912ers Meeting

[Will]

Minutes posted at: www.utica912ers.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=40

[dgriffin]

Will, sounds like a good start. Sorry I can't help out, but I'm too far away.

But please don't tell Strikeslip the name will change from Utica 912 to Oneida County 912. He'll go apoplectic!

(Fault Lines: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, We are NOT the Mohawk Valley . . . , Sunday, November 23, 2008, What's (Not) In a Name . . . )

The mention of marching in the parade brought to mind the sight of a group who truly represent the variety of people and cultures in Utica and Oneida County. Whites, blacks, latinos, etc.

And I was thinking if the marching group doesn't look like that, it won't appear to be working for everyone.

[rodwilson]

There was def some passion and energy in the room. It was great to meet some of the folks from the boards.

[frankcor]

I agree, it was good to put some faces to names.

The meeting attracted a diverse blend of folks, I must say. On the one hand, there were some down-to-earth folks who appreciate the power of a good political organization and seem willing to work to make positive changes. There were also people there don't like what's going on in our nation today, aren't sure what to do to fix things, but feel like they've gotta do something.

Finally, and this is difficult for me to say, there were several folks there who seem to be drinking the kool-aid. We were warned to all have our "30-minute" bag ready because when "THEY" come to start rounding us up, we need to have a bunker to get to, deep in the Adirondaks, supplied with plenty of MREs so we can hide until the revolution begins. Unfortunately, they consumed a lot of the oxygen in the room but were completely not useful in working toward a reasonable plan. I suspect that they may attend one or two more meetings and then stop coming, accusing us all of being part of the national conspiracy.

We left the meeting with a consensu committee chair -- congratulations to Will! I appreciate your stepping forward to accept a leadership position. We also have a short term goal of growing our numbers and with what I believe is a workable plan.

Namely, we want to get as many people possible to march with us in the Memorial Day parade in Utica. Hence the name change from Utica to Oneida County 9-12ers. There were good-sized Tea Parties in Rome and Camden and we would like to bring those organizers on board. I believe it will be a lot easier to attract attention with one large gathering than with 3 small ones.

What we want to do is march together in a group at the end of the parade and invite members of the crowd to join us in marching -- sort of peeling off spectators into the parade as we progress. We'll be handing out contact information and hopefully get more people to sign up for the mailing list that Will is organizing.

Where we go after that is still cloudy -- I wish we had had more time to discuss a long-term mission. One idea that seemed to draw some agreement was targetting the Oneida County Legislature elections this fall. If we could replace 10 or 12 of the career polititicans that are currently serving with honest, regular folks who pledge to serve no more than 2 terms, we might be able to pull off a coup and take back our county government.

[bobbbiez]

Will, I will be talking with my councilman tomorrow night concerning a rep from the group speaking at our next Neighborhood Watch Group meeting which will be held at the end of this month. After I talk with him I would like to talk to you personally. How do I get in touch with you off the computer?

I do agree fully with Frank concerning all that took place at the meeting and I do believe it was a good beginning. You have done a great job so far and I applaud you for all the hard work you are putting into this group to get it rolling.

Talk to ya soon.

[Will]

Bobbiez, I sent my contact info to your email.

[bobbbiez]

Gotcha.