George Rebane
Today’s (9jul18) Union highlights the impact of our county’s left turn with some choice letters to the newspaper and a confusing column on the First Amendment. Usually the Union has better material to publish on their op-ed pages, but occasionally they must run into a dry spell and use it in fairness to make available some column inches to the incoherent and confused. After all, such editorial policy does give a more accurate picture of our community.
The two letters are examples of outpourings from the heartfelt but lightly read. For openers, a Ms Carol Menaker of Nevada City begins her anti-LaMalfa counsel with “If you believe that forcibly separating children from their parents is justifiable, read no further.” There, that’s it, and no further qualifications or complexities relating to the issue need concern the reader, for most certainly such things never concerned or entered the mind of the writer. Whether these factors are beyond her, we cannot say, but what follows does not evince a discriminating mind. (more here)
Then we have the contribution (here) from Mr Ron Lowe, similarly located (our little town is a hotbed of such astute intellects). His short letter offers condemning and conclusive proof that the Russians indeed “played to the Republicans and swayed the election for Donald Trump.” Together “Trump, Russians, Republicans, were complicit in wrongdoing in the 2016 presidential election” due to a “full color ad (that) shows Christ and Satan in a struggle to win religious Republican votes”. The ad appeared on Facebook, and that’s that. What more proof of perfidy bought and paid for would anyone require? Roll out the tumbrels!
Finally, we have the ‘other voice’ of a Mr Chuck Frank who has determined that “freedom of the press lies in the balance” (here). And what powers will tilt that balance to our detriment? Well, Mr Frank has put his finger on the Dept of Homeland Security and other feds as those who are “planning” to put journalists’ heads on “the chopping block”. How will they do that? They will “make lists and spy(sic) on websites, news outlets, articles, blogs, and whistle-blower sites.” DHS may even hire a contractor to do all the dirty work who will track “hundreds of thousands of persons associated with journalism (by) compiling a database likened to North Korea”. We kid you not, this individual apparently believes that North Korea has individuals and journalists who criticize the Ugly Fat Kid on the open internet. In any event, we must all beware that this is “just one example of censorship though(sic) a massive campaign to control mass communications and also hide wrongdoing in government.”
Now RR is on record as being no fan of a large, intrusive, and corrupt counter-constitutional government. But the confused and breathlessly confusing screed laid down by Mr Frank does not serve his efforts to avert “the New World Order” to be achieved through the destruction of “investigative journalism, alternative news, and accurate reporting.” The reader comes away from his jumbled revelations shaking his head, and attributing the whole thing again to some anti-government crank. That he is able to warn all of us of the impending First Amendment’s demise should give us some comfort that such alarums are a bit premature. Nevertheless, our gimlet eye is ever peeled for such exigencies.
