Busted flat in Payson
Waiting for the rain
Steve Otto's hope for victory
Went down the drain.
Pornography at the library
another Jim Ferris dream
Things at the Tea Party
Are never what they seem.
KMOG sang every lie
The Tea Party knew
The red town
Up and voted blue
What in the hell
Could Charlie Bell do?
People smiled
Then they screamed
The Tea Party was gone
Is what they dreamed.
The Three Stooges Are Gone. Now the Real Work Begins.
Payson voters have spoken, and the political landscape has changed. With Brett Flaherty elected mayor, the town now has an opportunity to move beyond the divisions that have consumed so much time and energy.
For all the money spent and all the accusations that were thrown around, the Three Stooges ultimately could not convince the people of Payson. In the end, voters looked past the rhetoric and made their own decision about the direction they wanted their community to take.
If there was one turning point, it was the attack on the library. What may have been intended as a political rallying point became a rallying cry for those who believed the library should remain a place of learning rather than a political battlefield. Jim Ferris's angry outburst and dramatic exit from the council meeting only reinforced the impression that emotion had replaced reason. Instead of strengthening their cause, it became a self-inflicted wound that many voters remembered.
Elections are about choices, but they are also about accountability. Payson has now made its choice.
The challenge ahead is not to relive old political fights or settle scores. It is to restore trust in local government, encourage respectful debate, and focus on the issues that matter most—public safety, responsible growth, fiscal stewardship, strong town services, and preserving the quality of life that makes Payson such a special place to live.
Winning an election is only the beginning. Governing well is the real test.
The Three Stooges have had their day. Now it is time for Payson to look forward instead of backward and build a future that benefits the entire community.
Kadizzle took a strange journey yesterday into the hills of Ritchie County, West Virginia. One thing kept catching the eye over and over again—the trees.
West Virginia is slowly becoming what it was when the first settlers arrived. For nearly a century, the forests have been reclaiming the land. Fields that once grew corn, hay, and cattle are now swallowed by towering hardwoods. Nature has quietly taken back what man once cleared.
Kadizzle stopped at the old farm where so many summer days were spent growing up. It sat a hundred miles from our home in Wheeling, yet it felt like a second home. Trees that we planted as tiny seedlings are now giants—seventy feet tall and nearly two feet in diameter. In many places the forest has become so thick it rivals a jungle, hiding old roads, fence lines, and memories beneath a blanket of green.
But the drive down the Ohio River brought another surprise.
Contrary to the image many people have of West Virginia, the communities along the river did not appear trapped in poverty. The chemical plants were operating, coal country still showed signs of life, and what struck Kadizzle most were the homes. Yards were neatly trimmed. Houses were well cared for. The towns looked cleaner and more orderly than they did decades ago.
It was a mystery.
What had changed? Had people simply taken greater pride in their communities? Or perhaps those endless forests were hiding the abandoned places that once seemed to dot every hillside. Whatever the reason, it wasn't the West Virginia Kadizzle remembered.
While waiting in Harrisville for the rest of the family to catch up, Kadizzle wandered into the Ritchie County Courthouse to look up old mineral rights records. Walking through the courthouse felt like stepping back in time. Very little has changed since the building was completed in the 1920s. While browsing through historical displays, Kadizzle stumbled onto an unexpected fact—the courthouse was designed by architects from Wheeling. It's a small reminder of how connected the communities of West Virginia once were.
Then it was on to Hazel Green.
The old country store now stands abandoned, another casualty of changing times. But just up the hollow, the Bird family was sitting on the porch.
That stopped Kadizzle in his tracks.
His nephew Kevin mentioned that Roger Bird wanted to talk. Suddenly decades melted away. Roger remembered playing ball with Kadizzle and his brother. Kadizzle couldn't recall those games, but Roger could.
Back then, we were the city kids from Wheeling, and to the Bird family we must have seemed as out of place as visitors from another planet.
The Birds are living pieces of Appalachian history. Roger and his brother grew up in the old house high in the hollow, without electricity and largely cut off from the outside world. Somehow, someone eventually managed to gravel the road to their home. Beyond that point, however, the road to our old farm has surrendered to time. Today it is little more than a rugged trail. Unless you have a capable four-wheel-drive vehicle—or better yet, a side-by-side—you aren't making it very far.
Standing there, surrounded by towering timber and old memories, Kadizzle couldn't help but feel that he had traveled much farther than one hundred miles.
He had traveled back in time.
More later...
