Coincidences abound with Ken Cuccinelli & ‘Bobby Thompson’
He was born in New Jersey, of Italian heritage, and raised Catholic. Graduated from high school, then got an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. He moved onto law school, and later set up a small independent law practice. And then years later, he got deeply involved in conservative politics.
The facts above describe John Donald Cody, who now sits in an Ohio jail cell, awaiting trial for fraud and other felony charges. Until recently he was known under an alias, “Bobby Thompson,” founder of the scam outfit known as the U.S. Navy Veterans Association. It raised tens of millions of dollars from good-hearted unsuspecting givers. And under that fake name “Thompson” he contributed at least $180,000 to politicians across the United States. Almost all of them were ultra conservatives.
You can read more about him and his background, and his bizarre career, in the Tampa Bay Times.
Coincidentally, the same set of facts in the first paragraph above also are true for Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli.
“Cooch,” as he is known by supporters and detractors, was born in New Jersey of Italian heritage and raised Catholic. Cuccinelli also graduated from UVa with an undergraduate degree, went on to law school, then hung out a shingle. Later, he became deeply involved in politics as a Tea Party favorite. Today, he’s the odds-on favorite to be the GOP nominee for Virginia governor.
There are some differences, of course. Cody, who was born in 1947, is 21 years old than Cooch, who was born in 1968. Cody was raised outside Trenton and graduated form public high school there; Cuccinelli was born in Edison, about 100 miles north, but graduated from a private Catholic high school in Washington D.C.
Cody graduated from Harvard Law; Cuccinelli’s law degree came from George Mason University. Cuccinelli’s involvement in politics was as a candidate. Cody’s was as a financial contributor, with millions he allegedly scammed in a nationwide con game that went on for years. And it was with those contributions that the similarities between the two UAa grads from New Jersey once again converged, in 2009.
It was that year that Cody, posing as ‘Bobby Thompson’ invested $55,500 in the campaign for Virginia attorney general of then-Sen. Kenneth Cuccinelli. “Thompson” was seeking a law in Virginia to thwart state bureaucrats who had put the kibosh on his scam fundraising in the commonwealth. And he got that, in the 2010 General Assembly. The law was later repealed after The Roanoke Times exposed that sordid mess.
The sum of Cody’s contributions to Cuccinelli stands out for a number of reasons.
First, it was the second largest individual contribution that anyone the whole campaign laid on the Cooch. It came in three increments: $5,000 in June 2009, then $500 more Aug. 19 and finally $50,000 on Aug. 31, after Cuccinelli had personally called “Thompson” and appealed for more money.
It was also, by far, the single largest amount of money “Thompson” laid into any individual campaign. The second largest amount he gave was the $10,000 he laid on the campaign of right-wing fruitcake Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota.
It’s enough to make you wonder what transpired in that August phone call from Cuccinelli to “Thompson.” Did Cuccinelli and Cody discover so many similarities in their backgrounds, and bond over those? Was that what moved Cody to make such a large investment in Cuccinelli’s campaign?
There are among many questions still unanswered, so it’s hard to say.
In a handwritten letter after his arrest to his former landlady in Tampa, quoted in the Tampa Bay Times, Cody wrote something rather cryptic.
“Mine is a political case though I suspect they will try to keep certain names out of it and pray I do not testify.”
It sounds like a bit of a threat. And it makes you wonder who’s saying those prayers.
October 15, 2012 - 2:03 PM
I think bobby thompson looks a lot like ol’ dano. They both have jersey roots. Twins? Brothers? And, dano is now getting his revenge for not being the favorite child? Hmmm.
Cuccinelli in 2013!
Such ridiculous implied guilt by association is an offense to Catholics and Italians.
Gee Dan, you forgot to add that they are both male (another startling similarity!). Or do they need to prove that to you?
Why did Bobby give Ken so much more money, by a factor of 5, than he did to any other politician, BobH? Inquiring minds want to know!
You are the only one I see dragging out Bobby Thompson.
You never question any of Obama’s highly suspicious campaign contributions. On that you don’t seem to have an inquiring mind.
Why don’t you ask how Gwenn Mason got that cushy taxpayer dole job or what the heck she actually does for those 80+ big ones a year, Mr. inquiring mind?
I hear the 4 seasons warming up for “silence is golden”……
hey dano, ’cause that’s a way ol’ Cody knew you would get your panties all up in a big, tight ol’ scrunch. …he’s got you pegged. …ol’ cody must be your big brother.
@2 You disappoint me John W!
