“We make a great effort to stay out of what I would call ‘partisan politics.’” Douglas Wilson

Last week the Moscow-Pullman Daily News republished a 10-year-old editorial in anticipation of tomorrow’s big election. Here’s how they introduced the reprint:

We have come accustomed to national and state-wide elections getting ugly, but it can also happen at the local level, as it did back in 2007, which we wrote about in this Nov. 3, 2007, editorial. Fortunately, at least so far, this year’s local elections appear to be going the civil route. (Moscow-Pullman Daily News, October 30, 2017, italics original)

The editorial then mentions “the loudmouth cyber-bully with the witty comebacks and timely jabs. . . . The man with the fancy blog and all the answers,” which is a reference to Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church. Let me fill in the background.

BACKGROUND

The Christ Church network of illegal boarding houses is the economic core of the Kirk and it’s the ligament that units the Kirk to New Saint Andrews College. Without it Christ Church would not survive because too many kirkers rely on it to supplement their income. In turn, these kirkers faithfully occupy seats on Sunday, which helps Douglas Wilson maintain the illusion of Christ Church as a legitimate church. If anyone manages to shut down this network, then both institutions (Christ Church & NSA) would collapse. Kirkers would lose their financial incentive to patronize the Kirk and NSA would lose one of its key selling points — students can board with Christian families. In spring 2007 the Christ Church network of illegal boarding houses appeared on the Moscow City Council’s radar, which made Douglas Wilson panic.

PRINCE GOG STRIKES

Remember that Douglas Wilson weaponized Blog & Mablog, which is one reason he will not submit to the Presiding Ministers of the CREC. And on October 27, 2007, Douglas Wilson used his personal website to call three city councilmembers “bigots”; at the same time he instructed kirkers how to vote¹. Douglas Wilson introduced small-town Moscow to his smash-mouth religion:

No Incumbents

Our Moscow City Council election is about a week and a half away. For those involved, the simplest rule of thumb is to vote for no incumbents, which would include Lamar, Ament, and Pall. They have been been hip-deep in the antics of the last several years, and there are a few reminders of that included below. True, Lamar is a recent addition, but if you combine his name with Ament’s, we get LAMENT, and I don’t think we can risk it.

But before getting to that, it is important to note that Moscow has a horse race style election. There are three four-year seats open, and one two-year seat. The top three vote-getters scrambling for the four-year seats will be elected and the top candidate for the two-year seat will be elected. Those who want to clean out this council should therefore keep it simple and not vote for any incumbents (even if they wind up voting for only two candidates), because that could contribute to bumping out a candidate they did vote for. If for your third choice you vote for the least crazy of the incumbents, that vote could help defeat your first choice.

So, why not vote for any incumbents? Here is the council’s record, first on the question of their religious bigotry. Dale Courtney posted the following about this council:

1. Denied St. Mary’s School a simple variance and blocked it from building its addition — setting the school back for the flimsiest of reasons;
2. Drove Atlas Boys School out of town (for their own safety of course — kill private education, it’s for the kids);
3. Council member Ament tried (but failed) to remove NSA from downtown by advocating a moratorium on all conditional use permits for schools in the CBD (remember this self-proclaimed advocate for “human rights” and supporters of education called NSA “an education-free zone” and its students “Androids”);
4. Imposed parking conditions on NSA that no other business in the downtown is required to meet (all the while winking at the UI’s three downtown locations — there by right and with no parking requirements);
5. Passed new zoning rules for “boarding houses” that do nothing to stop party houses, but removes the freedom of owner-occupied family homes from showing hospitality to students — especially NSA students — or missionaries — especially Mormons, others. . . .

The solution is simple. Time to clean a little house, and the simplest way to do this is to vote for no incumbents.

Notice “boarding houses” at #5:

5. Passed new zoning rules for “boarding houses” that do nothing to stop party houses, but removes the freedom of owner-occupied family homes from showing hospitality to students — especially NSA students — or missionaries — especially Mormons, others.

