• credibility

cred·i·bil·i·ty

ˌkredəˈbilitē/

noun

1. • the quality of being trusted and believed in.

     "the out of town blog's credibility has been hammered once again by making more outlandish claims."

     synonyms:

     trustworthiness, reliability, dependability, integrity; More
   • • the quality of being convincing or believable.

       "the out of town blog's anecdotes have scant regard for credibility"

       synonyms:

       plausibility, believability, tenability, probability, feasibility, likelihood,credence;

     • 
       

Without credibility, a person is sunk. 

"Great," you're saying... I haven't bothered with sophomore vocabulary since... well... since I was a sophomore. What's this topic about?

It being election season and all, noise levels are beginning to rise... even in our small city. Though the only discernible noise seems to be coming from 27 miles due east. (hint: the new location of an infamous blogger that has stalked Wildomar with unmatched relentlessness for years).

I have a real question for those that have had the dismal misfortune of catching the acts of the local hate bloggers since they first slithered ashore.

Has "Zak" ever been a straight shooter?

Has he always come with the same predictable tripe?

He is so formulaic.

I'd love to see an assembly of his ardent followers. 

I'm thinking it would resemble an old movie from the '30s.

Back to the topic of credibility.

So, despite the fact that Señor Poison Pen has been living far from Wildomar since the first of the year, his unabated loathing for this city keeps pumping the bile out around the clock. I guess he needs an outlet for it, so he continues to post about our city, and now about the coming election.

Gee, we're all on pins and needles awaiting his every pronouncement.

Of course he is endorsing both challengers. Just as he endorses the lawsuits that have long plagued this city. Like I said, he is tediously predictable, so everyone one of us saw that pitch coming —as if it were a beach ball on a tee. No wonder why he keeps his comments shut off. If he actually engaged people, instead of sniping from the peanut gallery, he'd get disrobed more times than Charlie Brown does.

I wonder if CB writes a nasty blog about an adjacent city too?
If he does, I bet he also keeps the comments shut off.

So, other than his long history of being off base, what makes this worth mentioning here?

He's been on a tear of late. Trying, yet again, to tarnish the city council with half truths, especially those running for reelection. Conversely, attempting to pump up the "leadership qualities" (cough) of candidate Gary Andre. Of course he never mentions any of Mr. Andres numerous glaring weak spots that would make him an atrocious selection for the city council. All he wants is one of the old guard in there, no matter how poor of a choice it would be.

* * * * * * * * *

Let's use the example of a used car to see what it looks like when you only tout the positive, while doing your best to shield the negative.

C'mon, you can trust me.

 Salesman from Hemet: This beauty seats seven; it was used by a the local convent to bring the infirm to church; never driven more than 100 miles a month; it recently had new tires and wiper blades put on it; it is a classic car that has been in town for decades.

potential buyer opens the hood.

 Experienced Wildomar Voter: Hey buddy, there ain't no engine in here.

 Salesman from Hemet: Eh, a mere technicality.

The writer of the blog being discussed here is no better than a classic, 1950's era used car salesman. Hey, that isn't a slam... entirely that is. Those guys knew how to ply their trade, and were successful. Same here, he knows what he's doing, and he loves knowing how many he can fish in.

Here is another tidbit to look at.

He lifted a question from a facebook page that is dedicated to the coming Candidate Forum. He contends that it was directed at Gary Andre, as if that were a bad thing, though it was asked of all of the candidates. Here is the quote from the blog:

"Since Gary Andre has been physically disabled for a long period of time, the following question is disingenuously posed, “Have any of you ever had, or do any of you currently have any mental… health issues, drug or alcohol addiction? Do any of you currently take painkiller medication on a daily, or regular, basis that could potentially interfere in making sound decisions?” should only be perceived by most rational voters as an unwarranted intrusion into Andre’s personal medical history."

