To everything, a season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose, under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant,

and a time to pluck that which is planted;

A time to kill and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Countering the deceptiveness of the GLS blogsite has been a difficult time; a time to speak up, to rend, a time to break down.   And while there has been a need to do these things, it is afflictive emotionally, not just to myself, but for my loved ones who have also had to sacrifice. This is not an atmosphere where I wish to dwell any longer than necessary.

Now, for me, it is a time to heal, a time to keep silent, a time for peace.  I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do in the future, but now is a time for rest.  I do plan to continue  pursuing other outlets who will build a blog site where citizens can participate in their government with tolerance and respect. We need that choice.

Thank you to those who have sent me emails and comments of encouragement and support. It was a privilege.

Sincerely,

Ender

PS:  I now hear that Major Ochs has been diagnosed with cancer.  More than ever, then, it is a time to heal.  I hope one understands that while I opposed the Ochs for sheriff campaign, I do not oppose Mr. Ochs.  He and his family will be in my prayers. Though we may have had this difference, it is good to remember we have much more important similarities; concern for our community, love of our families, Fellowship in one God, one Being.

Demystifying the GLS Blog Site (In its entirety)

Like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, I blew in to a virtual world I didn’t know existed this August. A powerful authority seemed in charge, with minions to back his clout.  Like Dorothy, I was at first mystified by what I saw. 

Then Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulled back the curtain, and the powerful wizard turned out to be just a guy pulling strings.  (“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”) Dorothy’s perception immediately changed from fear to disappointment.  Like Dorothy, as I tried to lessen the negative impact of the GLS blog site, I realized that to complete the task, all I had to do was change my perception of the man behind GLS.  My perception changed as the curtain fell for Gary Snyder, ironically, when he tried to reveal who I was.

The wizard

October 10th, Angry White Boy (AWB), a GLS associate, posted a carefully written article on the GLS site naming the identity of Ender Wiggin. 

He was wrong.  I am not the person identified in the article.

AWB’s article did not outline an airtight case.  His arguments, like most appearing on the GLS site, were based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence with no factual proof.  It carefully concluded no judgments. Why not?  Because judgments could be rendered by those who posted anonymous responses.  And most of those who commented simply accepted the post as fact, propelling the misinformation.

The land of Oz

These anonymous minions judged an innocent man with a fury: idiot, hypocrite, delusional, psychopath, dumba**, fraud, coward. The minions advocated the innocent person be fired from his job and urged the public to scorn his employer.

One must wonder why AWB tried to expose the identity of Ender Wiggin when the site itself has an anonymous contributer (a professor, no less).   The reason seems to be to set the person up so that the minions can ridicule, humiliate, and even threaten him and his employer—making them—and everyone else—afraid to oppose GLS.

Part II

The minions

One of the most telling comments in this article thread comes from “Enderless,” whose Freudian slip revealed much:   “I know someone who tried to email (Ender) back and asked him to meet or call them at their office and he never got back with me.” [editor’s emphasis]  The author is most likely one of the biggest sponsors of the GLS website—what I call second-tier support.

Second-tier associates, cohorts of GLS, draw the conclusions left out by the author.  Namelessly, like cancer cells, they malignantly propel deceptions.  Akin to the military strategy of constantly moving forces to deceive the enemy about your strength, second-tier associates constantly post under different names, making it impossible to know how many (or more aptly, how few) there really are.

Third-tier associates are simply ditto-heads, angry people seeking the company of other angry people and parroting responses.  Third-tier associates usually make very illogical arguments.  For example, on this thread, “Not Me” claimed the GLS site provides a much needed service and challenged anyone to prove false the claim regarding Ender’s identity. Disturbing, when you consider how eager people are to follow the conclusions to which GLS so easily leads them.  Even more frightening about this blind faith—this witch hunt named an innocent person.

Part III

Pulling the strings

Some argue that GLS allows for fair discourse because he allows opposing viewpoints.  This is an invalid argument.  GLS hosts a radio talk show host, and so knows the trick of allowing a few opposing arguments from listeners, but only those that can be rebutted or cut off before critical points are validated.  This technique gives the illusion of impartiality and allows for fodder to stir up sentiments.  But serious challenges to his positions are censored.

One point I argued with GLS was that his site ran articles for Steve Ochs.  GLS called these articles “pressers” – news events put out by a candidate.  When Ochs asked for donations to his campaign on the GLS page, I tried to comment that this couldn’t be a “presser;” there was no news event, just a candidate asking for money.  He censored the post—one of many.  Later, when GLS realized my posts contained hyperlinks to my website, he quickly removed them. 

