January 03, 2007
Michael Hood: Seattle's most chronically wrong journalist

Michael Hood reacted to my recent post "Who's the most vulnerable Seattle City Councilmember?" by leaping to an astonishing conclusion:

Ace-boom Seattle Republican blogger, Stefan Sharkansky, left the tea leaves in the bottom of his cup, Thursday, for all to read.

Unless our political headlights have totally dimmed, we'd say Sharkansky is considering running for Seattle City Council against Peter Steinbrueck.

Wrong. I have no intention or desire to run for Seattle City Council or any other public office, either this year or in the future. And that's not the only thing Michael gets wrong in his creepily obsessive post about the Mrs. and me.

Michael's headlights have not merely dimmed. His bulbs have burned out, his battery is dead and his engine is missing. He is a man who has nothing under his hood.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at January 03, 2007 08:02 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Wow!

A gratuitous slander against your family...is this guy scared?

Posted by: BOB R on January 3, 2007 08:49 PM
2. You gotta admit, Hood has a lot of stamina. He never seems to tire of being wrong. His biggest accomplishment seems to be that he runs a less succesful version of the H-Arse blog in a feeble attempt to get the 'big boys' aka Daily Kos types to notice him. Hood really tried to move up in his weight class taking on the Shark.

Posted by: SU Grad on January 3, 2007 09:21 PM
3. Tow truck, please! Clear that rattletrap off the road....

Posted by: Michele on January 3, 2007 09:22 PM
4. and har, har...one of his commenters named "santa" refers to Matt as "Rosenbaum." Please, lefties--let's at least get the names right.

Posted by: Michele on January 3, 2007 09:26 PM
5. Stefan, you're right, this guy is creepy.

Posted by: Obi-Wan on January 3, 2007 09:40 PM
6. He's more than creepy. There's something not quite right there.

Posted by: katomar on January 3, 2007 10:02 PM
7. Anyone that has the kind of time Hood has to just sit fixated on talk radio etc. is probably a little unbalanced. He's got a bad case of BDS as well.

Posted by: Jeff B. on January 3, 2007 10:31 PM
8. That blog is populated by some of the dumbest people on the internet. That's saying something considering the competition the libs have out there on Kos, DU and others.

Posted by: Steve (was steve_dog) on January 3, 2007 10:33 PM
9. Creepy is a nobody looking for some cred.

Picture a little Pekinese yapping at the heels of an unconcerned Great Dane as it passes by and then trotting back into his yard, head held high, as his owners pat him on the head saying "Good boy, good boy." At that point the Pekinese is a legend in his own mind and the Great Dane never even knew there was a Pekinese.

Posted by: G Jiggy on January 3, 2007 10:45 PM
10. Well, I guess the good news is: Shark can't possibly run for Steinbrueck's seat. And the bad news is: Shark won't run for that seat, cuz if he did, he'd get his butt kicked up between his ears, which would be fun to see, kinda like John Carlson getting crushed by a bigger margin than Ellen Crasswell.

It's nice to know the good folks who vote in this state have enough savvy to recognize a right wing wacko when they get to vote for one.

Posted by: Unkl Witz on January 3, 2007 11:03 PM
11. "Creepily obsessive"??? Did Stefan write that? Stefan who oozes slime onto the personal lives of Democrats whenever he can come up with a racy headline?

I know nothing about Michael Hood and I take Stefan at his word that he's not running. But complaining that someone is "creepily obsessive"? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

Posted by: Bruce on January 3, 2007 11:08 PM
12. Bruce: One thing I've found almost universally consistent among the right wing media (blogs and talk show hosts) is their propensity to project their own psycho-emotional shortcomings onto their perceived political enemies. Witness Stefan's creepy obsession with Dino Rossi's loss of the governor's race two years ago, to the point of filing patently frivolous lawsuits, and his subsequent dogged pursuit of anything negative he can find about either Dean Logan or Ron Sims.

Imagine the horror of living in a world where your worst nightmares keep getting re-elected to public office, like say having to endure a second term of a George W Bush presidency.

Posted by: Unkl Witz on January 3, 2007 11:31 PM
13. I especially like the one where he thought you and Eric Earling were the same person.

Posted by: Michelle on January 4, 2007 12:30 AM
14. "Psycho-emotional shortcomings"?!?!?!? Based on your extensive training in psychoanalysis or.....?

"Universally consistent"?!?!?!? Do we all look the same to you like the slaves once did?

Posted by: Dustin on January 4, 2007 06:43 AM
15. Yeah Witz, and the left has been oh so stable about projecting their hatred of Bush. Clearly, you are living the nightmare you describe.

On another note, Stefan, referring to Michael Hood as a "journalist" is a real reach. But that disproves Witz's point as well.

Posted by: Jeff B. on January 4, 2007 08:47 AM
16. ... then Hood would actually have something to write about.

Posted by: Andy on January 4, 2007 08:51 AM
17. Bruce: One thing I've found almost universally consistent among the right wing media (blogs and talk show hosts) is their propensity to project their own psycho-emotional shortcomings onto their perceived political enemies.

If there's a better example of projection than that statement, I've yet to see it.

