#ScoobyGang Chronicles #6: Sailing in Stormy Seas

(What follows is another fake Question and Answer session with the Captain. As with the previous version, the questions are drawn from actual questions that have been addressed to me over the past few weeks. Trigger warning: I am a bit testy lately for good reason and some of the answers here will not have the good-natured humor you may have come to expect.)

Are you ok?

I'm fine. I won't say that I haven't had some bad moments over the past few weeks or that the harassment and threats directed at me (and my friends) haven't taken their toll. They have and I am going to be dealing with the consequences for the rest of my life. However, I made the choice to carry this thing through to the end and that's what I am going to do. I have taken steps to limit the damage and insure the safety of myself and my friends, and to do all I can to make sure the responsible parties face the consequences of their actions.

I've done a lot of different things in my long life and I've always thrown myself into whatever role I was asked to play with total commitment. I have never been in a situation like this in my life and I've never had to work as hard as I have over the past few months. Fortunately, I haven't been alone in this and the small band of merry prankster who have worked with me have shared to burden fully. The Captain is just the public face of this battle; it has been a true cooperative group effort all the way. None of us were prepared for the situation we have found ourselves in but we have used the talents and abilities we brought with us to really achieve something important, I believe. We are all in this simply because we saw something wrong and we decided on our own (and separately at first) to do something about it. No one is going to get famous out of this; indeed, most of the people involved will be happy to slip away into the night at the end without anyone outside our group even knowing what they did.

#ScoobyGang Chronicles #4: The backstory of Broadsword_6

Louise Mensch and her #ScoobyGang minions continue to drag the name of a Gold Star family through the mud in an pathetic attempt to score points against her critics. Thomas McNally is solely responsible for dragging that family's name into this sordid mess. Mensch and McNally are gaslighting everyone here to distract attention from the campaign of intimidation they are waging against Robin, Laura, and others who have spoken out against them.

This post has been adapted from the one I originally planned to publish this past Saturday. I held that story back for various reasons but primarily because I was aware that Eric Rosenwald was finishing his story The Legend of Broadsword Six. If you have not already read that story, you should do so now to better understand what follows. I am writing this to explain my role in this mess (which is not without fault) and provide some additional information and context. I hope that this will put an end to entire affair and people will see Louise Mensch for the truly despicable person she is. Go ahead and sue me, you slanderous charlatan!

The plain and simple facts here are:

• Thomas McNally is the one who dragged a Gold Star family into this mess.
• Louise Mensch is the one who continues to use that family as a prop in her grotesque attacks on her critics.
• Despite Louise's lies, the Gold Star family is unaware of any of this and out of respect, everyone should hope that remains so.

#ScoobyGang Chronicles #5: The Battlefield of Your Mind

The Captain made some pretty wild accusations and insinuations in yesterday's blog post. To be honest, I'd be disappointed in you if you didn't have some doubts. Over here in reality land, we want to encourage skepticism about outlandish claims because that is one of the best defenses against the kind of disinformation campaign we find ourselves in here. I value my own credibility (unlike certain people) and of course I want people to trust me but, and this is very important, I don't want you to take my word on faith. Take what I have to say seriously but then go and look for yourself and make up your own mind what to believe. I am doing what I can to give you the clues to figure this out for yourself because this disinformation campaign is being waged against you. I want you to recognize that this is an environment where people are actively trying to deceive you. The first line of defense is to recognize that and adjust your own behavior accordingly.

Below the fold:

• Yet another personal note.
• Spy versus Spy, a illustrative story
• Some advice from the Captain

In which the Captain explains a change of course.

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;

A veteran sailing man knows from experience how to read the seas which he sails and is alert for signals that it is time to change course. The past month or so has not been much fun. This battle with Louise Mensch has taken its toll on the Captain. When it started out, my goal was to merely raise awareness of what the hell was going on. As I got deeper into the fight and I learned more about what was really happening, the Bogwench became my Moby Dick. More recently, the crew and I have taken on the task of attempting to protect the people who this band of thugs are targeting. We are trying to run a full scale counter-intelligence operation on Twitter staffed entirely by a motley crew of well-meaning volunteers. Personally, I feel we've done a good job but everyone is feeling a little burnt out and stressed. No one is really having any fun anymore.

Long time followers will remember that I love to have fun; the surest way to get a follow back is to make Steve laugh. I also know that I've reached the limits of what I have to offer in terms of being one of the more outspoken critics of the Bogwench. There are tons of other people in the fight now and I would not be stepping back if I didn't think they are capable of picking up the slack. I'd like to get back to focusing on the other things I care about, both here on the blog and on Twitter. I am proud of what we've accomplished together and one of the real shames of the current situation is that I can't personally call out all the great people who have been helping behind the scenes for fear that they will be targeted. Think about how fucked up that is for a second.

#ScoobyGang Chronicles: Exciting news about the blog

Just wanted to update everyone on some exciting new developments coming to the blog.

The most important bit of news is about the Bogwench and her Ship of Fools. Looking through the old spyglass, I can report that she looks badly damaged: taking on water and listing to starboard. There's some signs of panic among the crew and I think she will soon slip beneath the waves to her final resting place in Davy Jones' locker, never to trouble the fair shores of Twitter again.

No one will be happier to see her go than yours truly. If you think you are tired of reading the Captain's dispatches on the #ScoobyGang, you cannot imagine how tired I am of writing them. This was never a fight the Captain sought. I look forward to turning my attention to the infinitely more important problem of Donald Trump and helping to stop him from irreparably damaging our country and our children's future. Some of you seem to have trouble fitting the puzzle together, but for me, this has always been about that. The Bogwench and her crew are damaging the battle against Trump and we need to clear the decks for the real action ahead.

#ScoobyGang Chronicles: A personal note from the Captain

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Sir Winston Churchill, Speech in November 1942

Some miscellaneous personal stuff

First of all, thanks to everyone who has offered me feedback, support, and even proofreading assistance. This blogging thing is new to me and I am still getting my sea legs here. I try to respond to everyone, but there's a lot on my plate these days so I just wanted you to know that I appreciate the kind words. And to all the haters and the losers, well...

There will be a flurry of activity over the next day or so here, but then there will likely be a lull and the Captain may not be manning the bridge for a few days. There is a serious family emergency here on Pescespada Island and Twitter may have to just get by without my ledership for a few days. I will check in from time to time to make sure you are all behaving yourself and to reassure you that the Captain Steve is still out there.

A Quick (fake) Q&A session with the Captain

#ScoobyGang Chronicles #3: Why we fight

This was delivered to the Captain's quarters early this morning: