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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT face=Verdana>Robert E. Lee:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Neo-Confederacy by Stealth – Using Our
Tax Dollars<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>On
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:date Month="8" Day="27" Year="2004">August 27, 2004</st1:date>, a
pseudo-folksy column by Paul Kimmell appeared in the <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Daily News</I>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This column was an apparent attempt to
respond to some of the many criticisms made of Kimmell's actions in his dual
role as Moscow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and Latah County
Commissioner.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Because Kimmell's
column did not address certain important issues and dishonestly addressed
others, a multi-part response is in the works to set the record straight. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is the second part of that
response.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Please remember while
reading the following that the chamber is supported in large part by our tax
dollars and our patronage of their membership.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT face=Verdana>Moscow Chamber Board
Members Spoon Fed Neo-Confederacy<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>On <st1:date
Month="8" Day="5" Year="2004">August 5, 2004</st1:date> in the Gritman Hospital
Conference Room, Moscow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paul Kimmell gave
a "Leadership Presentation" to select members of the chamber's board of
directors.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Directors and
officers present included:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Janice
McMillan:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>FirstBank,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Phil
Mack:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ambassador Auto,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Darren
Malm:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Inland Cellular,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Jeff
Martin:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Gritman
Hospital,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Earl
Aldrich:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Paradise Creek
Bicycles,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Kelly
Armstrong:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Palouse Surgery
Center,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Holly
Heaton:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Paradise Ford
Mercury,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Robert
Hieronymus:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>UI University
Communications and Marketing,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Thomas
McGann:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>UI Kibbie-ASUI Activity
Center,</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Jennifer
O'Brien:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Tomlinson Black
Associates, and</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Dustin
Weitz:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Bearable
Dentistry.<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>With many
thanks to Tom and Rodna Hansen, a copy of the text and graphics of this
presentation can be viewed and/or downloaded at:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/notonthepalouse/Kimmell/Index.htm"><FONT
face=Verdana>http://www.tomandrodna.com/notonthepalouse/Kimmell/Index.htm</FONT></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Many members
of the community have already publicly commented on this matter on Vision 2020
and in newspapers serving the Palouse.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Most of these writers commented much more eloquently and much nicer than
I will below.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Still, there are a
few loose ends that should be attended to.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>The
presentation made by Kimmell without attribution (read plagiarized) consists of
a number of Power Point slides.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>There are reproductions of art works depicting battlefield scenes, most
glorifying the confederate army – one in particular showing the confederate army
routing the union (American) army.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>There are also several portraits of Robert E. Lee – one apparently a
snippet from the portrait of Lee which has hung in the fourth grade classroom at
Logos School.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The presentation
includes much fulsome praise of Lee and some of his leadership principles and
other beliefs.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The last slide of
the presentation shows the confederate and American flags side by side with the
confederate flag placed first.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Interested
readers can view the entire presentation and form their own opinions.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>The careful
reader, however, will notice some inconsistency in the presentation:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face=Verdana>Compare:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">1.<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=4> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>"There
is an art of losing, and Robert E. Lee is its finest teacher.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In a democracy, where opposing
viewpoints meet for a test of ballots, it is good for all of us to know how to
lose occasionally, how to yield, peacefully, for the sake of freedom.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Lee is our master in this.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The man who fought against the Union
showed us what unity means."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .75in"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">2.<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=4> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>"At
the close of the struggle, General Lee said to General Grant:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>'Grant, you didn't whip me, you just
overpowered me, I surrender this day 8,000 men; I do not surrender them to you,
I surrender on conditions; it shall not go down in history I surrendered the
Northern Confederate Army of Virginia to you.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It shall go down in history I
surrendered on conditions; you have ten men to my one; my men, too, are barefoot
and hungry…'"</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Aside from
being delusional, Lee's statement in 2 above stands in stark contrast to the
assertion in 1 above and certainly is neither a fine example of leadership nor a
fine example of graciousness.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>The truths of
the assertions about Lee in Kimmell's presentation are not agreed upon by
historians by a long shot.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Although not
attributed (read plagiarized), Kimmell's presentation appears to have been
cribbed from H.W. Crooker III, <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Robert E.
Lee on Leadership:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Executive
Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision</I>,<I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> </I>according to a perspicacious Vision
2020 poster.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Crooker is a shameless
Robert E. Lee apologist (as you can tell by his idolizing language).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Many scholarly views of Lee dispute his
generalship, personal courage, and moral integrity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some think the huge loss of life
suffered by the confederate army was due in part to Lee's impenetrable
stubbornness and egocentricity [see the quote in 2 above as an example of these
traits].</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>[What the real
facts are about Lee will be argued by historians until the end of time and are
perhaps irrelevant to this discussion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>For those interested, there are internet chat forums, etc. which rehash
and refight the Civil War endlessly.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>As one might expect, opinions about Lee vary to a great degree with
geography and academic credentials.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>One fact,
however, is indisputable:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Robert E. Lee was a traitor to this
country.</B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT
face=Verdana>Inappropriateness<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>As many others
have pointed out, the use of Robert E. Lee as an example of great leadership in
Moscow, Idaho, at this time is inappropriate and egregiously insulting to the
majority of the community.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>However, one
Vision 2020 poster asserted that:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">"I
also know of the use of Robert E. Lee as an example of leadership in that
chamber retreat, since I've talked to folks who were there, and know why it was
used, and it's not what you think."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>The poster did
not bother to tell us the why, and neither has the chamber board.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Area business
persons are not fighting a war in the nineteenth century.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Times have changed.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Missions are different.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Today's business people are dealing with
a dizzying pace of rapidly changing technology, hard-to-predict public desires,
a declining work ethic, competition from giant conglomerates, and uncertain
economic conditions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There are
hundreds of well-researched, well-informed writers who speak incisively and
practically about leadership and management in these matters.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Why didn't Kimmell choose one of
them?</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>More to the
point and contrary to the assertion of even some of those that question
Kimmell's judgment, there is not general historical agreement on the assertion
that Lee's was a great military strategist or a wise, prudent, and/or effective
leader.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Of all the great military,
social, political, and/or moral leaders from ancient times until now, Lee would
probably not even make the C-List!</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>In the
lifetime of many of us, Hitler and Osama bin Laden were/are examples of very
effective leaders.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Would anyone
with both oars in the water even begin think that using either of these as
examples of leadership would not offend most of the citizens of Moscow?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And Robert E. Lee? – especially after
the community uproar over Christ Church Cult Master Douglas Wilson's
historical-fiction-parading-as-fact tract: <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Southern Slavery:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As It Was.<o:p></o:p></I></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>I urge
everyone who has read this far to pause and to view Kimmell's presentation at
the website given above.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is
nothing but fulsome neo-confederate propaganda.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is the same unscholarly, odious
garbage that is taught at Logos School, NSA, and other Christ Church Cult
institutions.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>For those that
might be skeptical, perhaps a read of <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Taliban on the Palouse</I></B><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">, A religious empire based in Idaho is part
of the far-right theological movement fueling neo-Confederate groups, </I>by
Mark Potok of the SPLC, might be informative.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That article is found
at:<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=645"><FONT
face=Verdana>http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=645</FONT></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>It is
especially insulting of the chamber board to have us believe that Kimmell's
presentation was simply a generous, selfless effort to help make leaders of the
now beleaguered chamber-board-in-hiding.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>To see the real motivation of this presentation, one only need read the
last paragraphs of Potok's article:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman">"But
he [Wilson] offered a substantial clue last Dec. 28 [2003], when, in the midst
of the controversy, he gave a sermon discussing evangelistic "warfare" to his
congregation.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"Good Christians, he said, needed to look for "decisive
points" in society, places that are both "strategic and feasible" targets to be
"taken." New York City, for instance, is strategic but not feasible — too many
godless liberals. Other places are feasible but not strategic — unimportant
places in the theological wars that Wilson foresees.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">"But," Douglas Wilson added in an upbeat note that day,
"Small towns with major universities (Moscow and Pullman, say) are
both."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT face=Verdana>The
Non-Apology<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>After word got
around the community about Kimmell's Robert E. Lee presentation, there was a
general uproar.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Numerous citizens
let chamber members and board members know what they thought.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A few chamber board members have now
said in private that the presentation was a huge mistake.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Partly as a response to community
reaction Kimmell offered the following in the <st1:date Month="9" Day="17"
Year="2004">September 17, 2004</st1:date> edition of the <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Daily News</I>:<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Much has been written lately of
my use of Gen. Robert E. Lee as an example of leadership skills. Little did I
realize how I would offend some in our community by using Lee.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For this, I am truly sorry and want you
to know there were no other motives or intentions on my part to further
perpetuate the local debate among some.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>This is unfortunate and, again, I failed to consider the effect this
might have or how deeply it may have offended some of you.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Please know I do not wish to
cause harm to anyone in this rich and culturally diverse community.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I underestimated the effect of my
presentation and, in the future, I will be more careful in both my words and
actions. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Thank you.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Paul J. Kimmell<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=5> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">This is not an apology! </B><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is an insult and a tissue of
lies.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Consider:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"Little did I realize how I would offend
some in our community by using Lee."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>This is
blame-the-victim slander, i.e. there is something wrong with you if you were
offended.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>What Kimmell
is really saying:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"Even in their
wildest dreams, any wise and experienced man of the world, like myself, would
never have predicted that any person except one of grossly subnormal
intelligence could be the least bit offended by anything in my
presentation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Therefore, there must
be something very, very wrong with you."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Consider
again:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"Little did I realize how I
would offend some in our community by using Lee."</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>If Kimmell
really believes this statement then he is so inept, witless, insensitive to, and
clueless about community values that his dismissal as executive director of the
chamber should be instantaneous.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>With this degree of witlessness, he cannot be anything but an expensive,
embarrassing liability to the chamber.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>On the other
had, if Kimmell really had a good idea beforehand what the likely community
reaction to his Robert E. Lee presentation would be, then the causing of the
perhaps irreparable loss of respect, goodwill, and confidence in chamber is also
more than a sufficient reason for his instantaneous dismissal.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Robert E. Lee
was a traitor to the United States.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Some people in the community, including battlefield experienced veterans,
consider the juxtapositioning of the American flag with the confederate flag,
especially with the confederate flag placed first, by Kimmell to be a traitorous
act and the perpetrator also not very short of being a traitor.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT face=Verdana>The Silence of the
Chamber Board<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>In making the
following statements I am not indicting all of the chamber board members.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some have come to realize that the
Robert E. Lee presentation was an egregious error of judgment, thoroughly
insulting to the community, and has caused a major, if not insurmountable,
public relations problem for the chamber.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>So that he in
particular is not considered a villain, I have talked to Earl Aldrich of
Paradise Creek Bicycles about this at length.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is aware of community feelings and
the profundity of the mistake.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He
has been trying to get the board to rectify it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The following remarks apply to the board
acting as a unit.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>A statement
perhaps epitomizing a great deal of the community sentiment about this ugly mess
was made by Melynda Huskey in a Vision 2020 post:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"If Pat is right, and the majority of the
Board of the Chamber found this presentation inoffensive, I'm profoundly
disturbed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They are clearly out of
step not only with me, but with most of our community.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I can't believe that most business
owners in our town want to be represented by a body which affirms
neo-Confederate ideology – but maybe I'm wrong.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If so, I want to know about it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"This choice is more than an error in
judgment:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the choice of a
pro-slavery Confederate general as a model of leadership for the Moscow business
community is a slap in the face to anyone who took issue with <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Southern Slaver: As It Was</I>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I'm shocked that local businesspeople,
including representatives of the University, and of our city and county
government, sat through a presentation praising a Confederate general and his
justification of slaveholding without a single demur.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I'm appalled that the Chamber Board has
been silent in the subsequent brouhaha, except to say that Paul is a nice
man."</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Add the
following to Melynda's list of the objectionable attributes of Kimmel's
presentation:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>racism, sexism,
subliminal religious cult promulgation, and traitorous idolatry.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>In particular,
I am galled by the fact that two representatives, Robert Hieronymus and Thomas
McGann (both present during the presentation), of the University of Idaho, which
all of us support with our tax dollars and many of us support with our patronage
and contributions, have been allowed to continue officially representing the
university on the chamber board.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Does the
university now support using our tax dollars to promulgate neo-confederacy and a
toxic religious cult?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Does the
university now support using our tax dollars to practice discriminatory
hiring/contracting practices?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>[See
Part 1 of this series.]<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If not,
they better tell us quite rapidly not only with clear, unequivocal words, but
concrete actions.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>Repeat:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Robert E. Lee was a traitor to the
United States.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Some people in the
community, including battlefield experienced veterans, consider the
juxtapositioning of the American flag with the confederate flag, especially with
the confederate flag placed first, by Kimmell to be a traitorous act and the
perpetrator also not very short of being a traitor.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=Verdana>I hope the
chamber board will soon speak on this issue and act in a manner such that the
same conclusion cannot be drawn of them.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana>/s/ Wayne A. Fox<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Freestyle Script'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Wayne A.
Fo</SPAN>x<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana>1009 Karen Lane<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana>P.O. Box 9421<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana>Moscow, ID<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>83843<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p><FONT
face=Verdana> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
face=Verdana>(208) 882-7975<o:p></o:p></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A
href="mailto:waf@moscow.com"><FONT
face=Verdana>waf@moscow.com</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Verdana
size=5> </FONT></o:p></P>
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