[Lnc-business] Bylaws Secrecy Confusion

Caryn Ann Harlos carynannharlos at gmail.com
Thu May 25 08:04:25 EDT 2017


There was a great deal said- some of it in the form of very inappropriate
and inaccurate personal aspersions- that I will simply leave be as a
distraction to the point of this inquiry.  A few others  - such as why a
party officer does not know relevant information is a bit troubling and
deserves its own thread.

There is one directly relevant point and it is stated first:

==Why are we trying to drag the LNC into another committee's operations?==

Because an ad hoc "rule" amounting to an unauthorized gag order has been
put into place telling minority members what they can or cannot discuss. It
is not authorized by our rules nor our parliamentary authority.

One point I will address:

The aspersions of "running to the internet each each time you lose a vote"
etc are pretty demonstrably false as anyone who follows me knows.  On
particular issues I speak out (usually on member rights) and trying to
demonize people who do or make broad brush assertions is a tactic all it's
own.  Other members have spoken out here on things relevant to this body(as
is their right and perhaps a duty) including making videos seem by a
thousand fold anyone who sees a meager post by me- yet only I am the
subject.  That's interesting.

Our members are not a mob who must be protected from information and I will
not be bullied into not speaking on things it is my right to do and I would
ask that members not take someone's personal identification and put it into
scare quotes to make implications.  I don't call anyone here a
"libertarian" or anything similar so I would hope we could refrain from
such personally disrespectful tactics.

-Caryn Ann


On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 5:12 AM Alicia Mattson <agmattson at gmail.com> wrote:

