Sunday 03 August 2003
Dear Jaspers,
The jasper jottings email list has 1,086 subscribers (after subtracting the two deliberate duplicates) by my count.
Don't forget:
Mo August 4, 2003 Construction
Industry Golf Open & Tennis Match
Lake Isle County Club,
Eastchester, NY
Call: Joe Van Etten ’57, (212) 280-0663, 7:30am to 1:30pm
?????????? Confirm before you go ????????????????????????
Sa August 23, 2003, Noon
Alumni/ae Soccer Games
Gaelic Park (240th Street &
Broadway)
Alumni/ae
vs Varsity - Reception to follow!
Call: Tom Lindgren ’78, (914) 948-5399
?????????? Confirm before you go????????????????????????
Grace Feeney in the alumni office doesn't think that there is an alumni soccer
game on 8/23. She suggests youcontact Tom Lindgren at (914) 948-5300.
?????????? Confirm before you go????????????????????????
Thanks, Grace.
Th August 28, 2003 Washington, DC Golf Andrews Air Force Base
Call: Chuck Martin ‘63 (703) 706-3130, Email: cmartin@apta.org
Mo Sep 22 '03 3rd Annual James Keating
O'Neill Memorial Golf Classic.
Hamlet Wind Watch Golf & Country
Club in Hauppauge, Long Island
More info at www.jkogolf.org .
===
Search past issues of Jottings at:
http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/picosearch.htm
===
http://www.research-racing.de/zanardi2001.html
TWO-TIME CHAMP CAR TITLEWINNER ALEX ZANARDI TO COMPLETE FINAL LAPS OF 2001 GERMAN 500 AT SPEED IN SPECIALLY-EQUIPPED CHAMP CAR
=== <begin quote> ===
INDIANAPOLIS (May 3, 2003) - Profiles in Courage is a book written by late U.S. President John F. Kennedy that studied some of the great men of history, but former Champ Car titlewinner Alex Zanardimay spark a need for a rewrite after what he will accomplish prior to the May 11 German 500.
The 1997 and '98 CART champion will make an unprecedented return to the cockpit of a 750hp Champ Car less than two years after suffering the traumatic amputation of both legs during an accident at the 2001 Champ Car race at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, as he will be driving a specially-prepared race car with hand controls that will allow him to finish the final 13 laps of the race that he did get to complete in 2001.
=== <end quote> ===
Amazing that humans keep defying odds. Hope when my turn comes to face the odds I can learn from people like him.
Reflect well on our alma mater, this week, every week, in any and every way possible, large or small. God bless.
"Collector-in-chief" John
reinkefj@alum.manhattan.edu
=====
CONTENTS
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Formal announcements |
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1 |
Bouncing off the list |
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1 |
Messages from Headquarters (like MC Press Releases) |
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1 |
Jaspers publishing web pages |
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3 |
Jaspers found web-wise |
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Honors |
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2 |
Weddings |
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2 |
Births |
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Engagements |
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Graduations |
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1 |
Obits |
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6 |
"Manhattan in the news" stories |
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Resumes |
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8 |
Sports |
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14 |
Emails |
[PARTICIPANTS BY CLASS]
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Class |
Name |
Section |
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???? |
McFadden |
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1959 |
Kenny, Roger M. |
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1963 |
Heckman, Charles W. |
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1968 |
Heffernan, Thomas J. |
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1968 |
Laker, Kenneth R. |
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1968 |
Drake, Barry |
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1974 |
Serrano, Ralph |
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1975 |
Ferguson, Thomas S. |
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1976 |
Mc Kay, Matthew |
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1977 |
Conti, Robert P. |
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1979 |
Brock, Ruth A.Gilbert |
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1979 |
Brock, Ruth A.Gilbert |
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1982 |
Villas, John A. |
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1983 |
Mccarthy, Fred |
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1986 |
Crowley, Steve |
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1986 |
Oconnel, Joeseph
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1987 |
Uffer, Louis |
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1988 |
O'Neill, Patrick J. |
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1989 |
Molino, Rich |
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1989 |
Pellet-Molino, Jennifer |
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1993 |
Fernandez, Alan |
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1993 |
Ohara, Paul |
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1997 |
Frasacti, Ian |
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1997 |
Carbonaro, Rich |
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1997 |
Morrissey, Jim |
Wedding2 (reporter) |
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1998 |
Meyers, Krystyn |
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1999 |
Thomas, Tegy |
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1999 |
Devlin, Pete |
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1999 |
Mahoney, Nicole M. |
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1999 |
Ruzzier, Tara Maria |
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1999 |
Brennan, Gregory Paul |
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2000 |
Meltzer, Melissa |
Wedding1 (reporter) |
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2003? |
Joyce, Matthew |
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2003? |
Valentine, Jeanise C. |
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MCFac |
Horak, Jiri |
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MCStf |
Farmer, Melanie |
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MCStf |
Feeney, Grace |
[PARTICIPANTS BY NAME]
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Class |
Name |
Section |
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1999 |
Brennan, Gregory Paul |
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1979 |
Brock, Ruth A. Gilbert |
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1979 |
Brock, Ruth A. Gilbert |
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1997 |
Carbonaro, Rich |
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1977 |
Conti, Robert P. |
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1986 |
Crowley, Steve |
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1999 |
Devlin, Pete |
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1968 |
Drake, Barry |
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MCStf |
Farmer, Melanie |
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MCStf |
Feeney, Grace |
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1975 |
Ferguson, Thomas S. |
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1993 |
Fernandez, Alan |
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1997 |
Frasacti, Ian |
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1963 |
Heckman, Charles W. |
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1968 |
Heffernan, Thomas J. |
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MCFac |
Horak, Jiri
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2003? |
Joyce, Matthew |
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1959 |
Kenny, Roger M. |
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1968 |
Laker, Kenneth R. |
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1999 |
Mahoney, Nicole M. |
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1976 |
Mc Kay, Matthew |
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1983 |
Mccarthy, Fred |
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???? |
McFadden |
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2000 |
Meltzer, Melissa |
Wedding1 (reporter) |
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1998 |
Meyers, Krystyn |
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1989 |
Molino, Rich |
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1997 |
Morrissey, Jim |
Wedding2 (reporter) |
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1986 |
Oconnel, Joeseph
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1993 |
Ohara, Paul |
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1988 |
O'Neill, Patrick J. |
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1989 |
Pellet-Molino, Jennifer |
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1999 |
Ruzzier, Tara Maria |
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1974 |
Serrano, Ralph |
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1999 |
Thomas, Tegy |
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1987 |
Uffer, Louis |
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2003? |
Valentine, Jeanise C. |
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1982 |
Villas, John A. |
[FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT JASPERS]
[JR: The following people have "bounced off" the list. Some bounces expose my poor administrative skills and I can not "who" bounced off. Thus the subscriber total may change more than are shown in this section. I have done what I can to notify them. If you can help "reconnect" – or "connect" new people -- I really appreciate it. And as always, I need your "news".]
|
Kelly, Brian T. (1995) |
[Messages from
Headquarters
(Manhattan College Press Releases & Stuff)]
[Message1]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANHATTAN COLLEGE TO HOST EDUCATIONAL CAMP FOR UNDERSERVED STUDENTS
RIVERDALE, N.Y. -- Aiming to give underserved high school students a taste of the college experience, Manhattan College will host 60 students during Camp College weekend from Aug. 15 – 17 at its Riverdale campus.
Camp College, which is in its fourth year, is a three-day, pre-college camp created for traditionally underserved students who are first generation college-bound or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This summer marks the first time Manhattan College will host the program on its campus.
“We decided to become an active member institution in this venture because this program has an incredible record of success in making college a reality for first generation students,” said William Bisset, assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions and financial aid at Manhattan College. “This is a program that goes hand in hand with the College’s commitment to first generation college bound students. The students who participate in Camp College are qualified candidates to the best colleges in the country and in the state, and without a program like this one, would not recognize their own abilities and potential to pursue a college degree.”
Student campers, who are primarily tenth and eleventh graders, will spend the weekend learning about the college application process and student life through interaction with the College’s counselors, faculty volunteers and simulated classes. Students will attend classes taught by Manhattan College professors. Courses in the arts, science and engineering fields will be offered, coupled with other workshops that address higher education preparation such as college searches, essay writing and financial aid applications. Camp College students, as well as their chaperones and program volunteers, will stay in Manhattan College’s residence halls, eat in on-campus dining facilities and attend other planned social events.
“Camp College lets students ‘try on’ college. Many campers might not otherwise consider higher education,” said Susan Nesbitt Perez, director of outreach programs for Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU), which is a cosponsor. “The benefits of a college education are many. College graduates earn more, become active citizens and have the chance to build lifelong friendships.”
The majority of the students slated to attend Camp College this summer were nominated by New York’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) as well as by state high schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, Girls Inc., historically black churches, arts centers and other youth-based nonprofits. Support from the New York State Association of College Admissions Counselors (NYSACAC) helps make the weekends possible, along with funding from a GEAR UP grant to the CICU, based in Albany, N.Y., through New York State Higher Education Services Corp. (NYSHESC).
A total of three Camp College weekends are being held this summer on separate campuses. Other campus sites include Niagara University, based in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
Please contact Melanie A. Farmer at (718) 862-7232 for further details about Manhattan College’s Camp College weekend.
[JASPERS PUBLISHING WEB PAGES]
[WebPage1]
http://russel.bioc.aecom.yu.edu/~mahoney/
Nicole M. Mahoney
Biochemistry Department
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1300 Morris Park Avenue
Bronx, NY 10461
Education
<extraneous deleted>
B.S. Biochemistry, 1999.
Professional Experience
1993-1999 Ph.D. Candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Steven C. Almo, Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Thesis title: "Structure function analysis of actin regulatory protein profilin".
[JASPERS FOUND ON/OFF WEB BY USING WEB]
[Found1]
http://www.worldsmokersday.org/psychology/index.html
Anti-psychology
Mr. McFadden graduated from Manhattan College in New York City with a Bachelor’s Degree in Peace Studies and Psychology. He received a university fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania for their doctoral program in Peace Science. His areas of concentration were statistical and linguistic propaganda analysis.
After several years of work toward his doctorate he left the University to work with a Quaker activist group doing nonviolence training and hosted their main Philadelphia training center. From there he went on to work with the Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and since then has primarily been engaged in online computer conference coordination and informal writing about smokers’ issues on the internet.
Throughout this time he has been concerned about what he sees as the propaganda techniques employed by Antismokers in their drive to eliminate smoking. The excerpts here from his forthcoming book “Antismoking Brains? The Psychology Behind the Antismoking Crusade” will illustrate various aspects of his analysis as it relates to World Smokers Day while also giving some valuable insights into the motivations and tactics of Antismokers in the U.S. and around the world.
[MCOLDB: ???? ]
http://pender.ee.upenn.edu/facu9.htm
Kenneth R. Laker
Professor and Graduate Group Chair
Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, New York University, 1973; M.S.E.E., New York University, 1970; B.S.E.E., Manhattan College, 1968
Research Interests
Professor Laker's research interests are in the area of mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs), requiring the integration of analog and digital functions. Applications are in the general areas of signal conditioning and signal conversion. The work includes architecture design, transistor-level design, IC implementation, and testing. Architectures and circuit techniques that lead to low voltage operation and low power dissipation are being considered.
[Reported As: 1968, a fine year for Jaspers!]
http://www.boardroomconsultants.com/pages/%20PartnerBios/RKenny.html
Roger M. Kenny
Prior to co-founding the firm in 1982, Mr. Kenny was a Senior Vice President and Partner with SpencerStuart. Earlier he had served in financial and line management positions with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He earned an MBA at New York University Graduate School of Business and a BBA from Manhattan College. Mr. Kenny has handled a wide range of top level general managment assignments in manufacturing, food, energy, pharmaceutical and communications industries as well as conducting senior functional assignments in the areas of marketing, finance and information systems. He is also a leader in board governance consulting and director selection. Mr. Kenny was the 2001 recipient of the Gardner W. Heidrick Award from the Association of Executive Search Consultants. The award is given each year to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the search profession over the course of their career.
[MCOLDB: 1959 ]
[HONORS]
[No Honors]
[WEDDINGS]
From: Melissa
(2000) Meltzer
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
Hi John.
I wanted to share jasper wedding news with you. Tara Maria Ruzzier '99 and Gregory Paul Brennan '99 married on July 12th on Long Island. The wedding was beautiful and the newlyweds looked amazing. Congrats to Greg & Tara Brennan! Sincerely, Melissa Meltzer '00
From:
Jim Morrissey (1997)
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 8:40 AM
Subject: Jasper Wedding
John,
Just wanted to pass on some great news! Two very close friends of mine (and Jasper Alums) were recently married. Krystyn Meyers ('98) and Rich Carbonaro ('97) wed on July 11 in Long Island, New York, and honeymooned aboard the Disney Cruise Line.
Krystyn is currently teaching in Yonkers, while Rich will begin his work as a professor in the Environmental Engineering Department at Manhattan College (the very same department he graduated from) in the Spring of '04. The couple lives in Somers, New York.
Keep up the great work, John!
Jim Morrissey ('97)
[BIRTHS]
From: Rich
(1989) Molino
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 12:07 AM
Subject: Re: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
Hi John,
I'm happy to announce the birth of baby girl!!
Sarah Anne Molino was born July 22, 2003
8lb. 13 oz. 20 inches.
Sarah joins her brother Nicholas(9) and sister Alexandra (4).
Rich Molino (EE '89) and Jennifer (Pellet) Molino (CS '89)
From: Conti,
Robert P. (1977)
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 6:57 PM
Subject: RE: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030727.htm
John,
Please announce in the next edition of "Jottings" that my wife and I are parents of a baby girl, Nicole Faith Conti, who was born on Monday, July 14. The baby weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz. Both mom and baby are doing well.
Thanks!
Bob Conti '77
[No Engagements]
[No Graduations]
[OBITS]
[Collector's prayer: And, may perpetual light shine on our fellow departed Jaspers, and all the souls of the faithful departed.]
Your assistance is requested in finding these. Please don’t assume that I will “catch” it via an automated search. Sometimes the data just doesn’t makes it’s way in.
[Obit1]
Copyright
2003 The Miami Herald
All Rights Reserved
The Miami Herald
July 28, 2003 Monday BR EDITION
SECTION: B; Pg. 4
HEADLINE: Jiri Horak, led
Czech Social Democrats
DATELINE: ENGLEWOOD, Fla.
(AP) -- Jiri Horak, the first leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party after the fall of communism, has died. He was 79.
Horak died Friday of a brain tumor, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported Sunday.
Horak headed the Social Democrats from 1990 to 1992 after the Velvet Revolution led by playwright and democracy activist Vaclav Havel peacefully toppled communist rule.
Horak and his wife of 54 years, Zdena, moved to Florida eight years ago from Riverdale, N.Y.
After the revolution in 1989, Horak returned to Prague and helped restore the Social Democratic Party.
Horak was born April 23, 1924, in Hradec Kralove, Czechoslovakia, and became a political refugee when he joined the wing of the Social Democratic Party that resisted subordination to the Communist Party.
