I received the following email in response to
yesterday's article "Progress?".
>Bill : Your going to be very unpopular with
>this kind of column. Have you noticed the
>number of pages in the local media lately?
>Even telephone time has suffered from late
>of participants, both sponsors and callers!
My response:
Popular but screwed is not where I want to be! If
real progress demands unpopularity, then so be it.
Obama said yesterday, in his State of the Union
address, that he's not content to have the US come
in second. How do we achieve as good as second
with a docile population? We'd be lucky to come
in behind all the members of the European Union!
Bill Vajk
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Progress?
I received a flier from Congressman Bart Stupak.
It is the usual "I'm wonderful" sort of sheet
we're used to seeing once a year or at least at
election time. There are a few points I want to
comment about because they're so problematic.
"Since February the stimulus bill has created or
retained 1,950 jobs and committed $461 million for
Northern Michigan, according to the recovery.gov
web site."
Here's the problem: The web page has been debunked
by many because a lot of money went to congressional
districts that don't even exist and when pressed,
some of those making claims of "created or saved
jobs" had pulled numbers out of thin air. The
listings that follow are, in my opinion, bogus.
Not covered by the Stupak flier is the automated
weather station that, I believe, was funded by
stimulus money. The photo below shows the only thing
I've found so far attributed to stimulus money in
Iron County. It is located at the northwest corner
of the intersections between US2 and FFH16. Funny,
this has not been reported in the local newspapers
or WIKB, and it qualifies as "feel good news" that
Marian Volek of the Iron County Reporter prefers to
publish.
While on the topic, it seems that our local newsprint
media is, as Karl Marx called religion, "the opiate of
the people" way back in 1843.
It is just plain wrong for a newspaper to sew contentment
in a population that is living in a region where
government corruption is rampant because that only fuels
more corruption and misery. Of course Ms. Volek is only
repeating the "bucket filling" of joy and kindness that's
being presently taught to Stambaugh elementary students
who are in process of being taught to live happily in the
midst of the deceit and corruption that runs rampant in
this region.
Please note this well!
The only road to progress is through discontent.
The individual who is unhappy with working for
others, or on welfare in one of the many available
forms, opens his or her own business. Perhaps it
takes several attempts. I expect that eventually
Rex Angeli, for example, will once again start a
new business.
No, Ms. Volek, more of the same is unacceptable here
in Iron County. We need people, especially those
growing up here to be tomorrow's potential leadership,
to be discontent with how things are. Supporting a
program of "life is great in Iron County" is a
disservice to the community. Christianity teaches us
to love one another, and church or religious training
is where that sort of thing belongs. In the secular
realm, where a newspaper and schools belong, teaching
students to cast a critical eye on life in general
is the only legitimate lesson they should be learning.
Although "trust but verify" is generally attributed
to Ron Reagan, it was actually borrowed from a much
older Russian paradigm, "doveryay, no proveryay." I
think this is the idea that should be taught in Iron
County schools if we want a better life for the children.
Bill Vajk
It is the usual "I'm wonderful" sort of sheet
we're used to seeing once a year or at least at
election time. There are a few points I want to
comment about because they're so problematic.
"Since February the stimulus bill has created or
retained 1,950 jobs and committed $461 million for
Northern Michigan, according to the recovery.gov
web site."
Here's the problem: The web page has been debunked
by many because a lot of money went to congressional
districts that don't even exist and when pressed,
some of those making claims of "created or saved
jobs" had pulled numbers out of thin air. The
listings that follow are, in my opinion, bogus.
Not covered by the Stupak flier is the automated
weather station that, I believe, was funded by
stimulus money. The photo below shows the only thing
I've found so far attributed to stimulus money in
Iron County. It is located at the northwest corner
of the intersections between US2 and FFH16. Funny,
this has not been reported in the local newspapers
or WIKB, and it qualifies as "feel good news" that
Marian Volek of the Iron County Reporter prefers to
publish.
While on the topic, it seems that our local newsprint
media is, as Karl Marx called religion, "the opiate of
the people" way back in 1843.
It is just plain wrong for a newspaper to sew contentment
in a population that is living in a region where
government corruption is rampant because that only fuels
more corruption and misery. Of course Ms. Volek is only
repeating the "bucket filling" of joy and kindness that's
being presently taught to Stambaugh elementary students
who are in process of being taught to live happily in the
midst of the deceit and corruption that runs rampant in
this region.
Please note this well!
The only road to progress is through discontent.
The individual who is unhappy with working for
others, or on welfare in one of the many available
forms, opens his or her own business. Perhaps it
takes several attempts. I expect that eventually
Rex Angeli, for example, will once again start a
new business.
No, Ms. Volek, more of the same is unacceptable here
in Iron County. We need people, especially those
growing up here to be tomorrow's potential leadership,
to be discontent with how things are. Supporting a
program of "life is great in Iron County" is a
disservice to the community. Christianity teaches us
to love one another, and church or religious training
is where that sort of thing belongs. In the secular
realm, where a newspaper and schools belong, teaching
students to cast a critical eye on life in general
is the only legitimate lesson they should be learning.
Although "trust but verify" is generally attributed
to Ron Reagan, it was actually borrowed from a much
older Russian paradigm, "doveryay, no proveryay." I
think this is the idea that should be taught in Iron
County schools if we want a better life for the children.
Bill Vajk
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Climate Change
Climate change and political understandings of it affect all
of us. There's a huge battle between those who, for whatever
reason, believe in what is called Global Warming and those
who are more appreciative of Climate Gate, the name given
to the apparent falsification of data at East Anglia
University that's been used as a basis by former VP Gore
and his followers.
It cost a few million dollars for the US to ship President
Obama to the climate talks recently, and the rest of the to
attend those talks as well as the earlier Kyoto conference
doubtless spent similar amounts and burned plenty of fuel to
get there in the fashion to which they're accustomed. Of
course they would be immune from any resulting energy taxes.
We would be the ones footing that bill.
The entire cap and trade legislation movement used the
falsified data from East Anglia as a foundation to "remake
America" by taxing the dickens out of all energy consumption.
I wonder how they intended to collect taxes on firewood here
in Iron County and many other places around the US? If that
tax were successful the USA would doubtless be denuded of
trees, much like Hati, in a few decades.
It looks like the information found on the NOAA web site,
US Government funded data, is accurate. It shows that while
there's a slight recent upturn in temperatures, those
numbers fall well below the high points during earlier times
when mankind was so sparse of population that our carbon
footprint was less than that of the naturally occurring
forest and meadow fires to say nothing of volcanic activity.
This is probably a good place to start your own investigation:
NOAA data4
Raw numbers going back a few thousand years, based on central
Greenland ice cores can be found at:
click here
The NOAA web page has lots of information for those eager to
understand our climate. I urge everyone to spend a lazy
afternoon perusing the topics available there.
Bill Vajk
of us. There's a huge battle between those who, for whatever
reason, believe in what is called Global Warming and those
who are more appreciative of Climate Gate, the name given
to the apparent falsification of data at East Anglia
University that's been used as a basis by former VP Gore
and his followers.