They would be inquiring all to hell if it had been a Democrat that got that kind of money from a crook.
Bob H, start your own blog and you can “bring out” anything you want. Dan owes you nothing remotely resembling chasing your inquiries.
“You are the only one I see dragging out Bobby Thompson.
You never question any of Obama’s highly suspicious campaign contributions.”
Some of the many differences between BobH and me:
1. I wrote about those suspicious contributions to Cuccuinelli (and much lower ones to others) naming names, and explained the role they played in a perversion of democracy right here in Virginia. Bob has not specified 1 contribution to Obama that was suspicious, nor has he named any name, nor has he explained anything.
2. Cuccinelli, and the others who got far lesser amounts from “Bobby Thompson” ultimately acknowledged they should not have taken Thompson’s money– after they and they were caught red-handed and after I blew the whistle on their their perversion of democracy. Obama has not done this and BobH has listed not one reason why the president should.
3. The General Assembly in 2011 rewrote state law to repeal the law Bobby Thompson purchased with his $66,500 in contributions to state lawmakers, $55,500 of which was accepted (and begged for) by Ken Cuccinelli. BobH can’t specify ONE federal law that was repealed as a result of any of the so-called contributions he’s talking, about, none of which he has specified either.
In other words, despite his “beef” with me, BobH is a Wonder Bread sandwich with no meat. And that’s in the BEST case. In the worst, he’s a sanctimonious turd.
Dan:
“he’s a a sanctimonious turd.”
Are you challenging Steve C as the blog’s insult champ?
Still don’t have a pic of Patsy Ticer who did the more than anyone to help “Thompson” operate in Virginia. Has Ken done anything to enable this guy? I can’t think of anything.
Being from NJ, we usually get tagged with the mobster thing. I find that far superior to being associated with the two assclowns pictured above.
Dan,
I realize it is a metro question, but why AREN’T you asking how Gwenn Mason got that job and just what she does for that big of a salary?
Answer: Cock a doodle doo, any dem will do!
How many Blogs/Columns did you do on Ewell Hunt as compared to Charlie Rangel? And which is republican and which is democrat?
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
Miriam:
7.”@2 You disappoint me John W!”
I can accept you for the leftist you are Miriam; please accept me for making the best choice of the two we’ll have. It’s time to make a serious return towards our leaders’ oath of office. Depending upon the makeup of the state senate and courage of the house Republicans this time around, we will get some things done in resporing gun rights this upcoming session with Cooch for Governor.
BobH STILL can’t name one Obama contribution that cause the kind of perversion of democracy that Bobby Thompson’s did.
Dan,
Please adjust the antenna on you tin foil hat… LMAO…
Also re: “Obama has not done this”… maybe some quotes from that “RW” rag the “washington post” might help (below)… looks like Holder got the best deal as he only needed to raise 50k to get the USAG job…
You can’t make this stuff up….lol
“Obama has appointed campaign bundlers to a range of other jobs as well. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was a bundler, raising at least $50,000, as was Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who raised at least half a million dollars.
Obama hired bundler Steve Spinner as a liaison in the Energy Department. According to internal e-mails turned over in a congressional investigation, Spinner pressed for staff members to finalize a government loan for Solyndra, the now-shuttered solar company in which another campaign bundler was a major investor. Spinner, according to the Obama administration, did not make any decisions affecting Solyndra.”
Nicole Avant, a music industry executive who raised at least $500,000, served as ambassador to the Bahamas…”Luxembourg Ambassador Cynthia Stroum, a Seattle venture capitalist who raised $500,000 for Obama”…” Robert Mandell, a Florida real estate developer who raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for Obama’s campaign.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-influence-industry-obama-gives-administration-jobs-to-some-big-fundraisers/2012/03/06/gIQA9y3txR_story.html
Sandi, re: 4:30
Democrats get “that kind of money” from crooks all the time and there is no need for inquiries; we know they end up with administrative jobs.
See post above…
mike O
Appointing campaign bundlers to government jobs — is that against the law? Is that a perversion of democracy like the one John Donald Cody committed?
If you answer yes to either question, and Romney is elected in November, I’m sure you’ll go silent on that issue just as soon as the end of January rolls around.
Laughing MY you-know-what off.
When were your guns taken away, John Wilburn? If not being able to take your guns with you everywhere is a terrible hardship, boo hoo.
