Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Dishonesty of Donald Douglas, Part 99

A quick review...

After two weeks of being ignored by me and everyone else here at American Nihilist, Donald Douglas lashes out at me by name--on Thanksgiving Day, no less, suggesting that if he were to mention the name of the retailer where his also nameless wife works, her life would be threatened by me.


Basis? Zero. No one here has ever threatened to harm Donald Douglas, any member of his family, or anyone he has ever met. Rather than just enjoying the day with his family, Donald felt the need to launch an unprovoked attack on me on Thanksgiving. God only knows why...

Late that night, I respond, making note of the fact that: Even on Thanksgiving, our poor pathetic little friend Dr. Donald Douglas cannot resist lashing out...

Predictably I suppose, Donald's response to being called out for his Thanksgiving attack post was, well, a little over the top--not to mention gravely dishonest--from the suggestion that I attacked him, to his suggestion that anyone here threatened to or has any interest in or desire to "rape his wife!"

(As near as I can figure it, someone in the comments made a Beavis and Butthead joke, and poor Donald failed to understand the cultural reference... Whatever his motives, Donald is lying... No one made any lewd or sexually-charged attacks on his wife--indeed, we mostly feel sorry for her, given the man to whom she's married. Given his penchant for hyperbole, I've no doubt that every mis-squeeze of the toothpaste tube is an attack on the very foundation of marriage and the traditional family, itself... or something.)

While his friend Zilla picked up and regurgitated his story, initially posting the following...
Update: Last month Zilla of the Resistance: Stand Against Evil - Never Let it Win I posted in support of my friend Donald Douglas who runs the American Power blog, who has, for years, been under relentless attack by hateful leftists who have even gone so far as to try to get him fired from his job - simply because they disagree with his political opinions. Donald has a new post up today that is horrifying and stomach churning: now American Power: Deranged Stalker Walter James Casper III Fires Up the Criminal Hate-Blogging for the Holidays the sick freaks are talking about wanting to rape Donald's wife. There is no level of depravity too low for the cretinous enemies of free speech to sink to in its unyielding mission to intimidate those whose opinions they disagree with into silence. Absolutely disgusting.
...truth (in the form of a comment made by me at her blog) bade her to check the facts, and update her post accordingly, which she did:
Update: Last month I posted in support of my friend Donald Douglas who runs the American Power blog, who has, for years, been under relentless attack by hateful leftists who have even gone so far as to try to get him fired from his job - simply because they disagree with his political opinions. Donald has a new post up today describing the fact that the blog dedicated in its entirety to attacking him, could not even leave him alone on Thanksgiving Day. The comments section there includes some snide remarks about his marriage. How very sad that some people apparently have nothing better to do, on a day dedicated to reflecting on all of the things for which one should be thankful, than to pick at a man over every single thing he ever writes on his blog, and then bitch about it when that man discusses the relentless attacks. But then again, Thanksgiving is an American holiday, and gratitude is something expressed by people who actually have functioning souls, so I suppose this should not be surprising. (Yes, this update did previously say something else, but after being asked to do further investigation, I did and have amended this post, as promised.)
While she still gets some of the facts wrong--claiming it was we "nihilists" who couldn't leave Donald alone on Thanksgiving, rather than the other way 'round--I give Zilla credit for at least trying to tell the truth. This alone shows her to be a far better class of person than Donald could ever be, were he to even try, anymore...
"How very sad that some people apparently have nothing better to do, on a day dedicated to reflecting on all of the things for which one should be thankful, than to pick at a man over every single thing he ever writes on his blog, and then bitch about it when that man discusses the relentless attacks."
We agree, Zilla... We agree... (Surely Zilla was referring to Donald, since he was the guy attacking others on Thanksgiving day, Right? Of course, she was... ...and like I said, we're with her.)

The fact that Zilla updated her post to reflect the truth of the matter (more-or-less, anyway) had zero effect on Dr. Douglas, of course...

First, in another diatribe worthy of a drama queen short fiction award, Donald reposted Zilla's initial blurb on his blog, in spite of the fact that she had updated it to more closely resemble the truth hours earlier. As of this writing, it remains, unchanged... ...just as though Zilla had never called his veracity into question by updating it...

