INTRODUCTION

“In a sense, this article does two things, exposes the foolishness and blind ignorance and hate an individual has, as well as publishing [his] own words to show forth that [he] is held accountable for what [he] had said and published.” ~Timothy Berman, Cyber Bullying and Stalking, http://networkedblogs.com/lb1Cj

The world is full of wannabe’s.  Some want to be astronauts, and some want to be President. Some actually get to be what they want. But others just wannabe and don’t have the intelligence or the skill to really pull it off. The tragic thing is, everyone seems to know it but them. (Wah)

In the Mormon world, some wannabe Apologists. They perhaps want to write for F.A.I.R, or for F.A.R.M.S, or some other “prestigious” group, and be known as a Church “defender”. They want to be the “big man” of their local Ward, or perhaps the “seasoned” Sunday School Teacher that regales their class with stories about how they “trounced” on those horrible “Anti-Mormons” and showed them who was boss.  They can then tell them all about their blogs (they have to do something to get traffic) and Facebook pages (same thing, ad nauseum) and urges them to go read the latest “scoop” about how they are policing the internet and refuting those evil “apostates” and Church critics. They may be a wannabe writer. Though this may not exactly describe them, it is probably close to the mark.  One of these “Wanna-Bees” that recently crossed my path is Timmy “the wanna-BEE” Berman.

Timmy probably reads the New Era and the Ensign (and maybe The Friend) dreaming of someday getting one of his articles published for the whole Mormon Universe to fawn over. What a badge of honor that would be!  And he can’t help but promote himself, advertising on his blog about how he is up for awards (that of course he nominated himself for – and that is why there is only one nomination), and he (of course) has that novel he has been working on for years and years,  (rushed into print by a disreputable publisher) so he can refer to himself in online writing communities as an “upcoming author” and a “devilish rogue” with a “golden tongue” and a “silver pen.” http://www.writerscafe.org/TimothyRBerman

But his online writing might be a little too risqué for the Ensign or Friend, with its “obtuse” (one of Timmy’s favorite words) prose about  those forbidden cigarettes and coffee, (that he has said he can’t do without on his Twitter Feed) and the graphic sex written into the story where the dark haired hero, (with the receding hairline? – nah, he wouldn’t write that in – and mustache)  stirs his coffee with a knife and with a gleam in his eye asks the woman he is having an affair with if she wants him to “take care of” her husband.  (Note:  This is one of his “milder” tries at Porn. Warning: later things will get much more graphic.) http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/TimothyRBerman/254753/

You know the guy.  (Or maybe you don’t) But he’s the one who’s always right, who claims to be the leader in “Defending the Latter-day Saint “Christian” Faith and presenting the “Restored” Gospel of Jesus Christ in proper context”.  He’s the one with the shrill voice screaming about those horrible “Anti-Mormons” and their lies, distortions and oh my, improper context! (He’s also the one caught writing porn on the internet.)

But alas, Timmy’s blog doesn’t seem to generate many comments, and his Facebook pages are reaching a whopping 60 people. Itching to show his prowess, (and in his words “kahonas”), he has to resort to trolling. But coming up against the frustrating reality that he can’t defend the indefensible, he has to resort to lying and bullying to overcome his (jealous rage perhaps?) at those he claims “are not welcome where they decided to hang out”, and so it was left to him to get a “big stick” and whack at the “beehive”, and “beat their cozy little nest”, because he was the only one with the “kahonas” to do so.

Here is the saga of Timmy “Wanna-BEE”, who allows others on his blog to accuse critics of Mormonism of violence, when it is he, who uses the violent rhetoric of the “baseball bat” to strike at those he is obviously in a jealous rage over, (at their very existence), and who sets himself up as the “righteous” critic of Christians when he can’t seem to get his own life in order, all the while using  the very tactics of lying and bullying to decry those he falsely accuses of the same.

As Timmy himself has written (badly at that), lets expose,

“the foolishness and blind ignorance and hate” that he has, “as well as publishing [his] own words to show forth that [he] is held accountable for what [he] has said and published.”

I.  THE EMMA SMITH DRAMA

On a Facebook Page that I Co-created called Mormon & LDS Facts, we had been having a rough couple of weeks with some ornery Mormon trolls. They ran their course and most of them were eventually banned.  At the end of this period, one of the new Administrators on the Page posted a description (and quotes) from an article that appeared in the New York Sun in 1846 and was alleged to have been written by Emma Smith.

I wasn’t happy with the way the post was worded, so in the comment section I clarified the history surrounding the supposed letter, and said that I thought the letter might have been written by John C. Bennett, and not Emma Smith, who denied in the Times and Seasons that she had written it. I also posted a link to Rick Grunder’s site, which is selling a copy of another paper that carried the article, found here: http://www.rickgrunder.com/Newspapers%20for%20Sale/EmmaLetter/emmaletter.htm

This link also provides very good historical information about the letter. I posted my clarification of the post a few hours after it went up.  Since one Mormon had asked for proof of the letter, I posted the link to a copy of the actual newspaper (above) and left the post (it was not a picture so could not be edited) as it was, in case this Mormon told other Mormons about it. I then posted a message to all the personnel at Facts, which read,

“I don’t think the lead in to the Emma letter is good. It really should have been that she “allegedly” wrote the letter to the NY Sun. No offense [    ], but I wrote that I thought it spurious.”

