Important Stuff -- Or Not: A Double-Edged Sword

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

A Double-Edged Sword

Well, well, well, Rep John Murtha is being sued for defamation by one of the Marines he called a cold-blooded murderer.

A Marine Corps staff sergeant who led the squad accused of killing two dozen civilians in Haditha, Iraq, will file a lawsuit today in federal court in Washington claiming that Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) defamed him when the congressman made public comments about the incident earlier this year.
Attorneys for Frank D. Wuterich, 26, argue in court papers that Murtha tarnished the Marine's reputation by telling news organizations in May that the Marine unit cracked after a roadside bomb killed one of its members and that the troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood." Murtha also said repeatedly that the incident was covered up.

I have mixed emotions about this. What Murtha has done to these Marines is defamation. It is also shameless, self-serving and totally without honor. He has convicted the Marines involved in the Haditha investigation before they have even been charged with anything. Their reputations are forever tarnished.

But, as much as I'd like to run to my sock drawer and find something to shove in this former hero's mouth, this cuts both ways. We all wish irresponsible politicians (Democrats) would just shut up and go home. But lawsuits against politicians are used as a political weapon in some parts of the world. This is a favorite tactic of some strongmen in Asia. In Malaysia or Singapore, for instance, opposition politicians have found themselves bankrupted if they even expressed their opinion. It's one thing to say, "I think Howard Dean is nuts." It is quite another to say, "Howard Dean is certifiably nuts." The distinction disappears in some of these Asian lawsuits.

So, although I sympathize with the Marine who is being slandered, we all know how low liberals can sink. If this lawsuit is successful and becomes precedent, the left will certainly use it to their advantage.

2 comments:

Tonto said...: Well the law is written here that you can say anything as long as you disguise it as (1) "an opinion" or (2) whatever you are syaing better be true. These are the only two defenses against generally against defamation.

So if what you say happens with this lawsuit then the only way around it in the future to prevent censorship of comments is for all politicians to just say [and this is also for anyone else for that matter] is...begin each sentence with "in my opinion..."

as long as you say that regardless of whether or not it is true you are o.k.

You can't say something that you know is false and sell it as true and hurt the reputation of someone else UNLESS it just your opinion...so remember that and your attorney will have no problem defending you...for example you hate your boss well then say..."in my opinion my boss is scum and is cheating on his wife and lies on his reports." You are in the clear.; 9:37 PM
Tonto said...: sorry for the typos on my last comment...hard to feed a baby and type a comment...no time to proofread too!; 11:05 PM

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Talking Points

I don't use talking points, I create them.

1. Hate makes people stoopid.

2. There is nothing so impenetrable as a closed mind.

3. A stupid person is not someone who can't learn, but someone who refuses to learn.

4. It is a small mind that has no room for God.

5. You can take Stalin out of the gene pool, but you can't take Stalinism out of liberals.

6. The best way to sabotage a bad plan is to follow it to the letter.

7. The race card is the first refuge of people who have nothing to say.

8. Ignorance is the cornerstone of arrogance.

9. Which is more racist, to hate someone who is not white or to assume someone is racist because he is white?

10. Children are not stupid. If a child is taught, the child will learn. If a child is not learning, the child is not being taught.

11. To express righteous indignation, one must first be righteous. And that's a label that doesn't stick to liberals.

12. Profanity is ignorance made audible.

13. An open mind is a liberal's worst enemy.

14. Paternalism is the purest form of racism.

15. People who bend the truth, usually bend it in their favor.

16. If you always stand in opposition to liberalism, you will never be wrong.

18. Life is simple. People who make it complicated usually have an agenda.

19. Getting your news from the corrupt, liberal media is like sticking your head in the sand, except you don't get grit in your teeth.

20. Liberals' emotional development stops at the age of 16.

21. To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell the truth.

22. Idealism seldom matches up with reality.

23. Those who don't hate communism have never lived it.

24. This was a much more civil country when men walked about heavily armed.

25. This economy will never heal as long as Obama keeps picking at the scab.

26. Liberals don't think outside the box; they ARE the box.

27. You cannot change the hearts and minds of liberals, because they possess neither.

28. There is no such thing as a kind liberal.

29. Reading Democratic Party platforms is like reading the history of human rights abuses and crimes against humanity in this country.

25 Immutable Truths About Liberals

Over the years I've been writing this blog, I've been throwing out little self-evident truths that seem to have no exceptions that prove the rule. I've made a list of some of them and will add to it as I remember them or make up more. Most of this list I've come up with myself. A few I've borrowed from others.

1. Always expect the worst from a liberal and you will never be surprised.

2. Never try to reason with a liberal. They disregard any evidence that conflicts with their beliefs.

3. You can always tell what liberals are up to by what they accuse conservatives of doing.

4. Liberals don't debate, they argue.

5. The only standards liberals have are double standards.

6. Liberals feel, conservatives think.

7. Whenever you don't understand a liberal's motives, just look for the money.

8. Liberals cannot be embarrassed. They lack the gene to blush.

9. The Liberal Golden Rule is, "Do unto others but scream bloody murder if they do unto you."

10. Liberals don't have leaders, they have demi-gods.

11. There are no honest liberals. If they were honest -- especially to themselves -- they would be conservatives.

12. A liberal's business is nobody's business, but everyone's business is a liberal's business.

13. Liberals have an inflated sense of self-worth. They are like house flies that criticize the air-worthiness of a Stealth fighter. (Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, ad infinitum are morons.)

14. Liberals lack a sixth sense that conservatives have in abundance -- common sense.

15. Liberals never stop hating.

16. There are only two types of liberals -- the deceivers and the deceived. The difficulty is telling them apart.

17. Every time liberals get on their high horse, they get bucked off.

18. Liberal programs are so wonderful that they have to be forced on people.

19. Liberals always choke on their own medicine.

20. When given a moral choice, liberals always come down on the wrong side of the fence.

21. The only way liberals can build themselves up is by tearing others down.

22. Liberals not only refuse to learn from their mistakes, they refuse to admit them.

23. Liberals have only two political positions -- blind devotion and blind hatred.

24. Liberals are incapable of attacking the message, so they always attack the messenger.

25. Liberal diversity is only skin deep.