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Saturday, January 20, 2007

Express Times Editor Joe Owens: Don't Peg Me, You Bloghead!

I admit it. I have trouble getting through to most government officials and newspaper reporters. They just don't appreciate my sense of humor. Phone calls are never returned. Emails are jammed by spam filters. But there are a few exceptions like Bill White and John Stoffa. Maybe they feel sorry for me. Another is Joe Owens, the editor at The Express Times.

Like many successful people, Owens has remained incredibly accessible. It's still a little surprising, because the dude is really busy. In addition to his duties as chief editor, he writes an entertaining Sunday column, and has a periodic gig as a talk radio host. Just a few days ago, his "in your face" writing style invaded the blogosphere with daily commentary.

On Wednesday, he got in my face. He nailed me for listing him in my sidebar under mainstream media.

"He should know that I hate labels, and I especially don’t like that one."

Oopsie! Joe, I responded to your complaint immediately. Please don't cancel your subscription.
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3 comments:

  1. LSTresidentPIAJanuary 20, 2007 at 7:36 PM

    Hey Joe, get over yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernie O'HareJanuary 20, 2007 at 10:16 PM

    LST, Joe's got a fairly good sense of humor. He was joking. You can't take this stuff too seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2007 at 11:53 AM

    Bernie,

    When I read Owens' blog, for the first time, and saw his reference to "bloghead," I immediately intuited he was describing you.

    And I had to laugh when at his insidious comparison of you to Rodney King and his famous quote, "Why can't we all just get along?," to paraphrase.

    And there I had to take Joe's blog seriously, and agree with him:

    Please stop trying to "get along" with politicians like Wayne Grube who wsaste taxpayer dollars on follies like the Route 512 road to Wal-Mart/Lowes/WM/GCS Landfill in the Slate Belt -

    And the Commerce Center Boulevard in South Bethlehem traversing the 126 acres of BethWorks and culminating in a cul-de-sac at the parcel purchased by Majestic Realty of Los Angeles, owner of the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas Nevada - in a deal negotiated by Bethlehem City Council President J. Michael Schweder and T.J. Rooney, former state assemblyman representing Northam;pton and Lehigh counties and, presumably, still chair of Pennsylvania's Democratic Party Committee.

    Now that he's no longer a state representative, presumably, Rooney will join former state senator Joe Uliani in Harrisburg as a lobbyist for Big Business and Big labor - but most certainly not for the lowly taxpayer.

    Also, are you aware that Schweder, the president of AT&T in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey is also a lobbyist - registered as such in NJ but not in PA, which, unlike its neighboring state, has no lobbyist registration law?

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.