So yes I struck the first blow kinda, but now he has turned to implying that I am a convicted felon in the state of Georgia.

Not real sure who he is referencing in the other declarations on his site, but it does look like he does have many enemies from his business practices past and current. I did check the GA database for felony convictions in my name and was alarmed when I did find that I was being reported as a convicted felon.

Having held professional licenses in the State of Georgia and a dealers license, which is impossible with a felony conviction, it was not the first time this has popped up.  While it is true I was once charged for 1st degree forgery in 1992, at the age of 22, I was completely exonerated.

The charges were brought by an ex spouse of my mother in an act of vengeance to get back at her for their differences and for me signing a charge slip in his name as  I was instructed to do by him.  Technically it was probably forgery, morally the charges were wrong.

After realizing this information is being passed around by Brian Pasch that I am a convicted felon and that I was listed in the state of GA database as such I contacted the authorities to find why this was still coming up, here is what I discovered:

After explaining to the prosecutor and my court appointed attorney, I was 22 and could not afford a real one, what happened they worked out a plea agreement.  Once it was presented to the judge and he asked me for my story.  The judge told me that I was in a no win situation and it would waste the courts time and understood why the plea was entered as such.  He then altered my plea, which as for a misdemeanor, to that of first offender so it would not stay on my record, whereas the misdemeanor would.

I was given unsupervised probation and a suspended fine and as told to “keep my nose clean”, which I did, and it would be like it never happened.   The reason I was still listed in the database is because the probation office never filed the proper paper work saying I completed probation without incident.

I have since contacted the courts and the probation office to sort out this mess.  It will be gone soon, like it never happened, and this blog post will be the only documentation of the facts.  It is unfortunate on my part I was not more proactive about this 17 years ago or it would of never come to surface.  I have had to document this before to get a mortgage brokers license, insurance license and dealers license, and I have been registered to vote my entire adult life.  I just thought that having to document it was part of the process.

Officials in the court house and probation office have emphatically apologized to me over this, including a judge.

Am I a hater?  Sure I am.  Anybody who gives misinformation and makes my job harder deserves to be called out.  Somebody that has played on donors sympathies, tried to profit from 9-11-01, then make good by donating money to help cover it up and then hide association (before and after)  makes me a hater².

If you find Brian Pasch distributing information with my “felony conviction” please let me know.  He has been notified by email and fax as of this posting and will receive certified mail in the next few days as to his errors and the potential legal ramifications for him distributing false information.

Actually I have found that following to many people has made it more difficult to cut through the noise and find opportunities for engagement.  People are able to get through the clutter of MLM spammers and habitual link droppers and enjoy doing it, I have a hard time doing it even using tweetdeck to help manage the noise.

One of my downfalls in enjoying my twitter experience as much as I possibly can is the refusal to drop people I am following if they are following me.  That has now changed.  If they are pushing the latest greatest make money online or MLM product I am dropping you like a bad habit.  If they use the aberration ” TweetMyBlog” as their only source of “connecting” they are gone.

This blog post may also cause others to stop following me as well.  I can live with it and if it pushes me out of the top 1000 life will go on.

I would love to hear your tips on cutting through the twitter..

BTW ..  Follow me on Twitter if you don’t fit the demographic above.

Tyler and Alex are both playing football and started a new school.  Preston is as wiry energetic three year old as you would ever meet.  We just bought a new home and I will have a real office again.

Other than that don’t have much to update you on until next time….

I was inspired to say the least in what I read and realized that there are times to quit and times to keep plugging on.  I even used some of what I learned to encourage my son as well, because he was frustrated that he was not the fastest kid on the field. He and I will both make it through “The Dip”.  He now understands that a football team does not need just fast kids, they need big kids like him as well.

I understand that some activities I have been participating in may have no purpose while others have high value if I do not fail on the execution and the townhouse in St. Augustine may be the best thing ever for my family. Live and learn.

Get a coy of “The Dip” by Seth Godin

Here is a copy of the draft complaint attached to this letter : Draft of James Ziegler vs Paul Rushing

When I originally read this letter I was highly amused by it’s content then became incensed. Let’s face it. They attempted to abridge my freedoms that the Constitution of the United States of America imparts on the citizens of our great country under the 1st Amendment, by demanding that I remove my opinion of a marketing product and how they choose to promote it. Here is the full post “A mixed message from someone “in the Know”.

