[Ansteorra] Mother of Ansteorra

[Jay Rudin]

Master Michael wrote:

>On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 04:01:13PM -0600, Robert Fitzmorgan wrote:
>> I have no problem whatsoever believing that government officials didn't
>> bother to do their research before spending lots of money on something.
>> Seems like the standard MO most of the time.

>Oh, Robert! Painting everyone with the same brush, regardless of merit,
>is so wrong! 

Let's be careful about accusations.  The people he mentioned were (elected) government officials. The context was clear.  He wasn't talking about safety engineers; he was talking about elected officials voting on an inscription on a statue.  No lives were at risk, no pain or suffering was involved.

Thirdly, he was right.  The statement was misattributed.  This is, after all, no surprise, since the statement has been misattributed for decades, and in many books.  I have no problem believing that they elected city officials were not trained in the academic task of tracking down false attributions, and believed that the book in their hands was proof.

Finally, it was a statement about his own mind -- "I have no trouble believing".

>Care to repeat that slander?

He committed no slander.  He might be mistaken, but that's not the same thing. 

By the way, speaking of the Oklahoma highway department, I have a question about what appears from outside to be a foolish design.  I'm not objecting to the safety engineering, which is first rate, but is it your opinion that traffic analysis showed a strong need for a major turnpike from Ada to Henrietta?  or is it possible that "government officials (*not* engineers) didn't bother to do their research before spending lots of money on something"?

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin

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