In 1960, Horak received a doctorate in political science from Columbia University, and taught at Manhattan College in Riverdale, where he retired in 1989 as chairman of the political science department. One of Horak's students was former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, said Horak friend Mojmir Povolny.
In 1997, the Masaryk Democratic Association in Prague awarded him a Medal of Honor, and in 2000, then-President Vaclav Havel decorated him with the Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk for his service to the cause of democracy and human rights.
''He always loved this country to death,'' Zdena said. ''We were always willing to give our lives for our cause, democracy.
''Jiri lived by a basic credo: 'It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.'''
A service will be held Wednesday at Lemon Bay Funeral Home in Englewood.
LOAD-DATE: July 28, 2003
[News MC]
Copyright
2003 The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
July 28, 2003 Monday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3B
HEADLINE: SPRING VALLEY
BYLINE: Suzan Clarke, Staff
Church celebrates Jamaican milestones
Suzan Clarke
The Journal News
More than 100 people packed the pews at St. Paul's Episcopal Church yesterday in a service of thanksgiving to mark two important milestones - the 41st anniversary of the independence of Jamaica and the 13th anniversary of Jamaican Civic and Cultural Association of Rockland.
Keeping in mind the theme "Peace," those who claimed Jamaican birth, ancestry or ties of friendship gathered to hear a selection of songs, Bible readings and prayers, followed by a lively cultural program.
JAMCCAR President Sonia Tracey-McCallum welcomed well-wishers to the event, which marked the organization's "lucky 13th anniversary" as well as the kickoff of the two-week celebration of Jamaica's independence, which was gained Aug. 6, 1962.
Tracey-McCallum welcomed visitors and officials to the service and read remarks sent by Jamaican Consul General Dr. Basil K. Bryan, who urged Jamaicans in the United States to continue their tradition of service and industry to their adopted homeland, as well as their continuing commitment to help their island nation.
George Darden, mayor of Spring Valley, congratulated JAMCCAR on its anniversary and for its outreach in the village, which he called "the village of a million friends."
"We take diversity as a strength, not as a weakness," Darden said.
JAMCCAR member Winsome Downie-Rainford told the congregation that if civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would take issue with the United States' apparent imperialist bent, which she said has led to an indefensible doctrine of preemptive strikes.
In an address that covered many issues, including affirmative action, welfare guidelines and the post 9/11 tightening of security and its impact on civil liberties, Downie-Rainford urged African- and Caribbean-American communities to pay close attention to leaders' decisions and speak up in the face of perceived injustices.
Focusing on the disproportionate number of minorities represented in the nation's armed forces, Downie-Rainford called for accountability for military actions.
"We are not fooled by the fabricated ratification of war. ... When chicken hawk leaders lie, soldiers die," said Downie-Rainford, a political science professor at Manhattan College.
"Yes, we support our troops, and we say 'bring them home,' " she said.
Following Downie-Rainford's address, JAMCCAR's youth and adults performed songs, dances and poems that highlighted Jamaican history and culture.
One number, a medley of Pocomania songs, had people standing in the pews to watch as women dressed in flowing white skirts and tops dipped low, swayed back and spun around in wide circles as they recreated a session of the spiritual music and dance religious movement, which has Afro-Christian roots.
After singing Bob Marley's "One Love" and patriotic songs from Jamaica and the United States, attendees were invited to participate in a reception and art show featuring the work of renowned Jamaican artist Hilton Plummer.
After the service, Genevieve Morgan of Spring Valley, a native of Jamaica, said she enjoyed the proceedings.
Walking alongside her mother, Pearl Forbes, Morgan said she especially enjoyed the Pocomania presentation.
"It just makes me miss Jamaica," she said of the celebration.
Other events are planned to commemorate the anniversaries of Jamaica and JAMCCAR.
Reach Suzan Clarke at snclarke@thejournalnews.com or 845-578-2414.
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 2003
Copyright
2003 The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
July 25, 2003 Friday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1B
HEADLINE: Doubts linger about photos
BYLINE: Khurram Saeed Diana
Bellettieri, Staff
Local Muslims still unsure if Saddam's sons are really dead
Khurram Saeed and Diana Bellettieri
The Journal News
Like millions of Muslims following the United States' occupation of Iraq, Hossein Alizadeh wanted a firsthand look at the photographs taken of Saddam Hussein's sons, Odai and Qusai, shortly after they had been killed in a battle with American troops.
After a close inspection of several pictures posted on the Internet, Alizadeh, coordinator of the Iraq program for an Upper Nyack peace organization, said he couldn't be sure who he was looking at or what to believe.
But he was certain it would take more than a few graphic snapshots to convince the Iraqi people they had reason to believe peace was imminent.
"For the majority of Iraqis, the fear is still out there," said Alizadeh, who works for the Fellowship of Reconciliation. "Even if they see these badly deformed bodies, it doesn't mean they are gone or the regime is gone."
<extraneous deleted>
Ahmed Goma, who left Egypt for the United States in 1976, said that although he did not support war in Iraq, he was ecstatic that Saddam and his sons were out of power.
Yet he said he was surprised Odai and Qusai were killed, because he believed they could have supplied the United States with intelligence information. In addition, Goma, a Muslim, said the assassination-style killings were morally unjust.
"This should have been the end result if they were captured and brought to justice," said Goma, an accounting professor at Manhattan College. "They definitely would have been killed in the end. They were not innocent."
Goma said it was good that Iraqis helped the United States find the two brothers, but he doubted the Iraqis' true motivation was to support the Americans.
"It would be good if the motive was to help the U.S., but the motive was the $15 million," he said of the reward offered for information leading to Saddam's sons. "There is no doubt about this."
<extraneous deleted>
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2003
Copyright
2003 Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY)
All Rights Reserved
Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY)
July 25, 2003 Friday
SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. 2B
HEADLINE: COLLEGE GRADUATES
The following students earned degrees at their respective college or university.
The newspaper prints all listings received involving local students. In some cases it is not possible to list the names of all students from a school on the same day, either because not all were provided or because of space limitations.
Handwritten notices are not accepted. For information on how to submit an announcement, contact Chris Tevyaw at 798-1375 or ctevyawpressconnects.com.
<extraneous deleted>
MANHATTAN COLLEGE
Matthew Joyce, Binghamton.
<extraneous deleted>
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2003
[JR: 2003? ]
Copyright
2003 Asbury Park Press, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Asbury Park Press
July 24, 2003 Thursday
SECTION: H; Pg. 6
HEADLINE: Sixties music lecturer: Era changed our 'hearts, minds and lives'
BYLINE: BERNADETTE SCOTT/Staff Writer
The "60s Rock: When Music Mattered" presentation drew a full house July 17 in the auditorium of the Monmouth County Library Headquarters. The program was created by Barry Drake, who often has been called a walking encyclopedia of rock 'n' roll, said Flora Higgins, public relations librarian.
The presentation at the library on Symmes Drive, Manalapan was a multimedia lecture, with slides, recorded music, interview clips and Drake's personal experiences and thought taking the audience through the decade. It was conveyed over a full concert sound system and a large projection screen.
"It was the music that brought the people together and sometimes tore them apart," Drake said. "It also captured the times of political turmoil, the social upheaval, the Hippie Movement, Vietnam War and the Generation Gap and how the music reflected these times."
Featured musicians included The Supremes, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, The Drifters, The Ronettes, The Crystals, Cream, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and Jim Morrison.
Drake is the second in the library's three-part series called "Look, Listen and Remember: Music Icons of the 20th Century," said Higgins.
During the presentation, women in the room clapped, while some of the men tapped their feet.
Kathy Frase, Millstone, was impressed with Drake's wealth of musical history.
"The presentation was the best," she said. "I just saw a Broadway show and actually enjoyed this more. He (Drake) just had the perfect mix of music, information and visuals. He was so knowledgeable and I am glad I came."
Drake, originally from Hudson County, first fell in love with rock 'n' roll in 1953 when he heard Bill Haley and the Comets singing "Crazy Man Crazy." Even though at the time he didn't realize the impact rock would have on his life, Drake said he knew he liked how the music made him feel.
Although Drake was premed at Manhattan College, N.Y., graduating in 1968 with a biology degree, he credits his real education to the years after college.
"My real learning experiences came from the years I spent in Greenwich Village in the music scene following Bob Dylan and Richie Havens from club to club," Drake said.
Drake, a singer-songwriter, performed concerts in the college circuit, at which he would share his knowledge about music history. After 15 years of performing, he was asked by a college professor at East Strousburg University, Pa., to give a complete presentation on rock 'n' roll history.
"I love rock 'n' roll history and I love conveying the information to people who have not had the pleasure to experience it firsthand," Drake said. "I hope I can pass my enthusiasm on to my audience and make it an important part of their lives."
The program ended with the music that brought 60s-style rock to a halt and gave a taste for what the 70s had in store for rock 'n' roll.
"The music of the 60s never really went away," Drake said at the conclusion of the presentation. "It is still with us. There is just something about rock 'n' roll ... it changed the hearts, minds and lives of people."
Drake also does three other rock 'n' roll multimedia presentations - "The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll 1953-1963," "70s Rock: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" and "1980s Rock: Music in the Video Age."
For more information about Barry Drake and his multimedia presentations, call (914) 419-5480 or visit www.barrydrake.com on the Web. For more information about the Monmouth County Library Headquarter's "Look, Listen and Remember" series, call (732) 431-7220.
LOAD-DATE: July 28, 2003
[Reported As: 1968 ]
Copyright
2003 Courier News (Bridgewater, NJ)
All Rights Reserved
Courier News (Bridgewater, NJ)
July 23, 2003 Wednesday
SECTION: COMMUNITY= UNION AND MIDDLESEX; Pg. 16S
LENGTH: 786 words
HEADLINE: Fanwood people
BYLINE: John Dendy, Readers
Air Force reservist works in covert circles for special investigations unit
When the son-in-law of a Fanwood woman walks through the door to work, he enters a world that most people associate with cloaks and daggers, high-tech gadgets and coworkers clad in dark suits and sunglasses.
Air Force Reserve special agent John A. Villas, whose wife, Susan, is the daughter of Carol Pyne of Fanwood, works in covert circles with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to protect American service members during times of war and peace. It's not exactly "Men in Black" or James Bond, but it's as close as the real world gets.
Villas is among the crime-solving special agents, technical specialists, forensic sciences consultants, polygraphists, behavioral scientists, computer-crime investigators and undercover agents on the roster of an Air Force OSI team based near Washington, D.C. The unit is best described as the FBI, Secret Service and Interpol all rolled into one globe-spanning, crime-fighting organization for the U.S. Air Force.
As a badge-carrying federal agent, Villas contributes to the team's advanced crime-fighting and security skills by working in the unit headquarters command readiness branch.
"I'm responsible for the worldwide operational movement of personnel and equipment in support of Air Force counterintelligence and force protection missions," said the 1978 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School. "This includes missions for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom."
Villas and the rest of the OSI team work a beat that encompasses the entire Air Force; all 700,000 uniformed service members and civilian employees scattered around the world. Their jurisdiction also includes any number of criminals, spies or terrorists with Air Force people or resources in their sights. It's a mammoth undertaking that requires top-notch training, nonstop investigations, endless diligence, counterintelligence work and courtroom testimony on both the domestic and foreign fronts.
"Readiness operations are important to fulfilling our mission requirements across the globe," said Villas, who earned a bachelor's degree in general studies from Manhattan College in New York. "This section is the hub of all OSI worldwide movement; we get the agents where they need to be, and get them the proper support and equipment, too."
OSI also oversees the military's Defense Cyber Crime Center. It's the first place Department of Defense agencies go for surgically-precise forensic exams and retrieval of electronic evidence in support of criminal investigations and computer intrusions.
The center is also involved in information assurance, enhancements of audio and video products for use as evidence, computer imaging and computer data extraction. The center's cyber sleuths use the latest technology to assist in solving everything from murder investigations and child pornography proliferation, to use of government computer systems and fraud.
And beyond the Washington Beltway, several of this traditionally low-key organization's youthful-looking plain-clothes gumshoes go undercover to dismantle drug rings that target Air Force personnel. Agents also hunt down Air Force fugitives, service members running from the law and manage a tactical high-speed driving training course.
OSI agents entered Iraq ahead of advancing coalition troops to interrogate suspects for credible information on terrorist activity, thwarting would-be terrorists before they could hit U.S. troops.
By hiring on with this investigative community of mostly military people, Villas and his fellow agents contribute to Air Force mission accomplishment every day.
"I was sitting at my desk during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, just a half of a mile from the World Trade Center. Since then, the most interesting aspect of my career has been the recall of active duty in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom," he said. "This stateside duty is no less significant to the mission that those whose duty called them to serve abroad. I feel like I have made a significant contribution to both the war effort and the global war on terrorism, by managing the largest OSI contingency response in the history of the organization.
"At the same time, my family and I dealt with and overcame significant personal setbacks," he added. "My faith in God has pulled us through, and I am proud to have served my country during this low point in its history."
And while Villas may not run into evil-doers named Goldfinger or aliens intent on taking over the world, he intends to keep doing his part to keep Air Force people safe, secure and crime free.
- By John Dendy for Hometown News Service
GRAPHIC: COURTESY OF HOMETOWN NEWS SERVICE; John A. Villas works in covert circles with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to protect American service members during times of war and peace.
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2003
[MCOLDB: 1982 ]
http://www.rockawave.com/news/2003/0725/Community/034.html
Graduate From Manhattan
Jeanise C. Valentine, a resident of Far Rockaway, and Nuala Carrington, a resident of Rockaway, both graduated from Manhattan College. Valentine attended the School of Education. Carrington attended the School of Arts.
[JR: 2003? ]
[RESUMES]
FROM THE COLLEGE’S WEB SITE: Your resume can be sent to employers who contact our office seeking to fill positions. For more information contact the Recruitment Coordinator at (718) 862-7965 or Email to JGlenn@manhattan.edu
Actual jobs at MC are at: http://www.manhattan.edu/hrs/jobs
[SPORTS]
FROM THE COLLEGE’S WEB SITE: http://www.gojaspers.com [which is no longer at the College, but at a third party. Web bugs are on the pages. (That’s the benefit of being a security weenie!) So, it’s reader beware. Your browser can tell people “stuff” about you, like your email address, leading to SPAM. Forewarned is forearmed.]
The only reason for putting this here is to give us a chance to attend one of these games and support "our" team.
