Sunday, March 30, 2008

Fraud or legitimate pundit... Taylor Marsh biography... Who in the hell is this woman and what does it mean?

(NOTE: The saga continues)
(NOTE: Additional information available at this update)
(NOTE: I've also read and reviewed her book)
(NOTE: Find out about the Taylor Marsh cartoons here!)

A few days ago, I read a confused and silly piece at The Huffington Post by Taylor Marsh.

Taylor Marsh. She's all over the place these days, it seems. She's shown up on TV shows. She's a regular contributor at HuffPo. I see links to her blogs all over the place. I don't think you can call Taylor Marsh one of the great opinion shapers of our time, but she's definitely making an impact in certain circles.

She seems to have a lot of oomph among Hillary supporters. Her blog offers a daily dose of crazed Obama bashing and gets hundreds of comments from Clinton true believers who echo her sentiments as if they were gospel. Compared to little ol' John Brown, Taylor Marsh is BIG TIME.

I've been wondering. Who in the hell IS Taylor Marsh. I decided to find out. Strangely, this talk radio host and published author doesn't have a Wikipedia entry. Although I found several people wondering who she was, I found no bio outside of the one she's provided at HuffPo and the one on her own website. I figured it was time for someone to find out something more than that about Taylor Marsh and/or to collect available information in one place.

I'll be honest with you, though. I wasn't motivated by pure curiosity. I had an ax to grind. Day after day, I find the ramblings of Taylor Marsh and the ass-kissing dittoes of her Hillary-backing fan club more and more irritating. Her remarks are, in my estimation, another sympton of Hillary-induced soul cancer. I think Taylor Marsh sucks.

Thus, I was sort of hoping to find out that Ms. Marsh is a completely unqualified, unimportant, silly hack who just happened to fall into an audience because she decided to pledge an undying allegiance to The Monster during a contentious primary process. Hey, like I said, I had an ax to grind.

Guess what? I did discover that Taylor Marsh fails to meet the Pundit Worthy of Attention Threshhold. She is a wee hack with an audience. She does suck--at least on some level. However, she's also interesting. Believe it or not, I now have an admittedly bizarre newfound respect for her.

The Taylor Marsh story has two parts. First, it cautions us to remember that having a slick blog and a knack for PR doesn't make someone smart, qualified, or credible. Second, it teaches us that anyone can command an audience for his or her opinions. The Taylor Marsh story is about fame for the foolish, attention for the mediocre, and how a kid from Missouri can somehow grow up to be an oft-cited resource among those with an interest in serious matters--even if she might not have any business sharing the stage with serious people.

The Taylor Marsh story is at the intersection of Horatio Alger and Clifford Irving.

It starts with Michelle Marshall.

MICHELLE MARSHALL...

Michelle Marshall was a Missouri girl from a conservative family who entered beauty pageants to earn money for college. She ended up winning the Miss Missouri title in 1974. Even though she didn't take home the big Miss America tiara in Atlantic City, pageant circuit winnings helped her pay her way to Stephens College. Stephens is an all-female college in Columbia, Missouri. Michelle Marshall graduated, receiving a BFA.

She left Columbia (and if you've ever been there, you'd appreciate the decision) and went to New York. Her good looks, grace and talent landed her on a few Broadway stages. For whatever reason, Michelle's Broadway career was brief.

That's where Michelle Marshall vanishes. We don't hear from her again. Michelle Marshall becomes Taylor Marsh.

TAYLOR MARSH IN LA...

Michelle Marshall/Taylor Marsh went to Los Angeles. She found herself acting as a "relationship consultant" for the LA Weekly, a free alternative newspaper. Maybe. Sort of. She claims that experience today, but the details are cloudy. An interview with Marsh indicates that she wrote more political pieces. Marsh herself says she wrote relationship columns, but tried to sneak politics into them until someone in the editorial department made her stop. The interesting part of that comment is that Marsh said her future columns ran with an announcement of ADVERTISEMENT above them. Usually, if your colum is labeled an "advertisement" it's because it's not really a column at all. It's an ad.

Who was running the ad? Who was paying her to write the ad? Was it really an LA Weekly article and they just randomly slapped "advertisement" on top of it? I have no freaking clue. I'm a blogger in Kansas. I'm not Mike Wallace. What I do know is that Judith Proffer (Jablonski) was one of the publishers of LA Weekly. I also know that Proffer would later become a Marsh ally when Taylor decided she should be a radio host. I also believe that Proffer's role at the LA Weekly was concentrated on advertising issues.

All I'm saying is that it seems pretty likely that Taylor Marsh was never a paid columnist for LA Weekly. Columnists aren't labeled "advertisers" and would be far less likely to develop a close and lasting relationship with the people in the ad department than a regular columnist might. That's just a guess, but I think it's a pretty good one.

Before we move on with the Taylor Marsh biography, I want to mention an old post from Taylor Marsh. It's a review of a musical about Deep Throat porn star Linda Lovelace. Marsh gives an enthusiastic and positive review of Lovelace: The Musical. She even gives props to its executive producer for doing such a damn good job. She doesn't mention her friendship with the executive producer and future business partner, though. The backer? Judy Proffer.

TAYLOR MARSH IN PORN...

A review of Lovelace: The Musical isn't the only Marsh foray into the pornography and sex industries. Somewhere along the line, Taylor Marsh developed a keen interest in the topic. She claims to have extensively researched the field for several years. Part of that research involved working with/for Danni Ashe. Ashe, a porn star, was one of the pioneers of making shitloads of cash by peddling porn online. Marsh was there with her, serving as the editor-in-chief for Danni's Hard Drive.

That year in the field served as the basis for Taylor's book, My Year in Smut: The Internet Escapades Inside Danni's Hard Drive.

We'll talk more about that book and Taylor's claims about it later. Here's what I'm interested in knowing, though. Was the year with Danni Ashe a "research thing" from the beginning or was it a job with a porn outfit that turned into a book later? I could buy a copy of My Year in Smut to find out, but I'm not really THAT interested. I have a feeling Ms. Marsh will eventually fill us all in if people begin asking for answers, anyway. By the looks of this Marsh post, it was a gig. Nothing more.

I don't think it's a stretch to imagine that someone was writing relationship and sex advice pieces that appeared in an alt weekly would hook up with a porn company to serve as an editor. I don't think Taylor Marsh was going deep undercover when she was working with Ashe. I think she was just working a job. That guess fits nicely with the record of some Taylor Marsh appearances in LA that were focused on erotica and sex.

TAYLOR MARSH THE AUTHOR...

My Year in Smut is THE Taylor Marsh book. I don't mean it's the best. I mean it's the only one. I mention that because she likes to occasionally mention her status as an author. Her background as an author and her "research" for the book create a kind of implied credibility. They probably shouldn't.

When your research is actually your job working for a porn site that's an issue. When you're book is printed by AuthorHouse, that's another issue.

AuthorHouse, previously known as 1st Books, served as publisher for My Year in Smut. Do you know what it takes to get AuthorHouse to print your book? Do you need a good literary agent who can sell them on your manuscript? Do you need a track record as an author? Do you need a knockout manuscript they just can't resist? No. No, you don't. You need a check. Or a major credit card.

AuthorHouse is a self-publishing vanity press. You pay them, they print your book. That's about it. I could take my four-year-old's assorted scribblings and Crayola pieces and transform them into a coffee table book, complete with glowing reviews of each drawing written in the tone of a serious art critic. I could do that for around $500. Would that make John Brown's daugher a serious artist? Not really, huh?

Vanity publishers are, generally, where you go when you can't get a real publisher to take your book. Yes, there are exceptions. There are always exceptions. However, if you take a tour around the AuthorHouse site and look at the kind of stuff they're publishing (oh, and they aren't editing this shit, either, you just give them the goods and they create books), you'll get a pretty good idea of what kind of stuff comes out of the self-publishing world. If you're interested in learning more about Author House specifically, here are about 8 million observations about it from writers of all sorts.

Look, My Year in Smut might be awesome. However, it's almost disingenuous to play "I'm a published author" when the very reason you're published is because you coughed up the cash. That's all I'm saying. Take it for what it's worth. Taylor Marsh mentions her book fairly regularly. You don't hear her mention the fact that she paid for it instead of getting paid for it.

That's not the World's Biggest Deal, but it is sort of interesting with respect to Taylor Marsh because she likes to build credibility via My Year in Smut and by describing herself as a radio host. She paid for the "author badge". Turns out she paid for the "radio badge", too.

TAYLOR MARSH IS ON THE AIR... SORT OF...

Taylor Marsh is a radio host. She says so. Everyone says so. It's all over the fucking place. However, you probably haven't heard her in your car on the radio while commuting to work or going to the store. You see, Taylor Marsh isn't on the radio. No one has actually paid her for being on the radio at any time, based on what I can find.

Taylor Marsh has a website that looks like it belongs to a radio show host. It's illusion. She's a podcaster. She records a show like the ones they actually broadcast on the radio and makes it available for download.

I have nothing against podcasting and I listen to a few semi-regularly. Many of the "big names" in radio make their real radio shows available via podcast. There's nothing inherently silly about podcasting.

There is something inherently silly about calling yourself a radio host and garnering credibility as a media figure from it when all you're really doing is taking a few calls from ass-kissing blog readers and converting results into MP3 format. That isn't a radio show.

Radio shows are broadcast. Radio shows, in most cases, have advertisers. Babbling into a $15 Radio Shack microphone in your basement and uploading the results to your website isn't running a radio show. Sorry, it just isn't. You are not a radio host if you do that. You're a podcaster.

But she DID have a radio show at one time, right? Well, sort of. I can understand the confusion. Occasionally she mentions wanting to find a "new home" for her radio show and she discusses her status as a screwed-over radio host when she makes crazily shallow comments about the Fairness Doctrine. Clearly, she had a radio show. Right?

Here's the deal. In 2002, Taylor Marsh went to Las Vegas and became a radio host... Sort of. Judy Proffer (Magpye Media) and Marsh came up with the cash to buy time on KLAV, a Las Vegas AM radio station. That's right. They bought time.

KLVA is to radio what Author House is to publishing. If you can't really get a job on a real radio station, you can go to KLVA and buy blocks of time. They give you the studio, provide production assistance, and you're on the air! Instant radio host status. If you'd like to become a talk radio host tomorrow, call your local AM vanity station and offer them some cash. That's all it takes. You can stutter. You can whine. You can say outrageously stupid things. You can be boring. It's on your dime. I could put my four-year-old in front of a mic and have her sing variations on "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" for two hours a day and, voila!, she'd have a claim equivalent to Taylor's as a "radio host".

The little group that funded the project didn't sustain it very long. It looks like the Marsh plan was to buy time on KLVA and to put together a show that was good enough to attract some attention from other media types. They could then syndicate the show and turn in into a profitable enterprise instead of a pay-to-play operation. That never happened. Taylor's foray into the real world of actual broadcast radio consisted of being a self-proclaimed hour-long "antidote to right wing talk" that never found backing beyond incubation.

So, Taylor Marsh is a pocaster who took a shot at becoming a radio host once upon a time. That's the bottom line, as I see it.

IS TAYLOR MARSH A FRAUD?

A lot of people would look at her authorship and radio host claims and say, "Hell yes, she's a fraud". Originally, I was sort of thinking about saying that, too. I'm going to stop short, though. She isn't a fraud. She's just good at making things sound better than they actually are.

She can take a self-published workplace story and spin it into being a respected author, buttressing her grandiosity because some other author just happened to mention her book in another book. Taylor Marsh can take her work experience in online porn and transform it into research for her book. She isn't a former porn employee, she's an expert.

Taylor Marsh can buy radio time in a gambit to get a paying job, fall flat and then spin that into being a talk radio icon. She can take what might have been little more than writing advertisements in an alt weekly and create a background in a print journalism.

Now, I don't want to pretend like she's a complete fabrication that suddenly emerged, fully formed, out of nowhere. If you start digging, you'll find that Taylor has been prolific on the web for a long time. She writes, writes and writes some more. She's blogged all over the place, including pro-Kerry work and Patriot Project efforts during the last election cycle. Blogging regularly, however, doesn't make one a genius. Otherwise, the guy from icanhazcheezburger.com would be on TV in place of David Gergen.

Taylor Marsh isn't a fraud. She's a spinner. A dedicated spinner.

This is the weird part of this post. Every time I read a Taylor Marsh post, I make that face usually reserved for sniffing a pot of human feces. I think she's a buffoon with a website, undeserving of an audience. I find her analysis feeble and obvious. I find her writing amateurish and her weirdly unrelenting support of Hillary Clinton suspicious. I think her blog is a bad thing. I want to say she's a phony. Hell, she might be. But in the end, I'm going to tip my hat to her more than I'm going to mock her. I'm leaving this foray into Taylor Marsh biography with a newfound respect for her.

She's found a way to go from being a regular person with a strong interest in politics to having a voice, an audience and some impact. She might be full of shit, but she's slinging it to people in numbers I can't imagine. Taylor Marsh might be part of the political soul cancer that's been killing our liberal democracy, but she's good at creating a reputation, credibility and an audience. The spin is Clifford Irving. The success story is Horatio Alger.

I'd like an audience, too. Right now, this little new free blog brings me about 30-50 people per day. She gets 10X that many comments on every post because she's willing to pitch herself like crazy.

I could do that, but I don't. Now I'm wondering why.