This was his only concern. If Council had actually enforced the city zoning code, which they didn’t, the Kirk would be out of business. Everything else was well-piled horse manure designed to create the appearance that city government had harassed him. Regardless, this blog post helped swing the election against the incumbents. Douglas Wilson swept a wave of new politicians into city hall who favored winking at his transgressions rather than enforcing city code.

“UGLY”

When Douglas Wilson writes blog posts such as the one above, he signals his followers that the subject of the post is fair game for all manner of abuse, or what he calls “food fight.”² Think of Pavlov with rabid canines. He rings the bell, they bite and devour. It’s harassment and as the Daily News observed, it’s “ugly.” On October 29, 2007, one of Doug Wilson’s loyalists took his pastor’s message to the streets. Douglas Wilson accused these three councilpersons of “religious bigotry” and a kirker named Dave Glasebrook³ understood his walking orders. He paraded downtown with a placard that said, “Vote for the Bigot Party, Ament, Lamar and Pall.” Mr. Glasebrook called this a “religious protest,” which means he shares his pastor’s view that politics is religion.

This accusation stunned most of Moscow because these people are not bigots — especially Linda Pall. To be sure, Douglas Wilson is a bigoted racist who believes that the Lord Jesus used “ethnic humor” to teach his disciples against racism. Personally, I fail to see any humor in this quote and I fail to see how calling a woman “nigger” teaches against racism.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News ran two front-page stories (appended below) and several letters to the editor (appended below), and for the first time in five years they published an editorial opposing Douglas Wilson, though they did not identify him by name — only by character: “the loudmouth cyber-bully with the witty comebacks and timely jabs. . . . The man with the fancy blog and all the answers. . .” The letters to the editor, however, named names:

It was all Wilson’s idea

Both the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Lewiston Tribune featured articles about a member of Doug Wilson’s Christ Church, Dave Glasebrook, parading around downtown Moscow on Oct. 29 with a sign that labeled Moscow City Council candidates Linda Pall, Tom Lamar and Aaron Ament as “bigots.”

Glasebrook’s message is mean-spirited, divisive and wrong.

But what is really important here is that it was not Glasebrook’s idea.

Doug Wilson himself, on Oct. 27, posted on his Web site. www.dougwils.com, a message titled “No Incumbents: Moscow Diversity Cleansing’’ wherein he labels Pall, Lamar and Ament as ‘‘bigots” and specifically calls for his followers to vote the three out of office. Two days later, one of Wilson’s minions took that identical message to the street.

What has become quite obvious here is that Wilson and his Christ Church administrators have a political agenda. Wilson wants to create a City Council he can control. Wilson likes to portray himself as a religious guy doing his religious guy thing, but in fact he has a clear plan to remake Moscow.

On Tuesday, please vote for Pall, Lamar and Ament. And to Wilson, just say “no.”

Bill London
Moscow

The Wizard of Blogz

Who could ever forget that penultimate scene in the “Wizard of Oz,” where the tempestuous Wizard — thanks to the dog, Toto — is found practicing his bombast behind a curtain?

Peaking behind the curtain, Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion discover the Wizard to be nothing more than an ordinary, avuncular man who, like Dorothy, had arrived in Oz from Kansas. Despite the deception the “wizard” is able to solve the problems of Dorothy and her friends, not with magic but with a little common sense and some effective double talk. The key joy of the scene is the realization that one’s goals, however difficult, can be achieved with belief and commitment. But, is there a larger message in the story’s denouement? I was never certain. Never certain, that is, until now.

Thanks to a striking photo on the front page of the Daily News last week, where some protestors affiliated with Christ Church are claiming that certain candidates for City Council are bigots, we find that the curtain lives on. In modern times it apparently lives on in electronic form. For Moscow apparently has its own “wizard” in a Christ Church pastor (from the Latin for shepherd) who in his blog refers to the same candidates for Moscow City Council as religious bigots who should be voted out of office. So, there is a man behind the curtain after all. However, he doesn’t appear to have the avuncular style of the original wizard, but has instead a penchant for finding repugnant epithets to hurl at devoted public servants who enact policies he opposes.

Wizardry, indeed.

