I just heard of this new blog, which I think is also new. They’re doing coverage on the tenth anniversary of Clinton’s welfare “reform” and pushing a more balanced view of the results than we’re seeing in the MSM.

For example, check out this commentary by Rachel Gregg on the 1996 Act:

Look, I hate the 1996 law. It is an extraordinarily mean-spirited bill that was driven almost entirely by political motivation. It put us on record as a nation as saying there are some people in our communities to whom we simply owe nothing; if they fall off the end of the earth, so be it. There is no question that a number of very vulnerable people were hurt by this bill – driven deeper into poverty with no way out – which for me violates a basic principle that government policy must first do whatever it can to protect those who most need our help.

I’ve also read posts about education policy, immigration, employment, health care, and I know there’s a lot more.

Take a trip over to Inclusionist.org and see what other activists are thinking about some of the important policy issues that face us here in Vermont.

Trackin’, shootin video,
I’m trackin’, wherever they may go
Campaigning, by now they gotta know,
we’ll just keep trackin’ on.

George Felix Allen, he called a young man a macaca
And boy did he ever step right in a huge pile of caca
The camera was rolling; the video went up on YouTube
America! George Felix Allen’s a racist boob…

WaPo, and the Daily Show,
Sound bites on the radio,
Countdown with our friend Keith O,
We’ll just keep trackin on….

Most times, a camera’s pointed at you,
Better watch what you say and do,
The Internet’s a series of tubes,
What a strange new trip this is!

-with apologies to the Grateful Dead

Have you noticed, ever since Le Brouhaha Macaca kicked in, we’re hearing endless debates on the karmic implications of trackers following candidates wherever they go and catching every word they say hoping to get lucky like “whatshisname in the yellow shirt”?

  Democrat:”It’s a good thing because it keeps them honest.” 

  Republican:”It’s a bad thing because it makes them act like robots and you never see the real person.”

  At least, that was the way I was hearing it until I checked the Bennington Banner’s site today:

“Unfortunately, taping candidates seems to be a new part of the political process,” said Carolyn Dwyer, campaign manager for state Sen. Peter Welch, who is running for Congress.

  Peter Welch seems to have acquired a tracker. But one of the many ways in which Welch differs from Allen: he doesn’t seem to know exactly who the tracker works for. Martha’s people say it isn’t her:

“This campaign did not hire anyone to tape Sen. Welch, ever,” said Brendan McKenna, spokesman for the Republican candidate. “The Rainville campaign has a policy of not recording any political events of our opponents.”

Brendan’s getting plenty of opportunity to polish this rap:

Professor complained

Two weeks ago, a Community College of Vermont professor complained that a campaign aide for Gov. Jim Douglas misrepresented himself before videotaping an appearance at a community college class in White River Junction.

Rainville denies

Rainville spokesman Brendan McKenna denied any involvement by Rainville’s camp.

He couldn’t say why the videographer allegedly told the Welch campaign he’d been hired by Rainville. “If the cameraman says he was hired by the campaign, he’s lying,” said McKenna.

  Well, DUHH. Of course Martha’s not going to admit to trying for a macaca moment. See, there’s those pesky pledge cards. Brendan’s afraid if he pulled some shit like that he’d get a few in the mail covered with something that sounds like George Allen’s racial slur, and smells worse.

  So if the trackers don’t work for Martha, (assuming the trackers DON’T work for Martha) then who?

NRCC?

The dark forces that sent John McCain or Laura Bush out our way?

Free Republic?

Who cares?

The YouTubing of American politics is reality.

A Buddhist sage once observed, “If you understand the world, the world is the way it is. If, however, you do not understand the world, then the world is the way it is.”

It’s not like push-polling. You have people who will volunteer for this stuff just for a shot at their fifteen minutes.

So the reality of the situation is pretty clear.

You watch your step, or you end up taking an unscheduled trip through the tubes of the internet, and those tubes are not trucks, but intestines.

And you come out covered with macaca.

 Loading ...

(And now, Part II of Bill McKibben Day here on GMD…)

I keep forgetting about this pretty amazing event that will be happening October 6-8th at both the Wyndham Hotel and Champlain College in Burlington.

Luckily a friend just sent me this reminder…

Those activists from Vermont and nearby locales worried about the corruption of democracy by the mass media should attend the “Facing The Media Crisis” Summit happening in Burlington, Vermont from October 6-8, 2006, sponsored by ACMEvt (Action Coalition for Media Education). More here – http://www.acmecoalition.org

The conference features keynotes and workshops featuring Pacifica Radio’s Democracy Now host Amy Goodman, author/speaker Bill McKibben, author/citizen activist Diane Wilson, U.S. Representative and Senate Candidate Bernie Sanders, and actor/activist David Strathairn.

