The paragraph was buried toward the end of Senator Gary Nodler's column in Tuesday's Neosho Daily News:
"We have also been asked by the governor to repeal the law that bans the posting of elected or appointed government officials' home addresses or phone numbers on the Internet. The genesis for the law was to protect public officials from harassment and threats, but because the public has a right to know certain things about those who represent them in state government, we will be tweaking the legislation to better serve all Missourians."
Now I can understand why Nodler and the other legislators who played key roles in cutting Medicaid benefits to poor Missourians might not want people to know how to get in touch with them. Nodler has even more reason to be concerned about that since his notorious movie meltdown when he became upset when some developmentally disabled adults got too loud for his tastes during his free daytime viewing of "Fantastic Four."
I ask the simple question: Why are these senators and representatives, who were sent to Jefferson City by us, passing legislation to keep us from getting anywhere near them? As I pointed out in an earlier Turner Report post, this not only gets rid of lists of senators, representatives or other officials, but it also keeps information about any legal difficulties that may arise concerning them, any land transactions, or any other information off the Internet.
And since the bill seems to cover any legislator and any old buddy that may receive the reward of a job as a repayment for a campaign contribution, it could very easily curtail any enterprising investigative journalist who does not have the time or the money to go to a county courthouse on the other side of the state to unearth information.
And, as has also been pointed out, many officials are simply going to remove all records from the internet rather than take a chance of violating the law.
I am curious as to whether the legislature will do what the governor says and get rid of this portion of the bill. They have three choices: They can remove the offending amendment, they can leave it as it is, or they can revise it in an effort to find another way to keep the public from knowing how to reach them.
The first option, of course, would be the best. I fear one of the other two will be what we will see happen this week.
***
Speaking of Gary Nodler's columns, and others by Marilyn Ruestman and Kevin Wilson that run in the Daily, I would advise new publisher Rick Rogers to take the approach that my former publisher at The Carthage Press, Jim Farley, took when it came to legislative columns.
Farley's rule was simple: He would run the columns, but the minute someone announced a candidacy for that position, the column was pulled until after the election go keep the candidate from getting an unfair advantage.
I would suggest either going along with that rule or immediately offering the other candidate or candidates columns. Of course, that might cut down on a little bit of political advertising.
Then again, you could always establish a rule that says once a candidate files, the newspaper's spaces would be open to the incumbent and to the challenger...as paid advertising.
I am in favor of giving the space to both sides, since it would promote a discussion of the issues, which would benefit both the newspaper and its readers, but I do understand that a newspaper has to make a profit to stay in business.
24 comments:
What is the "notorious movie meltdown" You keep referring to? I know about the movie theater incident where Senator Nodler left a noisy movie and said something to his brother that Amanda Richardson didn't like and she cussed them out. I know people have different views about what happened. But what is this meltdown you continue to refer to?
Any time an elected official makes a fool of himself in public, then continues to compound it with one regrettable action after another, it qualifies as a meltdown in my book. Nodler essentially got angry with a group of developmentally disabled adults, got into an argument with a college student, made remarks that someone needs to take care of those people if they are going to be out in public, tries to get the Joplin Globe to pay for a lie detector test, tries to cost a young lady her job...all over a movie he was getting in to see for free anyway. Yes, I would definitely consider it a major meltdown.
Just more liberal propaganda. This college aged girl you are referring to is a piece of work. If you knew her and the way she acts and carries on, you might see that Nodler's story is probably a little more in line than hers.
The liberal propaganda label is definitely getting old and stale.
And by the way, my husband has met Mr. Nodler and when Nodler's public temper tantrum came out in the news, said that it sounded exactly like him.
First there is no proof Nodler ever got angry with a group of disabled people, maybe you have been spreading the lie so much you believe it, but there is no proof of that and not even Amanda Richardson ever made that accusation. Second there is no proof Nodler ever got into an argument with anyone he got cussed out by her but there has never been any report that he said anything to her at all. Her own accusation had to do with what he said to his brother. He has never been accused of saying that someone needs to take care of “those people if they are going to be out in public”. You can not produce that quote from any reliable source at all. Your allegation that he tried to get her fired, that accusation has never been made or reported nor has Max McCoy ever found a trace of evidence nor have you that he ever tried to get anyone fired. Perhaps your devotion to spreading such unsubstantiated rumors explains why you are unemployable as a newpaper editor. The “meltdown” seems to be a meltdown of your accusations that are just repeated rumors, nothing more that has always been known for what it is “Mud-slinging”.
