Agenda:
1.
Prayer
2.
National Anthem
3.
End of year party
4.
Costnet
5.
Web site
6.
Djangui
7.
Financial report and Borrowing Account
8.
Cultural Center
9.
Annual enrolment fee
10.
Miscellaneous
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1. Prayer
2. National Anthem
3. End of year party
The assembly discussed the planning and organization of the end of year party.
The following committees were accepted:
•
Food
•
Drink
•
Decoration
•
After party committee
•
Music
The president reminded that we have yet to fulfill our obligations towards the kids who
helped during the June 2022 fundraising.
4. Costnet
The president reminded members who have not paid their due to please do so at their
earliest convenience. He emphasized that members who have not paid their due may see
their enrolment cancelled.
5. Web site
The ACPE Web Site is going through a complete revamp. The aim is to be able to post
members financial status, General Assembly Recordings, and ACPE announcements to
the web site.
6. Tontine
7. Financial report and Money Account
The annual financial report was not ready by the last AG meeting.
Members willing to withdraw money from the Money Account were asked to submit the
request.
8. Cultural Center (CCC)
The Community Design Collaborative finally released the pre-feasibility report for the
Cultural Center. The report can be found here. Your ACPE account is needed to access
the report.
The chairman of the committee called upon members to please join the CCC weekly
meeting and get involved.
The committee is working on a 30 second pitch for the CCC. This will be made available
to every member to be used whenever possible to promote the project.
The committee suggested to extend the CCC participation to members outside of ACPE.
The idea behind this move is to increase participation and awareness of the project in the
community.
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9. Annual enrolment fee
The GA suggested to modify our internal rule so that ACPE members enroll on a yearly
basis. This will allow the Executive Board to legitimately clean out the membership
roster and get rid of members not in good standing.
The GA agreed to initiate a mandatory tontine of $25. This tontine will be used as a
cushion to track down members who are not in good standing.
10. Miscellaneous
Buttigieg stressed that the NTSB "needs to be able to do its work independently."
[Note: The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S.
government investigative agency "responsible for civil transportation accident
investigation."]
Yet the criticism kept coming, even after Buttigieg visited East Palestine once the
NTSB had completed its investigation. (Critics on the left say the MAGA
Republicans like Boebert, Greene and Rep. Jim Jordan are using the accident to
sow more division. The MAGA wing of the GOP says the Biden administration
isn’t fulfilling its obligations.)
The criticism then moved beyond complaints issued on social media and in
mainstream media to a formal request for information made by letter to
Buttigieg, signed by Rep. James Comer, Chairman of the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability, with MAGA stars Jordan, Boebert and Greene
among the 21 Republican signatories.
The letter contains a misunderstanding of the structural makeup of the
Department of Transportation, asserting that the NTSB is part of the DOT. It
reads (note the possessive): “DOT’s National Transportation Safety Board
(NTSB) issued a preliminary report on February 23, 2023, which stopped short of
declaring a concrete cause of the derailment.”
In a public response referencing the letter, Buttigieg trolls its senders, writing that
he is “alarmed to learn that the Chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks
that the NTSB is part of our Department.”
[Note: The chief subtext to this story concerns Trump administration train safety
deregulations and corresponding record railroad industry profits. MAGA leaves
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this out of its narrative. But Dems, who haven’t reversed the dangerous
deregulations, are also vulnerable to criticism for inaction.]
About that subtext, Buttigieg had this to say in East Palestine: “The same people
who come here and want to play political games are the same people who sided
with industry, again and again and again, and watered down rail regulations
again, and again, and again.”
Seeking to reach the American people where they live to deliver his message
directly, Buttigieg appeared on the program of sports media personality Stephen
A. Smith (see below). Buttigieg said he was there to “cut through the noise, cut
through the misinformation and get to the facts.”
Buttigieg told Smith: “Our focus is on making sure that residents in this
community get taken care of and making sure that trains get safer in this
country.”
Professor Aviva Vincent at Syracuse University, addressing the current and
future impact of the derailment, reported on February 20: "The toxins have
already reached the Ohio River which flows through six states and serves as a
source of drinking water. Over 3,500 fish have died, livestock that graze the lands
have died or been moved out of state. The human toll will include the
environmental, economic, social, and personal impact. Evacuated residents were
given ‘permission' to return home days after the event though it is still not safe to
do so."
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