Moving On
OK. Let’s move on.
I plan on ignoring any further ttstark posts, unless they get so over the top as to cause me a migraine (a malady I’m not given to, so I don’t expect he’ll be much of a future problem). Thanks for all your comments on the topic.
Snarky dweebs like ttstark however, are on my mind of late. City Weekly staff writer Stephen Dark is finishing up a cover story about a cyber-squatter-conman who has a criminal record as long as my arm. The guy has a record as a sex offender (a late 1990s federal conviction for on-line possession of kiddie porn). This little transgression landed the guy on the Utah sex offenders database, so he finds it a challenge to find and keep a regular job. He’s limited to where he can live (restrictions on proximity to schools, child care centers, etc.) so he he resides in his sister’s basement in Utah County. He fills his days with harassing people via the Internet and extorting them by demanding money to clear their names (once he’s tried to destroy them). It’s like the guy has a virtual pen and mucho time on his hands to scrawl insults and threats all over one big bathroom wall.
That’s all I can reveal right now. The story is scheduled to run next issue (May 23). It’s sort of a cautionary tale for people who might not know how closely these creeps operate among us.
If you’re one of the many who read this blog and can’t get a paper copy of CW, you can always bookmark our site: http://www.slweekly.com
If you haven’t read my weekly column in this week’s CW, it’s here. We had a good laugh on Tuesday of this week — the day we run around like crazy chickens to get the paper out. This issue reads like the “All Mitt, All the Time” edition. My main point was to get away from the dominant theme among Utahns these days: that poor Mitt is being persecuted for his LDS membership. I’ll give him that, to a small degree. But as a journalist and something of a social/cultural/political critic, I’m not about to give him a hall pass on his waffling and lukewarm positions.
As I point out in the piece, Americans appreciate flexibility in their president AFTER the election, not BEFORE. A presidential campaign is all about drama. What we want from our candidates during the campaign is guarantee of a spine. And Romney shows nearly every day that he’s in search of his. If he’s found his backbone yet, he really ought to let the voters know.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Hey, Holly:-)!
You know what? Mormons tend to be overrepresented in government, not underrepresented (for example, there are 5 Mormon U.S. senators when proportionate representation would give them 2). I’m not sure where the persecution is.
Anyhoo, I happened to notice that Mitt talked tough about torture during the last debate (seems to be in favor of it). He had his chance to be “tough” when he was young man by going to Vietnam.
I’m not sure that we need another chicken hawk in office.
May 17th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Perhaps many people outside of Utah can`t imagine Mitt having much of an intellect if he`s also a true believer in LDS theology. Mutually incompatible. He sure LOOKS presidential though…….
May 17th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Don`t like the Rev.Al? Compared to the narcissistic, chauvinistic, megalomaniacal, schizoid Rev. Jesse….I think Sharpton is ok. Being racist comes with the territory for veterans of that era. Think of H.Rap Brown.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Know what, chardonnay, I cut old members of the civil rights era a little slack (even though both Jackson and Sharpton can be insufferable, narcissistic twits). Those people did have balls. I don’t have the courage to do what they did.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Speaking of sex offenders, I encourage EVERYONE to check out this website….plug in your street address, and you’ll be amazed on how many offenders you’ll find in your neighborhood. Here is the website address:
http://www.familywatchdog.us/
Also agree with your comments on Mitt. Yes, he needs to grow a bone (a spine…..don’t have dirty minds!)
Glad that you’re ignoring the ttstark posts…don’t waste your fingers typing.
See you next month! :) Ciao
May 17th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
gabespop,
Point taken. My problem with Jackson is he has appointed himself chief spokesman for victimization. OK. But he also has engaged in a cottage industry of shaking down companies that don`t measure up to his “Rainbow Coalition”. Extortion is the word. Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald`s…the guy has made millions……
May 17th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Chardonnay,
I didn’t know Jackson did that! If so, forget what I said and screw him:-).
May 17th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Unlike many “Utahns” (after a year, can call I call myself one?), I am so DARNED tired of the Mitt Romney story. JFK had defend the fact he could be a good president and a Catholic and Romney is probably going to have do some of the same. He should be able to do so quite nicely, JFK’s argument still stands up, though there are things in place now (Roe v. Wade) that might have made it harder for Kennedy.
