[Lnc-business] Recent concerns and issues

[Caryn Ann Harlos]

A member alerted me that the link shared duplicated one shared by Mr.
Longstreth.  Here is the link to the third letter.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1SKcsGPDIsBAkLsiSe56R0mxgLMP_5u--

*In Liberty,*

* Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
(part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social faux
pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *



On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 5:34 PM Caryn Ann Harlos <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org>
wrote:

> I would prefer to have this discussion in Miami.  I will say just viewing
> that list in general (context could change my view), I have very little
> issue with that list, and if those words really trouble you, that is
> unreasonable.
>
> You can take issue, thus the discussion. I take issue with the way you
> seem to go out of your way to be offended.  An example off the top of my
> head, would be the wildly uncharitable (something makes me think you might
> add that phrase to your list) way you found to be offended by my statement
> that a volunteer speaking on behalf of the party beyond our official
> statements is out of bounds.  Your reaction was way over the top.
>
> So yes, I absolutely stand by my assertion.
>
> That list you gave is not what I’m referring to.  As a bare list (would
> need to read the context), I found offense to those to be....  a vast
> over-reaction and simply not the way real people live.
>
> I will never not be authentic.  FOR ME, a life in which that list is
> examples of offense, is phoney and plastic.  For others it might not be.
> And if that is your standard, I think you are out of touch to everyday
> people.
>
> I’m going to be blunt.  You were.  Absent some really over the top context
> (which there may be), that list is ridiculous and pretentious.  And if that
> is the reason for your very aloof comportment, a tad mean-spirited.
>
> People are different.  With some broad boundaries.  I will never live or
> agree to a world where those mere phrases are scandalous.  I’ve been a
> legal professional for almost my whole life and I cannot think of one
> workplace that would agree.  And no, I wouldn’t dare to place these mere
> words as examples of a medical issue.  That would be bizarre.
>
> That type of expression is not medical - it’s me.  And that’s exactly the
> me that those who elected me know and like.
>
> That is not what I’m referring to.
>
> I will say though in general, I found your tone when you did address the
> potential of a medical issue inappropriate and disrespectful.  None of the
> mere words were.  But the tone certainly was.
>
> Now, I don’t have Tourette’s but I’m picturing a person with such a horrid
> disorder reading your words feeling completely worthless.
>
> There is more to life than stiff politeness Mr. Bishop-Henchman.  The
> stuff of life is tolerance.
>
> I come from a hardscrabble life.  A lot of our constituents do.  And they
> would find your demonization of the culture of the common man quite
> entitled and patronizing.
>
> I will be blunt again. That statement - to me - reads as if you think you
> are better than other people.  And that’s offensive.
>
> If you are completely unwilling to consider that you can come across
> poorly, that is a problem.
>
> Whenever anyone comes to a problem discussion and utterly refuse to even
> consider they have a part, that is a huge red flag.  No one is that
> perfect.
>
> Thank you for your input.  It has convinced me this discussion is even
> more needed than I thought.  I am a bit agog that you thought that post was
> reasonable and honoring of human dignity.
>
> The vast majority of people would read that list and react similarly
> (again with the caveat that context can make or break).
>
> I would also suggest you go and read everyone.  You are grossly applying
> unequal weights and measures.  You are blind to the exact same style used
> by your friends.  And there is nothing wrong with them doing so.
>
> Heck, Nick himself is quite the barbed wordsmith.  He is not called
> snarkwark for no reason, and for the most part, I love the sarcastic
> style.  Please be more consistent in your targets, because you most
> definitely are not.  And no, I’ll never confirm to that rigidity and many
> many invaluable people with the same have served, and currently do.
>
> ;tldr I am shocked you find that mere list of words scandalous and I’ll
> never be as sterile as you seem to be requiring and for that, I’m not
> sorry.  It’s unreasonable.  And you way of communicating
>
> For times, in context, of inadvertent or purposeful catty rudeness (which
> nearly everyone is at times, I absolutely do).
>
> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 4:52 PM Joe Bishop-Henchman via Lnc-business <
> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>
>> Having done a fair amount of HR training and compliance matters, I take
>> the importance of HR greatly, as well as the importance of
>> professionalism and communication to achieve results.
>>
>> I take issue with the characterization that there is a mutual
>> communication problem. To illustrate this, I have a compiled some of the
>> disparaging words or phrases Ms. Harlos has used to describe me or
>> something I’ve said, in the first few months of this term, on this
>> public e-mail list:
>>
>> •       demeaning
>> •       shaming
>> •       dictate
>> •       ridiculous
>> •       way out of bounds
>> •       twisting
>> •       don’t believe that for a second
>> •       scolding
>> •       overly sensitive
