Spring 1990 Volume 3 No 2

THE LABORER, YES

by Floyd Hoke-Miller

You ask me why I praise his kind

And why I seek to rouse his mind

To thoughts beyond his daily

task,

Wherein the chains that daily bind

Are shrouded lies to keep him blind--

To praise the one with hardened hand;

With daily drudge and sweaty

smell,

He's the greatest one in all the land

But yet, the least one in command

Of all the goods the traders

sell

And take the more and give the

less

The Laborer, Yes!

Table of Contents

THE LABORER, YES. . . . . . . . 1

FLOYD HOKE-MILLER (1898-1990).. 1

The Picket. . . . . . . . . . . 2

THE SOWER OF THE SEEDS. . . . . 2

COMPUTER EDUCATION. . . . . . . 3

Letter from Superintendent. . . 4

OPEN LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENT.. . 4

Letter to Governor. . . . . . . . 5

COMMODORE COUNTY U.S.A... . . . 8

years predicted that the next revo-

lution of importance for the whole of

human society would be the cybernetic

revolution, the successful marriage

of workers, computers and the machin-

ery of production. Floyd said such a

revolution would make possible the

shortening of the required work time

for each worker. Floyd was a loyal

contributor to every issue of the

of the crucial role of the "amateur"

could make any important contribution

to the advance of this technology.

Floyd's funeral was held on May 2,

1990. A number of his Pioneer friends

could not attend because of their own

ill health. But to its shame, the

Union for which he fought so long and

so hard sent not one representative,

not from the UAW International, not

pioneer Ken Malone said that each

century produces only one or two

truly great men. And that Floyd was

one such rare person. Floyd, our dear

Floyd Hoke-Miller, personified the

best, the truest representation of

working people. People he called

respectfully the Common Man. Because

of his principled and prodigious

contribution, Floyd ranks in stature

unknown as the least of us.

He didn't seek fame. He certainly

didn't expect it. But he surely,

richly deserved it. And he did what

for other classes would have brought

fame.

He saw more deeply, understood

more clearly the conditions of the

Common Man and Woman and the other-

wise unsung greatness of the Common

for the working class.

with Floyd are grateful for his long

and productive life. And the cause of

the working class is infinitely bett-

er because of it. It will be harder

without him. But he leaves as foot-

prints a vast gift of poems and arti-

cles and stories. Now others must

pick up the pieces and carry on the

work and legacy of Floyd Hoke-Miller,

the Common Man's most uncommon cham-

vored this poem lately because he saw

the labor movement turning away from

the laborer and toward the disaster

of "partnership" or "jointness".

Besides contributing to the Ama-

teur Computerist, Floyd Hoke-Miller

was a long time member and best

friend of UAW Local 659. His fondest

wish would be that his Local and its

newspaper, The Searchlight, could be

Jay Hauben, 5/4/90

The Picket

by Floyd Hoke-Miller

I am the guy with nerve and guts;

The soldier of all your labor fights

My road through battle has many ruts

But never too rough to guard your

rights.

Through rain and snow, along I tried,

To show my protest of oppression;

You taught us to keep in mind

That the worst scab is the union scab

And "don't mourn, organize!"

XVIII

You held so high the torch of '37

While it was in your hand

So now it passes proudly

And on the spirit of '37 we shall

stand.

With the greatest respect and admira-

that workers at the Ford Rouge Plant

had trying to have computer program-

ming education. State, federal, and

contractual funds were available to

pay for the computer education, but

the classes were discontinued and the

money diverted to other illegitimate

sources now acknowledged by the

school officials to have been unlaw-

ful, and by the Prosecutor of Wayne

what the problem was that prevented

this public and contractual funding

from providing the kind of technical

education it was intended for.

For the past few years, there has

been a loud public relations campaign

claiming that there is federal,

state, company and union support for

needed worker education. Yet all this

hoopla has proven to be a smoke

rent efforts to loosen even more the

laws requiring accountability of

public education funds can only re-

sult in a disastrous fiasco.

Currently, in the upcoming Con-

gressional and State elections in

Michigan, there are a myriad of pro-

posals claiming to improve the

schools and to make more public funds

available for education.

pany officials, or whoever has the

tion funds, but provide only weak

mechanisms of oversight regarding the

actual use of the funds, or of recov-

ery when the funds are misused. In

fact, public officials who misuse the

funds are rewarded rather than penal-

ized, thus ensuring that the funds

can only be misused.