Representatives from local alternative and public access media outlets as well as national figures in the media reform movement will all be present to discuss ways for media makers, educators, and students to claim their independence from corporate media.

It promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for Vermonters interested in media and social change.

We look forward to seeing you in Burlington in October. Please share this introduction with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in this great opportunity to focus on the impact of mass media in our society.

Jerome Armstrong will also be on hand to discuss Crashing the Gate. No word if he’ll read your palms for $20, too (sorry, couldn’t help it).

And many, many others, including Middlebury author Vermont film director, Jay Craven. [Sorry, synapse error. I read it as Jay Parini, which is weird cuz I’ve seen Craven’s films, but have never read any of Parini’s books]

Here’s the full schedule (annoying PDF link).

But, warning… It’s not free and is pretty pricey. Full registration is $295.00.

Unfortunately, the ACME website is pretty awful, so save yourself some trouble and just go here to register online if you’re interested and can afford it.

And here’s the far less horrible Vermont chapter site.

So, can anyone out there get me in for free? Anyone?

I’ll buy lunch… Really…

UPDATE: Oh, I just noticed that it’s just $25 to go to either the Friday or Sunday headline events.

( – promoted by odum)

Noted author Bill McKibben will lead a five-day walk from Ripton to Burlington beginning Aug. 31 and ending September 4 in Burlington. The goal? Raise awareness about the problem of global warming. Why? Because a warmer world puts Vermont’s quality of life and homegrown economy – skiing, maple sugaring, agriculture, and tourism – at risk. This event promises to be a fun, hopeful opportunity to demonstrate broad-based support for tackling this issue – so much so that Vermont’s political leaders are compelled to act.

Read all about this event here: www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org

A couple things to consider:
1. If you can only come for part of this five-day event, please think about walking the last leg of the journey – from Shelburne to Burlington. Hundreds of people walking into Burlington calling for action on climate change will send a clear message. Stay for the culminating rally in Battery Park, where there will be music, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and inspiring words from Bill McKibben. We have also invited political leaders and candidates for office to speak about what action they are taking – or would take – to address this issue. NOTE: Busses will be available in Burlington to return people to their cars at Shelburne Farms if you do indeed walk the last leg.
2. PLEASE let organizers know you’re coming so they can better plan this event. Do that by signing up online for any or all legs of the journey you plan to take at www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org.
3. For exact details of the event, and to sign up to walk, visit www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org.

Other ways you can help make this event great:
1. SPREAD THE WORD.
2. VOLUNTEER. This event will take serious people power to pull off well. Your help as a volunteer during any of the five days would be most appreciated. Again, sign up online to volunteer. Go to: www.fromtheroadlesstraveled.org.

Help make this the largest demonstration calling for action on global warming this nation has ever seen. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.

What you are looking at is a massive yellowjacket nest that has consumed the inside of a 1955 Chevrolet in Alabama (serious hat tip to Bill at Candleblog for finding this). From the Montgomery (Ala) Advertiser:

That nest was about the size of a tire in the rear floor seven weeks ago, but quickly spread to fill the entire vehicle, the property owner, Harry Coker, said. Four satellite nests around it have gotten into the eaves of the barn, about 300 yards from his home.

“I’m kind of afraid for the grandkids. I had to sneak down there at dark and get my tractor out of the barn,” Coker said. “It’s been a disruption.”

And it’s not a fluke:

Auburn University entomologists, who say they’ve never seen the nests so large, have been fielding calls about the huge nests from property owners from Dothan up to Sylacauga and over into west-central Alabama’s Black Belt.

At one site in Barbour County, the nest was as large as a Volkswagen Beetle, said Andy McLean, an Orkin pesticide service manager in Dothan who helped remove it from an abandoned barn about a month ago…

…In previous years, a yellow jacket nest was no larger than a basketball, Ray said. It would contain about 3,000 workers and one queen. These gigantic nests may have as many as 100,000 workers and multiple queens.

Yellowjackets, of course, are among the nastiest and peskiest of stinging insects as they are carnivorous and therefore drawn to anything from carrion to your picnic lunch.

So what’s behind the giant nest phenomenon? Entymologists are still somewhat mystified, but there does seem to be this consensus:

Specialists say it could be the result of a mild winter and drought conditions, or multiple queens forcing worker yellow jackets to enlarge their quarters so the queens will be in separate areas… Without a cold winter to kill them this year, the yellow jackets continued feeding in January and February — and layering their nests

The article doesn’t mention it specifically, but against the above quote, it’s certainly the elephant in the room. Mild winters? Drought conditions? No winter freeze?

Welcome to a particularly creepy footnote in that inconvenient truth we keep hearing about…

I get a lot of press releases (I suppose I should call them “blog releases” since I aint the press). They come in from both sides, and I tend not to use them or borrow too much from them when they come from “my side” as doing so would feel icky – like I was getting marching orders or something. But it’s a testament to just how good Dem Communications Director Andy Bouska is that sometimes they’re just so good that I have to pass them on.

