“You could characterize it as a veiled threat … of concern with Christian’s involvement in the recall process. … They were unhappy about his political activity.”
Joe Moss is a corrupt person trying to exercise control in ways he should not and legally cannot do, but who has the access, knowledge and power to stop him? MSU is caught in the middle. Are they “obeying in advance” to remove a potential stumbling block in the future? It is the weakness that many Republicans have demonstrated over and over with this man. The only way to defeat tyrants is to NOT GIVE IN to corrupt power even if they will win In the end.
From the book “On Tyranny.” “Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
Thank you for this thorough reporting, Sarah. Without you, so much would never see the light of day for the general public. Also "interesting" are the multiple connections between Moss and the other players in this unfortunate drama.
Clearly Moss tried to get Kleinjans fired. He did this without board knowledge or approval. He blackmailed MSU Extension by withholding contract approval and threatening MSU Extension with the loss of office space in the county administration building. Whether or not this violates any law I don't know. But it violates any sense of ethics or morality. It puts the county back in legal jeopardy. Joe Moss should resign in disgrace. If the county becomes a target of a lawsuit evolving from this dispute, it should sue Joe Moss. He was not acting for the county. He was acting purely out of personal vengeance. The mess OI has made will take a lot of time and money to fix. And I am sure they will try to do more before they lose control of the board in January. What OI has done may not be criminal, but it should be. Using county resources to hire and fire based on loyalty rather than competence has been and always will be a disaster. And just a reminder, that is exactly what Trump wants to do and Project 2025 calls for. Imagine how much greater the disaster will be on the national scale vs. the county scale. We can avoid that disaster by voting for Harris/Walz in November.
Joe Moss is a corrupt person trying to exercise control in ways he should not and legally cannot do, but who has the access, knowledge and power to stop him? MSU is caught in the middle. Are they “obeying in advance” to remove a potential stumbling block in the future? It is the weakness that many Republicans have demonstrated over and over with this man. The only way to defeat tyrants is to NOT GIVE IN to corrupt power even if they will win In the end.
From the book “On Tyranny.” “Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”
Thank you for this thorough reporting, Sarah. Without you, so much would never see the light of day for the general public. Also "interesting" are the multiple connections between Moss and the other players in this unfortunate drama.
Clearly Moss tried to get Kleinjans fired. He did this without board knowledge or approval. He blackmailed MSU Extension by withholding contract approval and threatening MSU Extension with the loss of office space in the county administration building. Whether or not this violates any law I don't know. But it violates any sense of ethics or morality. It puts the county back in legal jeopardy. Joe Moss should resign in disgrace. If the county becomes a target of a lawsuit evolving from this dispute, it should sue Joe Moss. He was not acting for the county. He was acting purely out of personal vengeance. The mess OI has made will take a lot of time and money to fix. And I am sure they will try to do more before they lose control of the board in January. What OI has done may not be criminal, but it should be. Using county resources to hire and fire based on loyalty rather than competence has been and always will be a disaster. And just a reminder, that is exactly what Trump wants to do and Project 2025 calls for. Imagine how much greater the disaster will be on the national scale vs. the county scale. We can avoid that disaster by voting for Harris/Walz in November.
So glad Kleinjans has competent legal representation in this. Litigation against them is the only thing power-hungry OI understands.