Alinsky’s Rules for radicals: “RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.“
Of all the stupidest reasons to “support” a $4.59 10 year million school bond issue, bringing in the notion that we have to build an expensive new building so a sniper can’t pick off kids as they walk the 20 feet from the portable classrooms (which have been there for YEARS) to the main building has to be leading the pack. Yeah, that’s what you DIDN’T hear when WMUR ran their story (yes, the “journalists of record” can’t get the BIGGEST part of the story right). What also wasn’t said is that the School Superintendent wants “more building” with a declining enrollment. You can listen to the ENTIRE Budget Committee meeting here for the entire context (not embeddable sorry). And yes, you do need to listen starting around 38 minutes in and listen why people like Jorge are needed by taxpayers. And then listen to the part that WMUR left out at 46:41. NONE of his fellow budget committee members, when Jorge mentions what the School Board “infomercial” said got up in arms. NONE of those in attendance raised an issue.
And here is what WMUR put up from that video – SEE how they “conveniently” leave out the reference to the School Board infomercial that led to this (again, not embeddable – cheapskates; NH1 has a post but I can’t get it to play)
You see, context matters (but not to WMUR). And then these spouters of the stupidest reason of all go beserk when somebody has the temerity to MOCK them using their own argument and word choice? How outlandish, how divisive, how violent, how UnPC! Don’t you understand that WE have the moral high ground because SNIPERS! Sheesh. Morons, all. And then watching WMUR last nite, well, they are now complicit in this.
Speaking of Jorge (the Budget Committee Chair in Hampstead)
he and I have been friends for over 10 years and he called me last nite (and will be calling into GrokTALK! this morning) to give me “the rest of the story” (as Paul Harvey used to say). Needless to say, the story out in public conveniently leaves out a real important piece of information. And remember, too, that we have blogged about the Earl of Metzler (the autocratic “bow down to me” School Superintendent of the School District that Hampstead is a part of – go listen to some of the Girard at Large achives as well as here on the ‘Grok for more on the coterie of the Earl of Metzler’s tongue clucker clique). You see, I know how this all works, personally.
When the Big Spenders (aka, the “quality of life” folks, the “it’s for the children!”, “times have changed”, “you’re impeding ‘progress'”), you get brickbats thrown at you (aka Alinsky’s Rules for radicals: “RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” “: “you hate this town”, “you hate the school”, “you hate the children” or “YOU JUST HATE”) decide to get something they want, there is no means unworthy to be used – only the end. And when they don’t get their way, bad things can happen to you if you decide to stand up to them AND stand up for taxpayers and try to squash unneeded spending. And it is HARD – there are just too many people who believe themselves so self-righteous in “their mission”, they believe your money is their money in terms of achieving their next Taj Mahal edifice.
So Jorge, upon hearing that reason, did what any normal person would do that isn’t going to put up with tomfoolery, he mocked them. Semperi fi, prior Marine. All he did was to point out the stupidity of their argument by taking it to the next level – if you are going to use death as your argument, so can I to show you your own crassness. He merely pointed out that someone who really wanted the big headlines wouldn’t bother picking off a couple of kids when kids were walking between the portables and the school, someone who wanted to be FAMOUS for their 15 minutes of fame would pick recess time. After all, why pick off a few when you can pick off many?
Having then realized the idiocy of their way and looking for a backdoor way out, they called HIM out for calling THEM out.
“And now you know the rest of the story” – those wanting the money were the first to use a sniper attack to support their taxing ways; isn’t that just so nice of them. Talk about jumping off the the rhetorical cliff?
Oh wait, you don’t – let me start in on Part 2 in another post.