And what I feared happened. The post got “passed around”. One of those people who got a hold of it was Timmy Berman.  He immediately wrote a blog article (Did Emma Smith write to the New York Sun?, December 18, 2011)  denouncing Mormon & LDS Facts, and me personally by name, and said that we were making “intentionally false statements” adding, “these people … claim … to speak truth, and claim to be Christians.”

He then quoted the post, which read, “Emma Smith denounces her late husband in a letter to the New York Sun. She says “he labored under a diseased mind”.

Timmy actually gets this right (the only thing he does).  That is what the post said.  He then claims in his article that he tried to research the facts surrounding the letter, and related that he contacted a F.A.I.R. “apologist”.  He relates that he wrote

“I happened across this gem at a Facebook Page operated by the infamous Bob Betts and gang…” [Can you feel the “Christian” love folks?] and added,

“I have tried to find the exact source as well as any rebuttal to it in order to make an adequate response”.

He then pleads for information. What is funny, is that Mr. Berman didn’t just come to us and ask, or go back to the post and check out the comments.  If he would have, we would have told him that it was posted by a new Admin, or he would have seen that we had clarified the post. But nope, Timmy waits for his “apologist” friend to get back to him, then proceeds to write a blog article with most of the facts that I posted on our Facebook Page, with additional comments like,

“Why would an active Apostate Anti-Mormon perpetuate a lie? The answer is simple, they despise the truth… and are servants of the adversary to prevent people from knowing the truth. They are like the Serpent in the Garden of Eden who beguiled Eve by copulating [yes, he says copulating] lies with truths. Lee Griener and her partners over at the Facebook Page Mormon & LDS Facts posted an intentionally false statement.”

He then took the time to visit other Facebook Pages and crow about how he had shown us to be “liars”.

II. OPEN MOUTH, INSERT FOOT

Timmy had taken a stand. He had shown us what “proper context” really is! (Slander someone without bothering to check the facts). He was dead set that he was “right” about me and my Page, and he set us straight, calling us “servants of the adversary” who “prevent people from knowing the truth”, and that we had posted “intentionally” a “false statement.” (Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah).

Having found out that he was dead wrong, how do you get that big stinky foot out of your mouth? You can’t. But Timmy tried. He sure did. But he only made it worse. (Wah).

Imagine my surprise when I got a bunch of e-mails later that day (the 18^th of December), informing me of his blog article. Pretty incensed with this guy’s obvious rush to judgment,  I quickly fired off a response to Timmy’s blog article on the Fact’s page. He then responded back the next day, (December 19, 2011) with another blog article called “In Conversation: Emma Smith’s “alleged” letter”. It seems that Timmy didn’t like my response much, because this article was even worse than the first. In it, he whined (Yes, whined – he even had written a blog article with that in the title when he got booted off the Facts Page) about not having “enough time” because something else (life as a “big time” writer I suppose) had happened in the meanwhile. But here is what happened.

It seems a group of Mormon trolls got together and started reporting our page for obscene material and hate speech. They also claimed “harassment” because we used their names in comments when they came to our page, when we replied to their own questions! These attacks were so vicious, and so numerous, one Admin, (not me) had their personal account shut down for alleged Facebook “violations” for three days. To stop the trolls from inflicting further damage, this Admin “unpublished” the page.

But before that happened I responded to Timmy’s rant.  I informed him via the Facts Page that his comment “that he didn’t spend all his time in front of the computer” rang false (look at his Twitter Feed @seatttleghost for example to see how many times a day he’s on just that forum). I also informed him that I was aware that he had gone to multiple Facebook Pages informing people of what he had done, and in one, had told them all about it. Seems he had time to do all that, but not double check to see if the Facts Page had clarified the post. I had caught him in another lie. That is when the harassment of our Page started, and it was “unpublished” for a short time so we could sort out what was going on.  Immediately, Berman went to another “pseudo” Facts page, called “Real” Mormon & LDS Facts, and said,

“It appears that M&LDSF is no longer online” then Timmy added, “Good, NOW we should FOCUS ON REPORTING EPHESIANS 2 MINISTRY GROUP.”

