[Vision2020] Wayne's thoughts, Jim Fisher, andletter to the LMT

[Joan Opyr]

Wayne writes:

"First, I would like to state unequivocally and as strongly as possible that I believe that NSA has right to exist and to operate.  Like all of us living under the great constitution in this great country, the persons behind and in support of NSA and its parent cult have a legal right to express their points of view and to construct institutions to promulgate those points of view . . . But like many of the others on this list who think the cult is excrementitious blot on humankind, I cherish the freedom of expression we all enjoy and would absolutely disagree with anyone who would seek to abridge the cult's legal rights to express their points of view.

The legal issue being debated is not whether NSA has a right to exist/operate but whether they have legal right to operate in Moscow's downtown commercial district."


I'd like to add a hearty "Amen" to all of the above and to append a letter to the editor that I sent to The Lewiston Morning Tribune on Monday night, objecting to Jim Fisher's egregious January 25th opinion column, which not only missed the legal at stake but went on to tar the citizens of Moscow with Doug's ridiculous and misleading coinage, "Intolerista," a word he uses to describe anyone who stands up to him and/or refuses to act as his yes man, bobble-head doll, or doormat.

Recognizing NSA's right to exist does not extend to recognizing their right to operate in Moscow's Central Business District.  Similarly, recognizing Doug's right to believe and say whatever he likes does not mean that we must let him write, speak, and act without objection or criticism.  What, in this argument, is so difficult to follow?  Yes, the NSA-renovated Verizon building is lovely; unfortunately, the business operating inside is not allowed by ordinance.  Doug might have saved us all a lot of bother if he'd checked on allowed usages before he put in the windows and repointed the bricks.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment

PS: I'd like to add that I much prefer Wayne's new word, "excrementitious," to Doug's word, "Intolerista."  No doubt I will soon be trying to find ways to work it into a sentence or two, along with my other new favorite, "ignoranus," meaning "stupid sphincter."  But first, my letter to Jim Fisher . . .


January 25, 2005
  
The Lewiston Morning Tribune
Letters to the Editor
  
Dear Editor:
  
It doesn’t surprise me to find Jim Fisher once again acting as apologist for Doug Wilson.  In past columns, Fisher has frequently adopted Wilson’s skewed and misleading vocabulary, referring to Wilson’s many critics as “Intoleristas.”  Intoleristas is a very silly word—one that Wilson concocted to avoid any serious discussion about his plans for a “take over” of downtown Moscow.  He has written openly and extensively in his magazine, Credenda Agenda, about his various plans and schemes, which include an end to public education; the systematic disenfranchisement of women and non-Christians; and the slow but certain imposition of his theocratic vision on the democratic residents of this city, this county, this state and this nation   
  
But all of this is beside the point.  It doesn’t really matter if Doug is a crackpot or if his ideas are offensive, bizarre, and often troglodytic.  In adopting Wilson’s language, Jim Fisher deafens himself to the real issue at stake in the legal challenge to New St. Andrews’ location in downtown Moscow: Doug Wilson believes that he is above the law.  As with the unwarranted property tax exemptions Wilson filed for and received from Latah County, it is clear that he did not bother to check with the appropriate city authorities before opening his private college in the middle of Moscow’s Central Business District.   
  
The Central Business District, or CBD, was expressly created to encourage the operation of retail businesses in the heart of Moscow.  The reason for this is that the core of the city has traditionally been reserved for retail operations.  It is a matter of common sense as well as of sound city planning that the bulk of the downtown area should be reserved for retail businesses.  Having a centralized business zone makes sense for shoppers, diners, and other consumers of goods and services in Moscow.  The University of Idaho is not allowed educational space in the CBD; neither are there any public schools on Main Street, Washington, or Jackson.  It makes no sense whatsoever to have a private college in the CBD, sandwiched between the Garden Lounge bar and a bicycle shop, nor yet sitting across the street from a gem store.  That’s not city planning; that’s city plopping.       
  
No one, Mr. Fisher, is persecuting Doug Wilson, and I for one have grown sick and tired of hearing him cry “poor little me” every time someone calls him on his bad behavior.  If you run a stop sign, the cop who gives you the ticket is not intolerant; he’s calling you on your failure to observe the law.  If you open a college in the Central Business District without first checking that that’s a permitted use for your building, then whose fault is it when the city planners come knocking?   
  
It’s all about personal responsibility, Mr. Fisher—something both you and Doug Wilson, in your rush to tar the good citizens of Moscow as “Intoleristas,” seem to have forgotten.
  
Sincerely,
  
Joan Opyr
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