Nelson should just "Fade away...."

When I heard the news that Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska had decided to not seek re-election, I felt a great sense of relief. Such a Christmas present from the man who just two years ago was the lynchpin vote in destroying America's future with his 60th vote on Obama Care.

Praised by such left-wingers as Patty Murray of Washington State, Nelson hopes that the person who follows him will, "look for common ground" in planning the country's future. I certainly hope that the person who follows him has a large cart and a team of shovelmen handy. It will take a lot of effort to overturn the travesty of legislation that Nelson helped write into law.

Nelson, who leaves office with some three million dollars in campaign contributions, was anything but the consensus builder his reputation was built on when he toed the Reid/Pelosi express line in railroading the American people over healthcare, financial reform and credit card reforms. The pressure from Democrats and NoBama must have been enormous, or Nelson's will must have been weak. He caved in every time, siding with the liberal wing of his party and against the vast majority of Nebraskans, who overwhelmingly opposed the measures.

I am proud for my part in keeping the word going on Nelson's failure to assist Nebraskan's in keeping their hard-earned wages and isolation from the federal government masters. I know I struck a nerve as Mr. Nelson responded several times to editorials I had placed in the Sun Teletrash. How gratifying it is to know that I alone possessed the ability to drive such a despot out of power.

Nah.. I had little to do with it. Nelson, who by leaving before spending any campaign money, gets to keep it all for himself. Make sure you follow that money closely.. might end up as a fungible asset in someone else's campaign, or perhaps a lobbying group who needs his influence...

It is more than likely that Nelson is stepping aside because even he cannot  not see the writing on the wall. Democrats, who after 6 years of control in the Senate and only four years in the house, have squandered their capital on behemoth programs that people rightly see will bleed this economy and them to death. The time has come and Nelson knows it: A center-right nation cannot long abide the kind of garbage this President and his willing stooges in Congress have foisted upon them. Rather than face a certain defeat, he is taking his three million balls and is going home. Should have happened 11 years ago, but that was then and this is now.

Thanks for the memories and nightmares Benny. I hope the good people of Nebraska will never forget, nor ever surrender their good sense to another such as you.

School Board needs to investigate Flores-Lewis

Former Husker Fullback Lance Lewis facing
multiple drug felony charges

I write this with a note of somberness. I know Lance Lewis, mostly in passing after a day's work when we would swap stories over a glass of suds in one of the local pubs. I did not know him that well, nor certainly to the degree that would have understood or predicted he would be the kind of person who would purchase or use hashhish or pot.

Having said that, If he broke the law, the minimum punishment he should get is to be banned from dealing with kids. It is hard to believe that the quantity he had in his possession was solely for personal use. I also find his statement improbable that he sold portions periodically to pay for gas.

Perhaps more disturbing that Lewis' possession of such a quantity of drugs, is the statement that his wife, Tanya Flores-Lewis, a school board member, had knowledge of such prior possession and use. Where was the duty to the kids in the school system to prevent Lewis, a past Husker footballer, from being placed in situations whereby he could potentially influence these kids.

The school board has a duty to investigate this statement and to examine Flores-Lewis's knowledge of the statement provided by her husband to authorities during his arrest. If true, the school board member should apologize for failing to protect the students of the school district and she should be asked to resign or removed by the board for this gross dereliction of duty. I would even go further to suggest that the school board should commence its own investigation into whether or not the Lewis' received any gas funds originating from a student.

I am truly sad to learn of this turn of events, but the duty of the school board and the is clear. Once found guilty of these charges, or any lesser versions thereto from them, Lewis should be banned from any interaction with Sidney Public school children as a coach, mentor or life advisor until such time as he can demonstrate a contrite heart and get himself cleaned up. Flores-Lewis just needs to resign before someone's litigious parents connect Lewis to their drug-abusing teen.

Living well is its own best reward

I must admit that for the 20 months I was vastly under employed, I felt like time dragged on and on. Since picking up two jobs and relocating to the southeast, I have finally taken a much needed break from the toils of my daily grind.

The economy is still not good, but It isn't as bad as some lazy people would have you believe. The nature of the conflict in the Occupy movements has gone from those angry at Wall Street fat cats who make multi million dollar salaries, to magnets for drug use, sexual abuse, murder and a general disconnect between solid hygiene and peaceful redress of any legitimate concerns they might have had.

Newt Gingrich perhaps has best stated the matter as one whereby the occupiers are believers in all that is wrong with the left in this country. They take over parks they do not pay for, use bathrooms in places they do not pay for and beg food from merchants that they do not pay for, all the while demanding an end to the capitalism that makes the very platform they use possible.

It is incredible to my mind to understand how these people can continue to believe that a government already saddled with the promises of the left for the last 70 years, can somehow be in a position to extract enough wealth from any class of person in this country that will somehow continue to afford the false dreams they continue to be sold by their would be political masters.

The solution to the problems of this nation is to drastically scale back the size of our government, entitlement programs and get back to doing for this nation what the founders believed to be the core principles of self reliance and entrepreneurship. By enabling business to succeed, we empower people to obtain and sustain meaningful employment and we drive future competition and idea growth. Poor people never gave anyone a job and the ironic thing about the occupy movement is that there are people at the top of the movement who act just like the despots they claim to hate so much. The money guys for Occupy Wallstreet are staying in 5 star hotels and depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wells Fargo and other fat cat banks.

It is time to get off the ground, dust one's self off and start all over again. Take a bath, cut your hair, beard or other areas and see what an honest attempt to secure any meaningful employment will do for your sense of self worth.

Sometimes the truth hurts

I awoke this morning to a news report that a three star general in the U.S. military was relieved of command because he, "Disparaged," Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Major General Peter Fuller apparently stated that he hoped the next election cycle in Afghanistan would "produce a leader that's more articulate in public.

Karzai's comments that sparked the generals comments, included that he (Karzai) would side with Pakistan against the U.S. in a war situation.

Instead of  propping up a corrupt man such as Karzai and pussyfooting around with countries such as Iran and Pakistan, the U.S. destroys the career of honorable servicemen who have made sacrifices spanning decades.

It is another example of how our own government has lost site of what is truly important. We have spilt blood and spent treasure in a nation bereft of any ability to care about the costs we have borne on their behalf. The same can be said of the freaks who populate "Occupy Wallstreet" and other areas of the country with their demands to strip from the so-called 1% to benefit the other 99%.

I have news for all of the 99%, of which I am one: Get the hell over it. If you are tired of not working, get a job. If you can work and can't get a job, I have to believe that you are not interested in working, or the work choices you have are not up to your requirements. Beg the government to extend unemployment for another 26 weeks? or do something else.


How about Occupying Washington, DC and the lobbyists and politicians who made it legal for Wall Street to screw the economy. These people have no idea why the economy is in the shape it is currently in, much like President Obama is clueless as evidenced by sacking General Peters.

For people in the Occupy movements and also in our own government. Get a clue please. As for General Fuller, I wish him the best and thank him for his service to this country. It is a fair bet that Afghanistan will fall into civil war within months of us getting boots of the ground. As for Karzai: he has proven to be the despot so typical of such backward countries. The general was right in his assessment of Hamid Karzai. Our government sacrificed one good man, trying to appease a bad one. Typical PC horsecrap.

No small reflection

I lost my job at Cabela's in 2008. I was a respected manager by my employees, delivered excellent return on investment for the company and was even recognized by the CEO as the top corporate manager.  I wasn't bitter, nor angry. It was more shock than anything else. I took my severance and continued to live my life, searching for a new position at or above my previous level. It was just before the economy turned badly, and I held out, drawing a meager unemployment check that was one fifteenth my previous salary, thinking that I would secure employment in my field soon enough.

Reality intruded finally, not uncoincidentally, when my unemployment ran out. It was interesting to note that when you have nothing, and you are not a piece of trash, how willing you are to do anything to earn a living. In my case, I was fortunate that my ability to relate to people on a personal level was able to be translated into a new career choice, which I jumped into with both feet.

I had given up any serious thought of returning to my chosen profession in technology, when I was approached by a former co-worker in Pennsylvania. It seems my particular area of expertise in workflow design and project management, was needed to bring some order out of chaos borne of over extended employees and increased acquisitions.  Having lost my house to foreclose the year before, I sold the only other possession I owned outright, a 2010 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, and purchased a program car from my then current employer, Wolf Auto in Sidney. The word came in that my new employer wanted me to be in PA on or about February 1st.

The salary was about 65 percent of my prior technology salary, but it was more than twice my current salary and more than 5 times unemployment. More important to me however, was the fact that it was technology related, and the validation afforded me by coming back to a prior employer who sought me out for my expertise was quite rewarding.

Since I have been in my new place, I have traveled internationally on my company's behalf. I have been asked to participate in discussions and testing programs that will set the stage for future success for the entire creative platform and designed and implemented an automation tool that will save significant costs and increase accurate, real-time communication for my business unit.

Throughout all of the turmoil I have been through, I never once thought to blame my situation on anyone, nor sought a bailout from the government. The "Occupy Wallstreeters," and the democratic politicians who soil themselves with love for this movement fail to capture the essence of self-reliance.

By definition, we will most likely not be one of the one percent that people are railing against. It is impossible to redistribute enough wealth from this group (or even the tope 70 percent) to not leave someone out of the goody bag. This country was founded on a different set of principles, ones that have become quite foreign in today's world.

