[Vision2020] Blahg Update

Tue Mar 16 00:37:21 PDT 2010

Keely,  

Remember, I was with you when Dale denied being Dale....in front of his students, no less.  We thought it a bit strange, but then strange is one of the more pleasant adjectives one can use to describe his antics.  See you soon. For coffee, even, at Sisters again.

Sue H. 

From: keely emerinemix 
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 8:15 AM
To: Tom Hansen 
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com 
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Blahg Update

Before I start, let me express my relief that Shirley Ringo is not undergoing any kind of health crisis at all, period, and that she'll be running for re-election.  I'm very fond of Shirley and I think she's done a great job for Latah County.

Second, I'd also like to express my disgust at Courtney's tactics in tossing about a rumor like this -- parsing words and managing to continue the snarkiness by generously reminding all of us that only her filing will put to rest the speculation.  Shirley has a filing deadline that I'm confident she'll meet; the "speculation" is likely generated and definitely furthered by Courtney, period.  She owes him nothing other than the basic decency he is unwilling to show her.  I have tried to show the same decency and courtesy to Dale, as one of the examples will demonstrate painfully.  But he won't take my calls, and he's blocked me from his email and his blog.  Now, I know that Dale may have Idaho's Most Popular Political Blog, and that does not make him a journalist, someone who, as a professional, would have simply checked with Shirley before printing, in his Most Popular Blog, a rumor that is as callous in regard to her health as it is mean-spirited at the prospect of her political career.

So with that in mind, I'll share three examples of bad behavior on his part, directed at me and indicative, I think, of a spirit of gross unkindness, disingenuousness, and a lack of character I've rarely seen on the part of any adult of my acquaintance:

1.  Shortly after Sister's Brew opened up three years ago this spring, I ran into Dale with a group of his students.  I greeted him by name, only to have him say, in front of kids who knew that he was Mr. Courtney, "I'm not Dale.  I don't have a comb-over, see?"  This was in reference to Tom Hansen's having called him "Comb-Over."  For the record, one of Dale's faults is not that he combs his hair over a bald spot.  In fact, he has a full head of hair.  It covers a curious mental process that would allow him to continue to deny -- in answer to a simple "Hi, Dale!" -- that he was who we all knew him to be.

2.  Over the past few years, Dale has occasionally -- once, I think, would be too much -- referred to my being angry with him about something as "Keely got her panties in a wad."  Finally, my husband emailed him to tell him to stop, because it's disrespectful and entirely inappropriate for a man to say about a woman.  The back-and-forth that followed consisted of Jeff's telling Dale to knock it off, and Dale's condescending insistence that grammarians and rhetoricists would all agree that in an idiom like "Keely got her panties in a wad," the subject of the idiomatic referent was never actually, truly, a direct, personal reference to that person herself and so there was no reason to get upset . . or is it that the rhetorical allusion is symbolic and thus never literal, which makes it stupid of me to be offended?  True, he finally agreed to stop, only because Jeff, as my husband, had asked him to and only after arguing that it was Jeff's problem for not understanding the fine points of rhetoric.  I think "head-spinning weaselry" covers it.

3.  This last one made me cry.  It happened about two years ago at a concert at the NuArt; the artist was Christian balladeer Don Francisco.  I had been feeling bad about how close to hatred my feelings for Dale were becoming, and after repenting to the Lord, I sought forgiveness from Dale -- face to face, preferably, which is how I do these things, or by phone or email -- not possible, because he won't pick up my calls and has blocked me from his blog (he acknowledged that Jeff, in the example above, had managed to catch his email on a down day).  Anyway, I saw Dale at the show, during intermission, and I went up to him and said that I was beginning to feel as though I hated him, that it was wrong -- a sin, not because it offended my standards, but because it offended God's -- and that I would like him, please, to forgive me.  Dale's response?  He started the "I'm not Dale, I don't have a comb-over" thing, retreated, and then unleashed the "all of you Intoleristas are obnoxious" thing.  I kinda begged him to just hear my apologies, and I remember this well:  One, I was in tears, first at my own shame, and then at his obstinance; two, I was determined to not, myself, go the "OK, I'm sorry, but YOU did . . . "  route.  This one was about how I had sinned by starting to hate him.  But I left knowing that the aftermath was all, very sadly, about him.  I find that tragic.  And, for all it's worth, I don't hate Dale at all and haven't since.  I pity him, and I hope to heap coals on his head, as the Bible says, to foster his repentance.  

