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October 12, 2006
Commentary by Ron Pulcini
As the old adage goes, one shouldn't argue with people who "buy ink by the barrel." Add in the fact that, these days, objectivity in journalism is as much the victim of carelessness, disrespect and laziness as co-eds are of date rape. The lesson here is that, apparently, we cannot expect the editors and writers of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle to be anything more (or better) than they are.
To wit: they'll print letters-to-the-editor (LTEs) that, had their contents been written by the Chronicle staff, would be considered libelous, potential court cases. Normally, I wouldn't waste my time responding to some LTEs, but when the editors of the Chronicle print fecal matter about candidates-RIGHT BEFORE AN ELECTION - you cannot help but suspect their intentions. And I have to make this clear: I'd attack them for allowing lies about Republicans to be printed as well!
Take Bruce Hanson's (Manhattan) letter in the Thursday 10/12/06 editorial page. How about these claims?
1. "Jon Tester's stance against the Patriot Act has won him weighty endorsements from the illicit drug use lobby."
Yeah, right, Bruce, forgot about that Cheech & Chong radio commercial: "Whoa, dude! The cops are right behind us; give the stuff to Jon; he's an organic farmer!" What "weighty endorsements?" Be specific. Give us their names. The dates they weighed in with their endorsements.
2. "It's understandable why the 'hemp fest' crowd backs Jon Tester: The very notion that the government, utilizing the Patriot Act, may be eavesdropping on drug-buy phone conversations makes illegal drug consumers enraged." Hanson also claims that the NORML web site promotes Tester contributions to his campaign!
Read through the news back when the Patriot Act was introduced (by an Attorney General who makes Pat Robertson look angelic), no where, NO WHERE did the Buswacked Administration content that the Act would do any more to round up drug dealers than laws already on the books. Hanson's confused with "enraged" librarians. Enter the words "Jon Tester" in the search blank on NORML's web site you get zilch! Makes you wonder: would Hanson go after alcohol with such determination or … nah, I can't say it … haven't checked the DUI's in the police logs.
And lastly,
3. "... why else would pot smokers gleefully endorse him? A vote for Tester is a vote for marijuana. A vote for marijuana is a vote for meth."
This is the same blithering logic a smidgin over half the American voters used to re-elect the stupidest man in the country to the highest office in the land: "Duh, he sounds like me, so he's gotta be someone I can trust."
When the day arrives the Chronicle returns letters like Hanson's, informing their authors that such vituperative, unsubstantiated drivel does not beckon our community's "better angels," I suspect the Yellowstone Caldera will get back on schedule and it won't matter to us any longer.
Posted by admin at October 12, 2006 11:33 AM