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Date: 22 May 2008 00:26:26
From: samsloan
Subject: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 10:45 PM, David Quinn <[email protected] >
wrote:
Oh so Joel Benjamin is one of the sacred cows? Well I thought his
column was rather boring, guess I'm not alone. Are people
complaining?
Yes. I might as well come out with it. Joel Benjamin is indeed one of
the sacred cows. No, nobody has complained about him because nobody
reads his column. I have asked many people. Nobody I have asked even
knows that Joel Benjamin has a regular column on the USCF website at
http://main.uschess.org
I did not want to mention the name of anybody because I do not want
anybody to think that I am attacking a certain person for personal
reasons. Joel Benjamin is just one of several examples of people who
are paid by the USCF for doing non-essential work which brings in no
revenue.
Joel Benjamin has to be the most actively disliked columnist the USCF
has ever had. Goichberg keeps Joel Benjamin on the payroll because
Benjamin often attacks me, Sam Sloan. Witness for example Benjamin's
attack on Sam Sloan in the 4/2007 issue of New in Chess Magazine, the
issue with Topalov on the cover.
The reason I did not mention previously that Benjamin was one of the
"sacred cows" is I do not want you to think that just because Benjamin
attacks me all the time is the reason I want him axed. There are other
sacred cows who do not attack me. Search and you will find them.
Benjamin should not be axed just because he constantly attacks Sam
Sloan. Rather, he should be axed because nobody likes his column,
nobody reads it and more importantly it is given away for free on the
USCF website, so it does not bring in any members or revenues to the
USCF.
Benjamin was given his column because they wanted to get rid of
Grandmaster Larry Evans so they replaced him with Benjamin.
Grandmaster Larry Evans was the most popular columnist the USCF ever
had. Joel Benjamin is the least popular.
And for good reason. The online columns by Joel Benjamin are
completely dry and uninteresting. There are also always about the same
thing: Joel Benjamin. Every Joel Benjamin article is about how great
Joel Benjamin is, how Joel did this and how Joel did that. Find one
that is not!
Here is an example:
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8319/341/
I do not know how much money Joel Benjamin is paid to write this
dreck, but whatever it is, it is too much. Getting rid of Joel
Benjamin would not solve the deficit alone, but I have a secret list
of "sacred cows" and getting rid of all of them would easily eliminate
the red ink and make the USCF profitable again.
Remember that Bill Goichberg wants to scuttle the entire Chess Life
magazine just to save the online jobs of Joel Benjamin and a few other
favored persons (whom I shall not name, at least not until necessary
to do so).
Sam Sloan
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Date: 22 May 2008 05:27:05
From: The Historian
Subject: Re: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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On May 22, 5:56 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> In case you missed it, here is the opening paragraph in Joel
> Benjamin's latest column. Have you ever, in the entire history of
> Chess Life, seen such an obvious self-congratulatory advertisement for
> his own latest book (complete with hard link) by any Chess Life
> columnist?
>
> Why does the USCF pay him for this? He should pay the USCF for posting
> this advertisement of his latest book.
>
> "April 3, 2008
>
> "Dear Mr. Benjamin,
>
> "Having followed your career since your smiling, boyish face first
> appeared in Chess Life and Review back in 1975--when you played in the
> U.S. Open in Lincoln, NE--I was glad to look at your newest book
> American Grandmaster. It certainly contained a lot of interesting
> chess trivia, which is what I like to read."
Yes. Search the Larry Evans column over the past few years.
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Date: 22 May 2008 03:56:29
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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In case you missed it, here is the opening paragraph in Joel
Benjamin's latest column. Have you ever, in the entire history of
Chess Life, seen such an obvious self-congratulatory advertisement for
his own latest book (complete with hard link) by any Chess Life
columnist?
Why does the USCF pay him for this? He should pay the USCF for posting
this advertisement of his latest book.
"April 3, 2008
"Dear Mr. Benjamin,
"Having followed your career since your smiling, boyish face first
appeared in Chess Life and Review back in 1975--when you played in the
U.S. Open in Lincoln, NE--I was glad to look at your newest book
American Grandmaster. It certainly contained a lot of interesting
chess trivia, which is what I like to read."
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Date: 22 May 2008 02:36:36
From:
Subject: Re: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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samsloan wrote:
> On May 22, 4:25 am, [email protected] wrote:
>
> > Reality check, people. Are we really supposed to believe that Bill
> > Goichberg keeps Joel Benjamin on the payroll because he occasionally
> > attacks an irrelevant nobody like Sam Sloan? If you're going to come
> > up with paranoid fantasies, you should make them at least slightly
> > plausible.
> >
> > BTW, who were those mysterious "they" who "wanted to get rid of
> > Grandmaster Larry Evans"? As I recall, Goichberg really turned the
> > screws on Dan Lucas to try and make him _keep_ Evans. Lucas, to his
> > credit, wouldn't give in.
>
> Kindly answer a few questions:
>
> 1. Do you read the column by Joel Benjamin?
>
> 2. Do you like it?
>
> 3. Do you think it is worth the money the USCF is paying Joel for it?
