Four eminent members of the WSU community set the record straight
Over the course of the past several weeks, we've entertained ourselves discussing a recent short series of weekly Standard-Examiner guest rants and whines, within our own series of articles, which we've playfully dubbed the 2008 Gondolist Sour Grapes Series. In a total of 86 reader comments, our gentle readers have discussed and commented on these three Std-Ex articles, all of which criticised Weber State University in general, and WSU President Ann Milner in particular. We've critiqued, set forth facts, dissected and sliced-and-diced. This morning however a couple of WSU officials themselves bring out their own carving knife.
In this connection, don't miss this morning's pair of Standard-Examiner guest commentaries, wherein several WSU faculty members and the Chairman of the WSU Board of Trustees provide their own retorts, and finally set the public record straight:
• "Weber State needs commitments to turn dreams into reality"
• "WSU Board of Trustees chairman responds to accusations"
Once again, Mssrs. Geiger, Hitzig and Ballantyne find themselves holding the short end of the "credibility" stick.
We don't know why these Gondolists subject themselves to this.
Masochists... we guess.
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19 comments:
I did find it interesting that, according to the OpEd by the Communications professors, that Rupert brought along Gadi and Chris.
What in the world do they know about anything having to do with film?
What was their purpose in going along for the meeting?
I could bring my mom and dog to every business meeting I attend, but I don't think it would add much.
Mono:
I could bring my... dog to every business meeting I attend, but I don't think it would add much.
Oh, I don't know. Some meetings I've attended over the years, a dog being present would have provided some welcome qualities: friendliness, good will, loyalty, and an eager willingness to investigate new things --- ok, ok, by sniffing them. But still....
Ruppy needed his dog and pony, that way he could have a real dog and pony show.
Gadi seems to hold the purse strings on everything Rupert does, so his presence at the meeting probably makes sense.
I'm at a loss to speculate what role Chris Peterson might have played.
Rudi, you wrote, “We don't know why these Gondolists subject themselves to this. Masochists... we guess.”
Everyone, we have to look at the big picture to get the real reason behind these attacks on WSU by these Godfrey goons: Godfrey wants his gondola! He told the Council earlier this year at a joint goal-setting meeting that the gondola is the administration’s #1 goal because it is imperative in order for Ogden to become the outdoor sports mecca of the U.S. The attacks were only a part of his plan to sell the hillside including the golf course to Chris Peterson for a high-end housing development and the means to fund Petersen’s four-season resort in Malan’s Basin. Let’s look at recent actions by Godfrey:
1) Godfrey has for years, pointed out that the golf course costs the City more than $300,000. every year (thanks to his including non-Mt. Ogden intra-city loans)
2) Godfrey established a committee to look at possible solutions to take Mt. Ogden golf course off the City’s subsidized list. (He needs the money to subsidize the Saloman Center.) He asked Kent Petersen to chair the committee and staff it with notable community members who would be willing to sell the golf course. A serious golfer and a retired Forest Service, Outdoor Recreation and Special Land Use Manager were added to the committee to make it look credible. Three Council members who asked to be on the committee were never notified of meetings. Godfrey attended the first meeting and informed the committee members that he had had four golf pros look the course over and give him recommendations for improving it. He told them what those recommendations were. Later to SE reporter Scott Schwebke, he said that he didn’t want to influence the committee. What a joke! Godfrey’s motivation behind this committee is to present a recommendation by the committee to sell the golf course to the public and thus release him from his promise not to sell it.
3) The unfounded ridiculous attacks the last month or so on WSU and Ms. Millner by community residents (all blind followers of Godfrey) were meant to pressure the University into selling the land that Chris Petersen needs.
The bottom line is Godfrey still plans to sell the golf course to Chris Petersen and have the gondola installed from the Hub to WSU.
If you ask me Rudi, anyone connected with Godfrey and his ridiculous gondola dream has a credibility problem.
I hope people noticed the classlessness of the recent coordinated attacks on the University by the Godfreyites, and the professional manner in which they were rebutted today.
And by "people", I mean "Godfrey supporters", among which I mean, the newspaper editors.
I would think that comparing the recent commentaries of Geiger, Hitzig (and the other guy whose name I forget) to these commentaries today would help Godfrey supporters realize just what kind of people they are choosing to associate themselves with, and what kind of people they are thereby separating themselves from.
Rudi, do you have any Ed Allen propoganda that you can post?
Danny:
You conclude the SE editors are "Godfrey supporters" because they ran op ed pieces by Geiger, Hitzig? Isn't that what op-ed pages are for? Places where non-paper employees can get printed their views on controversial issues?
