Friday, June 10, 2005

Cyphers vs. Tussing

I'm not saying that Donald Cyphers of the Montana News Association didn't deserve a shove from former Police Chief Ron Tussing during a news conference on Wednesday. But I will say that the incident raises more questions in my mind about how well the chief could handle moving from the office of police chief, where tough guys are in demand, to the relatively weak office of mayor, which requires considerable diplomacy and tact to get anything done.

Cyphers is far from the toughest problem a mayor has to face. And I think I know what I'm talking about here. Until Chief Tussing came along, I was the Montana News Association's No. 1 target. See, for example, here and in mysteriously anonymous letters here and here.

Why me? It might have had something to do with things I wrote here, here, here and here.

For whatever reason, he's been gunning for us for better than three years. He's threatened to sue us for removing copies of his newspaper that he placed without our permission on our racks. He's threatened to sue us for bad-mouthing him to his customers. He's threatened to sue us for things we've told people who called us to ask for information about his business.

It may not quite be in the class of the attacks he's made on Tussing, but it counts when you're operating a business so fragile that any lawsuit, regardless of its merits, is a threat to take you under.

But you know what, Chief? It ain't that bad. As headaches go, Cyphers is one aspirin in the morning and go about your business. He's a gnat. Mayors have elephants to shoot.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is the $2.98 question. Does Tussing have the demeanor to be a weak Mayor? I think he will melt down before November. Running for an office based on revenge isnt going to fly.

Chuck Rightmire said...

I agree with a great deal of what you say here, but I want to know if the operator who purchased the Lockwood Crier, destroyed it and turned it into a website for the noxious religious should be allowed to disrupt public sessions without answering for it.

Anonymous said...

And lo it was written that Jesus, upon seeing the money changers in the temple, flew into a rage and threw them out! And it is also written that when Tussing saw the man from the land Moron at the press conference he did like the Lord and kicked the bum out, for he would not let a moron defile a newsconference!

From the Book of Cyphers

David said...

Anonymous, I'm afraid that if they kept morons out of news conferences, the news media might have to shut down altogether.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I can hardly believe he's still out there. I salute you for having the interest to cover this issue still. I've never gotten a penny of what he's been found to owe me, but if we raise enough awareness, hopefully people will avoid falling for his cons.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of paying off debts, anybody down there in Billings know if sen. cornhole burns ever paid off his bankruptcy debts yet?? Poor cornhole. POOR CORNHOLE MY FOOT! Seems to me that if cornhole is gonna need EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS to beat Big Jon Tester, he could al LEAST pay off his bankruptcy debts! But that ain't the sen. cornhole style. Is cornhole a deadbeat? YOUUUUUUUUUU BET!

Larry Kralj, Envrionmental Rangers!

Anonymous said...

last I heard, Hack Holeman was suing The Senator for stiffing him on a personal loan pre-1988.

I think the original amount was 50 grand

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that's what I thought. Sen. cornhole brags about bringin' home the pork to the local folks, and I guess he does, EXCEPT to the local folks he personally porks! I think that Montana has had all the local color we need from this buffoon! He has singlehandidly damaged our state's reputation for a long time to come. But I think that Big Jon Tester will restore it.

LK

David said...

Larry, Last time I checked, the lawsuit against Burns had been settled. Don't know the terms.

Anonymous said...

David,

And the SBA loans on the Laurel Radio Station he defaulted on??????

David said...

Anonymous, I'm not sure about SBA loans. Anybody have any info?

Anonymous said...

Good point, Marky! But hey, are you referrig to sen. cornhole burns?! I mean, every time that buffoon opens his mouth, he's an embarrassment to Montana! Need proof? How bout his famous "slave auction" reference! Or maybe his infamous "nigger jokes" on the airplane for all to hear! Or his "raghead" comments in Great Falls! Or maybe the time he called for bombing strikes on Canadian fishermen! I mean, THE LIST IS ENDLESS, Marky! And his grammar. HIS GRAMMAR! I mean, here's a guy who only occasionally uses a subject that agrees with the verb while ponificating mightily but incoherently on the senate floor, punctuating his buccuolic witticisms with liberal doses of tobacco slobber! A guy who spits tobacco juice in the flower pots at fancy hotels! A guy who talks as if he just came outta the backwoods of Applachia! THIS is the fella that you're apparently so proud of, markeroo! Well, pal, I'M NOT! I believe in the truth, no matter how awful it is. And sen. cornhole has been AWFUL for MY state! And it must be said! It's a new day in Montana, and it's time for him to go back to the auction block! And, p.s., it weren't ME, pal, who stiffed all them fellas down there in Billings. It was CORNHOLE! So, yeah, I agree with you on one point. Maybe cornhole should keep his mouth shut!

