It seems That Simon and Myself are bound to continue this dance forever.

The dance is of course the dance of Vroomfondel and Majikthise. Douglas Adams (Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy) fans will of course know well the scene where they try to stop the computer that will give the answer to the ultimate question about life the universe and everything but come away with some very sound advice instead.

"Yes," declaimed Deep Thought, "I said I'd have to think about it, didn't I? And it occurs to me that running a programme like this is bound to create an enormous amount of popular publicity for the whole area of philosophy in general. Everyone's going to have their own theories about what answer I'm eventually to come up with, and who better to capitalize on that media market than you yourself? So long as you can keep disagreeing with each other violently enough and slagging each other off in the popular press, you can keep yourself on the gravy train for life. How does that sound?"

Simon Moores should know why newspapers and bloggers write about stuff that seems controversial. It's the same reason the world over. Simon Moores should know why political figures that get close to the media get talked about good and bad. This is nothing new.

This is a dance of mutual promotion and I am honoured that Simon has chosen me as his dancing partner. We will whip up a storm that will drive lots of attention to ourselves and make us more interesting pundits. Keep reading for some interesting punditry on this subject.

This breaking of the fourth wall of media back biting that Simon has started and his claims of wanting the story to die down did not stop Simon Moores moaning about Thanet Star in the Your Thanet website. I only noticed when I was browsing the Politics Section of the Thanet finder Blog Portal to see what people are saying.

Sadly for Simon I rarely visit his blog because I find nothing that warrants my attention most of the time. This, as I have said before, is simply because Simon does not write in a way that holds my interests. That is not a bad reflection on him as a person just a fact about me. I'm sure our dancing would be even more colourful were I to enjoy reading his blog as much as he clearly enjoys reading this one.

Blogger's fury at 'black hat' internet claims screams the headline but as is traditional for the traditional press it fails to link things up.

I'm not going to have a big moan about news outlets lack of links but before we get to my answering Simon Moores on the points he raises here is the background. The article he is talking about is Exclusive: Is Cllr Simon Moores Involved with Shady Internet Activities? wherein I simply said what I found and asked questions. I'm happy to post an update if any answers are presented I'll even make a podcast special if Simon wants to phone in sufficient material for it.

If Simon feels hard done by he need only (a) offer an explanation showing his innocence or (b) stop being shady (depending on what is going on really). I'm not especially bothered either way but if he has been had by hackers then he should say so (embarrassing though that might be for him). If he has been shady and I think it looks hypocritical I'm going to say so so his best bet would be to come clean and start over.

That's mostly what I do as a blogger - point at stuff and say what I'm thinking. I doubt that this is so different to what Simon Moores does himself on his blogs which is why, as you will see, I say he should know.

The Your Thanet article is not exactly news as the dateline is "21/04/2009" but given they claimed to have attempted to contact me (not very effectively given that they failed) I feel I should at least comment. Especially as it seems Simon Moores is such an avid reader of the Thanet Star.

In the article Simon Moores is quoted as saying: What possible motive could there be behind such consistent efforts to trash the professional reputation of a local councillor whose politics you don't like?

Simon, Simon, Simon - this is the dance of Vroomfondel and Majikthise as well you know.

I take it Simon means what motive, aside from all the obvious ones and aside from the same motivation he had for running to the newspapers. Newspapers, bloggers and gossips talk about things that people will find interesting. If it looks like a celebrity has fallen in dog poo that's a lot more interesting than talking about a new cake with 0.2% less fat.

There are a limited number of types of story that people want to read about (fact of life) and make no mistake I intend to at the very least break even with the Thanet Star or ideally turn a small profit at some stage and that means writing the things people might want to read about. For a supporter of a deeply unpopular leader that something might be you or something you said or did.

In Sandy's case, being the unpopular person in question drawing pictures of said person seems to suffice.

I've made no secret of the fact that I find everything about Sandy Ezekiel distasteful. This is not because I am deeply entrenched in a given party (yet) - indeed when I started blogging I was largely indifferent to all parties. It was Sandy's own actions that have led to my conclusions about him.