It cost a few million dollars for the US to ship President
Obama to the climate talks recently, and the rest of the to
attend those talks as well as the earlier Kyoto conference
doubtless spent similar amounts and burned plenty of fuel to
get there in the fashion to which they're accustomed. Of
course they would be immune from any resulting energy taxes.
We would be the ones footing that bill.
The entire cap and trade legislation movement used the
falsified data from East Anglia as a foundation to "remake
America" by taxing the dickens out of all energy consumption.
I wonder how they intended to collect taxes on firewood here
in Iron County and many other places around the US? If that
tax were successful the USA would doubtless be denuded of
trees, much like Hati, in a few decades.
It looks like the information found on the NOAA web site,
US Government funded data, is accurate. It shows that while
there's a slight recent upturn in temperatures, those
numbers fall well below the high points during earlier times
when mankind was so sparse of population that our carbon
footprint was less than that of the naturally occurring
forest and meadow fires to say nothing of volcanic activity.
This is probably a good place to start your own investigation:
NOAA data4
Raw numbers going back a few thousand years, based on central
Greenland ice cores can be found at:
click here
The NOAA web page has lots of information for those eager to
understand our climate. I urge everyone to spend a lazy
afternoon perusing the topics available there.
Bill Vajk
Monday, January 18, 2010
For Want of a Nail
Page 1 of the January 16-17, 2010 Iron Mountain
Daily News has an article entitled "Community
colleges soar; Bay West no exception."
The article points out that, "One of the greatest
challenges is the graduation rates at Michigan
community colleges. This is primarily because
too many students arrive without basic math and
reading skills. Bay College is focused on this
and has received federal grant money to support
such areas."
I know this is an old problem, and a national
one, not purely a local UP problem. About 1973,
while I was still living on the east coast, I
undertook a job of teaching at Trenton Technical
Institute in Trenton, NJ, for a brief period. I
had a class of 8 students, primarily Vietnam
veterans who had an interest in bettering
themselves by learning what at that time was
about computers.
Please bear in mind that this was well before
the advent of small personal computers of the
sort you're undoubtedly using to read this text.
Computers, back then, were at the least in large
floor model cabinets called racks, and the
operator hadn't an inkling, usually, of what
was on all those punch cards they fed into the
infernal machine. Computer operator was a simple
clerical job. Programmer was separate, as it is
today. What these fellows in my class were there
to learn was how computers worked with an eye to
maintenance.
At the most elementary level, computers utilize
what is known as Boolean algebra, also known
as Boolean logic. The building blocks for that
are known in the computer biz as gates with names
like AND, OR, NAND, NOR. AND, for example, can
have 2 or more inputs of a high or low state. In
order to get a high state output from an AND gate,
all the inputs must be high.
What I discovered for my class was that not one of
them was able to perform 6th grade arithmetic out
of the workbook my daughter was using in school at
that time. Beyond that, the students weren't very
good at ordinary reading either. Never did any of
these students come to class carrying a newspaper,
or any reading materials other than those required
for class.
How was I supposed to teach these young men, all
in their 20's, to understand elementary electronics,
gates, and logic so they could have at least a
handshake acquaintance with the equipment they said
they wanted to work with? This stuff was nothing
like changing a tire on a car.
And that's the point. Not everyone is destined to
greatness. Not everyone should attend college, no
matter what the dreams and hopes of their parents.
Some people need to stick to changing tires. They're
good at it and it is an honorable job.
My father undertook to teach a neighbor elementary
algebra, something the adult man desired.
A=16 solve 3A=?
The neighbor, after several hours of effort, was
unable to solve this caliber of problem. He was a
perfectly nice man with a home, wife, one child,
and a good job. But he had achieved the highest
level to which he was destined and was unable in
his lifetime to achieve more. There's no dishonor
or disgrace in that. In fact he took pride in his
achievements, as well he should have.
That's the point of this discussion. If everyone
were able to be a rocket scientist we'd have plenty
of those around. There's a reason we don't.
So the trick is to explore one's limits, bump into
them, and do the absolute best one can with such
gifts as your creator has seen fit to bless you
with. Back to Bay College, my question is a simple
one. Why do we need federal grants so that
individuals can learn, in their 20's, how to do the
things we paid for in the 12 years of educational
opportunities already extended to everyone in this
country? If kids are blowing off opportunities for
12 years, why are we, in this time of massive
unemployment, paying for one more time around on
this issue?
We have, in the Iron River community, some individuals
who give their time freely to help those who haven't
learned to read, to read, if they possibly can. In my
experience, such volunteerism works much better than
any government funded initiative where the individual
can "fall through the cracks" again as they managed to
do for 12 years already. I applaud this charitable act
and suggest that if young people want to attend college,
community college or otherwise, that they be required
to come equipped to deal with the necessities. They
should be required to read, write, and do arithmetic,
on at least the 7th grade level before they're
admitted to any college level courses.
College should not be an extended High School. It is
a place for advanced studies, not a repeat of what
went before.
Bill Vajk
Daily News has an article entitled "Community
colleges soar; Bay West no exception."
The article points out that, "One of the greatest
challenges is the graduation rates at Michigan
community colleges. This is primarily because
too many students arrive without basic math and
reading skills. Bay College is focused on this
and has received federal grant money to support
such areas."
I know this is an old problem, and a national
one, not purely a local UP problem. About 1973,
while I was still living on the east coast, I
undertook a job of teaching at Trenton Technical
Institute in Trenton, NJ, for a brief period. I
had a class of 8 students, primarily Vietnam
veterans who had an interest in bettering
themselves by learning what at that time was
about computers.
Please bear in mind that this was well before
the advent of small personal computers of the
sort you're undoubtedly using to read this text.
Computers, back then, were at the least in large
floor model cabinets called racks, and the
operator hadn't an inkling, usually, of what
was on all those punch cards they fed into the
infernal machine. Computer operator was a simple
clerical job. Programmer was separate, as it is
today. What these fellows in my class were there
to learn was how computers worked with an eye to
maintenance.
At the most elementary level, computers utilize
what is known as Boolean algebra, also known
as Boolean logic. The building blocks for that
are known in the computer biz as gates with names
like AND, OR, NAND, NOR. AND, for example, can
have 2 or more inputs of a high or low state. In
order to get a high state output from an AND gate,
all the inputs must be high.
What I discovered for my class was that not one of
them was able to perform 6th grade arithmetic out
of the workbook my daughter was using in school at
that time. Beyond that, the students weren't very
good at ordinary reading either. Never did any of
these students come to class carrying a newspaper,
or any reading materials other than those required
for class.
How was I supposed to teach these young men, all
in their 20's, to understand elementary electronics,
gates, and logic so they could have at least a
handshake acquaintance with the equipment they said
they wanted to work with? This stuff was nothing
like changing a tire on a car.
And that's the point. Not everyone is destined to
greatness. Not everyone should attend college, no
matter what the dreams and hopes of their parents.
Some people need to stick to changing tires. They're
good at it and it is an honorable job.
My father undertook to teach a neighbor elementary
algebra, something the adult man desired.
A=16 solve 3A=?
The neighbor, after several hours of effort, was
unable to solve this caliber of problem. He was a
perfectly nice man with a home, wife, one child,
and a good job. But he had achieved the highest
level to which he was destined and was unable in
his lifetime to achieve more. There's no dishonor
or disgrace in that. In fact he took pride in his
achievements, as well he should have.
