Michelle Malkin and American Spectator both broke the story on how Democrat blogs and websites are publishing private information on Republicans, perhaps with malevolent intent.
Leftist posters at the Huffington Post posted a list of names, addresses and phone numbers of Swift Boat Veterans who took part in exposing the false and cowardly Vietnam career of John F. Kerry, failed Democrat candidate for President. This caused an outpouring of obscene and other harrassing phone calls to the vets, at all hours of the day and night. One call was a death threat.
When brought to the attention of the Huffington Post, they acted responsibly and removed the information as soon as they were made aware of it.
A Leftist blogger calling himself "Jo Fish" runs a blog called Democratic Veteran. One of his readers posted the same list of Swift Boat Veterans at his blog, which is still up and viewable by the public. I have written to "Jo Fish" asking him to take down the post, but so far he has not responded.
However, a couple of hours doing searches on the web, newsgroups and blogosphere enabled me to find the real identity of "Jo Fish." I also have his home address and telephone number. I wonder how he would like his private information posted on the internet?
I am not going to post them here...yet. If "Jo Fish" does the responsible thing and removes the list of Swift Boat Vets, he will have no problems from me.
I believe in "Live and Let Live" in the blogosphere. We can argue with each other all we like, rebut and debate each other until the cows come home, even make insulting and belittling remarks to one another. But what should NOT BE ALLOWED is to post information that could lead to physical harm of a person's body or property or violate his personal peace and privacy.
Come on "Jo Fish." Let's see you step up to the plate and do the right thing.
13 comments:
Oooooo. A little feisty fight back there. All right, give him a taste of his own medicine.
I hope you alerted him on his blog first, not just here.
Althusius, I emailed him twice. We'll see if he responds.
Jeff Huber here, the writer and proprietor of Pen and Sword whom Stogie claims is Jo Fish. I am not Jo Fish. Nor am I familiar with any posting of any phone number/address list of the Swift Boaters.
Unlike Stogie and the majority of writers who publish on the web, I have never made a secret of my identity, background, or city and state of residence. Anyone who wants to find more details of my personal life can probably discover them faster than Stogie did.
But for anyone to publish my information as a means of drawing some sort of focused right wing persecution of me breaks more laws than you can shake a fistful of lawyers at.
So go ahead, Stogie. Make my day. Publish my phone number and address. Pay off my mortgage. Buy me a brand new Lincoln Continental. Treat me to a three-month vacation every year in the Bahamas.
How's that grab you for "live and let live?"
Have a nice day,
Jeff Huber
I get mean and dirty sometimes, and yet I have never gone so low as to post the addresses of some of the weasels I'd like to hang. Sid Ryan, for example, is a first-class war criminal, and he deserves a visit from Mossad. But he's still a citizen of a free nation under the rule of rational law, and I'm still a private citizen under the same system with the same rights and responsibilities. I'm not going to hang that creep regardless of the natural justice of it.
Eliyahu Asheri was 18 years old. Now he's dead. Sid Ryan and his lot murdered that boy. I'd hang Sid Ryan so slowly he'd beg for death for years. But I respect the laws because I respect the will of the rational majority of the citizens of the nation I reside in. I'm not special.
If I violate the codes of Human decency then, like Sid Ryan should, I expect to pay the penalies due. I stand up in public every week and let the world know who I am and where I am if they care to meet me. I have no problem with it. But I am one man, and my mates who do the same are free to choose this course too. They do. We do. And we accept the price we might have to pay for it. It's our choice.
I accept Sid Ryan Public Figure as being not the same as Sid Ryan private citizen. Hang one, hang both, as it happens. But till then they are not the same.
Joe Fish is obviously a bottom-feeder. That in itself is a punishment he will suffer throughout his whole miserable life, the worse for not knowing how badly he suffers, not being able to reclaim any part of his life as a man. The shock of awareness might waken him to better, but I don't know that I would feel that moral obligation to serve him well.
This is a question we might all have to face at some time. What do we do when we can correct an evil?
I'm confused, Stogie. Whether he repents now or not, I don't think it should affect your decision. He's done what he's done, and the harm is there for good. There's no real patching it over.
I don't have an answer. I suspect that regardless of your decision I'll support you from a stance of loyalty to a friend. If it turns out pear-shaped later, then I'll accept that too.
For now I think we are blessed in having this problem come to us so we can think about it and weigh it among us. It's this sort of problem coming to the marketplace of free men that makes us men free in practice. I'm willing to pay the price.
Stogie, I thank you for this.
Okay Jeff Huber, you coward. I will publish my proof that you and Jo Fish are one and the same UNLESS those Swift Boat Vets info comes off your site IMMEDIATELY.
Seeing that you have caused pain and suffering to the Vets by publishing their personal information on your website, I don't think it is very wise for YOU to be threatening anyone with a lawsuit. Asshole.
Your call. But in all fairness, I need to warn you that you're magazine's empty and mine is loaded.