This post also repeats the discredited claim of sexualized references to his wife, including the emboldened admonition that "They would rape her given the chance." Donald is nothing if not consistent, no matter the facts. (He also seems to believe that if he doesn't link to me, he isn't attacking me, even if he alleges that I would rape (or later, kill) his wife in his blog post(s). That's some kinda odd definition of an attack, right there...) You'll have to follow the link for the rest of his largely paranoid-sounding rant... Given it's lack of substance--or for that matter, any tether to reality--it's not even worth discussing.

Of course, that bit of dishonesty wasn't enough... Donald had to try again to persuade Zilla and her readers that his bullshit was worthy of their consideration:
Zilla: Repsac3 is lying. His blog is a stalking hate site, not a place for commentary. He claims to have started it as a joke but it quickly became a focal point of attacks on my life (nothing compares to this, I can assure you). Repsac3 has a deranged obsession that is manifestly not healthy. His behavior is essentially criminal, but the police action required to get him to stop his harassment and threats is costly to mobilize. If you engage him know in advance that most what he says is not true and totally self-serving. He is a manifest pathological liar. Well wishes he might send are fake and designed only to inoculate himself from criticism. Repsac is also racist. He's stated previously that he first identifies people by race or ethnic background then treats them (segregates them) accordingly. I ---- we ---- treat people as individuals with dignity. Repsac has a history of stalking people. He harassed my friend Skye from Midnight Blue, following her around even to her YouTube pages. She warned me about him years ago as a pervert. He is not to be trusted and by allowing him to comment here I warn you that he'll pollute your community like a despicable troll and your community will be harmed. He's toxic that way. If he were decent he'd retire his attack blog and stop with his dementia and obsessions. People like this actually need help. I'd not feed his psychosis for fear of the bad karma and actual violence he's wont to foment. Walter James Casper III is a cancer.
As usual, however, Donald makes these allegations without a shred of evidence... Tall tales are all he has...

A few points:

* Donald accuses me of some undefined criminal acts, but asserts it would be too costly for the police to respond to them. Does that sound plausible to anyone?!? Donald has at various times accused me of stalking, harassment, and most recently, conspiracy to commit rape and/or murder... but he won't call the police about any of it because it would cost too much to have them respond?!? Sorry, Donald, but that's taking the desire to keep taxes low to a pretty fucking absurd level... (That, or perhaps the man is just lying... We report, you decide.)

* As near as I can figure it, Donald's racism charge, first launched after I called him out for bigoted posts like these, amounts to the following:

1) I didn't believe a comment made about Donald Douglas' celtic-sounding name and "swarthy" complexion was racist...

2) I called a black man a clown because I disagreed with something he said...

and

3) I said that it is not racist to mention--or even talk about--race... ...and as an example, said that it would not be racist for another professor to describe Dr. Douglas as "a grey-haired black man wearing a blue suit with a red tie, who was likely to be dining in the south quad cafeteria at this hour" to a new student or professor who had never met the man. Apparently, taking any notice of skin color or other "racial" feature is evidence that one judges people based on their ethnic or racial background. (And lest there be any confusion, this was a part of Donald's comment in reply: "...you welcome people who see me first as a black man and not a man." Yeah... Really.)

* Donald also seems to believe that commenting in response to posts is the same as stalking... The fact is, the political blogosphere really isn't all that large... As soon as one ventures away from the major sites, it's often the same small group of screen names, wherever one goes... That I responded to a particular blogger at both her own blog AND at a YouTube video or two isn't really all that unusual... ...unless one is Donald Douglas, I guess... For the rest of us, seeing and speaking to the same group of bloggers, left and right, on multiple sites is a pretty common occurrence... YMMV...
---

Obviously, Donald is going to continue to make these fact free, unsubstantiated allegations against me.

Just as obviously, there will be fools gullible enough to believe whatever lies he tells... All I can do is to continue to post the facts, hope that those intelligent and honest enough to think for themselves will see them, and pray that the gullible sycophantic fools are few and far between...
(A few folks have suggested that his allegations of criminal behavior meet the legal test for libel... ...and while I've not taken them seriously up to now, the fact that some of his blog buddies are now reposting his lies without bothering to even vet them first, has me wondering whether I ought to reconsider...)

