Wouldn’t be the first time I was called Barney Rubble.
In Mike’s latest ‘Shut Up & Listen’ session he addresses YPN (Young Professional Nobodies, uh, I mean Network) he of course has been turning into a broken record at these sessions, and always plays the ‘whoa is me’ card, talks about his alcoholic father (that he blames for the crime in our city – the alcohol – not his father).
He went on a mini-rant, once again, about the ‘Grim and Determined’ the very vocal engaged citizens of the community and kind of blamed the media for taking what they say and running with it. Then he uses a new term and calls these citizens ‘Cave People’. I’m not even sure what that means, but I will say Yabba, Dabba, Doo to that. I don’t often defend the Argus Leader (city reporter Joe Sneve was present at the event and asked some questions) but I will give them credit for one thing, they usually get their facts about an issue straight before reporting it. Yeah, they f’ck up quotes quite a bit and editorialize, but the bare bone factual information is usually correct. So when the mayor claims the local media is listening to the ‘Cave People’ too much, it is because the ‘Cave People’ know what is going on at least 90% percent of the time, but in his world only 60% counts (we will get to that in a moment)*.
The mayor also goes on a rant about how people accused him of ‘delaying’ the RR relocation project until after his re-election, which he said wasn’t true, and I agree with him. Everyone knows he delayed the project because he didn’t want an Events Center built downtown. Nice spin though Mikey.
*He also seemed to be perplexed why 4 out of 10 people don’t want him to be mayor. It was a strange rant that you would only hear from someone who is either extremely paranoid or a sociopath. But I just laugh at those accusations because I know that he isn’t interesting enough to be either.
He also confesses to polluting the Big Sioux River, and I thought he would tell us about all the hairspray runoff he has been contributing to, nope, talked about fertilizer or something. His yard must be the butterfly and bee death zone.
But the best part was his usual ‘crying game’ moment(s). He had several throughout the session where he chokes up, but for the first time, he actually cried about being RICH and how he couldn’t buy anything more that he would want, and that is why he left the ‘banking’ (predatory lending) industry and went into public service. (Which is ironic, because one of the first things he does as mayor is buy all the councilors a book as a gift, signs it, then charges the purchase to the taxpayers of Sioux Falls).
Kind of weird, because I never heard he ‘quit’ the industry. Maybe he knows something I don’t? But at least he has 6 out 10 people who believe his bullshit, because that is all that really matters. Facts are irrelevant, except to us Mammoth hunters. Ugh!