Last month, as part of the celebration of HA‘s 9th anniversary, Darryl walked us through Nine years of HA trolls. It was quite the stroll down memory (some might mispronounce it marummy) lane.
Coming in as #5 on Darryl’s troll hit parade was the priggishly self-righteous Piper Scott, aka Scott St. Clair, an “investigative journalist” once (still?) employed by the odious Evergreen Freedom Foundation. His self-important droppings have been seen in many Washington state online venues, from Crosscut to some minor blog called unSound Politics (or something like that).
Some have suggested that blog commenters like St. Clair — right-wingers whose primary purpose appears to be incessantly inflammatory and/or derogatory on liberal or progressive blogs — are somehow paid to interfere with civilized discourse. I’ve seen that supposition confirmed only once, in the case of Kevin Carns, professional troll, one-time Political Director for Washington’s House Republican Organizing Committee and Executive Director of The Speaker’s Roundtable (the WHROC’s PAC). He haunted HA in its early years.
The evidence regarding St. Clair’s status as a professional troll may have been strengthened by something I chanced upon today. I was looking at some of the numerous testimonials and remembrances of the recently-departed Senator from New Jersey, Frank Lautenberg. I grew up in the Garden State, so big events there always interest me. I first registered to vote in New Jersey, and my first Federal election ballot in 1972 included the very same Class 2 Senate seat held until this week by Lautenberg. (I voted proudly and happily for Clifford P. Case, the incumbent Republican Senator … one of only two GOP votes I’ve ever cast.)
In reviewing the obituaries, I chanced upon one in NorthJersey.com, the website of the Bergen Record. The Record is a daily publication in Bergen County, located in the upper-right corner of the state, directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan. With the innumerable major media outlets right across the river, it’s really a minor part of the press presence in New Jersey, perhaps a step or two above a community newspaper. So imagine my surprise when I glanced at the comment threads and saw this [click on the image to enlarge it]:
Why in the world would a guy from Washington write a lengthy (and derogatory) comment on the website of a minor newspaper in New Jersey? Why would he have “Top Commenter” status there? Why would he have 114 subscribers to his comments on that website, a continent away from his home?
Across the nation, there must be hundreds and hundreds of media websites on a par with NorthJersey.com. How many of those list The Piper as a heavily-subscribed Top Commenter? If he isn’t being paid to troll obscure websites all around the country, what possible reason could he have for being there?
I’m amused that the first two replies to St. Clair’s comment list their locations as “Everett, Washington” and “Everett CC”. Not only does The Piper ride teh intertubes clear across the country, he brings a couple of fanboys with him!
If there are paid wingnut commenters, I suppose that some liberal/progressive blog commenters must also exist. There can’t be as many lefties as righties, though. Just about every newpaper, television, and radio website is populated overwhelmingly by conservatives, libertarians, and worse. I used to think that most of those were local crazies venting their spleen, but perhaps I was wrong.
Scott moved to New Jersey about three ? years ago. And for the best of reasons: he fell in love. I’m just hoping he saved himself for marriage, if you know what I mean.
“Just about every newpaper, television, and radio website is populated overwhelmingly by conservatives, libertarians, and worse.”
Because they have more money. It comes from the likes of Richard Scaife, the Koch brothers, and so on. In other words, grimy, sooty, sewage-spattered money, the kind accumulated by monopolists and lawbreakers. Plus, they happen to own all of the liberal-biased media.
Well, this is what his work station looks like — i.e., short on books and other intellectual material.
http://tinyurl.com/lzj3wle
If you wonder how he got that tumor between his shoulders this photo explains all.
http://crosscut.com/account/PiperSPACEScott/
@1 Since he wears a skirt (see #4) I assume he’s the female partner in that marriage. Who’s the lucky guy?
For some reason that in retrospect was probably unjustifiable, I connected with Scott on Facebook after noticing him in Richard Pope’s rather sizable and diverse collection of “friends”. From the sheer volume of his postings and their timestamps, I can only surmise that he spends quite a great deal of time just doing that, and apparently writing a lot of other contributions (which he proudly links to) in several other far-right blogs. Apparently, the lady he fell in love with and married is quite succesful in some kind of corporate sales gig and keeps the larder stocked and the lights on while “The Piper” does this…and also, according to him, carries water for James O’Keefe.