So obviously, this blog isn't going anywhere for a long time to come...
---

Sadly, this somewhat innocuous comment, once again calling Donald's veracity into question, will be my last at Zilla's blog.

Citing her friendship with Donald and her desire that he not be made "uncomfortable" when coming to her blog (which exposing his lies for all to see would likely do), Zilla banned me from making any further comment there...

C'est la vie... "Birds of a feather...," I suppose...
Still, of all the folks who've limited my ability to discuss things with them, her motives--at least thus far--are the most pure... She's not claiming I've misbehaved, or that Donald hasn't... She's simply saying that as his friend, she wants him to be comfortable at her blog... Refreshingly honest, if ya ask me... (All that remains to be seen is whether she personally continues or condones attacks on me at her blog... If not, she retains my admiration; if so, well, I'd be surprised...and exceedingly disappointed...)
---

Here is the text of the e-mail I sent her this morning (before seeing that she had restricted my ability to comment, obviously):
I debated whether to post that last comment, but figured it was innocuous enough not to offend much of anyone other than the person lying about my good name... I shan't comment at your blog on the subject again... (though I AM writing a new post for my own blog that includes the comments made on yours by all concerned... You're welcome to stop by and see that I fairly represent the truth of the matter, if you wish--and correct me if I misstate anything, of course--once it is posted... I had intended to drop you a link, but given your latest comments, I won't... but nevertheless, you're always welcome to read, comment, and even vehemently disagree...)

While it is your blog, I humbly request that you not allow Donald to launch attacks on me while asking me not to respond to them, whether it be in the comments section, or by repeating his specious claims--particularly without vetting them first--in your own posts.

I only came to your blog because I was falsely accused there, both initially, and yesterday... Had I never been mentioned, I likely never would've made a comment...

As for the rest, we disagree...

My blog responds to attacks... It seldom initiates them.

In this latest episode, for example, we at American Nihilist were perfectly content to eat our turkey and stuffing in peace and not think of Dr Douglas at all--the same way we hadn't for the previous two weeks--until Donald decided to accuse me of some veiled threat to his wife as a part of his Thanksgiving Day post. All the rest flows from his initial unprovoked and unwarranted attack on my character and my good name... No matter how you chose to characterize it on your blog, I know you read the posts, and I know you know that what I say here is true. And that's good enough for me...

Sure... maybe it is unusual to have a blog devoted to refuting the attacks made on us and on our political and social opinions by Dr Douglas... But given the number of attacks the man has launched, it has become a necessary tool and a permanent record. You needn't agree with either it's existence or it's purpose, and as long as you tell the truth, you're welcome to criticize whatever we say, there... ...though as I said, I'd appreciate the opportunity to respond, should you choose to do so... But we're not going to go away, especially so long as Dr Douglas continues to tell such lies...

That said, I appreciate your position... I wouldn't be a part of this whole business either, if I didn't have to be... Assuming you keep attacks on me off of your blog, I'll never comment on the subject there again... (If your intent was to ban my comments altogether, please let me know... Until I hear otherwise, I'm going to think positive, and assume it wasn't, and that comments regarding other subjects are still welcome...)

Again, I'm sorry the disagreement between Donald and I ever touched down on your blog shore... It'll not happen again, at least by my hand... The rest, Zilla, is up to you...
---

Links:
American Power: Early Thanksgiving Dinner
Even on Thanksgiving, our poor pathetic little friend Dr. Donald Douglas cannot resist lashing out...
American Power: Deranged Stalker Walter James Casper III Fires Up the Criminal Hate-Blogging for the Holidays
Zilla of the Resistance: New Death Threats from Islamic Supremacists and their Islamoblow Enablers Show How Much They CAIR
American Power: 'Tolerant' Progressives Ramp Up Death Threats Against Conservatives
Donald Douglas - 11/27/11, 12:18 AM
The Devil's American Nihilist Henchmen: Donald Douglas - On African Americans
The guy at American Power is Not Entitled to His Own Facts
repsac3 - October 8, 2010 12:22 AM
repsac3 - October 8, 2010 1:56 PM
Donald Douglas - October 8, 2010 2:34 PM
Zilla of the Resistance: Stand Against Evil - Never Let it Win

20 comments:

Carl said...

