[Vision2020] RE: Daily News: Mayor defends decision to stopreciting pledge at council meetings

[Saundra Lund]

Hi Bill,

I agree with you that Mayor Chaney explained her position very well.

Why I feel the article is unbalanced is that there is then the former mayor,
one current council member (who wasn't present at the meeting), and one
community member who is a veteran speaking out against the decision.

The former mayor trots out the Cub & Boy Scouts (notice the absence of
mention of the Girl Scouts . . . hmmm) and patriotism and tradition, the
absent council member mentions "a lot" of unhappy veterans, and then there
are the comments of an unhappy veteran.

There's nary a mention all of any *community* members, including veterans,
who support the change.  The implication, it seems to me, is that you have
the current Mayor and "several" council members making a change that has no
support from the community and is particularly offensive to veterans.

And, just from reading V2020 <g> and without mentioning talking with several
community members (including veterans), that's just flatly not the case.

So, where's the balance in the article???

We just may have to disagree on this, Bill, because I don't think there was
balance.  And, when balance is lacking, I think that contributes to
divisiveness.


JMHO,
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2005, Saundra Lund.
Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum
without the express written permission of the author.*****



-----Original Message-----
From: Bill London [mailto:london at moscow.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2006 10:25 AM
To: Saundra Lund; vision2020 at moscow.com
Cc: alford at dnews.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] RE: Daily News: Mayor defends decision to
stopreciting pledge at council meetings

S-
sorry, but I just don't get it.
why is that article about the pledge unbalanced reporting?
read through it again: Nancy tells her side very well.
I thought the DN did well with this one.  The new Moscow reporter (Omie)
seems to be able to handle the issues evenly and fairly.
BL


----- Original Message -----
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at adelphia.net>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Cc: <alford at dnews.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 3:55 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] RE: Daily News: Mayor defends decision to stopreciting
pledge at council meetings


> [Apologies if this shows up twice -- the first seems to have disappeared
> into cyberspace.  SL]
>
> Thanks for sharing this, Dan.
>
> IMHO, it's yet another fine example of the unbalanced reporting that was
one
> of the factors that lead to me cancelling my subscription after something
> like 17 years.
>
> BTW & in case anyone from the Daily News is reading (I'm cc'ing Nathan
> Alford), I ***still*** haven't received my refund.  According to my
records,
> I renewed my subscription for the six-month period of 7/23/2005 -
1/22/2006
> and cancelled (after something like 17 years of subscribing) on 8/28/2005
> and my delivery stopped on 8/29 or 8/30.
>
> Harrumph!
>
> On the bright side, I have to say the Daily News circulation was always
> *excellent*!
>
>
> Saundra Lund
> Moscow, ID
>
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
> nothing.
> Edmund Burke
>
> ***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2005, Saundra Lund.
> Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum
> without the express written permission of the author.*****
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
> On Behalf Of Area Man (Dan C)
> Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 7:06 AM
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Daily News: Mayor defends decision to stop
> recitingpledge at council meetings
>
> Mayor defends decision to stop reciting pledge at council meetings; Move
> upsets some, from veteran to former mayor
>
> By Omie Drawhorn, Daily News staff writer
>
> The Moscow City Council won't be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before
> meetings, but that doesn't mean council members aren't patriotic, Mayor
> Nancy Chaney said.
>
> Chaney took many by surprise when she opted for a Martin Luther King Jr.
> quote to open the Jan. 17 City Council meeting instead of the traditional
> recitation.
>
> "We're not automatically saying it at every City Council meeting; you can
> still expect to hear it on occasion, but we are finding other ways to
> express our patriotism," Chaney said.
>
> Chaney made the decision to leave the Pledge of Allegiance off the agenda,
> but said she checked with several City Council members, who agreed with
her.
>
>
> "Some of the city councilors expressed concern about saying the pledge
just
> to go through the motions," she said, adding the decision has nothing to
do
> with a lack of patriotism.
>
> "I grew up in a patriotic household," she said. "My father was a Marine,
and
> I still have flags hanging up" in my house.
>
> The tradition was started by former Mayor Marshall Comstock during his
term.
>
>
> "When I first became mayor, we only recited the Pledge of Allegiance on a
> day following a national holiday," Comstock said. "I thought 'What about
> saying it before every council meeting?' "
>
> Comstock said he was disappointed to hear the Pledge of Allegiance will no
> longer be a regular part of the City Council agenda.
>
> "I guess I was a little surprised; Why is there a reason to change it?"
> he said. "It's a very appropriate way to start a council meeting."
>
> When Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts were in attendance, Comstock would
encourage
> them to participate.
>
> Councilman John Weber wasn't present at the last meeting but was informed
of
> the change by curious customers at the Sears store where he is co-owner.
>
> "I have no problem with doing the Pledge of Allegiance. A lot of veterans
> feel the (pledge) is appropriate and are unhappy with the change," he
said.
>
> Don Swanson, Moscow resident, is one who is upset. "I think it's bunk,"
> said the World War II veteran. "I think they should do it. It's a disgrace
> to us guys who were in (the war) and got shot at."
>
> "There are some traditions I just don't want to see go away," Comstock
said.
> But Chaney promised to find new ways to express patriotism.
>
> Whether it's having Cub Scouts recite the pledge, a high school student
> reciting a poem, or other avenues. "We want to find a way to show
> appreciation for folks who go the extra mile for their community," she
said.
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Take 'er easy, Moscow,
>
> DC
>
>
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