Oh no, another conspiracy theory. But this one is really sweet.
It seems the Canadian divisions of Cadbury, Hershey and Nestle have developed a price fixing scheme in the chocolate bar industry.
This investigation may spread to other types of candy as well.
Does anybody think it is just coincidence that all gum used to be a nickle (later a quarter...and now who knows how much) a pack, regardless of brand, or that all candy bars used to be a dime, (then a quarter, now who knows how much)?
One thing is certain. The cost of litigation to fight these charges will be passed on to the Hershey bar eaters (that includes me) and Nestle Crunchophiles (me as well).
Here's a quote from a local "News" paper, The Western Star, from editor Dale Jones' column..
"Now I will admit, I'm human, and it is a bit frustrating when loud mouth cowards hide behind anonymous names, taking shots at me and making false statements on illegitimate web blogs."
From The American Heritage College Dictionary:
"Illegitimate adj. 1. Against the law; illegal. 2. born out of wedlock 3. Gram. Not in correct usage. 4. Incorrectly deduced; illogical. 5. Biol. Unacceptable as a scientific name because of contradiction to the international rules of nomenclature. "
I did a quick and incomplete web search and did not find a lot of references to Dale Jones on other blogs, and with the reaction I have received from him after previous references I am sure he is referring to Bessemer Opinions. So let me assure you this blog is 1. Not against the law, 2. Not born out of wedlock, 3. Not a grammatical mistake (although it sometimes contains such errors), 4. Not incorrectly deduced or illogical (to some degree a matter of personal opinion, may apply to certain postings but certainly not the entire blog) and 5. Not primarily biological in nature and thus not subject to the rules of scientific nomenclature.
In the past Jones has accused me of hiding behind my blog ("Stop hiding behind this pathetic blog " he once wrote), but I don't see how that is possible, because the blog and it's author are out there for the world to see. And I don't post anonymously so I don't think he is referring to me when he talks about cowards (although he did use "pathetic and extremely GUTLESS" when referring to me once).
So on the same day that I receive numerous congratulations for the success of this blog, it is called illegitimate in a local paper. I just wish he had used the name Bessemer Opinions...with the few additional readers that might have been directed here my rating could have climbed into the top ten! Well, maybe his readers will google his name after reading his column to see what has been said about him, and if so they will arrive at Bessemer Opinions.
Since I did read The Western Star this week, and since the editor does claim to present the news...wait...he actually says "you are going to be reading true, relevant, honest, factual, comprehensive information about what is going on in your neighbohood." In fact, the word "news" is not found in his editorial about his paper.
And he is right. The front page this week has three articles, none of which are news, all of which are community stories. The Western Tribune, on the other hand has two news stories and one community information story on the front page. The "Star" entire front section has only one news story of sorts, and even it is of a religious nature, about Garywood Assembly of God Church moving, so really that is just community news.
In fact, there are no other stories of any kind in the 10 pages that make up the first section. Ads, announcements, continuation of front page stories, editorials, reader's opinions, obituaries, social scene, the religion page and the Southern Styles column are all that is there.
In contrast, The Western Tribune, in addition to the news stories on the front page about the Bessemer City Council and the Mayor and money (something of great importance to Bessemer residents) and the luxury hotel deal that is about to die, has a news story about our water filter plant, news briefs, ads, sports, Chuck's outdoor column, a news story about Larry Langford's replacement, a community story about Festive Church Programs, Bubba's column, and readers opinions, also in 10 pages.
Now, if you want weekly news about what is going on in our community, about what will affect you as a tax payer, where will you turn? The Western Tribune, of course (call 425-7171 to subscribe).
And if you want daily news about what is going on, return to Bessemer Opinions. There you go.
The Year of Moving Forward
At our 4 person wedding reception in DC
12 comments:
Dale Jones should be washing cars for a living. He doesn't have the slightest clue about operating a newspaper. Maybe he should apply for a job at the Baptist newspaper -- delivering them And then he can wash cars -- make those tires shine, boy!
I read the Western Star for comic relief (but I don't buy it!) It's always amusing to see how many typo's, incorrect spellings, announcements made to look like ads, sentence fragments and sloppy lay out's I can find in each edition. Then, of course, there is NEVER any news! This week when Dale Jones referred to your "illegitimate" blog ( I knew it was yours, he was making reference to) I couln't restrain myself. I broke out into a belly laugh. What, pray tell, is an illigitimate blog? How could any blog possibly be "illigitimate?" Perhaps Mr. Jones should ask Santa for a dictionary for Christmas...but then, given the way the rest of the paper looks, he probably wouldn't know what to do with a dictionary.
Hhhhhmmmm...interestingly I've never met Ben Mason or Priscilla Conway. I at least RESPECT Joe's opinion (although I rarely agree with it) because, like myself, he is willing to put a face and a name with his comments. That's to be commended.
Seems to me like two people with such STRONG opinions would be willing to personally talk to me, but I doubt that will happen.
Mr. (and I use that term loosely) Mason says I don't know anything about running a paper, which leads me to believe he must be in the business himself. Now which paper is it that you work for Ben? Again, I doubt seriously we'll ever find the answer to that one.
Joe, since you are so IN LOVE with the Tribune, why don't you get some background information? Why don't you do some investigating? Find out why the editor there is no longer at The Western Star. Find out why, even though he often attacks our elected officials, he is not ALLOWED to VOTE for any of them. Find out why ALREADY, after less than a year in business, the paper has been REMOVED from some of our local businesses. I've been called STUPID on this site. I've been called an idiot by people I've NEVER MET. And that's fine.
