I'd love to know what the real skinny on this is ... perhaps Demo could send her Melon-head kitty over to the NCC's office and interview a couple of mice in the walls ...Schulz wrote:U.S. Pulls Plug on Philly
Despite our continuing success in launching the Continental Congress 2009 initiative, or more likely, because of such success, the management company contracted to run the Government’s National Constitutional Center (NCC) directly across from Independence Hall in Philadelphia decided to effectively withdraw their contract offer to make available the facility for the CC 2009 event.
Despite the existence of a firm offer from NCC, good through April 2, 2009, including price and conditions, needing only a CC 2009 start date, representatives of NCC this week rebuffed WTP’s efforts to fix the start date and to obtain bank wire transfer instructions to submit the required $14,000 down payment.
After repeated contacts between NCC and WTP’s Bob Schulz, it was clear that NCC (acting as proxy for the federal government) had changed their minds about the CC 2009 engagement and was attempting to quietly scuttle the negotiated arrangement by introducing new and unacceptable terms and conditions that would have made it impossible to execute the CC 2009 event.
NCC unexpectedly imposed new, draconian conditions this past week on WTP when it was made clear WTP was about to fix the event start date and make the down payment.
Examples of NCC’s ill intent were NCC’s newly imposed insistence that WTP would be barred from the entire facility for two full days during the main March event period, and that NCC could additionally bar WTP from the facility entirely during any other day, for any number of days, if NCC had any evening event planned in any of its other conference rooms-- effectively meaning that if NCC booked evening events each night during the WTP contract duration, WTP would be barred, by its own contract, from all access to the NCC venue.
Unfortunately, these less-than-subtle hints seeking to discourage WTP from using the Government’s NCC public facility were quite deliberate (having been re-confirmed with NCC staff management via phone) and also quite unexpected, given the numerous good-faith exchanges previously engaged in during contract negotiations between WTP and the NCC that began last December. ...
Bottom line: It appears that the Government’s only true commitment to the Constitution at the Philadelphia NCC may be in sustaining a fading, historical reminiscence of our long-forgotten founding documents. Unfortunately for the Republic, it seems the Government may not want to appear as helping the People actually resurrect, protect and proliferate the Principles of Liberty embodied by those documents, which not so ironically, is the very purpose of the Constitution.
Impact on CC 2009
Following the NCC’s change of heart WTP has begun the process of evaluating alternative venues across the nation capable of hosting the CC 2009 event. WTP supporters are urged to submit their recommendations to {email address removed}. Please bear in mind that potential venues need to have adequate seating capacity, technology resources and a good number of available hotel rooms in the area.
It is also likely the CC 2009 schedule will be delayed by several weeks to late March. Details as to venue and schedule changes will be made public as they are available.
And, if by chance Schulz DOES find a cheaper venue somewhere (let's say Scratchyerass, Iowa), do you think he'll refund the difference to contributors? After all, renting a large hall is a LOT cheaper in the Midwest than on the East Coast.