Old Kadizzle will soon be heading back to the hills of West Virginia, and it has me thinking about the colorful characters and even more colorful language I grew up with.
My brother and I spent many hot summer days putting up hay for an old hill farmer named Lutrel Davis. Lutrel owned the kind of country store you hardly see anymore. There was a pot-bellied stove where the old-timers gathered to swap stories, solve the world's problems, and invent a few new ones. If you wanted to learn the mountain vocabulary, all you had to do was pull up a chair.
Lutrel had a favorite word that always made me laugh.
"Whistledick."
He used it to describe someone who wasn't exactly blessed with an abundance of common sense. Nobody seems to know where the word came from, but folks in the hills always knew exactly what it meant.
That sent Kadizzle down the rabbit hole looking up old Appalachian expressions. Along the way I stumbled across another classic: conniption fit—a dramatic outburst of anger when someone doesn't get their way.
Then it hit me.
Those two old mountain expressions came together perfectly at the last Payson Town Council meeting.
Councilman Jim Ferris threw what can only be described as a first-class conniption fit after his latest attempt to defund the library went nowhere. When the votes didn't go his way, he stormed out of the meeting and slammed the door behind him.
Back in Lutrel Davis's country store, the old-timers would have smiled, nodded, and said, "Looks like that whistledick just had himself a conniption fit."
Some words never go out of style.
Ferris Storms Out
Last night's Payson Town Council meeting ended with an unexpected bit of political theater.
Councilman Jim Ferris didn't just lose the vote—he lost his temper. After seeing it become clear that the council was rejecting another effort aimed at the library, Ferris stormed out of the meeting and slammed the door behind him. It was a dramatic ending to a campaign that has repeatedly failed to gain support.
The strategy has become familiar. First came claims that the library contained "pornography." That accusation went nowhere because the facts didn't support it. Rather than moving on, Ferris and his allies shifted to a new controversy, raising fears about drag queen story hours and suggesting the library should be punished financially because of positions taken by national library organizations.
The problem is that this argument attempts to solve an issue that doesn't exist in Payson. It's a political formula seen often in recent years: create a controversy, amplify public outrage, and then present yourself as the person who will fix it. When the controversy falls apart, simply move on to the next one.
Fortunately, a majority of the Town Council refused to take the bait. They voted against the proposal, choosing to focus on the actual operation of Payson's library rather than national political talking points.
Ferris frequently presents himself as a man guided by Christian values. Every voter is free to decide whether his conduct at the meeting reflected those values. Storming out of a public meeting after failing to persuade your colleagues does not strike many people as an example of patience, humility, or respectful leadership.
In the end, the loudest statement of the evening wasn't made from the council dais. It was the sound of the council chamber door slamming shut behind a frustrated councilman.
To the Editor:
One of the most troubling developments in today's political climate is the normalization of dishonesty. Too often, facts are replaced by rumor, distortion, and outright falsehoods. That style of politics has become closely associated with the MAGA movement, where loyalty sometimes appears to matter more than truth.
I have personally experienced this. Two well-known local individuals repeatedly spread false statements about me. When I confronted each of them directly with evidence showing their claims were untrue, neither acknowledged the facts or apologized. Instead, they portrayed being confronted with the truth as if they were the victims.
One example illustrates the problem. A local rumor-monger searched public records until he found someone in another state who happened to have the same name as mine. That unrelated individual had assault charges. Despite knowing—or having every reason to know—that it was a different person, he circulated the story as though it referred to me. Another individual repeated the same falsehood. Even after the deception was exposed, neither corrected the record or apologized.
The irony is that the truth is not difficult to discover. Anyone can examine the public records and determine what is true and what is false. But doing that spoils the game. Falsehoods are far more useful to those who rely on character assassination than verified facts. Once a lie is repeated often enough, some people begin to accept it without ever checking the evidence for themselves.
Healthy political debate depends on honest disagreement, not fabricated accusations. We can disagree about policies, candidates, and priorities, but we should never accept lying as a legitimate political strategy. Our community deserves better.
Here's a tighter, more polished version that keeps your satirical voice while improving flow and readability. I've softened a couple of statements that could otherwise read as assertions of criminal conduct rather than opinion.
Trump's Greatest Grift?
Donald Trump may be the greatest political grifter of our time.
Reading the New York Times this morning, columnist Thomas Friedman highlighted just how profitable Trump's cryptocurrency ventures have been—not for the people who bought into them, but for Trump himself.
