by Brian Clarey

1. It isn’t really news

In case you missed it, there’s been a foofaraw in the Greensboro blogosphere involving caustic blogger Jeffrey Ray Martin, AKA Fecund Stench, who was recently sued by the political group Conservatives for Guilford County and some of its members. Ever heard of any of them? I’m betting you haven’t. I’ve been ignoring it for weeks, but things are happening that are pushing this story towards actual news.

2. Everyone else is on it

The worm turned late last week when the News & Record reported that Fec almost ran over developer Marty Kotis on State Street and had kicked the guy’s car. They’ve been on it since the initial lawsuit a month ago. Jeff Sykes over at Yes Weekly, a friend of Martin’s from his blogging days, has a direct line on the defendant and his disappeared posts. Ed Cone and a dozen or so commentators have been swatting it around for weeks, and it’s getting a lot of Facebook play. I think even the Rhino may have gotten wind of it by now.

3. It is so five years ago

Do people even blog anymore? Why are we still talking about this?

4. I can’t take any of the parties seriously

C4GC is an extremist political group rife with cognitive dissonance. Marty Kotis, who I have never met, is perhaps the most shameless and media-savvy publicity monger in town. And Jeffrey Ray Martin, with whom I am personally acquainted, is probably insane.

5. It happens all the time

Regular readers of the many incarnations of Jeffrey Ray Martin’s blog may remember the great meltdown of 2005, or the crusade against Robbie Perkins (which included posting a map to the mayor’s home), or the 2010 cyberstalking charge against another unbalanced blogger. Happens all the time, I tell ya.

6. There are more important things to cover

Meanwhile, there is some actual news happening throughout the Triad. We had an ACC baseball tournament in Greensboro, and discovered something hinky in High Point.

7. It’s just so sad

Really. So sad. There are families and careers affected by this. The only redeeming thing about it is that I get to refer to Fec in print as “Jeffrey Ray Martin,” which I will definitely be doing again if he ever does something newsworthy.

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