As I surveyed the blogosphere to make sure all was well in the kingdom, I noticed a recurring theme.
To make a long story short, an officer with the Franklin Police Department, who is an Afghanistan War veteran, came back home and resumed his career as one of Franklin's finest. Said officer put up a magnet of an American flag on the outside of his locker. The FPD, like most law enforcement agencies have a broad rule stating that this is not allowed. The police chief apparently spoke to the officer, reminding him of the rule. The officer acknowledged understanding and put the magnet inside his locker, which is perfectly allowed. Story over, right?
Wrong. Wagner has to put his two cents in. He way overcharges for his opinions, by the way. Fischer also is so upset about the issue, he posts on it not just once, but twice. Again, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.
Anyone who has served in the military, or who has worked in the law enforcement area, which in itself is operated in a paramilitary fashion, is well aware of the need for discipline and structure. A rule may seem silly to a lay person, but there is usually some reason for it to be in effect. That reason is usually to maintain order and discipline among the officers and to treat everyone equally.
Of course, maintaining a sense of order and treating everyone equally has never been a long suit for most conservatives, but that is besides the point.
I pondered on what would cause these two to get themselves in such a lather. I highly doubt it was the subject itself, since even the officer in the story was OK with the rule and had no problems with being a team player.
I thought maybe Fischer was all up in arms because John Michlig, of Sprawled Out, pointed out that it wasn't much of a news story, and how silly TMJ and FranklinNow made themselves look by trying to make it into one. Fischer has some issues with John. For one, John has held Fischer accountable for being honest in his self reporting. The other is that John is ten times the reporter and a hundred times the writer that Fischer would ever be. (Not to take away from John, but a fetid mouse turd could outwrite Fischer.)
But that doesn't explain Wagner's faux outrage, only Fischer's.
Then Sir Grumps, Knight of the Dolorous Countenance (his choice, not mine), points out that perhaps they might have been celebrating the 172nd anniversary of unnecessary whining.
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For me, it's all about full disclosure. FranklinNOW editor Mark Maley and Fischer worked together to conceal Fischer's status as a paid aide to a Republican state senator. They each had their reasons to do so. In my opinion, the situation was unethical at worst and unprofessional at best.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've shamed them into correcting Fischer's bio (at least on the blog; it's STILL concealed in the paper when re-printing Fischer's blog entries), I'm satisfied that whatever he writes in that blog can be taken in correct context. I'll be first in line to defend his right to continue posting within that context.
I'm prompted comment here because someone emailed me to tell me that my name is mentioned in Fischer's blog thusly:
"I also politely told Michlig to stop writing falsehoods that I withheld my full time job on this blog. He's done that, but unfortunately, the damage was done."
He flatters himself by mistaking my courtesy for acquiescence. As G.W. Bush has learned, one man's "damage done" is another man's "mission accomplished."
I write this for Mr. Fischer's benefit, as he evidently reads his own "blog press": Don't play low-level semantic games and clumsily imply that there were "falsehoods" in anything I wrote. Appreciate the courtesy I've extended toward you with some grace.