Comments on: Wild and Crazy! http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/ mindfulness in the face of a challenge Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:48:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Lauren Do http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/comment-page-1/#comment-666 Lauren Do Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:25:19 +0000 http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/#comment-666 Hey Jeff: I understand the point that you are trying to make, but I think there is an important distinction between uncovering a truly newsworthy item, doing the requisite research around the issue to make sure that what you found out is actually true and has the evidence to support it, or any evidence to support it , and what David Howard does. If you aren't going to read through the documents that you are citing to make your point thoroughly enough to catch that your theory has already been shot down or if you are going to deliberately misinterpret something to fit your point of view there comes a time when your credibility starts going down the toilet and quickly. How much benefit of the doubt can we keep giving someone that consistently gets it wrong almost every single time? And I totally enjoy the Council Chamber gadfly a whole hell of a lot more than I enjoy listening to David H. because at the very least I know I'm going to be entertained Hey Jeff:

I understand the point that you are trying to make, but I think there is an important distinction between uncovering a truly newsworthy item, doing the requisite research around the issue to make sure that what you found out is actually true and has the evidence to support it, or any evidence to support it , and what David Howard does.

If you aren’t going to read through the documents that you are citing to make your point thoroughly enough to catch that your theory has already been shot down or if you are going to deliberately misinterpret something to fit your point of view there comes a time when your credibility starts going down the toilet and quickly.

How much benefit of the doubt can we keep giving someone that consistently gets it wrong almost every single time?

And I totally enjoy the Council Chamber gadfly a whole hell of a lot more than I enjoy listening to David H. because at the very least I know I’m going to be entertained

]]> By: john piziali http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/comment-page-1/#comment-661 john piziali Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:51:02 +0000 http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/#comment-661 Jeff I tend to agree with your point about Mr.Howard not always hitting the dart board, but sometimes maybe making a good point. However as someone who he has thrown darts at I have to say he is very mean spirited and I get the feeling that he would rather get the attention no matter how he does it. To tell the truth I think he enjoys being underhanded and trying to get away with smearing folks, more than he enjoys trying to uncover anything of relavance. Jeff I tend to agree with your point about Mr.Howard not always hitting the dart board, but sometimes maybe making a good point. However as someone who he has thrown darts at I have to say he is very mean spirited and I get the feeling that he would rather get the attention no matter how he does it.

To tell the truth I think he enjoys being underhanded and trying to get away with smearing folks, more than he enjoys trying to uncover anything of relavance.

]]> By: Jeff Mitchell http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/comment-page-1/#comment-660 Jeff Mitchell Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:49:55 +0000 http://johnknoxwhite.com/2008/04/09/wild-and-crazy/#comment-660 Hey John: My, what interesting times we Alamedans are living in. After reading your post (and Lauren's, too) this morning I was struck by a number of thoughts regarding “Action Alameda” (David Howard) and this organization’s impacts or lack thereof on our city's political and governing landscape. One thought was that it is a shame Mr. Howard doesn't do more thorough research on the issues he wades into. When he throws a dart and it fails to even make it to the board, he leaves himself vulnerable to attack from all sides and from the local blogosphere. In our little corner of the American marketplace of ideas, this is the way it should be. And, the more times he keeps failing to hit that proverbial dart board, the more Mr. Howard marginalizes himself. He’s quickly getting to the point where he will be joining the ranks of a certain gadfly we all know and love who apparently suffers a compulsion to speak on almost every agenda item at our City Council meetings -- regardless of what he says has anything to do with the agenda item. If Mr. Howard finds good company there, great -- that’s his choice. More power to him. However, if you’ve ever carefully watched the pained, stoney expressions on the faces of the council as they endure this gentleman’s 3-minute periods of disconnected thoughts, you’d know it’s really not where you want to go if you want to actually be heard by our council members. And, like you John, I too have suffered through Mr. Howard’s often mean spirited nonsense and barbs. I definitely don’t like his “blame first and ask questions later" approach. It’s counterproductive. But here’s the thing -- as a journalist who has spent a lot of time covering and writing about local governance in California, I think Mr. Howard’s instincts aren’t necessarily as off-base as they’ve been painted in this blog and others. Just during my short tenure here in Alameda as editor of the AJ we were able uncover and shed light on City Hall’s lack of transparency in many areas. The largest payout on a lawsuit filed against the city in its history, the ARRA board’s (mis)handling of rental tenants at Alameda Point and, of course, the financial debacle at AP&T are just a few things that come to mind. In other words, while we are free to chuckle and maybe even smirk at some of these folks, we should always keep at least one ear on what they’re saying and not be so quick to dismiss them just because they keep lamely missing that dart board. Hey John: My, what interesting times we Alamedans are living in. After reading your post (and Lauren’s, too) this morning I was struck by a number of thoughts regarding “Action Alameda” (David Howard) and this organization’s impacts or lack thereof on our city’s political and governing landscape. One thought was that it is a shame Mr. Howard doesn’t do more thorough research on the issues he wades into. When he throws a dart and it fails to even make it to the board, he leaves himself vulnerable to attack from all sides and from the local blogosphere. In our little corner of the American marketplace of ideas, this is the way it should be.
And, the more times he keeps failing to hit that proverbial dart board, the more Mr. Howard marginalizes himself. He’s quickly getting to the point where he will be joining the ranks of a certain gadfly we all know and love who apparently suffers a compulsion to speak on almost every agenda item at our City Council meetings — regardless of what he says has anything to do with the agenda item. If Mr. Howard finds good company there, great — that’s his choice. More power to him.
However, if you’ve ever carefully watched the pained, stoney expressions on the faces of the council as they endure this gentleman’s 3-minute periods of disconnected thoughts, you’d know it’s really not where you want to go if you want to actually be heard by our council members.
And, like you John, I too have suffered through Mr. Howard’s often mean spirited nonsense and barbs. I definitely don’t like his “blame first and ask questions later” approach. It’s counterproductive.
But here’s the thing — as a journalist who has spent a lot of time covering and writing about local governance in California, I think Mr. Howard’s instincts aren’t necessarily as off-base as they’ve been painted in this blog and others.
Just during my short tenure here in Alameda as editor of the AJ we were able uncover and shed light on City Hall’s lack of transparency in many areas. The largest payout on a lawsuit filed against the city in its history, the ARRA board’s (mis)handling of rental tenants at Alameda Point and, of course, the financial debacle at AP&T are just a few things that come to mind.
In other words, while we are free to chuckle and maybe even smirk at some of these folks, we should always keep at least one ear on what they’re saying and not be so quick to dismiss them just because they keep lamely missing that dart board.

]]>