Posted by: jimg on January 4, 2007 09:29 AM
18. Wow. Maybe it's just the full moon but I've read some of the most incredibly whacked-out stuff from the left I can remember over the past 24-hours, (see the comments on Matt's "Peak Oil" thread if you think I'm kidding).

This commentary by Mr. Hood is indeed creepy and downright mean. You have to wonder about the true motivation of someone who refers to Stefan's wife as a "certified Asian", a comment no conservative would be allowed to get away with.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 4, 2007 09:36 AM
19. Bruce: "Stefan who oozes slime onto the personal lives of Democrats whenever he can"...

So Bruce, you're implying that prying into my family finances is on the same level as investigating Maria Cantwell's financial relationship with a lobbyist. Not that your opinion of me interests me all that much, but I guess I should be flattered that you're elevating me to the same stature as a United States Senator.

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on January 4, 2007 10:04 AM
20. My, Stefan, what thin skin you have! It was totally reasonable for someone to speculate on how SoundPolitics is funded (although personally I don't care whether it's your passion, someone's donations, or both). I think your wife was the one who made it a family issue. And that was nothing compared with the personal attacks that SoundPolitics makes regularly on Ron Sims, Maria Cantwell, Nancy Pelosi, Governor Christine Gregoire, Dean Logan, Darcy Burner, Ron Dotzauer, Joel Connelly, Frank LaSalata, and others. It's unfortunate that you pollute the intelligent parts of your blog with these personal attacks. And it's foolish if you can't take the heat yourself.

Posted by: Bruce on January 4, 2007 10:22 AM
21. guess it's all relative. a concept libs love yet also comes back to bite them.

(Bruce)"Stefan who oozes slime onto the personal lives of Democrats whenever he can"...

so--when Dems/libs do it, it's called a noble pursuit of the truth, full disclosure and ending the culture of corruption. when the shoe's on the other foot, it's too tight.

(Witz)"...dogged pursuit of anything negative he can find about either Dean Logan or Ron Sims."

again, Dems/libs call this monitoring good government and being a vigilant political activist watchdog. when shoe's on other paw, it's a witch hunt.

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on January 4, 2007 10:23 AM
22. I think, Bruce, that you would have a difficult time coming up with examples of the kind of "personal attacks" that you charge are being made "regularly" on Sound Politics.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 4, 2007 10:49 AM
23. Wow, just read that guy's column for the first time. Not only is he a complete jerk, he's stupid as a post. Is this what passes for an "intellectual" anymore? I wonder, because that usually just means "communist" in practical application of the term.

Posted by: H Moul on January 4, 2007 10:55 AM
24. Okay, Bruce, I challenge you to come up with examples of personal attacks on each of the individuals you named: Ron Sims, Maria Cantwell, Nancy Pelosi, Christine Gregoire, Dean Logan, Darcy Burner, Ron Dotzauer, Joel Connelly, Frank LaSalata

Not examples of where I disagree with their public acts, but personal attacks. Also note that nearly everything that Michael Hood writes about me is not true. Please be sure to note where my comments about the above public figures' personal lives are not true. Not just where you disagree with my opinions, but where I make incorrect assertions of fact.

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on January 4, 2007 11:00 AM
25. Stefan, I don't feel like taking the time to document your personal attacks. They may not be exactly comparable, but they are certainly mean-spirited. You know what I'm talking about; you are very good at it. And like Hood's remarks about you, they are partly true and partly related to public concerns. But only partly.

But anyway, feel picked on if you wish. Defend yourself as much as you want; it's your blog. (Or maybe your wife's. Oh, sorry.) Your reaction is revealing.

Posted by: Bruce on January 4, 2007 12:07 PM
26. Bruce at #25,

Cluck, cluck.

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 4, 2007 12:19 PM
27. "Stefan, I don't feel like taking the time to document your personal attacks. "

Okay, Bruce, so you've admitted you're a liar. Sure, I criticize politicians here, but you can't document what you wrote above because it is not a true statement. Disagree with my opinions all you want and prove me wrong when you can. I welcome it. But I don't offer a comments section so people can post lies about me. Either prove or retract your assertions and don't post any other comments here until you do.

Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on January 4, 2007 12:31 PM
28. Stefan, as I said in #25, you make personal attacks -- mean-spirited comments that stretch the truth ("Mrs. Gregoire", fraudulent election) and make fun of people's names, appearance, affairs, etc. I have certainly not admitted that you are a liar; nor have I called you one.

Posted by: Bruce on January 4, 2007 12:46 PM
29. Correction to last sentence: "I have certainly not admitted that I am a liar; nor have I called you one."

Posted by: Bruce on January 4, 2007 12:47 PM
30. But it is pretty obvious that you are a liar, and totally without honor. Your significance in the world is zero.

Seriously, you might want to consider suicide....

Posted by: H Moul on January 4, 2007 12:58 PM
31. I don't see how refusing to use the term Governor to reflect the outcome of an extremely close election, that is beyond anyone ever knowing if the true and legitimate winner is in office, is a personal attack towards Chris Gregoire. A personal or ad-hominem attack might be commenting on her appearance etc., but simply refusing to use a title is not an attack. It might well be a breach of etiquette, but it is not an attack.