You see, I am the author of countless published pieces (many ghostwritten for others, but what the hell). I'm an award-winning blogger (not this one). I'm an accomplished public speaker who has given literally hundreds of presentations. I'm a published academician in the communications field. I am a legal scholar and a former recipient of an American Jurisprudence award for the study of criminal law. I am a former PAID radio personality. I've made multiple television appearances, including one just last weekend on Easter, discussing matters related to a specific aspect of the economy. I've successfully operated my own copywriting firm, successfully represented the downtrodden in administrative proceedings and have inside connections at both the state and federal levels of government.

If I wanted to Taylor Marsh myself, I could be the next big thing at HuffPo. Yeah, I'd have to cut out a lot of the "fuck" and "shit" you find here. I'd need a proofreader, too. I'd have to sacrifice anonymity and just go nuts with it... That'd be tough...

But if I was willing to be as brazen and audacious as Taylor Marsh, I'd be big time.

Maybe I'll do that. Maybe I'll make this blog disappear, buy a new domain, put together a hot looking site with a few glossies of me, write a check to Author House, upload a few "radio shows", shine up my resume and go Big Time.

Maybe not.

Taylor, if you're reading this...

Your punditry sucks ass, but you're one helluva self-promoter. Use your powers for good instead of evil and you might just have a fan in John Brown.

I suppose the other Marsh lesson is even more important. If you're listening to someone and taking them seriously, you might want to make sure they're worth taking seriously. Am I? Is she? It's worth some thought.

CLEARING THE AIR RE: TAYLOR MARSHGATE
UPDATE

And WHO IS JOHN BROWN, anyway... And why did her review Marsh's book?


Bookmark



Technorati Tags: Del.icio.us Tags: Furl Tags:

70 comments:

  1. John -- that is some serious stuff and a great read. I'm putting you on my blogroll immediately.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. Great stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it - this is great. Thanks for doing the legwork.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That was great. I've stopped even going by her blog since its all Obama hate all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. John,
    Great work.

    I've often wondered about TM's background and claims. I had never heard of her until I read something on her blog about two years ago, thought it made sense, and bookmarked it. I rarely went back, though - I have about 150 blogs bookmarked and regularly read the top 10 or so, and she was way at the bottom. This election season I've been back, though, and have decided that she must be at least slightly mentally ill.

    Thanks for doing this research. You really let her off easy in the end, though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Columbia, MO isn't so bad. Lived there for 7 years while alternating between following the Dead around and getting my degree from the Missouri School of Journalism. Stephens College was always a bit of a joke. An easy finishing school for spoiled rich girls who didn't score above 22 on the ACT. That Taylor Marsh is Stephens Alumni is so unsurprising. It's a degree you pay for more than you earn, much like the rest of her "accomplishments".

    ReplyDelete
  7. Next step, follow the money. Clearly all this pseudo-celebrity has come by buying experience. And at just about every turn somehow it involves one Judy Proffer/Jablonski. So the question is why? Why is Proffer/Jablonski apparently tossing down all this cash for Marsh's schemes that seem to only result in resume padding? Where's the ROI? The whole thing seems really odd.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Update here:

    http://johnbrownks.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-is-taylor-marsh-update-for-bio-tall.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice little hit job, mean-spirited and showing poor values. I guess the only person who meets your elitist sense of people's worthiness is a graduate degree from Harvard. Well, people have a wealth of personal experiences and education experiences and they are still substantial, worthwhile human begins. If they work hard, they get somewhere. It's called America. So maybe YOU might work a little harder ... and be sure to look out for the people in the woods, with their crooked arrows, always looking to shoot others down.

    She has a right to be interested in politics and human relations and to write about them. And a lot of your bio is thin stuff, based on speculation.

    ReplyDelete
  10. A Marshian, accusing someone ELSE of being meanspirited? HA!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anon,

    The speculative portions are labeled as such.

    I don't argue that Marsh isn't entitled to opinions. I don't argue that people shouldn't evaluate her arguments on their merits.

    I do, however, think that people might want to know that the credentials she throws around in an effort to build ethos are a wee bit thin.

    Take it for what it's worth.

    Oh, and you may have noticed that I actually give her a bit of thumbs up. I'm impressed by her ability to be heard. She's a regular person with an non-traditional background for her interests--and she's becoming well-known. That's impressive.

    That doesn't change the fact that her analysis usually comes in at about a 5th grade level or the fact that she's wrong about 92% of her conclusions, but it does warrant some respect.

    Thanks for reading.

    John Brown

    ReplyDelete
  12. Taylor Marsh is fair in her blogging about this election. And she has research and facts to back up her claims. She does not resort to name-calling as you did in your post. That's why I read her, and a few other bloggers.

    I can't read much of the blogosphere anymore - just innuendo and unending hate towards the Clintons.

    Taylor has hundreds of thousands of readers (and growing at an incredble rate) because there are many people that believe Hillary is the best qualified candidate in this race. And there are very few sites with a pro-Hillary slant.

    I have wondered for the past year just how ironic it is that the candidate of Hope and Unity inspires and encourages such hatred. The comments and blog posts, even on his official website is filled with hatred.

    After watching 12 videos of BO's mentor of 20 years - I understand a bit better. After his speech on race, I get it now. He is not post-racial at all.

    You write well, and if you are critical of BO's opponents - I would read your site as well. But, your rant has to have some integrity.

    Everything BO is not good and everything HRC is not bad.

    ReplyDelete
  13. L Chris:

    Hmmm... Your profile leads to:

    http://bamboozledbyobama.blogspot.com/

    That's what I call objective blogospheric commentary! Not.

    You're right. All that is Obama is not good. If you bothered reading through this mess, you'd realize I agree with you wholeheartedly.

    All that is Hillary is not bad. True again. There is a lot of bad, though.

    Yes, I do some name-calling. I never professed to be perfect. I'm glad you think I write well, though.

    Marsh is a hack. Pure and simple. She can't write her way out of the wettest of paper sacks and her analysis is shallow.

    Oh and re: disgust with the Clintons... Sometimes people dislike others for no good reason. Sometimes, however, there are very good reasons. I happen to think reasons abound with respect to Hillary and Bill. You don't. So be it.

    But, as I announce on every page of this blog:

    I'm right and you're wrong. Well, I'd like to think so. At least the "I'm right" part.

    John Brown

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks like somebody's a bit jealous that his Google ads aren't making as much money as Ms. Marsh's.

    Trying having a unique point of view in the blogosphere, and people will start knowing YOU on a first name basis as well. As but one shrill voice for Obama amongst millions, however, you just won't make it. Because even as Obama hacks go, you're second or third tier.

    Maybe you can put your "investigative reporting skills" to better use, eh? Find a niche and exploit it. Until then, I think you've crossed into "creepy stalkerish old guy" territory with this post.

    Pathetic. It really, really is.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey,

    There is nothing at that blogspot - did you look? I grabbed the name after seeing him at two events and he was using that bamboozled spiel which I thought was kinda funny. It was a bit like a stand-up routine. He has stage presence for sure.

