Solidarity!

This story came to me from the MSBA clipping service, and really bothers me. From what I gather, four members of the Pine-River-Backus board who are not running for re-election this cycle passed a resolution that the website owned by three candidates who are running for re-election be removed immediately.

I had to read it several times to believe it. You may know I had a similar issue back in September with this site, when someone complained that it looked too "official," (and they were right) so I changed it around to look more "unofficial." (Original post, 9/4/08). I would never presume to speak for anyone but myself here. These are my opinions and mine alone [see disclaimer in the banner]. But the complaint was handled much more appropriately in my case.

Why a school board would pass a resolution of this nature baffles me. A phone call and a short discussion weren't good enough? When did we stop talking to each other in America? It seems - from the outside - that an emergency meeting and the expense of an attorney are going too far. The resolution passed by the board smacks of censorship, and is beyond their jurisdiction. I did not see the original site, but their URL has been changed to www.unofficialprbforum.com and disclaimers have apparently been added since the October 22 meeting.

I do not endorse any candidate in that election; I know nothing about them or their district. I do endorse the Constitution of the United States and I defend their right to have a website and to campaign for re-election. If they presented the website in an inappropriate manner, they should change it. But it seems like the situation should have been handled better. Lets put the "civil" back in "civil service."

I appreciate that you read this, and if you disagree, I hope you take the time to say so. But don't argue with me over the right for this site (and others like it) to exist. If the first amendment protects the right of people to burn the American flag, and the right of people to shout obscenities at Presidential candidates, then it surely protects my opinions on my little blog.

To paraphrase Voltaire: "I may not agree with what you blog, but I will defend to the death your right to blog it."

If I decide to run for another term in 2010, rest assured that I will have a campaign website, and that there will be links to it from this blog. In fact I might just go ahead and reserve the URL so no one steals it before then (how does www.voteforjimsanbornfordistrict110schoolboardin2010.us sound?).

I'm Jim Sanborn and I approve this message.

Original Pine River Journal Story: Pine River-Backus: School board election has Web site controversy
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