Tag: philosophy

Why Fight the Lakota School Levy????????????????????????????

One thing about this Anti-Levy stuff is you sometimes need to take a minute and remember why you’re in the fight to begin with.  After all, with the mudslinging that goes on, it is easy to let the ideas jumble together.  Well, I just received a letter from a very nice couple with kids in the school system that is against this school levy.  It is difficult to not feel some compassion for their position, but they captured many of the themes that get completely smashed in a contentious election like the one we have in the Lakota Levy, Issue 2 of 2010. 

So I am putting the letter down here to share their words with others on both sides so everyone can remember what is truly at stake.  Their names are removed by request, particularly since they have children in the school system and fear retaliation.  And it is in such words that I find new ambition to unravel the tangled web that has snared all such good people in the sticky grip of political monstrosity.     

____________________________________________________________________________________

Subject: We want to help!
 
My husband and I have been Liberty Township residents for 15 years. We have two children attending Lakota Schools; one is a freshman, one is in the 6th grade. Our small family of four survives, (in Liberty Township mind you! The “I have everything” capital of the world) on little more than the “Starting” salary of a Lakota teacher.
 
We read the teachers salaries last night.  I pride myself in being a very articulate person, however, I find myself strangely unable to find words that adequately express how that information makes us feel.  Knowing they are taking away from our children, but protecting those salaries. 
 
You couldn’t be more correct in saying this levy isn’t needed for the children.  If ANY of this was about the children, they wouldn’t be making the cuts they are making.  They would be asking the teachers to revise their compensation packages.  Every single cut will take something away from the children.  Every one of them. Even when they cut the teaching staff, they are taking away from the children!  But the teachers will continue to receive pay raises through it all?!?!  It simply doesn’t make sense.  We love Lakota and we believe the teachers deserve a decent wage, but it’s crunch time.  If the very people who ARE Lakota won’t protect Lakota, how can they ask us to?  Is there not even one teacher with a conscience?
 
I don’t believe I have EVER been so outraged.  What I do believe is that if more Lakota residents knew about these salaries, to say NOTHING of their benefits or their pensions, the levy would crash and burn.
 
I’m sorry, but we have no money.  We don’t have any extra.  We don’t really have what we need to pay our bills right now.  There is no more to give to any one.  Not to the levy.  Not even to your group.  But we do want to help.  Please tell us what we can do.  We have arms and legs and phones and voices.  Please tell us what we can do.  We truly want to help.

Sincerely,

_________________________________________________________________________

 I put a budget idea here.  It’s not a painless plan, but one that I think helps the most people.  But one way or the other, something must be done at the local level to help those living in the district, so they can support the school with more than money. 

 

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

www.overmanwarrior.com

Lakota Budget Plan

Photograph taken by:    Pulsejournal.com (The Pulse Journal) Cox Ohio Publishing

 

So many people have written me, or asked me what my, or the NoLakotaLevy people suggest Lakota do about their budget situation.  I prepared the below response to a person that wrote me at NoLakotLevy.com and contacted me through the email there.   This is my plan, and can’t speak for everyone in the NoLakotaLevy group fully.  Now when reading this, keep in mind, I believe that union membership should be illegal in government positions, and teachers are government positions.  They are payed with tax payer funds, and therefore should not be able to participate in a union. 

Union membership is fine for private business if the product they make can be supported with the revenue they produce.  I know people in the film business that are part of a very powerful union in the Screen Actors Guild.  Writers for film are a part of the Writers Guild.  But those activities are supported with ticket sales at the box office, and more and more often, films are made outside of Hollywood in places like British Columbia, and Austrialia to avoid many of the high cost of union work.  So even in paradise, the union model is in trouble. 

In sports, there is a players union, and those unions have pushed up the price of a professional athlete to a cost that many of us bulk at.  Yet we can decide to support those athletes or not with the price of a ticket, or the purchase of a jersey. 

