The 30 July 2005 campaign letter, line by line

The Gang of Three had one last arrow in their quiver. They spent several hundred more dollars to print and mail another campaign letter to nearly all of the membership. They didn't have the decency to include me in their mailing, but when called on it, Melissa Rasmussen emailed me a PDF copy.

As before, I'm going to go through it, line by line. Their text is inside a box, with my comments below it.

The letter starts off with the Texas VHF-FM Society logo flanked by the United States and Texas flags. Talk about wrapping yourself in the flag. What's the point, exactly, other than pushing buttons? Then again, that's the intent of the whole letter.

URGENT NEWS! July 30, 2005

Urgent only because they're afraid they'll go down in flames. At least the date on this one is honest, unlike their previous letter.

Dear Society Members, Trustees and Friends, We have some sad and disturbing news to report.

Sad and disturbing only if you're the Gang of Three looking at their bleak prospects for success at the meeting.

In January of this year, The Texas VHF-FM Society membership overwhelming approved an amendment made by Steve Agee, N5ZUA, to require elections to be carried out by mail ballot to all members,

No, it didn't. This is their Big Lie once again. The vote was in violation of the bylaws, and thus is null and void.

similar to how the ARRL holds elections.

There's a similarity, all right: The ARRL elections are notorious for massive waves of ballot box stuffing. This is what the Gang of Three wants to bring to the Society, at ruinous cost. The ARRL's multimillion-dollar budget can afford the expense. The Society's few-thousand-dollar budget cannot.

As many of you know the Texas VHF-FM Society is dominated and controlled by a special interest group.

This is purest spin. The Gang of Three is unhappy because their candidates got clobbered in the elections in August 2004, and they're looking for someone besides themselves to blame. They found a ready target in the Armadillo Intertie Inc. system, which is the largest and most advanced repeater network in Texas.

They make up a majority of the Board of Directors and have for the last 20+ years.

The people who have made up the Board for the last 40 years are those who have shown an interest in working with the Society to accomplish its goals. They're the same kind of people that Armadillo recruits - because they're people that get things done.

They decided because vote by mail posed a threat to their ability to control the Society,

Uh huh. Never mind the crushing expense and the likelihood of ballot box stuffing and vote buying.

they have refused to honor the new by-law amendments adopted by the membership.

You don't honor that which was never adopted. They didn't follow the rules, and so it was not adopted. If it's adopted at the meeting on 6 August, it will be honored.

They claim that this amendment fell under an obscure rule

There's nothing obscure about the Society's bylaws. They're even available online.

and adversely affects repeater trustees.

No reasonable person would conclude that repealing a rule protecting the rights of trustees to be heard does not adversely affect them.

The membership ruled that it did not adversely affect trustees

The membership did not have the power to make this ruling, since doing so effectively suspended the bylaws.

and two licensed attorneys

Most attorneys know little about parliamentary law. Any attorney will tell you as much.

and a Certified, Professional Parliamentarian all agree that this amendment DID NOT fall under this obscure rule

The letter from the parliamentarian they wave in the air as supporting their cause says nothing of the kind. All it says that the amendment itself was well drafted; she could hardly say anything else, since it was lifted straight from Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the Society's parliamentary authority.

and was PROPERLY PASSED and is in effect now.

They're incorrect. The attorneys don't know what they're talking about, and the parliamentarian didn't say what they're claiming she said.

We believe that their claim that this amendment did not pass in January is a bold face lie.

Of course they do. To admit that they were wrong all this time would destroy their argument that some nefarious conspiracy is taking place to deny the rights of every Society member, when the truth is that the only conspiracy is their own.

They have denied you your right to vote by mail!

Unless and until the amendment is passed in accordance with the rules, there is no right to vote by mail, and therefore it cannot be denied.

We find this to be an extreme injustice to ALL Society members.

The only injustice here is that the Gang of Three is conducting a well-financed campaign to take over the Society by lying to the members.

Now, to make things even worse, this Special Interest Majority wants to start CHARGING YOU ANNUALLY FOR COORDINATION!!

