Category Archives: city government offenses

Taxpayers be damned!


The Firehouse Conundrum                     August 6, 2012

It appears the taxpayers are in the process of getting rolled once more.

As a point of reference, the Firehouse across Hwy 71 and Brooken Hill cost $700,000.  Construction costs have gone up significantly since it was built, but have they gone up more than 4 times? Is this opulence in the making? Is it an effort to “keep up with the Jones’s” when the circumstances are totally inappropriate?

What is the genesis of the $3 million figure to construct a station at Chaffee Crossing, particularly in view that only 50% of the developmental phase is completed and the contract has been let to build? Build what?

Furthermore; what construction credentials does the Fire Chief have that would allow him to determine the bid price and the construction company?  And only then go through the formality of asking for Board approval?  Crony Capitalism?

Then there is the matter of Chief Mike Richards demanding 2 or 3 more new ladder trucks without factual justification regarding need. There are all kinds and numbers of excellent used ladder trucks available on the internet that would serve Fort Smith very nicely at the quarter of the cost of a new one.

This is another case of taxpayers foolishly putting millions in the hands of politicians, bureaucrats & opportunists.  The city is awash in tax money and very little public accountability.

A public discussion has been requested on numerous occasions about the aforementioned activities while the City Manager and Board of Directors have remained silent.

Why is this?

Joe McCutchen
www.fortsmithtruth.com />
arkansasfreedom.net   

Another fleecing of the taxpayers…for the children??


 

8 SOFTBALL FIELDS…. DIVULGE THE DETAILS.                                                   May 31, 2012

Fort Smith citizens are dumping in $1.6 million for 8 softball fields.  According to the Times Record supplemental revenue is alleged to come from donations (?) and in-kind services (?).

Prime movers of the softball complex are Republican State Senator Jake Files and Democrat Sebastian County Chair Lee Webb.  A curious marriage made in Fort Smith and politics indeed make strange bedfellows.  This relationship in itself demands answers.

  1. Is this not a huge conflict of interest?
  2. Is this not inside trading at its very worst and a vivid example of government protection rackets.
  3. What skin do Files & Webb have in this promotion? Do they have monetary involvement, if so how much?
  4. Another 501c3 where the officers garner large salaries & governments, i.e. taxpayers usually end up subsidizing the totality of the operation.
  5. What is the source of revenue that Files & Webb expect to glean for the Chaffee Crossing complex the 2 are putting together?
  6. Who will be in charge of the various concessions which have the capacity to gross tens of thousands?  Put another way, who will provide the accounting for said concessions?
  7. What entity will be responsible for the upkeep of the facilities and if deficits occur what entity will be held responsible.
  8. Etc, etc., etc.

Times Record headline lauds “Free work by the Arkansas National Guard”…there is nothing free about using N.G labor and equipment…taxpayers’ foot the bills.

Politicians, bureaucrats and other hangers on are having “visions” by the numbers, but rarely ever have any skin in the game.  Is this the case with Republican Senator Jake Files & Democrat Chair Lee Webb?

If a newspaper has any obligation to their subscribers it is to ferret out the details in government operations.  The softball complex begs to be looked at with a fine toothed comb and the Times Record offers no such effort…just parroting whatever the government boys give them.

MR. MAYOR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Fort Smith citizens deserve & expect a detailed analysis of every aspect of the Chaffee Crossing softball complex.  Please don’t sandbag the citizens.

Joe McCutchen

Cc: citizens

www.fortsmithtruth.com       

arkansasfreedom.net  

 

More costly politicrat “Visions”!


Hold your horses! 

Front page story in today’s Times Record 4/17/12 “Developers take stand on Sports Complex”.

Two quotes from Senator Jake Files serve as a lead-in to this piece. 

  1. “Jake Files & Lee Webb say they want to build THEIR complex at Chaffee Crossing, not the Riverfront”.
  2. “We (Files & Webb) respectfully ask the Board to move with haste in allowing us to proceed at Chaffee Crossing with the development of the River Valley Sports Complex.”

The Board has been remiss in detailing the genesis and the activities which have led to Files & Webb being the owners of the Sports Complex.

This appears to be another backroom insider deal.  If it is THEIR complex, they pay the $1.6 million, not the taxpayers.   We certainly know that is not going to happen; therefore, let the citizens be made aware of finite details about this rush to judgment.

Many of these questions were posed yesterday and so far, no response.