But government work is completley funded with tax payer money, and therefore no voting can take place.  The tax payer becomes the consumer without an option.  So when a teachers union is a part of a school system, it stands in the way of choice.  So my strategy below would be the advice I’d give any professional organization strangled by such a process.  My focus is on saving all the jobs at Lakota, particularly the 130 teachers and staff that are on the chopping block established by the retiring Superintendent, and preserving the great tradition at Lakota of being an excellent school. 

But this plan is aggressive, and would require a boldness that does not exist within the school system, otherwise, they would not be in the situation they are currently in.  It is unfortunate that the job falls on the community to help the school system understand how to solve their problems.  But I present this plan to all those who would care to read it, and may contain within themselves the valor to do what is right for not only the teachers, but the rest of the community. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

When it is reported that there is a financial crises within our local school system, it is important to study the situation.

When you sit down and look at the overall problem like a businessman would, without emotion, without politics, just the facts, you see quickly that the school system has around 78% of their resources tied up in wages and benefits.  So if you need to get that budget under control, you don’t tackle the very small costs that make up the remaining 22%, which is where busing falls.  Busing is really one of the minor costs and is something that should be addressed after you’ve tackled the issues making up the 78%.  There is only one reason to tackle busing first and that is to inconvenience parents so they vote for a levy out of their own needs. You start with wages and benefits so you can have the most impact quickly. 

  1. The first thing to deal with is the way the contract is organized with the employees.  You have to give the union credit that they created an environment for their members where they have been able to obtain wages that are above the standard for public sector positions.  The average wage for a teacher at Lakota in 2002/2003 was around $48,000.  Now, in 2010, it’s $62,000.  So they’ve more than outpaced inflation and cost of living. It should be noted that the aggressive position of the union such as what happened in April of this year, a federal mediator had to be called to bring the parties together between the board and the union.  That type of behavior has created a budget that is not sustainable over the long term as more and more tenured teachers and administrators move into the upper pay ranges. So the wages need to be brought down to a level that is more reflective of the community that is funding the budget.  If they took a 30% reduction, they could raise $27 million dollars immediately.  And the wages would still be considered good when compared to the private sector. 
  2. The other thing you look at is whether or not you need so many administrators, councilors, media professionals, and those types of positions, where many are making over $65,000 per year.  You would not cut low tenured teachers that are not making as much money, the ones making $35,000 to $45,000, and are full of ambition.  Those are the teachers you want to keep.  They are typically cheaper, and tend to statistically get the best results per employee. 
  3. As the new contract is established, the pay rates need to be established that the low end entry level pay scale is $35,000, and the top pay for an educator is $65,000.  If a teacher wants to pursue higher degrees such as a masters, or doctorate, of course they could reach that top scale faster, but could not exceed it unless they moved into administration.
  4. For administration positions, the cap should be set at $110,000.  That figure is reached by looking at what Mike Taylor is currently making which is $147,000 and reducing that figure by 30%, which is how much above average education positions are currently established at.  That would put the current superintendant at $103,000 and still provide some room for increases in supplemental years.   
  5. Taking these measures would do two things.  First the teachers and superintendants that are in education for just the money and security would leave and take positions at other schools.  This would allow us to hire ambitious personnel that is truly in education for the right reasons, and that is putting kids first.  And in turn we would pay them well, but fairly.  And they’d have the benefit of working for a good school system in a nice community where the parents care for the kids they are sending to the school.  Such a teaching environment is a benefit believe it or not and would allow us to attract the best teachers that are truly in teaching for the children.  The second thing this does is it shows that Lakota has the leadership to set up a sustainable model that the State of Ohio can copy for all the other schools in the state and finally solve its unconstitutional property tax funding model that has been broken for half a century.  Until a school system takes these steps and is the first to do so, the status quo will bankrupt our funding system.  If the choice of the union would be to strike then replacement staff could immediately be hired to replace those participating in the strike, and our wage level could be fixed quickly.  But shutting down the school system or declining the level of education is not an option. 

