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Reading is fundamental - except when it comes to Olympic bid documents

Boston Magazine reports Hizzona signed that initial Olympic binder without actually reading the "bid book" it went with.

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That's the least surprising thing I've heard all week

I think Marty Walsh knew every detail of the bid and I think he knew Boston 2024 was going to release a redacted copy to conceal some of the elements of the proposal that the public would likely oppose. Walsh signed it to make Boston an official partner, and he traveled with four principles of Boston 2024 to present the bid to the USOC.

Since Boston 2024 was going to release a redacted copy Walsh and Boston 2024 had to use the same talking points about the bid, talking points that fit the redacted bid, (not the actual bid) which includes the phrase 'no public money.'

Now that the actual bid was produced by a FOIA from UMass Donahue Institute and people can read for themselves that the 'no public money' claim is false and worse, a deception, Walsh has to cover his ass and claim he didn't know about the provisions for public money so he says 'I didn't read it, counsel did.'

This too is a problem because it says the Walsh administration was incapable of doing the due diligence on a big deal with large cost ramifications. Just wait, wait until everyone else figures that out.

... I think the Mayor said. so I guess that makes it all okay to deceive the public -- the real bid will be clean as a whistle, he promises. (Heard him on the Jim and Margery show and was appalled at his obtuseness and/or duplicity).

You left out abject stupidity.

“No, I had my attorney—it was many, many pages. Our legal counsel looked at it,

And no graphs! The Mayah needs more pictures and why the fuck would he actually read something that affects his constituents directly? That's what he's got junior bagmen for!

... "euphemism". ;-}

That was pretty dirty of Marty Walsh to sign the obviously pro-Boston Olympics thing without really reading it thoroughly.

Now that city hall filled with grads from that school across the river on the team, we have lots of Powerpoint and counting of app downloads. Darn, couldn't one of them read the Olympic Boston bid and done a ppt for the Mayor?

Bloomberg has an item about the Hamburg bid that should be a relief sigh for all who dread and loath this travesty here.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-10/harvard-graduate-backs...

Warm up quote.

“Boston as a university town is full of critical minds, so local support will remain a huge challenge there,” he said.

Money quote.

About 64 percent of Hamburgers back their city’s bid, according to a February survey, almost twice as many as the 36 percent logged in Boston area polls in March. Germany’s second-biggest city of 1.8 million residents plans a referendum in November, with Boston planning to ask its citizens a year later.

Local endorsement will be heeded by the 101 IOC members deciding who wins, especially after cities including Munich and Oslo withdrew from the 2022 Winter Games race as citizens opposed bids on cost concerns, said Christian Wacker, an Olympic historian.

Was Marty just like fuck yeah Olympics as soon as it was brought to his attention or did he really ponder if this was a good use of the city's coffers and planning? I'd like to think he genuinely thought about it and decided this was a great way to galvanize some city improvements, but really I think he just pictured himself cruising around the Games like a boss in his all access mayor's pass and signed on the dotted line.

Monorail all the way.

Marty Walsh doesn't take a shit without permission. That sums up his entire political career.

It's another well polished gem from BMG regular, "Hester Prynne".

http://hesterprynne.net/2015/06/06/get-to-know-your-olympic-corporate-ov...

too much.

Phil Hartman was such a treasure of a man.

writing that episode, too.

More of that strange breezy slovenliness.

If City Hall was never in possession of the bid book, then Walsh signed the host city contract—...—upon the recommendation of his legal counsel, who relied on briefings with Boston 2024 and its consultants.

Fish said it's good. What more do we need?.

that rhymes with "T" and that stands for one-termer (hopefully). Maybe him and his bully cousin can go into business together.

He couldn't read it because it was filed at BPL.

YA BURNT, MARTY! YA BURNT!!!!!

He couldn't sound any dumber if he tried.

If there were any way to misunderestimate the man, this would be it. ;)

Binders and binders full of women - or some such.

or just filed next to the missing BPL artwork

You've now tried this joke on Twitter and twice in this thread. It's not funny. Give up.

IMAGE(https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/05/25/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/mem_day_10.jpg)

when Al Pacino says:

"Wait a minute. Wait. I'm having a thought. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. I'm gonna have a thought. It's coming. It's gone."

George W. Bushism.

is if the business-as-usual Boston corruption were to smack into a roadblock this time. Maybe it turns out someone accidentally perjures themselves, and they're prosecuted for it. Or some ordinary lawyer gets put in an awkward backroom deals situation, and isn't willing to risk being disbarred.

The Menino administration got a pass on everything, but I don't know that all the people and institutions that bring the money into the town today want to risk an entrenched godfather.

The optimist in me hopes for a new era of Boston statesmanship. The weary cynic in me would prefer that this new era is ushered in by a spectacular takedown.

am I signing Radar?

Wow. From the wayback machine.