Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25

[Ross]

srkruzich,

Exactly!

Here we have the state admitting to dumbing down the students.
http://www.kansaspolicy.org/

That is why I am imploring the Konnected School board President to give some thought to what his NGO stands for.
Do he and his fellow Konnected bunch believe in what they say on their web site or not?

I quote, "Vision Statement"

"Strong families. Solid education. Superior Lifestyle."

Or is it they believe, more in spending money that accomplishes nothing?

Will a Superior Building, a Taj Mahal create a bêter education?

Isn't a building designed to house 600 children big enough to house 300 children?

When the school board should be talking about education, they are talking about sports and construction and I just happen to believe that is just wrong.

Don't you think Education should be their first and most important priority?

I mean, I show these statics and I ask you are they impressive to you?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USD#                                                                         Approaches
District              Year                                                     Standard         Meets Standard      Exceeds Standard         Exemplary
                       
282   West Elk   2012   11   All Students                           5.6 %                  44.4 %                    38.9 %                      5.6 %

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USD#                                                                         Approaches
District              Year                                                     Standard         Meets Standard      Exceeds Standard         Exemplary
462   Central   2012   11   All Students                             3.7 %              14.8 %                       40.7 %                        37.0 %
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isn't the Konnected School Board Presdent failing our children, isn't he failing his NGO Elk Konnected, LLC' stated, "Vision Statement"

"Strong families. Solid education. Superior Lifestyle."

[Ross]

I found this to be a timely and interesting read the title may be a bit of a put off, but still a good read, in my opinion.

How to instantly tell who's evil vs. good: the philosophy of 'control' vs. 'empowerment'

Let's start with the "Empowerment" side first. This point represents people who primarily seek to empower you with knowledge, skills, wisdom and tools. "Empowerment" represents GOOD because it allows wisdom, skills and abundance to multiply from one person to the next. It recognizes the value of the individual and honors consciousness and free will.

On the far left side of the string -- which also represents the political left in America today -- we have "Control." This point represents people who primarily seek to control you: to extract money from you (rob you), to limit your freedoms, to demand your obedience and to use the threat of force to command your compliance. This philosophy dishonors the individual and downplays free will and individual liberty. "Control" is inherently evil because it seeks to diminish the power of a large number of people in order to accumulate power into the hands of a few people.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040122_control_empowerment_philosophy.html#ixzz2RwZq8d3C

Does any of this sound vaguely familiar.
Perhaps the following will help you find some similarities.
Just give it some thought, that's all.
And don't believe any of it.
It's your choice.

Sit here, don't sit there.
Don't talk to people you know or who you came with.
Don't talk about the negative aspects, keep it positive.
Do what we tell you or you can not be involved. What better threat or better control is there than this?

Oh well, it ain't nothing but a thing and a green bean!
So just forget it!

Yer friendly redneck hick.
(And proud to be a redneck)

[Ross]

Durn it, I forgot to include, "Where's the Sheriff ?"

[Ross]

Yes this is hearsay and my opinions and thoughts about what is happening in our fair county.
I'm talking about NGO's that in my opinion, that want to build a dynasty. Let me explain:

Dynasty (disambiguation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A dynasty is an organization which extends dominance in its field even as its particular members change.

The actual hearsay is about me talking with another Elk County citizen and taxpayer that took place a couple of months ago.
He told me that Elk Konnected had sent out letters in what appeared an attempt to recruit 21 to 39 year old people.
We kind of wondered why? Then we decided it's because they could possibly manipulate and control people that young, just a thought.

After all us older folks have been around a long time and have seen a lot of things and just don't bow down to organizations and what they want to feed us.
Wasn't it mostly that age group that elected Obama along with the minorities? Just asking?

Let's work from when Elk Konnected came about and come up to the present.
Did Elk Konnected really come about before the wind farm?
Weren't we informed that there was testing out there on the land that started many years before the wind farm was built.
So doesn't it stand to reason that the founder of Elk Konnected knew that the wind farm was coming before starting Elk Konnected?

Didn't the Elk Konnected founder write an open letter dissing at least on community in Elk County as a reason for starting their organization?
And then didn't they claim they wanted to bring all the communities and peoples of Elk County to agree with each other and to work together?

