HalifaxTalk: Traffic Checks

Let’s get to the news part of this first. Here’s the press release from the Halifax County’s Sheriff’s Office…

In a joint effort to curb drunk and/or drugged driving, and to [...]]]> It’s News. It’s a ThreadSpotting. It’s complete stupidity about the upcoming Halifax County Sheriff’s race. It’s all of those combined!

HalifaxTalk: Traffic Checks

Let’s get to the news part of this first. Here’s the press release from the Halifax County’s Sheriff’s Office…

In a joint effort to curb drunk and/or drugged driving, and to step up child safety-seat enforcement, four seperate traffic checkpoints were set up in locations throughout South Boston and Halifax Co. this past Saturday night ( 4/2/11 ). The Halifax Co. Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, and the South Boston Police Dept. conducted these checkpoints. As a result, citations or warrants were issued for the following violations: four charges of driving under the influence; one felony driving after having been declared an habitual offender; one possession of a controlled substance; one driving to elude police; ten driving on suspended licenses; one driving with no license; three child safety seat; four seatbelt; and twenty-nine other traffic charges were levied. Two broken down motorists were also assisted. Sheriff Noblin would like to remind citizens that with the oncoming warm weather, which increases highway traffic, deputies and police will be increasing the frequency of these checkpoints to ensure the safety of motorists and the public in Halifax County.

So that happened. Now to the ThreadSpotting…

• Jeff Oakes (PRCFPO) says there were only two arrests that he was aware of. Unsurprisingly, he’s not in the loop of sheriff’s office communications anymore and is quite wrong.
• Jeff Oakes (OMGSTFU) says there was ZERO publicity. Looks like he depends on the local newspapers and he’s quite wrong again. There are other sources for news.
• TomTen who only seems to comment on Sheriff’s office things, unsurprisingly comments on this Sheriff’s office thing.
• SidJay (Sheldon Jennings) continues to take shots at Jimmy Clay (but not in this thread…yet).
• AndyR makes perfect sense as usual.

Final Thoughts : This Halifax County Sheriff’s Race is going to as bizarre as the last one was. If Jeff Oakes files for this race, it will be even more bizarre. (Disclaimer: I have spoken with Oakes on this and have offered him a one hour talk show to make that announcement provided that he sits for an interview & takes viewers’ calls.) Personally, I don’t think he’ll run again. I’ve read that one person has said that they don’t read the local newspapers and depend on HalifaxTalk for news… and that deserves a facepalm. As of now, Stanley Noblin is the favorite to win the November election, but it’s going to depend how crowded the candidate field turns out to be. More to come on that…

Yeah, I had almost forgotten about HalifaxTalk, too. But thanks to three submissions, let’s get a mild ThreadSpotting out of the way.

HalifaxTalk: I have a question for y’all

So somebody joins that message board and their first post just happens [...]]]> I said you wanna be startin’ somethin’, you got to be startin’ somethin’…

Yeah, I had almost forgotten about HalifaxTalk, too. But thanks to three submissions, let’s get a mild ThreadSpotting out of the way.

HalifaxTalk: I have a question for y’all

So somebody joins that message board and their first post just happens to be a question about Virginia’s gambling laws that everybody knows* should know the answer to. Haven’t we been here before? At least HomeStyle shows her smarts and smells a rat from the beginning. Let’s see how this one goes.

* = Facepalm.

HalifaxTalk: Jennifer Knapp coming to SOBO!!! (Innocently named threads make for horribly fun ThreadSpottings!)

Look at that… South Boston’s getting an accomplished recording artist to appear at a local restaurant for a small concert at a reasonable price! What could be possibly wrong [...]]]> What if God was a gay recording artist one of us?

HalifaxTalk: Jennifer Knapp coming to SOBO!!! (Innocently named threads make for horribly fun ThreadSpottings!)

Look at that… South Boston’s getting an accomplished recording artist to appear at a local restaurant for a small concert at a reasonable price! What could be possibly wrong with that? Not so fast, Sparky! Our good friend Grasshopper throws some bigotry (It’s ok, folks… It’s Christian bigotry) and says that Jennifer Knapp is one of Them There People! Not one of them there Australian people, but one of them there people that’s done “come out”. The Horrors!

After taking a small amount of Righteously Deserved heat for her Revelation, Ms. Hopper drops this instant classic line…

…Yall don’t have to freaking slaughter me on HT though….geez…seems like HT is out of control lately. We all make choices, just mine not to support gays.

We’re glad to report that the aforementioned “freaking slaughter” did continue in a mild format. Various participants shoot holes into the Holy Ground under Ms. Hopper’s feet and she begins tap-dancing as the Hate-filled Hilarity Ensues. Ms. ras expresses my feelings (albeit a lot more mildly than I would have put it) when she says “Why does this turn of this thread leave me feeling sad?” Unfortunately, Ms. ras, there are narrow-minded people in the world.

I’d like to end this ThreadSpotting with the following hypocritical quote from Ms. Hopper…

…I am not God and can’t judge…

…while she sits on Her Throne and judges anyway.

Springer’s Bruce’s Final Thought: I have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination and this world would be a lot better if everybody else had the same thought process. I’m ashamed to see somebody like Grasshopper show disdain against other people because of their sexual preference. She says that people would totally understand why she thinks like she does, but the only reason I can think of is that she’s taking her religion way too far when she’s filled with prejudicial hatred. I’m betting that she works alongside people who are gay, so I have to wonder how far her bigotry extends past the recording industry. LeAnn Creasy, your discrimination and prejudices embarrass me. Shrouding your hatred by the cover of religion just pisses me off.

