Zarelli bears his teeth
Update (1/24): Wikipedia editors have at last look restored the unemployment scandal to the werewolf’s wikipedia page. Original video still down, but a much better video is now up. Click here for Zarelli Sees Ghost Children. Original press release follows…
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Is Zarelli covering up his lycanthropy or trying to hide his hypocrisy on unemployment benefits?
An investigation by Undead Olympia today revealed that the wikipedia page on State Senator Joseph Zarelli has recently been scrubbed of references to allegations about his lycanthropy and about his being forced in 2002 to pay back unemployment benefits he collected while a sitting member of the Legislature.
“He can try to wear a sheep’s clothing and pretend there’s no controversy,” commented an Undead Olympia spokesperson. “But that doesn’t change the fact that he has a werewolf’s nature and a dodgy history of abusing state benefits.”
Undead Olympia is not crying wolf about this issue — wikipedia’s revision history reveals the truth. Three key facts:
- The entire text of the “Political Controversies” section was recently deleted, replaced with the single inaccurate word: “None.” (Note: links to wikipedia version history are available in the references section below.)
- Wikipedia records that change as being made from a computer with internet address 216.186.0.90. That computer has made no previous edits to Wikipedia.
- That internet address maps to a computer on an official State internet network, and located in Olympia. UndeadOlympia.com’s access logs show a substantial number of hits from this same Washington State government address.
This much is clear, even in the light of a no-longer-full moon: Senator Zarelli’s wikipedia page was scrubbed from an Olympia-based computer with internet access provided by the State, and by a user who had never previously seen fit to edit Wikipedia. (We are not yet clear on whether this network also provides internet access at the Capitol.) It is safe to assume therefore that this was someone close to the Senator — perhaps even a staffer or the man himself.
Furthermore, Zarelli’s wikipedia page was scrubbed of both the werewolf allegation and the discussion of the 2002 controversy around his collecting unemployment benefits while working for the State Legislature. No controversy? Now that’s a howler.
Why scrub?
We believe this lone-wolf attack on the integrity of Zarelli’s wikipedia page was based on the fact that he just announced a plan to crack down on fraud among recipients of public benefits. Given the fact that Zarelli himself committed something akin to fraud while already a State Legislator, listening to him on this issue is like letting a wolf into the henhouse. There is strong evidence Zarelli had his wikipedia page scrubbed in order to avoid charges of hypocrisy joining the aready-percolating charges of lycanthropy. Zarelli believed he would receive press coverage for his latest attack on the underpinnings of state services, and therefore knew his wikipedia page would receive significant hits and wanted it cleaned of the ugly truth.
You can scrub, but you can’t hide
None of this scrubbing, however, changes the facts: in 2002, Zarelli inappropriately received unemployment benefits and was required to pay them back. Currently, his budget proposals share a vicious brutality that’s akin to how a werewolf might destroy the safety net that protect that most vulnerable people in our state. Werewolves are famously tortured by the knowledge of what they do, and bitterly conscious of their crimes. That sense of remorse in the one werewolf quality that Sen. Zarelli so far shows no sign of.
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References
Previous content of wikipedia page (entire section replaced with word “None.”):
Zarelli was briefly dogged by controversy in 2002 when the Seattle Times reported on the fact that he collected unemployment while simultaneously serving in the State Legislature. This was seen as especially embarrassing because Zarelli had a well-established political identity as a fiscal conservative firmly opposed to state services of all kinds. Zarelli defended himself by arguing that the State Employment Security Department had found him to be eligible for benefits, and there were never any allegations of unsavory dealings behind the awarding of benefits. The controversy soon passed.
A new controversy emerged in the first days of the 2011 State Legislative session, however, as he has been hit with odd — and apparently humorous — charges of lycanthropy. The allegations do not seem well-founded, but rather part of a political protest against state budget cuts linking the brutality of the service cuts he favors to the brutality of other creatures.
Other information:
Sen. Zarelli’s wikipedia page prior to scrubbing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Zarelli&oldid=408081716
Sen. Zarelli’s wikipedia page after scrubbing from state computer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Zarelli&oldid=409190557
IP Lookup of Zarelli scrubbing computer on the Washington State K-20 Telecommunications Network
http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/216.186.0.90
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Just two weeks after launch, Undead Olympia has already established itself as the premier online destination for news of the various and sundry creatures haunting the State Capitol. In recent days, we broke the story of werewolf Joe Zarelli, discussed vampire blood lust in the Governor’s mansion, analyzed Ross Hunter’s spooky-scary budget proposal, and more. Contact us at undeadolympia.com or by email to info@undeadolympia.com