Date Day Sport Opponent Location Time/Result
9/4/03 Thursday Golf Towson Fall
Classic Baltimore, MD 4:00 PM
9/5/03 Friday Golf Towson Fall
Classic Baltimore, MD 8:00 AM
9/6/03 Saturday Golf Towson Fall
Classic Baltimore, MD 8:00 AM
9/11/03 Thursday Golf Bucknell Invitational
Lewisburg, PA 2:00 PM
9/12/03 Friday Golf Bucknell
Invitational Lewisburg, PA 1:00 PM
9/13/03 Saturday Golf Bucknell Invitational
Lewisburg, PA 8:45 AM
9/19/03 Friday Golf Manhattan Fall
Invitational Riverhead, NY 1:00 PM
[Sports from College]
JASPER BASEBALL PLAYERS SHINE IN SUMMER LEAGUE ACTION
RIVERDALE, NY (July 29, 2003) – Several members of the Manhattan College baseball team were named to various Summer League All-Star Teams for their outstanding play this season. Sophomore first baseman Chris Gaskin (Rego Park, NY) was selected to the Coastal Plain League South All-Star Team, while junior catcher Josh Greco (Kensington, CT) and freshman pitcher Chris Cody (Brewster, NY) were named to the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Southern Division All-Star Team.
Gaskin, the starting first baseman for the Gastonia Grizzlies, is currently hitting .252 with 34 basehits and 24 RBI. The Grizzlies are 14-25 on the season.
Greco, who plays for the Middletown Giants, has started 24 of the 30 games he has appeared in and is hitting .237 with 18 hits and nine RBI. The Giants own a 16-20 overall record. Cody has pitched brilliantly for the Manchester Silkworms. He is 3-2 with a 1.12 ERA over 40.1 innings pitched. Cody has collected 43 strikeouts, second-most on the squad, and allowed just five earned runs. Manchester is currently 15-21.
In addition to these fine performances, two other Jasper pitchers are having fine summer seasons as well. Sophomore Mike Parisi (Lake Grove, NY), a teammate of Greco's on the Middletown Giants, is currently 6-2 with 49 strikeouts in 41.2 innings of work.
Also of note, 2003 Manhattan graduate Ryan Darcy (Levittown, NY) is pitching well for the New Jersey Jackals of the Northeast League. Used mostly as a reliever for the Jackals, Darcy is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 12 appearances. In his first professional start last week, Darcy tossed five scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over the Bangor Lumberjacks. He allowed just three hits while striking out four and walking none. The Jackals are currently 37-25 overall and in first place in the South Division.
[Sports from News & Web]
Copyright
2003 The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
July 27, 2003 Sunday
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 1C
HEADLINE: A team of fast friends
BYLINE: Jeff Montez, Staff
Hudson Valley medals in seven of eight relays
Jeff Montez
The Journal News
AMHERST - It's easy to question why some top local track and field athletes would travel to Buffalo to compete in the Empire State Games.
It's not the competition, because not all of the state's top athletes compete here.
It's not the accommodations, because the college dorms where the athletes are staying could never be confused with a four-star hotel. Games organizers aren't even serving free lunch for them.
Perhaps the greatest allure for track athletes to compete in the Empire State Games year after year is the camaraderie that develops at random among athletes not used to competing with each other.
<extraneous deleted>
Michanne Campbell, a Manhattan College senior and a 2000 Mount Vernon graduate, was the only other local gold medalist, winning the open women's triple jump with a mark of 37-6 . Campbell came into the games after setting the Manhattan triple-jump record of 39-7y at the ECAC Championships at Princeton this spring.
<extraneous deleted>
Reach Jeff Montez at jmontez@thejournalnews.gannett.com or 914-694-3531.
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 2003
=
Copyright
2003 Bangor Daily News
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
July 26, 2003 Saturday Coastal and Final Editions
SECTION: D; Pg. 1
HEADLINE: Rookie Darcy helps Jackals blank struggling Lumberjacks
BYLINE: ANDREW NEFF, OF THE NEWS STAFF
DATELINE: GAME NOTES
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. - Friday night's game at Yogi Berra Stadium was billed as "Christmas in July" night as part of the New Jersey Jackals' fan appreciation weekend, but the fans weren't the only ones receiving gifts.
The Jackals used a solid first start from rookie Ryan Darcy and an offense that finished with a flourish to take a 5-0 victory over the Bangor Lumberjacks.
The 8-6 Lumberjacks were once again stymied offensively as they followed up a six-hit effort Thursday with three Friday while being shutout for the second straight game.
Darcy gave up three hits while notching four strikeouts and walking no one in five innings of work for his first professional win.
"I was a little nervous before the first pitch, but other than that, I felt fine," said the rookie out of Manhattan College who played against Bangor's Steve O'Sullivan in college ball. "I was spotting my fastball and my changeup was working well. I wasn't overpowering anybody, but I kept them away from big hits."
The 7-8 Jackals broke onto the scoreboard first with a run in the bottom of the third. John Anderson tripled to the right field corner in his second at-bat and, one out later, finally made it home on a Darren Blakely sacrifice fly to right center.
It would be five innings later before any more runs crossed the plate, but New Jersey would make up for lost time with four runs on four straight one-out hits which chased Pincavitch and sent reliever Santiago Henry to the showers after two batters. The biggest hit of the inning was Keith Maxwell's three-run double deep to right center off Henry.
The nine-hour bus ride from Bangor to Clifton didn't allow many of the Lumberjacks to get much sleep, but nobody was using that as an excuse.
"I think the bus ride affected me more at the start. It took me a little longer to loosen and warm up," said Pincavitch. "The trip had nothing to do with what happened in the eighth though."
Pincavitch yielded nine hits and four runs, all earned, in his 7 1/3 innings of work as his record goes to 6-2.
Maxwell led New Jersey's 12-hit attack with three singles in four at-bats.Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp had to watch the first game of this series from the cheap seats. After being ejected from Thursday's game in Bangor for arguing balls and strikes, he was suspended for one game by the Northeast League office.
Beauchamp, who managed and coached the Jackals for three seasons, looked pretty comfortable sitting in the stands as he greeted friends and former co-workers, teammates, and former players. Assistants Pincavitch and Josh Brinkley managed in his absence.
Relief pitcher Donnie Thomas, who was shipped to New Jersey by Bangor Thursday night as the player-to-be-named-later for a previous deal, was unable to join his new teammates in time for the series-opening game against his former teammates as he was caught in a traffic jam near the George Washington Bridge caused by a truck fire which closed all lanes in both directions and snarled traffic for hours. Thomas was able to contact New Jersey coaches by cell phone call. He planned to spend Friday night with his former mates at their hotel in nearby Clifton.
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 2003
= =
Copyright
2003 The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Journal News (Westchester County, NY)
July 26, 2003 Saturday
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 6C
HEADLINE: TRACK AND FIELD
BYLINE: Jeff Montez, Staff
Campbell bids farewell
Mamaroneck runner wins 200 for final time before moving
Jeff Montez
The Journal News
AMHERST - It was a golden 21.71-second goodbye for Byron Campbell.
<extraneous deleted>
Croton-on-Hudson's Mike Pellet, a graduate of Croton-Harmon who has one semester remaining at Manhattan College, took bronze in the open men's shot put with a games personal-best mark of 50 feet, 9y inches. Claudy Etienne of Westbury on Long Island won the gold with 52-6y.
A discus and hammer thrower and shot-putter for the past four years for the Jaspers, Pellet said his performance has inspired him to dedicate his post-collegiate track and field career to the shot put.
"I'm going to be seeing these guys a lot," he said of Etienne and Adirondack silver medalist Justin Sievert of Latham. "We're all the same age."
<extraneous deleted>
Reach Jeff Montez at jmontez@thejournalnews.gannett.com or 914-694-3531.
LOAD-DATE: July 29, 2003
= = =
Copyright
2003 The Buffalo News
Buffalo News (New York)
July 25, 2003 Friday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: SPORTS, Pg.C8
HEADLINE: EXTRA-INNING BARRAGE CAPS WESTERN'S PERFECT DAY
BYLINE: MARY JO MONNIN; News Sports Reporter
DATELINE: WHEATFIELD-
Mike Rappl knew he had a good hitting team, he just didn't think he'd have to wait eight innings to see how good.
The patience paid off for the Western softball coach as his team reeled off four runs in the top of the eighth Thursday and beat Adirondack, 5-2, at Fairmont Park on the first day of competition at the Empire State Games.
"We'd been hitting the ball all day and getting runners thrown out, and the other team's been making plays. It just seemed like everything fell into place (in the eighth). We hit the ball well in the sixth and seventh, and we said, 'Hey, let's really try to focus on making contact,' and they did," said Rappl.
The win was the second of the day for Western, which earlier beat Long Island, 2-1.
Western, the defending gold medalists, takes its 2-0 record into today's games against the Central Region (1-1) at 9 a.m. and Hudson Valley (2-0) at 11:30 a.m.
Adirondack, which lost to Western in last year's gold-medal game, rallied for a run in the sixth to send the game into extra innings tied at 1. With the international tiebreaker in effect, Jackie Fusco started off the Western eighth on second base. Adirondack recorded two quick outs and it appeared as though Fusco would be stranded.
But then the base hits began to fall like the familiar raindrops from the sky. Western pounded five straight singles off the bats of Natalie Osika, Katie Miranto, Jessica Rosenhahn, Colleen Larson and Jamie Gerace.
"It was bound to happen sometime, and it's good that it happened in the eighth inning," said Gerace. "We'd been waiting to do that. We saw the pitcher a couple times, and the team is filled with people who can hit."
The extra-inning victory made a winner of Lindsay Garbacz, who went the distance, scattering six hits. She retired nine in a row during the middle innings and struck out six. She also helped turn a 1-2-3 double play that got her out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning.
Gerace showed her impressive range at shortstop by ending the fourth with a shoestring catch, and in the fifth she saved a run by coming out of nowhere to catch of a pop fly over short center.
"I knew the outfielders were playing deep, so I knew I had to make a play or nobody else would," Gerace said. "I just put my glove out and hoped for the best."
Gerace capped her high school career this spring by earning Western New York Player of the Year honors at Kenmore West.
The win over Long Island didn't come any easier. Western gave up a run in the first inning and then took the lead for good with two runs in the third. The speedy Osika beat out a drag bunt to open the inning and stole second. Miranto reached on a throwing error that scored Osika. Gerace singled to move Miranto to third, and Miranto scored on a fielder's choice.
Kara Husband picked up the win, giving up four hits in four innings with no walks. Husband just completed a four-year career on the mound for Manhattan College. She earned a degree in elementary education and is the pitching coach at D'Youville.
Garbacz pitched three perfect innings in relief. She's coming off a high school season for Lancaster where she was named Western New York's Pitcher of the Year.
Rappl credited the day's sweep to the leadership of Rosenhahn and Fusco and the presence of Garbacz on the mound.
Rosenhahn is competing in her ninth Games and has four golds, four silvers and one bronze medal. The 1999 Canisius graduate is a softball instructor at the Baseball Academy of Western New York in Orchard Park. Fusco is a 2000 Canisius graduate and 2003 D'Youville graduate.
A 14-member grounds crew from the Town of Wheatfield Parks and Recreation Department earned its money getting the rain-soaked fields ready. Many arrived at 6 a.m. to prepare the diamonds for the day's first games at 9 a.m.
"They were terrible," Glen Lauffer, head of the grounds crew, said of the fields. "We had lakes on the diamonds. (Wednesday's) downpour didn't help. We pumped them out and started throwing Quick Dry on the diamonds and raked them out."
e-mail: mmonnin@buffnews.com
GRAPHIC: HARRY SCULL JR./Buffalo News Western's Lindsay Garbacz pitched eight innings to beat Adirondack, 5-2, in a rematch of last year's gold-medal game.
LOAD-DATE: July 27, 2003
= = = = =
Copyright
2003 The Charlotte Observer
All Rights Reserved
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)
July 25, 2003 Friday THREE EDITION
SECTION: GASTON; Pg. 11L
HEADLINE: A GRIZZLY OFF THE BENCH LEADS SOUTH TO VICTORY;
RESERVE CHRIS GASKIN HAS A PART IN 2 RUNS, INCLUDING THE WINNER
BYLINE: MICHAEL L. NIXON, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: GASTONIA
The Gastonia Grizzlies' Chris Gaskin might not have been a starter in Tuesday's Coastal Plain League All-Star baseball game, but he had a big part in finishing it.
Gaskin drove in the South team's first run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, then scored the game's winning run in the bottom of the 12th in a 3-2 win before about 1,000 fans.
"I had a great time," said Gaskin, one of two Grizzlies on the team, the other being Josh LeBlanc. "Even though I didn't start, it was awesome. The crowd cheered for us more than anyone else."
That was about all South supporters had to cheer about for most of the game. Gaskin's fly to deep right field scored the first of two runs the South got in the ninth to tie the game.
Then, in the 12th, Gaskin's leadoff single began a rally that ended with his scoring the game-winning run three batters later.
"It was poetic justice" that Gaskin had such a strong performance, said Gastonia general manager Clay Battin. "A lot of people questioned whether or not he had the numbers to be on the All-Star team. He showed them, though."
Gaskin's batting average is just .265, but he's leading the Grizzlies in hits (30), runs batted in (21) and is tied for the lead in doubles with eight.
It was the Manhattan College rising junior's first CPL All-Star game, but he wasn't unprepared.
"I had a buddy (at Manhattan) who played on an all-star team last year and told me what to expect," Gaskin said. "With all the scouts here, every player was under a little more pressure than normal."
And did those scouts see the true Chris Gaskin game?
"They saw some of it," Gaskin said. "Since I didn't get to play the whole game, they didn't get to see a whole lot of me defensively."
Gaskin's favorite Major League ballplayer is former New York Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez. "Tino's a great first baseman," Gaskin said. "I try to be a little bit like him out on the field."
*
What's ahead
Tonight, the Grizzlies will continue their regular season with a home game against Spartanburg. On Saturday, they will play at West Division leader Thomasville. Monday, they will host Wilson, and on Tuesday will host Fayetteville.
Beating Thomasville would allow the Grizzlies to gain ground on the team they must dethrone to reach the CPL playoffs in August. Spartanburg, Wilson and Fayetteville all have losing records, giving Gastonia the ideal chance to make a final charge at a division title.
"This is our last chance," Gaskin said. "We've only got two weeks left." Grizzlies results and schedule
Team record: 13-20 this season, 3-7 in second half
Past result
July 19 - Beat Thomasville 6-2 behind Jamie Tucker's first home run of the season. Chris Carter pitched a complete game to improve to 3-1.
Upcoming
schedule
Tonight vs. Spartanburg
Saturday at Thomasville
Monday vs. Wilson
Tuesday vs. Fayetteville
Wednesday at Asheboro
Thursday at Spartanburg
All games at 7 p.m.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO:1;
1. ROBERT LAHSER - STAFF PHOTO. The North's Jason Boyd makes contact with the ball for a base hit during Tuesday's Coastal Plain All-Star game at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia.
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2003
= = = = = =
Copyright
2003 Post-Standard, All Rights Reserved.
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
July 24, 2003 Thursday Final Edition
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. D8
HEADLINE: CENTRAL TEAMS TAKE ON THE STATE AS EMPIRE GAMES BEGIN;
THOUSANDS DESCEND ON BUFFALO AS ANNUAL SPORTS FESTIVAL GETS UNDER WAY.
BYLINE: Staff reports
Over the next four days, more than 5,000 athletes and coaches will compete in 26 sports at venues in the Buffalo area. This is the fourth time Buffalo has hosted the Olympic-style summer event, the last in 1996.
Central won 210 medals, including 63 gold, when Syracuse hosted the games a year ago. New York City, Long Island, Adirondack, Hudson Valley and host Western are the other regions in the hunt medals.
Here is a look at some of the Central's teams and athletes:
Soccer
<extraneous deleted>
Open women: The open women's team was the only Central soccer team not to bring home the gold last year. "We're a little more experienced and hopefully a little hungrier," coach Gil Palladino said. "They know they were the only ones not to get a gold, and we came a breakaway from winning it."
Palladino will rely heavily on goal scoring, especially from Colgate's Kelly Kuss and St. John's forward Dominica Reina. The attack will be even more important with the inexperienced youngster Trinity Reina, a rising freshman at Manhattan College, anchoring the defense.
Central starts with a 1 p.m. game against Long Island today.
<extraneous deleted>
LOAD-DATE: July 25, 2003
= = = = = = =
[EMAIL FROM JASPERS]
[Email01]
From: Ferguson, Thomas S. (1975)
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
Apparently, my email concerning Standing Together touched a nerve, as the following reply attests:
> [JR: "
a pre-emptive strike against the homophobia"!!! It's a good
> thing I am an engineer with a thick skin and don't know no big words.
> You have got to be kidding. I am the fellow who in the 70's when it
> wasn't cool to be gay, hired a gay man to clerk for me while he
> pursued his theater drams. Homophobic. How about
"love the sinner;
> hate the sin". The black robed "high priests" were once
again wrong!
> And, by their actions again - as with the abortion decision, have
> precluded society from finding a peaceful resolution. Arghhh!
Whether or not a gay man was hired in the 1970's has no bearing on comments I have seen in "Jasper Jottings." I named no one, so Mr. Reinke's response seems to indicate some responsibility, for what I do not know. As to the "love the sinner, hate the sin" comment, I made my position perfectly clear when I affirmed Catholic teaching, yet brought out that the "love the sinner" portion was not yet achieved. It would be nice if Mr. Reinke would actually read my emails before commenting. Perhaps the fact that the Supreme Court decision may prevent teenage suicides has no impact on some people, but, as an educator, I find it hopeful.
Black robes or not, Supreme Court Justices are not in any way, shape or form,"high priests." They serve no religious cultic purpose, as did the Pontifex Maximus of Rome, or the Temple priests in Jerusalem. In fact, Mr. Reinke may wish to read the Letter to the Hebrews, part of the canonical Bible of the Catholic Church, which says that Christ is the true High Priest.
[JR: <1> I do read everything that comes in. (several times) and I am struck by your tone. I leave to the reader to decide what is responsive, what's not, and what is interesting. <2> It was my understanding that the Justices were there to judge the law, not the intent or the results. I'll defer to the many lawyers who read this to take on that. They do become "high priests", not arbiters, when they legislate from the bench. Judges do take on the role of "priests" when they exceed their Constitutional function, as they appear willing to do all too often – like the "right to home" extracted from the City of New York, the interpreted right of "privacy", and the striking down of state sodomy laws based on some Federal interest. <3> I have no interest reading the canonical Bible since the illusion to "high priests" was an attempt to scorn what the judges seem to be trying to become. <4> I do think that you've got a chip on your shoulder about something. And, I am sorry if I have aggravated you into targeting me. This is supposed to be "fun". For everyone.]
[Email02]
From:
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: FW: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
I was unable to open this in Word as I usually do. The dialogue box said,"it contains nested tables that are too complex to represent". Could you please tell me exactly what program you have written in?
=
From: John Reinke
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 2:53 PM
Subject: RE: FW: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
It is shipped as a "plain old ascii" text file. You shouldn't get any complaints ever about it. I have appended it below for your use. John
=
From:
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 5:34 PM
Subject: Re: FW: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030706.htm
Thanks for resending it....I got it!
[Email03]
From: Thomas, Tegy (1999)
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 4:54 PM
Subject: hello
HELLO JOHN,
How are you? Don't know if you remember me, but I graduated from Manhattan College in 1999. I am planning to move to DC this summer, looking to get into the law industry.
I was wondering if you knew anyone in the legal area that would help/advise/direct etc. to find employment in the DC metro area?
I am also getting married August 31, 2003.
Hear from you soon
Tegy Thomas
[JR: Mike, a little help here? ]
[Email04]
From: Louis & Nancy Uffer (1987)
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 2:12 PM
Subject: Jasper Jottings
Please change my e-mail address for Jasper Jottings to this one, and delete <privacy invoked> . We have decided to 'go high speed' and are switching from MSN to Comcast High Speed Internet. Please note our new e-mail address: <privacy invoked>
Regards,
Louis Uffer
[Email05]
From: Thomas J. (1968) Heffernan
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 3:16 PM
Subject: RE: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030720.htm
Get an Apple. >
=
From: Reinke
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 10:11 PM
Subject: RE: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030720.htm
Oh I see they don't have power supplies that can fail. That's a distinct advantage. ;-)
[Email06]
From:
newsletter@bali.infophil.com [mailto:newsletter@bali.infophil.com]On Behalf Of Alumni.NET
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 5:21 PM
To: Ferdinand Reinke
Subject: Alumni.NET Newsletter; New Virtual Yearbooks
Electronic Newsletter - July 22, 2003
Organization Updates
Manhattan College
Updated Members
Fred Mccarthy (1979-1983) - New Jersey United States Of America
Alan Fernandez (1989-1993) - New York United States Of America
Manhattan College
Updated Members
Ralph
Serrano (1970-1974) - Ca United States Of America
Matthew Mc Kay (1972-1976) - New Jersey United States Of America
Steve Crowley (1981-1986) - New York United States Of America
Joeseph Oconnel (1982-1986)
- Nj United States Of America
Paul Ohara (1989-1993) - Rock Albania
Ian Frasacti (1993-1997) - Denver United States Of
America
[JR: Just thought I'd mention these "findings". ]
[Email07]
From: Brock, Ruth A.Gilbert (1979)
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030720.htm
Hi John,
My visit to NY was busy with the conference but I did take the time to see 3 plays in the evenings and hook up with the young jaspers....I felt ancient, the oldest ones in the pack graduated in 89, I graduated in 79. They were a nice group and made me feel very welcome. I hung out with them for 3 or so hours on the roof top of the pub. There were about 50 or 60 MC folks there. All in all it was a nice time. I knew one of the older brothers of one young man I chatted with....small world...he is also in the Air National Guard. Have a great week.
Ruth
[JR: Thanks for the report. Us old folks love to hear what the yunguns is doing. ]
[Email08]
From: Heckman, Charles W. (1963)
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 12:59 AM
Subject: Warning against the ROTC
Dear Mr. Reinke,
This is not what you are used to receiving, but since my case is getting more and more interest on the internet, I would like your opinion of the account below, which was prepared for but not yet posted on the website http://www.v-r-a.org
The facts presented below represent less than the tip of the iceberg. It is really equivalent only to the snow on the top. Over the years, I have written to Brother Thomas about the problems that can arise from accepting an Air Force commission through the ROTC. While I have always believed that national defense is the duty of all citizens, I find that I am in the minority with this opinion. The sacrifice of service in war is the least of the problems, as you will see below. I believe that Brother Thomas should share this report with the students who are contemplating ROTC participation.
On the one hand, I cannot regard my life as unsuccessful, having authored six books and over 60 other scientific publications on work I did in Europe, Asia, and South America. My seventh book is also nearing completion. On the other hand, I have no income, my wife presently has no health insurance, and I can therefore give my three grown children no support for their university studies. For obvious reasons, all three opted to remain in Germany. At age 65, I will not qualify for social security because almost all of my working life was spent in Europe, South America, and Asia. I will not qualify for any kind of pension in the United States, and have no other kind of income. Since 1999, I have become involved in several lawsuits to try to claim my veterans' preference rights. While seeking employment here since 1999, I have learned that the blacklist of "unrepentent" Vietnam veterans is airtight.
As author of a major science book series, I would normally be able to obtain money from the National Science Foundation. However, peer review by people who spent the Vietnam War on a campus with a draft deferment excludes me for consideration. Several of them stated that these books cannot be written, and another stated that someone is not allowed to write books on all groups of insects. I have my author copies of these books in front of me, so obviously they exist. You can find them all, except for the one in press, on Amazon.com.
You may use this information any way you like. However, I ask you to let me hear any feedback. I have already learned that the spin doctors can misrepresent accounts such as this in all kinds of ways. For example, when a veteran active in the business world mentioned my case to some American Legion officials in Washington, they told him that I was from Alaska and could not expect to find any help in Washington. Of course, I'm not from Alaska, and they did not explain why someone from Alaska would be barred from working in Washington. My wife's aunt is now trying to find me a job at a university in China.
I would be glad to hear your opinion on my situation. By the way, all of the facts in the account and a great deal more are well documented in the appeal files of the Merit System Protection Board and the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II.
Sincerely,
Charles W. Heckman, Dr. Sci., habil.
Manhattan Class of 63
[JR: You're right. It didn't require fixing the spelling errors. Yjay creep in when someone "rips off" a quick email. Despite it's length, I have included it. True my promise of just being the custodian, not the censor. ]
Depravation of Civil Rights for
Service in the Vietnam War
Summary of the case of Dr. Charles W. Heckman
Prepared for posting on the Internet
Relevant documents have been posted on
http://www.v-r-a.org
After the Vietnam War, the United States Government, aided by the mainstream press, set about vindicating itself for its incredible mismanagement of the war by placing the blame on the veterans. To do this effectively, veterans had to be completely excluded from any positions of influence or responsibility, including faculty posts at universities, journalist positions with the news and electronic media, and supervisory positions in the civil service.
From 35 years of experience fighting against the “McCarthy Era-style” blacklisting of veterans, Dr. Heckman has come to realize that there are degrees of discrimination depending upon what the veteran did during the war. Employment preference is a legal entitlement of all Vietnam Era veterans, but it is denied more frequently to veterans who actually served in Vietnam. Furthermore, among those veterans, discrimination is most severe against those who served in combat. Therefore, the considerable amount of combat Dr. Heckman experienced during the war is sufficient to explain the large amount of money and effort expended by the civil service and its contractors to keep him from ever finding gainful employment in the United States.
Service defending the United States as grounds for resentment
Upon graduation from Manhattan College in 1963, Dr. Heckman was commissioned in the United States Air Force. As a distinguished graduate of the AFROTC program, he was awarded a regular rather than a reserve commission. After completing pilot training, he was assigned to fly the C-130 transport from a base on Okinawa. From April 1965 through October 1966, he flew missions in Southeast Asia, ferrying troops and supplies to bases in Vietnam and Thailand, dropping leaflets over North Vietnam, and flying flare-drop missions in support of air strikes over the southern part of North Vietnam and eastern Laos. From December 1966 through November 1968, he flew O-1 and O-2 aircraft as a forward air controller in various parts of the I and II Corps regions of South Vietnam as well as over the southern part of North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in eastern Laos. Dr. Heckman extended his tour of duty twice and received his honorable discharge from the Air Force on the day he returned to the United States. More than 1800 hours of his military flying was classified as combat time. In a country that has singled out its veterans as scapegoats for a politically and militarily mismanaged war, Dr. Heckman’s combat service made him a prime target for reprisal. As three different New York State employment specialists told him during the 1970s and 1980s, every selection committee for scientific and academic positions, for which Dr. Heckman is best qualified, can be expected to include at least one person who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War and would feel uncomfortable working with a veteran. Especially galling to the segment of his generation who asked only what their country could do for them were the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 28 oak leaf clusters, and Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Silver Star that were awarded on paper to Dr. Heckman. (The Air Force only bothered to write only the orders for these awards, presenting Dr. Heckman only with one Air Medal and a nice certificate for the 28th oak leaf cluster with the wrong middle initial printed on it.)
Qualifications
While Dr. Heckman’s employment problems in the United States are far from unique among veterans, they are especially easy to document because of his particularly good qualifications for employment. In 1969, he took the Graduate Record Examination and scored in the upper 1% of American college graduates and graduating seniors seeking admission to graduate school. His three scores placed him between the 98th and 99th percentile level in verbal ability, the 96th percentile level in quantitative ability, and above the 99th percentile level in biology achievement. His grade point average while studying for his Master of Science degree was 3.92/4.00, and his dissertation on rice field ecology in Laos was published in an international scientific journal. After being confronted with the severe limitations on his educational opportunities in the United States because of his Air Force service in the war, Dr. Heckman pursued his doctoral studies in Germany, where he received the grade of 1 (=A) in all of his examinations and for his dissertation, which was based on research conducted in the Mekong Valley of Thailand and published as a book. After he completed his doctoral studies, he was immediately offered a contract for post-doctoral research. The results of his work in Germany from 1978 through 1990 were reported in 34 scientific publications in refereed journals, five of them of monograph length, and four major reports submitted to environmental agencies, as well as a video presentation produced for the Hamburg Environmental Authority. The results were also presented at international scientific conferences in Europe, Asia, and South America.
In 1990, the Max-Planck-Institut für Limnology offered Dr. Heckman a four year contract to lead the limnological research in a joint German-Brazilian research project in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso. The Pantanal is a vast wetland along the upper Rio Paraguay near the geographical center of South America. More than 50 scientists worked in this project, including professors at the Federal University of Mato Grosso in Cuiabá, doctoral candidates from Germany and Brazil, and college graduates performing sponsored research prior to beginning their graduate studies. The results of Dr. Heckman’s work are summarized in his book, The Pantanal of Poconé, published by Kluwer Scientific Publishers, as well as 17 other publications, most co-authored by German and Brazilian scientists, which appeared in refereed scientific journals or books. Dr. Heckman and members of his group were also well represented among the lecturers at German, Brazilian, and international conferences held during and after the project.
After the conclusion of his project in the Pantanal, Dr. Heckman was sent by the German Academic Exchange Service as an exchange scientist to the Fundação Centro Tecnológico de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. His work at the laboratory in 1995 led to his being sent back again in 1996. Some of the results of this work have already been published.
Based on his extensive experience identifying aquatic plant and animal species in South America, Dr. Heckman has begun writing a book series to facilitate the identification of all aquatic insects known from that continent. The first two volumes, entitled Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Collembola, and Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Ephemeroptera, have already been published, and the third volume, Encyclopedia of South American Aquatic Insects: Plecoptera, is now in press. This series will enable scientists in South America to identify the species they encounter. This was virtually impossible in the past, and identification of insect specimens depended upon a small number of experts at museums and universities scattered throughout the world, each of them knowledgeable only about one group. Dr. Heckman’s book series will open South America for surveys of the known fauna and provide large numbers of scientists with the fundamental information they need to begin working with aquatic insects and describing the species that are still unknown.
Dr. Heckman also worked as a civilian airline captain in Laos and Cambodia during the final years of American involvement in the Vietnam War and holds an airline transport pilot and aircraft and powerplant mechanic’s licenses. The airlift in Cambodia is described in his book, The Phnom Penh Airlift, Confessions of a Pig Pilot, published in 1990 by McFarland. He has also made professional and commercial translations of German, Portuguese, Russian, and Dutch manuscripts into English and translated Portuguese manuscripts into German. If he were not a veteran of war service in the United States Air Force, he would certainly be considered an ideal employee in almost any field. During his working career beginning in 1964, Dr. Heckman has worked under the hardest conditions imaginable and has never been absent from his workplace because of sickness.