    I do not think Obama is all bad - just not my pick this year for a lot of reasons. I do my research for elections..and I read and weigh the candidate websites and their words most.


    ((I'm right and you're wrong. Well, I'd like to think so. At least the "I'm right" part.))

    Of course! Your blog - your rules.

    I meant no disrespect. I do think Taylor Marsh's website is an asset at this time. As I mentioned, though Hillary has about half of the popular vote (14mil+) there are so few pro-Hillary sites. Partly due to demographics that her candidacy attracts.

    One thing that I will note is that unless you have written anything critical about Obama, you have no idea how large, how vile, and how organized the pushback is. I respect that she is taking a lot of heat for writing her blog.

    I like hearing all sides, and even when I leaned Obama, I scoured the net for pro-Edwards and pro-Hillary sites. I still read up on McCain as well.

    An interesting blog post might be what constitutes a good or bad pundit..or how and when you get to be called a pundit.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anon-

    As noted, the fame part isn't rocket science--if you're willing to pimp yourself and inflate your background.

    As per a unique voice... Yeah, there are SO few Hillary backers out there.

    Am I jealous of Ms. Marsh? Not particularly. I'm doing okay without blogospheric millions.

    Insulting me is fine and dandy. 2nd or 3rd tier, though? Come on... Plus, I'm not so much an Obama hack as a guy who despises lies and mendacity.

    And I'm okay with the creepy stalkerish old guy deal. If it makes you feel better to shoot the messenger because your little blog hero stretches the truth, so be it.

    Later gator,
    John Brown

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fair enough, Chris.

    I hereby promise to write a blog post critical of Barack Obama within 72 hours.

    John Brown
    Man about Town

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi-larious! I can't figure out if this is tongue-in-cheek or if you're just a disgruntled ex-lover. Or maybe a scary stalker.

    Either way...

    Taylor is totes cool in my book. My only complaint is she really needs to buy more bandwidth. It takes forever for her homepage to load and I use high-speed. Forget about the bad use of hyper-links too. By the time you're finished reading a linked article you've forgotten all about TM.

    I like her and think she does an excellent job as a blogger. She is fair, IMO. I could give a crap if she published a book of hers thru the blue light special bin at KMart. Meh. Big fucking deal.

    Love,
    A Democrat that will vote for McCain over O'bomber.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Team Jolie...

    If you're the Jolie "twins" (not the newborns), it's nice to meet ya!

    Taylor is cool w/ you, so be it. I think she's an interesting case of creating one's own fame... That's for sure.

    I also think her posts are silly. Either way, life goes on.

    I'm not a creepy stalker, though. Just curious. I started seeing the name Taylor Marsh all over the place and wondered who in the hell she was. I couldn't find a decent answer, so I did 1/2 hour worth of digging and.... voila!

    Take care Team Jolie!

    Your best buddy,
    John Brown
    Inventor of Windex

    ReplyDelete
  20. Next step, follow the money. Clearly all this pseudo-celebrity has come by buying experience.

    No doubt. Taylor Marsh seems like she's being groomed to deliver a certain kind of message for a specific group of people. I guess they're thinking she'll outgrow her deficiencies by the time the bought-for personal zeitgeist manages to leave gravitational orbit. They'd be wrong, but still....that appears to be the plan.

    And a lot of your bio is thin stuff

    Ever heard of the phrase "Don't shoot the messenger" ? Last I saw, Mr. JBKS isn't getting stroked all over the place or engaging in blatant resume-padding.

    Looks like somebody's a bit jealous that his Google ads aren't making as much money as Ms. Marsh's

    You really think that's the issue? See above - don't shoot the messenger.

    A Democrat that will vote for McCain over O'bomber.

    You know what? I can't stand Hillary but if she's the nominee I'm holding my nose and voting for her. I don't understand how there's even a dispute here.

    I really do not understand what's happening with Democrats these days. It seems like we're determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There's been bad behavior on both sides, for sure, but I have not seen anything on the subjectively "pro-Obama" blogs I frequent that comes closes to matching the venom of the pro-Hillary sites. The poor souls at TalkLeft have lost their freaking minds.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Who am I?

    I'm your one and only, baby.

    Seriously, here's my bio:

    http://johnbrownks.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-is-john-brown-just-in-case-you-were.html

    ReplyDelete
  22. Apparently it was not the content of her blogs but the nature of who she supports that got you.

    see you obamabots love to bring all these issues up. But guess what. nothing trumps an OBAMA ( racists supporter, bigot supporter, Micheel obama american hater)over a taylor marsh . TM just bitch slaps your ass all day and night...and you know it!

    ReplyDelete
  23. You don't seem to understand the uniqueness of the blogosphere. The wonder of the internet is that you don't have to have a large bankroll behind you to get your voice heard. Anyone can write their thoughts, opinions, and feelings and find an audience for them online.

    In this election season, a large majority of leftie blogs have become nothing more than Obama 527's, filled with ad hominem attacks and vitriol, not reasoned opinions. Why would it surprise you that those who support Hillary would frequent blogs that present the other side? Taylor Marsh has obviously found her audience, so more power to her. And I have to say that you must not be reading her regularly if you have concluded that her postings are filled with Obama attacks and hate language. They are not, even when his actions warrant a strong denouncement. Your one post has more attack language in it than any post I'm ever read at Taylor Marsh.

    And incidentally, I could care less about whether she has published books or a broadcast radio show. Some of the worst pundits of this election year have those attributes. They obviously mean very little.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I vote fraud.


    I totes'ally do.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Jay-

    She DOES back The Monster, but that's not why I wrote this little bio. I've explained my motivations a few times. Don't need to do it again.

    I question Taylor's bitch-slapping abilities, though. I really do.

    And what's with this Obamabot thing? Cast that aspersion at someone who fits the bill, silly.

    Cognitive Dissonance-

    You do Festinger proud.

    Oh, I "get it" about the beauty of the web in terms of amplifying voices even when they lack bankroll, etc. Personally, I love it. It's the one thing about Marsh I really dig, too.

    I didn't accuse Marsh of writing anything hateful (I don't think). Her commenters are batshit crazy, but that's not her fault. I think she's silly and shallow. Not necessarily mean, though.

    I'm sure many Obama backers are hateful and mean. Fair enough. I have no idea why that's important to me, though.

    Oh, and I did say a few mean things. They were also right.

    I don't really give a hoot about her publication record, either. At least not in the sense you're response is implying. I do, however, think it's a little goofy to pretend to be something you're not in an effort to attract attention and audience.

    John Brown
    Maker of Fine Casseroles

    ReplyDelete
  26. Taylor Marsh has some of the most ridiculous statements about Obama that I have ever seen. To call her analysis shallow is being kind. There is nothing there from her and nothing but hate from her posters. Cognitive dissonance: you are soooooo wrong. The absolute hate and venom from TM's posters goes way beyond the silly HUFPO and KOS one line 'hillary sucks' garbage - no one pays attention to that stuff. But you Taylor fans simply hate Obama to hate - with absolutely NO facts to back your opinions up - speculate and trash.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I think you have a problem with stong women.