It is obvious that they have read much of my content that I have published on the web. I even have blocked Jim Ziegler from seeing it from his office. It is doubtful that he understands the irony in the message he sees when he tries to access my content. This is one way to throw stuff back in an online bullies face, deliver them a custom message when they try to access your content. << If you click it make sure your volume is turned up. I promise it will not hurt you or your machine. It is a good version of a Rick Roll for someone claiming to be a Master of eMarketing.

I responded to their letter in a way that is sure not to amuse them, reinforcing the fact that they have attempted to impede on my constitutional rights. Here is my response to Jim Ziegler’s attorneys: My response to James Ziegler vs Paul Rushing I have contacted the ACLU for their opinion on the matter and have openly solicited their involvement. I never thought I would be a card carrying member of the ACLU. Ha..

In the tight circle that exist in the automotive online social networking space these attempts will probably elevate Jim Ziegler to the status of pariah, and remove his self proclamation of “Da Man”. You cannot possibly be a master of anything sales related and believe that intimidation tactics are possibly conducive to anything short moving into the elevation described above.

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still” – Zig Ziegler < Hope there is no relation there!!

The dealers that rely on his self proclaimed wealth of knowledge should take this as a warning sign. He is using tactics and techniques that would cause a dealer to lose all credibility in the marketplace if they responded to a consumer the way he has to me. It just goes to show that old dogs cannot learn new tricks.

As moronic as his persona his actions scream, DUMB ASS!! Yes I called Jim Ziegler a dumb ass for allowing someone who represents him to send a letter like the one I received. Not only do they not know the definition of a social network as they try to to belittle me in their diatribe as they continue to assert a simple blog post has damaged his business prospects!! What has damaged his business prospect is the fact that you can’t claim mastery in a game, when you do not know the rules. In my opinion the worst damage to the his “Master of eMarketing” seminar stares back at him in the mirror he admires himself.

Another thing that the “Cogs” who signed this misguided letter to me quoted a precedent that comes from the 4th Circuit while the transmission and reception of the email occurred in the 11th. But what can you expect from two knuckleheads that obtained their higher education at an all girls school. What is really sad is that they failed to look at the Georgia Law and realize that the people who actually pulled the trigger on these emails, may be criminally liable. The assertions that the emails were not sent by the Ziegler Corporation is laudable. They also need to learn the definition of “or”. My original post stated they were spidered or scraped by a minion, who now may be criminally negligent under GA law.

In any case the message was in direct violation of 15 § U.S.C. 7704 (a)(5). (i) It did not contain the verbiage that the message was an advertisement. (ii) It did not contain an opt out method. (iii) It did not contain the physical address of the sender. I hope the cogs did not increase the billable hours to the Ziegler Corporation based on legal research, if so Jim needs to ask for a refund. The diatribe that was sent quoted the exact laws that made the letter illegal. (Second response disavowing my retraction)

What is really sad when he saw my review of his product and how he chose to advertise it all he had to do was pick up the phone and give me a call. I would of probably changed my content somewhat and it may of even tuned into a promotion of his product. Instead he decided to behave like a “rat bastard” and call my former employer, my associates and hire a lawyer to get me to take my blog post down.

Now there is no possible way that I will ever take down anything I have ever published about Jim Ziegler’s products or the methods he chooses to advertise them. I will now seek to review every product he has ever released. I will try to remain objective while at the same time I will not hold any punches back.

This guy really needs to learn that when you try to cross sabers with someone with my dedication to to making the automotive industry more profitable for all and to help start a true dealer centric social network. There is no way he can win. His dedication is completely self serving and people are starting to see that.

In his recent article in Dealer Magazine he boast “Here I am sitting here at the word processor drinking heavy shots of Louis XIII Cognac at $200 a shot…and…finishing another article.” That is not what dealers in the car business want to hear coming from someone that considers himself an automotive guru, when the business has taken such a downturn in recent times. Dealers are laying people off and cutting their own salary while this blow hard is drinking $200 a shot swill. He delivers more mixed messages intentionally than is acceptable by any standard.

In the near future I will start another blog to chronicle the twisting slope of my navigation through the courts as this blow hard sues me and as I counter sue him and his attorneys. Or they will agree to my terms in my letter to them and it will be the end of this drama. I have a lot better things to do with my time than keep engaging these douche bags.