Oh yeah… Freddie Mercury was gay.

My advice to Grasshopper and others whose identity is known to those who might thread spot an opinion here and there: You might want to contact Darrin and ask that you be given a completely new user name that is not connected with any of your current or past posts… and this time try to keep your user name/identity a little closer to the vest. I cannot speak for DT, but I don’t think he would mind considering that option.

Bruce, you know that I like you (you’re a smart guy, talented and personable), but I think you are doing a disservice to yourself, your current employer and others by thread spotting here.

Since I can’t reply to Mr. handyman over there, here’s my reply here.

• First of all, LeAnn Creasy revealed her own name long before I did. As for you, being the staunch defender of conservative principles, I find it disingenuous that you would encourage someone to assume a new identity to “hide” from public scrutiny of their comments. Her right to free speech does not come with the right to avoid the controversy that comes with that free speech.
• Next, I’m disappointed that you feel that calling out the religion-cloaked disdain of a societal group is a “disservice”. Discrimination in any form (even as mild as this, being done by only one narrow-minded person) should be condemned strongly and publicly. Perhaps you failed to notice the disapproval of other people who posted in that thread. I have (and had) no fear of being banned from that website therefore I always spoke my mind and continue to do that today.
• Finally, you’re completely wrong about me doing a disservice to my employer. My employer strongly urges me to have my own opinions and to continue to express them. SouthsideCentral has absolutely no relation to Star News and both parties have made that clear. Unsurprisingly, discrimination in the form that LeAnn has shown makes an excellent topic for our discussion shows. I’d love to hear more from our viewers on this issue whether they agree or disagree with me, and I’m 100% confident that our viewers will want to see that discussion as well.

Update #2: Darrin comes up with some reply about SouthsideCentral’s TipLine Policy and how it is similar to something that Mr. handyman wrote. I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about. Every media source has to be willing to listen to anonymous tips but unlike Halifax Talk (which offers instant publication), I don’t run them unless they’re checked out first and verified.

Update #3: LeAnn posts this um… interesting remark…

I never told Bruce who I was PB. I don’t hang out with him and don’t appreciate idiots using my name on some crappy blog without my permission. If I have to take Bruce to court if something happens to my or my property, believe me I WILL.

Let’s go to the Big Board, shall we?

• I don’t need anybody’s permission to use their name here.
• “Crappy”? Bwahahahaha!
• Now let’s get to the really fun part, the threat of her taking me to court. My reply is “Bring it on because you’ve got nothing.” This is coming from the woman who has threatened asinine legal action before. I’m not scared one bit of her blustering.

Update #4: Now she’s blustering about the fact that her Secret Identity was Maliciously Revealed…

…i never revealed myself here, only my close friends knew who i was. get your facts right.

…only to have her “facts” immediately blown out of the water by other people. LeAnn immediately races to do a WWJD (What Would Jesus Delete?) on her self-identification on Facebook, but Mr. Bateman remains multiple steps ahead and takes a screen capture to prove his point. LeAnn then gets all Revelations on their asses and starts making her Enemies List (which worked so well for Richard Nixon, didn’t it?). After that, she restates her Lionel Hutz Legal Theory that says that I had no right to post her name without her permission and calls the people idiots for not buying her irrationality.

When the comedy has written itself as it has here, Jesus wept pulled up a lawnchair, pointed and laughed.

Update #5: (in a Larry King voice) Let’s go to our next caller. Darrin from Halifax County, Hello!

…Now a message for Bruce:

If you do not have to follow the rules here of respecting anybody who wants to remain anonymous, why should anyone believe that you will respect your own policy on your blog of keeping a source anonymous? Lord knows you’ve shown if there is a chance for controversy, you will drop names.

Thanks for the call, Darrin. Since you posted your question at your board, I appreciate it if you would post my answer to it at your board as well. It would be the right thing to do. You’re always welcome to comment here and my offer of partnership between WMDV-TV & HalifaxTalk still stands even though you’ve never acknowledged it nor given an answer publicly.

Here’s my answer to your question: I’ve never revealed an anonymous source’s name on SouthsideCentral or at work and I never will. You may try to insinuate that I have, but I dare you to show any proof that I have. Also, I feel that your “Never Guess Nor Reveal” rule is asinine. One reason that Halifax Talk has never gained traction with governmental and business leaders of the community is because of the incessant sniping by “anonymous” people. When’s the last time that the IDA or John Cannon have posted?

Update #6 (a new record for # of updates… yay!): (done in the same Larry King voice) Let’s take another call. Riverdale, VA! HELLO!

You should read what I posted and not just assume what you want. Again, the question:

“If you do not have to follow the rules here of respecting anybody who wants to remain anonymous, why should anyone believe that you will respect your own policy on your blog of keeping a source anonymous? Lord knows you’ve shown if there is a chance for controversy, you will drop names.”

On the Internet, it’s hard to repeat my answer slowly so that you can understand it. But hey, I’ll give it a try. (reading slowly) I’ve. never. revealed. an. anonymous. source’s. name. on. SouthsideCentral. or. at. work. and. I. never. will. You. may. try. to. insinuate. that. I. have. but. I. dare. you. to. show. any. proof. that. I. have.

