We’re from the government, and we’re here to shut you up.
The town of Southborough is siccing its attorney on “Marty,” an anonymous poster on the mysouthborough.com website. He dared to criticize the process town officials used to pick their police chief, and if there’s anything Massachusetts pols hate, it’s some mouthy citizen who thinks refuses to sit down and shut up.
According to Southborough’s town counsel, Aldo Cipriano, statements made last summer by a commenter using the moniker “Marty’’ on MySouthborough.com were meant to harass and intimidate members of the town’s Police Chief Search Committee…
Marty’s posts questioned whether certain search committee meetings held in executive session, behind closed doors, violated the state’s open meeting laws. The posts insinuated the committee had unfair partiality toward the police force’s interim chief, Jane Moran, during the search process. The longtime department veteran was hired for the permanent position in November.
The woman who runs the website offered to post the town’s side of the story, but…
Cipriano refused the offer, saying in a letter to Fitzgerald that there was no need to defend the actions of the search committee since it had acted properly. He also stated that a simple response on the website was not sufficient given the seriousness of the situation.
“We strongly suggest that you more closely monitor remarks made on the communication site ensuring that when individuals speak to issues that they do so accurately and without false allegations of violating state law,’’ Cipriano stated in a letter in late October. He also asked Fitzgerald to retain all records of Internet addresses, messages and any online communication from her forum in relation to the Police Chief Search Committee . [emphasis added]
This from the same Massachusetts liberals who oppose the Patriot Act? (Or rather, did oppose, until President Obama and the Democrats renewed it a few weeks ago). So looking at Al Qaeda email is bad, but tracking down “Marty the disgruntled taxpayer” is OK?
How classically Massachusetts.
"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi
