[Vision2020] A response

Tue Sep 30 08:54:58 PDT 2014

Tom, thank you for this, and I have to say that I agree -- Walter Steed is an elected public official. His activities in that capacity are public; his errors, therefore, when and if they occur, have every reason and right to be critiqued publicly.  Public capacity = public accountability. If someone wants to talk with him first and then, maybe, go public, fine. But that is not required when dealing with Steed's or any other elected public official's performance or positions. By their nature, they are public. Public response to it is not only reasonable, but, to me, obvious.

Now, if someone thinks an elected public official's new haircut is bad, or their suit is tacky, that might be a good thing to discuss privately, if at all. But those aren't part-and-parcel of their performance. When I was on the School Board during the bond campaign ten years ago, I expected to be publicly reviled by those who disagreed, and I was.  Nobody "owed" me a private discussion first, and I wouldn't have expected it.  You run for office, or serve in a public capacity, or run for public office, you've signed up for public scrutiny.  That's why politics isn't for everyone!

You're right, Tom. There's nothing inherently uncivil about publicly criticizing a public servant!

Keely Emerine-Mix

Prevailing Winds:  A Radical Gospel Shattering Patriarchy At Its Root
Because when the times require outrage, your silence is assent
www.keelyprevailingwinds.com

Subject: Fwd: A response
From: thansen at moscow.com
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 05:24:28 -0700
CC: wmsteed at ci.moscow.id.us
To: vision2020 at moscow.com

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  Tom HansenMoscow, 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 HansenMoscow, 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

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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