Posted on August 21 at 5:28 p.m.

Re: Post #35 - No, I wasn't. So, does that make you Baker or his sheister attorney?

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 5:27 p.m.

Re: Post #33 - Aren't you always the one saying that labor and management should work together to establish common goals?

How does running a negative media campaign against the people you claim to be trying to work with engender communication or the desire to cooperate with you in any way?

Don't you really mean that labor and management should work together to establish common goals, and if they don't labor will break your legs?

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 4:53 p.m.

Re: Post #28 - You lost them all as soon as you started using logic. This crowd hates a logical argument, because they can't defend their positions against it.

Love your logic, though... :)

On Where they stand: Collier school board candidates on teacher salaries, benefits

Posted on August 21 at 4:47 p.m.

Re: Post #22 - If you chose to automatically assume that I was referring to the custodians, bus drivers, and food service workers when I said "thugs", then perhaps they are indeed guilty by association.

However, I was actually referring to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that claims to represent this group of employees. (Have they actually completed and ratified their agreement yet with these employees?) The Teamsters have a history of resorting to "thuggery" when more polite means fail them (which is fairly frequently).

The fact that you DID make that automatic connection in your mind should say something. And, what it says can't be good for the people the Teamsters represent, because if you're making that connection then other people are, too.

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 4:38 p.m.

Re: Post #26 - I'm not making it up. You can do the research yourself and verify it.

Baker brought suit against the School Board to sue for wrongful termination and to get his job back. His strategy was two-pronged, based upon the claims A) that his employment was improperly terminated under the terms of his contract, and B) that Thompson was hired illegally due to Sunshine Law Violations by members of the School Board, so his contract should be void and Baker should still be Superintendent.

If you followed the depositions in the newspaper, Baker's attorney had his focus almost solely on trying to prove Sunshine Law violations. When Baker asked for summary judgement on that part of their claim after a portion of the depositions has been completed, the judge ruled that the evidence presented in the depositions up to that point was insufficient to find any violation of Sunshine Laws. A follow-up complaint to the State Ethics Commission by an independent source close to Baker's legal team also garnered the same result.

At that point, Baker's attorney dropped the secondary claim of Sunshine Law violations and focused entirely on the breach of contract claim, because that was much easier to prove.

Subsequently, the School Board and Mr. Baker went into negotiations on that claim and ultimately reached the $550,000 settlement that Mr. Baker will receive for being fired improperly under the terms of his contract.

I hate to disappoint you there, enob13, but you really don't know what you're talking about. Dig around the NDN archives a little bit, and you'll find that I'm more or less correct about this one.

Thank you for playing. Please try again...

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 3:24 p.m.

So, I guess is this [withdrawal] is something that was started under President Bush, but will finish under the next President. So, the next President will get to take credit for it?

On U.S., Iraq agree on 'timetables' to withdraw U.S. troops

Posted on August 21 at 2:50 p.m.

Re: Post #20 - Unless the court record was sealed as part of the lawsuit settlement, they should be available through a simple FOIA request to the Collier County Clerk of Courts.

I imagine that they might make for some interesting reading. But, that's about all they'll be good for. Because as soon as Baker and his sheister attorney agreed to settle their case out of court, those depositions became useless for anything else. They cannot be used as evidence in any other trial, if one were ever to come about.

And, given the fact that, during the deposition phase of Baker's lawsuit, both a Circuit Court Judge and the State Ethics Commission ruled those depostions did not contain enough evidence of anything to warrant an investigation or charges of Sunshine Law Violations, it is unlikely that there will ever be one.

Unless, of course, someone can manage to produce the mysterious piece of paper with the job offer on it, or tapes and transcripts of the mysterious 3am telephone conversations, or proof that the School Board actually instructed anyone to meet with Thompson. If any of that happens, something could change.

Until then, people can speculate and engage in as much supposition as they like, because nothing occurred that can be proven in a court of law. And, as we all know, in this country, that means that nothing happened.

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 10:40 a.m.

The Teamsters' idea of "promoting dialogue" is by publicly attacking the incumbent School Board Members who hold their future in their hands?

Not a very brilliant strategy, if I've ever seen one. You typically don't want to bite the hand that you are trying to get to feed you. And, you definitely don't want to bite that hand about things that have absolutely nothing to do with your particular issue.

This is just another example of the Teamsters' "thug" mentality, and of their tendency to resort to juvenile "tantrums" to draw more attention to themselves when things aren't going their way.

Perhaps if the Teamsters would reveal the health care provider used as the basis for their insurance proposal, the School Board might be more inclined to open a dialogue about it.

On Brent Batten: Teamsters support group's anti-Abbott flier

Posted on August 21 at 10:16 a.m.

Re: Post #22 - The various departments of the Collier County Government apparently have different insurance programs, which would explain the differences in additional converage for family members. Why is that? I have no idea. That sounds like a good question to raise at a School Board Meeting to me.

I agree that they should all be the same. If all county government employees were carried under the same health insurance plan, that would probably go along way towards eliminating money from EVERY department, not just the School District. There is savings in greater numbers. (Just ask the Teamsters. Speaking of which, have they actually told anyone yet who the health care provider is that their proposal is based on?) It might be worth looking into.

On Where they stand: Collier school board candidates on teacher salaries, benefits

Posted on August 21 at 9:37 a.m.

Re: Post #30 - First, we're talking about high school, not college. There is a big difference between athletics in high school and athletics in college, which is a different discussion for another time.

On the subject at hand, an athletic coach can absolutely be as influential as a religious leader, without question. People - fans and players alike - are as fervent about their athletic teams as they are about their religion, sometimes more so. Devout athiests will avoid church at all costs, but will "religiously" never miss a game played by their favorite team.

A high school football coach, particularly in a smaller town, will influence local public policy whether he tries to or not. It's inevitable, particularly with the undue amount of attention given high school athletics.

Getting back to your college football reference, you can't tell me that Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno or Paul Bryant, at the height of their respective careers, didn't have significant political influence within their states and their regions. Whether they chose to capitalize on it or not is an entirely different story.

I agree that a sound body contributes to a sound mind. But, you don't have to be a jock to be a good student. (In fact, there is significant evidence to the contrary.) And, you don't have to be a football player or a cheedleader to have a sound body. To use your phrase, those arguments are irrelevent.

On Letters to the Editor: August 21, 2008