[Bob Kuczewski]

From hanggliding.org (http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=22492):

OK, on page 15 "This Just In", it says that a Michael Jefferson is losing his instructor and both Tandem ratings.

Also Claude Fiset is losing his Instructor and Tandem ratings, as well as his P4 rating.

I'm guessing they did some unsafe and/or illegal stuff. I hadn't read anything about it, and since it's my understanding that rating revocation is a rare event it's gotten my curiosity up, although it ain't any of my business "inquiring minds want to know".

I'm gonna do it...

Mike was taken down by the tyrannies of evil! He did break the rules and the official statements have been hidden as much as possible. If you know Mike and how to reach him you should reach out to him and try to offer some support and find out the truth!

A HG conspiracy between competing schools and the power that the upper levels of the USHPA leaders abuse.

I'm sure that there are now snipers and assassins on their way to take me out as I type the rest of this.

I, and those that know the truth, know that Mike Jeffersons lively hood was striped from him. He was given unfair and unreasonable punishment for breaking the rules. Ask him and ask anyone that knows, and you will find out that he stands no chance of getting his ratings back if he has to fight this fight on his own. He needs the help of the public eye, public opinion, and backing of those that are willing to stand for a just cause, if he is to win his ratings, and lively hood back.

Bluntly... Mike Jefferson was punished for becoming the #1 most successful HG school in the Bay Area. The opposing powers let Mike hang himself and when he did, they made it such a public spectacle that the "Sheep" followed and supported the unjust punishment without question.

This finally comes to the public forum after almost 1 yr... it goes to show how quiet and rushed things were by those that were the executors.

I will not argue any of this out on this forum. I encourage EVERYONE on this board to question the "Mike Jefferson" conspiracy and find out the truth on their own. Go underground, find out the truth, spread the word to more, once there is more knowledge and strength, we should make our actions known to the community and publicly demand reinstatement of his ratings, on this forum AND by letters (By each one of us) to the USHPA Regional directors and Executive board members.

Feel free to PM me and I will point you in the right direction. But this will be the last I speak of this on this forum until we are ready to put our plan into action.

The USHPA is supposed to be a NonProfit working for the members. If enough of us stand together then by definition things should be changed

I agree with Wing Man's comments here. I was on the USHPA Board at the time of the revocation. From what I could tell, it was rammed through the Board. I objected that there was no one there to present the other side. My objection was ignored. I ended up abstaining because I didn't know the other side of the story.

USHPA is no longer an organization of pilots. It's an organization of Directors ... funded by pilots. While Jack Axaopoulos (sg) has built a nice forum on hanggliding.org, he's ended up doing a disservice to the hang gliding community by the way he killed the HGAA and is stifling the growth of the US Hawks through his bans and gag orders. USHPA won't change until it gets some meaningful competition. It's a shame that Mike Jefferson had to pay for this.

[miguel]

Any chance of putting board names with board actions?

Hate to say it but the Jack bashing is counterproductive to building a new org.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Hi Miguel,

Any chance of putting board names with board actions?

Sorry, they've resisted publishing their votes for years now. It's been almost 2 years since I proposed the "Accountability Amendment" to the USHPA bylaws:

Lisa Tate and Members of the USHPA Board (bcc and posting to others),

In a communication on September 9th, I was asked to read the director's guidebook that I was given when I was elected. Well, I have been reading that book (Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations Second Edition) and I'd like to quote an important passage relating to voting (bold, italic, and underline added for emphasis):

Chapter 2 ("Duties and Rights of Nonprofit Corporation Directors")

Rules of Procedure and Minutes

The board should adopt rules of procedure appropriate to its size, the constituencies represented on the board and the diversity of its membership. Minutes of the board should be prepared regularly, and should note the names of the persons attending the meeting, and how each director voted.

Any working board will work out its own standard procedures for board meetings and the degree of formality, or lack thereof, used in submitting motions, amendments to resolutions, recording votes, etc. However, matters of importance should always be acted on by formal resolution. The corporation's minutes should be prepared on a regular basis by a director or other individual with the ability to accurately record and produce in a timely manner the minutes of each meeting. At a minimum, minutes of board meetings should note the names of all directors and other persons who attended each meeting, and the outcomes of each vote taken (specifically noting the names of the directors who voted for, against, or abstained). ...

Now we've seen this in Robert's Rules of Order Revised. We've seen this in Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. And now we're seeing it in the very same American Bar Association Guidebook that I've been asked to read. And in this particular recommendation it doesn't require a 1/5 vote. It doesn't require a motion and a second. It doesn't even require a motion at all. This book (which is copyrighted by the American Bar Association) says that all director's votes will be recorded "at a minimum" (specifically noting their names and votes). It doesn't get any clearer than that.

