[Peace-discuss] Fw: TARGET: Rep. Joe Wilson -- who yelled "You lie!" at Obama

[John W.]

On Fri, Sep 11, 2009 at 4:51 PM, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>wrote:

I'm sooooo sick of these damned right-wingers saying whatever they want and
> getting away w/ it, plus of course all the media attention -- equal time and
> then some. And until there are some real consequences, it won't stop. I do
> NOT want the Dems/progressives to get down to their level -- i e constantly
> referring to Laura Bush as, "Boyfriend-killer Laura Bush" or referring
> to Republicans as "Draft-dodging chicken hawk Republicans," but there needs
> to be some way to stop it. So maybe censure in this case would be one way to
> start the process. I think we need more libel and slander lawsuits as well.
>  --Jenifer
>

The trouble with libel/slander/defamation suits is that they're so hard to
win.  There are a number of elements to them.  The speaker/writer must make

1) a statement of fact, not opinion or satire
2) which is untrue, and
3) which the speaker/writer KNOWS to be untrue, and
4) which causes actual, demonstrable harm to the subject of the utterance.

In addition, if the statement is made by the media and/or with reference to
a "public figure", the person who claims harm must prove "actual malice" on
the part of the speaker/writer/publisher.

The burden of proof is always on the plaintiff, so all of these elements
present significant hurdles or barriers to winning a lawsuit.

John Wason





>
> --- On *Fri, 9/11/09, Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: TARGET: Rep. Joe Wilson -- who yelled "You
> lie!" at Obama
> To: "Peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>, "Karen Medina" <
> kmedina67 at gmail.com>
> Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 2:51 PM
>
>   Absolutely.
>
> I don't think censure is the way.  We'd probably do better with a rowdier
> system, even like the British Parliament with all its faults, where the PM
> has to actually go down on the floor and debate.  Of course, it hasn't made
> Britain a workers' paradise.  But at least they have National Health - for
> now.*
>
> Ricky
>
> *That has to do with other factors, in my opinion.
>
> "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes." - Maggie Kuhn
>
> --- On *Fri, 9/11/09, Karen Medina <kmedina67 at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Karen Medina <kmedina67 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: TARGET: Rep. Joe Wilson -- who yelled "You
> lie!" at Obama
> To: "Peace-discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 1:48 PM
>
> Representative Joe Wilson's outburst tells us more about him. He is
> dumb enough to think it is a good idea to have people living among us
> that DON'T have access to health care.
>
> He made a fool of himself.
>
> -karen medina
>
>
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