  1. How did Files & Webb come to be the progenitors of this curious project?
  2. If allowed to proceed, who owns the complex?
  3. As a 501 c3 complex, who will be the CEO and how many accompanied full time positions and what will be the salaries?
  4. Will the salaried positions be city employees?
  5. What is the salary to be for the CEO?
  6. Where does the funding come from for maintenance, insurance, bonding, etc.?
  7. It is estimated there will be a cash outlay of $1.6 million to construct the softball fields; therefore, what are the accounting procedures and who will oversee the expenditures?

The city government of Fort Smith is in the process of raping citizen taxpayers.  As an example, I allude to the following “visions” being offered by bureaucrats, politicians, and opportunists.  Incidentally, Senator Files has stated that the softball fields are his “vision” and I will take this opportunity to state that Sen. Files business experience has not been exemplary. 

Here are some of the recent “visions”:

  1. The Marshal’s Museum.  Politicians & bureaucrats will be out hustling funds for the next 2 weeks for this ridiculous colossus ($50 million, 50,000 sq. ft…who pays & who maintains?).  Want to know more about this colossus, log on to arkansasfreedom.net 
  2. The Water Park….projected to lose at least $150,000 per year, while expanding city & county government with more dead weight.
  3. Walking trails to nowhere.  This and other recreational items are demanded by the U.N.’s Agenda 21….stack & pack ‘em and control citizens’ movement.  Is the city of Fort Smith a member of Agenda 21?
  4. UAFS Chancellor Paul Beran’s “Entrepreneural School”.
  5. Chancellor Paul Beran’s downtown Mallalieu Academy of Excellence for “at risk” kids.
  6. Chancellor Paul Beran’s takeover of the 2nd Street Live venue downtown which its existence is very curious replete with self-serving tentacles.  If Beran and UAFS take over the $2.2 million barn, citizen taxpayers will have paid for this entity twice.  For details see arkansasfreedom.net
  7. Beran’s projections wanting UAFS dormitories downtown.
  8. Continuation of the failed Convention Center and its highly paid staff.

Our wonderful little city of Fort Smith is in a power-dive to economic destruction. Shelve your dysfunctional “visions” and institute searches for small to medium sized businesses that don’t have to be bribed with taxpayer money to come here.

Directors, if you are insistent on building 8 softball fields, build them in the place that Judge Ben Geren intended—it is the perfect place and it seems everyone except government officials understands that.

Joe McCutchen

The continuing saga of Bandits & Vultures


The Circuitous Path of 2nd Street Live; who do you believe and the continuous expansion of UAFS and its cost?   Part II                            April 6, 2012

A series of financial numbers from different sources makes it difficult, if not impossible, to know from whom the warehouse was purchased and for how much.

Wednesday’s edition of the Ark. Dem. Gaz. said the building at 101 No. 2nd St. was purchased about 3 yrs ago for about $1.2 million and another $1.2 million to turn the then vacant space into an Arts venue. The Times Record stated in their April 6th edition that John McIntosh & the 2nd Street Live board purchased the building for $400,000 and spent $1.2 million for renovations which leaves an $800,000 differential from the Dem-Gaz story.

The T.R. further stated that the CBID purchased the property from 2nd Street Live for $700,000, satisfying the loan at a loss for the bank (?)   Does this mean the bank could have lost $500,000 in these financial transactions? 

Topical research demonstrates there were at least 8 government agencies that were involved funding 2nd Street Live. (see their website)  Question: If 2nd Street Live was and has been funded in the main by government institutions and it is now being proposed to be sold to another government institution, i.e. UAFS, is this not a fact that 2nd Street Live is being paid for TWICE by taxpayers?  By what and whose authority, for example, do the F.S. Public Schools, Univ. of Ark., city of Fort Smith, etc. have for funding private entertainment venues???

This appears to be another instance where taxpayers are being hosed not once but twice.  Some quotes in the T.R. are indeed curious.  Jim Perry, president of 2nd Street Live stated “it started out as a group of friends to have private concerts mainly for themselves”.  From all appearances this is another taxpayer bailout.

The T.R. goes on to state that Perry and others have invested their “time & passion” in 2nd Street Live. There is no evidence that they put any money into the venture.  Board member John McIntosh said “how cool is it to have our students downtown”.   How so, John?

UAFS Chancellor Paul Beran says he is also excited about the acquisition…Beran never saw an acquisition he did not like…more & more funding for trivia.   Note that Beran and the Univ. of Ark. system are increasing tuition by 3%, in all likelihood to cover their voracious appetities for travel, acquisitions, extensive advertising (electronic billboards, primetime TV & radio, ad infinitum).  Beran is the typical career self-serving bureaucrat who personifies White Collar Medicaid. 

