Friday, 20 February 2015
It's A FUND Raiser
In My Last Post I spoke about a Chili Cook Off Fund Raiser.
One thing to remember is tha it is not REALLY Chili CookOff.
Those events go to great efforts to be Fair and ensure through Blind Taste Testing etc that the Best Chili Wins.
That is NOT what we do.
Our goal is to have FUN and Raise MONEY period.
Yes we always have some really good Chili and I enjoy tasting every one of the entries.
But a rigourous judging of quality is NOT the purpose.
A few years ago one of our Members noticed that it was possible to buy extra tickets.
He asked me if it would be Fair for him to buy a lot of tickets and vote on his Son's entry.
My reply was, "It's a FUND Raiser Dan!" "Here is a 5 dollar Bill, add that to what you were going to spend and let's Fix it so your Boy wins."
In other words
Do not take it too seriously,
Do not make it too complicated.
Try to see that everyone has FUN
And we Raise some MONEY 
The Definition Of Insanity
Of course doing the same thing over and over again is only a symptom of Insanity if the results are negative.
Over the years I and a few others have at times made what I like to think of as Field Trips to other Counties.
To show support for their Fund Raising Events to Network and Fellowship with other Repbublicans and
To see what works for them,
One thing I have noticed that is effective is Continuity.
For instance I know that around the end of July I will go to the Lee County Fund Raiser,
I and another friend have been going to it for years and they have had the same event about the same time for quite a few years longer than we have been attending.
Linn County has 6 times the population of Lee and we cannot even begin to compare.
What is the difference?
Continuity and refinement of the event by many years of analysis of what works.
Now Linn County DID have two events that were Baby Steps in the manner that Lee County uses.
We had a Spring Chili CookOff and a Christmas Party that had been built up to where we could expect several hundred to attend.
Both went down the tubes,
The Chili CookOff got moved to the Fall in an Election Year so it could compete with every candidates Fund Raising.
We also moved it to a venue where only about 20% of the usual attendence would fit into the building.
The Christmas Party fell victim to an attempt to Purify the Commitee. Which chopped attendance by about 80%
On top of the above we did nothing for 7 months of the year and then had 3 events one every other month the last 5 months.
I am not certain that was the best tactics for effective fund raising.
Now even further back in the past, say 4 Executive Boards ago things were better,
Back then we had about One Fund Raiser a Quarter and cleared about a thousand dollars each event.
Which compared very well the the Executive Board that came after that which had One Fund Raiser that kicked off with a Seed Donation of $900 and netted $600.
If you are thinking, But they LOST one third of their startup capital? You got it.
We start a New Year with a Executive Committe that but for one is new.
The Question is?
Are we going to go back to what worked?
Or are we going to continue to do what has not been working?
If we hear that there will be a Spring Chili CookOff thatg will be a VERY Good Sign.
Even though I knew it was going to be a Disaster I supported the last one,. I was 16% of the ticket sales
Because?
I really LIKE Chili and we have some good ones I look forward to tasting each year,
Now it is true we will not be able to go back to where we left off before last year.
That momentum is GONE.
But it can come back if we do what worked before.
Thursday, 19 February 2015
Anger Found
David Chung commented
I stand corrected Mr Chung did NOT lose his temper. He bundled it up and threw it like a lightening bolt at the offending party
Down Home we call this
Going Old Testament.
Four Aces
As we can see in the last post which had the ideas of two commenters there are differences of opinion concerning the Form, Fit and Function of the Executive Committee and the Central Committee.
This was also illustrated in a comment made about the start of the last meeting.
Watching the tactics and stratigists attempt to alter
the meeting at the LCRCC, going to be a long night
I fear.
The problem here is an inability to comprehend the concept of "proposed".
This person seems to think that items like agendas or rules for Elections are what is supposed to happen and that any attempt to change them is an attempt to alter the meeting,
The Truth is NOTHING can happen in any form until the Body approves it,
And if you try to sneak in differences from what has been done in the past the Body may say NO.