Discrimination in the United States
Missing form Dr. Heckman’s work history is any full-time employment in the United States, with the one exception described below. It is obvious from U. S. Department of Labor statistics that veterans of the Vietnam Era are very poorly represented in academic careers. The treatment of Dr. Heckman’s job applications in the United States amply illustrates why this is true.
In 1969, Dr. Heckman was told by Dr. John Barlowe of the Department of Systematics and Ecology at Cornell University not to apply to the Graduate School after he heard that Dr. Heckman had just returned from Vietnam. Cornell had offered fellowships to graduate students whose Graduate Record Examination scores were more than 100 points lower than Dr. Heckman’s. Subsequently, Dr. Heckman was denied fair consideration for various Federal and State fellowship programs and scholarships. After he won a New York State Regents War Service scholarship by competitive examination, the State of New York illegally denied him an incentive award, which every student was entitled to, meaning that his war service scholarship did not gain him any more support that he would have received if he had not won any scholarship at all.
From 1978 through 1998, Dr. Heckman was turned down for many academic and civil service positions in the United States in favor of non-veterans with far poorer records of proven ability and achievement. At the same time, the Immigration and Naturalization Service was denying his wife America citizenship because he preferred working professionally in foreign countries to joining the growing army of unemployed and underemployed veterans in the United States. Although lawsuits he filed ended in a Federal judge forcing the Department of Justice to recommend his wife for citizenship after a six year court battle and gained him a small settlement from the State University of New York, Dr. Heckman was forced to conclude that the United States Government had specifically asked him to serve in armed conflicts against the communist bloc during the Cold War and then blacklisted him for life because he did.
Department of Agriculture discrimination
In 1997, Dr. Heckman applied for a vacancy as a research scientist in Alaska and was offered $20,000 to withdraw from the selection. He was told that if he did not accept the offer, the selection would be cancelled. As a preference veteran, he was blocking the list for a less qualified non-veteran, who the agency wanted to hire. The offer was made by F. Stuart Chapin III, a professor recently hired by the University of Alaska from the University of California at Berkeley, where he had spent the Vietnam War with a draft deferment. Also making the offer was Tricia Wurtz, a Forest Service employee in a cooperative program with the university. The offer was later confirmed by Wurtz’s supervisor, Hermann Gucinski, who came to the United States as an economic refugee from Germany after World War II.
After Dr. Heckman obtained written proof that the offer had been made, he filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which was forced to conclude that Wurtz and Gucinski had committed a “prohibited personnel practice.” The right of the Forest Service to hire new employees was suspended, and Dr. Heckman was offered a “settlement agreement,” which included an option for a job at Olympia, Washington, supposedly equivalent to the one in Alaska. Wurtz was suspended for one week without pay, and Gucinski was given a letter of reprimand. No consideration was given to the fact that Wurtz and Gucinski had attempted to commit grand larceny by misappropriating $20,000 from funds earmarked for equipment purchases or the fact that they had attempted bribery with a sum greater than $10,000. In addition to ignoring the felonies committed, the Special Counsel did not attempt to determine any knowledge and complicity in the bribe offer by Station Director Thomas Mills, Gucinski’s immediate supervisor. Mills is not a scientist but holds a PhD in forestry with a strong emphasis on economics. That a subordinate would have attempted to keep the misappropriation of $20,000 secret from a person with such strong qualifications in economics is scarcely credible.
Between the time Dr. Heckman began working at Olympia on May 24, 1998, and the arrival of the new program manager, Deanna Stouder, on August 10, 1998, his work progressed rapidly. He had submitted a manuscript on the encroachment of exotic plants into the Olympic National Forest for publication, and he was completing work on six other manuscripts. During the summer, he performed a considerable amount of field research on the western side of the Olympic Mountains at sites recommended by his supervisor, Peter Bisson. He also arranged to purchase equipment for his research, including a microscope and electronic analysis devises.
Reprisal for whistleblowing by the Forest Service
The Government Accountability Project (http://www.whistleblower.org ) displayed a list of procedures frequently used by Federal agencies to take reprisal against whistleblowers, and Station Director Mills followed these procedures very closely in taking reprisal against Dr. Heckman for reporting the $20,000 bribe offer designed to circumvent the veterans’ preference laws. Because no scientists had ever been fired by the Pacific Northwest Research Station, Mills hired Deanna Stouder from the Department of the Interior at Ohio State University, who had experience terminating a scientist. She could not begin her work until August 10, 1999, because of the hiring freeze that had been imposed on the Forest Service by the Office of Personnel Management due to Dr. Heckman’s disclosure. As soon as she arrived, however, she cancelled all purchases of necessary equipment, prohibited Dr. Heckman from continuing to work overtime during the peak summer sampling season, refused to even allow him to record the hours he was actually working as uncompensated free time, and commanded his supervisor to give him four “assignments” that substantially changed his job description and working conditions and were different in nature from anything that had been given to any other scientists working at the laboratory. After his supervisor, Peter Bisson, gave him a fully satisfactory performance rating in February 1999, she spoke with Bisson for several hours behind closed doors and convinced him to change the rating to unsatisfactory. To justify the rating, Bisson wrote some unjustified negative comments about the first draft of one of the four “assignments” and falsely alleged that they had been written by an anonymous expert on the subject. Inexplicably, the unsatisfactory rating was accompanied by a recommendation that Dr. Heckman be retained in his current job.
Redress through the agency grievance system
Immediately after receiving the unjustified rating of unsatisfactory, Dr. Heckman prepared an informal agency grievance. This grievance enumerated all of the irregularities and inconsistencies in his treatment by Bisson and Stouder, stressing the fact that the unsatisfactory rating was given without warning that anything about his performance had been deficient in any way and that a rating of unsatisfactory should be preceded by implementation of a performance improvement plan. It also mentioned the fact that Dr. Heckman was finding shortcomings in ongoing research by Forest Service grant recipients and recommending improvements, which could have been assumed to generate ill will and be the cause of further reprisal.
Dr. Heckman’s family had not yet relocated from Germany, and he had applied for his annual leave to visit them in March 1999. On the day before he was to leave, travelling on a low-cost, non-refundable air ticket, Peter Bisson informed him that he would not be permitted to take the leave because he had filed an agency grievance. Bisson and Stouder had also made him change his plans for travelling during the Christmas holidays at the last minute. Dr. Heckman asked for a written order of the cancellation since the leave had been approved in writing by Bisson two months earlier. Bisson then stated that he was not cancelling the leave, but he then sent Dr. Heckman a memo by e-mail stating that if he took the leave, he would probably be terminated.
After Dr. Heckman left for the leave, Deanna Stouder contacted him by e-mail informing him that she would take no further action on his grievance. Dr. Heckman immediately sent a formal grievance to Station Director Mills and followed it up a few days later with a large number of documents to support his complaints. From early April until June 16, Mills took no action whatsoever in response to Dr. Heckman’s grievance. On May 20, 1999, Dr. Heckman was terminated for “unsatisfactory performance,” although no evidence whatsoever was provided showing that any of his performance had been unsatisfactory. On June 16, Mills sent a long letter which addressed none of the issues raised in Dr. Heckman’s grievance but raised and discredited many bogus complaints that Dr. Heckman had not made in his grievance. He stated that unless Dr. Heckman renewed his request for an investigation, he would close the file. Dr. Heckman did insist that an investigation be made, and the grievance was assigned to an investigator, who turned it over to another investigator several months later. The grievance was finally dismissed in December 1999 without any investigation on the grounds that actions taken during the probationary year are not subject to review under the grievance system. The grievance system therefore turned out to be a farce, and the Department of Agriculture used the information filed with the grievance as a basis for preparing their defense in the appeal before the Merit System Protection Board. Reprisal for filing a grievance is strictly forbidden in theory, but in practice, reprisal, including dismissal, in response to justified grievances is commonplace, and no safeguards prevent it. The Merit System Protection Board is prohibited from considering agency grievances when adjudicating appeals. Many Constitutional lawyers also consider reprisal for grievances to be a violation of the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Dr. Heckman, however, has come to believe that service in the Air Force or one of the other armed services during the Vietnam War effectively revoked all of the veterans’ Constitutional rights.
Junk science
Supervisor Bisson stated that the main reason for rating Dr. Heckman’s performance as unsatisfactory and terminating him one day before the completion of his probationary year is that he “resisted” changing a report he had submitted as one of the four “assignments” he was given eight months earlier. The changes demanded involved “toning down” criticisms of a class of methods referred to as “rapid bioassessment.” Bisson was the person responsible for coordinating a study by a group from Utah State University designed to develop a new method of “rapid bioassessment,” which the Forest Service was supporting with grants totalling at least $208,000 during 1998 and 1999. The leader of the group, Professor Hawkins, had already included Peter Bisson as one of 11 authors of a 7 page publication in a fishing magazine that had been produced by his group. This kind of credit for publications is necessary to enhance Bisson’s own chances for promotion or retention.
“Rapid bioassessment” has been described as a “management tool” designed to permit surveys of streams by persons with little education and training. It is alleged that it well permit agencies to save money by employing low cost personnel to perform the environmental research required by law. Bureaucrats envision high school dropouts working for the minimum wage going rapidly from stream to stream, noting down a few easy to recognize features on a numerical scale and feeding the numbers into a computer, which assigns an index value between 0 and 5 to each stream. This index value is supposed to tell engineers exactly what they need to do about the stream to achieve unspecified goals. The formula used by the computer for the calculation is never revealed, and neither are most of the features used for the evaluation. About a dozen of these methods have been developed at great cost to the taxpayer over the past 15 years. The proponents of each method typically publish comparative evaluations showing that their methods produce flawless results while all of the other methods are deficient in various ways. Not surprisingly, reputable scientific journals refuse to accept manuscripts on rapid bioassessment for publication, but the proponents of these methods have one journal of their own that publishes virtually all of these manuscripts. Very few libraries subscribe to this journal.
On the first page of his grant application, Professor Hawkins stated that the methods of rapid bioassessment already developed are not satisfactory. The application was deemed convincing enough by the Forest Service to justify providing Hawkins with a total of at least $208,000 for projects during two summers to develop an entirely new method based on the English RivPac system. After Bisson gave him a copy of the methods being used by Hawkins’s group, Dr, Heckman wrote a short report with recommendations for changes. First, a preservative was being used that causes damage to most organisms sampled, making it impossible to identify the specimens later on. Second, this preservative is extremely toxic and thought to cause cancer, endangering the health of the participants in the project. Third, no physical or chemical analyses of the water are completed, so differences in the water quality cannot be determined. Fourth, the sampling methods fail to take seasonal and geographical differences into account. Finally, the results provide no data that permit the Forest Service to meet the statutory requirements of the Northwest Forest Plan, and particularly the Endangered Species, Clean Water, and National Environmental Policy Acts.
These criticisms of a project Bisson was personally responsible for coordinating led to Bisson’s recommendation that Dr. Heckman write a report on effective methods for performing field studies of streams. On September 23, 1998, Bisson demanded two reports, each containing specific portions of the original report but written toward fulfilling completely different goals. One of these reports concerned an evaluation of “rapid bioassessment” methods. This report showed that the RivPac system in England depends upon information from a survey performed to determine all species inhabiting the English streams and rivers, which cost the equivalent of several hundred million dollars to complete. Given the fact that the Pacific Northwest is about 2½ times the size of England, it can be concluded that the preliminary examination to facilitate Hawkins’s method would cost roughly a billion dollars. How he intended to implement a RivPac system without this basic survey was never stated. The conclusion that any reasonable person would make with this information is that the Forest Service would be throwing away money on a junk science project if it were not ready to first come up with a billion dollars to perform the initial survey. At the hearing before the Merit System Protection Board in January 2000, Bisson testified that Hawkins had still not delivered any reports on the results of his project. In the meantime, in August 1999, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington had cancelled at least nine timber sales due to the failure of the Forest Service to perform the research required by the Northwest Forest Plan, citing many of the same objections to the research being performed that had been highlighted in the report Dr. Heckman had ostensibly been fired for submitting. Reluctantly, the administrative law judge of the MSPB had to admit that the disclosures about these methods in Dr. Heckman’s report were a second set of disclosures protected by the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.
The MSPB did not recognize other disclosures as protected, although any reasonable person would have to consider them to be protected. One of these was an evaluation of an electric fishing method that Bisson himself was using to survey the fishes in streams on the Olympic Peninsula. One of Dr. Heckman’s assigned reports showed that these methods had been found unreliable for such surveys by the early 1960s. It also cited a report published in 1998 showing that these methods can decimate populations of rare or endangered species. Obviously, Bisson’s use of his share of a $130,000 grant for this survey was a gross waste of funds, and its use in streams that Bisson admitted was inhabited by endangered species was a criminal violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Help from the U. S. Office of Special Counsel
At the time the investigator for the U. S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) recommended that Dr. Heckman accept the employment offer at Olympia, Dr. Heckman asked him whether the agency would just take the opportunity to take reprisal against him for revealing the $20,000 bribe offer. He said that Dr. Heckman should have more trust in the good faith of Station Director Mills, but promised that if any reprisal was attempted, the OSC would take further action. The Forest Service gave Dr. Heckman no performance report until a few weeks after the OSC issued a letter announcing that the file on Dr. Heckman’s disclosure had been closed. It took no action at all on the complaint of reprisal that Dr. Heckman filed a few days after he received the unsatisfactory rating or on the complaint about the attempted cancellation of his previously approved leave. It finally proposed taking no action about his termination until it received several Congressional inquiries. It then announced that it would investigate Dr. Heckman’s complaints, but that the OSC could not begin the investigation for at least seven months, during which Dr. Heckman should remain without employment. This gave Dr. Heckman the option of taking his complaint directly to the Merit System Protection Board, which should have provided him a favorable decision within 120 days.
The Merit System Protection Board’s protection of veterans and whistleblowers
In hindsight, Dr. Heckman’s appeal to the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) was a waste of time and money, although it did provide a record of the facts and documents pertinent to the case. Since 1994, the MSPB has had jurisdiction over appeals filed under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and since 1998, it has had jurisdiction under the Veterans’ Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). However, it has never rendered a decision in favor of a veteran in any appeal. Furthermore, whistleblowers lose almost every appeal, as well. The dereliction of duty typical of the MSPB is shown by the fact that two of the four whistleblowers reinstated by the MSPB since 1989 were simply fired again by the agency after they returned, and the MSPB refused to reinstate them a second time. Decisions by the MSPB can be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. According to Congressional testimony, this court is noted for being more favorable to Federal agencies than any of the other courts of appeals in the United States. According to one report, since the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act was passed in 1989, the Court of Appeals has rendered 70 decisions in favor of agencies and 0 decisions in favor of whistleblowers.
