Voters Not Getting Promised Changes
The Agenda
The McCoy Administration mirrors the last two failed Administrations in almost every aspect. Cronyism, nepotism, and favoritism have continued on the same road to nowhere. No accountability, no responsibility and no business sense continue to plague the Tribe to it's almost inevitable demise.
Will it ever stop? Only if the people are bound together in one common cause to overthrow the Chairman and the Board of Directors. We need not agree on anything, other than the fact everything is remaining the same and something needs to be done about it now. United we stand, divided we fall. History tells us that.
With Greektown near it's end, the Sault Tribe Membership could very likely be stuck with the bill, while the Board and core families continue to benefit as they have traditionally done in the past. The main problem and the problem that's always haunted us is the presence of Bernard Bouschor in our political and business ventures. Bouschor's failed the Tribe horribly and continues to receive support from his band of cretins who have shared the wealth with Bouschor all along.
The Sault Tribe Board and Administration are the laughing stock of modern civilization. With a ballpark debt of 777 million in Greektown, our Northern Casinos may very well be in jeopardy of getting lost in the slew of bad business deals Bouschor created in the past two decades.
Reports have came in that Aaron Payment the Tribes BIGGEST LIAR is back. Apparently Payment's political activities at MSU didn't jive with the University's mission, and he was sent packing. A short test revealed that Payment could not make it in the real world. So back lying to Tribal Members he goes. The Members must not forget the barrage of Payment lies that got him elected in the first place. Hundreds of promises were made, and not ONE was kept. Like the McCoy and Bouschor Administrations, the Tribe went through some very embarrassing moments under Payments version of a Autocratic Government.
Moving Into The Future
The Tribe over the past 10 years has been in limbo. Locked in time over the past and unable to move into the future. The vicious cycle of nepotism, cronyism, and favoritism prevents any forward movement. The same lies by the same liars. These same liars prevent any credible Members from obtaining a seat on the Board, unless the dough is falling out of their pockets. Very little is leaked outside the core groups and factions the Tribe is comprised of. Therefore, replacing the core groups is virtually logistically impossible.
We must always keep in mind, that the Bouschor, Payment, and McCoy Governments are reflective of each other. No forward momentum has been achieved by any of the past or present Governments. No future plans have been shared with the Members. More of the same information control that's left Members in the dark for decades.
Growing-up Is Hard To Do
Most humans grow-up long before they get in their 40s and 60s. Not Bouschor and Payment. When something goes wrong they blame it on the other. The article Playing The Blame Game On Misplaced Land Casino proves just that.
http://www.online-casinos.com/news/news2906.asp
History tells us that this is the game Bouschor and Payment play. History also tells us that Bouschor and Payment have conspired for years. Prior to Payment becoming Chairman, he was Bouschor's right-hand man. These two parasites feed off each other.
Call To Service
What can the Members do? Well, a variety of things can be done now. The suggested ideas are how we can help.
1. Vote. Vote on everything and anything the Tribe sends you
2. Pay attention. Pay attention to the Tribal paper and website, and see what the Board is conspiring to do. Stay informed
3. Call your Directors and get them on record for any of your concerns. They are only a phone call or an email away
4. Share your ideas with others
5. Report to your State and Federal Legislators any violations of the law you know of
6. Be patient (at least a reasonable amount of patience)
7. Question your Board Members actions
Plans are now being made for a future Membership Conference/Workshop, on how to remove the entire Board and replace them. The Members have shown great interest in this. This will be a very complex process that will require Membership participation to achieve this goal properly. The days of Autocratic Governance need to come to an end, and we the Members are the ones that need to end it.
Stay vigilant and participate in this movement for real change.
Miller Time !!!
Coming up on Tuesdays agenda will be a resolution to allow video conferencing. One will have to assume that is the intent, as no explanation is posted on the Tribal website regarding this resolution. More of "The less you know, the more we can do behind your backs". If this resolution passes you can almost be assured another referendum will be in order.
