Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Figuring Out My Anonymous Blog Commenter

I've gotten a blizzard of posts from an anonymous blogger urging me on to keep digging about for skeletons in the Stevens' case.

With the traveling I haven't had time to go through everything carefully, but there are three key thrusts that stand out so far:

  • He (I'm assuming the poster is a he) doesn't think much of Chad Joy
  • He is similarly ill-disposed toward Wev Shea
  • He points to the identities of the attorneys who interviewed Bill Allen "who (which, where etc) was the basis to tube the conviction(jury nullification)" as the crux to finding the 'real story' of the Stevens case.
Unlike a traditional newspaper reporter's source, this source posts all his tips are as comments on different posts related to the trial, out in the open for all to see. I've suggested he just send me an email, but it's all going up in comments. Maybe 10 or 15 posts in a couple of days. Most would never make it into the letters to the editor column. Most friends have raised their eyebrows and wondered about the writer's sobriety. The posts defy the rules of grammar and leap to conclusions with fragmentary evidence.

His last couple of posts have been much more grammatical and coherent and specific. Maybe he's getting impatient with me not being responsive enough. But I have been on airplanes a lot of the last 48 hours and still have one more (I hope that's all - I'm in Salt Lake City right now and the plane is listed as on-time about 3 hours from now, but I can only find pay wifi, and I'm not THAT addicted that I can't wait, so I can't check on volcanic activity) til we get to Anchorage.

But I have been thinking about him and here are some thoughts about ways to evaluate an anonymous poster. Here are some factors, each of which would have a continuum from a version of bad to a version of good.

  1. Motive - Is this something he's doing for self gain or does he see this as a public service? Is he out for revenge or for justice? Is he trying to settle a score or right a wrong? These are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, revenge to right a wrong could be both for self-gain and public service.

  2. Access to Information - Does he have insider information? Or is he someone who doesn't have special access to this story, but may have an ax to grind with some of the players.

  3. Judgment/Wisdom - Assuming for the moment, that his motive is good and he has inside information, does he have the wisdom and judgment to interpret what he knows accurately? Or is he the type of person who sees a few bits of information which pass through his mental models and spit out nonsense? Having access to the facts is just step one. Then we have to interpret them. Is this guy good at doing that?
I don't know enough to determine the answers to these questions. It clearly has a greater interest in the details of this case than most people, and writes about details that the average person knows nothing about. So probably he's more insider than outsider on this case. But the other two factors I can't judge yet.

Then there is the question: Why me? Why this blog? He thinks Chad Joy has done wrong and he thinks that people on the inside have thrown the case leading to the dismissal of the conviction. I've voiced doubts about the substance of the Joy complaint and raised questions whether this case was just badly handled or whether there were people intentionally messing it up. He might see me as someone who is open to the arguments he's making. But maybe I'm not the only one getting this stuff.

At least one reader has told me that I've already been charmed by Kepner into seeing things her way. Others - non-Thais in Thailand who know little about the case - are highly cynical about everything and think this could be someone trying to use me for some unknown agenda.

As I said above, the last couple of posts have gotten more coherent and specific. Maybe I don't have to do anything except let the poster keep posting comments.

Matthew, who's hawking Delta credit cards has offered me access to his wifi so I can even post this before I go.

11 comments:

