"Dear 'Baghdad Rob' ..."

(Recently, Rob Williams, the Vermont secessionist leader, groupie and America hater, had a hissy fit over one or more of my posts.  I'm not linking to his screed because it's, well, embarrassing to him and it might seem like I was kicking him when he's down lower than he has ever been since the Vermont secesher movement began 10 years ago this month [an anniversary that I can't find him noting somewhere, anywhere, in his ongoing, incessesant, ineffectual promotion of his neo-Confederate cause]).

I've taken to calling Vermont secessionist, Rob Williams, "Baghdad Rob" because he shares so many of the unhinged qualities of the former Iraqi Propaganda Ministry mouthpiece during the outset of the war in Iraq, Baghdad Bob.

Like Baghdad Bob, "Baghdad Rob" has little to no sense of irony.  Baghdad Bob announced to the world press that Americans were commiting mass suicide at the gates of Baghdad while in the the background of the camera shot of Bob's announcement, American tanks were rolling through the Baghdad city square. Not unlike Baghdad Bob, "Baghdad Rob" would like to sell his independence hokum to a group larger than his (and I'll use Second Vermont Republic co-founder Ian Baldwin's salient comment about the size of the Vermont secesher group) "small community" of secesher hoopleheads like Dennis "Hit List" Morrisseau, Robert "Needed Killin' " Wagner, Jim Hogue (an unconvincing Revolutionary War reënactor), Gary Flomenhoft (promoter of a seditious plot to secretly reconstitute an unelected group to restore the long disband Council of Censors, a plot that came to a screeching halt when I exposed it on this blog here during their failed 2010 election debacle), Gaelan Brown (a secesher "expert" on UFO's, chemtrails and the US military "plot" to obtain secret alien technology in exchange for resources on the dark side of the moon), Vermont Commons web editor and anti-Vermont National Guard sham activist, Juliet Buck, and Matt Cropp (whose efforts to install secessionists or himself in a variety of public and non-profit offices has been a complete and more than utter failure).  Most, if not all of these low achievers, declared their "provisional capitol" to be a B&B in Hancock, VT after their dismal showing in the 2010 election cycle, which was first only to their even more miserable showing in the 2012 election cycle.

Other than the dead guy and your Brooklyn flack, have I left someone out, Rob?

In a juvenile post that employed thinly veiled homophobia and a scatological reference, "Baghdad Rob" launched into tirade about his criticisms of this blog based on his unbridled hatred for blogs that (1) write the truth, (2) don't drink the secesher Kool-Aid and (3) don't accept direction from a media master like "Baghdad Rob," who drove his print journal into a financial ditch and then a year and a half later blamed Tropical Storm Irene and not his own shortcomings, and who is left with a cheesy blog that is little more than a nest of conspiracy theorists (Rob's a 9/11 Truther) whose latest includes a despicable, parent and child hating Sandy Hook Truther; the usual anti-Vermont National Guard hate rhetoric in pursuit of fixing a bad personal property gamble; delusionist, anti all of Vermont's statewide and legislative elected representatives; fake, uncredentialed "journalists" like William Boardman and Christopher Ketcham who routinely fail to disclose their personal, extremist agendas; as well as anti-Semites, segregationists, misogynists, racists and homophobes.

"Baghdad Rob's" irony meter must have been on mute when he wrote this:

"Or, haters (a k.a. "Thomas Rowley"), you can just keep on keeping on with hating on the Vermont independence crowd. Anonymously. With no transparency or accountability for your words. It is easier that way, of course. And safer. To be anonymous. In the closet. Hidden."

That's rich. That's coming, Baghdad Bob-like, from the guy who seemed to be in charge of the 2009-2010 super secret secesher Free Vermont Listserv, populated by candidates and, um, co-conspirators in the effort to hide from Vermont's electorate all that the Vermont secesher candidates intended to do if elected to office. They talked freely when they thought no one was listening, yet when I exposed their nonsense on October 3, 2010 they chose to shutdown their listserv on October 4 and I don't believe that they've ever fessed up to their activities there to date.  So much for transparency, eh, Rob? Naturally, their Great White Godfather, Thomas H. Naylor, excused their activities on the listserv as being thought to be private and that they were merely "Internet cowboys," although I've yet to hear a peep from their blowhard leader, "Baghdad Rob."  Wassup with that?  And what exactly does "Baghdad Rob" mean by "safer?"  Of course, it's not like Vermont secesher leaders, neo-Confederates, Vermont Commons'anti-Semitic bloggers and their ilk haven't haven't threatened  perceived opponents in the past, is it, Rob?

"Baghdad Rob" oversaw conversations for more than a year on the listserv amongst racists, conspiracist nutters, economic whack jobs, immigrant haters, homeless haters, women haters, lesbian haters, including his own posts about the "Israeli Mafia" and about his having bragged that he'd,

"spent 4 years defusing the SVR/(racist)LOS (not so) nonsense and it is finally done, even in the blogosphere."

Yet he never tried to shutdown the extremists.  So how'd that work out for you, "Baghdad Rob?"  Didn't your "Independence Party," as you like for one day in 2010 called it, lose every friggin' race it entered?

And I'm not even going to drag up his "Don't Ask, Don't Care" policy that he's maintained for his hategroup allies since February of 2007.  Hell, he's even continued his association with hategroup League of the South bigwig, Donald Livingston, by contributing to his neo-Confederate throwaway collection of essays as recently as 2011.

In his deranged post "Baghdad Rob" called me out (again!) with his not so vaguely homophobic,

"Your call. We're here when you are ready to come out of the closet."

Ya see, Rob, I don't meet in bars (as you've previously suggested) with racists, homophobes, misogynists, Jew haters or their persistent allies, like you.

Unlike you, "Baghdad Rob," I've never, ever sat down with convicted felons, the neo-Confederate, racist, hate group, League of the South board directors, anti-Semites, the virulently anti-gay and led by neo-Confederate, hate group members, Christian Exodus.  Ya see, hate insinuates itself into many of "Baghdad Rob's" willing associations, so much so that he sees it in everyone else, especially those who, like me, find his chosen, hate enabling, out of state friends to be so repugnant.

Perhaps this is the reason that, according to published reports, Williams' wife "does not agree with secessionism."

"Baghdad Rob" has never responded to my earlier suggestions as to how we might mend fences and engage by his first renouncing the extremists he so willingly embraces.  Perhaps, since his movement is so off-the-rails, he may be willing now to publicly cull his nest of hateful bloggers and his still active association with national neo-Confederate and hate group principals, as an opening act of good faith.

In the meantime, warmest regards Rob,
Rowley


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For the archive of the Free Vermont Framework listserv, click here.