(Thisi s a re-post. On the kind advice of some readers, I am editing the address of the probable spammer.)
In yesterday's post I speculated that Mark Towner of "The Political Spyglass" blog might have been the person who sent the deceptive e-mail (SPAM) from Utahns for Public School (singular). The public education coalition opposing private school vouchers is Utahns for Public Schools (plural).
I noted that the spam e-mail redirected to a site that Towner was accused of using before to send unauthorized and unsolicited spam to thousands of Utahns. (Thanks to Jesse for documenting this spam.)
Seems to have stirred some folks, particularly Towner.
Despite his fairly incriminating history, Towner huffily protested his innocence in his blog:
“No email was sent by http://www.thespyglass.us/ The site is parked and has been inactive for weeks.” - The Political Spyglass here.
Eh? Inactive for WEEKS?!? Hmmm.
Well, here is a copy below wherein Utahns for Public School (singular) is linked to The Spyglass:
Index of /thespyglass
Name Last modified Size Description
________________________________________
Parent Directory 03-Oct-2007 18:44 -
prepare_removal.php 13-Sep-2007 00:38 2k
________________________________________
Apache/1.3.37 Server at www.utahnsforpublicschool.com Port 80
Note that the last modification of the parent directory happens to occur on the same day the Deseret News broke the "deceptive e-mail" story. Hmmm. Coincidence?
(Check it out here.)
Towner also takes offense that we didn't KNOW he was the poster at "vouchernews" blog (under the juvenile pseudonym "Jason Bourne"). HUH? I've been reading the Spyglass for quite some time now. I didn't know.
"...I indicated that I created the site some time ago to focus on the voucher battle, so the spyglass can continue posting about other events..." - The Political Spyglass 10/5/07.
So, this morning I went back as far as June and July. Never read ANY mention from Towner that he also was behind vouchernews blog! (Unless he backtracked and added that somewhere this morning).
Oh, wait. Now Towner posts on Utah Amicus that he is NOT "Jason Bourne" yet in his own blog Towner admits to running the vouchernews blog? Whew.
Following a hunch, I also went back to the Parents for Choice in Education PIC filing with the Lt. Governor's office, just to see who the group had paid for what services.
Well, well. Here's a link (pdf format) to the report.
Wonder what entity is "SG Consulting" at 1**1 G***n St. that received $5,000 from the PCE PIC on September 4? Hmmm.
SG Consulting - could that be Spy Glass? 1**1 G***n St.? Could that be Mark Towner's home address?
Was Mark Towner paid to spam?
Showing posts with label Utahns for Public School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utahns for Public School. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Who is spamming? Could it be....
Democracy for Utah wrote about this morning's Deseret News story regarding spam e-mails that appeared to come from Utahns for Public Schools, the folks working against Utah's universal private school voucher program.
It's an interesting story, with apparently more "dirty tricks" from the pro-voucher folks, although this time Parents for Choice in Education claims they don't have a clue as to the identity of the spammer.
The Deseret News story also went on:
"Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for Utahns for Public Schools, said in addition to Wilson, the coalition received a number of calls and e-mails from others who got the "deceptive" e-mail and requested clarification."
"It was clearly intended to look like it came from us," Johnson said. "The one thing we can say for certain that it didn't come from our campaign and it's a concern for coalition members because someone purports to be speaking for us."
"Johnson said her group is trying to find out who is behind the Web site and the mass e-mailing while looking into options of what sort of complaints can be filed against that person."
Certainly spam constitutes a "dirty trick". Especially when it is specifically designed to look like it is from a group that it's NOT from. A clever use of words made the difference. The e-mail was from Utahns for Public School (singular) while the public education coalition's name is Utahns for Public Schools (plural).
Now, hmmm. Anyone know anyone in Utah who is a spammer? Ever been accused of spam?
Well, there is a clue in the Deseret News, when it reported this about the deceptive e-mail:
"It asked recipients to provide a personal e-mail address, name and contact number and then visit another Web site..."
A friend of mine far more sopisticated at the technology end of the Internet found that Utahns for Public School (singular) - host of the offensive, deceptive e-mail -redirects to a site called www.thespyglass.us/.
Now, who else do we know who might be using or have used spyglass.us for other purposes?
Well, it seems Mark Towner used that site to send spam! And, he got caught, as these folks report.
And isn't Towner's blog called something like "The Political SPYGLASS"??
As Bob Aagard noted this morning, seems the pro-voucher folks will take anyone they can get -- dirty tricks and all.
It's an interesting story, with apparently more "dirty tricks" from the pro-voucher folks, although this time Parents for Choice in Education claims they don't have a clue as to the identity of the spammer.
The Deseret News story also went on:
"Lisa Johnson, spokeswoman for Utahns for Public Schools, said in addition to Wilson, the coalition received a number of calls and e-mails from others who got the "deceptive" e-mail and requested clarification."
"It was clearly intended to look like it came from us," Johnson said. "The one thing we can say for certain that it didn't come from our campaign and it's a concern for coalition members because someone purports to be speaking for us."
"Johnson said her group is trying to find out who is behind the Web site and the mass e-mailing while looking into options of what sort of complaints can be filed against that person."
Certainly spam constitutes a "dirty trick". Especially when it is specifically designed to look like it is from a group that it's NOT from. A clever use of words made the difference. The e-mail was from Utahns for Public School (singular) while the public education coalition's name is Utahns for Public Schools (plural).
Now, hmmm. Anyone know anyone in Utah who is a spammer? Ever been accused of spam?
Well, there is a clue in the Deseret News, when it reported this about the deceptive e-mail:
"It asked recipients to provide a personal e-mail address, name and contact number and then visit another Web site..."
A friend of mine far more sopisticated at the technology end of the Internet found that Utahns for Public School (singular) - host of the offensive, deceptive e-mail -redirects to a site called www.thespyglass.us/.
Now, who else do we know who might be using or have used spyglass.us for other purposes?
Well, it seems Mark Towner used that site to send spam! And, he got caught, as these folks report.
And isn't Towner's blog called something like "The Political SPYGLASS"??
As Bob Aagard noted this morning, seems the pro-voucher folks will take anyone they can get -- dirty tricks and all.
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