Saturday, June 7, 2008

New media provides low class dialogue

Earlier this week I grabbed a couple pages from the Flint Journal's online discussion about the new police chief and "super" chief, Richard and David Dicks. Earlier Matt Bach, who is the community conversation producer, posted a note telling readers that their comments were being hung up because the site's filter does not allow the posting of Richard or David Dicks last name.
Understandable, but avoidable under a system where every post would be moderated or in a system where a moderator was online 24 hours a day.
I continue to be amazed by the low level of discussion between many of the posters. If this is the new media, count me out. Here's a sample:


Posted by trinidad on 06/04/08 at 8:18PM
The Con didn't know about the Conduct Board? Yeah right. Anybody believe this malarkey?
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Posted by hurricanelp on 06/04/08 at 8:25PM
Old Fat head thinks he can do what he wants..there should never be 2 family members appointed to top ranks...Them 2 and con Don will really be able to corupt the goverment and city of Flint.. I hope the Feds keep an eye and and ear open on these convicts. Cuz, this is gonna be worse than Detroits Mayor ever done.
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Posted by FlintConserv on 06/04/08 at 8:30PM
Not a bad gig...get fired from the department. Come back 2 years later and run the show.
And let's not forget the feds are investigating the new "Super Chief."
Only in The Don's World.
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Posted by whetagg on 06/04/08 at 9:04PM
he's a super chief, super chief, he's super chiefy owww
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Posted by flintcitizen on 06/05/08 at 9:14AM
I hear from people in the community that the father (Superchief Sr.) continuously got the Twins out of their criminal troubles and made excuses for them. So I'm sure he's going to provide real oversight on his son. Of course this is a Charter violation, but when has the Don every cared about that?
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Posted by mattbach on 06/05/08 at 9:52AM
whetagg,
That's hilarious. Made my day. I'll be singing that all day.
Matt Bach
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Posted by darthmole on 06/05/08 at 9:56AM
I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you that this surprises anyone.
The fact that Mr "shoot first and ask questions later" did something without checking into it first.
He put police decals on his car and was later told he couldn't do that. "Sorry", he says. "I didn't know. I won't do it again." He did it again last year.
He took home a city generator to run his Halloween decorations when the power went out. "Oops, I didn't know you weren't supposed to do that."
He arrested a man delivering papers at city hall. "I can't do that either? Why didn't anyone tell me that ahead of time?"
He's issued several memos at city hall telling the workers what they can't do, only to have the union, the ACLU and many others tell him that he was wrong.
Now, he hired a man as police chief, only to have him report to his own father.
Is this the man we want for Governor?
Is this even the man you want to buy a car from?
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Posted by whetagg on 06/05/08 at 9:56AM
Matt,Thanks... working on the verses. I'll send it along when I'm done. :-)
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Posted by harleeeguy on 06/05/08 at 9:58AM
A few words immediately come to mind.
SCANDALOUS...
UNETHICAL...
DISGRACEFUL...
I am often amazed with the Mayor's attitude regarding his actions and decisions.
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Posted by PeoplesTruth on 06/05/08 at 10:16AM
It's interesting that Don says he didn't know the Standards of Conduct Board existed, since a couple months ago he was raking Inez Brown over the coals for not calling a meeting of the Standards of Conduct Board. It's further interesting that Trachelle Young herself, one of Don's best buddies, sits on the Standards of Conduct Board and one of her primary responsibilities as city attorney is to advise on what's legal, including what the Charter says about nepotism and appointments. How could he possibly say he didn't know?
How reckless is it to have a mayor who repeatedly claims ignorance of what is illegal or unethical?
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Posted by getreal222 on 06/05/08 at 10:32AM
I see and hear so many complaints about this mayor but, I see no action taken to get him out..Whats the deal??? Someone must be happy with him.Whos gonna start the proceedings? If they have not already been started?
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Posted by dafederales on 06/05/08 at 10:34AM
Ol' Fat Head (I love that one) has already bought off the city union. I'm certain that is what he's doing here by appointing these two. He knows he can keep them in his back pocket. See, once he has something on you, you become an accomplice so you keep your yap shut.
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Posted by MSPOLOTIK on 06/05/08 at 10:35AM
SOUND THE ALARMS.....MAYOR WILLIAMSON DID SOMETHING UNETHICAL.....NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I can't believe he'd ever do anything like that!?! Are you telling me he is DISHONEST?!? Get out!! I can't believe that......By the way....I AM KIDDING OF COURSE....he's a career criminal. How is anyone surprised by this?? Just add it to the list of eternal-Williamson-b.s.
