I agree. Is this supposed to be a news feed or an opinion piece?

Sure, why shouldn't Deaton have space here? Sounds like you want The Patch to censor views you disapprove of, Kurt, instead of answering Deaton's arguments with your own. Isn't that how the "marketplace of ideas" metaphor is supposed to work?

*Troll Alert!*

Why do you and Theresa hate freedom and America?

Thank you all for your comments. Paul Deaton is one of Patch's Local Voices. Like thousands of others across all 867 Patch sites across the country, he blogs about whatever topic he wants. That's a luxury afforded to any reader/user on Patch.

I would encourage any of you, whatever your position, platform, interest, hobby, etc., to consider doing the same. It's a great way to create a dialogue with others whether like-minded or not.

Theresa, please enlighten us as to what the Democratic agenda for the public schools is.

@Greg

We're aware that this can be confusing in the current design, which is why we will often put (BLOG) in the headline by these posts when we feature them at the top of the page. This is also be considered in our site redesign, which should be coming down the pike one of these days.

For now, though, if anyone is confused about whether it is produced by us or not just look to see if it is in the Local Voices category, which is where our bloggers post. Thanks.

I think you pulled your punches here, Paul, but I appreciate your work. For example, Rolling Stone ran an article about a cluster of gay and lesbian teen suicides in Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin district: seemed the district administration confused teachers with its policies regarding the teaching of LGBT issues, which many mocked as the "no homo promo" policy. Fundamentalist christians, a key constituency, have been very active nationwide in trying to forbid public school teachers from even mentioning gay and lesbian orientation in schools, even as part of sex education (when they will permit even that!).

The punches you pulled? How harmful education policies which the GOP tacitly endorses have been to many American teens.

Too bad if you disliked my facetious comment, Kurt. Methinks you protest too much since you seem to be objecting to Paul Deaton making his point about supporting public education by voting Democratic. I don't see how any reasonable person would NOT know what to expect from Paul, given the inclusion of his piece in a section called "Local Voices," and his choice of headline. I have no problem with Paul using this space to promote his campaign and his perspective. I inferred from your post that you found Paul's work both inappropriate and objectionable, both contentions which I find baseless.

I don't think anyone is taking exception with your right to express your opinion. I support that 100%. I only asked if Patch was supposed to be used as a political medium, which is what it seems your original posting was - in my opinion, and apparently others.

And..... just because the editor approved your posting does not make it right. We have numerous examples in history where the "editor" or "boss" approves of something that is not right , or didn't do anything about it when the wrong was uncovered. ( like the Sandusky mess in Penn State ). It simply does not make it right; it just means that particular editor approved it.

Good grief, Kurt, Paul wrote an opinion piece, and there is no reasonable basis for you to object to Paul's writing this or Patch's approving it for publication. You trivialize the crimes Sandusky is accused of by likening the Patch's use of its editorial power to a man raping little boys.

Be very ashamed of your post, Kurt.

Isn't that what a "blog" is ? a web log. No crying going on , David ..... just commenting, like everyone else does on here - you included. Like Paul said, I am entitled to my own opinion.

I will simply re-state what I originally questioned : Is Patch supposed to be used for this type of political campaigning ? - that does not indicate I agree or disagree with Paul ..... just asking a question. I also stated, and I agree, that the right to express one own opinion is extremely important. I think that is almost exactly what the blogger said.

To answer your question Kurt: Yes, we want political bloggers on our site, and it is unavoidable that it will be used as a platform for campaigning by interested parties, by private individuals who want to express their own perspective (such as Mr. Deaton), and, we hope, by the candidates themselves, such as a conservative candidate for state senate in Marion who is blogging on Marion Patch.

It is also an open platform with few exceptions, meaning that we want voices from all sides of the political spectrum, all you have to do is start. To you and any other conservative readers, we honestly do encourage you to join in. I know some of you may not believe that, but that's the honest truth.

We also of course will continue to cover things besides politics, but there will be political coverage on these sites both from the reporters and from the bloggers.

The goal is to develop a dialogue where people can be informed while also being able to discuss the issues of importance with their neighbors.

Thanks, let me know if you have any other questions.

A few comments on the above

1. We list all that information on our profile because it is the policy of Patch to be transparent. I will be transparent with you in these comments.

2. I am only the editor for Iowa City not the editor for all of Patch, so if you object to my existence, please do not take it out on my colleagues who have different beliefs than I do.

3. I also have a Conservative blogger on my site and would love to have more conservative bloggers on my site.

4. Paul Deaton wrote the post on my site and I generally allow my bloggers to choose their own headlines, as I feel it is their content and they should have ownership of it.

5. Having bloggers is part of our coverage model, both for financial reasons and because we want people to feel ownership in our sites.

6. Since our beginning, we covered Iowa Caucus and spoke with many Republicans in our communities on a weekly basis trying to get their voices on the site.

As we head into the coming election, we will continue talking to both Liberals and Conservatives.

7. We share much of our blog content on several Patches in Iowa, including nonpolitical content, such as dog training tips.

8. The Huffington Post is not behind Patch, we are separate entities, both owned by AOL. We do collaborate from time to time.

9. I am not religious in a traditional sense but respect the beliefs of others. I have a feature on my site where I talk to local religious leaders about the value of religion in modern life.

Thanks.

To Bill and Mary:

Too bad you have chosen to not read an online journal which contains content that deviates from your politically correct view of the world. As you leave, please remember to not let the door hit ya' where evolution split ya'.

Kurt, you were the one who likened an editorial decision you think could be "wrong" to Jerry Sandusky allegedly raping little boys, and Joe Paterno's inaction.

Let's look at GOP educational policies. "Abstinence only" sex education harms teens by denying them the information they need, especially education about and access to contraceptives. "No child left behind" has harmed students by encouraging many teachers to "teach the test." If you tie teacher compensation to student performance on standardized tests, then of course those teachers, exercising the kind of rational self-interest conservatives love in Adam Smith, will make sure their kids are ready for the test. Finally, mandating the teaching of "intelligent design" in science classes presents a distorted view of what "science" is, and harms kids by making them ignorant of how science works in the real world.

But, you don't want to hear opinions which fail to conform to your own...

What's interesting, Kurt, is that neither you nor Theresa Dowd objected to Randi Shannon using the Patch as a campaign forum, even as she was explicitly identified as a political candidate. Why did you initially object to Paul using this forum for his political campaign, but were utterly silent about Randi Shannon when she did the same?

http://iowacity.patch.com/blog_posts/marriage-licenses-are-only-for-generating-revenue

Extraneous - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlTgrMCxPg

Maxine:

Thanks for posting a comment on this post from last June. I thought you lived in Marion, not in a dictatorship such as Zimbabwe or Nicaragua. In any case, I defended your right to say whatever the Patch editors will allow during my military service, so please do continue reading and speaking out. It takes many voices to have a vibrant and sustainable republic. Thanks for adding yours.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Regards, Paul