Re “Passing on the Messenger Once Again” and “Of Gourley and Voltaire”
It’s about the issue not the messenger, you quack head.
Mr. Quack Head, aka George Laase, keeps on harping about how I am such an unpopular messenger.
I have news for Mr. Quack Head. Running for School Board should not be about a high school popularity contest. The important issues matter, such as getting $3 billion in oil tax money for our schools.
People who would reject an opportunity to get money for our schools because they don't like one person who is working for a good cause show themselves to be petty and shallow.
Two years ago I was in School Board President Scott Zeidman's house when I was asked to support Measure EE, the parcel tax. Despite having differences with Mr. Zeidman about other matters, I enthusiasticly supported Measure EE. In addition I went door-to-door on my precinct walks incorporating pro Measure EE literature with my own handouts. It did not matter to me that Scott was claiming most of the credit for its passage.
In regards to the Prop. 1481 Oil Tax to Help Education Initiative, I have come to respect Karlo Silbiger, Nancy Goldberg and the Culver City Democratic Club for putting aside differences of opinion with me and doing the right thing by supporting the issue, not the messenger.
On the other hand, when I asked Mr. Zeidman if he would support the oil tax initiative issue, he flat out said no because I was involved with the issue. I think Mr. Zeidman's dislike for me is because I called him out for violating a person's First Amendment rights to free speech.
School Board member Steve Gourley showed his pettiness and shallowness of condemning the messenger instead of considering the issue when he said he would not support the issue because of his dislike for me. Again, I attribute some of his dislike for me because I was the first person to criticize him for calling David Mielke, President of the Teachers Union, a liar.
Yes, there are reasons the messenger is not liked. However, that is no justification for rejecting an issue that can help our kids by getting $3 billion for education.
I'm calling on readers to urge Mr. Zeidman and Mr. Gourley to set aside their personal differences against me and do the right thing. Have them reconsider their position and vote to endorse Prop. 1481 the oil tax fund education initiative at the next board meeting. After all, I am only one messenger. There are plenty of other messengers out there working for the same good cause.
A New Subject
After I attributed a certain quote to Voltaire last week at the Culver City Democratic Club Candidates Forum, I received the following email from Chop Netzel:
Mr. Zirgulis:
Not sure you got it right about Voltaire.
The most oft-cited Voltaire quotation is apocryphal. He is incorrectly credited with writing, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
These were not his words but rather those of Evelyn Beatrice Hall, written under the pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre in her 1906 biographical book The Friends of Voltaire. Hall intended to summarize in her own words Voltaire's attitude towards Claude Adrien Helvétius and his controversial book De l'esprit, but her first-person expression was mistaken for an actual quotation from Voltaire.
(Signed) Chip Netzel
I had gone to another website and seen that quote attributed to Voltaire.
Apparently, the internet has conflicting versions of who actually said, “I may not agree with what you have to say but I will defend your right to say it.”!
Nevertheless, I owe Ms. Goldberg a public apology. I want to let her know that I never intended any disrespect.
I actually want to thank Nancy for correcting a misconception about the source of the quote that I have felt so dear about for many years.
I stand corrected. I will admit when I make a mistake.
However, we need to move on to the real issue of defending free speech, which I will always advocate.
Mr. Zirgulis, a candidate for the School Board, may be contacted at zirgulisr@yahoo.com
