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July 9, 2005
"Bob": Norman Mineta's Underling? (See Update)
It looks as though "Bob" is actually retired Coast Guard Captain James Olsen of Bainbridge Island, Washington, who (along with his wife Mary Dombrowski) has been leading the charge against Bainbridge Island's school curriculum on the Japanese American internment. (Olsen's upset that the internment is being presented as "a mistake." This position, he reasons, will only lead kids to "hate America." Not too long ago the superintendent of Olsen's local school district barred him from entering an elementary school because his "conduct, behavior, and rhetoric" created a "real likelihood" of "disruption.") Michelle Malkin is--natch--a big fan of the efforts of Olsen and his wife.
Why, one wonders, would "Bob" have gone to such lengths to conceal his identity here? Could it have anything to do with the fact that until quite recently, Coast Guard Captain Olsen's boss was U.S. Transportation Secretary (and former internee) Norman Mineta (pictured at right, receiving the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's "Light of Leadership Award")?
UPDATE: "Bob," it turns out, corresponds with (and, apparently, identifies himself to) Commander William Hopwood, another frequent commenter on this site. Through Hopwood, "Bob" insists that he is not Captain James Olsen of Bainbridge Island, but is instead a Bainbridge Island resident who is a friend of Captain James Olsen's. Naturally I have no way to confirm that this is true, and given "Bob's" pathological deceptiveness, I wouldn't believe him if he told me himself. On the other hand, while I disagree with Hopwood about most everything, I don't think him a liar. So I think it best to take back what I wrote earlier today: for now, it looks as though "Bob" is not actually retired Coast Guard captain James Olsen of Bainbridge Island, but is instead a fellow Bainbridge Islander and friend of Olsen's.
Posted by Eric at July 9, 2005 11:00 AM
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Comments
How did you reach the conclusion that it's Bob?
Posted by: Kristjan Wager at July 9, 2005 4:05 PM
That's what I was wondering. Did Bob admit that it was him?
Although I don't agree with Bob at all, I don't think it's _necessarily_ bad to post anonymously to avoid problems at work. For example, I could understand someone at the Department of Justice posting anonymously so they didn't upset John Ashcroft.
Anonymously flinging hatred is different, but if you are correct about Bob's identity he doesn't appear to be embarassed about his views, since he's giving them publically now.
Posted by: Mike at July 9, 2005 6:32 PM
Eric- I'd suggest that you post your update at the top of this post. As it is now, readers who don't go all the way through will be left with the (possibly) wrong impression.
Also, I think that you should have explained in the original post what led you to conclude that Capt. Olson was "Bob", or vice versa.
Posted by: Dave S. at July 11, 2005 12:02 PM
The reason why Eric would conclude that, would be because of Capt. Olsen/Bob's blog.
Like Eric, I'm not convinced they are not the one and same.
Posted by: Kristjan Wager at July 12, 2005 5:09 AM
I am new to this particular food-fight (and, for that matter, to this blog), so my natural instinct was to see if Amazon had any interesting reviews of Eric Muller's book.
As a matter of fact, they do.
It appears that "Bob" has left spittle-flecked reviews of that book and another on the same subject. Both reviews are dated today (July 14th), so it would seem likely that Amazon is deleting them as fast as they appear -- but can't block them permanently because of the IP auto-morph thing. Isn't technology wonderful?
Posted by: jre at July 14, 2005 6:45 PM
You should read about the havoc Cap Olsen is wreaking on Bainbridge. Threatening the mayor with an IED (Improvised Explosive Device, "metaphorical only" says the cap), accusing media that write about his antics as hate mongers, baised and political hacks, annoying citizens with hundreds of signs for a mayoral candidate whose campaign strings he pulled and filing 16 (at last count) police reports for sign tampering against BI residents, even after his candidate lost in the primary. It goes on...he wrote on another website that he's been thrown off 3 sites (because they couldn't take the truth, says he). Wish we could vote him off the island.
Posted by: anonymous Bainbridge resident at September 24, 2005 1:46 PM