The Alberton Papers # 16
By Dick Darne 4-22-06
Today we will give some thought to "thinkers" and "doers". Lets divide the world’s people into two groups, thinkers and doers. Now hardly anyone is 100% either, but lets imagine so for a moment. Doers usually deride thinkers, deeming them useless, crying "those who can, do; those who can not teach". Sometimes even exclaiming: "John Wayne never read no stinking directions", they forge ahead, like Godzilla smashing Tokio, all the while the thinkers are brooding "what a bunch of %&$#@(&$! Barbarians"! We can plan this better, to which the doers reply: "yeah and h(#% will freeze over before anything ever gets started much less gets done". And so it has always been. Fortunately, most of us are some proportion of each, and in any functioning group all the percentages probably total out to about half and half. If the truth be told, if we were all one or the other, then we could never function individually. (The Duke is not real) Lets consider one of man’s first accouterments to survival; fire. If all we had was thinkers, we’d be still discussing how nice it would be to have fire, whereas if we were all doers we’d still be gathering around a fresh lightning kindled fire. With some thinkers involved, we might consider how to make our "fire on demand",maybe by rubbing sticks together. If the doers dominate then we’d still be rubbing sticks together, waiting for thinkers to envision flint & steel, doers to do, thinkers to dream of matches doers to do, bic lighters etc.....
the point is: we all need each other, together we can make things work.
Dick.
Comments & criticism welcomed. Opposing viewpoints printed.
722-4575 aldermandarne@hotmail.com
On-line at: www://albpap.blogspot.com/

The Alberton Papers # 15
By Dick Darne 4- 17 -06
In this article, we will discuss the proposed maintenance position for the Town of Alberton, it’s need for and requirements. We will focus mainly on the flawed methods being employed to create it. We, as council members, must "discharge the duties of our office with fidelity" (article III, section 3, mt. Const.) It appears that the job was created first, for an employee to fill. There was no job description based on actual need. Now let’s get one thing straight; I have not abandoned my principles as a labor advocate and activist. A portion of an oath I took, many years ago, was to " extend a helping hand to all branches of honorable toil". My oath and obligation to my fellow citizens in Alberton comes first, with fairness I can honor them both.
What is the right thing to do? Evaluate our needs, not only now, but with an eye toward the future. Describe the duties. Make an honest assessment of the hours required. Without a crystal ball, the only accurate method is to observe over a period of time, remembering that work tends to fill the time available. If things honestly need to be done, then they should be done. The " things needed" will vary with the time of year, therefore, the observation period should be at least a year. Just how much maintenance do we want or can afford? Maybe some of the "fluff & buff" projects should be done by volunteers. Instead of forging ahead "willy-nilly" just because the money can be "found" in the budget, (I am thoroughly outvoted), we should return to an "as honestly needed" basis for maintenance. All individual tasks should return to their previous status before this dottiness. Remember that "make-work" is costly to the town and demeaning to the employee.
Some more pertinent questions: Who is backup after we have alienated all the former contract workers? Should there be some tests or practical demonstrations? Or , for that matter, should this not apply to the bobcat? How will we know if the tasks can be performed with efficacy without some demonstrations?
If we do this right, then we are all well served. Do it wrong and the "Nightmare on Railroad Ave." will haunt our pocketbooks for a long, long time. dd
722-4575 aldermandarne@hotmail.com On-line http://albpap.blogspot.com/

thealberton papers #14

MY COUNTRY RIGHT OR WRONG
— by Gno Lackawitz, guest contributor.

It’s too bad the motto of the headline is kind’a catchy.
It’s too bad this little motto is short enough for stupid people to memorize and repeat.
It’s too bad that the meaning thereof is too difficult for lowlifes to understand. What it means is simple this: someone holds the idea of a nation
1) above the two laws of Jesus (“Love God above all else,” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”),
2) above the love of justice and international law,
3) above even what us festering humans can conceive of as ‘good’ or ethical,
4) above all reason.
It’s too damned bad that the thugs who espouse the nonsense of that bumper-sticker-for-cretins utterly fail to understand that a ‘nation’ is entirely artificial, and posits no real cause for destroying life. Life is real and God-given.
And it’s too bad those same half-brains haven’t the capacity to comprehend what I’m about to write here. This motto is a little longer, is a bit more difficult to understand, harder to memorize (I doubt Geo Bush II could pull it off), but it touches the truth, and makes a hell of a lot better bumper sticker:
ONE PLANET; ONE HUMANITY; ONE FATE
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The Alberton Papers #13
By Dick Darne 4-12-06
Lets take time out from strictly local matters and consider something so fundamental as liberty. Our liberty is best embodied in the Bill of Rights or the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America. It is also affirmed in our Montana Constitution. Many have given their lives to defend and protect our liberty. The least we can do, besides being eternally grateful, is to maintain the defense of our liberties. The price of liberty IS eternal vigilance!
What can we as Albertonians do? Well we can do as 8 states, including Montana; 398 communities, including Missoula and Butte have done. ( protecting 84,617,547 citizens.) They have all passed a resolution supporting and affirming the Bill of Rights, and urging congress to repeal certain portions of the "patriot act". My printer is out of ink and down for a few days but I’ll download copies of some of the resolutions and other pertinent info very soon. Those who are computer literate may check http://www.bordc.org/
What else can we do? For starters, lets practice participatory democracy right here in Alberton. Come to meetings. Talk to your council persons. Have a cup with our Mayor. Talk to your fellow citizens. Become informed. Pass on copies of the alberton papers. Comment. Discuss. Contribute. Don’t forget, matched sets, bound in simulated letter paper, makes a great gift.
Your unruly, but obedient servant, dick darne aldermandarne@hotmail.com
Online at: http://albpap.blogspot.com/