 

This plan would allow us to bring our budget under control, sort out the truly good from the truly selfish, and would improve our performance in virtually all aspects.  To not do this plan or one very similar to it is not acceptable, and will only substantiate the decline of service that is immanent.  The term union members and leaders use to identify people not of their membership that work for the school system, is “scab.”  Such terms do not belong on the tongues of those involved in education and they need to remove their philosophy from our funding obligations.  We will need individuals willing to put the community first because such individuals will be needed to work in the school system in the near future, and the community will need to support them, when the union leadership attempts to bring pain to our district.   

The goal of these measures is to find out the true heart of the employees.  And at the same time, to reduce the cost to the overall budget.  It is the least painful way to accomplish this task giving those who are unhappy with the situation a chance to leave without causing damage to the community.  And would allow us to retain the most loyal and dedicated staff for our school system.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Lakota Levy…….But Wait, We Just Did This!

Levy Part 2, but wait, didn’t we just do this?
What short memories everyone has. It was just April when a lot of this was happening.  So lets go back and look at the events of 2010 that led up to this second attempt.  Some of the videos below have the embedding turned off, so they are links that you’ll have to click on to watch.  The point of this is to study where we came from so we can see where we’re going. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkQ4M2DRVEA&feature=channel
We just had a Federal Mediator coming in to help resolve a contract dispute, over pay raises and benefits. Now I’ve written a lot about Lakota’s budget being top heavy. And even though everyone knew the situation as early as April, the Union had still stiffened up to get everything they could, aware that there was a Levy coming.
While I was on the radio during the last weekend of September, Darryl Parks pressed me on that issue.

During the last levy we put up a fight. But that was only in May of this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhcNq0ZbnDs&feature=channel

But what the Pro Lakota people didn’t comprehend was that the Anti-Levy people were deeper than just a group of developers. It was a wide range of people with all different backgrounds that shared a common idea that the spending was out of control, and they remembered the events of the last levy attempt in 2005. And they didn’t appreciate the misleading statistics.

The May levy was contentious, and it was defeated handedly. After the vote I personally went to a board meeting to see how the board dealt with the issue. After all, I had read that Mike Taylor the night of the vote realizing that the levy would be defeated announced that the issue would be put back on the ballot. What I witnessed confirmed my thoughts of all the waste. I left the meeting feeling sorry for Joan Powell. I don’t believe that she or the rest of the board are bad people. They are just short sighted because they are part of a broken system.
But to avoid making the public angry, they waited till July to make the formal announcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P32s291N3L8&feature=related
And then they announced the cuts.

Yet nobody within the school system sees the problem with their budget. So they stick to the formula issued from Columbus. And immediately the press falls into place and just does their part to help the school system without pressing for any hard questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjbAdlGWOs0&feature=related

And with all the energy spent nobody discusses the two main issues, first that their operating budget is set too high.
The other issue is that the State of Ohio cut funds to our district, and they did so with an unconstitutional formula. And nobody wants to tackle that because it’s too hard and too big.

This is the funding model by the current governor.  See anything wrong with it?  Look where the money is going. 

So while everyone puts their energy into short term pains and gains, the union not wanting to budge.  The administrators just wanting to keep the status quo, the parents just want to keep their property values, and maintain what they thought they were getting as far as education in the community when they moved here, the real trouble gets over-looked and given a free pass.  And the media has helped make that happen. 

The Lakota School System is being crushed by an inflated funding model, and if the state won’t fund it, it’s not possible for residents to pay twice, once to the State and again to the community.  The system was broken before the state made this move in cutting back the funding.  And now, the issue needs to go back to the state to be fixed with a constitutional resolution once and for all.  And passing this levy will not make that happen. 

It’s a shame that so many important figures in this chess game, the kids, the parents, the administrators, the school board, the teachers, the union leadership, the residents find themselves in a cage fight when the real target is sitting in the press box pushing the buttons. 

