Reaction to commentary

I’m disappointed in my old friend Jim Nelson for dipping into the gutter of “personal attacks” instead of addressing the really important issues which attend the old high school development project. His written reaction to my guest editorial in the April 13 ES Independent reminds me of an old lawyer’s advice, “If your client doesn’t have a leg to stand on and the facts aren’t on your side, attack your opponent.”
I expect this sort of knee-jerk response from some of the Chamber of Commerce or City Council members but not from Jim Nelson. Oh well.
The topics I addressed in my guest editorial involve the legal rights, valid needs and heart-felt dreams of many long-time Eureka residents. To steer the discussion away from those vital topics to a rant about the color of my “hole” is to plunge the level of local political debate into the same sewer which Donald Trump wallows in on the national stage.
Name-calling is a poor, but popular, substitute for reasoned exposition and yields negative results in the long run.
Jim, I hope venting made you feel better but next time you might want to sleep on it and reread it in the morning before mailing it to the newspaper.
No hard feelings but I’ll pass on your invitation to a pissing contest. As W.C. Fields remarked about being tarred and feathered: “If it weren’t for the honor I’d just as soon skip it.”
However, if you’re into a polite conversation over a cup of coffee about what exactly a real Community Center should be, I’d be happy to join you.
Vernon Tucker

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Vernon Tucker April 23, 2016 at 3:05 pm

I’m disappointed in my old friend Jim Nelson for dipping into the gutter of “personal attacks” instead of addressing the really important issues which attend the old high school development project. His written reaction to my guest editorial in the April 13 ES Independent reminds me of an old lawyer’s advice, “If your client doesn’t have a leg to stand on and the facts aren’t on your side, attack your opponent.”
I expect this sort of knee-jerk response from some of the Chamber of Commerce or City Council members but not from Jim Nelson. Oh well.
The topics I addressed in my guest editorial involve the legal rights, valid needs and heart-felt dreams of many long-time Eureka residents. To steer the discussion away from those vital topics to a rant about the color of my “hole” is to plunge the level of local political debate into the same sewer which Donald Trump wallows in on the national stage.
Name-calling is a poor, but popular, substitute for reasoned exposition and yields negative results in the long run.
Jim, I hope venting made you feel better but next time you might want to sleep on it and reread it in the morning before mailing it to the newspaper.
No hard feelings but I’ll pass on your invitation to a pissing contest. As W.C. Fields remarked about being tarred and feathered: “If it weren’t for the honor I’d just as soon skip it.”
However, if you’re into a polite conversation over a cup of coffee about what exactly a real Community Center should be, I’d be happy to join you.
Vernon Tucker

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