Michael Gold's Cyber-rag Stepped Way Over the Line
by Felicia Regan
The St. Augustine Record (print edition), August 28, 2016
Editor:
I am concerned with the increasing use of social media and online “newspapers” to bully private citizens and public officials. In particular, I am addressing the local website “Historic City News” and its affiliated Facebook page.
For years I’ve seen doctored photos of my husband and other city employees, as well as videos and other media used for humiliation. I’ve stayed quiet and “let it go” as he is a public employee and it is the usual eighth-grade level humor that is used on sites such as these.
What I won’t “let go” is a threat. On Aug. 4, Historic City News made the following comment on its Facebook site in response to an article it published “…Thanks John Regan for another example of how totally inept you have become at making decisions. He’s starting to look like Old Yellow to me. Time to put him down, I guess.”
This reference to murder is unconscionable and represents how social media has the potential to become dangerous.
In addition, the editor, Mr Gold, is using his “newspaper “ to endorse this message with his followers.
Hiding behind a computer and spewing volatile material such as this proves how a bully can evolve into something even worse.
Opinion Editor's Note: Felicia Regan is the wife of John Regan, St. Augustine City Manager.
- Photo by Maureen Ortagus; enhancements by Daniel S. Somerson
6 comments:
Well I don't think Michael Gold was referencing to murder. What I do think is Regan is a complete failure and has done a lot of damage to City of St Augustine. Maybe it would have been better to say put him out to pasture. Let the Old Failed Race Horse who never came close to winning a race rest in the pastures. Regan is a complete incompetent City Manger PERIOD. I think Regan is a Danger to the well being of the City as well as the health of the City. If the City of St Augustine had a competent City Commission Regan would have been fired a long time ago.
Mr. Gold needs to think before he writes. Reckon he realized the comment was over the top because he sua sponte deleted it.
John Regan is becoming a better City Manager under Mayor Nancy Shaver.
Prior Mayor BOLES would not let him do his job.
If you had seen City Manager WILLIAM BARRY HARRISS, you would appreciate that John Regan is a vast improvement. He has his heart in the right place, he has empathy and compassion, and he cares about the city and its people. He's not perfect, but neither are any of us. And in an historic small town of 13,000 people and a tradition of Caudillos, racism and corruption, he's usually trying to do the right things in a place Dr. King called "the most lawless" in America.
Perhaps you need a more forgiving heart on local government officials, as you evidently have for youthful indiscretions, e.g., home invasion armed robberies?
Watch the tape of the August 25 budget meeting and my concluding comment. What a difference ten years makea.
The tradition of Caudillos, racism and corruption is alive and well in the city as it is embodied in its stultifying Jim Crow laws that continue to oppress, murder and tyrannize the citizens. JOHN REGAN, protege of WILLIAM BARRY HARRISS, helped create some of these onerous laws and continues through his surrogates to enforce them.
You don't forgive the rapist while the rape is still in progress.
Mayor Nancy Slaver just had a great opportunity to speak out very directly against this issue as requested by me in this email to her and all other commissioners:
"BURDEN SHIFTING:
I agree with Lee Geanuleas, this is a perfect example of burden shifting (see his email below).
The owners, rather than paying the increased costs and passing them on to their customers, seek instead to shift the costs to burden the city residents with increased traffic to and from their business and further burden the residents of Lincolnville with a noisy 24/7 parking lot.
"How far is to far?" Lee asks.
I ask, "Where have we seen this movie before?"
LIES OF OMISSION and A GREATER BURDEN SHIFTING:
All city Commissioners received last week — as a result of their solicitation of the public — an on line copy of the most recent issue of the "Saint Aug Dog". The issue describes, through parody, satire, and mockery, the shifting of wealth to the city's rich elite (through proximate cause corruption), with the resultant burden shift manifesting in the early deaths of many members of the community and an overall degradation of the social fabric of the city of Saint Augustine.
To continue ignoring this issue of greater burden shifting gross criminal corruption, which empowers you all and provides you all with income, is a perfect example of lies of omission.