Beran has no skin in this game, and it appears none of the other players do either.

Joe McCutchen
arkansasfreedom.net />
www.fortsmithtruth.com   

The Dreaded Hydra of Agenda 21



                                February 26, 2012
Ivy Owen—well traveled big government man and titular head of Chaffee Crossing which is closely connected locally to all Fort Smith government entities forming a regional chapter of the United Nations Agenda 21.

If you do not possess an intimate awareness of the goals of the U.N. Agenda 21, they are readily available on the internet, and particularly if you place value on property rights, freedom of movement, and most importantly the Constitution.   With regard to the Constitution there is a huge move afoot instituted primarily by the Republican Party to eliminate the functionality of said Constitution.  Arkansas Republican State Senators & Representatives in the presently convened legislative session are in full battle mode to pass a Bill requiring a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con), 34 states are needed for ratification.

The Constitutional Convention is a mandate from the globalists, i.e. Agenda 21.  Much of what is printed and said about Agenda 21 is designed to sound soothing and harmless. Nothing could be further from the truth and it can only be described as a frontal assault on sovereignty and other Founding Principles.

A guest article by Ivy Owen appeared in today’s Times Record in which he writes in some detail the outlook for Chaffee Crossing.  There was a point not long ago when Globalists would describe relationships between private enterprise and government as “Public/Private Partnerships”.  That phrase seems to have been morphed into “Strategic Partnerships”.  Owen, like other government entities, has taken on an air of arrogance and be damned with the taxpaying citizens.

Like the current activity in the state legislature to bulldoze a Constitutional Convention without any discussion and certainly no consultations with the citizens regarding a Con-Con.   Same is true in the city of Fort Smith and the region…no detailed information regarding the political & economic minutia of Chaffee Crossing, RITA, Metro 1313, ICLEI, New Market Tax Credits, Smart Growth, Providence Communities, Quality of Place and other Agenda 21 operations.  Owen no doubt feels he has ensnared the listless electorate and will move these government partnerships to satisfy international demands.

Every government entity has colluded for the sole purpose of sharing information and instituting Agenda 21’s stated goals.  Every major city in Arkansas is a participant of Agenda 21, whether they realize it or not.

Ivy Owen must have supernatural powers or a crystal ball…here is why.  “After Fort Smith voters approve the sales-tax extension on March 13, softball fields and other improvement will be built at Chaffee Crossing as well as Ben Geren Park.”   “…the sales-tax extension will fund a new fire station on Massard Road.”  Owen states the extension will be passed whether the taxpayers can afford it, want it, or much less need it.  Owen fails to speak of the $ 2.7 million to be spent on new trails, sounds innocent enough, but ultimately translates into controlled movement of the populace within a specified area.  On the other hand, Owen may just look at this March vote in simple mathematical terms—50% of citizens Work for a check, 50% Vote for a check.

“As in past years, Chaffee is maintaining its strategic partnerships….”  too numerous to mention.  Ivy goes on to say “Chaffee is recognized internationally as an economic engine for this part of the nation”.

The major Agenda 21 player in our area is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)  Note again,  the collusion of all government agencies and the power they represent without citizen approval or knowledge.

Ivy Owen’s resume is curious and alarming.

If indeed you believe United Nations Agenda 21 is a Midsummer’s Dream and all the destruction to do with property rights, freedom of movement, i.e. the total banana, citizens you have failed to do your homework.  Again, the entire state is infested and infected with the freedom-killing United Nations Agenda 21.

Remember to vote Smart!

Joe McCutchen

More grand theft via forced distribution


Redistribution made possible by corrupt governments and unsavory opportunists. Fort Smith, a microcosm of D.C.                       January 26, 2012

Another royal screw on the drawing board, i.e. a “campus” for the homeless (campus is defined as grounds of a college or university) Calling a homeless operation a Campus does not compute.

Richard Griffin and his smarmy enablers are about to pull off another grand rape of taxpayers via forced redistribution.

The main cast of characters, in addition to Griffin, are sidekick Ken Pyle; Ft. Smith city government (except George Catsavis); Lance Fischer, Next Step Executive Director; the Old Fort Homeless Coalition; and a gaggle of 501 c3 “non-profits”, profiteers.  More about non-profits shortly. 

