hi, it's very clear that the current RA and Executive Branch have zero intention of following through on it's obligations as stated in the merger agreement.
i admit, when much of this was going on, when jamie was chancellor, i wasn't paying a lot of attention, i trusted jamie and had personal things going on that kept me away. but now, it's different, i'm reminded of my motivation for taking political action during the bush years.
i want the AA merger to happen, to get the details done and move on with the evolution of our nation. i personally want the residents of AA to see that the current administration doesn't represent me very well, or my views of how a state should operate. so please AA, don't let a (an admittedly elected) few, destroy in 5 months of inaction, what the rest of CDS and AA worked so hard for well over a year to create. and yes, i am going to take that fact, that we all spent so much time working on the merger, as a statement that a majority of people want the merger to happen, and i think majority rules in a democracy.
it's not my place in any official capacity, it's certainly not my field of expertise, but i see it as my duty and right, to personally take action as i can. i don't think i need this RA to do the paperwork minutia or frankly, for anything at this point. we can start the process now and wait till next RA to fill in the needed details.
so, i'm going to start the paperwork for the 501c3. i have no idea how. i've worked for many non profits for many years, but never formed one. i think i should learn how anyway. i intend to take all the steps i can and go to the RA with the documentation, as complete as it can be, for finalization. i don't expect any cooperation from this RA, but i am hoping that in this next election we (the people of CDS and AA) can vote out those obstacles to progress, and elect new leaders with an interest in a more diverse, progressive, and active community, who will take the final steps to embrace change and growth.
i would like to ask for help. i do know enough about the process to know i don't know enough to do it all correctly on my own. i expect it will be a non-profit operated by the CDS, as opposed to making the CDS a non-profit. that's another discussion. but i think i know that are conflicts of interest to have money change hands between a for and non-profit that share leadership, ie., board members. so i don't think we can have RA members on the non-profit board to lead AA on paper. but there, you see, i may be completely wrong, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
if we have anyone with experience with this, i would greatly appreciate the help. this could, now that i think about it, be the beginning of something. could this process be the demo project for a workshop on starting a non profit? and is this a unique enough situation to make for an interesting model, not to mention the "in a virtual world" thing.
i was wondering what product CDS could export. is it... knowledge? could there be a series developed around this? i hear the auditorium at AA has the latest in in-world presentation tools, we could visually walk through the paperwork, the terms, the legal shtuff on screen and actually get this work done in the process. win-win. woot, as i believe the kids say these days... hey hey, and what about this media on a prim (MoP) thing? i bet the shared media features would be perfect for something like this....
ooo.. maybe, once completed, this would be an interesting enough project for the folks at metanomics or some others of the SL academic/professional media. i think we still have some land to fill, we could use the exposure.
in fact, gwen, don't you run beta technologies? doesn't that focus on bringing business into sl? do you guys work with non profits? do you have any experience with this and could maybe lend some expertise here?
anywho... i can send notices in world to the groups, but i dont think i can post to the calendars and social media. maybe someone could help me post a notice about a first meeting to get this going. this week is prolly full for everyone already, why don't we shoot for next week, monday at 11 am slt and 7 pm slt? does that work for our euro and u.s. professional peoples? this will also give me some time to read up a bit and for anyone who wants to help, approach me about it.
i will say this, it IS NOT a public meeting to discuss whether this step should be taken, that time has passed. it IS a privately organized, public workgroup meeting to discuss how it should be done. if you show up intending to be disruptive, and act so, you will be asked and expected to leave, immediately.
ok, so, monday may 3 at 11 am slt and 7 pm slt. a planning meeting for the development of a CDS 501c3 at my place, GADFLY, in LA. i'll send out the LM in notices and come back and post the slurl here once i'm in world again later today.
if anyone wants to see it not get done wrong 
, please come help. thank you.