As to Simon's politics I was unaware that he had any (of note) aside from following the party line. He's not a representative of my ward so other than we share the same largely industry sector we have nothing in common and no reason for me to notice him. As I said, I don't read the guys blog because it does not interest me and I am largely indifferent to all but his self promotional attitude.

Simon Moores can't have missed the irony that in accusing Thanet Star of self promotion to the Your Thanet that he was also promoting Thanet Star and Himself because he is so clearly engaged in the dance. The dance is good for promotion and with an election coming soon promotion is what we all need.

If my necessary self promotion offends Simon I think this is only because he sees himself in my actions and ascribes motivations that are his own. We all do it - it's a common human trait. Simon's motivations might be political but mine are a mix of business and geeky hobby - Simon was news and I reported that news. If it had been David Green (Labour) I'd found doing what I saw I'd have reported it just the same.

I might lean left and one day take my political dissatisfaction and put it into action but I do not kid myself that taking shots at a minor local politician such as a district councillor will actually make a lot of difference. If I wanted to swing votes I would be talking about the benefits of the whatever...

If my research was limited with the story that "upset" Simon, if I failed to uncover all the facts then Simon is welcome to phone one or both of the Thanet Star phone numbers. He is welcome to talk to me or leave a message. He is even welcome to contribute to the Thanet Star podcasts. I don't hate the Simon Moores although it would be easy for me to dislike him somewhat. Hate requires passion in negative form and frankly I can't get much past indifferent with the guy.

Honestly, if Simon Moores were inclined to want to come to my local and just hang out and shoot some pool then I'd buy the guy a pint just as I would for any one with whom I am friendly Labour, Tory or Liberal. I harbour no ill feeling towards any with the exception of Sandy for whom I feel a very specific collecting of negative feelings.

Now I'm sure that at such time when I choose to join a party and stand for some election then I might be slightly less neutral. This is normal and just part of life. Hopefully Thanet Star will continue to be just as interesting.

As to party - I've not made a secret of the fact that my party of choice is likely to be any party without Sandy Ezekiel in it but that's because I truly can't stand the guy's apparent attitude.

The irony that Simon is getting additional headline space out of this is not lost on me. The irony of his saying that he wants the story to die a death on its own to cause the opposite is also not lost on me. This is, after all, the dance.

So here we enter another round of "he said - she said" in the best tradition of Vroomfondel and Majikthise. In my best imitation of the two widely popular (mouse) pundits here is some more ammo for Simon's spin of the wheel.

Simon feels "got at" and like people want to make him out to be a fraud. The truth is, in my opinion, that all that is happening is that the fierce heat of public attention is showing us the normally hidden cracks.

For example Mark Nottingham's post SIMON MOORES - SILENT ON ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR says that since becoming a councillor many in the blogosphere have commented that Simon does not answer questions as directly he once did.

I wouldn't know as I didn't read his blog back then and I still don't.

Seriously though, I do believe that I know where all this uncomfortable attention is coming from. I believe that Simon Moores had not remained true to himself. I think that Mr Moores has compromised for political expediency to the point that he can no longer reconcile his passions and beliefs with his actions and support. He is, therefore a man at odds with what he is doing and this is why it is hurting him so much.

In the world of blogging you can not afford to be fake not even a little tiny bit but political compromise demands a little fakeness. This is where the fraud comes from and I think Simon is feeling this very deeply. I think it is hurting him in a very deep way and yet I am not sure that he knows how to stop it hurting.

I think this pain is doubled by the fact that he feels driven to make a difference and is faced with the devils choice of compromise or failure. Both options too painful to fully acknowledge. I challenge Simon to take up the mantel of religious personal and political honesty and risk it all to bring change to his party. Yes he might fall from grace and have a hard walk ahead of him but it seems to me that he is feeling the stab of selling his soul to make the changes he feels the need to make.

It's not too late, I think, for Simon Moores to come over to the light and forgo compromise in favour of integrity of belief and motivation.

You don't need to sell your soul (as I feel Simon may have) to be a success in politics. You can make a difference without compromising what you stand for. Even if you do fall (and don't we all) it is never to late to get back up, draw a line under it and try again.

It remains only for me to thank Simon Moores for being such a fine dancing partner and I hope that we shall enjoy many more fine dances soon.