They get testy when that happens.
Another problem arises when someone uses a definition of the term Executive taken from the Business world and NOT found in our supporting documents.
IE the County Constitution, ByLaws and Rules of Order
I have provided here links to Our Documents and Roberts Rules of Order on Officers Duties particularly Chairs and Presidents.
One thing that sticks out in Roberts Rules is the insistence that the Chair be NEUTRAL and Impartial it says
" The chairman sometimes calls a member to the chair and takes part in the debate. This should rarely be done, and nothing can justify it in a case where much feeling is shown and there is a liability to difficulty in preserving order. If the chairman has even the appearance of being a partisan, he loses much of his ability to control those who are on the opposite side of the question. There is nothing to justify the unfortunate habit some chairmen have of constantly speaking on questions before the assembly, even interrupting the member who has the floor. "
I thought about bringing up the portions of the ByLaws where it says that the Executives shall
" assist in the formulation of policies for the conduct of the affairs of the Republican Party and such other matters as may be assigned."
I even considered bringing up the Section of the Constitution where it says in Article VIII Executive Committee
"The Executive Committee is subject to the orders of the Linn County Central Committee, and none of its acts shall conflict with actions of the Linn County Central Committee."
And ask What Part of "Subject to the Orders" or None of its Acts Shall Conflict"
Do they fail to comprehend,
When I realized I really did not need to compile a reasoned and elegant logical argument
Because
I have TALKED to the person who WROTE those words and they mean Exactly what they SAY.
And they were written specifically to prevent abuses of power.
Of course it is true that the above may not be an obstacle to some people.
I recall years ago a friend telling me about a lecture in a Literature Clase the Proffesor was explaining what an author meant when one of the students raised there hand and said.
"Excuse me proffesor, but I interviewed that author for our student publication and that is not what he said it meant."
The proffesor explained that in their class they went into the DEEPER meanings of what literature meant.
But No I sit here with in the Words of W.C, Fields, the Calm Confidence of a Christian Holding 4 Aces secure in the knowledge that no line of logical reasoning no matter how elegant can prove that the people who wrote our Constitution and ByLaws did not know what the words they wrote meant.
And I See and Raise Our New Co-Chair
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Ave Caesar
I want to thank all my Readers who have gone out of their way to express how much they enjoy my simple musings.
And how much they wish them to continue
To the Reader who told me. "I want to have your Babies."
May I say that I am flattered, among compliments to authors that must
rank up near the top, but I am a tad Old to be a New Father, but if you would wish to alter your request to Honorary Grandfather, I would be more
than willing to adopt that roll.
The Following is an exchange in my Comments Section that illustrates to perfrection those who believe in the Supremacy of the Central Committee Body and those who Support an Imperial Executive Board.
Not a New Issue. It was much the same in Ancient Rome when Some Stood for the Senate and Some for the Imperium.
So right now these two veiws for you perusal and I will post my own thoughts at a later Date,
If You Can't Take A Joke
The best thing that could be said about last night is "It could have gone better"
But you know what they say, "If you can't take a joke, you should have registered Independent."
We came to the meeting knowing that there were 2 vital issues that needed to be changed.
The First was whether to and how to credential the Assistant Committee Persons.,
There was a proposal to change the credentialing from the way it has always been done to whoever got to the meeting first.
For the life of me I cannot think of any reason besides stuffing the ballot box for this idea,
We need to note that the proposed rules for the Election did NOT this time come from the Credential Sub-Committee.
The other issue was whether an election would be won by a majority or a plurality.
Both issues were decided in a manner I agree with,
Now I know that some thought.
Watching the tactics and stratigists
attempt to alter the meeting at the
LCRCC,
No one was trying to "alter" the meeting, but someone WAS trying to alter the way things were usually done and as is required, the Body made its own decision.