Your future, your children's future, and your grand children's future depends on your personal courage and moral integrity in handling this issue.
As a reminder...
Last issue of the "Saint Aug Dog".
http://saintaugdog.com/sadarticles/vacuumandbarfissue.html
Salient issue linked to in the last issue of the "Saint Aug Dog".
http://saintaugdog.com/sadissues/issue1/1visualindex.html
On behalf of Intentionally Made Homeless and Oppressed Residents Everywhere Count.
Warren Celli"
MAYOR NANCY SLAVER, who disingenuously solicits concerns from citizens, chose to remain silent, to stonewall, to ignore, to snobbishly slight the very same concerns that she solicits. Blah! She is an over glorified corporate bookkeeper for the rapists who limits her timid self to making their trains run on time.
Sorry Ed, but you will never have enough lipstick to gloss over these pigs!
Michael Gold misspoke and deleted his comment. Kudos for that. He provides a good service to the community, agree with him or not, with his non pay wall alternative to the Saint Augustine Wreckit! He needs to broaden his comments access for better participation. Many refuse to join Facecrook
We need to raise the calibre of debate in our City, starting with City Commissioners who have engaged in "massive resistance" to the will of the voters in electing reform Mayor Shaver.
Re-reading Felicia's letter, I feel her pain at the invitation to commit murder, which resembles some of Trump's cruder comments.
Hopefully, Mr. Gold will continue to grow and to learn, including from this post.
But on the other hand, Felicia's letter seems to be a generalized lament at online criticism of the City Administration, presumably include you and me, Warren -- she just didn't use our names.
I have vigorously defended Mr. Gold's First Amendment rights in the past when he was illegally attacked by Commissioner TODD DAVID NEVILLE, who wanted to abuse City resources to file a SLAPP libel lawsuit.
ODD TODD NEVILLE never reimbursed the City for the time of the City Attorney.
ODD TODD NEVILLE has publicly interrupted and insulted me, calling me a gadfly.
Mr. Gold and I often have differing political views, but we agree on ending corruption and the developer-driven demolition derby in St. Augustine and St. Johns County.
We disagree about his misplaced sense of "sarcasm" or "hyperbole" in suggesting the City Manager be put down, e.g., killed.
Speaking of which, I received a note from him earlier today: I gather he did not like my "sarcasm" or "hyperbole" in printing some of the photos above -- tough love.
Pray for him.
Some thoughts:
1. It appears that everyone has let JOHN REGAN'S WIFE set the battlefield of debate here with her ignorant characterization of Old Yeller's demise as being murder. It was not murder, the dog's life was ended out of necessity by a loving family. Why? Because the dog had just protected the family from a rabid wolf and in the process was bitten and injured thereby becoming himself a rabies threat to the family. It was not murder it was a justifiable necessity killing. Michael Gold did not explain or elaborate on the metaphor, probably wisely as it could easily have become very convoluted, he chose instead, to delete it. Case closed.
2. Full disclosure please... JOHN REGAN'S WIFE has an obvious bias in this matter through her marriage; she will share in JOHN REGAN'S grossly FAT retirement pension. Let me repeat that: she will share in JOHN REGAN'S grossly FAT retirement pension. WILLIAM BARRY HARRISS, his gangster mentor, is currently pulling down $9,367.46 A MONTH! This outrageous amount is much MORE than many senior citizens get in social security for A FULL YEAR!
No cat food sandwiches for the Regans!
3. JOHN REGAN'S WIFE continues the elite meme that the internet has the "potential to become dangerous". This fear mongering meme is being used to justify incrementally attacking and shutting down the internet to repress FREE SPEECH and protect bully gangster politicians. America has a long and healthy tradition of humiliating and mocking its criminal politicians. Bully, criminal public officials deserve all of the mockery that they get.
The tradition of Caudillos, racism and corruption must be ended.
4. If it were not for Ed Slavin and Michael Gold none of this debate (a debate that should be taking place in city hall but does not because of disingenuous, corrupt, elite, gangster officials — see my comment above), would even exist.
A hat tip to both of you guys!
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