The MSPB is supposed to render a decision in each appeal within 120 days. The first appeal was filed by Dr. Heckman in June, 1999, and the hearing was completed in January, 2000. During this period, the appeal had been dismissed without prejudice and refiled twice to keep the administrative law judge from exceeding the 120 day limit. The initial decision was rendered in May 2001, about 23 months after the appeal was filed. A petition for review of the initial decision was submitted within 60 days, and in August 2002, the MSPB issued a refusal to review the decision justified by one sentence. The decision has been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals. The 120 day limit was stretched to a total of 38 months, and the decision is fraught with errors of law and fact. Ironically, the administrative law judge who rendered the initial decision, Sidney Farcy, placed much emphasis on alleged but unsubstantiated tardiness in completing assignments during a period of only eight months. Under this test, his own 19 month delay in rendering his decision would clearly make his own performance unsatisfactory enough to warrant his own removal from the Federal service.
Discrepancies in Sidney Farcy’s initial decision
The initial decision by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Sidney Farcy, was a long, rambling collage of unrelated facts that failed to distinguish material from immaterial evidence and misstated both the law and the facts to reach the decision preordained by the prejudices within the Federal civil service. The thought processes evident in the decision defy all logic.
From the initial decision, it is clear that the MSPB had jurisdiction over Dr. Heckman’s appeal under USERRA, the VEOA, and the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act. Whether it would otherwise have jurisdiction is disputed and depends upon whether or not Dr. Heckman had completed the probationary year. Although Dr. Heckman had completed all of the working time required for his last pay period and was officially on unpaid overtime on the day he was terminated, the ruling by Judge Farcy that the year had not been completed is not further challenged for the sake of argument. We can accept Farcy’s ruling that Dr. Heckman made two disclosures protected by the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and that under these circumstances, the Forest Service has the burden of providing “clear and convincing evidence” that there was reason to terminate Dr. Heckman anyway, even if he had not made the disclosures. Under the veterans’ laws, the agency also has the burden of proof, but it must prove its case only by a preponderance of evidence, a lower standard of proof. Legally, clear and convincing evidence is the highest burden of proof in civil cases, equivalent to the burden on a prosecutor attempting to have the court impose a death sentence in a criminal case.
Aside from his findings that Dr. Heckman’s reports of the $20,000 bribe offer to rig the selection and the gross waste of funds used for the “rapid bioassessment” project are disclosures protected under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and that the U. S. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture had to provide clear and convincing evidence that Dr. Heckman would have been terminated for other reasons, almost every detail in ALJ Farcy’s decision was an error of law or fact. Some of the most glaring errors include the following:
1. While giving lip service to the need of the Forest Service to provide clear and convincing evidence to support its allegations, he assumed in his ruling that no evidence is required other than an unsupported allegation to justify a dismissal during the probationary year.
2. He correctly stated that after a protected disclosure is made, the agency must show that there was an “other” reason for taking action against the whistleblower, but he clearly expressed the opinion that the “other” reason could be a dislike of the protected disclosure by supervisory personnel and the “resistance” of the whistleblower against retracting his disclosure and thereby falsifying his reports. In other words, he ruled that the protected disclosure and the “other” reason for termination could be one and the same.
3. He stated that scientific research must conform to “budgetary and political realities,” which in the context of the appeal means that he believes that a scientist working for a Federal agency must be ready to falsify his scientific results if called upon to do so by his supervisor to show “teamwork.”
4. He deemed the testimony of only one Forest Service witness to be sufficient to constitute clear and convincing evidence, even though that witness denied having the capability of testifying as an expert on the scientific matters at issue. All evidence to support the case of the Forest Service came from only three witnesses. None claimed the status of an expert witness. Of these, Station Director Mills and Program Manager Stouder alleged that all of their testimony on issues of fact was based on hearsay, mainly from Peter Bisson. Bisson was the only witness who claimed to have first hand information to present. Furthermore, the testimonies of both Stouder and Bisson were shown during cross examination to have included perjury on several points. In spite of this, ALJ Farcy assumed that the impeached testimony of Bisson alone and hearsay from two others quoting the first was sufficient to meet the “clear and convincing” burden prescribed by law.
5. In addition to the dislike by agency personnel of the protected disclosures, ALJ Farcy chose progress on a salmon carcass study as an additional “proof” of the alleged unsatisfactory progress by Dr. Heckman, even though this particular assignment was not supposed to begin until the autumn of 1999, about six months after Dr. Heckman was terminated. He further stated that an example of the unsatisfactory progress on this project is demonstrated by the fact that Dr. Heckman had prepared a proposal to conduct this project together with Ron Plotnikoff of the Washington State Department of Ecology but had not made any proposal to perform this project in Alaska, as well. This ruling was contradicted during the hearing by the lengthy testimony of Mark Wipfli, which affirmed that Dr. Heckman had concluded an agreement with him to perform the necessary sampling in Alaska. This agreement was also acknowledged by Peter Bisson, which is why the Forest Service had never made the allegation of a lack of an Alaska component in the future project. It was first improperly raised by the ALJ in his decision. This was just one of many cases of ALJ Farcy acting as counsel for the Forest Service when the agency’s arguments were insufficient to support its case.
6. ALJ Farcy uncritically accepted all statements made by the three Forest Service witnesses, concluding that Dr. Heckman’s performance was unsatisfactory exclusively on the say-so of one of these witnesses. Unsatisfactory performance is precisely defined in Federal regulations, yet no reference was made to the violations of the fundamental requirements necessary to demonstrate that an employee’s performance has not been satisfactory.
7. The analysis under veterans’ laws requires only that the veteran show he was treated differently from other employees doing approximately the same jobs. ALJ Farcy ruled that there are no other employees doing the exactly same job as Dr. Heckman, so he refused to make the analysis and concluded that there was no proof that the Forest Service personnel wished to discriminate against veterans. In fact, the Department of Agriculture employs thousands of scientists, many doing the same kind of job as that described in Dr. Heckman’s settlement agreement. The wish to discriminate against veterans is amply demonstrated by the fact that two senior Forest Service scientists were prepared to misappropriate $20,000 to pay a bribe in order to prevent a veteran from being hired. The Forest Service produced no evidence at all that its personnel had had a change of heart. As under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, the burden of proof under the veterans’ laws should have been on the agency.
8. ALJ Farcy totally ignored the fact that the four “assignments” described on September 23, 1998, completely changed the duties of Dr. Heckman, which itself is a prohibited form of reprisal. Farcy justified this by implying that Bisson had planned to give such assignments but neglected to put it in the settlement agreement or tell Dr. Heckman. This ridiculous ruling means that employees can be bound to work according to “secret plans” known only to their supervisors.
9. The safeguards of the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act were introduced by Congress because supervisors typically resent disclosures that bring them into discredit. During his testimony, Station Director Mills admitted that he had had to answer to the Chief of the Forest Service and the Secretary of Agriculture and been discredited in their eyes because of Dr. Heckman’s disclosures. ALJ Farcy improperly ruled that because of this, Dr. Mills was especially motivated to see to it that Dr. Heckman would succeed in his new job.
10. The initial decision mentions that Dr. Heckman had also applied for a vacancy at LaGrande, Oregon, and because of his veterans’ preference, the job could not be filled from the ordinary list without offering the job to Dr. Heckman. He admitted that Station Director Mills did not want to hire Dr. Heckman and waited to fill the vacancy until he could find a Forest Service employee to accept the position from an internal agency list on which Dr. Heckman was not eligible to appear. ALJ Farcy saw nothing objectionable in the explanation that Dr. Mills did not want the position filled by someone he did not know. This, of course, violates the purpose of having an open selection since it excludes everyone who applies, except for personal friends of Mills. The ALJ failed to recognize the fact that appointment of friends instead of more qualified outside applicants to public positions is corruption.
Errors of material fact made by ALJ Farcy
Some of the most obvious errors in the initial decision concern the application of the term “unsatisfactory performance” to Dr. Heckman’s record. A few of the more prominent of these errors are illustrated by the following examples:
1. Before evaluating the performance of any Federal employee, regulations require that his supervisors provide him with a copy of his performance standards and explain how these standards are applied to his work. ALJ Farcy admitted that there was no evidence that Dr. Heckman had ever been given a copy of the performance standards. After being given his first unsatisfactory performance report less than three months before his termination, Dr. Heckman demanded that the performance standards be explained. Bisson professed ignorance about how the standards should be applied to the rating, but he promised to schedule a meeting with a personnel specialist who could provide the explanation. This meeting was never held because Program Manager Stouder objected and prevented Bisson from scheduling it. Nevertheless, ALJ Farcy justified the lack of the mandatory explanation by falsely implying that a person is not entitled to know his performance standards during the probationary year. He did have to admit that the instructions given by Bisson and Stouder were extraordinarily confusing.
2. Dr. Heckman showed that the timely completion of his assignments required him to work more than 60 hours per week without compensation and without even being permitted to log the time on his records as free time. He further showed that this had been brought to the attention of the agency by the grievance he filed at the beginning of March, 1999, and that nothing was done to correct the situation. Nevertheless, ALJ Farcy justified this by stating that as an “exempt” employee, Dr. Heckman was required to work as many overtime hours as demanded of him without compensation. He ignored the fact that such a requirement violates both Federal statutes and regulations.
3. ALJ Farcy further justified Dr. Heckman’s termination on the grounds that he had not “completed” his assignments, even though the evidence clearly showed that two of the four could not possibly have been completed because one was not even scheduled to begin until about six months after Dr. Heckman was terminated, and the other required knowledge of a plan for thinning the forest in the Colville National Forest which would not be decided upon sooner than two years after Dr. Heckman’s termination. The other two assignments were submitted, and both of them were evaluated positively by all expert reviewers to whom they were sent. Both manuscripts were sent by Dr. Heckman by one reviewer, and one of them was also sent by Bisson to two additional referees. The highly positive evaluations of all three experts are in the appeal file, and their contents were not contested by any of the Forest Service witnesses, who testified that they did not like the reports but denied being able to speak as experts on any of the subjects they discussed. There were no bad reviews of these two completed reports, and the dissatisfaction of Bisson, Stouder, and Mills was admittedly due to the fact that they planned to employ a method of “rapid bioassessment,” whether or not evidence that it was satisfactory could be supplied. Their testimony further revealed that Stouder had not read either report, and none of the three had read one of the reports. The real source of dissatisfaction with these reports would be assumed by any reasonable person to be the evidence they supplied that Station Director Mills was wasting at least $250,000 on junk science projects being conducted by Bisson and his friends, and one of the reports had already been acknowledged by ALJ Farcy to be a disclosure protected under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act.
4. One of the most absurd descriptions of events was ALJ Farcy’s explanation of why he believed that Dr. Heckman had been given the four assignments he focussed on his decison. Admittedly, they were first given to Dr. Heckman in writing on September 23, 1998. ALJ Farcy stated or implied that Supervisor Bisson had suggested more than three months earlier that Dr. Heckman do some research on the western side of the Olympic Mountains and that Dr. Heckman had produced a manuscript for publication from that work. He opined that these suggestions did not constitute assignments and that Program Manager Stouder became concerned in late August or early September that this work was taking Dr. Heckman’s time away from his assignments. For that reason, Bisson was instructed to provide a detailed description of assignments, which he first did on September 23. It did not seem to occur to Farcy that since Dr. Heckman had admittedly not been given any “assignments” until September 23, Stouder could not have become concerned in late August or early September that Bisson’s suggested work could be taking time away from them. He further failed to note that the manuscript describing the results of work on the Olympic Peninsula had been submitted for publication by the end of July and had to await the arrival of Stouder, who began working at Olympia on or about August 10, 1998, for its approval as a Forest Service publication. Farcy failed to explain how a piece of work can be taking time from other assignments after it is completed and submitted. Finally, Farcy failed to explain why Bisson had suggested work that he did not want done.
5. Although records and testimony showed clearly that Stouder had not been hired by the Forest Service until about August 10, 1998, ALJ Farcy persisted in alleging that she became the program director in early June of 1998 because she had made a one or two day visit to Olympia at that time.
6. Because Dr. Heckman testified that he had been permitted to use a demonstration microscope by a salesman for about a week in July, 1998, ALJ Farcy concluded that he had a suitable microscope available to him in late November 1998 to examine insects on salmon carcasses in the field. Obviously, it is not possible to use a microscope borrowed and then returned in July 1998 to examine insects first collected in November 1998, but then such fine points of logic were apparently not within Farcy’s capabilities to understand.
7. ALJ Farcy, acting as a self-designated expert witness, ruled that Dr. Heckman’s disclosure of formalin being dangerous to the students using it and citizens who happened to be nearby was not a disclosure protected under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act. This conclusion was reached, in part, because he opined that the ethanol in the formalin rather than the formaldehyde might be the substance presenting the danger to the students. Webster’s dictionary, as well as any comprehensive book on chemistry, shows that formalin contains no ethanol. It is also general knowledge that ethanol is used in many beverages, and large amounts are consumed by the American public each year. In contrast, formaldehyde is embalming fluid and instantly toxic to all common forms of life.
8. Again acting as an expert witness, ALJ Farcy concluded that Dr. Heckman had failed to show that the formalin was being used in a dangerous way by the students in the forest. However, the applicable section of the Federal manual on toxic substances, which was submitted as evidence, clearly states that formalin may not be used without a glove box, exhaust fan, emergency shower, nearby first aid clinic, and access to medical care, none of which are available in the forest.
9. In one part of the decision, ALJ Farcy opines that the job of a scientist in the Forest Service is to obtain a consensus among many different people with disparate viewpoints. Elsewhere, he stated that Supervisor Bisson considered Dr. Heckman’s performance unsatisfactory for the GS-14 level because while completing one grant proposal, he had made many telephone calls, sent many e-mail messages, and made changes to drafts of the proposal in response to suggestions made by various participants. From these comments, anyone reading the decision would have to conclude that Dr. Heckman should have rapidly obtained a consensus among persons located all over the States of Washington and Oregon and elsewhere as far east as Indiana without using a telephone or e-mail and without making any changes in the draft of the proposal to satisfy any of these persons.
10. ALJ Farcy concurred with Deanna Stouder that seven manuscripts completed and submitted for publication between late July and early December 1998 were not of interest to the Forest Service. He ignored the evidence that Stouder had signed submission forms for all seven manuscripts, indicating that they were to be official Forest Service publications, and that after publication, they were included in the lists of publication by the Pacific Northwest Research Station. Stouder was also asked during cross-examination whether the Northwest Forest Plan was an important factor in deciding whether research was of interest to the Forest Service. Contradicting Bissons’s opinion, she stated that it was not. She alleged that the research of interest to the Forest Service was whatever the senior personnel decided among themselves was of interest.
11. The second assignment, which was submitted as a 224 page manuscript with citations of 243 publications, was repeatedly confused in the initial decision with a short sampling plan requested by Bisson in late February 1999. A scientist at the laboratory in Olympia, Dr. Martin Raphael, was asked to review the first draft of the sampling plan and make suggestions. Because he did, his response was continually cited by Bisson and ALJ Farcy as proof that the second assignment was unsatisfactory, even though Dr. Raphael never saw the second assignment and, furthermore, provided a statement under oath that his responses and suggestions in no way implied that the draft of the short sampling plan was unsatisfactory.