The Alberton Papers # 12
By Dick Darne 4-10-06
The will of the people, The pecking order, and Catharsis
The will of the people was properly expressed in the last election. Even though no actual campaigning was done, most everybody knew the positions of mine and Mayor Joe Hanson. We both stood for "back to the basics", bring our house in order, repair and maintain what we have , fix the potholes, grade the streets, save money, realistically plan for the future, bring back a sense of community, including community based law enforcement;( more on this one later), etc. One would think, that to the town employees, it would not be business as usual. Or recognize that it ain’t coming back. Or at least recognize the hierarchy of command, which is quite simple: the people, by an overwhelming majority, elected a mayor, expecting him to carry out their will, using the powers vested in him as prescribed in MCA 7-4-4303. Since an inordinate amount of time and effort has been expended (as described in previous alberton papers) thwarting the will of the people, and considering the damage done, it is time to fix it, once and for all. A catharsis is in order. Here is what I propose:
1) A review of all employee’s duties. Do we get our money’s worth. How long does it actually take to perform the necessary tasks? What tasks are necessary? How much town business is actually performed? How many hours per week is it necessary to be open. I don’t think the populace expects to pay for any more than needed. Perhaps a professional is needed. Maybe an examination of the phone records and daily traffic would afford some insight.
2) As soon as possible, lets see if the amazing BOBCAT can actually do what is needed so we can make adjustments. Let’s see if it can grade Parkway drive in a reasonable amount of time.
3) Since there is no groundswell of support for the gazebo, I suggest we abandon the project and throw ourselves at the mercy of CDBG. Of course, this is a federal offense. Someone could be in deep doo-doo.
4)Since some of the aforementioned should be in the purview of a good government review, this reminds me, where is our review? We can call for a new one . Whoever did the last one should be ashamed of themselves.
5)Any elected officers, who would deny the citizens of alberton their just dues, should resign and we should have a special election.
6) Anyemployees who do not wish to cooperate with the mayor,should out of decency, resign
comments, criticism, opposing viewpoints welcome. Reprints available. dd

The Alberton Papers #11
By Dick Darne 4-3-06
"I will publish no puff piece before it’s time." Editor, Alberton Papers
I would like to clarify my statements in #9 about the "doggie park for tourists". Quoting from the minutes of the march 8, 2004 meeting of the Alberton Planning Commission; "Create a dog park for interstate travelers with pets. Provide open space, water, and advertising for local purchases of pet feed, etc." The diatribe that followed was my own imagination and there was absolutely no offense intended to any store, real, or imagined. I also apologize for any ridicule of ideas in general. Sometimes a brainstorm of ideas is just what is needed. In the hierarchy of discussion topics, ideas rank at the top, way above things, of course people as a topic ranks at the bottom. No matter how noble the intention, however, some ideas are just plain absurd and those I may ridicule in my self assumed role as "the rapier tongued evaluator."
Now for some Alberton news reporting. I have tried the dog food from the feed store and my dog loves it. I looked around the store and found lots of handy hardware items that might save a trip to the big city. I didn’t get there before they sold the last rake, but I shouldn’t have "dilly-dallied."
There’s more rakes coming. Stop in, you’ll be glad ya did.
Three local women return from "shop till you drop" mission in New Zealand.
They returned with lots of new zeal and energy. They followed the directions in the book "New Zealand on $2.00 a day" (I hope). Thanks, Dick D.
Check http://albpap.blogspot.com/ for on-line publication. Call 722-4575 for complete reprints. Don’t forget they make a nice gift.