Just this moment, at 4:45 PM CST, an article here on Newsvine entitled "Rainbow Fascism" written by The OttO Show, was deleted "by the Newsvine Community." What does that mean, and why did it occur? The article was not uncivil and it was an honest expression of concern about the unintended negative consequences of hate crimes laws. It is a subject of great interest and serves the Newsvine mission of "getting smarter here."

The OttO Show has been one of the most respected columnists here on the Vine since I joined two years ago. He is one of a seemingly shrinking number of prominent conservatives on Newsvine, which means that his views are not always "politically correct," and certainly not in harmony with the increasingly leftist tenor expressed by the general population on the Vine. This is all the more reason why his views should be heard. A monochromatic Newsvine, devoid of potently expressed conservative thought, would be a boring place indeed.

It did not appear that he was violating the Newsvine Code of Honor, though some of his detractors were getting very, very heated in their commentary following the article.

Deletion of this article is, I would imagine, of great concern to all fair-minded Viners. I want to give the "Newsvine Community" who deleted the article an opportunity to respond and to assure us that this was not merely ideological censorship....which would have a profoundly chilling affect on the free speech of the remaining conservatives - and all columnists, really - here on the site.