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

[Ross]

I have been out and about for a while this morning and I have learned a few interesting things to share with you folks.

First a gentleman told me I am pretty well known and that those that know me ( I assume that is from this forum) either like me or don't like. I told him that is fine I don't require anyone like me and I bear no ill will towards those that don't like me. I am fine with it. For sure, I am not politically correct and chances are I never will be.

He then said, some people think I'm crazy and I told him I am crazy, so no offense taken. I recently read where anyone that runs for political office have to have mental problems. What am I doing --- running for a political office that doesn't even include a paycheck. At least the County Commissioners get a paycheck !

I had heard about losing one of our school Principals and the rumor that she had accepted a position of Superintendent in another district  However this morning, I learned that this information may be erroneous. I learned from an extremely reliable source that the reason she left Elk Valley USD-283 to come to West Elk USD-282 was because of having problems at Elk Valley 283. And the reason she left West Elk USD-282 I was informed was because, she was given the old alternative ----- resign or be fired.
I can not write you a guarantee that is what happened, but it is a game often played in school districts. And I believe this may be the third time in this district in the last 12 months.

I am totally against the old alternative ----- resign or be fired.
If the school district has cause to fire an employee that is exactly what they should do, it helps other School Districts avoid the same problem and if the problem involves students it help prevent other students by not submitting them to the same problem. Now that the resign or be fired.option has apparently been executed, doesn't that allow for a third occasion to happen? Don't the people executing such action care about the students ? Wouldn't that be the elected officials on the School Board committing these atrocities to our students --- your children.

And now for some information, that I doubt the West Elk US
Because you would become too knowledgeable.

Kansas Policy Institute

They posted some very interesting facts on line. Yes, I know it is an NGO and I generally don't approve of NGO's. However, this is considerable information they acquired and compiled on all Kansas School Districts.
Information is provided from Kansas Department of Education, Kansas Division of the Budget, : National Association of State Budget Officers, : National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), Kansas Dept.
of Education, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There is a great deal of information, so Please go to:  http://kansaspolicy.org/ResearchCenters/Education/Studies/d124699.aspx?type=view

West Elk and Elk Valley information is located on page 32 and on page 33 of the Fact Book.
There you will find from 2005-2014 spending cost has escalated by 72% and that property taxes for West Elk have increased by 83% and that student population has decreased by 26% And a whole lot of other great information.

I hope everyone enjoys the info !

Special Note From the Web Site

Kansas Department of Education; KSDE does not require students to read grade-appropriate material with full comprehension (as defined by KSDE) to qualify as Proficient / Meets Standard.
KSDE considers full comprehension to be Advanced / Exceeds Standard.

[Ross]

Check out Re-imagine Sedan in today's newspaper.

It's supposedly being done by High School kids that will present their findings from studying Sedan.
I find that amazing, they studied Sedan and will report their findings. I wonder why Elk Konnected didn't think of that and do some studying about Elk County? Oh these are high school kids that still know how to study, that's gotta be it.

After these kids presentation there will be a facilitated discussion.

Now in my opinion this is where the screw up is. a facilitator.
A facilitator is to control the discussion, therefore not really an open discussion, it amounts to discuss what we want you to discuss. Sort of like the snake oil salesmen of days gone by.

Professional Backing ?

I don't know the man or how he works so it's not personal but here comes that adult: Jack Newcomb, founder of Advancing Rural Prosperity, has graciously agreed to facilitate a conversation afterwards about possible next steps. http://advancingruralprosperity.org/ Isn't this just another person trying to make a living off of desperate communities? Just asking! Oh is he doing this one for free?

Who would show up at a meeting for Sedan and talk about what happens in Afghanistan? They would surely be there to discuss Sedan wouldn't they? Or are they fearful of questions about their organization?

I wonder will they have kindergarten stars and name tags and circus circles of chairs and will they chose to ignore the negative things that cause problems? You know sort of like Elk Konnected.

High School kids speak of the the eight pillars (i.e., business, schools, infrastructure, lifestyle, health & wellness, tourism, image and legislative issues) that make-up a strong community and Public Square and Elk Konnected only addresses the four sectors of the community: Business, Education, Government and Human Services. http://www.reimaginesedan.org/eight-pillars.html Are the High School Kids smarter than Elk Konnected and Public Squares Communities? Because they have eight pillars?

What are Elk Konnected and Public Squares Communities doing these days with their four corners?

