Now it can be revealed: the blogger Sullivan's true identity! Time for J.B. Handley to make good on his promise

On April 29, 2011 at 5:44 AM EDT, Mr. Handley responded. Scroll down to read the response.

On April 29, 2011 at approximately 2:30 PM PDT, Mr. Sullivan posted an apology to Mr. Handley.  Scroll down to read.

Remember back in November 2010,  when crack investigator J.B. Handley claimed that he had proof that the blogger known as Sullivan was really Paul Offit's wife Bonnie Offit?  The internet laughed.  In response, Mr. Handley went on to make foul-mouthed and anonymous comments. 

Sullivan has decided to reveal his real-life name: 

 

as always, click to embiggen

Remember what the crack researcher J.B. Handley claimed?

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Nope.  Not Paul Offit or his "Pediatrician wife", but  "an industrial researcher in computer hardware" and the father of a child with autism. The crack researcher was wrong about the "hundreds of hours" bit too.  This is how wrong:  Mr. Carey is presenting a poster at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), Parent Reported Status and Expectations for Their Autistic Student Children: An Analysis of the 2007 National Household Education Survey

Remember what else J.B. Handley, the businessman, promised?  I will remind you (and Mr. Handley):

as always, click to embiggen

So, Mr. Handley: time to make good on your offer and  your promise.  Or be forsworn.  Your choice. 

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Update: Message from Sullivan:

In case he’s waiting—here’s an open message to Mr. Handley: Do you intend to make good on your commitment, as stated in your blog post?

And, an open message to Dan Olmsted: You are editor of a blog which has a post in need of a correction. I would greatly appreciate it if you were to post a correction to the Bonnie Offit post.

Update: Post from Kev Leitch: Sullivan Outs Himself

Posts to date pointing out Mr. Handley's error, and requesting him to make good on his word:

1. April 27, 2011, Sullivan at LeftBrain/RightBrain: Sullivan to Attend IMFAR
2. April 27, 2011, Kev at LeftBrain/RightBrain: Sullivan Outs Himself
3. April 27, 2011, Skepacabra: Sullivan Reveals He's Not Bonnie Offit and J.B. Handley Must Never Mention Paul Offit Again
4. April 27, 2011, Harpocrates Speaks: An Outing at IMFAR
5. April 27, 2011, Countering: Handley's Egg on His Face: I Bet He Doesn't Even Notice
6. April 28, 2011, Respectful Insolsolence: Sullivan Outs Himself, or Time for J.B. Handley to Put Up or Shut Up About Paul Offit
7. April 28, 2011, The Epi Times: Tic-Toc, Mr. J.B. Handley..

Mr. Handley's response:

Matt Carey, Ph.D. says he’s Bonnie Offit (Just Kidding)

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/04/matt-carey-phd-says-hes-bonnie-offit-just-kidding.html

5 months late, Matt Carey, a research staff member at Hitachi GST, with a PhD in physics from UCSD, has revealed himself to be the notorious blogger “Sullivan.”

In a previous post, I speculated that Sullivan was actually Bonnie Offit, wife of a not-to-be-mentioned vaccine millionaire. Mr. Carey’s personal outing of himself renders my speculation incorrect.

As many ravenous members of the dark side I’m sure have mentioned, I also made a simple promise that if Sullivan was NOT Bonnie Offit, I would not utter said name of said leader of the Dark Side.

I also offered to give up the website www.pauloffit.com

Apparently, Mr. Carey is a parent of a child with autism. Matt, if you’re reading this, note that I really have no interest in writing about or attacking other parents, and you can expect similar treatment. My enemies are the AAP, CDC, and the vaccine makers themselves, as well as their well-paid minions. Since you don’t appear to be in any of those camps and have a kid just like me, I don’t have the heart.

If I live 5 lifetimes, I will never understand where your reverence for not to be named profiteer of vaccines comes from, or why you choose to use your precious time to defend him.

I’m also pleased to see you now blogging in your own name, as all AoA writers and parents do. I think it’s a simple way to demonstrate courage, conviction, and integrity in the things you write.

‘Nuff said, in the world I live in, a deal’s a deal, even if you took five months to get here. Just email me, plenty on the dark side know how to find me, and we can work out the details.

Mr. Carey's apology to Mr. J. B. Handley:

As Kev points out I chose this week to out myself. The title for my talk at IMFAR has been posted online and it was time. As part of Kev’s post, he noted that Mr. Handley made some commitments on condition that I step forward. I doubted that Mr. Handley would make good on his commitments, even going so far as to write that I didn’t think he had the integrity to do so. For those comments I offer a sincere apology. I was wrong.

On important point to make here. It wasn’t JB Handley or a regular of the Age of Autism who outed me. It was former members of the autism hub blogs in the comments for the “Bonnie Offit” piece by Mr. Handley.

On the other hand, one person with whom I have disagreed over the years figured out my name long before any of this “Bonnie Offit” mess. Rather than out me, that person emailed me with the information of how I was exposing myself. It is that person’s integrity that is the biggest lesson I have learned from these events.

Comments

[Matt Carey]

When Mr. Handley first blogged the "Bonnie Offit" question I commented a few times on blogs that I didn't think he had the integrity to make good on his commitment.

I sincerely hope that I am in the position to offer him an apology for those remarks.

[Jenifer Byde Myers]

Such suspense! This is becoming the makings of a made-for-tv movie!

[Clio]

What a graceless, churlish response from Mr. Handley!

Q:Was it a "late" response? A: No, Mr. Carey had no obligation to meet another's timetable.

Q:Why did Mr. Handley mention Mr. Carey's employer? A: Totally unneccessary. The mention, however, enables Mr. Handley's followers to complain to Mr. Carey's employers, as they have done at least twice in the past. Instance #1 and Instance #2

Q:Is blogging under one's own name, rather than a pseudonym, evidence of "courage, conviction, and integrity in the things you write?"A:No, of course not.

Example: Mr. Handley has written many cowardly, defamatory attacks on others under his own name. See for example the reporter Amy Wallace or Nancy Minshew, MD

Conversely, many bloggers have good reasons to write under pseudonyms, such as:

• the desire to protect the privacy of family members,


• the desire to comment on issues such as education, while protecting one's family from retaliation


• the desire to separate one's private blogging on subjects unrelated to one's professional capacity from one's professional identity,

and so on.

Q:What does Mr. Handley mean by "the Dark Side"? A: Only Mr. Handley can say for sure, but I am guessing that it refers to those of us who have rejected the failed "autism is vaccine injury" theory; those of us who accept the evidence that autism has many causes, including genetics; and those of us who are in general evidence-based when it comes to approaches to autism.

"The Dark Side" usually refers to forces of evil. I guess that makes me evil. Or not.