And, who jumps in my mentions but nutter Jeff Melcher from Lancaster ISD 15-20 years ago?
First, and minorly, Melcher's been wrong about charter schools before. He reminds me of some leftists, like the People's CDC, trying to "own Biden" on issues that are at best chump change and at worst, on COVID, where they're wrong themselves.
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Second, in Melcher's own trying to "own Larry Lewis," the former Lancaster ISD superintendent, the two of them were Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby or vice versa. (Speaking of, does Lewis still read me as he did then?)
As part of this? Melcher was a conspiracy theorist, a Lancaster version of Joey Dauben (minus any convictions of which I am aware), a moral equivalent of a libelist or slanderer (think it would be libel, think his comments were written), and a mix of that and conspiracy theorist.
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Back to Schutze briefly. He's pretty good at carrying water, even when his bucket's leaking, just like he was good at carrying grudges when they didn't pan out, like he did with Craig Watkins. Don't forget about him hating on newspaper unions, too, part of his big stinking shitpile of stupidity at the time the Observer let him go. Any of today's Observer staff that was there when he was still there may have fond good riddance thoughts.
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Now, back to Melcher.
As far as fellating Schutze, Melcher did that in 2020, just after the Observer let him go, when Jim talked about the re-issuance of "The Accommodation." Melcher jumped into MAGAts type territory with talk about "vote harvesting" and other nuttery, and of course quoted every MAGAts most beloved ex-Democrap, Tulsi Gabbard, the Hindutva-fascist. Selections from two Disqus comments.
In 2000 or then-abouts, you wrote a series about a seeming bargain or alignment or "accomodation" between wealthy North Dallas interests and the poorest voters in South (Black) Dallas, voting narrow victories on a range of deals such as a new basketball arena, or a road down the middle of the Trinity River, or an unnecessary, if beautiful, "signature" bridge. It's possible some people dimly remembering your (excellent, ground-breaking) journalism on how that accommodation was accomplished want to see the weekly articles all compiled into a single work. It's possible the current worry about Presidential claims ("without any evidence" as they say) about how elections are subject to corrupt influences worries some into looking for evidence. It's possible recent legislation introduced by Tulsi Gabbard about "vote harvesting" is making your work interesting, all over again....
Aside from vote harvesting, Jim, did your work (background or published) on "shenanigans" in local elections get into the practice of "rolling polling"? During early voting a bunch of ballot boxes were set up, one day each, in a series if particular neighborhood schools who "just happened" to be celebrating parents' day or whatever...
Oy.
Now, Melcher may not be MAGA in the narrow sense of "ever Trumper" and nobody else. But, I know he's not a never Trumper or close, also going by who he follows on Substack.
Patterico, not so formerly of Patterico's Pontifications or whatever? A wingnut who thinks Radley Balko is a lefty, on Substack. And a Zionist, natch, on the blogsite.
Speaking of, yes, Melcher follows original cancel culture queen Bari Weiss' allegedly "Free Press." Nope no link to that. Not even with a "do not follow." He also follows "The Liberal Patriot," by Democratic Leadership Council alum Ruy Teixeira and other neocentrist, neoliberal squishes. That said, Ruy himself is far enough right to be at the American Enterprise Institute now. If not for that, Melcher wouldn't follow him.
Not heard before of William M. Briggs of "Science is Not the Answer." But, he's a fellow at the Acton Institute, which makes him a highbrow intellectual Religious Right wingnut. Calls Wikipedia "Wokepedia" on his Twitter, while also thinking National Review is "pissing on the right. Again." Not linking.
Karl Gallagher? Sci-fi author, not so bad, right? Wrong. Been profiled on the Libertarian Futurist Society. His Twitter, via Goodreads? Zionist, hates Palestinian protestors and more. Not linking.
So, far more proof than I needed to show just how Neanderthal er Homo erectus Melcher is. Most these people are to some degree, like Weiss, part of the original cancel culture, whether in general, or specifically on Zionists trying to silence contradiction.
Bye, Jeff!
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And, that’s how this fits the no-twosiderism theme here, as I said on Substack, where that's been, at least on paper, a reason I created it.
I can find an old superintendent incompetent without libeling others, or doing the moral equivalent thereof, if they’re not as vociferous on the attack. For example, I can criticize U.S. imperialism and warmongering without claiming that a Jeff Melcher type working at AAFES is getting a cut. See how that works, Jeff?
I can talk about someone “fellating” someone, Schutze with Mike Miles, without thinking Schutze’s past support was 100 percent wrong, but at the same time, noting this is a pattern of his.
