Media Monday - 081215 ...

... The Tin Lady Retires

Is today's Daily Times editorial a joke?  First we're graced with a front page story on Sunday telling us all what we already knew - Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman is not seeking re-election.  Councilman Gary Comegys would never have declared for Mayor if she was.  But given the banner headline, you would have thought it was VE Day again.  Today we have an editorial that portrays Tilghman as the greatest politician in the history of Western civilization.

"She always showed leadership."  Yes, if your definition of a leader is the biggest bully on the block then I guess that you could define Barrie Tilghman as a leader.

"Throwing the old boy network on its head."  I guess that depends on WHO you define as the "old boy network".  From shady real estate deals (Fruitland Wal-Mart, Sassafras Meadows and the Fire HQ) to massive taxpayer subsidies for chosen developers (the old mall, the NE Collector Road, and AGAIN, Sassafras Meadows) Tilghman has been front and center providing for HER "old boy network".

Selective memory, or brazen prejudice, may account for SOME of the ridiculous notions printed today.  However, that does not excuse the outright lies also included:

There were the public attacks and bitter incriminations courtesy of
Robert Taylor, Bob Caldwell, Linda Kent, Carolyn Hall, Jim Ireton, Bill
Reddish and (of course) assorted Web loggers motivated by revenge or
borderline personality disorders.

While Reddish, and Delmarva Dealings can rightfully be charged with attacking Tilghman (but I will always argue that they were justified, accurate attacks), to paint the others with such a broad brush is borderline libelous.  Unless the author believes, like Tilghman, that ANY criticism is an "attack" this simply isn't so.  The implication that a genuinely wonderful woman such as Linda Kent would "attack" anyone is preposterous.  It just goes to show what sore losers Barrie Tilghman, and evidently the Daily Times, are.  To claim that bloggers have a "borderline personality disorders" is probably libelous.  Don't worry Greg and Susan, I'm not planning on suing (I like you too much and it's against my faith).  I can't speak for others.

As for our collective motivation, the author again shows their ignorance and their true colors.  Barrie Tilghman has never done anything to me.  Revenge has nothing to do with the fact that many of us believe that she has been a bad Mayor.

Ironically, the Daily Times accuses certain folk of "attacking" Tilghman but hide from the fact that they have been the primary tool for her vicious, unwarranted, and false attacks against many of those same people - and many others.  Who can forget the Daily Times printing outright lies by Tilghman about city council candidate Tim Spies.  This is but one example of the most potent weapon of the unholy marriage of Tilghman and the paper - wrap it in quotation marks and take no responsibility for printing false information.  Her attacks against us "dirty rotten bloggers" only ceased because her own son happens to be one of us (and a damned good, if liberal, one I might add).

There is no question that she can claim many accomplishments.  Unfortunately, too many of those accomplishments have been bad policy for Salisbury and her taxpayers and residents.  I do commend her for good political instincts, including her realization that her time is over.  However, to compare a tin horn, wannabe dictator to one of the greatest leaders of my lifetime (Margaret Thatcher) is insulting.  It's just one more example of the Daily Times playing Monica Lewinsky to Barrie Tilghman's Bill Clinton.

cross posted at Delmarva Dealings