Saturday, December 12, 2009 9:06 am

A reader of our Web site displayed the sign above as he walked along Main Street near the Cannon County Courthouse Saturday afternoon.

Reader "PurpleHaze" is upset because we would not approve his opinion submitted to an article on our site which stated that there is "corruption" at the Cannon County Sheriff's Dept.

We did approve his opinion which stated there is "alleged corruption" at the sheriff's department.

Our view is that unless and until there is proven to be any form of corruption at the sheriff's department, people can only have an opinion that there is, which does not make it factual or accurate.

PurpleHaze contends that the First Amendment affords him the right to express any opinion he wishes, whether it is factual, or not.

We disagree, which is the cause of contention and the reason for the sign.

PurpleHaze is entitled to his opinion about our policies, and we are happy to afford him this venue to express them.