress.

This discussion has as its basis the failure of any
of the airwaves based media and the two newspapers
to report Ben Smith's discovery that the chair of the
Iron County Board of Commissioners has placed
herself above the law and is violating it in plain sight.
The problem, as I see it, is that those reporting on
the community have a vested interest in it. They're
part of the system they're reporting about, a really
bad problem. It is no different from putting the fox
in charge of security at the henhouse.

Jay Barry retired from managing WIKB today. He
sang the praises of John Archocosky on the air
today. John is the City Manager for Iron River, and
is a mover and shaker in other aspects of the
community. The position that Jay should have held
is that of a skeptic, not a supporter of the power
elite, the oligarchy, that is running Iron County. One
wonders just what it is that Jay Barry will be doing
during his retirement years. It is an unfortunate
fact that he has ingratiated himself to the people
in power during the 45 years he's been involved
with WIKB. He'd have provided a far better service
to the community had he held those in power at
arm's length as he was instructed, by former owners
of WIKB, to do.

What we have, going on in Iron County, is a serious
and significant illegal act by the chair of the Board
of Commissioners, and the failure of the local
media, save this arm of it, to provide the public with
a report of it places the entire community in jeopardy.
In effect the media is supporting the illegality of the
acts, thereby supporting corruption of our local
government. If such a clear violation of the laws is
ignored, what about more sophisticated corruption?

Bill Vajk

"Arguing With Idiots"

Arguing with Idiots, yes, that's the title of
Glenn Beck's new book. I haven't read it, or
bought it, but the title seemed so appropriate
for this particular report submitted by Ben
Smith regarding the Iron County Board meeting
of September 22, 2009.

============================================

The meeting was called at the request of GAD
(Great American Disposal) to modify the Iron
County solid waste ordinance. Three executives
of the company presented their reasons for the
changes, which boiled down to allow them to
make more money.

They stated that they were the predominate
waste processor in Iron County. However they
did not state that they had bid for the business
in Iron County under the existing ordnance !

The commissioners presented oral reports of
the various meetings they had attended. The
commissioners mentioned their opinions
concerning what had transpired at the
meeting , no mentioned their impact on the
people of Iron County.

There was no effort made to explain the various,
reasons that they had attended the meetings,
and the cost and mileage for their attending

This site proposes that all members of the
Iron County Board of Commissioners submit
written reports of their meetings and the
cost to the county for their attending !

In other matters brought up to the board
was the fact that Bruce Tusa had refused
a citizens request to call the Crystal
Falls fire dept. to a fire in his barn !

He outlined the fact that the West Iron
County Fire Dept. had sent two trucks to
the fire and that one had gone off the
road and into a ditch and never reached
the fire site.

The Amasa Fire Dept. sent a truck and it
ran out of water after a short attempt to
extinguish the fire.

His request to the board for assistance
to prevent a similar situation from
arising, was met with rejection, due to
the fact that they claimed NO jurisdiction!

Other matters brought to the attention of
the commissioners was the fact that the
County Chair claimed Principal residence
exemptions on two homes she owns according
to Iron County Registrar of Deeds Office.

In reply she told this reporter the he has
been researching this matter for a long time
and that he should contact the State of
Michigan's Treasury Dept.

Also at the chairs request the CIVIL atty.
paid by the people of Iron County, stated
that there were many reasons for not
recording items with the registrar of deeds,
and that this reporter should contact the
Michigan Treasury with the facts outlined
by him. And get their opinion, it was at
this point that this reporter stated that
he had contacted the treasury dept. and
been told that they would investigate!

But due to privacy concerns would not
discuss the matter until they completed
the fact finding!

This reporter will continue to monitor
this matter.

Ben Smith

=============================================

It would seem to me that the Chair for the county
BOC would present Mr. Smith with the chapter and
verse under which the exemption is claimed, should
there actually be a valid claim by Rosalie King
for the dual exemption.

The facts, as presented to the readers by this
publication indicate that Mrs. King is in clear
violation of the statutes, and the county's
civil attorney has expended public funds in making
the statement reported above.In the meantime, Mr.
Smith appears to have been arguing with idiots.