In the case of the most recent one, he has digested this morning’s radio debate between GOP Congressional hopefuls Martha Rainville and Mark Shepard quite masterfully. From his ensuing press release, I am now pleased to – at long last – present for your consideration, Martha Rainville on the Issues (gasp!):

On Iraq:

“A very important element has been missing, and that is good communication on what’s going on there… It’s very difficult for citizens to have an accurate perspective of the war of our successes… Part of that is, I believe, the fault of all of those involved for not communicating more openly with Americans, or not telling the story of what’s going on in Iraq.

War is not a steady state – it does not march toward victory on a steady line.”

On energy:

“The only way that we can reasonably lessen our dependence on foreign oil while continuing to maintain a strong and dynamic economy is to increase our domestic production and, uh, refining capacity. So I have come out with an energy proposal that advocates for increased offshore drilling.”

[the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is] “a resource we have there to use”… “Those oil reserves are there, they’re not going anywhere, if we do need them in the future we can address that.”

On the mess that is Medicare Part D:

“I’m glad they did it. I support Medicare Part D.”

On abortion rights:

“We need to have parental notification to protect our young women – 16 and under – I support a ban on partial birth abortion, late-term abortion…”

On supporting the Republican Congressional leadership:

“I don’t know what you mean by saying I’ve agreed to support the leadership. I won’t really answer that because I don’t know what you’re talking about. I doubt [I’d support Democratic leadership] because I don’t see supporting Nancy Pelosi, who might be the obvious candidate as something that would be in Vermont’s best interest.”

…and on President Bush and his handling of the war:

“I think his weakness all along has been communicating with people. I wish so much that he would tell more of the good news that’s there.  There are some positive things happening… We tend to hear the bad news which is a function of how we cover news I think the help to the Iraqi people that the war has given – I think that needs to be better understood. Those stories get lost, and I think it’s important for our nation as a whole to understand all that’s going in so that we can judge the strengths and weaknesses better of our president or our congress or our foreign policy.”

After all, if Bush could just explain what a nice civil war it is, maybe two thirds of Americans wouldn’t feel so strongly about getting our soldiers out of there and moving towards a strategy that, you know, might actually work.

So, I know Rainville is supposed to be a different kind of Republican, but danged if I can tell from this list what that “different kind” is. Maybe she’s left handed or something.

With Rich Tarrant going, as Haik puts it, “nuclear negative” in his war against Bernie, now employing an operative in a Chicken suit to follow him around, it seems that the story of Dr. Mauricio Leon – formerly the Senior Director of Informatics at Tarrant’s IDX Corporation –  may be coming around again. If you missed it the first time, dont be surprised, as it has received shockingly little coverage in the Green Mountain State. As iHealth Beat reported back in May of 2003 (obviously when Tarrant was still top dog at IDX):

A former employee and head physician for electronic medical records vendor IDX Systems’ federally funded clinical decision support program said the company retaliated against him for his attempted whistleblowing suit charging IDX with fraud and concealment in the project, Modern Physician reports. Dr. Mauricio Leon filed a law suit against IDX yesterday in federal court in Seattle; Leon has also filed a HIPAA privacy complaint and a wrongful termination complaint against the company.

Leon’s lawsuit filed yesterday alleges that IDX, in its $18 million contract with the Commerce Department, submitted false documents to the department and defrauded the company’s joint-venture partners. Leon alleges that the company covered up and falsified evidence and billing, and then removed him from the project after he complained.

Investors took the charges (which include an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint) seriously, as IDX stock took a big hit. The Feds took it seriously too, again according to iHealth Beat in November of 2003:

Health care IT company IDX Systems this week disclosed that it is the subject of a federal fraud investigation surrounding its application for an $18 million clinical decision support system contract from the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, Modern Physician reports. The company also faces a civil suit filed in May by a physician executive alleging that IDX falsified documents in the bidding for the contract.

In its recent quarterly Security and Exchange Commission filing, IDX said a federal prosecutor is investigating the company and that it intends to cooperate with the investigation.

Intense stuff, eh? On April 25, 2003 IDX asked the U.S. District Court in Seattle to hold that it could fire Dr. Leon without violating the False Claims Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or any other applicable whistleblower protections. As Dr. Leon said at the time:

“The IDX lawsuit against me is a smokescreen. It is with great sadness that I witness how IDX management would rather increase the company’s liability and consume shareholders equity in attorneys’ fees in attacks against me, rather than solve the problems with the federally funded SAGE project.”

Leon’s request for whistleblower protection was denied, and the saga seemed to be over – except that it’s not. The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which heard oral argument about six months ago. At least one legal expert familiar with the case expressed to me an expectation that the decision against Leon will be reversed.