That's the point of this discussion. If everyone
were able to be a rocket scientist we'd have plenty
of those around. There's a reason we don't.
So the trick is to explore one's limits, bump into
them, and do the absolute best one can with such
gifts as your creator has seen fit to bless you
with. Back to Bay College, my question is a simple
one. Why do we need federal grants so that
individuals can learn, in their 20's, how to do the
things we paid for in the 12 years of educational
opportunities already extended to everyone in this
country? If kids are blowing off opportunities for
12 years, why are we, in this time of massive
unemployment, paying for one more time around on
this issue?
We have, in the Iron River community, some individuals
who give their time freely to help those who haven't
learned to read, to read, if they possibly can. In my
experience, such volunteerism works much better than
any government funded initiative where the individual
can "fall through the cracks" again as they managed to
do for 12 years already. I applaud this charitable act
and suggest that if young people want to attend college,
community college or otherwise, that they be required
to come equipped to deal with the necessities. They
should be required to read, write, and do arithmetic,
on at least the 7th grade level before they're
admitted to any college level courses.
College should not be an extended High School. It is
a place for advanced studies, not a repeat of what
went before.
Bill Vajk
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Heartless?
Our local Judge Schwedler is heartless when it comes to
imposing fines and penalties. In most jurisdictions in
the United Sates judges make sure that defendants who
owe the court money aren't financially destroyed by the
systems that most of us see as corrections rather than
punishment of the entire family for the father's misdeeds.
From the below referenced web page, Schwedler is quoted:
"It’s really quite simple," explains Administrative Chief
Judge C. Joseph Schwedler of the Iron County Trial Court.
"We expect those who know they will owe money to come to
the court prepared to pay. And we tell them that."
"I was skeptical at first, given the type of defendant
we deal with up here in the Upper Peninsula, where the
economy is not flourishing like it is in other parts of
the state."
(Well he's wrong on all counts in this.)
"Almost immediately, the clerks commented on how much
more traffic there was in their office, with defendants
wanting to satisfy their court debts. When you create
the expectation, the money rolls in."
courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/standards/cl_section3.pdf
Is this necessary? The people paying the fines and
penalties generally have very little to begin with. Is
the court unnecessarily pushing them into asking for
charity or state support as a consequence? Yes, fines
and penalties must be paid, but does the court system
really need to be irrational about it?
And why wasn't this sort of information provided by the
local newsprint media when it is fresh?
Bill Vajk
imposing fines and penalties. In most jurisdictions in
the United Sates judges make sure that defendants who
owe the court money aren't financially destroyed by the
systems that most of us see as corrections rather than
punishment of the entire family for the father's misdeeds.
From the below referenced web page, Schwedler is quoted:
"It’s really quite simple," explains Administrative Chief
Judge C. Joseph Schwedler of the Iron County Trial Court.
"We expect those who know they will owe money to come to
the court prepared to pay. And we tell them that."
"I was skeptical at first, given the type of defendant
we deal with up here in the Upper Peninsula, where the
economy is not flourishing like it is in other parts of
the state."
(Well he's wrong on all counts in this.)
"Almost immediately, the clerks commented on how much
more traffic there was in their office, with defendants
wanting to satisfy their court debts. When you create
the expectation, the money rolls in."
courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/standards/cl_section3.pdf
Is this necessary? The people paying the fines and
penalties generally have very little to begin with. Is
the court unnecessarily pushing them into asking for
charity or state support as a consequence? Yes, fines
and penalties must be paid, but does the court system
really need to be irrational about it?
And why wasn't this sort of information provided by the
local newsprint media when it is fresh?
Bill Vajk
Iron County Reporter
The Iron County Reporter has been getting smaller
ever since I've subscribed. Yesterday the renewal
notice came in the mail. The price would be $45
for a year, or $26 for 6 months.
Unfortunately "The Reporter" takes a very narrow
view of what they decide to report.
This academic description comes from the web
page referenced at the end of this posting.
"The Seattle Times asked its readers what they
think a newspaper is for. One reader responded,
'The purpose of the newspaper has always been
to keep people informed of events around the
world as well as those in our backyard...
"Events that directly and indirectly affect us
and the rest of humanity and our planet....The
best newspapers are diligent, unbiased, and serve
no one but their readers, the general public - not
always telling them what they want to know, but
what they NEED to know. If you do these things
wholeheartedly you will offer the reader something
the internet cannot: substance... Do not
underestimate the public.'"
In a nutshell, the local problem is defined.
The Reporter does not fill the unbiased news
reporting niche that the community so badly
needs. It has, instead, become an organ of
local government, a pure propaganda sheet
shilling for the local oligarchy. It is my
opinion that the "independent press" does
not exist in Iron County in the classic
newsprint media.
The Iron County Reporter, in my opinion, is
not worth the price. I'm not renewing a
subscription.
see:
http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2007/03/us_the_purpose_of_a_newspaper.php
Bill Vajk
ever since I've subscribed. Yesterday the renewal
notice came in the mail. The price would be $45
for a year, or $26 for 6 months.
Unfortunately "The Reporter" takes a very narrow
view of what they decide to report.
This academic description comes from the web
page referenced at the end of this posting.
"The Seattle Times asked its readers what they
think a newspaper is for. One reader responded,
'The purpose of the newspaper has always been
to keep people informed of events around the
world as well as those in our backyard...
"Events that directly and indirectly affect us
and the rest of humanity and our planet....The
best newspapers are diligent, unbiased, and serve
no one but their readers, the general public - not
always telling them what they want to know, but
what they NEED to know. If you do these things
wholeheartedly you will offer the reader something
the internet cannot: substance... Do not
underestimate the public.'"
In a nutshell, the local problem is defined.
The Reporter does not fill the unbiased news
reporting niche that the community so badly
needs. It has, instead, become an organ of
local government, a pure propaganda sheet
shilling for the local oligarchy. It is my
opinion that the "independent press" does
not exist in Iron County in the classic
newsprint media.
The Iron County Reporter, in my opinion, is
not worth the price. I'm not renewing a
subscription.
see:
http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2007/03/us_the_purpose_of_a_newspaper.php
Bill Vajk
Why Is Sarah Palin So Despised?
There are probably as many possible answers as there
are people, but a few things that generally don't make
the list are worthy of mention.
First and foremost, the American culture (and a few
European ones as well) doesn't deal very well with
high profile alpha women. The more attractive (and
perhaps Barbi-like) they are the more they're despised
for these characteristics alone.
Combined with the above, Sarah Palin represents a
few more ideals.
She hunts!
She is an active, hands on, participant in the family
fishing business.
She participates in outdoor activities with her snow
machine.
She's a mom, with a childbirth in her 40's.
She's an outspoken conservative.
She's proven an honest politician.
While any one of these factors would be sufficient to
garner a goodly following of jealousy, the confluence
of all of them has led to the response we can plainly
see. Plug the words Palin and despised into your
favorite search engine and you'll see the results for
yourself. I find it interesting that just about all those
outspoken against Sarah Palin focus on one point
or another. They've missed the larger picture that
would make a very interesting study in sociology.