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Posted by ishouldknow on 06/05/08 at 11:10AM
Harleeguy, you say "I am often amazed with the Mayor's attitude regarding his actions and decisions." Are you REALLY amazed? If so, why? The citizens of Flint don't really seem to care that their mayor is unethical and doesn't follow the rules. If they did care, they would have been bombarding his office with phone calls and walk-in complaints about the Chief-Super Chief deal. As always, if it doesn't affect someone directly then they don't give a crap about what happens. This is proof. And I ask you, why on God's green Earth would anybody in their right mind make someone chief of an organization the size of the Flint Police Department who doesn't have ONE BIT of experience? This is lunacy and the people of Flint need to step up to the plate and DEMAND that they have a QUALIFIED, EXPERIENCED, and ETHICAL police chief!!!
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Posted by BurtonGuy on 06/05/08 at 11:14AM
The mayor was rewarded by being re-elected, and he has ALWAYS operated this way. Why would he want to change how he does anything?
I know that I am not a City of Flint resident, but didn't the citizens get exactly what they voted for? Why would anyone expect a snake not to bite and even pick it up again after being bit once?
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Posted by dafederales on 06/05/08 at 11:32AM
Ishouldknow, part of Flint's problem is that not all of the taxpayers are allowed to vote. I pay over 2K a year to Flint and cant vote in their elections. You got a bunch of naer do wells in that city deciding who gets in office. Then the nitwits they hire (elect) put their own nitwits in charge of everything. Therein lies the crux of the problem. Run the bums out!
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Posted by songbirds on 06/05/08 at 11:48AM
"he's a super chief, super chief, he's super chiefy owww" (whettag)
"hat's hilarious. Made my day. I'll be singing that all day" (mattbach)
I think it's hysterical as well. How about:
City Council sing "whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh"
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Posted by harleeeguy on 06/05/08 at 12:20PM
I really do feel amazed with Don Williamson appearing to be so smug and arrogant in his decision making and behavior.
Is this Gotham City?
The mayor appears to have many reasons to be smug.
A short laundry list of questionable actions was previously listed above and pasted here:
"He put police decals on his car and was later told he couldn't do that. "Sorry", he says. "I didn't know. I won't do it again." He did it again last year.
He took home a city generator to run his Halloween decorations when the power went out. "Oops, I didn't know you weren't supposed to do that."
He arrested a man delivering papers at city hall. "I can't do that either? Why didn't anyone tell me that ahead of time?"
He's issued several memos at city hall telling the workers what they can't do, only to have the union, the ACLU and many others tell him that he was wrong.
Now, he hired a man as police chief, only to have him report to his own father."
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Posted by eoseph on 06/05/08 at 1:49PM
i would think that the journal, under the FOIA, would divulge these 'peeps' criminal records. ya know there has to be some 'skeletons.' come on flint, let's dig deep. (allegedly)
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Posted by FlintCat on 06/05/08 at 4:18PM
"Super Chiefy" and son are just the tip of the criminals running this city. It is sad that the citizens re-elected the top boss of this city mofia, but it was only by 581 votes! I'm sure he paid more than 1,000 voters in various ways to vote for him.... I know for a fact he did pay many! The FJ needs to go Freep on the Don. Unfortunatly his car company keeps them in print.
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Posted by miasma on 06/05/08 at 4:49PM
LOL, I love how "going Freep" is now a verb :)
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Posted by whetagg on 06/05/08 at 5:58PM
Hi Matt Bach,I see that a couple of my posts disappeared. not only from this article. Did I anger boss tweed (Donald the Hutt) or one of his cronies?
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Posted by suburbman on 06/05/08 at 7:04PM
Just a few comments on the Police Chief, Super Chief appointments.You cannot point fingers at Richard or David Dicks for taking the jobs as they were offered. Ask yourself if your boss gave you a huge pay increase with pension enhancements along with being the department head, would you turn it down?
For David Dicks, who had zero chance of a promotion to Chief through traditional testing and interview procedures, the decision was a no brainer.
The interesting questions are what the Don wanted in return, what they had to agree to, to seal the deal. You can forget the public statements about going to a community policing model of law enforcement, mere salad dressing offered by the Don for public consumption. Community policing is grounded in prevention programs, juvenile intervention to steer kids away from crime, emphasis on education and self respect with police involvement in all aspects. It takes big money and triple the number of cops that Flint has.
What the Don wants is a foil to blunt the recall effort against him and we have just been introduced to the two guys who now have that assignment.
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And then later on a different thread about the same subject:


