We were surprised they waited this long. Perpetual (it seemed) Board of Supervisors speaker Michael Klubnikin will finally get muzzled.
Per the Register: Supervisors, in reversal, vote to limit speakers’ time. City News Service had a more detailed story: Fed-Up Supervisors Further Limit Public’s Comments. It looks like this pain in the ass will now be limited to nine minutes of idiotic pointless spewing rather than the hour he reportedly used at a Board meeting last month.
Now about the other guy…
So, let me get this straight. You advocate the abridgement of 1st Amendment Rights because the guy is a pain in the ass? Sometimes, Art, free speech isb’t our ideal. I know this guy causes rancor among the board members but, is it necessary to stifle free speech of all others just because they don’t like what they hear? That’s a real libertarian view you have.
Jeff,
There is a difference between free speech and grandstanding. As you know there are many ways to express your opinion – in newspaper editorial letters, in blogs and in social media. These nuts who show up to public meetings and ramble on for an hour don’t have a right to waste taxpayer resources so they can gratify themselves in public.
I have spoken at City Council meetings in Santa Ana and I always stay within the time limit with no problem. But generally I will get things done on my blogs or via email. I respect the time of our elected officials, their staff and the public.
There is no doubt this guy had a hardon for the county because of his own personal problems. But, this edict has a chilling effect on the public at large. And, laws, ordinances and policies should not be promulgated over one person. If we had numerous citizens doing the same thing, they might have a legitimate gripe. To my knowledge, no one has had their speaking time abridged simply because this guy has a creative mind. Better the board could legitimately say that his comments are not within the purview of the board and dismiss him without instituting another draconian measure that stifles free speech at large. As much as I would get tired of hearign Darrel Nolta, the guy sometimes makes sense and that made his other comments worthwhile.
This policy was instituted simply so the BoS could say enough is enough to whichever opponent whose view they don’t share and dismiss him or her without another thought. Let’s hope it never happens to you.
It won’t because I’m not a gadfly.
You won’t have to be. You’ll just have to have a disparaging view that takes more than 9 minutes to share.
Submit it in writing.
That defeats the purpose of public comments, one of which is to raise public awareness, because written submissions to the Board are not typically published until after the fact.
Seriously how many people watch these meetings on the first place? Give me a break!
Seriously, is that the point?
You don’t change anything by screaming at politicians.
Comments have always been limited to three minutes. Is that an abridgement of free speech? Do you wish unlimited time?
Put yourself in the audience as someone who wanted to make a comment on the day this jerk took up an hour with his BS. How do you get that hour back? Would you have idly sat there and put up with it?
I DVR the meetings or watch the video files because of people like this clown Klubnikin and the other one, Nolte. I won’t waste my time going down there.
“I DVR the meetings or watch the video files”
As do I, Art. But, again, is that really the point? And, quite frankly, Moorlach and the Gang of Five are paid handsomely, including 100% taxpayer funded pensions and health benefits (unlike most county employees) to sit there and listen to it. And most in the audience are there for a reason, not just because they had nothing better to do with their lives. So, yeah, we should not be stifling free speech for the sake of silencing one idiot who they could legitimately silence through other means.
I like how conservatives scream about free speech and other unalienable rights until it just doesn’t suit them or it becomes inconvenient. Then, they make the liberals look good.
Tell you what don’t you share with us just one example when the yahoo in question actually made a difference with this act.
Irrelevant. Making a difference is not a prerequisite for exercising your First Amendment right.
That’s right – it’s just a waste of everyone’s time. This yahoo still has an opportunity to prattle on at the BOS meetings. He just can’t do it ad infinitum.
Free speech does have its limits. Go yell fire in a crowded theater and let me know how that works out for you.
This is a far cry from yelling fire, which I knew you would eventually bring up. And, again, wasting everyone’s time is irrelevant in regard to the First Amendment. Let’s see how long it takes for city councils and other governmental boards, like school boards, to catch on to how to suppress their public critics.
What suppression? We have established that you can still talk at these meetings and you can submit your ideas in writing, to be included in the minutes. And you can blog about your idea and submit it to local newspapers, in their op ed sections, as a letter. And on top of that you can use social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to further get the word out.
It is easier than ever to make a difference today without having to scream at politicians in public meetings for hours. As a fellow blogger you know this quite well.
There is a difference between expressing opinions and being a grandstanding gadfly.