The Latest Editorial in the Lake Worth Herald (12/18/14)

On Tuesday, December 2nd, atheist Preston Smith delivered his "invocation" before the Lake Worth City Commission. You can read about that and research done on invocations (or the lack of ) in other municipalities in Palm Beach County. For instance, Greenacres does not have an invocation while others do.

Just when you thought the 'invocation' kerfuffle was settling down this week's (12/18/2014) Lake Worth Herald editorial came out swinging and pulling no punches. Good for them. I strongly encourage all my readers to read this editorial. If you don't get the Lake Worth Herald delivered you can subscribe at LWHerald.com or pick up a copy at a newsstand (for instance, the newsstand immediately west of our downtown Starbucks).

Here are three excerpts from the Lake Worth Herald editorial:

     Being elected to any political office does not eliminate one's right to free speech. Neither does it preclude one's right to listen. Everybody is on a level playing field with those rights. 

     Choosing to not listen to someone exercising their right to free speech, for any reason, is not "un-American" as Commissioner Christopher McVoy would say. This was once again McVoy speaking just to promote "his" agenda and take "cheap shots" at his colleagues on the dais.

     McVoy never called his friend, former commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill un-American when she left the room every time Lake Worth resident, Suzanne Squire's turn to speak came around. This was just another example of McVoy's tactics to be a roadblock to progress in Lake Worth. It was completely disrespectful for him to call his colleagues actions "un-American."

     The Mayor and Commissioners who left the dais when Preston Smith stood to give an "invocation" from an atheist's view, did so with a right to listen or not, for ANY reason.

[later in the editorial...]

     Lake Worth has suffered enough of McVoy's diversionary tactics and it is time for him to depart his position on the dais. He has brought nothing constructive to the table since he was first elected, and has only served to interfere with the progress Lake Worth needs to make in order to remain a viable institution. The likes of McVoy and company only lead to the degradation of the quality of life in Lake Worth.

[and...]

     How many more times do we need to hear him [McVoy] talk about "sea level rise" for ten minutes when the discussion is whether to approve a "proximity waiver" or any other topic before the commission. 

Also in the editorial there are questions as to why Preston Smith did his 'invocation' in Lake Worth as opposed to another municipality and speculation as to who may have offered that invitation. I also have my suspicions. 

Lastly, the folks at the Lake Worth Herald offer this to the City of Lake Worth:

SEASONS GREETINGS!