Whew. Caller? Got anything else?

Now you want a public answer to your ridiculous proposal? I am not interested in a partnership with you, at all.

Lots of other people didn’t think my offer was “ridiculous”. Anyway, here’s a piece of unsolicited business advice for you. If you keep summarily rejecting potential business partnerships that could be beneficial even in a small amount to you like this one, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to own “Darrin’s Honda”.

Seriously, thanks for putting my first answer on your board in a unedited format. I hope that you’ll do the same with this one. The offer still stands if you ever decide to think rationally and consider it objectively. And you’re always welcome to be a guest on a show. You’d make Real Good TV. (Oh yeah, you’re welcome to visit anytime as well.)

Update #7: Let’s just make this one quick. Darrin thinks I need him more than he needs me & that the offer is from an unproven company and public access television. That thought of is as logical as the rest of his thought processes, nuff’ said. Anyway, back to the main topic.

Darrin continues to insinuate that I can’t be trusted by potential anonymous sources because I had the nerve to mention LeAnn’s real name. He fails to provide any kind of proof for that then when he’s questioned about it, he says he’s not going to find proof. Listen up, buddy. Your claim, your search. Anyway, after that he says it’s been so long enough ago that he doesn’t remember the details. If you can’t remember the details, Darrin, it wasn’t that important to you. Keep blustering anyway… it makes you sound important.

Here’s one quote from another person that I want to address so that I can make my point clear…

Not taking sides, but isn’t it a bit indiscreet to reveal some one the way Bruce did? We all know who GH is. We all know who most of the posters here are, but do we reveal that info to “strangers” or “lurkers”? Should we? It’s certainly a question of ethics.

It’s NOT a “question of ethics”. There’s no ethical issues involved. “Strangers” & “lurkers” are everywhere and if you’re going to hide from them, get off the Internet now and lock yourself in the house. Here’s another point for you to consider around the “ethics” question. If someone is stupid enough to make an offensive statement as LeAnn’s, that becomes newsworthy in itself.

Bottom Line: You might not like the fact that I broke your Sacred Rule, but your Sacred Rule was a Stupid Rule to begin with. When people can snipe away anonymously with no fear of being named because of a Stupid Rule, you get people like that quote’s author’s mother being called the Grand Wizard of the KKK. Remember that? If Ogy was held accountable by his real name, perhaps things would be different.

Bottomer Line: I don’t live in fear of Darrin Talbott or being banned from HalifaxTalk like a lot of the people seem to do. If he’s The Emperor, I’m the one who’s proud to say that he has on No Clothes. The “Thou Shalt Name Nobody” rule was stupid from Day #1 and the Unintended Consequences of that rule has severely limited the amount of participation there.

Thanks go to the six people who submitted this one. It had been way too long since we had a ThreadSpot-worthy Special Moment.

HalifaxTalk: The Straw (or bench, actually) that broke the camel’s back

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way [...]]]> It’s not what you think, people. Or, maybe it is.

Thanks go to the six people who submitted this one. It had been way too long since we had a ThreadSpot-worthy Special Moment.

HalifaxTalk: The Straw (or bench, actually) that broke the camel’s back

Let’s get the basic stuff out of the way first. Blondie tries to slap a bit of sense into the “WALMART SUX” group by reminding everybody that Food Lion and SmartStyles are Big Evil Chain Stores just like Walmart, but nobody listens (to nobody’s surprise). But enough of rational thinking, the fun really gets going on Page 2!

Horses_N_Harleys drops this one into the punchbowl…

…Now if you ever out towards Nathalie and want great meat, Punk’s is an absolute must. Can’t beat his meat….

Well, not in his store.

But wait, it’s time for Grocery Store Secrets! Ms. 1093ras heads to the confessional booth and reveals this one…

…You don’t have to tell everybody, but I have been known to poke a hole in the corner of a pack of fryer thighs, for example, and perform the sniff test. If it smells okay, it goes in the buggy. If not, I ring the bell for an employee and hand the pack to them for disposal…

That gives “Chicken Fingers” a whole new meaning that I didn’t want to think about. Bonus points awarded for the “Keep this quiet but I’m putting it on the internet” phrasing.

Disturbing, yet funny!

sppaint is the newest addition to the HalifaxTalk members list, and [...]]]> Some new blood flows into the HalifaxTalk message board and gets caught up in two trainwrecks within a month. Yep, he’s going to fit in just fine. Giant thanks go out to the three people who sent this in as a ThreadSpotting potential!

sppaint is the newest addition to the HalifaxTalk members list, and they were welcomed to the messageboard by being called a cult member thanks to their Mormon faith. You have to give sppaint bonus points for his challenge response of “Bring it on, slappy.” on the next page. Hilarity continued to ensue in that thread as everybody ended up learning that their eventual fate would be burning in hell because they didn’t believe in the correct religion, but we digress. Could the newest member of the board really fit in with the rest of the shiny happy people there? You bet your sweet bippy!

HalifaxTalk: Cap and trade bill

Yeah! We’ve got a cut and paste from a forwarded email that’s total horsecrap. The lovely Ms. ras comes in as the voice of reason and calls rose-colored bullshit on it by linking to the well-researched Snopes.com article. That should be the end of it, right? Wrongo! It gets better! We’ve got Tom McFriendly chiming in 90 minutes later repeating the bullshit claim and the court jester of Clan Talbott actually gets a good snarky reply shot in at him. This would be a good place to let this thread-o-fun die a happy death, but nooooo… there’s more!

