Taxpayer funded blog commenting? Maybe. If the loquacious Ray Guarino that mercilessly comments on the Nashua Patch, is the same Ray Guarino that’s a Transportation Planner at the Old Colony Planning Council in Brockton, MA, a government entity, then it appears so. It may not be. They may not be the same person, or he’s retired, on leave, or on break. But from what I gathered, I have a strong suspicion that taxes might have been used to fund political comments for the Patch; at the very least, if my suspicion is correct, there’s the appearance of it. I wonder if taxpayers in Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanson, Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Stoughton, West Bridgewater and Whitman, Massachusetts know they may have funded content for the Patch. Not their local Patch, mind you, but Nashua’s Patch. Alas, I should include that this planning council also gets funds from various State and Federal departments, so you might have paid, too.
How’d I get here? Well, a little over a month ago, I started receiving a more than usual barrage of comments on blogs of mine. There were some that occurred during the weekends and over Thanksgiving break, but what caught my attention were the unceasing posts during usual work hours. Tons of them. Some slightly edited, too, as if the author submitted the comment, then thought of a better way to say it, deleted the original comment from the blog, and submitted another. I noticed because I receive emails for all comments submitted to my blog (don’t get any spam ideas out there… you know who you are ;-) , so when I opened my email, I was virtually smothered by an avalanche of ineloquent vituperation. There were so many that I thought I agitated a paid operative (bonus points for me!). I’m not alone either. At least one other wondered if Ray is paid to comment. So, naturally, I decided to take a look into the author of the logorrhea.
Ray’s first Patch comments post was on November 16th. There’s nothing wrong with posting comments, and on a personal note, I enjoy reading everyone’s, pro and con, because that way I know at least someone’s reading or misreading my blog. There also may be nothing wrong with posting during the day. But if you’re employed and hold the usual work hours, like those of Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC), whose hours of operation are M-F, 8:30 – 4:00, then this is odd. Check out the attached images of some of Mr. Guarino’s posting history.
One is a list of Ray’s Patch posts from a week ago. Last Tuesday. A work day. Another from earlier in the month, also a work day. They’re ridiculous (and they’re not anomalies, see for yourself, but beware there are almost 40 pages worth at the time of this writing).
The weekday pattern in his posts does seem to indicate a commuting time. Usually, the posts start between 8:30 am and 9:00 am, though I have seen it as early as 8:20 am. Sometimes several posts will stretch about an hour and a half into the typical workday. Then a few others posts get sprinkled in before lunch break and they stop (maybe he had to get out of the office, you know, to stretch his legs a bit). Then they resume a little in the afternoon and then stop, presumably for his commute home around 3:30-3:45.
Maybe they’re not the same Ray Guarino. Maybe he was off all of the days on which he posted. Maybe he’s been on hiatus for months, or he’s no longer employed, or he works different shifts. Those all are possibilities. He’s posted almost every day at least multiple times for little over a month, so that could easily indicate he’s not working normal business hour work days. But what if he was working normal business hours and is the same Ray Guarino that works at OCPC and was working there while he posted during work hours?
So, he comments a lot. Big deal. His work might not care at all. What makes me suspect that he’s a Transportation Planner that transporting content to an out-of-state web site? Well, his comments for one. Really. Look at some excerpts. A few are in reply to me. When I first received them, my impression was that he was a teacher. (Note: Some of these excerpts cannot be linked to consistently because the url changes as more comments are added. To find Ray's original postings you'll need to go Ray's comment page on the Patch and find the date.)
9:25 am on Wednesday, November 21, 2012 – You should try looking at how municipal services run from the inside out instead of jumping to false conclusions while looking from the outside in.
Does this not imply that he has knowledge of “…how municipal services …“ are “… run from the inside…”? Wait, there’s more and, yes, during normal work hours:
9:02 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012 -… towns, cities, and states do in fact operate as independent entities…
2:32 pm on Monday, November 19, 2012 - City Planners are making plans…
City Planners? Towns operating as independent entities? Who talks like this? Bureaucrats do. Planners do. Also, hobbyists with heavy affection for Big Government. You know the type, one those who has a poster of Obama on his bedroom ceiling.
Then, there are these excerpts from Ray’s Nashua Patch comments, again on workdays during OCPC’s work hours (emphasis mine):
11:03 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012 – Did anyone do any speed studies to find the prevailing speeds?