IronCountyDoings looks forward to reading the minutes
of the meeting.

Bill Vajk

Need Photos

I'm looking for photos of individuals presently
members of the various boards and councils
around Iron County, Michigan. Either email me
a photo or let me know the URL of any on the
internet.

Thanks in advance.

Bill Vajk

In The Meanwhile

Back in Illinois there is an organization called
Citizen's Utility Board (CUB) that is looking
out for utility frauds missed by the state organs
who are supposed to provide that function and
don't unless they're running for office as Mike
Cox, our republican attorney general is (running
for governor and making a big splash) at the
moment.

We badly need something like this in Michigan.
What follows is bits and pieces of a recent
mailing I got from them.

===============================================

Help CUB fight for a $287 million Nicor refund

In this decade alone, CUB has uncovered two
scandals involving Chicago-area gas companies.
A few years back Peoples Gas gave its customers
a record $100 million refund after CUB accused
the company of improper dealings with an affiliate
of Enron.

And now, we’re locked in battle with Nicor Gas to
win a $287 million refund for its customers. We
can see the light at the end of the tunnel—but
we need your help to get there.

Nicor, which made $119.5 million last year, is
fighting us every step of the way. Please give
to our consumer defense fund now, so we can beat
Nicor’s army of lawyers and give customers the
big refund they deserve.

[...]

Nancy won’t soon forget CUB’s recent Carbondale
phone clinic. We discovered that for nearly a
decade she had been paying for a maintenance
plan on a second phone line—a second phone
line that didn’t exist!

Thanks to CUB, Nancy got a $660 credit! She was
“astounded,” but for CUB it was just another
day at the office. With your help over the last
25 years, we’ve fought rate hikes and spotted
billing errors, such as the one that plagued
Nancy, to help save consumers more than
$10 billion.

Now, facing unprecedented confusion in the phone
market and nearly $1 billion in rate-hike cases,
we need your help more than ever. Please help us
continue to deliver on our promise to help cut
telephone, natural gas, and electric bills for
all Illinois consumers. And tell your friends
about CUB too.

=================================================

By the way, we have the same phone company here
in Michigan as they have over in Illinois. The
purpose of posting this information is to show
that not only is corruption just about universal,
but so is incompetence.

Bill Vajk

What Recovery Looks Like

We are supposed to be recovering from what is
called by some to be the worse depression/recession
since 1939. A couple of things have come to the
surface as a result.

One of my windows to what's happening outside of the
Iron County area is through an organization called
The Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (CSDA.)

In the current issue of their journal, the president
of the association (Douglas H. Walker) reports that
instead of prices for work coming in 10 to 15% over
the engineer's estimates, work is actually being
completed some 20% below those estimates. What this
means is significant competition among contractors,
driving the prices down.

What this means to our local economy is that incomes
for those of our residents working out of state will
decrease in the near future. The repercussions are
yet to be determined. Will it become advantageous for
some of those people to stay at home, with the families
collecting welfare instead of an income?

Similarly, with the world wide drop in automobile
production, China has found itself in a position of
having excess capacity for the manufacture of tires.
Because they dropped their prices in an attempt to
increase sales, the the executive branch of the US
Government (Obama et troupe) announced and has
implemented a tariff on those tires. This old fashioned
protectionism, pure and simple. But it neglects the
fact that we depend heavily on China as a money lender
and trading partner.

It is the US tire manufacturers that decided to move
their operations off shore. Obama's three year tariff
seeks to more than double the price during that period.
So if you are going to replace the tires on any of your
vehicles, you have till the 19th of September to take
action. Prices will jump by at least 1/3.

This looks to be the first of many tariffs imposed
by the Obama administration. So much for the promise
made and repeated by Obama that those who earn less
than $250,000 a year will see no tax increases. The
beginnings of the redistribution of wealth hurts the
poor much more than the rich. You can bet you'll see
a tremendous increase in the price of used tires at
John's in Caspien, and on Telephone Time.

So we're faced with the prospects of decreasing
incomes and increasing costs, just as the case
was for the entire eastern block from the end of
WW2 till about 1990. If you're on a fixed income,
as I am, you'll be a bit better off for a while,
till social security, medicare and military health
care, are also effectively cut.

