I got a text on Oct. 29th from Marylyn Todd with a flyer she wanted to get posted on GraniteGrok. I ignored it. Why? We had put up her flyer for an event during the summer that got rained out and when she rescheduled we put THAT flyer up as well. On the rescheduled date I started to get angry emails and phone calls from people who had come a long way for THAT event.
They told me that no one was there, and that created a big problem for GraniteGrok.
I take great care in making sure that readers can trust us with all of the things we put up. Sure, sometimes we get things wrong – and we apologize for them when readers point them to us.
That trust takes a long time to build but only a fleeting moment to lose so breaking someone’s trust is something we strive hard NOT to do. It isn’t about just Steve or myself – it’s about GraniteGrok. We have no readers if they can’t trust us.
So, about that event over the summer that we promoted and then re-promoted?
What I was told is that the Todds went off on a vacation. Another story was that they moved it to another location. Either way, that was a breaking of Trust and we were involuntarily made a part of that.
No one ever officially told us of either the cancelation, or the change of location, or any other reasons why the event wasn’t happening in Concord at the State House. Whatever the actual reason was, we got left out in the cold and that affected our readers. So that was personal.
It got even more personal when I found out that Marylyn decided that the three people who had ridden with her on that “trip from hell” to and partially back from South Dakota were surreptitiously “removed” from Marylyn’s car in Chicago – those three had to fly home.
Yes, I have receipts.
One of them is a long-term personal friend of mine (name will be coming later); I was horrified to hear this. That will be in a later post.
I decided then not to have anything more to do with Marylyn Todd or her husband Albert (aka “AJ”).
Make GraniteGrok look bad, treat my friend badly, we’re done. Completely. Do what you want, where you want, but leave me and GraniteGrok out of it. Again (from my previous post):
Submission is no guarantee of publication, We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, or style or we might just let it fly as is.
“On this blog, your speech is a privilege. On your blog, your speech is a right. Learn the distinction.”
The First Amendment guarantees the right to “the Right of the people peaceably to assemble.” The converse is also true – I have the Right to non-assembly; I cannot be forced to be grouped with those with whom I otherwise would not wish to be associated.
Well, that’s what this is all about – Marylyn and Albert / AJ Todd believing they can force me to join in with them.
Yeah, that ain’t happening. Even if they try really, REALLY hard to convince me using the tactics shown below.
Even as that language is harsh and gets even harsher. There is a difference between persuasive speech and that of belittling speech and self-vicimizing speech; it seems they don’t understand the differences.
Sidenote: yep, they failed to do their homework as there is another clause in our FAQs that I’m going to invoke:
Anything you send us is fair game and may be used on the site. Exceptions to this policy include if you ask us not to; however, if we judge the email to be nasty, we may still publish it to skewer poor judgment or lack of critical thinking.
So now, I am going to publish the texts (today’s phone version of emails). All of them. And all the emails as well.
“Ladies” first – here are Marylyn’s.
Note that I didn’t respond – everything is repeated verbatim to what they actually sent me. The only thing for you, dear readers, to know is that I saved off the texts, sent them to my PC, stripped off all the XML notations, and the plain texts are here. No, I don’t have the motivation to take an abysmal number of screenshots off my phone – I have better ways to waste my time. In fact, I pretty much had ignored them rolling in – I didn’t have the need to see them so even *I* was surprised when I was processing them for posting:
Hi skip I was hoping we could have some help with advertising for canvassers would you mind helping?
It’s heart breaking to hear that your picking politics over America. I have put my whole life on hold and even developed a criminal record to help elections! This is a war on all Americans and I’m not running for anything I am exposing voter fraud and the putting politics over America when she’s being stolen is heart breaking. I don’t want to be a politician I never will I want a fair election for my kids. This is dirty politics and is not helping New Hampshire and you know it. Our event is almost sold out so that’s fine but the canvassing is really really sad. Granite grok I thought was a hero publication different from the fake news but now I feel differently. The dems win because they fight together regardless, if this is how New Hampshire works than we won’t win. And about the symposium Anne Copp was the problem. She literally tried fist fighting me twice. My husband is a senior engineer and she called his job twice to get him fired. You’re putting politics before America and that’s what’s wrong with this country. We need to start putting america first. What’s best for America? and is not finding these phantom voters which we have 40,000 of, putting America first? No. And if that’s how the majority feels than maybe we don’t deserve her after all.