Recall Griffin and his homeless coalition brought in a high priced hustler from Texas by the name of Robert Marbut.  Marbut runs the Haven for Hope, along with 78 government (taxpayer) partner organizations in San Antonio. (Remember 501 c3 non-profits) Who paid Marbut and how much for his 4 month sabbatical in and out of Fort Smith propagandizing government expansion.  Some examples of Marbut’s jargon meant to mesmerize the politicians & opportunists are “governance models”, “homeless campuses” (sounds important), “hybrid model” (designed specifically for Ft. Smith), “lead agency” (select group of other agencies), “equalness”, “top tenants”, “anchor tenants”, “amnesty storage”,  and now the coup de gras “the upside is you get tons of buy-in with this”, the words of a purebred hustler.

Aside from the foolishness of the above paragraph, Marbut leaves no doubt that the “Homeless Shelter” is to expand and expand and in the same breath Marbut’s Mission Statement is to “help communities to dramatically REDUCE homelessness”.   A huge dose of doublespeak.   He is simply saying, we’ll take the deadbeats off the street, house them in a central location and stick it to the taxpayers while increasing the homeless magnet at the same time. Will they also aid & abet illegal aliens?

Marbut points out that 70% or more of these alleged homeless are homegrown. That being the case, where are the families and where are the churches?  He states again, “Strategic Action Plan to reduce homelessness for Fort Smith, Arkansas”…there is no reduction, again, it is just a transfer of warm bodies to a central location and will only serve as a huge magnet to attract exponentially more non-producers.

Pyle, along with 46 other people mostly from non-profits (501 c3’s & c4’s) was at a luncheon Friday Jan. 20, 2012 and herein lies the real fervor for the Homeless Shelter.  For those of you who believe Griffin and his enablers are in the business of helping these alleged unfortunates, look at the facts.   Remember the Homeless Campus is designed to grow & grow & grow and the totality of the growth is paid for by taxpayers without their consent.  In a word, it is big profit for the opportunist Griffin and his associates, just like the other proposed Colossus, the Marshal’s Museum, look no further than HUD and New Market Tax Credits which were designed to rehabilitate free-standing, for profit businesses.

Over and over we hear the phrase “non-profits” attached to 501 c3’s.  501 c3’s are totally about Profit.  The Griffins of the world run the 501 c3’s and create very high paying positions.  The more expansion, in this case the more deadbeats they bring in, the more funding and the more hiring of 501 c3 parasites. This is a perfect example of a symbiotic relationship…they all need each other to prosper economically and grow, i.e. the deadbeats, the opportunists, the governments, principally HUD but not limited to. All taken from taxpayers by force.

The homeless proposal is no small endeavor in size and financing that Griffin, Pyle, and their enablers are planning. As reported, purchasing a 167,000 sq. ft. building at an initial cost of $2 million, with other funding coming from a plethora of 501 c3’s lovingly funded by what they term their “Grant Sponsors” (taxpayers), and “Funding Partners” (taxpayers). The proposed shelter if allowed to continue to fruition could easily run into a $25-$50 million proposition.

The opportunists have neither morals nor feelings for those who produce the capital to subsidize the unconstitutional thieveries.   These folks will drive us all into the ground economically if their plundering is allowed to continue. I am speaking specifically of politicians, bureaucrats, and opportunists.  Observe our current economic & political landscape, locally & nationally (a declining mode).  501 c3’s & c4’s are the Fountainhead of grand theft, all hiding behind government while posing as “caring”, “giving back” & “making a difference” PCBS.

Fort Smith politicians, bureaucrats, and opportunists are busy bankrupting the community. A mass exodus of jobs and businesses and the self-serving “visionaries” are screwing the taxpayers by the numbers, e.g. Chancellor Beran’s elite school for delinquents, an entrepreneurial school, $50 million + 50,000 sq. ft. Marshal’s Museum, soccer fields for illegals, a water park, a baseball stadium, the failed Convention Center, and of course Agenda 21 with its 87.59 miles of walking and bike trails (get the cars off the streets and citizens into a stack em & pack ‘em controlled environment) and now what is lovingly referred to as the Homeless Campus and the highly questionable costs for a new fire station. The elaborate Brooken Hill station cost $750,000. 

Has the Fort Smith city government or the county government discussed Agenda 21 with the residing citizens and the ultimate goals orchestrated by the United Nations through Agenda 21?  Of course not, and in all likelihood there are members of the City Board & County government who are suffering from woeful ignorance.
Entitlements are choking the very life’s blood out of productive citizens, e.g. 47% of Americans plus Mexican illegals & OTM’s (some estimate 25-35 million squatting in the USA) receive some form of welfare, 49% of American citizens pay no state or federal income tax.  Question—does this sound like a Constitutional Republic or an approaching Marxist/Communist country. What is being proposed by Griffin, the city manager, the city board could very well run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Citizens have learned the hard way they cannot trust this city government, or any other for that matter.

