Schilling creates 'dumper sticker'

No Ghost, forgive ME. Apparently your idea of constructive dialogue mirrors that of Mr. Schilling's.

To save you the trouble of a few mouse clicks (guess I was asking too much in my previous comment) and to answer your questions, I'll just reference a couple of recent posts from Rob's Schilling Show "blog":

9/26/09...
"Perhaps Democratic Socialist Republic of Charlottesville Minister David Norris (Mayor) and Chairman Gary O’Connell (City Manager)..."
("Fuzzy" enough for ya?)

8/16/09...
Rob accuses the Democratic Machine on council, fearing 22-year-old Andrew William's write-in council candidacy, of undermining the young African American Independent by, get this, appointing him to the Planning Commission!
"Now that Williams has applied for the Planning Commission, Norris and his posse comitatus have a prime opportunity to ââ?¬Å?kneecap” Williams’ Council candidacy by appointing him to the advisory body."
(Wow!)

You wanted examples. I gave you two easy examples. Without name-calling or snotty insults (the hallmarks of...Greene Ghosts perhaps?). Since glibness is reserved for (let me see if I can get this right) stalinists, communists and socialists, I await your non-glib response (diatribe?) which I trust will be completely devoid of ad hominem attacks.

RWSA is in serious financial trouble. Just because Tom Frederick announced yesterday that RWSA is not pursuing flow control, I do not believe this is the end of the story. At the next possible opportunity and after the elections are over I predict it's return. We must all continue to get the elected officials on record, so we know exactly where they stand, and make sure that no one is elected that supports this, either for local or higher office, as Mr. Boyd is seeking the nomination the U.S. Congress.

And, we must stop wasting taxpayer dollars suing Mr. Van der Linde for RWSA's own incompetence. Privatize this organization with NO FLOW CONTROL. This will give us the most modern re-cycling opportunities at the best price.

interesting how the only examples given of elected officials becoming "drunk with power" are left of center.

not like the Bushistas or President Cheney ever abused the privileges of office.

or that John Ensign abused the privilege of office

or that Mark Foley abused the privilege of office

or that Mark Sanford abused the privilege of office

or that Ted Stevens abused the privilege of office

or that Larry "wide stance" Craig abused the privilege of office

or that Tom Coburn abused the privilege of office

or that Michelle Bachmann is not drunk with power, or maybe just drunk

Rowdy, you tend to look for things that are not there while failing to accept normal constructions of English grammar for what they are and ignoring local political history. YOU wrote: "...because he’s a shameless self-promoter and self-styled, small-town demagogue who..." Now, apparently you went to a government school (as did I, but when they had standards not eroded by edu-babble); but "self-styled" is an adjectival phrase - or simply an adjective - for which Merriam Webster defines as "self-proclaimed”, and for which Wikipedia describes as "awarding a style to oneself, often without adequate justification or authority." And, inasmuch as you claimed authorship of the sentence, YOU used ââ?¬Å?self-styled” to modify the word demagogue (as well as small-town, another adjectival phrase), which means that you claimed that Rob Schilling describes himself as a demagogue, as well as describing himself as a small-town one. I would respectively suggest that it is you who are a bit whacked...as in ââ?¬Å'oh!” (It is ironic that you called me Ms. KRABAPPEL, herself a a jaded caricature of the American public school system...)

Now, a demagogue is defined by Merriam as ââ?¬Å?a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power.” First of all, Mr. Schilling is not a candidate for any elected position, nor does he hold any public office. Further, parsing is not your strong suit. Disagree and dislike are not interchangeable. Personally ââ?¬â?? and I believe the same can said about Rob ââ?¬â?? I like Dave Norris, but we both fundamentally disagree with how Mr. Norris perceives the role of government, which tends to be socialist, especially his sense that government should redistribute wealth through the power to tax, to make government our nanny, and to make the poor dependent on government, all of which are FACTUALLY foreign to the founding of this nation, as well as to many Americans. Calling Rob a Christo-fascist thug would be out of bounds for the very reason that that would have no basis in fact and would make him a demagogue, which, of course, he is not, by definition, nor made into one by innuendo.

Coming from you, as well as others not directly involved with the political machinations of city government, it certainly seems plausible that Mr. Williams would gain experience by ââ?¬Å?serving on an appointed board or two before making the future jump into electoral politics”, and, in an normal world, that might be the path to take. Oddly enough, however, your sensibility in this regard does not seem to apply to Kristin Szakos, who has no such experience, either.