Eric Holder earned his appointment as USAG – he “attended Columbia Law School. Holder was an associate judge of the D.C. Superior Court under Reagan; U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., then deputy attorney general under Clinton; and for Obama, Holder was senior legal advisor to his presidential campaign, and is now the first African-American Attorney General in history.”
The biggest similarity between the Cooch and Cody is that they are both slimebuckets.
Debbie:
“If not being able to take your guns with you everywhere is a terrible hardship, boo hoo.”
How’s this for a good hypothetical….Guy to his date in Aurora CO: “Well, I can’t take my gun which is absolutely no one else’s business that I’m carrying into this posted theater. Let’s go to a different theater” His date: “Simply leave it in the car..you don’t need it..boo hoo!” We know how that one ended up.
The point being that it’s “boo hoo” and no big deal until some criminal makes it the biggest deal of your entire life. My mother was working about 100 feet from where officer Crouse was killed when it happened, but disarmed by university policy and now by regulation. Cuccinelli has the guts to sign the demise of more of the stupid feel-good nonsense gun bans like airport terminals, university buildings, and K-12 schools. A lot of hard fought legislative achievements went up in smoke by the stroke of Governor Kaine’s elitist pen.
Shrillary:
“…and [Eric Holder] is now the first African-American Attorney General in history.”
BFD. He’s still corrupt and should be in jail.
#12 Predictable. And still stupid.
So JohnW, Cooch takes the dirty money but somehow he’s the “better candidate”. While Holder should be in jail and is corrupt?
Yeah Mike O, you give Obama hell…No wonder Romney refuses to identify his bundlers.
“If their candidates win, bundlers are often richly rewarded with ambassadorships and other administration posts, or personal access like overnight stays in the White House. According to the Center for Public Integrity, which tracks campaign finance issues, about 80 percent of Barack Obama’s and George W. Bush’s bundlers who raised $500,000 or more went on to win appointments.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2012/09/16/mitt-romney-refuses-release-names-bundlers-who-raise-millions-dollars-for-his-campaign/d1JqsZXhCqvvSixJbogCYO/story.html
Again, the “low effort” voters think it only matters when the other guy does it.
Kristen:
26.”So JohnW, Cooch takes the dirty money but somehow he’s the “better candidate”. While Holder should be in jail and is corrupt?”
If we can all agree that Brian Terry’s life was worth $55,500, then no I’ll take that back.
“If we can all agree that Brian Terry’s life was worth $55,500, then no I’ll take that back.”
Come on, JW. Cuccinelli personally called the U.S. Navy Vets scammer and begged him to for more money. And then, WHILE THE SCAM BILL WAS UNDER CONSIDERATION by the GA in 2010, Cooch had a private meeting with “Thompson’s” lobbyist.
Comparing this to Fast & Furious and laying blame for Terry’s death on Holder would be like holding Cuccinelli responsible if some far-below underling in the VAG’s office killed somebody while driving DUI.
Dan:
“Comparing this to Fast & Furious and laying blame for Terry’s death on Holder would be like holding Cuccinelli responsible if some far-below underling in the VAG’s office killed somebody while driving DUI.”
I’m not really comparing it to F&F, per se, but I believe Holder has a lot of responsibility for the wrongdoing, would not cooperate with the investigation, and should be in jail. Meeting with people at times which cast suspicion is one thing. Tolerating what Holder did was unconscionable. I would like to say that at worst, Cooch should have to give the money back, but I realize that it is bigger than that and wrongdoing gathers a lot of “interest”.
Just admit it. The lefties here don’t care about F&F or who it got killed, but any amount of money tied to the Cooch and the sky is falling!
“If we can all agree that Brian Terry’s life was worth $55,500, then no I’ll take that back”
Comment by a VCDL member
If we can agree that officers Scott Hylton and Eric Sutphin never left themselves in a “victim pool”, then we can see why the mindset that would EVER use such a phrase is incredibly offensive to their families, the memory of their brave service, and many other victims of gun violence.
Comment by an anonymous jerk:
“If we can agree that officers Scott Hylton and Eric Sutphin never left themselves in a “victim pool”, then we can see why the mindset that would EVER use such a phrase is incredibly offensive to their families, the memory of their brave service, and many other victims of gun violence.”
So is holder a crook or not, Warren? Also comparing the roles of 2 LEO who were obliged to engage threats against the public at large to the armed citizen who responds only to a personal threat is a skewed comparison to say the least.
I agree with the bravery of their service, btw.
