No freedom of speech

I am dismayed by Elizabeth Prata's defense of the homophobic letter-writer under the guise of "freedom of speech."

Printing that letter is like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater. Or like printing the cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed.

But what really astounds me is that Prata herself does not allow free speech!!!! No, that is not a typo. Time and again, Prata has written emails to people who have sent her articles or letters to the editor, telling them they must either submit the articles or letters to her exclusively, or she will not continue to print submitted articles or letters.

The net effect is to stifle the freedom of these writers to speak to another newspaper.

Freedom of speech? Or freedom to run roughshod over the constitution? You decide.

Nathan Tsukroff

 

A request

If you happen to spot a roving band of angry, elderly women who want to remove their signatures from the recall petition, would you please let me know? Thanks.

Petitioning banned at library - again

Gary Foster just ordered a second ban on recall petitoners inside the library. Previous attempt ruled illegal by town attorney. Foster now says petitioners are disrupting normal library operations -- a charge that comes as a surprise to library staff.

Foster, Upham and Crane are now spending all of their time flailing recklessly at imaginary problems and digging themselves into an ever-deeper hole. What a sad spectacle. This is what happens when you let Elizabeth Prata play Karl Rove. I'm so embarrassed for this town.

A whole lot of nothin' goin' on

Ronald Reagan revamped the federal government in his first 100 days in office. Our town council has done virtually nothing in their first 180 days.

Granted, the council has abolished the mass-gathering ordinance. But the council has been distracted by petty bickering over how to run the town, constantly finding fault with Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz despite refusing to let him do his job as the manager.

Of course, it's tough being a town councilor in Gray. If you're not being cheered on by one consituency, you're being attacked by another. The former council came under attack from the conservatives, while the present council is beleagured by the liberals.

And despite all the turmoil, the councilors are expected to do the job to which they were elected. In a town council/manager form of government, the council establishes policy to be carried out by the manager. But it appears the council is getting caught up in trying to run the town instead of setting policy.

The end result is that not much has gotten done.

With Mitch Berkowitz leaving, perhaps the councilors will now find time to concentrate on the real work at hand - setting the direction for Gray as we grow. And I hope they'll leave the running of the town to the new town manager.

Nathan Tsukroff

Actual unretouched photo...

...of Councilors Upham, Crane and Foster thoughtfully explaining their plans for the Town of Gray.

Personal attacks prove our point

Well, Prata has done it again.

Another personal attack when she can't argue a point on its merits.

Unable to find fault with Paul Proudian for this blog, Prata chose to blog a pretend letter from Paul to President Bush, along with a postscript that mentioned Paul's ancestral heritage.

And this from a member of the Society of Professional Journalists!

A blog by a member of the SPJ is still a publication. Granted the journalist has greater freedom in their writing in a blog, since there is not the same oversight from an editor. But a journalist's blog is not a place for personal attacks.

It simply proves our point that Prata is mean-spirited and will attack anyone with whom she disagrees. Attacking someone's sexual orientation or familial heritage is outrageous in today's enlightened society. The Nazi regime in 1930's Germany comes quickly to mind.

Prata would have retained at least a modicum of credibility had she simply continued to publish the nasty letters such as the attack on Don Crandall. Her disgusting attempt at humor with this fake letter is just that - disgusting.

It's another example of the nastiness that Prata tries to pass off as journalism.

She doesn't fool me, though. I know journalists, and Prata is no journalist!

Nathan Tsukroff

 

The revolt spreads

From today's inbox:

Hello gents;

I have signed the recall petition, but my wife is trying to hunt it down as well to add another signature to it. Can either of you let us know where it will be next week? We promise not to try to photocopy it… ;-)

I notice there are already more recall signatures than Andy’s votes last time around. Might be a good sign!

In fact there's more than twice as many. Its a very good sign.