The truth is usually black or white, without a lot of gray in between. In the blogosphere, the gray scale is not disclosed. Some bloggers pretend to be reporters, and even cite journalist type ethics. Others clearly are less pretentious, but often more honest. Black or white, orange or pineapple, it's only what it tastes like!
Photo credit: molovinsky
Cryptic.
ReplyDeletewhen a local blog chides msm media for not reporting a story that the blog actually lifted from msm, resorts to deletions, then covers up the deletions with more distortions, i write cryptic protests. i've even noticed one of your blogs recently ended up over there presented as original. i suppose just like too many chefs ruin the soup, too many writers dilute accountability
ReplyDeleteMichael, Be fair. Chris Casey
ReplyDeletedid not get it from the Morning Call. He explained in his comments that he spoke directly to the group who was having problems getting copies of the plans.
I also have to disagree with you that things are either black and white. Maybe in your world (by the way, great photograph) they are, but usually things are grey. It's very clear that you are still sore over something you and Chris disagreed with a while back. Now, you attack every thing Chris does. Your explanation of how getting copies isn't easy was on the mark, but now you've moved beyond that and completely ignored the fact that Chris told you were he got the story. Why would you do that except to try and discredit him and make him look bad?
Your actions with respect to LANTA were quite admirable. In fact, you make a lot of good points when you criticize the Pawloski administration. Unfortunately, they get lost because of your reputation as a person who will distort and ignore the truth in your quest to annihilate those people you clearly dislike.
Please reconsider your approach because your current method undermines your credibility, and causes people to ignore you when you actually should be listened to.
anon 4:40, have you noticed that not one member of the casey team comments on my blog, but from occasional references, they apparently read it. this sort of organized group behavior doesn't seem to lend itself to the political analysis they purport to report. do you believe one member of the team can take it upon himself to delete comments from another members post? casey claims the walmart group member asked for his help, but then at the end of the update thanks him for returning his call? sorry, putting aside our "disagreement" this summer, i find little, if any original thoughts coming from there, claims as such aside. you imply my actions are hostile, but just dismiss the deletion of my comments and the explanation for such? fyi, i do not distort and ignore any facts, but i may indeed be ill suited to teach a course in diplomacy.
ReplyDeleteanon 4:40, it is also difficult to believe a professional engineer from lancaster would expect a planning office to release walmart plans to a citizen, i would think he would know better. to me casey and group protest too hard when caught in embarrassing positions, i.e, i deleted it not him, disclosure about owning stock. walmart has the same rights as "Puppies in distress", the opposers are being disingenuous looking for zoning loopholes when in reality their objection is more sociological. anon 4:40, funny how you can left hand me but defend casey? please provide an example of me distorting or ignoring anything. by the way, casey posted his blog asking where the main stream media was many hours after the main stream media reported the same story. casey's story didn't contain one item that was not in the morning call. i was gentlemanly and apologized on his blog for suggesting his posting was not original, but he responded by telling me to sit down and relax. btw, casey previously posted that i do not allow criticism on my blog, which he knew wasn't true. how ironic that my comments are deleted on his blog
ReplyDeleteMichael, as I said earlier, a lot of your points are valid, as are your concerns with your comments being deleted. My point is that your motivation to completely discredit certain people causes you to lose credibility, such that any valid concerns you have are often ignored.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, what comes across most loudly in your posts is your disdain for the person whom you're writing about (Ed Pawlowski and Chris Casey are often the targets). This particular post completely ignored Chris' statement that he got the story from the group, and not the MSM like you assert. His explanation still makes sense if you assume (like I did) that he was contacted by members of the group. The phone call was from the group's leader. I don't see any inconsistencies with that. Now, your criticism that he didn't do enough homework before reporting on this is valid - but again, I think what most people will walk away with after reading this post is that you're simply looking to discredit Chris.