And didn't Elk Konnected bring in an outsider from Leoti, Washington County, Kansas to control the so called Community Conversations?

And then next they brought in yet another NGO called Flint Hills something or other, at the meeting we attended the first thing that was said was, "We don't know anything about the Flint Hills", brilliant isn't it?

How many more NGO's are going to be designed or organized in an attempt to control what happens in Elk County?
Will Elk County allow it to continue? I mean the gradual progression of NGO's, will Elk County allow this progression to interfere in our present serene way of life?

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post, "He told me that Elk Konnected had sent out letters in what appeared an attempt to recruit 21 to 39 year old people." So now I receive my little rag (magazine) called Kansas Country Living which I get monthly for paying my electric bill. And on page 24 I find an article from our very own Liz Hendricks, self proclaimed founder of Elk Konnected, LLC and President of Public Squares Communities, Inc about 21 to 39 year olds.
The title of the article "Is there a New Movement in Kansas?  

And I wonder,really, so I ask myself did Elk Konnected, LLC and Public Squares Communities, Inc have their hand in it, by recruiting these so called young people?
Is the actual cut off age of 39 the end of being a young person? I always thought of young people as those 20 years of age or younger. But that's the way words get twisted, I guess!

Anyway,she says the collegues of public Squares Communities spend hundreds of hours interviewing citizens in order to hear their hopes and dreams for the future. And goes on to say, "Over and over, voices old and young in some 60 cities and towns have sung one chorus:
" We must engage
                             and empower
                                                    the next generation
                                                                                   if rural America is to survive.".

Have you been interviewed? I haven't been interviewed, I wonder why?
Oh, I know why!

Now, I have to ask you folks of Elk County who in the world talks like that?
Do you talk like that?
I don't talk lie that!
I don't know anyone that talks like that outside of some organization, do you?

I think our job to empower the younger folks is first to educate them in our schools, I think we should have a school board that is interested in raising the educational standards in our county. What do all those other 60 cities and towns have to do with Elk County children and young people?
Have we graduated from it takes a community to raise a child to it takes 60 cities and towns to raise a child?
Have we decide it takes 60 other cities and towns to tell us how to live our lives?
I don't think so, do you?

Are we going to let yet another NGO called of all things Powerups get involved in the lives of Elk County citizens and taxpayers and our serene way of life?

I'd suggest if you don't get the magazine, "Kansas Country Living" ask your friend or relative that is on rural electric to borrow theirs and read the article.
To me the article is a lot of gobble gook and about NGO's wanting moore power, hence POWERUPS that's my opinion.

But wait a minute what is happening with our local NGO, Elk Konnected, LLC?
Is it fading away to make room for the POWERUPS?
Where did Elk Konnected, LLC growth go?
Just look at the Steering Committee it keeps shrinking, I wonder why, don't you?
•   Jennifer Montgomery
•   Liz Hendricks
•   Tommie Barnaby
•   David Whetstone
Where is the growth?

I know this is extremely long winded but I was just reminded of an old saying I had forgot about and I'd like to share it with you.
This thing dates back to the late 1800's and I think that is pretty solid stuff.

The Boiling Frog Syndrome

Human Beings and frogs are the two creatures in nature who have tremendous power to adjust.
Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water. As the temperature of the water rises,
The frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature.
Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore.
At that point the frog decides to jump out.
The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature.
Very soon the frog dies.

What killed the frog? Many of us would say the boiling water. But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out.

We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to face. There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action. If we allow people to exploit us physically, emotionally or financially, they will continue to do so. We have to decide when to jump. Let us jump while we still have the strength.

============================================================================
The boiling frog story is a widespread anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive.
The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out,
but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger
and will be cooked to death.
The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability of people to react to significant changes that occur gradually.
[1] According to contemporary biologists the premise of the story is not literally true; a frog submerged and gradually heated will jump out.[2][3]
However, some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true, provided the heating is sufficiently gradual.[4][5]

[Ross]

Well, I just had to bring this over hear where the topic got started.
I just don't understand why ya gotta start a new thread?
I brought this over from http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15303.0.html
That just doesn't make sense to me, unless it is an attempt to confuse the people of Elk County, is that it?

