The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth

Posted on | October 30, 2013 | 39 Comments

Bill Schmalfeldt ranting, 2011. (Image via Thomas Anderson at Vimeo)

“Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have principles. Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have values. Bill Schmalfeldt doesn’t have beliefs. Bill Schmalfeldt has enemies, and then nothing, a black and dank and empty void of sullenness.”
— Ken White, Popehat, Aug. 6

Arguing with a sociopath is generally a waste of time, and if you dedicated yourself to exposing every malicious lie Bill Schmalfeldt tells, you would never have time for anything else. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t call my attention to Schmalfeldt’s compulsive dishonesty and, while I know many readers have grown weary of hearing about his constant vile behavior, occasionally he does something so hatefully false that I simply cannot ignore it.

Bill Schmalfeldt has a habit of getting himself banned. He got banned from Daily Kos because of his grossly offensive anal rape “satire,” and has been repeatedly banned from the Examiner. In September, Schmalfeldt attempted to sneak back onto the Examiner as “Lester Klemper,” and when his unwelcome presence was (predictably) rejected, he unleashed obscenity-strewn threats of vengeance:

As I said at the time, this is typical Schmafeldt: The Dire Warning of Terrible Consequences — dreadful woe shall befall ye whom he hates.

What followed instead was Schmalfeldt’s complete humiliation at the Oct. 16 hearing on John Hoge’s peace order, and the subsequent rejection of Schmalfeldt’s appeal in the case. Keep in mind that, prior to the Oct. 16 hearing, Schmalfeldt had repeatedly boasted that he would prove Hoge guilty of perjury (!) with the predicted result that Hoge would leave the courtroom in handcuffs.

Threaten, threaten, threaten. Fail, fail, fail.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Meanwhile, however, Schmalfeldt had announced that he would begin writing for DigitalJournal.com. Schmalfeldt’s evident motive was that being published somewhere beside his own blog was necessary to Schmalfeldt’s defense of his harassment as “journalism.”

Of course, this was futile: Maryland’s harassment statute doesn’t have a Journalism Exemption. Schmalfeldt never got a chance to argue this in the Hoge v. Schmalfeldt hearing. Nevertheless, Schmalfeldt was a diligent DigitalJournal.com contributor, writing 56 articles between Sept. 25 and Oct. 27, generating 19,000 page-views. (That’s not bad, really, although by comparison this month I’ve published more than 150 posts with more than 300,000 page-views.)

It looked like Bill had found a home at DigitalJournal.com, but then he screwed it up because, as Ken White said, Bill has enemies.

Vengeance on his enemies is Schmalfeldt’s raison d’être and, after a month of being on his best behavior at DigitalJournal.com, he fell off the wagon and used an Oct. 25 article about the arrest of Alabama smear-blogger Roger Shuler to suggest that somehow Ali Akbar and I were responsible for Shuler’s arrest. That prompted Ali to write an e-mail to DigitalJournal.com publisher David Silverberg, and this false accusation was deleted from Schmalfeldt’s article.

But then in a follow-up article on Oct. 27, after name-checking me again, Schmalfeldt made a nameless reference to Lee Stranahan, which has been preserved by Aaron Walker:

Right wing bloggers don’t even need to have something actually happen to them to get the right wing blogosphere up in arms.
One writer for the extremist right wing blog Breitbart.com claimed a phony rape threat from a man with a progressive neurological disorder who lived 1,400 miles away from him. He sent the police to the man’s house, then cried to whoever would listen that he needed money, lots of money, so he could relocate his family. Right wing bloggers from coast to coast came to his aid, exhorting their readers to raise money for this man, who continued with his claim of death and rape threats from a man who would have to ask his wife to drive him the 1,400 miles to commit this imaginary crime the right wing blogger created in his mind.

I wrote to Silverberg asking that my name be removed from that article, and the above-quoted passage was also removed, so that all that remains of the Stranahan reference in the article is this:

In this climate where a right wing blogger can lie about a threat that never existed and raise thousands of dollars to “move” — and then not even change apartments — the left wing media establishment (such as it is) should be shamefaced over their lack of concern about an older man who is nursing his bruises behind bars while his wife remains barricaded in her house.

