Joe Kelly attacks Blue Hamsters

Bringing people together to find solutions? (4.00 / 5)

Ted Gatsas in his endorsement mailer for Levasseur:

Joe Kelly shares my belief that bringing people together to find solutions for the greater good will make for a better Manchester.

Only Gatsas could interpret Levasseur's actions as "bringing people together."

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by: chris pappas @ Wed Oct 07, 2009 at 20:23:22 PM CDT

Really! (4.00 / 3)

How could Gatsas say that with a straight face?  



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Oct 07, 2009 at 20:29:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

He's a uniter, not a divider (4.00 / 2)

He unites people who value civility, reason, and basic human decency in opposition to his childish antics!

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

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by: Peter Sullivan @ Wed Oct 07, 2009 at 21:27:09 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hitler brought people together n/t (0.00 / 0)

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 07:22:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not cool, JB (0.00 / 0)

This guy may be a total douche bag, but Hitler comparisons (even in jest) are more than a bit over the top.

I don't want to troll rate you, but, in my opinion, you should ask Dean to take this comment down.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 10:57:51 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think it's OK (4.00 / 1)

Unless I misinterpret JBB here, his comment refers to the incredibly low standard set by Gatsas in his comment.

Traffic jams bring people together too.

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by: JimC @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 11:09:55 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

right (0.00 / 0)

bringing people together is a broadly generalised term...attacking others incessantly on character grounds, even though we know there are a % who respond to filth and such...(see Fux News),it still fascistic and relies on creating fear in the one attacked. Bullies get crowds of weenie supporters who will kill to make their leader happy. Mont Vernon anyone ?
There is evil in men. They do irrational things, to make the fear go away.

Like turning on a scapegoat. This country loves extremism, so we use the metaphors of extremism. This country loves sex, so we use the metaphors of sexism. Just don't say in public that given credence in the press, these bullies get to appear like they have a side. They don't when you strip away the bluster. They line up like litte tools for the National Republic(an) Goals.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 12:05:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hitler isn't special (0.00 / 0)

Not sure the issue here. Will he become less evil, if we over use the name.

Plus, in this case JBB is merely saying there are BAD ways to bring people together.

Like the KKK, NAMBLA, ect..

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 11:31:34 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I disagree (0.00 / 0)

If someone at Fox News used this analogy to describe President Obama, I would shit myself.  Am guessing that many of you would, too.

As you well know, Adolf Hitler murdered tens of millions of people.  Invoking his name to provide context on Manchester's Town Putz undermines the credibility of your (and, ultimately, our) arguments.  

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 12:22:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Nothing from Fox News is suprising.... (0.00 / 0)

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by: dlemire @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 12:31:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not a long list, but a list none the less (0.00 / 0)

Hitler didn't invent mass murder. Not sure how I avoid being branded anti-Semite, but the "club" ain't that exclusive. Though the holocaust victims do have a top notch PR firm.

If my daughter was raped and murdered, assuredly I would take it at the most personal level. I would not, however, assume my pain is superior to others.

Hitler was a top notch asshole and spreading his name around doesn't dilute the evil he represented.

And if it did?

I'm a dog wagger, Dave. Let's not dally.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 12:38:10 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

What???? (4.00 / 1)

Hitler didn't invent mass murder. Not sure how I avoid being branded anti-Semite, but the "club" ain't that exclusive. Though the holocaust victims do have a top notch PR firm.

When six million people are murdered in the greatest organized slaughter in history, you don't need a "PR firm" to get out a message that crimes against humanity should be taken seriously.

For the record, I would consider it equally offensive if JB had cited Pol Pot, Stalin, Milosevic, or Rwandan genocide leaders.  If you have an axe to grind about the prominence of the Holocaust in modern history, that's not my problem, but it's certainly irrelevant here.

And, yes, it definitely does "dilute the evil" that these men represent when genocidal murderers are compared to Joe Kelly Levasseur.  How could anyone NOT see this?

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 13:04:06 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Greatest Organization of a Mass Murder (0.00 / 0)

Yes, the Nazis mastered the precision. It was well managed.
Otherwise it wasn't the greatest of anything of the sort.

One murder is not any more significant than another.

And AIPAC specializes in keeping us well informed. On "Pol Pot, Stalin, Milosevic, or Rwandan genocide leaders.", not so much.

I put 5 bucks on Ex-Pat flying in here in a huff.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 13:19:04 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

AIPAC? Where did THAT come from? (4.00 / 1)

Excuse me?  AIPAC is an organization that advocates on behalf of a closer US-Israel relationship.  They have absolutely nothing to do with Holocaust rememberance, nor have they ever.  Where in God's name did you pull that from?