I have wondered who was backing these kids with all the expensive things they are talking about doing just to  renovate the Gregg Theater to make the movie and theater going experience more enjoyable and attract more customers.  In addition, we hope to show that when the community, young and old, work together, we can do great things to make Sedan a better place to live. Isn't the Greg Theater a privately owned business? Shouldn't the business owner be responsible for the condition of his business? Should he continue to receive a form of welfare?

Their renovation plans include; Remove the old chairs, Clean the floor, Seal the floor, Purchase new or gently used chairs, Install the chairs, Remove existing stalls, toilets, sinks, vanity, lights and mirrors, Paint – perhaps a darker color to discourage graffiti, Purchase new toilets, sinks, vanity and lights, Marquis, Remove plastic over the lights, Clean around lights, Replace any lights, Purchase or renovate plastic, Purchase new letters, Paint, Remove existing wiring, Replace wiring, Update junction box, Removal of old mortar, Replace with new mortar,  Our renovation plans include: Removal of old roof, Replace with new roof, Clean-up stage and behind the stage, Removal of old props and customs that are no longer needed.
http://www.reimaginesedan.org/projects.html 

Sounds to me like the only thing not being replaced are the outside walls. And I guess the area businesses will be doing all that work for no pay ?? This will be worth watching and perhaps learn something !

I really like what the owners and management of Batson's did and they did it on their own as far as I know.
That is good business planning and management.

These High School kids have lofty goals, but no explanation of how to accomplish them. I.E. Some of their  goals are to bring in more tourism, to draw in more permanent residents, and not only improve our business, but also bring in new businesses. How are they gonna accomplish these tasks? They don't even give a hint that I can find. I'm all for wishful thinking but more so for actual plans to be reviewed by the community. http://www.reimaginesedan.org/about.html

I suppose they want the community to come up with solutions to problems.

I'm wondering what happened to the four industries for Longton that were promised at the Longton Free Fair Political Forum last year? Where is even one of those industries? Ill be watching with the rest of you.

Goodnight folks
Reality is real.

[Ross]

Folks, I won't be offering free rides to the voting polls this year.

Because I am running for School Board and I do not believe it wold be ethical to do so.

I would not want to appear to be trying to influence anyone's vote.

Thank's to each of you for your support.

L. W. Ross

[Ross]

I know they don't mention it
but I bet there was an NGO
or two involved.
Would those bureaucrats be
Progressive Liberal OPM Grabbers ?

Broadband by bureaucrats:
High costs of high-speed failure

By Jim Waters  /   April 1, 2015  /

By Jim Waters | Watchdog Opinion

While some in the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government consider it fashionable to build and operate a broadband network at taxpayers' expense, citizens who take a moment to look at the price tag of similar outfits in other places should at least do some more price shopping before heading to the register.

They may also want to stop and "shop" in Orem, Utah, where voters decisively rejected a property-tax increase to pay their city's costs for participating in the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA).

UTOPIA is a consortium of 11 different cities created in 2004 to build a publicly owned fiber-optic network that promised completion in three years and a positive cash flow in five. Instead, the consortium has struggled to find funding to stay afloat and has negative net assets a decade later of nearly $150 million.

UTOPIA residents may also mention to Lexington's "shoppers" how the public consortium has attracted only about 11,000 subscribers – less than a quarter of the 49,350 customers projected to sign up by 2007.

The Wall Street Journal's Thomas Schatz wrote that UTOPIA's failure to attract the anticipated number of customers has caused "a spectacular financial failure."

When residents in the government-run service – which loses at least $3 million and sometimes as much as $13 million annually – deemed raising taxes unfashionable, a private firm offered a bailout.

However, Macquarie Capital's offer, which includes completing the network's construction, required residents in the participating cities to make payments for the next 30 years on $1.83 billion worth of new debt.

This would require all households in those cities to pay a new mandatory utility fee of $20 per month – even if they don't subscribe or use the services or cannot afford to pay.

"And the cities will have the power to cut off water service to those who do not pay in full or on time every month," Schatz wrote.

Some Utopia.

Read more at:        http://watchdog.org/209797/broadband-high-costs/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=watchdognewsletter_14

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Highly educated leaders of the community leading the community down the debt hole, right?

Was there any critical thinking?
Were the important questions asked?

Who, What, Where, When, Why and sometimes How?

Or do you suppose it was like the West Elk School Board, wasting $40,000 on architects for building extensions they knew the voters would say "NO" to once again ?

Do you suppose it was because of the inability to communicate properly?

Perhaps they would only accept a positive attitude no matter what the cost !