Now, let's see how ââ?¬Å?stupidest” (I guess that was not ââ?¬Å?name-calling”) I am. In 1970, Charles Barbour, became the first Black was to City Council, and who served until 1978. From 1978 to 1980, no Blacks were elected to the City Council. In 1979, the local NAACP petitioned the City Council for a change in how city councilors were elected to have elections conducted primarily by wards with only one at-large seat in order to make the City Council more representative of community interests, including making it more likely that at least one Black would be elected and represent the some 20% of the population who are Black. A subsequent, ââ?¬Å?advisory” referendum was held on November 3, 1981, asking if the election of councilors should be changed from an at-large system to that of a councilor from each of the four wards and three at-large councilors. The measure passed and did so in three of the four wards and six of the city's eight precincts, with 70% passage in the Carver and Tonsler precincts. But after Mayor Frank Buck, a staunch opponent of the proposal, had said that the Council would be bound by the results of the referendum in The Daily Progress prior to the election, the City Council stated its intention to hold a second referendum during its November 16, 1981 meeting, which was defeated on May 4, 1982.

As a result of the uproar that ensued regarding the disavowal of the first referendum, the local Democratic apparatchiki ââ?¬â?? a valid term considering the circumstances of calling for a second referendum, because Democrats did not like the results of the first ââ?¬â?? banded together in 1981, and hammered out what later Vice Mayor Meredith Richards termed, on March 12, 2004, a ââ?¬Å?system of patronage” that would allow one ââ?¬â?? and only one ââ?¬â?? Black member on the City Council at any one time, which has been followed ever since. Now, you have a Black running as an independent, which has not been attempted since Margaret Cain lost in 1984, but who ran ââ?¬Å?against” Rev. E.G. Hall, who already held the Black council seat, unlike the situation this year. I dunno, being stupid and all, I would venture to posit, nevertheless, that that is not sitting well with the local Democratic party leadership, to which Dave Norris belongs. I have to admit, I was wrong, however, when I wrote earlier that it was not possible for Mr. Williams to be appointed to the Planning Commission AND still run for City Council, win, and serve on both bodies, as that is an exception to state law, according to City Attorney Craig Brown. Still, my money says he will be appointed to the Planning Commission and will withdraw from the election. In fact, just for sport, I will bet you $5...

I wrote that I was trying to encourage you to come to the table informed, rather than come to the table misinformed, as do Stalinists, communists, and socialists. While being glib might make you one of them, it is a faulty argument to argue that you are one solely by virtue of being glib, which I did not write. That you took it otherwise is entirely on you. Likewise, with the lemming thing. I was emphasizing that I am not a lock-step Democrat, which I suppose makes me a heretic, and therefore should be burned at the stake. Silly me...

GG,

What is up with you and these silly grammar lessons? (I wonder if you are able to keep a straight face as you type that garbage?). Parse my language all you want. (Perhaps the Greene Ghost and Rob Schilling are the only two people in town allowed a little satirical flourish?) My point remains valid. The guy makes a living from using over-the-top rhetoric and touting conspiracy theories.

I am quite familiar with the recent historical analysis that you apparently lifted straight from Rob's recent blog on the subject. In this case, in my opinion, attempting to link past injustices (real or imagined) to the current situation is a little foolish. As for Kristin Szakos (who YOU brought up, not I), I agree that she could use a little more practical government experience. However, the immense experience Szakos does have as a community organizer and activist makes any comparison between her and Williams absurd.

"Now, you have a Black running as an independent, which has not been attempted since Margaret Cain lost in 1984, but who ran ââ?¬Å?against” Rev. E.G. Hall, who already held the Black council seat, unlike the situation this year. I dunno, being stupid and all, I would venture to posit, nevertheless, that that is not sitting well with the local Democratic party leadership, to which Dave Norris belongs."
Clearly, you 1) give the CURRENT local Democratic Party too much credit for being able to influence events, 2) don't know very much about the CURRENT makeup of the Democratic Party leadership (I have heard many who consider Dave Norris to be somewhat of an outsider in the Party), and 3) don't know very much about Dave Norris as a person. He has always welcomed all participants to the political process in the interest of a fuller and livelier debate.

Keep your money.

Thanks for not calling me a Socialist.

Schilling's a clown. His whiny abrasiveness made him a failure on Council, but I suppose it must work better on talk radio.

I don't know which is worse though - the people who listen to and give credence to his hysterics or his critics who let him get under their skin.

The best way to take Rob Schilling is the same way you deal with a stranger's screaming 5-year-old in front of you in the checkout line at the grocery store. Try to pay him no attention whatsoever and then forget everything he says as soon as you no longer have to hear his voice.