Our future, including for those folks still
working, looks more than a little bleak. The
really bad news hasn't hit yet. I'd be very
happy to have to retract these dire predictions
by being wrong.

Bill Vajk

If You're In Business You'd Better Know The Rules

So here in Iron County, Michigan, is an old
fashioned country store called "The Outpost."
It is designed to suit the rural needs of some
of the local population.

However.

Once inside, one is finally faced with a sign
that tells the customer that nothing less than
$10 in purchases may be charged to a credit
card.

Here's the basic rule of business. You let the
customer know of any special or unusual rules
before a purchase is made. I bought 2
gallons of gas and premixed it for chain saws
and the like, so I couldn't return it. There
was no sign outside at the pumps. In short,
I was stuck paying cash for 2 gallons of gas
I'd have gotten for a whole lot less had I
had to pay cash in town, and I had a choice
in the matter there.

The reasons for The Outpost taking this measure
is of no consequence. The fact that they either
don't know the rules, or don't care about them,
is all that matters.

I'm tired of playing with local amateurs making
believe they're business people. I'll drive by
The Outpost in future; they'll have no more of
my business under any circumstance. It isn't
as though they had much from me to start with,
but they can look forward to none at all from
me in future.


Bill Vajk

Is Jehmu Greene a Pinhead?

I have my opinion on the matter, you can make your
own decisions after you read what she has written
and the things she's said:

"The Director of Athena Montessori Academy is a
close friend, and when needed I have been thrilled
to serve as a substitute teacher for her adorable
students. Throughout the day toddlers learn that
yelling, screaming, and making threats are not
socially acceptable ways of dealing with conflict.
Problem solving, conflict resolution, and critical
thinking are at the core of Montessori teachings.
On the surface it may seem simplistic, but it
actually takes courage to initiate conflict
resolution and see it through. Cambridge Police
Officer Jim Crowley, Harvard Professor Henry
Louis Gates, activists, bloggers, and commentators
could all learn from the problem solving lessons
designed for three year-olds. It cannot be denied
that the world would be a better place if adults
learned to communicate more intentionally, instead
of reacting out of emotion. "

There's plenty more at:

http://www.jehmugreene.typepad.com/

Jehmu talks a good line, but completely misses the
boat. The universe does not revolve around her, it
doesn't revolve around Barack Obama, and it doesn't
revolve around the Democratic Party. And quite
honestly I'm more than a little disgusted at being
dismissed, by the likes of her, as a lemming. Consider
who is following blindly here?

It is those who buy lock, stock, and barrel into any
program that is being sold by the Obama administration
without an actual bill being promoted as the final
set of facts. This is the same way that Obama was
elected. No facts have been presented, only lots of
laudable promises without the first bit of substance
backing them up.

Why would I want the leave a country to successive
generations that can never be bought out of debt?

It was the genius of Armund Hammer that saved the
Russians in the early Soviet empire from a premature
bankruptcy, and early failure. We have, in the Obama
administration, with Pelosi et troupe a willing
participant, in short term bankruptcy. We, as a nation,
have empowered a group of politicians with no vision
of nationhood and absolutely no understanding of the
financial repercussions of the paths they are eager,
as ideologues, to follow. Obama and Pelosi et troupe
have no vision beyond their programs. They have a belief
that once their programs (health care and cap and trade)
are in place, the finances will work themselves out.

Oh gee, who else believed that a Ponzi scheme would
outlive him? Oh yes, it was Bernie Madioff. In the
end there's no difference between the combination of
Pelosi, Obama, and Greene, and the Madoff schemes.

And finally, why does anyone with a good head on their
shoulders think that in order to relieve the gap that
those who are unemployed, or who work in jobs paying
minimum wages and thus unable to purchase health
insurance, requires that the US Government take over
and run all health insurance in our country?

In my opinion, a good education is easily wasted on an
individual who is handicapped, based on birthplace
and social considerations. Please take the time to read
Jehmu Greene's biography at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehmu_Greene

Then, if you believe in Obama's promises, look at your
own.