Look what else happened, What happened to  Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government ?

LFUCG.com is now LexingtonKY.gov!

The website for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government has moved to http://www.lexingtonky.gov.

Please update your favorites and shortcuts.

Your browser should automatically redirect you in a few seconds, if not try clicking the button below.

[Ross]

Well I received my April issue of "Country Living" magazine from my power company.

Yep, yer right Public Squares Communities is in there again.
You do know that is the parent company of Elk Konnected, LLC or something of that nature, right?

They say in their article that, "the real opportunity for change is not found in experts" !

I have to question that statement because it sounds very narrow minded to me.
There are many different types of change and most likely some will require expert advice from appropriate experts. For instance if something were not operating efficiently an efficiency expert could provide the expertise to create the necessary change. Don't ya reckon?

They do say something I do totally agree with --- are you shocked?

They say, " Look beyond institutions for leadership. We often look to the same people for involvement in community initiatives."  (Just give that a moment thought the same people over and over again and again. And a lot of waste of money happens and conflict through out the communities happen doesn't it.)

Definition of Institution -- an established law, practice, or custom, a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose.

Now doesn't Public Squares Communities and Elk Konnected fall with in those parameters?

Good job Public Squares Communities, good job.

They continue with, "A few business owners, the school superintendent, Hospital CEO, and elected leaders.
Then they say, "Leadership, however, is an activity, not a position."

Now they want to use the proper use of a word or term but in a demeaning manner in my opinion. We elect people to positions of leadership for the good of the community or county or the school. Now who is Public Squares Communities to offer a hint of a put down of elected officials not being active. These elected officials are busy doing by attending meetings and making decisions about finances, and what ever problems arise and what ever problems they may create.

Our county commissioners have a public forum so citizens may address them during their meetings. And I have observed them listen to citizens during their open forum. A Hired Retired College Professor advised the West Elk School Board, to institute a public forum at their meetings. But they took action to ignore that advice.

We may not like their actions, but contrary to what Public Squares Communities hints at they are active.

Is Public Squares Communities in the business of undermining the established methods of government ?

It sure appears to be a very negative attitude on their part, but that is just my personal opinion.

Public Squares Communities says, "Improving a community is hard work,"   Please tell us what kind of improvement it is you are talking about and what your actual solutions are. Don't give us that cock and bull story about building a second form of government. Tell us actual solutions, please? Do we build a hospital that we cannot afford and lack the population to support? Do we build a YMCA, that we can not afford nor have the population to support ? Tell us actual solutions, please?  Do we give tens of thousands of County taxpayer dollars away while property taxes remain among the highest in the state?

Public Squares Communities or Elk Konnected tell us actual solutions, please?

Would Public Squares Communities or Elk Konnected or their followers care to clarify how they feel about our elected officials and their leadership abilities ?  It sounds like you want to destroy the institution of  Government so please enlighten us.

Good Night
and
May Everyone
Have A Happy Easter Tomorrow.

[Ross]

It is my personal opinion that this explains a great deal
about Education, Leadership, Communications and NGO's

EDUCATIONCOMMENTARY
Why Are US Colleges So Afraid of Letting Students Speak Freely?
Ed Feulner April 05, 2015

"Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." The words of the First Amendment couldn't be plainer. Yet more than two centuries after the Bill of Rights was written, they remain the subject of fierce debate.

Actually, I should amend that (no pun intended). These words would be the subject of debate—if debate were permitted. But these days, apparently, we're all so thin-skinned that we can't bear to hear an opinion that challenges our worldview.

This is even true, ironically, at our institutions of higher learning. Some colleges are far more interested in swaddling their students in a protective bubble than in teaching free speech.

Consider what happened to Omar Mahmood. The University of Michigan student last year wrote a satirical piece for the campus newspaper, The Michigan Daily, listing the ways that the pervading culture of right-handedness victimizes left-handed people.

"The biggest obstacle to equality today is our barbaric attitude toward people of left-handydnyss [sic]," he wrote. "It's a tragedy that I, a member of the left-handed community, had little to no idea of the atrocious persecution that we are dealt every day by institutions that are deeply embedded in society."

Anyone familiar with the political correctness that pervades so much of society will recognize what Mahmood was lampooning. The victim mentality is particularly acute on many campuses, with professors nursing and even inflaming cultural conflicts on every level, leaving everyone walking around on eggshells.

In such an environment, Mahmood's column could have served a valuable purpose. An actual debate—imagine!—could have ensued.