Gene Rosa
Moscow

Conclusion

Ten months later the Moscow Human Rights Commission hosted a forum to address the “vitriolic tone” of the previous election. Douglas Wilson, who introduced the vitriol by smearing good and decent people, complained, “I’ve lost count of the sheer, unadulterated falsehoods that have been circulated.” Here’s the Daily News’ article:

Panelists encourage people to ‘agree to disagree’

Moscow Human Rights Commission forum organized in response to ‘vitriolic’ tone of recent elections
By Tara Roberts, Daily News staff writer

Wayne Krauss looks back on last November’s Moscow City Council race as “an extremely intense campaign.”

“I’ve never in my life had my integrity called on the floor,” Krauss said. “To have people who didn’t even know me say such derogatory things is very difficult to take.”

Krauss and other local leaders gathered Tuesday night to encourage candidates and voters in this year’s elections to avoid negativity. The forum, titled “What Happened to Civility in Public Dialogue?” was organized by the Moscow Human Rights Commission.

Moderator Tim Gresback said the commission was inspired to develop the forum after the “particularly vitriolic” tone of last year’s elections. He is concerned qualified people won’t run for office if the negativity continues.

The forum panelists encouraged people to “agree to disagree” and find common ground.

Jeff Peterson, a professor at Washington State University’s Murrow School of Communication, opened the forum by encouraging people to discuss issues with respect.

“Don’t try to change anybody’s mind,” he said. “Instead, share your point of view. Tell them why you believe something. Tell them how you got there.”

Panelist Doug Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, said people need to recognize that their commonalities sometimes lead to conflict.

He said people in Moscow “share the same turf” and often have different ideas about what to do with that turf.

Wilson encouraged people to commit themselves to not overreact when they disagree.

Panelist Bruce Livingston, president of the Moscow Civic Association, said people need to avoid pointless fights over issues they simply can’t agree on.
“When you choose to battle over those particular things, you really put yourself in a place where you have the most difficulty in getting common ground,” he said.

Panelist Paul Kimmell, a former Latah County commissioner and Moscow Chamber of Commerce director, encouraged candidates to “attack the issue, not the people.”

Incivility in nonverbal communication was another hot topic during the forum.

Panelist Steve Busch, president of the Greater Moscow Alliance, said he has seen many people write things on Internet forums they would never say in person. He encouraged people to avoid letting online-style attacks leak into face-to-face life.

Audience member Lynn Ate asked the panel what they thought about incivility in newspaper letters to the editor.

Panelist Sharon Fritz, a psychologist and professor at the University of Idaho, said people often let their emotions out in writing without thinking about civility.

The discussion of emotion led to a discussion about checking the facts before reacting.

Busch said people in Moscow care passionately, which sometimes leads them to get upset and come into the middle of a conversation without knowing the background.

Wilson said he has often felt like people are attacking his church or its affiliated schools based on untrue rumors.

“I’ve lost count of the sheer, unadulterated falsehoods that have been circulated,” he said.

Many of the forum’s audience members were candidates for county or state offices. Some said afterward that the forum reinforced their desire to run positive campaigns, even when disagreements arise.

“I think when you’re running against an incumbent you do have to compare and contrast what you would do versus what they would do, and you can do that by focusing on the issues,” said Judith Brown, who is running for a seat in the Idaho Legislature.

Latah County sheriff candidate Keith Wilson agreed that differences of opinion often are part of elections.

“I think that you have to have some disagreement in order to change opinions,” he said.

Tara Roberts can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at troberts at dnews.com.

 

 

APPENDIX

October 30, 2007

Protest draws questions, counter arguments

Claim of bigotry brings reaction from candidates, families
By Tara Roberts Daily News staff writer

Dave Glasebrook says the sign he carried downtown Monday isn’t political or connected to any political group.

“This is a religious protest,” said Glasebrook, whose sign read “Vote for the Bigot Party, Ament, Lamar and Pall.”

Incumbent Moscow City Council members Aaron Ament and Linda Pall are up for re-election Nov. 6. Tom Lamar, who was appointed to the council in June, is also running for a four-year council seat.