But there ARE some who think they need to make all the decisions and the Committee should do what it is told.
And as you can see above, they get testy when the Committee decides to make its own decisons.
So we adopted OUR Agenda and OUR Rules for the Meeting and the Election,.
Which is as it should be.
At which point the Opposition Candidate for the Chair decided to back out of the Election.
OUCH
There was no way possible for anyone else to step forward despite the fact that earlier in the process there were other people who had considered running, but dropped out because One Opposition Candidate had a better chance.
That started a small band wagon.
Many thought that Don Nelson had a real possiblity for Co-Chair
He had been attending meetings a few years before taking his position as Co-Chair and many have over the last two years stated that the meetings he ran were the smoothest.
But he was defeated by Brett Mason. I think a shift of about 4 votes would have made a difference.
We saw the same with the Election for Secretary. Gary Ellis Won and a shift of 4 votes would have made the difference.
One thing we DID see in the Secretary Race was The Chair Pro Tempre David Chung lose his temper at someone who chose to, instead of asking one of the Candidates a Question, tried to make a Speech attacking her.
Quiite refreshing to see them put in their place by the State's Premier Pariliamentarian.
The Treasurers Election was won by an overwhelming vote Robin Tucker became our New Treasurer with a higher vote count than any other winning candidate got in the other elections.
Which makes one wonder what might have happen if the Candidate for Chair had not left his supporters swinging in the breeze.
Might he have won and might the bandwagon effect that carried the next two elections never happened?
No way of knowing.
Some things I DO know is that except for the Treasurer we now have an Executive Board who thinks that the members of the Committee may be Seen and Not Heard and Do what they are told.
And that there we be a lot of subject material for Hot Issues From Linn County over the next two years.
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Ragnarok
Ragnarok The Battle Between the Gods and the Frost Giants
Choose Wisely Tonight
You might not get another choice for a while
By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them
On the 4th Day of the 11Th Month in the 220th year of the Republic
At the far edge of the Universe
As Witnessed by the Oracle Hubble
The Eye OF Sauron
OPENED
And a Great Darkness Fell Upon the Land
And the Pundits Said: "By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them"
And the Fruit Shall Be Bitter
What is Theirs is Theirs
What is Yours is Theirs
What you Built You Did Not-- They Did
They shall Stand Before you in Robes of Blue
And They Shall Hide Their Blue Hearts Beneath Robes of Red
And Walk the Earth as DIABLOS
(Democrats In All But Label Only)
And so we Come to the Heart of Our Saga.
In My Last Post Taking Candy From a Baby
We discover that 3 Months AFTER the Election some of our Bills and Commitments have yet to be made Good?
Now the Chair DID provide some of the background
have included the wording of the motion.
Pending the review & approval of the Iowa Ethics & Disclosure Board, I move that the Central Committee provide monetary tokens of
appreciation for results, to volunteers who collect absentee ballot request forms and completed absentee ballots.
Pay $0.50 for each completed request form from a registered Republican
Pay $1.00 for each ballot returned from a registered Republican Party Ballots
***Democrat, Independent, Third-Party, or Non-Party Ballot/Request forms are not eligible toward a volunteer’s tools. ***
Included in this motion is that the LCRCC body fund this with no more than $500.00 from the general fund, but continuously supplemented by earmarked donations specifically for this door-knocking absentee ballot effort.
Motion made that the incentive program discussed at the Executive/Advisory ($10 Gift cards per 8 hour shifts) & the incentive program approved tonight be approved subject to putting procedures together so these programs can be implemented as soon as possible – amended to $750.
o Jim Conklin (MR06) is checking on the legality of these proposals
Motion made for all four Executive Board members must unanimously approve whatever legal rewording required if
necessary if the original motion is not approved by the Ethics & Disclosure Board and maintain the integrity and intent of the
wording of the original motion. MSP
To me the important part is
Jim Conklin (MR06) is checking on the legality of these proposals
That was done and our Treasurer cut some checks which the Chair did NOT Sign, Refused to Sign so they were Signed by the Treasurer and the Co-Chair.