Sheesh. Poor dude. He has to hide bhehind Mommy Zilla's apron and even then, when he's shown to be a liar, she protects him.

One wonders how many...quid pro quos..they've exchanged. Over drinks. In a hotel room.

Zilla/MJ said...

That's not very nice, Carl. I am a married lady and loyal to my husband. Also, I don't drink.

I simply have other things to do besides deal with this blogwar and it has become a distraction from the other things that I write about, as I explained to Respac.

repsac3 said...

I have to agree, Carl... Suggesting that Zilla and Dr. Douglas may have shared a drink...or "more"..., or that such a thing might motivate her to protect him from hurt feelings as a result of his claims being shown to be untrue is completely inappropriate.

I mean, it's not like you (and I, and pretty much everyone else who recently commented here) were accused of conspiracy to commit some crime, or anything...

...Oh... ...Wait.... We kinda were, weren't we?

Well still... Such things just aren't speculated about or spoken of, Carl... ...at least, not here at this fine upstanding blog, especially giving it's august subject matter and purpose...

Please make a note of it.

Seriously, dude... There's no cause or basis to speculate such a thing... And honestly, I hope my friends would protect and defend me no matter how wrong I was, too... It's like the old joke...

Friends will help you move.
True friends will help you move a dead body.

Don's got a whole lotta bodies, and needs all the true friends he can get... While I feel kinda sorry for them--I've seen how quickly and viciously he turns on people the minute they stop helping him with those bodies (Google Donald's name and "Erin Andrews" to see what he said about a group of conservative women (and a few men, as well) who took him to task for posting a link to the disgusting peephole video a few years ago, for example)--I don't begrudge him the friends he has... More power to him--and to them, for as long as they can stay in his good graces...

Cut the woman some slack... She's doing what she's doing out of love (fraternal, of course) and a sense of sociopolitical siblinghood, not lust...

Truth 101 said...

In a twisted way I think Don likes the attention we give him. I would have been content to have nothing to do with him as there are millions of blogs out there to visit. This kook just keeps jumping on you Reppy. If he'd ignore us we'd probably just let AN dwindle away.

Since JBW's girlfriend Grace went away, is there anyone that actually takes Donald seriously anymore?

xpatPhD said...

Wow.

A weekend away and look what I missed.

Coming in late, it's hard to keep track of who said what when, but I've just had a look over at AmPow, and Don is stating rather bluntly that it is his belief that Reppy "and his fascistic band of progressive totalitarians" want to rape and/or kill Don's wife.

When someone with a PhD in PoliSci calls Obama a Marxist or labels someone a "fascistic progressive", I'm inclined to allow some poetic/rhetorical license, but say that you believe that somebody actually wants to rape and kill your wife is hard to dismiss as run of the mill blogtastic hyperbolic rhetoric. Frankly, it sounds sort of, well, crazy.

I see also that Don's latest comment/link buddy, Theresa (?) is reporting anonymous death threats too. Is there some kind of Rule 6 or Rule 666 that says you can increase hits and consolidate sympathy through synthetic/imaginary threats?

More thoughts on how partisan blogging leads to degradation of personal standards later. I'll compose off-line for clarity.

Carl said...

Zilla, you accused me (as part of the commentariat here) of conspiring to rape AssProf's wife.

So don't give me your fucking high handed moral lessons, babe. You may have taken it back but the fact that you even thought it based on ZERO evidence says a lot more about your warped and tisted mind than a few innuendo ever could.

Kevin Robbins said...

The fascisitic(sic) vampire is kicked to the curb by my high standard of moral right. It's like a crucifix to evil.

No wonder Donald is losing the battle to our forces of nihilistic evil. As someone who grew up on Christopher Lee, I can tell you that vampires don't get "kicked to the curb." They get a stake in the heart or the drapes get drawn to the morning sun and they turn to a pile of ashes. Occasionally, both.

And after reading a few of his posts, I'd say his "moral right" is like a crucifix to sanity. So sad, yet so funny. Get the therapy you need Donald!

