Tuesday, June 5, 2007

It’s USCF Election Time!

Today I received my June edition of Chess Life in the mail – wrapped in a ballot on which, as a member, I can vote for up to four members of the United States Chess Federation Executive Board. The ballot will be mailed to Taylor, Bilyeu and Company and I sincerely hope it is never shown that this company, which I assume is a firm of accountants, has any connection whatsoever in any way, shape or form to any member of the USCF Executive Board or any of its officers, past and present. I’ve previously reported that I had let my USCF membership lapse in, I think, 2004. I renewed my membership around the end of March this year after I started regularly reading Susan Polgar’s chess blog and a few other blogs and chess news sources, and re-acquainted myself with some of the issues affecting USCF and, in particular, this election for EB members. I renewed my USCF membership specifically for the purpose of voting in this election. I would have been inclined in any event to vote for Susan Polgar because she is an icon of chess for all women and is a tireless ambassador the game and promoter of the game among our young people, girls and boys. She is honest, sincere and gutsy and it is because of her fighting the fine fight that today women and girls can play chess in all open tournaments and participate in championship events without regard to their gender. Not so long ago it wasn’t so. All women owe her a debt of gratitude for being one of the trailblazers that has made it easier for the rest of us in so many ways today. Normally chess politics gag me – but I became actively engaged and enraged by the absolute BS I was reading on the internet about SP and the other candidates she supports that was spewed out by gutless wonders hiding behind anonymous identities and the openness of the internet to protect them. I would not have necessarily voted for any of the other candidate SP supports – but after having read so much sexist and racist garbage and trash aimed at SP, Truong and Korenman, I determined to also vote for the three other candidates SP recommends: Paul Truong, Randy Bauer and Mikhail Korenman. So much venom, filth and hatred by those anonymous posters could only be triggered by immense fear that SP and her slate will be elected by ordinary chess people like me who are fed up with the bumbling incompetency and never-ending back-biting politics of the people who have run the USCF for the past several years. And, true to their cowardly hearts, the spineless anonymous jerks have resorted to the lowest of tactics to support their vested interests in seeing that SP and her slate are NOT elected to the Executive Board. When SP and her slate are elected, I do not expect them to work miracles – the USCF is sunk too deeply in debt and has burned so many bridges with potential sponsors that it may take years of concentrated effort and hard work by EVERYONE on the EB and ALL officers of USCF to repair the damage. I do believe that SP, Truong, Bauer and Korenman and other honest-hearted members already sitting on the EB who will support them will stop the slide of our federation which, after all, was founded to promote chess in the United States, and begin the turn-around to a sounder future. I believe that SP and her newly formed association with Texas Tech can only bode well for the future of scholastic and college chess under the auspices of USCF; and, speaking pragmatically, I believe that SP and Paul Truong can attract the kind of big corporate and individual sponsorship for adult and professional level that we desperately need. I ask you to please for Susan Polgar, Paul Truong, Randy Bauer, and Mikhail Korenman to the Executive Board of the USCF.

6 comments:

Pawned! said...

Received my ballot yesterday (6-5). I think we'll see some exciting things once SP and her group are elected...Rich

Jan said...

Hey Rich,

I filled out and mailed my ballot in today.

I wonder if the bookies are taking bets on how long it will be before USCF announces the election results? I hate to say this, but my suspicion is that, once the tally is in and it is obvious that SP and either her full slate or most of them have won along with her, USCF will delay the announcement as long as possible. But there must be by-laws that govern counting and reporting election results. I wonder where one can get one's hands on them?

Anonymous said...

Something doesn't make sense.

I tried to posted a comment on Ms. Polgar's site. It was a balanced comment, some praise, some criticism, some for both her and her detractors, with facts in support. She did not allow it through!

Since her blog is moderated, why would she allow through the vitriolic commencts against her, but not a balanced comment? The only reason I can think of is to spur people to support her. But this is negative campaigning and political tricks, exactly what she accuses her opponents of.

She doesn't deserve the treatment that these people have given her. But she is apparently not the White Knight that you and others are making her out to be.

Jan said...

Hi anonymous June 7 at 1:31. It is my understanding that SP has several people monitoring the messages and perhaps some are more lenient than others in what they allow through. Also, I am sure that if SP did not allow any of the ugly comments to be posted, she would be critized for that too, even though it is her blog and her right to eliminate whatever she wishes!

I have had a couple of comments that didn't get published at SP's blog, but on at least one of them, and possibly both, it may have been because it didn't "take" the first time around with the clicking on an identity button and typing in the scrambled letters in the correct sequence. I have noticed sometimes I have to do it twice - I don't know why.

I'm not saying this in defense of SP, only that in my own experience the reason that messages didn't get posted was probably because of my own error. I do not agree with all of SP's positions on matters but I think she and her team will be a lot better at running the USCF and getting things back to doing what the mission of the USCF is - to promote chess in the United States and help chessplayers of all ages in whatever ways it can.

Anonymous said...

At the very least, SP and PT could bring some fresh air to the USCF, and this alone is reason to vote for them and their slate. What bothers me is Truong's over-the-top style, where he seems to exagerate things -- take his promotion of the SP Florida simul, for example. Or his crazy unsubstantiated "memoir" about how he escaped from Vietnam. And how come he never tells anybody how he became wealthy and self-supporting? What business was he in? Was his wealth inherited? Why did SP and PT keep their marriage a secret?

All things considered, the USCF needs fresh air; but I'd like the SP & PT slate to answer some of these perplexing and perpetuating questions.

Jan said...

Hi Anon June 7 at 3:41 p.m.

If you are bothered by Paul Truong's "over the top" style as you describe it, then don't vote for him. As for verifying the horrific experiences that he underwent in his migration to the USA, come on - what do you want - digital photographs? Notarized statements? Give me a break. If you don't believe him, don't vote for him.

Your questions are interesting, not because they add anything to the discussion about the upcoming election for the USCF Executive Board positions - like ADDRESSING THE ISSUES, but because you seem to be attempting to smear Mr. Truong (and through him also Susan Polgar) by innuendo by asking him/her to answer questions that have nothing to do with running an organization like USCF but are more suited to the kind of s**t and dirt that are routinely thrown at U.S. presidential candidates these days.

My advice to you is to take a deep breath, get a good night's sleep, and think about this again from a fresh perspective in the morning. I think the issues confronting the voters in the EB election are clear enough. If you haven't yet figured out what those issues are and why you're going to vote for whoever you're going to vote for, then you shouldn't be posting here at this late date, that just smacks to me of smear tactics. And really, darling, I only have a few thousand readers. Not enough to influence the election one way or the other. So if that was your intent, please give it up. And please do visit again, we shall share a nice cup of cafe au lait and agree to disagree in a fully civilized manner.

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