There have been things that Dale has attributed to me that I've never said, and he's certainly been less than charitable in his dealings with me since.  I think his judgment is sorely lacking, his maturity riddled with contempt for others, and his character not in keeping with the Bible's standards for eldership.  There's nothing I've said here that I wouldn't gladly say to him; I think it's clear that I've tried.  His treatment of Shirley Ringo is awful.  

Keely
www.keely-prevailingwinds.com

Keely
www.keely-prevailingwinds.com

> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:09:40 -0700
> Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Blahg Update
> From: thansen at moscow.com
> To: kjajmix1 at msn.com
> CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
> 
> Keely kindly communicates:
> 
> "Let me know if you need any facts to back up any rumors that Dale is
> weasel-like in his dealings."
> 
> You're on.
> 
> Seeya at the Intolerista get-together April 10th, Keely.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> >
> > And, you know, that's the calling of a true, Christian elder: reporting
> > on gossip, rumor, and lies, particularly when they can do damage to a
> > political enemy's re-election.
> >
> > Let me know if you need any facts to back up any rumors that Dale is
> > weasel-like in his dealings.
> >
> > Keely
> > www.keely-prevailingwinds.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:42:10 -0700
> >> From: thansen at moscow.com
> >> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> >> Subject: [Vision2020] Blahg Update
> >>
> >> Courtesy of Dale Courtney's blahg at:
> >>
> >> http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2010/03/15/72722.aspx
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> The following is from Idaho District 6 liberal Democrat, Rep. Shirley
> >> Ringo:
> >>
> >> - - - - -
> >>
> >> Visionaries:
> >>
> >> I note that Dale Courtney posted information in his blog indicating
> >> that I would not be running for re-election to the legislature due to
> >> health reasons.
> >>
> >> Starting last October, I had a series of surgical procedures to
> >> improve circulation in my legs. The procedures were successful. I
> >> have no lingering health problems that would keep me from
> >> participating fully in the legislative process.
> >>
> >> I will file for re-election - the deadline is Friday, March 19.
> >> Bill
> >> Spence, reporter for the Lewiston Tribune, mentioned my plans to run
> >> in a recent news article.
> >>
> >> I do not have, and have not confided any secret, strategic plans to
> >> anyone - not even to Dale Courtney.
> >>
> >> Shirley Ringo
> >>
> >> - - - - -
> >>
> >> For the record, I never said that Shirley Ringo told me she wasn’t
> >> running. I said that it was a rumor.
> >>
> >> I’ve heard rumors to the effect that Shirley Ringo is not going to
> >> run
> >> again because of health reasons. But that Judy Brown will file at the
> >> last minute to take her seat. That will keep the Republicans from
> >> putting anyone up to challenge Brown.
> >>
> >> The rumor will be nixed when she actually files.
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> We here at the Vizz are looking forward to your retraction, dale.
> >> Although, judging by your "track record", it isn't anticipated, since
> >> rumor has it that you are an immature weasel whose word is no better
> >> than
> >> the unsubstantiated garbage that you report in your blahg. But, then
> >> again, that is only rumor.
> >>
> >> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> >>
> >> Tom Hansen
> >> Moscow, Idaho
> >>
> >> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to
> >> change
> >> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> >>
> >> - Unknown
> >>
> >>
> >> =======================================================
> >> List services made available by First Step Internet,
> >> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
> >> http://www.fsr.net
> >> mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> >> =======================================================
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> > http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID27925::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:032010_1
> 
> 
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
> 
> - Unknown
> 
> 

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