Another example of government waste and stupidity is the governor & the Ark. State legislature granting a $250,000 stipend to Rep. Tracy Pennartz to promote “the regional assets of an entity used to promote programs designed to create jobs.”  Another costly doublespeak. More & more forced redistribution for more failed government programs and what is Rep. Pennartz business experience?

 Remember, the easiest job in the whole world is spending someone else’s money.
Joe McCutchen

Separating the sheeple from their filthy lucre


Senators Mark Pryor & John Boozman
Washington D.C.                                 January 3, 2012

THE RUNUP TO THE COST OF THE PROPOSED U.S. MARSHAL’S COIN AND MUSEUM

Gentlemen:

How much do you really know about the proposal emanating from Fort Smith, Arkansas regarding the creation of a U.S. Marshal’s museum to be located on the east bank of the Arkansas river other than it is projected to cost $50 million and consisting of 50,000 sq. ft. Apparently not much.  Quite pointedly, the project is overkill, in bad taste, and the physical plant does not reflect the historical period, e.g. reflecting pools and design.  Most people will agree that a museum with reasonable proportions would be welcomed.

The group who is backing the Colossus is murky and little is known about means and methods of construction.  The Marshal’s Museum was initially, with fanfare, BILLED AS A PRIVATE UNDERTAKING, I.E. PRIVATE FUNDING. Nothing could be further from than the truth.  It has been wholly subsidized by irresponsible government agencies—county, city, state, & national. Of course there has been no mention of what will sustain the Colossus if allowed to achieve fruition.  Conceiving a pre-ordained number of citizen visits has been claimed, i.e. 10,000 visits the first month. No stated admission charge.   Bureaucrats, e.g. the Fort Smith Convention Center’s CEO Claude Legris proclaims loudly that government entertainment centers, in this case the F.S. Convention Center, are not designed to make money.  Why not?  Chief Legris is of course subsidized by producers and has a twisted sense of what is expected.

Fort Smith city government and some of those involved have been extremely sketchy in what is being hatched behind closed doors. Presently, as stated previously, the proposed museum is being wholly subsidized by citizen taxpayers without approval or authority.  FOIA’s directed to the Arkansas State Treasurer, Arkansas State Parks & Tourism, the Sebastian County Judge and the Fort Smith City Manager reveals that all funding, save $1,000 from Wal-Mart, has come from taxpayer sources, e.g. $2,400,000 from Ark. Parks & Tourism, $200,000 of which was earmarked for “construction”. The city of Fort Smith received a $250,000 federal grant for the MM, the city has paid for 2 feasibility studies in 2006 & 2009…no dollar amount revealed in FOI…likewise, substantial ongoing city staff support and in kind office equipment. The city has proposed to provide $250,000 per year to the MM while publicly stating they can only provide one camera for televised weekly city board meetings.  The city additionally has dumped in $150,000 to the MM with no stated purpose and has subsidized an unknown amount to Jim Dunn, Executive Director of the MM.   The MM consortium has hired 2 architectural firms, one Cambridge Assoc. and another Polk Stanley, with no dollar costs listed. Sebastian County government has donated $279,463 to the MM.  $2,827 came from State Forfeiture. So far as can be determined at this point, city government and insiders have spent or have collected $3,332,290.00 and of course there are no dollar figures for the 2 feasibility studies, the 2 hired architectural firms and the ongoing use of city personnel & equipment.

Senators Pryor & Boozman, could not the above funding, mostly printed out of thin air, been used to allay some of Arkansas citizens economic and mental pain?

  As of this date (Jan. 3, 2012) the Arkansas State Treasurer has not responded to the FOIA which they received 12/20/11.  Legally they have 3 days to respond. Note they are in violation of Arkansas state law.  The treasurer’s office was called this date and with a plethora of state employees, none were aware at least at this point, of the FOIA.  A stimulant will be applied to State Treasurer Martha Shoffner.

The deception put forth by the progenitors of the U.S. Marshal’s Museum is not to be taken lightly. State Senator Jake Files ran a bill through in the last legislative session that calls for the state to subsidize the Marshal’s venture to the tune of $25 million. (A totally irresponsible economic action on the part of Files and the state legislature). Prior to Files Act, Reps. Medley scored & Pennartz struck out.  Additionally, various sources have lobbied to have the U.S. federal government, in which the two of you are integral players to provide for the minting of gold coins celebrating the proposed Marshal’s Museum in Fort Smith. AT WHAT TAXPAYER COST?  You gentlemen seem to be forgetting that you have run up a $16.2 Trillion debt and the both of you have been around long enough to be culpable for our outrageous economic crises.  