When confronted with the evidence of his involvement, Timmy wrote yet another blog article, this time called “Mainstream Christians Bearing False Witness”, (December 22, 2011) and made up some more lies. In this whopper of an article, he uses comments that I made on my personal Facebook page (not opened to the public) that he had gotten a hold of through a Mormon I had friended. Having no scruples at all in using someone’s personal comments that were not authorized for public dissemination, Mr. Berman quotes me as saying,

“We have found out who is behind the FB attacks on us, and they are now starting to target other Ministries that focus on Mormonism. Here is a post from “Real Mormon & LDS Facts” Page, by Tim Berman, who is behind this. For all who don’t know who he is, go here, and see how he slandered us: http://mormonapologeticstudies.org/2011/12/19/in-conversation-emma-smiths-alleged-letter/”

He then makes this conclusion about the above comment:

 “All of this rhetoric and vitroil against me because a well-known Facebook page titled Mormon & LDS Facts had recently been shut down. Unbeknownst to me, I apparently single-handily requested Facebook to take down the page in one day. Here is where critical thinking skills come into play – Where is their evidence to support their charge against me? Thus, I challenge one of them to come here and post where, how, and in what manner I had anything to do with their Facebook Page getting closed down. Also, where is the proof of slandering and bullying Aaron Shafovaloff of Mormon Research Ministries, and Johnny Stephenson – including within my two recent articles on the letter that allegedly was written by Emma Smith that someone had posted on the M&LDS Facts page? In all honesty, they are more than welcome to come here and respond to the article and discuss the article. The true cowards are those who sit behind blocked Facebook wall postings and then condemn someone in childish and schoolyard antics. They have a warped sense of definition if they consider bullying posting something in their own words that expose them and their lies.”

For the record, you see Timmy here asking to be shown the truth. So that is what I am doing. Also, you see that he can’t help himself from making up the lie that I ever said that he “single-handedly requested Facebook to take down the page in one day.”

This is not even close to what I said. If you read my words above, it only says that we found out who was behind the Facebook attacks against us and I mentioned THEY (plural), not “he”(singular). I then quoted Berman’s own words, which said,

“Good, now WE should FOCUS ON REPORTING EPHESIANS 2 MINISTRY GROUP.”

When someone uses the word “we”, it means that you are including yourself.  Timmy here, admitted that he was behind the attacks with some others. But Timmy can’t just admit the truth, because it appears he is a pathological liar. He whines about where the proof is, about his bullying, knowing full well that he took down the blog articles where he does so. (But I have copies of them).  Here is how he tries to lie his way out of the comment where he say that “we” should now focus our attacks on other Ministries,

“Many of those counter-cult minitsties that have had their Facebook pages attacked have singled out myself as the sole perpetrator. Initially, one individual came outright and blamed me as being the instigator and sole individual responsible, only later to comment to someone else that the admins had taken the page offline and it was not removed by facebook as he initially claimed. …Their personal profile, and then one or two additional profiles where they use them to publish, harass, attack, and even bully particular individuals…In that sense those pages that are being targeted is not due to “blatant modern day Mormon Danites” but are being looked at from a safety perspective.” (Quoted from a Facebook Page that Timmy Admin’s on.)

Notice that Timmy puts forth the same lie that it was stated that he was the “sole individual responsible” for the attacks, when the facts show that this is a blatant lie. He then claims “bullying”, when it was he that came to our page, and was thrown off of it for name calling. Angered at not being able to come to our Facebook Page any longer, Timmy actually admits to calling people names on his own blog. In an article titled “Banned for “Lying and Whining” – Typical Behavior of Counter-Cult Groups (on March 9, 2001), Quoting a Facebook Page that banned him, (CMA) Timmy writes,

“No, Timothy has been banned for his behavior of calling prople (sic) ignorant and liars when he was indeed deceived!” This is not uncommon for groups like these to accuse Latter-day Saint apologists for lying, all the while not allowing them time to defend and rebut their fallacious arguments.”

Timmy admits using the word, then tries to qualify it with one instance of it’s use. (There were many). Regardless, Timmy on the Mormon & LDS Facts Page, was banned for rudeness and blatant disrespect for others. What Timmy does not want you to know, is that he uses the very tactics that he accuses others of using on his own Facebook Pages. On his now defunct “Biblical Mormonism” Page, Timmy had this to say to a critic of Mormonism,

Biblical Mormonism: “Russ, your post violated the Facebook Page rules. Warning #1. Third warning, you will be banned from posting on this page.”

Russ: Huh? What’s allowed to be discussed?

Rick: It’s not OK to have a differing view here? Pro Mormonism only?

Biblical Mormonism: That is not the issue here. It is not ok to promote known Anti-Mormon propaganda or rhetoric. Neither is it okay to publish links here to known anti-Mormon sites. There are plenty of those types of pages. This page is for those who want to cut past the arguments and want to engage in a decent conversation without the threat of being mocked or ridiculed. If you do not like that answer, then you are welcome to leave.

Russ: Admin, is it okay to ask questions and express views about how Mormonism differs from biblical Christianity?

Biblical Mormonism: NO, IT’S NOT OK.

You see here folks, this is what Timmy does. He whines that he can’t defend Mormonism on pages critical of the church, but then doesn’t allow Christians to do that very thing on his page. He even says, “Again there are plenty of other pages that are designed by that where Mormon’s (sic) are not allowed to defend on those pages.”

