[nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment inventory

[joe harcz Comcast]

By the way I've long since promoted the so-called "nuclear option" for 
Michigan being so flagrent in its multiple violations of the Rehabilitation 
Act, Titles I, V, and VI, let alone the Randolph-Shepard Act ....

That is the complete de-funding of this state from those programs as a 
conditionality of compliance.

Look folks I believe in these programs and their purpose. But they have 
strayed and are most abussive here but not exclusively so in Michigan.

If someone had some guts in D.C. they would make us an example so other 
states would come in to line and then retroactively after some pain we'd 
also benefit.

I am now aand was then as serious as a heart attack about this.

Oh, some say, "Well people willl get hurt...disabled people will get 
hurt..."

Heck, yes they will. Heck, yes the average PWD and blind person is getting 
hurt and abused now big time and it is getting worse.

Until the bloodsuckers and the fraudsters and others get cut off nothing 
will change.

It is not we the average blind person getting services etc. here but rather 
an elite state apparatchek benefitting from us and these abused programs.

So sanitize Michigan. Nuke it with the death penalty of non-compliance.

Re-build it with the people/consumers/consumer advocates which was what was 
meant by the programs to begin with.

Right now we're only feeding vendors who exploit us like the Peckhams of the 
world, and mostly non-disabled, non-blind hacks who get bumped from other 
state programs and need a soft landing at our and the taxpayer's expense.

Man oh man I'm in the wrong business. I guess I should have dedicated myself 
to a career denying real programs, services, benefits, and activities to 
those who needed them while profiting from that very system and then while 
denigrating the very people who I was paid for to assist to become 
independent. What a whacked out thing this absurdity has become here.

I first attended a MCB Twenty-Twenty Twenty meeting a little after I 
returned to my nnative Michigan  after years living in other states in 2001. 
I was a radical activist and Federationist then and now.

Well the thing was in Flint and there were some good people there and some 
gladhanders in the system too.

Anyway we had a roundtable introduction with some opening remarks. Most were 
nominally blind or sighted personnell doing a "ho-hum" exercise and then 
rambling about this or that employment issue, or this orthat "annoying 
consumer" issue....Or this or that clock time issue or benefit issue 
or...Well you get it....

It came around to me and I said,"I'm Joe Harcz. I am blind and I am aan 
advocate for the blind. You are the Michigan Commission for the Blind. You 
work for me. In fact you would not exist in this job if it weren't for the 
likes of me!"

Keep your eyes on the prize.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt Sievert" <matt.sievert at gmail.com>
To: <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>; "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" 
<nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 7:11 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment inventory