As Friedman noted:
"Nearly 1 million people who bought President Trump's memecoin have lost money through the end of June... Their losses total $3.81 billion... Trump signed a financial disclosure revealing that the same crypto bet dealt him a $636 million payout. In all, his business ventures brought him at least $2.2 billion in 2025."
Think about that. According to those figures, nearly a million supporters collectively lost billions while Trump personally walked away with hundreds of millions.
That's quite a business model.
Then Doug stopped by the Kadizzle house yesterday.
Doug has been one of those folks who swallowed nearly every conspiracy theory and every Trump talking point, hook, line, and sinker. But yesterday something had changed.
Even Doug finally said, "Enough is enough."
Then came the real surprise.
Doug told Kadizzle he had realized that the Three Stooges running for town council are nothing more than Trump-style followers trying to imitate the same brand of politics right here in our own town.
Kadizzle nearly fell out of his chair.
If the clouds can part for Doug, maybe there's still hope for the rest of America.
If you're aiming for maximum political punch, I can also rewrite it in your sharper "Kadizzle" satirical style, with more humor and bite.
Does Payson Have a Master Plan?
Great communities are not built by accident. Rome had a plan. Washington, D.C. had a plan. The question is: Does Payson have a plan?
Too often, Payson appears to operate under what might be called the "We Needa" approach to government. We need a pool. We need an RV park. We need a water line. One project after another is proposed without first asking how it fits into a long-term vision for the community.
A master plan is more than a collection of projects. It is a roadmap that guides growth, protects valuable land, saves taxpayers money, and ensures that today's decisions do not become tomorrow's regrets. Good planning identifies where parks, recreational facilities, public buildings, roads, utilities, and future expansion should occur before development pressures force hasty decisions.
Without a master plan, communities often make short-term choices that limit future opportunities. Land that could serve generations of residents may be committed to uses that provide only temporary benefits. Facilities become scattered rather than centralized, increasing costs and reducing efficiency.
The debate over town-owned property near the police department highlights the issue. Before deciding what to do with valuable public land, shouldn't Payson determine how that land fits into a long-term vision for the town? Someday that property could be needed for a recreation center, a swimming pool, public safety facilities, or other civic purposes. Once it is committed to another use, that opportunity may be gone forever.
The real question is not whether Payson needs an RV park, a pool, or any other individual project. The real question is whether those projects fit into a comprehensive plan for the future.
Successful towns don't simply react to today's needs. They plan for tomorrow's opportunities. Payson deserves a master plan that looks beyond the next project and toward the next generation.
Was "Did You Vote for Trump?" a Fair Question?
At the Donuts with Democrats meeting last Saturday, candidates for Town Council were taking questions from the audience. Then came a question that seemed to catch everyone off guard:
"Did you vote for Trump?"
Two of the candidates openly identified themselves as Republicans. A third claimed to be an independent. The room full of Democrats seemed surprised that such a direct question had been asked.
One candidate openly admitted that he voted for Trump the first time, but would not do so again. Another Republican candidate danced around the question and never really provided a direct answer. The independent candidate also avoided giving a clear response.
Afterward, some people questioned whether the woman should have asked the question at all. I disagree. In fact, I think it was one of the most revealing questions of the entire meeting.
Why?
Because elections are about more than smiling faces and campaign slogans. Voters are trying to determine how candidates think, what values they hold, and how they are likely to govern once they take office.
Donald Trump is not just another politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial political figures in modern American history. Whether a person supported him, opposed him, or supported him once and later changed their mind tells voters something about that person's judgment, priorities, and political philosophy.
The answers themselves proved why the question was legitimate.
One candidate candidly admitted he voted for Trump the first time but would not do so again. Whether voters agree with that position or not, they learned something meaningful about him. They learned that he was willing to answer honestly and that his views may have evolved over time.
Another candidate apparently preferred not to answer directly. The independent candidate also chose not to give a clear response. That reluctance was revealing in its own way. Voters can draw their own conclusions.
The important point is that there was no wrong answer. A candidate could have proudly said yes. A candidate could have proudly said no. A candidate could have said they voted for Trump once and regretted it. What matters is that voters receive honest information.
Some argue that Town Council races are nonpartisan and that national politics should stay out of local elections. That sounds good in theory, but in reality political beliefs influence how elected officials view taxes, development, public spending, law enforcement, libraries, parks, and dozens of other local issues.
Political philosophy does not disappear simply because the office is local.
The woman who asked the question was not being rude. She was doing exactly what citizens are supposed to do in a democracy: gathering information about the people asking for her vote.
Democracy is not strengthened when candidates avoid difficult questions. Democracy is strengthened when citizens ask them.
If candidates want the public's trust, they should be willing to answer the public's questions. The voters can then decide for themselves what those answers mean.
That is not unfair.
That is accountability.
The Three Stooges and the Grey Ghetto Mentality
There is nothing wrong with being old. In fact, many of Payson's retirees built successful businesses, raised families, served in the military, and helped create the community we enjoy today. Age is not the problem.
The problem is that Councilmen Otto, Bell, and Ferris seem to govern as if nobody in Payson has a pulse. Their vision of the future appears to be a town frozen in time, where nothing changes, nothing grows, and every new idea is treated as a threat.
Some residents jokingly call Payson a "Grey Ghetto." While that description is unfair to many retirees, it captures the mindset the Three Stooges seem determined to promote. Their political base often consists of people living on the financial edge, worried about every penny of government spending and terrified that any change might somehow destroy the community.
What makes this especially strange is that Payson is no longer a poor little mountain town. This is a community where homes routinely sell for a million dollars or more. At any given time there can be dozens of homes on the market priced above two million dollars. Wealthy retirees, professionals, and successful business owners have chosen to live here because Payson offers beauty, recreation, and a high quality of life.
Yet the Three Stooges continue to act as though Payson is one step away from becoming a ghost town if the library buys a new book or the town invests in a park.
Their political playbook is predictable. If there is a problem, blame immigrants. If someone disagrees with them, accuse them of being radical. If the library acquires a controversial book, declare that civilization is collapsing because of pornography. If all else fails, dust off the latest Tea Party conspiracy theory and present it as settled fact.
Meanwhile, the real issues facing Payson receive far less attention. How do we attract younger families? How do we create amenities that increase property values? How do we make the town attractive to professionals, entrepreneurs, and visitors? How do we plan for the next twenty years instead of reliving the last twenty?
Instead of discussing those questions, the public is treated to endless culture-war theater. Residents hear more about imaginary threats than actual opportunities.
The irony is that the people pushing this fearful message benefit enormously from the prosperity of Payson. They enjoy the roads, parks, police services, medical facilities, and property values that come from a growing and successful community. Yet they often oppose the very investments that would make the town even better.
A healthy community requires vision. It requires leaders willing to think beyond the next election and beyond the latest outrage circulating on social media. It requires leaders who see Payson as a place with a future, not merely a retirement community waiting for the clock to run out.
Payson deserves leadership that believes the town can grow, improve, and thrive. The Three Stooges seem content to manage decline while blaming outsiders for every problem.
That may be good politics for the Tea Party crowd, but it is a poor strategy for the future of Payson.
Payson’s Central Park — Or Another RV Park?
Imagine if New York City decided to turn Central Park into an RV park. Most people would think that was a terrible idea. Yet that is essentially what Mayor Steve Otto and his allies are proposing for some of the most valuable publicly owned land in Payson.
The Town of Payson currently owns approximately 21 acres adjacent to the police department. As Payson grows, that land could become one of the community's most important assets. Ramsey Park is already constrained by limited space. In the future, Payson may need room for a recreation center, a swimming pool, expanded public safety facilities, a fire station, or other municipal services. Having multiple public facilities located together can reduce construction and operating costs while creating a true civic center for the community.
Instead, Mayor Otto appears eager to pursue a deal that would convert this strategic public property into an RV park. Why? Payson already owns other land that could potentially be used for that purpose. Once this centrally located property is gone, the opportunity to create a long-term civic campus for future generations will be lost forever.
Mayor Otto recently claimed on KMOG radio that the town paid too much for the property. Yet the developer's own presentation to the Town Council suggested that RV park land in nearby Star Valley is worth approximately $450,000 per acre. Using that figure, Payson's 21-acre parcel would have a value approaching $10 million.
If those numbers are accurate, then the town has not lost money on the purchase—it has gained substantial value. The property may already be worth millions more than the town paid for it.
The real question is simple: Should Payson preserve one of the few large parcels of centrally located public land for future community needs, or should it give up that opportunity for an RV park that could be built elsewhere?
Some opportunities come along only once. This land may be one of them.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DONALD!
Back in the hills there's an old saying: "He takes the cake."
No expression has ever described a birthday boy more perfectly.
Most people wait for presents on their birthday. Not Donald. Why wait? If he sees something he likes, he just takes it.
At this year's birthday party, Republicans are expected to yell "Surprise!" as they present him with Canada, Greenland, and possibly a few other countries they found lying around unattended.