These are not actions of fair discourse.  Instead, they typify the manipulation of information.  They are self-fulfilling actions that lead to the propagation of misinformation.

The man behind the curtain

When the article suggesting Ender’s true identity came out, it included several links to my website.  I was concerned that this would bring a flood of negative comments from GLS supporters.  Thus far, the only negative comments came from one person who cursed me  a week before the article was released.   (I received these comments, one which identified me errantly, around the same time that I received an email from AWB misidentifying me by the same errant name. Both arrived just days before AWB published the misinformed article.)  No matter how strong my resolve to show the man behind the curtain, getting hate comments required taking a few deep breaths to let go.

For the next couple of days, my blog received hits from these links.  Contrary to my expectations, these hits still did not equal the hits I had coming in from other sites.  In other words, very few people read this article on GLS and cared enough to follow the links.  Even more surprisingly, the number of people who commented negatively couldn’t have been smaller: it was absolutely zero.

This tells me that either very few people care about what GLS has to say, or very few people are duped by his half-truths and misrepresentation of facts. 

In other words, a relatively small group of people are trying to stir up a lot of noise and put on a big show, but it’s a poor performance. The only people listening are the people in the show themselves.

The ruby slippers

The GLS blog site never had the power I once thought, nor is it as mystifying.  What’s more, I’ve researched the Internet for articles pertaining to creatures of this nature.  Most find the nature of deceptive creatures to be reflexive.  That is, they carry with them the mechanisms of their own self-destruction.  Angry people tend to eventually turn on each other in anger. Those attempting to deceive get caught in their own tangled web. Consider the era of McCarthyism, which boomed on its own hype and collapsed on its own baseless foundation.  It is my belief that the GLS show will probably follow the same pattern. 

