Quote of the Day
They continue to approve work and issue C of Os for buildings that violate zoning and building codes. They often don’t inspect work that has been done before signing off on the work. They have proven to be full of corrupt individuals, even at the top tiers of their chain of management. They don’t respond…
They continue to approve work and issue C of Os for buildings that violate zoning and building codes. They often don’t inspect work that has been done before signing off on the work. They have proven to be full of corrupt individuals, even at the top tiers of their chain of management. They don’t respond when illegal work that negatively affects quality of life is reported. They…
— from DOB Flunks Comptroller’s Audit
I think there are many good reasons to punch a wall: Sarah Palin, Fox “News” etc, “liberals”, the New York Times, and billions more. In fact, the rise of walls (as a proxy for hitting actual people) correlates with the rise of U.S imperialism (a nation founded on imperialism, as I recently heard Noam Chomsky very shrewdly say. He said he was asked to talk about “American Imperialism” and he said that’s like trying to talk about “triangular triangles”. It’s been expansionist (killing / displacing Native Americans, since day 1).
So yes, walls serve a cathartic, safety valve role in our society. They’re not just for ceilings anymore (as that old commercial said).
Chomsky has reams and reams of writings on that (and it actually would fall into the research category, as he shows through example after example that the so called “liberal left wing” end of the spectrum is no different than the so called “hawks” or conservatives; only different in rhetoric and tactics. They have identical aims / “morals” (barf and choke when applied to those lepers); they just differ rhetorically.
For example, the liberals turned against the Vietnam War as it became too “costly” (to us!?) in terms of outlay of cash, and unrest at home. They felt they couldn’t deploy more troops as they might need those troops to put down internal (US) civil unrest caused by the war. They were never against it from a moral standpoint, as something like 75% of the US population constantly states when polled (it was “wrong morally”) and they still always frame the Vietnam War and all other imperialist adventures as our “blundering effort to do good” or “bring democracy” or spread freedom and a bunch of other pabulum. The “hawks” have the same aim, but might have advocated for simply nuking Vietnam etc.
Chomsky also makes the point over and over again that the “liberal” “conservative” debate also serves the very useful propaganda service of giving the appearance of a lively democratic debate: the free flow of ideas, when actually the spectrum of ideas discussed are so narrow and the framework for discussion / assumptions already agreed upon that it ceases to have any real meaning. It’s a complete mockery of democracy.
The fact I’ve come to this conclusion is, at least in my own humble opinion, quite impressive given the strata I have to interact with. The most “educated” are often the most indoctrinated, for sure.
I’m trying to get 3:53’s point. The conclusions are probably true but you shouldn’t pay attention to them because the Comptroller is a politician? Why to we have a Comptroller to do audits then? The guy starts an audit a year and a half ago (according to the release) before all the negative DOB attention, finds the place is incompetent, and he’s pandering?
DOB is funded at no where near the amount needed to hire staff to supervise over 800,000 parcels and buildings in this huge city. Code itself so complex, issues arising from construction so detailed, that impossibilty of doing everying by the book so extreme, these situations are inevitable and will continue forever.
The problem with the quote – and the report is that Bill Thompson is far from an independent auditor.
In fact, much of the conclusions are probably true – but Thompson is running for mayor and has every incentive to jump on this issue because it is politically popular in the outer boros and because it is an area the distinguishes him from Bloomberg (and Quinn)
What did the last Comptrollers report say – that would be far more interesting and likely objective.
Bill Thompson is a hack