John Wilburn, you choose to skew reality to suit your ideology and you are going to get challenged on it. Hopefully every time, unless with your kind of crowd. You can “believe” that AG Holder “has a lot of responsibility for the wrongdoing” as you like, that has not been proven and not even one of the people who lost their job or testified in the case offered any proof that he did. You say he “would not cooperate with the investigation” but that is not true. He cooperated right up until they wanted to dig way past dates and issues that had nothing to do with the investigation and everything to do with finding dirt to use. Would YOU do that in an investigation? The tragic mistake was a field office operation gone wrong. You and the right wingers want it to be more than that, but it is not. It is flat out stupidity to say Holder “should be in jail”! Flat out.
You like opportunists and freaks, I get that, but Ken Cucinnelli is a putz of the first order. An evangelical that thinks his place is where his religious zeal takes him. That is more dangerous than Holder will ever be,
We care about F&F and who it got killed, but we do not need scapegoats and witch hunts to say so.
$55K in an AG race is big news, when it is from a crook, even bigger, when you take too long to admit your error, even bigger.
BTW, apparently Brian Terry’s life was not worth a few minutes of this Congress’s time to get the leader the ATF needed.
“For six years, due to Beltway politics, the bureau has gone without permanent leadership, neutered in its fight for funding and authority.”
Maybe it could have been stopped sooner but there are a lot of hands bloodier than Holder’s and you need to see that.
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/fast-and-furious-truth/
Hi Bob H,
You said “You are the only one I see dragging out Bobby Thompson” but there is another who has done so. English teacher Cathy Henry has an article on the subject on her blog “More About Attorney General Cuccinelli’s Sugar-Daddy: John Cody AKA Bobby Thompson” (http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/more-about-attorney-general-cuccinellis.html).
Cathy has had her spotlight on Cuccinelli for a while now and before that it was on Ward Churchill. She also has a bee in her bonnet about our use of fossil fuels causing catastrophic climate change. She has been ranting and raving in the blogosphere for years and I was surprised that she hadn’t put in an appearance here behind her false name “Snapple”.
Dan invites ranters and ravers to visit here so I’ll see if she has commented on any of his articles.
Best regards, Pete Ridley
Oh yes, “Snapple” commented on http://blogs.roanoke.com/dancasey/2012/10/bobby-thompsons-id-revealed-the-bizarre-details/ and even mentioned Dan on her blog in May (e.g. see http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.co.uk/2012_05_01_archive.html).
There’s no holding Cathy back.
Pete
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol
Total line of duty deaths (since 1924): 114
JohnW, you’ll be surprised to hear that border patrol agents have been dying since before Obama came into office. It’s a dangerous job.
#33 “For six years, due to Beltway politics, the bureau has gone without permanent leadership, neutered in its fight for funding and authority.”
Good call, Sandi. Leaving an agency like that leaderless for years on end leads to less effectiveness and more mistakes. Congress is at fault here.
I see that this is not the first time that Cathy Henry (aka Snapple) has commented on this blog. She said on 8th Oct. “ .. Looks like Bobby Thompson AKA John Cody really screwed the Cooch on this one! October Surprise for Ken Cuccinelli: Bobby Thompson’s Identity Revealed! .. ”
(http://blogs.roanoke.com/dancasey/2012/10/bobby-thompsons-id-revealed-the-bizarre-details/#comment-220915) and linked to her blog article at Legend of Pine Ridge.
I became involved in exchanges with Cathy in early 2011 (e.g. see http://www.desmogblog.com/comment/714735#comment-714735). Having an aversion to cowardly bullies who hurl invective form behind false names (http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Ridley and links therein) I wondered if there was some good reason why Cathy chose hers. I did a Google search for “Snapple” and found numerous entries about the drink (http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/snapple-beverage-corporation-history/), which I hadn’t heard of until then.
Cathy she appears to love America, the FBI, CIA, COINTELPRO , American Indians and Jamie O’Brian but hate Ward Churchill, Communism, the Kremlin, the KGB, the American Indian Movement (AIM). More recently she has started hating anyone who dares to challenge the Catastrophic Antropogenic Climate Change (CACC) hypothesis, including Ken Cuccinelli (your future state Governor?). I could see no obvious connection between those, a school teacher in Arlington and the Snapple drink and have puzzled over it since.