    Hillary will be better than McCain and Obama for the economy, especially if your job is not recession proof. Obama economic policies are going to tank the economy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Most recent anon-

    I don't have a problem with strong women. Yeah, I have to tie the knots a little tighter, but that's no big deal.

    Just kidding. I love strong women. If you knew some of the women in my past or my wife, you'd double over laughing at the idea that I had a problem with tough, capable women.

    Re: the economy. Saying "Obama bad, Hillary good, McCain bad" is absolutely meaningless.

    Those are claims. Claims need warrants in order to become arguments. You gotta give a guy some "why", otherwise you're just pissing in the wind.

    John Brown
    I'm taller than you.

    ReplyDelete
  29. John Brown, I don't care one bit about what Taylor Marsh "was". I do care about what she "is: though. She is a great American trying to save the Democratic Party from making an incredibly huge mistake. I suggest you check out what Helen Thomas has to say about Barack Obama also and tell me that she too, is a fraud, etc. I'll stick with Marsh anyday for relevant facts ver your hit piece stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Most recent Anon-

    Helen Thomas is a far stretch brighter than Taylor Marsh, so pointing me in her direction does make a lot more sense than trying to convince any sentient being that Marsh is some sort of visionary Great American.

    I happen to think Helen is off a little on this one, though. As much as one may respect her, there's no reason to believe she's infallible.

    I don't really think it's important to judge Marsh based on her past, either. I think people should evaluate her ramblings by using their own critical thinking skills and common sense. However, she likes to crutch on her "experience" when she feels like she needs a shot of ethos. People should know whether to buy into that story, don't you think?

    Oh, no you don't think. I forgot. Go play with some other Great Americans and leave the thinking to the professionals.

    Yours in admiration,
    John Brown
    Professional Seamstress

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dear John Brown,

    Nope, I'm not one of her twins. ;-)

    Just a big fan of hers and also a team member being I'm sick and tired of the Team Maniston lovers of all things big chinned who hate on Angelina all the live long day. The Obamadingalings have NOTHING on the sandy vajayjay Maniston lovers. That old hag's fans are ruthless jealous haters of beautiful women.

    Hey Jennifer Aniston... Jay Leno called...HE WANTS HIS CHIN BACK!

    Did I mention I hate Chinnifer Maniston?

    Love,
    Me

    ReplyDelete
  32. Team Jolie-

    I'm definitely not part of Team Maniston (I must admit that I had to use Google to figure out what the F you were talking about, though).

    If anything, I would sign up with Team Jolie. No question.

    Your comment kicked ass on several levels.

    John Brown
    Refrigerator Repair Specialist

    ReplyDelete
  33. take your own advice, or you're just "pissing in the wind"

    You wrote:

    "didn't accuse Marsh of writing anything hateful (I don't think). Her commenters are batshit crazy, but that's not her fault. I think she's silly and shallow. Not necessarily mean, though."


    I'm a commentator on her website.

    Her posts regularly draw upwards of 400+ comments.

    Display 10 consecutive "batshit crazy" comments, or leave a woman who self-promotes, alone.

    The other bloggers out there..pro-Obama, who have said waaaay worse things..such as lying in a weasely way about "clinton darkening Obama's skin" on a goddamn Youtube video...have you addressed the people behind those?

    It's pretty obvious that you seem condescending, in the manner of good'ol Rush, but to call these people names, who have left blogs that you certainly MUST approve of such as Huffpo, or TPM, or DKos, because they were marginalized, ignored, and called racists after years of supporting the Democratic party in money, and time, is pathetic and demeaning.

    They're people, with opinions, and the forum is respectful, which is something the people at DKos can't say (Clinton darkens obama's skin) YEA RIGHT...Lying liars and the people who believe them...

    Never posted here before, but if I'm able to post this without registering, or moderation..you get extreme props for that.

    ReplyDelete
  34. You probably think Tim Russert is a "serious" journalist.

    You're one of those starf*cker type idiots who still believe that a blogger's opinion holds less weight than a New York Times writer's.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Two more anonymouses. I wish blogger would create random number sequences for them or something... Anyway...

    I'm going to deal with the 2nd Anon first. I'm not a starfucker and I don't automatically value the Times over your neighbor. I do, however, object to people playing "make believe" in order to appear to be something they're not in order to snag ethos.

    I'm a nobody. So be it. I COULD dress up my past to make myself sound better than hyperbolic Marsh, but I think that's dishonest.

    Personally, I think arguments should be evaluated on their merits. Author background and qualification may have some weight, but not nearly as much as the actual quality of the analysis.

    As for Russert, I think he's a tool. If you search my little blog for "Russert tool" you'll get a few results.

    Nice try, though. Unfortunately, you missed your mark.

    I'm going to double back for the other anon. commenter in a few minutes.

    Until then I am,

    John Brown
    Professional Circus Strong Man

    ReplyDelete
  36. To the other anon-

    You're right--Taylor Marsh gets a lot of comments on her posts. It's also important to remember that re-runs of Alice grab a large enough audience to attract advertisers. In other words, popularity is no proof of quality.

    Your "10 consecutive" challenge is completely arbitrary. I didn't say that more than 90% of Marsh readers were nutjobs who always post insanity. The numbers might only be a little shy of that, though.

    You're right. Other bloggers suck, too. I'm not trying to be the blogospheric super cop, though. I just happened to wonder why people were taking Marsh seriously, because I felt her observations were weak-minded and shallow. When I saw HER mentions of being a radio host and an author, I became curious.

    Let it be known that John Brown hereby renounces, rejects and repudiates all bloggers of all opinions who suck as horribly as does Taylor Marsh. Does that satisfy you?

    I'm not condescending. I'm just smarter than you. That was a joke. Sort of. Okay, so it was.

    When did I become a fan of blogger interactions at Daily Kos, etc? I'm not.

    I'm just a guy who calls it as he sees it and tries to do so in a readable fashion. That's all.

    Feel free to post here anytime. Say what you will. Seriously, you can call me a complete asshat and accuse me of horrific crimes against humanity and I still won't moderate you away.

    Your #1 Amigo,

    John Brown
    Popcorn Addict

    ReplyDelete
  37. John - liked the detail in your post. Keep it up. For the Taylor Marsh groupies, try disproving the detail John has compiled rather than attacking him, or Obama for that matter.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Your fixation on Taylor Marsh sounds like penis envy.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anon-

    Yes, I have penis envy.

    You're the champion!

    John Brown
    I'm a grower, not a show-er

    ReplyDelete
  40. John, you might want to check this post from Taylor Marsh out, if you haven't done so already.

