Government uses lawsuits for shield

If it were not for the First Amendment, comprehensive reporting, hardworking reporters, and the Freedom of Information Act, the public would be left to only what their leaders want them to believe.

It is not uncommon to be denied information and accordingly have to resort to the Freedom of Information Act to get it, which is a time consuming pain in the ass. This happens most often when information would make an official look stupid, hinder their reelection, or reveal they are dishonest.

The biggest pain in the butt is the time it takes to file and wait, and officials hope it is that which will make the reporter skip the details in order to meet deadline. However, some newspapers of smaller markets who are relentless in seeking public information are being told to back down or get sued – and sadly it is working. 

Odds are in the large newspaper’s favor because the U.S. Constitution is on their side, but a small and medium newspapers do not have the money or staff to endure a yearlong court battle.

As Danny Westneat of the Seattle Times points out in his article, “The government wants to do its business in secret, and increasingly there’s no press left to stop them.” Read about this happening to the Malheur Enterprise by clicking  > here <

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/free-press-state-hits-tiny-paper-with-lawsuit-after-it-seeks-public-records/

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Singular they: Some say nay

In a March 24, 2017 op-ed in Texas Center for Community, Poynter Institute writer Kristin Hare peed herself over the AP Stylebook change allowing the use of “they” as a singular pronoun. Here is part of her rant:

“So AP plans to approve a singular ‘they.’ Why stop there? Let's do away with the difference between its and it's. And plurals and possessives. And equally outdated rules outlawing misspellings and comma splices.”

Godgod, Kristin! Why not do away with running your incomplete sentences together!

I knew about the AP Stylebook change a year ago, but apparently Hare just stumbled across it or lost an argument with a co-worker.

The “singular they,” as it is called, is using the word to describe one unknown person or one unnamed person, not knowing if it is a man or a woman. The argument is “they” is plural and the subject is singular. Here is an example:

“No teacher wants this to happen, but they don’t consider the consequence.” “No teacher” is singular and “they” is plural.

Most of us use singular they often and with no discomfort or bitter aftertaste.

AP style rightfully banned the use of “he/she” and “his/her” long ago because it sounds and looks annoying, such as, “The winning cook must show his/her original submission to the judges.” The correct line would be, "The winning cook must show their original submission to the judges."

By the way, in a op-ed published in the Texas Center for Community earlier this year a writer used “s/he” in place of a singular they. I think s/he needs to have h/her head examined.

People who believe written language should not evolve with common usage should use words like “thee,” “thine” and “thou,” and while their co-workers are avoiding them here is something else to make them angry: If you were to use “he/she” to refer to one person, well, “he” is one and “she” is another, and that makes two, which is plural. Right?

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