Last week I reported on city council’s efforts to build a homeless resource access center downtown. Don’t worry, nothing’s actually happening—it’s still two years from being ready, just as it was two years ago. But there was another aspect to the city council hearing on the subject, that I’ve just not been able to let go. Here’s the speech about the access center given by City Commissioner Nick Fish:
FISH SPEECH: Pretty good, although it wasn’t exactly Henry V at Agincourt…
Afterward, City Commissioner Randy Leonard spent five minutes saying how good he thought Fish’s speech was, comparing Fish to former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, and even saying: “I’ve never heard a better speech.” Here is that praise, for your benefit:
LEONARD: Really, really liked Fish’s speech…
There’ll be more on this in this week’s newspaper, including new perspectives from Leonard and Fish’s office on the speech, and Leonard’s reaction to it. In the mean time, I’d be interested in your insights (and of course, Youtube links) as to the best speeches you’ve ever heard. And remember: Portland’s city commissioners may take our lives, but they can never take…our freedom. I have a dream. We’ll fight them on the beaches. Etcetera.
Oh those lovable, goofy commissioners.
I can’t decide whether I miss the sex scandal or not. I hated reading about it, but it was at least more interesting than articles about speeches.
I believe, if you dig through your latin dictionary, that etcetera(sic) is preferably spelled et cetera, two distinct words.
Jimmy Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” speech always breaks my heart in the context of a kind and powerful man broken and lost by circumstance. Also Macbeth’s “… it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”