BREAKING: Mason Peddles Hit Piece to Hoboken Reporter- UPDATED

Why Hoboken has blogs and why our dirty politicians hate them. NJDC is a Washington PAC. Beth Mason an NJDC donor.  Larry Stempler- her fundraiser- is on their Board of Directors. The Hoboken Reporter missed this part of the story 2 years ago.  Instead they printed the Mason spin.  It's all on GA.

Dear Readers,

Today I am taking you behind-the-scenes to give you complete access to the Anatomy of a Political Hit Job- collusion between a corrupt politician (Beth Mason) and a complicit local media (The Hoboken Reporter).  

And the corpse is telling the story.  That's me!

You know, GA doesn't lay down to bullies- it's not my first time at this rodeo.

So I am publishing the entire email exchange I had yesterday with reporter Stephen LaMarca, so YOU can see the entire unvarnished, unedited exchange before The Reporter turns it to tainted sausage.   

And you, the reader, can see how the Hoboken Reporter has unquestioningly taken Mason's smear as gospel while they allow me to "defend myself".

 That's right. 

Read the HR's questions carefully, how they are worded. The Hoboken Reporter has used material from Beth Mason and/or her operatives and based their questions on what she fed them.   You will read what Hoboken Reporter  LaMarca actually says, "I’m allowing you to defend yourself..."

From WHOM Mr. LaMarca?  How come I have to go on the record and THEY don't?  Who are my accusers?  You take the word of corrupt politicians against the blogs which expose them?

When is it my turn to feed you MY questions to the City Council?  And then you can allow those who launch 'complaints' against the only people who 'cover' them in this town- the blogs-  to defend themselves.  God forbid your paper EVER write about Mason's shell companies or the criminal complaints alleging voter fraud against Tim Occhipinti's 2010 campaign handed up to the NJ Attorney General or how Mike Russo and his cousin Terry Castellano 'cleared up' 4 million missing quarters from one meeting to the next in 2007.

These are all incidents I have blogged about. Wanna do your due diligence, take a look.  I'll send you the links.

GA and MSV write about these things because The Hoboken Reporter and other local media DON'T.

God Bless MSV.  Luv ya, Horsey.

So, GA can read the writing on the wall. The writing says: "Attack piece planted by the Mason Team to appear at a Hoboken Reporter near you".

So, when you read The Hoboken Reporter's 'sausage' this weekend remember who fed them the ingredients.

Enjoy!

 ____________________________________________

Nancy, 

I’ve received some comments from members on the council regarding Hoboken’s blogosphere and wanted to reach out to bloggers and ask for your side of the story. 

Please call me or email me to comment when you are available. 

1. Do you think your blog is protected by freedom of press or speech? What about the posts that certain members of the council have taken offense to, such as a portrayal of Beth Mason as a character in a Nazi propaganda film? 

2. Do you consider yourself a journalist, despite having the freedoms associated with being a blogger? 

3. Do you think it’s a conflict of interest that you are on the Zoning Board yet run this blog? Do you think there is a chance you are putting the city at (legal) risk? 

Thanks, 

Stephen Stephen LaMarca 

Staff Writer Hudson Reporter Assoc., LP

 ____________________________________________

Stephen,

Hi, how are you? It's nice to hear from a member of the press interested my humble satirical musings and original graphics which, to my surprise, have appeared to generate such controversy.

 

However, I am taken aback by the manner in which you have approached me. 

Specifically, the questions in your email to which you are asking me to respond can be characterized as of the same vein as "when did you stop beating your wife?" ie; unanswerable in the manner in which they are asked.

For example I NEVER portrayed Beth Mason as a character in a Nazi film.  Simple research on your part would have proven the underlying false presumption of your question. Frankly I expect more from a credentialed journalist who is interested in having a dialogue, which you seem to indicate is the purpose of your inquiry, instead of approaching the discussion with a clear bias and agenda. Which the form of your questions indicates that is the case. 