The notion that we are obligated to help our neighbors has been co-opted by the left in this country. Charity no longer begins in your home, but the White House. If your house is underwater, don't worry, just wait for the government to "forgive" your debt principle. It's ok, we'll (leftists) will take it from those who need to, "pay their fair share."

One only has to look at the healthcare debacle, the failed stimulus package, and the continuing failed episodes of quantitative easing (printing and putting into circulation more money) to see that we are still in desperate times. All states, including Nebraska, need to examine with scrutiny, the voting records of their elected representatives.  Senator Ben Nelson is up for election next year and I keep hope alive that people will remember all the hollow promises made to people in this state that have not come to fruition by him, just so he could prop up his political party, that somehow, people will realize that actions speak louder than words.

The government that governs least, governs the best. The Lord helps those who help themselves. Both of these sentiments are rooted in the believe that self reliance and self actualization are the key to individual success. It was never the design of our founder's that this government should be the provider of hearth and home, but to be the land of opportunities. We are what we make of ourselves.

Perhaps it is time for the Occupy movement to actually occupy something worthwhile. Occupy yourselves with something that builds and does not tear down. Occupy yourselves with something that brings opportunity to find self fulfillment and inner happiness.

No I haven't left

Dear friends of Gary...

Despite your fondest wishes.. I have not gone the way of the dinosaur, or the pet rock. I have merely been neck deep in a major development project that will change the entire way a client achieves on their work, workflow designs and will help revolutionize their way of doing business.

Also, I have been taking some time to review what I have been able to learn about the Sidney budget process and have been gathering up some information about Jim Pelster's auto accident recently.

I have some commitments that will dominate my life for the next 10 days, but I am still writing and preparing to publish a couple stories about the local flavor and I think you will be pleased with the results.

Until then, please keep all the info coming in. Don't forget that it is the efforts of you few patriots that keep the wheels of justice and information flowing. The guardian news is your engine, now that you don't require any protection from random PS3 stories.

Take care

I have to laugh at the FOGG :)

Wait a sec... I have been gone for a few days. What facts. You and I mean singular and either Tammy, Julie (or her husband) or Susan Earnest, seem to want to claim facts. The number of people that answered the survey was heavily skewed to the higher income areas of town. You claim the election, but elections are only shifted because of alliances ebbing and flowing. Obama won in 2008 and the country is in a shithole. Be careful before you state obvious contradictions.

It is a fact that the paper and radio station take nearly no counter position to what city government does unless it runs counter to Gary Person. The truth of the matter is, is that they turned off comments because of the likes of people aligned with Gary's friends and the number of comments became a distraction. People got their feelings hurt in the process and I am, sad to say, one of them. I don't give a rat's ass about what the friends of Gary say about me. When one of you decide to actually put your name on a post dickweed, we can debate. When you can post a "fact" without libel it will be posted.

Person IS a nice guy, who wants to control, not direct. He has surrounded himself with people who will not only do the job he wants, but report back to him on things we needs to keep a lid on. When you cross Gary, he sends his friends like the two Suzies and his allies on his committees to do the work he claims to be above.

Nice guy persona aside, Person is a dirtbag political hack. Claiming that I am the problem is your problem. The housing authority would still be sitting on its ass if I didn't raise a stink about the windows.

Those of you who hide in the shadows of your master Gary Person need to realize that all tyrannies eventually collapse of their own weight. The only question left for the people of Sidney is decide how much of tomorrow's water they wish to carry on their back's today.

I think we understand where the FOGG is. I think we understand where the POS media outlets are with their bad math editorials and ride the fence positions on critical national issues. The question for the rest of the people is what decisions city council and Gary make that will finally force the silent majority (jsut look at the head counts in the election... way less than 50%) to get off their asses and change their lives.

Nice Try... and you know who you are :)

Nice try. An anonymous poster, lacking the guts to put their name to a comment says that I have it out for people who have "wronged" me. This is not the case in the slightest. When I left the employ of my former company, they provided me a generous severance package and thanked me for the years of valuable service I rendered to them. I was not, "fired" as was Mrs. Nelsen, although people such as the writer often equate the two as one and the same.

The Creeping Meatball

The sheer audacity of Gary Person cannot be believed.

As head of economic development, he now needs a director level position to help him out? Councilmen Wiederspon and Van Vleet are right to question the addition of a new salary and benefits package for one of Gary's friends.

Last year, KSID Radio hack Susan Ernest and the Sun Telegraph fawned over Gary, along with liquid plumber Mike Harzler and Cathy Wilson when people wanted to separate Person from his two personas.

If the city manager can't hack both roles, he choose one, or have it chosen for him.

It's interesting how when faced with the knowledge that Person can no longer hack the job, how accommodating Nienhueser, Gaston and Hiett have become. Staunch friends of Gary they have always been, and staunch defenders of his idiocy they will always be.

Lastly, when does Jim Pelster get back to work. I am surprised his budget didn't include a new Ford Explorer or Dodge Durango loaded up to the hilt.

Ben Nelson the new Jobs Gladiator

The latest e-newsletter from the future former Senator of Nebraska, Ben Nelson, educates us that Washington is on the wrong track for job creation. This idiot now has come to Jesus and understands that the federal government spends too much money, taxes those who earn too much and has oppressive regulatory guidelines.

What a serious joke. The Senator would have  you believe that he is concerned about deficits and spending. At no time did he stand up and say no to healthcare, no for Dodd-Frank. At no time did he stand up to Harry Reid and say, "No, this debt deal is not enough."

Senator Ben Nelson is trying his best to convince you good Nebraskans that he should keep his job. If federal truth in advertising laws were applied to political speech, Mr. Nelson would be guilty of numerous violations.

Ben Nelson supported policies that will likely take money out of your pocket, either in higher taxes, which are always on the democratic horizon, from the coming hyper inflation as a result of the out of control budget deficits and national debt crisis.

Just remember when it comes time to vote, how much Ben Nelson took away from you in the last two years before you allow him to do it for six more.

Special interests, including including ethanol subsidies ARE the problem

Footed Shepard of Peetz, Co. Thinks that politicians are beholden to special interests. He is right, they are. According to Floyd, "It should not be too hard to make good legislation to solve these problems, without trying to get their own little special interest to be included, that would favor someone who donated largely to their campaign."

Here is the rub. Last year, Mr. Shepard also wrote an editorial touting the benefits of ethanol as a renewable resource. He believes this, because he sells corn to ethanol producers who use energy, and water resources far in excess of the btu output of unmodified gasoline in a gambit made by the very lobby he decries as responsible for the problems created by decades of special interests and their lobbying/purchasing of Congresional votes.

I fully commend Mr. Shepard's change of world view, but also hope that this change is broad enough to tackle his sacred cows, in addition to those of others.

The fog moves in

It appears that the 2008 vehicle that Jim Pelster turned into a hood ornament isn't the first such attempt at autoshop art. I guess it begs the question even further about why no ticket. I suppose you get a free pass if you are a relative of someone powerful in the community.

Normally you have to wait later in the fall for FOG to move in, but it seems that the friends of Gary can permeate even the driest of seasons. True to form, not a single question from the Sun-Telegraph or KSquid or even the governmental loudmouth Tammy Nelson.

Pelster should not get a pass for cutting off the lane

Why does a city employee get a free pass from the local constabulary for causing an accident that totaled two vehicles and sent multiple people to the hospital. Such is the current plan after details of the accident involving City inspector Jim Pelster and Columbus resident Lori Miller.

385 isn't exactly a blind turn and City Inspector Jim Pelster isn't usually in the kind of hurry an inspection that requires an unsafe turn. Be that as it may, the fact that he failed to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic, leading to an impact that moved the vehicles some 50 feet away from the impact zone should warrant some kind of legal proceeding.

Hopefully some additional information will come out in the public that will further justify the no citation at this point. We hope that Mr. Pelster and Ms. Miller are both well and are grateful that all parties were wearing safety equipment. No matter what happens next, it is clear that Jim's actions led to the destruction of hard to replace city property and will likely require increases in insurance premiums and other legal/medical fees and vehicle replacement costs for both himself and Ms. Miller.

Interesting Opinion Piece in WSJ Weekend Edition

I don't often get the Wall Street Journal due to the cost, and relative lack of dispensable capital from the economic downturn, but this weekend's opinion gave me something to think about.

The article compares Cantor's worldview contrasted against President Obama's and makes reference to a Freudian term known as the Narcissism of small differences. The concept was put forth in order to understand how small communities seem to always be warring with each other based on these, relatively-speaking, small differences in philosophy and culture.

WSJ paraphrased the statement a little differently, calling it big differences, and focused on the rather large gulf that exists between the ideologies of the political left, who think that redistributive policies are the key to prosperity, and the thought by the political right, that freedom to seek one's fortune rest largely with an opportunity to create and innovate, and that growth comes from the successful application of endeavor.

What was interesting in the article is how the President's insistence on increases in taxes for the wealthy, while continuing to expand the government was met by an equal, and intractable resistance by Cantor against such a philosophy. The bitter divide politically has created an economic chasm whereby so many people are now dependent upon a government that has likewise become increasingly dependent on a smaller taxpayer base to perform such services.

In Cantor's view, the problem for Americans rests with the senior magistrate. Cantor sees the choice as a stark one. According to the WSJ article he states, "They need to change Obama's Washington, but it's really a return to what we know is America. Obama ran as an agent of change, and I don't know what that hope and change really was at this point. It's turned out to be something a lot different than what most people thought. But, we need to change and take the country away from President Obama."