Lemming? Who is the real lemming in the current plot?

Bill Vajk

Mom & Pop Businesses in Iron River

I drove down Genesee street on Labor Day,
September 7, 2009. I observed one place
of business open and ready to provide
service to people, that was the Main
Street Cafe. Everything else was closed.

These are the people who all year long,
especially in mid-winter, are crying on
the radio with "support your local
merchants." But they are only there for
us, and for tourists, when they wish to
be. If being in business is an inconvenience
to them, they close whenever the whim and
will strikes.

Take a clue, mom & pop business, if you're
closed because it is convenient for you
to take a day off, you're making what in
many parts of the US is called "a fashion
statement." You're not in business to do
business, you're just making believe. I
have no respect for your investment in
time and money, you're there as a hobby
shop.

That brings me to E&E hardware, next door
to Angeli's supermarket. When I asked about
something not ordinarily stocked, the
manager literally shut down and refused to
check a catalog to see if it was available
through his wholesaler. Now there's a
hobby shop in spades. I've NEVER EVER
had such a thing happen anywhere else. It was
a very simple "I'm sorry, I can't help you."
The usual reply is to work to make the sale,
but that doesn't happen at E&E. This is a
hobby shop in spades. I won't waste my time
on them because they are there for convenient
sales only. I'll always reward the merchant who
goes that extra bit, the merchant who wants to
make the hard sale, because I'll keep coming
back for the easy ones.

Downtown Iron River was the ghost town that
the future promises because of the way the
merchants are behaving. If you actually were
open as a matter of routine, your sales would
eventually increase.

I went over to the Riverside Mall and
discovered that all the businesses were
alive and well, doing a heavier than the
usual Monday trade. Similarly, the business
street in Eagle River was busy with last
minute shoppers, stopping off to buy that
trinket that's been bothering them all
summer long.

But not in Iron River!

You reap what you sow.

Bill Vajk

Local Democrats Are Unaware

Local democrats are blindly following the national
party without realizing that the agenda has shifted
so far to the left as to be unrecognizable. The
overall picture has to be seen by each individual
because no one, so far, put the agenda into a
system that is recognizable. And in many ways,
those who believe in the "Democratic Party uber
alles" aren't going to care, thinking that whatever
the party decides must be OK.

Cap & Trade

is the first program leading to a government takeover
of the energy industry. Taxes will rise so much on
power generation that electricity consumption will
become unaffordable over minimum consumption. How
the government intends to take advantage of this
"difficulty" remains to be seen. This bill leads
to a direct tax payable across the board,
affecting economic bottom rungs far more than
the upper rungs. Obama promised not to add to the
tax burden of those making less than $250,000 a
year. This tax will impact us, the average joes,
much more than anyone else because it will take
a proportionally larger part of our income than
it will the rich.

The bulk of the auto American based industry, that
is GM and Chrysler, are already under significant
US Government control. Evidence: The US Government
forced the replacement of GM's CEO.

The Card Check Bill

forces a public system of voting for or against
union participation at your workplace. The entire
idea is to force unionization, and through the
unions, control of all workers, just as the Soviet
Union's system of "the worker's party" functioned
for decades. The Democratic Party is already working
in concert with the workers unions. See the net
effect of the Chrysler and GM takeovers. The bond
holders, who laid out hard cash, took a major
"haircut" while union members whose total investment
in the company was their lunchbox, especially the
retired ones, did not.

Local supporters of the Democratic Party better
wake up and realize what is underway in Washington.
Take your party back. We need you a viable party.
You're headed into eventual oblivion because
you've allowed Communists to take over your
party and agenda.

Bill Vajk

Is Rosalie King, Chair of the County Board, Cheating?

Rosalie King, Chair of the Board of Commissioners
for the Iron County Board, owns, according to the
official record, 2 pieces of property in Iron
County.

She lives at 6 Berkshire. She is claiming a 100%
Homeowner's Principal Residence Exemption for this
property.

Her son Tom, the Animal Control Officer for the
County, lives at 221 Ruby. This property is also
owned by Rosalie King, and is also claimed at a
100% Homeowner's Principal Residence Exemption
although it is owned by Rosalie.