Buying a birthday gift for Donald is nearly impossible. Chances are he already acquired it through a combination of self-promotion, creative storytelling, and a generous campaign donor.
Of course, the party menu will feature a gigantic cake covered in gold frosting, with enough candles to trigger a national emergency declaration. The cake will be labeled "The Greatest Cake in History" before anyone has actually tasted it.
Guests will spend the evening competing to see who can offer the most flattering toast. Judges have ruled that facts will not be considered in the scoring.
As the celebration winds down, Donald will remind everyone that it was the largest birthday party ever recorded, despite photographic evidence showing otherwise.
So here's wishing you a tremendous birthday. A fantastic birthday. The best birthday. People are saying they've never seen a birthday like it.
And if anyone objects, just declare it fake news.
Happy Birthday, Donald. May all your wishes be granted by executive order.
Is Payson Really Broke?
According to Mayor Steve Otto and his allies on the Town Council, Payson is constantly short of money. Residents are told the town cannot afford major improvements. A community swimming pool remains out of reach. Roads continue to deteriorate. Public projects are delayed or abandoned because, we are told, the town simply lacks the resources.
Yet there is an interesting contradiction.
A quick look at Zillow shows more than twenty homes currently listed in Payson for over $2 million. Luxury properties are becoming an increasingly visible part of the community. Wealth is clearly present in Payson, even while town leaders insist the community is struggling financially.
That raises an obvious question: If there is substantial wealth in town, why does local government seem perpetually unable to fund basic community needs?
The issue may not be whether Payson lacks money. The issue may be who is paying taxes, who is receiving tax advantages, and whether the community's tax structure is keeping pace with changing property values.
Across America, working families often hear that there is no money for parks, pools, libraries, road repairs, or public services. At the same time, wealth continues to concentrate at the top. The result is a growing disconnect between what communities need and what local governments claim they can afford.
Payson may be a small town, but it reflects a larger national question: Are public services underfunded because communities are poor, or because the tax burden is not being shared fairly?
Before citizens accept the claim that "Payson is broke," they deserve a transparent discussion about where the money is, who is contributing, and whether everyone is paying their fair share.
That conversation might reveal that the problem is not a lack of wealth. The problem may be how that wealth is distributed and taxed.
The other day a friend and I were walking down the street when the conversation drifted, as it often does in Payson, to Jim Ferris and his favorite political hobby: the pornography game.
My friend laughed and said, "You know, they used the exact same book in California."
Imagine that.
The very same book. The very same outrage. The very same speeches. The very same claims that civilization was about to collapse unless somebody rode into town and saved the children.
What are the odds?
Actually, pretty good.
If you pay attention to the right-wing outrage machine, it is always the same game. Somebody somewhere writes a script, and a thousand local politicians start reading from it. One month it's library books. The next month it's drag queens. Then it's immigrants. Then it's woke M&Ms. Then it's windmills causing cancer. The actors change, but the script stays the same.
The pornography panic is particularly useful because it pushes emotional buttons. Nobody wants children exposed to inappropriate material. The outrage merchants know that. So they grab a book, pull out a page, remove all context, wave it around at a council meeting, and announce that Western Civilization is under attack.
The audience gasps.
The politicians collect applause.
And nobody notices that nothing has actually changed except the amount of yelling.
My favorite example remains the Great Cat Litter Box Panic.
Remember that one?
Millions of Americans became convinced that schools across the country were installing litter boxes for students who identified as cats.
Think about that for a minute.
Schools can barely afford pencils. Teachers are buying classroom supplies with their own money. But somehow every school district in America was secretly funding feline restroom facilities.
The story was absurd on its face.
Yet it spread faster than a case of head lice in a kindergarten classroom.
People repeated it at coffee shops.
People repeated it at town halls.
People repeated it on Facebook.
People repeated it on talk radio.
The only thing missing was evidence.
To this day, nobody can seem to identify the mysterious school where hundreds of students are apparently wandering the halls meowing and demanding tuna sandwiches.
The story survives because it was never about facts. It was about fear.
Fear is political gold.
The same thing happens with books.
A book appears somewhere in America. Somebody declares it pornography. Soon the story arrives in Arizona. Then Texas. Then Florida. Then Idaho. Then every small town where a politician wants attention.
The details hardly matter.
The goal isn't to solve a problem. The goal is to create a problem.
Because when people are angry about a library book, they aren't asking difficult questions about roads, budgets, water supplies, housing costs, healthcare, or economic development.
Outrage is a wonderful distraction.