The staggering challenges facing this country fiscally and politically will continue to pit Americans as either a class of people committed to doing the hard work to build ourselves, and therefore our nation, or a class of people enslaved by our government. The Narcissism of Big Ideas, as the article details, has to be bridged for the continued success of our country.

One way through this problem may in fact lie if the retirement of the long-standing policies that have created the chasm to begin with. A complete restructuring of the U.S. tax code may provide the key to both increasing revenues and fundamentally increasing the number of participants. What this would look like would require great minds to come together instead of throwing political jabs across the aisle.

It is obvious from the current debt fiasco that the world markets are not amused at our lackluster attempts to solve these squabbles.

It's called a book

I have been asked to cobble some items together for a presentation on a variety of small town topics. In order to prepare for the pitch document, I need to reorganize some content. Thank you for asking, but I am not closing down, but rather working on a new and more significant piece of work on behalf of Sidney, and its good people.

Have a wonderful evening.

Sun-Telegraph Opinion the Clown

Writing in Wednesday's edition, the Sun-Telegraph editorial asks the question, "Political Strutting Or Washington Clown Show?" In accordance with its long-standing policy of not actually taking a position in its opinion pieces, they continue to miss the underlying point.

Borrowing freely from other writers and sources uncited, the paper replays the hassle that was the debt crisis debate from two perspectives: Those who feel the bitterness will continue in future negotiations, while the so-called, "glass is half full" crowd recognizes that something can get done, "when it absolutely must." In attempting to play the middleman, the Sun-Telegraph does nothing more than muddle the situation.

Cheyenne County faces poor track record on prosecuting sex crimes

I am going to make this blunt. The 25 year old who is facing felony sex-charges in connection with a sexual act with a 14 year old should get the book thrown at him. Who in their right mind thinks it is ok to participate in sexual intercourse with a girl who can't even go to her own prom yet?

Unfortunately, Cheyenne County courts have a bad history in the last five or so years with obtaining convictions with significant and appropriate punishments on these matters.

Kudos to Sidney Housing Authority board...finally

While I am not sure the back and forth on this publication had anything to do with moving the ball on the issue, I am glad to hear that positive movement has been brought forward in the Sidney Housing Authority window replacement situation.

The Sidney Housing Authority finally took decisive action to remediate the damage from the recent hailstorm. The decision to split the project among local contractors in order to get the ball moving was a solid act of leadership.

Though I have outstanding personal reasons for my feelings regarding Tamara Nelsen, I must give her, as well as Dalan Hiett and Brad Craig, praise for doing the right thing by the residents.

Pelosi, Democrats out of their minds

In the midst of the cacophony of the debt and spending debate, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gives a speech indicating Republicans are insistent on destroying clean air, water and are highly desirous of starving grandma out of her home.

If ever there were a case where hate speech shouldn't be tolerated, it should be this kind of rhetoric. Clearly having the purpose of rallying the nut jobs that cost the Dems the House last year, Pelosi's inflammatory language serves no purpose and exposes the real fear that there are those in her party who do not wish to suffer the blame if a deal is not reached prior to next Tuesday.

It is a fact that we spend far more than we take in. It is also a fact that the debt ceiling must be raised. The Republicans are on the right path and the compromise must be that for x amount of new money to spend, we want x amount in systemic cuts to programs. It is time to prioritize and everything must be on the table. If cutting spending alone doesn't get the job done, then it may be necessary for additional taxes, but let me be clear. The tax code must be reformed before any such discussion takes place. Thirty-eight percent of the population cannot be allowed to ride the great American Experiment for free. The only way out of this is to wide the tax payer base. That means more jobs and more accountability at all income levels. End all loopholes, including personal items such as mortgage interest and all corporate loopholes and subsidies.

It is time for a hard dose of reality. Pelosi, Reid and Obama have dug the ditch even deeper than they claimed it to be when President Bush retired. It is time to put all of the American people to work, repairing the ditch and making it safer for the future.

Distance makes the skin grow thicker

While commenting about the need to get moving on improving the conditions for those living at Sioux Villa after the hailstorm devastated many of the windows, it caused a great deal of input from some people who might not like to be accountable. True to form, the friends of Gary have launched into a defense and like Obama, are spending a tremendous amount of time blaming Marv Filsinger for failing to act in the past.

Big Nasty at it again

Big Nasty HR, Inc., is at it again.

A female employee at Big Nasty made a complaint to her Boss', boss' boss, a director. She did this after complaining about the boss' boss who made disparaging remarks about her in a meeting among several departments, all of whom reported to boss' boss, whom we will call Manure.

The female worker went to HR to complain about the remarks made, which adversely affected her and were patently unwarranted. Our HR Representative, whom we will call Box of Rox, of Big Nasty HR, Inc. actually asked the female worker if she thought about leaving the company for her health's sake, stating that, "sometimes you have to think about your health before your job."

Travesty

To read the story in the Sun-Telegraph about the window situation in Sioux Villa and to see the picture of these apartments with boarded up windows has gotten under my skin.

The Sidney Housing authority is acting as a prototypical slumlord. The residents are paying whatever rent that pay and are entitled to enjoy the premises as contained in their lease agreement. Natural disaster aside, the housing authority, and by way of extension, the city government should have gotten the ball rolling on getting this mess addressed. People going weeks with darkened homes, requiring additional air conditioning and electricity for lights isn't coming out of the coffers of the city. It comes from the people who have to live there under third-world conditions.

Where is Tammy Nelsen, who normally can't keep her mouth shut on any little issue on one that truly matters? Why, in fact, is there $137,000 of depreciation on a $500,000 claim to begin with. The value of this property is being squandered by those who run it. What does it tell the residents of this complex that the city, in addition to failing to run its streets to an effective end, now is encroaching on the personal lives of the poor who often can ill-afford to move elsewhere.

Shame on the Sidney Housing authority and on the City Manager for failing to provide the responsible oversight on one of his most important duties. Roads matter, but people matter more and when the city allowed people to live under its care, it has a responsibility to them just like every other landlord in Nebraska.

City Councilmen, especially Mark Nienhueser, who is all about the beauty of the town, and Gary Person: Get off the stick! Get off your asses and tell your Housing Authority to put at least one window in each place, pending the final outcome of the insurance process. Don't make these people suffer unnecessarily.

How to get ahead at the Big Nasty

Today, a leading group for women in the outdoor industry announced a plan to create an advocacy group to help women in traditionally male dominated outdoor industry with gender discrimination, equal pay, employment law and other critical issues affecting a growing segment in the outdoor industry workforce.

The Outdoor Industry Women's Coalition (OIWC) said in a release from their website that they intend to research and apprise businesses on these critical issues affecting women in areas such as:

Sure we want to mediate... psych!

The procedures the EEOC sets up attempt to resolve problems at the lowest possible level and cost to all parties. Here is how a large employer in Sidney handles this process.

Despite having many opportunities to investigate and correct complaints of gender discrimination, equality of pay and opportunity, the employer decided to brand the female employee as a problem child, wrote her up several times, including a special re-write up at her annual evaluation because a policy in HR said it had to be done (no such policy existed at the time).

Charlie Reese's final column... an internet sensation must read

Publisher's note: Someone forwarded Mr. Charlie Reese's final column. Reese, a journalist for nearly 50 years wrote this final column regarding the balance of power between the people of this country and the elected/appointed political class in Washington, DC. It is such an interesting read, I attached it herein and suggest that you let people know about it. The power of this country isn't the politicians, it is each of us and it is only fully wielded when we take the time to hold our representatives accountable at the ballot box. Without further adieu....


545 vs. 300,000,000 People

They left the light off.....

Tom Bodett would not be pleased

My Girlfriend Kathy has a wanderlust that must be satisfied. Although we live in mid-town Atlanta, among all that is going on, we decided to take an overnight trip to Charlotte, NC, or about Kearney distance away from Sidney. The idea was to go find something different about our new home region.

About 30 miles outside of Charlotte, we decided to grab a cheap hotel and grab something to eat. By cheap, I mean inexpensive. Little did I know that both appellations would become evident and appropriate.

KSid radio announces the beginning of the end

Local radio magnate KSID announced on it's website that a deadline to challenge the beauty police has come and gone. As early as next week, we will get a grip on the throats of specific businesses who will face the grinding wheels of justice at the hands of a special prosecutor who will go after unspecified businesses.

My guess is that Mr. Filsinger and Mr. Van Natter are the chief targets of Councilman Mark Nienheuser, (D-Cabela's). It is only in punishing long-standing businesses in this manner that the beautification police can create the kind of business climate that let's Cabela's take advantage of it's shiny 17 million dollar shareholder meeting convention center. Do they even pay for the use of the school for these meetings?

I digress.

The nature of these people's business will come to a head shortly. Will they be able to do their business as they have been allowed to for years, thus continuing to enjoy a tacit right, or will the city shut them down without providing compensation for the adverse affects on their businesses. I don't know the answer, but I do know at least one of the businesses plans on not going quietly into that good night.

Here's to the beautification police.

And the Answer Is.....?

Karen Hruza asks the pointed question about land values in Sidney valued at more than $4,500 per acre and wonders why and how they could be so much.

The basis for property value is a complicated one, but has something to do with home sales in your neighborhood, improvements you make to your property and any infrastructure improvements that are made in the neighborhood such as street repair, underground power lines and of course, greed by taxing authorities who seek to extract as much of your wealth out of your property as possible. Given the condition of the aforementioned "improvements' by the city on street repair, one has to ask why values keep going up in an economy that continues to go south.

