The Fec And Mary Show

I might as well comment on it because nobody else has. I must be out of the loop because I'm not really sure what the fuss was originally about, but the blog war between local bloggers Jeff Martin a.k.a. Fec and Dr. Mary Johnson was a hoot while it lasted.  It appears to have subsided in the last few days, but it reminded me of 50-B court where people sometimes boast of what they are going to do to the other with no real idea of what the law is. The threats of criminal charges and the debate over who is crazier, fatter, a bigger stalker, etc. even drew the attention of the News and Record, who contacted both parties about the feud.  Brian Clarey of YES! Weekly deemed it "Blogfight of the Week", although "Year" would be more appropriate.

No comments from either party, please. There have been enough already.

Comments

[bubba]

"It appears to have subsided in the last few days....."

There's a good reason for that.

[Spag]

Or maybe the whole thing is just a little too nutty for most people.

[bubba]

"Or maybe the whole thing is just a little too nutty for most people."

Ummm, apparently not for others.

[Spag]

Bubba, I know that someone called the cops for lack of a better term. I'll bet that will keep them busy.

[Doom Day Dude]

Bubba, I know that someone called the cops for lack of a better term. I'll bet that will keep them busy.* Spag

Where did you go to law school at Spag? The Ed Cone law school of night bloggering and Matchbook sales? Any fool knows that once a criminal complaint is file with alledged terrorist threats. The victum is entitled with legal due process until the case is dismiss or until a conviction is attained. If you were my lawyer in this case, I would have fired you and demanded my retainer back for being a fool with a lack of simple legal knowledge before poping off your big Republican law and order mouth on the internet. Anytime where possible jail time or criminal action is taken, it is serious business nor matter what your Sara Palin legal mind set is!

[Spag]

I only commented on what I read, which is what Fec and Mary put on their blogs for public consumption. It appeared to me to be a garden variety yard fight that ends with no winners, but too much money spent. The entertainment value was that it appeared on the blogs instead of on Inside Edition and that both parties appeared to escalate the matter further.

I'm really not interested in whose fault any of it is.

[Spag]

Further, my profession does not impose some special duty on me before commenting on such things. You don't lose your First Amendment rights when you graduate from law school. I don't represent either party nor were my comments ever made in the context of legal representation. I would have fired me too if I was representing either party and was offering a legal opinion without knowing the facts- especially if done in public. But I don't and I didn't, so playing that card won't work Mr. Justice.

Again, I really don't care whose fault it was. The mutual escalating behavior that was done publicly taints the victim status of both parties. What happened out of the public view was only exasperated by this. Some times it's better to just let it go instead of adding more gas to the fire until someone gets burned.

[Doom Day Dude]

But I don't and I didn't, so playing that card won't work Mr. Justice.* Spag

Good for you! But two replys to a little comment about your silly humor and legal affairs does not count on the internet. Let face it! Reality is not your strong point, sorted like Ed Cone. Denial is such a terrible thing for a young lawyer who really believes he is saving the day in his own Paradise and stop playing the Sara Palin no show card Dude!

[Imbloglio Aficionado]

this is one of those rare conflicts in which both sides should wear spurs and spikes to resolve the issue. the fat of the winner should be rendered to make Sammy Sosa white-face cosmeteticals.

[Spag]

It's kind of like the Joker vs. The Riddler. Who do you pull for? You don't take sides. You sit back and watch the carnage.

[Brandon Burgess]

Spag, if a person asks not to be contacted and afterward, receives over two dozen emails from the attacker, it is illegal; not a blog war.

I would never expect you or Ed Cone to send each other emails indicating "i know where you live". It's one thing to make fun of a person's name or to challenge their position on an issue, or make references to them in a rebuttal to another blogpost. But to harass them or threaten their professional livelihood is disgusting behavior, unbecoming of a grown man or woman.

The fact is, this all started because Mike Baron's water chart was deemed to be offensive to a blogger's pal, and the blogger got mad. The chart was never refuted, but by now, no one even remembers how this all started. The attacker won the battle, everyone has forgot about the dam scam. The attacker has admitted to breaking the law.

[Spag]

Brandon, I'm not taking sides in this battle. It appears to me that both are equally to blame. It also appears to me that one of them continues to add fuel to the fire publicly by continuing to bait the other.

[Spag]

Quote from original post:

"No comments from either party, please. There have been enough already."

That said, I will be deleting all comments from either party to enforce that rule.

It is a decision I don't like making, but I believe it is necessary until the matter is resolved.

[bubba]

"That said, I will be deleting all comments from either party to enforce that rule."

Why did you stop at eliminating comments?

Titling this "The Fec and Mary Show", and not allowing the participants to comment is a little unbalanced, to say the least.

You need to delete the entire thread.

[Spag]

Because I only offered my observation which I think is quite balanced. I haven't picked any sides.

It was not an invitation to restart the debate about who was more to blame or to provide a forum for the argument to continue. I thought I made that clear from the beginning, but apparently the message didn't quite get absorbed.

I thought about not having any comments at all when I originally posted it to avoid such a thing, but decided against it because I concluded that what happened was worthy of discussion by those who observed it and cared to comment.

I wrote what I think about it and don't feel compelled to censor myself just because some may not like it or because I didn't favor one side over the other and some believe that I need to provide an opportunity to be persuaded.

I really don't care who was wrong or right, my post was about the sheer spectacle of it.

[Jeffrey Sykes]

I thought it was a classic case of two opposing armies using opposite tactics: one prefers frontal assaults and damn the consequences while the other dodges and skirmishes and continually tries to turn the enemies flank.

I could never decide where the battlefield was and what the battle was over, although I think deference to southern gentility, which dictates that one treat a lady with respect, would have let the matter burn its course in short order.

Another thing I don't understand is does Mr. Martin live in Greensboro or Randolph County?

Anyway, the fun is sure to resume when Fec comes back from the Left Coast.

[Spag]

I hope not, Jeff.

[Doom Day Dude]

Because I only offered my observation which I think is quite balanced* Spag

Oh stop trying to Ed Cone us Spag! You are a bigger phony than him when it comes to making stupid Sara Palin humor and comments about serious legal issues..

[Brandon Burgess]

I am not and have not been concerned with the "blog war". I can watch Spag and Ed go at it all day, or Roch and Bubba, or Mick and I.

My issue has always been with the way Dr. Mary was harassed after denouncing the moronic posts against Mike Baron. In my opinion, all of us blog-regulars should denounce the behavior of a man who harasses someone through email because he didn't like someone's opinion on a political issue.

It's immature, illegal, disgusting, and psychotic.

[Spag]

After reconsidering Bubba's comment, I have decided to reopen the forum open to everyone, including the participants although I still think they are better off not commenting further at all for their own sake.

My preference is that we move on to other topics at this point.