Consequently, until there are much

stronger laws governing the misuse

the bottom.

at the Ford Rouge Plant had to do

with state legislators and federal

congressmen who were willing to pass

delusive laws which in fact make

legitimate computer education impos-

sible. And instead of tightening the

current regulations and making harsh-

er penalties for those who violate

them, current state legislators and

U. S. Congressmen are obediently

strong and vigorously enforced public

laws guarding the misuse of public

education funds, fraud and abuse make

impossible the kind of computer pro-

gramming classes originally offered

at the Dearborn Engine Plant. Deregu-

lation of public education, whether

it is called the Job Training Part-

nership Act, at the federal level, or

credit card adult education at the

state level, can only result in

fraudulent use of public education

funds and the constant deterioration

of public education.

Dearborn Public Schools and their

educational program with the Ford

Motor Company. Compilation of this

data has necessitated numerous hours

on the part of staff of the Legisla-

ture, the Department of Education and

Office of the Attorney General. You

have participated in several meetings

and have been informed of the conclu-

sions that were reached. A number of

of the Department of Education.

cials, including staff of their De-

partment. I, for one, stand by the

actions and recommendations of my

staff, who are highly regarded pro-

fessionals with extensive experience

in overseeing very complex programs.

As you previous have been informed

on several occasions, your appeals

within the Department have been ex-

hausted. My conclusion is that the

Donald L. Bemis

Your response to my letter of

March 1, 1990 shows that there is an

official coverup going on of the

illegal use of public funds in adult

education and worker education pro-

grams like the one at the Ford Rouge

Complex in Dearborn Michigan. It is

further clear that until the public

is informed of the illegal activities

involved in these situations, no way

can be found to correct the situa-

Your response of May 1, 1990 is

effort spent by your department on

this issue. The normal procedure the

department previously followed, of

assigning a complaint to a member of

the department, interviewing the

complainant and then issuing a formal

report listing each of the allega-

tions and the conclusions of the

investigation regarding the allega-

tions, has never been followed by the

attended and that I have been in-

meeting with you, and one with some-

one else on your staff, and the only

conclusion I have been informed of is

that there is no problem, that your

view is that the program is "wonder-

ful" and that there was "nothing to

investigate."

3) Your letter states that the

remaining issues are outside the

purview of the Department of Educa-

is illegal activity that you know

they have been involved in and that

you have agreed to cover up? Other-

wise why would you need to stand by

them rather than having a thorough

investigation into what has happened

to prevent the illegal expenditures

of public education funds from being

frankly admitted and rectification

provided.

5) Your letter states that stat-

utes and regulations have been met.

What statutes and regulations are you

referring to? Why is there no state-

ment of what these statutes and regu-

lations are, despite the fact that

the complaint filed with the Depart-

the problem is not that the State

Board has too much power, but that in

fact the laws are too weak regarding

recovery and punishment of illegal

use of public education funds and

that the State Board of Education

needs additional laws to provide them

with the ability to oversee the State

Department of Education. The current

laws give only the Governor the right

charge of oversight of public educa-

Thus I have written the attached

letter to Governor Blanchard regard-

ing the misuse of public funds as the

power to oversee the misuse of public

funds resides in his office. But the

necessary investigation into the

coverup of the illegal expenditure of

funds at the Ford Rouge Complex is

still needed to be able to find how

to stop the diversion of education

Letter to Governor

June 23, 1990

Dear Governor Blanchard,

In September 1984, I was hired as

a teacher of computer programming

classes intended for hourly workers

at the Ford Rouge Plant. I worked at

the Dearborn Engine Plant for 2-1/2

years. But the illegal use of public

and federal funds and the documented

violations of state and federal regu-

lations governing these funds made

such classes impossible and resulted

in the cancellation of these computer

State and federal education funds

rectified. But I've gotten no where.

I am writing to you with regard to

this run around. I have uncovered the

refusal to undertake mandatory recov-

ery of misused public and federal

education funds on the part of the

State Department of Education, the

Attorney General and the Wayne County

Prosecutor's Office.

