Wednesday, November 04, 2009
When Facts Become Ugly Nonsense
Star political columnist Matt Tully, who spent the past few months covering something other than politics, jumps in with one of his classic columns about how to suck up to the insider elites so they will invite me to have lunch and feed me stories so I don't have to do any work that would cause me to break a sweat. The facts that I have shared with the readers of this blog about the Wishard referendum process and the massive property tax-supported project it represents do not cease to exist simply because people like Matt Tully choose to ignore them and call them "ugly nonsense." As the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once commented on truth: "Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident." Sooner or later Tully will be writing a column about how the Health & Hospital Corporation folks misled us all just like he did with Lucas Oil Stadium, pretending he never wrote the glowing and admiring things he wrote of them today. Free advice to Matt Tully. Make a luncheon appointment soon with the Chicago Tribune's political columnist John Kass and ask him how he manages to survive as a journalist telling it like it really is in the rough and tumble world of Chicago politics. He might actually learn something. More importantly, he might learn how to write about political goings-on that people expect to see when they read his column.
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5 comments:
Tully is such an apple polisher.I was beginning to look for a disclaimer saying paid announcement after each article of praise for the Wishard referendum at the Star. Only now do they casually mention costing the property taxpayer above the cap. Wishard had 1Million dollars donated to send me nonstop postcards saying no tax increase. What citizen group could ever best that? I do not think that the public realized anything but "-no tax increase "because they were not given the facts. The following is a quote from Luke Kenleys reply to me re why they could put the misleading lie in a referendum question leaving out pertinent facts for us to make an informed decision:
"I can understand your frustration, but your blame on the legislature is misplaced. When this was originally requested, they didn't want it to go to a referendum. My position was that if Marion Co. legislators wanted it, that they could put a referendum on the ballot. I was, and am skeptical that this bond will not eventually rely on property taxes." unquote.
Regardless of support for or against, the bigger problem is that they could present this referendum question the way they did. I hope that the citizens do not let this problem in the making be ignored. Of course the city and state are glad you were suckered into this. Property taxpayers you have been had.
The Star is like government, they need things to happen. If nothing happens, they go crazy. If nothing happens, the Star has nothing to report. They know that people won't keep reading "Nothing to report here." As such, Tully wants things to happen. He could careless if this thing results in a massive tax hike...that would be like ten more stories that he won't have to worry about finding something to write about. The Star as a whole wants this thing because they want the inevitable corruption, construction, etc. issues that always come with these things. This project is at least worth one front page story per month.
I love Tully's investigative work in the Indianapolis Star on the Phoenix apts and Manual High School. Put that on the front page or anywhere in the paper you like. I do not understand how his non-investigative columns aren't on the editorial pages with
Ken Bode or Dan Carpenter. Jonah Goldberg and Charles Krauthammer will soon be appearing on the front page? I won't hold my breath.
A nice young man came to my door last night wanting me to subscribe to "free" weekly advertisements from the Indy Star.
He came calling as I was interviewing a contractor to install a several thousand dollar wood stove insert in my fireplace. (that's a nice chunk of buisness for the installer)
The Indy Star rep practically begged me to subscribe and let The Star drop off the advertisements every week on my porch.
I explained that I will never subscribe to the Indy Star, that The Star does not look out for our citizens interests by reporting corruption, and that Indy Star advertisers are not likely to get ever get my business.
Finally I explained that anyone who advertises with the Star is an idiot and they should place their dollars in web based advertising because that is where America turns at the moment they are ready to make a major purchase.
Yes, the Indianapolis Star is such a disappointment. Appreciate learning about John Kass.
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