Really, that's a shame because as I said before, you do make a lot of good points. I personally wrote you off for several months because everything you wrote seemed to be an attempt to vilify Pawlowski at every possible turn. However, if I take the time to sift through the chaff there are some real gems in there. A good example of that is with the inspection requirement for those trying to sell a home. It's a great example of Pawlowski completely missing the mark.
Just try to remain motivated more about getting out the truth vs. discrediting your foes and more people will listen to you.
And again, nice photo. I'm truly impressed with your skill at photography.
anon 5:39, believe it or not i do feel the hostility toward either ed pawlowski or chris casey to which you refer. In Ed's case, he has said some things about me which are disparaging and not true, yet my criticism has always been based on his policies, and on several occasions i have stated i do not question his integrity, i still do not question his integrity, except he should not attack the messengers. i do not try and sugar coat my criticism of policy, and will be dramatic if that technique will shed more light on the problem, as i see it. In chris's case, his attack on me this summer was unwarranted. he took an offhand comment on a posting, which i said was a secret as in rumor, and posted a story that i was a liar. when i noticed that all members of his team joined in the theme, they denied indulging in group behavior. bats stated he looked forward to publicly humiliating me. again you seem to condone a double standard, are they less accountable because they post anonymously? is casey completely blameless because it's bats who demeans and deletes me? i do not hate mr. casey, i appreciated him coming to the speak out forum; i just won't take being the victim of a double standard lying down. go back and read the posts from the casey blog this summer, pawlowski was mr. ed moving allentown forward and everyone else was a nay-sayer, and i was the devil.
ReplyDeleteMichael,
ReplyDelete1) The anon poster makes many valid points.
2) You have every right to be angry at the deletion of relevant comments on the Wal-Mart post over at LVPoliblog. Within moments after reading them, they were amazingly deleted, and you get a little lecture to boot, telling you to sit down or something. All of that was wrong. I disagreed, more or less, with your second comment, but we could not have a dialogue. There was nothing disrespectful in your comments. It added to an important discussion.
3) You don't know that LVpoliblog lifted a story from the MSM and then accused them of not covering it. Since you don't really know that, you can't make such an accusation. Chris explained he had been in contact with the group. If you choose to disbelieve him, that's your choice, but you have no evidence he lied. I was called a liar just a few days ago but someone at that blog, and know how it feels. I would not use that word publicly unless I had hard evidence.
4) If I had posted a blog that criticized the MC for not covering a subject they had written about a day before me, I would be embarrassed. I suspect there was a little of that going on.
5) There is no doubt in my mind that other bloggers treat you unfairly and jump all over you. Maddy admitted as much, and said he'd delete everything you wrote if he could. That's sad. It's unfair to you. It's even more unfair to the rest of us.
6) Your continual reference to this summer's email incident is unhelpful. Most of us have forgotten the details, and you lose us when you harp about it. That's wehen you start losing credibility. Stick to the here and now. If you want to resurrect the past, you will have to do so in a separate post on your blog, and in great detail, with links to back you up.
7) There are evil forces out there. A-town is a mess, and we know that mostly because of you. But we need you focused on that, not the petty stuff. And it is petty.
8) Any blog that deletes relevant comments just bc its team does not like the poster loses a lot of credibility in my mind. Write about that iof you must write about something. Explain the nature of your two comments. People will see that you were right, and this is one of those black and white areas.
9) I get caught up in the BS, too. I make the same mistake myself at times. I'll get caught up with the inanity of what some people say, but after awhile, it becomes pointless. We waste valuable time and energy that can be devoted elsewhere. I've decided henceforth that I'm going to make my point once and that's it.
9) Do yourself a favor. If they wish to mistreat you and delete relevant comments, write about it on your blog. Try to do it in a way that we can understand what you really mean. You give us too much credit. Your cryptic posts sometimes need more explanation. Explain what happened. If you have suspicions, state them. But make sure you make clear they are just that.
Michael, I have not condoned their behavior. It's not an either/or situation. Just because I view some of your posts as being motivated by personal hurts doesn't mean I think their posts are appropriate and properly researched. A lot of times they're not. The best of that blog is when they bring up thoughtful questions that trigger meaningful discourse.
