JHJ

Jim: As Shakespear once said, "Me thinkth Thou Doest Protest Too Much."

While you MUST be posting this stuff for the sheer entertainment of it all, these postings of yours are akin to watching 20 reruns of Beverly Hills 90210! What is your point and what are you prepared to do about it personally and when? Enough rantings and ravings about bi-law infractions and mudraking of individuals. You have lost not only your "fan club" but your credibility. Even ME who makes a living out of READING can't stay awake through all your ramblings. Be a part of the solution, not the problem.

Stop the doom and gloom. Stop being an armchair quarterback. Get out from behind your computer and make something happen if you've got all the answers. And, puhleez spare us all from your diatribe about lawsuits. That is so '90's of you to throw out lawsuits and frankly Jim, it's passe. Everyone hates lawyers these days--particularily ones who pick on non-profit associations. That's worse than chasing ambulances for god sake!

Further, it would only serve to destroy the entire organization in which we've all worked long and hard to create. If you're unhappy with a faction of the NLA well fine (if you have just cause which you seem to think you do). But you are seeking to damage/punish the whole organization--and that means hurting A LOT of GOOD people. I take exception to that.

You've been devoting your LIFE to destroying an industry association that has worked long and hard for many, many years. What you're doing is a vain attempt to gain notority and flaunt your lawyer-ese mumbo jumbo. It's irresponible. If you were a professional writer, you'd be fired for your lack of journalistic integrity.

One of the dangers of internet chat rooms is that anyone can say anything off the cuff and they are not help accountible.

When wilding attacking our own house, that we built with our own hands one has to wonder if this situation doesn't parrallel the LA riots when communities were burning down their own backyard establishments and utlimately only causing pain to themselves.

Jim I applaud you for pointing out weak areas the NLA needs to shore up, but shame on you for allowing your ego to take over and getting carried away in all the pomp and circumstance and the lime light.

You've lost direction and the point as well.

Jim, sorry but Sara is right. You have open the door to a more responsive NLA Board room. Don't go nuts on the membership. I know you are upset about that vote, but it will not come to pass.

Interesting developments are now happening. Las Vegas, " Here we come!"

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

[This message was edited by fivestaroregon on January 18, 2001 at 01:53 AM.]

In the end you will understand that I am committed to take action that I have talked about for months. The only reason that I haven't moved yet is that the unlawful conduct of the NLA board is a moving target. As we move through the elections and the unlawful annual meeting, the board keeps heaping illegality upon illegality. If I had already filed our lawsuit, I would have had to amend it each time the board did something dumb and that is a time-consuming proceess. Moreover, each time you amend a lawsuit to add more claims, the responding party has to amend its answer, which costs NLA even more money that I will spend time. Accordingly, I am waiting until all the unlawful nonsense comes to at least a pause and then, I assure you, I will move exactly as I have promised since this all started, except that now NLA is not the only party that will be the object of our suit.
Sara, your comments amaze me. You seem to think that because the board hasn't done a single legal thing for as long as I have been watching that it is then ME who is going to tear things down. You are very misguided. This is like the car thief who claims that he only committed a crime because the owner left the keys in the car. There is no logic to your position. Neither NLA nor its directors are immunized from the results of their errant conduct because the corporation is "not-for-profit," although we all know that for some time it has been repeatedly raped for its value to all sorts of pretenders.
Also, folks, I'm not running a popularity contest, so I really don't care what anybody thinks. As far as credibility is concerned, I think you lack understanding of the concept. Where legal issues are concerned, they do not turn on anyone's "credibility." Either someone has acted legally or illegally, and when I point them out my effectiveness does not depend on credibility. A court will determine the accuracy of my claims, not people who aren't even able to understand what a corporation is or how it is governed.
And is there a possibility that the "house" that you claimed was built with your own hands will be brought down? Yes, but not because of me, but because of its inhabitants. You cannot build and be proud of a whore-house merely because building it was a labor of love and took a great deal of effort.
When this started my efforts were pro bono, that is to bring reform to the NLA. It was the board, not me, that decided to engage in conduct which is actionable at law and for which money damages are the remedy. My pro bono motivation has now been supplanted by a substantial profit incentive, and I intend to pursue it. This is the price the wrongdoer's must pay, regardless of whose house they live in, or whether they built it with their own hands. We are now engaged in a different game, and it was the decision of the NLA board that changed the game, not mine. So don't whine about the fact that NLA may be confronted with its own bankruptcy in the forseeable future. If you sit on the board you are part of the problem, not part of the solution. But I have very little interest left in trying to get stupid and ill-willed people to do what is right. When they refuse all efforts to get them to comport their conduct with the law, then it is punishment that is in order.
But rest easily, for my efforts to reform NLA through this forum and by means short of litigation are within a few ballots of being over. When we move to the judicial forum in February, I do not plan to further address any of these issues in this forum. NLA will have to wallow in whatever situation it finds itself after the election, and pay whatever bills it owes or come due. With luck, NLA and its directors may be insured. But likely not.
And, John, as for your statement that things will not come to pass, I will say what I have said for months. You are naieve about the people who populate the NLA board. But, more importantly, the "coming to pass" is not the issue, the actionable conduct has already occurred.
I'll take my legal mumbo-jumbo to the folks who wear black robes and speak the same language. Regrettably, the NLA board should have paid attention to the mumbo-jumbo when the opportunity presented itself.
Also, Sara, I note that your tone has changed somewhat since you became aware that you, too, were going to included in the lawsuit, so when talking about credibility, the participants here ought to know what is motivating you. I at least have announced my NEW motivation - MONEY. Own up to yours