I wrote and submitted that amendment at Paul Baumgardner's request so that it could be submitted for a poll of the trustees, in accordance with paragraph 6.6.3 of the bylaws, and be voted on at the August 2005 meeting. The reason was simple: The vote by mail amendment, if adopted, will cost a bare minimum of $3000 a year, and the Society's budget can't absorb that - so the money has to come from somewhere.

They held a last minute, "Special Meeting" in April in an attempt to overturn vote by mail.

Why the quotes? The bylaws provide for special meetings, and one was called according to its provisions. The meeting was to stop implementation of an improperly adopted and ruinously expensive bylaws amendment. The only reason that it was not struck down then was that the Gang of Three filed a lawsuit at literally the last minute, so that it could not be challenged.

During this "Special Meeting" they made a proposal to amend the by-laws to start charging for coordination.

Yup. Gotta pay for vote by mail somehow. If vote by mail is voted down, then there will be no need for coordination fees.

Because we, The Reform Party, have stood up to these injustices and stood up for ALL member rights,

Even those rights that do not exist, and those rights they'd like you to think you have because it would help them take over the Society.

they have attempted to label us as "the bad guys" or "troublemakers."

Truth in advertising. Indeed, calling themselves the "reform party" is nothing more than a smokescreen: they're only interested in reforming who runs the Society - namely, themselves.

Don't be fooled or misled.

Indeed not. That's why I've put up this website: to help you make up your own mind, instead of depending on any one source.

We are regular, down to earth people who only want the best for the Society.

Only as long as "the best for the Society" begins with "and we're in charge".

We live in the real world.

Which real world? The one where the sky is a nice shade of mauve and taking away people's right to be heard is not an adverse effect on them?

We understand that gasoline is around $2.50 a gallon and could reach $3.00 by the end of the year. We understand that it is closer from Austin Texas to Jackson Mississippi, than it is from Austin Texas to El Paso Texas! We understand that you have family and work commitments.

Yup. Some of us even have to deal with increasing airfares and losing income to make meetings.

These factors can create a hardship that could prevent you from being able to travel to Austin to vote.

If I can travel from Fairmont, Minnesota so my voice is heard and my vote counts, anyone can travel from Dallas.

We believe that you have a right to vote even if you cannot travel to Austin.

And if you can get the membership to agree with you and adopt the vote by mail amendment in accordance with the rules, then the members will have such a right. Until then, no such right exists. If it were inherent in organizations such as the Society, it would be mandated by law. It is not.

The Special Interest Majority has forbid you this right merely so they can remain the Majority on the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors has protected the rights of the membership from being abused by one special interest group from one limited geographic area ramming through a costly provision in clear violation of the bylaws.

They have disguised themselves as "The Committee to Save the Texas VHF-FM Society."

The Committee to Save the Texas VHF-FM Society is not a group from any one organization, nor are they directors of the Society - although nearly all of them are former directors, and three of the five are past presidents (as am I). This is an attempt to confuse the membership by lumping unrelated groups together.

Nothing could be further from the truth. They only seek to maintain their control of the Society, forbid members from voting who cannot attend the meetings, and to start charging for coordination.

The same old lies, all over again. I've already debunked them above.

The time has come for every member, trustee, and ham in Texas to make a sacrifice and come to Austin this Saturday, August 6th and attend the Texas VHF-FM Society meeting.

And thereby show that they're interested enough in the Society to come, hear the discussion in person, and vote - just like the Society has worked for 40 years. I, too, think every ham should come, join if they're not a member already, and vote - especially if they're tired of the lies, half-truths, spin, and innuendo.

We need everyone who supports vote by mail, Democracy, and opposes charging for coordination to come and vote for the Reform Party listed below.

More spin. Vote by mail is not the same as democracy; in fact, since it's prone to ballot-box stuffing, it's less democratic than the present system. What the Gang of Three means when they call for "democracy" is "protect our right to stuff the ballot box and protect our jobs".

Bring your whole ham club and every ham you know.

Just like they did in Arlington in January.

If you are a club member, contact your club officials to arrange for a caravan to Austin.