But actually, on M&LDS Facts, they were. One Facebook Page owner, (where Timmy currently Admins) was on our page for over a year, (and is still welcome) and never got banned for his extensive comments defending Mormonism. The only reason why Timmy was banned, was for being rude, calling people names, and harassing people. His Mormon friend was allowed to say whatever he liked. And he did. On January 5, Timmy tries to worm out of the comment he made showing that he was one of those behind the attacks on M&LDS Facts:

“Yes, there is a screen shot of a comment I had made that someone from M&LDSF took (which is a violation of Facebook’s Terms, Privacy and Policy because no one asked me if they could take a screen shot of what I said, and it is contrary to collect information without the knowledge of that individual). The screen shot shows me saying something to the effect that maybe we should go after Ephesians 2. Which is more of a question and not an incitement or statement to a call of action.” (January 5, 2012 at 12:59 pm)

Uh, no Timmy. There was no “maybe about your comment”. Shall we look at it again? It said, ““It appears that M&LDSF is no longer online” then Timmy added, “Good, NOW we should FOCUS ON REPORTING EPHESIANS 2 MINISTRY GROUP.”

Again, Timmy uses a lie to try and shift the blame to those that caught him in his lie. Timmy made this comment on a Page called “Real Mormon & LDS Facts” (a rip off of our page) and this is a PUBLIC Page. Here is what Facebook says about PUBLIC pages:

Facebook Page Terms

2. Content posted to Pages is public information and is available to everyone.

Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

2. Sharing Your Content & Information

4. When you publish content or information using the Public setting, [Posting on Public Pages] it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture). https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms?ref=pf

As for screenshots:

Q: Is taking a screenshot of a public web site (like Google or Flickr) and posting it to your weblog or in a presentation considered copyright violation, or does it fall under Fair Use?

The (in)famous fair use doctrine requires a non-rigid application of copyright law, and application of the doctrine requires a case-by-case analysis. Courts have repeatedly refused to set bright-line rules regarding what is and what is not fair use.

Generally, four factors must be considered in context, as a whole to determine whether a reproduction is fair use or unfair use, i.e. copyright infringement. The four factors of fair use are:

1.The purpose and character of the use: Reproduction for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research is not copyright infringement. This probably covers most blogs and personal websites, but there are other factors to consider.

2.The nature of the copyrighted work: The Supreme Court has said that this factor is often “not much help,” but the nature of the original could become more important when dealing with digital works that may be reproduced not one time, but one million times, in a fraction of the time.

3.The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: If the original is 10,000 pages, and the culprit reproduces one page, that is probably not infringement. But, if the original is one page, and the culprit still reproduces one page, he has probably infringed on the copyright.

4.The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: This one gets fun. The Supreme Court has rejected an irrebuttable presumption that commercial reproduction eliminates the fair use defense, but reproduction for a commercial purpose may push the secondary use closer to infringement and farther away from fair use. This factor requires the court to consider the relevant market and the competitive atmosphere while simultaneously trying to increase the welfare of Americans, two often competing interests. For instance, although a corporation may limit many forms of unauthorized reproduction of its software, the FCC has stated that truthful, non-deceptive comparative advertising is both legal and important to a healthy marketplace.

As is true in most intellectual property, courts seek to strike a balance between the rights and incentives of the rights holders and the welfare and benefit of the general public. http://lifehacker.com/193343/ask-the-law-geek–is-publishing-screenshots-fair-use

Timmy loves to whine about “special pleading”, but notice how he limits comments on his own Pages and Blogs. Timmy has provided us with lots of “fair use” material, in the public arena, that will help us explore who this person is, and why he is a Troll of the worst kind. Here for example, is a comment he made about “special pleading” in response to an article published by Sharon Lindbloom at Mormon Coffee, http://blog.mrm.org/2012/01/silencing-christian-critics-of-mormonism/:

“Therefore, if Lindbloom and critics of the Latter-day Saints want to cry foul that their First Amendment right to free speech is being denied, they are the greater perpetrators in denying Latter-day Saints to post, publish, comment, and criticize on the very same Facebook Pages that they are complaining about being shut down. This is a classical case of special pleading”.

If you look at the comments to that article, you will find Timmy absent. Why? Because he knew that his lies had been exposed. Here is his tactic: Go to a forum critical of Mormonism, act like a troll, get banned for doing so, then whine to anyone who will listen that they won’t let you speak. Do we have examples of this? We sure do.

We had asked Timmy to take down his articles with the false accusations, but he would not until we published some of the facts on our Facebook Blog. We then took that article down, but with his renewed attacks on Bob Betts and others, I have chosen to publish this Blog Article, which will stay up.

III. PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR

There is a great forum on the internet called Mormon Discussions. Someone had stumbled across Timmy’s Blog titled “The Journal of Mormon Apologetic Research Studies”, and had connected him with the handle “SeattleGhostWriter”. http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/53090-which-church-is-right/

They found that Timmy had misrepresented the blog, and was asking for paypal donations. As the comments went on, it came out that “SeattleGhostWriter”  was also  connected with some Porn stories written by the same person, our Timmy. (wah) They then quoted some of the dialog, and it was extremely graphic. Here is a sample of what was posted,

Please don’t miss Brother Berman’s erotic fiction. I found it quite…handy.