In his on-going, all-encompassing thread, Mr. Ross has mentioned reading about a new movement or group in Kansas known as Power Ups.

Thank you Mr. Durbin for your recognition, I appreciate it very much.

Having read the same article he mentions, I was curious whether his questions about possible ties to Elk Konnected and/or Public Squares, LLC might be accurate or not.

   Well to answer your query to the best of my ability the article is written by Liz Hendricks President of Public Squares, Inc and Elk Konnected Steering Committee member and I quote Elk Konnected, LLC's own web page and from my previous post:

Just look at the Steering Committee it keeps shrinking, I wonder why, don't you?
•   Jennifer Montgomery
•   Liz Hendricks
•   Tommie Barnaby
•   David Whetstone
Where is the growth?

Mr. Durbin I hope that clears up some of your confusion.

I'd also ask that you read page 24 of the "Kansas Country Living" magazine the second paragraph.
I will quote it here:

(Quote)
"Most recently, two of these impressive PowerUps volunteered to lead a collaborative with Public Squares Communities to engage citizens of 19 Flint Hills counties and envision their future. With the help of Public Squares own PowerUp-Liz Sosa from Garden City-we collectively gathered thoughts and dreams from this age group through one-on-one interviews and large group interviews and large group brainstorming we call Community Conversations."(End Quote)

I attempted to get the exact punctuation and everything equal to what is in the magazine, if you find any errors please let me know and I will correct them. I am neither a
secretary or a typist. Thank you.

I don't read a thing that explains what is so impressive about these PowerUps and I wonder why the omission as to what makes them impressive.
So what makes them so impressive?
A lot of us have been to those so called Kommunity Konversations and understand how they work, don't we?

Going to the website of Power Ups, which is www.ruralbychoice.com, one learns it originated with one Marci Penner of the Kansas Sampler Foundation in 2007.

What difference does that make? Does that change anything about the recruitment that I heard was done by letters recruiting 21 to 40 year old?

It appears to be a very well designed website and is quite thorough in explaining about this new group.  

That is nice, you know what, I have received compliments on my personal web site, too!
Do they by chance differentiate them selves from other Ngo's by anything other than age?
Oh forget that. Since you were good enough to provide this valuable information, their web site that is, I'm anxious to look at it and see what they have to offer.
Thanks Mr. Durbin.

I would encourage anyone interested to visit the website and read about Power Ups for themselves.  BTW, no where did I see Elk Konnected, Public Squares, LLC., or Liz Hendricks mentioned.  If any of them were, I must have missed it.  

I repeat from above:

(Quote)
"Most recently, two of these impressive PowerUps volunteered to lead a collaborative with Public Squares Communities to engage citizens of 19 Flint Hills counties and envision their future. With the help of Public Squares own PowerUp-Liz Sosa from Garden City-we collectively gathered thoughts and dreams from this age group through one-on-one interviews and large group interviews and large group brainstorming we call Community Conversations."(End Quote)


Please let me know where I  screwed up. Thanks..

[Ross]

"The crucial difference between having a preconceived notion — we all do that, of course — and conspiratorial thinking is when you get into that self-sealing reasoning and ignore every piece of evidence that is pointing the other way, when you're starting to broaden the circle of conspirators, and when your skepticism gets to be nihilistic — when you believe absolutely nothing that the government or the media is saying — that's when you've crossed the line."

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/24/why_people_believe_in_conspiracy_theories/

Are you suggesting there is a conspiracy?
What would that conspiracy accomplish?

I'm sure every one would like to know?

I don't believe anyone else has even suggested a conspiracy that's why I ask!

[Ross]

Lets discuss this psychiatric bull shit and conspiracy you are bringing up, just for a moment.
First let's review what you posted:

"The crucial difference between having a preconceived notion — we all do that, of course — and conspiratorial thinking is when you get into that self-sealing reasoning and ignore every piece of evidence that is pointing the other way, when you're starting to broaden the circle of conspirators, and when your skepticism gets to be nihilistic — when you believe absolutely nothing that the government or the media is saying — that's when you've crossed the line."