Glasebrook’s protest took place Monday morning and evening at the corner of Third and Main streets and drew several question-asking bystanders. In the evening, there was a counter-demonstration by Lamar’s wife, Aly, and daughter, Brya.

Glasebrook, a Christ Church member and professional pilot, said Ament, Lamar and Pall are part of a long-running vendetta against Christ Church. He said the City Council’s decisions on issues such as the boardinghouse ordinance and zoning restrictions for Christ Church-affiliated New St. Andrews College are examples of bigotry.

He also carried a copy of a flier that was passed around town in August in protest of the church’s Trinity Festival. The flier states that Christ Church, NSA and other affiliated organizations are “racist, sexist and homophobic.” He said the flier was distributed by people who are allied with Ament, Lamar and Pall.

Glasebrook said his protest was not on behalf of Christ Church as a whole or any other group. He said he chose to use political terms on the sign because people wouldn’t understand a strictly religious protest.

Glasebrook said the people listed on his sign are “going to get at (Christ Church Pastor Douglas) Wilson no matter how they can.”

“For two years our City Council has focused on fighting Christ Church. Christ Church isn’t fighting back,” he said.

Glasebrook said he did not include the names of other people who have supported issues he views as anti-Christ Church on the sign because he didn’t have room.

He said he does not intend to have any effect on the election, and that only God would be able to affect the results.

Aly Lamar said she spoke with Glasebrook on Monday evening before leaving in tears. She returned later with signs in support of Tom Lamar to “offer the other side.”

“It’s one thing to be pro-candidates. It’s another thing to be against and name calling. . . . It’s not good politics,” she said. “My feelings are hurt. I don’t think it’s a good way to go about getting his message across.”

Aly Lamar said she was not concerned with how Glasebrook’s sign would affect the election.

“If anything it will support those candidates (on the sign),” she said.

Brya Lamar, a senior at Moscow High School, later joined the counter-protest. Aly Lamar also added signs in support of Ament.

Brya Lamar said she does not believe her father deserved the accusations on the sign.

“I don’t think he’s prejudiced about any of that,” she said.

Ament stopped by the demonstrations briefly on his way to another appointment.

“(Glasebrook) has the right to express his opinion,” Ament said. “He’s absolutely incorrect. I think his definition of a bigot as anyone who doesn’t agree with him is pretty wrong, but he’s entitled to that opinion.”

Linda Pall said she drove by the protest and felt “profoundly disappointed.”

“I would have to say that the last person to be called a bigot in this town should be me,” Pall said. “I was the author of Moscow’s most recent diversity resolution. I was the original mover and shaker to create a Human Rights Commission. I’ve been on the Latah County Human Rights Task Force since we’ve had one.”

When New St. Andrew’s and Bucer’s coffee shop were “under attack” for their connection to Christ Church, she supported them against boycotts, Pall said.

Evan Holmes, who is running for a two-year City Council seat, said Pall was one of the least bigoted people in the history of Moscow. He does not believe the protests will effect the elections.

“We’re a pretty tolerant town,” Holmes said. “We’re even tolerant of protestors.”

Holmes’ opponent for the two-year seat, Walter Steed, and the other four-year candidates, Dan Carscallen and Wayne Krauss, said they recognize Glasebrook’s right to protest but are not affiliated with his efforts.

“I don’t condone it, but I guess I don’t condemn it either,” Carscallen said.

He said those who don’t agree with Glasebrook should leave his protest alone and it likely will go away.

“We’ve been civil amongst ourselves through all of this,” Steed said. “I’d like to continue that way.”

Krauss said he thinks the protest “will add to the divisive climate that we now have.”

“All of the candidates for City Council have run an honorable race, and I hope the voters will see this is a one-man protest,” he said.

Tara Roberts can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at troberts at dnews.com.

November 1, 2007

Moscow City Council race: Passion, attacks escalate

Competing visions for Moscow become evident in final weeks of campaign
By Tara Roberts, Daily News staff writer

When Steve Busch ran for Moscow City Council years ago, it was simple. He signed up, found a treasurer and ran. “I think those days are gone,” Busch said. “It’s a lot of work, a lot of abuse, and one person can’t do it by themselves anymore.”

