”
Briggs Latham’s letter to the editor is well intentioned but
shortsighted. I agree with him about making unsupported accusations
and the right to free speech. Where he falls short is his statement
about a legitimate claim ‘please file it.’ What does he mean, ‘file
it?’ I think he means take it to the police of file a lawsuit.
“Briggs Latham’s letter to the editor is well intentioned but shortsighted. I agree with him about making unsupported accusations and the right to free speech. Where he falls short is his statement about a legitimate claim ‘please file it.’ What does he mean, ‘file it?’ I think he means take it to the police of file a lawsuit.
You must remember that a lot of the claims that have appeared in the paper are unlawfulness against high officials and possibly those that run the local government, therefore limiting their ability to file claims.
Let’s review what has been happening. People in the community, whoever they may be, apparently have reason to believe that illegal activity and disenfranchisement has been happening, so they hired a lawyer or investigator to try to find proof of their claims. This investigation is apparently finding many suspected improper activities that could be used in a court of law.
With the revelation of the claims appearing in the newspaper, citizens are beginning to voice their opinions. What the public needs to do when they read these opinions is to sift the wheat from the chaff.
For example, a Citizens Voice letter in the same day’s paper was accusing Supervisor Reb Monaco of being in bed with the big developers. He isn’t even running for election, so why the attack on him? Could this letter be from someone who is on the side of Measure G and is trying to make the only person on the Board that voted against Measure G a person to try to discredit him? Where is the substantiation that he is tied to big developers? Maybe he just believes in fair property rights and it has nothing to do with development. Let the reader decide.
This is a good example of poor letter writing and unsupported accusations, which I would suggest is chaff. Because there is so much at stake for both sides of the issues, the public needs to be smart in trying to establish what is truth in the court of public opinion. We do not need to suppress the court of public opinion, as it is our inherited right that was established in the Constitution and I thank the Free Lance for giving this one little corner of its newsprint to the public for the opportunity to do so.
I must add one area of thought to end my letter. The Citizens Voice is a section of the newspaper for public opinion and stands apart from the reporting of reporters. It is the duty of the reporter to print only what is accurate without bias.”