ReplyDeleteMM,
ReplyDeleteI love the photo. I am thinking about organizing an "Artists speak out on Allentown" show. The theme being "the challenges Allentown faces." I want to keep it positive, but it's not going to be about local artists painting pretty pictures of our parks. I will e-mail you the details if you are interested.
To the anon here, I have been following this story and I do not believe MM has ever tried to discredit anyone personally. He criticizes policy and methods.He presents an informed opinion. And Pawlowski has called MM a "slumlord." I don't think MM's points ever get "lost" because he is trying to "annihilate people he dislikes." I think his points are very clear, kinda like black and white. And he's not a copycat.
bernie and anon, when casey said the post wasn't based on the MC, although skeptical, I apologized for my implication. my reward was to have my comments deleted (by whoever) and demeaned. Although you are correct, the incident this summer is history, please consider that i have been the subject of at least two posts on that blog attacking my integrity. I see a pattern of distortions, distractions and buck passing at their blog which doesn't support credibility in my mind.
ReplyDeleteboth of you(bernie and anon) have given me constructive suggestions . in most of my civil pursuits i have been a one man band, certainly at the beginning of a mission, and it's too easy to sweep the issue away if the messenger blinks.
Dottie, my choice of certain words were probably too strong, and I thank you for pointing that out (and my apologies to Michael).
ReplyDeleteBernie mentioned sticking with the big stuff and the here and now. That's probably a better way of putting it.
Your project sounds very interesting!
"Please reconsider your approach because your current method undermines your credibility, and causes people to ignore you when you actually should be listened to." -Bullshit Meter: 10.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, a "nice" approach just does not work. It only makes you easier to ignore.
Sometimes, you must head butt people to get and maintain their attention.
I've never had a problem with MM's "approach" or his grasp of the facts.
comment from "mad as bats" taken from casey's post concerning karen beyer at lehighvalleypoliblog;
ReplyDelete"Chris why don't you delete every comment this moron molovinsky makes? Criticism from a guy who only publishes comments that he approves of? You are an arrogant hypocrite Mike, Everytime you tap your keyboard you make the Mayor of idiots look smart. that is pretty hard to do."
thanks bats for that insightful input, keep up the good work at poliblog!
"anon 4:40, have you noticed that not one member of the casey team comments on my blog, but from occasional references, they apparently read it. this sort of organized group behavior doesn't seem to lend itself to the political analysis they purport to report." -MM
ReplyDeleteMM, I've noticed the LV Poliblog Team does not comment at Mrs. Dottie's "Lehigh Valley Somebody" blog either, and again, in a humorously apparent, 'flying in formation' kind of organized boycott way. Why is this? Well ... and this is purely conjecture, I have no proof, but my guess is that its because you and Mrs. Dottie engage regularly in intelligent and civil discussions. How dare you both.
bill, i think that is a fair assumption. when i called them a tag team this summer they took offense, but everyone of them took a shot at me for confronting casey. i'm not into the research and links, but lolv called me nefarious, the daughter said my grammar was pathetic (before she later revealed she proof read addicted posts for grammar errors) even the one from seattle made a long distance insult.
ReplyDeleteMr. Molovinsky Sir:
ReplyDeleteThe reason no one from our blog comments here is last year you got into a verbal brawl with several of our contributors, here and at our blog, and to stop the blustering stupidity, I asked them to refrain from commenting on your blog and provoking you.
Mike, I shook your hand at the church that saturday afternoon, and I have kept my word, because not once has anyone written anything critical of you since then. They have left you alone.
Unfortunately, you can't help yourself, and can't reciprocate the respect and consideration that was given you. You have battled with Warren, greg, CJ, and even miffed Aphrodite. If we don't agree with you, or abide by whatever standards are floating in your mind that day, you lash out at us. I have supported you, because you have many good, valid points about Allentown and its government. I reply to you in a civil manner, but you continually berate me. So be it. Between you and the other character, I don't know who I've tried to appease more. No longer. I don't give a damn what you think of us. At least we try. We don't set ourselves up as judge and Jury. You do. that's a terrible burden to bear. God help you. And I mean that sincerely
Bill and MM,
ReplyDeleteLOLV does comment at my blog. Even though the others don't show any interest in my blog, which is fine with me, I will still occasionally give them a comment, even a compliment, because I'm a grown up and don't engage in baby games.
