[Ansteorra] Mother of Ansteorra

[mikea]

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 11:31:48AM -0600, Jay Rudin wrote:
> 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"?

You need to do some research, Master Robin. The Oklahoma Department of
Transportation has nothing to do with turnpike requests, designs, or
operations. That's a different agency. 

The evidence available to me indicates that the elected and appointed
officials responsible for that turnpike had before them evidence to show
that the turnpike aforesaid would be a boondoggle with respect to financial
analysis and with respect to present and latent traffic demands. They
appear to have based their decisions on political considerations, not on
actual need for a turnpike.

Robert Fitzmorgan opened the ball with this: 

: 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.

I agree that that is a statement of opinion. I disagree about it being
limited to elected officials; we have no idea who was involved in the
research or lack of it that led to that particular (pseudo-)quotation being
put on the Korean War Memorial.

It also is a slam at the government officials who are conscientious,
careful, and worth at least what they are paid. As a government official, I
resent, and am entitled to resent, baseless broad-brush denigration of me
by anyone, and I am entitled to protest it in the forum in which it is made. 

I have said my say.

-- 
Mike Andrews        /   Michael Fenwick    Barony of Namron, Ansteorra
mikea at mikea.ath.cx  /   Amateur Extra radio operator W5EGO
Tired old music Laurel; Chirurgeon; SCAdian since AS XI