Conclusions

As long as GLS continues to mistreat anyone in our community, it deserves our scrutiny. We must understand that intimidating forces attempt to make one feel alone and hopeless.  We are not alone. We are mostly good people who choose to love our neighbors. We must understand that we will disagree about things, but we can do so in an atmosphere of tolerance.  We are in need of someone to build the blog site where this can take place.

 ~~~~~

In the interest of self-preservation, I offer no proof of who I am.  I ask you, the reader, to trust that when I say my mission is to end a fraudulent and intolerant practice, I would not use fraudulence on intolerance myself.  Further, do not suspend belief for my words.  Examine them critically.

Canis Snyderus

(To the author of this satirical letter, thank you for contributing.)

Ender:

I read through the Gary Snyder web site, and I have to disagree with you about it being all obfuscation.  I haven't had a chance to listen to his radio show, but that's only because it's on during the time when I relax with some scrapbooking or delint my toenails.

I'm hoping that I can change your opinion about Snyder, because we are living in a dangerous world, and we need his voice.  We need someone to fight against the forces of moderation and reasoned political debate.  We need someone who wants the win so badly that he'll make crap up, go for the jugular while putting a knee to the groin, and have the guts to stoop lower in public than you're willing to even think in private. Gary is that man.  

It's not just the attack, either. It's also the wit: transmuting the Stoffel surname into "Upoffel" being a case in point. BRILLIANT!  It's almost like Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut got it on and had an intellectual love child.

 

You may not like Gary now, but some day you might need a snarling,slobbering attack dog, and you'll have to turn to him or someone like him.   Some injustice may befall you, or you may face an opponent so menacing, that you need to do more than just write a terse letter to the editor or blog post.   You might need someone so filled with vitriol that he will be on the attack 24/7.  Don't you want a canis Snyderus in your kennel?  Don't you want to feel the force of that hate straining against the choker chain just before you say, "Sic 'em, Gary" and let go? 

Now, many decry the supposed "devolution" of political discourse in this country, and to those critics I say, "FIFFLE-FAFFLE".   Admittedly, spelling and grammar have taken a hit in the past few decades, but look at how much we've improved at Photoshopping Hitler mustaches onto people.  Look at how much extra mental energy we have left over when we avoid the issues and get into the mud. Intellectually lazy, you say?  I just say "mentally efficient".

Be honest. Where have political debate, think tanks and rich boy Yale grads gotten us so far, really?   Exactly- right where we are right now- completely and utterly horse jacked. We've given the smart people a chance, and they blew it. Let's hand the reins over to the louts and blowhards. We need to create a nation fashioned after Gary’s website.  The person who can't have their beliefs swayed by even the strongest empirical evidence and rational explanations gets to be the President.  The loudest yeller becomes Vice President. 

With luck, Snyder will help usher in a new reality in America- one where vehemence trumps rationality and where people aren't afraid to bully and attack their way to the top.  And I'm not talking about bullying and attack being reserved for the political arena.  That behavior must be applied to all aspects of life in order for its ethos to be internalized as an action orienting force and not die as some abstract political concept.   Your wife wants to go to Arby's for dinner?  Tell her she's a bag, drive her to Taco Bell, and then humiliate her on Twitter.  Get what YOU want and make sure other people know you got it.   "Decency", "restraint" and "propriety" are all crutches, and we'll never get ahead if we keep respecting other peoples' opinions and restaurant preferences.  If you let your wife get her way, then you might as well let the U.N. come in and teach your daughter how to emasculate her next boyfriend.  It's a continuum.

We need to start encouraging bullying behavior to turn this country into a place so loud and obnoxious that we won't need a border fence, because immigrants will be too scared to come here.  

So, in closing I say, "Shine on, Gary Snyder. I'm glad you're on your side."

-Lazlo Toth

The Art of Deception

I would never call Gary Snyder a liar.  If all one does is lie, that person would paradoxically be a source of truth.  Also, since lies are dualistic in nature (i.e. black or white)  many untruthful people avoid out and out lying since a lie can be discovered and discredited. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie)

What I will call Snyder with his website -  deceptive.

Read this from Wikipedia (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception):

The five primary forms of deception are:

1.                 lies: making up information or giving information that is the opposite or very different from the truth.

2.            equivocations: making an indirect, ambiguous, or contradictory statement.

3.            concealments: omitting information that is important or relevant to the given context, or engaging      in behavior that helps hide relevant information.

4.            exaggeration: overstatement or stretching the truth to a degree.

5.            understatement: minimization or downplaying aspects of the truth.

I will begin compiling a few examples from Gary's site that easily provide evidence of his deceptive nature. If you have time to help me with this quest, feel free to comment or email.  I will not present all emails.  Be it known that this website is not here to provide "both sides of a story".  It has a mission.  Read the mission statement under the title before you contribute.  Only contributions that forward the mission statement will be accepted.

The interesting thing about not providing "both sides of the story"  is that this in and of itself does not make me a deceiver; it makes me truthful. I have stated what I will do and will remain true to those words.   In fact, Snyder's deception lies in the fact that he puts on a facade of presenting both sides of the story.   I have contributed several comments he will not present because it ruins his deception.

Would you advertise on the garylsnyder blog?

Here's a thought from a co-author of mine, in reply to a post on the garylsnyder website.  

Don't look for it there: it was censored.

@ 1whoknowsbetter:

I have often asked myself the same question: Do those who sponsor this site care that they are paying Snyder to nuture negativity and derision?  Do they even care?  Either way, shame on them. 

This is especially true for the political candidates who sponsor this site, because their reputation is their only currency.  And a political candidate who advertises on a site that shows a PhotoShopped picture of his opponent has shown his true character.

Witch Hunts

Bloggers are having an impact on the political landscape.  In several major instances now, bloggers who have uncovered the truth have taken on First Amendment duties traditional news sources have been unwilling to cover.  Bloggers were responsible for Trent Lott's resignation after his racial comments, "Rathergate", and now are at the forefront of unveiling US-Israeli political relationships.  The service of these bloggers is more than noteworthy; it's commendable.

At the same time, other bloggers have attempted to stir up controversies as well.  For their own personal, economic, or political goals, their blogs attempt to mimic the good deeds of those bloggers who work as traditional journalists.  These blogs are a hindrance to progress and a disgrace to their communities.

