Selective Standards on First Amendment Principals.

Ever wonder what stories your hometown newspaper chose not to report? On October 13th the Willimantic Chronicle editorialized that those who ignore democracy and their neighbors First Amendment rights by stealing or vandalizing campaign signs “commit thievery and hamper the democratic process”.

Such a lofty ideal. What a pity those words weren’t sincere. The editorial was a follow-up of a front page story about the disappearance of some Obama signs in Ashford. It was suggested that it might be kids or it might be McCain supporters.

Well if the disappearance of some plastic signs is a big deal than what about vandalism to someone’s car? My 10” X3” “nobama” sticker has attracted a lot of attention both good and bad. One man followed me into a gas station to ask me where he could get one (I got it eBay). Most people think it’s funny.

But one ECSU student didn’t think it was funny. I was parked at the ECSU Library when I found a note on my windshield that said “at approx 6:15 on 10-3-08 someone in a greenish-blue Volvo (older model) key’d your car on the right rear side. The guy had dark hair, dark shirt with white T-Shirt (?) underneath”. Today as I was touching up the scars on my car today and I noticed the jerk even keyed the bumper sticker itself. By looks of the pealed corners of the sticker, he even tried to take it off in public parking lot!

I was actually expecting something like this based on the behavior I have witnessed from these overzealous Obama people. They are militant; tunnel visioned bunch that, for all their calls for diversity, are fairly intolerant themselves. They are stridently unpatriotic and resent the fact that some of us won’t ignore what we have seen with our own eyes.

We saw their unforgivably sexist behavior towards Hillary Clinton in the primary. The media even chimed in ridiculing Clinton’s choice of clothes and so on while important policy questions -- and questions about Obama himself -- went unanswered.
I reported the vandalism to the campus police and I thought that would be the end of it. Wrong. Not satisfied with his earlier work the Obama fanatic key’d my car again. This time he raked a huge gash down the side of my car from fender to fender. I once again reported this to the campus police.
Remembering that the Chronicle was so concerned about everyone’s First Amendment rights, I sent them a press release. I emailed them pictures. I reasoned that if some missing Obama signs were front-page news than my car being repeatedly attacked because of my choice of candidates must be even more so. Right?

-Wrong again. I got a call the next day from a gentleman and he told me the Chronicle was refusing to run the story. He told me to write a letter to the editor instead. I told him the story wasn’t opinion; it was news. My car being vandalized is news exactly in the same way as the missing Obama signs was a front page story.

I asked for equal time. I didn’t get it from the Chronicle.

The excuse the Chronicle gave me for not running the story was that I didn’t really know why my car was vandalized twice. My paintjob may have been ruined twice simply because I parked to close to his crappy old Volvo he rationalized.

Astonishingly in its endorsement of Obama this past Saturday the Chronicle once again raised the issue of the First Amendment. The Chronicle wants people to vote for Obama because in part he would restore it after 8 years of George W. Bush. The Chronicle didn’t elaborate what the President was supposed to have done to the First Amendment because that charge is groundless of course.

That charge was not only blatantly false but hypocritical as well given they swept the abuse of my rights under the carpet on their candidate’s behalf. Shame on the Chronicle for its selective standards on the First Amendment Principles.

I am asking anyone who knows anything about my case to please can call Officer Bruce Tyler at 465-5310 or me at 377-3134.