PRESIDIO TRUST DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF NATIONAL PARKS

The main purpose of any National Park is to preserve and protect the National Parks and all that is contained therein for the good of the citizens of the United States and for that matter every human being. Congress and Nancy Pelosi by creating the Presidio Trust set the worst precedence for any National Park to function in the right way. There was a time when fancy trains and grand hotels catered to the public at large and many in their thousands took healing vacations to some of the best National Parks and the Nation's best kept resources. Of course as luck always has it the filthy rich exploited this privilege simply because they good afford it. It took years before the Middle Class could easily afford a vacation to a National Park. Today, anyone with little or no money can visit a National Park and enjoy the environment. Within the National Park for over 80 years mostly White Folks and many of them all within a family - nepotism running high ran the National Park Service much as one ran a Pop and Mom Store. One has just to access to roster of names of top management within the National Park Service (NPS) to come to this conclusion. Further if you know the old timers and if they are frank they will tell you who the deal was sealed. It is only recently that people of color - NPS employees of color, have been able to have a say as to how best the people in general could be served within the National Park Service. I am talking about employees of color that trickled in very slowly and had to endure great hardship and continue to do so even today. When Robert Stanton a Black man was appointed as the Director of the National Park Service he promised changes but fell into a rut that was too deeply entrenched with racial overtones and issues very Racial. I have some early correspondence from Robert Stanton and then some after a few years of service and you can see how he tries to sit on the fence and sense which side is greener. Robert Stanton failed to serve a constituency of employees that suffered within the National Park Service just because they were people of Color. Robert Stanton did his people in and was just another Uncle Tom. I had the opportunity to meet him several times in person and of course I wrote to him many letters and copied it to the other White Management and they did not appreciate much what I had to state about true facts and the blatant racism which still in entrenched within the National Park Service (NPS). The paradox that has not been revealed to the world is that the Buffalo Soldiers an all Black Regiment first controlled the Federal Lands in the West and wrote the Standard Operating Procedures of how to manage vast Open Space that we call now - our National Park Service. One has just to study the origins of Sequoia National Park to understand this fact. The National Park Service was formed in 1916 and much before the NPS the Buffalo Soldiers had mastered the use of terrain building roads on Federal Lands and patrolling vast areas. At one time in the early 1900s the Buffalo Soldiers all stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco took care of the Federal Lands every summer. The National Park Service is slow to admit this. It is a shame that the present Presidio Trust and the National Park Service has been very slow to name one single road, a monument, a building in honor of the Buffalo Soldiers. The Presidio Trust makes promises but will not keep their word. I am not talking of the drab so called kiosk that does not fulfill the promises to name a monument or some important landmark in honor of the all Black - Buffalo Soldiers. One must remember that all the National Parks that we have today once belonged to the Native Americans the First People of this Nation and that all the land was stolen from them. Stealing land from the First People means nothing much to White Folks who have this notion that they can steal anything they want because they are some what superior. Whites have caused great harm all over the world through their invasion of other countries to steal the wealth. This notion continues in the U.S. - when Whites see something and if they want it - they get it. Native Americans live now on Reservations that is a shame crying to heaven for justice. Just imagine explaining to anyone that the First People of this Nation are segregated to Reservations with minimum facilities. No Quality of Life programs and amenities. The Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs directly control these criminal activities. The NPS comes under the Department of Interior and so it is natural that dubious activities of the Department of Interior rubs on the National Park Service. The Muwekma Ohlone have patrimonial jurisdiction over the Presidio of San Francisco. Just like the Buffalo Soldiers no monument has been erected to honor the First People of the Presidio - the Tribe that welcomed the strangers. In course of time the land was stolen by the thieves. The thieves are shameless and will not admit their crime. It is this mentality within the National Park Service that has failed in many parts of the Nations to protect and preserve the National Parks. Millions of dollars have been wasted by the National Park Service. In trying to better the National Park Service the mostly White input has been detrimental to the Public at large and the Protection and Preservation of Monuments, Land, and all therein have been a major failure. Our Buffalo have been harmed. Our rivers drained and polluted. Our forest destroyed because of poor care. The air polluted because of greed. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to see this at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and the Presidio of San Francisco ­ most every National Park of importance. The National Park Service once formed the Denver Service Center which today does not function - it was shut down. This Center was a rip off and the service provided by this Center underscores the functioning of the National Park and the mentality prevalent among some Racist policy makers. Hundreds of so called professional folks working for the NPS tried to address the issues linked to all the National Parks. They made sure they got a lot of money - money for their own service and more for Denver Service Center ­ very little quality work went towards any project. I had to deal with these vermin when I worked for the Presidio of San Francisco within the Infrastructure Group and could not understand the ineptness of these folks. One woman engineer Stone in particular did not know what she was doing and continued to beg for personal attention. When no attention was given to her she proceeded to go to other Whites within her clique to protest. I stayed away from her and the more I stayed away from her the more she threw her anger tantrums. She finally left the NPS. There were other NPS employees that were hired that made life difficult for those that did their own work and worked hard. The National Park Service has failed to really help the world understand the Underground Railway which is dear to all Blacks. It has failed to help the world understand the injustice meted out to the Native Americans be it the Hopi, Chief Joseph, the Muwekma Ohlone, the Pomos, the Miwoks -you get the picture. The Shellmounds at the Presidio of San Francisco have not been protected. The National Park has failed us when it comes to Yosemite National Park and one has to study the racism meted out by one Barbara Jo Griffin to good folks and stalwart National Park employees like Larry Yepez who worked at Yosemite National Park and many more. One has to study the injustice meted out at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by Mai-Liis Bartling, Susan Hurst, Leo Guillory, and Brian O'Neill. The legacy of these individuals stinks to high heaven and is kept a dirty secret. We will not forget Darlene Williams and Millie Bristow. We will remember Mike Crahnan and his constant reminder that NPS Management at Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is and was corrupt. I stated that all the time and still do. To understand the Presidio Trust one has to understand the crooks that came out with this concept to create a quasi governmental agency called the Presidio Trust. It was the filthy rich led by Nancy Pelosi, Don Fisher, Amy Meyer, Craig Middleton who worked for Nancy Pelosi, the National Park Association now called the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. From the inception of this corrupt concept the primary aim was the COMMMERCIALIZATION of the Presidio of San Francisco. It had nothing to do with Preservation and Protection. In fact today many very good buildings over 120 that easily meet Land Mark Status are not cared for by the Presidio Trust. One has just to visit Fort Scott and check it out. On the Main Post the 100 series building all need seismic retrofitting and have been left to rot for years ever since the Presidio Trust took over in 1995. Prior to that the NPS did not do better - the jerks followed the instructions of Nancy Pelosi the most despicable woman representative in Congress. One has to read the original Draft General Management Plan linked to the Presidio of San Francisco and then see the involvement of this first plan bend backwards to imbibe racial and divisiveness to ruin the Final General Management Plan and cater to folks that have ruined the Presidio of San Francisco. Side by side if one follows the National Park Association and its activities. Focus on its role and growth and then one focuses on the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy and its Board of Directors the principles are NOT far away from the policies and philosophy of nepotism prevalent in the National Park Service for over 80 years. The Civil Rights moment has some impact on the National Park Service but not much. One has just to study the Equal Employment Commission cases pending against the National Park Service to gauge the injustice that it has meted out to so many hard work employees of color. While all the time promoting inept, corrupt, and arrogant Whites. I fought the National Park Service in subtle ways because of my vast experience gained all over the world, my Jesuit training, and working in high places with Sixth U.S. Army and Presidio of San Francisco. At the Presidio I understood the organizations and the terrain better then the National Park Service. They did not like that but I had the institutional memory and expertise and it was NOT written in any book. When I worked for the National Park Service with Charles Swanson a former Civil Engineer with the Corps of Engineers - we often met with very heavy resistance from the National Park Service. While we tried to attain the Mission Objective in the best way with time lines we were forced to follow