Gary Person, like a metronome keeping the beat, touts how Sidney land values keep going up over the years. He doesn't have to raise taxes much, but the absolute dollars goes up every year. Whether its for a 17 million dollar annual shareholders convention center, or an increase in water fees, he is all about the progress of separating you from your money.

I wish I could re-read Karen's LTTE again, but the piece of crap Sun-Telegraph doesn't seem to be available in its present ap award winning form. Probably another one of those pesky IT problems Sue Mizell mentioned. Speaking of which... Hey Sue... how's your investment in the clothing store going?

It is a bit ridiculous that despite homes sales trailing off and the average amount of time a home spends on the market, that property values continue to rise in Sidney. Unfortunately, the tax on land is one of the most expensive taxes you will ever find, even more so that personal income tax. The government is going to hit each of us where we live.

Sun Telegraph Opinion Piece anything but

Today's Sun Telegraph "Our Opinion" attempts to walk a fine line and re-report what has been bashed around for months: Do we raise the debt ceiling or not?

Displaying the lack of conviction they have for any serious matter, the paper fails to actually take a position and instead, asks you what do you think? Hardly the cutting stuff of the New York Times.

The question of the debt ceiling is massively important. There is no question among Democrats or Republicans that it should be raised. The question is by how long and will there be spending reforms to act in restraint of a future borrowing limit extension in the future.

Funny, but Sad

The Sun Telegraph today put a letter to the editor in today's rag explaining that for those of you who were concerned that your letters to the editor weren't getting to the right place, have no more fears. The website (which won an award for the ap (case intentionally chosen) itty bitty newspaper website with a singular view on reality, apparently wasn't handling the deluge of letters to the editor from Carl Cornelius.

Yet another reason to Vote against Ben Nelson

Remember way back into last year, when the world was full of promise over the new health care law that Ben Nelson was the lynchpin vote for. Remember how Nancy Pelosi said we would have to pass the bill to see what's in the bill?

Second reading comes tonight

The Beautification Alliance is in full swing again tonight as Gary Person and his cast of clowns seek to gain a second successful reading of the Anti-Storage Ordinance. In the military, ordinance is something use to blow up or otherwise kill, injure or maim someone or something.

Sidney shouldn't be a "Wannabe town."

Someone, anonymous of course, wrote a comment and wondered if only I were still in Sidney that I could see all the, "Crap that was going on." They wanted to know If I would post my email so they could contact me and tell me what was going on next. They said they also missed the, "citizen," which I took they meant the association many had to me as the rumored author.

Time to Set the Last Ball in Motion

Stunning word hits me that a new, very senior person has been shown the door at a certain (aledged) women's rights violating employer in town. Although the most recently departed didn't have a particular work related issue that rose to the level of EEOC complaint, his departure is certainly a vindication for someone who lost his life last year. Now, the top two people directly in my friend's chain of command are gone and frankly, only one Ball remains between eternal rest for my best friend and total healing in his former department.

Decorum regulation unnecessary

Public meetings in Nebraska, like most other states, are governed by a protocol known as Robert's Rules of Order. Under these rules, the chairperson of the meeting has the responsibility and authority to maintain civil discourse. Te County Commissioners have, in my opinion, overreached legislatively that which should be simple common sense.

I am of the opinion that this new rule was passed as a means to tone down the people's anger by creating a rule whose purpose was to chill the debate on issues that obviously strike a nerve with the electorate.

While I am not suggesting that there be chaos in the meeting room, the passage of such an innane rule can have no other purpose but to keep people silent.

Sometimes government wishes to neither see, nor hear the constituency. I think in this case, this ruling clearly violates the principle of a spirited debate with those whom have given their consent to be governed.

Controlling Illegal Immigration not Racist

The process of assimilation into a new country requires several things. First, the person who choses to come to the new country must allow that the customs of the host country supersede those of his/her own. The guest, who presumably seeks to gain employment and/or citizenship, needs to become familiar with the customs, history and traditions of the new country. learning the host language, often a barrier to future success, must be tantamount to any other function if the guest is to appreciate and be appreciated in and by the host country.

Laws such as SB 1070 in Arizona and the new, much tougher law in Georgia are not racist in their nature or reasoning. They are meant to provide a legal solution for an illegal immigration policy that the Federal government has for decades turned a blind eye toward.

The nature that farmers complain that the labor in the fields is drying up in the face of immigrant fears over the law's implementation says two things: Some workers are here in violation of immigration law, and some employers are lax in validating worker eligibility. The need to control immigration as a means to control state expenditures, health care costs and other costs associated with managing a large undocumented worker population is critical. This is especially true in the current economic climate where these costs often come at the expense of roads and other infrastructure improvements necessary to support the existing, legal population.

It is not racism to require proper documentation of foreigners who seek employment in the U.S. The number of people who seek to enter this country counts in the millions per year. Immigration must be balanced between the desire to allow people to come to this country a chance at a better life (compared to their home country) and the need to facilitate immigration at a rate that does not incur undue burden to the existing taxpayer base.

Unbridled immigration, a path to citizenship or outright amnesty are recipes for disaster to state programs already facing economic collapse. If there is to ever be a solution to the immigration problems facing the United States, it must start with a policy to discourage illegal border crossings.

I support guest worker programs, whereby employers may ask for certain work skills to be allowed into the U.S., contingent upon successful background checks and employer sponsorship. Guest worker programs should have as a component and automatic deportation for any crimes committed in the U.S. with permanent barring to reentry for felony/drug related crimes. If you are here legally, you should have no fear of institutional racism. If you are here illegally, you should make your way to another country. Come through the correct door and be welcomed.

God Bless the United States of America

On this day before the celebration of our nation's 235th Independence Day, I thought I might reflect on a biography of John Adams, written by David McCollough. It is a highly interesting view into the fascinating life of a man who is perhaps more important to the founding of this nation than any other man.

The two American Revolutionary stalwarts George Washington and Thomas Jefferson often overshadow John Adams. Adams, who was the second U.S. President, was also the first Vice President.

A member of the Massachusetts delegation to the Continental Congress, Adams was deeply devoted to the cause of liberty. Often chided publicly for his vanity, he had of talent for persuasion in the Congress was second to none. People often perceived Adams depending on which side of the coin they were to him. Despite his ability to rail against an argument, his ability to welcome and respect his adversaries was legendary.

Bailman loves Ben Nelson

In his letter to the editor, Hunter Baliman gives credit and thanks to Nebraska Senators Nelson and Johanns for putting Nebraskans first. He is appreciative of their willingness to not raise taxes during tough economic times.

I might remind Mr. Baliman that it was Senator Nelson who has time and again put Nebraskans under the tires of himself and the Democratic party during this economic turmoil.

How many in Nebraska are going to lose their jobs when the provisions of the health care law take full effect. Senator Nelson is an Eastern Nebraska Democrat and a Washington yes man to Harry Reid And Nancy Pelosi.

It is precisely unconsidered thoughts such as Bailman's, who in giving credit for little things like supporting a vote for a bill that most likely would not have passed, that allows Senator Nelson the means to cover up his devastating support for the health care law.

I hope the people of Nebraska are not as naive as Hunter Baliman on the intentions of Ben Nelson.

The Loss of a Good Man, Indeed!

When former planning commission member Mike Merritt announced his resignation recently, City Manager Gary Person was shocked.

Hardly. Merritt was one of the few people to serve on the Planning Commission who did his best to make sure the city plan adhered to the codes in place. Time and again, Merritt confided in me that he was in stark disagreement with what certain members of Gary's inner circle of friends who have recently overtaken the planning commission thought was the, "new" way to go for the town.

Isn't it wonderful?

Looks like the friends of Gary have inched themselves one step closer in their battle to Stepfordize Sidney.

Council agreed Tuesday night to explore the possibility of setting up a path to illegality for those businesses who have shipping containers. The ordinance seeks to limit or restrict ownership of these shipping containers unless a special exception permit is obtained. Currently only friends of Gary would even qualify for this special permit.

EEOC and Witness Tampering ****Update****

Publisher's Note: It appears the large employer involved in multiple EEOC complaints from the story below has told a certain department's employees that they must contact legal if they are contacted by a member of the state of federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.


Let me be clear, if anyone is contacted by the EEOC or the NEOC as the case may present, rest assured that your employer already knows that you are a potential witness. Demanding or otherwise instructing you to contact legal is a bit disingenuous at the least, and potentially witness tampering, if the effect that employees take away from this is that they must comply with their employer's wishes or face the prospect of loss on standing or employment for willingly participating in the discovery process.


At least one employee has contacted one case plaintiff and expressed this concern, citing the need to keep their current employment intact. The words from the conversation clearly demonstrate that this employee is afraid of retaliation, especially having seen how it works with others in their department who have since left the employ of the company.

Open letter to the Sun-Telegraph readership

Publisher's Note: I have written several letters to the editor recently at the Sun-Telegraph and they have been somewhat reluctant to publish them. Considering the lack of love for the editorial policies I have for them, I can understand the personal nature of the reluctance. Irrespective of that reluctance, the first duty of a free press is to hold government accountable for the decisions it makes. I post this morning my latest open letter to the citizens of Cheyenne County in hopes that a question of due diligence be applied and that a full accounting be demanded of and by those parties to the EMagine Concepts funding fiasco foisted upon Nebraska taxpayers at the request of Gary Person and Paul Schaub.


==========
Person, Schaub and the County Commissioners need to come clean on the loan application approved for EMagine Concepts.