The U.S. federal government is drowning in debt as each of you know and in all likelihood, bankrupt with a $16.2 Trillion debt and Trillions upon Trillions of unfunded mandates, while demanding another Trillion for short term expenses; therefore gentlemen what is your economic foundation for promising Fort Smith locals that you will lobby the senate to mint these coins and who pays the bills? By the way, it is my understanding that earmarks were terminated.

Now for some local flavor:  74% of the Fort Smith public school system is (in some cases 95%) on Free or Reduced cost for meals, this is 3 meals a day, 365 days a year.  As you may be aware, Fort Smith has lost a lot of its medium/heavy industry through closure or movement. If Fort Smith’s past history is any indicator, in all likelihood the 188th Fighter Group will be disbanded or moved. Statewide the annual Medicaid budget is $5 billion and growing at a rate of 5% per year.  Much of the growth is due to illegal Mexican and OTM invasion that come here unabated while neither of you gentlemen deems it important to demand the enforcement of 8 USC and its subsections. Fort Smith is a sanctuary city and in this regard the two of you have failed & refused to uphold your sworn constitutional duties. Now is no time to be experimenting with a nebulous concoction, i.e. the Marshal’s Museum, particularly in its grandiosity.

You must understand that Fort Smith citizens were not given the opportunity or consulted regarding the   proposed embryonic plans for the U.S. Marshal’s Museum. Then there is the big lie about funding.   Insider trading you say?  If this Colossus is allowed to be completed the rank & file taxpaying citizen will inherit the double-tax burden.

If real money were available there are certainly any numbers of citizen needs that take priority over the proposed nebulous Marshal’s Museum. Too much money has already been frittered away for the benefit of a few insiders.  I sincerely hope you will reappraise your positions and influence your colleagues to turn down this exercise in huge financial grandiosity and concern yourselves with the fiscal destruction wreaking havoc on the taxpaying citizenry of the United States.

Perhaps your intentions regarding the striking of the commemorative coin are honorable, but gentlemen this is no time for luxury exploration which has no chance of viability.  Please look at what’s being proposed and understand that economic logic cannot support this scheme. There are numerous entanglements involved in this project that benefit a selected few and not your constituents.

This is a textbook example of why the U.S.A is in the throes of economic Armageddon.

Joe McCutchen
Fort Smith

P.S. If you still feel a necessity to vote for such coinage I want to know the total cost of the minting/distribution process.

The proposed Marshal’s Museum=the Fort Smith City Convention Center on Steroids.

arkansasfreedom.net />

Cc: citizens, state legislature, Governor, Attorney General, Parks & Tourism, U.S. congressmen

Another way to tap into taxpayer money?


FOIA & the Fort Smith City Administration            December 20, 2011

Fort Smith City Manager Ray Gosack and the Board of Directors have been extremely disingenuous in refusing to voluntarily provide detailed data re the proposed Marshall’s Museum.

Remember if you will, the proposed project is and has been billed as a private endeavor, yet hundreds of thousands of tax dollars have already been spent on the projected MM and millions more projected—by what authority and whose say so?

Is the city working for Richard Griffin or is Richard Griffin working for the city?  At this point there appears to be a for-profit arrangement buried in the belly of the MM plan. Is Griffin using HUD and New Market Tax Credits in the MM venture and his downtown investments?  Couple this with a never-ending growing Social Services Campus for deadbeats and a $60 million food-processing plant.

This FOIA (others will follow) should begin to reveal detailed information which could expose Griffin and his merry men.
Griffin and associates are looking for $25 million from the Arkansas State Parks & Tourism Department.  This authority is compliments of Senator Jake Files Senate Bill.

How much does the City Board know?  What Griffin and the city are developing is a monumental taxpayer subsidized boondoggle that citizens will be paying for decades and Griffin & handymen will smile going to the bank, if we citizens do not act and act now.  The FS City Board & City Manager must be held accountable and all information surrounding the MM must be divulged by them.
Note that recently the city donated $50,000 to the Museum Foundation and the county $230,000 more.  Who and what is the Museum Foundation?  How many employees and how much is Jim Dunn being paid and from what?

