Here is the link to the MSV blog piece by Roman that triggered the response from Hoboken 411:
http://hobokenhorse.blogspot.com/2011/03/councilman-mike-russo-makes-surprise.html
My comment: One word, Megalomania
Note: Beth Mason places political ads on this site. Don't you think that reflects poorly on her as a fenale public figure and her campaign? Apparently one of her handlers did since the redirect did is no longer on his site. Too late. That is what screen captures are for.
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| Hoboken Journal - Everyone is glad that they are not Hoboken 411, at least the majority of readers on this site. After all who wants to be allegedly or in actuality known as a drunk, bi-polar, a d-bagger, a liar, a cheat, a yellow journalist, a dog abandoner, a charlatan, a Beth Mason lackey and a hater of real Hoboken progress. Certainly not me and I doubt many of you as well. He can have his pathetic robot driven traffic. No one with any class or brain cells reads his site for the politics any more other than out of a morbid curiosity to see what lies come out of there or to get the latest store closing. |
Hoboken 411 is now featuring prominently the campaign ads of Beth Mason. There is nothing wrong with that since it is after all a free country and Hoboken 411 has a right to make money. However the takeaways to think about are:
1) Beth Mason apparently doesn't mind advertising on a web site that mocks dwarfs.
2) Will this prevent Hoboken 411 of providing balanced coverage of political events since is he is being compensated by Beth Mason? (what a leading question :))
3) Will this arrangement show up properly on Beth Mason's ELEC reports? Not just the advertising but whatever other support that may be given.
4) Will others from the old guard advertise on this website? Think "Timmy Time".
5) Also worth noting the biggest repaving project in the 2nd Ward history was predomiantly done by the County and not by the City of Hoboken. The roads needed it. I am sure Beth Mason at least made a few phone calls.
All I am really saying here is that while it may be true that I with this blog generally support Mayor Zimmer, unlike Hoboken 411 I am not compensated for it. Hence the reason why so many political followers refer to that site as Mason 411. The traffic at that site has dropped alongside Beth Mason's popularity. This is one death spiral that is definitely co-mingled.
It is a shame as I once supported Beth Mason. This shows I am not infallible but I find her recent moves and behavior unfathomable as of late and I simply disagree with what she is preventing the Mayor from doing on most issues. I'll take her yes vote on the parks bonding but for many it could be too little too late. Still, with her money she will be a formidable candidate.
Share your thoughts in the comments below:
Update 3/4/2011:
Update: Is Perry Klaussen a Tax Evader, Extortionist or Well Monied and Groomed Guy?
Perry Klaussen has been stirring things up a bit about the potential sale of HUMC. So too has Beth Mason in what appears to be her friend from NJ Appleseed organization according to the Grafix Avenger website: http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2011/03/masons-appleseed-connection.html. Beth Mason can't have Dawn Zimmer succeed in selling the hospital so it is a full court press for her and Mike Russo to shed doubt on the transaction any way possible. Dawn Zimmer's success is not an option. So much for Apollo 13!
For more on that topic go to MSV where Da Horsey has a thorough piece on the HUMC obstructionism by Beth Mason and Mike Russo:
http://hobokenhorse.blogspot.com/2011/03/mason411-goes-on-jihad-to-sabotage.html
In the meantime, more on what make Perry Klaussen tick (or tick people off):
Is Perry Klaussen a Bully or Extortionist?
But some of you might not know of Perry's other allegedly nefarious activities when it comes to the operation of his blog. One local merchant who wished to have his name withheld, rejected Perry last year with his pitch for ads saying to me that "He was crazy. He kept on insisting he would give me all this business. I didn't believe him. I told him to go away. He said not doing ads with me will hurt your business. He was crazy."
There are more cases of Perry's overaggressive sales pitches but I am still compiling accounts and will release more at a later date. I want to get first hand accounts but on the record with businesses names. This is somewhat hard to do since many businesses in Hoboken seem to be afraid to speak out against him. They might be afraid of what happened to East LA where Perry had a series of stories that were negative about that establishment not too long ago. Does that qualify him as a bully or extortionist? I leave it to you the reader to decide.
Is Perry Klaussen a Tax Evader, Just a Barterer or Well Monied and Groomed Guy?