Re: "a tag team"
ReplyDeleteI hope they all knock it off and embrace democracy, starting now. And this would include no more comment deletions of you or anybody else just because they don't like what you're saying. That was unbelievably and unforgivably jerky. More of that and they're inviting a mass boycott of their blog.
chris, you write nicely, but i'm afraid your challenged by truth and try to distort through suggestion. our hand shake, which i offered first, has nothing to do with the comments i have received from your team. recent comments have included addicted saying daughter thought i was mentally unstable. you just demeaned me earlier yourself by implying my comments about walmart were rabid. you claim both to have influence over the team, but also claim your not responsible for their actions. you don't know who started the parody blog about me, but will ask that it stop. actually, if anybody tried to mend fences, it has been me. i posted on your blog, usually on topic, only to be told to go away as soon as our opinion differed. you and your team members have engaged in the behavior outlined in this posting and subsequent comment section, the only victim is me. i'm sorry i have not laid down according to your specifications. should i thank you for saying you hope G-d forgives me my sins?
ReplyDeletechris you wrote:
ReplyDelete"Mike, I shook your hand at the church that saturday afternoon, and I have kept my word, because not once has anyone written anything critical of you since then."
chris, this is disturbing, because i introduced myself, put out my hand, and thanked you for coming to the meeting about allentown. that was the end of our discussion. someone reading your comment would think that we discussed our differences, and made agreements for the future. i don't know what comments were made since Jan. 26, i do know i repeatedly try and post on your blog and then retreat when insults start. i do know that you are taking advantage of my handshake by "suggesting" that i violated some agreement we came to. I do know invoking G-d to judge me and claiming to be sincere about it is not appropriate.
I know the primary reason I don't comment here has more to do with the moderation system. Any comment that I would ever make is subject to your comments first and not by others. Why is that? Also, the lack of links and back up information doesn't afford much credibility when you make a claim. As crazy as Bernie might be (I say that with love and affection by the way), if you aren't sure what he is talking about, you can always find a link that takes you somewhere.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, nice picture.
anon 5:18, contrary to some statements made elsewhere about my blog, i have published every comment i have received(except one very racist comment). i realize the moderation system deters comments, but it also discourages obscene remarks and personal insults. as for links, actually my apple on this safari version does not seem to allow the hyperlink function, and i have a different approach than bernie. i'm not a reporter, this is not a newspaper, and who says that a link to another report means that they were accurate? i have never written anything i know not to be true, and i try to differentiate facts from opinion.
ReplyDeleteMike Molovinsky: LIAR That's all there is to say. You don't publish any comments that criticize you, or list facts that shoot down yours. I know, you never publish mine
ReplyDeletenaked, as you well know, this is the first comment i have received from you. casey himself said the "team" was discouraged from commenting on my blog because of my "inclination" to "argue". but thanks for the comment, and please stop by again.
ReplyDeleteBlah, Blah Blah, Molovinsky on Molovinsky, and how the whole world is against him. Blah blah blah.
ReplyDeleteNice picture Mike, self portrait? Oh wait, I better not joke, you will be offended, everybody else ticks you off, I wouldn't want you coming after me. Hey, are you related to the Mean old Man who posts on Gort occasionally?
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:27 & 5:30,
ReplyDeleteLet it go already. It's sad to see all this negative energy.
Mike - I have heard Chris defend you time and time again. Now, given your ridiculous claims, I am glad we have not had the chance to meet. Sometimes I can't hold my tongue to ridiculous loud mouth hypocrites. Go take your ball and go find another playground to play in. You are off the team, even though you had been the last chosen anyway!
ReplyDelete