"Knowledge about government is power" --GovTrack
UPDATE: here is Dickie-the-spammer's contact info:
Ellmyer, Richard ellmyer@macsolve.com
9124 N. McKenna Ave
Portland, Oregon 97203
1-503-289-7174
My first question was, "what the hell IS a Richard Ellmyer, anyway?". Recently, an associate of mine tells of receiving an entirely unsolicited E-Mail rant from someone signing their diatribe as: "Richard Ellmyer". Neither of us had ever heard of a "Richard Ellmyer" before seeing this unsolicited diatribe, received in E-Mail. The associate is still wondering where DICKIE stole the E-Mail address for abuse coz there was never any "subscribing" to any of Dickie's crap that we've since discovered on the 'net.
Even though we're both long time residents of the area and had never heard the name Richard Ellmyer before, as it turns out, the guy is rather infamous; especially within Portland City gubbermint.
A quick Google search reveals that DICKIE-Boy is a very opinionated fellow. He seems to be an expert [reads: blow-hard] on everything. While I can't personally take any issue with being opinionated, I'm careful to choose a more discreet forum for the expression of MY opinions. Like this Blog for instance, where anyone is FREE to stay and read, or just go-the-hell-away. By contrast DICKIE doesn't give the general public that same consideration. Nope, DICKIE-boy is a *special* breed all-to-himself. And apparently, all *about* himself as well.
DICKIE-boy apparently doesn't cotton-to the whole concept of his rights ending where our rights begin sorta thing. Nope, DICKIE-boy has decided to rely upon his own unique interpretation of loop-holes in the corporate-contrived "Can-Spam" Act, net-etiquette, common-sense and even human-decency.
Several copies of his E-Mailed diatribe were printed off and shared simply because of how incredulously arrogant and self-absorbed that it reads. DICKIE-boy's writing does instill a certain, difficult-to-describe, even morbid, curiosity. Sorta like rubber-neckin' a car-wreck as ya drive past on the freeway, or watching NASCAR for the wrecks; or watching fights to see if a hockey-game might break out.
DICKIE-boy's real purpose is obscured by his chosen method of delivery, and lost entirely when he includes both his composed list of self-important credentials and a spammer-like disclaimer onto the end of his diatribe. Check this out, especially the second part:
"Richard Ellmyer
Community leader coordinating a local effort to bring the Oregon National Guard to the Sharff Army Reserve Center
Community activist leading the campaign to Stop The Portland Hope Meadows Corporation From Adding To The Overload Of Public Housing Clients In The Portsmouth Neighborhood And North Portland
3-6-9 Resolution author and project champion
Writer/Publisher - HAP Watcher commentary - Published on the Internet and distributed to 13,000 readers interested in public housing policy in Multnomah County.
http://www.goodgrowthnw.org
President, MacSolutions Inc. - A Macintosh computer consulting business providing web hosting for artists and very small businesses. Located in Portsmouth, the neighborhood with the second highest concentration of public housing clients, 18% and rising, within HAP's Multnomah county jurisdiction of 117 neighborhoods."
Wow, the dude has appointed himself our "community leader" ... sorta like George Bush appointing HIMSELF as everybody's president! DICK is no more MY community leader than George is MY president.
Then DICKIE goes on to promote his own self-interest by including his commercial advertisement for his small business, and in the process embarrassing MAC users everywhere. I'm pretty sure his business isn't the only thing small about DICKIE. The old adage is that there is no such thing as bad publicity, but if *I* were a MAC user, I'd certainly know where NOT to go for MAC-related assistance! DICKIE ... dude, get-a-real-job and stop annoying the general population of Portland with your unsolicited E-Mails. Sheez, what a friggin' loser.
I'm also no lawyer but, I'd be willing to wager by including the description of his bidness into his diatribe, DICKIE MAY have pulled his favorite loop-hole tightly closed and qualified his E-Mail blast to Portland residents as both "UBE" and "UCE" [Unsolicited Bulk E-mail (UBE) and Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE)].
But, this second part, the very last part of "DICKIE'S-DIATRIBE"[—Synonyms: tirade, harangue], a disclaimer-of-sorts, is where the real fun begins because it really serves as DICKIE'S own confession of wrong-doing:
"Note to readers: HAP Watchers is written, distributed and published with the intent of changing government policy on public housing. It follows the path laid out in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America which guarantees both free speech and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. HAP Watchers is political free speech with no commercial interest in product or service. Political free speech is at the heart of our democracy. Without it we have no democracy. Technology gatekeepers beware that you do not become censors and spies as your counterparts in China. Commentaries seeking a change in government practices, such as HAP Watchers, are specifically exempt from the federal regulatory legislation called the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 also known as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
It is counter productive to the goal of changing government actions to send HAP Watchers to those who are not interested. Any recipient of a HAP Watchers email, with the exception of public officials and their personal staffs, who does not want to receive HAP Watchers need only ask to be removed by replying to any HAP Watcher email and writing Remove or Unsubscribe in the subject or at the top of the reply body. Requests for removal must be made from or include the same email address to which HAP Watchers was sent in order to be found and deleted.
Occasionally new lists of names are acquired and added to the email database. This may cause some email addresses that have previously been removed to reappear. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please follow the removal procedure to be taken off the list."
My TRANSLATION of DICKIE'S-DIATRIBE-DISCLAIMER:
DICKIE is saying above that he can send us his unsolicited commercial E-Mails and diatribes at will. DICKIE tells us that we have no rights of our own to the private use of our own E-Mail inbox [paid-subscription aside] simply because DICKIE has decided for us what is important for us to read. Because DICKIE is somehow smarter than ALL the rest of us, and besides, he's the self-appointed "community leader", and there-by knows best for us all. AND, DICKIE goes on to tell us what *WE* "MUST" DO to even attempt to be relieved of his junk E-Mails ... but then tells us there are no guarantees that those provisions might actually work to that end. But, if that disturbs you in the least, too-bad, so-sad.
Thus far I have only included the bottom/disclaimer crap from DICKIE'S-DIATRIBE. Perhaps the most offensive portion of DICKIE's unsolicited E-Mail is the part where he includes a list of personal details about individuals that DICKIE collected by subverting the processes of public information. I'm not going to further his cause by including that list here.
MY RESPONSE TO "DICKIE'S-DIATRIBE & UCE":
For starters read this and perhaps become a member of CAUSE.ORG who absolutely opposes the concept of 'un-subscribing" [to things you were never subscribed to in the first place] or "opting-out". And, counter to DICKIE'S droning-on about his First Amendment, consider this by clicking here: "Isn't stopping spam a violation of the First Amendment?"
Lemme mention that I am certainly not the first to highlight "DICKIE's DIATRIBES". Way back in July of this year, another Blogger posted this: "It is OKAY to spam if you Just add this like Richard Does"
I worked for the OR Legislature during the 2005 session and Ellmyer, along with a few others, was what you might call a serial e-mailer. After a while I couldn't decide if his e-mails were so bad they were funny or just annoying.
Posted by: David | Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 11:07 PM