<div>Also, given the moral and ethical implications of the tar sands project in Canada, even if the Moscow City Council has no legal basis to block the mega-loads (or approve them, as you point out), as long as they conform to ITD standards for a state Hwy., the council could have nonetheless recognized that many of their constituents oppose the mega-load because of the moral and ethical implications, along with local city impacts, and could have issued a statement acknowledging these concerns. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't know of any legal reason why the Moscow City Council could not address in a public statment the damage to peoples lives in Canada, and the local and global environmental issues associated with the tar sands bound mega-loads, which are concerns their constituents publicly discussed.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Johnston's op-ed should have emphasized this point.<br>------------------------------------------</div>
<div>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett<br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 10:19 AM, Joe Campbell <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:philosopher.joe@gmail.com">philosopher.joe@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:</div>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br> </div>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">But the most important distinction that is glossed over is the one<br>dealing with Hank’s original article. In the new article, Hank writes:<br>
“My position is that, regardless of what one thinks of the moral or<br>
<div class="im">ethical implications of the oil sands project in Canada, it is not up<br>to Moscow to pass judgment and prevent legal, permitted loads from<br>traveling through our town. If the loads are legally permitted to move<br>
then we can't change the rules just because we disagree with what the<br>loads are or who they belong to. That is an issue for the state<br></div>Legislature, not the city council, to take up.” Well if it is not up<br>
to Moscow to pass judgment and PREVENT the megaloads, since this is an<br>issue for the state Legislature, then it is not up to Moscow to pass<br>judgment and ALLOW the megaloads. It seems that Hank should be equally<br>opposed to Steed’s motion, which invited ExxonMobil “to use our<br>
hotels,” etc. Who is Steed to issue such an invitation? This is a<br>matter for the state Legislature! At least that’s what Hank would have<br>said if he understood the implications of his own argument. But he<br>didn’t understand the implications of his argument because he is<br>
incompetent.<br><br>Of course, the question comes to mind: Why, in an area with 2<br>universities, does the Daily News hire incompetent and offensive folks<br>like Hank? The answer is that it has a radical conservative political<br>
agenda. That folks who think he deserves to be KILLED for his sexual<br>“sins” have set the agenda is something that should worry Hank. But it<br>doesn’t because he is apparently too much of an idiot to figure it<br>out.<br>
<br>With this last nasty post, I’m ending my participation in Vision 2020,<br>at least for the next two years. I’ve taken on some additional duties<br>that make my continued participation on this list-serve inappropriate.<br>
Besides, conservatives like to dish it out but they can’t take it.<br>Perhaps with my departure, cowards … I mean, conservatives will come<br>back to the V and things will be like they were in the old days. Good<br>luck to all of you! I promise to lurk and you’ll always know how to<br>
find me: <a href="mailto:philosopher.joe@gmail.com">philosopher.joe@gmail.com</a><br><br>Best, Joe<br>
<div>
<div></div>
<div class="h5"><br><br>On Thu, Jun 23, 2011 at 6:47 AM, Joe Campbell <<a href="mailto:philosopher.joe@gmail.com">philosopher.joe@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>> I'm beginning to think that the only thing Hank and I have in common is that<br>
> we both laugh when I call him an "idiot." It is hard to know where to begin.<br>> Suffice to say that this is a nice bit of evidence of the very point<br>> My dear but this article is a nice example of<br>
> "In recent years, 'The Viz' has become a platform where a rather small but<br>> egotistical group of pompous academics bloviate regularly about whatever<br>> fires them up on any given day."<br>
><br>><br>><br>> On Jun 21, 2011, at 12:47 PM, "Bill London" <<a href="mailto:london@moscow.com">london@moscow.com</a>> wrote:<br>><br>> Moscow-Pullman Daily News - DNews.com<br>><br>> Henry D. Johnston<br>