But Joe, if you'll DIG a little, I think you'll find out some INTERESTING INFORMATION.
But whatever the case, thank ALL OF YOU for reading the Western Star.
Have a Merry Christmas!
*I guess I'm not gonna get an invitation to your Chirstmas party this year, huh Joe?
Oh...and Ms. Conway (yeah...RIGHT) since you are such a stickler for spelling, it's *COULDN'T* and *ILLEGITIMATE* We wouldn't want anybody reading mistakes in your blog, would we?
I appreciate Mr. Jones' correction of my spelling errors. But, I have one question? I wonder why, if Mr. Jones is so adept at spelling he doesn't catch all the typo's and misspelled words in his paper? I, after all, am not a newspaper editor. Also, I don't have a blog. This is Joe's blog. I am only making a comment on his blog. And, since I have been accused of hiding, I think I will legitimize (did I spell that right and is that the proper use of the word?) Mr.Jones' comment and sign myself "anonymous."
Ben,
Are you "the" Ben Mason? You know, they say newspapers are best for washing windows, they don't leave lint or streaks..maybe Dale could tie the two in..washing car windows with the papers...
Priscilla,
A dictionary might be nice. We know that there are at least two words Dale does not know the definition of...Illegitimate and plagiarize. Also, I guess Dale thinks you are really me just adding comments to my own blog. Dale, I don't need to do that.
Dale,
Don't talk about anonymous posts. Remember the one you or one of your employees posted in June about Bessemer business owners and such...the one that I removed because it made baseless accusations...and you (or your guy) posted it anonymously?
And as for the party...since you have threatened me through an email no I will not invite you in to my home this year. I have to look out for myself.
I'm not in the business, but I have been reading newspapers for many years. I even used to read the Western Star for its news value. But, Dale, since I have spent many years as a reader -- and I can spell -- I guess that does make me more qualified than you. Plagierize this.
Well, Ben, if that is the case, then where do you get off saying that I don't know the first thing about running a newspaper?
Again, I encourage you to make yourself known. Give me a call or come by my office and introduce yourself. I realize that THAT will never happen.
YOU are the VERY PERSON I wrote about in my editorial last week. Not you personally, but people like you. You COWARDLY hide behind this fictitious name of BEN MASON, and take shots at me about the way I run my paper.
As for the 'shot' at the Baptist paper, I'm not sure what that is all about but have a pretty good idea.
Our paper is part of a company that owns numerous papers in South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. At our recent corporate meeting, The Western Star won MORE AWARDS for newspaper excellence than any of our other publications except for the one DAILY paper that is part of our company. Next year we will be celebrating TWENTY FIVE years in Bessemer so we must be doing something right.
*Over the past year, our subscriptions have increased significantly (despite lying dormant for almost 3 years) and the number of racks we have throughout the West Jefferson area are increasing as well.
As for news content...
*The Western STAR was the first paper to give COMPLETE coverage of the Wachovia Bank Robbery.
*The Western STAR broke the story (even before the B'ham news) that the security cameras in the bank were not working.
*The Western STAR was the FIRST media outlet in ALABAMA to publish the TRUTH about the Hoover football coach when no one else would touch it. Despite receiving several threatening emails, it ALL turned out to be 100% TRUE.
*The Western STAR is the only weekly paper in West Jefferson County that is a member of the Ala. Press Association.
*The Western STAR is the ONLY newspaper in all of Jefferson County to feature Award Winning Journalist Paul Finebuam.
And Ben...it's Plagiarize!
Mr. Jones,
I'm sorry but I just have to respond. If your paper won so many awards I shudder to think about how the competition must have looked.
Let me give just a "few" examples of my criticism's from this week's Western Star.
On page one in the article by Kyoka Akers this part of one sentence jumps out and hits one in the face, "According to Bates she have been working...." Pardon me? She HAVE...where did that kind of grammar come from?
In the Social Scene Club News, I counted 15 errors alone. They were either typo's, misspelled words, lack of proper capitalization or lack of proper punctuation. I didn't have to hunt for them. They jumped right off the page at me. They were as obvious as the nose on your face.
I'm not trying to be ugly. I'm just stating the facts. I challenge you to pick up your paper and check what I have told you. I'm not even mentioning all the paper, just those couple of areas....
How can you defend that kind of sloppy journalism?
By the way, it's me, Priscilla Conway, again....
Call me Priscilla. Let's talk about it.
I'd be happy to hear your thoughts.
I look forward to HEARING from you.
And THANKS for reading The Western Star.
There is no reason for me to call you Mr. Jones. There is nothing for us to talk about. I mentioned the facts behind my criticism of the Western Star in my last post on this blog. Given the tone of your previous posts I will assume that you will interpret my unwillingness to call as proof that I am not who I say I am. You will be wrong. Nevertheless, I am under no obligation to prove anything to you to satisfy your curiosity.
Suffice to say, IF you will read your own paper, you will be left to face the indisputable proof of the evidence I presented regarding spelling,punctuation, grammar, typo's, etc.
As it stands right now, I read the Western Star in order to "find the errors." It's become somewhat of a game to me.
Hopefully my criticism will be an incentive to you to pay closer attention to what you are publishing.
Priscilla
Well, Mr. Jones, you have compelling evidence as to why the Western Star should be considered among America's elite publications. The next time my dog pees on your newspaper, I will admonish him not to be so disrespectful of such greatness.
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