That's why these stories always look so familiar. They're manufactured in bulk and shipped nationwide like frozen pizzas.
This week it's a library book.
Next week it will be something else.
Maybe schools are teaching kids to communicate with aliens.
Maybe city hall is run by communist squirrels.
Maybe Bigfoot is operating a voter registration drive in the national forest.
Who knows?
The details change. The formula never does.
Find a scary story.
Repeat it loudly.
Ignore the facts.
Collect votes.
And if all else fails, tell the dingers there's a litter box in the library.
Somebody will believe it.
The Three Stooges of Payson politics — Steve Otto, Charlie Bell, and Jim Ferris — remain the darlings of the local Tea Party crowd. The Stooges understand their audience well. They know how to play the Hoopleheads like a fiddle, and nothing excites the simple minded faster than screaming the word “pornography.”
That is where Ferris found his favorite hobbyhorse. According to Ferris, the local library is apparently one dirty magazine away from the collapse of civilization. The latest outrage is a sex education book for young people, the book Sex Is a Funny Word. Ferris and the outrage machine want people to believe the book is some kind of underground porn operation hiding between the cookbooks and the western novels.
Of course, here comes the hypocrisy train rolling down the tracks.
Ferris voted for and supports Donald Trump, a man found liable for sexual abuse, a man whose own recorded words included “grab ’em by the pussy,” and a man who has spent years swimming in scandals involving pornography, affairs, and allegations involving young women. Apparently none of that bothers the morality police in the Tea Party circus. Suddenly standards disappear when the offender wears a red hat.
That is the real trick of modern MAGA politics. Outrage is never about principles. It is about theater. If a library carries a book that explains bodies, consent, puberty, or awkward adolescent questions in a factual way, the Stooges scream “pornography!” loud enough to whip the crowd into a frenzy. But when their political hero behaves like a walking tabloid scandal, silence falls over the room like a church service.
The book itself is not some secret Playboy manual hidden in the children’s section. It is an educational book designed to help kids understand their bodies, relationships, and feelings in a healthy and age-appropriate way. What truly terrifies the culture warriors is not pornography. It is education. Education creates people who ask questions. The Tea Party machine survives on people who do not.
Ferris understands this perfectly. Fear works better than facts. Yell “protect the children” enough times and nobody notices the contradictions standing right in front of them.
And that is why the Three Stooges continue their act. Otto nods solemnly. Bell follows along. Ferris waves the latest culture-war prop in the air. The Hoopleheads clap on command. Meanwhile the real issues facing Payson — roads, water, housing, public services, and economic development — sit ignored while the council stages another performance about books in the library.
The sad part is that none of this is really about books. It is about power. Keeping people angry, frightened, and distracted has become the entire business model of MAGA politics. In that sense, the Three Stooges are not unusual at all. They are simply the local franchise.
I have a bad habit: teasing the MAGA dingers.
The Hoopleheads admire Trump’s style of lying and try to imitate it. My first real encounter with organized MAGA dishonesty involved a man named Gary Morris.
Years ago, I got into an argument with a group of Republican activists at Republican headquarters. They called the police and I was cited for trespassing. The dingers never tell the end of the story. When the case finally reached court, the prosecutor dropped the charge and all records connected to it.
That was the beginning.
At the time, Gary Morris was head of the local Republican Party. Morris dug through the internet looking for anything he could use against me. Eventually he found an old Facebook post I had made. It was satire. In the picture I wore a MAGA hat and joked that I “wanted to see what it felt like to be stupid.”
Ironically, Morris reposted the photo himself, complete with the insulting caption directed at the Hoopleheads. To this day the dingers still circulate the picture, but somehow the caption always disappears.
Then Morris decided to escalate things.
He filed a restraining order against me and falsely claimed I had a gun. In the satirical Facebook post I had joked about “cleaning my gun.” In reality, I have never owned a handgun. The entire point of the joke was to poke fun at simple-minded gun worship.
At the time, I did not bother fighting the restraining order because I viewed it as a minor annoyance. Later I realized it was part of a pattern Morris would use repeatedly.
I had no idea what kind of lying rat Morris really was until I learned he was telling people I had twice been arrested for assault in North Dakota.
Here was the trick: Morris found another man with the exact same name as mine living in Stanton, North Dakota, who actually had assault charges. I never lived in Stanton, although I once lived about fourteen miles away. That was enough for the Hoopleheads to spread the lie endlessly.
