Open Letter to Juneau District School Board
To the City & Borough of Juneau District School Board:Earlier Juneau District School Board President Phyllis Carlson told the public that the board’s “Bong Hits For Jesus” lawsuit appeal won’t cost any additional money. If that is so then why is the board now making a fresh appeal for funds?
Thus far the school board’s actions have only succeeded in making a folk hero and poster child out of Joseph Frederick. At the same time Juneau is being made out to be rigidly intransigent and inanely regressive across our country. The School Board has now made “Bong Hits for Jesus” a rallying cry in the nation for marijuana for heavens sakes! It has also become a "cause célèbe" for Free Speech around the world. There are thousands of references to it on the internet. And, you must have seen all the bumper stickers now plastered around town with the parody: “Bong Hits for Murkowski”.
Really, I’d consider all that pretty darned counterproductive to your stated purpose for continuing this lawsuit!
This issue has ALREADY cost Juneau a lot of money. What are the attorney costs so far? Staff costs? Board member costs? Meeting space costs? Administrative costs? The fact that the board is now seeking additional funding is a pretty good indicator that costs so far haven’t been inconsequential. No doubt this school board might prefer to keep this information confidential. However, I intend to make a request for the numbers in a letter to the superintendent under the public’s right to know “all the facts about our schools . . . .”
The sad irony is that you are virtually certain to LOSE THIS RIDICULOUS FIGHT . . . and what shall you say to our community then?
Thank you (Board Member) Margo Waring for maintaining a reasonable approach to this matter.
/S/
“The First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is besides the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech.”
- US Associate Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy
posted by Gnarly Erik @ 3:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home