Up north at the State University they've got a word for it, well, two words for it: "repressive tolerance."

The "it" in question is a standard move in the Good Old Boys' (and Girls') power game. Here's how it works:

Let's say you get yourself elected to a city council (somewhere) to shill for the local developer interests.

Now suppose the locals get wind of what you're up to and start satirizing both you and your patrons. What's a booster do?

Easy. Affirm the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution with the whole fiber of your being and then take personal offense at the methods of the folks making fun of you.

There are two desirable outcomes: (a) you change the subject from public accountability to a conversation about personalities and/or (b) you make your critics pull their punches thereby reducing the debate to the banal bonhomie of a Rotary Club luncheon--your home turf.

These lessons having been learned, we at GOLDENCO.ORG, who cherish freedom of speech, would just like to say that the Transcript was really, really mean to Senator Guggenheim.

Our point is simply that the Transcript made itself the voice of a few disaffected, frustrated, paranoid outsiders. It was obviously a divisive influence in the community, and the Transcript's time would have been better spent clothing the naked and feeding the hungry just like Simon Guggenheim and his friends.