Why the decisions were made
It would be possible to extend the lists of errors in the initial decision by ALJ Farcy to a book length report. However, even the examples given here are sufficient for any reasonable person to conclude that ALJ Farcy made the decision that was expected of him because the MSPB sees as its purpose of existence the defense of the Federal civil service against laws that are generally unpopular with Federal supervisory personnel, such as the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act and veterans’ preference laws. The MSPB has never ruled in favor of a veteran, and rulings in favor or whisleblowers are extremely rare.
Dr. Heckman’s petition for review of the initial decision was prepared pro bono by lawyers for the organization, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The petition clearly showed that the initial decision was rife with errors of law and fact. The MSPB was faced with the duty of supporting the dismissal of Dr. Heckman for purely political reasons without any legal grounds for doing so. The two administrative law judges, Susanne Marshall and Beth Slavet, did the only thing that they could do to fulfill their perceived political duty. They had to refuse to review the decision without making any comment other than one sentence alleging that ALJ Farcy had not been shown to have made any errors in law. It took them 15 months to decide that they did not want to bother reading through the long initial decision and petition for review.
More than three years after Dr. Heckman was terminated, Mr. Steve Nelson of the MSPB spoke before a group from the American Legion about the enforcement of the veterans’ laws. He was asked by a legionnaire whether the MSPB had ever ruled in favor of a veteran. Tacitly admitting that it had not, Mr. Nelson alleged that veterans were helped in other ways. He then cited two cases of veterans receiving favorable settlements, and Dr. Heckman’s case was mentioned as one of them.
Other reprisal by the Forest Service
Knowing that the appeal process can take years or even decades, Dr. Heckman began seeking work elsewhere. He was turned down for more than 12 announced vacancies in his field by agencies of the State of Washington. The persons selected in every case had no legal right to claim veterans’ preference but were already employed by the agencies or previously employed in agency projects on a contract basis. Although the positions were Federally funded and most required an experienced scientist, only one of the persons hired had earned a master’s degree and none had earned a PhD or equivalent. None had as much experience in the field as Dr. Heckman. It would be the conclusion of any reasonable juror that the agencies were violating the Washington law requiring that veterans of the Vietnam Era be given preference in public employment.
During discovery in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Heckman, affidavits were obtained showing that Forest Service Program Manager Deanna Stouder had given derogatory information about Dr. Heckman to a state agency selection committee chairman sufficient to prevent Dr. Heckman from being hired. This release of public records by a Federal agent without the knowledge or permission of the person concerned is a criminal violation of the Privacy Act, and the release of information to hurt the chances of someone finding employment is a criminal violation of the Washington State anti-blacklisting statute.
The special efforts of the Forest Service to see to it that Dr. Heckman never works in the United States again have already prevented Dr. Heckman from earning even a cent from American sources for more than four years. Dr. Heckman has been able to earn less than $2000 each year, and this money comes exclusively from European publishing companies, which occasionally send Dr. Heckman documents to edit or translate. If a communist were subjected to this kind of blacklisting, Dr. Heckman believes that the newspapers would be howling about McCarthyism, and the American Civil Liberty Union would have taken over the communist’s legal defense. However, this kind of discrimination in reprisal for combat service in the Vietnam War seems to be acceptable in America.
The lawsuit against the Washington State Departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife
A lawsuit against the Washington agencies was filed by Dr. Heckman in the Superior Court of Thurston County, where Judge Richard Strophy granted the agencies summary judgement and dismissed the lawsuit without a jury trial. This decision has been appealed. Dr. Heckman’s lawsuit is one of four filed recently by veterans, whose rights to veterans’ preference have been violated by agencies of the State of Washington. While Attorney General Christine Gregoire has been responsible for having a dangerous sex offender released because her office allegedly lacked the legal resources to file formal charges within the required period of time, she has found more than $185,000 in financial resources to block the legitimate claims of the veterans to their earned preference in public employment. The priorities of Attorney General Gregoire are clear: keep Vietnam War veterans from working first, then prosecute dangerous criminals if enough time and money are left. Within two days, the violent sex offender had attacked another woman, but Gregoire was successful in having the veterans’ preference law declared unconstitutional. In its dismissal of the lawsuit, Mitchell v. Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, 109 Wn. App. 88, 34 P. 3d 267 (2002), the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, in Seattle repealed the Washington veterans’ preference statute by judicial fiat whenever the veteran is not “substantially equally” qualified to the preferred non-veteran. This decision overturns a precedent set by a decision made in 1955, which affirmed that the statute is always constitutional, even if the veteran is deemed not to be as qualified as the non-veteran the agency wishes to hire. In 1955, the judges recognized the fact that an agency hostile to veterans can deceptively manipulate the job descriptions to make it seem that a less qualified non-veteran is more qualified than a veteran.
Although the Washington State Employment Security Division receives nearly $4 million per year from the United States Department of Labor to provide special employment services to veterans, its statistics show that veterans do not have a significantly better chance of being placed in a job than anybody else. Attorney General Gregoire takes her money for legal action to prevent veterans from finding employment from the “revolving fund,” which could well mean that some of this money is taken directly from the Federal grants to give veterans special employment services and used to protect agencies seeking to discriminate against veterans.
The circumstances of the lawsuit would leave little doubt that a jury would decide in favor of Dr. Heckman. For that reason, Judge Strophy saw that his only chance to protect the agencies from being publicly embarrassed for discriminating against veterans was depriving Dr. Heckman of his right under the United States Constitution and Constitution of the State of Washington to a trial by jury. These are the facts:
1. Dr, Heckman applied for and was denied at least 12 jobs by the Departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife, varying from assistant director to entry level specialist. All of the jobs demanded competence in Dr. Heckman’s field.
2. Dr. Heckman placement scores were uniformly 100% without any veterans’ preference points, and his scores on a number of specific examinations for the vacancies were 100%. Except in two cases, his scores were better or substantially equal to those of the non-veteran hired, and in two cases, there is strong evidence that the scoring was rigged to favor pre-selected agency employees.
3. None of the persons hired had earned a doctoral degree.
4. Only one of the 12 applicants hired had earned a master’s degree.
5. Most of the jobs required scientific or technical competence usually possessed only by an applicant with a doctoral degree and considerable post-doctoral experience. The agencies justified hiring persons with substandard qualifications by crediting their own employees with the equivalent of a master’s degree after only one year of employment by the state at a level of responsibility not requiring a master’s degree and crediting them with the competence of a PhD after an additional year of work. That means that performing a routine job at the Department of Ecology for two years is considered to be the equivalent of more than five years of full-time university graduate study with numerous examinations and the requirement of producing a publishable scientific dissertation. Applying this logic, a state hospital could hire a high school drop-out as janitor and after five years advance him to Chief of Brain Surgery without requiring him to set foot in a university or medical school.
6. Only 1 of the 12 applicants had served on active duty in one of the armed forces, and the two years of peacetime service did not entitle that one to veterans’ preference at the time of the selection.
7. Only 1 of the 12 applicants hired had ever co-authored a scientific publication, and his four or five publications compare very unfavorably to the more than 70 publications authored or co-authored by Dr. Heckman.
8. At least 11 and probably all 12 of the persons hired either worked directly for the agency or had worked for it on a contract basis. Washington law does not permit an agency to give preference to its own employees in determining qualifications and suitability for employment, but it does demand that veterans be given such preference.
9. All 12 positions were funded entirely or in part by Federal agencies, but the statutory requirement of providing special consideration to disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam Era was ignored before, during, and after the selections.
10. Dr. Heckman could well have demonstrated age discrimination to a jury, as well, considering the fact that none of the 12 successful applicants were initially hired by the agency at an age older than 40.
11. An affidavit provided by one selection committee chairman for the Department of Ecology affirmed that he had been told by a personnel chief not to hire Dr. Heckman without checking with her because Dr. Heckman had filed employment discrimination complaints. He also affirmed that he had used information given him by a person who identified herself as a U.S. Forest Service program manager named “Pam” to justify not selecting Dr. Heckman for the vacancy. Further inquiries by the United States Attorney confirmed that “Pam” was actually Deanna Stouder. Release of these personnel records by any means without Dr. Heckman’s permission is a criminal violation of the Federal Privacy Act and the Washington State anti-blacklisting statute. Dr. Heckman had listed five references who have known or worked with him for more than 20 years, but the Department of Ecology made no attempt to contact any of them.
12. Washington has a large veteran population. According to local availability, the Department of Personnel has determined that a minimum of 9.1% of the employees of each state agency should be Vietnam Era veterans. Fewer than 5.4% of the Washington Department of Ecology employees are veterans of the Vietnam Era. That means that this state agency employs less than 59% of minimum number of Vietnam Era veterans that it should. Any percentage less than 80% is regarded as statistically significant, creating a prima facie case for discrimination against such veterans. Furthermore, Dr. Heckman reviewed the DD-Forms 214 of the veterans employed by the Department of Ecology and found that the number of Vietnam Era veteran employees who actually served in Vietnam is significantly lower than the equivalent percentage for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. He further found that only 2 of more than 1400 Department of Ecology employees actually served in combat units in Vietnam during the war.
13. Because the Department of Ecology had failed to provide any defense for the statistical evidence of its discrimination against veterans, especially veterans who had served in combat during the war, Judge Strophy supplied a defense in order to justify his summary judgement. He introduced the argument that the Department of Ecology would have trouble finding veteran qualified to work for it. Why veterans, per se, should be any less qualified than non-veterans to work for the Department of Ecology was not explained. Because this argument was first introduced while Judge Strophy was explaining his decision, there was no opportunity to refute it. Under Washington law, a judge so prejudiced against members of a protected class involved in litigation is obliged to recuse himself from the lawsuit.
14. In its rebuttal to Dr. Heckman’s administrative complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and investigated by the Washington State Human Rights Commission, agents of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife provided wild allegations concerning material facts outlined in Dr. Heckman’s application material. Producing a false document of this kind is clearly a misdemeanor for a state employee under Washington law.
15. Information gained through the lawsuit revealed that the successful applicant for one vacancy had already been given the job on a temporary basis. Although his application showed only five years of total work experience and no special qualifications for the job, he was given an examination score of 97% while every other qualified applicant for the vacancy, including Dr. Heckman, was given the minimum passing score of 70%. The interview requirement was dispensed with because of the alleged superior qualifications of the pre-selected applicant.
16. In a selection for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Dr. Heckman earned an examination score of 88%, which was the highest of the six qualified applicants. The applicant selected had received a score of 70%, the lowest score of the six and the minimum passing. The agency alleged that she had shown more “enthusiasm” during the interview, failing to emphasize that she was already working for the agency and personally knew the selection committee members.
17. Both the Washington State and the United States Constitution guarantee litigants a trial by jury where issues of fact must be decided. Judge Strophy improperly denied Dr. Heckman his right to present his case to a jury.
Summary of criminal actions
The lawsuits filed by Dr. Heckman have revealed a whole series of criminal actions, which civil service employees can apparently commit with absolute impunity. Moreover, because their action are done under cover of their official duties, they have immunity from civil liability. It can be concluded that these individuals are above the law and have complete protection from the American judiciary. If they were subject to the law, however, their actions would have to be deemed organized crime as defined by the RICO statute.
The record shows that the following felonies were committed by Forest Service employees:
1. Attempted grand larceny involving $20,000 of Forest Service funds earmarked for equipment purchases, demonstrated by an e-mail message from Tricia Wurtz to F. Stuart Chapin, III, and her supervisor, Hermann Gucinski;
2. Attempted bribery involving the sum of $20,000, confirmed by the investigation of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, although the word “bribe” was carefully omitted from the official reports;
3. Perjury committed by Peter Bisson and Deanna Stouder during the hearing before the MSPB and proven by recorded responses during cross-examination.
In addition, the following misdemeanors were demonstrated by documents, including sworn statements by the persons involved:
1. Release of information from Federal personnel records by Deanna Stouder of the Forest Service to Dale Norton of the Washington State Department of Ecology, violating the Federal Privacy Act, and
2. Misdemeanor for the same exchange of information under the Washington anti-blacklisting statute.
Acts defined as “prohibited personnel practices” were also committed, and one of them was the only act for which anyone received any punishment:
1. Interference with a Federal civil service selection, for which Tricia Wurtz was punished with a week’s suspension without pay, and Hermann Gucinski was punished with a letter of reprimand. Gucinski’s punishment was milder, apparently because he told the investigator that he did not know it was wrong to misappropriate $20,000 for a bribe paid to deny a veteran his preference rights.
2. Reprisal for whistleblowing, which any reasonable person would recognize from the circumstances but which the MSPB denied was the main reason for Dr. Heckman’s dismissal, although admitting that it was a contributory reason.
3. Reprisal for filing an agency grievance;
4. Interference with veterans’ preference rights;
5. Abuse of authority.
There is also some question about the disposition of about $27.000 remaining from the $30,000 appropriated by the Forest Service to provide Dr. Heckman with basic research equipment. During the hearing before the MSPB, it was affirmed by Mills and Stouder that the Forest Service had appropriated $30,000 for these purposes and that Stouder had authorized that only about $3000 be spent, most on equipment that was first delivered to Dr. Heckman a few weeks before his termination. Stouder testified that she knew nothing about what had been done with the remaining $27,000. Dr. Heckman’s request for an accounting of this money, made under the Freedom of Information Act, has still not been answered.
Employees of Washington State have also committed a series of criminal actions:
1. An affidavit by Dale Norton includes the statement that the personnal chief, Martha Tennis, had told him not to make the final selection for one vacancy without checking with her because Dr. Heckman had filed a discrimination complaint. Martha Tennis in her sworn statement denied that any such conversation took place. This indicates that one of these two employees committed perjury, a felony under Washington law.
2. Providing false information to the Washington Human Rights Commission by employees of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife constitutes a misdemeanor under Washington law.
3. Exchanges of information to hurt Dr. Heckman’s chances of being hired in reprisal for his having filed discrimination complaints constitute misdemeanors under Washington’s anti-blacklisting statute.
In addition, a remarkably large number of minor violations are evident in the records, including violation of the “letter or spirit” of veterans’ preference, which is a first class civil infraction under Washington law. Proof is on record of a whole series of more serious criminal violations of Federal statutes, including abuse of authority in ordering Dr. Heckman to falsify a scientific report to cover up gross waste, reprisal taken for filing an agency grievance in the form of leave cancellation and threat of dismissal for taking the approved leave, interfering with Federal selections, perjury, bribery, and grand larceny. The only one of the felonies, misdemeanors and prohibited actions that resulted in prosecution or punishment was interfering with a Federal selection. Investigation, prosecution, or punishment have not been initiated for any of the other criminal acts. Since several of the crimes could have resulted in prison sentences for the perpetrators, it can be assumed that the civil servants had been assured of “immunity and protection” from persons in high positions in the Federal and State bureaucracies before they agreed to cooperate.