Morris also found a YouTube video involving Senator Cramer. In that incident I confronted Cramer over a young woman with a disabled baby. I wanted to give the senator money to pass along to help her, but he refused to take it. I finally stuffed the money into his shirt pocket.
The story spread wildly, and suddenly the Hoopleheads were claiming I had “assaulted” Senator Cramer.
One major problem with that story: Senator Cramer himself publicly stated on a radio program that I did not assault him. Morris ignored that inconvenient fact and kept spreading the lie anyway.
I cannot prove it, but there is considerable evidence that Morris or one of his allies made a false report to Senator Cramer’s office while pretending to be me. Whoever made the call stirred things up enough that Capitol Police investigators flew all the way to my home in Payson to question me.
Two investigators interviewed me for roughly an hour. My guess is they checked my phone records, realized I had never made the call, and quietly concluded the entire thing was political theater. I never heard from them again.
But Morris was not finished.
Angry over his constant lying, I confronted him at a Tea Party meeting. Morris refused to discuss any of it and instead claimed that merely confronting him amounted to assault. Once again he filed for a restraining order.
This time I fought back in court.
Morris claimed under oath that I had spit on him. That was false. A friend who witnessed the entire encounter was prepared to testify that no such thing happened.
During the hearing, I asked Morris where the spit supposedly hit him. He answered, “It was a spray.”
That was lie number one under oath.
Next I asked him where he obtained the information claiming I had assault charges in North Dakota. Morris claimed it came from a Washington Post article.
Another lie.
The article actually said the opposite.
That made lie number two under oath.
I even had video footage of the confrontation with Morris, but the judge refused to allow it to be shown. Interestingly enough, the judge was a Republican whom Morris had helped elect. Funny how that works sometimes.
Morris continued spreading the false assault story for years afterward. One day I heard him repeating it on KMOG radio. I called in to confront him, though at the time I did not realize he was the guest on the program.
Not long afterward, police arrived at my home, arrested me, and hauled me off to jail.
Another political setup.
The second courtroom encounter with Morris turned out very differently from the first. This judge was from Scottsdale and, unlike the earlier experience, actually seemed interested in facts.
I argued that Morris was a pathological liar. This time I brought witnesses who testified directly about Morris’s dishonesty.
In court, Morris was exposed as a liar.
The following week he resigned from his position in the Republican Party.
The lying Morris started became a tradition in the local Hooplehead community. Michael Heather picked up the lie, and when I confronted him he fled just like the rest would. The man who is now Mayor of Payson and the darling of the local Tea Party , Steve Otto spread the lie. When Gary Morris lied on KMOG radio the radio station broadcast a retraction the next day. In the presence of the people at town hall waiting for the meeting to begin, I confronted Steve Otto about his lying. He refused to talk and claimed I assaulted him.
On Facebook the Hoopleheads continue to lie although public records are available to prove them wrong. Some of the liars are Denise Alexander, Paul Frommelt and others. I have offered to meet all the liars in a public forum to debate the lies, but they want no part of it. Frommelt says he carries a gun, but he still uses the standard line of the liars that I might hurt him. To explain the entire story of the Republican liars is too long for today, but in closing I will say Trump has made lying a sport among his followers.
One thing that explains MAGA liars and how they function. If an honest person tries to attend a Hooplehead Tea Party meeting and ask questions that embarrass the liars on stage they will be prohibited from coming again. If the Tea Party or Republican Party has one of their featured liars at a meeting normal people are stopped at the door. On the other hand anyone is welcome and allowed to speak at the Democratic meetings. Try to tell a MAGA the truth and they claim assault and lie on line like its going out of style.
Anyone can search public records, I had a Bill Butcher and Associates Dectective agency give me a notarized copy of a search of all records in the United States that involved me. There is no record I have ever been convicted or hurt anyone. However, Denise Alexander, Paul Frommelt, and the rest of them go on lying with no shame. I checked my own public records I found a couple traffic tickets, and the case that was dismissed when they drummed up the arrest at Republican Headquarters, but they still go on lying. It is the same with some of Denise Alexanders current lies. I was arrested for being a Democrat and put in jail. One big problem for Denise, and Paul, the charge was thrown out before I ever went to court. That is the way the Republicans in Payson work. They falsely accuse you of something, get you arrested, and then when you go to court the charges are dismissed. However, they lie on line claiming you were guilty. Like Trump they don't have an once of decency, and cheating, lying, and stealing doesn't bother them at all. To take the cake they pray before they lie.
