Quote of the Day: Curmudgeon

I have been called a curmudgeon, which my obsolescent dictionary defines as a “surly, ill-mannered, bad-tempered fellow.” … Nowadays, ‘curmudgeon’ is likely to refer to anyone who hates hypocrisy, cant, sham, dogmatic ideologies, the pretenses and evasions of euphemism, and has the nerve to point out unpleasant facts and takes the trouble to impale these […]

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“A city government exists only for the purpose of…”

During a refreshing, unplanned visit to the Phoenix North Mountain Visitor Center, I saw on display this letter to the residents of the Sunnyslope area, sent to them upon annexation of the area into the City of Phoenix. It says, in part, A city government exists only for the purpose of performing necessary municipal services for […]

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Not subject to ethics

Scottsdale and its city treasurer sued for discrimination by former employee City attorney Bruce Washburn ultimately dismissed the complaint, saying that Nichols was not subject to the complaint process under the city’s current ethics code. Because, of course, since both are charter officers, that would mean the ethics code would apply to Washburn, as well!  

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The Noblest of Dogs

“Noblest of all dogs is the hot-dog; it feeds the hand that bites it.” Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter, EdD (1919 – 1990), Canadian educator and “hierarchiologist,” who postulated the Peter principle: “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence… [I]n time every post tends to be occupied by an employee […]

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Gadflies

It’s more of the tired old sentiment that those in power can do whatever they want, and we mere peasants can only object via “civil dialog.” Plus, “gadfly” is easier to spell than “concerned citizen and taxpayer.”   Why does the Scottsdale Independent constantly refer to those opposed to the Desert Edge [formerly known as […]

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