That's one way to look at it I guess. But another way to look at it is —do we want someone up on the dais that is under the influence of pain medication? It's not a slam on him if he is. My wife hurt her back in January, and is only just now getting healthy enough to return to work. She's been on a few different pain meds and she can tell you first hand, as can I, that her memory gets affected. 

If you aren't too sure about that fact, just google "painkillers and memory loss". 

I've watched Gary Andre speak at city hall many times, I've also spoken to him several times. He's made many good points on certain topics. I heard him remind the Parks Sub-Committee last year, that the ground in October is very hard, and it will be next to impossible for volunteers to plant trees [on the Great Day of Service]. 

He also made some solid points about the grass at Marna as they were doing the hydroseeding. Credit where credit is due, there isn't a single person that would give the current turf at Marna a glowing report. It's choked by weeds and something needs to be done about it.

He's also worked for the trails in Wildomar and Riverside County.

Gary, thanks for the time you've put in.

Like I've said before, "Nice enough fellow" but that doesn't make him qualified to be one of our five city council members. I'm not saying that because of his views that I don't share, I'm saying that because of the entire package that comprises the candidate. Including his well known pugnacious tendencies.

If you haven't had a chance to meet Gary Andre, this is a small slice from back in April at a city council meeting. The sound is a bit iffy, but it'll give you glimpse of the man.

* * * * * * * * *

Now let's examine the views, from that same blog, on newcomer Israel Leija and his bid to be a city council member.

"I’ve never met this candidate, and have no context with which to comment on his ballot statement... It appears that Israel has professional and life experience  equal to any of the three incumbents  and is worthy of your consideration for his successful efforts to become a candidate with commendable stated goals."

And he throws around words like "paranoia" and "fear"?  As if any serious candidate would be in a swivet because there is an election ahead. Just more from the crowd that habitually abuses hyperbole and relies on distortions since their actual points don't resonate with more than a few disgruntled people that forgot how to get along with others.

Ok, let's parse the quote.

He's never met the man, and all he knows of him is what he read in a "candidate" statement.

If this were a studio audience we wouldn't need laughter and applause signs. 

Though he admittedly knows nothing about the candidate, he's ready to conclude that he "has professional and life experience equal to any of the three incumbents".

Are you serious?

...and I bet you're hungry enough to eat the entire Budweiser team of Clydesdales too. Enough of the mindless exaggerations for once in your life.

I don't care if you like or dislike Marsha Swanson, Tim Walker or Ben Benoit. To ignore reality and then blithely suggest that Mr. Leija's experience level is anywhere near on par with the others —people that have been active in the community for years— is beyond that of the dullest witted out there.

It only shows the disdain he must have for his readers, as if assuming that they are so intellectually lazy that they would just gobble up his words, like they were coming from on high. Then again, they are his readers and he ought to know.

Oh wait, time for me to predict what Zak will do next.

He'll proclaim that I wrote this as a diversion, because of the ever gripping, and insurmountable consternation, that one of the two challengers is bringing in their wake among the other candidates (or some other such nonsense).

Yep, dats gotta be it... or it could be that there are no credible challengers in this race... no offense Israel. As for those that might like to see a different face up there; they have no real alternatives.

Hey likely voters.

Some of you may want to vote the incumbents out, but you'd better have a competent replacement in mind (which there aren't any in this election cycle). City business shouldn't be such a joke to you, that you'd put any warm body up in one of those chairs. This isn't a high school popularity contest, no matter what the out of town bloggers may suggest.

I still haven't met candidate Leija, but plan to at the Candidate Forum that is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23rd at Elsinore High School, unless he comes to a city meeting first. 

I'll ask him how he feels about being endorsed by the blogger in question. Any serious candidate would disavow any direct or implied endorsement from that source. First, who would want to be associated with it, or the small crowd that sings its praises? Second, it's not like he has an inspiring track record when it comes to Wildomar elections and those he backs. Remember, without credibility, what's the point?

♫ ♪ Oh what fun... it is to blog... in an election year in a small town. ♫ ♪

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