Background: False Claims Act Cases (“Qui Tam” or “Federal Whistleblower actions”) require that the complainant (whistleblower) present the action to the Department of Justice and then they have the option of filing their own action and proceeding with or without the backing of the DOJ.  Most complainants (whistle-blowers) who proceed without DOJ backing are almost certainly doomed to fail. The reason is obvious: if Justice takes a pass then there is smoke but no fire. The process for selecting a case to proceed is complicated by a number of factors:  the Federal prosecutor assigned to the case, his boss, the agency’s reputation (which will suffer from embarrassing disclosures); agency counsel, politics — in every sense and at every level — the Executive Branch (of which the DOJ is a part) can squelch an investigation.  If the case stinks then Justice is not shy about telling you so.

Now, this is where it gets difficult as I am neither a journalist or a lawyer, and am limited by the information available to me through clever uses of the web and online public records. The news reports linked above refer to a federal investigation, and IDX’s own pleadings strongly allude to such a qui tam filing. So the question is, what’s its status? If such an action had been rejected by DOJ, IDX would have issued press releases and trumpeted that fact to the world.  I couldn’t find such an announcement from IDX (now GE) since the retaliation action on Dr. Leon’s behalf. What’s to be concluded, therefore?

If you think DOJ is sitting on a negative report that could impact Rich Tarrant’s Senate campaign, that’d certainly be an opinion you’d be entitled to – and you’d probably find others who share that view if you started asking around.

I’ve been looking at this case for some time, and am only posting on it now because it took me this long to find sources close to the whole business who were willing to share some limited, but I believe reliable insights.

So, was Tarrant really directly involved in any of this?

The story really ran in two parts: the underlying bad actions leading to Dr. Leon’s charges, followed by IDX’s attempt to discredit him personally – what my source referred to as “dirty tricks.”  As to the former, it clearly reached the highest levels of IDX’s Seattle operations. As to the latter, it reached the highest levels of IDX in Vermont (Tarrant). Although there were all kinds of protective orders put in place by IDX to assure that minimal information was made public, one source believes this can be confirmed through public documents such as this one.

Still, I can find no evidence of a decision yet rendered by the Ninth Circuit. It may be there and I couldn’t turn it up, or it may be coming anytime. As such, if you’ll pardon the expression, the “jury is still out.” It is entirely possible that the whole business is as baseless as IDX has claimed. In my own investigations, I attempted to call Dr. Leon’s attorney in the original filing but the listed number was no longer valid, and internet records indicate that his license has been suspended.  Once could conclude from this that it was a drive-by lawsuit. One could also conclude that the only reason it was therefore dismissed initially was due to inadequate representation. It’s also possible to conclude that that the original lawyer’s difficulties made him a target of IDX’s retaliation campaign, and therefore a legal liability. Or it may mean nothing. In any case, Leon’s original counsel was clearly targeted by IDX, and Leon is currently being represented by Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell & Malanca out of Tacoma.

Still, I mentioned previously a legal expert I did communicate with who expressed the opinion that the case will be reversed in Dr. Leon’s favor. Why? Because one well-placed source opined that that the Federal Judge (Pechman) who presided over the case had a very warm spot for IDX attorney Angelo Calfo. In the opinion of this source, Calfo and his crew brought up a specious “fraud” offense against Leon and ultimately convinced the judge to kick out the case on grounds that Dr. Leon had destroyed evidence. The source used terms such as “home-cooked” evidence, and referred to IDX as “dirty.”

Strong opinions, to be sure.

So what’s the real story?

Well, at this point we just don’t know, and we in the public have received little help in piecing it together. Once the initial legal machinations worked out in IDX and Tarrant’s favor, so vanished any media coverage. Is this truly a frivolous, unfounded charge, or is there something to it? Without question, the last six years of Bush rule have been profoundly unfriendly for whistleblowers. Certainly, without clear media coverage available for review there is reason to question. And the charges of HIPAA privacy violations are disturbingly timely, with privacy rights so under attack these days. Still, I’m just an obsessive blogger with a soapbox, rather than a professional journalist with the time and skills to delve deeper.

It just, once again, makes me wonder where the professional journalists were on this one three years ago, and where they are now…

Despite what you will read herein, Snarky’s blog now permits commenting.

Those of you who have managed to keep their gorge down while following the Snarky Boy issue here on Green Mountain Daily, for the most part, have undoubtedly come to the same conclusion. While the Boy is not without talent, he has chosen to take the path of confrontational behavior, ad hominem attacks, and simple namecalling. In short, he appears to be a candidate for Zyprexa: an overactive mind hampered by a type of social retardation all too common in the blogosphere.
More analysis of the psychology of a troll with feelings of inadequacy –  and an UPDATE – below the fold.

