A post was made yesterday on Moonhowlings that shamed me into a long over-due response:

The problems with PWC operations began ten years ago – mostly the same republican officials and a different CXO. Peacor has made great changes in the three years with the same republican officials, two democrats and one republican who sits in meeting with an earpiece repeating what is fed into his ear by a group of hypocritical political and moral failures with severely limited interests of the community as a whole.

She is far from perfect but neither she nor Mr Nohe are deserving of the vitriol spewed from that group.

Some smart guy said this – Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

I believe we are called upon as human beings to deliver our criticism with a tempered tongue.  The hatefulness and targeting is out of hand. I can only apologize for any welcome hand I once extended to a fellow blogger.  I cannot support any behavior that targets individuals with such cruelty.

Tearing down another  really should have no place in politics or the public arena, regardless of the political goals.  If someone is behaving in a way that people don’t like, it makes the most sense to describe the behavior rather than  demonize the person.  A critic can then back up their point of view with verifiable data and facts rather than spin, inaccuracies and gossip.

The supervisor who reaps the rewards from the vitriol needs to get the situation under control.  He is the one who keeps having anonymous blogs pop up from out of nowhere  to help him and to be his cheerleader  by stirring up the masses.  At one point, Elena and I were the object of such derision from Gainesville Truth Squad  (one such anonymous blog) so I know to a slight degree what it feels like.  What was said about us was nothing compared to what has been said about   others, in particular  Mrs. Peacor. Mrs. Caddigan, Mr. Jenkins,   Marty Nohe and yes, Corey Stewart.

I just believe you don’t treat fellow human beings like that.  I wouldn’t want to be associated with those associated with that blog on Judgement Day.  Shame on all of them and they know who they are and so do I.

It’s also up to Corey to exercise some leadership and put a stop to some of it.  He can take a strong stand in support of all staff.  It’s obvious that Sheriffs, et al,  want to propel Pete into the chairman  seat next election.  Ridiculing Marty, Corey, and anyone that can be associated with Corey, like Ms. Peacor, is part of the plan.  That’s really too bad.  Pete does some good things and is willing to learn. I like Pete.   He is approachable and seems to have learned from his earlier missteps.   However, the blatant hero worship expressed on that blog would make me not support him in any capacity.  It’s a matter of principle.

I have to call on Pete Candland now to put a stop to the degrading of others that is done on his behalf.  Only Pete can do it.  There can be no excuses.  He knows who it is and therefore it really is only he who can go to those individuals and tell them to knock it off, it is hurting their cause.

Good governance is based on transparency and citizen involvement.  What we have here is fractured and bent truth and only a few trolls sitting anonymously behind a computer screen sprewing hatred and vitriol.  Is that who the residents of Prince William County want making the decisions for them?  I think not.  However, county policy is being decided by these few because of the bully tactics.

The people of Prince William County might recall back in 2007, 2008 a similar situation existed.  Supervisors were bullied into supporting anti immigration measures handed down by FAIR.  Much of the fuel for that movement also eminated from a blog.  Policy was set by the minions and the bully pulpit.  The enacted resolution cost the county millions in dollars and cents and in terms of staff hours.

That is not to say that citizen involvement shouldn’t happen. Of course it should.  But that involvement should be based on reliable dialogue rather than gossip, innuendo and bullying.

Politics makes strange bedfellows and I am not alone on this one.  Some of you who are involved with the dirty blog might want to watch over your shoulders because there are people out there who have had enough.  As you have created an air of paranoia at McCoart, you need to know that  same air of paranoia will now be turned on you.  We are watching also.  It’s just the decent thing to do.

28 Thoughts to “Blogging: A higher standard– it’s a matter of principle”

  1. Lyssa

    Well. Reminds me of “Our Beginnings”. That seemed to work.

  2. i shot the sheriff

    This post is long overdue. I have watched the devolution of political discourse in the county for years. Started with the attacks on Sean Connaughton by supporters of an upstart supervisor from Occoquan who was propelled into the chairmanship. His supporters seized control of the county republican party and they stirred up so much hate and discontent that it drove many moderates out of politics. It drove me out of the party. This left good people like Caddigan and Nohe with diminished influence in setting the tone of political discourse until have today’s situation.

    The irony of all of this is Stewart is now reaping what was sown by his supporters, who have turned on him. Look no further than the dark blog for proof. Another irony is one of those in the sheriff’s posse, the same group that raised such a stink about discretionary funds got caught with his hand in the public cookie-jar and spent some time in the hoosegow for what the presiding judge called “a course of conduct which involved concealment, perpetuation and personal gain.”

  3. BSinVA

    Ask your next candidate for any office whether he or she is a politician or a statesman. A politician is someone who is concerned with the next election…. a statesman is someone who is concerned with the next generation. Another definition of “politician” is someone who promotes personal gain and/or political party gain over the public’s interest.

  4. Watching

    The means has never justified the ends but people seem to think because they agree with things the Sheriff says and his aims, it’s okay. It’s not and never has been. Pete is not the leader in the change, fear of the Sheriff and his blog has been. It is not a way to govern. Good governing is done by leadership and consensus.

    But, what goes around comes around, always.

    Peacor never should have crossed the Sheriff over a side issue. It was her crucial error. I don’t think she realized how vicious he really is.

  5. Friar Tuck

    How did Peacor cross the Sheriff? Who do you target when you cross the Sheriff? That sounds random.