Coming across your March article on ‘Rush Limbaugh in Decline’ and your comment “ .. Rush has a lot of money, he can buy up all the ad time on his show for his Snapple ripoff company .. ” (http://blogs.roanoke.com/dancasey/2012/03/the-official-timeline-of-rush-limbaugh-in-decline/#comment-166715) set me to puzzling again about a connection between any of her pet loves/hates, the Snapple drinks company and maybe also Rush Limbaugh. A Google search for – ” Limbaugh” “Legend of Pine Ridge” “Snapple” – brought up 6 separate rants on her blog in which she gave Rush Limbaugh a mention. The go back to Jan 2009 but I could find nothing earlier.
I wonder if anyone reading this blog has any ideas about this, or better still, maybe Cathy will put me out of my misery and tell me why she chose to hide behind the false name “Snapple” when hurling her invective!
I see that back in 2002 a couple of students from the school where Cathy Henry teaches English went “on-air” and drew complaints against the radio station. The complainants QUOTE: .. seek Commission redress for the broadcasts’ alleged use of “crude language, explicit sexual references” and “blatant attempt to mock” the Bishop Denis J. O’Connell High School .. community, generally, and the Bishop O’Connell High School students, administration and principal, particularly .. UNQUOTE. The FCC finding was that “ .. we grant complaints from Reverend Michael G. Taylor and from Catherine P. Henry .. ” (http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4026/m1/740/) and fined the stations owner $55,000.
That hiatus was over the antics of a couple of 16-year-olds which in my opinion hardly warrants serious concern about damage to the reputation of the school. It seems that the only school members to be upset by the episode were Father Taylor and Catherine Henry whereas Principal Al Burch took a realistic stance by imposing a minor punishment on the two girls of 2-days suspension. I’d be most surprised if Bishop O’Connell High School governors and Principal would be so relaxed about one of their mature school teachers hiding behind a false name to hurl invective at others (http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.co.uk – if complainant Catherine P Henry is also English teacher Cathy Henry, which seems highly likely).
Best regards, Pete Ridley
Dan-
I wonder if the “ongoing espionage” case the FBI want to question John Cody about is something from the 1980s or something he has been involved in more recently—such as Climategate. As far as I know, that is still an ongoing DOJ investigation and some of the scientists targeted do consult for U.S. government agencies. Some may even consult for the CIA’s Center on Climate Change and National Security. I don’t know exactly what the CIA’s Center does, but they probably do try to protect our most valuable scientists when they are targeted by foreign governments or criminal organizations that operate internationally. Certainly Cuccinelli has ties to organizations that persecute climate scientists and has used his office to pursue their anti-science agenda. Cuccinelli even cites the Kremlin press agency RIA Novosti when they bash Western climate scientists. This is because Russia is a petrostate and those gas barons are extremely powerful. Russian fossil fuel interests have their operatives in Florida. We saw this a few years ago in the case of a Congressman from Pennsylvania who had an improper relationship with a Russian business. The Cuccinelli family are also involved in the promotion of the fossil fuel industry, and Cuccinelli has privatized the Attorney General’s office so that it serves as his family’s political police.
From media reports, John Cody seems to have had a drug problem. His employee in the 1980s reported he would go in his office and come out with white powder on his nose. I think that’s why his tear ducts didn’t work. Drug use can cause this problem. Probably Cody was involved in something to do with espionage years in the 1980s because of his drug addiction.
Still, despite the fact that John Cody had a lot of money, he lived in poor circumstances. I would have thought that a criminal who stole so much money would spend more of it on himself. Perhaps he spent a lot of money on his drug habit and on Cuccinelli and didn’t care about living in a shabby duplex. Or perhaps he was raising money on behalf of a foreign government or entity with his bogus charity. That might explain why he lived so poorly. Terrorist organizations and spies sometimes do operate businesses in order to raise money to support their political/influence/espionage activities. They will sell drugs, weapons, cigarettes, etc.
Our Attorney General Cuccinelli sells himself, of course, even as he rails against women prostitutes—mainly foreigners.
The lawyers from the Eastern District of Virginia were in court in Cleveland watching the John Cody court proceedings. It will be interesting to see what the authorities find out about the purpose of Cody’s fund-raising. He clearly was paying-off politicians in order to avoid regulation of his bogus “Navy” charity, but maybe he had some further agenda, since he did not spend his money on a lavish lifestyle.
Congressman Curt Weldon was the Pennsylvania politician who was acting as an agent of a Russian fossil fuel company based in Jacksonville.