Obviously Rosalie cannot have two places of primary
residence at the same time. I can't do it, and you
can't do this.

Is Rosalie King cheating the tax man, that is to
say, the West Iron School District?

For the documents, click 6_berkshire

and


221_ruby

The credit for this story, including all the research,
goes to Ben Smith.

Bill Vajk

Getting Caught Up

I have been out of town for a few days. Now
I have to get caught up. Here are the
highlights of the stories that will be
covered in the next few days:

1) Iron County and the City of Iron River
have met to iron out issues related to tax
monies that the county has withheld. A task
force of 2 members of the County Board are
to meet with 2 members of the Iron River
City Council in order to hammer out a
solution without either body having a
"public meeting" in order to do this work
behind closed doors. This flies in the
face of government transparency and it is
a kick, by both groups, to the head of
all citizens. The sad fact is that the
bodies will, without a doubt, engage in
a "constructive quorum" by serial phone
calls after the off book meetings
thereby violating the laws regulating
these meetings.

It is an also an unfortunate state of
affairs that Ben Smith, intrepid reporter
for Ironcountydoings, was the only reporter
at this special meeting reported earlier by
our publication. The county has refused to
recognize Mr. Smith as a credentialed
reporter as yet. The county will receive
a letter discussing such matters from our
office later in the week.

2) This business with Rosalie King claiming
two properties as her primary residence for
the purposes of PRE tax exemption will be
fully documented.

3) I will present a limited discussion about
the Van Jones appointment and resignation as
"Green Jobs Czar". The national problems of
inattention remarkably resemble the local
ones.

Bill Vajk

Iron County - Iron River Tax Flap, Page 2

As we reported earlier, Iron County has withheld
collected taxes from the Cities of Caspian and
Iron River.

The Iron County Board of Commissioners sent a
letter over the Chair's signature (Rosalie A
King) advising several Iron River officials
that the County Board has scheduled a special
meeting to discuss TIF fund issues with the
city of Iron River on September 1, 2009, and
9:00 AM at their usual meeting place in the
courthouse in Crystal Falls.

This impromptu announcement by the county board
brought a responding letter from the city manager
John Archocosky advising the county board that
pertinent city personnel will be unable to attend
because of prior scheduling commitments and that
if the county board would like to meet with city
representatives the city requests someone coordinate
a time that makes it possible for those invited to
attend the meeting.

These two documents are available for your review
by clicking here

Bill Vajk

Message to Mike Cox on His Candidacy

Mike Cox is running for governor of
Michigan. Too bad, really. I sent him
the following message on September 24th,
2009.

=====================================

You have refused to involve yourself in
local government imposing illegal charges
on residents in the UP. The Readiness to
Serve tax disguised as a fee has spread
to virtually every community without a
whimper from your office. Iron River's
"nuisance" ordinance copies a state law
that you have permitted to continue to
stand where a municipality is, by statute,
authorized by the legislature to ignore
Michigan and Federal Constitutional
requirements for providing notice before
acting. I am a life-long Republican, but
I cannot support your candidacy based on
your ongoing ignoring of these issues
that allows local governments to take
money out of my pocket illegally.

I am not simply a single voice. I intend
to actively work against your candidacy
despite my conservatism. You can carry on
about 2nd Amendment issues all you want,
because that will not trump your failure to
fully support the rest of the Constitution.
It is a significant error to ignore voices
like mine.

Bill Vajk

Florence County Leading The Way?

Perhaps when Michigan State University
appoints a new Extension Service Director
(due soon) to the Iron County office,
things like Florence County does routinely
can become 4H or other organizational
youth projects over here on the Michigan
side of the border.

It there's to be an east-west contest in
Iron County Michigan, wouldn't it be better
to have it be with someone, like Florence
County, who is presently leading the way?

Bill Vajk

Yes, dammit, they are actually pulling the plug on Grandpa

(I have published this story elsewhere as well.)

Monday, August 17, 2009

Yes, dammit, they are actually pulling the plug on Grandpa.

And it isn't the first time either.