Wowsers in his trousers! It turns out that Perry Klaussen is a platinum member at the Hoboken Man. In order to be a platinum member you have to fork over $1,150. This includes unlimited Signature Cuts, unlimited Signature Manicures, 3 Precision Shaves, 3 Signature Facials, 3 Signature Pedicures, and 15% off all other services. According to the plaque below he has been a member since November 2010. Given the way Perry dresses and generally keeps himself up does anyone believe he paid the full $1,150 for the membership. I don't but acknowledge it is always possible. That would make him a well-groomed man making a good income off his website (OK that's a stretch). Now if Perry got the membership in lieu of payment isn't this just a way to avoid showing income and thus dodging taxes? I realize this could start up a whole debate about the issues around barter but this doesn't pass the Hoboken Journal smell test. I think at the very least if someone is going to pay over $1000 for grooming, the establishment should at least have a dress code that does not allow shorts.
Here is the best part, Perry is on the platinum plaque but they spelled his last name wrong. His last name is Klaussen not Kalussen. There is poetic justice in the world after all. A Beth Mason electoral defeat could find Klaussen heading South to an area suitable to people of his ilk, the Florida Panhandle. That is a Hoboken Journal prognostication for you. In jest of course. The future is always hard to predict. Just ask Beth Mason's supporters who thought she would run away with the Mayoral election in May of 2009.
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| Perry Kalussen is the spelling on the Hoboken Man's wall of the well groomed. |
Update 3/3/2011:
Update: Perry Klaussen of Hoboken 411 and
his Obsession with Dwarfs
The crazy making over at Hoboken 411 has doubled down possibly due to the fact that Beth Mason recently ran a a smear poll and the numbers probably didn't come back too good. After all H411's business model seems to be tied with a Beth Mason electoral victory. Yet another reason to vote Beth Mason out in May. In the meantime Perry Klaussen just can't let the dwarf thing go. I guess at 6'4" he has an affinity for little people (and yes that is the PC way to call them as they do on the TLC Channel). As the expression goes opposites sometimes attract.
Could it be that Perry Klaussen's obsession with dwarfs goes way beyond his hatred for politico Tony Soares? The word fetish certainly comes to mind.
Here is a screen shot of the update he did today on H411:
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| Link: http://hoboken411.com/archives/59766 |
Update 2/24/2011:
Update: Perry Klaussen- Proprietor of Mason 411 "Covers" State of City Address, Attacks Dwarves, Goes off Rails
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| Perry Klaussen of H411 |
The Notion that Hoboken411 is the "Most Complete Hoboken News Site for News" is a Lie and Downright Laughable
Dawn Zimmer gave her State of the city Address on Tuesday February 22, 2011. On the day of the event Hoboken Patch, NJ.com, and Hudson Reporter all had posts on the upcoming event on their respective websites. Perry Klaussen of Hoboken 411 did not. That is his prerogative as a blog can cover whatever it wants to. However, when it claims to be the most complete new website in town and doesn't mention a significant event like The State of the City Address beforehand it is certainly not the most complete news website about Hoboken. That assertion is quite laughable. Below is a word cloud of the stories that day on H411 2/22/2011. Keywords like cheese, falafel, egg, bacon, and sandwich stand out since Perry spent most of his day updating threads on food businesses which he still does a comprehensive job of covering. No coverage that day of the State of the City Address by the Mayor should be conclusive enough to end the assertion that Hoboken 411 is most certainly not the "most complete news website on Hoboken". I didn't even talk about the editorial slant. I rest my case.
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| Hoboken 411 Word Cloud on stories the day of 2/22/2011. No mention of the State of City Address. Perry must have had food on the brain that day. Hungry boy! |
Despite not covering the fact that the State of The City was taking place, Perry Klaussen showed up to do typical hit piece on Zimmer supporters. He perched up top on the second floor to get birds eye shots of his targets He pretended to take video of the event but he was really after photos of certain members of the audience including myself for his crappily shot photo montage. His whole pathetic story seemed to be about the fact that Zimmer supporters were at the Address. What kind of story is that? Of course the Mayor's supporters were there. People who support the Mayor were there and those don't support her were generally not. Duh! Mike Russo wasn't there. Case in point. I suppose he had other priorities besides the State of the City of Hoboken. Perry did finally put up the full text of Zimmer's remarks after lifting it off of another website by providing a link near bottom of the story. Mike Russo's rebuttal and spin was front and center and at least on that level H411, augmented the local coverage.
The photo below shows how unhinged Perry Klaussen has become. On one hand he spouts off that he is a credentialed journalist, on the other he is seen here giving Roman Brice of MSV the finger knowing his picture is being taken. Would any credentialed real journalist be caught doing such a thing? Not if they actually wanted a career. Lane Bajardi who was not present at this event should take note.