One of the Gang of Three's cronies was talking about renting buses to take people to Austin. I guess the person financing the campaign decided that was too expensive.

This Frequency Coordination Crisis can only be resolved by hams coming to this meeting and voting.

Indeed. Only if the Gang of Three and their cronies are soundly repudiated will the crisis pass.

Hams who are not Society members may sign up at the door.

Just like they did in unprecedented numbers in Arlington in January.

We also ask that you come and insist that Steve Agee's motion for vote by mail be reaffirmed and upheld in the future.

If the membership votes in favor of the amendment at the meeting, it will be upheld. If they do not, it will not. It's that simple.

If elected, the Reform Party promises to respect and uphold the rights of ALL members.

As long as they're not members of Armadillo Intertie, Inc. Those folks can just "sit down and STFU", in the words of Melissa Rasmussen.

For those of you who are receiving this by mail, we have enclosed wallet size cards. Pass one to a friend.

I wonder how much that cost their backer? The Gang of Three has complained about folks poassing out cards with names on them in the past; why are they doing it themselves, if it's so eeeeevil?

If you are receiving this by email, please print this letter. Bring the cards or the letter with you to the meeting so you will know who the Reform Party is, and where we stand.

Bring the card, by all means. That way, you'll know who to vote against. As for knowing where they stand, we STILL don't know that for sure, beyond motherhood-and-apple-pie platitudes and demands that an invalidly voted amendment be treated as though it had validly passed so they stand a chance of being reelected.

Meeting times and locations can be found at http://www.austinsummerfest.org

Indeed they can. The meeting was even moved from 9 AM to 1 PM (as I write this on 3 August) to allow the issues to be fully discussed and everyone who wants to to attend. The Gang of Three complained to the heavens about that.

Feel free to contact any of us to ask questions or to discuss any past, present or future issues concerning the TX VHF-FM Society or view our website at: www.texasvotebymail.info.

Just don't expect straight answer out of them if you ask difficult or embarrassing questions. Note also that they point to their website, but nowhere do they point to this one, even though I've pointed to theirs lots of times. Why do they want to hide the existence of answers to their arguments?

We ask that you vote for all five of us, because we can only make a difference if we are elected as a team.

Correct. If they do not attain a majority of the Board, they will be stymied in their efforts to take over the Society.

This is the only way the Special Interest Majority will no longer remain the majority

The majority of the Board is not a special interest. It's representative of the hams of Texas, not one narrow group that only cares about the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

and prevent the Society from continuing down the problematic path that it has been on for a very long time

The Gang of Three is doing what it does best here: flinging around allegations without any substance behind them or any facts to back them up. Note that they do not say just why the Society's path - that it's been following for its entire 40-year existence - is problematical.

Remember that every vote counts.

Indeed it does. That's why it's important that hams who are tired of the backstabbing, finger-pointing, unsubstantiated allegations, and lies need to come to Austin and vote the Gang of Three's slate and the pending vote by mail amendment down in flames.

We are here to support you,

Only if you're not a member of Armadillo Intertie, Inc. - or simply don't think the Society should be run by Dallas, for Dallas.

and hope you will support us in this election.

And I hope their hopes are dashed at the meeting.

Reforming the Society Into A Democracy!

Only if "democracy" means "way to ensure we're reeleected, no matter what the rest of the state wants".

The Society Reform Party Worldwide Headquarters

We don't have an inflated opinion of ourselves, do we? Of course not.

1510 Eldridge Parkway Suite 110-120 Houston, Texas 77077

This is a Parcel Plus store on the west side of Houston. What are they hiding? The name of their sugar daddy, perhaps? Why the subterfuge, other than to try to deceive you into thinking they're a truly statewide movement?

Once again, the Gang of Three has spent hundreds of dollars to lie to the membership. What's worth so much money to them? I wish I knew. In the meantime, the membership should make sure their effort and expense comes to nothing - by voting for the slate of candidates backed by the Committee to Save the Texas VHF-FM Society, and by voting down the pending vote by mail amendment.