When my father died in 1980 I wasn't prepared to be fatherless,
and I was fortunate to meet Alex Zelchenko who became a truly
remarkable friend as well as something of a surrogate father.
Alex lives on Lincoln Avenue, in Chicago.

When Alex was 90 years old, he had some neurological problems
along with gall bladder difficulties. They discovered that he
had some sort of growth in his lung, and another in his brain.
They took care of the gall bladder with an endoscopic extraction
of some gallstones. Alex refused regular abdominal surgery
because his own father had unexpectedly died during an
identical gall bladder surgery. He was ready to fight to live.
But when it came to the tumors, the medical profession and
Medicare wrote him off. Effectively they pulled the plug. They
refused to do anything, even to follow through and properly
diagnose what those growths were, and sent him home to meet
whatever fate befell him without diagnosis let along any medical
intervention.

Now Alex is 95 years old. He has moments of "normalcy"
and longer periods of old age dementia. Or is it? What would
his quality of life be had they diagnosed that growth in his
brain growth and treated it?

In the meantime he had a brain aneurysm that his wife insisted
must be treated. But his wife is now hospitalized with her own
issues, and a dysfunctional family created such a stink with
infighting among themselves that the court appointed not only
a guardian ad litem but also a medical guardian for Alex and
his wife, Phyllis, who is somewhat younger than Alex.

Alex had a series of neurological symptoms about a week ago.
The medical guardian, appointed by the Illinois courts, said sure,
admit him for diagnosis.

They found a brain tumor again, and a growth in his lung, but they
can't be bothered even to compare the growths to the records of
5 years ago, when they wrote him off the last time.

Who would have thought Alex would survive another 5 years? And
who would have thought he'd actually be able to enjoy those 5 years
in relatively good health for most of that period. Last time it was
the doctors who refused to go further with diagnosis and
treatment, this time, to our collective social shame, it is the state.

Son Gregory, who has an interest (with a degree in) biology and
health asked to look at the films. The court appointed medical
guardian said, "I'm not going to permit you to play doctor."

Why? Are power and control issues more important than doing
the best for Alex? And here I thought a medical guardian is
supposed to stand in the person's shoes, making decisions
for them, without any other considerations! An advocate. Isn't
this medical guardian supposed to be an advocate?

Oh. No. It is because the medical guardian has pulled the plug
on Alex because he's 95 years old and he's supposed to be
dead already. Who the hell is the medical guardian working for
anyway? Perhaps it is inconvenient to the state that Alex is
still alive? Is that the problem? Is that why they are withholding
diagnosis and treatment, now for a second time?

What kind of quality of life can a 95 year old have? Perhaps
the state doesn't consider it worth our time. Alex worked well
past retirement age, and paid into the system much more than
his fair share.

But he's 95 years old, and there's no one, with authority, looking
out for him in his old age.

Folks, this is your future, unless you fix the problem. It doesn't
matter what President Obama says. When the moment of decision
comes, they will pull the plug on Grandma, just like they're doing to
Alex. And some day it will be you.

Bill Vajk

Talking the Talk Without Walking the Walk

I attended most of the "Americans for Freedom"
meeting at Bates Township Hall this evening.
Unfortunately the arthritis in my neck flared
up (it has been doing that, I have a surgical
consult scheduled in September) and I was forced,
by pain, to leave before the Q&A period at the end.
I look forward to hearing what went on from someone
who stayed to the end.

That being said, I have a few comments to make.

The main speaker ended up being Dan Stafford,
former Iron River Township treasurer, addressing
many of the problems we, the citizens, are
presently experiencing with the political bunch
in Washington. He made a couple of comments that
hit home with anyone who was paying attention
to "how things really work."

Dan addressed his problem of having a really bad
upset stomach before the Township Board meetings
because he knew there was always going to be a
fight.

He went on to discuss how the politicians at the
federal level aren't looking out for citizens'
interests but have their own agenda.

I guess it was not obvious to Dan that the reason
why he was having all those fights at the Iron
River Township Board meetings was because he was
not doing what the electorate wanted him to do!

