Kevyn Orr at Wayne State Law School

[belleislerunner]

I was impressed with the poise and professionalism of Orr last night. He answered questions directly, didn't point blame, assessed the situation and gave his current thoughts. [[50/50 chance of bankruptcy, Belle Isle will be leased for 30 years etc). I was most disappointed by the quality of questions posed by the attendees - not one was insightful - and many were downright accusatory. The lunatic white guy screaming about banks being solely responsible for Detroit's ills was an embarassment to all Detroiters. People like that should be banned from future meetings.

[corktownyuppie]

I was impressed with the poise and professionalism of Orr last night. He answered questions directly, didn't point blame, assessed the situation and gave his current thoughts. [[50/50 chance of bankruptcy, Belle Isle will be leased for 30 years etc). I was most disappointed by the quality of questions posed by the attendees - not one was insightful - and many were downright accusatory. The lunatic white guy screaming about banks being solely responsible for Detroit's ills was an embarassment to all Detroiters. People like that should be banned from future meetings.

Here's my take on this...

[[1) I'm in banking, and I will admit that the fraudulent manipulation of the LIBOR really F'd Detroit. Now were banks solely -- or even primarily -- the cause of Detroit's ills? No.

[[2) As much as I would love to avoid stupid or irrational commentary, I think it's just as important to have the public voice be heard. HOWEVA, I don't think that the sound and fury of a small number of people should disrupt the honest and real dialogue of thee many others. You get 60 seconds, and STFU once your time is up. Have questions screened by a 3rd party so that we are hearing many points of view and not just the 30 loudest people in the room singing Onward Christian Soldiers.