UPDATE: I received an email – actually, several of them – from Snarky last night promising a response to this post on her own blog. I fought the temptation to look at it during the workday ALL DAY LONG, fearing it would distract me from my duties and lure me into composing an intricate multipoint response.
I needn’t have worried.
What I got was disappointed. A picture of a chick. Wow. According to one of the Snarky emails I got last night, in spite of this, Snarky is a chick. (If you  can forgive this here dude the slightly sexist diminutive on this occasion.)
You can find the email excerpt in the comments.
Then, we get:

But they’re just fragile little bloggers over there. We know that. Why else would they attack the Snarky Boy and then lock him out — thus preventing a response?

Never mind the fact that she has it backwards: someone locked her out (not me), THEN I attacked.
Be that as it may.

I call that bold talk for a one eyed fat man blogger whose own blog allows NO ONE to comment. Again, there’s that gosh darn “point the finger and point three back at yourself” thing. Frickin’ annoying, isn’t it?
Fill your hand, you (son of a?) bitch.

Ah, watch the site meter jump!

Didn’t see a site meter, Snark. Can you point me to it? You obviously have my email address.
Oh, Snarky was full of brilliant insight:

Too bad I already jumped your wife’s bones. But enjoy the sloppy seconds….

Hmmm! Well, what can I say to that but….
Yo mama.
And Snarky seems to have a fixation with milady:

Go fuck your ugly wife.

Again, what am I left with as an appropriate response but:
Yo mama.
But then there’s the EXCITING news, in a post prior to Snarky’s weak-kneed response to this diary:

The Snarkmaster has been invited to submit sample tapes for what could be a soon-to-be-announced Snarky Radio Show! Imagine that!

Oh, BOY. Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh yip dippity doo. PLEASE stream. I don’t even need a toll free number to call in. I’ll GLADLY pay for the calls. We’ll see how most of an adult life in the business does against a homemade aircheck.

Welcome to MY world, Snarky.
Maybe Snarky needs a producer, or some imaging for the show. All she needs do is ask. Music beds? I got ’em. Cooledit? I know it. Big baaaaad voice? I can get one.
No charge to a fellow liberal trying to get started in the business.

After all, once he?she? gets on the air, we’ll find out which time he/she lied: in the profile stating “Gender:Male” or in the email to me stating “I’m a woman, you fool.”

Can’t wait.
But I hope the radio show is better than the response to this diary, or it won’t be long for the world.
Actually, it almost can’t help but be. Because I know Snarky can do better than THAT shit.
Cheers! 🙂 

That’s right, I said “all too common”.
I have a morbid fascination with blog trolls. I don’t know why – it’s a lot like rubbernecking
the scene of a four-car pileup, hoping (yet not admitting it to yourself) to see a severed body part – but I do. I’m not proud of it, but on the other hand, Thomas Noguchi, coroner to the stars, was said to have his issues too.
  I’m not alone. The morbid fascination with socially retarded trolls at one point dominated the leading political blog in America, Daily Kos:

Delete my fucking account, Kos
by ErrinF [Subscribe]
Thu Aug 03, 2006 at 05:15:24 PM EDT

  I want out of this farce of a website. I thought this was on open forum for progressives to
discuss their views. Instead, it is little more than the internet wing of the Democratic
propoganda machine. Now that I want out, a fair minded and liberal website would let me delete my
account and go. Instead, DailyKos will give me no such option. Like some sort of cult, I was
welcomed in freely but am now being barred from leaving. I do not want to simply leave and let my
info remain here at a website I am disgusted by and want no further part in. Since Kos won’t
allow me the decent option of deleting my account (just about every blog DOES let you delete your
account when you want to), then somebody here needs to delete my account for me. To deny me
deletion of my own account is unacceptable.

  * ErrinF’s diary :: ::
*

  You all suck. A lot of you wouldn’t know what a progressive thought was if it bit you in the
ass. To you, a progressive thought is whatever the Democratic party line spoonfeeds you. A
tremendous amount of you are Democrats because mommy and daddy were Democrats. Churches and
political parties are full of blind conformists that are simply towing the line they’ve been told
to from the get go, with little regard to actual political thought, let alone progressive
political thought. The amount of blind conformity that goes on in America is what fuels the
corrupt two party system. DailyKos exemplifies blind conformity, and I regret any and all
association I have had with it. I should be allowed to delete my account and go; Why should I be
forced to stay amid this pathetic cult of personality? The herd mentality that goes on here
sickens me now, AND I WANT OUT. Regardless of my personal experience here, EVERYBODY WHO SIGNED UP TO THIS WEBSITE SHOULD BE FREE TO DELETE THEIR ACCOUNTS IF THEY SO WISH TO. For Kos to deny us
this is downright fascist.
  Since I can’t delete my account myself, my only recourse is to be as abrasive and disruptive as
I can be UNTIL MY ACCOUNT GETS DELETED. As long as my account remains here, I do not feel
comfortable leaving. Is it really such a tough request to delete my account so I can go? Just
what kind of website lets you join up but won’t let you leave? One that regards people as little
more than statistics, that’s what. How like the Democratic Party for Kos to view his site’s
members as little more than statistics.
  DELETE MY FUCKING ACCOUNT, KOS. You don’t want me hanging around, and neither do I.

This psychotic raving generated 1607 comments on Daily Kos. But the joke soon got old, and ErrinF was, of course, banned. A subsequent diary posted by a sockpuppet was deleted midstream by administrators, (I have a copy if anyone wants it. Great snark in the comments. Pure comedy gold.) at which point ErrinF, using sockpuppets, spent a morning vandalizing diary tags.
This example was pulled from one of many diaries vandalized by ErrinF:

Tags: Joe Lieberman, CT-Sen, Ned Lamont, DELETE MY FUCKING ACCOUNT, You all STILL suck. This so-called blog is nothing but a one-sided bullshitfest of small-minded partisan
drones. There’s no REAL political dialogue going on here, just a bunch of collective backrubs and
liberal reacharound. To top it all off, this farce of a fool’s paradise heavily depends on
censorship to control all political debate and stifle all opposition and dissent. I’m going to
liberate my ErrinF account from this ship of fools, and that’s fucking that., What do you think
this is? A chicken party?! DELETE MY FUCKING ACCOUNT ALREADY, KOS. There is no room for argument here. When a person opens an account at DailyKos.com, the email they are sent from this website specifically says “Our system will delete the account automatically if it remains unused.”. That means accounts CAN be deleted, so delete my fucking ErrinF account. As long as it remains active, which means I can login as ErrinF and see ErrinF among the users for this site, I will remain
active here. (all tags) :: Add/Edit Tags to this Story

So Snarky Boy may feel himself unique, original, and funny, but even as an attention-seeking troll, we see that he is massively outclassed. He wants attention so badly, perhaps he could take some lessons from ErrinF. 
If that’d even help his cause.
Because Snarky Boy wouldn’t last half an hour on Daily Kos. Any number of people there would make him run home crying to mommy.

Oh, and the ErrinF diary seen above was obtained through the site of another dKos serial troll, Cynthia “Harriet” Haynes of California’s Bay Area. And not the tony part of the Bay Area, either.

I am comfortable with the “outing” because she outs herself on her own website. Cynthia has been known to the Daily Kos community by a number of names, which puts her nicely in the same class as Snarky: she has been “herself”, “unbe”, “beaten down”, “Bug Girl”, “skpp”, “zzberlin”, and one more, I think, that I can’t recall at the moment. Cynthia even went so far as to attempt to register the name “dailykos” as a trademark. Snarky has yet to show any such creativity, instead preferring to break his own arm patting himself on the back, declaiming his superiority as a wordsmith while slamming the work of others.
  With a little help from his army of sock puppets.
Here’s the diary from “herself” that was ultimately deleted, due to…..due to…..well, look for yourself and I’m sure you’ll understand.

Can Snarky Boy be far behind Harriet? Who, on her ftp page, has posted a picture of a vial of injectable Zyprexa?

Let’s see.

Race-baiting:

The final character in this play is Ed Garcia. Ed is banking on one and only one
quality: The seemingly ethnic quality of his name. He’s clearly hoping that a man named “Garcia”
will be given a free pass in the liberal community of Central Vermont. He hasn’t, after all,
proven much in his arguments. And he’s been more than willing to fire his punitive pistol at anyone who dares to utter an alternative opinion to his mighty hero, Odum.

(Pinche cabron, él puede aspirar mi velga. -eg)

Why, dear Odum, do you keep deleting my access to your beloved website?…..Change sucks. Give it up, white boy.

Misogyny:

The not-so-fine folks at Green Mountain Daily have banned me from their site. Imagine that. Boy, that took them several days longer than I predicted. Pussies.

Threats:

Ever feel like you’re rolling a boulder up hill? Well you should. You don’t know who you’re fucking with, but it’s not Pollina or Dubie. I fight like you fight — only better.Keep fucking with me, Odum. But sooner or later, you’ll learn.

From: Snarky Boy (vtsnarkyboy@yahoo.com)
Date:
Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:13:31 -0700 (PDT)
To:
Green Mountain Daily

Re-install Snarky Boy’s ID or let’s have a war.
It’s your choice.

Pedantic, with a pot-kettle problem to boot:

If we focus on Lieberman — not “Liberman”, as Odom writes

And I like this one:

Speak English, my friend. This “sock puppet” stuff isFrench to me.