It would be my advice to everyone to keep your eyes on the larger issues.  If you hang onto the status quo, you only buy a little time before the next major collapse.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

WLW on Saturday, September 25th

My appearance on the Darryl Parks show on Saturday September 25, 2010 is at the end of this article.  But first a few notes:

I woke up on Saturday morning to an onslaught of email.  One of the emails is a couple of links to articles where the Ohio Education Association is stepping in and doing some damage control of issues occurring in Southwestern Ohio.  

Two of the issues were the appearance of our No Lakota Levy group on WLW radio on Monday.  The other was the bill board campaign against wasteful education spending. 

There was a lot said in these articles, but then again, not much of any real content which is normal for these types of things.  But here is a summary of the key points, and it is in these points that left me feeling completely confident that the position against school levies is absolutely needed.  And maybe we are about 15 years too late, but it’s better late than never I suppose. 

In the Cincinnati Enquirer there was an attempt to minimize the posting of several billboards around Cincinnati trying to bring to light the spending problems.  And the union attacked it with a predictable move, to minimize the activity as advocates for the Republican Party, and further commenting that these people only come out when there is a levy, and then they just go away when the levy situation passes. 

And then this article in the Hamilton Journal, told the whole story for me, everything I had been suspecting. 

Bonny McMurray of the Ohio Education Association gave the interview which was a series of questions and answers.  And for me, she said one of the most startling things I could have read.  She said in her article,

“It’s that many jobs in the current economy do not pay enough to sustain a middle class life,” she said.

In an ideal world, she said, there would be more employers with unions to ensure people earn a middle class wage and are entitled to benefits.”

Did she really say that?????

Bonnie spelled out the problem very clear. The No Levy people for the most part believe that unions have increased the cost of labor to where places like China and India are currently doing our work.

The Pro Levy people hold dear the idea that if there were more companies with unions, then more people would have the wages to support other union activity.

This is a fundamental philosophic difference.  Any right thinking human being can see that unions have driven up our labor costs in this country.  Yet, the warnings that many popular culture spokesmen are making that socialism and unions are deeply connected as a philosophy, look to be more true than fiction. 

In the defense of union positions they attacked the Republican Party, and attempted to minimize the commitment level of anyone that opposes them, as if they are somehow more caring because they are involved fulltime in political activity.  Funded completly by the tax payer I might add.   

Yet with all the retoric their whole philosophy is revealed in that simple statement.  And that’s what we’re dealing with.  If there were more unions, then more people would be able to afford the high cost of union business.  Where do they think the money comes from?  Check out the problems they are having in Europe.  We all know about Greece, but check out France now.   We at least still have elections here where we can bring things back under control.  It’s not too late for us…..yet.       

I had an invite to go onto WLW this morning.  I read all these articles and found myself eager to call Darryl to be a guest on his show.  Out of all the media out there, Darryl has not been afraid to tackle issues like this. 

It is a shame that bringing a political philosophy into education is even relevant.  But it is.  Unions have done that on their own.  They have attached their social goals to the sacred institution of education.  Now it’s up to those of us that have been sleeping, and blindly trusting our politicians to take the steps to fix things.  And it will be a difficult journey.  But it starts with the vote on November 2nd. 

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

An Answer to the Dust Under my Feet, (critics)

 

The elemental issue, and ultimate tragedy of a life lived poorly, where one finds themselves cleaving to a measly income distributed from the public sector, is that they shatter when they discover how insignificant many of the beliefs they hold dear, truly are when they witness those living outside of their accepted parameters. 

As the Cincinnati Enquirer did the piece on me, featuring my work with bullwhips and the metaphors the whips have in politics it is only natural that all my interests come together in my explanation of the crises at hand, I can anticipate the indolent comments that will emerge.

I recently received a comment from one of my many, many, many critics referring to me as wearing a tin hat, because one of my interests is in paranormal investigation.  And of course the same fringe thinking will look at my 30 years of whip work in much the same discrediting fashion.  The word they have for it is a kook.