><br>> HIS VIEW: 'Visionaries' exercise freedom of speech<br>><br>> June 21, 2011<br>><br>> I believe the First Amendment, namely freedom of speech, applies to<br>> everyone. One of the things I enjoy about being a columnist is the<br>
> interaction I get from readers either in person, through email or a letter<br>> to the editor. The readership of this paper is certainly diverse, and the<br>> feedback is usually cordial even when people are disagreeing with me.<br>
><br>> Except for my last column.<br>><br>> Two weeks ago I sided with the Moscow City Council with regard to<br>> ExxonMobil's proposed megaload shipments. My position is that, regardless of<br>> what one thinks of the moral or ethical implications of the oil sands<br>
> project in Canada, it is not up to Moscow to pass judgment and prevent<br>> legal, permitted loads from traveling through our town. If the loads are<br>> legally permitted to move then we can't change the rules just because we<br>
> disagree with what the loads are or who they belong to. That is an issue for<br>> the state Legislature, not the city council, to take up.<br>><br>> Anyway, I received emails from readers complimenting me on my position and<br>
> also took in comments from a few dissenters. And then, as I sometimes do, I<br>> checked in online to see what the Vision 2020 crowd was saying.<br>><br>> If you're not up on early '90s technology, Vision 2020 is basically a giant<br>
> email list called a "listserv" where people share their opinions. In recent<br>> years, "The Viz" has become a platform where a rather small but egotistical<br>> group of pompous academics bloviate regularly about whatever fires them up<br>
> on any given day.<br>><br>> Two weeks ago, I was their target.<br>><br>> Except it wasn't my stance on megaloads that caused me to suffer the wrath<br>> of these keyboard commandos. Oddly enough it was the fact that they felt I<br>
> painted the anti-megaload crowd with a giant brush when I called them<br>> hippies.<br>><br>> But guess what?<br>><br>> Like it or not, Moscow does have a rather large and diverse population of<br>> people who could be defined as hippies, even if they don't fit the image<br>
> from the 1960s. And it is our diverse culture that makes Moscow unique and,<br>> sometimes to my chagrin, flavors our political climate to something entirely<br>> different from the rest of Idaho.<br>><br>> At least that's my opinion, which is protected under the First Amendment,<br>
> just like yours.<br>><br>> But the enlightened crowd of "visionaries" didn't see it that way.<br>><br>> One user called me an "offensive idiot," and another said my column was a<br>
> "pathetic excuse for analysis." Some questioned why the Daily News can't<br>> fire me and hire better writers and suggested because we live between two<br>> universities that all columnists should be college professors or students,<br>
> somehow producing a better opinion page.<br>><br>> One person went as far as to ask if anyone knew who I was, where I lived or<br>> what I did for a living. Why does it matter? Last I checked, I was Henry<br>
> Johnston who lives in Moscow, Idaho, not Soviet Russia.<br>><br>> After reading all the vitriol from these self-proclaimed tolerant liberals,<br>> I was half expecting an angry mob to show up on my doorstep with torches and<br>
> pitchforks, smelling of patchouli oil and singing "Kumbaya."<br>><br>> I'm not sharing this experience because I want to point fingers and whine<br>> about someone picking on me. I'm doing so because even as nasty as some of<br>
> the comments were, they and this column are perfect examples of free speech<br>> in action.<br>><br>> Joe Reader has just as much right to call me an idiot as I do to call him a<br>> hippie. It's all part of being an American and exercising the rights we are<br>
> so very lucky to have.<br>><br>> So I encourage everyone to continue to debate topics of every nature in<br>> whatever venue we have available, be it on the opinion page, online or in<br>> person. I'm tough enough to handle it and will chuckle and smile when we do<br>
> because, quite frankly, not doing so would be un-American.<br>><br>> But, then again, that's just my opinion.<br>><br>> Henry D. Johnston lives in Moscow. He can be reached via email at<br>> <a href="mailto:moscowmoderate@gmail.com">moscowmoderate@gmail.com</a>.<br>
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