Our good copy-and-horsecrap-pasting friend drops this bomb into the thread…

Based on what? Is this snopes thing reliable? This story may very well have been elaborated upon, however, it is based in fact. Read the bill.

Whatever, just go ahead and discount this and go along blindly, just don’t complain about it later.

Hoo boy. Now in non-snarky fairness to the sweet squirrelgirl55 who asked a fair question about the methodology of Snopes.com, here’s the methodology that they use…

We don’t expect anyone to accept us as the ultimate authority on any topic. Unlike the plethora of anonymous individuals who create and send the unsigned, unsourced e-mail messages that are forwarded all over the Internet, we show our work. The research materials we’ve used in the preparation of any particular page are listed in the bibliography displayed at the bottom of that page so that readers who wish to verify the validity of our information may check those sources for themselves.

The bottom line is they’re good at what they do and I can’t ever remember a time that they were wrong. It’s a safe assumption that whatever the Snopes crew says, it’s well-researched, cited and correct. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s resume our look into Bizarro World. Ms. ras tries to play nice by not yelling “This is bullshit!” but I don’t play that way.

Dear sppaint: Your cut-and-pasted email is total bullshit. Take the time to carefully read it and cross-reference it with a small degree of common sense. You should come to the rational (oops, there’s that word) conclusion that there is absolutely no chance that the government would install such a program and even if they attempted to do such a thing, it would never even come close to becoming law. The defense strategy of “BUT IT REALLY MIGHT COULD HAPPEN!” only goes so far. The sky isn’t falling. I’m not a doctor nor have I played one on TV, but I’ve got a prescription for you. Common sense and Snopes. Take multiple times per day as needed. Welcome to HalifaxTalk. You’ll fit in quite well.

HalifaxTalk: WOW (Gotta love those descriptive thread titles, eh?)

It starts off innocently enough as the pastor of South Boston’s “The Worship Center” started a thread to tell people about some negative information going on around his church. However in [...]]]> Who said HalifaxTalk was dead? There’s still some signs of trainwreck life over there.

HalifaxTalk: WOW (Gotta love those descriptive thread titles, eh?)

It starts off innocently enough as the pastor of South Boston’s “The Worship Center” started a thread to tell people about some negative information going on around his church. However in a trainwreck like this, nothing stays innocent for long. Go have fun watching the Usual Suspects attempt to discredit anything that’s contrary to their own beliefs.

I’ll close this ThreadSpotting out with a great phrase from the person that submitted this idea…

Please try to remember that no one has firmly proven the existence of hell – except for the poor souls that read that thread.

Keep those submissions coming!

HalifaxTalk: REALLY??? (ALL CAPS + lots of punctuation marks!?!?!? + non-descriptive thread title = Loads-O-Fun)

It’s a typical HT trainwreck. A head explodes on Page 2, shots are taken at middle school sports, even a Well Played shot at [...]]]> This leap of logic would have taken Evel Knievel completely across the Snake River Canyon.

HalifaxTalk: REALLY??? (ALL CAPS + lots of punctuation marks!?!?!? + non-descriptive thread title = Loads-O-Fun)

It’s a typical HT trainwreck. A head explodes on Page 2, shots are taken at middle school sports, even a Well Played shot at Jeremy Jeffress (bonus points for that)… all of the fun. However, all of that is reduced to amateur status when medievalmaniac drops this Leap-O-Logic into the thread…

In all seriousness (and wishing I weren’t, but that’s reality for you) I wonder how many teen pregnancies and/or abortions in our area in the upcoming months might be the direct result of so many days out of school and in several cases apparently unchaperoned (because ‘high schoolers are old enough to look after themselves’, as someone who’s left her teen home the past few days pointed out). Also, it would be interesting to drug-test all employees and high school students on their return from this “safety-inspired” hiatus…

People, this is why this “going green” movement is totally wrong. By reducing global warming, you’re directly adding to the teen pregnancy rate, the abortion rate and the drug usage rate. But enough about all of the schools in the area. I just think of all the fun we missed out on during snow days when we just went outside and played in the snow, then sat around, played games & watched The Price Is Right.

Whoops! Thank goodness I refreshed the thread before publishing this article. I had no idea that Nick Elmes had been the recipient one of the Conner Close Call Clip awards. This thread just moved to a new level of trainwreckishness. Stay tuned for updates!

HalifaxTalk: Oscar nominations

dtalbott: How come most of the Oscar nominations go to movies I have no interest in seeing?

justme: lack of discerning taste?

Zing!

HalifaxTalk: A Web Page For Bicyclicists

Hoo boy. Random Shots-O-Snark Time!

HalifaxTalk: [...]]]> I hate to use a SouthsideCentral article on this but it’s the only way to get my response out. Anyway, Darrin’s got his side of the story out and here’s my response.

HalifaxTalk: Free BruceH!

Here’s Darrin’s reply…

Stop. You really aren’t helping things.

Bruce was banned for one main reason – the location he chose to go on a rant. I had gotten used to and tolerant of his behavior on other parts of this board, but the commercial section is not the place for going off on a poster. If you go into any business and start bad-mouthing that business, the owner will have no problem calling the police and getting you booted.