The problem I have is, I can’t stand the man’s waffling and he looks like a used car salesman. And, though I still read the Trib and like it for the most part I wish they would GET OVER MITT. No offense, Holly, I think once in a while a well placed story or column is fine. But Utah’s media doesn’t have to be on a “Mitt Romney Watch” for heaven’s sake.
Whew.
May 18th, 2007 at 5:46 am
lostinutah, you’re being MUCH too kind in saying Willard looks like a used car salesman. What I see is a snake oil salesman.
And speaking of a Willard watch, check out this blog http://mormonsagainstromney.blogspot.com/
These kids are on it!
May 18th, 2007 at 8:53 am
Your column was excellent, Holly. Romney’s proven that he’s a competent leader, but his changes, charmed life, and Mormonism are issue.
There is one thing to point out about Romney’s changes in position on abortion law, gay rights, and embryonic stem cell research–they all occurred after he took office. I believe it’s plausible that his changes derived from having to confront the reality of the issues for the first time as an elected official, like when he reviewed the cloning request from Harvard.
I know I’ve had many times where I thought I knew how I felt about an issue, but then a life circumstance made me face the issue squarely and make a decision. Sometimes I ended up feeling the same way, but stronger, but other times I changed how I felt, based on the ‘further review’.
May 19th, 2007 at 12:04 am
Nic, to me they are the same. :) Glad to see someone else is on the watch!!!
May 19th, 2007 at 12:07 am
msteele, God knows I’ve had my shifts in 40 years. But - I’m still secure in my views, the difference I have is that I still don’t feel the need to force my points of view onto others as law. That, (not perhaps in your case of course is something that happens frequently in Utah - “my” (majority) point of view is rammed down throats of those of thus that just aren’t there with it.
May 24th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Hey Holly,
How come Weekly doesn’t take on the private club exclusion at the airport? How come a californian can fly into utah, get a gin and tonic without having to pay a private club fee (nor write down their name and address), and then fly off AS LONG AS THEY ONLY DRINK IN THE AIRPORT????
I think Weekly should lead a campaign to get rid of this exculsion: damnit, you come to utah, you have to follow the same islamic drinking rules that everyone in the state has to follow. It isn’t fair to have this exclusion. And if this issue might embarrass the legislature enuf to get rid of the private club rules altogether in the state, so much the better. But this is an issue of fairness, and I am tired of being a second class citizen in my adopted state.
Whadda think??
Signed,
Lost in the Ozone Again
May 28th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Indeed, Holly, you should move on and if you can ignore the wiseguys. I love reading various blogs. I quickly learn those who know everything. They have opinions on everything, but can’t seem to get anything right.
I don’t like what ttstark has written on your blog. I’m assuming the writer is male. He’s worth ignoring, shows little intelligence, has no idea what good or bad journalism is, probably spouts off elsewhere on the web. I say so what. Every walk of life has its ttstark. What they write lacks luster, sheds no knowledge, contributes nothing to the threads at hand, wants the spotlight shined on his stupidity.
The fellow seems to have his demons. Perhaps a war veteran; perhaps someone who has had a huge share of hard knocks. Who knows?
As a veteran journalist you’ve learned to take flack. From readers, editors, government and anyone else with soapbox in hand. You did superior work at the Tribune and you’ll do equally well with the weekly. I’m not used to reading the weekly but will turn some atttention to it now that you’re in charge. Your experience and background augur well for your success.
Keep a positive approach to your family and work. Accept the occasional blowhard’s nonsense as just that. Your readers and fellow bloggers here respect you greatly. That, indeed, says something about Holly Mullen.
mamapapaluv
June 1st, 2007 at 9:29 am
Holly, you wrote “OK. Let’s move on.” The piece was about stark, but after more than two weeks, it seems you have faced the inevitable and moved on from mullentown to city weekly. I’d prefer you make a choice–keep up with your audience here, or sell the house and let us know we can visit you in the new one at slweekly.com.
June 1st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
msteele,
Good point(s)…my original thought was in times of stress make the posts short. Like a show and tell of traveloges. I could weigh in with my vacations in Chad or Mali. More mellow than the angst of Utah politics or the horror of VP and W.