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/24/why_people_believe_in_conspiracy_theories/

First no on has said there is any conspiracy, let's get that matter clear and straight and out of the way, okay?

Second the closest word to the conspiracy that I can find in this whole thread is " collaborative" found in the following paragraph quoted from the Kansas Country Living magazine.

(Quote)
"Most recently, two of these impressive PowerUps volunteered to lead a collaborative with Public Squares Communities to engage citizens of 19 Flint Hills counties and envision their future. With the help of Public Squares own PowerUp-Liz Sosa from Garden City-we collectively gathered thoughts and dreams from this age group through one-on-one interviews and large group interviews and large group brainstorming we call Community Conversations."(End Quote)

I attempted to get the exact punctuation and everything equal to what is in the magazine, if you find any errors please let me know and I will correct them. I am neither a
secretary or a typist. Thank you.

And as far as Psychiatry even the shrinks can't agree on what they are talking about, check out  Sunday, May 5, 2013 05:00 PM CDT
"The Book of Woe": Psychiatry's last stand An account of the making of the new DSM questions whether psychiatry is -- or should be -- a science. Those folks are bought out by big pharmaceuticals. Not a conspiracy, just bought out. Money talks and bull shit walks.
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/05/the_book_of_woe_psychiatrys_last_stand/
Even medical doctors claim to only be practicing medicine and trust me some doctors practice better than others. And their profession is a real science.

It appears psychiatry is just hypothetical and used by some non-psychiatric people as a put down. And it just fails to work here, doesn't it.

But please tell us, each and every one of us about your conspiracy theroy, we are waiting with baited breath.

Where is the conspiracy you refer to?

Personally, I think when a persons fails to question what is going on around them, they become the boiling frog and just don't care.

And you posting leaves me to ass/u/me you believe everything that the Obama Administration tells you and that you believe every word the media tells you as well,

Does this mean to you that the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, in Libya, that was attacked on September 11, 2012 was not a terrorist attack, just a demonstration and that the people in the upper echelon of government should not question the present administration?

Should those people in the upper echelon of government that question the administration seek Psychiatry help because they see a conspiracy, just because they ask questions?

So what is your real objection to discussing local information, events and happenings?

[Ross]

Well Mr Durbin I visited the PowerUps web site and I am not impressed.

But guess what Unlike Elk Konnected, LLC and Public Squares Communities, Inc., they have a membership list.
And that is what it is called a "membership list".
The fact that they have a membership list and the other NGO's don't is sorta
impressive to me.
Guess which Elk Konnected, LLC  Steering Committee Member is listed as a member of the PowerUps?
That's right, I think there is another Konnection between PowerUps and Elk Konnected, LLC.
Jennifer Brummel of Howard, and I thought she was Jennifer Montgomery, I am so confused!
On The Elk County web site it is Montgomery and on the Elk Konnected Steering Committee its Montgomery,
so what is going on?
Can you help me out here with the name?

http://www.ruralbychoice.com/members.php

I don't understand how these PowerUps can accomplish anything based on the fact that they claim they will remain neutral in the terms of political, religious and social views. Isn't it politics, i.e. city governments and county governments that run our rural areas? And that makes me wonder, how they can take deliberate steps to sustain the viability of rural communities if they are going to remain neutral in politics, any answers for me would be appreciated?

And yet they say they are building an inclusive network of peers to give PowerUps a collective voice on important community and statewide rural issues. Isn't this political?

They want to create a quality of life that is desirable to PowerUps. PowerUps, that would be for the 21 through 39 years old right?

Isn't that attitude a bit selfish?  
What about the rest of us that don't belong to their little niche?
Doesn't this statement alone make it a political and social issue?

Mr. Durbin they show 83 communities listed and listing 132 members for those communities on their web site. Or at least that's what I count.

Is this impressive?

