A Conservative Blogger in the Library

Behind the scenes of my first corporate media hit job

I recently learned of an opportunity to apply for my local library board. Since I have urged conservatives to do just that, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and throw my own hat into the ring.

I submitted an application, sat down for an interview with the library leadership, and on Tuesday night the city council unanimously approved my appointment. I am excited to attend my first meeting in October.

My official statement, for the record

So that’s it, right? A simple process for me and just another routine piece of business for the city.

Not hardly!

My first inkling of something strange going on came when Council President Charlie Baun pulled my nomination from the consent agenda during Tuesday night’s meeting for additional discussion. He explained that the council had received several emails opposing my appointment to the library board and asked Mayor Jason Pierce to explain the process he went through to find qualified candidates.

As of this writing I have a pending public records request to learn more about these emails, because what happened the next day implies some serious coordination.

Just before 4pm Wednesday afternoon, Brian Holmes of KTVB Channel 7 left a voicemail on my work phone asking for comment on a story they were doing that evening at 5pm. I know Mr. Holmes’ reputation, and I have seen examples of his work. He seems to have made it his mission to attack Idaho conservatives. I have learned from wise mentors over the years that speaking to hostile media is counterproductive, as you only end up cast as the villain in whatever play they are performing.

Mayor Pierce seems to agree, because he too declined to comment for Mr. Holmes’ hit piece.

I don’t watch TV news but friends sent me a link. It was truly an honor to hear Brian Holmes read my writing on prime time news!

I suppose it’s my own fault that Holmes couldn’t figure out how to pronounce my name, though I have to wonder why he chose to pronounce it Ammon - was he trying to subconsciously associate me with Idaho’s public enemy #1?

For future reference, it is pronounced all-munn - almond without the d on the end.

The tone of the piece is clear from the first few moments, as Holmes read some excerpts from this very Substack. He read my exhortation for conservatives to reclaim our culture by hosting neighborhood barbecues, talking to your neighbors, and buying local in the same somber tones as one would use for the Communist Manifesto or Mein Kampf. He very somberly explained that I urged conservatives to join their local library board, but never actually bothers to explain why that is a bad thing.

Holmes read out a few words from my Twitter bio - Father, writer, descendant of pioneers. He says that explains all you need to know about my perspective. (Does it? Quite frankly I’m offended he left out curmudgeon.)

Brian Holmes seems to have assumed that simply reading my own words would be enough to convict me of some sort of Orwellian wrongthink; it was a signal to his viewers that I am a bad guy. He never said why I am a bad guy, of course. That would require more time than a drive-by hit piece allows, and besides, for the left, my very existence makes it self evident. It reminds me of the state of late night comedy these days. Sometime in the mid-2000s, around the time Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert became popular, leftist humor went from actually telling funny jokes to simply pointing at someone from the outgroup and waiting for laughter.

I wonder: did Brian Holmes’ script have laugh breaks built in?

I believe the purpose of a library is to serve as a repository of knowledge that is available to all people, regardless of age, class, or culture, and I am getting involved to keep it that way.

What do leftists want? A place to distribute their propaganda - you know, the same way they use schools, entertainment, corporate boardrooms, and television news programs that nobody watches.

What does Brian Holmes’ ideal public square look like? Apparently neighborhood barbecues are off the agenda, and meeting your neighbor is verboten if you have the wrong political views. I guess anyone with traditional beliefs is not allowed to participate either. What is left? If you want a picture of our leftist future, imagine every screen tuned to Brian Holmes droning on and on and on, forever.

I am just a guy, just a conservative blogger as the TV says. I’m not the bogeyman. I urged my fellow conservatives to get involved in their communities, and when I saw an opportunity to do just that, I stepped up. If that offends or outrages TV pundits, then so be it. I doubt this will be the last hit piece the corporate news media does on me. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.