Citizens, the MM at $50 million & 50,000 sq. ft. makes the Convention Center look like a piker.  Our union is broke, 16.4 Trillion in debt and 75-100 Trillion in unfunded mandates, Social Security, Medicare, & Medicaid, yet corrupt politicians and opportunists continue their self-serving spending sprees.

Joe McCutchen        (The FOI follows)

December 19, 2011

CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
1 Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201

Arkansas State Treasurer
220 State Capitol
Little Rock, AR 72201

Re:    Freedom of Information Act Request

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-101), I hereby request copies of the following public records:

(a)    All checks, drafts, and other documents making or evidencing any payments, contributions, donations, or other transfer of funds from the State of Arkansas or Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism to, on behalf of, or for the benefit of any corporation, non-profit corporation or entity, or other entity that was established to:  (i) honor the United States Marshalls; (ii) establish a museum honoring the United States Marshalls; or (iii) national center of heritage and legacy within the State of Arkansas dedicated to United States Marshalls; and

(b)      All checks, drafts, and other documents making or evidencing any payments, contributions, donations, or other transfer of funds from the State of Arkansas or Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism made pursuant to the United States Marshalls Museum Grant Program or otherwise made pursuant to Act 679 of 2011.

The requested information may be provided to me at the address specified above.  I offer to pay the actual cost of reproduction, as defined by statute, either in advance of copying or pursuant to a statement or invoice from you after copying occurs.  Please notify me in advance if the cost of copying will exceed $100.00.

Alternatively, if you are otherwise unable to comply with this request, I request reasonable access to the identified public records and reasonable comforts and facilities for the full exercise of the right to inspect and copy those records.  

Thanking you for your attention to this matter,

                    Yours very truly,

                    Joe McCutchen

Expansion of the Welfare State


More grand theft in the Marxist tradition       (source: Times Record 12/14/11)  Or it ain’t nothing but a welfare heaven.

The in the works theft (a hugely expensive, taxpayer subsidized “Homeless Campus”), compliments of Grand Master Richard Griffin and his  shills Ken Pyle & the Old Fort Homeless Coalition (whoever they may be) are in the process of creating  a huge magnet for deadbeats, a MAGNET designed to continue to grow. Federal statistics state that less than 3% of our national population cannot fend for themselves and they are presently anointed with the best of all services.

Welfare is an addictive opiate, to those providing it and those receiving it.  Take a moment and think what Richard Griffin and his enablers are doing.  The unconscionable arrogance of Richard Griffin and his hand-picked subservient groups would dare to undertake such a project of this magnitude, taxpayer subsidized, without citizen approval, that will attract untold gowing numbers of human debris…the larger the numbers the more Griffin & Associates benefit financially—growing government. By putting these proposed encampments under a 501(c) (3) umbrella they can create more cushy high paying taxpayer subsidized positions, all in the name of Marbut’s “Haven of Hope”, to be discussed shortly.  
Why not a vote?  Because Griffin runs an unbridled government operation (HUD) with little or no oversight and enabled by local and county politicians and bureaucrats who appear to be folded into Griffin’s operation.

Enter Consultant Dr. Robert Marbut, no doubt a product of the federal government’s Agenda 21 based on a Marxist concept.  The various phrases & words Marbut trots out are designed to make citizens feel foolish and uneducated by their obtuseness, much like the Emperor’s New Clothes. 

Some examples of Marbut’s Marxist jargon: “governance models”, “homeless campuses” (how soothing & ethereal), “hybrid model” (designed for Fort Smith), “lead agency”, “select group of other agencies”, “these campuses have very quick decision making & they are very exclusive”, “equalness”, top tenants”, “no agency is ahead of another agency so no egos are hurt”, “the upside is you get tons of buy-in with this”, “anchor tenants”.  You get the idea, egalitarianism/communism.

Marbut gets into more government expansion when he refers to Plant 1 (115,000 sq. ft.=$800,00), which is a cheaper site than Plant 3 (167,000 sq. ft.=$2.2 million) (Who & how much to maintain?), with the idea to continue to expand…ALWAYS LEAVING ROOM FOR GROWTH.  Growth is the key here, yet his website states “We help communities to dramatically REDUCE homelessness”.   This simply does not conflate.  What he says in the T.R. is in diametric opposition to his stated purpose.

Marbut will present his final report to the coalition in January and he will spend the rest of this week meeting with CITY OFFICIALS.
Questions:  who is Dr. Robert Marbut?  Where did he come from, who does he work for, what does his presence here cost & who is paying? (you are certainly aware of the F.S. city government’s affinity for consultants, who in the main are nothing more than big government retreads)  By name who are the members of the Old Fort Homeless Coalition?

