GA withheld comment on the 'new' City Council's performance last week; one reason was because my (known) bias is so strong any critique would be seen as more reflexive than inspired. Another reason was I wanted to see more. Like judging a restaurant based on one meal, even the best chef has a bad night.
But if you're served 2 bad meals in a row then it's time to say the place sucks.
OK, folks. I just watched last night's Emergency City Council meeting or to continue the analogy, tasted the second meal.
Zagat's beware.
Not only was this meal even more wretched and tasteless than the first, it came poisoned.
Where to begin?
Let's check the menu. How about we start off the meal with the...
There you are, folks. Now you know who's running the show.
Not convinced? At 1:06:05 into the meeting Russo cries, "Let's call the vote!"
Oops. Thank goodness, Councilman Dave Mello chimed in, "I would move to let the Council President speak." Look, Mike. Everybody knows you're in charge, but do you have to make it so obvious?
Later this unappetizer offers this explanation for his inscrutable handwritten budget jotted on the back of a cocktail napkin: I don't trust her (Mayor Zimmer), I don't trust her numbers.
Um, how do I break this to you, Mike. We don't trust YOU, either.
In fact, GA was able to obtain this advance photo of Russo drafting his next handwritten budget appropriation:
On with the menu.
MAIN COARSE
Well, that was one awful meal. Blech.
Thank goodness for the wisdom and skills of our Guest Chefs (in no particular order): Forde Prigot, Melissa Papparone, Mike Lenz, Roman Brice, Scott Siegel. Have I left anyone out? Let me know.
Further kudos to the fresh, tasty and pesticide-free minority City Council members Ravi Bhalla, Carol Marsh, Dave Mello and Peter Cunningham, and their highly competent sous chefs Corporation Counsel Mark Tabakin and Business Administrator Arch Liston.
Folks, we can't eat like this forever. We've got to be served better. In May.
But if you're served 2 bad meals in a row then it's time to say the place sucks.
OK, folks. I just watched last night's Emergency City Council meeting or to continue the analogy, tasted the second meal.
Zagat's beware.
Not only was this meal even more wretched and tasteless than the first, it came poisoned.
Where to begin?
Let's check the menu. How about we start off the meal with the...
UNAPPETIZERS
- Beth Mason, served room temperature with gavel. Gavel sleeps soundly throughout the proceedings in spite of numerous audience outbursts and lack-of-decorum in the Chambers. Shhhhhh... don't wake the gavel! It's sleeping! Besides the one who's really running the meeting is our next unappetizer:
- Mike Russo, served with a handwritten budget and a side of bluster. Eyes cast downward under blistering fire from the public, he's quietly controlling proceedings not the City Council's leading unnapetizer- see for yourself:
 |
Dave Mello speaks, then CC President Mason pauses as if unsure of what to do next:
(40:51) Mason looks to Russo for instructions,
(40:52, 53) Russo points to Occhipinti followed by Mason,
(40:54) Mason leans over to call on Occhipinti
(40:51) Mason looks to Russo for instructions,
(40:52, 53) Russo points to Occhipinti followed by Mason,
(40:54) Mason leans over to call on Occhipinti
There you are, folks. Now you know who's running the show.
Not convinced? At 1:06:05 into the meeting Russo cries, "Let's call the vote!"
Oops. Thank goodness, Councilman Dave Mello chimed in, "I would move to let the Council President speak." Look, Mike. Everybody knows you're in charge, but do you have to make it so obvious?
Later this unappetizer offers this explanation for his inscrutable handwritten budget jotted on the back of a cocktail napkin: I don't trust her (Mayor Zimmer), I don't trust her numbers.
Um, how do I break this to you, Mike. We don't trust YOU, either.
In fact, GA was able to obtain this advance photo of Russo drafting his next handwritten budget appropriation:
On with the menu.
- Nino Giacchi, served warm with excuses. When faced with genuine public anger this unappetizer leapt on the Lane Bajardi Crazy Train of Conspiracy Theories and Blogger Obsession, citing a 'directive' from the mayor's office was responsible. Huh? Nino, this is below you. I'm one of your constituents. For this lame defense, you come served with a raspberry.
- Terry Castellano, served iced-cold with a dollop of blame. This unappetizer deflects her responsibility for almost shutting down our city operations by claiming, "We were ill-advised". I am reminded of a proverb my mom taught me: a bad carpenter quarrels with his tools. 'Her' tools, in this case.
- Timmy Ochhipinti, served bland in an empty, plastic bowl. What's he still doing there? How come my alarm clock hasn't gone off yet?
MAIN COARSE
- Lane Bajardi Canned Ham, served overheated and nutty. Now executing political strategy for the Coalition of the Unappetizing, finely crafting his undiagnosed borderline personality disorder into paranoid babbling about invisible directives controlling the minds of bloggers... beep beep beep... do you hear them? beep...beep...beep... those are orders coming from Mayor Zimmer's antennae to her army of blogger-bots ... beep... beep.. beep... Yes, Mayor... whatever you say... crush, kill, destroy... we blog for YOU Our Bike-riding Leader.... beep... beep... beep... WHAT? You can't hear them? Lane can. Nino Giacchi can. Beth Mason, Mike Russo, Terry Castellano can... Unfortunately, borderline personality disorder is difficult to treat. Look forward to this hot canned ham to be lobbing character assassinations, paranoid rantings and vindictive political attacks for years to come.