This is because these small minded people have allowed their minds to rot, and their bodies have taken the shape of such thinking.  The new rulers of these bodies are cellulite and they control the brain function without rebellion of original thinking.  And to such cumbersome contemplation, my interests will seem foreign and even freighting to their standard patterns of accepted behavior.

And the reason this is a tragedy, is because they are content to be only a fraction of themselves.  They are content to color in the lines that someone else drew for them, and will never have the satisfaction of creating anything original, or preserving a tradition that is rooted in truth.  The cowboy arts are just such a thing, where Buffalo Bill, and Annie Oakley routinely reflected the politics of their times within the context of their shows.  And such people I admire greatly. 

But this is the age of progressivism.  And in that age, individual achievement is frowned upon.  Personal conduct is shared, and these feeble minds that have perpetuated this philosophy truly believe they are rooted in intellect.  And it is in this thinking that any individual achievements, or any science that is not endorsed by these established minds, will become the subject of ridicule. 

So it is with great pride that I listen and read the quips of my detractors.  For when the politics is done, and the lights dim around our lives, I would not want to reflect upon the lives they lead, where they traded their very souls for a half baked idea, and a half-life reflected in their broken bodies. 

Truth is sometimes revealed within established ideas, and facts sometimes come from places where established science has not yet been scouted by intelligent minds.  And truth is also in tradition, which progressivism has sought to diminish any way possible.  So to see anger from those factions, it rests my mind at ease that I am doing what is correct and true in the larger battlefield of human ideology. Even a cancer cell wants to live, even though they do so by consuming the body.  And it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference.  And such clarification allows me to see the cancer cells for what they are. 

And for the cancer to take over our society, they have to minimize the immune system of our collective body in order to take command.  So that means to encourage people to be weak, like Homer Simpson.  Let people know that it’s ok, even endorsed to be like that beloved cartoon character, that being human is laced with fault, and that is actually an enchanting quality. 

http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgfykLAI%2Em4v

To become a bit more like Homer Simpson is a good thing. It’s what they are comfortable with.

http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgfykJAI%2Em4v

It is not surprising that similar personalities as the tricksters featured in these videos will look to anyone that displays talent or a hunger for knowledge outside of the orthodox because such types are a serious threat to their ideology.  And that ideology is an immature and shallow field of endeavor much coveted by those great equalizers dressed in sheep’s clothing yet finding it difficult to conceal their canine teeth.

  http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgf3_bgI%2Em4v

So it’s fine for those demagogues to cast assertions of despair in my direction.  For to them, everyone that is not a Homer Simpson is someone that must be brought down by any means available.

But it won’t be enough………………………because I’m not a Homer.

Such thoughts are dust under my boots.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Institutional Gate Keepers and Modern Philosophy Definition

Ah, the gods….gate keepers to the institutions of control.  The ones who cast the light upon the wall that create the shadows we all see.  I had been thinking recently that as much as many people crave freedom, they often act contrary to that freedom, but cleave to the shackles that bind them because they are safe.  What provoked this thought was that I had a discussion with a group of “smart” people that proclaimed that philosophy was something that had to be learned in a college. 

For one to be trained in philosophy and to discredit one who is not is to say that the value is proportional to the established way of thinking, which is to also say that corruption of the elementary idea is present.  How do we ever advance if we never challenge the established way of thinking?  If a thought is simply learned, then taught within a place of learning and passed on like a baton in a relay race? 

Original thinkers routinely have to step outside the establishment in order to bring something new to society. 

I’m thinking of the Twin War Gods of Navajo legend, where their village was being plagued by monsters they couldn’t destroy, and the weapon they needed was outside of the village.  And of course the members of the village told them not to go outside the village because it is dangerous and unknown.  And that is exactly where the Twin War Gods had to go, on a search for their father, in order to save their village.  