“At the Ocean”

Here’s a teaser to arouse your interest:

Brother Timothy Berman (MAD’s ‘SeattleGhostWriter’), Mormon apologist, Elder of Israel wrote:

…She ventured a finger along her well-developed chest; her nipples were already hardened as she closed her eyes and craning her neck to one side. She recalled his lips pressing softly against the curve of her neck as she allowed her fingers to caress her smooth skin…
http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18417&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=0

Another person commented,

“A Mormon apologist who also writes erotica and publishes both under his real life name using his own picture as a logo/avatar: That is not “LOL”. That is just plain creepy.” http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=457218#p457218

Now it seems that those posting at Mormon Discussions found Timmy’s Facebook account and published his picture and that of his family. (Which were taken down) and then Timmy threatened them with legal action (over a profile picture of him from another forum) and so Mormon Discussions took their page offline for a short time to sort through the mess and clean up any comments that may have infringed on his privacy rights, because Timmy had threatened them with legal action. The battle that went on, is recapped here:

http://www.exmormonforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=60265&sid=62c59f1a0b4840315125e0f5dce6cdc4

What is interesting, is what this tells us about  Timmy. On the Further Light and Knowledge Forum, we read the following,

SeattleGhostWriter wrote:

I just received a final answer from Dreamhost that hosts the infamous Dr. Shades Mormon Discussions forum. I have been personally battling with Dream host to remove a particular thread on that discussion forum where they made vile threats towards me, published photo’s of myself and family members, and participated in the most outlandish defamation ever.

After consulting with my attorney, they noticed that the photo’s they kept online in a discussion thread were copyrighted. I sent my brother-in-law (who took the photo’s and is a photo journalists) a copy of the email regarding a “Take down notice” since the photographs of me were copyrighted.

If you go to the website, you will find that Mormon Discussions is no longer online and will get a message from Dream host that the website has not been uploaded. Thankfully, I sent Dr. Shades the same email (when I sent it to Dream Host).

I would not be surprised that they will come back with a new Mormon Discussion, however, maybe Dr. Shades and his ilk followers will realize that they need to maintain some decency and have their discussion forum members realize that they can’t simply just swipe someone’s photographs without permission, alter those photographs, and then participate in defamation of Latter-day Saint members.

Then the response from one who took part in the conversation:

He’s not really representing things accurately, though. What happened is that CaliforniaKid began a thread discussing something called the “The Journal of Mormon Apologetic Research Study,” which is run by SeattleGhostWriter (aka, Timothy R. Berman). CaliforniaKid had seen a series of links in the guy’s Mormon Dialogue & Discussion signature and clicked on one. Well, SeattleGhostWriter also had links to material on Associated Content, including a soft-core porn/”romance novel” short story called “At the Ocean.” (This is still cached on Google if you’re feeling prurient.)

Well, another poster linked to “At the Ocean and people began commenting/laughing, etc. The story was pretty bad/hilarious, FWIW. E.g.:

Quote: She reached for the brush and began brushing out her hair. The scent of French Vanilla was soon mingled with bacon. All she could do was smile as she pictured him standing over the stove, fixing up some breakfast for the two of them. She returned the brush to the bureau and examined her tan body in the mirror. Her breasts were rounded, firm and had not sagged like most women her age have already experienced. Her figure was a curved as she turned to examine her plump firm a**. She was attractive and wondered how she could have been seduced by a man that pleased her in a way most men never knew how. In any case, I thought it would be worthwhile to explain what happened.” http://www.furtherlightandknowledge.net/viewtopic.php?p=206470&sid=64ffdc19f2a4c32057ab93708420fa74#p206470

Further Investigation found out,

SeattleGhostWriter was likely embarrassed by his rather salacious and ill-written piece in Associated Content and attempted to distance himself from it by having the thread removed from MDB.

Curiously, when I typed in SGW’s copyright number into My Free Copyright’s database, it shows that no such “copyright” is found. (From my understanding, My Free Copyright doesn’t issue actual copyrights, anyway, but rather provides a time stamp for particular digital material. To carry out a lawsuit, a copyright must be on file with the federal government.) Here is where SGW’s not-quite-real-copyright can be searched: http://myfreecopyright.com/verify_copyright

Here is the number he provided on MDD: MCN: BUNQ2-WQ1SN-S8JK8

I am the MDB poster who first objected to the use of SGW’s photo. I objected to the posting of his family photo, as I don’t believe his wife and children need to be subjected to criticism on an online message board on which they do not participate.

I do not believe SGW’s facebook page was hacked, as he suggested on MDD. His facebook page was set to “public” and I was able to access it even though I am not his facebook friend. Nothing was posted on MDB which was not publicly accessible, including the picture of his family, though it was undoubtedly unseemly to post it.