Richard Griffin, Ken Pyle, the OFHC and their pawns, elected & appointed city officials, coupled with elected & appointed county officials, have launched a MONEY-GRABBING ASSAULT against all taxpaying citizens residing in Fort Smith and environs.

Another gross example of the lack of transparency in the Fort Smith city government top down.  Our city and nation are in the throes of a depression and these self-serving opportunists obviously couldn’t care less. Aside from the unconstitutional corruptness of their activities, there is NO MONEY….the U.S. is bankrupt and Griffin, Marbut and others are trying to dig the hole even deeper.  Aside from fanning the flames, creating a permanent underclass, the government (elected & nonelected) has stifled and lied their way to all out destruction.

An incomplete list of Fort Smith’s “visionaries”.  From UAFS  Chancellor Beran a proposed school for the downtrodden mentally elite,  an entrepreneurial school, etc.…from Griffin, the $50 million Marshall’s Museum, the moribund Convention Center, the Ferris Wheel, soccer fields (pacify illegals?), a Water Park,  and now a gigantic magnet for deadbeats…all melded into a decaying city struggling for its very economic life. Then there are Griffin’s “New Market Tax Credits” which encompass questionable uses.

What are the plans for non-governmental job creation?

The easiest job in the whole world is spending other people’s money.

CITIZENS!  Demand a vote on this taxpayer subsidized incestuous undertaking.

Local Agenda 21 & like efforts


Is the Chaffee Crossing community development an Agenda 21 related project?  Does it look & act like that Duck?                                October 23, 2011
Among the United Nations created Agenda 21’s bevy of bastard babies are Sustainable Development, Smart Growth (a term used to describe Chaffee Crossing on its website), MPO’s (Metropolitan Planning Organizations…Ft. Smith belongs to the BI-State MPO), Providence Communities (one is being planned for the Ft. Chaffee area), Metro 1313, ICLEI (International Council for Environmental Initiatives—N. Little Rock Mayor Hayes is CEO for the U.S. division), Quality of Place (used to describe Chaffee Crossing), Green Space (on Chaffee Crossing website), Public/Private Partnerships (Fascism), New Market Tax Credits , COG’s (Councils of Governments), ad infinitum.

The list of organizations and efforts to control and change our Constitutional & free enterprise system is seemingly endless.  The buzzwords always sound benign, even inviting…”mixed use environment”, “natural resources”, “walking/biking trails”, “no cars needed when everything is within walking distance”, “long term region wide planning”, “public visioning”, “common ground solutions”, “localized planning effort”, “green space”, “friendly neighborhoods”….you get the picture.

Why?  The immediate goals include those whose generous salaries are paid by taxpayers, those who make big bucks in land sales, developing, constructing, financing off the taxpayers too, and finally those whose ideology is quite the opposite of our Founders, i.e. committed Collectivists/Communists/Socialists/Fascists.  The ultimate goals include restriction of land use, regulation of most human behavior, population reduction, destruction of individual liberties and the U.S. Constitution & rule of law, i.e. tyranny. 

The taxpaying public is largely unaware of these various efforts or the goals because government institutions such as schools help to promote them, as does the complicit media. This vast system of corruption is insulated by a gigantic Protection Racket…no one dares snitch on the others and risk his own neck.

Whether the opportunists who benefit in some fashion, usually monetarily, know what they are doing or not makes no difference in the outcome.  Ironically, in their shortsighted greed or misguided beliefs, their own progeny will suffer the consequences…no one will escape this world wide effort, even the rulers who think only they are invincible…ask Caesar, Hitler, Mussolini, Hussein, Mubarak, and Kaddafi. 

Our best chance is to expose Agenda 21 & like projects on the local level and reject them summarily. The Makers (producing taxpayers) must educate themselves to the tricks and rhetoric of the Takers. Just because many Makers have been indoctrinated instead of educated doesn’t mean they cannot learn to question anything done with forcibly redistributed property/money.  It is far healthier to be skeptical rather than gullible in these perilous times…we no longer have that luxury.

Whether the local issues are to prop up failures such as the Convention Center and a Ferris Wheel, or to be lured into new endeavors & harebrained schemes such as a museum, a statue, a school to teach entrepreneurship, a school for incorrigibles, or to be conned into other Agenda 21 & like projects will decide our future and that of our progeny.  Is it any wonder the local “leadership” is fighting to increase taxes?

Chaffee Crossing walks, talks, acts, & quacks like the global Duck #21. 

Sequels to follow.

~Barbara McCutchen
arkansasfreedom.net