A Rumor About Hot Dogs
Dear Rebecca Cave:
I heard a rumor the other day.
The rumor is that hot dogs are made by sweeping the stuff up off of the floor of the meatpacking plant and throwing it into sausage casing. Kind of makes you sick to your stomach, doesn't it.
I heard another rumor.
As a council member, you are supposed to hold your office with some integrity. No, that's not a rumor. Here is your rumor...In the Schweigert investigation (see page 46), you were spreading juicy salacious rumors about Ms. Le, the sort of projection that reveals a lot about the gossiper. Your lack of integrity makes me sick.
I heard another rumor.
This one was something about me voting for you in the last election. Bleah!! I just threw up.
Funny what happens when one tries to digest a Schweigert investigation.
Good Luck in November Rebecca!
posted by LookingNorth @ 12:05 AM
3 Comments:
At 11:33 AM,
Frostbrand said…
The unprofessionalism of this so-called investigation is astonishing.
An employee (Le) says she feels that her new boss and the new councilmembers are hostile to her.
The investigator interviews them. Her new boss (Copeland) and two of the new councilmembers (Cave, Hjelle) all tell the investigator salacious rumors about her. You would expect an impartial investigator to recognize this as possible evidence of hostility -- the fact that her boss and the new councilmembers appear eager to spread malicious gossip. He might investigate whether they have been active in retransmitting these rumors that they say they've heard. But no, instead the investigator decides to check out whether the rumors are true. He asks other councilmembers if they've heard anything about the employee's social life, for example (p. 45).
When he finds no evidence to support the rumors, what does he say? Well, he admits that he has "only heard speculation" (page 50), but he is quick to add: "I would suggest immediately reopening this part of the investigation if an employee from the City of Maplewood were to come forward with a complaint of this nature about Ms. Le, or if more specifics for time, place, and persons could be produced."
He goes a step further, to use these rumors as a threat: "Although I am not proceeding on this issue, Ms. Le and her counsel should know that besides innuendo that can be raised by her, a lawsuit will also raise considerable innuendo against her."
Did this guy intern for Ken Starr?
When it comes to vicious rumors about Le and her personal life, Schwieger is quick to leave the door open in case any juicy new evidence might saunter in.
On the other hand, when Le offers her belief (page 49) that "terminating herself and other department heads was their [the new councilmembers'] only agenda" (a rumor with more credence than Rebecca's gossip -- given that it was, for instance, attributed to Erik Hjelle in a Pioneer Press article), the investigator declares that "this answer is also not based in reality." Indeed, when it comes to his conviction that Le's feelings of persecution are baseless, "it is doubtful there would be any new information that would change my opinion" (page 60).
"Contemptible" doesn't begin to describe this report, or the city manager and council majority that spent thousands of our tax dollars to pay for it.
At 2:58 PM,
Anonymous said…
What do you expect? Boobs like Copeland are going to higher boob attorneys. They are all cut from the same no-talent cloth.
At 3:44 PM,
drawnLeftward said…
anonymous 2:58 was using our cutting edge voice-to-text commenting tool. It heard hire as higher. Maybe anonymous is suthun.
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