> What is sad is the waste of tax payers money.
>
> Someone pays for all this and the next time a group come and asks the 
> voters or lawmakers for a program for a special interest, incidents such 
> as this one will not go unnoticed.
>
> It is in your best interest to help make this program work, or lobby to 
> end the program and start with a new one, if this program is so "broken" 
> it should be discontinued rather than continuing with an efficient and 
> mismanaged program that is suppose to "assist" a special group.
>
> Matt Sievert
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Terry Eagle" <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>
> Sender: "nfbmi-talk" <nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 11:46:37
> To: 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'<nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Reply-To: terrydeagle at yahoo.com,
> NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment 
> inventory
>
> In Addition Fred and all, John McEntee also actually trained potential
> operators to be effective business owners and equipment problem
> trouble-shooter and self-diagnostic-and-repair operators, saving the
> set-aside funds countless thousands of dollars.
>
> And what do we have now?  Classes taught by sighted and blind individuals
> that don't know the material needed to be taught.  Speaking of money waste
> and savings;  Why are taxpayers paying for BEP trainees to be housed in a
> hotel when classes are being conducted by phone?  Why cannot the trainees 
> be
> taught from home by telephone, and save the wasted money?  Of course, we 
> are
> told the answer to BEP's problem is to hire another promotional agent, and
> move BEP operators from WORK-TO-WELFARE!  Aren't those great solution
> strategies?
>
> By the way, the EOC Ad Hoc Committee on BEP Issues formulated many great
> ideas for solutions to training and other BEP problems.  Yet they were
> dismissed because it was determined that the NFB had too much influence by
> individual Ad Hoc Commmittee members, who were concerned and dedicated to
> show up and actively participate at meetings.  And it is not that other
> organizations and stakeholders weren't invited to attend and participate.
> They were invited, and simply chose not to attend and participate.  Now 
> here
> it is the 9th month into an EOC term, and what has been discussed and
> advanced by EOC subcommittees and The full committee, during the 9 months?
> I suppose the doctrines of let's wait-and-see what will happen with the 
> new
> BS4BP, and the if it happened prior to October 1, 2012 it does not matter,
> are the guiding doctrines for BEP challenges.  Meanwhile, BEP trainees are
> taught by telephone and without meaningful vending equipment exposure and
> hands-on experience, and an agenda of WORK-TO-WelFARE is being advanced.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Fred
> Wurtzel
> Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 10:38 AM
> To: 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment 
> inventory
>
> Hi Terry,
>
> You and Joe are doing a great job of describing the situation.  I would 
> add
> that John McEntee was probably 1 of the most operator-oriented staff ever
> employed by BEP.  His efforts improved operator's abilities to keep their
> equipment up and running, thus improving profits, meanwhile saving more 
> than
> $100,000 his first year on the job.  Now, that is effectiveness.  Given 
> all
> that, I was never able to get him classified in a civil service position
> which compensated him fairly. Yet, people are being paid more than 100k 
> who
> have no blindness knowledge or experience.
>
> You have hit the nail on the head.  The simple time-honored idea of hiring
> qualified people to do a professional job is the very simple solution.
>
> Warmest Regards,
>
> Fred
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of joe
> harcz Comcast
> Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 9:42 AM
> To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment 
> inventory
>
> On top of all this now Rogers in the public record wants to raid 
> Independent
> Living funds for some new data base system.
>
> Just another issue in a long line of misappropriation  of federal funds.
> Here's the schem:
>
> Too molify the Auditor General Rogers has talked about this new and
> undefined data system.
>
> Oh, but look at the MI SILC's recent public hearing on the IL state plan 
> and
> look at the revision to try to use IL funds for this same database and 
> thus
> to rob elderly blind of services.
>
> Oh, yes and Rodgers and Zimmer have been annointed to be Ex-Officio 
> members
> of the SILC though Zimmer stated in the public record he didn't even know
> what it was until July.
>
> I'm sure Rodgers didn't either.
>
> More on this later....
>
> Joe
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Robinson" <drob1946 at gmail.com>
> To: <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>; "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'"
> <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 9:11 AM
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment 
> inventory
>
>
>> Terry,
>>
>>   Your comments are exactly on target.  What you say is all so true even
>> though BEP management makes excuses for everything they do or don't do.
>> Sometimes we just shake our heads and shutter in disbelief.  How could 
>> any
>> State administration allow such bias, incompident and dishonest people to
>> continue to hold positions in state government.  We also must be reminded
>> that your comments just highlight the tip of the iceberg.  Much, much 
>> more