I don't plan on going through your points word for word, but Nodler's comment about those people was on television. I saw it and so did thousands of other people. We seem to have some Nodler supporters indulging in revisionist history. As for liberal propaganda, you might want to ask Lamar Democrat readers from the late 1980s about the way I wrote about Bob Griffin. It makes my comments about Gary Nodler seem mild.
You need to check the transcript of the TV interview it was on KODE I have a copy of it! I was taping another story that night and this happened to be on it. Nodler never made any comments about "those people” That was a phrase used by the TV reporter not Nodler! You never heard any such thing on television yourself you either remember it wrong or are intentionally lying. I am a lifelong Democrat and never have or ever will vote for Nodler but I am ashamed of the way you have handled this.
Sorry Randy I have to agree. You can attack all you want but you have never substantiated any of your claims about Nodler not even one. Maybe you just don't know how to say “I made an error, I'm sorry” maybe your aren't man enough.
Its the Randy Turner meltdown I think! how Ironic!
The liberal propaganda label is not getting old, quite the contrary...it is right on the money. Liberals have a fascinating way of just flat out lying about things to make their case. They are a sad people and there aren't many who would admit to being one...at least publicly. Sad.
randy, it seems your blog has the attention of the republican propaganda machine in jasper county. sounds like allen shirley.
my wife and i both supported and voted for gary nodler. we will both work and support his opponent
the next time he runs for election.
this was no way for an adult to act
let alone an elected official.
thank you
Nodler refused to do on-camera interviews talking about the theater incident. He insisted on putting his brother out there to answer all questions concerning the incident.
He only agreed to do the 12 interview under the terms he would talk about the disabled. Surprise, surprise....he supports disabled people. :)
It's funny how every weekend there is a Nodler letter in the Globe. This "meltdown" really hit a note with voters, and I hope they remember it when he's up for re-election.
Nodler has never been anything but a suck up his entire life.
If you'd like to review original The Joplin Globe report on 8/7/05 of the theater incident by Investigative Reporter Max McCoy, the website address is: http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=200419 *From enormous reader Comments, it appears there is plenty of criticism of Senator Nodler's own inappropriate reactions including his subsequent childish behaviors in efforts to get the young nurse's aid fired, and then even to make life miserable for the veteran McCoy. He can't deny that. If he hadn't said the things others heard him say, why is he coninuing to be so defensive. He's adding fire to the fuel of his own demise, or so it appears to this reader.
I work a KODE. The TV interview with Nodler wasn’t what it seemed. Nodler refused an interview on the subject of the theater incident and refused all questions on the subject. The interview was given under the condition that no mention would be made of the incident and that the subject was the rights of the disabled. The reporter edited the interview to make it appear that Nodler was talking about the theater incident and in fact made reference to it in violation of the agreement for the interview. The reporter was later reprimanded by the station’s general manager and the stations website took down the story. You never heard Nodler say anything on television about this because he never did, you saw a reporter creating a story much as Max McCoy had done and you have repeated the lies. You are the one that has been revising history and just plain lying. By the way I am not a republican or democrat but a libertarian.
plain talker is lying again, learn to read. There is no indication anywhere that Nodler ever tried to get anyone fired. Joseph Goebels said if you tell a lie often enough and loud enough people will believe it. The leaders of The Democratic party in Jasper and Newton County and most good Democrats reject this type of politics!
Plain talker is at it again. There isn’t one piece of evidence that Nodler ever did anything to Max McCoy. Where does that crazy comment come from you have it backwards, Max McCoy lied about Nodler! This witch hunt is hurting the Democratic Party and helping Nodler!
What proof do you need. Unlike you, we know this guy and he has been a self absorbed ass for the thirty-five years that I have known him.
Anonymous I and II, before you begin to attack my integrity by calling me a liar, get your 'ducks in a row'. I had a source for my comment about Gary Todler attempting to get Globe reporter Max McCoy in trouble, but in Gary's own 'Comment' to the original Globe article he implied that McCoy 'misrepresented the facts' which is serious enough for any newsman. Now, regarding my reading skills, allow me to use just a few excerpts from the Globe: Nodler then contacted the Joplin Regional Center. A center representative told Richardson to contact her supervisor about the incident. The representative, Richardson said, also asked: "Do you know who you were speaking with?"
Richardson's co-worker, 22-year-old Emily Russell of Joplin, told The Globe she was present for most of the first exchange and that Richardson's account was accurate. Their supervisor, Rosilan Watts, 27, of Carl Junction, said she wasn't present for the incident, but that she felt Richardson had acted appropriately.