When I talked with Bruce yesterday, the conversation was short because I was actually working. I told him to just give it some time, and he chose to twist that into a post on his blog that I was never going to unban him. Fine. I’ve gotten used to him making me into the bad guy on his blog.

He posted on his blog that I was not responding to three emails he sent; I never got any emails from him.

He posted on his blog that I was taking steps to remove any reference to Southside Central on here; he never mentioned that he was the one who had set his profile to only display his signature when he checked the sig box on a post.

I told him to just give it time, and he continues to burn bridges.

I don’t miss his arrogance and attitude here; I do miss his insightful posts that he has shown in the past that he is capable of making.

Fair enough, that’s his side of the story and I’ve got no problem posting it here for anyone to see. Now it’s time for my response/rebuttal.

Stop. You really aren’t helping things.

I translate that as “Stop. Now you’ve put this in two locations where people can see what’s been going on. That’s not helping my side of the story.”

Bruce was banned for one main reason – the location he chose to go on a rant. I had gotten used to and tolerant of his behavior on other parts of this board, but the commercial section is not the place for going off on a poster. If you go into any business and start bad-mouthing that business, the owner will have no problem calling the police and getting you booted.

Bullshit. Darrin could have deleted any of the postings made and then we could have handled that in a different way. That would have been fine with me. Notice he didn’t say anything about the person who actually had the nerve to say that the product he was selling was total crap. So it’s OK to walk into a business and tell the owner that the product he’s selling is junk? Ah, I see the logic there. All that being said, I am 100% sure that he snapped because I heard the nerve to criticize a member of Clan Talbott. Last time he pulled this banning trick, it was about criticizing the same member. Go figure, eh?

When I talked with Bruce yesterday, the conversation was short because I was actually working. I told him to just give it some time, and he chose to twist that into a post on his blog that I was never going to unban him. Fine. I’ve gotten used to him making me into the bad guy on his blog.

He had enough time for a 10 second pause after I told him I didn’t believe him. “Give it some time” just made me realize that he wasn’t ever going to remove the ban. I posted my opinion and that’s no twisting. Finally, Darrin? I’m not making you into the “bad guy”. I’ve just pointed out the excessive use of nepotism regarding Clan Talbott and you snapped.

He posted on his blog that I was not responding to three emails he sent; I never got any emails from him.

The plaintiff offers Exhibit “A” into evidence, Your Honor.

I call “bullshit”, Your Honor.

He posted on his blog that I was taking steps to remove any reference to Southside Central on here; he never mentioned that he was the one who had set his profile to only display his signature when he checked the sig box on a post.

Which I also retracted as soon as I figured it out. Your Honor, the plaintiff offers Exhibit “B” into evidence.

(This can be viewed directly at http://twitter.com/sosidecentral/status/6286731282)
Your Honor, the plaintiff rests.

I told him to just give it time, and he continues to burn bridges.

Too bad if he thinks this is “burning bridges”. When you’ve got sheep-minded people that think everything the message board owner does must be oh-so-right, I’ve got to get my message out.

I don’t miss his arrogance and attitude here; I do miss his insightful posts that he has shown in the past that he is capable of making.

Sometimes people mistake confidence and self-esteem for arrogance and attitude but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of arrogance and attitude there. On the second part, I appreciate the compliment.

Update #1: Darrin replies (in his thread, of course. Not here), “I get it that you don’t like it here. I get it that you don’t like the way I run things.”

No, Darrin, I never said that at all nor implied it. HalifaxTalk is a fun forum to participate in most of the time. On the second part, I’ve gotten used to your “style”. Unlike the others, I don’t think you’re a god and never make mistakes. Instead of saying crap like you did, why don’t you address my rebuttals? The floor is yours.

HalifaxTalk: We miss BruceH

While I’m honored that people would actually take the time to get me reinstated at that message board, it’s not going to happen. I [...]]]> I figured out that Darrin Talbott was never going to un-ban me from HalifaxTalk when I got off the phone with him a few minutes ago.

HalifaxTalk: We miss BruceH

While I’m honored that people would actually take the time to get me reinstated at that message board, it’s not going to happen. I am totally guilty of saying the truth and I admit it freely. I called Clan Talbott out for circling the wagons anytime that one of them were criticized in any way.

Darrin has refused to reply to three emails that I sent to him, so after this show of support I decided to call him and ask him directly. Here’s how the call went…

Darrin: Ed’s Honda.
Me: Can I speak with Darrin?
Darrin: This is Darrin.
Me: Darrin, this is Bruce.
Darrin: Um… um… hey.
Me: So, what’s the real reason you banned me?
Darrin: I didn’t like the way the board was going.
Me: What’s it going to take to mend our differences?
Darrin: Um… time, I guess.
Me: Really? How much time?
Darrin: I dunno, just time.
Me: Forgive me for saying that I don’t believe you.
Darrin: OK.

So that happened. I appreciate all of my friends who are lobbying to get me back on HalifaxTalk but Darrin’s acting like a petty little child.

Update #1: Darrin says “Now we can see how many more lies Bruce can post up”. Ok, Darrin, you’re on. Point out the lies that you claim to see.

Update #2: Bunny says “I’m thinking it had little or nothing to do with the necklaces.” You’re “thinking” that? He’s your brother! Why don’t you ask him directly and post it? It’s because I called bullshit on the nepotism of Clan Talbott. I’m sure Darrin got a little butthurt when I also pointed out that he disappeared in that strip club thread. I’d had enough of “Halifax County Needs Strip Clubs” from somebody that wouldn’t ever go to a strip club. There’s your reasons.

