"I Wasn't Lying. You didn't ask the correct questions"

“I Wasn’t Lying. You didn’t ask the correct questions”

by bigcajunman last updated on April 5, 2020

That was how Mayor Ford in Toronto answered as to why he hadn’t admitted to smoking crack before, that no one had asked the right question.

While the whole situation was a bit sad to see someone having this many troubles in his private life, that response is a classic response that really needs to be used more by those of us who may have misled someone (rivalling, “… I did not have sex with that woman …” for an interesting response which you could argue wasn’t a lie), or as we have learned the true definition of Chutzpah!

Chutzpah 2013 Super Colossal Award Winner

Anyone with teenage children know this kind of answer, but let’s see where else we could use this kind of answer in a financial situation:

You ask your friend to pay for your lunch at a restaurant and a few days later when they ask you to pay them back, you point out that you asked them to pay for lunch, not for a loan to pay for your lunch and if they look perplexed the answer, “I wasn’t lying. You didn’t ask the correct questions” works very nicely.
Blackberry investors find out that the company in fact is not going to sell itself, it is going to stick it out (and try to recover by firing their CEO) and the stock price drops by 20% before trading, I guess the answer the Blackberry board could answer to the investors is, “We weren’t lying. You didn’t ask the correct questions”?
I suppose if you were a victim of a Ponzi scheme of some kind, the “Investment Guru” that rant the scheme when the victims asked why did you steal all our money, the answer, “I wasn’t lying. You didn’t ask the correct questions”, could be used as well.

I think truly Mr. Ford should be nominated for the 2013 Super Colossal Chutzpah of the Year Award.

What is chutzpah? The best explanation I can find is from Leo Rosten (author of the Joys of Yiddish ), who stated:

“…that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”
Leo Rosten — The Joys of Yiddish

originally published on November 6, 2013 { 5 comments }

My Own Advisor November 7, 2013, 6:52 PM

Ford, what an idiot. Back away from the pipe, politics and everything in between for a few years.

I almost feel sorry for him. He doesn’t know any better.

Mark

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LifeInsuranceCanada.com November 6, 2013, 8:59 PM

If you want your kid to really do some thinkin’, have him form an opinion on Rob Ford’s treatment of the media, and why Ford’s popularity increased by 5%. In other words, have him think beyond what the Toronto Star’s opinion on Ford is. Or have him compare and contrast Ford’s revelations about drug use and his treatment in the press, with Trudeau’s revelation on drug use and Trudeau’s treatment in the press.

Wouldn’t hurt for some grownups to do some pondering on that too :). Ford’s a screw up. But so’s the media and most politicians – and Ford’s not perceived as a politician.

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BetCrooks November 6, 2013, 10:46 AM

Right now one of my children has to make this huge scrapbook of articles about federal, provincial and municipal government activities from the newspaper, read them, and write summaries. It’s been hard not to leave the kid cynical and too jaded to want to vote as we wade through the ongoing Ford scandal; the Senate scandals; the Orange Air and E-Health and power plant cancellation scandals. Honestly, if the teacher’s wanted them to see the “good” in democracy, they picked a lousy time to give this assignment!

Some banks already seem to use the “you didn’t ask the right questions” defense. How else can a mutual fund that lost 50% in the market downturn be listed as “low risk” in the Fund Facts? (It is “low risk” for the banks: they made their 2% even while you lost 50%!)

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- bigcajunman November 6, 2013, 11:58 AM
  
  To quote Trading Places, “… so you guys are like bookies …” to sum up the trading industry in general and the Mutual Fund business in specific.
  
  Reply
  - BetCrooks November 6, 2013, 3:15 PM
    
    Exactly!
    
    Reply