FRENCH? Does SnarkyBoy intend to accuse Odum of being a “surrender monkey?” Will SnarkyBoy serve freedom fries at the next Vermont blogger’s barbecue? We have already established that Snarky has a bit of a race problem. Will Snarky now call me a macaca?
Does he have the stones?

No, I think Snarky Boy is singing castrati.

It doesn’t take a great mind to see that Snarky Boy, who calls people “pussies” in his misogynistic styling, has a problem of his own with intestinal fortitude:

SnarkyBoy  (1.00 / 1) [delete comment]
is a PUNK cuz of he comes to GMd and post all this bULLSHIT and goes to all diffrent dairies but then you go to his sorry ass bolg and you cant post no coments. Thats pretty chikenshit. he could mess up somebody elses blog up but dont let anybody talk on his. if snarky Boy would turn on his coments i would say all kinds of stuff. And make Snaky Boy look Wicked STUPID.
W00T!
by: Dragline @ Wed Aug 16, 2006 at 14:39:58 PM EDT

Jesus. Obviously, it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to see what Snarky’s really about: he wants to fight us over here so he doesn’t have to fight us over there.

So what, then, in conclusion, have we established about Snarky Boy? He has a race problem; he uses misogynistic slurs,

[hidden comment] All talk… (0.00 / 3) [delete comment]
…but no real diaries. Everybody now: Odum is a pussy. Oops, make that: Odum is a pasty pussy.

Oh yeah, we’re having fun now.

by: Snarky Boy @ Sun Aug 06, 2006 at 20:46:34 PM EDT
[ Reply |

he has accused Odum of marital infidelity –

[hidden comment]  Ew.  (0.00 / 3) [delete comment]
Did you say co-mingle? I knew you fucked Charity. I just knew it.

by: Snarky Boy @ Sun Aug 06, 2006 at 20:58:19 PM EDT
[ Reply | ]

did Charity catch that, where Snarky accused Odum of sleeping with her? Did Charity’s husband catch that? Did Odum’s wife?
And when we combine that with Snarky’s obvious self-absorption, he begins to look more and more like a Republican – or perhaps, Joe Lieberman. Which would explain his “Ned Lamont” sockpuppet identity.

Then there’s the matter of Odum’s car, in the midst of a cloud of threatening and self-aggrandizing emails from Snarky,  being broken into, and his cellphone stolen, as well as an ashtray full of change. I wonder what being a housepainter pays?
I can think of another housepainter with similar complexes: delusions of grandeur, race issues…down, Godwin! Down! Good boy.

Only thing is, if Snarky seeks a final solution to the GMD question, he’s going about it wrong. He doesn’t have near the charisma, near the acumen, nor does he have a cute little mustache. As far as I know.

Snarky Boy. Bigoted, attention-craving, an also-ran as a blogger, and given to threats, name-calling, and attempts at intimidation. All while hiding behind a pseudonym.
It’s really too bad. A lot of wasted potential there. Snarky Boy gives me another reason to wish, desperately, I could get back to Vermont. I would like to meet Snarky Boy.
No, that is not a threat of violence. I sincerely mean that. I could see some good times resulting from that: some beers, some bong hitz, and a high speed connection.
But first, Snarky would have to learn a very important concept: that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

  BILLY
  What the fuck’s wrong with
  you, kid?!

  PRINCE
  I don’t have time for your
  bullshit, Billy.  What do you
  want?

    BILLY
    My stage is no place for your
  personal shit!

  PRINCE
  That’s life, man.

  BILLY
  Life my ass, motherfucker!
  This is a business, and you’re
  not too far gone to see that.
  (a beat)
    I’ve told you this before.
  You’re not pulling them in
  like you used to.  The only
  person who gives a fuck about
  your music is yourself.

  PRINCE
  Fuck off!

  But Billy can’t help laughing–

  BILLY
  Just like your old man…

  Prince shoots him a threatening look–

  BILLY
  Yeah — you got it.  Tell me
  I’m wrong.
  (a beat)
    You’re not blind.  Look around
  you.  No one’s digging you.

  Prince turns away–

  BILLY
  Look at your band.  Are they
  in here right now?  They’re
  out there ’cause they can’t
  stand being in the same room
  with you.
  (a beat)
  Aw, buddy. What a fucking waste…like
  father, like son–

  PRINCE
  Lay off that!

  Billy turns to go–

  BILLY
  Take your head out of your
  ass, kid, check it out —
  unless you like the view up
  there.  Your music doesn’t
  make sense to anyone but
  yourself.

    He closes the door behind him.  Prince
  stands dully a moment, then sits heavily
  in a chair.  Exhaustion suddenly
  overwhelms him.  He rests his head in
  his hands, moments tick by…

  He shakes himself awake — Morris and
  Jerome stand by the door–

  JEROME
  That was fucked up what you
  did man.  Morris doesn’t like
  it. And I don’t like it either.

  PRINCE
  I don’t care.