Update #3:: The Blind Faith of some people is quite amazing. “None of your business” my ass. It’s right here in black & white. You be the judge.

Update #4:: Our good friend, Grasshopper, sings the joyful noise of rejoicing regarding my banning. Here’s her quote…

Keep him LOCKED UP…the peace in the valley has been most serene. DT ROCKS!

Ha! Go figure, one who complains that their voice isn’t being heard regarding South Boston’s Comprehensive Plan takes great pleasure in having another voice silenced. What Would Jesus Say about that attitude (or using the Twisted Evil smiley)? I guess it’s OK to shut somebody up that you don’t agree with, eh? I’ll take “Hypocrisy” for $300.

Update #5:: I ♥ My #1 Stalker Fan, Bobbi Moore.

HalifaxTalk: Would you be a stripper for money? (Ignore the fact that the thread’s in the politics section, please.)

Darrin (of Clan Talbott) continues with his fascination about strip clubs with this simple poll. The Usual Suspects start to [...]]]> No, not those boobs! I’m talking about the boobs that are talking in the thread.

HalifaxTalk: Would you be a stripper for money?
(Ignore the fact that the thread’s in the politics section, please.)

Darrin (of Clan Talbott) continues with his fascination about strip clubs with this simple poll. The Usual Suspects start to weigh in. Hilarity ensues. As soon as Mr. heel expresses his moral disapproval, Darrin (of Clan Talbott) comes up with a strategy that’s endorsed by elementary school playground participants… “Oh yeah, well you’re a preacher!” After he goes back to fingerpainting, some actual worthwhile discussion comes into play. Darrin (of Clan Talbott) does stick his head out the window later on and declare…

I’m going to be a pirate when I grow up.

(This quote has been brought to you by the “I Can’t Make This Crap Up” Department)

It’s good to know that he’s a long way from having to make that career choice. However, if Darrin (of Clan Talbott)’s Jolly Roger runs aground at the Riverdale Lighthouse, at least he’ll be able to walk home.

But we digress… let’s go back to strippers! Let’s FastForward to the end of this ThreadSpotting with the famous “Things We’ve Learned From This Thread” rundown.

• Atlanta had strip clubs back in the 18th century.
• Mr. heel’s sense of decency is so strong that not only does he avert his eyes whenever a good-looking woman appears on TV, he even ducks and covers whenever that woman in the Medicare Part D ads is shown in a hospital gown.
• Agnostics have feelings too!
• Unlike Jimmy Carter, Ms. ras has no lust in her heart.
• When the discussion moves to what actually happens in strip clubs, Darrin (of Clan Talbott)’s wife calls him home to fix supper for the kids and he’s never heard from in the thread again.
• “The Wire” was a great TV show, but it wasn’t that great.

All those boobs, so little action. We’ve been teased.

HalifaxTalk: Captial (sic) Punishment, ALL-THE-WAY!!!

Oh boy, there are so many things to have fun with here. Let’s do a list.

HalifaxTalk: Jeans now being stolen @ HCMS

Our Good Friend who called me “miserable and hateful” reports in with a shocking, I say, shocking crime report (which turns out to be quite non-shocking and not even a crime report). Our Good Friend does give [...]]]> Hey, it’s Halifax County’s own Pants-Off Dance-Off (without the Dance-Off)!

HalifaxTalk: Jeans now being stolen @ HCMS

Our Good Friend who called me “miserable and hateful” reports in with a shocking, I say, shocking crime report (which turns out to be quite non-shocking and not even a crime report). Our Good Friend does give good advice to the would-be thieves (who really weren’t thieves at all) by advising them to go for the cellphones & the money instead of the Wranglers. See, we’ve learned something today!

Today’s lesson, kiddies: “When you’re eavesdropping at the school, watch for the kids that are wearing gym shorts!” Or something like that. Or maybe nothing like that. How about “Don’t drop your pants in school?”

Thanks for the multiple submissions of this thread. We love our readers!

HalifaxTalk: Phi-ten Necklaces! (Not the easiest thread to find, but what do you expect from that message board when a sub-forum about property reassessments is in [...]]]> I may lose some sleep over this. Or I may not. Anyway, Darrin Talbott proves my point quite convincingly. Let’s have some fun with this one, shall we?

HalifaxTalk: Phi-ten Necklaces!
(Not the easiest thread to find, but what do you expect from that message board when a sub-forum about property reassessments is in the “welcome center” area?)

While schlocking the new-age worthless crap bracelets, Mr. wildhandyman jumps in and rightfully calls bullshit on all of the ridiculous health claims. Ms. ras gallops in to the rescue and unsurprisingly takes up for her brother. I decide to play Captain Obvious and point out that 1093ras always jumps in to defend dtalbott (her brother) no matter how idiotic it may be, and vice-versa. Oh man, I hit a nerve (or is that a knee-jerk?). I guess you can call that my “oops moment”

Well, Big Brother comes in at 12:38 AM and says…

I’m done with this, Bruce. You are much more of a headache than you are worth. Feel free to post your opinions somewhere else.

and bans my posting account from the message board (yet again).

Hello? Darrin? Boing? You’ve just proved my point for me. Somebody disagrees with anything that is connected to Clan Talbott and one of you just flies in to “take care” of the situation. If you need some help in understanding my point, there are plenty of other people that will be glad to explain it to you.