SeattleGhostWriter is misrepresenting the facts and, it seems, misrepresenting his copyright claim as well. Kimberly”  http://www.furtherlightandknowledge.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12857

Instead of confronting them Directly at Mormon Discussions, (maybe too embarrassed?)Timmy threatened them, and then went scurrying to a Pro-Mormon Forum to whine. Here is what he said:

Posted 03 June 2011 – 05:19 PM “I just received a final answer from Dreamhost that hosts the infamous Dr. Shades Mormon Discussions forum. I have been personally battling with Dream host to remove a particular thread on that discussion forum where they made vile threats towards me, published photo’s of myself and family members, and participated in the most outlandish defamation ever.

After consulting with my attorney, they noticed that the photo’s they kept online in a discussion thread were copyrighted. I sent my brother-in-law (who took the photo’s and is a photo journalists) a copy of the email regarding a “Take down notice” since the photographs of me were copyrighted.

If you go to the website, you will find that Mormon Discussions is no longer online and will get a message from Dream host that the website has not been uploaded. Thankfully, I sent Dr. Shades the same email (when I sent it to Dream Host).

I would not be surprised that they will come back with a new Mormon Discussion, however, maybe Dr. Shades and his ilk followers will realize that they need to maintain some decency and have their discussion forum members realize that they can’t simply just swipe someone’s photographs without permission, alter those photographs, and then participate in defamation of Latter-day Saint members.”  http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/54516-mormon-discussions-no-longer-online/

Unfortunately, that is not what happened, as “Dr. Shades” from MDB explains,

“Here’s the text of a “form letter” that I have been sending to everyone who has asked me about this:  Our ISP received a complaint that a copyright was being infringed by us. You see, there is a thread about the apologist “SeattleGhostWriter” from MD&D and his dabbling into erotic fiction. Someone posted his photo, now one of two things have happened:

A) He found out about it on his own and complained to our ISP about the photo being a copyright infringement, or

B) Our poster named “Joseph” notified “SeattleGhostWriter” about it and then “SeattleGhostWriter” contacted our ISP.

You might think that the latter scenario is bizarre, but there’s a precedent: Joseph complained to Blixa about a photo that she had posted from NASA’s website, saying it was a copyright infringement, and after Blixa left it up Joseph contacted the image’s copyright holder who then complained to our ISP. We NARROWLY avoided being shut down that time. This time we weren’t so lucky.

So Mav and I have been e-mailing our ISP folks. I don’t know what Mav has said, but I asked them to put the site back online long enough for me to delete the photo. It looks like they left for the weekend before they saw our e-mails, though.

If/when we get the site back up, I’m going to ask Joseph if this was his doing this time around, too. If so, I’m going to make sure he knows to never become a busybody again, since the whole board suffers, not just the person who posts the photo. If he had nothing to do with it, then I’m probably going to disable the image linking feature entirely to avoid this sort of thing in the future.

I was recently informed that SeattleGhostWriter started a thread about this at MA&D. I haven’t read it yet, but here’s the link: http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/54516-mormon-discussions-no-longer-online/ EDIT: The funny thing in all this is that I would’ve happily deleted whatever photos or text he wished had he simply PMed me directly.” http://www.exmormonforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4704&p=60246#p60246

Then, Timmy rails on them for NOT discussing the issue with them on the Pro-Mormon Boards, who said,

“ FYI we will ban any recruiters,sock puppets and those trying to pick a fight here.”  http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/54516-mormon-discussions-no-longer-online/

As “Dr. Shades” points out,

“Nothing happened to SGW. [SeattleGhostWriter] Blixa made it plain that the ouija board graphic was directed toward MrStakhanovite (or was it RockSlider?), not SeattleGhostWriter. Also, the images were simply LINKED, they weren’t HOSTED by us. So his complaint should be directed toward his own photobucket people.  The text was reproduced for purposes of commentary, so it fell under the Fair Use doctrine. Even so, like I said, I would’ve been perfectly happy to delete any or all such things had he simply made his wishes known to me, ’cause that’s just the type of stand-up guy I am. Ergo, he spent far more time and effort than was necessary.” http://www.furtherlightandknowledge.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12857&sid=fd73ac72dcfa86bc20f35c0ec60af480&start=15

Timmy claimed that all this was “defamation”, but was it? As one of the posters in the above forum stated:

“Moral of the story: if you publish badly written erotica under your real name, ppl can find it and giggle. But it you publish it amid your mormon apologetic efforts, including an essay on ‘modesty’ where you caution ppl from reading and posting salacious material on the web, ppl are going to really wonder.”  http://www.furtherlightandknowledge.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12857&sid=fd73ac72dcfa86bc20f35c0ec60af480&start=15

What is interesting, is that Timmy’s Erotic Story was posted to “Associated Content” on June 30, 2007. http://www.furtherlightandknowledge.net/viewtopic.php?p=206597#p206597

Timmy himself, stated on his MySpace Writers Forum:

“Afternoon one and all … After taking a step back from writing and dealing with what was going on in my life. I am glad to say that I am back writing. Unfortunately, all my writing is lost and I don’t have any way of recovering them. However, not only am I back here, but I am also back on myspace. Yes, it is the same www.myspace.com/seattleghostwriter” http://www.writerscafe.org/groups/Myspace-Writers%2C-Authors-And-Critique-Partners./1226/forum/6951/

At the same time as his Erotica story was put up by Timmy, he also wrote,  “Mormonism and the Doctrine of Pre-Existence Examined” on May 25, 2007.

http://voices.yahoo.com/mormonism-doctrine-pre-existence-examined-359401.html?cat=34

Timmy has tried to claim that this attacks Mormonism, and though he disagrees with the premise that the pre-existence doctrine did not appear to be taught by early Christians, he still leaves readers with,

“My only question is how did Joseph Smith ever come into such philosophy and understanding of something that was of Antiquity?”

