A Will Rogers Moment
As the Oklahoma humorist said, "All I know is what I read in the newspapers."
Demonstration of Demagoguery Breaks Out at Council
I wasn't there at the City Council meeting last evening, but it sure sounds like CM Kochert was scrambling to pass the buck.
We often use the term demagogue here at Volunteer Hoosier. It is shorthand for a certain type of politician, but it has a formal definition, too.
dem*a*gogue also dem*a*gog n. 1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
Last night's City Council meeting, as reported in this Courier-Journal story by Ben Zion Hershberg, displayed the proverbial "use it in a sentence" demonstration of just what demagoguery is.
When the mayor informed the council that he would be asking the Sewer Board to fund repair work on Clark Street after our 25-year storm washed out the underground drainage system up off DePauw Av., CM Kochert bristled at the suggestion. Why, he asked, should the Sewer Board pay for this emergency?
Is this the same man who for the past six weeks has been screaming that the vast resources of the Sewer Board must be hoarded for emergencies? This road closure surely qualifies as an emergency, even in the Chicken Little world of the regressive faction of council. The area in question is full of VOTERS, and although I would quibble with the C-J's description of Clark as a "busy" thoroughfare, it sure sounds like something that qualifies as an emergency.
Kochert then called for "leadership" to address these problems. Apparently, "leadership" could have prevented this storm, which experts say happens about 4 times a century. Demonstrating the advisability of reading to the end of every story, we discover that "leadership" was indeed lacking.
First, we learn that City Council neglected to re-authorize a special annual drainage fund for just such emergencies. Because the council committee in charge of drainage issues failed to exercise "leadership," residents have been inconvenienced for more than a week now.
I expected Kochert to call for the resignation of that committee's chairman. One would think that a committee set up last year to manage drainage issues would have taken the time to introduce a routine measure to reauthorize the set-aside of money for drainage emergencies.
But never mind. Kochert is the chairman of the committee responsible for drainage. It was his responsibility to seek reauthorization for an emergency fund.
Guess the folks in the Fifth Council District can look forward to a new style of "leadership" and we can all be glad Kochert has promised to retire upon the expiration of his current term.
------------------------------------
Randy Smith, destinations@sbcglobal.net
Demonstration of Demagoguery Breaks Out at Council
I wasn't there at the City Council meeting last evening, but it sure sounds like CM Kochert was scrambling to pass the buck.
We often use the term demagogue here at Volunteer Hoosier. It is shorthand for a certain type of politician, but it has a formal definition, too.
dem*a*gogue also dem*a*gog n. 1. A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
Last night's City Council meeting, as reported in this Courier-Journal story by Ben Zion Hershberg, displayed the proverbial "use it in a sentence" demonstration of just what demagoguery is.
When the mayor informed the council that he would be asking the Sewer Board to fund repair work on Clark Street after our 25-year storm washed out the underground drainage system up off DePauw Av., CM Kochert bristled at the suggestion. Why, he asked, should the Sewer Board pay for this emergency?
Is this the same man who for the past six weeks has been screaming that the vast resources of the Sewer Board must be hoarded for emergencies? This road closure surely qualifies as an emergency, even in the Chicken Little world of the regressive faction of council. The area in question is full of VOTERS, and although I would quibble with the C-J's description of Clark as a "busy" thoroughfare, it sure sounds like something that qualifies as an emergency.
Kochert then called for "leadership" to address these problems. Apparently, "leadership" could have prevented this storm, which experts say happens about 4 times a century. Demonstrating the advisability of reading to the end of every story, we discover that "leadership" was indeed lacking.
First, we learn that City Council neglected to re-authorize a special annual drainage fund for just such emergencies. Because the council committee in charge of drainage issues failed to exercise "leadership," residents have been inconvenienced for more than a week now.
I expected Kochert to call for the resignation of that committee's chairman. One would think that a committee set up last year to manage drainage issues would have taken the time to introduce a routine measure to reauthorize the set-aside of money for drainage emergencies.
But never mind. Kochert is the chairman of the committee responsible for drainage. It was his responsibility to seek reauthorization for an emergency fund.
Guess the folks in the Fifth Council District can look forward to a new style of "leadership" and we can all be glad Kochert has promised to retire upon the expiration of his current term.
------------------------------------
Randy Smith, destinations@sbcglobal.net
posted by All4Word at 9:16 AM
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