(Anonymous poster)

What a disgrace...
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Posted by MIcynic on 06/04/08 at 8:40PM
The article says: Mayor Don Williamson said he wants residents to be able to identify police when they're cruising the streets and under his directive all police officers "from now on will be in marked cars in full uniform."
Not only will the citizens know the police are around, so will the bad guys. If no one is doing any plainclothes work, or using unmarked cars, the bad guys can better evade arrest.
Maybe that's what the Mayor wants.
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Posted by FlintCat on 06/04/08 at 8:49PM
At least we'll be able to identify David as he drives the wrong-way down the one-ways as he is prone to do....
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Posted by trinidad on 06/04/08 at 8:54PM
Well, I guess it was more important to show off the gas guzzling SUV's rather than grieve.
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Posted by whetagg on 06/04/08 at 9:06PM
he's a super chief, super chief, he's super chiefy owww
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Posted by ddhier on 06/04/08 at 9:36PM
They should have these types of vehicles. And besides buying these vehicles saves some jobs. Two thumbs up.
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Posted by trinidad on 06/04/08 at 9:42PM
ddhier, Why do they need the SUV's? All they need are squad cars. When budgets are being cut and jobs lost or reduced in hours, driving SUV's are not necessary. It's not like they need passenger room. They'll never tansport anyone. What a waste of money. Not that it matters. According to the Charter, the Con is in violation for hiring the father and son. So, this is about to get interesting.
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Posted by BurtonGuy on 06/04/08 at 9:42PM
Looks like a little illegal windshield obstruction to me. Can I write "Super Chief" or whatever else I choose across my windshield?
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Posted by BurtonGuy on 06/04/08 at 9:44PM
On second thought, maybe they should just use their last names on the windshield!
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Posted by trinidad on 06/04/08 at 9:45PM
And if you think about it BurtonGuy, it is what they are! LOL
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Posted by ddhier on 06/04/08 at 9:49PM
So what you are saying is tha a father and son can't work for the city of Flint together at the same time or that they bother can't be chiefs?
I have a big SUV for 1 person why not? All those who critize need to try and do his job. let's see first hand how you would do it.
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Posted by Deuce225 on 06/04/08 at 9:57PM
Hey BurtonGuy just call them RICHARDNOGGIN.That short for D---Head.
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Posted by flintflint on 06/04/08 at 10:00PM
Mayor's car marked? City council president car marked? Why not? I'd love to see the councilman's car parked at Walmart, grocery stores, K-mart, or other places. Politicians need accoutability too!
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Posted by trinidad on 06/04/08 at 10:22PM
ddhier: Are you a relative. Yo usure are touchy. Yes, accordingto the charter, if you can read it, it is a violation for relatives to hold oversight over another. I mean do you think if Little D is accused of wrongdoing..hmmmm that Big D could honestly render a punishment? Who are you kidding? again, they do not need gas guzzling SUV's, and you still have not explained why they do? As far as you having an SUV, you're a private citizen and you can pay as much as you choose to fill up your tank. Oh, and as to how I would handle Flint. I'd first call Lansing and ask them to take recievership. Then I'd call the Feds to clean up corruption starting at the top with the Con.
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Posted by amccoy18 on 06/05/08 at 12:51AM
Incompetence and Flint is knee-deep in it. My conscious is clear because I didn't voted for Mayor Williamson. Nepotism at it best,I just for sorry for the City of Flint. The only good thing about this that Flint only got 3 and half years to suffered until they get a new mayor who has common sense and not flawed.
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Posted by dmoore on 06/05/08 at 7:21AM
amccoy, do you know something we don't? unless the mayor runs for governor and wins, he will win another term as mayor, if he wants to run.... he isn't going anywhere until he chooses to go.