Ridiculous. You can read Aaron Worthing’s account and decide for yourself whether the rape threat was “phony,” and you can also read Stranahan’s own account, “Bill Schmalfeldt: The Stranger Who Harassed My Family.” Decide for yourself whether what Schmalfeldt was doing could be described as Ethical Journalism.

What was happening at DigitalJournal.com repeated a familiar pattern: Schmalfeldt was trying use his access to somebody else’s platform to pursue his personal enemies, the unprofessional behavior that got him banned from the Examiner in December 2011:

Bill,
I am yet again forced to discuss your column after you continued to (1) make your OBN articles personal, rather than talking about what such an organization is attempting to do and its potential implications, and (2) continued to reply in an antagonistic manner within the comments sections / Facebook.
Due to the continued disregard for projecting yourself in a professional manner, I am forced to suspend your access to our publishing platform again.
This was not how I hoped things would work out, but I’m no longer in a position to justify the amount of effort we as an organization have to put in to mitigate the complaints your work is constantly receiving. I wish you well on your blog.-
Best regards,
Kevin Staunton
Director, Northeast & Mid-Atlantic Regions

Bingo: “[T]he amount of effort we as an organization have to put in to mitigate the complaints your work is constantly receiving.”

That was in December 2011, when Schmalfeldt was pursuing his insane jihad against “Operation Burn Notice” (OBN), a Facebook group that opposed the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Months before I ever heard of the guy, Schmalfeldt’s habits were making him obnoxious to management at the Examiner. Now, in October 2013, he has repeated the pattern at DigitalJournal.com, recycling his smears against Stranahan, Akbar and me with no legitimate journalistic purpose. And today, apparently in a snit because his articles were being edited, Schmalfeldt announced his resignation by publishing an e-mail exchange with Dave Silverberg:

Dave:
First, let me express my gratitude for taking me back, I appreciate it very much and have tried very hard to abide by your rules. I have no problem with you or the site, and I will always have a soft place in my heart for you guys.
It is clear that I can’t turn from side to side without being attacked by the trolls who have decided that I have to be denied from doing any writing anywhere for anybody. Nor am I particularly agreeable to having to defend myself to my editor whenever one of these trolls raises a stink with you. This is how they are trying to get me fired. I choose not to grant them that trophy.
So, with great regret, and to save you and your publication any further difficulty with these criminals (not hyperbole), I offer you my resignation. If you choose to accept it, please advise.
And again, I am an appreciative and humble servant.
Thanks again for the opportunity.
Bill Schmalfeldt

Hi Bill,
We respectfully accept your resignation, and we sympathize with your situation. They are relentless, those people following you around online.
Thanks for your time on the site, and we hope you still check out the news content and vote and comment, as you like.
Note your Digital Journalist status has been removed.
Wishing you the best,
David

This is such a steaming heap of nonsense, I scarcely know where to begin debunking it. Schmalfeldt was not being “attacked by the trolls.” Rather, he was using his DigitalJournal.com access to make defamatory accusations against three innocent people who just happen, coincidentally, to be targets of Brett Kimberlin’s wrath.

Bill’s version of events is the exact opposite of truth: He was not being attacked, he was attacking. He is not a victim, but a victimizer.

Contrary to his claim that “trolls” want to prevent Schmalfeldt “from doing any writing anywhere for anybody,” nobody paid any attention to his DigitalJournal.com writing until there were specific complaints made by specific people about two specific articles.

As far as anyone “trying to get [Schmalfeldt] fired,” that description fits exactly one person: Bill Schmalfeldt, whose repetition of his previously demonstrated bad habits was the sole cause of the problem.

However, notice — as did Aaron Walker — how in attacking Lee Stranahan, Schmalfeldt referred to himself in the third person as “a man with a progressive neurological disorder.” Were DigitalJournal.com readers informed at any time that the author of that article was the same person who made the “phony rape threat” against Stranahan?

Because . . . ETHICS!

So, having tried unsuccessfully to use DigitalJournal.com as a platform for pursuing his own vindictive obsessions, now Schmalfeldt dishonestly claims victimhood as an excuse for his latest failure.