I'm much happier having the SE op-ed page editors include Geiger and Hitzig pieces, and then refutations by those they attack than I would be by the SE arbitrarily screening out all comment on one side of an issue. If the op-ed page turns into a essay driven free-for-all, that's fine with me. It's what the page is for.
I have more questions about the SE's news editors' news judgment than the editing of the ed and op ed pages. [Did today's story, for example, touting yet again all the good ink Ogden has been getting in outdoors magazines and national and regional papers --- all of which the SE has reported on before --- justify front page treatment? I'd say no, not even on a slow news day.] Link to the front page story here.
Overall, I'd say the communications dept and the University came out ahead... way ahead... on the exchange in the SE. Hard put to see how that adds up to the editors being Godfry hacks. Since Mr. Geiger generally subtracts from the sum total of human knowledge each time he sends something in to the SE, I for one hope the editors keep giving him opportunities to run off the rails and render himself laughable in print. His screeds really are funny, and hell, Mark Saal needs a break now and then.
La De Dah:
Ed Allen's campaign webpage can be found here. The white words on blue background {e.g. "Issues," "Experience" etc] are links to further information.
Curm, have you been suffering from a bout with short term loss of memory? The gondola examinar is a rag tag bunch of lying little matty supporters. Not because of their posting a few stupid op eds, but because they were willing to disregard all his lies, shortcomings as far as ethics and fiscal irresponsibility, endorsing him and his gondola dreams in print for the last election.
If the ginko aint working, start collecting news clippings and hang them on your wall. Jeez, wake up please.
Speaking of the gondola examinar, what was that on the front page sunday? In the name of narcissim and sociopathic ego stroking I must inquire, what was news?
This fluff piece seemed to be nothing but a compilation of some recent stories all ready published. The only new element was the shot of lying little matty being pulled by crane from cavandish's basement/ homosexual pedephile torture chamber, family photo gallery and lift ogden clubhouse.
Bill C:
The SE has gotten better about covering city government and allied issues since the dark days of two years ago. Have you forgotten my frequent posts then critiquing the poor coverage, failure to ask follow up questions, and infuriating habit of printing statements by elected officials, like Godfrey, without doing any checking at all to see if they were accurate statements consistent even with the published record? [If you have forgotten, Bill, maybe you should do a little ginkgo yourself.]
But, on the evidence, the SE over the past year has demonstrably not been a paper in the Mayor's pocket. It's done too many stories that cannot have been welcome on the 9th floor for that. Recall the editorial on the collapsing buildings and overgrown grounds of the Lesham City neighborhood.
They've dropped the ball at times, no argument. Best example is their refusing to examine the Mayor's crime statistics claims during the election. The stuff Monotreme pointed out several times. They made that worse by running a story that seemed to do that but which, in fact did not, when the WSU statistics expert they quoted in the story came forward saying the SE had not asked him to look at the statistics and give an opinion on their accuracy, but rather the SE reporter only asked him why different claims could be made using the same stats.
So it's fallen short of what My Home Town Paper should be, at times, absolutely. [We both, I hope you noticed, questioned its new judgment in putting the buzz piece on the front page yesterday. Or is your short term memory a little ragged this morning?]
But it's been getting better since the dark days of two years ago, and I have hopes it will get better still.
Curm,thank you for your prompt response.It's good to hear you take a shot or 2 at the gondola examinar, they need it. That piece yesterday was a joke.
And Curm, ya, I find myself forggetting things every once in a while, small things I hope.
That Ed Allen webpage seems to stand for the proposition that he could win if he only garners the votes of his immense family. When you click on "Issues," you see a photo of smiling citizens waving Ed Allen signs. Half of them seem to be immediate family. Interestingly, even Ed's mother, who died a few months ago, is seated with the group. Were the Ed Allen signs printed THAT LONG AGO?
Confidential to Amy Wicks: Nice to meet you last Fri. evening.
MM:
Hey, MM... we're Democrats. The cemetery vote is a long tradition with us. [grin]
One of my grandfathers was a cop in Boss Mayor Hague's Jersey City. He told stories of his early days on the force, on election days, waiting with other cops near a JC cemetery for a call from a ward heeler, telling how many votes from beyond the pale the machine needed to carry that precinct in the election this time. And the cops would start copying down names of those who were going to vote... for Hague's candidates of course... from beyond the grave. [This would have been in the 1930s I think.]
Democrats! The party of tradition!
Nice to meet you too, Moroni. I had an inkling that I had met you after leaving the event Friday.
Curm: Don't get me wrong; we are in accord that getting an extra Demo into the state legislature would "cover a multitude of sins" that Ed has committed via Lift Ogden.
MM:
Thanks, MM. It was starting to feel a little lonely out here....
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