If this is what passes for riveting conversation, I'll pass. But remember, this is the same paper who takes anonymous phone calls from folks in "Talk Back" and uses them in place of well-thought out and well-written editorials. Sigh.

Something to do on a hot day

Hey, if you are bored today, go to the Flint Journal page on mlive.com and look for the following posting with the link (they'll probably remove it when they see this or figure out what's happening):

We've Moved!
by The Flint Journal
Friday June 06, 2008, 1:05 PM
This page has moved.
Please go to mlive.com/flintjournal for today's news from The Flint Journal.

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I tried the link this morning and just kept going in circles. Click on the link and go back to the same page you were at when you clicked the link. Click the link again and make the 360-degree turn back to the same page.

What I was hoping for was a link to a completely new and improved Flint Journal online page. Now that would be good news. Sadly, the paper remains with the boring and difficult mlive.com platform.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Red Wings Rule!


Finally! After staying up until almost 1 a.m. Tuesday only to have the Red Wings lose in triple overtime, we were done a couple breaks.
So while the game was over relatively early (before 11 p.m.) I couldn't take my eyes off the post game coverage and interviews that went on until midnight (and beyond, but I had to go to sleep then).

I'm happy for Dallas Drake, he finally wins the Cup after a long career that started with the Red Wings. I'm happy for Chris Osgood, who is a lesson to anyone about being humble and waiting your turn (even after you've waited way too long already) and Darren McCarty, who nearly threw away everything for hard living and partying.

As a former baseball fan, I really lost interest in baseball after the major strike in the 1990s, but I have become a Red Wings and hockey fan.

But for those who don't understand hockey, it is not an easy trek. Four rounds of playoffs and the fact that, like the Penguins, getting close is almost as depressing as not making it at all. Take my son Bill, and his San Jose Sharks, they have been playing golf since early April after they were eliminated. That's two months ago. In just about three months these guys will be back at training camp. The playoffs are just long.

Next year, I'm not going to get so wrapped up in hoping for a Red Wings Stanley Cup. It's very draining. But then, I say that after every season, win or lose.

I taught my two-year-old granddaughter this year: "Go Red Wings, yea hockey." I was going to teach her last week to say "Booooo Penguins," but her grandmother told me that would not be a proper thing to teach her. She was right and in the end the Penguins were great opponents who gave the Red Wings everything they could handle.
Go Red Wings!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

How about a short political cease fire?




OK, the major election opponents appear to be set. It's been nearly two years of non-stop politics and with the general election looming, obviously more to come.

I would consider voting for the candidate who will shut up and leave us alone for the next two months. After the conventions, have at it. But for now don't we deserve just a little respite from the daily bombardment of rhetoric and propaganda?

By doing so they would stem the use of carbon spewing aircraft, not to mention the hot air spewing of each other, for the summer. Give us a break John, Barack and Hillary, because she still, sort of, seems to be in the race, will ya?

The immediate future includes tonight's Stanley Cup Finals contest includes the Detroit Red Wings (yeaaaaa!) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (noooooo!).