But no. The Daily's editors couldn't risk damaging the precious little psyches of his fellow students with anything as retrograde as a dissenting point of view. Mahmood had created a "hostile environment" for those hothouse flowers, he was told. Why, an unidentified staffer "felt threatened" by his column. Somebody pass the smelling salts.

Mahmood's apartment was vandalized. He was fired from the Daily, of course.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident. Hardly a week goes by without news about one campus or another preventing unpopular views from being expressed. According to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which tracks such violations, most U.S. colleges are guilty.

"This isn't just an American problem," Jim DeMint, president of The Heritage Foundation, noted in a lecture at Yale University. "Academia spans nations, and its diseases can swim across oceans." Thus, for example, Oxford University canceled a pro-con debate about abortion "because, apparently, men aren't allowed to have opinions on such things anymore." Even the pro-abortion debater found that ridiculous.

More and more, this is our world. We don't debate, we demonize. The New York Times Magazine documented this trend in a chilling article titled "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life." It showed how Sacco and others have lost jobs, endured vicious threats and been forced into hiding for daring to make ill-conceived jokes or off-the-cuff remarks that others found offensive.

Part of the problem, surely, is rooted in basic ignorance of American history and our founding documents. That's why I opened by quoting the First Amendment. It may strike some readers as too basic to even mention, but numerous surveys show an alarming degree of ignorance and illiteracy.

Heck, you don't even need a survey. Jimmy Kimmel and other late-night comics often mine this ignorance for laughs with their man-on-the-street interviews.

But there's nothing funny about the underlying cause. Or with its effect: a society where political correctness makes debate impossible and only those who express the "accepted" opinion are permitted to speak.

"You don't communicate with anyone purely on the rational facts or ethics of an issue," wrote Saul Alinsky in "Rules for Radicals," the bible of the so-called progressive left. "Pick a target, freeze it, personalize it, and popularize it."

Personally, I'll stick with the First Amendment.

Originally published in The Washington Times

http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/05/why-are-u-s-colleges-so-afraid-of-letting-students-speak-freely/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=thffacebook

[redcliffsw]

Folks, I won't be offering free rides to the voting polls this year.

Because I am running for School Board and I do not believe it wold be ethical to do so.

I would not want to appear to be trying to influence anyone's vote.

Thank's to each of you for your support.

L. W. Ross

Ross,

We need more men in office to defend the rights and property of Americans.  I'm expecting you to win. 

Stay right in there.

[Ross]

Ross,

We need more men in office to defend the rights and property of Americans.  I'm expecting you to win. 

Stay right in there.

Thank you Red.

I believe too many thousands of property owners taxpayer dollars have been needlessly wasted by the West Elk School Board especially over the last few years. When they paid out big bucks on architects and building planners for the large school bond issue for a new building and recently for the extensions to the building they knew would not pass. They wasted in excess of $40, 000 on architects and building planners and the expense of the survey where results told them "NO" but still wasted more tax dollars to run an election that gave them the same results which was "NO".

But after the vote at the very nest meeting they were discussing running the bond issue again as soon as possible. Luckily it did not happen.

The school board president has discussed teaching students critical thinking. I would suggest that he nor the school board has used critical thinking in their waste fo taxpayer dollars and the students money for education by continuing to push for more School Debt and raising taxes for something that is not needed.

Will Elk County stick with the status quo, will they continue down the path of more unnecessary debt?

Only a few days to find out.

Folks don't forget to vote tomorrow.

It's your money and you deserve to keep it.

I don't know what one man can do, but I'll do my best if elected.

And perhaps if I get elected you will be sending a real message to the school board and to other people like you and me and they will run for School board at the next election.

Even if I am not elected but get a large number of votes the same message will be conveyed, so if I am not elected it will still be a good thing.

Happy Voting tomorrow, folks.

[Ross]

I think this applies to NGO's as well.
After all aren't Non Governmental Organizations simply Political Action Committees?
And don't they use these same tactics?
See page one of this thread.

The politicians and the manipulated crowd

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Bob Livingston

Life and happiness in this life under any political system directly depend upon how much our individuality (versus the crowd) is retained and to what extent we throw off manipulated illusions.

The more we are immersed into the mass mind (the crowd), the more we are manipulated and the more dependent on authority (government) we become. Every thrust of this nebulous thing called society is calculated to drive us into the dependent, mindless herd with automatic response to authority.