>> •       not a good characterization
>>
>> That takes us up to about a year ago; there’s been plenty more since.
>> It’s been so disproportionate and personal that I – and I think many of
>> you – have had to disengage. Ms. Van Horn and Ms. Mattson have chosen
>> not to let stuff go unchallenged, and although the back-and-forth puts
>> us all in a terrible light, I have trouble faulting them for it.
>>
>> Perhaps I am all of those words and phrases. And this is politics,
>> people will say mean stuff about us. I’ve been to almost every
>> statehouse in the country, and have been in my share of arguments and
>> shouting matches about serious issues. But if we’re going to talk about
>> effective HR, saying or e-mailing that stuff to co-workers would be
>> reprimand-able or even fire-able.
>>
>> I can’t speak to whether medical accommodations require us to permit
>> this conduct.
>>
>>
>> JBH
>>
>> ------------
>> Joe Bishop-Henchman
>> LNC Member (At-Large)
>> joe.bishop-henchman at lp.org
>> www.facebook.com/groups/189510455174837
>>
>> On 2019-11-01 17:32, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business wrote:
>> > Ms. Adams, I am in agreement with your bullet list, and have one to add
>> > of
>> > my own, though I am not sure how to address.
>> >
>> > We have a policy manual that addresses behaviours concerning
>> > "workplace"
>> > interactions focusing on sensitive issues such as prejudice and sexual
>> > harassment.  I believe we watch a video and that is that, and it is a
>> > lip
>> > service only policy.  This week there were allegations of breach of
>> > that
>> > policy.  It does not matter for this point whether anyone thinks those
>> > allegations were correct.  It makes no difference really anyone's view
>> > on
>> > any of the actors involved.  The fact is that a very volatile situation
>> > was
>> > allowed to continue with such allegations, and the Chair was nowhere to
>> > be
>> > found.  I do not find that acceptable.  While I typically appreciate
>> > Mr.
>> > Sarwark's handsoff approach, there are times that is not appropriate,
>> > and
>> > that was one of them.  This isn't the only time that I felt that pretty
>> > serious allegations were ignored that could cause the Party legal
>> > problems
>> > in the future.  I would like this to be addressed as well and
>> > procedures
>> > put into place to keep such things from happening.
>> >
>> > I further will state something that I ask everyone to step back and
>> > consider dispassionately.  Many of us have a lot of experience in the
>> > corporate or semi-corporate world.  There are certain duties of HR
>> > departments, or in the absence of that structure, the management.  One
>> > of
>> > those is how to deal with the new introduction of a disability into the
>> > workplace.  Typically, issues are anticipated and addressed ahead of
>> > time
>> > by the manager, and information and education provided.  Absolutely
>> > nothing
>> > like that has been done in this situation, nor in any of my
>> > observations of
>> > past LNCs, but that knowledge is limited.
>> >
>> > Everything, absolutely everything, was very badly handled, and almost
>> > everyone that was a significant participant in the particular rabbit
>> > trail,
>> > myself included, had a part to play.  I would only exclude Mr.
>> > Longstreth
>> > and Ms. Sexton.  And the absent Chair most certainly did.
>> >
>> > I have to be my best advocate, no one else will be, and this board
>> > needs
>> > some serious intervention on issues of communication with aspies, and
>> > that
>> > includes myself obviously.  The end result was a figuratively screaming
>> > match at a person in overload - which is not so flatteringly called
>> > (though
>> > accurate), an autistic meltdown.  Yelling does not help there any more
>> > than
>> > yelling at an autistic young person to stop "stimming" (such as
>> > hand-flapping etc).
>> >
>> > I would hope that the Chair or the ED would proactively prepare to
>> > implement procedures on handling disability in this workplace, and be
>> > prepared to start that discussion in Miami.
>> >
>> > *In Liberty,*
>> >
>> > * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
>> > (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
>> > communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If anyone
>> > found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social
>> > faux
>> > pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:16 PM Caryn Ann Harlos
>> > <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> I was able to find a copy - here is a link.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zGZVOP8KhiTEVm3cbD2iekMl3f425a61/view?usp=sharing
>> >>
>> >> *In Liberty,*
>> >>
>> >> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's Syndrome
>> >> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
>> >> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If
>> >> anyone
>> >> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social
>> >> faux
>> >> pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:14 PM Caryn Ann Harlos
>> >> <caryn.ann.harlos at lp.org>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Mr. Longstreth there is a third letter clarifying for Mr. Sarwark
>> >>> that
>> >>> there were specific questions.
>> >>>
>> >>> I think I can speak for nearly all the signers that in a do-over we
>> >>> would
>> >>> only include the ethical issues rather than the management
>> >>> frustrations.
>> >>>
>> >>> Honestly we felt we had one chance to have our chair’s full attention
>> >>> and
>> >>> asked everything that was building up.  Mr. Sarwark notes some were