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| Perry Klaussen gives MSV and the taxpayers of Hoboken the finger. This is the kind of class that comes out of the media arm of Beth Mason's political camp. No amount of money can buy you class. Photo courtesy of MSV blog. |
Beth Mason has been a key advertiser at Hoboken 411 and has never been criticized even once by this website since assuming office in 2007. Did the purchase of those ads affect the coverage by Hoboken 411? In the words of Sarah Palin "You betchya"!
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| Smear blog Hoboken 411 run by Perry Klaussen (left) is what Beth Mason (right) has left in her media arsenal. Photos courtesy of MSV blog. |
Perry Klaussen put up another post on lampooning dwarfism yesterday in the context of Hoboken St. Patrick's Day. I agree with Tony Soares that this was a veiled attack on him given the history between Perry and Tony. Tony Soares is no saint when it comes keeping the political dialogue measured and within boundaries but I have to say this is pretty low brow stuff even coming from Perry Klaussen. His piece "Do you know a dwarf out of work?" is another example of how low Mason411 (Hoboken 411) will go to stamp out and intimidate any of Beth's opponents.
Here is a screen shot from Hoboken 411's piece posted 2/23/2011:
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| Another hit piece from Perry Klaussen of dwarfism and veiled attack on Tony Soares posted 2/23/2011. |
Tony Soares responds to Hoboken 411 post yesterday and last year
Tony Soares is a resident of Hoboken who has dwarfism and has been a critic of Beth Mason and Hoboken 411. He had this to say about the post on Hoboken411.
Quote from Tony Soares:
"This is a fake Craigslist ad and part of Perry Klaussen's annual attack on Dwarfism. As crazy as it sounds I know many people with dwarfism who are assaulted and harassed on St Pats day's across the country. Beth Mason who advertises here should be ashamed. 70,000 Dwarfs and disabled were killed by the Nazi's before any Death Camps were in operation."
He also sent this to Brett Wilshe at Jersey Journal:
"Hi Brett,
I'm Tony Soares, former councilman and Zimmer supporter now. I have dwarfism and I oppose Beth Mason. For that I am annually harassed by her site Hoboken 411. Take a look. Two years in a row. Another set of screen shots to follow. Many people with my disability are harassed on St. Pat's day, this makes Hoboken an unsafe place for me and I place blame squarely on the shoulders of Council President Mason."
Tony also sent this to Beth Mason's camp:
"Does Beth know that dwarves were murdered by Nazi's as well? 70,000 before a single death camp opened!"
Here is a screen shot from Hoboken 411's anti-dwarf piece posted last year on 3/4/2010:
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| This Hoboken 411 post from 3/4/2010 featured a photo shop including Tony Soares. Beth Mason had a problem with another website last year but apparently had no problem with this piece putting down dwarfs. |
Link: http://hoboken411.com/archives/38778
Update 8/25/2010: Still no response from the owner of you know what Hoboken website for the meet up. Honestly, I was curious to see what he would say but I have put a range of times out there for the guy to address his grievances with me whatever they may be. Ball is in his court. Moving on.
Original Post 8/22/2010:
Perry Klaussen- A Close Encounter of the Absurd Kind
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| Perry Klaussen of Hoboken 411 |
Juan stopped and approached Perry Klaussen and politely introduced himself and shook Perry Klaussen's hand. It took Perry a moment to realize who Juan was. Once he did his expression immediately switched to anger as he said to Juan (paraphrased) "I am the only credentialed Journalist in Hoboken and yet the Zimmer Administration doesn't give me press releases? Would you care to comment on the record?" He then reached in his bag to get out what I presumed to be a recording device. However, when he saw me turn my camera to the on position, he thought better of it. Perry's tone was quite hostile towards Juan Melli, a person Perry had met for the first time. Perry then said to Juan quite nastily "Watch where you walk, you watch what happens". At that point Juan appropriately walked away and Perry Klaussen shouted at Juan "Fuck you" and a few other anti-Zimmer epithets.
After Juan Melli left I mainly listened to Perry Klaussen (keep in mind I didn't have to) refer to my site as "weak and unoriginal". I replied that I did get a few ideas from his site like photo of the day but that the photos are indeed mine. I also acknowledged that his traffic is better than mine but he continued to assert that my site was full of lies and that my arguments are weak. Opinions vary and I never write anything on my blog that I know not to be true. Perry eventually walked away and yelled a few more things that I could not make out.
I have to admit that while I kept my composure with the guy I felt the adrenaline rush the comes with a conflict such as this. It comes from my survival instinct that I could not trust this guy since he was coming off so angry. Still, there is a history for those who may not know it that I feel I should share now with my readership regarding why there is a rift between Perry and I.