Bill Vajk
are people, but a few things that generally don't make
the list are worthy of mention.
First and foremost, the American culture (and a few
European ones as well) doesn't deal very well with
high profile alpha women. The more attractive (and
perhaps Barbi-like) they are the more they're despised
for these characteristics alone.
Combined with the above, Sarah Palin represents a
few more ideals.
She hunts!
She is an active, hands on, participant in the family
fishing business.
She participates in outdoor activities with her snow
machine.
She's a mom, with a childbirth in her 40's.
She's an outspoken conservative.
She's proven an honest politician.
While any one of these factors would be sufficient to
garner a goodly following of jealousy, the confluence
of all of them has led to the response we can plainly
see. Plug the words Palin and despised into your
favorite search engine and you'll see the results for
yourself. I find it interesting that just about all those
outspoken against Sarah Palin focus on one point
or another. They've missed the larger picture that
would make a very interesting study in sociology.
Bill Vajk
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
How's Your Tolerance for Government Misbehavior?
About a year ago I found it necessary to sue the
City of Iron River for failure to justify a
Freedom of Information research fee of $38.46.
The City, instead of talking to me to in order
to find mutual grounds for settlement, relied
on the Michigan Municipal League to defend the
suit in court, with an eventual co-pay by the
city of $ 5000. The Municipal League's promise
“to make better cities” didn't happen, nor did
it do the taxpayers any good. So was the City
Council and the administration working for the
taxpayer in that case?
We taxpayers have at least three ongoing issues
with the city. Those are the grass mowing by the
city whenever they think your grass is ugly,
penalizing folks for not using water (the so
called readiness to serve charge), and the
10% per month compounded (that's an actual
rate of about 314% a year) penalty for being
tardy paying the water bill.
In December 2009 I notified each member of
Iron River's City Council and the administration
of my impending lawsuits to resolve these three
ongoing issues before they foreclose my property
in Iron River for my refusal to pay such ridiculous
and illegal charges. Once again they seem to believe
that the correct solution is in defending a lawsuit
they could easily avoid. Once again I have to ask,
who are they working for?
Spending more taxpayer money defending against a
lawsuit than the city gets as income from these
three petty draconian ordinances sure doesn't make
any sense to me. The purpose for writing this
article is to advise taxpayers how Iron River spends
their money. It seems that they're not doing it
to benefit you, the taxpayer. My personal
tolerance for government misbehavior is pretty
low.
How's yours?
Bill Vajk
City of Iron River for failure to justify a
Freedom of Information research fee of $38.46.
The City, instead of talking to me to in order
to find mutual grounds for settlement, relied
on the Michigan Municipal League to defend the
suit in court, with an eventual co-pay by the
city of $ 5000. The Municipal League's promise
“to make better cities” didn't happen, nor did
it do the taxpayers any good. So was the City
Council and the administration working for the
taxpayer in that case?
We taxpayers have at least three ongoing issues
with the city. Those are the grass mowing by the
city whenever they think your grass is ugly,
penalizing folks for not using water (the so
called readiness to serve charge), and the
10% per month compounded (that's an actual
rate of about 314% a year) penalty for being
tardy paying the water bill.
In December 2009 I notified each member of
Iron River's City Council and the administration
of my impending lawsuits to resolve these three
ongoing issues before they foreclose my property
in Iron River for my refusal to pay such ridiculous
and illegal charges. Once again they seem to believe
that the correct solution is in defending a lawsuit
they could easily avoid. Once again I have to ask,
who are they working for?
Spending more taxpayer money defending against a
lawsuit than the city gets as income from these
three petty draconian ordinances sure doesn't make
any sense to me. The purpose for writing this
article is to advise taxpayers how Iron River spends
their money. It seems that they're not doing it
to benefit you, the taxpayer. My personal
tolerance for government misbehavior is pretty
low.
How's yours?
Bill Vajk
Monday, January 11, 2010
Letter to Michael Steele
Sent 3 January 2010
Michael Steele
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington DC 20003
Dear Mr. Steele:
My wife and I have been lifelong Republicans but
have, since we moved here in retirement, been
excluded by the local, state, and national
committees.
All attempts in the past two years to contact
anyone and to establish rapport have failed. All
that ever happens is that we have been placed on
an email list that provided us with top down
“the Democrats are evil” newsletters. That
paradigm works well for religions and Saul
Alinsky clones but it has no place where a
political party is concerned. Each communication
I've received from the party had quite
specifically three requests for donation of money.
That paradigm, too, is appropriate for religion.
The Republican Party in this part of the state is
close to 100% inactive. If nothing else, the people
in any sort of official position have become space
holders.
In this region, the population at large is
conservative. In Iron and Dickinson counties in
Michigan, the conservatives vote for Democrats.
Across the border in Florence Co. Wisconsin, in
the region between Iron and Dickinson people of
the same mindset vote Republican. That being said,
this region is in serious need of a proper political
awakening with lots of attention from the Republican
party. Look at how the presidential election voting
went in this region despite the fact that McCain's
people very badly decided not to visit or pay any
attention to Michigan. How much of an effort would
it take to swing the state to the Republican Party?
Here's the bottom line. So long as the Republican
Party doesn't care about what goes on in my neck of
the woods I'll do nothing to support the Republican
Party, and that's too bad because I'm quiet active
in my relatively new (2003) community. Conservative
Republicans I talk to locally have a similar view. I
suppose we're waiting for “our political party” to
see the light, that this is a two way street, before
we get excited about attempting participation once
again.
Sincerely,
P.S. You're probably screwing up by failing to grasp
the advantage by adapting a motto like, “We are all
about jobs for everyone!”
====================================================================
Editor's comment: If you favor the Democrat points of
view, at this moment the Dems are no better. Nobody is
listening to you either. If you're a Dem, write your
own letters to the leadership. Please do it sooner
rather than later.
Bill Vajk
Michael Steele
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington DC 20003
Dear Mr. Steele:
My wife and I have been lifelong Republicans but
have, since we moved here in retirement, been
excluded by the local, state, and national
committees.
All attempts in the past two years to contact
anyone and to establish rapport have failed. All
that ever happens is that we have been placed on
an email list that provided us with top down
“the Democrats are evil” newsletters. That
paradigm works well for religions and Saul
Alinsky clones but it has no place where a
political party is concerned. Each communication
I've received from the party had quite
specifically three requests for donation of money.
That paradigm, too, is appropriate for religion.
The Republican Party in this part of the state is
close to 100% inactive. If nothing else, the people
in any sort of official position have become space
holders.
In this region, the population at large is
conservative. In Iron and Dickinson counties in
Michigan, the conservatives vote for Democrats.
Across the border in Florence Co. Wisconsin, in
the region between Iron and Dickinson people of
the same mindset vote Republican. That being said,
this region is in serious need of a proper political
awakening with lots of attention from the Republican
party. Look at how the presidential election voting
went in this region despite the fact that McCain's
people very badly decided not to visit or pay any
attention to Michigan. How much of an effort would
it take to swing the state to the Republican Party?