I stopped attending the meetings (I was attending
them when I first moved to Iron County) because I
considered the fights to be inane, and the board
was, in my opinion, unresponsive. I knew that
all that could and would happen was that I would
lose my temper to no avail.

One of Dan's points during his speech to the
assembled group was that we need a reduction in
the size and scope of the federal government.

Let's take a look at the Township Board's
performance during the period he was the
treasurer.

Here's the unreserved fund balance reported
for the period:

2004 $ 844,729
2005 862.478
2006 918,397
2007 1,015,357
2008 1,157,425

Stafford did not run for re-election in
the November 2008 election. But the fund
continues to grow.

June 30,2009 1,167,622

This is all with an increase in taxes of 2 mils
that the township has tried, in two elections,
to get renewed, with a threat that they would
continue to place this on every ballot till it
gets passed. AND along with this was a
significant increase in the water bill for all
who are being thus served.

And then the current board has the audacity to
refuse to make repairs to a Township owned
building, Beechwood Hall, asking the voters
to approve an additional tax to make needed
repairs. This is the sort of irresponsibility
that will lead to demolition of a perfectly
useful facility after it becomes a blight,
because of personal bias by board members
against the use of this building by west end
Beechwood residents.

In the end, it is apparent that Dan Stafford
preaches a different story from the one that
he himself lives. It is different from the
personal agenda he imposed on Township
residents while he held political office. He
talks the talk, but he does not walk the walk.

As they say in Brooklyn, "So what else is new?"

That's not to say that what Dan said didn't make
good sense, it did. I find it sad that even
while knowing what "should be," he was unable to
deliver it.

This, unfortunately, seems to be the general case
in politics today.

Bill Vajk

A Symptom

Why do you suppose it is that Iron County
has no "Welcome Wagon?"

Bill Vajk

WE Energies - Requested Rate Increases

There's only one word for this.

Wrongheaded.

We live in a capitalistic society. That means
that a firm trying to do business in this society
has shareholders who invest money in the basics
that constitute that business. Goods,
infrastructure, payroll, and whatever else is
necessary in any given instance. And sales are
designed to include profit, yielding the basic
reason for shareholder investment in the first
place.

The decision to invest in a new huge power
generating plant has a number of elements
driving the decision whether to build such a
facility or not.

First, is there either growth in demand for power
that will justify the investment based on increasing
sales? Or, the other justification, has the existing
infrastructure gotten so old that replacement is a
necessary expenditure?

Based on these two, the analysis either justifies
shareholder investment, or it does not.

WE Energies appears to have latched on to some other
criteria as justification to build a new power plant,
but cannot justify it under the only criteria that
makes any economic sense. So they now approach the
Public Service Commission in order to increase
utility rates to pay for a new power plant that is
an investment not available through the shareholders.

As an electrical energy consumer in the region served
by WE Energies I have a couple of very simple questions
to ask.

1) What am I getting in return for increased rates?

The answer is, nothing.

2) If I am paying for this generating power plant, where
is my return on the investment?

The answer is, it doesn't exist. This rate increase is
nothing more than a bottomless pit wanting to be filled.

WE Energies recommends their customers make changes to
power consumption habits in order to reduce our monthly
costs. But, if successfully implemented, what that results
in eventually is an overall reduction in consumption with
an accompanying request from WE Energies for another rate
increase in order to maintain former profit levels.

This request is nonsensical. The management and
shareholders want to increase production capacity
without increasing sales and to reach into customer
pockets to pay for this excess capacity that we
will not be utilizing.

Here's the hook you're looking for.

Once this excess capacity is available, WE Energies
will likely sell that power to other regions of the
country at lower rates than we are paying because
we are subsidizing the excess capacity. It will
likely be resold at retail through unregulated
utility companies where profit is not reportable
to any state regulatory agency, making this a scam
worthy of a Bernie Madoff.

I urge the Wisconsin and Michigan regulatory agencies
to thoroughly investigate interlocking boards of
directors between WE Energies and unregulated
electrical power providing utilities in other
states.

In the meantime, I urge the Michigan Public Service
Commission to deny the rate increases requested for
the addition of this coal fired generating facility
by WE Energies.

Bill Vajk