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I’m fed up with debbie downers that drown out any voice of reasonability in this city. Whether it be obviously bias media headlines (Councillor spends $25,000 on robot tree), to uneducated twitter spats and all around inability to see past your own circle of influence, people need to learn to consider that outrage for the sake of outrage gets us nowhere. Even when Councillor Johns highlighted the benefits the talking Christmas Tree would bring to an area (estimated $5,000 for a local charity, entertainment and a new tradition for families) that is community minded (and loves gimmicks like talking Christmas Trees), the Halifax media roasted him alive without considering that he may actually know what his district wants.
I’m happy to see that Councillor John’s Talking Christmas Tree was a huge success. They raised $6,449 for Beacon House over only 4 days, and with a lifespan of 10 years it seems like a solid community investment to me.
Now what are the chances any of the local media would admit they were wrong on this one? How about considering that journalism should be unbias, start reporting actual facts instead of spending your time coming up with yet another click bait headline? It’ll be interesting to see if anyone even picks up the story of the talking tree’s success. I won’t hold my breath. —Tree Hugger
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2015.
Come on, man. It’s a goddamn talking tree. It literally won an award for being so outrageous a purchase. And if that is what the people wanted, then save them from themselves!
Perhaps fire Debbie Downer.
could be worse, could be John Baird and his buddy stealing land that was being developed for the city of ottawa (worth 30 million just for the land) in order to build a memorial larger than the War memorial for the “victims” of communism…with his name on it…
THE VOICE OF “REASONABILITY”
“I’m fed up with Debbie downers that drown out any voice of reasonability (sic) in this city.” Tree Hugger
What did the Talking Christmas Tree say? Did it possess “reasonability?” Was the Talking Christmas Tree interactive? Did it pass the Turing test? Write back soon.
A pleasure as always,
Cheerio!
At first when I heard it I thought what was he thinking about. But I think that in the long run it will raise far more for charities than what it cost. I think people will apologize in the next year or two. But having said that, he should have let people know what he was doing and why before its arrival.
Look I get what your saying, I do and it makes sense but wouldn’t it make more sense to donate say $20,000 to charity and spend the other $5,000 putting on a public event? How much can it cost to build a stage and have some local musicians come for free? maybe charge a fee for admittance and donate that proceedings as well? My take is there is better ways to use that money and a talking Christmas tree (although sure, it’s a great having a Christmas tree, does it REALLY cost $25,000 to make a voice box for it!?) just doesn’t seem fiscally responsible.
You’re fed up with the debbie downers so you voice your complaint on LTWWB? Have you been here before?
^^^ “Have you been here before?”
“All hope abandon, ye who enter here.”
Dante – in his epic poem about the dangers of posting to LTWWB.
people who want to use the word “bias” online – people who know how to use the word correctly = 0
Maybe we should ask for a receipt from the purchase of the Christmas tree because I’m hearing it cost a fair bit more than what was said by our Councillor. That would be a great spot for the fact checking to begin.
Next year when the lovely talking tree is taken out of it’s 9 month hibernation, there will not be the tree talking hooplah. It won’t be the talk of social media. Let’s see how much is raised next year before calling it a success.
Also I would like to point out that trying to contact Mr. Johns about anything in his district and getting a response or result is much the same as beating your head against the wall. Add to the fact Mr. Johns leads the league (city hall) in absentee stats. http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archives/2015/02/10/here-are-last-years-city-council-attendance-records
I look forward to the next election to see how the voters will react to the quality of Mr. Johns work and the decisions he has made for the people he represents. I suspect an updated resume will be in order.
Can it shovel driveways? If not, it’s a waste of money. It sits in a closet for eleven months. A lot of people don’t make that much money in a year.
Well said OP. Everyone should have a Woody of their own.
If a councillor really wants to impress us they need to find a talking horse like Mister Ed. Now there was talent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LND1PypBnrU
It isn’t the “Debbie Downers” who threw hundreds of millions of infrastructure money at a convention centre (twice), a ferry to nowhere in Yarmouth, and an airport to nowhere in Inverness OB. Maybe if we had more “Debbie Downers” and less Yes Men we’d be better off!
PS: that tree won’t raise anywhere close to 6,000 next year and Brad Johns is gonna be working in some developers office after he loses the next election.
Better a “Debbie Downer” than the “Susie Seatkicker” who always sits behind me at the theatre along with her friends “Betty Blabbermouth” and “Tommy Texter.”