Here is a sampling of the membership.
Atwood 1 member
Alma 1 member
Beloit 6 members
Caldwell 2 members
Chanute 1 member
Concordia 1 member
Derby 1 member
Fort Scott 1 member
Hays 1 member
Howard 1 member           Elk Konnected, LLC's very own Steering Committee member.
Hutchinson 5 members
Independence 1
Iola 5 members
Leoti 1 member                   Isn't this the home of Public Squares Communities, INC?
Manhattan 1 member
McPherson 1 member
Salina 1 member
Smith Center1 member
Topeka 2 members Wamego 8 members
Winfield 1 member Yates Center 1 member
Great Bend 1 member  

It appears to me if Elk Konnected did try to recruit for this group they didn't do to well, with only one person from Howard, what do you think?

I'm not impressed with a member here and a member there, are you?

PowerUps facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PowerUps

On their facebook the PowerUps claim they are building an inclusive network of peers to give PowerUps a collective voice on important community and statewide rural issues. Now, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that political? What happens to politically neutral?

All I see is another NGO like Elk Konnected, LLC that you are a Steering Committee member of and Public Squares Communities, INC that you are President of Ms. Hendricks. So I feel compelled to ask you Ms. Hendricks of Elk Konnected what is impressive about this group or its members?

Does anyone see anything different or impressive about it?

These NGO's seem to be popping up like popcorn in a frying pan.

But as always, these are just my thoughts and opinions and, not to be taken seriously by anyone.

Remember, I'm just an uneducated, redneck hick and proud of it.
I guess, I just don't comprehend all this kinda stuff. So any help would be appreciated!

Will PowerUps be coming to Elk County? Or is it just one person?

Some answers from anyone would be helpful! I am just full of questions!

I do find the boy scouts and the girl scouts to be very impressive with their leadership and their values.

[Ross]

Be sure to follow the cross conversation about NGO's at http://www.cascity.com/howard/forum/index.php/topic,15303.msg208102.html#msg208102

I guess the 15 County Kansas City Metropolitan area with a population of 2,035,334 people is now considered rural by some people.

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) serves as the Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the area.

I guess, I don't comprehend the term rural.

My latest post over there can be read by clicking:

[Ross]

Well over here, where the conversation about the PowerUps started and then instead of conversing about the subject here, Mr. Durbin decided to start a new thread on the subject. And I respectfully paid it a visit.

Well, I joined his thread for a short period and didn't get any real answers.

But ya know his opening remarks over there about this thread lead me
to believe what a friend suggested to me several months ago.

The friend said there are people that wish this thread would die.

I asked why?

And I was told because of the information posted through out this thread and the attitude that it shows!

And I asked what difference does that make, what happens if it dies?

He said the whole thread will be totally removed.

Okay, I'm thinking that is why they want to slam this thread, and take the conversation to a different thread. And that is perhaps why they referred to this thread as all on-going, all-encompassing thread. Well I accept that as a compliment for this thread. Thank you guys.

Also I believe that's why they come up with the remarks referring to getting psychiatric help for conspiracy thoughts even though absolutely no one that I remember has ever said anything about a conspiracy. So when they suggested a conspiracy, I asked them if they were suggesting there is a conspiracy. Well, I never got an answer, so I guess we will never know. Will we?

I have heard of communities outside of the metropolitan areas and past the suburbs often referred to as sleeper communities. It is not something I made up. These communities are referred to as sleeper communities because the people get up in the morning and drive into the Metropolitan area to go to work and return to the communities to live their lives and to get a good nights sleep and then return to work again in the morning in the Metro area. This in turns provides the economy the community needs to survive. It's simple these workers spend their earnings in their communities and they use that income to pay their property taxes or to rent homes and apartments and some of that goes to pay the property taxes on the rental property. Although they may call themselves rural they are dependent on the Metropolitan area for their existence.

We here in Elk County do not really have that available because it is far to far to travel for most people to commute to Wichita or Bartlesville. If a person running an internet business were to try to move here to Elk County and try to find 6 or 8 highly qualified internet technologist willing to work for him, I doubt he would find them. But if near a metropolitan area he has a greater chance of finding such qualified people because of the size of the population.

But then they changed the subject from the article about Baldwin City to Plainville which was not even mentioned in the article.

That's just my thoughts. And I don't ask you to believe a word of it.

Oh least I forget thanks for the following link Mr. Durbin.
http://www.kansassampler.org/siteassets/LizHPowerUpstory.pdf