Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wiseFrancis Bacon (1561-1626)
XXII - Of Cunning
Essays, Civil and Moral
The Harvard Classics, 1904-14
I caught this morning's interesting Deseret Morning News story , concerning the peculiar business parctices of a Boise car dealer, a Fortune 1000 company, with 94 dealerships in 12 Western states. Lithia Ford certainly knows how to make money. It had $2.7 billion in sales last year.
Perhaps by coincidence, this morning's Standard-Examiner contains this "stirring" editorial, concerning another car-dealer -- a "guy who [also] knows how to make money."
Mr. Miller waxed lavish in his praise for Ogden Mayor Godfrey at Tuesday morning's rec center groundbreaking, for flouting the public will, and throwing caution to the wind in his conduct of the affairs of the public. "It's no fun not taking risks," car-dealer Larry Miller says.
Is it possible these two media articles might possibly share a common theme?
Multiple common themes, perhaps?
Just a thought.
What say our gentle readers about this?
5 comments:
I have no doubt at all that Larry Miller is primarily concerned about the best interests of the citizens of Ogden city.
The first story about the car dealership is sure to stir the emotions of any one who has dealt with an aging and failing parent. They become the children that we must protect from the evil people that have no conscience about taking advantage of them.
This is akin to the role the new council will be faced with in protecting the citizens of Ogden against the rapacious conduct of the Godreyites.
The second piece - the Standard Editorial - is also sure to stir the emotions of all of us who felt insulted by Mr. Miller's self serving remarks. In my mind he was casting dispersions on all who voted for our new council and against the grandiose schemes of our little Pee Wee and his circle of sycophants.
It is very easy for Miller to wax so inelegantly about our mediocrity and risk aversion when it is our money that is at risk. It takes no special talent to take great and foolish risks with other people's money and without their approval. For proof of that we need look no further than the foolishness surrounding most of Pee Wee's actions.
The true test for Mr. Miller, and Boyer, will be when we see the details of their supposed contracts with Ogden City. If they will be taking risks equal to what the tax payers of Ogden have been unwillingly committed to, then my hat will be off to them. If they are only going to be building their already considerable wealth on the backs of Ogden's citizens with a bunch more tax increment scams, then I say they are phony opportunists.
I agree about the insulting tone of Mr. Miller's remarks directed at the critics of the project. However, what I found extremely interesting were his very opening remarks, in which he stated that it was two years ago that he was contacted by the Boyer Corporation and asked if he would be interested in partnering as part of this complex.
Two years ago. 2003. Boyer, who declaimed loudly in 2005 that it would Not be involved in the mall project unless the rec center were built, was trying to put the project together in 2003. At that time, it was trying to get Larry Miller on board, and he said as much.
This really looks like Boyer has been in since CitiVenture went out, contrary to what I inferred from the media through '03 and '04. To my knowledge in those years, Nobody was doing Anything with the mall site, no developer could be found to do anything with the mall site. Now I wonder if CitiVenture going out was not just the open door that was needed, perhaps, for Boyer to go through. I remember talk in '02 that Boyer was perhaps overly involved in Ogden and it might be good to get another entity, much as one diversifies a stock portfolio.
But that was impossible, of course, once Ogden refused to give CitiVenture any tax increments at all and they backed out. (That, the latest story I heard at a mall public info meeting at the Union Station.)
Then, Miller went on to say, he had meetings with Boyer, and Stuart Reid, ( who is presently, as we know, the city's representative to Boyer, or some such thing,) and contact with Godfrey. And then things went back and forth, insofar as maybe happening, maybe not, and it finally happened.
Would be very interested to know the particulars of that back and forth part.
Because the fact is, Boyer was there and has been talking with Miller since '03. And for whatever reason, nothing and nobody moved until that rec center suddenly surfaced, and became the "linchpin" of the whole thing?????
Why didn't they inform us of this in '03 if it were the case then? Why didn't they say, well, Boyer's on board, and Miller will be on board if we have this rec center. Were any of you aware of a rec center in '03?
Why the two year wait? Was the rec center really the "linchpin" that was absolutely necessary to get development going there? Or was another entity stalling the deal until the rec center could happen too? Or what was it that was going on during that time?
Interesting food for speculation.
Pee Wee's high tech adventure has been in the plans every since the citizens came forth en-mass four years ago to demand that it be built, or so sayeth Pee Wee in a number of council sessions.
Who said he was lying when his lips are moving?
Miller and Boyer have played the little dipsit (Godfrey) like a FISH in this deal.
Nobody in their right mind would hire Godfrey as a door-to-door encyclopedia saleman, based on his business credentials.
Neverthess, The little shit is STILL our Mayor, and has the authority to "screw Ogdenites" into the year 2030.
"Tarring and feathering is an old Utah tradition."
Just a thought.
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