It seems candidates in Moscow now must have a group working for them, Busch said. For six of the seven candidates on Tuesday’s ballot, that group is either the Greater Moscow Alliance or the Moscow Civic Association. Busch is the president of the GMA, which was established in 2006 to promote free enterprise and property rights. The GMA endorsed Dan Carscallen, Wayne Krauss and Walter Steed. The MCA was established in 2002 to work for progressive and sustainable communities. It endorsed Aaron Ament, Tom Lamar and Linda Pall. Evan Holmes is not endorsed by either.

This is the first City Council election with both groups involved. On newspaper opinion pages, online forums and city streets, discussion about the groups’ views and purposes — and what that means for the candidates they endorse — have sometimes become heated.

“I really enjoy seeing what happens in elections, and honestly I can’t remember one quite this angry or passionate or whatever you want to call it,” said B.J. Swanson, vice president of AmericanWest Bank in Moscow and chairwoman of the Gritman Medical Center board of directors. Swanson once paid dues to the MCA but said she has not been officially involved since. “It’s good to see people passionate, particularly about wanting to elect their representatives. On the other hand, it’s gotten kind of dirty, which I don’t like to see.”

To see harsh claims against candidates and groups, all a person has to do is look at local letters to the editor, Busch said. “There’s been some pretty sharp comments made,” Busch said. “I would say more on the opposing side than our side, but they probably say the same thing.”

MCA president Bruce Livingston said there has been “a drumbeat of letters to the editor” accusing the MCA of being no-growth and anti-business. Livingston disagrees with the accusations but doesn’t think the discussion is a bad thing. “I think it’s healthy to debate thoroughly and intensely these matters that are going to shape our community,” he said.

Busch agreed. He expects voter turnout to be higher than usual because heated debate surrounding the campaign has sparked peoples’ interest. “If that’s what it takes to get people interested in local politics . . . that’s probably a good thing,” he said. However, Bush and Livingston said the discussion shouldn’t turn into personal attacks. Comments have turned personal on local online forums, including Dnews.com.

Swanson said the anonymity offered online allows people to “say whatever they want to say in there,” which may not be good or helpful. On the other hand, she said, anonymous online posters can speak their minds without fear of retribution. Anonymity makes it easy for some people to be “as vile as they want,” Busch said. “You wouldn’t say that to them face to face.” Livingston said the discussion has mostly been “heartfelt and passionate,” but the climate of the election took a negative turn in recent days. “The personal attacks on character and these charges of religious persecution are a different matter, and in that sense I think this election has sunk to a new low,” Livingston said.

Moscow’s Christ Church came to the forefront of the discussion Saturday, when Pastor Douglas Wilson posted a suggestion on his blog that people should vote against Ament, Lamar and Pall. On Monday, Christ Church member Dave Glasebrook carried a sign in downtown Moscow that read “Vote the Bigot Party, Ament, Lamar, Pall.”

Every candidate, including those endorsed by the GMA, said they were not affiliated with Glasebrook’s protest. Other voices on the Moscow political scene say otherwise, connecting Glasebrook’s protest to Wilson’s blog, and Wilson and Christ Church to the GMA.

Bill London, an MCA member and frequent voice against Christ Church, said the debate stayed appropriately on issues, not personalities, until the blog and the sign. “At that point I think this election has slipped from the issues to the realm of divisive,” London said. “It’s clear in my mind that it can be laid directly at Wilson’s feet and should be.” London said the GMA and Christ Church are connected at Bob Hieronymus, NSA executive vice president and a GMA board member. “My view of the GMA candidates, especially Krauss and Carscallen, is that they were found, nurtured, promised money and support and told it would be a cake walk and we’ll get you on the council, which synced with their willingness to serve,” London said. “They made, in essence, a pact with the devil, I think.”