Being banned from posting on your message board isn’t a big loss to me. In fact, being banned (yet again) is quite hilarious as you prove how petty that you really are. Darrin, you’ve equated your message board with being “your house” and we are guests at “your house”. You just seem to enjoy slamming the door of “your house” in the faces of your guests. Sooner or later, you just might realize that people don’t like being a guest at “your house” when you act like a spoiled little brat.

I look forward to Friday night’s HalifaxTalk Christmas Dinner at Four Oaks. I’m going to have a great time there talking to all of my friends. Of course, I’m betting that Darrin won’t be there under the lame-ass excuse of “not wanting to know who the members really are” but I seriously hope he attends. It will be my pleasure to buy him a drink. (OddsMakers of Darrin actually showing up: 10%)

Anyway, I’m banned. I’ve got a strong feeling that I’m going to sleep well even despite this devastating blow. Now the ThreadSpottings can be even more fun!

I was wrong.

I detest trolls. Not the kind that live under bridges, but the kind that try and disrupt a useful message board.

I detest sockpuppets. Not the kind that make cute commercials for the quite [...]]]> Although some people may not believe this, I have no problem admitting that I was wrong.

I was wrong.

I detest trolls. Not the kind that live under bridges, but the kind that try and disrupt a useful message board.

I detest sockpuppets. Not the kind that make cute commercials for the quite dead pets.com website, but the kind that talk to themselves on a useful message board.

HalifaxTalk.com is that useful message board that I speak about. Darrin Talbott has tried to make a forum where people can talk about county issues. His sister, Bunny Propst, has worked her ass off fighting for the future of Riverdale. Everything’s going as well as things normally do on a local message board until a poster named userfriendly comes along and starts posting ridiculous crap and refusing to answer any questions posed directly to him. He took Bunny’s cause and led her to believe that he was on her side then turned around and made it clear that he used her and had no support for her worthy cause at all.

This troll has continued in his normal fashion, saying outrageous things and refusing to address any points brought up by others. Miraculously, userfriendly started responding and having a direct conversation with Tom McLaughlin, a writer & columnist for the News & Record newspaper in South Boston.

I, like others, thought that this guy was Bob Meeks, who’s claim to fame has been losing big in a Commonwealth’s Attorney race. I no longer believe that “userfriendly” is Bob Meeks. I believe that “userfriendly” is Tom McLaughlin under a different name (a “sockpuppet”).

Some friends have submitted the same thoughts because of posting styles and the “good cop/bad cop” routine that’s going on now. Tonight, a friend of SouthsideCentral monitored the “Who’s Online” feature of the message board and noticed that userfriendly and Tom McLaughlin logged in and out at the exact times that each of the accounts posted to comment on the other’s postings (what a sentence…).

I want to make this very clear. This is my opinion only and this opinion is posted here on SouthsideCentral. I have nothing to do with the management of HalifaxTalk. If anyone has an issue with my opinion, you are free to talk about it here. If I am proved wrong on this opinion, I will gladly apologize to all parties involved.

That being said, I don’t think I’m wrong on this one. I detest trolls, I detest sockpuppets, and I detest my friends being used as pawns in a game. I’m saying what I am here in hopes that this troll and sockpuppet identity will stop using my friends as pawns in his game.

HalifaxTalk: Open letter to userfriendly.

Yep, we’ve poked and had multiple ThreadSpottings about granny, but she finally hits a home run (without Jason Parker stacking the team with his kid) by telling Bob Meeks userfriendly to shove it up his “statist” ass.

Now, [...]]]> Sometimes when a head asplodes, it’s for the forces of good.

HalifaxTalk: Open letter to userfriendly.

Yep, we’ve poked and had multiple ThreadSpottings about granny, but she finally hits a home run (without Jason Parker stacking the team with his kid) by telling Bob Meeks userfriendly to shove it up his “statist” ass.

Now, one can’t go running off one of HT’s favorite trolls, can one? Nope, it only takes an hour for both Ms. ras to remind her not to run off the nutcases that are fun to point and laugh at members.

Four minutes later (how did they post just four minutes apart? Wonder Twin Powers, Activate!), Mr. dtalbott YELLS WORDS OF WISDOM IN ALL CAPS JUST TO BE LOUD and says that the right of free speech’s corollary is the right to freely ignore.

millworker buzzes in with his endorsement of He Who Lost To Kim White 26% to 74% in 2003, and now the scoreboard gets very confusing. We’ve got one vote for “Get out!”, one vote for “Not so fast”, one vote for “I think he’s quite rational” and one vote for “Ugh. Not this crap again.” Although we would clearly endorse “Not this crap again” in this election, we hate to not agree with “Get out!”.

Unfortunately, those election results have been declared moot because none of the people mentioned have figured out that Mr. friendly is an internet troll who won’t even open the thread that has his name on it. granny loses and userfriendly wins yet again. The circle of trollery shall continue. Hilarity lives on to ensue another day.

(Thanks to the three readers who sent that thread in as a ThreadSpotting submission!)

UPDATE #1: Nobody will comment or even admit to this ThreadSpotting’s existence, but the referral logs show that lots of people are sending Not-So-Private-Messages about it. 14 click-throughs have came from NSPM’s from that message board.

Earlier today, we posted the Danville prefers Crack Cocaine! article. Since then, the usual suspects (and a few new people) have taken the comment thread to an amazingly low point.