  1. How do you know the "anon" poster is the same person, in your minds eye, since you said(WWW side) there were a # of posts by "anon" ?
    Or, do you just jump to conclusions, on what you assume, that being what you are proud of, as what you don't know ?
    Also, what form of bias are you showing to which anon poster(s), given your comments, & are you off the chart mad you don't have a name to attack some AK source, as part of club AK--the no nothing CLUB ?
    Also, since some are federal agents(that were the topic you put up(WWW), trap deals) are you some judge, jury, executoner as to which federal agent, who you named, in your BLOG, that gets the DROP a # on treatment ? And, your grammar, such as it is, any could nit pick your stuff that never could make it into any reliable paper, since you admit you know nothing, besides your inchorent and rambling words, so much WWW traffic in being proud you know knowing and spend so many words promoting that you know nothing. Amazing, a mounment to knowing nothing.
    What an expert you are on knowing nothing.
    Give yourself a medal, on the biggest know nothing with a WWW address
    And, is it that you know absolute nothing, or even how to hide that you know knowing spread in what you think are well constructed sentences, showing that you know knowing at all.
    Thanks, I am just one among many anon--who would never want to be ID'ed by a know nothing, blabber-mouth cad like you.
    Congrats, Steve, you are the KING of NO Nothing, and I am not anon, x y or z, but that Anon "select profile", you so have avaiable, is that just for you to display just how little you know. Abslute zero
    You mean like it is not obvious, to any with a 6th grade education, that you are the KING of know nothings.
    Why you could almost start a "No nothing" party, on how little you know.
    So, why did you single out several Federal agents for you "no nonthing" games, if you know so little ?
    And do you or your no nothing party members acccord the presumption of innocence to others, who have not been indicted, or is that not in the "no nothing" party code
    Gee, thanks in promoting such no nothingness in the world, could it be part of some jet lag.
    But, you must asssume because you were out side of the USA for so long, you are the big know it all in the universe.
    Also, even with a IP, how do you know that several are not sending to your WWW source, etc, or did you fool all on that to, Mr Smarty,
    To sum it up, "what you don't know", is just about everything there is in the USA. So, why do you want to pretend you know anything,
    That is so silly, why do you want to make a fool of yourself all over the WWW.
    Well, good luck and welcome back to your world of in the fog, it must be very chilly in your
    strange very non-personal world, of pure cyber
    rants, that you have to prove to the world that you know "nonthing".
    Nice photos of the chow mein, and sand.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maybe the poster(anon--S) is in jail, and is mad the DOJ never dropped its case against him, do some jails have WWW access ?
    Now, is it the Stevens 6 or 7, on those under the gun, 2 of which have been pin-pointed here by Steve(ens)---pals.
    Figuring out what someone knows, from some one who does not know, is always tricky.
    Now, Alaskans have already assigned guilt, and just skipped the trial, moving towards the hanging, of the Black woman prosecutor of Stevens,(See other WWW sites on the hangman on high) they want blood and a quick lynching.
    How quick the tide turned. I home would give my IP address, and my full bio, and address, etc, but I fugure this site maybe used as a lynching platfrom of Federal agents, or etc.....as to any who do not mouth the PARTY LINE.
    Except, one agent met Steve, and now she is ID-ed as the number one person to be hanged besides the black lady who prosecuted Stevens,who filed the indictment( D C). I was given a choice,
    "select profile", i too select anon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i am sorry to have to inform you and Wev Shea, but Brenda Morris is not going to be hung, and lynched as some in Ak are promoting, in effect, political style.(like Zar Wev is on his high horse, as a political party suck ass)
    It has been in effect reported on CBS:
    "But Holder insisted he and his team worked as fast as possible. Holder also told Couric all prosecutors, including his friend Brenda Morris, will "remain in place" unless he finds reason to believe they acted inappropriately".(Holder on CBS evening News with Katie Couric)

    Some AK FBI rookie tin horn wet behind the ears agent, who questions abound on if a snoop double agent for the Stevens defense don't mean squat in the DOJ. THE DOJ has seen its full of FBI double agents like Hannsen
    But, far be it for me to tell you know it alls, like Wev Shea, and his Stevens Club anything since you all know everything, and got the apples to send to your pets, all laid out.
    is Steve given grammar lessons and double agent lessons to, all in the same trip.
    Maybe some should have their posts edited by Muller before they put anything up her in such "rapid" 1/2 moon fashions.
    Is Steve running for a judgeship, now that he is back from the Orient ?
    Great, some more PARTY LINES from the ON HIGH, Commands S/ Anon # 65

    ReplyDelete
  4. Let me make it clear. Law of FED 101, crap rolls down hill(Steve would know that if he ever had a honest job where he worked on that in his life--for like more than a week)
    Ak is the botton of the hill.
    D C is the top of the hill, and who is on the bottom at the very bottom of the hill:
    A certain FBI agent.
    Is that in your scope of knowing anything on how the world works, Mr big tripper, rich dude, world traveler and apple polisher.
    And, on the Hill, Stevens is no longer on the Hill. He is free to drink wine in the desert of AZ with any criminals he opts to.
    I am just thankful, that the matter of the Stevens house being the project for Ak major criminal # games was not a public works project like some zillion buck bridge to the Moonie Sun Shine Harbor.
    ya, all the smarites in Ak they can't even add up how much money was run through accounts on Stevens' house, don't they teach basic math in the Anchorage area ? Sad.
    Anon/ /NO 96