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is the Jewish organization most associated with acts of anti-Semitism.  And ADL is at the forefront of a vast array of related human rights causes, whether they involve Jews or not.

I spent 4+ years working for a Holocaust survivor -- Tom Lantos -- who used his experience to drive human rights awareness around the world, from freedom of the press in Russia to religious liberty in Africa.

Tom and many of his peers recognized that the Holocaust wasn't worth remembering for its own sake, but rather as a means for raising awareness about human rights abuses in every corner of our planet.  And he was right.  One murder may not be "any more significant that another," but millions of murderers -- and our society's indifference to them -- are a reflection of our society's moral value.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 13:43:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

A Higher Calling (4.00 / 3)

Tom and many of his peers recognized that the Holocaust wasn't worth remembering for its own sake, but rather as a means for raising awareness about human rights abuses in every corner of our planet.  And he was right.  One murder may not be "any more significant that another," but millions of murderers -- and our society's indifference to them -- are a reflection of our society's moral value.

Can't say enough good things about this approach.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 13:46:46 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I agree with DD on (4.00 / 2)

this. If everybody's Hitler, then nobody's Hitler.

Seeing signs of Obama with that mustache pasted on was nauseating.

Godwin's Law is unfortunately still with us.

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 14:02:32 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

It's interesting (0.00 / 0)

Sometimes it's a fine hair to split. I remember in college, we were arguing about some guy -- a fellow student -- and someone said, "He's not that bad. He isn't Hitler."

And my friend replied, "Hitler wasn't Hitler." By which -- other than getting a cheap laugh -- he meant the culture had built up a Hitler fetish of sorts, so that (as bad as he was), not even Hitler could live to the Hitler standard of pure evil.

Seinfeld had a Stalin joke once -- Stalin killed more people (many more) than Hitler did.

Politically, I would still resist invoking Hitler in any way (even subtle ways, like "This reminds me of Germany in the '30s"), but in a room full of familiar people, I might toss him out to make a point. I stand by my defense of Jonny's comment upthread. I think Jack's point is similar, but I don't want to put words in his mouth.

(Tony Curtis, when asked what it was like to kiss Marilyn Monroe, allegedly said, "It's like kissing Hitler." I think he felt that way because every scene with her took so many takes.)

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by: JimC @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 14:49:12 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I edited them all out (4.00 / 1)

including

FACT SHEET: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
KNIGHTS OF VARTAN ARMENIAN RESEARCH CENTER
The University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dearborn, MI 48128

The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the "Young Turk" government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916 (with subsidiaries to 1922-23). One and a half million Armenians were killed, out of a total of two and a half million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Most Armenians in America are children or grandchildren of the survivors, although there are still many survivors amongst us.

Armenians all over the world commemorate this great tragedy on April 24, because it was on that day in 1915 when 300 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in Constantinople (present day Istanbul) were rounded up, deported and killed. Also on that day in Constantinople, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were butchered in the streets and in their homes.

The Armenian Genocide was masterminded by the Central Committee of the Young Turk Party (Committee for Union and Progress [Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyet, in Turkish]) which was dominated by Mehmed Talât [Pasha], Ismail Enver [Pasha], and Ahmed Djemal [Pasha]. They were a racist group whose ideology was articulated by Zia Gökalp, Dr. Mehmed Nazim, and Dr. Behaeddin Shakir.

Peter Jennings reported on the "Forgotten Genocide", April 15th 1924, the first of the last Century. There is a fairly straight line from that massacre of slaughter and deportation to the ethnic cleansing of Albanians from Kosovar land in the recent middle european genocides.

The abiding moral lesson kids ?
People still act like animals if given half a chance.
Including JKL.
He is a bully boy in full regalia, looking for a cause so he can con people into following him down a rat hole.
Peter, am I feeling ya bud ?
It hit me i guess. Sorry to take the thread in a funky direction.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 14:33:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Maybe not as much anymore (0.00 / 0)

I've heard Armenians rarely marry outside their ethnicity because they are determined to survive as a people.

I asked an Armenian lady that I have recently come to know about this. She said those habits are loosening.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 15:07:11 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

That has happened n/t (0.00 / 0)

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by: JimC @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 14:36:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Worse than Bloch (4.00 / 3)

JimC had a diary about how Ernie Bloch Jr. and Howie Carr went after an anonymous blogger who posts at BlueMass; one of them, I think it was Bloch, offered an award to anyone who could identify the person.