Here's the bottom line. So long as the Republican
Party doesn't care about what goes on in my neck of
the woods I'll do nothing to support the Republican
Party, and that's too bad because I'm quiet active
in my relatively new (2003) community. Conservative
Republicans I talk to locally have a similar view. I
suppose we're waiting for “our political party” to
see the light, that this is a two way street, before
we get excited about attempting participation once
again.
Sincerely,
P.S. You're probably screwing up by failing to grasp
the advantage by adapting a motto like, “We are all
about jobs for everyone!”
====================================================================
Editor's comment: If you favor the Democrat points of
view, at this moment the Dems are no better. Nobody is
listening to you either. If you're a Dem, write your
own letters to the leadership. Please do it sooner
rather than later.
Bill Vajk
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Local Changes from Federal Activities
National events have local repercussions. I think it time
to talk about some of them.
We can begin with the supplying of certain items NOW
considered by the federal government to be durable medical
goods. I am unabashedly a diabetic. I inherited a gene, or
several, that predisposed me to this medical condition. I
use an instrument called a glycometer several times a day
to find out what my blood sugar is and to inject insulin.
When I went to refill my prescription for the test strips
that are used with this instrument, Snyder Drugs sent me
over to the diabetes nurses next door where I was advised
of the full situation. Neither Snyder Drugs nor the Corner
Drug Store can actually afford to get the Durable Medical
Equipment (DME) provider certification that Medicare
insists they must have if they wish to continue to provide
this equipment to diabetics.
A couple of the large mail order firms, such as the one who
is constantly advertising on TV, Liberty, were recommended.
Understand please that this is a federal mandate, newly
made under the current administration that is supposedly
working to make medical care in the US easier, better,
cheaper, and available to everyone. What they've done in
this instance is to make it impossible for me to get
these supplies locally, and apparently gave their pals,
probably large contributors, something of an increase
in sales and profits at the expense of our local
businesses! What's going on? Why is the administration
making these things artificially more difficult? And why
are one use test strips considered “Durable” Medical
Equipment? Can it have anything to do with the money
going into a smaller number of pockets, in fact pockets
that will in future make political contributions to the
party that helped line them?
I haven't gotten into whatever the other items commonly
used have been affected. In my little world the damage
that the current administration has done with this one
petty bureaucratic decision is typical of all the others
that are to come. It sure isn't the “change you can
believe in” sort of improvement that Obama promised
while on the campaign trail.
I did find that the Walgreen's pharmacy in Eagle River,
as part of a huge nation wide chain, is certified. At
least I'll keep my little order out of the hands of those
mail order crooks.
While we're on this this topic of change once again, I
think it past time to point out the en masse multiple
personality disorder that Iron County seems to suffer
from. On the one hand I keep hearing, almost everywhere
in the county that those who are native (the majority
of the population) to this region are against change.
On the other hand, this community voted for Obama
whose main promise during his campaign was CHANGE.
The fact that a community that speaks out frequently
and regularly against CHANGE makes no sense at all
when they voted in favor of it.
While we're here, let's briefly address some of the
future change items now promised by the current congress
and administration.
Health Care – This bill has all sorts of features to assure
that more people will be covered, costs to those able
to pay will go up, and services will be more difficult
to get. Union members will be taxed on their “Cadillac”
Plan” coverage. Equipment like life saving pacemakers
will be taxed. Those who can least afford a pacemaker
will have to pay a tax on the device!
Cap & Trade – This bill is designed to tax all forms of
energy based on the size of the carbon footprint it
creates. It will reach into everyone's pocket in order
to, it is claimed, reduce the carbon footprint this
nation creates. The final effect is to drive all those
manufacturers remaining in the US overseas where
this tax does not exist.
Card Check – This bill is designed to require identification
accompany all unionization voting. So much for America's
secret ballots.
Let me know how these changes are going to work for you!
While you're at it, let your congressmen and senators know
how you feel about these issues.
Bill Vajk
to talk about some of them.
We can begin with the supplying of certain items NOW
considered by the federal government to be durable medical
goods. I am unabashedly a diabetic. I inherited a gene, or
several, that predisposed me to this medical condition. I
use an instrument called a glycometer several times a day
to find out what my blood sugar is and to inject insulin.
When I went to refill my prescription for the test strips
that are used with this instrument, Snyder Drugs sent me
over to the diabetes nurses next door where I was advised
of the full situation. Neither Snyder Drugs nor the Corner
Drug Store can actually afford to get the Durable Medical
Equipment (DME) provider certification that Medicare
insists they must have if they wish to continue to provide
this equipment to diabetics.
A couple of the large mail order firms, such as the one who
is constantly advertising on TV, Liberty, were recommended.
Understand please that this is a federal mandate, newly
made under the current administration that is supposedly
working to make medical care in the US easier, better,
cheaper, and available to everyone. What they've done in
this instance is to make it impossible for me to get
these supplies locally, and apparently gave their pals,
probably large contributors, something of an increase
in sales and profits at the expense of our local
businesses! What's going on? Why is the administration
making these things artificially more difficult? And why
are one use test strips considered “Durable” Medical
Equipment? Can it have anything to do with the money
going into a smaller number of pockets, in fact pockets
that will in future make political contributions to the
party that helped line them?
I haven't gotten into whatever the other items commonly
used have been affected. In my little world the damage
that the current administration has done with this one
petty bureaucratic decision is typical of all the others
that are to come. It sure isn't the “change you can
believe in” sort of improvement that Obama promised
while on the campaign trail.
I did find that the Walgreen's pharmacy in Eagle River,
as part of a huge nation wide chain, is certified. At
least I'll keep my little order out of the hands of those
mail order crooks.
While we're on this this topic of change once again, I
think it past time to point out the en masse multiple
personality disorder that Iron County seems to suffer
from. On the one hand I keep hearing, almost everywhere
in the county that those who are native (the majority
of the population) to this region are against change.
On the other hand, this community voted for Obama
whose main promise during his campaign was CHANGE.
The fact that a community that speaks out frequently
and regularly against CHANGE makes no sense at all
when they voted in favor of it.
While we're here, let's briefly address some of the
future change items now promised by the current congress
and administration.
Health Care – This bill has all sorts of features to assure
that more people will be covered, costs to those able
to pay will go up, and services will be more difficult
to get. Union members will be taxed on their “Cadillac”
Plan” coverage. Equipment like life saving pacemakers
will be taxed. Those who can least afford a pacemaker
will have to pay a tax on the device!
Cap & Trade – This bill is designed to tax all forms of
energy based on the size of the carbon footprint it
creates. It will reach into everyone's pocket in order
to, it is claimed, reduce the carbon footprint this
nation creates. The final effect is to drive all those
manufacturers remaining in the US overseas where
this tax does not exist.
Card Check – This bill is designed to require identification
accompany all unionization voting. So much for America's
secret ballots.
Let me know how these changes are going to work for you!
While you're at it, let your congressmen and senators know
how you feel about these issues.
Bill Vajk
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Closing Out 2009
I gave some thought about what to write for
this transition from one year to the next. In
the end it is clear that nothing political
was resolved in 2009 that we could close the
book on. If anything, most issues remain
unresolved and a few new ones have arisen.
