Michelle Malkin had a great blog entry yesterday entitled "Our Homes Are Not Our Castles." It is highly relevant to my recent battles with Jo Fish of Democratic Veteran and Jeff Huber of Main and Central. It deals with the issue of whether or not it is proper to publish the private information of political opponents on your website.Michelle Malkin says she will never do it, even in reprisal. For that reason she has refused to publish pictures and the address of Bill Keller's personal residence. Bill Keller is editor of the New York Times, which recently published pictures of the summer homes of Dick Cheny, Vice President of the United States, and Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense.
Michelle Malkin knows what it's like to have her privacy invaded. In April 2006, Leftist thugs at the University of California at Santa Cruz plastered all over the internet her home address, phone number, pictures of her neighborhood and maps to get there. This was really an extreme example of what the Left is capable of.
I disagree with Michelle on one point, that private information should never be published. I think it should be published as a direct reprisal to anyone who does it to you first. The Left doesn't understand rules of fair play or common decency. They are hateful in the extreme. Periodically putting the fear of God into the Left is essential if we are to dissuade them from their destructive ways.
Michelle Malkin says "there is a concerted effort to dig up and publicize the private home information of prominent conservatives in the media and blogosphere to intimidate them." For that reason, I (Stogie) believe that we on the Right must be ready to fight fire with fire.
However, as I said before, I believe in "Live and Let Live." If you don't bother me, I won't bother you.
Do read Michelle's article on the subject. It contains a lot of insight and wisdom.