Hope all you nihilists had a good turkey day. See you've been busy Reppy. I saved this post for last cause I could see it was the main course.

Should I tell Don that it's really him we want to "have our way with?" That ought to fry a few more synapses.

repsac3 said...

Truth, I was showing some friends and family his posts (a few recent ones, and a few from the "best of" collection) and that is the consensus opinion... Most of them think that if I were to stop feeding his voracious need for attention--by just not bothering to respond, no matter how many times he lashed out--he would eventually stop trying, the way he has with most of the other people he shakes his little fists at...

It is true that we're pretty much the only people outside of his kinda tiny like minded circle-jerk that pay him any mind, anymore... While the anti-Muslim and homophobic right does seem to accept him as one of their own, pretty much the whole of the left (and some ofthe right, as well) has written him off as not even worth the electrons, anymore. Other than the occasional point as a right wing bad example, no one cares... No one bothers to respond when he has his little temper tantrums about whatever "StaliSocialiNihilist" thing he claims they said or did... No one except us...

I know some of the folks here may disagree, but there was a time when Donald wrote thought out and well researched posts. He was always a conservative, but he used to write like a political science professor. Now he writes like an unintelligent, eternally-angry partisan thug.

It really is like shooting turkeys in a barrel, these days...

Even his friends have to tell bald-faced lies and keep folks who publish quotes and links that show the truth from appearing on their pages in order to defend him and keep him "comfortable."

It makes me feel sorry for him, and for them, too...

(I don't know exactly what I'm saying, except that I have been thinkin' more and more lately whether everyone else has the right idea, where ol Don is concerned...)

repsac3 said...

Spat: (Mind if I call you spat? My auto-correct spell check seemed to prefer it... ...and it made me giggle like schoolgirl when it did...): "More thoughts on how partisan blogging leads to degradation of personal standards later."

You ain't shittin'... (I liked everything you said, but that really stood out.)

Granted, some folks are just maladjusted, or belligerent assholes... But I suspect that most partisan bloggers would speak and behave a whole lot more intelligently and respectfully toward each other if they were discussing / debating in person... ...and that the examples of bad behavior by our blogging peers and the "attaboy" comments we give each other for that kinda behavior elicits and encourages still more of it... And, I wonder sometimes, whether our partisan experiences online are influencing our offline interactions more than the other way around... ...that even without the monitor screens between us, we're forgetting that they're real people (whoever "they" are.)

(in addition to "Spat's" comment, thank the bipartisan list of folks--including Donald, and some of the people in our blogroll--who are posting condolences to Outside The Beltway blogger James Joyner over the sudden death of his 41 year old wife, on one hand, and the list of assholes--including Donald, and his protector and friend, Zilla--giving props and high-fives to a rightwing thug who claims to've pepper-sprayed an OWS protester for talking to him, recently, on the other, for this comment... Some of what's really good about the blogging world and some of what's really disgusting, right there in one paragraph...)

Truth 101 said...

Think I should tell Don my Nice Legs and Great Little Ass post here last year was really referring to him and not Jayne Byrne?

repsac3 said...

"Should I tell Don that it's really him we want to "have our way with?" That ought to fry a few more synapses."

"Damned barebackin' nihilists... They all want a piece of my fat, rubbery hide, they do..."

That's soooo RAAAAAPECIST!!!!!

xpatPhD said...

The Road to Smurfdom

My job encourages or, at least, permits me to keep up with a reasonably broad range of current events and thinking on topics mostly related to economics, healthcare, education and policy. I have found that the blogs of academic specialists are the best aggregators and analysts while also hosting the highest value-added discussion forums. Some are extremely academic, such as Becker-Posner, and have little in common with more typical blogs, but some of the most technical and focused (such as Andrew Gelman’s “Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science”) still adhere to the breezy and informal style of non-academics. Yet they remain almost completely free of the mean spirited and overly dramatic personal nonsense that is so common to the “popular” blogs. (By “popular”, I really mean non-academic / non-expert / it-seems-to-me types of blogs.)

