TS RE: [betterdays] Updated Touchstone Website

[Dennis Berthold]

Hugh, since I'm one of the Borden-bashers, I want to second your 
proposal--but only for the current topic.  As I re-read some of the 
Touchstone articles on Borden, I noticed that in my case and Mark 
O'Connor's, Borden was the one to introduce a personal note.  He also 
continued to beat horses long after they'd died, and when he was finally 
tired, took his buggy whip and went home.  For a person in his position, he 
has a short fuse, and an unfortunate habit of blaming the messenger.
         I too value Borden's support for progressive issues in the 
community and sometimes have wished I hadn't published our email exchange 
about Doonesbury.  But the latest flap demonstrates a pattern of behavior 
that is decidedly un-progressive and unnecessarily inflammatory.  When the 
Eagle pulled Doonesbury from the Sunday comics, I stayed quiet, not wanting 
to be a one-issue gadfly.  I was disappointed when no one else 
protested.  And now one small bit of progressive thought has been 
permanently removed from our community.
         While it may be time to move on from the issue of protest 
coverage, it is never time to relax our criticism of anyone, sunshine 
progressive though he may be, who also promotes censorship and disregard 
for safe working conditions, the issues I and Mark O'Connor brought up.
         Yours, Dennis

         At 10:48 AM 8/27/2004 -0500, Hugh wrote:
>Please forgive me for speaking of the horse that has been beat way beyond
>death, but I feel that I must.
>
>Danny was courageous and correct in pointing out to the Eagle their failure
>to adequately cover an event that should have been newsworthy.  Not only did
>the Eagle make a mistake in not adequately covering the event, but they
>continued to blunder by providing an untenable excuse.  To make matters
>worse the email mistake that nightmares are made of happened as Robert
>Borden accidentally sent his personal opinion of someone out to that person.
>
>I would hate to know what people say about me behind my back, especially if
>it were a negative comment unbalanced by something more positive.  For this
>my heart goes out to Danny and I wish that my friendship and the good things
>that I think about him could assuage the frustration and pain that this
>misguided comment from Borden has caused.  I too recently suffered a
>personal character attack that I thought was unjustified and incorrect.  I
>was particularly pained by the fact that a couple of other people who
>witnessed the attack did not speak up on my behalf.  For all that he has
>done, and all that he does, Danny deserves our support.
>
>But life is seldom black and white.  Though I would have wished a less
>qualified, more heartfelt and empathetic apology from Robert, it is not the
>case that he is a bad person or deserving of the one-sided picture that is
>being insinuated of him.  Although we do not all necessarily agree with his
>every word, the fact is that Robert has been a very courageous and often
>progressive voice in the Brazos Valley.  He has taken a just stance for
>Planned Parenthood among other issues that left him to stand alone to take a
>good deal of heat for articulating a more progressive position than this
>town is used to tolerating.  Robert is also on the board of KEOS.
>Ironically, Robert recently donated money to help Touchstone Radio buy new
>equipment.  In short, in addition to deserving our expressed disappointment
>in a certain level of heartlessness, Robert also deserves our gratitude for
>a great deal.  His negative comment about Danny was hurtful in its lack of
>balance (as is the nature of behind-the-back comments) and now, it seems he
>is being given an equally unbalanced treatment.
>
>When we consider all of the looming social justice and community issues that
>can consume our hearts, minds and time, it seems a shame to direct our
>efforts like this.  I respectfully request that this issue be dropped. -
>Hugh
>
>
>
>____________________________________________
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