10:26 am on Friday, December 7, 2012 – …engineering standards for limited access highways (also called ‘freeways”) 60 to 70 MPH.
9:35 am on Friday, December 7, 2012 – Design speed for freeways 60 to 70 MPH – Traffic Engineering Handbook, 6th Edition.
Do you use any of those terms? I haven’t. Have you read Traffic Engineering Handbook, 6th Edition? Have you even heard of it? It’s a “…a must have publication in the transportation industry,…an all in one source of principles and proven techniques in traffic engineering…two new chapters have been added-’Planning for Operations’…”. Anyone have any doubts about the plausibility of Ray’s interest in transportation? He appears to be quite knowledgeable about it.
Having knowledge about Traffic Engineering and planning doesn’t mean he is a Transportation Planner or Engineer. Maybe that knowledge comes from his past. Maybe he was in the Army Corps of Engineers, or maybe transportation study is his hobby, or maybe he was a Hot Wheels fan that went a little overboard with realism when he was a kid. Who knows. The point is, he does appear to have knowledge about transportation engineering concepts. It’s origin and use are anybody’s guess.
Are these two people the same person? As I said at the beginning, the Old Colony Planning Council in Brockton, MA has a Transportation Planner with the name of Ray Guarino. The Ray Guarino on the Nashua Patch appears to have knowledge of things that a Transportation Planner would have knowledge of. These two people may not be the same person, but is it unreasonable to suspect that they are? And, if they are, does it not give the appearance that OCPC funds might have been used to post comments on a blog given the times of so many of Ray’s posts? There’s a scarier question: what if OCPC is cool with its employees commenting negatively against conservatives and advocating pro liberal, big government, Democrat positions and policies? The state working against some of its citizens. Paging George Orwell. Paging George Orwell.
You've just read "Taxpayer Funded Blog Commenting?" by Scott Morales originally posted at GraniteGrok.com (Home).
ForThePeople
2:43 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012
Ray is a fantastic human being who has apparently gotten your goat enough that you want to ambush him- at Christmas no less- in an attempt to get him fired or something. Here is a list of things that most people do on their job, including on their own breaks:
1) go to the bathroom
2) get a cup of coffee
3) go for a run (this is encouraged and allowed at my job!)
4) Go to a break room.and make nice with your fellow employees. Mine even has puzzles, like Rubik's cubes and things like that.
To try and get somebody fired, someone who clearly posts on this site in defense of normal human beings, at Christmas... you are a low, vindictive, sinister human being.
Rock on Ray, no harm no foul, do what you want on your break!
One Man Wolf Pack
12:50 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
And what if it is not his break? OR worse what if it is an effort by that department to work against some of the citizenry?
No Longer interested
1:51 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
ForthePeople,
thanks for the endorsement.
I forgot how much the world is filled with vicious ugly people who are too ignorant to win an argument and instead attack the other person in any way they can.
No Longer interested
2:03 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Nope, I do not work work for the government. I am not the issue. Nice try though.
No Longer interested
2:14 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
By the way Mr. Flash, what's your name, where do you work? What are you hiding behind a fake name?
ForThePeople
5:58 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
I prefer aliases online just for this reason, Ray. I don't know if you were here a few months ago, but we had people threatening to stalk others at their houses over political differences. I'm not surprised you got attacked for yours. The last thing anyone needs is some alcoholic, lunatic, bigoted Republican showing up at their home. And Patch really doesn't protect people who are being threatened.
The community here has some really good people, but we have a whole lot of people that are unhinged, mentally and emotionally. I mean look at detective McGruff here, obsessively recording the dates and times of all of your posts and declaring some Orwellian conspiracy. I bet that guy giggled maniacally, thinking he found out your deep dark secret, and posting it as quick as he could. It's sick. I'm kind of curious why the blog was taken down for a day.
No Longer interested
6:16 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Thank you forthepeople,
These people don't know how to compete in the market place of ideas, so they have to attack people personally. That's why I don't call them conservatives, I call them neocons, because real conservatives aren't stalkers. My wife is afraid that someone of these lunatics might throw a rock through our window. She hates it when I post on the blog.
But, if I give in, then the terrorists win.
ForThePeople
9:34 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Your wife could be right. I wouldn't put it past some of our readers to do that. Some of these people are absolutely venomous; so much rage and hatred towards everyone. And, to the last one, they are all Republicans. All of them. And none of them have half a brain to work with.
I personally don't want to deal with it myself. I lead a nice, quiet little life.
Gntp NH
10:28 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Oh no! Christmas! Hey, Planning Councils do almost all of their evil work using taxpayer funding (such a bonus that he works for one, but it doesn't matter in the end). If this is the same guy, I don't care if it's his pet Poodle's Birthday, he's wasting *our* money. No way you can seriously equate this type of activity with getting coffee or other water-cooler activity. Childish argument. If this were a conservative, you'd frag his ass. Great job Scott.
Scott Morales
11:29 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Thanks Gntp NH.
Heywood Jablome
11:05 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
On your break? really? thats when you do this Ray? So you concede that you "DO" blog at work, do you not?
Jan Schmidt
3:54 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
To the Admin:
I'm asking Patch to delete this entire blog post as a personal attack on another poster. Scott has gone too far.
One Man Wolf Pack
4:50 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
You attack people's posts all the time Jan.........and your husband Atlant is even worse.
ForThePeople
5:49 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
This blog post is a personal attack, done on Christmas Eve no less.
Jan Schmidt
5:58 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Charlie, the only goal of the entire thing is to attack one person, not a politician, not a public figure...
We attack the points of discussion all the time, that's expected... But attacking a person goes too far, and when that's the only reason for the entire blog???
No Longer interested
6:26 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Than you Jan,
these neocons attack people personally because they don't know how to compete successfully in the market place of ideas. Morales is wrong about this as he is about pretty much everything.
...
Seamus Carty
10:37 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wait, Atlant is her husband? Wow, no wonder he does not use his full name when posting...
Gntp NH
10:30 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Funny...you are belligerent quite frequently, Jan. And not just to "public figures".
Mike Healey
10:34 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Seamus,
Do you want to tell everyone about your questionable citizenship?
Scott Morales
11:26 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
It's not a personal "attack"; it says look at these times (public information), look at the content of some of the posts (public information), look at the name of the poster (public information) and look at this governmental entity that has an employee with the same name and whose job title appears to intersect some of the comments (public information and publicly funded), and ask yourself if there is an appearance of impropriety. Nothing personal. Just raising a question.
Heywood Jablome
10:47 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
wow, you are asking for censorship, Jan?
Tony Schinella
10:04 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Hi Jan, thanks for your concerns but a number of us looked at the blog post before publishing it. We won't be removing it.
Give me a Break
7:22 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Just curious as to why this is being left up? Are you now allowed to write anything about anyone, because one person has written a piece based on a name search about someone whose apparent so called crime appears to be having a different viewpoint in the comment section and has knowledge about the subject at matter .It would appear that this could be potentially harmful to the career of the Ray Guarino that actually works in Brockton, and apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the one that posts on Patch. I'm sure a potential future employer would need an explanation since many of them google names of prospective employees. How is this right?
ForThePeople
8:44 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Patch: TMZ for your neighbors!
Sounds like a new slogan.
Mike Healey
10:33 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Google "Tony Schinella" and "drunk driving" and you get 3890 hits.....
Do you want to tell us something Tony?
Robert B Butts
10:59 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Completely disagree with your editing choice here.
This poster's investigation is pure speculation and even if true, is not worthy of a story here.
It's considered very poor form for a webmaster to use site analytics to attack a user. The fact that you defend it at the Patch here has me reconsidering if this is a site I want to continue using.
Seamus Carty
10:48 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
According to switchboard.com, there is a Ray Guarino in Nashua NH. Lives on Elgin St. There are three "Raymond Guarino" s in Massachusetts. Could just be a similar name....
NH to Brockton would be a heck of a commute....
Tim Condon
10:10 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Well then, let Ray Guarino tell us which one he is, and what publicly-funded organization he works for...that's easy enough. From all the demands that he be protected from his own apparent wrongdoing---i.e. using his tax-paid salary to spend time attacking conservatives and advancing his own statist philosophy---it seems that Mr. Morales has hit a bullseye. As for Mr. Guarino, kindly tell us, sir, where your paycheck comes from: Is it from the free market of private businesses, or are you paid through public funding of some sort? Pretty please, answer the question?
Mike Healey
10:31 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Maybe you want to tell everyone about your arrest record Tim.....
Mike Healey
10:27 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Another factless attack from Scott Morales, who would have guessed...
Gntp NH
11:01 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Another Mike Healey (from Massachusetts) swipe, with no substance.
One Man Wolf Pack
1:16 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012
See Jan, it did not take you long to start attacking the poster personnally once you did not get your way.
If this is a public worker engaging in patch during time they should be working this is an issue, be they right or left or center.
What would your tune be if Scott was a public employee writing conservatively during times he should be working?
Rather hypocritical arn't you?
(But then again you support felons serving sentence to hold public office in Nashua, which is against the law but i'fine' because they are n line with your ideals; so this really isn't a surprise.)
Mike Healey
9:31 am on Friday, December 28, 2012
I'm pretty sure Nashua is still in New Hampshire.
Gntp NH
10:33 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Rightly so, Scott left PLENTY of room for doubt in his article. He is not directly accusing anyone. I see the word "IF" quite a number of times, unlike left-wing media outlets like CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, who tie together acts to groups without as much as a shred of plausible inference. This is fair.
Mike Healey
9:32 am on Friday, December 28, 2012
As no one is directly accusing you of being a pedophile, yet you still refuse to deny it.
One Man Wolf Pack
10:37 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
The funny part is, both the left and right on the patch accuse members all the time of being a paid blogger; and both sides have parties guilty of just that on the patch. Now someone calls someone out on it and there is an uproar?
How about conservative bloggers getting "swatted" by left wing nut jobs? (Google swatting if your not familiar)
This is why I have said before and will say again; our two party political system needs to go. The only saving grace I have had from the current state of the conservative side is that the left has almost put a nail in the coffin of the right. Then it will effectively be a 1 party system............that will swing things so far one way that change will be inevitable.
Mike Healey
10:40 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Ryan Scott Morales was convicted in a jury trial in the municipal court of record of the City of Rowlett for possession of drug paraphernalia....
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-appeals/1497895.html
Gntp NH
11:06 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
What else ya got, Mikey? Jeez
One Man Wolf Pack
11:15 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Scott is very conservative; be careful you could end up making him likable on the left also... lol
One Man Wolf Pack
11:16 am on Thursday, December 27, 2012
But all joking aside Mike, you certainly did frame that in a way completely different than what the article is doing.........and I think that is why the patch is leaving it up.
Ed Naile
12:31 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012
Ed Naile
Nice job Scott!
Here at the Coalition of NH Taxpayers we catch taxpayer-funded blog commentors, telephone users, LTE writers all the time. The internet has really opened up the day for things other than work for many public employees with extra time on their hands.
Most of the time the offender hides behind the wall of municipal good old boy protection. Sometimes they have already worn out their welcome at the taxpayer funded job.
In any case, when one has a taxpayer funded job and a penchant for rant from 9-5 they open themselves to scutiny.
Whenever offender gets caught the responses sure look similar to the ones here.
Mike Healey
9:35 am on Friday, December 28, 2012
Nice middle of the day, middle of the work week Ed.....
Reality Geezer
10:20 am on Friday, December 28, 2012
There was a time before the explosion of technology when all communications at work were with a local server. Then PCs and allowance of being able to communicate outside of the workplace. It has now become a major problem with production in the workplace. The only answer is to monitor the abuse of workplace time...........
Ed Naile
12:29 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
Geezer:
As an example of how it used to be here in my town before comupters.
You could go to the Road Agent's office phone bill and find a 45 minute call to an antique fishing lure buyer in Nebraska, and hour call to a Canadian hunting lodge, and assorted activities during the work day.
Now this type of waste and unauthorized spending is compounded by public employees who spend hours on the internet.
The new twist is that it has the tax-funded layabout attacking others on political sites, not just sneaking a few hours of free phone calls.
Progress?
Watts
6:07 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
If you could find out who paid NewsFish through the election season, now that would be an interesting article. But this one here...not so much.
Heywood Jablome
10:50 pm on Friday, December 28, 2012
@ Ray Guarino...Call this post what you will. An attack...a smear...whatever. But honestly, if you work for the gub'ment, is it not fair to disclose whether or not you are posting on time where you should be doing the work consistent with your job description? Why is that a smear? People simply want to know.
ForThePeople
9:51 am on Saturday, December 29, 2012
Is a smear because:
1) he accused the wrong guy
2) people are allowed to have a break
3) it was an attempt to get somebody fired on Christmas Eve