Bouschor and Payment allowed this practice under their leadership, so their pocket people could vote while they derelicted their duties to attend the Meeting. At the very least Board Members should be present for all meetings unless there is a life or limb incident.
Under the Payment autocracy a resolution was brought forth to prohibit this practice. There was huge resistance from the Payment faction, but the resolution narrowly passed. The beginning of the end of their backdoor deals. The bottom line here is Directors at the very least have a requirement to make the Meetings. If you can't make the Meetings then you need to step down.
Case In MindThe most abusive Board Member to this practice is none other than Tom Miller. He sits on 15 or more Committees, is the Administrator for Hannahville Schools, and he tries to be a Board Member all at the same time. What a multi-tasker!
Miller was recently on a tele-conference with the Bahweting School Board, the School Administration, and the Fiduciary Committee. During the Conference Miller decided to take another call without telling the individuals on the tele-conference. "Tom are you there?" "Hello, Tom are you there?" "Oh sorry I was on the other line." Tom Miller thinks he's so important that he can ignore everyone else. Miller is equal to Bouschor, Payment and now McCoy. They believe they are all to important to communicate with the Membership.
Insanity"Doing the same thing over again and expecting a different outcome" Albert Einstein
The people are watching, and they are watching very close. We need not let these Board Members slip by their Constitutional obligations.
Contact your Directors and tell them that video and tele-conferencing are unacceptable.McCoy 906-635-6050
Causley 906-484-2954
Hoffman 906-635-6945
Abramson 906-635-3054
McKelvie 906-632-7267
Eitrem 906-632-8567
Bouschor Unavailable #
Massaway 906-643-6981
Rickley Unavailable #
LaPoint 906-493-5311
Petosky 906-387-2101
Miller 906-644-2527
Chase 906-341-6783
Stopping The Greasy Wheel
Protest 2004
The slippery slide of the Boards greasy wheel just might be stopping in the referendum currently being circulated.
Most Members say they have gave enough and it's time for the Board to give-up something.
Some Board Members have put themselves and their families before the electorate. A few bad apples are rotting the whole bunch. They know who they are and they know what they have done.
In the email string below, longtime Member advocates Tony Grondin and Mike Doud put it in layman's terms. They obviously know who the fools are.
It is time to pound and ground the Board and show them who's boss!
Tony Grondin wrote:
Your right Mike, it is supposed to be a two way street. I believe the most important thing about the referendum is that we are able to have it. Had things been explained differently in the beginning I still believe we would have had it. However the results of the referendum may turn out to be different if the BOD was forthright.
It is and will remain my opinion that IRS 409a is simple if explained how it applies to our BOD. Much of the legal mumbo jumbo means little as it applies to many. In the instance of our BOD in the simplest of terms it determines whether or not our BOD that have more than five years and less than twenty are going to have to pay taxes on their retirement if the referendum is disapproved.
I don't believe for a minute it is a compliance issue as portrayed on the referendum. What the IRS is telling our BOD is that if they want their retirement to be considered tax exempt they have to do certain things.
If they don't do those certain things they have to pay taxes. Kind of like the Homestead Act. If you have real estate that is adjacent to your primary home property you can claim it under the Homestead Act. But, ONLY if you file the right application for the expemption. If you fail to apply for the exemption you pay the regular tax as apllied to real property.
What the BOD did was make a mistake and put it to a resolution and the members got wind of it. It's a game this administration is continuing to play like the past administrations. Take for instance the elders dividends,,,,,,,,,,,, Bernard Bouschor didn't want to give it to the elders in the first place but when pressured by the membership he gathered elders 60 years of age and older and asked at what age our members should be considered an elder. Guess what it was? Before that tribal elders 55 and older were attending elders dinners and meetings here
To add insult to injury our elders have to pay taxes on their dividend. So why not the BOD pay taxes on their retirement? From what I understand the retirement is 5 to 10 years it's $500 monthly, 10 to 19 years it's $750 and twenty or more it's $1000 monthly with the spouse receiving it after death of the Director.