By the time we get out of church it will be the end of the first period and, hopefully, the Red Wings will be up by four goals.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Helping someone...it's a good thing




It's been two years since my last trip to New Orleans to help in the relief effort from Hurricane Katrina. (One photo is of me next to a pile of rubbish pulled from a church in the First Ward the other is of more debrist in front of the church. If I look hot and tired, I was it was staggeringly humid that day. If I think hard enough I can still remember the putrid smells of rotting food and growing mold. The church was the First Church of the Nazarene in New Oleans, I believe on Jefferson Street if you want to mapquest the location. It was right off the freeway that was featured so frequently on the news)

I will never forget my first impressions when I made my first of five trips down in October 2005, just weeks after the Hurricane hit and the levees failed. Devastation and ruined housing as far as the eye could see. Boats on freeway off ramps and the darkness. The darkness was what made the biggest impression on me.

Imagine driving from Flint to Detroit on I-75 at night and not seeing one street light, one house light, it was something out of a horror novel. That's what it's like. One night coming back from our work, we accidentally took a wrong exit and found ourselves in the middle of a once busy neighborhood that was now deserted and dark.

It was eerie, unsettling and a feeling I don't think I will ever forget. Whole car dealerships full of ruined cars, large shopping centers completely deserted and very few people in evidence anywhere.

Things steadily improved until I made my last trip, about this time two years ago. But saying "improved" was relative and while some FEMA trailers were in evidence in the neighborhood where we were working, there was still an unbelievable amount of work done.

I bring all this up, because I was having a conversation on another website Monday about what we do without our money.

A new friend of mine, Brad Culver, who is a pastor in Canada, has a unique perspective on the "Christian" church. I always called myself a Christian, but Brad suggested for many of us we are really "followers of Jesus" and not Christians.

Why? Because if you tell someone you are a Christian, you have to spend an hour telling people what you are not, thanks to folks who use the label, but don't always live the way Jesus called us to live.

I have many friends, a couple who frequently read this blog, who aren't really believers, but they live their lives in a way that Jesus would love. They help people, they are concerned for people and they are kind and gentle.

After the five trips to New Orleans, I have contributed to a lot of causes and needs, and my own church, of course, but I miss the feeling I had on my trips to New Orleans. That feeling of doing something for someone else for no reason but that it had to be done.

I love what Brad Culver said, I love how he meets people where they are, without judgement, and helps get them closer to where they need to be.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 3:23, which roughly says we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. It reminds us not to dump on others when they fall short in the human department because we also fail.

So today, I'm going to take a break from the criticism of the newspaper industry and just remember how it felt to do something nice for someone who needed it.

So if this little sermon prompts you to do something nice for someone, good for you.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Do as I say, not as I do...


Global warming is the new touchstone of American politics. All three candidates in the two parties talk about it and seem to agree we should do something about it.

Then they fly off in their carbon spewing private large jets and travel where ever and whenever they want.

In this day of new media, why is there this gas guzzling need to fly everywhere. Campaigning is all about getting television and media coverage. That can be done from a static studio in one place. I know that sounds crazy, but if you're going to say your serious about global warming, put you're money and your travel plans where your mouth is.

Al Gore is another one who feels no shame about flying here and there - in a private jet - telling the rest of us to conserve. Show me the way, Al. Show me the way.

In the meantime, I want to see some oil rigs punching holes in the Gulf of Mexico, in Alaska, off the coast of California or where ever there is a large pool of oil.

Heck, even if we just threatened to drill, the folks, many of them stated enemies, would at least have to think about lowering prices.
We all need to learn to conserve and use less, but for the near future, we simply need more oil while those alternate energy sources are invented and produced. Our great-grandparents didn't immediately shoot all their horses because they heard Henry Ford had found a way to build a car.

Blogging IS the new media

A frequent reader of this blog has started another, I think his third blog, covering issues in Davison. Kevin McKague is a former Davison City Councilmember who made some news when his wife, Joy Murray, was also elected to the same body a few years ago.
Kevin was forced to resign because his truck driving job took him out of town, but he has stayed active in local politics.
For those interested in Davison politics his new blog would be of great interest:


http://www.davisondeservesbetter.blogspot.com/

I will add it to my links as well.

Thanks, Kevin