This e mail by Levasseur is worse, I think, because you have a lawyer (Levasseur) threatening to sue a third person if he doesn't identify an anonymous blogger.  It is a threat, not an offer of a reward, intended to intimidate the recipient into outing bartek or face the consequences (and perhaps thinking that this will keep Bartek from posting any further questions). The litigation threat is silly, as even if the third person knows who the anonymous blogger is, no crime has been committed, nor any  libel or slander, no civil tort giving rise to damages. Peter knows that, but someone else who received an e mail like this might not have the same legal training, and could be intimidated, thinking they are going to be dragged into court.

Kudos to Peter for standing up to the bully and exposing his silly threats.

And kbartek - to quote Jack Mitchell - BLOG ON!

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 08:16:29 AM CDT

Nothing like a bad idea to spread quickly (4.00 / 1)

I hope Ernie Boch Jr. didn't inspire JLK.

By the way, it's "Boch," no L. I wouldn't want his Google alert to miss your comment. :-!

Blog on, everybody!

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by: JimC @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 08:58:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Bloch On ! n/t (4.00 / 1)

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. HST

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by: JonnyBBad @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 12:06:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

A MA Story (4.00 / 2)

In the town I mostly grew up in, aside from my stint in upstate NY and in Sandwich, there is a neighborhood around Martin's Pond. My dad, Fran Mitchell was considered the very unofficial "Mayor" of Martin's Pond. Being said "Mayor," if a candidate's sign went up on the tree at the end of the driveway; that candidate usually won the majority of votes from that neighborhood.

My Dad was a retired Teamster. but he tinkered around with a guy who was a building contractor. Small potatoes stuff. The two were "friends" and my father got a small garage size house renovated for "friend" prices.

Well one year, a sign goes up on Dad's tree and his "friend" came tear assed, down to his place. "Take that F-ing sign down. Right now!" Dad told the guy to F off. Well, soon came a letter, effectively mandating the removal of the sign or grave consequences would follow. Threats about code violations and "I have friends in Town Hall" were hatefully jotted on paper with a signature at the bottom of the page.

My Dad was beside himself. He was utterly overwhelmed and had no idea how to handle the situation.

Well the whole thing was Party related. My Dad, usually voted Dem, did support at least one GOPer that was on the Board of Selectman. This guy was now in the MA state House. The raving friend was also a GOPer.

I told my Dad to contact this, now Rep., and send him a copy of the letter. My Dad did as I suggested. An apology was issued within a few days and the matter was dropped.

My Dad and his "friend" stopped speaking. That Rep. is now so high up in the MA GOP, he issues PR's when Gov. Patrick does something really good. He craps on it usually. Hey, that's just the way it is.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 09:13:23 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

What's scarier, JKL's threats aren't empty (4.00 / 1)

Kathy and I can both attest to this. We have had to fight off his legal attacks in the past. Levasseur has friends within the police department, so he may very well try to sweet talk someone into obtaining a subpoena to uncover this person's identity.  

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

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by: Peter Sullivan @ Thu Oct 08, 2009 at 09:16:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Oh well (4.00 / 2)

I am who I am, I know what I know, I write what I write and it is nothing but the truth. So, JKL, the guy who is always screaming about his first ammendment rights is trying to shut me up? I think we all see a huge problem with that! Won't JKL be disappointed if he goes through with his unlawful "legal action" to find out who I am and it is not who he thinks. Then what? In my opinion, JKL is a pathetic excuse for a man and an even more pathetic excuse of a lawyer! If he doesn't want people to call him out on his actions, then he shouldn't put himself on tv or in politics and he should keep his mouth shut and keep his fingers away from the keyboard. Thank you founding fathers for my first ammendment rights! I will "blog on" when I choose to! Thank you all for your support.

kbartek

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by: kbartek @ Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 09:05:11 AM CDT

You're being entirely too charitable! (0.00 / 0)

Tell 'em the truth and they think it's hell!

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -Harry Truman

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by: Peter Sullivan @ Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 09:11:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

"fairmind" on RedHampshire.com (0.00 / 0)

As long as we're collecting aliases here, JKL appears to go by the name "fairmind" on RedHampshire - at least that user was asked if he was JKL and he completely ignored the question.

The user tried to make fun of me once by declaring that my own username is "bad Latin"...  "Vis Unita Fortior" was the motto of New Hampshire preceding the current one, a phrase attributed to a 3rd century Roman writer, so I somehow doubt that he got it wrong.  I guess JKL was out sick during that year of law school.

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by: Vis Unita Fortior @ Sat Oct 10, 2009 at 14:10:07 PM CDT