Lisa and the Board, open voting by those in power is a fundamental guarantee of protection and accountability to our membership. As I have said many times, our members cannot cast an informed ballot unless they know how we have voted on the most important (and often controversial) issues. As I read more and more of the references that you've given me, I have come to realize that it is my duty as an elected Director to demand that we stop the practice of secret voting on the Board of Directors.

Finally, I know a lot of you are either on the fence or have not weighed in yet. The matter of accountability is one that we should all support. You may or may not like me, and you may or may not agree with me on many issues, but the matter of informing our membership on how we vote is beyond question. I am asking each of you to support the "Accountability Amendment" that I've submitted to Dave Wills (Organization and Bylaws Chairman) and have included below.

Thank you,

Bob Kuczewski
Regional Director - USHPA Region 3

Proposed Amendment to USHPA Bylaws (or possibly SOPs):
=================================================
[Article VIII, Section 13.] Conduct of Meetings:

All meetings (including Board of Director Meetings, Committee Meetings, General Membership Meetings, and others) shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order Revised unless otherwise provided for in these By-Laws or listed specifically below:

(a) In accordance with one of the practices discussed in Robert's Rules of Order Revised, a Roll Call vote (Yeas and Nays) shall be taken if requested by any Director. The names and votes of all Directors during any such Roll Call vote shall be included in the minutes of the meeting for distribution to the general membership.
=================================================

Dave Wills refused to put that on the Organization and Bylaws Committee agenda and he refused to allow my motion to discuss it in the Organization and Bylaws meeting. Lisa Tate did the exact same thing at the full Board meeting. Lisa Tate simply refused to allow my motion to be seconded and she said that it would not be discussed. This is how bad they've gotten.

Hate to say it but the Jack bashing is counterproductive to building a new org.

Please take a look at what Jack Axaopoulos (sg) has done to our club's forum at http://torreyhawksforum.org. Please go there and read what he's done. That was a forum that he supposedly donated to our club, and I foolishly trusted him with the registration of that domain name. Last summer he locked the entire forum (essentially banning the entire club) and posted slanderous comments about myself and Scott Wise (Wingspan34). Please follow that URL and read what Jack has done.

It's unfortunate that so many people think Jack Axaopoulos (sg) is doing hang gliding a huge favor with hanggliding.org. The truth is that he's silencing anyone he chooses and deprives 99% of the pilots from seeing or knowing what's really going on. His dictatorial style has made him part of the problem. I didn't do anything to get banned except refer to the HGAA as the "SGAA" after his lockdown and takeover of that forum. I guess my comments hit a little too close to home and Jack banned me (in violation of his own rules about treating the moderator like any other user). Jack's willingness to kill the HGAA, ban people from hanggliding.org, and lock out our club's forum (http://torreyhawksforum.org) are all despicable, and yet very few people know what he's done. Please check it out and see if I'm telling the truth or not.

Thanks,
Bob Kuczewski

[TadEareckson]

I can't begin to fathom how one could begin to go about building a new org WITHOUT bashing Jack, Davis, USHPA, BHPA, DHV, HGFA, evil, negligence, incompetence, stupidity where and when ever they rear their ugly heads.

(I'm working on shorter, Bob. How am I doing?)

[Bob Kuczewski]

(I'm working on shorter, Bob. How am I doing?)

I could take lessons from you on that one!!

[TadEareckson]

Can I take that as an indication you're also OK with the content?

[Bob Kuczewski]

I can't begin to fathom how one could begin to go about building a new org WITHOUT bashing Jack, Davis, USHPA, BHPA, DHV, HGFA, evil, negligence, incompetence, stupidity where and when ever they rear their ugly heads.

I don't know about the BHPA, DHV, or HGFA, so I'm not qualified to say anything about them (there's no need to fill me in at this time).

But with regard to Jack, Davis, and USHPA, I agree that we need to point out their deficiencies in order to improve the sport. But we have to do it with enough balance (and tact) to avoid alienating people who may not have been exposed to their deeds. That's the hard part. Remember that there are lots of people who will read these posts thinking that Jack (sg) and Davis are the greatest. If you read my early posts, I praised both Jack and Davis many times. It wasn't until I tried to express an independent/critical thought that they both came down on me ... like hammers.

Thanks for your succinct post Tad!! Be careful or people will think you're an imposter.

[TadEareckson]

...there's no need to fill me in at this time...

Oh, it's really no bother.

BHPA is a clone of USHPA (was gonna say "evil clone" but that's rather redundant), DHV also forces people up on Hewett Links, and HGFA appoints Davis to force people up on Hewett Links.

But we have to do it with enough balance (and tact)...

You could stand those sonsabitches up against a wall half an hour from now and still be treating them with WAY too much balance (and tact).

...to avoid alienating people who may not have been exposed to their deeds.

Crystal meth is a perfectly safe drug for most teenagers when used responsibly and in moderation.

That's the hard part.

Duh.

Remember that there are lots of people who will read these posts thinking that Jack (sg) and Davis are the greatest.

