They are amused by the threats
It's funny how things spread so fast. It's called viral on the internet. I have not contacted anyone from the media, in fact, those who contacted me, I told them "no comment," since my comments are all here in the Grapevine.
The New Times has weighed in on this issue here.
And I'd like to say something about those of you who keep saying I caved in and I gave in to the request out of fear or whatever. If you really believe that then you don't know me, because I have never backed down from anything in my life, in fact, I have gotten in trouble many times in my life for not backing down. I don't back down. (Isn't that a song?)
In fact, during the Mercy project brouhaha, I was getting notices, letters and threats from the Related Group's attorneys. They wanted me to to remove many many comments left about certain subjects related (no pun intended) to Michelle Spence-Jones and other things. They wanted me to reveal all the anonymous commenters by having me hand over the IP addresses. In fact, regarding Sarnoff, they were claiming that many of the knowledgeable comments coming from the inside were coming from Sarnoff's office and they wanted that info from me. I declined. I fought them every step of the way and have never ever revealed the identity of an anonymous commenter or an IP address.
I have attorney letters here that start with, "If you reveal this letter to anyone, you are in big trouble . . ." This coming from a respected attorney!
Anyway, I never did give them the info they wanted and all the comments are still posted.
I have only removed comments in the past from people who said they were libeled by an anonymous person. And in all fairness I removed the comment. If a comment is signed and has a real name, I won't remove the comment.
As for the Sarnoff comment, I really didn't remove the comment, in fact you have all read it over and over, it is part of the letter sent by Sarnoff's attorney and it is highlighted in yellow. So did I really remove the comment or not? It's there in bright yellow!
The New Times has weighed in on this issue here.
And I'd like to say something about those of you who keep saying I caved in and I gave in to the request out of fear or whatever. If you really believe that then you don't know me, because I have never backed down from anything in my life, in fact, I have gotten in trouble many times in my life for not backing down. I don't back down. (Isn't that a song?)
In fact, during the Mercy project brouhaha, I was getting notices, letters and threats from the Related Group's attorneys. They wanted me to to remove many many comments left about certain subjects related (no pun intended) to Michelle Spence-Jones and other things. They wanted me to reveal all the anonymous commenters by having me hand over the IP addresses. In fact, regarding Sarnoff, they were claiming that many of the knowledgeable comments coming from the inside were coming from Sarnoff's office and they wanted that info from me. I declined. I fought them every step of the way and have never ever revealed the identity of an anonymous commenter or an IP address.
I have attorney letters here that start with, "If you reveal this letter to anyone, you are in big trouble . . ." This coming from a respected attorney!
Anyway, I never did give them the info they wanted and all the comments are still posted.
I have only removed comments in the past from people who said they were libeled by an anonymous person. And in all fairness I removed the comment. If a comment is signed and has a real name, I won't remove the comment.
As for the Sarnoff comment, I really didn't remove the comment, in fact you have all read it over and over, it is part of the letter sent by Sarnoff's attorney and it is highlighted in yellow. So did I really remove the comment or not? It's there in bright yellow!
posted by Tom Falco at 9:05 AM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
21 Comments:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done"
THE GAMBLER!
Papa Sarnoff is just a clown, pretending to be a lawyer. Eventually, the 5am closings will be reinstated, ---hopefully ZERO mandated closings--- and this laughable legal threat will ridicule him even more. We need to boot this incompetent comissioner out of office asap. CI
The Miami New times has invited everyone to do their best Marc Sarnoff impression and submit to the comments section of the article. Should be a lot of fun!
"If you reveal this letter to anyone, you are in big trouble . . ."
No "respectable" attorney would make such a ridiculous threat. At best, one might write, "Because it is in the mutual interest of you and our client to quickly bring this matter to an amicable resolution, we ask that you refrain from sharing this communication with anyone other than your attorney." Or words to that effect.
Again, I think Grape handled the situation appropriately, given the circumstances.
Grape:
How does the IP addressing work. Isn't a court order required to go all the way back to someone computer. Maybe Samoff's badass lawyers can answer that question? It appears that they may be experts on the subjects.
Thanks Grape and thanks for showing us what we got when we voted for this little little little man Sarnoff!
"I Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty ;-)
To trace someone from an IP address requires not only the Blog owner to hand over the IP addresses, but the Internet Service Provider(s) to divulge records also.
Unless a serious crime occurred or a civil complaint is filed in the courts, it won't happen.
