BloggyBayou Banned Again From the Northwest Florida Daily News

Here is the Text of an Email I sent to our Local Paper, who, for no apparent reason, has blocked my access to post on their "Open to the Public" blogsite:

Mr Stone and Mr. Rice:

I just got the Below message from Mr. Stone:

Hello,

Your Pluck account with nwfdailynews.com has been blocked. Should you care to discuss the matter you can contact Pat Rice at 699-2039. Bear in mind further abuse will require nwfdailynews.com to take other action.

Del Stone Jr.
online editor
Northwest Florida Daily News

Please detail "Other Action" and please detail, specifically, what "abuse" I have committed? I don't challenge your right to ban me, but I would like to know where I made a supposed mistake or crossed the Line? In writing, please.

Have I made any false statement of facts? Is having an opinion different from Mr. Rice a reason for blocking my account?

I quote Mr. Rice from the latest article I posted on:

"Vigorous debate is a key ingredient of democracy, but too often these days the notion of civility is lost in the process. Need proof? Just read the mean-spirited anonymous comments some people post online to vilify those on the opposing side."

Here are a few other of Mr. Rice's own Comments from some of his own Blog Entries:

1) Now, there's no need to be uncivil here. If you do, you'll have to go get those terrible electric shock treatments again.
2) I'm happy to see your still around. Or perhaps the aliens finally brought you back with new instructions.
3) curt22, Good luck with your therapy.
4) Dogwood2009,Question: Do you have a personal relationship with the Morris family or any of the people who have been charged in relation to the kickback scheme Charlie Morris was running at the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office?
5) Sorry it offended you when I called a fellow anonymous commenter a coward who doesn't have the courage to put his own name behind his mean-spirited comments. But I think I accurately described that commenter.
6) trycycle, I would double the dosage of your medication, or stop taking it altogether. Or maybe just get some sun!

Well, here I am, freely putting my name on my posts, making no attempt to hide myself (from Mr. Rice's comments, it appears he considers such people as cowards). Did I criticize Mr. Rice when, in my opinion, posted a blog entry that exposed him to charges of unprofessionalism? Yes I did, and I stand by my comments.

Can you tell me exactly where I crossed the line?

Was this the Post that got me banned the second time?
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/11/decline-of-defenders-of-first-amendment.html

Or Was it this:
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/11/our-local-paper-reaches-out-for-more.html

Or was it this?
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/11/someone-please-find-pat-rice-new-job.html

Or was it This?
http://www.bloggybayou.com/2009/11/how-dare-i-call-out-pat-rice.html

And why was I banned a third time for my latest Posts on the Sunshine Law, where I essentially agree with Mr. Rice with some minor caveats:

Post # 1

Mr. Rice:
If it utilizes tax payers dollars, then I say, it should be open to public inspection, Period. To say otherwise is to say "ACORN" is exempt from federal investigation. However, some would argue the Sunshine Law has been used as a vehicle for partisan political gain. But I digress.

As For "the mean-spirited anonymous comments some people post online to vilify those on the opposing side" I could counter that some "Directors of Content for Florida Freedom Newspapers" arbitrarily bans posters (one in particular - twice) who do sign their posts with their real name just because the poster had the audacity
to question the quality and performance of NW Florida Daily News, who despite being a privately owned company, is a part of the Public Trust protected under the 1st amendment.

Cheers,
ER White (aka BloggyBayou)
blogbayou@gmail.com

FYI: For you posters, go to http://www.bloggybayou.com/, scroll down and try to find the post that got me kicked off the site.... A free soda for the first one to email me... (yeah I know, I'm a tightwad)

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving Pat... I didn't go for seconds and stuck with the white meat of the turkey.... a first for me....

PS: Is this civil enough for you?

Post #2:

I just thought of an exception to the use of tax dollars means open books to the Public. Black ops and Military R&D. There's a conundrum. With the lack of faith that the American public has for its politicians and the general Anti-American stance taken by a vast majority of the MSM, how do we go about those tax dollars are being spent wisely.

Issues are classified for security reasons (literally sometimes to keep a person/informant from getting killed) and so are hardware/software projects (don't want to give our competitors a heads up)

The reason I say the MSM can't be trusted is that when the NY Times released classified data about the War on terror during the Bush years, it was done under the Guise of "Freedom of the Press". Now with the release of the Emails from the heart of Pro-Global Warming Crowd, many on the left are saying you can't use them because they were "stolen". The MSM, for the most part are downplaying the issue, but it is of vast importance because it reveals that science has been corrupted because of politics. This is a VERY dangerous situation. Science is about truth. Now that the "truth" of the fallacy of man-made global warming is out, Time for Al Gore to return his Nobel prize.

Cheers,
ER White (aka BloggyBayou)
blogbayou@gmail.com

Post 3: I will have to summarize here since I didn't keep a copy, but it was a link to the NY Times exposing a Secret Prison in Kandahar , but refusing to acknowledge the "Climate gate" story.

With the announcement of your content sharing agreement with the Tallahassee Democrat and the Pensacola News Journal, your paper has, for all intents and purposes have a stranglehold on the Print media between Tallahassee and Pensacola.

I see this as a "bad thing". Despite your being a private enterprise, you still hold a constitutionally protected duty in the form of the 1st Amendment and you hold, for better or worse, a public trust.

What is truly upsetting is there is apparently a different set of rules on your blogs. One set of rules allow Mr. Rice to freely insult citizens who post on the blog and one set that doesn't allow citizens to voice legitimate criticism.

You apparently reserve the right to ban such people who are willing and able to hold their own against you and knows how to "drill for data" and do research.

I was able to find out that senior management took millions of dollars of bonuses before it declared bankruptcy, including people working for Florida Freedom Newspapers. I then pointed out that it is now difficult, indeed impossible for you to go after Chris Hughes over his use of performance bonuses. Instead of putting your side of the story in print, you banned me.

That speaks volumes about your journalistic integrity.

You tell me that if I want my account reactivated, I must call Pat Rice. I suggest another venue. We meet at a neutral site, camcorders and assistants at hand and discuss it over a cup of coffee.

ER White

For anyone interested in contacting Mr. Stone or Rice, here are their Emails:
dels@nwfdailynews.com
patrickr@nwfdailynews.com

Remember: The MSM cannot handle being challenged. That's why we need to use the Internet and talk radio to get our views out there.

Cheers
Muckraker