Gary Snyder's investigative reporting methods and the banter that follow on this site are the equivalent of a McCarthyism style witch-hunt.

A true investigative journalist would complete research, file complaints, and then report this coverage as allegations (if he thought it was at least going to be investigated) or even wait until papers were served. Gary doesn’t do that. As soon as he had a whiff of the possible wrong-doing of the Hatch Act he started casting article after article upon his board. Snyder tries to bring about hysteria. And his followers are ready to persecute any accused with a burning at the stake (i.e. posts such as “They should all be fired!”)

Gary corrupts the truth and his followers abandon due process. He uses half-truths and unfounded accusations (For what has Stoffel ever been found guilty?) His followers have developed a know-nothing suspect-everything attitude when it comes to Stoffel. Gary, I’ll ask you the same question that was asked of McCarthy, “Have you no decency, sir?” (Citations belong to Wikipedia.org)

The Salem Witch-Hunt and the McCarthy era are black marks in our history. Gary is adding a new blotch to that list.

Analysis of the garylsnyder webpage

Be it known that  Gary Snyder's articles on his website are best described as a political agenda, not factual news. While all factual news contains biases, intentional or unintentional, Gary's main purpose is to persuade the reader to think or vote a certain way. Therefore, unlike what Gary would have you believe, this is not news, or even cogent political commentary; it is a political advertisement.  This is further evidenced in that serious comments that challenge his article's credibility are censored.

Nothing is more important to maintaining our democratic society than the First Amendment right to freedom of the press: It allows us to speak against tyranny and oppression. However, the leading contributor to this website has subverted this guarantee to his own ends. The dialog on this website is described as —at best— uncivil; at worst, it is hostile to the point that it threatens the ethical fiber of the free society it imagines to protect.

Those who post are not held accountable for what they say. They do not have to sign their name or provide a valid email address. Since there is no accountability, one can post comments on his site that:

• Are disparaging or dishonest, without fear of repercussion for their words.
• Appear under different names and email addresses in an attempt to make statements appear valid under the guise that it has been reported multiple times.
• Disparage their own candidate with the signature of an opponent to create deceit.
• Demean the family and friends of candidates through suggestions about sexual preferences and lifestyles. These and other remarks have promoted the atmosphere of intolerance, oppression, and hatred for one’s fellow man.

Over an extended period of time, such comments on this site have bred an afflictive atmosphere of intolerance, coercion, and hatred. One must therefore come to terms with the most difficult proposition of all: One cannot help others who refuse assistance.

When a loved one suffers from an addiction and refuses to get help, friends and family are counseled to practice tough love: If they can’t help the person kick the addiction, at least they can refuse to enable it. In the same way, many have pleaded with Gary to change his format and the atmosphere of his site.

At this point, we cannot liberate anyone who chooses to be imprisoned by their need for contempt and incivility. We can only point that out to those who might visit; refuse to sponsor those captivated by hate, and do our part somewhere else to create a brighter future.

Censored Posts and a Scene from Schindler's List

There have been many posts  I tried to put on the garylsnyder webpage.  There's no vulgarity, no name calling.  However, there is one thing in my post that I think Snider has started to disallow  -  the truth.


I keep thinking of this scene from Schindler's List:


Oskar Schindler: Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don't. 
Amon Goeth: You think that's power? 
Oskar Schindler: That's what the Emperor said. A man steals something, he's brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for his life, he knows he's going to die. And the Emperor... pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.
Amon Goeth: I think you are drunk.
Oskar Schindler: That's power, Amon. That is power.

For those who might not have seen this movie, Goeth is a colonel and supervisor of a concentration camp.  He derives a perverse sense of power by killing Jews at his whim.  


I wonder if Snider doesn't derive that same sense of perverse power as supervisor of his website.


Later in the movie after the dialog above, Goeth tries to hold back his anger and not kill a small boy who cannot get the stains out of his bathtub.  He let's the boy go... and for a moment feels the real power Schindler was mentioning.  However, his subversive emotions control him, and he shoots the boy with a high power rifle, but not after shakily missing him twice.  You can see Goeth struggling when he realize the truth:  


He is in fact very weak.

Gary Snyder; journalist, or political campaigner?

I found this on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism#The_elements_of_journalism)

The elements of journalism

According to The Elements of Journalism, a book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, there are nine elements of journalism [1]. In order for a journalist to fulfill their duty of providing the people with the information, they need to be free and self-governing. They must follow these guidelines:

1.   Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.

2.   Its first loyalty is to the citizens.

3.   Its essence is discipline of verification.

4.   Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.

5.   It must serve as an independent monitor of power.

6.   It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

7.   It must strive to make the significant interesting, and relevant.

8.   It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

9.   Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

The elements of journalism (evidence attached.)

1.   Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.

          Gary's obligation is to his political campaign.  Does  someone seeking the truth smear another, create effigies of them, and attempt to belittle?

2.   Its first loyalty is to the citizens.

         By citizens, we mean all citizens of Huntington.  His obligation right now is to his political campaign to elect Ochs.  

3.   Its essence is discipline of verification.

        The root of "verification" is verify, meaning; ascertain truth.  A political campaigner is not obliged to the truth, but spin.

4.   Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.

         Ochs and Snyder, one can conclude, work together as a team.  (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.)  How can we say Snyder is independent when he blatantly tries to smear one politician while praising the other.  This isn't bias.  It's a political agenda.

5.   It must serve as an independent monitor of power.

          Independent from... Ochs?  No.

6.   It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

          See evidence #1...censors opinions and ideas he cannot tolerate.

7.   It must strive to make the significant interesting, and relevant.

            Dressing an officer of the law in a chicken costume does not make something interesting.  It's reprehensible.

8.   It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

             He allows "press releases" for Ochs asking for a donation.  This is not a press release, it's an ad.  There is nothing proportional about Snyder. It's all one-sided.

9.   Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.

            Okay.  He does this.

One out of nine.  He is no journalist.