>
> 4. What do you think about the fact that Joel uses the column to
> advertise his own books?
>
> 5. Do you think the USCF should take Chess Life online just so that
> Joel Benjamin can keep his online column and get paid for it?
>
> Sam Sloan
1) Occasionally
2) Not enormously, but it's OK. Better than the last few years or
Larry "Lazy" Evans.
3) Since I don't know what he's being paid (and apparently neither do
you, or you would have broadcast it already), the question is
meaningless.
4) So did Evans. So what?
5) I assume what this garble meant to ask was whether the USCF should
stop printing CL instead of getting rid of Benjamin. If those were a
binary solution set, the answer is obvious. Since the connection
exists only in your fevered brain, the question is gobbledygook.
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Date: 22 May 2008 01:51:33
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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On May 22, 4:25 am, [email protected] wrote:
> Reality check, people. Are we really supposed to believe that Bill
> Goichberg keeps Joel Benjamin on the payroll because he occasionally
> attacks an irrelevant nobody like Sam Sloan? If you're going to come
> up with paranoid fantasies, you should make them at least slightly
> plausible.
>
> BTW, who were those mysterious "they" who "wanted to get rid of
> Grandmaster Larry Evans"? As I recall, Goichberg really turned the
> screws on Dan Lucas to try and make him _keep_ Evans. Lucas, to his
> credit, wouldn't give in.
Kindly answer a few questions:
1. Do you read the column by Joel Benjamin?
2. Do you like it?
3. Do you think it is worth the money the USCF is paying Joel for it?
4. What do you think about the fact that Joel uses the column to
advertise his own books?
5. Do you think the USCF should take Chess Life online just so that
Joel Benjamin can keep his online column and get paid for it?
Sam Sloan
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Date: 22 May 2008 01:25:21
From:
Subject: Re: Sam's List of "Sacred Cows" protected by Goichberg
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samsloan wrote:
> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 10:45 PM, David Quinn <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> Oh so Joel Benjamin is one of the sacred cows? Well I thought his
> column was rather boring, guess I'm not alone. Are people
> complaining?
>
>
> Yes. I might as well come out with it. Joel Benjamin is indeed one of
> the sacred cows. No, nobody has complained about him because nobody
> reads his column. I have asked many people. Nobody I have asked even
> knows that Joel Benjamin has a regular column on the USCF website at
> http://main.uschess.org
>
> I did not want to mention the name of anybody because I do not want
> anybody to think that I am attacking a certain person for personal
> reasons. Joel Benjamin is just one of several examples of people who
> are paid by the USCF for doing non-essential work which brings in no
> revenue.
>
> Joel Benjamin has to be the most actively disliked columnist the USCF
> has ever had. Goichberg keeps Joel Benjamin on the payroll because
> Benjamin often attacks me, Sam Sloan. Witness for example Benjamin's
> attack on Sam Sloan in the 4/2007 issue of New in Chess Magazine, the
> issue with Topalov on the cover.
>
> The reason I did not mention previously that Benjamin was one of the
> "sacred cows" is I do not want you to think that just because Benjamin
> attacks me all the time is the reason I want him axed. There are other
> sacred cows who do not attack me. Search and you will find them.
>
> Benjamin should not be axed just because he constantly attacks Sam
> Sloan. Rather, he should be axed because nobody likes his column,
> nobody reads it and more importantly it is given away for free on the
> USCF website, so it does not bring in any members or revenues to the
> USCF.
>
> Benjamin was given his column because they wanted to get rid of
> Grandmaster Larry Evans so they replaced him with Benjamin.
> Grandmaster Larry Evans was the most popular columnist the USCF ever
> had. Joel Benjamin is the least popular.
>
> And for good reason. The online columns by Joel Benjamin are
> completely dry and uninteresting. There are also always about the same
> thing: Joel Benjamin. Every Joel Benjamin article is about how great
> Joel Benjamin is, how Joel did this and how Joel did that. Find one
> that is not!
>
> Here is an example:
>
> http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8319/341/
>
> I do not know how much money Joel Benjamin is paid to write this
> dreck, but whatever it is, it is too much. Getting rid of Joel
> Benjamin would not solve the deficit alone, but I have a secret list
> of "sacred cows" and getting rid of all of them would easily eliminate
> the red ink and make the USCF profitable again.
>
> Remember that Bill Goichberg wants to scuttle the entire Chess Life
> magazine just to save the online jobs of Joel Benjamin and a few other
> favored persons (whom I shall not name, at least not until necessary
> to do so).
>
> Sam Sloan
Reality check, people. Are we really supposed to believe that Bill
Goichberg keeps Joel Benjamin on the payroll because he occasionally
attacks an irrelevant nobody like Sam Sloan? If you're going to come
up with paranoid fantasies, you should make them at least slightly
plausible.
BTW, who were those mysterious "they" who "wanted to get rid of
Grandmaster Larry Evans"? As I recall, Goichberg really turned the
screws on Dan Lucas to try and make him _keep_ Evans. Lucas, to his
credit, wouldn't give in.
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