Wednesday, January 20, 2016

[REDUX] 'Journalist' defends names on bullets and Mayor Pam Triolo's image in effigy in our small, little 6 square mile City of Lake Worth

[A blogger claimed she was disrespected at a City Commission meeting and got up to speak at the podium on 1/19. What short memories some have.] 

On September 9th, 2014, at a Lake Worth City Commission meeting Mr. Bob Lepa and Ms. Peggy Fisher, as members of the general public, exercised their right to Free Speech. You can see that video here

The blogger referred to in their remarks, of course, has her right to free speech as does Mr. Lepa and Ms. Fisher. Here is one example of Ms. Anderson's (aka The Other Blogger [TOB]) exercise of free speech:
Here we have another example of that blogger's exercise of  'free speech': 
When posted, this was actually an animated gif image that appeared to be moving flames.
Many people in Lake Worth were outraged by the image above posted by that blogger. At the city commission meeting on 9/9/14 many people showed up to show their displeasure with such a depiction. Two spoke publicly, Mr. Lepa and Ms. Fisher. Note: The blogger's name was never mentioned and she was not confronted directly. She was in the audience however and can be clearly seen during the commentary from the podium. She clearly could have defended herself at the time, but she chose to remain silent. And so did her colleagues and supporters in the chambers. That was her/their choice. 

On 9/23/14, after two weeks of rhetoric from the blogger on her website, along with her small band of followers about how badly she was disrespected on 9/9/14, ONE PERSON spoke publicly in defense of Ms. Anderson's abuse of Free Speech: Margaret Menge. Here is the video from the City's website. Ms. Menge begins speaking during the public comment period at 1:02:02. 

Here is Ms. Menge's defense of that blogger and her other comments made at the 9/23/14 City Commission meeting:


Ms. Menge claims to have watched the video, but if you listen to her, she appears to be accusing those on the dais of letting this "heinous spectacle" happen in the first place. What she is referring to as a "heinous spectacle" is the exercise of freedom of the speech by members of the public. The justified smackdown of the other blogger was not done by our elected representatives. It was an organic reaction to what people thought was clearly out-of-bounds and in poor taste. Ms. Menge who claims to be a journalist of some degree praised the other blogger as "covering [the news] better than everyone else in this town." She hated to see this "journalist intimidated." Journalist?

Read the excerpt below from this article and you decide. Along with free speech doesn't there need to be a certain amount of responsibility? This article refers to Ms. Menge's stint at another local newspaper in New York state. Would you like this person to stand up to defend your journalistic integrity? Ms. Menge, in her first and lengthy "Letter from the Editor" mentions her time at this newspaper. Here is what Mr. Hazirjian had to say about the 'journalist', Ms. Menge:
Hazirjian [Deke Hazirjian, a local businessman in the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York State] said he came to the board to find a forum for his views on the newspaper because the paper refused to print a letter he had written criticizing what he called the “biased reporting” of the current editor, Margaret Menge. Hazirjian said in his open letter that Menge "writes every important story on the front page, plus re-writes other reporter's work, giving it her own slant...and has made our paper into her own personal forum."

Hazirjian also stated that in her crusade for open government the editor has “intimidated, hounded and impugned the integrity of nearly every board and board member." Hazirjian described himself and other local board members as people who “serve to enhance our community, to give back.”
Is this what you should expect from a 'journalist' in our little City of Lake Worth?