Has time rewritten every line?

Okay, so I have a confession to make. I haven’t been keeping up with my Don Roberts Show watching.   I know you are all super disappointed, but it has become more and more difficult for me to find the time to watch.    And I know it’s relatively easy now that the episodes are available on-line…archive for posterity (I think?)    But someone sent me this link to one section of last week’s show with Pat Bail for those who choose not to click through:

There are some people, and we certainly saw a good number of those people, that they get vicious pleasure out of being mean and nasty and whatever.  So, you know, I certainly have my crtiticisms of our local government, I’ve had criticism of out national government as well, but I don’t think I’ve ever personally attacked anyone and called them stupid or a liar or…you know maybe a liar [Don Robert: Ha ha ha!] but certianly not viciously. [DR: uh huh.]

Ahh… Pat Bail, how soon we forget about our own personal attacks.   I guess the “vicious” is subjective though.  Let’s take a short trip down memory lane, shall we?  

I suppose when she called Robb Ratto a “fat doofus” it was with a healthy dose of love and respect?   The lead up to this was Pat B. saying that the city was violating the charter by having Robb Ratto who was not a resident of Alameda as part of the Transportation Commission and then she proceeds to rant about the money alloteed to the Park Street Business Association:

It’s just another example of them  ignoring rules that they don’t like or situations they don’t care for and in the meantime the city council votes a couple hundred thousand dollars of our taxpayer money every year to the Park Street Business Association to support this fat doofus. 

But perhaps the term “fat doofus” might not qualify as a personal attack according to Pat B.  maybe it was meant as a verbal love tap.

Then there were the numerous characterizations about John Knox White by Pat B. in the same episode.   Again, one could argue whether they were a personal attack, but I think they were meant to be vicious as opposed to simply being critiques of  his positions on City related issues, because I’m not quite sure what in this:

…And I think it’s interesting that John Knox White, who is the biggest geek I’ve ever seen in the world [Don Roberts: HA HA HA! and Camerman: Haha!] would call, uh, David Howard a ’stalker’ and his, um, admitting to his childish namecalling.  I’m just amazed that anybody who looks and acts like him would call anybody anything.   He’s a Harry Potter look-a-like [DR: Heh Heh Heh!] this guy is so totally out of line, I  don’t know who appointed him God, I guess it’s Beverly Johnson…

Would qualify as respectfully disagreeing with someone’s position on an  given issue.  But again, maybe another verbal love tap?

Then there is this respectful critique of the City Council:

…now they’re [the Transportation Commission] making an even bigger power play to have even more power to usurp the City Council and the City Council seems very happy to allow that to happen.  Either they’ve gotten lazier or stupider, I don’t know which one it is and since I’m not a Public Figure any longer and I have my free speech I can say anything I want now too…

I guess she didn’t remember last week what she called the City Council aka our local government during that episode.

And lest you think that all the choice insults were reserved for that one episode alone, there was this episode that Don Roberts actually posted a transcript to on his website after it happened where she said:

John Knox White is a moron

But again, maybe this wasn’t a personal attack or rather something that Pat B. considers a personal attack.   Although honestly, if the examples above aren’t personal attacks, I guess the real question to ask Pat B. is, “what do you consider a personal attack?”    I imagine the answer would probably include something about people like me calling her a racist or something like that, but really, considering that Pat B. has loudly proclaimed that she doesn’t read the blogs, I can’t imagine where she would get that idea and actually I would challenge her (or anyone else) to find any place where I have ever called her (or anyone else) a name.    But since she is going on second or even third hand information since she doesn’t read “the blogs” I will assume that eventually this post will get back to her as a “personal attack” on her as well.

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