This particular blurb of his is one of a great many mentions he’s made of Bob Menendez, even after many of his ilk backed off. It’s admittedly a little far-fetched, but certainly amusing to picture Scott as having been the Breitbart organization’s bag man in that little caper.
Also, if the comments to Scott’s post are any indication, it would seem that since he acquired the “taint of association” with the Evil Keynan Muslim Fascist Marxist from Hell, the teahadists in the Garden State have already decided to throw Christie under the bus.
“Self-important droppings”
That applies to everyone who has ever made a comment on any blog anywhere in the universe.
So …
Anyone here want to guess whether the Evergreen Freedom Foundation pays taxes?
Decades ago, my grandparents knew the publishers of The Bergen Daily Record. Back then, it was a great local newspaper, liberal in editorial philosophy, “A Friend of the People It Serves,” was paper’s motto, if my memory serves me correctly. Why modern news organizations provide refuge to losers like CrackPiper escapes me. The esteem for which the readers of The Record held leaders like Senator Lautenberg makes Snotty’s nasty little diatribe look even worse than the crap he normally spewed here, assuming that’s even possible.
The bad news. The Pooper has found a way to be even more obnoxious and batshit insane than his trolling days in these threads and his pseudo journalism for the odious foundation in Olympia.
The good news. He’s collecting his wingnut welfare a whole continent’s distance from here..
Good riddance!
@10 Re: what the Bergen Daily Record used to be…the same thing could easily be said about Frank’s Fishwrapper–and where Seattle’s remaining daily newspaper is likely headed if it doesn’t go out of business first.
Well, hello kiddies. Geov, a fair-minded man who has the breadth of intellect to embrace diversity of thought and opinion, aside, I see the same old moldy Munchkins upchucking the same old vile bile. You guys are like a soap opera — even if you miss years of episodes the plot doesn’t change, but the characters remain boringly the same.
To update: I’ve been in Jersey for nearly two and a half years after getting married to the most beautiful woman in the world. She is a senior executive in the skin care, fragrance and cosmetics industry, which is New York based, hence my move to the NYC metro area.
Only a man secure in his masculinity can wear a kilt. Those who make it have neither the strength of gender or courage necessary to don the garb of old Gaul.
Are you enjoying the destruction of the Obama administration? I certainly am. An alphabet soup of corrupt, cynical and unconstitutionally-behaving agencies: IRS, NSA, FBI, EPA, DoJ, DoS and the always lying Baghdad Bob-Mini Me, Jay Carney.
I love what Jay Leno said about him:
Time for me to go…Have to write my good friend Tim Eyman and wish him the best as he is the only person actually representing the interests of taxpayers in Washington state. All of you should thank him for the money he’s saved you as you spend your welfare checks.
If ever in Jersey, don’t be a stranger — I’ll take you to Camden and let you dodge gunfire from the gangbangers.
The Piper
Uh pooper you didn’t seem so concerned about some of those 3 letter agencies back in the day..
You old klownservative tool you!
Strange I seem to remember a son in the service and a UW Grad daughter majoring in (hah) French..
What happened to the babies’ momma?
If she’s passed, my condolences..
If not.. Oh my… Family values and shades of Jane Wyman dumping the gipper for running off the trap compulsively about matters unrelated to preserving domestic bliss.
He has linked this blog to his conservative sites for others to check it out. This is hilarious. Land of the Lost.
I link it to conservative sites for the same reasons I invite people to come with me to see monkeys at the zoo.
My second marriage. You still waiting for your first, or is that not allowed where you’re institutionalized?
The Piper
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Trade in for a younger/richer model eh pooper? How sweet it is to klownservatives and (glib/los)ertarians alike..
In my case.. Still married to my first wife.. Well over 20 years..
Life may seem sweet atm. But when that bubble pops. Sure will suck to be you O klownservative pooper!
@17 Speaking of institutions, look who they finally let out of the asylum on a day pass. Did they make you promise not to play those damn pipes?
@18 Looks like Piper and Putin have something in common.