The local newspaper and radio station as members of the "free" press need to ask how $160,000 could have been approved as a loan to Erik Mullem's company in the face of staggering debt owed to the IRS, Adams Trucking and others. What did Mullem do with the money. Was his IRS debt larger that currently reported?

The shame continues to pile on for Person, Schaub and the Cheyenne County Commissioners

In an effort to stem the righteous indignation and outrage of the people in Cheyenne County, both the local rag newspaper and radio station have mounted offensives to deflect responsibilities away from Economic  Development Director Gary Person, County Attorney Paul Schaub and the three Cheyenne County Commissioners who participated in the EMagine Concepts funding fiasco.

EMERGENCY

TORNADO WARNING IN PEETZ TILL 5:30 LOCAL TIME..

SEEK COVER TORNADO SITED as TORNADO WARNING MEANS ONE HAS BEEN SEEN ON THE GROUND. TUNE IN TO LOCAL WEATHER AND RADIO AND FOR GOD's SAKE, BE SMART AND SAFE

Since it wasn't local money, we were not hurt as badly?

Seriously Gary? How can you possibly have the gall to intimate that the money wasted on Emagine Concepts via the Cheyenne County Commissioners loan of CDBG funds last year isn't a big deal?

KSID manufactured news reported that the company opened on a, "limited basis" at the end of last year but failed to secure enough financing to continue operations. They screwed Adams and Sons out of rent and other utility fees and just walked away from their obligations to the tax payers.

Be very careful of the "Our Community Clothing, Inc." initative

Some time ago, the Sun-Telegraph published a story about the thought of creating a women's clothing store in Sidney. Smelling a rat and concerned about the potential for local tax dollars being used to support this potential enterprise, I elected to research the concept that was executed by Torrington, Wyoming. The article, entitled, "Our Clothing Store dressed for success" demonstrated how members of the town, in cooperation with local economic development efforts and state assistance in planning and researching found a store could have a positive impact for the locality.

Right on Doctor C!

Although Carl Cornelius and I are not friends or necessarily agree on local Sidney politics, we nearly always agree on the national scene.

His latest (I think he is the only person the Sun Telegraph allows to comment any more) rant about Senator Ben (I stuck it to my constituents again) Nelsen rails on the Senator who flops more than a fish out of water on his Health Care vote and how wonderful it is for citizens.

I include it below this post because it is just that good. I hope Nebraskans, as well as citizens of other states act to destroy the careers of people such as Ben Nelson for voting their party interests over the interests of the Nation at large. I hope Nebraskans begin waging a campaign to unseat the soon to be departed Senator. Let him go back home and enjoy the good life for a change, instead of living it up at the expense of Nebraskans.

Michael C. Rowland, Publisher


******

Editor,
Sen. Ben Nelson is at it again. He first was the deciding vote for Obamacare with the “Nebraska Kickback.” Then he changed his mind, after some time elapsed, and told us that he had asked for the kickback conditions for all states.

Now that the chickens have come home to roost and the large majority of Nebraskans are dead set against Obamacare, he and his henchmen have decided to go on the attack and tout all the great benefits of the plan, which places the decisions of what treatments will be approved in the hands of a non-medical, or politically appointed, lay board (death panel).

He ignores the fact that this plan takes half-a-trillion dollars out of the Medicare budget right off the top and then accuses the Republicans of trying to push Grandmother off the cliff rather than treat her in a compassionate fashion.

This plan is designed as an intermediate step toward a one-payer system.

Sen. Nelson: we remember what you did in this regard and if you think that Nebraskans will forget your complicity, think again. We have long memories.

Carl J. Cornelius,
Sidney

******

And so it begins

Today, in less time than a man works a daily shift, I shall board a winged steed on a mission to the Old Country. I am to venture into thte land of the Pope's protectors and to lock hands with those who fight for the least among us. A high honor for me personally, but an opportunity to be of greater assistance to those who help millions.

Thus begins my journey to Geneva, Switzerland. Today, there will be one stop in Amsterdam and a two hour lay over before ascending the final leg to Geneva. There is a 6 hour time difference and with the nearly 11 hours of flight, I am scheduled to arrive Monday morning around 8:00 AM local time.

The nature of my visit with this client, is the same as it has been for the last 20 years or so. Assist people in finding out what they do and help them do it better. This particular mission is as much about engaging in diplomacy and the associated give and take that negotiations bring to continued prosperity. To that end, and it is considered good advice, I am to listen twice as much as I am to speak, and to write down all that pertains to the subject at hand.

The next 6 days will see meeting schedules full of back to back meetings, working lunches and coffees. Representatives from all over the world will be participating in this share of information and I am one of two hand-picked to represent the creative team, due to my command of the technological situation.

Though I will not be able to speak of my discussions with this client, I will be able to relay my off hours time. I intend to use my new IPad 2 to both capture the beauty of Geneva and to tell you all about it as time permits. I am sorry to say that Kathy will not be able to attend as it would have been a nice vacation for her after the trials she has recently endured.

I will try and post an update from Amsterdam, but I think we are going to be forced to run Through a foreign terminal ala O.J. Simpson. Although it will be morning when we arrive at our terminal destination, it will feel like 2 AM in Atlanta. I expect a brief respite from the waking world will be necessary as we adjust to our new home.

Until then, I bid you all, adieu

It's baaaack

Just in case buoy may have been wondering, I have decided to retire up the digital presses of theguardiannews due to increased urging from a select group of readers and members of the local electorate.

Have no fear, I will be pointed where necessary, but also fair. You deserve a decent alternative to the drivel you have been supplied by other outlets.

I will not promise that I won't write stories about the Sony Playstation or the challenges associated with losing clothes sizes due to my steady weight loss regimen, but I will try to focus on the things that matter: That which costs you money.

Today's piece, for instance, asks how City Manager/Economic Development Director Gary Person was cheerleader-in-chief when Erik Mullen of now defunct EMagine Concepts asked for and received 160,000 dollars in money, only to break lease arrangements and stiff the good people of Cheyenne County.

Even during the Commissioners meeting where the funds were approved, questions were brought forward about the company' balance sheet.. Look where are are today.

I hope you keep reading and that you will make this a regular stop on your journey to understand what is really being done to you, on your behalf.

Have a great da @theguardiannews

Michael Rowland, Publisher

Person loses EMagination

While the notice today that EMagine Concepts was filing for bankruptcy protection shouldn't shock anyone who can count, it presents an economic development PR disaster for ineffectual director Gary Person.

When EMagine Concepts came before the Cheyenne County Commissioners to request money, they brought Person in tow, presumably to lend his, "considerable prestige?" to the effort.

Despite being given advice that the company was of questionable means, Person and County Attorney Paul Schaub gave them the "A-OK" and the company took 160,000 tax payer dollars under the guise that they were going to bring jobs to the area.

One has to ask, "What were they thinking?" One of the only non-Cabela's economic development opportunities that could bring significant jobs and Person blew it.

Perhaps if Mr. Person were to spend more time doing his homework on the companies he expects the tax payees fund, such embarrassing episodes could be avoided in the future.

Perhaps the liquid plumber or the boot hill committee chair would like to offer letters of support for Person's efforts to help Cheyenne County lose so much opportunity. It might even hold true that thte Sun-Telegraph or KSID Radio will yet again come to the defense of their favorite son and gloss over the story, or find, "more important stories," that will captivate their respective markets.

Whatever the outcome with EMagine Concepts, it ought to fall upon Mr. Person to admit his lack of fiduciary responsibility in lending his support to such a questionable venture.

They call him, "The Panderer"

Reading Senator Ben Nelson's latest e-newsletter reminds me of the old 50's tune, "The Wander," excepti hear Panderer instead of the original lyric each time he comes out with a new update.

Here is a note I left the deeply troubled senator from my new locale in the mid-deep south. I hope to keep the heat on the panderer until the 2012 elections promote him back to citizen.

Sen. Nelson. Will you not ever get it? Your e update was a complete pander to the farm lobby and an attempt to pre-encourage people who live in flood prone areas that you and the rest of your cronies will step in to rescue them when the floods come... Yet again..

Flood insurance, crop insurance and other offsets are commercially available and smart business persons do what needs to be done to ensure continuity of operations. How truly unfortunate for your constituents, that you choose to pander to your special interests and therefore expose the rest of Nebraskans to the needs of your powerful allies.

Shame on you yet again. You, sir, are a hack in the guise of a political servant

Weiner steps on his own, apologizes for boneheaded tweet

My girlfriend who is a professional writer suggested that I use a different header here, but I just couldn't control myself. Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-NY, took to the cameras yesterday to say that all the lies and obfuscations he had been telling for more than a week were... indiscretions. It seems the narcissistic Rep. Weiner just couldn't bring himself to be honest with his constituency in matters involving the heart (or other body parts).

When probed by penetrating questions, Weiner laughed it off as a crank pulled by someone making a joke on his name (just like he made fun of House Speaker John Boehner name by hinting that it might refer to another euphemism for the same body part.

In case you haven't heard, the rock-solid Democrat was stiff with anger when confronted by news reports of his racy tweets to a college co-ed in on the west coast. According to Weiner, the tweets were the result of someone who hacked (no pun intended) his account and he offered, with certitude, that he did not send. Another bone of contention for reporters came from Weiner's limp assertion that he could absolutely deny he was the objet d'art in the pix.

Despite days of trying to pull back from the initial probe, Weiner was forced to come before the cameras again. This time however, the Congressman needed more than a towel to choke back the tears as he admitted to the tweet in question. Furthermore, Weiner finally stiffened his resolve to admit that he additionally sent tweets of a sexual nature to other women before and since his marriage to New York politico Huma Abedin. Some of these intervalle went as far as deep conversations into the nature of the human condition between the sheets, so to speak.

