Monday, August 25, 2014

CCR 08-25-14: Letters and Critics

the   Controversial  Committee   Report
“We don’t raise sacred cows...we just butcher them.”


     Staff of the CCR sometimes chuckles at the queries received from readers of the report.  While we attempt to respond to all questions and comments, some correspondence just deserves a wider viewership.

     With that in mind, here are some notes which should answer several burning questions on the minds of those who may not have not written.  (And why haven’t you?)  Enjoy…we do!

Dear Mark:
It seems as if CCR reports dwell on the negative aspects of city government and, as you say, "cat kicking" aspects of  issues and politics in Irving.  Do you know how to write anything nice and fluffy about the city?  What about some of the really good things happening in Irving?
Unicorns Are Real (Not real name)

Dear Unicorn:
   Fluff.  What fluff?  We don’t need no stinking fluff.  (Sorry, just had to channel Cheech.)  You are correct in that the ratio of fluffy pieces to ‘cat kicking’ for the CCR is about 137:1(And we are still wondering why we wrote the one fluffy piece.)  

   Look, the Dallas Morning News (Deborah Fleck, Avi Selk, Elizabeth Knighten, et al. do a fantastic job of documenting, reporting, and advising citizens about all the good things and events happening in Irving.  Why would we even attempt to duplicate this excellence? 

   The local political stew is what we prefer to prepare and stir.  And this is what the CCR attempts to do for its readers.  Think about it this way:  

   Unless the political stew is cooked to perfection (a non-achievable goal) and tasty to all concerned, it remains an accumulation of egotistical-mixed vegetables and tough self-serving beef.  And just consider what a batch of political stew would be like if the entire city council reflected true and honest leadership, no hidden agendas, genuine transparency, smaller egos, and actual citizen interests at heart.

   Until the proper seasoning is added (political commentary) to the mix and the imperfect vegetables and chewy beef removed, the stew will always have the gamey flavor of special interest concerns, sugar daddy contributors and freebie concession-seeking developers spoiling the batch.

   Additionally, the CCR provides a few wordsmithing herbs and spices to the stew to offset the high pitch screeching of Flying Harpies, photo-obsessed-faux leadership and the blind following of Pet Rocks to the queen’s diktats.  If you prefer our political stew as served, fine.  

   If not, follow the blathering heard at council meetings, or the caustic comments posted on social media blogs.  Of course, this type of serving will tend to neutralize your political-reality taste buds.     

Dear Mark:
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how the mayor appears to be very disrespectful of her colleagues when they are taking a position opposite hers.  If they challenge her actions or comments, she seems very offended and put off.  Is this really leadership?  Shouldn’t both sides of an issue be discussed and debated without having to face the mayor’s steamroller of discussion quashing?
Flat and Angry (Not real name) 

Dear Flat:
   Bingo!  You have noticed just one of the dismal traits that define the current leadership crisis at city hall…the queen mayor.  While the CCR has consistently noted how issues have to be the queen’s mayor’s idea or initiative for her to be invested in its concern, her attitude for opposing viewpoints carries a very low tolerance rate.  Two recent examples could be ARK and the convention center hotel which she has poked and prodded to the chagrin of those attempting to make these projects future beacons for Irving’s progress in the urban center.  And just listen to her comments (registered at the city’s budget retreat) attempting to delay the city’s long overdue historical museum in favor of an over funded and destined to be financial black hole — the music museum!

   Those speaking in favor of the city’s historical museum were not only tongue lashed with condescending verbiage, but severely injured by all the mane flips.    

   It would be helpful if you also kept your eye on one of the queen’s mayor’s Pet Rocks fellow council members, LaMorgese.  To fade some heat, the mayor may have provided him with scripted talking points to push and promote some of her agenda items or concerns to move a specific program forward.  This method of meeting subterfuge makes the discussion appear the mayor is not involved or the primary focal point.  

   But then, what good is a Pet Rock council co-dependent for if they cannot follow the queen’s mayor’s prescribes?

   The short answer to you original question is: No, it isn’t just you noticing this trait in the queen mayor.

Dear Mark:
Just who is the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies you keep referring to in your reports?  Is this person really a cyber terrorist on local blogs?  Seriously, does she really have steel talons and a forked tongue?  
Curiously Scared (Not real name)

Dear Curiously:
   We would really like to tell you who the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies might be, but we’ll take the safe route of literary self-protection.  Our aversion, to verbal water boarding in the queen’s mayor’s Tower of Obedience, is strong. 

   While not a genuine public figure, this individual clamors for the public eye…often flying over and attacking those with opinions opposite what her master (the queen mayor) might dictate.  (No independent thinking here.)  

   Many have felt the sharp stab of her steel talons and could attest this individual has no qualms or reservations about making pronouncements on any and every issue concerning the city.  

   Scruples and common decency are not strong suits for her flying harpy attacks.  And certainly, ladylike verbiage often falls short when denigrating, as she sips Tea, those with opposing viewpoints.

   Perhaps, the best way to handle this mystery is to have CCR readers submit names for their choice of who the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies might be.  

   The harpy receiving the most votes will be announced and you can use this name when reading future exploits of the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies.  (See a pic of the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies in the 08-17-14 report on the CCR blog.)

     Well, dear readers, that’s enough ‘normal’ wordsmithing for this posting.  Thanks for the questions and concerns.  "Keep those cards and letters coming" as the questionably sober Dean Martin might have intoned.  Without realizing it, some of your prior comments have actually sparked ideas for reports…and that’s a good thing!  (But we will not tell anyone that you did.  You probably wouldn’t like to be verbally water boarded in the queen’s Tower of Obedience, either)

     And remember…if you should observe a cat that hasn’t been kicked, or kicked hard enough, let us know.  We’ll do our best to provide this service for you and spare you the wrath of the Mother Superior of Flying Harpies swooping down to claw your eyes out or break your blog posting fingers.

……………………….Mark Holbrook