    ReplyDelete
  41. JB, great write up on the Great Kazoo and her Marshians. Her blog is comparable to hillaryis44, which is a just a little bit higher on the Screaming Batshit Insane Scale. Great job fielding her Marshians too...lol

    I have been wondering where she came from, and you filled in enough blanks that I know I was right in dismissing her out of hand. Reading her material is painful at best, and her 'analysis' is cobbled together with little more than toothpicks and bubble gum.

    Hillary is nowhere near as bad as her 'supporters' make her look, but you sure can't tell them that and expect them to listen.

    Nice blog, I will have to swing by and see if you get famous. I hang out at Balloon-Juice, and look what we did for John...lol! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  42. I think you've discovered why she supports Hillary - she's just like her. Puffs up her past to make herself appear to be something she's not.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Wow. I used to like Taylor Marsh, without reading her stuff very deeply. Then she seemed to run off the rails. As a Kerry supporter, I was astonished at how she turned suddenly from apparent respect to seething contempt for him. It struck me as very odd that a "serious blogger" would write such childish things. Your explanation of her background clears up a lot. As someone who's not very good at self-promotion, I share some of your sense of respect for what she's been able to accomplish. I think it's good for people to have the moxie to put themselves out there and do whatever it takes to get the job of their dreams. But then there comes the time to take the job seriously and put in the hard work required to back up the self-promotion with substance. Taylor Marsh isn't doing the work to become a genuine journalist blogger, and her emotional outbursts against Democrats who have disappointed her only underscore her lack of seriousness.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Brilliant expose, John. I linked, dugg and email to 400 news & media source emails.

    You really did a great analysis. Very enjoyable read. Like I said on my blog of your article:

    "Very interesting read, but unlike the author, I WILL call Taylor Marsh for what she is: A fraud. She's the Michelle Malkin of the left (what's left of her). Seriously unstable and grossly over-hyped (like most narcissists, by herself of course).

    John Brown goes where others only have nightmares of going...Taylor Marsh's past.

    [snip]

    John dismantle Taylor Marsh’s credentials the way an actual reporter (or even a descent blogger) with talent and good journalistic instincts would.

    It’s informative, priceless and devastating."

    I hope this gets the legs it deserves.

    ReplyDelete
  45. John love your work. You need to send this to Politico and MSNBC and maybe even Drudge.

    Politico's Ben Smith links to Taylor (Michelle) all the time. I'm sorry but a fraud (even one who claims to be a Dem) is still a fraud.

    This story has media gold written all over it. I mean porn, frauds, politics, and name changes. Truth is stranger than fiction!

    ReplyDelete
  46. If Marsh were an Obamabot, the blogger would not write this piece.

    That's the bottom line.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Funny, I welcome her to real radio. All those clinton/dlc plants bankrolling her will have to make decisions...because they can´t moderate out callers like commenters. She´s got so much baggage already...she would last as long as hillary without handlers. ANother important aspect in this is money, I think she is cultivating a voting block for defection. She´ll be pushing McCain...and a large number of voters will instantly feel hoodwinked ala those who followed Joementum over that cliff in connecticutt.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Susan-

    You're right.

    Before you tear your rotator cuff with a back pat, however, you should realize that you're right only by virtue of accident.

    The reason I encountered Marsh was because she's out there worshiping at the altar of Monster in a loud voice that attracts attention.

    My curiosity was piqued because I wondered what kind of batshit crazy goof would write such nonsense. Thus, I took a quick look at who Marsh is.

    Had she not been spouting goofiness, I wouldn't have noticed. Ergo, no post.

    So, yeah, here support for Monster did increase the likelihood of discovery.

    When you do stupid things, you stick out in a crowd, I guess.

    What's absent from your accidentally half-true observation is any indication as to why resume-pumping and tall tale telling is a legitimate and/or admirable way to build an audience.

    Look, Susan, I admitted my bias right on the top of this post. The fact I'm biased doesn't make me wrong, though. Well, at least it doesn't make me wrong on this particular issue--the issue of whether Marsh is an honest crackpot or a teller of fables with dreams of real radio superstardom.

    Thanks for reading. That's good. Now, do a little work on the comprehension part and you'll be in good shape.

    Sincerely,

    John Brown
    Your Secret Crush

    ReplyDelete
  49. "I ran my own copywriting shop"

    If you did, successfully, you would know how to spell copyright you dumb shit.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anon-

    Your comment was the Best Comment Ever.

    Copyright and copyrighting: legal protections for intellectual property.

    Not what I did.

    Writing copy (copywriting, copywriter, copy writing, copy writer): writing promotional materials, press releases, advertising copy, etc.

    The fact that you posted anon is the only thing saving you from the hassle of deleting your post in a fit of shame.

    Your friend

    John Brown
    Caller Outer of Asshats

    ReplyDelete
  51. The stench of pique on Anonymous is overbearing at this point.

    Anonymous, we're starting to think you might have a serious case of the projections...

    ReplyDelete
  52. ww-

    So much anonymity. Why can't these people just pick the names of historical figure and go the pseudonym route?

    Your friend,

    "John Brown"

    ReplyDelete
  53. Otherwise, the guy from icanhazcheezburger.com would be on TV in place of David Gergen.

    and that would be bad how?

    ReplyDelete
  54. the Monster? I think referring the HRC as the Monster is truly over the top, and qualifies as Clinton hatred. But that's just me. (same as anon 11:18)

    ReplyDelete
  55. Gergen Anon-

    You are right. The LOLCat guy would be more interesting than Gergen. I have no counter-argument.

    Yours forever and ever and ever,

    John Brown
    My Cat Kills

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anon Monster-

    Yeah, it's anti-Hillary.

    She's earned it.

    Maybe she can stop being such a POS, in which case I will refer to her as "Former Monster" or "Recovering Monster" or something.

    Until then... Monster.


    Yours until noon tomorrow,

    John Brown
    I Wrote the Book of Love

    ReplyDelete
  57. Sorry, John, but I'm just going to have to correct you on something that nobody else caught since you posted this two weeks ago (and you can thank a commenter at Balloon Juice for pointing me this way). You say that if you wrote for HuffPo, you'd need a proofreader. Have you noticed how many writers there look like an editor didn't check them at all? And I'm referring to the basic stuff, like to/two/too usage. Your off-the-cuff material is already above their standards on that level.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Very nice post, sir. I am looking forward to dropping in on your blog more often.
    My favorite part is the verb-ing of "Taylor Marsh," as in "If I wanted to Taylor Marsh myself..." (urban dictionary, anyone??).
    I daresay that grabbing the top spot on her HuffPo article and linking here is a nice little piece of Marshing.
    As for what she is/does/stands for, she certainly doesn’t drip with the same dank slime as her colleague Larry Johnson; nor is she as twisted and shameless a self-promoter as Anne Coulter.
    The supporters who have posted here to defend her (and attack John) just about sum it up for me. They are not the worst kind of rabid, just kind of annoying in their simple-minded determination. Sure, they dissemble, but they do it so artlessly. And their attacks are so shopworn and feeble that they almost inspire pity, not to mention amusment (cf. Susan; cf. anon Apr.10). They strike me as a bunch of Sancho Pazas, reaching past their intellect to venture forth in devotion to their chosen Quixote. We can see the tilting windmills for what they are, we can see the ambition, profit-motive, and egoism in all this idealism, but we also know that pointing it out could hardly do much good.