I've got it! "Dump Rob Schilling" stickers for sale on my blog! (if I had a blog...)

good for him. Someone has to hold these bozos accountable. It costs money to have bumper stickers made. I doubt Mr. Schilling is planning on getting rich selling bumper stickers. He took initiative to call attention to a completely insane course of action plotted by the evil Mr. Smithers.

Greene Ghost-- care to elaborate on your statement about David Brown? If I'm reading your sentence correctly, you are stating that David Brown recently attempted to use a board appointment in a coercive way.

Let's start anew from the beginning, the point at which I responded to your ââ?¬Å?wry, throwaway line”, revealed as something other by your second. I do not know why you would use the term ââ?¬Å?shameless” in describing Rob Schilling's self-promotion. If you had a successful radio show, how would you go about getting there? I have never heard anything from Mr. Schilling labeling himself as a demagogue and I could not imagine anyone else doing so. If you meant to label him yourself in this manner, please explain why you would use this pejorative. It would appear that you simply disagree and dislike Mr. Schilling, as you have yet to provide any concrete examples to support your position.

Implying that Dave Norris is a socialist by a satirical, perhaps scathing, title, is not too far off the mark. He tends to act as if he knows what is good for Charlottesville and you don't, and has never really had a job for which the public trough has not been involved. As for the imperious Gary O'Connell, you seem to not know him very well...he's no Cole Hendrix, a well-respected public servant for over 25 years.

I know of no-one that Rob Schilling dislikes. As a listener to his show, you should know that he has never attacked any of his guests, even those with whom he disagrees. That I would call very constructive dialogue. I know of many, particularly local government officials, whose actions he questions, even disdains, especially those who refuse to come on his show and engage in any kind of dialogue. When public officials refuse to explain their actions, especially actions to which many citizens object, it certainly calls into question those actions. In Charlottesville, it often happens that the public is not sufficiently engaged and things just simply happen. Now, that Rob Schilling is making his presence known and has a following, it is no longer possible for the local government to simply ram things down our throats. Somehow, I get the impression that you think good government is that which gets away with whatever the public is unawares.

As for Andrew Williams independent candidacy for City Council, it is a no-brainer that if the City Council appoints him to the Planning Commission, that kinda takes him out of the council election this fall, smoothing the way for the Democratic slate. If Mr. Williams continues his run as an independent, that would be a serious threat to the anointed ticket. Of course, he will not be appointed to the Planning Commission without a quid pro quo deal: Mr. Williams is appointed to the Planning Commission, only if he withdraws his candidacy for the council. He cannot serve on both bodies. It's not like this kind of tactic has not been tried before.

So much for easy...

Glibness is not reserved for Stalinists (the word is capitalized), communists and socialists. I simply said that that attribute is a hallmark of those adherents because their position is inherently flawed and cannot be defended but by the use of fallacies and specious, if not disingenuous, arguments, and I was encouraging you to avoid being glib, which is defined as showing little forethought or preparation. And where did I stoop to ââ?¬Å?name-calling”?

Hey, Rowdy Roddy, do you have even one cogent and valid reason we should "dump" Rob Schilling. Have you even listened to any of his shows?

Forgive me, Rowdy Roddy, but I thought I had asked YOU for specifics. Who has Rob Schilling "disliked" (whatever place that fuzzy term might have in this discussion) to whom the label "Stalinist, communist, socialist, etc." has been applied? Given that we are talking about Charlottesville, surely there are those afoot who would proudly identify themselves as such. To which "conspiracy theories concerning the local DemocratIC (sic) Party" are you referring that appear to you to be "often contradictory but downright delusional." The fact is the local party apparatchiki adhere to a scripted "lock" that began when Mitch Van Yahres was elected to the council and took root when he became mayor in 1970, and became firmly entrenched by Francis Fife, all-in-all, a practice not too dissimilar from, say, Richmond or Washington...or, even Chicago, for that matter, albeit on a much smaller scale. How else does one explain the poster child of a dysfunctional office holder, Paul Garrett, with whom everyone regretfully has to deal while at the Clerk's office, but who himself nevertheless keeps getting "elected" because he holds a "black slot" in the world of Charlottesville politics? I will understand if you have not been around and an active participant in the local political process since the founding days of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Charlottesville, but you ought to have done your homework before rendering glib responses, the hallmark of Stalinists, communists and socialists. And, before you resort to that last arsenal of the disingenuousness that plagues many Democrats, liberals, and the like - ad hominem attacks - I am and have been a Democrat all of my life. I just happen not to be one of the lemming variety.

What, Nattering, was Spiro your hero?