>> >>> style
>> >>> complaints.  That doesn’t mean they were not important but he has no
>> >>> ethical obligation to answer those.
>> >>>
>> >>> The third letter focused on the ethical issues.  We do not believe
>> >>> that
>> >>> ignoring the questions is at all proper.
>> >>>
>> >>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019 at 3:06 PM Richard Longstreth via Lnc-business <
>> >>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>> For reference, Erin and several others on the LNC have been trying
>> >>>> to get
>> >>>> answers to some questions from the Chair and the Executive Director
>> >>>> for
>> >>>> nearly a month without much progress. I am providing a link to a
>> >>>> letter
>> >>>> that was sent to the Chair on October 8th and his response so that
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> public may have full context of everything Erin has brought forth in
>> >>>> her
>> >>>> email. No signers of the letter objected to it's becoming public as
>> >>>> these
>> >>>> are serious issues concerning our Party and it's future. Even if
>> >>>> there is
>> >>>> no wrong doing, the LNC and membership deserve to understand the
>> >>>> motivations of certain activities and full transparency.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Letter to Chair Sarwark, October 8:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2iKd8j9elY0V3BYeldhME41c1NZZ2NtNTlNS0xCWWFLenp3/view?usp=drivesdk
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Response from Chair Sarwark, October 9:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2iKd8j9elY0SDFjRlhSaDJpSWFpVU55ZC1FajRDVnVrZ04w/view?usp=drivesdk
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Richard Longstreth
>> >>>> Region 1 Representative (AK, AZ, CO, HI, KS, MT, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY)
>> >>>> Libertarian National Committee
>> >>>> richard.longstreth at lp.org
>> >>>> 931.538.9300
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Sent from my Mobile Device
>> >>>>
>> >>>> On Fri, Nov 1, 2019, 12:58 Erin Adams via Lnc-business <
>> >>>> lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>> > All,
>> >>>> > Recently many questions and concerns have been raised by LNC
>> members to
>> >>>> > this list. The questions have, in my opinion, mostly gone
>> unanswered
>> >>>> and
>> >>>> > the concerns have not, also in my opinion, been addressed in any
>> >>>> productive
>> >>>> > manner.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > The issues are not going to simply go away and I very much look
>> >>>> forward to
>> >>>> > having the opportunity to discuss them in person in Miami and will
>> >>>> > certainly be asking these same questions at that meeting. There
>> were
>> >>>> > serious ethical concerns and questions brought up in a series of
>> >>>> > communications that have not even been addressed that need to be,
>> >>>> Mainly
>> >>>> > our ED's involvement in political events connected to other
>> political
>> >>>> > party's, and Lack of disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
>> by
>> >>>> our
>> >>>> > ED and our Chair   , That may be better addressed in person.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > For me, the question becomes, what next? How do we as an LNC
>> address
>> >>>> these
>> >>>> > issues and move forward in a way that is conducive to progress?
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > I have a few suggestions.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > One: I think it behooves us to put aside personal differences and
>> >>>> > Personality conflicts and focus on the issues.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > Two: I think that there absolutely have been failures to follow
>> policy
>> >>>> > that need to be addressed so that they can be prevented moving
>> forward
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > Three: I think one issue we all seem to agree on is that our policy
>> >>>> manual
>> >>>> > is problematic and I would volunteer to work with others on this
>> LNC to
>> >>>> > correct that.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > Four: In reading the contract of the new DD I feel that we have
>> limited
>> >>>> > risk in at very least giving Our new DD an opportunity to do this
>> job
>> >>>> as
>> >>>> > she has been placed in a horrible situation not of her design.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > Five: Absolutely this LNC needs and should expect better and more
>> >>>> frequent
>> >>>> > communication from our ED and each other. I feel like we ALL can
>> >>>> improve on
>> >>>> > our communication, Myself included
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > I truly hope and believe that as a group, we CAN come together and
>> >>>> achieve
>> >>>> > success in dealing with concerns and issues and I feel that even
>> tho
>> >>>> we,
>> >>>> > from time to time, seem to not be a conducive team, I have seen the
>> >>>> amazing
>> >>>> > work this LNC can and has done when we simply decide to put aside
>> our
>> >>>> > differences and do so.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>> > Erin Adams Region 7 alt.
>> >>>> >
>> >>>>
>> >>> --
>> >>>
>> >>> *In Liberty,*
>> >>>
>> >>> * Personal Note:  I have what is commonly known as Asperger's
>> >>> Syndrome
>> >>> (part of the autism spectrum).  This can affect inter-personal
>> >>> communication skills in both personal and electronic arenas.  If
>> >>> anyone
>> >>> found anything offensive or overly off-putting (or some other social
>> >>> faux
>> >>> pas), please contact me privately and let me know. *
>> >>>
>> >>>
>>
>