The (British?) climate change denialist Pete Ridley has a double standard you could drive a truck through. Why does he want to know who I am instead of who the criminal “Climategate” hackers are? He and his hero, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, have no problems with the anonymous hacker criminals who stole the climate scientists’ emails. The despicable Attorney General Cuccinelli dishonestly mischaracterizes the contents of these stolen emails on behalf of his sponsors in the fossil fuel industry. Cuccinelli even quotes the Russian petrostate’s official press agency’s attacks on our “dishonest” climate scientists in his legal briefs to the EPA. Last time I checked, RIA Novosti is not a scientific publication. It is the Kremlin’s press agency. Hardly a reliable source for a supposedly “conservative” politician. What would the Tea-Party say?
Ridley even claims some nut-job named Kent Clizbe (who claims he is a former CIA operative) is going to track me down with his spy skills. If this weirdo Clizbe was ever in the CIA, he certainly is off-message. Perhaps Clizbe landed on his head when he toppled out of his black helicopter. The real CIA has a Center for Climate Change and National Security. The real CIA is probably tracking the “Climategate” hacker-criminals. Certainly the Department of Justice has been tracking the ANONYMOUS, not-very-sincere hacker-criminals who claimed that they were “honest men.”
Pete Ridley seems to think he is going to get some teacher fired by the school board for having a pen name but really for accepting the consensus on climate change. As it turns out, the former head of the board, Kevin Fay, has a Nobel Prize plaque for he contributions to the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change–just like the persecuted Dr. Michael Mann and many other scientists who earned this prize for their contributions to the Nobel-winning 2007 IPCC report. The Catholic Church’s Pontifical Academy of Science has some very famous climate scientists who advise the Holy See on the dangers of climate change. The scientists who advise the Vatican are among the most famous scientists in the world.
As for the conflict with the radio station, their shock jock was fined by the FCC because he violated the federal broadcasting licence. They broadcast obscenities about the school. The shock jock made despicable personal, indecent, graphic jokes about the late principal. This lewd, anti-Catholic diatribe went on for two days during the time when the boys and girls are driving to school on busy freeways, yet Mr. Ridley doesn’t see why this was a problem. Teachers don’t get fired for defending their school and principal from obscene shock jocks. This unprovoked attack on the school led to a landmark FCC decision.
Ken Cuccinelli got 55,500 dollars from a criminal with an alias who may have perpetrated the biggest charity fraud in American history. He stole money from people who thought they were giving to Navy veterans, but he seems to have used his ill-gotten gains to buy drugs and our Attorney General. Teachers don’t get fired for demanding the truth! Why did Attorney General Cuccinelli base his vendetta against a famous professor on the lies of anonymous cyber-thieves and his finances on a drug-using fraud with multiple aliases?
I see Pete Ridley is still cyberstalking. This creep seems pre-occupied with delving into the personal and private lives of anyone who has the audacity to disagree with his rambling, repetitive and circular thoughts.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to dismiss this as an atypical slip-up or doddery old Pete having a bad day. GW forums are awash with warnings, cautions and bans over the years for this nasty and weak-minded little foible of his.
What doesn’t he understand about the rationale for having anonymity? It’s so creeps and crazies like him don’t dig up irrelevant and personal details about others…that they then use to try and embarrass or intimidate people when unable to intelligently respond to an argument.
Rational argument is the way to silence your critics, not creepy cyberstalking.
Hurl invective from behind false names? Or, another gem he’s used in the past, ‘trying to show someone how easy it is to find out about their personal details on the net’. As convincing a couple of arguments as Pete Townshend’s (“it was only done for research”).
Please do everyone a favour Pete (including people in your own camp) and curb the creepy cyberstalking. You may find people actually start to listen to you more.
Pete Ridley has threatened that Kent Clizbe is going to get his CIA friends to help him unmask my nom-de-plume.
CIA employees don’t take orders from the likes of Kent Clizbe about whom to hunt down. In fact, Kent Clizbe is probably an embarrassment to the CIA, if he was ever in the CIA in the first place. After all, Kent Clizbe disparages both the FBI and the CIA analysts in his articles on the Internet. He harasses climate scientists while the CIA gives them security clearances.
The CIA is probably mortified that ex-employee Clizbe is emailing professors at UVA and Penn State and claiming that they will get millions of federal dollars if they denounce the famous scientist Dr. Mann, who demonstrated global warming in his famous “hockey stick” graph. The only people who are trying to discredit Dr. Mann are political subversives who are on the take from the fossil fuel companies and their blogger-dupes.
It seems to me that ex-CIA operative Kent Clizbe is undermining the CIA instead of supporting their mission of addressing the national security threat of climate change.