Now of course people can repent of their mistakes. But lying about them, isn’t true repentance, is it? It seems that Timmy still has a problem still with lying. He may have written the story in 2006, (See the story here, under a pseudonym, “Antonio Silvano” whose bio reads),

“Antonio, is a  Washington State resident and has an upcoming novel debuting the end  of October 2006. Currently resides in Seattle, Washington and is working on other  writing projects, one of which includes a second novel. He enjoys reading  Suspense/Mystery, Supernatural/Psychological Thrillers, Mainstream Fiction, Fantasy,  Dark Fantasy, and enjoys crafting such works of fiction.” (Warning: Extremely Graphic)  http://www.barebackmag.com/fictionattheocean.html

If one wants to know if the story really is Timmy’s, yes it is. He joined a Porn Forum to promote it, called “Literotica”, and his profile can be found here: http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=581820

He also asks for a “critique” of the story, (therefore owning it) here: http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=426444 (Warning: Explicit Language)

Considering the fact that Timmy had claimed “repentance”, why did he re-post the story at “Associated Content” in June [and later lie saying it was November] of 2007, when he was writing Apologetic Articles for the Church? But better yet, we have the words of Timmy himself, from June 04, 2011 – 5:16PM which read,

“By the way, At the Ocean was published in November of 2007. If you go to my AC profile page, my very first article was the last article I had written against the LDS Church. Notice, when you also get there, that I did not start publishing articles defending the LDS Faith until about November 2008.”  http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/54516-mormon-discussions-no-longer-online/page__view__findpost__p__1209014223 (Wah, wah, wah)

That doesn’t jibe with the above links, which show that Berman was writing pro-Mormon articles in May of 2007. Even if it was November, that still means (by his own words) he posted the Porn after the apologetic article! Here we catch him in another lie. If that isn’t enough, here we have Timmy admitting that he is an apologist in this profile (that he has probably forgotten existed – since he last visited it in 2008) on “Your Christian Space”:

“I am a passionate writer, student of the word and an Apologist who defends the Latter-day Saint Faith from the Calvinistic perspective. I have studied much of the Biblical Accounts, researched doctrines, heretical thoughts, classic doctrines, historical developments of religion history in general and specifically pertaining to the Ancient Near Eastern Religions and First Century Judaism and Christianity.”

Timmy opened this account on 05/13/2007, as you can see in the screenshot below, found at: http://www.yourchristianspace.com/SeattleGhostWriter

Again, the issue here is Timmy’s claimed “repentance”, and this shows that he still hasn’t really repented, because he is still lying, that he was not writing Mormon Apology at the same time he published his porn. His article where he disagrees with the Mormon “pre-existence” fits in well with his admission of a “Calvinistic approach” cited above.  He ends with this, even bigger lie,

“The reality is I know what is true, they don’t. If anyone of them had any ounce of common sense and applied some critical thinking skills, they would not have engaged in this behavior. Blame me all you want, the reality is they stepped over the line when they brought my family into this and violated the law and engage (and continue to engage) in unethical and illegal acts. Believe what you want, I know the truth and that is between me and Heavenly Father. If you don’t believe me now, that is find, but one day we all will stand to account for everything we have said and done in this life: Many of them will not open their eyes until it is too late.”

Yes, Timmy, we will all stand to account, and your time is now, (for your slander) because I also “know the truth”, and it’s all from your own internet history, open to anyone who takes the time to google “Seattleghostwriter”. This isn’t “stalking” as some have messaged me (even Timmy himself, using a fake profile), or doctored internet links – (he has changed a few of them since this article was published). This is all easily proved by Timmy’s own trail of blogs, discussion forums, and social media accounts – all open to the public.

This is a pattern of behavior: Threats and bullying when his true “identity” and “background” is exposed, and claiming that he can’t confront them on their sites, but failing to go to the sites to do so, instead going where he can control the conversations and edit the comments of critics, along with the constant lying.

