EDITOR:
The Record-Courier, from my experience, continually and consistently practices the most heinous form of intellectual slavery - censorship. Your paper has published guidelines as to what you will and will not print. However, as policy, you do not follow these guidelines. You claim that "letters considered libelous, obscene or in bad taste will not be printed." This is, in fact, simply not true.
It is apparently OK to claim that the President of the United States is part of a Maoist plot to take over the world. It is fine to call him a socialist, communist or a fascist. You can offer that President Obama is the new Hitler and that the concentration camps have already been built. But you cannot, under any circumstances, refer to the writers as delusional or paranoid. If you do, you will be banished, blocked and erased. You will not be allowed to respond, in kind, to such absolute absurdity with the same degree of venom. Oz will magically appear from behind the curtain and send you off to the twilight zone cornfield.
The Record-Courier's agenda is quite clear. Promote the far-right fringe. Foster and breed fear, hate and loathing. Encourage racism and intolerance. Instill anger and distrust within the community. And to silence those of us who dare to speak up.
Your polls ask about the current state of The Record-Courier and from the form you have chosen to take the answer is fairly obvious - tabloid, nothing more and nothing less. You now rank right up there with the alien space babies and six legged sheep. As for your serving Douglas County and the Carson Valley community, not a chance, especially when you ignore and have such blatant disdain for so many of us who call this beautiful place home.
The Record-Courier does however retain some degree of usefulness. Paint drips and puppy training.
Bob Galbreath
Gardnerville Ranchos
Editor's Note: This is Mr. Galbreath's first letter to the editor of The Record-Courier. His letter refers to comments on the Web site, which are covered under a completely different set of rules than those listed for letters to the editor.