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

I want to rest my case with to respect to your invocation of the "membership" as something that I have any responsibility to. As I said before, this so-called "membership" is a rather hapless and dumb bunch of people (with the obvious few exceptions). Not only do they let the resident moron at NLA, Linda Bouland, set all the rules for the election and who will take advantage of the inability of most NLA members to read and follow simple instructions, but they are dumb enough to cast their votes without their return address on their ballots after being told here and in each mailing to each member that if you don't put your return address on your ballot it won't be counted. As I understand it, the accountants have reported that there are numerous ballots without return addresses. We should worry about these people, John? Do most NLA members live in Palm Beach County, Florida? If NLA disappeared tomorrow, 90% of the members wouldn't know it for a couple of years. All they care about is putting the gold logo on their advertising, and I'll bet there are companies who haven't been members for years who still display NLA membership as part of the fraudulent business practices. No, John, the "membership" is the last thing that should influence our actions.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Hello gang, sorry I haven't been around lately but Super Bowl being in Tampa is got us swamped.
I havent kept up reading totaly but I have plenty of reporters calling in everyday.

Sara just to comment about your statement of tearing down, you know last year while in NY I drove through the Brownsville area and was amazed how some of this area was built up and clean. As we drove further it got rougher and dirtier as I remembered it over 20 years ago, I asked my driver what was going on as this area was never pretty. Robert said the people that live there have staged riots and burn the place down, which the city then comes back and rebuilds with newer buildings and roads.
Point being is it gets rebuilt and other people paying taxes are paying for it and do not even no or realize or care whats being done.
Way in the begining I asked Jim why bother 95% of the membership does not care, they can't even answer the question of who is NLA president, they just like to go to "their" two Limo shows in Vegas and Jersey.

This NLA thing is a mess right now our emotions and opinions of it change daily, I was against having a management company as I feel the TLPA does fine without one.
But theeeen I get this fax from Tom Mazza about him starting a company to take over the running of the NLA, now thats something that I would be for. Tom could be the best thing to happen to the NLA as he would be better suited to work with a good board of directors (?) for the right reasons.
Opinions change, I do not know if anybody has touched on this subject in other forums but I would like to hear what others think.
(If the NLA survives)

Guy

I can assure you that Tom Mazza has the ear of many board members. The Host contract has been tabled until we reach Las Vegas. All proposals will be on the table.Th vote was 8 to four to defer to Las Vegas.

If you feel that strongly about Tom Mazza, I would suggest that you e-mail or phone your Board Members to voice your support.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

Guy -
You react to Tom Mazza's proposal favorably because, first of all, you trust him, and you don't trust Host who has proved to be untrustworthy. Second, Tom's proposal, although couched as a management agreement, is not really a management agreement in the same sense as Host. Tom is basically proposing an independent contractor relationship where he comes along as Executive Director as part of the package, except he is an employee of MMT, his company, instead of NLA. No Tom, no management contract. Comparing his proposal to Host is like comparing apples and tamales. I would still like it better if Tom just did an employment contract with NLA, and I think there's no substantive difference, but Tom prefers to do everything through his corporation. I'd shelf my argument for self-management to get Tom, but not anyone else. I'm not sure Tom has thought out the capital requirement, i.e., the start-up cost to acquire furniture, equipment, etc. would have to be borne by his company since NLA payments would only come monthly. This is a bunch of money if it is going to be done right, and I would not like to think that Tom would try to do it on the cheap. So one of the questions that needs to be asked is what the office would look like, what it would have in the way of furniture and equipment and be sure that MMT has the capital to get into management of the NLA

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

I was amazed to see Sara blame JHJ on the future demise of the NLA board. It was almost as sad as when Livery Coach blamed Dean Schuler for their company's bankruptcy. I guess in these times nobody is accountable for their own actions. It's always someone else's fault. Jim, I publically support your efforts because as my grandfather always said; "when you turn the lights on the roaches will scatter". It seems like we see some roaches scattering now. I am tired of the "good ole boy" NLA board and their fancy trips, expense accounts, and behind the scenes deals.

Wade Randolph

Wade,
Perhaps what you and others are not seeing, that many others know about, is that at their illegal meeting on Tuesday (no 10-day written notice, no purpose specified for meeting), a group of directors voted to suspend our NLA membership. We all know, of course, that the reason for this action is that the roaches want the light turned off. Aside from the fact that this is a legally meaningless action, and it takes a 2/3 vote to do so and the required number of votes weren't there (but remember, NLA directors can't count and they think they did something), the grounds for suspension are violations of a Federal or state "regulation," which means that a group of people, not acting as directors but purporting to be such, acted in concert to accuse us of such illegal acts. This is, plain and simply, slander or libel per se, as well as retribution for our exercise of constitutional and civil rights of free speech and free association, and the only remaining question is how much do they pay us and when. With this action, my efforts have switched from pro bono reform to punishment, whatever the cost to NLA. This is just one more in a stream of outrages by the people who populate the NLA board. This time they pissed with the wrong person. As for Sara's change of tune - she learned a day or so ago what my intentions were, that she and the other directors were going to be sued personally, as well as the NLA, and so now I've "lost my direction and the point," I rant and rave, and my language is legal "mumbo-jumbo" (at least I don't serve up the pablum that her magazine does). If she falls asleep reading my posts, it is no different than her somnolence or the somnolence of LCT while Bobit rakes in the money from its association with NLA while winking at the illegalities that go on around her at the NLA board - let's remember that Sara has been there all along with the rest of the roaches. I love a world where people have no principles at all - and she has the nerve to talk about journalistic integrity! I just didn't expect to find all of that world huddled together in NLA. The NLA and most of this industry is just as scummy as the consumers think it is. The sooner that this rogue's gallery is taken down by the weight of legal fees and lawsuits (I believe Alan Fisher's suit is near being filed, as is ours), the better off the industry will be. Europe and Japan were once in ashes, and have come back reformed. This is what has to happen to NLA and scorched earth policy is all that will scatter the roaches and the other slimy things that call themselves NLA directors.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[EMAIL]jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com[/EMAI

[This message was edited by JHJ on January 18, 2001 at 12:21 PM.]

Wade

My hope after this election, is that we have a board that puts the members first. Yes, you are right on some points. Our numbers are growing and with the election, flawed as it is, we hope to get things turned around.

As for expenses, we do pay for our own airfares, the NLA does cover two nights at the hotel. Meals are our responsiblity unless we are someone's guest. I even pay for the NLA dinner and award show.

If you have other direct questions, either post on the forum or call me or e-mail. My address is listed on the profile.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

John,

I would like to know the NLA's screening process on giving Interride and Ridesource a *free* article plug in the new NLA Technical Journal. Why wasn't Limos.com contacted to provide article content, hence, plugging our own company?

I also noticed that both companies had full-page ads in that same issue. I assumed they *paid* for these ads ... or was the free article a "tag-along-bonus" of advertising? Is this mere coincidence that both full-page advertisers get a full page article plugging their companies?

Interesting. Had I known the NLA was giving away free opportunities to plug private-companies in an article format, I would have jumped on it.

What did I miss? Or was it because our checkbook was closed? All I want is fair representation by our industry trade association, not representation based on who places full page ads. If they have articles, LimoLink, Elimousine, et. al should have had the opportunity to present their business models as well.


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Michael -
Some months ago I offered the "media kit" for the NLA Technical Journal on the forum to anyone who requested it from me. That doesn't mean that that is how it should get to you, but keeping in mind the general unawareness of the NLA of the internet it shouldn't surprise you that no one would think to send it to you, especially since you are not censoring your forum to quash adverse discussion about NLA.
You are correct, the Technical Journal has no purpose other than to sell full page ads and in connection with them you can write a text-based ad of n number of words. In short, the whole thing is paid advertisements, half of which are masquerading as "articles." This is what Host Communciations gets the incentives and publication profits on using their "in-house" printing operation in Lexington.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com

Michael

I am sorry to say, that most of the Board including me were unaware of the Tech Maz until it was about to be published. I assume they paid for the ads. I will look into the whole process.