"It's their job to advocate for the clients, because they can't speak for themselves," Watts said.
Last week, Nodler called for a formal apology from Richardson and asked that she be reprimanded by her employer for what he said was a "verbal assault" in the corridor outside the 2 p.m. Friday, July 22, showing of "Fantastic Four" at the Northstar 14 theater.
Nodler accused Richardson of rudeness and "using the f-word" after he complained to his brother, Charlie, about the noise being made by her clients. Richardson denied using profanity, and said she thought the comment about the noise was disrespectful to the five disabled adults in her care. She also said the group was not disruptive, and that Nodler was so intimidating that he scared her.
Nodler argued that disabled people should not be allowed to attend movies if they cannot do so without disturbing other patrons. "(Being) disabled is not a license to act inappropriately," he told the Globe.
Richardson said she has received no disciplinary action, and that she plans no apology. Last week, one of Richardson's co-workers who witnessed part of the encounter said Richardson was telling the truth, and that her
supervisor commended her for standing up for the disabled.
"It is such a rare treat as well as a great expense and effort for the fixed income disabled I work with to attend a movie," she said in a prepared statement. "And to think, he wanted to send us back out into the heat that day, while he could attend all the free movies he wanted on a lobbyist pass."
The ‘incident’ is neither Republican or Democrat but is about one of OUR public servants putting his needs over the needs of others, and it’s 'unacceptable' regardless of who said what. I'd say that is fairly good reader comprehension. One of few supporters writing in for Nodler had the audacity to point out in reference to Nodlers 'free' ticket that Nodler was not the only one using a free pass, but that the disabled group paid for their tickets with taxpaper's money (from their paltry disability checks which I'm reasonable sure goes mostly to their caregivers). Well, I'd say to that, Nodler's income as an elected State Senator is also from taxpayer's money. Does that mean when he gets his paycheck, we should say how he spends 'his' money, or that when he buys something the taxpayers furnished it? Todler needs to be more humble, because he apparently has plenty for which to be humble! The beat will go on as long as you keep pounding the drum.
Plain talker's long winded diatribe proves Amanda Richardson's dihonesty. Plain Talker points out that Amanda richardsoon says she thought Nodler's comment to his brother about the noise was disrespectful to her clients, but she earlier said he din't say anything about the noise but about "those people". It seems Nodler didn't need a lie detector, Amanda Richardson has proven herself a liar with her own words! and Plaain Talker outed her.
It really doesn't matter because we are all done with Nodler. Just watch and see what happens come election time.
To Anonymous and 'Todler' who I know attends church (I've been with his presence in the congregation):
"NOW I, NEBUCHADNEZZAR, PRAISE, EXALT, AND HONOR THE KING OF HEAVEN, FOR ALL HIS WORKS ARE TRUE AND HIS WAYS JUST, AND HE IS ABLE TO HUMBLE THOSE WHO WALK IN PRIDE" -Daniel 4:37 .
O Lord I thank you that you are able to humble those, like me, that walk in pride. Lord, I want to be humble because I want to draw near to you and have you draw near to me. I do not want to be proud because I want grace and not resistance from you. Thank you Jesus, that you are able to turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Soften my heart toward you of God. Make me walk your paths, kill the pride of my heart and cause me to be contrite and lowly of spirit that you might dwell with me. Cause me to praise, exalt, and honor the King of Heaven and delight in all your works and ways. You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Who do I have in heaven but you, and having you I desire nothing on earth. Grant to me, O Lord, a heart that is captivated by your beauty and enthralled with your excellence. Humble me, and let me glimpse your glory in the face of Christ. Increase my capacity, and enlarge my heart, let me see more of you and be satisfied in you. Weaken all competing desires and strengthen my desire for, and appetite for you O Lord. Let me drink deeply of the water of life and delight myself in abundance at your table. This is what I ask, this is what I want. Thank you for giving me "the want." O Lord, please satisfy my desire for you, and keep me wanting you more. I need you all Lord my God. Thank you that all is from your hand, I trust in you. In Jesus' name I ask these things. Amen.
Another excellent feature article in Joplin Globe today entitled, 'You Just Learned to Be Patient' regarding the developmentally disabled with more mention of Nodler. It can be found at: http://joplinglobe.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=206028 . ###
Doesn't really matter because there aren't enough people in this aea that would dare call themselves "democrats". Nodler will win a landslide. The G.O.P. is just too strong in SW MO.
Anonymous, that's what they said about Archie Dunn running for Jasper County Sheriff as an Independent, and guess who won? An 'independent' could beat Nodler next election!
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