Last warning--I'm not Jo Fish.
God, what an idiot. And stay off my fucking blog, moron.
Jeff, I have numerous links and quotes from other leftist blogs that say "Jo Fish" of "Democratic Underground" has started a new blog called "Main and Central."
Jo Fish is a USN Vet and so are you. You are the main poster at Main and Central and the only one who is identified as a Navy Vet. There are only two other posters and they don't fit the profile. You are indeed "Jo Fish." I've got you by the balls, Jeff, and you are going to cooperate.
Your threats won't save you. I have already alerted Michelle Malkin and others to the controversy and you are headed for a lot of trouble unless you take those Vets names off your commie little blog "Democratic Veteran."
I will notify the US Navy Department of Veterans Affairs about your posts, and it shouldn't be much trouble to get past your anonymous proxy to legally prove your identity. I will also notify all of the Swift Boat Vets about your website so they can proceed with lawsuits.
So let's get it on "Jo Fish."
Hey Fixer, fuck you.
Note to all:
Jo Fish has removed the private information of the Swift Boat Vets from his blog "Democratic Veteran."
Jo Fish has done the right thing and I congratulate him for doing so and not letting pride stand in his way.
This argument is over.
Stogie,
You probably won't believe this, but I'm trying to give you and your readers some friendly advice.
Since I'm not Jo Fish, I won't presume to speak for him. I'm not a lawyer either, but I'm familiar enough with the law to know that what you've done to me probably constitutes a number of serious crimes.
You made multiple false written statements about me in more than one public forum: you accused me of being someone I'm not and of doing something I had no part or knowledge of. Look up "libel" in the dictionary.
You also threatened to reveal personal information about me in a public forum if I did not accede to your demands (which I couldn't have acceded to since I didn't know what you were talking about). Look up "extortion" and "blackmail."
By specifically saying you might reveal my home address and phone number to the public, you threatened my personal safety, and indeed, my life. I think you already know what that's called.
My understanding is that as a public figure (albeit a very, very minor one), I am legally subject to certain types of criticism, satire, derision and so on. For what good it does, you can call me a "coward" and a "disgrace to the uniform" all you want. But you cannot make false accusations against me, and you cannot threaten my personal safety.
If you're going to play this game, you need to learn the rules, because if you continue to falsely accuse and threaten people, you're liable to find yourself in big, big trouble.
Happy Fourth of July,
Jeff Huber
Fuck you Jeff. I don't blame you for not wanting to be likened to an idiot like Jo Fish, and I don't blame him for wanting to hide his identity because he's properly ashamed of his asinine positions.
If you are not Jo Fish, then you certainly know who Jo Fish is, because Jo Fish runs the blog "Main and Central." Main and Central has only three writers and only one of them is prolific and a Navy Vet: you. How do you explain that, Jeff? Do you deny that you know and associate with "Jo Fish"? Let's hear what kind of inventive lies you can come up with, Jeff.
Of course this can easily be resolved by "Jo Fish" publishing proof of his real identity.
It isn't Libel to say you are Jo Fish, although you certainly should feel insulted for being likened to an idiot-asshole like this leftwing moonbat kook. I know what libel is, you phoney, and your bluffing doesn't scare me in the least. You have not been libeled and you know it.
How dare you say I "threatened" you by proposing to post your private info when you (or your close associate Jo Fish)published the private phone numbers and addresses of about 12 Navy Vets, advocating your kook readers to call them and harrass them? Oh yes, I did save a copy of the page in a pdf file before "Jo Fish" deleted it. I'll be glad to forward a copy to the US Navy if you like so they can begin an investigation.
You're not an attorney, asshat, so don't voice legal opinions. You only show what a flaming ignoramus you are.
As for your personal information, you posted your name and your home town on Main and Central; anyone with a phone book can quickly learn your address and phone number, as it is listed and easily available to anyone who wants it.
I'll be watching your traitorous blogsites for any more postings of private information, so watch your step asshole.
You've done a nice job of trying to bluff your way out of this predictament you've gotten yourself into, but no dice.
Have your attorney contact me, dickwad. I dare you.
Eyes, John Kerry is preparing for another run at the Presidency and he knows the Swiftboat disclosures of his fraudulent and cowardly conduct in Vietnam are a big obstacle. Lately he has been trying to refute their major assertions against him, without much luck. His counter evidence is unconvincing, to say the least.
In any case, his minions are now attacking the Swift Boat Vets to intimidate them into silence and Kerry is planning to sue them.
The list of Swift Boat Vets names and addresses that appeared on "Democratic Veteran" were posted there in 2004, shortly before the last Presidential election. Someone then copied them and posted them at Huffington Post, which has much greater exposure than Dem Vet. This resulted in harrassing phone calls and death threats to some of the vets.
Anyway, John Kerry and his Leftist supporters are indeed planning for the future, the next Presidential election, and they want to demolish the Swift Boat Vets early on as part of the strategy.
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