  6. i shot the sheriff

    All this score-settling from behind a keyboard is pathetic. All those county employees feeding TSoN documents is even worse.

  7. Lyssa

    If they really are county employees. Honestly from the comments I doubt it – gross lack of under standing of processes of local government. At least my local government 🙂

  8. George S. Harris

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “It’s time to out the Sheriff.” As long as he remains anonymous, he, The Derecho and others of similar ilk can and will continue their scurrilous attacks using anonymity as their shield. By allowing them to remain anonymous, we are simply enabling them. These bloggers chum for the sharks they know are just waiting for the next piece of bloody chum. They get their kicks from watching the feeding frenzy they create with outright lies, inuendo and half-truths. Why should they be allowed to continue?

  9. i shot the sheriff

    seeing as they don’t have the guts to put their names on a FOIA, how else would they be getting all of those insider documents? Only two possibilities. Either county employees, or a certain supervisor who is the main beneficiary of TSoN efforts.

  10. Ivan

    @i shot the sheriff

    Perhaps not a certain supervisor but a staff member of that supervisor who has access to his e-mails, correspondence with county employees and may even be in the room during some closed door meetings.

  11. i shot the sheriff

    @ Ivan

    Point made and accepted.

  12. George S. Harris

    Again, as long as they maintain their anonymity, they win and they will continue indiscriminately trash whoever they want, including you and me. Perhaps some of us get some kind of vicarious thrill out of their rantings because they are also hiding behind some nom de plume.

  13. Watching

    @George S. Harris

    I agree. Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt….or they turn their attention to your way or my way and then we get to feel what its really like to have someone anonymously attack and often just throw out lies.

  14. Scout

    Vicious personal attacks are a sign that the attacker lacks substantive positions. An elected official may or may not be an estimable human being, but either they are doing a good job or they are not and that distinction can be ascertained through logical analysis of policies measured by publicly supported goals.

    Despite estimable commenters having opposite views, I still am of the opinion that “outing” a blogger or commenter is irrelevant 99% of the time. Either what they say is fair and reasoned, hence worthy of consideration, or it is nonsense, nastiness or some other useless category, in which case one just ignores them.

    RE the subject of the moment, moreover, the person’s identity has to be pretty much common knowledge as is his link to one of the Supervisors. If I know it, and I don’t even live in PWC, virtually everyone must. So why bother to formally “out” the guy? Just to be consistent, I’d say that even if I didn’t know.

  15. @Watching….sort of like

    First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out–
    Because I was not a Socialist.

    Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out–
    Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–
    Because I was not a Jew.

    Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.

    ~~Martin Niemöller

    That quotation seems to be a common theme on this blog.

  16. George S. Harris

    Lots of excuses but no identification. I am beginning to wonder if anyone REALLY knows who this person is.

  17. Elena

    until someone has hard core proof, it would be folly to accuse.

  18. Lyssa

    J’accuse – didn’t work out so well for Zola…..

  19. Just reading the comments here and and the ones I did not let go through, George, I would say absolutely lots of somebodies know who at least some of the ‘writers’ are, who they are traced to , and past nefarious activities.

    You might want to stop and think about various agencies and how individuals posting information might get in the way of investigations. You know that cyber bullying isn’t just directed at kids and teenagers any more?

  20. Definition of cyber-bullying from from wikipedia:

    Cyberbullying is defined in legal glossaries as
    actions that use information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm another or others.
    use of communication technologies for the intention of harming another person
    use of internet service and mobile technologies such as web pages and discussion groups as well as instant messaging or SMS text messaging with the intention of harming another person.

    Examples of what constitutes cyberbullying include communications that seek to intimidate, control, manipulate, put down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The actions are deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to harm another. Cyberbullying has been defined by The National Crime Prevention Council: “When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”[1][2]

  21. Does any of the above sound the least bit familiar? Seen it anywhere recently?

    Tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more going on here than just satisfying someone’s curiosity.

  22. Watching

    @George S. Harris

    Some blogs just go away. Look at this one that was prolific and obviously meant a great deal to its author until it had its last post on 2/29/12.

    http://pwcstopthetaxes.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

    I think the author just got tired of posting because the Sheriff was getting all the attention.

  23. Friar Tuck

    Old Sheriff is attempting to diffuse and deflect local criticism. The 4 headed Cerberus is going to keep tossing the hot potato to draw attention away from himself. Puffing up like a bird doesn’t work. There is no security system that cannot be broken.

    Lots of lying and denying out there. Old Tuck has seen this type before…the perpetual bad boy who just can’t stay out of trouble.

  24. Wendy

    Ben Franklin kept it civil. We could start there.

  25. Watching

    What goes around comes around. Eventually the Sheriff will go down, unless he chooses to just disappear. I don’t think he will do that. Tigers don’t change their stripes.

  26. Men lie all the time

    Moon,

    Keep up the great work here! The Sheriff and his boy wonder in Gainesville will always be tied to the individual who thinks he is above the law but yet has a very public record of criminal acts against the US. Go figure all those calling out county employees about allege misconduct on the Sheriff’s blog need to look at themselves in the mirror and do their research about alliances with an expert on conflicts of interest.

    The Sheriff is afraid of woman who are law abiding but frequently protects a known individual of questionable background. Hypocrisy is widespread on the SON.

  27. Clinton S. Long

    @Men lie all the time

    Wow some pretty strong accusations in this post. I am not sure this quite meets an acceptable standard, does it?

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