And isn’t crazy “a progressive neurological disorder”?

 

Category: Bill Schmalfeldt

Comments

39 Responses to “Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth”

  1. Lockestep1776
    October 30th, 2013 @ 8:56 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth: Bill Schmalfeldt ranting, 2… http://t.co/MKjgJ2WSUd

  2. Resista38176897
    October 30th, 2013 @ 8:56 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth: Bill Schmalfeldt ranting, 2… http://t.co/jFh38zsHoG

  3. Citzcom
    October 30th, 2013 @ 8:56 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth: Bill Schmalfeldt ranting, 2… http://t.co/PRTIp5FWL0

  4. jwbrown1969
    October 30th, 2013 @ 8:56 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth: Bill Schmalfeldt ranting, 2… http://t.co/5k08HcjTng

  5. rsmccain
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:03 pm

    ENJOY http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ | @Stranahan @ali @AaronWorthing @antvq16 @OwainPenllyn @wjjhoge @SarahWW @bet0001970 @Patterico

  6. rsmccain
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:03 pm

    RT @commonpatriot: via @rsmccain: Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/dDpUlDZ1SI …

  7. rsmccain
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:06 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt: “Threaten, threaten, threaten. Fail, fail, fail. Lather, rinse, repeat.” http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ

  8. BobBelvedere
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:06 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Bill Schmalfeldt: “Threaten, threaten, threaten. Fail, fail, fail. Lather, rinse, repeat.” http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ

  9. Charles G. Hill
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:09 pm

    “Blather, rinse, repeat.”

    Fixed that for you.

  10. BeccaJLower
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:11 pm

    RT @rsmccain: ENJOY http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ | @Stranahan @ali @AaronWorthing @antvq16 @OwainPenllyn @wjjhoge @SarahWW @bet0001970 @Patterico

  11. bet0001970
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:12 pm

    I’m pretty sure that I still don’t feel sorry for Bill.

  12. wjjhoge
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:14 pm

    RT @rsmccain: ENJOY http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ | @Stranahan @ali @AaronWorthing @antvq16 @OwainPenllyn @wjjhoge @SarahWW @bet0001970 @Patterico

  13. asideofbacon
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:14 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Bill Schmalfeldt: “Threaten, threaten, threaten. Fail, fail, fail. Lather, rinse, repeat.” http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ

  14. Randy_Rager
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:26 pm

    Life’s hard. It’s much harder if you’re Bill Schmalfeldt.

  15. ali
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:26 pm

    “Vengeance is Schmalfeldt’s raison d’être and, after a month of being on his best behavior, he fell off the wagon” http://t.co/fWlgdB0FgW

  16. AaronWorthing
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:30 pm

    RT @rsmccain: ENJOY http://t.co/JIrf3vYOMZ | @Stranahan @ali @AaronWorthing @antvq16 @OwainPenllyn @wjjhoge @SarahWW @bet0001970 @Patterico

  17. WJJ Hoge
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:31 pm

    Aww, Bill was just unloading the Digital Journal gig to make way for being hired to write for Alan Colmes.

    Yeah, that must be it.

  18. Finrod Felagund
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:36 pm

    Can’t talk to a psycho like a normal human being.

  19. vermontaigne
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:36 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt is a progressive neurological disorder http://t.co/nFrgBPSps6

  20. Ali A. Akbar
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:37 pm

    It’s why Bill Schmalfeldt is in the legal trouble he’s in now. What a sick demented freak to torture people and then claim victimhood when people do the ethical thing — ask for a retraction and/or correction.

    Journalism 101.

    Also, I’m satisfied with Digital Journal. They told a psychopath what he needed to hear so they too wouldn’t become targets. “Relentless” about protesting selected smears.