As a last note, I would leave you with Timmy’s conversion story. What is interesting about it, is that Timmy wrote two different versions of it. One that he wrote and posted on May 2009 reads, in part:

“While waiting for the bus, someone had a copy of the Book of Mormon in their hand. They were laughing at how the Missionaries gave them the Book and they promised to read it to appease the young men. This gentleman decided to leave the book on the bench. I froze. Well, time seemed to have frozen as he got onto the bus. I just sat there dumbfounded. Staring at the book for a long moment. When someone came to sit down on the bench, they picked up the book and asked if it was mine. I stammered a bit before reluctantly taking it from them and apologizing. Nothing more was said as I placed it in my backpack and sat there. The bus came and went, and I found myself forgetting what it was that I had planned on doing, nor where I was heading.” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:r8FcSjjmn5YJ:voices.yahoo.com/article/1861337/the_prodigal_son_and_my_own_journey.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

The other,  that he wrote later for his “Apologetic” blog, reads like this,

“It was not until I had lost my job when I started to search out an answer. Abandoning all my reasoning and intellect, I walked into a used bookstore where I finally spent a couple bucks, making a purchase of a copy of the Book of Mormon. It was when I brought it home with me that I sat down and started reading it. Started paying close attention to what it had to say. The more I read, however, the more I began to realize that the passages were calling for a repentant heart. Calling for one to repent of their transgressions and that once they came to Christ, with humility, sincerity and an obedient heart, he is quick to forgive, quick to restore and the blessings would be profound and enormous. I read the Book of Mormon within three days.” http://mormonapologeticstudies.org/about-the-author/my-personal-testimony-and-journey/

Seems Timmy can’t even get his “re-conversion” story straight, and though he tried to erase all traces of his past, there is still much out there that proves him to be what he is: a liar. (nah, nah, nah)

IV. YELLOW JOURNALISM?

In a Blog Article ironically titled “Getting Past Immaturity”, written on January 6, 2012, Timmy promises,

“One of the things that will be an ongoing project is the archiving of previously published articles. These articles will either be taken “offline” from public view or removed from the blog itself. This is not meaning that they have no relevance, it means that because of the direction the content of this blog will be focusing will have more of an opportune impact on the discussion pertaining to the Mormon Faith and Religion and will focus on the object initially envisioned for this blog. In essence, the blog has become a platform as a personal angst against particular counter cult ministry groups instead of focusing on the criticism itself. Taking these previously published articles offline will take the focus of past mistakes, immaturity, and emotive behaviors and to allow a more mature level of articles to come forth.” http://mormonapologeticstudies.org/2012/01/06/getting-pass-immaturity-and-moving-forward/

But it seems that this attitude did not last long, for after this Timmy cloned our Facebook Page, (which he took down after being reported to Facebook), and recently has been up to his old tricks with this article recently published by him:  “Anti-Mormon Angst – The Real Truth”, (January 21, 2012) where Timmy rants,

“Note: The following information is from a public Facebook Group that particular individuals can see. It comes from the group Mormons and Evangelicals. The commentary provided is from a prolific Anti-Mormon by the name of Bob Betts, administrator for Concerned Christians  a counter-cult ministry group that attacks the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What he provides gives the summation of the mentality and purpose behind the counter-cult movement and why they have taken up a fervent crusade against Latter-day Saint Members.”  http://mormonapologeticstudies.org/2012/01/21/anti-mormon-angst-the-real-truth/

This guy can’t even keep his own word for two weeks.  The whole diatribe of Timmy’s from this article is all about …. His “personal angst against… counter cult ministry groups”.  You know what they say folks, the apple don’t fall far from the tree. Timmy’s professions of change aren’t worth a whole lot are they? And this guy is teaching High School students in Sunday School?

V. CONCLUSION

What we see here, is an “angst ridden” (by his own words) hypocrite, who has never been able to hold a legitimate conversation with a Mormon Critic without resorting to lying, name calling and bullying.

Claiming to have “transformed” himself into a “righteous” judge of what is the “proper context” of Mormon teachings is just a sham, for he will stop at nothing to deride, ridicule, and lie about any who are critical of the Mormon Church. Instead of focusing on himself, and his own desperately needed recovery as a porn addict and serial liar, he instead chooses to use his time to attack other’s Facebook pages, and spread lies across the internet about any who are unlucky enough to cross his path.

This Article shows who the real Timmy is, a man whose mind is in the gutter,  a Wanna-BEE Mormon Apologist that can’t understand that he will never be taken seriously, because he can’t get his stories straight, and his on line escapades will always be there to haunt him and show the public who he really is. As Timmy himself wrote about cyber-bullying,

“The other thing to do, and this will infuriate the cyber stalker and bully further is to publish their comments online in a blog posting… Publish their comments because it is their own words that you want to expose, and the more exposure that their words receives, the more they realize how much of a greater fool that they are showing themselves out to be. I would not worry about removing hyperlinks that lead someone to their Facebook Page, twitter account, or any other online username account. After all, once they publish it (and more specifically, when they delete the comment), you still have the record of what they said, when it was published and they can’t falsely accuse you of making it up: “I did not say that, they are lying” because they want to save face. They don’t want people to know how idiotic they truly are acting online and how foolishly they are portraying themselves to be.” http://thehousehubby.wordpress.com/tag/cyber-bullying/

Yes, Timmy has batted the beehive.  Shame he didn’t notice the big one hiding behind the tree with something better than the violent rhetoric of the Wanna-BEE.

The truth.