Thursday, October 31, 2024

b120 (10.31-1.2024): birds protect the nest

birds protect the nest [i]
by j. martino

birds (they fly) inspire “why?” but friends, we must confess
when it comes to vival, birds protect the nest
 
--------------------------------------------------
 
1.     Any being (from ant, to hummingbird, to human) that has a sense of separate self (an ego) will look out after itself.  It will prioritize itself and its family.  It will “protect the nest.”

2.     For human beings, this involves survival (air, water, food), safety/security, and the means for more survival (which I’ll call ‘thrival’).  More territory, more power, and, in today’s world, more money.
 
Want the real truth? Follow the money trail.
 
3.     This may seem arbitrary, but people complain.  Nowadays, a complainer can easily get her 15 minutes of fame on television & social media.  She can broadcast her complaint to the world!
    a.     I’m on a Townhome Association Board (at the moment), and we had a woman complain (on local television) after the Board made a decision that (effectively) was going to protect the woman’s home from falling down a hill.
    b.     She didn’t sue (yet), but any ambulance-chasing lawyer could have convinced her to (and may still do so)!

4.     Lawmakers make laws.  Being self-serving, they make laws that benefit themselves & their nest.  They get paid by lobbyists, who get paid by billionaires, who want to protect their own nests.

5.     You don’t pay unless we win” is a common advertising phrase among savvy lawyers who contract for the lion’s share of the winnings.

6.     Math: if you win a million dollars, yet your case-lawyer charges you a million dollars… uh… you might have won the case, but you didn’t, uh, ‘win.’  The lawyer won.

7.     I served (dutifully) on a Townhome Association Board, until the “Corporate Transparency Act” required that I submit basic information (e.g. driver’s license info). 
    a.     I (of course) asked “Why?” and then I read the document, which noted that the government needed the information for those who made decisions that affected re$ource$.
    b.     My military mind said: “Hmmmmm.  They want to fix responsibility.  They want to know who gets sued when there is a complaint.”

8.     In law, a complainer (the plaintiff) brings a complaint against someone who must then defend against said complaint: the defendant.

9.     When I refused to comply with the Act described in # 7, above, our Management Company was quick to point out that there is “nothing to worry about, because Board Members are insured.

10.  Question: How to insurance companies make $$$?  By not paying, on claims.  Ask real people – after a hurricane or other disaster.  “Insurance” is (often) a house of cards.

11.  I asked a paralegal friend about lawsuits against Homeowners Association Boards, and the possibility of getting sued as an “insured” Board member, and she said “The Board’s insurance will appoint you a lawyer, but you’ll still be getting sued.”
 
So I thought:
 
“Hmmmmm, as an unpaid, hard-working volunteer who cares about my community,
I can be part of a Homeowner’s Board that makes a decision that could inspire
a homeowner to file a lawsuit against the Board.

The Board’s insurance company will appoint a lawyer, who will get paid. 
What happens when the money runs out? 
What happens when opposing lawyers do what opposing lawyers do –
which is drag-out the case so that they make more and more and more money? 
More importantly, when the money is gone,
how much is the Board’s insurance company’s lawyer going to care about me?”
 
My deduction was clear:
 
If some moron gets an intere$ted lawyer to sue the Board, and when lawyers do what lawyers do and the money runs-out, I (as a Board Member) will be liable – even if I voted against the decision that led to the lawsuit in the first place!
 
I (of course) have refused to comply with our Management Company’s request that I provide information as required by the Corporate Transparency Act.  The Management Company has let me know that, if I do not comply, I can no-longer serve on the Board.
 
Wait a minute: If (as a volunteer who gives freely of his hard-earned time) I refuse to put myself in a position of being sued by a neighbor for working in the best interests of that neighbor… I will no longer be allowed to do her the favor of serving/volunteering???
 
My response: “Ok.”  
 
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (10.31-1.2024). birds protect the nest. book 120: i saw it on television! © 2024 by j. martino.

*yes, this one went "off-the-rails" a tad.

 

 

  

No comments:

Post a Comment