I used to comment frequently on Hoboken411 back in 2008 and wrote a few of my poems that Perry Klaussen published like my piece on Dave Roberts budget "Twas The Night Before the Budget" http://thehobokenjournal.blogspot.com/2008/12/twas-night-before-budget.html and other such content.
I started to figure out that a change in editorial policy had occurred when an innocuous limerick I had submitted as a full post on a purple pillow was promptly pulled after being up on Hoboken 411 briefly. Here is the limerick below:
A plush purple pillow was once placed,
with such servile attentive haste,
it was placed with great care,
to comfort Mason's derriere,
but it was Roberts who about the budget was disgraced.
with such servile attentive haste,
it was placed with great care,
to comfort Mason's derriere,
but it was Roberts who about the budget was disgraced.
This limerick was about Lane Bajardi and him obsequiously giving Councilwoman Beth Mason a purple pillow to give her comfort at a City Council meeting. It was a scene that many who saw it found quite funny so I deemed it bard worthy at the time. I began to figure out that the reason why it was pulled was that it offended either Lane Bajardi or Beth Mason. I was given a different reason from Perry Klaussen as to why it was pulled and quite frankly I did not buy it. I still don't to this day.
Still, I admit was wrong to challenge Perry on what he can or can't publish on his own site. I then decided to create my own website to avoid such disputes and I let him know about it. At first he seemed fine with it but then at some point I was no longer able to comment on his site and at then he started actually blocking my ip address. At that point I left his site for good. After all, what is the point of commenting on an open forum if you can't comment openly? Many others have since followed by leaving Hoboken 411. His comments for sure are way down since the point when he really started banning key commenters en masse.
I have been critical of his one sided work ever since but still give him credit for his work prior to the doctrinal shift in his blog in creating a blogging scene in Hoboken. Since then his commenting policies, editorial slant and behavior has driven away many intelligent commenters and contributors. I honestly don't expect the guy to like me even one iota. I have been the MSNBC to his Fox News (blogger on blogger) and he can't like what I am writing.
Oh yeah and in jest I did this JibJab Spoof video of him and his sidekick:
With that said I wrote Perry Klaussen a quick email after that exchange yesterday and offered to meet up with him since he had chided me for not have anything to say to him to his face. I offered to listen to whatever grievances he might have first and then I would mention mine. Maybe it is not the smartest thing I have ever suggested but here is the email I sent to him on the 5% chance that such a detente could lead to something. I can assure my readers and Perry that my offer is sincere and I have no expectations as to an outcome.
My email is below:
"kurt.gardiner@gmail.com to hoboken411@gmail.com
Perry-
Ok, you want a dialogue? I'll bite. I assumed that when you stopped responding to my emails that the dialogue was over between us.
That is one of the reasons I haven't reached out to you and said to you on the street that I have nothing to say to you, I have said it online. The last email I sent to you, you did not respond. Pure and simple, the ball was in your court.
You want to meet or exchange emails over things you feel I have wronged you about name the place and I'll show up.
Conditions:
1) No shouting.
2) You get to present your grievances to me first.
3) I get to respond to your grievances and present mine.
4) You get to respond to my grievances.
5) Meeting will be on the weekend during daytime.
6) Feel free to add any other stipulations.
If you are serious about an exchange/dialogue then suggest a place to meet.
Otherwise, good luck with your website. :)
- Kurt"
Perry Klaussen did reply and here is his brief note to me:
"FYI – your email was in the junk folder just now – and I don’t make a habit of checking it religiously, since I already get thousands of regular emails in my standard inbox keeping me busy.
Sure. I’ll let you know what weekend works. But it’s funny that your “stipulations” are so carefully crafted as if it’s some kind of hostage exchange. Will there be a game show host, red buzzer and timer too? Heh!
Thanks
Perry"
I will wait and see if he sets up a time. My intention is to meet face to face and see what he has to say to me when things are a bit calmer. If our meeting should get out of hand we both have the option of walking away. Feel free to comment below in the comments section. I freely admit that I started this feud by not kowtowing to all things Klaussen or Mason and by exercising my right, my right to free speech.
Additional comment: The reason for the title of this piece in terms of the absurdity is that if my traffic is so much smaller than his, and my arguments so weak (his words) then why is he so upset with me? Shouldn't I just be ignored if my site is that insignificant in comparison? It is not like I am taking ads away from him; just the traffic of those people he banned or disrespected anyway.
Also, if Perry Klaussen of Hoboken 411 was really serious about getting press releases he can subscribe to the City's Nixle service and they will come to him just like they will for every other citizen. ◦