Sounds typical stalking behaviour Snapple. When a stalker doesn’t get what they want, they then start making threats, as you have been subjected to:
“One scary aspect of stalking is that a seemingly harmless obsession can quickly turn to violent thoughts and actions if the stalker does not feel they are achieving the result they want. Threats were made to the victim by 58% of the stalkers and to third party acquaintances of the victims by 39% of the stalkers. 25% threatened only the victim, 6% only third parties, and 33% of the stalkers threatened both the victim and at least one third party acquaintance.” http://faculty.ist.psu.edu/bagby/432Fall07/T2/index.html
I have been reliably informed that Ridley has got in touch with friends and acquaintances of the ‘stalked’ person, when their name has been revealed. So his veiled threat to contact “Bishop O’Connell High School governors and Principal” is hardly surprising.
Of course, his double standards and hypocrisy abound. Not only the one you allude to above, but in his own hypocritical ‘advice’ concerning the dangers of providing personal info on the internet. You’ve probably read this, but it’s always an entertaining re-read highlighting the psyche of this individual.
http://www.joabbess.com/2010/10/18/pete-ridley-three-strikes/
Good grief, your blog has been invaded, Dan.
I had not seen that link. Thanks. It seems that Pete Ridley believes that climate change is some plot of scientists and Jewish bankers to take over the world—like the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The main point is that Ken Cuccinelli is supposed to uphold the law; instead, he persecutes people under the color of law because he gets money from frauds and fossil fuel interests. Cuccinelli made a name for himself by exploiting and mischaracterizing stolen emails in order to persecute Dr. Mann and people he corresponds with. He wasted a lot of our money on all those trials he lost.
Cuccinelli got 55,500.000 dollars from a con-artist who is wanted for frauds and for questioning in an ongoing espionage investigation. I WANT TO KNOW HOW THAT WENT DOWN! Cuccinelli is always attacking the famous scientist Michael Mann for fraud, but he is not too curious about the fraud who give him money and who is wanted for questioning in an espionage investigation.
Cuccinelli also uses fake “health and safety” regulations in an attempt to close abortion clinics. Abortion is legal in Virginia, and it is a dangerous legal precedent for officials to get away with using bogus “health and safety” codes to close legal entities. Even if you disagree with abortion, the ends does not justify the means.
Maybe Cuccinelli will target other organizations he doesn’t like with bogus regulations. What is to stop him from targeting Catholic schools that teach about climate change with “health and safety” regulations? Perhaps he will say their halls are too narrow, like he did for the abortion clinics. Maybe some future politician will target Catholic organizations because they have imposed their values on others. What goes around comes around.
I saw some Catholic clergy were present during Cuccinelli’s confrontation with the Board of Health. I felt so ashamed for them. I guess the clergy don’t care that a huge criminal gave Cuccinelli money, probably so his criminal organization could be exempt from regulation. I guess the clergy don’t know that they are supporting the same outrageous pseudo-legal tactic that the communists used to close churches in the former Soviet Union. The Soviet churches were closed by denying them registration, often on the grounds that the church was “in disrepair.”
Even many people who don’t like abortion don’t want to impose their views on others. If you read about the history of abortion, you will learn that during the 100 years that abortion was illegal, women got abortions all the time. Before “the pill,” abortion was birth control. I am so glad I didn’t live then and didn’t have to make those choices.
The birth control movement started by Margaret Sanger was against abortion. She wanted women to have access to birth control so they wouldn’t need an abortion.
Officially, the Catholic Church is also against birth control, but practically all adult Catholic women have used birth control. Aren’t the women part of the Church? Just as many Catholics have abortions as everyone else. I personally feel that abortion is a great misfortune, but making abortion de-facto illegal by closing clinics doesn’t keep women from getting abortions. A young girl recently told me that girls who get pregnant sometimes take drugs to miscarry.
In the former Soviet union, the Catholic Church clergy spoke out against the fake “health and safety” regulations that were used to deregister churches. Even if they disagree with abortion, American Catholic clergy should see that closing abortion clinics using bogus “health and safety” regulations is a dangerous abuse of the law. It is better to help the girls who need some help to bring their child into the world; people would respect the Church for that.
It is hard for me to believe that the Church is really against abortion when they also object to effective birth control. To me, they don’t seem to be against birth control; they seem to be against women having any control over their lives. They just seem like Republicans in cassocks. Very few Catholic women listen to “father” about birth control; they listen to the father of their children. Catholic women just stay quiet. I guess they feel that there is no point in giving their opinion.
