[Vision2020] Patience: Lets us judge the facelss accuser

[Donovan Arnold]

I see we have more anonymous posters unwilling to sign
their name to their public statements.

I do not think it is fair or reasonable for a paper to
investigate endless unsubstantiated accusations made
against candidates--it takes the path of guilt until
they have been proved innocent.

If someone has evidence of crime, or anything that a
candidate has done, they need to bring forth all the
facts, than release it to the public. It is
undignified and inappropriate for people to make
baseless accusations, present no evidence, and then
wait for the newspaper to disprove it. If this is the
case, Chaney supporters, or anyone for that matter,
can just make a laundry list of accusations against
all candidates and wait for the DN to try and disprove
them.--This purely flawed thinking!

The clear fallacy in "John Doe's" thinking here is
that the burden of proof is rested on that of a
candidate and the DN to defend against any faceless
and baseless accusation made against them. The truth
of the matter is, the burden of proof for accusations
should rest on the accuser of the crime. The approach
that "John Doe" is suggesting is backwards and unfair
to the candidates because you cannot prove you never
did something.

So I say yes, judge the actions of those that wish to
make merit-less accusations to get their candidate
elected. Judge these actions to be wrong!

Take Care,

Donovan J Arnold

--- John Doe <doe_rae_mi_doe at hotmail.com> wrote:

> To all concerned,
> 
> I do not know whether the accusations leveled by
> "Jane Doe" concerning Peg 
> Hamlet's past are accurate. Further, I understand
> the danger of allowing 
> unsubstantiated rumors to stand on their own two
> feet and sway opinions. 
> Nonetheless, given the nature of these accusation,
> and the very real sense 
> in this community that speaking out will garner
> retaliation - we cannot rush 
> to judgment.
> 
> We cannot rush to shame Peg Hamlet because she might
> not have done these 
> things. Nor can we rush to shame the poster because
> Peg Hamlet might have 
> done these things. This is a situation in which a
> local newspaper could 
> prove indispensable. No one else has the
> credibility, trustworthiness, nor 
> appearance of independence that a newspaper should
> and often does have.
> 
> The Daily News (DN) should seriously investigate
> these claims, putting out a 
> call to those who (if such people are actually out
> there) claim to have 
> experienced these things (if such things actually
> happened) first-hand. DN 
> can provide those people with the anonymity they
> (justifiably) require. DN 
> can report the results of such an investigation and
> let the public decide 
> for itself.
> 
> Some will suggest that such an investigation is
> unwarranted. To them, I 
> would just say that reasonable people can differ as
> to what will suffice to 
> allay concerns. After all, whoever takes the post of
> Mayor, is our city’s 
> most visible representative, and the overseer of law
> enforcement, keeping 
> the peace, and preservation of justice in our
> community – as is amply 
> demonstrated by the following excerpts from the
> Moscow City Code:
> 
> Chapter 7
> CHIEF OF POLICE
> Sec. 7-1: Office Established
> Sec. 7-2: Duties
> Sec. 7-3: Appointment of Police Personnel
> Sec. 7-4: Police Officer
> Sec. 7-5: Officers May Call for Assistance
> 
> Sec. 7-1. Office Established.
> There is hereby established the office of Chief of
> Police, which office 
> shall be filled by appointment of the Mayor, with
> consent of the Council, 
> who shall hold office for the duration of the Chief
> of Police's appointment 
> or until such time as he or she may be removed by
> the Mayor, or as provided 
> by law.
> 
> Sec. 7-2. Duties.
> In addition to the duties imposed upon the Chief of
> Police by Idaho Code, it 
> shall be the duty of the Chief of Police, under the
> direction of the Mayor, 
> to preserve the public peace and see that all laws
> are enforced within the 
> City and to perform such other duties as may be
> prescribed by this Code and 
> the ordinances and resolutions of the City or as the
> Mayor may direct.
> 
> Sec. 7-3. Appointment of Police Personnel.
> The Chief of Police shall appoint such other police
> personnel as are 
> necessary to assist the Chief of Police in
> discharging his or her duties. 
> All such appointments shall be in accordance with
> adopted rules and 
> regulations therefore and shall be subject to
> approval by the Mayor.
> 
>
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