Well, that was one awful meal. Blech.
Thank goodness for the wisdom and skills of our Guest Chefs (in no particular order): Forde Prigot, Melissa Papparone, Mike Lenz, Roman Brice, Scott Siegel. Have I left anyone out? Let me know.
Further kudos to the fresh, tasty and pesticide-free minority City Council members Ravi Bhalla, Carol Marsh, Dave Mello and Peter Cunningham, and their highly competent sous chefs Corporation Counsel Mark Tabakin and Business Administrator Arch Liston.
Folks, we can't eat like this forever. We've got to be served better. In May.
I'm more worried that Beth prematurely ended the public session last Wednesday and then played games with order of the public speakers so that Lane could speak last last night. Kudos for the CC members for exposing this dirty trick. Didn't really expect Beth or Tim to apologize for the $20mm budget surplus lie. Beth was stone cold, Tim turned bright red. I plan to keep bringing it up when I can. Last Wednesday I stated that rec coaches were paid. I was wrong. Went right back up there and apologized. Word to Beth and Tim- the truth will set you free.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, ss1959! My bad.
ReplyDeleteIn my haste to wrap this up I skipped right over the cherry on this deadly meal. Well, it merits its own blog-post... to be continued.
Thanks for spelling my name right!
ReplyDeleteSome of my close friends (looking at Forde) can do that regularly. :)
I'm glad to join the party. Meetings are fun.
d'oh - cannot, not can do. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMel, you were awesome. As were all the speakers I mentioned- did I leave anyone out?
ReplyDeleteNow that I know what you look like, will be sure to say hello next time our paths cross.
So that mean little hump threatened you. I've got the quote: "I will take it up at an appropriate time to show Ms. Paparone for what she is." Uh-oh. Are you shaking in your boots?
Perhaps you'll come home one day to find him rooting through your underwear drawer, that woman-hating, voyeuristic creep. Imagine, calling out bloggers when he's been H41's ghostwriter for years and a prolific, uber-vile blogger himself. He's got balls the size of coconuts. Good for Lenz calling HIM out at the end.
What cartoonish villains we have in this town.
Well, where I stand on the matter is this - I said that the tone of the council chamber was circus-like due to hostility between the council members & members of the public as well as council members & directors. I also said that lobbing attacks at members of the public was hostile & inappropriate. And that audience outbursts were inappropriate. I never said I was intimidated into not participating (quite the opposite, I was galvanized to participate because of the circus) & I never mentioned online, b/c quite frankly the realm of the online world is not the reality inside chambers. I did say others were intimidated from participating, and I know that to be true. [I have several friends who have emailed me to say that they'd love to get up there but they are afraid of the attack dogs.]
ReplyDeleteThe non-nonsensical rant that followed was not on point about the atmosphere in chambers whatsoever. Color me shocked. Except not.
You forgot Joe Branco. I thought his questions were on point.
Also, FTR, I'm a fatass, but I'm not nearly as fat as I look on TV. :-D
Lane needs to stop spending so much time and energy projecting and just admit his own failings. He is one of the top sources of negativity in the political environment in this town. His lying, scheming and ghost written articles filled w/ lies, smears & half-truths do more to stir up animosity than any 100 posts from anyone else. And his #1 enabler was the scheming CP who tried to set things up during the public speaking portion of the meeting to make sure her #1 troll got in the last word. If he doesn't like what is going on then maybe he needs to learn to zip it and stop making juvenile threats.
ReplyDeleteNot gonna happen. If he doesn't pick on you you are not being effective.
ReplyDeleteSpot on GA. I would have commented sooner but I didn't get my directive to blog on this topic until just moments ago or was that "beep beep" my microwave.... it was priceless to watch Bajardi once again argue his surreal theory about Zimmer's blogger-bot army acting on directives intimidating members of the public as Bajardi proceeded to abuse a member of the public who had spoken earlier at the same meeting. According to Bajardi's bizarro logic if you support the Mayor in whole or in part or you dare to question the bumbling incompetence of the current Mason-Russo majority- you are under paid marching orders but if you support the aforementioned majority and attack the Mayor's agenda and supporters you are an independent free thinker and average member of the public. I strongly suspect that it is Bajardi who takes directives and is paid and as such he assumes everyone else is too- otherwise where would he get such crazy ideas? His John Q. Public act isn't fooling anyone except himself. Gotta run something is beeping.... I'll check the microwave 1st as my coffee cup is missing. And now that I think about it where is my blogger-bot paycheck?
ReplyDeleteI resent the implication that I am programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say programmed by Dawn Zimmer to say what she tells me to say...shutting down.
ReplyDeletebeep... beep... beep...
ReplyDeleteBuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Boooooooooop. Beebopboopbuzzbeeep.
ReplyDeleteSomething's wrong I can't pick up the signals from City Hall. I called technical support and they asked if Councilman Nino Giacchi still has his tinfoil hat on?
ReplyDeleteApparently, it can mess up the mind baking radio waves in the whole neighborhood.
Take off the tinfoil Nino and stop by so Blojardy.
Hey
ReplyDeleteI am a technical writer and an avid blogger, at: http://www.enjoytechnicalwriting.com.
For a blog post, I am interested to use the picture of cockroaches over eaten bread slices. Can I use it, I shall give credit to this link/URL/
Please confirm, thanks. Vinish Garg