The Arizona Republic has managed to get John Huppenthal to confess to being the Sockpuppet Internet troll who has vexed so many news sites and blog sites for so long. Ahem, I do believe Blog for Arizona was entitled to this “exclusive” confession, Huppenthal. Now how about that misuse of government property on government time? Huppenthal says harsh posts his; ‘lazy pigs’:
Since at least 2011, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal has shared controversial, conservative opinions anonymously on blog websites, he revealed this week.
At times, his anonymous statements have been harsh.
They have called people who receive public assistance “lazy pigs” and compared Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger to the Nazis.
Late Tuesday, June 17, Huppenthal issued a statement exclusively to The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about the reasons he commented on blog posts under the names “Falcon9” and “Thucydides” instead of his own. He also apologized, saying in the statement, “I sincerely regret if my comments have offended anyone.”
His chief of staff, Merle Bianchi, e-mailed the statement to The Republic.
“I have chosen to participate in online blogs as a forum to advocate for and discuss issues related to economics, energy, criminal-justice reform and in recent years, education,” Huppenthal wrote.
“I have engaged in these debates under the monikers ‘Falcon9’ and ‘Thucydides.’ I chose this approach because I felt that any other would limit a free and open exchange.”
Huppenthal, a Republican running for re-election, said through his staff he would provide a more in-depth response to questions later today.
Writers of blogs for the liberal political website Blog for Arizona and conservative political website Seeing Red AZ have speculated that Huppenthal was the man behind the names Thucydides and Falcon9. The websites include posts on issues including education, the economy, health care and immigration.
Huppenthal had not responded to questions from bloggers and the news media about his involvement with these comments until June 17.
Under the monikers, Huppenthal joined discussions and shared views on issues including abortion, the economy, education and child protection. Some examples:
“There is no aspect of (Child Protective Services) nationwide which protects children. No correlation between spending on CPS and child safety,” Thucydides posted in January on Blog for Arizona. “No correlation between number of CPS workers and child safety. No correlation between child removal and child safety. The only factors which provide safety for children are employment of parents and good schools on the positive side and welfare enrollment on the negative side.”
“When Darwin wrote his treatise on evolution, it was titled ‘Survival of the Favored Races,'” Thucydides posted in September 2013 on Seeing Red AZ. “There were two parts to his work, one was to give a foundation to evolution, the other was to explain the dramatic differences between species. As he explained it in his 1859 work, as a species evolves it begins to develop different races. When one of those races develops a superior advantage, it wipes out the genetically inferior race. It was Darwin, not Hitler, who named the Germans the master race. It was Darwin who expressed approval of eliminating both Jews and Africans. Hitler worked to eliminate the Jews. Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood was given the job of eliminating African-Americans. Hitler fed 6 million Jews into the ovens. Sanger has fed 16 million African-Americans into the abortion mills.”
“Common Core is selling well in the schools and teachers and it is selling well among people who understand it,” Thucydides posted in September on Blog for Arizona. “Letter identification, reading fluently by third grade, multiplication by third grade (no calculators), long division, fractions (no new math), grammar and punctuation algebra by freshman in high school, and actually being able to use this math to solve real world problems.” (Editor’s note: Parentheses included in posting)
“We now know that (Franklin D. Roosevelt) was almost completely responsible for the great depression,” Falcon9 posted in 2013 on Blog for Arizona. “Only in liberal mythology did FDR ‘save’ the nation. … Worse yet, Roosevelt’s disastrous economic policies drug down the whole world and directly led to the rise of a no-name hack named Adolph Hitler who was going nowhere until Germany’s economy went into the tank.”
“Our successful small businessmen/job creators are being taxed to death,” Falcon9 posted in October 2011 on Blog for Arizona “At most, they should give up 40 cents on the dollar to expanding government burden. But, Obama demands 63 cents. Meanwhile, Obama is rewarding the lazy pigs with food stamps (44 million people), air- conditioning, free health care, flat-screen TV’s (typical of “poor” families).” (Editor’s note: Parentheses included in posting)
Huppenthal often refers to himself as a “wonk” who reads academic and scientific research after hours instead of reading novels or watching television. Bianchi said Wednesday, June 18, that Huppenthal has insomnia and often stays up through the wee hours reading scientific research and political blogs.