Was this done because there was in fact some question of the Legality?
NO
The Chair is on Record that there was NO Illegality Found.
She Stated that TWICE when Questioned by Greg Hood,
She also stated that she did not wish to Sign the Checks bcause in her discussions she and others decided the Program
WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA?
Which prompted a member of the Body to explode TWICE that She had Violated her Constitutional Duty to Fulfill the Instructions that the Body had issued by their Vote.
Do such minor Details MATTER?
Not to this Chair it seems.
And so we have a Young Man who EVERYONE knows worked tirelessly during the Election denied his rightful dues and the Chair is now Stonewalling.
Wants Records from someone who has no official duty to provide such things but who did herself work tirelessly at the Victory Office
To the Extent that she ended up with this
That was aquired during the After Election Cleanup.
An Event that had very few take part in.
And according to his person who DID stay and work cleaning up the Victory Office
Cindy Golding never set foot inside that office to help clean or collect any files, such as volunteer numbers.
So a Young Man who had every reaon to believe that the LCRCC would make good on their commitments.
Still has not been made Whole
THREE MONTHS
After the Election???
And exactly WHO has been responsible for this matter most of the time since?
As I recall at the November Meeting shortly after the Election All Financial Matters were placed in the Hands of the Chair and an Interim Treasurer.
Now everyone knows this young man work himself to the Bone during the election.
As a matter of fact while a nice lookning young man he IS a tad too thin.
Some of us might remember being the same when we were young and sometimes ends were hard to meet,
We all KNOW the Committee owes him this money
What kind of Meanspirited, Petty, Vindictive Mentality would just Stonewall this issue?
Maybe the Same Meanspiirted, Small Minded Petty Person who read ladies working on an Event the Riot Act because they put out more than 5 mints on each table?
Or the same Meanspirited Small Minded Petty Person who proclaimed in a emailing to the Body about an LCRCC member recognized as the “Best in State” caller for the Victory Program. When in fact she tried to prevent that presentation to the Body.
Or the person who never realised that they should pay the same price as everyone else for a Ticket to the Christmas party purchased after the Discount Deadline and gave themselves the lower Price?
Of course their excuse was
I paid for a guest speaker dinner at the $40. so the LCRCC would not be out the cost of the guest dinner.
I too have in the past paid for other people to attend Events
The difference between me and the Chair is that I paid the same price as everyone else
We had a couple of speakers who were able to come at the last minute. We didn't expect them to speak an then pay to be there.
At this point I can only shake my head in confusion
I am stumped,
What kind of twisted mentality will try to foist a story like that over something that is Public Record?
I mean you can go to the DR-2 and SEE that the persons giving the Discount Price after the Deadline
are folks that regularly attend LCRCC meetings and not a couple of speakers who were able to come at the last minute
I am not posting their names they just paid what they were told to,
The Chair is at fault here
You can look for yourselves in the
DR-2
and see who got the discount.
Does the Chair feel that we are too STUPID to click on a link that will take us to an Online Report to the Ethics Board?
Or is it like her disregard for the County Constitution, Our ByLaws and Rules of Order
That She just thinks it does not matter what she does because She IS after all the
IMPERIAL CHAIR
Taking Candy From A Baby
While it is True that anyone who has ever used the phrase, "As easy as taking Candy from a Baby." has probably never TRIED to take Candy from a Baby.
It does evoke the image of taking a mean spirited advantage of someone defenseless.
The image brought to mind would not one might think be that of the Linn County Central Committee but under the present leadership it is.
A lot of us may remember the dustup over a difference of opinion concerning an Ad earlier this year.
Our Chair claims there was an agreement to place an Ad and that they recieived Art Work for it,.