the inept ways of the National Park Service. Charles Swanson and I followed much time tested principles learned when we worked for the Army. The National Park Service loves to waste time and talk and talk and build consensus. The leaders are inept and so the end result is a product that is not the best. We few that came from the Army could not stand this grandiose way of doing things that went no where. So again and again we became the targets of discrimination and unwanton back biting. However we few stuck it out - attained our goals and taught the idiots the way to go and make progress. After some time we saw the cesspool and decided that it was not a good idea to swimming in it ­ much as the National Park Service policy makers loved to do so. Many left in disgust to the detriment of the National Parks. I often had to deal with the National Park Association now called the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy (GGNPC). Again and again this non-profit body that worked very closely with some of the top management like Brian O'Neil, Barbara Griffin, Mai-Liis Bartling, Leo Guillory, Susan Hurst fostered divisiveness, racism, compromised and adversely impacted the non-management employees mostly blue collared workers for the NPS. The GGNPC started with some fancy stores selling books, souvenirs and so on. But soon tried to take over the duties of the Rangers and were even bold to initiate night tours on Alcatraz and conduct tours what would normally have been the duties of the Rangers. The Presidio Trust was headed by Craig Middleton who has ties with the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy having worked for the National Park Association. He also worked as an aide to Nancy Pelosi. He was first appointed to create a team and established himself in Building 10 as the Interim Manager for the Presidio Trust. I gave him the keys to the building but also worked with him initially and studied his moves very carefully. Soon vultures like Joe Perelli who worked for the National Park Service on an interim basis and took direction from the Amy Meyer and folks like Don Fisher moved to work with Craig Middleton. When the Presidio Trust Board was chosen by the President of the United States - Bill Clinton the Presidio Trust Board lost no time in hiring the worst thug ever James Meadows. He fleeced the Presidio Trust of millions of dollars and set a very bad precedent. Initially he was aided by Mai-Lis Bartling, Brian O'Neill, Barbara Griffin, Leo Guillory, Don Manell, and a host of idiots that catered to his whims and fancy. The National Park Service at one time paid James Meadows to rent a fancy sports car, paid NPS workers to fix his home and replace equipment that was very expensive, landscaped and planted expensive roses and other plants - in short broke every law that forbids the illegal way of doing business. Brian O'Neill was fully responsible and should have gone to jail. He was aided by Mai-Lis Bartling, Leo Guillory, Susan Hurst, Barbara Griffin, the heads of Maintenance that complied with the orders to do all the illegal work prohibited by Federal Law and which fails Ethical Standards set by the Federal Government. James Meadows tried to intimidate me several times and I told him to his face that I was not afraid of him. The NPS had cowed down to him and followed his instructions thinking that he would be good to them. James Meadows treated the NPS like scumbags once he got controlled of Area B - which was all of the buildings and most of the Presidio of San Francisco. Area A which was the outlining area was given to the NPS mostly along the coast. The Presidio Board of Directors gave extraordinary powers to the Director of the Presidio Trust - James Meadows who distanced himself from the NPS and pocketed millions of dollars. He made deals with George Lucas, the Stewart Company, the Moore Foundation; several other entities all of them received perks and continue to enjoy silent benefits while Congress appropriates money till 2013 to the Presidio Trust. Around 1994 the NPS set a wrong precedence giving Pacific Gas and Electric money to evaluate the Electric System at the Presidio of San Francisco and then put out a bid and chose PG&E to do the job. This conflict of interest was the idea of Brian O'Neill and he with intent created this mess. Of course the Contracting Agent was Leo Guillory and the Administrator Susan Hurst. Playing second fiddle the dumb Mai-Lis Barting who was the point person at the Presidio in Building 102 ­ they all should have gone to jail and fired from the Federal Government and NPS but nothing happens to such scumbags. Within the NPS the crooks each rewarded themselves by promoting themselves. This happens all the time at the National Park Service the most incompetent organization within the Federal Government. Brian O'Neill has been making stupid decisions for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area the official name of the National Park Service for the past 25 years plus. The Presidio Trust learned a lot of the nonsense from the National Park Service and uses the bad lessons to move on and deceive the public at large. The Presidio Trust continues the commercialization of the Presidio of San Francisco. It pretends the Presidio is a National Park but all the time does nothing for Preservation and Protection of assets within the Presidio of San Francisco.

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