SAC Blog Attacked Again

Bloggers everywhere, this is a call to arms. When we wrote our piece “Why Flog The Blogs?” (http://www.phillyfuture.org/node/1738), there were a number of posts by a man who identifies himself as a paid publicist to our township. In his posts, he essentially attacked not just us as bloggers, but bloggers everywhere. Today, this person went main stream in a local paper, Main Line Life (www.mainlinelife.com). Now this editorial is NOT available online, and we urge bloggers everywhere to obtain a hard copy of the October 12-18, 2005, Volume 10, No. 33 edition of the paper. The phone number to the paper is 610-896-9555, and the editor e-mail is tmurray@mainlinelife.com. You can submit commentary online through their site, even if the article isn't online.

Bloggers, the neophytes of the blogosphere REALLY could use your help. We feel that this person has overstepped the role of publicist. Why? Because this person is not only attacking this blog and the integrity of the entire Save Ardmore Coalition, he is attacking every single one of you out there that blog. He is challenging first amendment rights. People have a right in this country to free speech. He is saying that bloggers have no right to anonymity. He is inferring that all should post with our social security numbers. Basically, he is threatening people. Is this what publicists do? Are we living some bad made for TV movie on espionage?

We came to PhillyFuture to further our cause to eliminate eminent domain abuse in our local community. From PhillyFuture, we have learned about good blogging and about other issues as well. As a small, grassroots organization, this has proved to be an invaluable outlet and resource. You all have earned our respect, and we hope we have earned yours.

This man wrote in Main Line Life that we are negative, inflammatory, distortive. Basically he has called us liars and accuses us of “trickery”. We take exception to that, because as any who read this blog well know, you will find embedded in almost every post, source information. Forget about the fact that this is a free country and we are entitled to speak our minds. Isn’t that what a blog is about? The ability to comfortably voice concern?

This person commented on the fact that the blog’s tone had changed “dramatically, practically overnight”. Sorry to disappoint, but when we blog, we blog on the emotion of that particular day. Yes, sometimes it is sarcastic, sometimes a bit angry. But guess what? We are talking about eminent domain, people’s lives and livelihoods. It ain’t a write up on the high school prom. Eminent domain is nasty. It is a knock down, drag out fight, every single day. This man wants to distract and detract from the issue of eminent domain at the expense of the rights of citizen journalists everywhere. THAT is why we want input here.

On September 21st, 2005 at the public board of commissioners meeting, our commissioners told the newspapers and the citizens to stop being “mean spirited”, that they would no longer “tolerate” certain things. So, after listening to what they said, it was decided that in the spirit of cooperation, that all would try to be nicer for lack of a better description. As soon as folks started to be nicer, the paid publicist crawled out from under a rock and went on the attack. You all saw part of it on this blog when he started to post.

Local government can’t have it both ways. They cannot demand that people take one course of action and tone it down, while their compensated consultant takes the course of action we were lambasted for in the first place! It’s time to curb the proverbial dog. If they want citizen cooperation, they can’t have someone who runs around with carte blanche subsidized by the taxpayers to attack other taxpayers. It is time for local officials to step up to the plate. If they want cooperation, they should lead by example. The behavior exhibited by one of their paid consultants doesn’t lend to the feeling of trust OR mutual respect. How can we trust folks who say that we can trust them, while they allow someone to continue to stab us in the back?

Perhaps this person is upset that a group of volunteers can publicize themselves and their issue better than he has been able to publicize the proverbial competition. (he DID make reference to the fact that he didn't seem to understand the process as to how bloggers are promoted to PhillyFuture's front page - actually it was inferred that we had a fix in or something equally silly) It doesn’t matter much. What matters is that this person should not be allowed to threaten first amendment rights under the guise of a greater good.

The bottom-line? The issue here is EMINENT DOMAIN. We don’t like it; we HATE it. It is morally reprehensible to steal someone’s property so another someone can profit.

Thanks for listening.