Glasebrook said his protest was religious, not political. He said Ament, Lamar and Pall were part of a history of harassment toward Christ Church and its affiliated organizations, including New St. Andrews College downtown. Wilson said he did not send Glasebrook to the street corner and the protest “is not (his) style,” but he too believes Christ Church has been unfairly targeted. After Glasebrook’s protest, Lamar came to talk with him, Wilson said. “I basically told Tom that we haven’t sent Dave on the mission . . . but what his sign said was true,” Wilson said. “I told him you have to pay attention to a broader story.” That story lies in city rules being used to attack Christ Church, Wilson said. Complaints such as those regarding NSA’s location and boardinghouses where NSA students stay stem from people who want to hurt the church, he said. If council members don’t take the source of complaints into account, “then the City Council is going to be a cat’s paw for the people who are bigots.”

Wilson’s blog posting instructs readers that “the simplest rule of thumb is to vote for no incumbents,” listing Ament, Lamar and Pall. “They have been hip-deep in the antics of the last several years. . .” Wilson wrote. “True, Lamar is a recent addition, but if you combine his name with Ament’s, we get LAMENT, and I don’t think we can risk it.”

Wilson gave two lists of reasons not to vote for the incumbents, “first on the question of their religious bigotry,” then “about the council’s broader issues, and I am using the word issues in both senses.” Wilson said the statement against the incumbents “had to do with how you voted, not whether you were a reasonable human being or not,” he said. “It’s nothing personal.” Wilson said calling someone a bigot is personal, but pointing out bigotry is not. He said he did not want to simply say “vote for GMA candidates” because he does not believe Holmes is an “Intolerista” — Wilson’s word for intolerant secular liberals. Wilson said he’s not a member of the GMA. Wilson said his blog was “political in self-defense,” but “not political in the sense that we’re trying to take things over.” Those that don’t believe him should “do what Tom Lamar did,” Wilson said. “He came and talked to me. He came and asked. If you’re continuing to simply be spooked or freaked out based on what you hear about a group you don’t know anything about, that’s what bigotry is.”

Wilson said the conflict between the GMA and MCA has created a two-party political system in Moscow. “Once things get polarized, it’s awfully hard to unpolarize them,” he said. “The monkeys are out of the cage.”

Livingston said there have been differences of viewpoint, but not partisanship. Other than the “bigot smear,” the campaign has been heated, but not divisive. “I still feel like I could sit down over a beer with Dan Carscallen and talk about this stuff amicably even though we disagree on issues,” he said. Busch said the GMA and MCA definitely create a partisan feel with their different philosophies. The two can agree to disagree, but the split remains. “Moscow politics has become a full-contact sport,” he said. “If you’re going to run for office, you’d better have a thick skin and be ready to take some shots that aren’t justified.”

Ballot basics Candidates for Moscow’s four-year positions on the City Council. Voters may vote Tuesday for three, with the top three vote-getters elected.

• Aaron Ament
• Dan Carscallen
• Wayne Krauss
• Tom Lamar
• Linda Pall

Candidates for the two-year position. Voters may vote Tuesday for one candidate.

• Evan Holmes
• Walter Steed

On the Web

• Moscow Civic Association: www.moscowcivic.org/
• Greater Moscow Alliance: www.greatermoscow.org/
• Douglas Wilson’s blog entry: www.dougwils.com/index.asp?Action=Anchor&CategoryID=1&BlogID=4678

Tara Roberts can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at troberts at dnews.com.

Letters to the Editor

Bigotry hurts us all

The Latah County Human Rights Task Force strongly advocates freedom of speech, but we cannot refrain from speaking out against the recent defamation of character of three of our leading residents who are running for public office. On Oct. 29, our political climate was degraded when a man in downtown Moscow held up a sign with the names of these three candidates and the invitation to “Vote the Bigot Party.” While this man claimed to be acting alone and with no political agenda, it is noteworthy that the blog of the Rev. Doug Wilson titled “Moscow Diversity Cleansing” brands these same candidates as religious bigots who should be turned out of office.

