1. The Cambridge Machine has, apparently, fooled a bunch of zoning petitioners into doing exactly the wrong thing with their petition.
2. Central Square in Context.
3. The real game — Fool well meaning people into respecting a situation worthy of disgust
4. The details?
5. Defeat versus slumber.
6. The Machine con — withdraw, withdraw, withdraw.
7. Standard Game — The Script from the Machine.
1. The Cambridge Machine has, apparently, fooled a bunch of zoning petitioners into doing exactly the wrong thing with their petition.
They have fooled them into withdrawing the petition, thus preventing further consideration for two years.
The smart thing is to simply let it die from inaction. Then you can refile at will.
2. Central Square in Context.
I avoid commenting about strictly in town Cambridge, MA machinations and concentrate on the attacks on the environment, almost all of which are general attacks on the environment. The rottenness of the situation in Cambridge is a key part of the destructiveness, but it is ancillary to whichever outrage they are pulling this time.
Thus, while I have had various approaches on various con games, I have not bothered spending my time on the con games on the blog unless the games are clearly of general interest. The nonsense going on in Central Square and Kendall Square fall into the category of: So what.
3. The real game — Fool well meaning people into respecting a situation worthy of disgust.
The Machine defines the parameters so that the victims think that what is going on in Cambridge is worthy of respect. That is the most important function of the company union, to give credibility to a pretty much non stop outrage and to fool well meaning people into thinking that the City Manager’s organization and the Cambridge City Council are worthy of respect.
It does not matter what the Machine claims to be doing, what matters is that the system is drilled into folks as something to respect, and that people are given the idea that THEY LOVE THE MACHINE.
4. The details?
I was approached during, I guess, the drafting of a zoning proposal for areas on the edges of Central Square. I asked a lot of questions and I communicated my lack of confidence in the Machine’s front behind the supposed proposal because of the very clear Machine participation. The details are irrelevant. The most important factors, after giving credibility to the Cambridge Administration and City Council are to fool people into thinking The Machine is worthy of Respect.
I offended the sensibilities of the “activists” and I did not want anything to do with them anyway. I am concerned with reality.
5. Defeat versus slumber.
The Cambridge Chronicle reported this week that Susan Yanow was in the process of withdrawing the Susan Yanow Petition, the workproduct of the Machine and its friends.
After checking and ensuring I had no contact information for Yanow, I immediately contacted a friend who is involved in the effort.
I communicated reality, a very bad thing to try with somebody under the control of The Machine.
Zoning initiatives have a life of their own, all spelled out in Chapter 40A of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Machine has no use for Chapter 40A. Their reality is whatever their controllers tell them is reality.
A very key provision in chapter 40A concerns withdrawal of a petition. It says that withdrawal is the same as a defeat and bars consideration of the matter again for two years.
How do you get around it? You tell the city council you will not push the matter and, please forget about it. About six months or so after it is filed it goes into a state of limbo from which it cannot be resuscitated except by reinitiating the petition.
But you can resuscitate it and you can file a similar petition containing a lot of the same provisions, all with no problem.
You just do not withdraw it.
6. The Machine con — withdraw, withdraw, withdraw.
The Machine has informed the petitioners that they cannot win. So the Machine has advised the petitioners to do exactly the wrong thing. Withdraw the petition and have the punishment associated with a defeat without actually suffering a defeat.
The cause is given the worst possible treatment and no member of the City Council can be blamed, because the petitioners stabbed themselves in the back.
The Machine achieves its goals. It has fooled a bun ch of people into thinking the Machine is their friend and the Machine has achieved their real objectives. Fool those people into thinking the City of Cambridge has a viable system and fool outsiders into thinking the Cambridge City Council is a bunch of good guys.
The pitch given to me was that the City Council would defeat the proposal so there is no sense in fighting. Withdraw it.
So the victims get the worst possible result WITHOUT ANY CITY COUNCILORS TO BLAME. By withdrawing the petition, bad city councilors are protected from taking bad votes.
In the responsible way of handling it, just asking for no action, bad city councilors are also protected from taking bad votes, but the petitioners do not have the punishment associated with a withdrawal / defeat.
Instead, the Machine has talked the petitioners into getting the punishment of a defeat WITHOUT A VOTE SHOWING THE BAD GUYS TO BE BAD GUYS.
Would the city council take a vote on its own and give the petitioners the punishment associated with a defeat?
Hell, no. There would be no benefit to the bad members of the city council. The opponents of the petition are able to avoid the scorn which the petitioners would have for them if they took a vote the petitioners sad they did not want and they voted against the petitioners.
A pol would have to be a total fool to force a vote under such a circumstance.
So The Machine has persuaded the petitioners into voluntarily giving themselves the punishment associated with being voted down, WITHOUT HAVING THE BENEFIT OF BEING ABLE TO POINT OUT IRRESPONSIBLE CITY COUNCILORS.
7. Standard Game — The Script from the Machine.
The running theme of The Machine: “You can trust me, I’m your friend.” Followed by“You can’t win, you can’t win, you can’t win, but have I got a deal for you.”
A very rotten organization.
