[nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors
Larry Posont
president.nfb.mi at gmail.com
Fri Jun 4 14:16:44 UTC 2010
please call me about the ice ccream313 271 3058 thank you larry posont
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors
> Yes, and isn't it interesting that under the Rehab Act Michigan
> rehabilitation Services does have some say so over ALJs and in fact the
> head of the Michigan Rehab Council (the similar outfit compared to MCB
> Board) stated in one meeting, "If they don't know about reasonable
> accommodations (and disabilities in general) they are incompetent (to
> conduct fair hearings)."
>
> Ditto for ALJ's who have no working knoledge of the Rehab Act, the
> Randolph Shepard program, or blindness in general...
>
> One thing that was so glaring about the May 3, 2010 meeting in my reviews
> of it (and I have listened to the entire recording) is that not once was
> it mentioned by the AG rep. Schmidt or anyone on the board for that matter
> anything about the Rehab Act or RS! Oh they talked abut PA 260, civil
> services rules, and all kinds of state law with a twisted and arbitrary
> determination of what they are, but they failed to adhere to let alone
> even mention federal enabling legislation and obligations!
>
> Incredable if you ask me!
>
> And frankly I think that MCB under Cannon is in cahoots with the AG in
> selling us all out on a variety of issues.
>
> Here, very ironically the personal agendas of so-called left (Cannon) and
> right (AG's office under Cox) coincide to, again protect their personal
> interests over those of the public and the interests of the blind which
> these programs were designed for to begin with and funded by the federal
> taxpayer to a very large extent.
>
> Joe
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe Sontag" <suncat0 at gmail.com>
> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 10:37 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] low crimes and misdemeanors
>
>
>> This is also the same office that represents the BEP at hearings,
>> including the very one which brought the catering issue into daylight.
>> Can anyone say conflict of interest?
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
>> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 09:39
>> 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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>>
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