For example, in my family our Social Security
income will be about $34 less per month in 2010
than it was in 2009, and that's before currency
devaluation because of inflation which has
not disappeared. We'll have roughly $400 less
because of increases in Medicare costs to us
(not counting the Blue Cross supplemental
cost increases). I'm not looking forward to
whatever medical care difficulties will be
introduced by the new health care laws passed
by the federal government.
About the only thing(s) that can be closed out
in 2009 are the three (the say things come in
3's and it certainly seems true in this case)
deaths of people I have been close to in my
life. I won't bother with details about two
of the individuals that readers here won't
be familiar with, but the most recent death
was a person I've written about (August 17)
in this publication before.
Alex Zelchenko died on the morning of December
24th 2009 at age 95. It appears that the
cancer tumor in his lung became infected,
leading to multiple organ failure and after
some days of lingering unconscious, he expired.
Alex was a perfect example of "pulling the
plug on grandma" not only once, but in his
case twice.
The one major improvement that seems to be
underway is that the beginnings of a political
awakening are evident. People need to become
more directly involved with governments at
all levels, to become more confrontational,
and vote the bad players out of office. That's
most of the career politicians in office today.
Tea parties are one thing, but without
translation into direct action on election day,
things like not voting a party line,
we'll have the same graft and corruption ongoing
in this community, state, and nation. Simply showing
up and voting isn't enough. Each of you needs to
put thought into how you vote.
We wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.
Bill Vajk
this transition from one year to the next. In
the end it is clear that nothing political
was resolved in 2009 that we could close the
book on. If anything, most issues remain
unresolved and a few new ones have arisen.
For example, in my family our Social Security
income will be about $34 less per month in 2010
than it was in 2009, and that's before currency
devaluation because of inflation which has
not disappeared. We'll have roughly $400 less
because of increases in Medicare costs to us
(not counting the Blue Cross supplemental
cost increases). I'm not looking forward to
whatever medical care difficulties will be
introduced by the new health care laws passed
by the federal government.
About the only thing(s) that can be closed out
in 2009 are the three (the say things come in
3's and it certainly seems true in this case)
deaths of people I have been close to in my
life. I won't bother with details about two
of the individuals that readers here won't
be familiar with, but the most recent death
was a person I've written about (August 17)
in this publication before.
Alex Zelchenko died on the morning of December
24th 2009 at age 95. It appears that the
cancer tumor in his lung became infected,
leading to multiple organ failure and after
some days of lingering unconscious, he expired.
Alex was a perfect example of "pulling the
plug on grandma" not only once, but in his
case twice.
The one major improvement that seems to be
underway is that the beginnings of a political
awakening are evident. People need to become
more directly involved with governments at
all levels, to become more confrontational,
and vote the bad players out of office. That's
most of the career politicians in office today.
Tea parties are one thing, but without
translation into direct action on election day,
things like not voting a party line,
we'll have the same graft and corruption ongoing
in this community, state, and nation. Simply showing
up and voting isn't enough. Each of you needs to
put thought into how you vote.
We wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.
Bill Vajk
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Travelures Wind Turbines
Will Jim Dellies ever cease to amaze us?
Two new wind turbines have been installed.
Bill Vajk
Two new wind turbines have been installed.
Bill Vajk
Merry Christmas You!
Merry Christmas You!
While on the subject, this is a Christian
community. Crystal Falls had a public event
this season with the word Christmas playing
a predominant role, as did Caspian.
Iron River stands alone in taking the secular
progressive posture of involving government
funds and then removing the name of the
Christmas holy day from the original name
for the celebration of "Christmas in Lights"
as it was called the first year (because
Julie Melchiori was out of town at the
moment the ads were written and placed in
the paper and on the radio.)
Because of the flap over the name the second
year, I publicly offered $100 towards the
maximum of $1000 that Iron River's DDA
provides annually to fund the advertising.
Frankly, as news starved as our outlets are
for local news it seems to me that advertising
costs could be zero if the event were covered
as a local news item, something that's done all
the time by Iron Mountain and Iron River
newspapers as well as our radio station WIKB,
and WLUC-TV channel 6. Why involve government
money in the first place? It seems to me that
as much sponsorship as local businesses provide
for other events, they would step up and take
care of the small amounts of money actually
involved in a Christmas season parade.
But then I'm not one of the "in crowd" in Iron
County, and the way they do things I'm glad
not to be. The only reason our Christmas in
Lights parade is actually called Holiday in
Lights is because people in the community
don't step up and assert control over our
events. The community allows such things to
happen, leaving the same people in charge of
everything. Those who do stuff for the
community are at least willing to put forth
some effort.
What can be done to encourage and interest
others in taking the reins of their own
fate and interests? Can we spread this
around a bit? This is the season of giving,
the right time to think about giving back
to the community in the coming year.
Bill Vajk
While on the subject, this is a Christian
community. Crystal Falls had a public event
this season with the word Christmas playing
a predominant role, as did Caspian.
Iron River stands alone in taking the secular
progressive posture of involving government
funds and then removing the name of the
Christmas holy day from the original name
for the celebration of "Christmas in Lights"
as it was called the first year (because
Julie Melchiori was out of town at the
moment the ads were written and placed in
the paper and on the radio.)
Because of the flap over the name the second
year, I publicly offered $100 towards the
maximum of $1000 that Iron River's DDA
provides annually to fund the advertising.
Frankly, as news starved as our outlets are
for local news it seems to me that advertising
costs could be zero if the event were covered
as a local news item, something that's done all
the time by Iron Mountain and Iron River
newspapers as well as our radio station WIKB,
and WLUC-TV channel 6. Why involve government
money in the first place? It seems to me that
as much sponsorship as local businesses provide
for other events, they would step up and take
care of the small amounts of money actually
involved in a Christmas season parade.
But then I'm not one of the "in crowd" in Iron
County, and the way they do things I'm glad
not to be. The only reason our Christmas in
Lights parade is actually called Holiday in
Lights is because people in the community
don't step up and assert control over our
events. The community allows such things to
happen, leaving the same people in charge of
everything. Those who do stuff for the
community are at least willing to put forth
some effort.
What can be done to encourage and interest
others in taking the reins of their own
fate and interests? Can we spread this
around a bit? This is the season of giving,
the right time to think about giving back
to the community in the coming year.
Bill Vajk
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Some Clarity
It has become clear that the government envisioned
by the founding fathers has been broken by the
dishonesty of our elected officials. The
difficulties can be boiled down to the simple
statement that our founding fathers relied heavily
on the honesty of elected officials to actually
represent the needs and wishes of those who
elected them to office.
We see now that the votes of two key US senators
on the undisclosed Senate health bill was bought
and paid for by $300 million and more in fixes
sent to their elected districts.
Cap and Trade, the other major piece of
legislation, will be similarly passed. These
two pieces of legislation essentially remake
the entire financial and political makeup of
the United States.
We elected a president in these United States
mainly with a wink and a smile and a promise
of undisclosed change. Carelessness by the
electorate is complicit in everything that's
happening. It has been said that in the US we
always get the government we deserve. It is a
harsh reality that so long as dishonesty is
as rampant as it presently is, I have to add
"and then some."