It started with confessions to doing federal [...]]]> Read this comment thread while you can, because it’s going to be erased and shut down soon.

Earlier today, we posted the Danville prefers Crack Cocaine! article. Since then, the usual suspects (and a few new people) have taken the comment thread to an amazingly low point.

It started with confessions to doing federal prison time for selling drugs but quickly devolved into accusations against a specific person being a drug kingpin. As soon as somebody mentioned a name and told everybody that it’s time to provide proof, the cockroaches scattered quickly.

OddsMakers of that entire comment section being erased and shut down by noon on Monday: 98%.

HalifaxTalk: Have you called Perriello today?

“userfriendly” calls Tom Perriello everyday! Isn’t that special? They get to chat about what’s going on in the world. I’ll bet they even talk about how all government is bad and how [...]]]> “Hello. I’m nuts. Goodbye.” “Hello. I’m nuts. Goodbye.” Keep repeating until you think Tom Perriello cares.

HalifaxTalk: Have you called Perriello today?

“userfriendly” calls Tom Perriello everyday! Isn’t that special? They get to chat about what’s going on in the world. I’ll bet they even talk about how all government is bad and how the IDA and Riverstone should bulldozed! Personal time with Tom. That’s so nice.

Hang on… I’m being handed a late breaking news bulletin.

We interrupt this Tea-Time Talk To Tom to report that userfriendly never has spoken to Tom. I know that’s hard to believe but Perriello never has returned one of the messages. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that Perriello and his staff has figured out that his messages should go into that special file cabinet.

The round one with a plastic liner.

HalifaxTalk: Kim Farson District 3 School Board

Kim Farson introduces herself and her candidacy to HalifaxTalk and is welcomed until the Freight Train-O-Fun is derailed by this post by Granny.

What would be your reaction if one of your children did not make a [...]]]> I Know Why You Ran For School Board Last Summer!

HalifaxTalk: Kim Farson District 3 School Board

Kim Farson introduces herself and her candidacy to HalifaxTalk and is welcomed until the Freight Train-O-Fun is derailed by this post by Granny.

What would be your reaction if one of your children did not make a school team in which they tried out for?
Setting good example for our children means that…whether they make a team or not, to except it and learn from it.
Would you be OK with the fact your child did not make it or would you use your pull as a SB member to have your child placed on the tea?
I know of one prior school board member that ran just so his child could make a high school team which they had never made before.
Having children in the MS and HS can be a good thing as a SB member or it can be a bad thing if you want to use it to get something for your children.

I’ve asked Granny who she’s referring to, but OddsMakers says there a 4% chance that I’ll get a direct answer to that question.

Not only is that posting a load of truckload of smelly crap dumped into the middle of a thread that actually had redeeming values, it’s the stupidest question in the world.
You could paraphrase it as “Kim, do you have a total lack of integrity?” What will the next question be? “Kim, will you steal millions of tax money?” “Kim, do you plan on showing up at every meeting drunk?”

How about “Kim, will you act like a total creepy pedophile around the female students and hang out with young students on the grounds of the high school at 2 AM and have trespassing charges filed against you?” Um… well, that would have been a good question to ask one Halifax County school board member before he was elected and then ejected.

HalifaxTalk: Later

I missed this one. It looks like everybody else did too. Shame on the evil rudekelly for driving our favorite Loud Music Avenger and Alleged Tire Flattener off the message board. (How many times have we heard the “I’m Leaving”, folks?)

Over/Under: 20 days before he’s back. I’m [...]]]> TheOther “leaves”. NoBody cares.

HalifaxTalk: Later

I missed this one. It looks like everybody else did too. Shame on the evil rudekelly for driving our favorite Loud Music Avenger and Alleged Tire Flattener off the message board. (How many times have we heard the “I’m Leaving”, folks?)

Over/Under: 20 days before he’s back. I’m taking the Under.

(From multiple submissions… we love our readers!)

HalifaxTalk: H & H Grocery Green Boxes

duke_fan dares to play Words Have Meanings (America’s Fastest Growing Gameshow®) and says that Halifax County “Convenience Centers®” aren’t really Convenient® at all. He actually pays for Convenience® and gets Convenience® with his trash service in Hillsborough NC!

After a [...]]]> We need cleanup on Aisle Thread 9185!

HalifaxTalk: H & H Grocery Green Boxes

duke_fan dares to play Words Have Meanings (America’s Fastest Growing Gameshow®) and says that Halifax County “Convenience Centers®” aren’t really Convenient® at all. He actually pays for Convenience® and gets Convenience® with his trash service in Hillsborough NC!

After a few pokes at how ludicrous that the system can be for some people, Granny‘s head a splodes in a manner not seen since somebody said that the Dixie Youth All-Star picking process was flawed. (Ok, bad example, that was just a few weeks ago).

Geez, there couldn’t be a bit of inherent bias on either of those topics, could there? Nah… of course not. If there had been, she’d have posted a preemptive disclaimer about being married to the guy that’s in charge of Halifax County’s waste disposal services. It would have been just like the one where she said she was married to the guy who did some of the All-Star picking.

So THERE, you smarty-pants Hillsborough boy! Don’t you get ignorant on trash collecting! Go ride on your bumpy cement roads! Don’t you ever have your own opinion on anything government related! From now on, you’ll take your county services and you’ll like them! If she gets SICK to death again, we’re blaming it on you!