Then I know at least three places they can go. And I can give them at least one suggestion regarding what they can do for self entertainment en route.

If you read my early posts, I praised both Jack and Davis many times.

Tad Eareckson - 2008/12/13 13:32:27

Davis,

Howdy and a zillion thanks for what you've done to establish and maintain this remarkable resource. It's been a real gold mine for researching equipment, it's problems, and accidents trends amongst about anything else one can name.

Also really appreciate your concern for the planet that we, as humans in general and gas guzzling American pilots in particular, are trashing at such a sickening rate. The stuff with leaves, scales, fur, and feathers is all infinitely more important than this stupid sport and a very big motivation for me in pushing some of this technology on which I've been working is to give us our biggest bang per fossil fuel buck and cut down on the ambulance and helicopter rides and wrecked gliders.

And I told ya about the time I figured it would be OK to take a flight with a broken strand 'cause, hey, it was just a tail wire. But I NEVER made that mistake with Jack - although I definitely didn't tell him what he could do for self entertainment right after our first exchange. Gotta bow to Al as my moral/ethical superior on that issue.

It wasn't until I tried to express an independent/critical thought that they both came down on me ... like hammers.

And don't ya feel kinda stupid and dirty now? (I know I do.)

Be careful or people will think you're an impostor.

Yeah. Probably shoulda' said:

...where and when ever they rear their ugly mf'ing heads.

Maybe you could go back and edit that for me to staunch any confusion and panic our hordes of loyal readers may be experiencing.

[miguel]

I can't begin to fathom how one could begin to go about building a new org WITHOUT bashing Jack, Davis, USHPA, BHPA, DHV, HGFA, evil, negligence, incompetence, stupidity where and when ever they rear their ugly heads.

(I'm working on shorter, Bob. How am I doing?)

Congrats on the new short concise form.


I disagree with the above. Continually bashing folks makes you look negative and vengeful.


Why not put energy into something positive like finding out exactly what the insurance company really wants to see in terms of dollars, numbers and types of coverage?

[Bob Kuczewski]

Great comments miguel, and I take them as being partially directed at me as well. I also need to work on being less negative about what's happened.

However, it's important to recognize what's been done here. At this point in time, kicking someone off of hanggliding.org (and to a lesser extent, the Oz Forum) is like removing that person from the hang gliding community altogether. Both Tad and I may not have been everyone's favorites, but we both had people we liked ... and people who liked us ... on those forums. There's something not quite right about one moderator (in either case) having the right to unilaterally and permanently disconnect us from all those friends across the country. I think that's a flaw with the current way that we all communicate through those forums.

I'll go a step further and say that removing someone from those forums is like sentencing them to a life of "solitary confinement" with regard to the national hang gliding community. Studies show that isolation can take a pretty high toll on a person's sanity, and I think that's part of what Jack and Davis have counted on. First they isolate us. Then they watch the rhetoric get nastier and nastier. Then they draw the public conclusion (explicitly or implicitly) that we deserved to be isolated in the first place.

I'd like to see a national forum for hang gliding that isn't controlled by just one person. That's why I founded the HGAA and the US Hawks. My mistake with the HGAA was trusting Jack to control the forum. When things didn't go his way (Scott dismissing JB as his vice-chair in this case) Jack used his power over the forum to unilaterally lock it down and force a new election even though he had no such authority granted in that fledgling organization. He further used his power to decide which posts could stay and which were moved. He further used his power to decide which members could vote and which could not. It may be difficult to follow after all this time, but I'll be happy to show you the history if you're really interested.

The tale of the "torreyhawksforum.org" is much easier to see. When I started the Torrey Hawks, Jack "volunteered" to start a forum for us. I was really happy with that, and I appreciated his effort. But when things went awry with the HGAA, Jack locked our entire club forum and used it as his own billboard to post libel against Scott and myself. Please go to torreyhawksforum.org and see what he's done to our forum. He had no right to do that to all the members of the Torrey Hawks who were using that forum. He could have posted anything he wanted there about me or Scott, but we should have been able to respond. He knew he'd be crossing the line to just ban us from that forum, so instead, he locked the whole thing which locked the entire club out of their forum. Those actions tell a lot about Jack and how he views his control over the hang gliding community.

The sport of hang gliding and the great people who participate deserve better than that. They deserve a place where they can speak freely. I'm not opposed to rules and punishments, but they have to be administered fairly and with due process. That's what I hope to build here at the US Hawks, and I really appreciate your participation. Please post here whenever you can and help us build this place into something we're all proud of. You're welcome to just copy and paste anything that you post to either hanggliding.org or the Oz Report right here. That'll save you the trouble of typing it twice. If we can grow large enough, I'm ready to tackle the insurance problem to see if we can provide that for our members as well. But that's a numbers game, and we're going to need to grow first. Anything you can do to help (like putting "ushawks.org" in your signature lines) would be a big help!!

Sincerely (and long-windedly ),
Bob Kuczewski