In Virginia the priests have teamed up with the fossil-fuel interests (Cuccinelli), even though the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences says that climate change is having a bad effect on our planet and especially on the poor.
Cuccinelli doesn’t want to regulate criminal organizations disguised as charities. He quotes the Kremlin when they trash our scientists and he doesn’t want to regulate the fossil-fuel industry. Instead, he wants to regulate abortion clinics out of existence so that abortions will return to the underground. Perhaps he even wants to outlaw birth control.
The communists failed to stamp out religion, and Cuccinelli will not stamp out abortion. He should listen to the experience of the communists, if he will not listen to Virginia’s women.
An August 15, 1965 article in Komsomolskaya pravda by G. Kelt acknowledged that “storm tactics” were not making believers into atheists:
Today, we a deceiving ourselves again: “Many believers in our country have left the church and religion.” This is self-delusion. It is true that there are no churches and no ministers in a large part of the Soviet Union. But there are believers. If they are not Orthodox, then they are members of one or another of the multitude of finely-differentiated sects. Where do they come from? From the ranks of those who leave the church…For, as has been said in official statements, closing a parish does not make atheists of believers. On the contrary, it strengthens the attraction of religion for people and it embitters their hearts besides.
I, too want to know more about the last of 3 contributions, the $50,000 one. Cooch hasn’t had to answer enough questions about how that went down.
I read the article Cuccinelli cited in his brief to the EPA from the Russian government’s press agency—RIA Novosti. The article was a shorter version of an article that originally appeared in Kommersant, a Russian business paper owned by Alisher Usmanov, who is connected to Gazprom and mining interests. The Kommersant article cited the name of Andrei Illarionov as an expert on climate change. Illarionov—an economist, not a climate scientist–used to work for Victor Chernomyrdin, who headed the Soviet gas ministry and its post-Soviet reincarnation Gazprom. Illarionov was also an adviser to Putin. More recently, Illarionov was the expert on climate change for the libertarian Cato Institute. Supposedly, he had some tiff with Putin, but he still had a “think tank” in Russia. It couldn’t have been much of a tiff.
Cuccinelli’s brief observed that this Russian article appeared on the very day that the EPA issued its ruling on CO2 being a pollutant. This was presented as a remarkable “coincidence,” but I hardly think it was a coincidence that the Kremlin trashed our climate scientists on the very day that the EPA ruled that CO2 was a pollutant.
I read on Cuccinelli’s father’s site that his father has had clients in “Europe.” The father has branched out into various consulting activities, but he has been a career lobbyist for the gas industry. I wonder if these “European” clients are connected with Russian gas companies. I wonder if these clients are really paying for political favors more than for professional services.
When you see Cuccinelli citing Alisher Usmanov’s paper on the very day that the EPA makes its ruling on CO2, it raises questions.
This link has information about how Cuccinelli cited RIA Novosti’s attack on our climate scientists as evidence.
http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2010/10/attorney-general-cuccinelli-ties-his.html
People sometimes paint those of us who accept climate science as leftists. In fact, Russia’s former President Medvedev called global warming a “trick” around the time of Climategate, and Pravda was quoting Fox News when they trashed climate scientists and called them liars. More recently, Medvedev changed his line and accepts climate change.
They know it is happening because the Arctic is melting and their gas operations are sinking into the permafrost.
This article from the Russian government’s press agency was included in many of the briefs sent by different states to the EPA. It suggests there was a lot of coordination and that these guys were getting their information from the same source.
I am really angry that these fossil fuel moguls and our state and federal officials are running disinformation campaigns against the scientists who are trying to save us from the worst consequences of climate change.
Politicians are running political operations against our scientists and persecuting them. Cuccinelli acts like the Attorney General’s office is an outpost of the KGB. He acts like he is a saint when he is really a very bad man.
I was someone who voted for Cuccinelli because I was fooled, but I know what he is now–a corrupt tyrant. He doesn’t want smaller, more accountable government. He wants total power and no transparency.
You can see the footnote at the bottom of page 15, but it is a bad link because they left an open space. If you close the space before the 2, it works.
What the Russian Papers Say, Dec. 16, 2009, Rianovosti, available at
http://en.rian.ru/papers/ 20091216/157260660.html.
The brief actually mischaracterizes what the Russian article they “cited” actually says. The Russians said Hadley Center, but Cuccinelli changed this to CRU. See this link to see how Cuccinelli mischaracterized what he supposedly “quoted” in a legal brief to the EPA.
http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2010/10/attorney-general-cuccinelli-ties-his.html
Assume