Moreover, there is ample proof (that Stefan has documented rigorously) that shows that absentee ballots were improperly handled, accounted for, etc. in the days leading up to the certification of the election in King County. Fraudulent does not have to mean organized fraud to indicate an erroneous and/ or poorly accounted for result. And there is really no way to prove that is not the case either given a margin of 130 votes. There were easily 130 mistakes throughout the state that went overlooked. Even if you simply regard the result as a musical chairs finish with the final winner simply declared after three counts as a final and fair outcome, the election itself was a fraud. The citizens of this state deserve a much more convincing and open result than what we got from King County, in the case of close elections.

I agree that at times there is a lot of mean-spirited invective in the political arena. Welcome to American politics. Go back and research the history of US elections and you will find that vicious character attacks amongst politicians were quite common in the late 19th and early 20th century. But if you want to compare apple to apples, what Hood has written falls far more along the lines of vicious personal attack on a private citizen, and are far more mean-spirited than anything Stefan has ever written. And I challenge you to disprove that fact.

Finally, while invective is common in the political arena, Stefan's wife and personal life are clearly out of bounds, and especially with respect to vicious personal and racist remarks. By attempting to apologize for and/ or equivocate Michael Hood's remarks in this area, you show your own lack of morality quite well.

Posted by: Jeff B. on January 4, 2007 01:25 PM
32. Bruce, have you ever read a personal attack over at HA's blog entries? Or is he pure as the driven snow...

Posted by: Misty on January 4, 2007 01:27 PM
33. Another characteristic of the left has been inadvertently revealed in this thread. Their inability to admit when they are wrong and to gracefully apologize,(see John Kerry).

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 4, 2007 01:41 PM
34. JeffB, perhaps I am missing something about Hood's remarks. They seemed mean-spirited but not "vicious" and "racist". I suppose his calling Stefan's wife "a certified Asian" borders on racist (personally I think it's just dumb), but he says it's in response to her calling him racist, so I'd need to see what they each said earlier to judge that conclusively. But the main point is that I believe Mrs. Shark posted several strong statements in defense of Stefan on this board, which makes it appropriate for others to comment on her.

I don't regularly read Michael Hood and in no way defend him in general. To me, the article in question was unnecessarily rude, as well as probably wrong in its central prediction, but not wildly inappropriate. My point is Stefan is living in quite the glass house here -- as well as, apparently, having a glass jaw.

Misty, yes, I have read personal attacks over at HA as well. And Goldy is foul-mouthed besides. But since I agree with his politics, he's a saint.

Posted by: Bruce on January 4, 2007 01:54 PM
35. Bruce, you can dodge the issue at hand all you want but everyone reading this blog can clearly see that you are unable to come up with a single example of the "personal attacks" that you say Stefan posts "regularly".

Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 4, 2007 02:14 PM
36. I'm with Jeff31--
My dear "Ever-the-excuse Bruce:"
The right is mean-spirited. And the left is 'not wildly inappropriate.'

Come on--we all defend our opinions. I think you are smart enough to distinguish between thread topics, jovial verbal boxing/exchanges and true non-related (mean) personal attacks.

As for Mrs. Shark, like me, I'd defend personal family attacks (esp. off topic thread) with that & even more viciousness. Why does her personal defense make her an open target or part of the discussion topic? Don't you defend your loved ones, partners or whomever?

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on January 4, 2007 02:27 PM
37. Maybe "Bruce the Excuse" is really Goldy.

http://www.horsesass.org/wp-trackback.php?p=2376

Posted by: chris on January 4, 2007 04:03 PM
38. Stefan would never run for City Council, he'd rather just bitch and rant from the relative safety of his living room / local coffee shop. God forbid he'd do anything to bring about the changes he so desperately wants.

Actions speak a lot louder than blogs Stefan.

Posted by: Cato on January 5, 2007 10:15 AM
39. Hmm, I guess those "regular" personal attacks are rarer than you think, eh Bruce?

I've said it more than once here; liberals don't understand conservatives. The evident prejudice about who conservatives are, what they believe, and how they act has been well illustrated in this thread.

On the other hand what conservatives believe about modern liberals can be clearly confirmed. Just run over to HA and read as much as you can stand. Here's a little unedited quote from Goldy this very morning, you don't have to do any tedious research to find this stuff it's there every day,(obscenity left in deliberately to illustrate the point).

"Miller writes a post in which he authoritatively cites Amir Taheri, an Iranian journalist known for making shit up about the Iranian government."


Posted by: Bill Cruchon on January 5, 2007 10:16 AM
40. 38: "Actions speak a lot louder than blogs Stefan."

Hey Cato, how much voting reform or good government legwork did YOU do lately? Seems like Stefan did a lot of pavement pounding & research.

Where were you all that time? Teaching a diversity class? Founding a Tent City? Working the on ramp ("God Bless")?

Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on January 5, 2007 11:45 AM
41. Here's a quote for you Cato

"Blogs (SP) speak louder than Cato"

Posted by: Chris on January 5, 2007 11:50 AM
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