  21. thatMrGguy
    October 30th, 2013 @ 9:57 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/x8XAG1Pr6q

  22. OwainPenllyn
    October 30th, 2013 @ 10:06 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure & Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/oo0F87J9PE via @rsmccain #tcot

  23. Djessmoreno
    October 30th, 2013 @ 10:12 pm

    RT @ali: “Vengeance is Schmalfeldt’s raison d’être and, after a month of being on his best behavior, he fell off the wagon” http://t.co/fWl…

  24. OwainPenllyn
    October 30th, 2013 @ 10:13 pm

    #BrettKimberlin Cabin Boy/ Toll Bill Schmalfeldt Is A Victimizer; Not A Victim http://t.co/9dFARZCqd7 #tcot #tgdn #tlot

  25. JoyKeller1
    October 30th, 2013 @ 10:26 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/Ky2C7PB94X

  26. MattRoss
    October 30th, 2013 @ 10:39 pm

    It’s the same kind of bullying kind of crap that I’ve beed covering with the #FreeKate crowd. Attack, attack, attack, and when found out, claim to be the victim. Then, use their stated victim status as an excuse to engage in even more attacks.

    Seems that this kind of evil is all over the place.

  27. joethefatman1
    October 30th, 2013 @ 11:04 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/8tZL7PnJcr

  28. joethefatman
    October 30th, 2013 @ 11:11 pm

    “then claim victimhood when people do the ethical thing”.

    Much like the psychopath that when caught torturing a cat to death claims that the cat was biting him. And that type will claim that lie until the pentobarbital kicks in.

  29. Professor_Why
    October 30th, 2013 @ 11:41 pm

    Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth http://t.co/inbDVu9C2g

  30. NYT: Not Enough Bros Signing up for #ObamaCare | Blackmailers Don't Shoot
    October 30th, 2013 @ 11:56 pm

    […] Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth […]

  31. robertstacymccain
    October 31st, 2013 @ 12:20 am

    Yes, it is very similar. As I’ve said, bad causes attract bad people, and both the “Free Kate” crowd and the pro-Kimberlin crowd seem to be populated with abnormal personalities.

  32. Adjoran
    October 31st, 2013 @ 3:45 am

    I can see how the unscrupulous manipulaters could easily befriend a sick person whose only outside contact is being essentially a troll on the internet, and swiftly gain his trust and loyalty sufficient to unleash his unstable wrath upon their own enemies.

    This cat is one sick Fluke. Of course it is not uncommon to be sick AND evil at the same time. As to which came first, it would require more detailed knowledge of the individual’s case history than I would bother learning. But somebody yanked his chain or rattled his cage and showed him some screen names, and melted back into the murky shadows to munch popcorn and watch him rave.

  33. Adjoran
    October 31st, 2013 @ 3:47 am

    Given that one clear overlap on the two camps’ Venn diagram is sex with underaged victims, it is hardly surprising to find both hosts for the abnormal of bent.

  34. MrSaturn
    October 31st, 2013 @ 5:44 am

    I know I say this every time but I can’t get over how that man has no chin. And he looks like King Hippo.

  35. Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth | Dead Citizen's Rights Society
    October 31st, 2013 @ 7:21 am

    […] Bill Schmalfeldt Lies to @SilverbergDave: Failure and the Exact Opposite of Truth. […]

  36. Frankie
    October 31st, 2013 @ 7:30 am

    Here are two questions I’d like to still know the answer to…

    1. Did his editor really demand that Bill write about himself in the 3rd person and conceal his identity when Bill made himself a big part of the story he wrote about Schuler?

    2. Did Dave Silverburg really write “We respectfully accept your resignation, and we sympathize with your situation. They are relentless, those people following you around
    online.” or was that added by Bill? I understand that David is probably a busy man, but anyone who does the most cursory vetting of Bill will quickly learn his penchant for lies, and the constant cries of “victim hood” whenever he gets blow back for his attacks on people.

  37. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    October 31st, 2013 @ 8:54 am

    Oftentimes, abnormal personalities = progressives

  38. robertstacymccain
    October 31st, 2013 @ 9:53 am

    Question 3: Did Silverberg authorize Schmalfeldt to publish that e-mail?

  39. LeftIsRight4U
    October 31st, 2013 @ 11:28 pm

    Liberals Speak Up! Just because you don’t agree with conservatives,doesn’t make it right! They do it to the Left too! http://t.co/vjIShge3PT