These elected and appointed people already have
a plan. Shortly before the next election,
scheduled for November 2010, the economic
situation will look rosy just past the election.
It is a larger version of what's going on in
Caspien, MI, the subject of an article just
a few days ago. As a city commissioner (Sabol)
said, "but this helps the residents."
Mr. Sabol, if you wanted to help the citizens
you'd lower local taxes, and the citizens would
help themselves in ways that are important to
them. For the most part they don't need indoor
tennis courts, and so forth.
Glenn Beck has been bringing to listener
attention to a small communist book/paper for
a while. It is called "The Coming Insurrection"
and while it can be purchased from Amazon it is
also available in several translations from the
original French on the world wide web. It is an
extremely difficult read.
What's telling about this work, near the end,
says, "The goal of any insurrection is to
become irreversible."
Clearly what we're seeing in the federal
government, and Caspien, is the makings of
irreversible change. The only excuse found for
Caspien's the ski chalet these days was to
move the functions of City Hall there. But
what of City Hall itself? That, in a sane
world, is what should have been fixed to
become more functional. The ski chalet should
never have been built, just as I predict that
the proposed new public buildings should not
be built.
On the federal level, economically similar
things, scaled up, are happening. The health
care plan being passed as this is written,
"card check" for union votes, cap and trade
for energy, are all designed to carry the US
into a socialism that the average citizen has
no familiarity. It will, much as European
socialist governments were, irreversible
without significant pain some decades
in the future.
It seems the only thing that can save the
America most of us know and love is the Tea
Party that isn't even a real political party.
You can find "The Coming Insurrection" at the
following locations:
http://tarnac9.wordpress.com/texts/the-coming-insurrection/
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11879
Bill Vajk
by the founding fathers has been broken by the
dishonesty of our elected officials. The
difficulties can be boiled down to the simple
statement that our founding fathers relied heavily
on the honesty of elected officials to actually
represent the needs and wishes of those who
elected them to office.
We see now that the votes of two key US senators
on the undisclosed Senate health bill was bought
and paid for by $300 million and more in fixes
sent to their elected districts.
Cap and Trade, the other major piece of
legislation, will be similarly passed. These
two pieces of legislation essentially remake
the entire financial and political makeup of
the United States.
We elected a president in these United States
mainly with a wink and a smile and a promise
of undisclosed change. Carelessness by the
electorate is complicit in everything that's
happening. It has been said that in the US we
always get the government we deserve. It is a
harsh reality that so long as dishonesty is
as rampant as it presently is, I have to add
"and then some."
These elected and appointed people already have
a plan. Shortly before the next election,
scheduled for November 2010, the economic
situation will look rosy just past the election.
It is a larger version of what's going on in
Caspien, MI, the subject of an article just
a few days ago. As a city commissioner (Sabol)
said, "but this helps the residents."
Mr. Sabol, if you wanted to help the citizens
you'd lower local taxes, and the citizens would
help themselves in ways that are important to
them. For the most part they don't need indoor
tennis courts, and so forth.
Glenn Beck has been bringing to listener
attention to a small communist book/paper for
a while. It is called "The Coming Insurrection"
and while it can be purchased from Amazon it is
also available in several translations from the
original French on the world wide web. It is an
extremely difficult read.
What's telling about this work, near the end,
says, "The goal of any insurrection is to
become irreversible."
Clearly what we're seeing in the federal
government, and Caspien, is the makings of
irreversible change. The only excuse found for
Caspien's the ski chalet these days was to
move the functions of City Hall there. But
what of City Hall itself? That, in a sane
world, is what should have been fixed to
become more functional. The ski chalet should
never have been built, just as I predict that
the proposed new public buildings should not
be built.
On the federal level, economically similar
things, scaled up, are happening. The health
care plan being passed as this is written,
"card check" for union votes, cap and trade
for energy, are all designed to carry the US
into a socialism that the average citizen has
no familiarity. It will, much as European
socialist governments were, irreversible
without significant pain some decades
in the future.
It seems the only thing that can save the
America most of us know and love is the Tea
Party that isn't even a real political party.
You can find "The Coming Insurrection" at the
following locations:
http://tarnac9.wordpress.com/texts/the-coming-insurrection/
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11879
Bill Vajk
Thursday, December 17, 2009
A Great Place to Live
Iron County is a great place to live. One needs only
to look at the good news that constantly pepper the
Iron Mountain Daily News, the Iron County Reporter,
and WIKB, our local radio station.
Looking at a story on the cover of the Reporter for
December 16, 2009, we see that the city of Caspian,
in the first line of the article, has decided to
reduce the staff. The article goes on to mention
the termination of (possibly) an equipment operator.
And with the expected retirement of police Chief
Soderbloom, a part time officer will be hired, with
an anticipated savings of some $30,000.
But there are a couple of upside factors later in
the article to make people feel good and make them
forget about the information in the first part.
Caspien is planning an indoor tennis court facility,
two tennis courts, two indoor golf batting cages,
and the tennis courts can also be used for volleyball
or soccer! And maybe some maple boccie courts?
They're also going to have a Christmas decorating
contest (did you get that? Christmas decorating
contest when Iron River is so secular progressive
and politically correct that the word Christmas is
banned and the name is "the Holiday in Lights
Parade.") with prizes of $75, $50, and $25.
I think that's pretty good going for a community
that's reducing their workforce because of budget
shortfalls.
But I guess that building new municipal public
facility and having a Christmas decorating contest
will get the commissioners votes in the next few
elections. And too, people tend to forget the bad
news over time, even when the city offices were
moved from the brick town hall building into a
wood structure called the ski chalet.
Bill Vajk
to look at the good news that constantly pepper the
Iron Mountain Daily News, the Iron County Reporter,
and WIKB, our local radio station.
Looking at a story on the cover of the Reporter for
December 16, 2009, we see that the city of Caspian,
in the first line of the article, has decided to
reduce the staff. The article goes on to mention
the termination of (possibly) an equipment operator.
And with the expected retirement of police Chief
Soderbloom, a part time officer will be hired, with
an anticipated savings of some $30,000.
But there are a couple of upside factors later in
the article to make people feel good and make them
forget about the information in the first part.
Caspien is planning an indoor tennis court facility,
two tennis courts, two indoor golf batting cages,
and the tennis courts can also be used for volleyball
or soccer! And maybe some maple boccie courts?
They're also going to have a Christmas decorating
contest (did you get that? Christmas decorating
contest when Iron River is so secular progressive
and politically correct that the word Christmas is
banned and the name is "the Holiday in Lights
Parade.") with prizes of $75, $50, and $25.
I think that's pretty good going for a community
that's reducing their workforce because of budget
shortfalls.
But I guess that building new municipal public
facility and having a Christmas decorating contest
will get the commissioners votes in the next few
elections. And too, people tend to forget the bad
news over time, even when the city offices were
moved from the brick town hall building into a
wood structure called the ski chalet.
Bill Vajk
Thursday, December 10, 2009
About that FOIA lawsuit earlier this year
I sued the City of Iron River over John Archocosky's
failure to respond to an FOIA request for justification
of the "research" fees the city wanted to charge me
for some information I requested.
The amount contested was $38.46.