>> has been part of the destruction of the BEP and no one is sure if it can
>> be
>> saved.  It is despicable that such a valuable source of employment for 
>> the
>> blind is being destroyed, but we know of the cause and we know we must
>> continue to stand for the operators and their chance at success.
>>
>> Dave Robinson
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Terry
>> Eagle
>> Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2012 8:48 AM
>> To: 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] What is really up with the BEP equipment inventory
>>
>> Is this any surprise to anyone?  It can be summarized easily as the
>> symptom
>> is fraud and cover-up, and the cause is total incompetence.  The student
>> inventory-takers, promotional agents, and BEP and BS4BP management are
>> incompetent, as they obviously and clearly know little or nothing about
>> business, and food service and vending best practices.
>>
>> As pointed out John McEntee was driven out, along with Fred Wurtzel.  And
>> let us not forget the firing of David Robinson, who actually attempted to
>> do
>> that which the state auditors report is lacking:  support to operators.
>> What is the real truth about Dave Robinson's firing?  We see from public
>> documents that it was for being behind six months in paperwork, yet it is
>> now documented that at least one promotional agent is behind in paperwork
>> processing for more than a year and still employed by BEP.  And another
>> Promotional agent is still employed with BEP after costing the program $
>> 7000 dollars after failing to do paperwork to remove a vending machine
>> from
>> a closed and demolished rest area.  This also was noted by the state
>> auditor.
>>
>> And what was up when James Hull's relative was hired to do the BEP
>> inventory, as reported in MCB Board minutes, and the inventory results
>> were
>> not to the liking of BEP management, as also reported to the Board.  Did
>> not
>> the former BEP manager come under attack for hiring a relative to oversee
>> the BEP wharehouse?  Do you see a double standard in ethics, a hallmark 
>> of
>> the Patrick Cannon administration?
>>
>> I guess it is all about management-by-selective-paperwork, and the
>> selective
>> results desired by management of LARA down to the promotional agents.
>> Consider the most recent costly paperwork knee-jerk reaction to the
>> auditor's finding about accountability for poor money management by BEP
>> management.  Now LARA management is happy to cost operators thousands
>> annually in sales and profits, also costing the set-aside fund countless
>> dollars annually, because of new paperwork requirements just to get
>> equipment repaired.  Here is a novel idea for the Snyder administration 
>> to
>> save money and save jobs for blind persons:  How about taking care of the
>> cause of the problem, rather than just continuing to treat the symptoms:
>> Move the incompetent management out of BEP, and hire competent
>> business-oriented and knowledgable management.  How is that for
>> REINVENTING
>> HOW MICHIGAN DOES BUSINESS, Mr. Governor?  Perhaps that idea can also
>> address and eliminate the administration's legislative agenda to move
>> blind
>> vendors from WORK-TO-WELFARE.  Just maybe.
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Joe Sontag
>> Subject: What's Really Up With the Equipment Inventory?
>>
>> Two reports received here within the past 72 hours have got me wondering
>> if
>> the new BEP equipment inventory has any chance of being satisfactory to
>> anyone who really cares.  One report comes from a highway vending
>> operator,
>> the other from a snack bar operator, but both have some striking
>> similarities.
>>
>> Both operators say that they were never asked to open any vending
>> machinesfor the inventory takers, a problem  because manufacturer's 
>> serial
>> numbers are often accessible only from inside the units, as well as the
>> fact
>> that additional items for the inventory may be housed in the cabinet of a
>> vending machine, including but not limited to video and digital recording
>> equipment used for site security purposes.
>>
>> The other common detail is that the inventory takers showed no interest 
>> in
>> checking storage areas at the vending facilities, even though storage
>> rooms
>> often contain refrigeration, soft drink service and other items that may
>> belong on the final inventory.  The roadside operator was told that their
>> presence was not required at the designated time for the inventory 
>> taker's
>> visit.  I well remember being asked by my PA for equipment identification
>> details and opening all store rooms and all Agency-owned equipment for
>> John
>> McEntee, as he methodically documented the equipment at the Comstitution
>> Hall facility while I ran it.  In fact John's inventory was notable for
>> its
>> thoroughness in documenting what was present in the locations and for his
>> documentation of  equipment that the BEP had purchased but that could 
>> *Not
>> be located, including various vending machines and several security
>> systems
>> for highway facilities.  John was driven out of the BEP shortly before he
>> would have completed his work on this project.
>>
>> What kind of accuracy and completeness are we likely to get under current
>> conditions from two student interns with no experience in the Program and
>> who are being paid at bargain rates?  My guess is that we'll get what we
>> paid for; and that's not likely to work very well for anybody, especially
>> those who insist that BS for Blind Persons is doing everything right and
>> should be held harmless.
>>
>> Joe Sontag
>>
>>
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