Pensacola teabagger calls me a liar; obviously, someone needs a diaper change

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, or if you know me personally, you know that I can handle being called names. Naturally, I believe that if you disagree with me, you should take me to task for my positions or my opinions, not for who I am (although, in my "Sinfonian" persona here on the blog, I will admit to doing some name-calling myself, but almost always only of public figures). But you can call me names ... "sticks and stones" and all that.

The one thing I won't stand for is questioning my integrity. Question whatever you want about me, but I guard my sincerity and integrity quite jealously, and I stand behind everything I say here. Moreover, if I'm proven wrong, I'm the first to get on this cyber-soapbox and admit it.

So you can understand why it gives me great pleasure to promote this little screed from the blog comments below, where the author thought it was so good, she had to post it twice, on this post and on this one.

Anyway, here's what our intrepid critic had to say:

Sir, YOU ARE A LIAR. I was the first to speak at the TP in Pensacola and I said nothing about Almighty God, etc. You conveniently skipped the videos and quotes which don't support your finger-pointing. You're no better than any of the other spin-doctors out there in the main-stream media. I was the first to speak and someone shouted "talk into the camera" and I said, "I don't care about the camera." As far as I can tell, you are the only one present that day who appeared to be part of a "staged act." I thought you were shaking b/c you were passionate about your message - I didn't realize it was just acting nervess b/c of cameras. While no one agreed with all comments made, EVERYONE was given an opportunity to voice their concerns and grievances without filter, including you! There were many there who agreed with you and applauded, including me. But, you twisted it to seem like you "infiltrated" the enemy camp. You, sir, are a liar, and the LAST THING we need at a time when we are trying to come together and make our country a better place. From my vantage point, you're part of the problem, not the solution, and that's your choice. You KNOW the people at this event were not ignorant, liberal racists; but rather concerned citizens of all walks who fear where our ever-powerful Government is taking us. Yet you couldn't wait to get back to your computer and publish your one-sided video and make your polarizing implications. Do you feel better now? Exactly what is your mission? To be one more in a long line of lying narcissists who offer up no solutions? Well, just like your chosen profession of law, we're all full up... we've got plenty of those types in both parties! You owe an apology to all those present at the TP in Pensacola!
Tami Hodge

Okay, just at the outset, Ms. Hodge: the "return" or "enter" key is your friend. Just sayin' ...

Let me share with you my response in Comments, and then -- because I can't help myself -- I'll elaborate a bit:

Sir, YOU ARE A LIAR. I was the first to speak at the TP in Pensacola and I said nothing about Almighty God, etc.
Tami Hodge

My dear Ms. Hodge:

I will let most of the rest of your nearly unintelligible screed speak for itself. However, I feel I must respond to this portion of your comment (and to this same comment where you posted it on another thread).

Where exactly did I say you spoke about God? Did I say everyone spoke about God? No, of course not. But this guy did, as I guess you must know from having commented on that thread. So, since I definitely didn't say that you personally spoke about God, where/when did I lie? Besides, I haven't posted all of the videos that I have yet -- although I don't have, nor would I post, videos of every single speaker. How redundant ...

By the way, I don't know what you mean by "shaking," Ms. Hodge, but yeah, I might have been a little "nervess." Weren't you?

And I never said everyone there were "ignorant, liberal racists." (Can you define "liberal racist" for me, incidentally? I'm curious.) I do believe that a large portion of the crowd were racists, and certainly they hate hate hate that our president is a black man. But I never said, nor would I say, that everyone there was racist. Perhaps you're confusing me with Janeane Garofalo?
Sinfonian

Okay, that basically covers the preliminaries: if anyone can show me where I said Ms. Hodge, the first speaker (whom I don't believe I even captured on video, having not yet reached my central vantage point at that time), said anything about "Almighty God, etc.," well, then I'll gladly retract my denial and issue an apology.

But in the meantime, Ms. Hodge, perhaps you owe me an apology for impugning my integrity? Yeah, fat chance ...

I'm not going to make any apologies here. I used a public forum to state my opinions, just as you did -- except, of course, that I added facts to mine. The people with signs begging for the president's birth certificate, well, they were just one example of attendees operating well outside the realm of facts.

When did I "make it seem like [I] 'infiltrated' the enemy camp?" I did speak at a forum where my views were unpopular, and I did bring facts from a liberal perspective to a gathering of conservatives, neoconservatives, libertarians, and racists, "enemies" in an ideological sense perhaps, but I don't remember especially trumpeting that, certainly no farther than this blog. I had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the video ended up on national television -- indeed, I was helping my girlfriend by volunteering at her son's school book fair when one of my friends called me to tell me that Keith Olbermann was airing it on his show.

"One-sided video?" Ms. Hodge, how exactly can a video be "one-sided?" It shows what happened at a particular moment. I also posted several other videos, with transcripts, from the event; by your standards, I guess they were pretty "one-sided," too.

I guess that's about enough for now. But it seems that our correspondent is putting to use an old adage I learned in law school:

When you don't have the facts, pound the law.
When you don't have the law, pound the facts.
When you don't have the facts or the law, pound the table.

Well, keep pounding that table ... because I can't find where I pounded anything but the facts.

UPDATE (4:17 pm 4/21/09): My girlfriend -- herself a Republican -- reminded me to add that I never had any intention of doing anything but observing the Tea Party and reporting on it, as I have said here before. I neither "staged" nor planned -- other than thinking about my remarks immediately before delivering them -- the impromptu speech that I gave. As for the video itself, again as I've noted before, it was only for my blog; the fact that others picked it up was entirely beyond my control and, indeed, my expectations.

UPDATE (5:56 pm 4/21/09): Oh. Turns out Ms. Hodge just misread one of my posts. She made a mistake, and by misreading ended up calling me a liar. Go figure.

Guess I can expect that apology anytime now, right?

UPDATE (6:40 pm 4/21/09): And the beat goes on. Ms. Hodge is either willfully ignorant or a poor reader, because she still doesn't get it. She doesn't see that my reference to the "first speaker" refers only to the first speaker in a particular video, not the first speaker at the entire event.

Ms. Hodge, I'll gladly acknowledge that you were the first speaker at the event, even though I quoted NOT the first speaker at the event but the first speaker in that video. Does that make you feel better? Does that help you understand? I sure hope so, because I'd hate to be called a liar again and have to call you a poor reader again.

UPDATE (8:53 pm 4/21/09): As I explain in the first comment below, I have copied all pertinent comments from the various threads where they first appeared (Ms. Hodge managed to scattershot her comments across three or four different, mostly irrelevant threads) to this one. All the commentary below is seamless chronologically on this thread, even if some of those comments first appeared elsewhere.

The duplicated comments here are identical to those where they originally appeared. Also, I left those comments where they originally appeared for posterity.

But now you all can see why my blood pressure is up tonight ... please tell me I'm not going completely batshit fucking insane ...

UPDATE (9:35 pm 4/22/09): I'm not reading these comments anymore. However, I've responded above in a post of its own. Thanks to all readers and commenters for taking such an interest in this modest little blog.