Your also right about Bouschor's conflict of interest. It's a travesty that an alleged thief of Millions of tribal dollars is allowed to serve on our BOD. Also Bouschor has a lawsuit against Greektown for $3.4 million and is claiming "executive immunity". The lower court judge rules that Bouschor did not have the authority to grant severances to the 7. The lower court judge also ruled that the 7 were not fired but had quit their jobs and were therefore not entitled to anything. At the very least Bouschor's stipend should be put in escrow.
The BOD konws little or nothing about Bahweting and are not concerned about it. And as for Key Employees terminations,,,,,, it won't happen. CFO Victor Matson Jr. admitted he gave Construction Supervisor, Lenny Adams permission to take home tribal property (shrubs), tribal equipment (Pick-up, trailer, backhoe and loader), and employees on tribal time (3) to plant shrubs at Lenny's new home.
As late as a few days ago Victor Matson Jr. Lenny Adams and CEO Joe McCoy is allowing construction employee Joe Paquin to take home a tribal pick-up everyday.
SO WHAT!!!!!! so what is the BOD's attitude
DISAPPROVE REFERENDUM
TG
Mike Doud wrote:
It's hard to shape public opinion to be Pro-Board when the Board operates like the last 2 Administrations. The referendum could have been avoided had someone explained the exact nature of the resolution. To a keen eye, the resolution seems to be two-fold and sneaky, but not according to their legal beagles.
Important things the Board is failing to do are, Deal with 2% distribution, deal with Bahweting, dealing with terminations of key employees" They hate having their friends fired", deal with Bouschor's conflict of interest "the fox guarding the hen-house", have the Chief of Police re-investigate complaints file 13ed by Fast Freddie, and the list goes on. Giving and taking is a two way street. The Board has too much junk in their trunk.
Seven Grandfather Teachings
Below Is A Contribution From Tribal Elder Tony Grondin
Tony Grondin wrote:This is really a sad time in the life of a people that are revered in history to be genuine, givers, protectors, integrated, forthright, act with Integrity and we can't get one elected representative to stand and tell the real truth.I can't tell you how many times I have heard individuals with all those qualities say, "we are a pitiful people", and tell personal stories of hardships brought on themselves by their own actions. When I heard those words it was at Eagle Staff Gatherings, Sweat Lodges, Fasts, Talking Circles, Pipe Ceremonies, in a Wabano. When leaving those sacred gatherings we have a feeling of pride knowing those that have spoken have learned from their mistakes and have become better people.We have the Seven Grandfathers that are difficult for me to follow but still expect our elected officials to follow them when making a decision for our people. When making decisions for myself or acting for myself I have to deal with the consequences myself so it's easy to make mistakes as I have done. I do however find it very difficult not to make the right decision when I know in my heart what is best for the people not just me. I am very comfortable in saying that I have made those difficult decisions in the past and base my integrity on it.The difficult decisions that need to be made and are not, in some way or another violate each of the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Of all the Seven Grandfather teachings the one that stands out most to me is Humility. When we hear the teachings of Humility it is generally taught in a way that sometimes we have to accept humiliation in order to conquer the other teachings. Humility is hard enough to accept when it is self-imposed. But when the people that represent us humiliate us as a people it's almost unforgivable but that too is a teaching,,,, to forgive.To forgive is also something hard to do! I find it easier to forgive others than to forgive myself. Apparently those ideals are not shared by ourelected officials. We as a people are now looking for one person that can represent us in history and stand up and tell the truth when it is a very difficult thing to do.Ever since we have become a recognized tribe we have struggled to find leaders that will act with Integrity when the real hard decisions are to be made. Where are we headed as a people? How is history going to reflect us as teachers, givers, protectors, integrated, forthright, and acting with Integrity?TG
