A Special Letter from Courier Publisher

My boss sent out this e-mail last week when certain menacing statements, relayed by third parties, of course, kept making their way to our offices over the past few months.

A Special Letter To Friends

Some politicians are making good people afraid for telling the truth

By JIM PURCELL
Publisher, The Courier

The Courier is doing the same thing the large daily is trying to do in explaining issues of influence, corruption, politics and money throughout Northern Monmouth County. I applaud the large daily for that and their intrepid staff on their excellent work.

I know that, for my part, I have been threatened over some storylines by some people who one would think better of in other cases. I know that some politicians concerned are trying to get third paries to "defend" them from the provable, truthful assertions and facts being put on full display by my newspaper.

Two dear friends of mine, whom I will not name, characterized what is going on between my newspaper and one politician, in particular, a state-level office holder, as "a war." It is a war they do not wish to be in the middle of. And, I am not asking anyone to go to war with anyone else for anything at all, especially stories in my newspaper.

But, I am asking politicians and appointed office holders to hazard telling the truth and laying open to the public the inner workings of our government to the people who they serve in creating a transparent governement where the shady deals of yesterday are exposed for what they are...and allow the electorate to decide what is right and wrong.

As our young men and women are fighting for freedom in the most perilous way, with their very lives exposed to danger, I ask only that elected and appointed officials brave the little things (some nasty telephone calls and the like) to ensure that their part of the contract for the Great Experiment (American freedom) be held up.

If an elected official, especially one holding higher office, makes some action in office then there is no reason whatsoever why the people who elect him or her should not be privy to the official actions these people take. And, if such actions can be considered unflattering, then let that be the responsibility of the office holder and not those whom they would threaten to protect them. Let accountability be to those who commit actions and not those being compelled to cover them up like stooges or goons.

Evil takes place when good people remain silent, and it is as plain as the noses on our faces that there has been evil that has taken place in this county, under the guise of officials being "concerned" about development in their district, county and/or town. The time of The Great Silence is over and it is my personal pledge that my newspaper, my reporters and I will expose as many dirty deals and backroom transactions as we can find.

Neither I or my newspaper will judge the actions of the office holders concerned. We will simply expose these actions to the public. But, to those being threatened or intimidated, as is currently going on, I charge you with this: You are a servant of the people. Your mandate is to first serve the people who pay your check above party, above friendship, above personal distaste.

The Press is a legitimate check to the government. It was installed by our Founding Fathers. Benjamin Franklin, himself a newspaper publisher, knew how important a free press was in a democracy. It is tyrants who duck the press or try and shut them down. When Hitler first took office in the 1930s, the first things that had to go were the newspapers....as they were his greatest enemies (in his mind). In that case, newspapers were threatened and closed and evil took root when the truth was silenced.

I advise a road of courage to those who may be afraid. Courage is that quality where one knows the peril they face, but they take the more difficult route because it is the right thing to do. It is an uncertain path at times. But, it is one that many Americans have taken to ensure that the dream of our Founding Fathers was the reality that we live in today.

As for those who would threaten or attempt to intimidate myself or my staff, I will only say that your words are wasted. It is our mandate to act as a check against the errant behavior of those in office and you waste your breath in trying to spread the infection of your poisonous promises to myself or our staffers.

Perhaps the better road, in the case of some office holders, is simply to stop being corrupt in office, own up to their behavior and go from there.This would take character, a trait in short supply in some of Monmouth County's office holders. One way or the other, though, I assure you that you will be reading about your official actions and I assure you that no power in this world will stop my newspaper from exposing the truth of what has happened.

I am also going to make a statement that I believe there are more elected and appointed officials in this county than some corrupt officials are comfortable with. Yes, somehow, good people got through the door of government and will stand up against the hail of despicable threats and horrible predictions of peril for their personal futures. They will do this because they are Americans...and Americans have a funny way of not being pushed around by a bunch of nickel-and-dime punks who are out for the fast buck.

Perhaps tyranny will work elsewhere...Peru, Argentina, Uruguay...even Uganda. But, the problem is that we live in the United States and people here know what is right and wrong and are acutely aware of the sacrifices made (past, present and future) so that the people may have the right to run government correctly and not the entitled few who would see our democracy fail in favor of their pocketbooks.

For the patriots of the freedom I am discussing, I offer you no promise of an easy road (and expect none myself) or any protection other than that offered by God to those who try to do right. For the scoundrels of office I am discussing, I argue that all tyrants go down; it is simply a matter of when and not "if." But, rest assured, this battle is joined (if someone were to call it a war) and it will not end until the truth of what has transpired has been proven, documented and explained.

So, for these scoundrels, do your worst. In America, though, I think you will find more courage than you will like and less cowardice than you expect. And, as a personal note, for those who wish to intimidate me personally for the editorial direction we have taken, I can only offer you the sentiment "Go to hell."


Yours Truly,
Jim Purcell
Publisher
The Courier