    ReplyDelete
  5. Know nothing---- math in Ak on simple accounting on running numbers though accounts on Stevens house, all in the know in the cricle of the A-Frame seem to be proud they are so many dopes in Ak, that never learned simple math.
    Steve, can you be availabe for simple math lessons for certain FBI agents, maybe some pro bono work, with you and Wev, call up the Director and offer your services: SIMPLE MATH, and project ledgers on Houses in Ak, 101.
    Ya, Mr smartie, and his AK moon-beam bunch.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Speaking of letters to the Editor, this, in part, from Hays, to ADN. I couldn't have said it better myself, so it is on topic, here:

    "Fact 3, Eric Holder, our current attorney general, has chosen to dismiss a grand jury's indictment of Ted Stevens, a jury's conviction of Ted Stevens, and decided to not retry Ted Stevens for the corruption charges. Do not forget, this is the same Eric Holder as deputy attorney general under the Democratic President Bill Clinton, who pardoned the billionaire convicted tax evader Mark Rich."

    Nuff said, that says it all.

    ReplyDelete
  7. If Mr Joy was the FBI numbers guy, why did
    he not pin down exactly what the actual costs to build
    all the additions to Mr Ted's Girdwood A- Fame house, which was
    doubled in size, and compared with checks psid by Stevens, and if
    and spread, and if any spread, constituting a gift,
    why..? I am pecking on a Cafe wifi, so please excuse any typos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. it appears that someone isn't taking their meds....

    ReplyDelete
  9. i would say that who you call your open
    source Steve, does not trust you, and she/
    he is not sure you are a real deal reporter,
    and since the Feds have a hostile relatonship
    with stuff, he is not going to give you her/ his
    SS number, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  10. most FBI officals are on meds since
    Steve started tracking 'em, and since Common Cause
    started its bull more PAC money floats to shady politicans than it
    ever did, Common Cause Reps need to stay off the cool add.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Cooking stories:
    Mr Bundy, the VECO Bill Allen attorney, with offices in Anchorage is the one under the eye of the current investigation: see all the April 2009 News(so much to recount here).
    How did VECO get to be so wealthy, so much so you put a number of $ 100 million in its diminished value, when Billy A was doing his DOJ plea--deals, some deal, with provisos ?
    Also, there is hold back money of $ 70 million.
    VECO became a troubled asset, as we are in an era of troubled assets, and you may want to review the NPR interview of Wev She**, as he was really at his raw raw DOJ stage back then,(since flip flopped) way before April of 2009.
    Not sure how you pick out certain "anons", to seek to figure out, but the real story is still VECO, at its core, and how it corrupted:
    1) some in the AK legislature.
    2) its relationship with Stevens and his son, etc
    3) the corrupting influence it had on the machinery of the DOJ(one sorry saga still unfolding---and it may be the biggest Volume of nitty gritty, yet)
    In effect, this is a story of very corrupting influences on all 3 branches of government, and even some in the 4th Estate.(why blogs are vital to America at this point)
    Bill Allen, VECO and Bundy are the gift(no pun intended) that keeps on giving on AK stories on corruption exported all over the world.(A WORLD OF TROUBLED Accountability)
    You will never figure out certain "anons", unless you have the full power of the DOJ, and wire tapes, and home invasion methods, and snoop-de snoop dark cover ops.(and an order from Judge FS***** to take every disk, and ever item out of the universe of knowledge.)
    Not sure you really want to go there--do you ?
    It seems you should now have enough to fill your plate, given the latest developments, while your were in T-land.
    Let their be light. PEACE, I did not even take off Sunday, the way this story is evolving, it
    is the grit of several long chapters, at least.
    I won't get the permission of ADN, on what is penned, either. Are you in some scoop competition, not that ADN is the NYT of the North.

    ReplyDelete

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