Hirschey, supporters resort to censorship

Hirschey, supporters resort to censorship

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2011

Something interesting is happening with comments posted under articles in the Times on the wind issue in Cape Vincent lately. Supporters of Urban Hirschey, the town supervisor running for re-election, like R. Wiley, owner of the blog Jefferson’s Leaning Left (JLL), seem to be deleting their own posts as soon as the debate questioning the actions of their candidates becomes uncomfortable. Instead rebuttals appear on Wiley’s blog where it is a nice safe environment for them to “debate” without challenge. A place where JLL censors comments, just as he does mine.

Apparently they can’t keep up in an uncensored forum. Having to run away and hide on a safe blog to make comments that support their candidates makes their candidates look weak and disingenuous, especially when those candidates run on the mantra of “open government” and use these very blogs as a platform for their message. How can you promote open government and discussion when you have to protect your candidates by running away to a blog where comments are censored and only one side of the important wind debate gets discussed?

Mr. Hirschey, Clifford Schneider and John Byrne, who know this is going on, should stand up to the debate and publicly distance themselves from this nonsense on both Cape Vincent blogs. Any candidate running on open government and open discussion who endorses a blog and supporters who must hide from the debate under the cover and protection of a tightly controlled blog, calls these candidates’ integrity into question. Especially when these candidates know what their supporters are doing.
What are they afraid of?

The blog JLL and the Cape Vincent blog Pandora’s Box of Rocks, as well as the Wind Power Ethics Group e-mail list, all of which were open to all kinds of wind discussion, are now on a tight information lockdown in order to get the Hirschey candidates elected, candidates who ironically preach “open government.”

Like it or not, these blogs have been the open line of information and communication on the wind issue in the small, relatively isolated community of Cape Vincent. But suddenly on an issue of historical importance, everything is being filtered through the voice of one candidate and his supporters. As I said, if Hirschey, Byrne and Schneider are strong, responsible candidates for Cape Vincent, they should not tolerate this from their supporters, nor should they need censorship from their supporters to protect them.

Art Pundt

Cape Vincent