Additionally, inherent in engaging in a discussion with you regarding the relevance of Hoboken blogs, is the perceived lack of independence and historical inability of the Hoboken Reporter to address some of the more glaring examples of corruption in Hoboken. ie; the 4 million missing quarters, the faint coverage or analysis of the of the vote-by-mail phenomena in the 4th Ward are two easy ones that come to mind. I am sure Roman Brice can provide you with long list of uncovered stories.

The blogs in Hoboken have risen to whatever prominence they may hold because of the failure of traditional news outlets like nj.com or your paper to address Hoboken's decades-old organizational corruption. Why no discussion about the bizarre lack of income requirements at Marine View Towers or Church Towers?

There are way more important stories that affect people directly than a discussing a 2 year-old political hatchet job launched by Beth Mason. It didn't work THEN, I am not sure why you think this is newsworthy NOW.

I have been advised that blogging speech which has no relevance to my zoning board duties poses no threat nor liability to the city. Certainly no more liability than Mike Russo caught on FBI surveillance video selling the city out to an FBI informant posing as a developer seeking zoning variances. 

I am off-put by the form of your questions, because they indicate clearly to me that you are intent on carrying the flag of the political hatchet job banner of Beth Mason. This is not the first time Beth and her cohorts have tried to use third parties to publish articles or letters that are highly critical of me in hopes to embarrass and intimidate me into silence.

Believe me, if I'm not intimidated by two detectives being sent to my house interrogating me in an entirely inappropriate and unprofessional manner in front of my young child, whatever inaccuracies or misrepresentations or insinuations that appear to be the jist of your prospective article is child's play.

Perhaps you should spend some time going back like I recently did connecting the timeframe and actions of Lane Bajardi with Peter Cammarano''s sell-out of zoning variances and Bajardi's tirade that Peter should have exclusive right to appoint Zoning Board members.

http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2012/03/six-days-from-cammarano.html

I have been told there are many politicians who are closet fans and avid readers of my satirical posts that skewer on a regular basis the hypocrisy of the members of the entrenched corruption ring that has turned city hall into a criminal enterprise

The fact that council members who voted to shut the hospital and force a massive financial meltdown on the city of Hoboken are alleging that I maybe exposing the city to liability simply because they don't like what I blog is, on its face, ludicrous. 

I would have never started my blog if, in a city of 50,000 people, there was at least ONE news outlet or organization that was not afraid to offend the established political regime and it's advertising base- and was interested in exposing decades-old rampant corruption. 

It has been clear since I started blogging that Beth Mason and her political operatives Lane Bajardi and Hoboken411 have been obsessed with me and trying to silence me. Obviously this is just another retread of a stale, tired story from 2010 which you are helping to perpetuate. 

It begs the question, why? 

If you are truly interested in a dialogue and not perpetuating a 2 year-old hatchet job at the behest of: Beth Mason, your Editorial Board, you advertisers, the Council Minority that have gone on record as seeking to remove me and have consistently voted against the financial interests of the city while engaging a city-wide vote-buying spree FUNDED BY the ample checkbook of BETH MASON, I d be happy to meet you for a cup of coffee and a chat.

Stephen, you must know that I've been here before, many times. I am a big, wide target that opponents of the mayor- like Ms. Mason, trot out periodically for shooting practice. It is your choice whether or not you want to be used.

Best regards,

Nancy,

 ____________________________________________

I’ve emailed several different blogs, not just yours. Including Hoboken411. 

My questions are compiled based on complaints I’ve gotten. It’s been recently charged that you’re (continually) putting the city at legal risk. I’m not saying that you’re putting the city at legal risk. I’m allowing you to defend yourself in lieu of the comments I’ve received and respond accordingly. If you don’t think you’re putting the city at legal risk then you can feel free to say so, or decline commenting. 

As for the Mason portrayal, (I should have said FROM, not in; I’ve done my research – it’s an image of Beth Mason on an altered poster of Triumph des Willens, it was covered in Nov. 2010 by us), it’s an example of a blog post that has caused controversy. 