Psychological warfare against veterans
Most veterans are acutely aware of the damage done to their reputations and employment opportunities by the ceaseless campaign of the entertainment industry to make veterans appear to be psychos or stupid brutes. Obviously, employers would not be encouraged to hire people depicted as being so objectionable.
Dr. Heckman has recorded a variety of experiences showing how veterans are not only damaged financially but also abused psychologically in the hate campaign directed against them by those who refused to serve during the Vietnam Era. The persistent myth propagated in America is that if somebody fails to obtain employment, it is somehow his or her fault and not the fault of those deliberately practicing discrimination.
The failure of the news media to report anything about this problem has kept the general public ignorant about what is going on. The first response to accounts of Dr. Heckman’s employment problems is usually that something must be wrong with his resume. If this were true, however, why does presenting this resume consistently gain Dr. Heckman high grades on civil service evaluations? He has frequently been given scores of 100% without any preference points or scores placing him first on the lists of applicants. In spite of this, he is never selected for a job.
The next response is that Dr. Heckman must do poorly at interviews. This might be true if Dr. Heckman were ever invited to legitimate interviews. In fact, Dr. Heckman was not invited to a single employment interview in the United States from the date of his honorable discharge in 1968 until November 1997, when he was invited to Fairbanks, Alaska, so that Forest Service personnel could offer him a bribe to withdraw from the selection.
Similarly, after Dr. Heckman began applying for employment with agencies of the State of Washington, he received no invitation to an interview until after he began to file discrimination complaints. Thereafter, he was invited to interviews, apparently to allow the agencies to prepare records supporting their allegations that he had been fairly considered for the vacancies, when, in fact, the successful applicants had already been pre-selected.
Finally, the allegation is made that there must be some defect in Dr. Heckman’s record or dealings with people explaining why he is not hired. Again, this argument does not stand up in light of the fact that Dr. Heckman has had a long record of continuous employment in foreign countries, and that his scientific achievements have been good enough to get him mention in Marquis Who’s Who in the World. The bibliography of his scientific works shows that he has collaborated with 31 co-authors.
If Dr. Heckman had not gained the experience of successful scientific work abroad, he might have become psychologically damaged by the unreasonable assumption that the fault for his lack of employment opportunities in the United States is his own. Many veterans who have lacked the opportunity to experience meaningful employment over a long term because of persecution in America at the hands of former draft evaders have been made psychological wrecks though the cleverly orchestrated defamation campaign that has ruined their lives. Dr. Heckman has heard many absurd allegations since he returned to the United States, but perhaps the most bizarre is the statement made by a veterans’ service officer from the American Legion at the American Lake facility of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Dr. Heckman and his wife were told that his employment problems are his own fault because he served in Vietnam without being drafted. That means that the veterans’ service officer believes that in time of war or national emergency, it is everyone’s duty to avoid the draft, and that if someone actually volunteers for service, then the government should rightfully take reprisal against him by keeping him unemployed after his war service is completed.
Statistically, the effects of the vicious, sneaky, and cowardly attacks on veterans after the Vietnam War can be seen in the fact that 40% of the homeless in America are veterans. The connection between not being able to find decent employment and homelessness should be clear to anyone, although the United States Department of Labor, which has long had the responsibility of enforcing veterans’ employment laws, still finds it hard to officially admit that this connection exists.
Teamwork in organized crime
Veterans, whistleblowsers, and members of other classes frequently subjected to discrimination in America are usually accused of not showing “teamwork.” Indeed, “teamwork” is very important for protecting organized criminals from punishment for their crimes, as shown by the activities of Forest Service personnel and their collaborators in other agencies.
In Dr. Heckman’s case, the bribe offer in Alaska was made by F. Stuart Chapin, III, who spent the Vietnam War at Berkeley, Tricia Wurtz, a non-veteran, and Hermann Gucinski, a non-veteran who immigrated to the United States as an economic refugee from Germany after World War II. The reprisal was orchestrated by Station Director Thomas Mills, another non-veteran of the Cold War period. Dr. Heckman was directly supervised by Peter Bisson, who was of draft age during the Vietnam War but avoided the draft by protracting his studies at universities in Oregon until Nixon ended the draft. Deanna Stouder came from a project at Ohio State University, a university at which the term “unrepentant veteran” was coined for Vietnam Era veterans who admit to their military service.
The inverted pyramid of non-achievement is a curious sidelight of Dr. Heckman’s experience. The head of the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the United States Forest Service is charged with performing the research in the national forests required by Federal law. Its director, Thomas Mills, is not a scientist at all. He received his PhD in forestry with a strong emphasis on economics. His testimony before the MSPB would make any reasonable person question the wisdom of the Department of Agriculture in employing a supervisor without technical competence in the work he is supervising. Program Manager Deanna Stouder had co-authored only five publications in her entire career by the time of Dr. Heckman’s appeal hearings. She had never authored a publication alone, which is not surprising in view of the level of knowledge she displayed at the appeal hearing. In spite of her obvious scientific shortcomings, she was appointed as the supervisor of Peter Bisson, who had co-authored more than eight times as many publications as she had. Bisson, in turn, was assigned to supervise Dr. Heckman, whose publication record was qualitatively and quantitatively far superior to Bisson’s. Apparently, the general rule in the Federal civil service is that veterans must be employed at levels considerably below their levels of competence, while a non-veterans who took advantage of loopholes in the law to avoid military service must always be appointed as the supervisor of better qualified veterans.
The group in Alaska revealed even worse levels of performance. The list of publications by the members of the cooperative program at the University of Alaska showed that Tricia Wurtz had co-authored a single three-page publication in a forestry magazine during the previous five years. She was the only one of seven Forest Service scientists retained by the agency during a reduction in force several years earlier, ostensibly because their scientific productivity had been even worse than hers. In contrast, Dr. Heckman submitted seven manuscripts for publication during the first seven months of his employment and had already authored more than 60 publications in books and refereed scientific journals at the time he came to work for the Forest Service. However, it became clear during the course of the appeal before the MSPB how important it is for supervisory personnel habitually committing criminal actions to have subordinates with PhDs who are willing to commit perjury on demand. The effects of the sentiments against veterans and resentment against veterans’ preference should be clear to any reasonable person in this case.
Clever new methods to exclude Vietnam War veterans from the civil service
After the Office of Personnel Management suspended the right of the Forest Service to hire new employees because of Dr. Heckman’s disclosure, it began a training program to teach Forest Service personnel how to write job descriptions in a way that would exclude all but pre-selected applicants. In effect, it was teaching Forest Service supervisors pseudo-legal ways to circumvent the veterans’ preference laws.
Shortly thereafter, the Department of Agriculture began making it a requirement that applicants for certain civil service vacancies have earned PhD degrees that were awarded within the past five years. In effect, they were creating the fanciful new concept that a PhD expires after five years. It should be obvious to anyone that this is a clever way of getting around age discrimination laws and veterans’ preference. The great majority of Vietnam War veterans would naturally have earned PhD degrees much more than five years earlier. If their PhD degrees were declared to have expired, they naturally would not be considered technically qualified for the job, and their right to preference would be declared moot. The absurdity of this rule should be obvious to anyone. If a professor developed a new method that the Department of Agriculture wanted to employ, the professor would be declared unqualified to use it, but a doctoral candidate who took one of the professor’s graduate courses would be declared qualified.
The Department of Agriculture professed a desire to recruit the brightest young researchers, and creating this discriminatory requirement is supposed to be a good way of achieving this goal. Troublesome veterans can be disqualified from the outset. However, if the Department of Agriculture was honestly trying to recruit talented researchers rather than the kind of unproductive but dishonest “team players” it has been hiring for its Forest Service, it is difficult to understand why it has gone through so much trouble and expense to keep Dr. Heckman out. After all, with test scores placing him in the upper 1% of college graduates and a publication record better than the great majority of Department of Agriculture researchers, he would seem to qualify as one of the best of all applicants. Any reasonable person would conclude from the available information that the Department of Agriculture is dominated by members of the Vietnam War generation who stayed on campus to avoid the draft during the war, and these employees would not be willing to work with war veterans, especially ones with much better qualifications than their own. In fact, the 1998 Annual Report to Congress on Veterans’ Employment in the Federal Government prepared by the Office of Personnel Management shows that only three Executive departments employ percentages of veterans lower than that of the Department of Agriculture.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[JR: This convinces me even more that the "government" is not our friend. Maybe the readership can advise or help? ]
From: O'Neill, Patrick J. (1988)
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 11:17 PM
Subject: Register for the 3rd Annual JKO Memorial Golf Classic - Monday,
September 22
Online registration is now available for the 3rd Annual James Keating O'Neill Memorial Golf Classic. This year's event is on Monday, September 22nd at the Hamlet Wind Watch Golf & Country Club in Hauppauge, Long Island. If you can't make it out for golf, join us that evening for the reception.
The event is sponsored by the Manhattan College Alumni Society and the Long Island Jaspers. All proceeds from the event benefit the James K. O'Neill '90 Scholarship Fund at Manhattan College.
The Hamlet Wind Watch has a magnificent golf course and an excellent cuisine. Last year's event raised over $18,000 and a great day was had by all. We hope that everyone can join us for another great day.
Patrick O'Neill
JKO Foundation
www.jkogolf.org
From: Scott Bunting
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 11:00 AM
Subject: Re: FW:http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030720.htm
This message has been sent to the originally intended recipient(s). We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
>>> "Reinke" <reinke@att.net> 07/27/03 11:21PM >>>
This was an opt-in Habeas-compliant alumni newsletter. Not spam, by any standard. If you need some help getting this configured correctly, please give me a call.
John Reinke
732-821-5850
From: Melanie Farmer
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 2:56 PM
Subject: Request...
Greetings!!
I just joined the staff at Manhattan College. I am interested in being added to your distribution list for the Jaspers Jottings e-newsletter. Below you will find my contact info. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks!
Melanie Austria Farmer
Public Information Officer | Manhattan College
Office of College Relations
Riverdale, NY 10471
=
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 12:52
PM
To: 'Melanie Farmer'
Subject: RE: Request...
Hi Ms. Farmer:
Congrats.
I will add you to the list. Several people at the College are on it.
But, my question is "what's in it for me"? Or, "what do my reader's get from it"?
This ezine should really be done by the College, the Alumni Association, or anybody other than one crazy old fogie.
I guess I am a little tired and cranky, with a lot going on right now. Unfortunately, with the exception of Liz, I don't get much for the effort of supplying the College with the information I uncover and the conversations I have with various alums.
I am still just "another alum" when it comes to getting fresh registrations on the alumni database, better access, or timely information on upcoming activities. The College hasn't even offered to archive my files and work product so that if I get hit with a Mack truck they wouldn't lose it all.
The readers of Jottings don't get any consideration either. When a recent lecture was held, I shared the Press Release posted on the College's website. Then when reader tried to go, she was told that "invitations were restricted". The reader was upset and I was annoyed. The release should have said it was "private invitation only". What trouble could have one more seat caused?
When an extremely "interesting" unique alumnae was "discovered" in my research, I found out, and shared with the College staff, that she was coming to NYC on a business trip and was interested in "reconnecting" with the College. Apparently, nothing happened. She attended a non-College sponsored "young jaspers" event and was warmly received. Clearly, MC didn't reach out to her and I felt bad. Frustrated! A missed opportunity.
I need you to help me change the culture both on and off campus to one like the Ivies and such have. They actively court the alum, and empower them with tools and ideas. Alums are a valuable resource -- and I am not referring to me -- that should be valued by the College, as other than a "cash cow" for donations.
One old Florida alum, who found out about a women's team event in his area in Jottings, went over and cheered them on. Everyone got a kick out of it. The team, the old alum, and the readers of Jottings who felt "connected". That's the Jasper spirit I'd like to connect my reader's with!
That's what I would like from you, "the anything else" you offered, in exchange for the subscription.
Sorry for being grouchy, but you asked. I even waited the required 24 hours before "firing off" an email response that might be offensive.
Good luck in your new job,
John Reinke '68
[JR: I am getting crabby in my old age. ]
From: Brock, Ruth A.Gilbert (1979
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 10:14 PM
Subject: Google has a sense of humor
The good folks at Google are being funny... try this before Google fixes its site:
> >1) Go to www.Google.com;
> >2) Type in (but don't hit return): "weapons of mass
destruction";
> >3) Hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button, instead of the normal
"Google search" button;
> >4) READ what appears to be a normal error message carefully.
it is really funny.
Ruth
[JR: Cute! Do I detect a political statement?/ ]
From: Alumni
[mailto:alumni@manhattan.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: http://ferdinand_reinke.tripod.com/jasperjottings20030727.htm
I don't think there is an alumni soccer game on 8/23. For correct information contact Tom Lindgren at (914) 948-5300. I think they moved it to Sept. or Oct.
Grace Feeney
[JR: Thanks Grace. So noted. ]
From: Pete (1999) Devlin
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 9:43 AM
Subject: Jasper Jottings
Dear John,
My name is Pete Devlin (MC class of 1999). I've gotten wind of Jasper Jottings. Please sign me up.
Thanks,
Pete
[JR: Do we stink? ]
[END OF NEWS]
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We want you to be pleased not only with this service. Your satisfaction, and continued participation, is very important to all of us.
REQUESTING YOUR PARTICIPATION
Please remember this effort depends upon you being a reporter. Email any news about Jaspers, including yourself --- (It is ok to toot your own horn. If you don't, who will? If it sounds too bad, I'll tone it down.) --- to reinkefj@alum.manhattan.edu. Please mark if you DON'T want it distributed AND / OR if you DON'T want me to edit it.
I keep two of the “Instant Messengers” up: Yahoo "reinkefj"; and MSN T7328215850.
Or, you can USMail it to me at 3 Tyne Court Kendall Park, NJ 08824.
INVITING ANY JASPERS
Feel free to invite other Jaspers to join us by dropping me an email.
Report any problems or feel free to give me feedback, by emailing me at reinkefj@alum.manhattan.edu. If you are really enraged, or need to speak to me, call 732-821-5850.
If you don't receive your weekly newsletter, your email may be "bouncing". One or two individual transmissions fail each week and, depending upon how you signed up, I may have no way to track you down, so stay in touch.
The following link is an attempt to derail spammers. Don't take it.
<A HREF="http://www.monkeys.com/spammers-are-leeches/"> </A>
FINAL WORDS THIS WEEK
http://www.libertyforall.net/index.html
=== <begin quote> ===
Simply put, a representative - who is still a citizen even
when he's engaging in the act of representing - couldn't do anything a citizen
couldn't do. If an individual can't do something, a gaggle of individuals can't
do it either. If I don't have authority to tax my neighbors, I can't authorize
a group called "government" to tax them for me. How can I give
authority I don't have to give?
"The people cannot delegate to government the power to
do anything which would be unlawful for them to do themselves." - John
Locke.
=== <end quote> ===
An interesting concept when applied to: the death penalty, the income tax, OSHA, and -- my perennial favorite -- the State Lotteries, which I like to call the special tax on the poor, minority, and stupid people! As opposed to the Social Security Scam, which is the tax on men, minorities, and the young! (Does that make me a different type of –phobic?)
Curmudgeon
And that’s the last word.
-30-