    ReplyDelete
  59. However, it's almost disingenuous to play "I'm a published author" when the very reason you're published is because you coughed up the cash.

    Heh! We've got this pretty nutty guy who posts pieces on our IMC site all the time (Lemme put it this way, if he was a card player he'd be missing all of his aces and a few kings). He recently bragged to me that he had published umpty-zillion pieces (I think the number was 3,000+), so I asked him "The IMCs and Topix are both self-publishing places, where you post an article without any human involvement. How many of these pieces you're bragging about were published through a human filter?"
    I received lots of verbal abuse for that one! Hee hee!
    And yes, we delete his contributions as SOON as we see them!

    ReplyDelete
  60. Blue Raven-

    Your two kind.

    Yeah, I know it's an easy joke. It's late, though. Cut me some slack.

    Thanks for the love and I'm totally down with Balloon Juice. A few mentions in the comments there produced a nice little cadre of regular readers.

    Don't be a stranger.

    Yours,

    John Brown
    You CAN Make it with Play-Doh

    ReplyDelete
  61. Dagna--

    I like the noun-->verb thing every once in a while. Why hit someone with a chair when you can "chair" them.

    My Marshing at Huffpo was completely accidental. I don't know how that comment slipped into the top slot. Honest.

    Johnson is in a league of his own. Coulter is in a different league of her own.

    The Marsh backers are deranged. Simply deranged. It's like a special club for mildly liberal middle-aged women who have real issues with blacks but who know better than to say what they're thinking out loud.

    I hesitate to make the Don Quixote analogy myself because I have a fondness for DQ and Pancho--I'd hate to sully them in my mind by comparing them to Marsh dwellers. I get your point, though. True that.

    Thanks for the groovy comment and I hope you keep coming back for more.

    I am,

    John Brown
    Wondering about Red Box Late Fees

    ReplyDelete
  62. Rich-

    I love the fact that any dummy with an opinion can put their crazy ideas out there for the world to see and judge. I'm sure you feel likewise.

    I wonder, though, why so many of those dummies feel they need to pump up their "bios" instead of just letting their words work on their own.

    Actually, I don't wonder. I get it. When you suck, you gotta work the angles. Thus we get Taylor Marsh and your 3000x published buddy.

    I'm not saying that gatekeepers and editors are proof positive of skill, wit, acumen or anything else good. I would say, however, that they tend to filter out the absolute crap at least some of the time.

    Nice to have you stop by. I'm going to read more of your PRAWN blog when I have a shot.

    Take care,

    John Brown
    No Mo' Nomo

    ReplyDelete
  63. JB,

    Do you really think racism is the core of the Marsh brigade's beef? I'm not blind to it, but I just haven't seen closely enough to know whether it's fundamental.

    I mainly just see a kind of pervasive pop-feminism (not graduate level seminar feminism), a yearning for validation, and celebration of their batty sisterhood.

    If they weren't there, they'd be in some other chatroom/forum, talking about Grey's Anatomy or trading kitchen storage tips. Women are out IN FORCE on the web. For comparison, check how many responses to an average post on ESPN.

    Taylor Marsh simply recognized all of the ready ingredients in that demographic for a tasty promotional pie. And she's going to make damn sure it's baked before Hillary bows out and everyone goes back to what they were doing.

    As much as I appreciate your plain speaking, I can't summon the same disdain for the Marsh-ians. I can't help but see them as a bunch of HR coordinators and retail store managers, misspelling and comma splicing en masse across the internet, lol-ing $7.99 wine out of their nose.

    Just have a scan of these highlights from Friday night's action on the forum (er, hope it doesn't get you in legal trouble).
    - dag


    Tx wonder:

    I have to ask why are you wonderwoman?

    Do you have special powers?

    can you use them to help our gal?
    LiamOhio | 04.18.2008 - 10:04 pm | #


    crap, that came out wrong. too much wine.

    Obama followed in the coke mobile.

    Mary Ellen | Homepage | 04.18.2008 - 10:12 pm | #


    LiamOhio: Passover is Sunday the 20th.

    Also, day of Wesak Festival -- so, peace and harmony, love and wisdom also to all those who celebrate the combined energies of Buddha and Christ. Om!
    Hillbilly4Hill | 04.18.2008 - 10:15 pm | #

    maryellen. you are being quite catty tonight...keep that up!
    789 | 04.18.2008 - 10:17 pm | #

    Have a nice weekend folks and gimme an H :-)
    melusine08 | 04.18.2008 - 10:18 pm | #

    Do any of you know how to put together a YouTube? It would be funny to splice together film of that teen from the beauty contest...you know, the chick who couldn't put a coherent sentence together..."such as..."? If you have a split screen with her giving her speech and then film of Obama at the debate stuttering and "ugh ugh ugh".

    Ok, it looks good in my head but not in print.
    Mary Ellen | Homepage | 04.18.2008 - 10:20 pm | #
    ----------------------

    DebDeb | 04.18.2008 - 10:22 pm | #
    DebDeb: LOL !!!


    Hillbilly4Hill | 04.18.2008 - 10:23 pm | #

    DebDeb: LOL !!!
    Hillbilly4Hill | 04.18.2008 - 10:23 pm | #
    -------------
    ;)

    DebDeb | 04.18.2008 - 10:25 pm | #

    Evening every one;

    I hope every body had a good day, the beer sure is cold, even though I don't drink, I can pretend.
    I feel very good, this evening, I feel like something good is going to happen, I believe our Candidate, is going to pull this off, and "BIG", she's going to shock, the country, and the world,
    but the time, she's really going to surprise, is when she's crowned our next, and FIRST woman President.

    And we can thank, and pat ourselves on the back, because SOLDIERS, IT'LL BE A JOB, WELL DONE!!!!!!!


    We can, and We will, make it happen. Keep gathering information, because I'm not in circles like that, but what I recieve from you all I'm making sure a lot of people know about it, because the more people know, the more turn to Hillary, we know Obama is an empty suit, and the whole country need to know.

    On the other blogs, I always sign off from the Obamabots, by saying

    NO TO OBAMA > TOO MUCH DRAMA!!!
    I get a lot of people upset with me, because I won't back down from them, I tell them I'm going to spread the word about Obama, and I'll keep on doing it until every body know who Obama, is, behind the mask, and folks it ain't pretty.