The reason this story is relevant because it’s been said that many blogs in the city continue to cause a rift in the city, and sometimes go too far. It can be applied to both sides of the divide present in Hoboken. That’s the angle. It’s not about harping on controversial blog posts from a year and a half ago. Included in the angle, of course, is comparing bloggers to journalists, and asking bloggers what their opinion of accountability is. It’s an interesting story, particularly in light of the Crystal Cox ruling last November. 

 If you’d like to comment let me know, otherwise I’ll use what you have already written to me. Thanks for the quick response. 

 -Stephen 

 ____________________________________________

Stephen,

That was a fair and honest response.

Your questions were skewed because the people who gave you 'complaints' have a political agenda. Respectfully, the validity of their complaints should have been examined before the questions were asked. 

Unfortunately, you are being fed nonsense by Mason or her political operative(s) James Barracato/ Lane Bajardi. I will answer your questions in your original email. But first...

I have been conferring with my own resources, and the point you have cited about the Crystal Cox case is absolutely not applicable to blog commentary on political figures, or on political discourse. Whomever gave you that 'tip' is ill-informed. If you proceed with your piece on that basis expect to be roundly and justifiably criticized for your lack of understanding the ruling.

You wrote:

”It’s an interesting story, particularly in light of the Crystal Cox ruling last November. “

That is a rather "interesting" statement to be made to support the hit job that your editor has ordered you to write. The Circuit Court ruling has nothing to do with political free speech and the aggrieved party in that case was a private person for purposes of liability. The court made a clear distinction between public versus private speech and litigants. 

Further, the comments made were in the nature of business criticism in the private sector, not a discussion or political discourse regarding corruption and policy issues. I have attached a copy of the full decision and suggest that you read it.

Respectfully, from your comment, you do not appreciate what the Court said and did not say in the decision.

•  The references to a blogger as not being a member of the news media were unnecessary to the final decisions rendered by the Court and have very limited, if any application to any discussion that would appear on my blog about local politics.

I am not a lawyer, but during the course of my blogging, I have developed resources which I trust and have helped me navigate the rough seas of the Hoboken political blog wars. Sources which I refer to often. So I can say with confidence that my blog posts are not exposing the City to liability, as much as the non-lawyers on the City Council would want you to believe. I am not the cause of any liability to the City. If you want a legal opinion on the issue, I can only tell you to go talk to the attorneys for the HR and see what they have to say. I suggest that you have that conversation before you put pen to paper, as from your comments, and be mindful of the accuracy in drawing lines between the Cox decision and Hoboken's political blogosphere.

And, please be advised: the intellectual property on my site has been taken and published without my consent, including by your paper for which I have not received compensation. The material on my site is developed independently by me, it is not solicited or managed by anybody other than myself.

Any assertion that I am being directed by others or as a part of any part of an organized blogging campaign or receive any form of compensation for my work is false and defamatory.

Now, the answers to your first email:

1- Your first question is based upon a false premise. I have never depicted "BM as a character in a Nazi film" And furthermore, no Council member has ever called me personally to complain about a blog post. I do political satire.

From The COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA:

From ancient times satirists have shared a common aim: to expose foolishness in all its guises — vanity, hypocrisy, pedantry, idolatry, bigotry, sentimentality — and to effect reform through such exposure. The many diverse forms their statements have taken reflect the origin of the word satire, which is derived from the Latin satura, meaning "dish of mixed fruits," hence a medley.

2- Not at all. I am a blogger. 

3- There is NO conflict or liability issue for a ZBA member to blog on any topic EXCEPT Zoning applications before the Board, Zoning applicants or ANY matter related to the variance requests or other zoning matters heard before the Board. If there IS a conflict, any Board member may recuse himself/herself. Please call Dennis Galvin the City's ZBA Attorney to answer any questions you may have: Dennis Galvin, ZBA Counsel: ((732) 364-****  

And I have NEVER done so. Nor will I.

OK, I hope I have been helpful.

Thank you,

Nancy

(Updated, 5:35 pm)

New leads have come in to GA and the pieces are falling into place... Stay tuned.