Thursday, July 19, 2007

Upholding the Right to Dissent

A pat on the back goes to the Livingston Press & Argus for its editorial in editions for Thursday (July 19, 2007) about citizens' ability to criticize government officials.

The editorial noted that "voters and taxpayers have every right to criticize the performance of public officials."

It's nice to see that stated in print at a time when dissent is often seen as unpatriotic, when people who criticize George Bush and his reckless, wasteful war are often lambasted as traitors.

The Press & Argus editorial was about an effort by the Howell school board to restrict public comment at meetings because they seem to be hurting the feelings of Wendy Day, the mother who won't trust public school officials to educate her own children but thinks she should be in charge of educating other people's children.

The newspaper warns the board against silencing public criticism. If that attitude is good enough for a conservative newspaper like the Livingston Press & Argus, it ought to be good enough for its conservative readers.

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