Public officials who should not speak in public (#4,378)

[Hawkmoon]

From my brother's daily news rag: http://www.newhavenregister.com/articles/2011/02/24/news/aa2_neburnedbody022311.txt

Cliff's Notes version: A car was found burning in a lot behind a building at 5:00 a.m. After the fire had been put out, they found a body inside ... dead (not much surprise there). The fire chief was quoted as saying, "There’s nothing to indicate this was anything suspicious."

Right, Chief. I hope I never have to live in your world. If dead bodies in burning cars are so commonplace that finding one doesn't create any indication of anything suspicious ... well, suffice it to say that I would think there might be something suspicious about a dead body in a burning car, but perhaps I have just led an overly-sheltered existence.

[French G.]

[RoadKingLarry]

Sounds like the place where they would have a suicide that shot himself three times in the back of the head, Or the miscreant that tried to swim across the river with more stolen chains than he could carry.

[Scout26]

That was Chicago, where the guy was found with 3 bullet holes in his head and a handful of aspirin and the coroner (NOT an MD) announced that the deceased had died of a headache.   

[Declaration Day]

Reminds me of a story here in SE Michigan a few years ago.  A decapitated man from Detroit was found floating in the Detroit River near the Canadian shore.

The local news reported that the coroner had yet to determine the cause of death. 

Hmmmm, maybe he drowned after his head was cut off. 

[Hawkmoon]

I see dumb statements like this almost daily. We should start a blog about them. If such public officials are useless at their jobs, they might as well be useful as comic relief.

The other (slightly related) theme is the wrong-doers who are caught and tried, and always express remorse in court. It's obvious that the only thing they are sorry for/about is the fact that they were caught -- but they all stand up and say they're sorry.

[geronimotwo]

would we rather see public officials who are good at their job but are poor public speakers, or good public speakers who suck at their job?

[Perd Hapley]

That was Chicago, where the guy was found with 3 bullet holes in his head and a handful of aspirin and the coroner (NOT an MD) announced that the deceased had died of a headache.   

Sounds accurate.

[Doggy Daddy]

would we rather see public officials who are good at their job but are poor public speakers, or good public speakers who suck at their job?

There's a third alternative, but how many Ronald Reagans could there be?

DD

[RevDisk]

Sounds like the place where they would have a suicide that shot himself three times in the back of the head, Or the miscreant that tried to swim across the river with more stolen chains than he could carry.

Heh, my favorite was Col. James Sabow, USMC.  He apparently clubbed himself unconscious, jammed a shotgun into the back of his own throat (not into the roof of the mouth, ponder that angle for a moment) and killed himself.

Apparently investigating unmarked C130s that may or may not be moving illegal cargo makes one suicidal.

[MechAg94]

would we rather see public officials who are good at their job but are poor public speakers, or good public speakers who suck at their job?

In general, this is a good question.  I find is funny and maybe pathetic how many people will pile on to a public official who is not the best on TV, but then in the next breath complain about the slick politicians we have.  In a similar way, we set things up so politicians are encouraged to never actually state their actual opinions or stick to their guns on an issue. 

On this, I imagine part of it is just an automatic urge to tone down whatever hype the media might make out of it. 

[Hawkmoon]

On this, I imagine part of it is just an automatic urge to tone down whatever hype the media might make out of it. 

Or an urge to wish for public officials who are just quietly competent. I'm not greedy -- unlike Lake Woebegone, I don't expect all public officials to be above average. I'll gladly settle for average. Unfortunately, even though I understand that it's mathematically impossible, we live today in a world run by public officials (almost) all of whom are below average.

[Gowen]

"There’s nothing to indicate this was anything suspicious."

It all depends where this happened, it could be such a common occurrence in New Haven that it's not suspicious. 

[gunsmith]

The Fire Chief did it

[S. Williamson]

<snip>

Never mind...