It is unjust and unwarranted to disparage the motives of City Council representatives who want to uphold the law and do the best for our community by calling them names if we disagree with their votes. Certainly Linda Pall, who has worked faithfully and diligently for human rights causes for at least 20 years, as well as Tom Lamar and Aaron Ament, both advocates of diversity and justice, do not deserve such treatment. But more than that, it hurts all of us to malign our representatives and candidates in this way. Surely we do not want a town in which the city is afraid to enforce laws and pass ordinances that displease church leaders. And surely voters are smarter than to be taken in by name-calling and slander.

Walter Hesford
Latah County Human Rights Task Force
Moscow

Protest was divisive

In response to the Oct. 30 Daily News article “Protest draws questions, counter arguments,” the protest by Dave Glasebrook is not only divisive and negative it is, especially when referring to Linda Pall, flat wrong.

Linda, as the article notes, is a leader in fighting bigotry and intolerance in the Palouse. She has consistently and emphatically spoken out to create a more tolerant community, addressing racial, religious, and political divisions in Moscow.

It is one thing to express political disagreements or opposition to a candidate. It is another thing entirely to hurl personal insults. This sort of behavior creates the divisions in the community that my mother has worked diligently to heal during her time in office and throughout her professional and community life.

I hope Moscow residents of all political persuasions will condemn these divisive and personal attacks for what they are: harmful to the community, its politics and its people.

Zachary Pall
Moscow

Support Ament, Lamar, Pall

On Monday, Dave Glasebrook was standing on the corner of Third and Main streets in Moscow holding a sign that said, “Vote the Bigot Party — Ament, Lamar, Pall.” I was driving downtown and noticed my stepmom, Aly Lamar, was standing on the corner with Dave holding a Lamar sign. I was outraged with this man who was calling my father and other candidates bigots.

Although I was glad to see Aly with the Lamar sign, and felt that I should stand out there with her, it’s important for me to share with your readers that my father is not a prejudiced person who is intolerant of opinions.

Dave told me that he didn’t think anyone would be offended by his sign, but I, and many others certainly were. Dave also told me that this was a Christian protest, not a vote protest.

I urge voters to look past this and go out Tuesday and vote for these candidates: Ament, Lamar and Pall.

Brya Lamar
Moscow

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¹ “Christ Church isn’t ‘a “strong’ cult,’” he said. ‘I don’t control people or anything like that.’” (Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Christ Church minister explains opposition to same-sex marriage, July 15, 2015) He might not “control” people, but he does tell them how to vote.

² For example, see the “food fight” at WORLD Magazine.

³ Like his pastor, Dave Glasebrook suffers from a persecution complex. He believes that people of all stripes persecute Doug Wilson and the Kirk for their religious beliefs. Mr. Glasebrook takes this conviction the extra mile. Consider this article from the 17 January 2009 Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Man files petition requesting action from governor on allegations against UI

Staff report

A Moscow resident has taken legal action against Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, claiming the governor “failed to faithfully enforce Idaho law.”

Dave Glasebrook filed a petition for a writ of mandate against Otter in Latah County District Court on Monday.

The document states Otter “breached public faith” and Glasebrook’s civil rights by failing to investigate Glasebrook’s claims that the University of Idaho covered up illegal computer use over the past several years.

Glasebrook claims the UI allowed an employee to run the Web site NoSuperWalMart.com using UI computer and phone systems. He also claims the UI allowed people “to send e-mail and post messages containing political, defamatory, threatening or otherwise prohibited activity.” The claim is primarily related to Internet postings regarding the Moscow School District’s 2007 levy election.

Glasebrook’s petition also asserts the UI violated open records law by not releasing certain employee and student e-mails he requested related to the Web site and postings.

The petition requests Otter order Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden to subpoena information about NoSuperWalmart.com, order the UI to release e-mail and electronic records to Glasebrook and assign an Idaho State Police officer to retrieve material from UI computers.

Glasebrook’s final request is for Otter to appear before the court to “explain in detail why he does not want to follow the laws he is sworn to uphold and why he does not want to uphold (Glasebrook’s) civil rights and liberties.”

Records attached to the petition show Glasebrook has been pursuing action against the UI since 2007. He has requested assistance from Otter’s office, Idaho State Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Eismann, Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson, Moscow Prosecuting Attorney Rod Hall and former UI President Tim White.

Dave Glasebrook is not well.