“He is a Republican conservative who is advancing the ideals he believe in,” she said.
“I take my role as an American citizen seriously, and public policy has been a passion of mine for my entire life,” Huppenthal said in Tuesday’s statement.
Way to try to polish this turd. Hupp. it’s not going to work.
“Anonymous discourse has been an established practice throughout U.S. history, including the development of the Federalist Papers, and has become even more prevalent since the advent of the Internet. I strongly believe that no citizens should give up their right to free speech — sourced or anonymous — simply because of a position they hold.
“However, I take my position as an Arizona leader very seriously, and I sincerely regret if my comments have offended anyone.”
Readers of Blog for Arizona know that state Rep. John Kavanagh infrequently posts comments, and our readers will engage with him. Huppenthal could have done the same. But he chose to be a sockpuppet Internet troll instead.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
He is such an embarrassment to the people of Arizona. He tries his best to destroy public education that has educated so many leaders and great thinkers regardless of their economic standing. He strives to give the tax money of hard working Arizonians to the corporate world that has shown so much disregard for the welfare of the common people of America. He spews hateful propaganda to inflame the pseudo religious. Get rid of him. Show the rest of America that Arizonians decry bigotry and economic self-interest of the corporate 1%. Organize!!! Bus people to the polls who don’t have transportation!!!! Organize voter registration like the freedom groups did during the civil rights era!!! Now is the time!!!! Arizona is the place!!!! Make a difference!!!! All Americans have value!!!
His defense of anonymous blogging sounds word for word like Micheal Bryan’s in the Arizona Daily Star when Josh Brodesky outed azbluemeanie. Just about every blogger on this site rushed to defend anonymous bloggers for exactly the same reasons Huppenthal stated. Then you glorify Rep. Kavenaugh from “infrequently” posting with his real name, does he always post with his real name? Would you investigate and share all his anonymous blogs across the internet? I think not. Is your doublethink causing any cognitive dissonance or have you been doing it so long that it’s second nature.
HAW-HAW-HAW
John Huppenthal has caused much pain to many people in Tucson. Not to mention the continuing damage to disaffected students who are still denied a program that transformed many other such kids into lifelong learners. As much as I try to see the humanity in every person, it’s hard to repress the sentiments that “what goes around comes around” and “it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.” Other states appoint accomplished educators to lead public education. Look at how sick our educational system becomes when we politicize the post and open it up to political opportunists like Horne and Huppenthal. I sat in the administrative kangaroo court where Huppenthal’s lawyers conducted a modern-day witch hunt and was hoping to at least see Hupp squirm on the stand under cross-examination. But Hupp must have had some good friends in Tucson. TUSD’s lawyers agreed to let him submit his previous written testimony instead of appearing. What litigator wouldn’t want to take a crack at this guy? That’s when it really sunk in that the cancer in this system runs deep.
What a crock. While his minions labor in the trenches of underfunded public schools, John Huppenthal is typing “rigorous public discourse” on state computers. He never once went to the legislature to advocate for better funding for public schools, except when he wanted state computers upgraded.
He has the audacity to compare his anonymity to the Federalist papers? This guy is full of himself. He has got to go.
If:”Obama is rewarding the lazy pigs with food stamps (44 million people), air- conditioning, free health care, flat-screen TV’s (typical of “poor” families).” ……..I’m still waiting for my new Flat-screen TV!!!!
Besides,Obama owes me $10,000 and STILL hasn’t paid up!!!!!
““He is a Republican conservative who is advancing the ideals he believe in,” she said.”
Apparently racism and lying through his teeth are the “ideals he believes in”.
TUSD Board members Mark Stegeman and Kristel Foster and political figures like LD3 Chair Luis Gonzales, LD9 Chair Brian Clymer, and former Pima County Chair Jeff Rogers have also commented using their own names.