I think you did the right thing, Grape. It's something so small and insignificant that it's not worth battling over. The comment, which I took as an attempt at being humorous, offended someone and you removed it. That's the correct and respectable thing to do.
Hopefully we can move on now. There are lots of things coming up in the Grove to get excited about, much more than local politics.
New Times' comments section for this article is hilarious!
I find this whole thing pretty funny and I hope you do now as well Grape. If you really think about how this happened- either Sarnoff reading the comments section of this blog himself- or someone else calling and telling him about the comment and then the actions taken afterwards. It is intersting insight to how this jerk thinks and reacts. It is also telling of his priorities. He should really be embarrased at this point!
It's amazing how one dumb lawyer, Papa Sarnoff, goes and hires a bunch of other dumb lawyers, obviously incompetent and uninformed. I still wonder who's paying those "legal" bills, Sarnoff or the tax payers, whom also pay for Sarnoff's bloated salary. CI
Now we are all getting distracted. I thought the whole debacle was about 3am/5am bar closing and assessment of associated dangers. By the way another distraction, how about Chairman Sarnoff looking into the dangers of talking on cellular phone while driving!!! We need a law against that with severe punishment for the offender!
Anon at 10:44 - When you post a comment, the IP of the server from which you posted will appear on the blog-owner's referrers page. It doesn't necessarily reveal your identity, but it does provide a good lead.
I think the most obvious solution to this whole thing is to put gates with guard-controlled access points around Marc's neighborhood, as well as his favorite closed over-priced new restaurants. This will keep out the riff-raffs, and will also help him to "take care of the wealthy." Then the places left that he does not frequent can have their evil 5 am closing back, and can proceed to bring the anarchy to Miami that they will obviously rain down.
I'd say that's a win-win.
Anon 12:39 - I've got the exact punishment for the cell phone talking drivers.
Make them stand in the sidewalk at 5:15 am in front of a bar that closes at 5 am so they can get run over. Let the punishment fit the crime!
http://randompixels.blogspot.com/2010/02/marc-sarnoff-is-big-fat-idiot.html
This is not about commissioner Sarnoff. Focus, people. Show some respect.
CLL
CLL..get off your knees bro. If someone doesn't like or respect Commissioner Sarnoff or his ordinances, they should be allowed to voice their opinion. Tell me one thing Marc Sarnoff has done to gain anyones respect. He allows John Masry to throw a fund raiser for him while he campaigns to become commissioner and then turns around and closes the guys business for 14 hours a week while allowing Flannigans and everywhere else to stay open late? 14 profitable hours I suspect?...cut me a break guy.
Len Scinto:
Anon 6:24...with the exception of the "get off your knees bro" and the "cut me a break guy" you have a valid argument and you are absolutely correct in stating this...The problem stems from the vitriol having a greater place in these discussions than reasoning or respect. Now someone is going to say "how much respect does Marc Sarnoff show his constituents"...but we are all responsible for our actions and should be the change we would like to see. Thanks
When I visit the Grapevine, I feel like I am in Tom's house - where he can say what he wants, how he wants, and invite whomever he wants to speak. If I don't like it, I don't have to visit his house again.
This is a blog which invites opinions and provides a forum.
Yes, some of the posts are looney, vitriolic and misinformed, but that just means that there are a few looney, vitriolic, misinformed people out there. Is that a surprise? We all know a few such people.
This blog actually provides a service; it informs us what's happening in the Grove, many positive happenings that enhance our village life. Information you won't necessarily find anywhere else. If I was a tourist, I could easily find out about the green markets, spa days, art shows, restaurant offers, strut, madd hatters, festivals and charity events.
CLL above says this is not about Sarnoff - I beg to differ. This all came about as a result of the commissioner's over-reaction in hiring a lawyer to force the removal of a sarcastic post that was OBVIOUSLY NOT written by XOXO Sarnoff. A phone call to Tom (or a polite e-mail request) might have been a smarter choice for the commish - instead of the strong-arm tactic he chose.
That course of action would have been the neighborly thing to do - and the civil way to deal with a constituent of his.
This says a lot about the commissioner's character.
Now, some of Grape's readers might want to call Sarnoff's actions looney, vitriolic and misinformed.
So, are we even now??
Keep it up Grape, I enjoy visiting your blog.
I always thought the term as "BREW ha ha" ...
Jobie, my brother from another mother. I wrote you a note on the New Times site. don't let me down guy. I am counting on you
Doyle Simmons
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