FC: Maine attorney general plays Net cop, sends nastygrams

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Not only is the Maine attorney general's office mean-spirited and nasty, 
getting involved in a flamewar over environmentalism seems awfully petty.

A better-formatted version (the below msg is difficult to decipher) is at:
  http://www.adamsreport.com/message_board/waitingforpidot.html
Maine attorney general's office:
  http://www.state.me.us/ag/homepage.htm

-Declan

**************

From: "Reisman Household" <reisman () nemaine com>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: State Ag Chills Net Speech in Maine
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 11:51:58 -0500

From "The Adams Report":

http://www.adamsreport.com/

A little after 12:30 p.m. today (February 14th, 2000) a small town college
professor received this chilling email from attorney Jeff Pidot in the
Attorney General^Òs Office of the State of Maine. As you read it, imagine
Rush Limbaugh reading it to you with a German accent.

From: Jeff.Pidot () state me us
To: 'reisman () nemaine com'
Date: Monday, February 14, 2000 12:29 PM

Someone forwarded to the Attorney General's office an email, reprinted
below, that purports to have originated with you. I assume that you are the
source, since your initials appear below, and the address from which the
email came is your internet address.

Of course, you are entitled to the free expression of your views, but the
words used in the communication below are violent in both tone and content.
The words used are designed not to inform the debate nor even as political
rhetoric; these words are designed to strike fear in people. Please bear
this in mind. Thank you.

Jeff Pidot

The following is what was forwarded to me as having been written and sent
out by you to a number of people on the internet. If you did not write or
disseminate this, please let me know

"The BDN editorial and all the calls from environmentalists to "cooperate"
can be summarized very concisely-

What they're saying to Washington County is, we don't really care about the
violent sodomization you're enduring- just turn the other cheek, cooperate
with your tormentor, and you'll learn to enjoy it. Personally, I've always
thought violent rapists should be executed to protect the community from
repetition. Of course, I can understand how the rapists and their friends
might feel differently.-JR"

When contacted, Reisman said "That e-mail was sent as a ^Ñreply all^Ò to a
largely pro-listing address
list. The e-mail was sent out by Jeff Reardon of Trout Unlimited with the
BDN editorial calling for cooperation and no shouting. I understand that
Rep. Eddie Dugay rebroadcast my reply. The subject line of my reply clearly
says ^ÑRe: BDN editorial.^Ò"

Reisman is an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University
of Maine at Machias, President of MECRI (Maine Conservation Rights
Institute), founding member of the Dennys River Watershed Council and
"longtime advocate for Washington County's humans in the salmon policy
debate."

His reaction to Mr. Pidot was immediate, "Mr. Pidot-- My words were
carefully chosen to communicate to those who are pushing this listing
EXACTLY how many folks in Washington County feel about it. Most of my
friends and neighbors agree with my characterization, and are glad that
someone is saying these things. What is being done to Washington County and
rural Maine IS violent and ugly.

"What I wrote was fully within the realm of protected speech. If you or
anyone in the AG's office disagrees, but are unwilling to file charges, then
may I suggest a public forum here at UMM where this can be openly discussed.

"I'd be glad to do an open forum in a venue of your choosing as well. I have
long been concerned with the chilling effects of de facto speech codes on
the academy and the rest of American society. Jon Reisman"

Unfortunately, Pidot declined the invitation. He replied, "Mr. Reisman, I
believe your words stand as your own best critic, and I will not do so. My
email to you was carefully worded to say exactly what I
believed it was my responsibility to communicate to you on this matter. In
both of our roles, in your case as a teacher and opinion leader, and in mine
as a public lawyer, it is important to take responsibility for one's words
and their effects on people.

What happens to Reisman now? Apparently nothing^Å.this time. But another time
will he find himself in a re-education camp, a la John Rocker, because a
state "enforcer" has judged his words "violent in both tone and content"?

I^Òm glad Mr. Pidot wasn^Òt around to watch the civil disobedience of the
Maine taxpayers when they revolted 25 years ago over the statewide property
tax. They were violent and downright revolutionary in both tone and
content^Åand some selectmen said they would go to jail before they would
collect the tax.

More to the point, what happens to you now? Will your off-the-cuff response
to a broadcast email, where you add your two cents worth to a news story or
editorial and send it on to a list, be as candid as it was before you found
out about Jeff Pidot^Òs scrutiny?

We are becoming a state and nation of fearful citizens, at risk of being
strapped in by politically correct thinking and vulnerable to third parties
who, for any reason under the sun, can trigger action by willing bureaucrats
with an agenda.

At mid-afternoon, Pidot wrote again to Reisman, "I want to add one more
thing lest there be any confusion or distortion. I did not write to you this
morning with the view (and I did not express the view) that your chose (sic)
of language was criminal. If I had felt that it was, I would have referred
the matter to the criminal division. I don't take issue with your
expressions as within the broad scope of your First Amendment freedoms,
though the use of violent words and innuendo should be of concern to one who
is interested in responsible dialogue. Indeed, one of the original
recipients of your email brought this to me because he found the email's
words threatening and fearsome. (Emphasis added.)

It used to be that if someone had a beef with you they would personally see
you, call you on the phone, write you a letter or see you in court. Now they
just have to whine to a state employee. It costs them nothing and they
remain anonymous! In that sense, we^Òre all waiting for Pidot or whatever the
name of the department hit man happens to be who pays a visit because of
third party complaint.

There are two Maines all right; the old one and this one. The old one was
much friendlier.



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