[Vision2020] Fwd: A response

Tue Sep 30 08:32:13 PDT 2014

While I agree completely that you should be able to voice your opinions
about Walter Steed without having to run them by him first, I also think
that you probably shouldn't have forwarded your private email exchange with
him on this list, since it's apparent that he wouldn't want you to.  I
don't think any laws were broken (though I'm damn tempted to cc the Chief
of Police just to make sure ;) ) but I do think it is bad etiquette.  You
could have simply summarized your conversation.

Paul

And, before we go there, I am *not* trying to trample on your rights and I
don't expect you to change your bull-headed behavior any more than you have
in the past.

On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 5:18 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> V-Peeps:
>
> I have been debating whether or not to publicly disclose an email
> interaction I had recently with Walter Steed, a member of the Moscow City
> Council.  Lacking a response from Mr. Steed, in reply to my most-recent
> email to him, I have decided to air it publicly and allow the fine peeps of
> the Viz to form their own opinion, as this argument concerns a very basic
> right granted to us by our constitution . . .
>
> His argument, apparently, is that any adverse comments I make about him
> (even when such statements are substantiated) should not be aired publicly
> without initially presenting my comments to him off-list and in-person.
>
> (Translation:  Mr. Steed does not want anything bad stated or suggested
> about him publicly . . . only privately.)
>
> Two concepts that Mr. Steed has difficulty grasping are . . . my right to
> publicly state my opinion without having to initially pursue his approval .
> . . my right to disclose my opinion publicly in the form of political
> satire (a method used universally).
>
> Moscow Vision 2020 is, as described in an interview of myself and Keely
> Emerine-Mix conducted at Friendship Square by the Moscow-Pullman Daily News
> some years back, an online community soapbox open to everyone.
>
> So . . .
>
> No, Mr. Steed.  I am not going to quietly and privately seek you out every
> time I have an opinion I wish to express.  I will post them on a publicly
> accessible digital bulletin board (i.e. Moscow Vision 2020).  If people,
> such as yourself, find my postings to be snide and sniping, they may either
> ignore them or respond publicly to them.
>
> Until then . . .
>
> Stay tuned.
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *Date:* September 27, 2014 at 2:27:21 PM PDT
> *To:* Walter M Steed <wmsteed at ci.moscow.id.us>
> *Subject:* *Re: A response*
>
> Fine.  Point taken.
>
> However, publicly elected officials (whether they be a member of the
> Moscow City Council or President of the United States) have been, are, and
> will always be targets of political satire, whether that satire is launched
> from Fox News or a subscriber to Vision 2020.
>
> In my twenty years in the Army, I have been called everything but Tom.  I
> learned to live with it (even expect it in some circumstances). How about
> you?
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
> On Sep 27, 2014, at 2:15 PM, Walter M Steed <wmsteed at ci.moscow.id.us>
> wrote:
>
> I have no problem with the public arena as I understand what it entails
> and the exposure it brings.  My complaint is not what you say about me or
> even that you say it; it's the way in which you chose to do it.  I stopped
> reading 2020 years ago when you started injecting uninformed opinions on
> every topic under the sun and I just couldn't take it anymore.
>
>  I do, however, periodically get told about your snide, sniping, personal
> attacks with no effort at all having been made on your part to let me know
> whatever it is you don't like about me or what I have done or said.
> Criticism for the sake of criticism is unproductive (unless stroking the
> ego of the critic is the goal).
>
>  Ever since my first election I have had a personal policy of responding
> to all direct contacts (just not the letter-to-the-editor or 2020
> directed).
>
>  If you have any specific questions, comments, or concerns, please just
> address them to directly to me and I'll be happy to provide you a response.
>
>
>  WS
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 27, 2014, at 5:18 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>   Mr. Steed -
>
>  Yesterday, the "Ellen and 'Pops' Roskovich Bench Dedication Ceremony"
> was not the appropriate location or time to debate politics with you, as it
> appeared was your intent.
>
>  That said . . .
>
>  As a private citizen, I reserve the right to discuss my political
> opinions publicly (humorous or not), as I did on Thursday in a posting to
> the Moscow Vision 2020 listserve (below).  There will be more forthcoming.
>
>  If you are offended by such postings, perhaps you should avoid the
> public arena as a city council member.
>
>  If you wish to publicly discuss my expressed opinions, please let me
> know.  Otherwise . . .
>
>  Stay tuned.
>
>  Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>  *From:* Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *Date:* September 25, 2014 at 12:46:21 PM PDT
> *To:* Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> *Subject:* *A traffic control suggestion as presented by . . .*
>
>    . . . Councilman Walter Steed
>
>  http://www.TomandRodna.com/Soundbites/Steed_Traffic_Control_110205.mp3
>
>  I got me LOTS of 'em, like . . . a sliced up and diced up city council
> video to the tune of *The Wizard of Oz' *"If I Only Had a Brain" starring
> one of the city council's re-newest members members (a transplant from the
> Corner Club) . . . and, of course, there's "The Kiss" (my personal favorite.
>
>  Later, V-Peeps.
>
>  I gots to get tomorrow's "Who Dat?" photo together.
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
>  "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
>
>  Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>  "There's room at the top they are telling you still.
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>
>  - John Lennon
>
>
>
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