> Why are we trying to drag the LNC into another committee's operations?
>
> The Bylaws and Rules Committee had a 2.5-hour meeting with so much debate
> that it didn't even get through 25% of its agenda.  Now we're trying to
> re-hash it all by email here after the vote?  And guess what, none of it
> was about doing our real job of adopting any proposals.  The "anarchists"
> are complaining that we adopted no rules, and now we must spend a month
> demonizing the rest of the committee before we can even get any actual work
> done.
>
> Perhaps demonstrating that one intends to try to whip the entire internet
> into a frenzy every time you lose a vote is not the best way to convince
> others that the same approach should be used for every conversation the
> committee has.
>
> I haven't yet heard Ms. Harlos advocate that the LP Admins and Moderators
> group on Facebook should be a public group while it filters out the bad
> ideas suggested for the LP Facebook page.  There she seems to understand
> that not every internal communication must be shared with the world.  And
> those individuals without a group vote choose what gets posted publicly on
> Facebook in the name of the party, which as we have seen recently, can
> generate PR disasters.  The identity of people who generated controversial
> posts in the party's name have been protected from disclosure even to the
> LNC who is supposed to manage the party assets.  Even LNC members who have
> recently been added to that group for oversight have only been given
> limited access.  I'm a party officer, but I can't see the inbox
> communications with the public which are done in the party's name.
>
> Let's not forget what the Bylaws and Rules Committee does, and what it
> doesn't do.  It doesn't amend the bylaws.  We write PROPOSALS.  We float
> ideas, some good, some bad.  We look for the side effects and flaws in each
> other's ideas, draft and re-draft.  Why get the internet worked up over the
> ideas or incomplete drafts that are never going to come up for a vote at
> convention?  The proposals that get majority vote from the committee are
> then published well in advance before being voted on by yet another body.
>
> What evil plot do you imagine is lurking in discussions of the Bylaws and
> Rules Committee, as we draft proposals for the delegates to debate and vote
> on, such that the committee chair deserves to get demanding-tone emails
> from this list?
>
> The people who are complaining now have themselves drafted proposals first
> in smaller private groups before floating them to the full LNC for
> consideration, even as recently as last week.
>
> When did we become the 1984-government party in which our every
> communication must be monitored?  When did we become the "guilty until you
> prove yourself innocent by publishing all of your emails on the internet"
> party?  When did we ever accept the NSA spying argument of, "If you have
> nothing to hide, then what's the problem with us recording all your
> communications?"
>
> The LNC has plenty of its own business to deal with.  When the Bylaws and
> Rules Committee actually gets a chance to adopt some proposals, you'll see
> them, and you can tell us what you think of them, and you can debate and
> vote on them at convention.
>
> -Alicia
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> On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 1:50 AM, Daniel Hayes <danielehayes at icloud.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Mr. Katz
>>
>> Thank you for your extensive explanation of the situation regarding the
>> bylaws.  Your point regarding where the Bylaws committee derives its
>> authority is well taken.  However, therein lies some of the confusion as it
>> may not be so simple.  I will delve into that later.
>>
>> With brevity, to alleviate any confusion,  do members of the Bylaws
>> committee have any restrictions on what information they can share outside
>> the committee? Are the committee's discussions secret?
>>
>>
>> Daniel Hayes
>> LNC At Large Member
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On May 23, 2017, at 12:19 AM, Tim Hagan <timhagan-tyr at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> I'm a bit confused, and maybe a member of the Bylaws Committee can clear
>> things up. First I read that the Bylaws Committee voted to make either its
>> meetings or its e-mail deliberations secret. However, the Bylaws Committee
>> Chair wrote that the committee has not adopted any motions regarding its
>> conduct. Is it that the e-mail list will be used only for informal
>> deliberations and no votes nor business done on it?
>>
>> I admit that I didn't pay attention to how the Bylaws Committees operated
>> recently, other than filling out the surveys, to know if the custom has
>> changed. But back in the old days when the committee did almost all of its
>> work at in-person meetings just prior to conventions, the meetings were
>> open to all party members to observe. From what I've heard from members of
>> the current Bylaws Committee, they need clarification on what they can
>> repeat of the contents from the e-mail deliberations and from meetings
>> where non-members were not invited.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Tim Hagan
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *From:* Joshua Katz <planning4liberty at gmail.com>
>> *To:* lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>> *Sent:* Monday, May 22, 2017 6:14 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [Lnc-business] (no subject)
>>
>> Mr. Hayes, thank you for your questions.
>>
>> First, the bylaws committee has not held a single executive session.  It
>> is unlikely to hold a single executive session.  If it chose to, it could
>> hold every one of its meetings in executive session, but that would be
>> counterproductive.  The rules you cite for executive session are for the
>> LNC, and are found in the Policy Manual.  The bylaws committee, as should
>> be easily recognized, is not the LNC.
>>
>> Committees operate under the following rule:  "During actual
>> deliberations of the committee, only committee members have the *right *to
>> be present."  (p. 501, emphasis added).  Committees may decide to allow
>> non-members to be present, on a meeting by meeting basis, but cannot adopt
>> a rule to that effect due to a rule cited on another thread.  That does not
>> make the content of the meetings secret.  It does not make the topics
>> considered, or what was said about them, secret.  Those are the crucial
>> characteristics of executive sessions, hence, such rules do not describe an
>> executive session.
>>
>> My interpretation of that rule, which is not a ruling since I may only
>> issue a ruling during a meeting, and this is an email, not a meeting, is
>> that members should not reveal to non-members the identities of those
>> making the arguments or how individuals voted at a meeting where the
>> committee has chosen not to invite non-members.  If the committee wanted
>> that information known, it would open the meeting to non-members.  What
>> about emails?  Emails are part of the committee deliberation, and are
>> identified by author.  It's a close case, since emails are not meetings.
>> As I've pointed out before, RONR limits its comments on email voting to
>> little more than "its hard, and if you decide to do it, you figure it out."
>>  In my opinion, it similarly should not be shared without committee
>> permission.
>>
