Whatever happened to the Bill of Rights?

Dear Editor:

This letter is twofold. I would first like to address the problems concerning the Panther Valley School Board. I do not know Mr. Aungst, so what am I about to say is my opinion.

He has been elected by the people and he has the right to express his opinion like any other tax-paying citizen. If what he has done is wrong and is according to policy, they should have chastised him for it and not ban him from doing the job he was elected to do. Do they have the right to prevent him from attending committee meetings? I feel the Panther Valley School Board is over stepping their boundaries. If he has said publicly something that is true, what is the board telling us? Shouldn't the public be aware of where their taxes are being used and what they are going to cost the taxpayers? It seems to me that they don't want people to know what is going on in the district.

Even "Air Your Opinion" won't let him talk. What happened to free speech?

How does the FCC feel about this? They want your opinion, but only if it agrees with theirs. The primaries are coming shortly. Do they want one of their friends to replace him? There is an old saying "Politics make strange bedfellows." Is this the problem and not Mr. Aungst? My feeling is that he should be allowed back to the committee meetings and an apology is due him.

Second, I would like to mention the Rush Township supervisors. They have stated at one of their meetings that anyone who disrupts the meeting will physically be removed from the meeting. I admit that I have not attended any of their meetings but I have attended many meetings, ie, union, borough and school board.

It appears to me that when someone asks a question that they do not want to hear or answer, they ignore the question and don't give an answer. This is what causes the problem. People go to meetings to get answers and they are entitled to ask questions.

If the supervisors are prepared with the information requested, then there should not be an outbreak of angry taxpayers. They have the right to ask and they are not getting answers. Have you ever heard "Action and Reaction?"

I think this is what is happening at these meetings, and in other towns. Is the removal of taxpayers the answer? Who decides what is a disruption? Another right taken away! It is like dominoes, one town does it and the others try it too.

I realize taxpayers don't get the answers they are looking for, but do not treat the people like they are beneath you. They put these politicians in office and they should represent the best interest of the taxpayers. It seems that they would rather remove them, in order to get to their own agendas.

Today, we still have the right of free speech, who knows when that will be taken away?

They are trying to take guns from the public. What's next, burning books?

History has a way of repeating itself. Wake up! Your rights are slowly being taken away. This is America! Even though it's not perfect, it's still the best land in the world.

I welcome any and all comments for our against what I have stated here.

Rita Repinec, Tamaqua