    They always try to puck me, I told them you don't want to mess, with me, I'll cut you down, from the ankles UP. Anyway, I'm going over to Taylor's wall, and watch some hillaryspeaksforme, see what's new.

    Be back, enjoy the beer, or wine, soda, whatever. Be Back


    jb4now | Homepage | 04.18.2008 - 10:25 pm | #


    debdeb is tanked from the shots earlier.
    hold her hair, i'll get the lid..
    789 | 04.18.2008 - 10:27 pm | #


    Oh, and here's another one folks:

    And then Obama followed them in the Hokey-Mobile.

    Hillbilly4Hill | 04.18.2008 - 10:27 pm | #

    birdie: In my Pastor's house are many mansions. Ha!

    OK, OK, it's the Jack Daniels, I swan.
    Hillbilly4Hill | 04.18.2008 - 10:31 pm | #


    http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2005_winter/prayer.htm

    here is some research through medicine on the power of prayer. It works in all aspects of life.
    *****************************************************

    Thanks for the link, energy!!!
    mjr17 | 04.18.2008 - 10:32 pm | #


    HI everyone! I'm off to PA this weekend to help our Gal. I will miss you all since I won't be never a computer.

    I just wrote up a letter that over 4 pages long about why I support Hillary for my mother-in-law in PA who is leaning towards Obama, plus a bullet list on Hillary's policies. I hope it effective.

    THe DNC keeps calling for money. I tell them I won't give until they seat Florida and Michigan. What are others saying when the DNC calls?
    Enviro | 04.18.2008 - 10:52 pm | #

    "...educated but not intelligent..."

    So true. I remember a joke from a class I took. The professor asked "what do you call the student with the lowest grade in medical school?"

    Doctor.

    I can't help but think that this joke somehow applies to someone else in this race...
    LOM | 04.19.2008 - 02:27 am | #


    I had a really nice Italian dinner tonight (GARLIC NOSE! sorry) and a few glasses of wine and hence am a couple bubbles off plumb.

    GARLIC NOSE!

    Say that a few times with two glasses of chianti in you.

    GARLIC NOSE GARLIC NOSE!

    Where the HELL did that guy come up with that one? GARLIC NOSE!

    CORIANDER EARLOBE!

    CHILI POWDER CHIN DIMPLE!

    I mean REALLY.

    Off to bed -- ta!
    JCortese | Homepage | 04.19.2008 - 02:01 am | #

    ReplyDelete
  64. Dagna-

    There's definitely a big ol' Fear of a Black Planet thing happening there.

    That and excess consumption of cheap boxed wine.

    The excerpts provided aren't outliers, are they? It amazes me just how consistently that site gets those comments.

    Meanwhile, TM moderates anything remotely anti-Hillary into the ether.

    That's fine. It's her swamp. And you can't blame her b/c those who agree with the claptrap have issues.

    However, I think it's telling that she participates in the comments and rarely, if ever, calls anyone out for their really inappropriate and (I HATE to use this word) hateful remarks.

    I'll let anyone comment here. If I think they're full of shit, however, I will call them on it.

    By refusing to rebut offensive comments, she creates a sense that she tacitly approves them.

    Then again, it's not like she's an actual writer, journalist, or talk radio icon. It's a poser mistake committed by a poser, I suppose.

    Yours,

    John Brown
    I Quit Smoking Yesterday

    ReplyDelete
  65. "I find her writing amateurish and her weirdly unrelenting support of Hillary Clinton suspicious."

    Substitute "Hillary Clinton" with "Barack Obama" and that's the exact same thing we say about. Except you never make a case "for" Obama. You just attack Clinton and her supporters. Taylor is at Huff Post and on TV. You're not even linked by the A list ObamaStenographers aka "bloggers."

    In other words, you're just another Hillary Hater with a dial-up modem and an account on Blogger. So sophisticated! Probably a repressed homo, Barry seems to attract all "the boys."

    ReplyDelete
  66. John -- I am a young, conservative Republican from Missouri. I recently saw something in the media concerning Taylor Marsh and wondered who in the world she was. So I checked out her website; it is hilariously self-glorifying, but what political personality's isn't? Anyway, I wanted to learn more so I searched high and low for a biography. As you mention, it's nowhere to be found, so thank you for detailing her rise to quasi-fame. I love getting my hands on any material concerning domestic and foreign policy, regardless of the direction of its political slant. What I can't stand is when people write about their beliefs (from either side of the aisle) and use purposefully misleading logic to trick others into believing that their point of view is sacred. Thank you for calling this "pseudo-logician's" credibility into question. I doubt we would agree on a lot of things politically, but I definitely appreciate the freedom this country offers to everyone--especially articulate, coherent people like yourself--which provides a platform from which you may spread whatever beliefs you wish. Thanks for sharing your research.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Thank you for the very enlightening blog. Ms. Marsh is, of course, entitled to her opinion. I, however, have a problem with any opinion so completely devoid of objectivity -- especially when it's based on what you have so aptly described as "shallow analysis". Really shallow analysis.
    The woman wants a female president. I get that. What I don't get is her rationale for voting against the Democrat if Hillary Clinton isn't their nominee. Talk about confirming the stereotype that women are too emotional for rational thought.
    I've noticed that Taylor Marsh has a penchant for complaining about how rude/insolent/whatever Obama supporters are. Now if Senator Clinton's supporters were pure as the driven snow I might actually take her seriously.
    Having said all that I'm wondering if she hasn't crossed into the realm of the delusional when she advertises for such really deluded characters such as Webster Griffin Tarpley -- the guy thinks 911 was manufactured by the military industrial complex.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Thank you. I was getting sick and tired of seeing Taylor Marsh all over the place. She is crazier than a bedbug in June, yet she has a presence everywhere. She started to piss me off to such an extent that I googled "Taylor Marsh is an idiot" and "Taylor Marsh sucks" to see if anyone else was feeling as annoyed as I was about having to read that shreiking harpy's rantings. I came up with your gem of a post. I love how snarkily you respond to the Angry True Believers in the comment section as well. You are so on my daily blog readings. So now you will have one more daily reader.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Michelle Marshall, "Taylor Marsh," has a profile up on the Washington Post today. Even here there are exaggerations. The reporter claims she is 47, but there is no way she is given the fact she won the Miss Missouri title in 1974, when she was 19. She turned 20 at around the time of the Miss America pageant, thus she is either 53 or 54 years old, not 47.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Good for you, John Brown!

    Come to think of it, I also had a problem once with one of Ms. Marshall's soap jobs on Ms. Clinton. It was about the time I realized just how dangerously FOS HRC was, especially when teamed with Bill. I called her a few names, I think, figuratively 'spat' in her face, and walked away. Felt better.

    You should do well, John, short of whoring yourself out as she has done. I like your style, and I'm joining up.

    Thanks

    Brick

    ReplyDelete