The hopefully not-long-for-his-office congressman is rumored to have used a sobriquet in some of these rendezvous. Little did the member of Congress realize that the utilization of his office phone in perpetrating a clandestine sex-capade  constitutes an official "act." One wonders why the stain of such shame hasn't been enough to cause our little midget to decline further "service" to his electorate, but like all Democrats, this one just can't get enough. Although I am not surprised, I have to admit that it is interesting to see something else rise in the nation's capital besides taxes.

Where does a guy find a pair of Lederhosen on short notice?

It seems as though I am in high demand again. My new employer is sending me to Europe to meet with a major client. The specifics of the trip are not important, but the honor of representing such a large company at an important meeting gives me pause to be incredibly grateful for the chance to make a difference once again.

I am no man in the middle. I have never been satisfied to be adequate. That is not to say that I haven't failed in my endeavors. It is hard to make it through 47 years and not slipped on a few banana peels. The opportunity to reach ever higher and to be rewarded periodically with the fruits of success is truly a blessing.

The company I currently work for recruited me back, more than ten years after I had left them to come to Cabela's. Despite the manner in which I was promoted to customer after delivering solutions that continue to save Cabelas's millions of dollars over the years, it left me width a sense of failure that someone with the stellar employee engagement scores I had, could be unceremoniously dumped under the guise of cost-cutting measures. One must acknowledge and move on, and the interceding two years allowed me to reflect and make a ton of mistakes.

I guess one of the reasons I hung on for so long in Sidney was the nature of many close friendships I had developed. Contrary to what a small handful of Gary Person and his friends would have you think, I was, and am, a quite loyal friend. It was loyally, in fact, that led me to the creation of this publication. I don't like seeing publications such as the Sun-Telegraph, or KSID radio offer only one side of the story. While it is true, that I offer a strong opinion, I do try to balance it with a sprinkling of facts. When I am wrong, tell me so, and I will correct the record.

Believe it or not, you cannot approach true greatness without a dose of humility. Nothing humbles a person like losing your home due to loss of income. I learned a hard and valuable lesson then and it will make me stronger for the rest of my life.

In any case, I have learned a lot about people and how companies value human capital during my tenure at Cabela's.

While I am on this trip, I plan on taking taking some time to photograph my sojourn into the old country for the first time since my military service in the mid-1980s. Lake Geneva is beautiful this time of year and the city is alive with tourists and events that are highly European. I am looking forward to the day of decompression that my company is affording me before our meetings start. I am hoping to find a kayak and paddle around a bit and take some photos to share.

If anyone out there has been to Switzerland and knows of a few good places to see, let me know, and feel free to share your experiences here. I have turned comments back on.

Information requests

If anyone comes accros any story, tidbit or other information about the friends of Gary, please send it my way. I am compiling an online history of factoids surrounding key issues mod Sidney and I am devoting a whole section to smear tactics and how the FOG has raised their use to a near art form status.

All responses will be kept in the strictest confidence.

The more things don't change....

Last week, I wrote a piece on how the Sun-Telegraph loves to have Klark Byrd write about the Playstation or about Sony. This week, I could sense that he tried to avoid it, but the allure was just too much for him.

In a page six story about a tragic kidney for IPad 2 swap, Klark just couldn't resist throwing in an update on the Sony hacking of personal information accounts. As bad as the kidney story is, it's a bigger tragedy that for the 31st time in a year, we have been subjected to another story about Sony. Perhaps we should see if their marketing department cuts checks to anyone at the paper.

IPad2 best tablet? You betcha!

I can't possibly compete with our favorite proponent of Sony technology, but I do know a thing or two about Mac-based gadgets. I have owned about every serious variant of the ipod (except the shuffle), IPhone, Mac desktop, laptop and software app since the early 90's and I have recently added their newest gadget to my collection: The IPad 2.

Don't be fooled by all the Android-Heads out there or the distant lagging Windows mobile devices. The IPad is the easiest and most powerful device of its type you can purchase. Sporting a dual core processor and dual cameras, the IPad picks up where the IPhone 4 left off. Heck with Skype, you can even make phone calls on the thing.

The display is beautiful, though I can't bring myself to use Steve Job's, "Gorgeous." Application support is awesone and extremely easy given the device's ITunes interface. When you want to do Sudoku or Yahtzee some racing game, you can easily access these games and a plethora of productivity apps including video conferencing from Go To Meeting and others.

Of course, other tablet manufacturers have the standard retort that the IPad 2 still doesn't support Flash from Adobe, Inc. Flash, in my opinion has lost a bit of its spark, given advances in coding HTML since version 5 arrived on the scene. The chief Apple knock on Flash was that it consumed a ton of battery power and anyone who has recently purchased an android 3 powered device understands this when viewing movies. Consequently, when I view HBOGo on my IPad 2, I am able to watch 7 hour long episodes of, "Game of Thrones" (I highly recommend the series) and still tap out a blog posting on the subject, read work and personal emails and plan my trip to Switzerland next week. It absolutist handles power better the the city council in Sidney.

If there is any drawback, I would have to say that it falls on the backs of carriers who sell models with 3G service. Not only is such service spotty in Sidney, the cost of these plans invalidates the extra expense, unless you are a traveling salesmaan.

Bottom line, if you are in the market for a tablet device that outshines all the rest of the competition, then you should give the IPad 2 a swipe or two. You could spend as much for a whole lot less, or a lot less for a whole lot less if you avoid the fruit of the geek.

What's your TCA? ***Updated****

While doing some research for an employment law matter, I came across a book called "The No Asshole Rule" by Stanford University professor Dr. Robert L. Sutton. The book was written to extend an article Sutton wrote for the Harvard Business Review seeks to quantify the cost to businesses in a variety of terms all HR departments confront daily with extremely arrogant and downright mean supervisors and employees.

Sutton litters his book with striking examples of senior staff who torture employees in direct and indirect ways. Aside from these stark examples, the author also illustrates evidence from Europe and increasingly here in the United States about a more insidious form of bullying: That  which is done at the hands of front line managers.

The book argues the premise that as managers mistreat their employees through yelling, belittling them in front of peers, giving them the cold shoulder when things don't go the manager's way all lead to a decline in productivity, morale and a higher rates of employee turnover and theft.

You might think that with a bad economy, as companies seek to find ways to streamline operations, people who Sutton classifies as,  "assholes" would be first on the employee chopping block. That isn't necessarily the case. Often, these managers are protected because of their ability to project fear and anxiety in those who must endure direct or indirect onslaughts from managers who are largely unaccountable for this destructive behavior.

Several of the case studies in the book look like they were lifted from one of the major employers in Sidney. One such manager routinely, "forgets" deadlines, and assignsblame on one or more unlucky subordinates. This manager also felt that the amount of time they had spent in their job entitled them to have their ass kissed by subordinates.

While many times this conduct is done in secret, astonishingly, this statement was made in front of HR representatives while pursuing a progress report of a subordinate. Despite admissions by senior HR staff that the manager was ineffectual and under the control of a domineering manager themselves, no behavior changes were ever reflected in either manager that would have indicated coaching or other disciplinary measures were taken with either manager. As a result, their conduct toward this subordinate became protracted and increasingly hellish.

In an effort to reduce exposure and to facilitate recruiting of new personnel, companies routinely rely on codifying their core values or mission statements to include things such as, "respect for individuals or zero tolerance policies regarding bullying. Our local company has explicityly stated one of its core values as respect for individuals. Our manager example, as well as their supervisor routinely violate this canon. Our subordinate was brought into a meeting and yelled at for a period of more than 20 minutes, resulting in such a reaction they had to leave and seek external assistance to cope with the shock of the episode.

It seems that in times of economic trouble, companies seem to tolerate bullies. Could it be the company secretly appreciates those who hasten the departure of talented people who can't conform to the whims of people such as the above described manager? Possibly, but the case is more likely that companies see the victims of this kind of abuse as troubled employees and often work to label the employee as the one with the deficient attitude, work ethic, or somehow lacking leadership competencies necessary to advance one's career.

Further more, when employees take the time to report this negative behavior, they become almost forced into a paranoid alternate reality, documenting everything that is foisted upon them, just to prove they are not doing anything wrong. These employees, often bring additional work and stress home with them in an effort to continue to produce at high levels, but seek the solace of a quieter environment.

In our local case, the employee was forced to do just that. They documented every bullying episode and attempted to utilize the company chain of command, including department directors and senior HR management. Each time, our employee was told that they lacked leadership and couldn't handle adversity. In the case of the department director, no action was ever addressed to investigate the charges alleged by the harmed employee.

One has to wonder how people become assholes as bosses. For some, a life of privilege leads them to believe that they can get away with anything. Likewise, people who know how to weasel themselves into the good graces of assholes often begin to imitate their behavior, knowing that they are shielded to some extent by the relatively stronger power umbrella their mentor provides. In other cases though, this tendency toward abusive behavior comes from a lack of self-actualization. Some times these managers just feel like they can never achieve greatness and adopt a misery loves company strategy. Whatever the case, the consequences on the team dynamic can be quite devastating.