Anonymous said...

Burns borrowed money from the SBA on the radio station in Laurel which went bellyup.

Burns was broke when Pat Googgins bouhgt himself a Senate seat in 1988 after they did a character assassination on John Melcher. They claimed Melcher was a drunk--actually he had a medical problem which at times made it appear that he was drunk. Melcher was/is a very light drinker.

Anonymous said...

Didnt Pat Goggins state in his column in his own paper-Agri-News that the Jews controlled the cattle market and a bunch of other paranoid anti-semetic garbage?

Anonymous said...

He may have done that too. But I remember the time that Googins expressed an opinion in an editorial that the reason that Blacks were poor is because they were essentially inferior! Guess I'd have to say to what? If ya really want to see stupid, well then just look at Cornhole! Course cornhole and googins hit it off right away. Just a couple'a old redneck racist morons!

LK

Anonymous said...

Huh? What would be "alright"? I don't get it, Mark. Are you suggesting that it's ok to be a racist moron? Well, let me ask you then, why are there NO Black repubies in Congress?? If racism is NOT a characteristic of the repug party, then one would assume that it would be chock full of Blacks. But it ain't. So, why? The only blacks in the repug party are appointed!

Anonymous said...

Both parties have sordidly racist histories. Conrad, however, has publicly called blacks "niggers" and Arabs "ragheads."

A more sophisticated politician, Bill Clinton, has catered to racist voters by using a shared forum with a prominent black leader simply to be seen disagreeing with that leader.

Anonymous said...

Jim, sorry, but you have said nothing. Again, let me repeat, WHY are there no Black members of congress? And WHY at the national conventions does the Dem convention look like America, ALL of America, while the Repug convention is nearly all lily white? Sorry, but I think that Black people know which party represents thier interests! But I gotta tell ya that your insinuation that Clinton is somehow racist is a doozy! Neven seen THAT one before!, especially for a fella called our first Black president! LK

Anonymous said...

Well maybe if you MAKE one, mark, we'd see it! Again, let me make a point. If you have PROOF that some democrat called people niggers and ragheads, POST IT, or shut the hell up, because you have no point! Now, let me offer up a point. Brian Schweitzer's inagural ball INCLUDED Native American drummers and singers! When did a Repug governor do that? They haven't! For you see, a large number of people in Montana are very prejudiced against Indians, and any politician that shows any sympathy toward them will pay a political price. Therefore, Repug politicos play it safe by not alienating the racist these folks. Schweitzer said the hell with that and invited them! It's called courage, mark, and the right thing to do, which is something you repug folks don't quite understand. Now, make your point if ya got one!

LK

Anonymous said...

I dont think the country has been this deeply divided since the Civil War.

Anonymous said...

Divided? Well of course! And you can blame the "uniter" and his pals! Got wedge issues? EXPLOIT'EM! It's the Repug way!

LK

Anonymous said...

The point is that you love to make wild posts, about any subject, as long as it's attacking Republicans.

You are the typical 'Howard Dean' Democrat, with no original thoughts of your own, who cannot and would not debate facts, because you would lose every time.

I love the way you have these people fooled, thinking you're a teacher living in Great Falls, it really makes me laugh.

Anonymous said...