The city, that is John Archocosky, failed to respond. I
provided several warnings of lawsuit to both John as well
as some members of the city council that I intended to
sue. Only after all alternatives were exhausted did I
actually bring lawsuit.
I won't discuss the details or outcome of the suit in this
article, but am bringing to everyone's attention that not
only did the Michigan Municipal League provide for the
defense of the city in the suit, but eventually the city
had to pay at least a portion of the costs for the legal
defense mounted, in the amount of $ 5000. Settling
with me at an early stage would have cost the taxpayers
a whole lot less.
A copy of the August 2009 Check Register Report is
available for the reader's review at
www.angelfire.com/planet/iron-river/payMML.pdf
Please see the underlined entry on page 2, check Number 23304.
With this recent history, has the city learned a lesson
or not? The near term future will let us know whether
or not the city's arrogance will lead us down the same
road again because once again I am being about to be
forced to bring suit against the city.
Bill Vajk
failure to respond to an FOIA request for justification
of the "research" fees the city wanted to charge me
for some information I requested.
The amount contested was $38.46.
The city, that is John Archocosky, failed to respond. I
provided several warnings of lawsuit to both John as well
as some members of the city council that I intended to
sue. Only after all alternatives were exhausted did I
actually bring lawsuit.
I won't discuss the details or outcome of the suit in this
article, but am bringing to everyone's attention that not
only did the Michigan Municipal League provide for the
defense of the city in the suit, but eventually the city
had to pay at least a portion of the costs for the legal
defense mounted, in the amount of $ 5000. Settling
with me at an early stage would have cost the taxpayers
a whole lot less.
A copy of the August 2009 Check Register Report is
available for the reader's review at
www.angelfire.com/planet/iron-river/payMML.pdf
Please see the underlined entry on page 2, check Number 23304.
With this recent history, has the city learned a lesson
or not? The near term future will let us know whether
or not the city's arrogance will lead us down the same
road again because once again I am being about to be
forced to bring suit against the city.
Bill Vajk
Saturday, November 28, 2009
From Apathy to Dependence
Some text about "The Fall of the Athenian Republic,"
that is often attributed to Professor Alexander Tyler
of the University of Edinburgh was written about
the time of our Revolutionary War, and states:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it
simply cannot exist as a permanent form of
government. A democracy will continue to exist
up until the time that voters discover that
they can vote themselves generous gifts from
the public treasury. From that moment on, the
majority always votes for the candidates who
promise the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that every democracy
will finally collapse due to loose fiscal
policy, which is always followed by a
dictatorship."
As a nation we seem to have arrived at this stage
"The average age of the worlds greatest
civilizations from the beginning of
history, has been about 200 years.
During those 200 years, these nations
always progressed through the following
sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Iron County seems to have missed out on the
earliest stages of this sequence because the
US, as a nation, progressed before this region
was settled with any significance.
The paradigm isn't absolutely fixed. It can, and
in the past, has been altered by the mere will
of the people. We are in the apathy to dependence
stage right now. John Archocosky and the Iron
River City Council determined that any program
of economic advance in must be self-sustaining
before being undertaken despite the fact that
literally nothing else in this county (and most
of the state, for that matter) is or has been for
some time. The simple fact is that anything worth
doing has a period of initial growth that needs care
and nurturing during the initial stages. There is no
project that shows profit on day 1.
Look at us. Our communities are unable to buy
so much as an occasional dogcatcher's van without
an outside grant of some sort. Grant seeking has
itself become a favorite local enterprise.
The challenge is to find leadership that keeps the
final transition "dependence back into bondage"
from working in a community with an aging and
collapsing population. One of the presumptions
for economic progress is growth in population.
And that's achieved by providing opportunities,
by keeping home grown talent here, and bringing
in additional talent as needed.
Do we need to actively import leadership as well?
If we do, then perhaps we should be working on
that as a community. The sad fact, however, is
that at present we don't seem to have enough
leadership within the community to seek strong
leadership for the community.
Or do we?
Bill Vajk
For the source of the quotations above please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/athenian.asp
that is often attributed to Professor Alexander Tyler
of the University of Edinburgh was written about
the time of our Revolutionary War, and states:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it
simply cannot exist as a permanent form of
government. A democracy will continue to exist
up until the time that voters discover that
they can vote themselves generous gifts from
the public treasury. From that moment on, the
majority always votes for the candidates who
promise the most benefits from the public
treasury, with the result that every democracy
will finally collapse due to loose fiscal
policy, which is always followed by a
dictatorship."
As a nation we seem to have arrived at this stage
"The average age of the worlds greatest
civilizations from the beginning of
history, has been about 200 years.
During those 200 years, these nations
always progressed through the following
sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Iron County seems to have missed out on the
earliest stages of this sequence because the
US, as a nation, progressed before this region
was settled with any significance.
The paradigm isn't absolutely fixed. It can, and
in the past, has been altered by the mere will
of the people. We are in the apathy to dependence
stage right now. John Archocosky and the Iron
River City Council determined that any program
of economic advance in must be self-sustaining
before being undertaken despite the fact that
literally nothing else in this county (and most
of the state, for that matter) is or has been for
some time. The simple fact is that anything worth
doing has a period of initial growth that needs care
and nurturing during the initial stages. There is no
project that shows profit on day 1.
Look at us. Our communities are unable to buy
so much as an occasional dogcatcher's van without
an outside grant of some sort. Grant seeking has
itself become a favorite local enterprise.
The challenge is to find leadership that keeps the
final transition "dependence back into bondage"
from working in a community with an aging and
collapsing population. One of the presumptions
for economic progress is growth in population.
And that's achieved by providing opportunities,
by keeping home grown talent here, and bringing
in additional talent as needed.
Do we need to actively import leadership as well?
If we do, then perhaps we should be working on
that as a community. The sad fact, however, is
that at present we don't seem to have enough
leadership within the community to seek strong
leadership for the community.
Or do we?
Bill Vajk
For the source of the quotations above please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/athenian.asp
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
More Small County Political Games
Yesterday, November 20, 2009, I went to the Iron
County Sheriff's office to request copies of some
police reports that I need to complete a story I
am doing for this publication.
I was told that I had to make an FOIA request for
all police reports at the prosecutor's office.
Each entity, the sheriff and the prosecutor, are
independently elected. Their offices and budgets
are separate and independent. The sheriff is
responsible for his own FOIA requests. Shifting
the responsibility to the prosecutor's office
is a small county political game that we, the
public, have to put up with in Iron County. In
addition, in most jurisdictions I've been in
in other states, a simple verbal request is all
that is required in order to get police reports.
What makes Iron County so special?
Bill Vajk
County Sheriff's office to request copies of some
police reports that I need to complete a story I
am doing for this publication.
I was told that I had to make an FOIA request for
all police reports at the prosecutor's office.
Each entity, the sheriff and the prosecutor, are
independently elected. Their offices and budgets
are separate and independent. The sheriff is
responsible for his own FOIA requests. Shifting
the responsibility to the prosecutor's office
is a small county political game that we, the
public, have to put up with in Iron County. In
addition, in most jurisdictions I've been in
in other states, a simple verbal request is all
that is required in order to get police reports.
What makes Iron County so special?
Bill Vajk
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