The book seeks to quantify something called a "Total Cost of Assholes" or TCA value. This TCA is the sum total of many costs associated with bullying tactics such as those described above. Excessive turnover of personnel, recruiting costs and lost productivity are hallmark indications that a serious management problem exists. Perpetual low scores on employee engagement surveys, whereby specific leadership traits (of their supervisors) like trust and integrity are placed at or near the bottom by those taking the survey also point out the need for intervention. Bells should be ringing in this employer's ears, but the HR organization, insistent on reducing the company's exposure paint the employees as the problem, rather than the manager.

It isn't the direct cost alone that factors into the equation. TCA also includes the costs associated with lost time due to employee illness introduced by stress. Serious health issues arising from stress can lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Employee theft has also been seen to rise when organizations promote a culture of animosity. When a boss is allowed to act with the impunity as described above, with the knowledge and (at the least) tacit consent of HR team members, the whole organization is at risk.

Companies who choose to look the other way, often paint employees who complain about such conduct as problem children. These employees are often targeted for additional harassment such as public verbal flogging, write ups, threats of termination or firing outright. The devastating impact such coercive tactics take often leads to employees who must seek psychological or psychiatric counseling or treatment and lost time from work.

It is time that companies in the U.S. begin to do something besides pay lip service to code words like Core Values and respect for individuals. In the local employer example above, the manager supervised the departure of more than a dozen employees in the last seven years. Several of these employees sought positions elsewhere in the company, while the vast majority of them left the company due to the working conditions, lack of respect and lack of response by the company when legitimate complaints were lodged.

Depending on which side of the fence you are on, Sutton's book will either encourage you to stand up and fight for a better environment, or will scare the hell out of your company. There are companies out there who not only survive, but thrive and yes, they have a No Asshole Rule. Check out Sutton's book. It might just give you the ammunition or guidance you need to make a change in your Asshole manager. If you are being bullied by your manager or your company's HR team, do yourself a favor, get this book and then mention to them in writing that the bullying needs to stop. We all need one asshole. No one needs two.

From my archives

Letter To The Editor

Being Wise To The Lessons Of History
Published: Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Editor,

There is a practical reason why the nations of the European continent are so ... cautious about sending troops or making other commitments to world progress. They are broke.

Huge numbers of countries are clamoring for the U.S. to pony up for peace-keeping efforts, food drives and other security initiatives. The same nations also complain that they cannot pay their fair share because they don’t have the wealth of the U.S. and that the U.S.A.’s prosperity should be used to better mankind across the globe.

While it may be true that other nations cannot afford to contribute more, it is a justification largely of their own making. When dictators steal from the people, or national policies require enormous taxes to fund social justice projects, there is less capital to fund ingenuity and entrepreneurship. It is these things, not governmental controlled and parceled out services that lead to economic prosperity. It is precisely due to the rate of taxation and lack of freedom these other countries have that now makes it difficult to do what should be done as in previous generations.

England was unable to defend itself without massive aid from the U.S.A. in World War II. Frankly, the world would have a much different face on it today were it not for the industrial capacity and willingness to sacrifice treasure and blood to liberate large pieces of the world.

Now we face staggering debt, caused by a desire to replicate the designs of European nations. It begs the question: Didn’t we throw off the oppression of European dictators over 230 years ago? Why would we seek to enslave our people for generations to come just to be more like them today?

Think about it.

Mike Rowland,
Sidney

"The most progressive era...ever"

This week's announced retirement by long-term city attorney Jordan Ball brought with it a statement from city manager Gary Person, Ball's departure represents the end of an era. The 22 year run by Ball, according to Person, will be seen as, "the most progressive eras of our community's lifetime."

Interesting choice of word, "progressive." One of the definitions at Dictionary.com defines progressive as
pro·gres·sive   
[pruh-gres-iv] Show IPA
–adjective
1.
favoring or advocating progress,  change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters: a progressive mayor.
2.
making progress  toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.
3.
characterized by such progress,  or by continuous improvement.

So what is the problem? We all want things to improve, don't we?

You would be a fool to say no to that question. The rub comes from which side of the political spectrum you come from. Liberals and their ilk see progress as the path by which more people are, "helped" along the path of life. This help, of course is provided by the government, and the government funds this through taxes, fees and other mechanisms designed to separate you from your earning powder.

Progressives believe that it is important to ensure people have certain basic necessities. The biggest problem for progressives is to figure out how they can help more people. Over time their definitions the use to qualify people expand to allow more people to take advantage of their help and people begin to take advantage of their progress.

It would be wrong to say that all progress is bad. Used in moderation, just like red meat, a little bit of help can go a long way. The problem with political progressives such as Gary Person, and his retiring puppy Jordan Ball, is that they seek to create a future that is inherently more expensive to maintain. Just like social security and medicare, that continue to expand their draw in excess of monies taken in, seeking ways to deploy street construction, techniques costing half a million dollars a block is cost prohibitive when expanded to the level needed to get the city streets back in order.

This is of course, just one example. The construction of $250,000 homes in Prairie Winds while calling it affordable housing is non-sensensical. But if you factor in the 30,000 free ride that was built in to the pricing model with the tax increment financing plan, these "affordable" homes are quite the steal.

I wish Jordan a quiet life as he transitions out of the public eye. I miss things like his 20 minute speech on what consnltitues the definition of gifts at council meetings. I won't miss his misguided interpretations of state laws on the identity of cars width flat tires.

Make no mistake about it, Gary Person and his new in-the-pocket consortium of Gaston, Nienhueser, and Hiett will assuredly seek to find someone just as progressive, if not more so. They need your money to clean up and stepfordize Sidney.

Congratulations on your retirement Jordan. We have certainly earned it!

A truly touching memorial

Publisher's note: As we celebrate our military fallen this weekend, I found the following letter published and it moved me so much, I wanted to help its writer perpetuate it forward forever, in as much as I can. The way the men and women who served during that contentious time were treated was deplorable. Though we have learned much as a nation since the end of the conflict, groups such as Code Pink and the crazies at Westboro remind us that ill-intentioned people or groups still fail to get it. Please read, reread and forward this letter to everyone you know. Let good-intentioned folk push back against the politically correct and welcome all our military vets as three heroes they have been and continue to be.

During President Johnson’s 1965-68 Operation Rolling Thunder, Carrier Air Wing 16 suffered the highest loss rates of any naval aviation unit in the Vietnam conflict. Flying from the USS Oriskany, we lost 86 aircraft with 59 aviators killed and 13 captured or missing. Oriskany normally operated with 64 combat aircraft and 74 pilots, so a pilot’s statistical probability of surviving those deployments was less than 30 percent. Serving with the VF-111 Sundowners, I lost two roommates and a wingman. Norm Levy, Ed Van Orden, and Bill McWilliams sacrificed their lives for America. I was honored to be a part of their lives for those years. Since Norm’s career as a Navy Fighter Pilot paralleled mine, I resolved to continue his name and memory here on earth until I also depart. To that end, I write him a letter every Memorial Day. The combat loss of a pilot is described as being “smoked.” Before the internet, I simply burned the letters in tribute. Now, I publish them. My 2011 (45th) letter follows:

“Good morning, Norm. It’s Memorial Day, 07:29 Tonkin Gulf time. Haven’t talked with you in a while. That magnificent lady on which we went through hell together, the USS Oriskany, has slipped away into the deep and now rests forever in silent waters off the Florida coast. Seems like a good day to make contact. This is the 45th year since I last saw you, sitting on the edge of your bunk in our room on the “O” boat. You remember – it was the 26th of October 1966.

We were on the midnight schedule. There was a solid wall of thunderstorms over the beach, with tops to 50,000 feet; but McNamara’s Pentagon planners kept sending us on “critical” missions all night. At 04:00, they finally ran out of trucks to bomb – in that downpour – and we got a little sleep.

The phone rang at seven; you were scheduled for the Alert Five. I had bagged a little more rack time than you, so I said I’d take it. I went to shave in the restroom around the elevator pit, the one near the flare locker. The ordnance men were busy putting away the flares. They’d been taking them out and putting them back all night. I had finished shaving and started back to our room when the guy on the ship’s loudspeaker screamed: “This is a drill, this is a drill, FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!” I smelled smoke and looked back at the door that separated the pilot’s quarters from the flare locker. Smoke was coming from underneath.

I ran the last few steps to our room and turned on the light. You sat up on the edge of your bunk. I shouted at you: “Norm, this is no drill. Let’s get the hell out of here!” I went down the passage way around the elevator pit, banging on the metal wall and shouting: “It’s no drill. We’re on fire! We’re on fire!” I had rounded the corner of that U-shaped passage when the flare locker exploded. There was a tremendous concussion effect that blew me out of the passage way and onto the hangar deck. A huge ball of fire was rolling along the top of the hangar bay.

You and forty-five other guys, mostly Air Wing pilots, didn’t make it, Norm. I’m sorry. Oh, dear God, I am sorry! But we went home together – Norm Levy, a Jewish boy from Miami, and Dick Schaffert, a Lutheran cornhusker from Nebraska.

I rode in the economy class of that Flying Tigers 707, along with the other few surviving pilots. You were in a flag-draped box in the cargo compartment. The San Diego media had found out about the return of us “Baby Killers.” Lindberg Field was packed with unruly demonstrators enjoying the right to protest. The “right” you died for!

There was a bus with our wives waiting for us – there was a black hearse for you. The protestors threw things at our bus and your hearse – not a policeman in sight. When we finally got off the airport, they chased us to Fort Rosecrans. They kept interrupting your graveside service, until your honor guard of three brave young Marines with rifles convinced them to stay back.

I watched the TV news with my kids that night, Norm. Sorry, the only clips of our homecoming were the Baby Killer banners and bombs exploding in the South Vietnam jungle (recall our operations were up North, against heavily defended targets, where we were frequently shot down and captured or killed). It was tough to explain to my four pre-teens.