Partly this is a sample selection bias. I gravitate towards blogs of quantitatively oriented academics. As a group, quantitative academics are if anything more opinionated and argumentative than are just about any other group of people that I have encountered. However, we have to live together in relative harmony. Tenure means that you and the jerk down the hall are going to be seeing a lot of each other for the next ten or twenty years, so you have to learn to criticize the theory, method or analysis and not the person. Also, most of us, by knowing how little most people understand about our very narrow subject of expertise, come to realize just how little we must understand about practically everything else. Or, maybe we just like to fancy out selves to be wise men in the Socratic sense. Sadly, it is not a circle of knowledge; it is a spot with a specialist’s long tail. The perimeter of ignorance grows almost as fast as the area of knowledge.

...

xpatPhD said...

(part II)


Also, academics have valuable reputational capital that somewhat constrains how we behave in public. Some have increased their reputational capital through their blogging. Tyler Cowen would be one excellent example. By contrast, Paul Krugman has exchanged some measure of his academic reputational capital for a substantial measure of the pecuniary sort. Mankiw manages to split the difference. However, some, particularly in the narrative disciplines, have had some very “popular” sorts of blog-war-like dust ups. While carried out mostly on dead trees, the recent Niall Ferguson v. Pankaj Mishra hate fest comes to mind.

“Popular” blogs are another thing entirely. Most deal with the world at large and are written by people who have little expertise beyond their own back yards; though, they may play experts online. They have no meaningful reputational capital at risk and they share no professional norms governing proper and constructive analysis, critique and synthesis. They are often very emotional and personal. Academics are often quite emotional about our own work, but we are trained and conditioned not to easily lose it when we are challenged. It happens, of course, but it leaves a stain.

Add to this the fact that some popular bloggers have made it big. When a person with few obvious skills or talents, such as Matt Drudge, can end up making millions from a blog, others are bound to give it a go. Sadly, web traffic and similar phenomena naturally follow power laws. That is, very few sites will garner the overwhelming majority of the traffic and the vast majority of sites will split the tiny remainder. First movers like Drudge are nearly impossible for imitators to follow. Yet, every now and then, the invisible hand of the popularity lotto reaches into the hopper of nuts and pulls out a Pamela Geller or Markos Moulitsas. Notably, these two examples both have some training as writers for popular media, if little subject matter expertise. Perhaps more obviously, they are also both willing to say or do just about anything that gets them attention. Talent, training and luck are hard to imitate, but attention whoring is something that any 2-year-old understands.

...

xpatPhD said...

(the exciting conclusion)



So partisan blogging inevitability follows the trail blazed by the new media pioneers, porn. Blogs are essentially the same as porn sites. Pamela Anderson can keep her clothes on and attract traffic, just like N. Gregory Mankiw. Matt Drudge was the wingnut Danni Ashe. With Blogger and TypePad acting as their XTube and YouPorn, late arriving popular bloggers are left cramming magnum bottles of champagne up their … (well you know) and drinking from the same cup in the hopes of attracting attention. I’m sure that when they’re not performing for their cam they are really loving mothers to their children, but it is very hard to unsee that sort of thing.

Sincerely
Dr X

xpatPhD said...

PS: I rather like Splat. I bet it's already taken, but I like it better than the pseudonym I came up with.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone. That goes for Carl and Zilla too. Now, try to place nice you kids. Santa's making his list!

Carl said...

Now, try to place nice you kids. Santa's making his list!

True, but I'm one of the folks buying the toys... ;-)

Truth 101 said...

We can be academic or nice but the reality is a home maker in Seattle has 12,000 followers and gets more traffic for her post on how she bought the dog a new collar than we get in a year.

repsac3 said...

Just wanted to quick add the links I didn't last night... (I'd comment on all the verbiage since my last visit--somma you talk prettier'n a two dollar whore, as I'm sure you know--but I need to do a few things then get some shut eye...)

Sad story, but evidence that even fiercely partisan bloggers can treat each other with human kindness and grace, if they try: Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011

And evidence that partisan bloggers (in some cases the same partisan bloggers) can also be soulless heartless asshats: Knuckledraggin my life away: Modesto ain't New York, motherfucker. We don't go for that shit around here.

In both cases the real magic (or complete lack of it) is in the comments...

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