Often, we ponder why we get closer and closer to total authoritarianism, regardless of whom we vote for. The simple, but unrecognizable, answer is that we are unconsciously manipulated. We are born into a system that prescribes our thought processes, beginning with the first words we learn. As we grow into adults, we reach a state of existence and mental evolvement where we are shackled with a subtle and invisible system of myth and counter-myth.

We can be and are incarcerated with our minds. We imagine happiness as we exist within the confines of our prescribed mental parameters. In fact, we live out our physical lives and never come close to freedom of choice. It is impossible to make choices when all options are prescribed by the system — options that channel us into the service of the state.

Not one American in a million discovers that he lives under deception and illusion and that he is victimized by the power of repeated words and phrases. Our lives and property are plundered simply because we don't know that we don't know. Our thought system enslaves us far more than would a conquering army.

I have wondered for years why only a few people have escaped the net, while millions never do. There is apparently some gene or filter that allows a few people to see truths and overcome their conditioning. It grants them the courage to stand up to the crowd and to resist the ridicule and oppression that comes with opposing conventional wisdom.

The creation of the mass mind and/or mass consciousness is the secret weapon of the ruling elite. The more one's mind is immersed into the crowd, of course, the more one loses his individuality and independence of thought. The more we become a part of the crowd, the more dependent we become on authority. And the more dependent we become, the more defensive we are when presented with new information contrary to "conventional wisdom." Simply stated, the crowd syndrome inoculates us against reality. Yes, I believe that the psychological phenomenon of group consciousness is a created strategy for population control. It certainly appears to be an ironclad protection system for the elite, who by all definitions are the natural enemies of the people.

What exactly is group consciousness? Group consciousness is all the teachings of "brotherhood" in all of its forms and expressions. When our dominant thoughts center on the group rather than our own ego or individuality, we have been psychologically integrated into the mass mind. Therefore, we are necessarily dependent on the system. This is a subtle and sophisticated people-control strategy that allows unseen authority to manipulate the masses at will. It is, on the other hand, hyper-individualism that escapes the mental system along with authoritarian control.

Why are the elite natural enemies of the people? The elite are a parasite class ruling through manipulation propaganda. They are nonproducers, and they pay nothing for what they get. They create imaginary money (numbers), and use it to make pretend payment for goods and services. They camouflage their fraud with "income taxes" and double speak about national debt and balanced budgets.

Police power is in the hands of the elite so that modern governments can be defined as one word: force.

By virtue of the fact that the elite (government and the banksters) has the power to create money, all wealth flows away from the producers to the nonproducers. Modern money (nonsubstance) expropriates wealth. Translated, this simply means that one class of people perpetually steals from the other class. This makes them natural enemies.

If you "buy" my labor and my goods and services with money that you create (get for nothing), you are stealing from me. This system is the cause of all political and social evil in America, but it is hidden with political oratory and hypocritical welfare benevolence.

Common sense tells any sober mind that the political establishment cannot give you anything except that which it steals from you. This is clearly a fact of reality, but the mesmerized crowd has no sense of cause and effect. This can be explained only by the fact that the crowd (the people) are in a state of hypnosis and, therefore, do not possess conscious control of their minds.

Mass hypnosis is not just a state of stupor, but a well-defined system of behavior modification and absolute control. People in an altered state of consciousness will act against their best interests and dissipate their mental and physical energy on political myths and counter-myths. While in a state of hypnosis or learned behavior, obvious stupidity and self-denial becomes "politically correct." To the conscious mind, this is madness and confounds communication between the hypnotized and the conscious person. Most of you have experienced this breakdown in trying to communicate with people around you. What is obvious to you is invisible to those under hypnosis.

Fewer and fewer people have any cognitive imperative to question the system because hypnosis and learned behavior are transferred from one generation to another. False beliefs are self-perpetuating and feed upon one another. The more generations accepting myths, the more reinforcing they become. Religion in the generic sense is a very classic example of this. Religion is a manipulative psychic system (phenomenon).

Just as magnetism and electricity have a positive and a negative, amorality needs morality. Amorality is dependent upon morality. Politicians and governments are amoral. They could not exist without the self-sacrificing morality of the people.

In other words, crooks and politicians do not feed upon each other. They feed upon honest people or people with morality. For example, when you go into a "court of law" and swear to tell the truth, the system is using your morality to convict you and entangle you. That explains why there are laws against lying to government agents investigating crimes real and perceived.

All of this is a reminder that the next political election will bring no benefits to the people — regardless of which party holds power — any more than the past political election or political elections have for several generations past.

http://personalliberty.com/278765/

[Ross]