  MORRIS
  Hee, hee…huh, it’s obvious
  you don’t have what it takes
  to be on top.

  He pulls an envelope from his pocket–

  MORRIS
  But to show you that I’m
  sympathetic to your problems –
  – here’s a pass to our show
  tomorrow night.  Enjoy it.

  They leave.  Then Morris sticks his head
  into the doorway–

  MORRIS
  Oh…….Don’t forget to bring a
  girlfriend.  Whawhak!

  Snarky: I know you don’t want me to, but I love you anyway. Neener neener neener.
  Good night, and good luck.

  This is my face, dear Snarky.

  Make a dartboard.

  -Eddie Garcia, Harrisonburg, VA

  dKos: kestrel9000

 Loading ...

Pity the poor Caledonian Broken Record. They’ve obviously got a lot of pent-up anger issues. This self-admitted “Republican” newspaper (hey, at least they admit it) is hard to get too worked up about because they’re just so over-the-top that it’s doubtful anyone other than the most die-hard Ann Coulter sorts are paying any attention whatsoever (remember that legendary op-ed entitled Al Gore: The Jane Fonda of the War on Terror?).

Still, they do occasionally provide insight into the wingnuts, and in that way provide tailor-made ways to make basic, if obvious points. Here’s an example from Friday regarding the British foiling of another terrorist airline bombing plot:

And, you know what? They got it right by using the very techniques that the ACLU, the New York Times, and the Democratic Party power structure have vilified President Bush for using here in the United States. Follow the money transactions and money flow? They sure did. The British have been watching the money paths that financed this intended blood bath for over a year. Telephone surveillance? You bet. British intelligence agencies have been routinely monitoring the calls of large numbers of people where they have discovered the codes and patterns that filled the trap when they snapped it. Travel patterns? One more time. They noted who went where on what flights as these terrorists plotted the date and time that they were going to do it.

And what of Messrs Harry Reid and Ted Kennedy and of Mesdames Pelosi and Boxer? They and their far left friends are so consumed by hatred of George Bush that they have done everything in their power to denounce and spoil the very methods that saved thousands of us this time. There will be other, probably worse plots in the future. We hope to God that Reid, Kennedy, Pelosi, Boxer, and their ideological soul mates aren’t running the show then. Their brand of political insanity would stymie our intelligence agencies’ ability to find and unravel the plots, causing thousands of people to die, needlessly.

Poor, poor addled CBR. As they willfully decided to ignore the fact that any Republicans whatsoever were involved in the Abramoff scandal, so have they willfully ignored the actual point. Lefties take wiretaps, “following the money” and the tools of investigation for granted as everyone does (more so than the Bush administration, apparently), assuming they are used in a Constitutional manner, of course. What we are opposed to – shockingly – is a President in a democratic society who feels he can ignore the law whenever he decides it doesn’t suit him, as well as those sycophants who would enable him. I know, I know…a crazy, radical notion, that whole civilized society thing.

But I understand – all this “anti” stuff gets old, so let me rephrase. What we on the left are in favor of is the rule of law and the US Constitution.

I guess the Broken Record feels differently. Wish I could say I was shocked.

Just back from my first actual vacation in about 3 years (including my 2 year old’s first trip to a zoo… big fun!) I’ll start more substantive posts soon, but considering that the site has become wild west land in my absence, I just want to thank the other front pagers for stepping up and dealing with Admin issues and content while I was away. For the first time, this week had several days worth of GMD front pages without a single byline of mine! It was… unnerving…

A quick reminder, though. This blog, like any blog, exists for a purpose; that is, for like minded people to discuss issues openly and freely without fear of harassment or intimidation. This is not a public area, it’s more like the extended front lawn of myself, Jack, Ed, mataliandy and Brattlerouser (and now, Nat Kinney, formerly of the departed Vermonters First). A front lawn that is open to all to mingle, discuss, argue as well as hopefully organize (although we’re not quite there yet). The only expectation we have is that you are here because you want to be a part of that process, not because you want to attempt to wreck it for others. In addition, many of us have kids of our own, and one of mine occasionally looks at what I’ve been doing on this blog. As such, calling people obscene names or making homophobic comments will get you removed from the lawn without hesitation (however, even the most abusive will be given several chances to demonstrate any inclination to engage rather than troll.)

If you are kicked outta the lawn, be very careful if you attempt to sneak back in. If you get caught under your new identity (web parlance = “sock puppet”), you’ll just get booted again, unless you establish really quickly that you’ve snuck back in to genuinely discuss/debate/etc. If you really dont want to, I’d respectfully suggest that you’re wasting your time here, and would probably be a lot more interested in a site like this one. Or better still, start your own blog.

Thanks to all, and FYI – my own posts will still be spotty this week as I’ll be spending my precious internet time preparing for next Monday’s debate.