Another reason to believe there is life after Host.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

John:

John I was not reffering to you in my earlier post. And the travel and expense account that I mentioned had to do with the traveling road shows that serve no purpose other than to have a good time. I also want to commend you for coming to this forum and having the guts to speak your mind. I think if we could get more board members like you that the NLA could be a great association. Anyway thanks for responding and thanks for sticking up for your beliefs.

Wade Randolph

John, as you say you and most of the board were unaware of the Technical Journal, is that to say that there was no knowledge at all? Or no knowledge of the specifics as to the criteria for articles and advertisers?

It would be nice to know in the face of all that is going on, who DID know of the project. Was there a committee of any kind? It's interesting to me that there is no mention of an editorial staff, just a long list of directors (which I almost thought was continued on the next page).

While Darryl Norman's Letter from the President did in fact state that the "specialized articles" are written by the developers of the products or services mentioned, there can be little speculation that within one of two more editions, the "Technical Journal" will erode to nothing more than self-gratuitous press releases on slick paper. I personally can hope for the best, and will do so. Still, I can't help but wonder how it all looks to someone who has concerns of what their membership is doing for them.

Karl

Believe me Karl, when the new board sits down with the new President alot of projects that have been keep in the closet with have the light shined on them.

A complete review on the Tech Journal will be done by the Board.

John Sinibaldi
NLA Board Member

The Board was asleep on this one. Not only did Host do the journal, but the media kit was circulating through the industry since at least the first week of November, and I offered it to anyone who wanted to see it. It's one thing for the directors to be hoodwinked by Host (most of the time), but another to be asleep to what is going on in the industry (all of the time). Let's remember, Host runs a large printing operation in Lexington and if one reads the terms of the deal with Host insofar as publication profits are concerned, printing costs come off the top and then NLA and Host split the profit. When printing is done by one of the two parties "in house," how is the printing valued. Look at the Technical Journal, all it is is printer's calisthentics - big time overkill at the expense of the hapless advertisers who thought they were helping NLA, but whose money went into Host's pocket. Same for the webt site and the NLA Directory upcoming. These guys at Host have more ways to pick a pocket than a covey of pickpockets.

Michael, I'll be happy to upload this media kit to you for download by members. The media kit clearly explains that when you pay for the ad, you get to write an article and what the length is.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[EMAIL]jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com[/EMAIL

The media kit for the NLA Technical Journal had a deadline for copy and advertising submission of September 18, 2000. The kit said that the "positions" offered in the Journal would be offered only to a handful of vendors. The deal, according to the media kit, was one of two options: 1,000 word article + full page ad for three pages total, or 1300 word article + full page ad for four pages total. The cost was $2,500 for the back cover, $1,795 for inside front or inside back cover and $650 for 1/2 page inside (presumably a whole page is twice that, or $1,300, although the kit didn't say so). It's not clear from the kit whether that price was to advertisers only or whether there was a different deal for those who wanted to publish disingenuous articles that were nothing more the than a misleading tout of their products or services. Another wonderful service brought to you by NLA!
How come I knew about this and I'm not an NLA director?
John, this journal was not kept in the closet - it's a sad commentary on the somnolence of the NLA directors.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
[EMAIL]jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com[/EMAI

[This message was edited by JHJ on January 18, 2001 at 10:57 PM.]

This kind of stuff really pisses me off.

First, there is nothing wrong with selling ad space.

However, value-adding a paid-ad with an article masquerading as a quasi-press-release-advertisement is deceptive. No where in the "articles" did it state "This is a paid advertisement" WHICH IT WAS.

It appears to me that *newsworthy* articles are soley dictated by who "shows the NLA the money", not actually what is newsworthy and worthwhile for the membership to know.

Perhaps Sara or Tom can help me out -- what is the journalistic term for this kind of deception? There should be a *disclaimer* somewhere in the literature stating the articles are advertisements, and not *endorsements* by the NLA. Unless, there are hidden endorsements going on that I don't know about.

The NLA needs to stick to selling ad space AND STOP PROSTITUTING themselves in the name of journalism.

My 2 cents.

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JHJ writes...<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Positions in the technical journal would only be given to a select number of vendors <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Which vendors where those? Who decided? What was the criteria? Why did JHJ get the Press Kit and not us? When did JHJ become the media contact for the NLA?

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JHJ did not get the media kit from NLA - but from a vendor source.

James H. Joseph
Pegasus Chauffeured Motor Cars
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
jhj@pegasus-pittsburgh.com