[nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors

Christine Boone Christine_Boone at comcast.net
Thu Jun 3 18:04:04 UTC 2010


Joe Harcz and Joe Sontag may want to try getting to AG Michael Cox, or his
opponents in the up-coming primary election. 
 His office is clearly not representing the people here, and prior attempts
by blind persons to contact that office have gone nowhere.  


-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 9:40 AM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors

Hi,

Did all notice another thing here. The same A.G., Barbara Schmidt who has
been advising MCB to violate the Open Meetings Act, and openly violating
even the case law and A.G. past opinions on the Attorney General's web site
is also the same office that developed the bizarre opinion on catering?

Now, that is literally taking the food out of the mouths of venders and
hampering job opportunities for the blind.

Our board to its credit did not yield to the closed meeting and closed book,
so to speak on that issue when it came up in December of 2008. Yet, they for
some strange reason cited that very issue and Schmidt's memos related to it
in the May 3, 2010 meeting.

And, of course they referred to her as "our attorney".

Something is clearly wrong with this picture.

The Attorney General's office is supposed to be the "people's attorney" and
should among other things be enforcing the open government activities of
state agencies like MCB including the OMA and FOIA. Moreover, MCB does not
belong to Cannon, or the board members for that matter. It belongs to us,
the people of this state of Michigan.

The sense ofproprietorship, paternalism, and ownership over state and
federal programs by a few is mind blowing to me. It is anti-democratic at
its core.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm clearly for government programs including
rehabilitation programs like MCB and affirmative action programs like the
Randolph-Shepard Act.

But, none of these valuable programs can exist for long without checks and
balances, scrutiny, and we the people being watchdogs on activities. The
very reason we have sunshine laws like the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom
of Information Act are to ensure the entigrity of public programs like say,
MCB, and to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse through open and accessible
governance.

Of course, being an old reporter by trade I know one thing. That is when any
government agency works as hard as MCB has to hide its activities from the
light of day then it, indeed has something to hide.

It doesn't matter if this is done by Democrats or Republicans, or right,
left or middle. History shows that corruption and malfeasance thrives when
the public is in the dark. Conversely, programs work well and function
according to their missions and goals when sunshine is the rule of the day.

Here is something interesting: I've heard from some folks still working for
MCB that some think people like myself and NFB MI are out to ruin MCB and
destroy the remaining jobs of staff. This couldn't be further from the
truth. In fact MCB is already being destroyed from the inside and jobs are
being eliminated for blind folks as we well no right now. Sighted and loyal
Cannonites are being rewarded with some promotions on this sinking ship.

Meanwhile back at the ranch on the front lines of rehab, like at the MCB TC
how many of those jobs directly related to skilled professionals developing
the necessary skilss of blindness in our population are at risk? I'll tell
you that a huge percentage of front line, skilled personnell are at risk.

Of course, all the operators know what is and what has been done to the BEP
program.

No in this state there is only one job for one blind token that is
sancrosanct.

Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 11:33 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors


> Wow! I love it and fully agree! Even as uncle Pat is passively trying to 
> destroy me financially, I say Mr. Harcz's purely on topic here.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Larry Posont" <president.nfb.mi at gmail.com>
> To: "NFBofMichigan List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 20:22
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors
>
>
>>I know everyone gets tired of all Joe  Harcz's Commission stuff, but this 
>>is right on!
>> Larry Posont
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
>> To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy at octothorp.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 3:48 PM
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors at mcb
>>
>>
>> Low Crimes and Misdemeanors
>>
>>
>>
>> Colleagues:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Note the following section from the RSA Fiscal Year 2009 Monitoring
>> Protocols:
>>
>> "While only RSA staff will carry out monitoring activities, the review
>> process is supported and strengthened by collaboration with key state 
>> agency
>> staff, as well as other stakeholders.  Input will be solicited from the
>> State Rehabilitation Councils (SRC), SILCs, Client Assistance Programs,
>> consumer groups, service providers and other stakeholders whenever
>> appropriate."
>>
>>
>>
>> Now, I'd like to openly ask if there is even one consumer let alone any
>> consumer organization that was involved with the Michigan Commission for 
>> the
>> Blind monitoring? In fact the answer is: "No". and, to this very date, 
>> even
>> the members of the Michigan commission for the Blind board are still
>> clueless let alone not engaged. In fact in the so-called Special Meeting 
>> of
>> the MCB Board of May 3, 2010 where the commissioners went into closed
>> session for the purpose of discussing their rolls and responsibilities 
>> among
>> other illegal and inane things everyone commented in open session later 
>> that
>> they haven't even seen the preliminary monitoring report issued in 
>> September
>> of 2009 by RSA let alone be engaged during the process. Moreover they
>> clearly are in the dark about the required action plans and other
>> "rebuttals" to that monitoring, let alone any real budgetary information 
>> or
>> issues with same.
>>
>>
>>
>> Now, the public at large has been illegally prevented from seeing this
>> critical information through numerous abuses and violations of the 
>> Michigan
>> Freedom of Information Act. And these people also include the very 
>> consumer
>> groups referenced like say the National Federation of the Blind of 
>> Michigan,
>> or Advocates for the Blind, or the Michigan Council of the Blind and
>> Visually Impaired for that matter.
>>
>>
>>
>> A commission by law, and I'm speaking of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
>> is
>> supposed to be "autonomous" and "consumer driven". Ours isn't even
>> "re-active", because it generally doesn't even request timely and 
>> accessible
>> information in which to exercise its responsibilities or it doesn't get 
>> it
>> even when requested. In fact it just dawned on the Commissioners at this 
>> May
>> 3 meeting that they have a roll in developing and actually writing 
>> policy.
>> Wow, what a revelation eh?
>>
>>
>>
>> Moreover, watchdogs and consumer organizations once again are routinely
>> denied public information.
>>
>>
>>
>> By the way these are more than civil matters or allegations for knowing
>> violations of the Freedom of Information Act by public officials and
>> violations of the Michigan Open Meetings Act (which MCB also has 
>> violated)
>> are also misdemeanors and thus criminal acts.
>>
>>
>>
>> It certainly is a crime in the truest sense of that word what Patrick 
>> Cannon
>> has done in denying access to the process and even information which in 
>> turn
>> has led to firing of qualified staff who are blind, fundamental 
>> violations
>> of civil rights of consumers, and the whole plethora of activities that 
>> have
>> now jeopardized the very existence of the Michigan Commission for the 
>> Blind.
>>
>>
>>
>> Fundamentally though the exclusion of consumers and consumer 
>> organizations
>> from the beginning through the conclusion of the monitoring process to 
>> this
>> very day on its findings and actions to date is typical of the abuse of
>> power that has been going on during the reign of terror by this agency
>> director against the very people he is charged to serve with a $118,000 
>> plus
>> salary to boot. Well I guess he figured out how to get one man who is 
>> blind
>> quality employment with only an Associates Degree and a whole lot of spin

>> as
>> credentials.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since he is grossly  unqualified by the fact that he has no frontline
>> experience with the rehabilitation of people who are blind, let alone 
>> only
>> having a passing acquaintence with skills of blindness like say Braille 
>> or
>> independent travel,  I'm surprised that he didn't appoint himself as the 
>> new
>> director of the MCB Training Center and hog up that position and salary 
>> for
>> himself.  Along with his duties as MCB Director and State of Michigan
>> Americans with disabilities Act coordinator position this could be just
>> another job he can't do to add to his resume, and, of course precious
>> pension, let alone his benighted legacy
>>
>>
>>
>> Wow, why doesn't Cannon just fire everyone on the Commission and staff of
>> the Commission and cut out all that nasty middle person stuff? Oh, no he
>> couldn't do that for then he wouldn't have some convenient scape goat to
>> blame when the bovine scatology hits the proverbial fan.
>>
>>
>>
>> Joe Harcz
>>
>>
>>
>> June 2, 2010
>>
>>
>>
>> (Still awaiting openness, transparency, inclusion, accessibility, and
>> accountability.)
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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