I really hope ken Tom or granite grok does something to find these phantom voters since were being suppressed from finding them. Because I promise you they’re there and they will keep using these fake voters until someone finds them.
Can you at least have a conversation with me about what I’ve done for you to censor me? I hope you can at least give me that respect? I’d like to know the whole story before making assumptions.
I’ve never done anything to you! Besides many times publicly state how awesome you guys were many times. There was a hurricane when dr Frank came his flight was canceled last minute. What did the nh citizens do for you to censor the truth from them? What have I done I deserve to know. It’s not fair for you to hear one side of the story and then draw this conclusion about me. At the end of the day though skip trump started out alone too even people that were on his side stood alone. Just like he did he had all the people who were suppose to help him turn their backs on him for no reason and he still was able to get things accomplished and I will too. You can censure me and I will tell the truth which is more than you can do because you can’t even state what I did so wrong to you.
This is super sad I literally did nothing to you. But I’m on the right side of God and you can believe what you want but I can’t help but believe once people see how wmur like you are and are becoming you will reap what you sow. You should be ashamed of yourself picking on me for absolutely nothing. I have done nothing to you. Be a journalist and report real news.
This will be my last message. Granite grok I thought had balls grow some and next time why don’t you tell me to my face even by a phone call. The reason you’re not is because you know what you’re doing is wrong and not in the best interest in New Hampshire. If we lose this you can blame yourself communist.
Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? Because I refuse to do what she is demanding, I’m a communist. Last time I looked, I’ve had REAL communists hating on me – so who is right, Marylyn or the self-proclaimed Communists? I’m so confused…well, actually not. But it was rather amusing to read. Why?
Not accepting material for publication means just that – not accepted for publication. I don’t HAVE to accept anything by anyone at any time of my choosing. I have a couple of reasons (stated above) that are valid to ME. It’s not censorship – she can go somewhere else and pay the fees to put it up.
But go back and review HOW she shaped her arguments – I’m the oppressor and she’s oppressed. She’s making herself be the victim and I’m the abuser making her be the victim. Patriot vs non-Patriot. She is so “giving” and I’m selfish. Good vs. bad. Deteriorating to insults.
Most people, upon being told no, would just move on. I never was this outraged when my local paper refused to put up one of my Letters to the Editor – I just shrugged my shoulders and went “I guess I hope to have better luck next time.”
I believe that most people would think like me – after all, WE don’t OWN the paper, right? We’re not the Editors, yes? Rationally, we KNOW that we can’t FORCE them to do anything.
The above is anything but rational. It’s an emotion full spree that is meant for one and only one purpose – to break my will, to psychologically shame me, to do something I really don’t wish to do. It’s emotional blackmail – it is a psychological tactic (or set of framings of tactics) for one and only one purpose.
And I see it from Democrats all the time (re: Whereupon I Am Still Living Rent Free in Brentwood Democrats Heads – The “Scarecrow” Edition). Democrats think people like me are subhuman – Marylyn’s on that road for doing the same (if I can extrapolate a bit here).
Just like this (the last one above).
This will be my last message
And given what I just wrote, do you really believe what she wrote? That the above really was the message she was going to send me? Yep, you only get one shot at this.
Yep, she sent me 25 more texts. And emails on top of that. Sorry, but WHO DOES THAT? Over an ad? Yes, readers, you are correct.
BTW, You’ll love the last text she sent; she accuses me of doing something to the Grandson that is evil. But I’ll put up AJ’s / Albert’s texts up next. Very similar – two peas in a pod. Then I’ll put up her next batch.
Also, as word spreads, I keep getting calls and emails from others she has bullied – I’m not the only one she has done this to. So, buyers beware.
Oh, and she’s made a bunch of assumptions in her texts – I can tell you almost all of them are spun out of the same cloth used in the fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothing”. I’ll address them later.
She decided to pick on the wrong person.