Well, why NOT attack Repugs?! That is the question! They MERIT attacks! Look, Mike Mansfield, Lee Metcalf, John Melcher, and Max Baucus all served with distinction as U.S. senators. Montana had a reputation for sending highly qualified, decent, harkworking, honest men of integrity to D.C. And then something happened to this proud tradition. We accidentally sent a guy who speaks as if he just climbed off the turnip truck, a guy who never even finished college, a guy who throws out racial slurs with alacrity, and a guy works like hell for the interests of the big corporations who OWN him! (see much tabacky growin' in Montana do ya?) Cornhole is an embarrassment and an aberration! He needs to be removed for many, many reasons! It's time to get back to our roots, of sending the best and the brighest to D.C. NOT the worst and the dimmest! Now, I agree. I hammer Repugs. But jumpin' jaysus, what in the hell do you think ALL talk radio does in the country!! Bergy Boy, Flush Blimpaugh, jonny stool stokes, and on and on and on! They are NOTHING but hate and propaganda tools of the rightwing! So how DARE you wet your pants when you get a little of your own medicine! Don't like it? Well then, why don't you stop YOUR side??? THAT, my friend, is the question! (is that original enough for you????)


LK

Anonymous said...

Deaniac. Deaniac. Hmm. I like the sound of that. Am I a Deaniac? HELL YES! I think that SOMEONE needs to get in the faces of the corporate nazis! But on the OTHER hand, my term for the Rogie Kookman, Aubyn Curtis, the thomasses, both fred and bill, well now, them folks I term KEENANIACS! These are the rightwing equivalents of Deaniacs! Sure, I get passionate about things like fairness, social justice, economic equality, education, and the environment. So, yeah, I guess I'm a Deaniac. But Keenaniacs! Well, they passionat about passion! Can't HAVE none no where no how! Guy got a woody, ARREST HIM! (sen. bill thomass' famous "discernibly turgid" bill!) Keenaniacs are passionate about tax breaks for corporations, especially outta state ones! And the very wealthy! So, you see, we're just opposite sides of the same coin. I accept and admit it. Do you??

LK

Anonymous said...

You need to remember 'Larry' that a few of us know you, and the idea of you getting in somebody's face, and making a difference is ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

I guess will never know YOU, will we brave heart! Oops! I guesst that you're just so bad that you can use your real name. I'll just call you brave heart if that's ok!
It must be AWFUL to be so cowardly that you can't post your name! I feel your pain!


By the way, Sen. Cornhole Burns did NOT sign the anti-lynching bill! Guess that Cornhole wants to retain the lynching option in case them darkies get too uppity!

www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/6/14/12949/6428


LK

Anonymous said...

Anon, Marky, apparently you think so little of your opinions that you can't even use your names! Either that, or you are so fearful that you will offend someone. Is THIS what America has become? Citizens to afraid to give their names and speak out? Sorry, fellas, but I don't recognize writers to cowardly to state their names! That's soviet style, Anon. Secret "witnesses". Now, if you know me as you say, let's see some proof! Otherwise, the other posters will think that your are the spineless little inverabrate you appear to be. Please, back up your opinions American style!

LK

Anonymous said...

Nice looking site. i have a site that is the authority on sba loan please take a look at it.

Anonymous said...

Blog is informative. Don't stop. Don't miss visiting this site about California mortgage refinancing http://thehomemortgageguide.com Start planning for the future California mortgage refinancing

Anonymous said...

If i had $1.oo everytime i heard someone say "I don't like change or, change makes me uncomfortable" I'd be a millionaire by now.
Link to this site: small business for sale
http://small-businesses.info/

Anonymous said...

How your habits control your small business sucess.
Link to this site: small business grants information
http://small-businesses.info/

Anonymous said...

Hi Blogger, I was just blog surfing and found you! Wow, I really like this one.
It’s such a pleasure to read your post …. Interesting! I was over at another site

looking at lawsuit advance

and they didn't go into as much detail as you, but nonetheless interesting.

Anonymous said...

Just blogging for a while, my site is also about interest rates mortgage refinance, so just saying hi.

Charles

Anonymous said...

Hey!, Just browsing around for ideas for my new. (While we're at the same topic), I'm just getting started if you want to visit:
california home loan mortgage refinancing

Charles

Anonymous said...

Hey!, Just browsing around for ideas for my new. (While we're at the same topic), I'm just getting started if you want to visit:
fixed rate mortgage california

Charles

Anonymous said...

Hey what's up, just letting you know that someone from C.A. read your blog!

Regards,
Charles
low rate home mortgage xxasdf

Anonymous said...

Blog me baby! Surfing and looking for ameriquest mortgage when I ended up here. Back to the relentless searching for ameriquest mortgage.