A favorite excuse for Denise Alexander and Paul Frommelt to not answer the call for a public debate is I would hurt them. Imagine attacking these lying cowards on a public stage. I told the dolts they can bring a gun and I will come armed only with the truth. In Payson the police have been weaponized just like Trump has done with the presidency. Republicans have filed false charges against me several time. I have actually been jailed as a result of their tactics. However, Frommelt, and Denise Alexander never mention the false charges were thrown out in court. I have a surprise cooking for these liars. I am not sure I can reveal it at this time, but it will expose their game once and for all. Every one of these Tea Party liars is the same. I walk up to them and ask them to defend the lies they have been spreading, and what do they do? Gary Morris, and Steve Otto claim I assaulted them when I asked them in person to stand behind their lies. Of course the most recent ones playing the game do not have an once of courage. I have invited them to come to Democratic headquarters and discuss their lies. All they can do is make up some silly excuse. As the record shows I have never assaulted anyone. At one time I did shove 23 dollars down the shirt of Senator Cramer in Mandan. The money was for a woman with a baby that has birth defects. Now who would be afraid to have money shoved down their shirt? Cramer himself said on Rob Port's radio show I did not assault him, but the liars have spread this story endlessly. Gary Morris was the man who cooked up the original lie. Anyone can search the court records and find out for themself. There is no record that I ever assaulted anyone in the United States, however it gives the cowards a way out of public debate. The truth is long and complex. It all started in 2017. To explain the circumstances to the lairs would take a little time. The key to Republican lying is to leave out most of the story, particulary the end. Recently I encountered one of these liars in a local park. The incident went to court. The prosecutor saw the lying was so ludicrous he threw it out instantly. However Paul Frommelt, and Denise Alexander only tell the part where I was set up. Trump their hero want to give your tax money to the people who lie for him. This is the modern Republican party that pardons drug dealers and pays the people who attacked the Capitol for Trump. One thing that amazes me is these people will lie in court. I asked Gary Morris where he got the notion I was arrested twice in North Dakota for assault. This was in front of a judge. Gary Morris said it was in the Washington Post. Yes, there was an article that said no one was arrested when I shoved the money down Cramer's shirt. The liars recently cited that article again. Of course they only show part of it. That is the game, only tell part of the story. Lying comes naturally to these people. If you go to a Tea Party meeting you will find a stage with one person lying, and a group sitting in front of them believing the lies. No one is allowed to show up at the Tea Party who does not go along with the lying. On the other hand when the Democrats meet the microphone is passed to anyone who wants to speak. No one has ever been turned away from a Democratic meeting. On the other hand the local news reporter was thrown out of a Tea Party meeting, and numerous people are not allow to attend their functions. Judge for yourself who is telling the truth.
In this explanation of MAGA liars I would comment two women I respect. Inga, and Shirley Dye. I disagree with both of them politically, but these two women met with me and heard my side of the stories that are told. That is the fair thing to do and both of these women have far more integrity than the lying gang. Inga and I had a nice discussion, and Shirly came to my house and we also met at the Golf Course. This blows a hole in the excuse the other liars use.
MAGA liars are special. Trump has show the MAGA crowd the power of lying. The local liars love Trump because he has shown them the power of lies. Locally we have the Three stooges on town council. Steve Otto is the mayor and he like to tell a whooper now and then. The town is cursed with the Tea Party which is like a liars fan club. Then you have the facebook liars. They are almost too numerous to count. The tactic they love is telling part of a story. Two classic liars in this regard are Denise Alexander and Paul Frommelt. Both cite instances where the local police were used to harass me. It all started with Gary Morris, a man who doesn't hesitate to lie under oath in court. Gary made false claims on restraining order against me. In court the lies fell apart. Recently a MAGA liar named Tom Hall lied to the police. The case was dismissed even before it was started. The MAGA liars always tell the beginning, but never the end. No one denies Trump lies. Strangely every Payson liar loves Trump. I have invited all the liars to meet me in public and defend the lies they tell. Of course none of them have the courage.
A word of description Kadizzle cannot resist is dinger. Well, what is a dinger? The use of the word comes from old vaudeville shows. When a performer was terrible or performing badly someone would ring a bell. The performer would have to leave the stage. Maybe a stage hook would be used. In Payson we have a club full of dingers. It is called the Tea Party.
You see the words in a lot of places " We the people". Sadly it has never happened, any black or poor person can tell you that. The real people who own and run the government are the billionaire class. The tax rate on the rich has gone down by a staggering amount. Now the top few people have most of the wealth. Voting with money does not represent "We the people".