The Business does not dispute that but takes the position that that is not the full story,
They claim they informed the Chair that a Proof Copy for review and a Contract was required of ALL parties they entered into an agreement for an Ad with,
And that lacking that there was No Agreement.
The Chair threatened them with exposure to the Central Committee and the potential for Bad PR
Within 24 hours our Webmaster had placed on the LCRCC Facebook Page and on the Facebook Pages of 20 people a Call to Boycott them for, Failure to Pay their Bills.
So everyone might understand why I was surprised that the Chair was stonewalling on US paying volunteers for efforts that we had agreed OURSELVES to compensate for,.
The following is an Email exchange concerning on very active young volunteer who is staill Waiting for His compensation,
I Will make more comments in a follow up post later this morning,
For now I will let you peruse this exchange.,
However since the August Minutes of the LCRCC Meeting are brought up I have provided a link to the FULL Minutes
They were very selective in their quotes and refrained from presenting some important Facts that I WILL bring up in my Follow Up Post.
Linn County Republican Central Committee Meeting Minutes 08-19-2014
Mrs. Golding,
I can understand why you would have been under the impression that I would have access to documentation relating to the numbers of absentee ballot request forms brought back by our volunteers. Thank you for acknowledging that the role I played at the Victory Office extended to helping with the day-to-day operations in addition to phone calling and meal preparation. Carlos Cruz and I made one hell of a team, if I do say so, and I ask you to consider the unique role I played, and how those skills of mine that contributed to that role will be an asset to the role of LCRCC Secretary, for which I have declared my candidacy. I hope I can count on your vote.
However, ma'am, the Absentee Ballot Incentive project was not planned or managed by the Victory Office and/or it's director. It was a project of the Central Committee. Because, as the chief executive of the Central Committee, you and the other Executives are charged with the responsibility of transacting our Committee's business during the interim of the meetings, I am now quite concerned at your admission that you do not possess any documentation of the absentee ballot (AB) request forms for the time period after the September 16th meeting. Are you telling me that in the 49 days after the September meeting leading up to (and including) Election Day, that you and the other Executives never once worked with Carlos to obtain the proper figures to carry out the duties that were assigned to you in the August 2014 motion? If such is the case, ma'am, are you at least able to explain why you neglected this responsibility?
In your response today to my email of January the 23rd, you did not clarify if you have conferred with any of the other Executives about the request I made to investigate and resolve the situation. If you have not yet, I hope you will immediately communicate with them. I'm puzzled at your silence on the issue until now, since in my January 23rd email, when I originally brought this to the attention of you and the other executives, I requested that the issue be resolved by the next Central Committee meeting, which is now in less than 48 hours. I'd rather not dwell on the inattention to date, and instead urge that the focus be on fixing this error in the limited time we have left, but I fear that if there was no collecting of records in the second half of September, as well as October and November, then our chances of finding them now and rewarding Ian with the money he earned are slim to none. I wish it were different.
In hindsight, I can see why it wasn't necessarily advantageous to you to collect the AB request form totals, since your presence at the Victory Office was very limited. Should we approve a project like this in the future, (and yes, even after this mess-up, I still hope we do,) I (or several other people, I'm sure) would be happy to keep track of the records, as I expect to be at the office in 2016 as regularly as I was this past autumn.
If worse comes to worse, at the very least, I would be willing to contribute $10.00 of my limited resources toward the amount that Ian deserves. If you and other Executives contribute, it would be relatively simple to come up with a reward similar to the amount he earned in the first place. First, though, I do encourage you to reach out to the other Executives and at least attempt to resolve the situation. I'm glad we can agree that Ian should receive a token of appreciation for his hard work during the campaign.
Sincerely,
Althea Cole
Monday, 16 February 2015
Comments From My Readers
One problem with my blogsite is that the Comments Link at the bottom of the Posts is in a very Small Font.
Making it easy to overlook.
For that purpose I have decided to Post some the recent Comments here for those who might not have seen them
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