>> Some confusion seems to have been created by the special rules the LNC
>> has adopted for itself, and those placed into the bylaws regarding the
>> LNC.  Let's clarify that.  The parent assembly of the bylaws committee, and
>> other bylaws-mandated committees, is the convention, not the LNC.  The LNC
>> has some powers in connection with those committees (appointment of
>> members, selection of a temporary chair, and writing rules regarding
>> electronic meetings are those which come to mind).  As such, with the
>> exception of the rules adopted by the LNC for the conduct of electronic
>> meetings (which authorize committees to opt in to recording, but do not
>> require recording, and permit committees to allow non-members to attend,
>> but do not require committees to do so), the rules the LNC adopts for its
>> own conduct bear no relation to such committees.  Nor may the LNC make
>> rules for such committees, except as specifically authorized in the
>> bylaws.  Finally, as noted, such committees may not adopt rules for
>> themselves which conflict with those in the bylaws or, where the bylaws are
>> silent, with our parliamentary authority.
>>
>>
>> The bylaws committee has, in fact, not adopted any motions regarding its
>> conduct.  Your inquiry is apparently launched by the committee's failure to
>> do so, and implicit decision (so far) to abide by the rules in RONR without
>> modification.  As I pointed out at our last meeting, I disagree with the
>> tendency to consider the choice to abide by our established rules as
>> somehow abnormal or a "screw-up."
>>
>> Having discussed to whom the bylaws committee reports, I will also review
>> the purpose of committees and why they behave differently from assemblies.
>> While exceptions exist, in general the purpose of committees is to research
>> a topic or question and make recommendations.  The bylaws committee is no
>> exception (while several LNC-created committees are).  The bylaws committee
>> prepares a report showing its recommendations, which are then adopted, or
>> not, by its parent assembly.  The committee decides nothing on behalf of
>> the party.  The only decision it makes is to make recommendations, and
>> those recommendations it chooses to make are, of course, fully publicly
>> available.  RONR says "When a committee is to make substantive
>> recommendations . . . it should give members of the society an opportunity
>> to appear before it and present their views on the subject a time scheduled
>> by the committee."  The committee has every intention to do so, both
>> electronically and in person, and via surveys, as it has done in the past.
>> There is no suggestion that it is useful for members of the society to know
>> who introduced what proposals, who said what in debate, and so on.  Sharing
>> such information, in my opinion (and only my opinion - we can't infer the
>> reasons people vote for things) politicizes the committee's work, and
>> causes committee members to picture each comment, such as an attempt to
>> wordsmith a proposal with which they may disagree, being blasted across
>> various social media platforms.  Nor is it conducive to delegates making
>> decisions on the merits of the proposals.  Knowing that I introduced a
>> proposal tells you nothing about the proposal, yet might be the basis of a
>> campaign to "vote no on the Katz motion."
>>
>> On the other hand, there are arguments for making such things available,
>> and for inviting all to attend our meetings.  That's why the committee has
>> to decide - there are arguments for both positions.  The LNC does not get
>> to decide because the committee does not answer to the LNC.  As chair, I
>> will do as the committee directs.  My own opinion is that there is useful
>> transparency, such as the aforementioned hearings, and working to make sure
>> that adopted proposals are available to the public as soon as possible so
>> that useful feedback can be gotten, less useful, and harmful.  But then, I
>> only rarely even vote on motions in committee, and hardly ever debate.
>>
>> I am also not particularly persuaded by the fact that different sorts of
>> organizations, which serve different functions, have different sorts of
>> rules, either internally (the LNC, for instance) or externally imposed
>> (such as Sunshine Laws).  In particular, pointing out that a committee
>> would not be allowed to act a certain way if it were a government agency
>> strikes me as a little like pointing out that I could not eat chocolate if
>> I were a dog.  It's true, but I don't learn anything from it.  I have a
>> different internal chemistry.  The bylaws committee has no independent
>> power and governs nothing.
>>
>> Joshua A. Katz
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 3:44 PM, <danielehayes at icloud.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> All, and especially Mr. Katz in his role as chairman of the Bylaws
>> Committee,
>>
>> It has come to my attention and my brain momentarily allotted enough
>> bandwidth to really think about this.  Under what authority are our bylaws
>> meetings secret?  (No, Starchild has not hijacked my computer).
>> Specifically Ms. Harlos is acting like she just joined Fight Club.  Ms.
>> 1000 Emails being mostly clammed shut.  I am worried she might end up like
>> the kid from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie that got the
>> experimental candy.
>>
>> These are all the reasons for going into executive session in our rules
>> with a majority vote.
>> • Legal matters (potential, pending, or past)
>> • Regulatory and compliance matters (potential, pending, or past)
>> • Contractual compliance
>> • Personnel matters (including evaluation, compensation, hiring, or
>> dismissal)
>> • Board self-evaluation
>> • Strategic issues (only those requiring confidentiality)
>> • Negotiations (potential, pending, or past)
>> Other topics require a two-thirds vote of LNC.
>> No action can be taken while in Executive Session.
>> Discussion of action which may be taken in Open Session can occur.
>>
>>
>> The reasons for going into Executive session are supposed to be listed if
>> a vote was taken.
>>
>> But when I ask about the vote to go into executive session I am told that
>> there was no vote.
>>
>> I realize that we have rules all over the place and I might be missing
>> something, hence I am asking, Why?
>>
>> Someone enlighten me as to what’s up before I slam big brown(11th ed.)
>> on down.
>>
>> How is this remotely in line with what this organization stands for?
>> I would flip a gasket if the Louisiana Legislature was operating in this
>> manner.   This wouldn’t pass muster under Sunshine Laws for government.
>> Let that sink in.
>>
>>
>> Daniel Hayes
>> LNC At Large Member
>>
>>
>> Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
>> Windows 10
>>
>>
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-- 
*In Liberty,*
*Caryn Ann Harlos*
Region 1 Representative, Libertarian National Committee (Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington) - Caryn.Ann.
Harlos at LP.org <Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org>
Communications Director, Libertarian Party of Colorado
<http://www.lpcolorado.org>
Colorado State Coordinator, Libertarian Party Radical Caucus
<http://www.lpradicalcaucus.org>
Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee

A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
*We defend your rights*
*And oppose the use of force*
*Taxation is theft*
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