The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: From the Department of Who Didn't See This Coming?

The Rules of Bureaucracy

Rule #O: "The Rules of Bureaucracy are mutable, non-canonical, non-ordinal, and contradictory, except in the cases where they are not."
Rule #1: "Document everything you do; if you didn't write it down, it didn't happen."
Rule #2 [The Sixty Minutes Rule]: "Never do anything that would cause Ed Bradley, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Steve Croft, Leslie Stahl, or even Andy Rooney to persue you down a hallway with a camera crew."
Rule #3: "Nothing Simple is Ever Easy"
Rule #4: "It's about the money; follow the money."
Rule #5: "Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Rule #6: "Politics is the enemy of good government."
Rule #7: "The biggest detriment to public service is the public."
Rule #8: "The second biggest detriment to public service is the service."
Rule #9: "There's a reason; there's ALWAYS a reason."
Rule #10: "The Law is a harsh mistress: The rigorous and exacting application of which can benefit of society when used correctly to advance good policy and block bad, and be the bane of society when used incorrectly to advance bad policy and block good."
Rule #11: "Public service often involves waking up in the morning, opening up the newspaper, and discovering that someone, somewhere out there thinks that you're a dickhead."
Rule #12: "No one really knows what you do."
Rule #13 [Luke's Rule]: "No one ever acts like the bastard they really are."
Rule #14: "Bureaucracy endures."
Rule #15: "The longer you work in bureaucracy, the more Catch-22 resembles non-fiction."
Rule #16: "Politicians are not smarter than you."
Rule #18: "Money is not created equal."
Rule #19: "Mediocrity is normalcy."
Rule #17: "Within any bureaucratic structure, resources (e.g. people, money, knowledge, etc.) are not distributed uniformly."
Rule #20: "Don't assume a fiduciary liability without a committed resource allocation."
Rule #21: "If you do your job and obey the law, they can't reasonably fire you."
Rule #22: "The Budget will always be wrong."
Rule #23: "Always sign in blue."
Rule #24: "A Bureaucrat must be able to explain and justify his/her actions to laymen without resorting to the phrase 'because the Rules say so.'"
Rule #25: "Never voluntarily relinquish control of an original document."
Rule #26: "Sometimes you just have to say 'Screw the rules'"
Rule #27: "Change sucks."
Rule #28: "Sometimes the answer is 'No.'"
Rule #29: "It is very easy to make difficult decisions when no one has a clue what's going on."
Rule #30: "If you hang around long enough, eventually you will become an expert in something."
Rule #31: "Data, technology, and automatic processes can never completely supplant human interaction."
Rule #32: "Cover thine own ass."
Rule #33: "It's not real until it has its own acronym."
Rule #34:There is nothing more dangerous than an elected, resourceful idiot.
Rule #35: It will always take longer than expected.
Rule #36: Coming Soon...

Thursday, July 10, 2008

From the Department of Who Didn't See This Coming?

And then there's this:

International lender Credit Suisse has notified North Shore casino developer Don Barden he is in default of a $200 million bridge loan for the project according to a petition filed with the state Gaming Control Board.

The board today is considering a request by Mr. Barden to approve a new financing plan for the casino that includes a change in the company holding the license for the project. Mr. Barden would no longer be the majority owner of the casino, according to his spokesman...

The proposed investment would be used to pay off the bridge loan and to help complete construction.

If Credit Suisse enforces the default, it could result in construction disruption and significant delays in finishing and opening the casino. Work was halted at the site last month after contractors said Mr. Barden hadn't paid for work since April.

Color me shocked.

Now, I don't know much about Credit Suisse, but I can tell you that there a whole lot of folk 'round these here parts that are determined to make this casino work: the Governor, the Legislature, the County Executive, the Mayor, the Hill District (for the promised cash), etc. etc. Unfortunately, Mr. Barden may have written a couple of checks that his butt couldn't cash, bitten off more than he could chew, leaped before he looked, or any number of various cliches.

The world of high finance escapes me, but one would think that this restructuring of ownership is not going to be easy, lead to major delays, and probably result in a cut back to the promises that were made early on. However, because the main excuse for these casinos has always been the fig leaf of "tax relief" the Gaming Control Board may opt to allow for such a move with assurances that revenue will come in shortly.

One has to wonder, however, if Barden's plan all along was to "low ball" the Gaming Board, get his foot in the door and be forced, FORCED to change his plans.

One also has to wonder if the Rooney family might be looking at gaming oppportunities a wee bit closer to home.

The Angry Drunk Bureaucrat

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

From the Department of Who Didn't See This Coming?

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