Oh, joy

The Drunkablog is part of the Ward Churchill story again. In doing his "The Message" column (linked here yesterday), ace Westword reporter Michael Roberts somehow unearthed my account of Churchill fanatic and AIM leadership council member Josh Dillabaugh's threat to kill me before the regents' meeting to fire Ward last July:

Cyptically [sic], the Campus Press effort doesn't specifically name Dillabaugh, even though his moniker appears in a CU police report -- and Detective Brian Jordan, a representative of the department, is also quoted in the article. But John Martin, the man behind The Drunkablog [Update: oops, here's the right pic] is not so reticent. In an entry dated October 17, Martin provides commentary about the October 18 Message, complete with a confession that "Michael Roberts gives me the hives." (My affect on people is usually a lot more severe than that, so he should count himself lucky.) Along the way, Martin makes a reference to "Josh 'I'll Kill You" Dillabaugh," with the middle phrase serving as a link to a July 24 account of a CU Regents meeting. The section pertaining to the death-threat charge reads as follows:

In front of about 30 people, many of them with cameras and tape recorders, former AIM leadership council member Dillabaugh (who said he'd been in jail and didn't care if he had to go back) threatened to kill me. PB and Drunkablog friend Laurie was a witness, as was [CU staffer] Ken Bonetti, who said something like "now, none of that."

Dillabaugh also followed me around while I was taking pictures, saying I'd been harassing his wife and threatening to "kick my ass." He said it roughly half a dozen times, so somebody had to get it on tape. (The first time he threatened me, by the way, some guy came over and stationed himself on my other side, ready to help Dillabaugh out. I was wearing a video camera, a still camera, and a backpack, with two guys just itching to punch me in the head.)

Oh yeah, there was at least one other witness to Dillabaugh's threats: [there's a picture of Natsu Saito here--ed.].

That's right, law professor and officer of the court Natsu Elaine Taylor "Truthforce" Saito, Churchill's frau. I pointed at her and yelled "an officer of the court, a law professor [see?], and you're just standing there!" She just laughed, then later made sure I saw her giving Dillabaugh a big hug. Scum.

Dillabaugh still hasn't replied to e-mailed interview requests from Westword. But on October 16, Commander Brad Wiesley of CU's police force noted that he had been contacted a second time regarding a misdemeanor harassment warrant in his name, which carries a $100 bond. As of that date, Dillabaugh still hadn't stopped by department HQ to deal with it -- but if he's stopped for a traffic violation or something along those lines, Wiesley said it will pop up.

Why doesn't Roberts mention again here that Desperado Dillabaugh was taunting the cops to find him?

One more thing: Whitmer e-mailed following the Message's publication to say Dillabaugh had only taken Urie by an arm, as opposed to "arms," as appeared in the original text. He makes this same distinction on a Try-Works effort that features a far different take on the column than the one on The Drunkablog. Its headline? "Hell, Everybody at the Daily Camera's a Flat-Out Liar."

There's no middle ground on this story. -- Michael Roberts

But there is, Michael, a difference between truth and lies, and in this case, as in every incident involving Ward Churchill and his acolytes, the difference is very stark.

Speaking of liars, Try-Works harpy MK weighs in on Roberts' blog piece and doesn't even bother to deny that Dillabaugh made the threats, contenting herself with calling me a "drama queen" and claiming again that I was "harrassing" Dillabaugh's wife Anne-erika White Bird. I reply, with manly honesty and forthrightness. Well, close, anyway.