I will always be very skeptical of an idea created and evolved within an institution.  I would be more likely to trust a rambling half-conscious street dweller, because the ramblings are authenticated by their unique experience. 

But that’s just me.  However, sometimes it is tempting to take perfection and make something imperfect in a quest for knowledge.  This happens all the time, where young people that are loved and cared for find themselves knocking on the door of the Gods for entry into their palace and the pursuit of financial security.  But that is assuming that the God’s know more than the philosopher that is already on the outside, doing their unique work.

The institution is like candy, it promises sweet taste, and comes in a flashy wrapper, but it ultimately makes you fat and rots you from the inside out.  Such a metaphor is directly applicable to real life.  And institutions will not produce great philosophers, just one’s that learn how to do what they’re told and therefore get good grades.  And such a person is not one that I’d call a philosopher.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

Haughty Hoffman’s Philosophy

http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xbv52m_peter-facinelli-s-the-delivery-movi_shortfilms
Peter Facinelli's The Delivery Movie Trailer by CullensNews

My opinions and logic have been forged in the mines of experience. I’ve continued my education far beyond the requirements of a college degree and I’ve lived every day as though it were my last day on earth. I have also developed many interests which claw at me for attention like children. Some of those many interests are philosophy, psychology, archeology, cyrptozoology, paranormal research, mythology, comparative religion, motorcycle riding, old cars, and political science. And most of the time reading is the best way to explore all those topics.

With that in mind, it may be detected in some of my writing, that I am frustrated with words like “masses,” “institutions,” and “government.” It is my sincere wish that I could share with others some of the experiences I’ve been fortunate to survive long enough to experience. And the wisdom that comes from that experience is invaluable.

And what I’m all about can best be summed up in this video.


 

But it is true; I have little respect for people that live in a box like existence. I have no respect for people that walk in the rain with an umbrella, accept at face value the information they get off TV and the newspapers, and haven’t read a book for a period longer than 6 months between them. So those that get angry at my comments about politics, and the funding of schools, or any other contemporary issue, believe me; I sleep well at night.

I don’t really like to be haughty, even if it comes across that way. But I am proud of the many barriers thrown my way that I’ve survived or overcome to tell another story, and see another day. And I do find myself laughing at those who point from their shackles and judge that people should be like them, slaves of their own making.

It is fashionable to not strive for perfection. I find that statement disgusting. While imperfection is what often happens, to not strive for it in a person’s dealings is a crime. But to say that nobody is perfect is another way of saying that life is too hard and not worth putting forth any extra effort. And I’m not new to this thinking. I’ve always pushed the barriers to the limit even when I was dirt poor.

This was trick or treat at the first home my wife and I had when we were a newly married couple in our early twenties. I’m the one in the monster mask sitting in the chair.

I always thought there should at least be one house that gave kids a trick instead of just lazily handing out candy. Halloween has been a great tradition at our house ever since.

This next video was about 8 years later, after a few children of our own were added to the mix.

And then a few years after that, my family went ghost hunting:

And when I tried out for the Survivor TV show:

And this was just a few months ago, with my son in law and wife. My kids had to work that weekend.

And this is how we celebrate football Sunday at my family’s house.

There are of course many, many events that I can’t include here, but for the sake of showing consistency over several decades, I want to demonstrate that the common theme is family and how much potential there is for a family to be a great and wonderful thing, that will provide everyone in it with an enriched life.
And I could lose every material possession I have and still be wealthy for the experiences I’ve had. And because of that, I shake my head at those that proclaim that money will fix a problem in schools, or politicians try to prop themselves up with increased taxes. If those people weren’t so arrogant in believing they are superior to the rest of us, I would feel sorry for them. But as it stands, I laugh at them, so my presentation comes across as haughty.

When it comes to kids, get in the floor and play with them. Teach them to question their teachers. And take them to a museum sometime. Go on a ghost hunt. Do whatever, but do something. Because nothing will fill your soul as well as experiences with people you care about.

Good times with friends and family is all that really matters.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com