UPDATE: dan savage responds to blatherWatch’s startlingly tepid expose of sharkansky’s fatal fall from stranger grace

BlatherWatch has nothing but respect for Dan Savage, editor of The Stranger, bestselling author and sex columnist, erstwhile talk show host, liberal, father and husband. We read all his books, his columns and agree with everything he says or does. We've urged him to get into talk radio.

We're in his amen corner.

We agree with PeakLimiter, our faithful reader and harsh critic- Savage has way more class than we do. As a matter of fact, we’ve always looked to him as a role model on our journey to classiness and distinction.

F’rinstance:
~~We listened to Dan and allowed (encouraged, demanded) that our girlfriend get a strap-on and use it on our previously virginal tender parts.

~~We put his wonderful word, “santorum” into our vocabulary and at his behest, opened our hearts to felching.

~~We cheered when he and a cross-dressing friend went to the Republican County convention as Pat Buchanan delegates and thrilled to his hilarious accounts of that day on NPR and elsewhere.

~~We were right there when Dan licked Gary Bauer’s knobs with his diseased tongue and thrilled to his hilarious accounts of that day on salon.com and elsewhere.

~~We even tried turning gay for a while, but when we finally realized that Dan himself would always be unavailable, went begrudgingly back to our drab breeder lives.

We love this classy guy, so we were disappointed to read his harsh words in our comment strings and in those over at horsessass.org refuting our story that Stuffin’ Sharkansky (the most famous blogger in the land) had been fired from The Stranger for wearing two hats in one day. Here’s what we wrote:

According to our source, Sharkansky attended the Republicans' press conference first, where he was hailed as a hero; invited to stand up in front, got the "googly eyes from Kathy Lambert" (not that hard to get, actually, if you're of the male species) and perhaps even spoke to them. Then shoving his Republican political operative hat back in his pocket, he donned his journalist hat, (made with duct tape and Superglue on PhotoShop, no doubt) and as a Stranger reporter, went to the Elections Department presser, where he presumably asked searing questions ala Mike Wallace.

That a reporter would stand as a party operative, and then be a reporter on the same afternoon would embarrass any news organization. Feit was not amused to say the least, according to our source. He decided then and there to kick him off the paper after the election.

We love having Dan in the conversation, but we need to respond to a couple of his accusations.

He said we were letting our “hatred for Stefan" cloud our judgment and that our bias, not Stefan's, is the issue. We take exception to that; just as we take exception to Republicans' discounting criticisms of Bush as hatred for Bush. We're biased, but we don’t hate anybody- we just don’t like Stefan’s politics (as we’re sure he doesn’t like ours).

Hence, we love to see him stumble. His partisan dissembling and hyperbole during the post election- even though couched sometimes in facts- hurt America, as Jon Stewart might say- or at least, our green corner of it. He was dishonest and irresponsible and an important part of a cynical Republican strategy to poke a Democratic Governor in the eye. That's the main reason we didn't agree with The Stranger's decision to give him ink and were glad when they finally booted him down the back stairs.

Dan asks: “Who, I’d like to know, are your sources inside the Stranger? Please name them. Not because I want to fire them...but because I’m certain they do not exist.” 

We’re as partisan here as Stefan. Where we differ is that we don’t make up stuff, or fabricate sources.

Maybe we should have underscored that Stefan, according to our source, pawned himself off as a Stranger reporter at the second press conference, and that, purportedly, was the last straw for Feit though apparently, as Dan says, they parted on friendly terms.

Maybe ”fired” wasn’t the right word, maybe “gentle shove” would have been more circumspect. (Circumspection is something we’re working on, though it looks today like it’s more 'long-term goal' than 'to-do for tomorrow.'

We certainly don’t hate Stefan, we'venever met him; but as Goldy at Horse’s Ass wrote recently: "… kicking Stefan while he’s down is, well… fun. I have every right to gloat… a year after we both really got into this, Christine Gregoire is still governor, Ron Sims is still executive, and (pending the recommendations of the turn around team) Dean Logan is still running KCRE.

Or as BlatherWatch wrote recently:  Mega-neeners, shmuck!

Comments

[webb]

Will you ever get it? Savage trashes you because you ARE trash. He's a decent journalist who can sniff out a disgusting liar such as yourself and that closet case Maloney.

It's about time you got a taste of your own medicine on that thing you call a "blog" - which is really just a waste of online bandwidth, serving only to vent your anguish and envy produced by your lack of talent and inability to score a real job in radio or other media.

I really feel sorry for you.

MW

[sclub]

You're a ticking time bomb, Mr. Webb.

The day you finally go postal, hope the newsroom knows where to duck so nobody gets hurt.

[sparky]

Um..I am way to young to be reading things like
"strap on"....I will come back tomorrow.

[Andrwe]

Wow this is like celebrity boxing! This blog rocks.

[Eric t]

Hi comrads! This blog once said Savages' ratings were equal to that of pitiful queer Mike Webbs'. Ah, but can you prove that? Don't think so. First of all, how many total listeners are there at the hours that Webbs' gay show runs as opposed to the rush hour timeslot of Savage? You fools expect us true Americans to believe your lies just like the socialist media does? Go pound sand! Maybe Ross beats him in that slot but that is expected in this sick liberal infested market. Your "rocking blog" is off its rocker! You can't prove the alledged numbers! Put up or shut up! Eric T

[sparky]

Ok I get it now. Eric has a box of those refrigerator magnets and he pulls them out one at a time to get his phraseology....us true Americans, socialist media, sick liberal infested market, Put up or shut up,,,,hehe. I have to admit, it saves time.

[chris]

Comrads?

[blathering michael]

Ah, but I never said anything like that. Savage has had better numbers than Webb as long as I've been looking at the numbers, but that's meaningless- comparing afternoon drive to evening would be a fool's paradise.

And oh yeah, Eric: fuck you.