Under MCLA 21.47, you have the

officials involved. MCLA 21.47 says:

the part of the attorney general, or

on the part of the prosecuting attor-

ney of any county in the state shall

be sufficient cause for his removal

from office by the governor." I am

requesting that your office begin an

immediate investigation into this

matter and take the necessary appro-

priate action with regard to the

mandatory recovery of misspent public

ber, 1986, and to the attention of

the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office

on February 19, 1987. Subsequently,

these public officials were presented

with documentary evidence of the

admitted illegal payment of over

$20,000 of state aid and federal

funds to a union via the bills show-

ing the illegal payoff, as well as

the admission of the payoff in a

court suit filed by the Garden City

Public Schools in Wayne County Cir-

cuit Court 86-634695CZ. The Prosecu-

tor's office advised that this situa-

tion had to be dealt with by the

Attorney General's office. And the

Education insisted that it was neces-

Lansing, Michigan, providing as much

documentation as possible. The Michi-

gan Department of Education will

inquire into your complaint, to the

extent it deems appropriate, and

share its review with this office."

(Letter from Gerald Young dated April

17, 1987)

In 1986, a complaint was initiated

with the State Department of Educa-

ted in 1988. Thus far there has been

into them. In addition, there is now

over 800 pages of public testimony at

the Michigan Employment Relations

Commission in Case No. 86 K-291 ad-

mitting to the illegal use of public

funds. Both the Prosecutor of Wayne

County and the Attorney General of

Michigan have been informed of this

additional evidence. State Senator

Daniel DeGrow has written that he is

the investigation being conducted by

the Attorney General's Office. When

their report is complete, I will be

so advised and the appropriate action

will be taken at that time." (Letter

from Daniel DeGrow dated March 1,

1990)

In addition to the documented

illegal use of $20,000 of public

money, the Prosecutor of Wayne County

has acknowledged that approximately

$200,000 of public state aid and

federal funds have been used to sup-

port a nonpublic school at the Ford

Rouge Plant. Also, substantial public

funds are being used to subsidize

Company via the UAW-Ford National

General to be an unconstitutional and

hence a forbidden use of public

funds. Yet no effort has been made by

any of the public officials involved

to retrieve the misspent monies,

despite the fact that there are laws

that require the recovery of any

illegally spent public moneys. MCLA

14.431 requires that "The Attorney

General or the prosecuting attorney

gally expended or collected and not

have been converted and misappropri-

ated."

In addition, MCLA 14.143 requires

that public officials involved in the

misappropriation of public funds be

prosecuted. "The Prosecutor (or At-

torney General) prosecutes all public

officials suspected of mismanagement

of public funds."

Yet the officials involved in both

part of the Prosecutor or Attorney

General's office to retrieve public

funds or to prosecute the officials

involved, the Governor has the obli-

gation to remove these officials from

office.

Consequently, I am requesting that

pursuant to MCLA 14.431, 14.143 and

27.47 you investigate the situation

and provide the necessary action so

that the public money involved is

recovered and the public officials

responsible are prosecuted. This

request is in continuation of the

whistleblowing that is documented in

my whistleblower lawsuit #87-712733-

regarding this situation and of the

protected from retaliation while he

or she makes an effort to have an

illegal situation corrected by the

appropriate public officials.

A letter dated May 1, 1990 that I

received from Superintendent Bemis

demonstrates that the Department of

Education believes that it has no

ability to deal with the misappropri-

ation of public education funds. On

the prosecutor's office, and if they

take steps to remove them.

I have been sent on a run around

by various public officials for over

4 years now. In the meantime, the

public officials involved have been

given to understand that they will be

rewarded for the misappropriation of

public education funds. Clearly there

is a problem with the law if public

moneys can be spent illegally with

office in this matter. Please ac-

knowledge receipt of this letter and

inform me in writing of the procedure

by which your office will undertake

to require the necessary corrective

action, namely, the recovery of the

public funds and property, the prose-

cution of the public officials re-

sponsible for the misappropriation of

the funds and for the coverup, and a

public investigation into the situa-

tion whereby this problem has devel-

oped and has been continued despite

repeated efforts to request rectifi-

cation.

Ronda Hauben

COMMODORE COUNTY U.S.A.

Here is a small 'Utility' to use

with your BASIC programs. It is quite

simple to use, and will work with

almost any BASIC program.

The program is written in machine

language but has a BASIC loader. All

you have to do is carefully type in

the BASIC program shown below. Then

routine to interrupt your normal

BASIC program and will change the two

multicolors of the text. The feature

can be toggled on and off by poking

the following:

POKE 890, 77 (turns color 1 on to

flash.)

POKE 891, 77 (turns color 2 on to

flash.)

Poking these two locations with any

leaf symbol. To get this type {Commo-

dore key and #3 key together}. The

clover leaf symbol will not be dis-

played however! In the multicolor,

only the colors that are activated by

the Commodore key will have any ef-

fect on the texts color.

The program will deactivate itself

with certain SYNTAX ERRORS however.

The program can also be stopped com-

just a feeble attempt. So it's back

to the Commodore County Labs with me!

See you next time in Commodore

County!

10 REM SHIMMERING TEXT

20 POKE 890, 77

30 POKE 891, 77

50 REM

100 T = 832

110 READ A: IF A = -01 THEN 150

140 T = T + 1: GOTO 110

150 IF CK <> 6306 THEN PRINT "DATA

ERROR! CHECK DATA STATEMENTS!": STOP

160 SYS 832: PRINT "ÊSHIMMER ACTI-

VATED!"

170 REM

180 REM DATA STATEMENTS

190 REM

230 DATA 208, 120, 169, 098, 141,

020, 003

240 DATA 169, 003, 141, 021, 003,

096, 173

250 DATA 122, 003, 201, 077, 208,

003, 206

260 DATA 034, 208, 173, 123, 003,

201, 077

270 DATA 208, 003, 206, 035, 208,

076, 049

From the back labs of Commodore

County has come an interesting de-

vice, and software to boot. The infa-

mous Dr J Backwash, and C. Whiplash

of DIGITAL VISIONS, have whipped up

an audio digitizer that is really

easy to use.

The project took these inspiring

and several software programs. The

only additional requirements are a

machine language MONITOR that can be

easily found, and the components that

are available through electronic

suppliers.

THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE INCLUDED ON THE

DISK ARE:

1 ] Digital sample 3 seconds

2 ] Digital sample 11 seconds

To get your packet of materials, send

$9.99 to:

DIGITAL VISIONS

c/o Commodore County

J. Gritzmacher Jr

1542 N Sunny Crest Dr.

Stevens Point WI 54481

The price includes return postage,

disk and all instructions, and pro-

grams to use the digitizer.

dressed stamped envelope to the above

your disk, indicate which titles you

would like from the listing below.

Only 8 per diskette please! (Only

eight will fit!) SEND NO MONEY for

these Please!

] Long cool woman

] Runnin' down a Dream

] For All we know

] China Girl

] 3 second Bangles

] Sweet Child 'o Mine

] Scarborough fair

] Even in the quietest moments

] Phantom of the Opera

] Sail away (Orinoco Flow)

] Sail away II

] Dragnet

] Church Lady II

] Leave me Alone

] Flight of Valkyries

] You see me Crying

] Sound of Silence

] We're the Boingers!

] Its Inevitable

] Kung Fu Fighting

] Mr Roboto

] Argent (Hold your head up)

] Mr Fulton

] Cantina Band

] Kraftwork (Robots)

] Tribbles (Star Trek)

] Always Poke my Eye

] Vanna Pick me a letter

] Ship

] Misty Roses

Remember; SEND NO MONEY for the mu-

sic! This is copyrighted material.

The Cheeze of Commodore County,

John Gritzmacher Jr.

(J . Backwash)

10 REM "LABEL",A

LIST

25 CLS: KEY OFF

26 RESTORE

27 LOCATE 8, 10

30 PRINT "WHICH DO YOU WANT? :"

35 LOCATE 9, 10

40 PRINT "(1) VIEW NAMES ON SCREEN":

REM 200

45 LOCATE 10, 10

50 PRINT "(2) VIEW LABELS ON SCREEN":

REM 300

55 LOCATE 11, 10

60 PRINT "(3) ALPHABETIZED LIST": REM

400

65 LOCATE 12, 10

70 PRINT "(4) SEARCH FOR ENTRY": REM

75 LOCATE 13, 10