You know the rest of the story. The profane demonstrators were the media’s heroes – they became CEO’s, who steal from our companies – lawyers, who prey off our misery – doctors, who we can’t afford – and elected politicians, who break the faith and the promises.

The only military recognized as “heroes” were the POW’s. They finally came home, not because of some politician’s expertise, but because there were those of us who kept going back over Hanoi, again and again. Dodging the SAM’s and the flak, attacking day and night, keeping the pressure on – all by ourselves! Absolutely no support from anyone! Many of us didn’t come home, Norm. You know – the guys that are up there with you now. But it was our “un-mentioned” efforts that brought the POW’s home. We kept the faith with them, and with you.

It never really ended. We seemed to go directly from combat into disabled retirement and poverty, ignored by those whose freedoms we insured by paying the very high premium. The current administration’s politically adjusted report, issued for the 100th Anniversary of U.S. Naval Aviation, confirmed that we have been written out of American history! The only thing many of us have left is our memories, and we hold those dear. We’ll all be joining you shortly, Norm. Put in a good word for us with the Man. Ask Him to think of us as His peacemakers, as His children. Have a restful Memorial Day, you earned it Norm!

Your Roommate,
Dick (Brown Bear) Schaffert”

It's a Byrd, it's a plane, it's another story about the playstation

I was doing some research on the local hometown newspaper and I came across an interesting statistic. Klark Byrd, self-professed, self-made writer has a penchant for writing about the obvious love of his life: the Sony Playstation.

A search of the S-T archives shows, given the chance, Mr. Byrd loves to eschew any tidbit of information he can find about the gaming consoles, or the parent company, Sony. Nearly 30 times in the past year, we have learned many exciting stories, including recent hackings of the beloved playstation network.

While I suppose that a story about computer crime is something to ponder, is there nothing the prolific scribe would rather share with the 6500 residents of Sidney? Seriously, there has to be some kind of other news or opinion worthy of the Shakespeare of Cheyenne.

Not only does he love the playstation, he also revels in relating to us over and over about his tough childhood, his accidental career choices or his new found love of the ink and quill. I will give him credit, that when given direction, he can apply himself and do a good service to the community. Far too often, however, Mr. Byrd is often failed by his leadership and s left to fall back on the all to familiar and strangely non-poetic comfort of his unchallenging mind.

It would be truly nice if the S-T would actually develop some kind of actual guidance for its content. Guidance, possibly patterned after its Letters to the Editor policy...only once per week, and on a subject with interest to those few echo actually still buy the paper. That would take leadership. Unfortunately that is as hard to come by there as calm day on the high plains.

What if you couldn't Emagine anymore?

More than a year ago, milling company representatives from Fort Collins based Emagine Concepts came before the Cheyenne County Commissioners with a plea for community reinvestment funds in order to set up shop at a location hosted by Adams trucking.

The 160,000 loan, designed to be repaid back to a fund that recycles the money to other growing businesses without raising taxes was needed to move equipment and personnel to the county. According to information presented at the meeting, Emagine Concepts indicated that they would bring double digit new jobs to the local economy.

Despite questions from commissioners regarding the financials of Emagine Concepts, Gary Person kept singing the praises of how this would be a good thing for the economic development of the county (note, I said county and not the city of Sidney, which would also benefit the county). County attorney Paul Schaub, likewise found no significant issues with financials.

Here we are more than a year after the money was passed out, and where is EMagine Concepts? No jobs have been created In Cheyenne County and more importantly, no money has been repaid. I would call that a win-win for EMagine Concepts who gets the money basically scott-free. It is a shame, really that the one, non-Cabela's related economic development project that the snake-charmer could have hung his hat on seems to have evaporated like the morning dew.

It makes me think of the old John Lennon song, "EMagine all the people........"

Huh?!

The S-T published a news article in place of a letter to the editor today. Probably just a slip-up so I am letting them know about it.. Am curious to know about the person's viewpoint.

Ah...hem....

S-T letter to the editor writer Ron Holscher of Ogallala complains that Adrian Smith isn't doing his job, "five months into the job." after the landslide victor last November, I would say he is doing a good job, except for the vote to allow the oil company subsidy. We should be against every form of subsidization in this country, but that is a horse for a different race.

I don't know Holscher, but it seems to me he is one of the few people in District 47 who voted for the other guy. You can argue that Smith is voting with his constituency as his election was so one-sided.

The truth of the matter, financially speaking, in order to save the long-term economic and geopolitical security of the U.S., we must alter in a structural manner, the way in which we appropriate and spend money at the federal level. The S-T said it right in a piece the other day: We are far too dependent on this country to provide us the solution to our problems, too quick to judge politicians, not by what they do for the country, but by what the do for US.

If we allow the government the power to provide a certain minimum guarantee to our lives, it is an exercise in math and patience before They will have enough time and money to ensure that we all live at that minimum value. While we generally are much more afraid of this conduct at the national or state level, we must also guard against this at the locals governmental level. An example of this is, given the current economic climate and uncertainty, why does the Cheyenne county government maintain a policy of zero dollar contributions for employee health benefits? Why, since they are the governmental agency, unable to modify the policy that exempts elected officers and their deputies from and changes to regular staff, (presuming they seek to require employee contributions in the future)? Who is giving you all of your health benefits for free?

As a member of the opposition to Mr. Holscher's point of view, I respect his thoughts, but likewise respectfully disagree with his assertions.

Another flush from the liquid plumber

*****UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION*****
One of the points that Mike Hartzler made in his S-T rant was that councilman Van Vleet and I were "liberal." Really, Mike? Please, someone get me his address. I want to send him a Thesaurus and dictionary as a way of helping him to be able to see reality a little more clearly.

*****


Last week, The S-T published a letter to the editor from me in which I railed against the new big three of Nienhueser, Gaston, and Hiett. The letter, more than a week after the city council meeting, conveniently coincided with a near direct response from former councilman Mike Hartzler.

Hartzler, who rarely pokes his head out of the bar unless his friend Gary (or one of his accomplisces), suffers some PR issue, then seeks to chastise the S-T for allowing me to damage the reputation of these men.

Hartzler also wonders why the paper would allow me to attack, mislead, yada, yada....and then proceeds to do the very things to me that he chides the paper for failing to prevent.

While I doubt that LP Hartzler posseses the necessary grammatical skills to effectively use Mr. Roget's book of synonymns, his personal attack is quite hypocritical.

Having been personally harrassed by the Liquid Plumber, or being called disarranged by someone with the social skills of the famed Otis from Maberry, doesn't especially bother me. The fact that the newspaper allowed him to criticize their policy, while simultaneously violating it is the biting irony. It is just one more example of lack of leadership at the helm at the paper, who, after publishing their letters to the editor policy, then publishes a letter, clearly over that limit.

For the record, I am neither disarranged, nor am I a Sidney hater. It seems that Bucko Hartzler mistakes dissension (that means disagreement, Mike) for hatred. This blog is published only to counter blow toads such as the Liquid Plumber, and to provide a different perspective on the overreaching grab for power that the city manager and his new found alliance will continue to seek.

I have asked the S-T to remove Hartzler's letter from their website, and we will see if Sue Mizell will reach beyond her education and use common sense in this and future policy applications.

Next up.....I will publish an analysis of the proposed new clothing store. You won't want to miss that one, I promise.

Sun-Telegraph breaks its own rule

One of the primary reasons this blog was fired back up was to counter the severe bias of the Sun-Telegraph and the Media Empire!? of the Young family. The following is a response to that bias.

Recently, the local hometown rag published a response by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, in which he offered a response a letter to the editor published under my name. The subject was the impact of the shutdown on military families and the lack of attention budget passage had been given while the Senator's party had total control of the Congress last year.

The Senator proffered that he had been busy on his sub committee trying to pass a portion of the overall budget, but that Republicans held up the vote. To each of you and to Senator Nelson, I say: Look it up!

The fact that subcommittees, or even committees work on components of the budget to bring to the floor for votes discounts the fact that all funding bills must originate in the House of Representatives. The House was solidly under the control of the Democrats, and yet no bill ever came to the floor to vote on.

Senator Nelson would have you believe that he is fighting for you and that non-Nebraskans such as myself shouldn't mislead you good people. I counter that The good Nebraska Senator should not be misleading you good Nebraskans, which is exactl what he did in his response.

Finally, I will close with the notation that the hometown paper recently instituted a muzzle on your first amendment right to free speech by curbing thte length of letters to the editor to just 250 words (it had been a modest 400). They likewise limited the number of submissions to one per week as the astounding number of letters they receive from the good doctor C and I, were making it more difficult to figure out the layout of the editorial page.

It seems that the editorial limit for Senator Nelson was overlooked as the paper needed to afford him an extra 55 words he needed to mislead you all.


*****UPDATE******

It was nice of Sue Mizell to let the people of the town know that there had been a change in the editorial practices of the Sun-Telegraph. It is amusing nonetheless that a paper thet size of the S-T would be remotel concerned about the length of letters to the editor rather than actually building trust with the readership.

A newspaper is only as good as the publishing leadership. It is clear that the S-T is in need of refurbishment in leadership and intellectual capital. As long as the staff is interested in limiting the view and coverage to that which clearly points to the agenda of Mr. Person and the other FOG, then, this publication will gladly keep applying the pressure of a truly disparate platform.

Congratulations, you earned competition just by being yourselves.