sundries

[rm]

From the Department of Not On: Political ad claims opponent is gay.

I just.... it's an interesting situation because it's happening in the GOP, and my stance on outing is that if you publicly support anti-gay causes, media and/or legislation and it turns out you're queer and in the closet, you are fair game. Otherwise, not our business. Now, I don't know what this guy's stance on various gay topics is, but since he's running for office as a Republican, it's conceivable I might be okay with him being outed for hypocrisy if it turns out he is both gay and a hypocrite. On the other hand, he's being accused of being gay by _another_ Republican who's message seems to be "don't vote for this guy because homosexuals are untrustworthy creeps who have icky sex." UGH! What a mess.

The Other Side of Sadness

I am wearing a jacket my parents got me for the holidays that is _very_ Martha Jones.

Ordered stud set for tux which is not here yet (starting to freak out, because if I need alterations I need TIME to get them done).

jonquil links us to the latest update on security procedure changes for flights. Looks like that crap about the blankets and the use of electronics in-flight has been lifted. Still, if you're flying into the US from another country, expect ill-trained strangers to touch you. I have no idea what the current state of affairs is for domestic flights.

Little Kitty Story of the Day: Little Kitty and the Fruitless Commute.

When I lived in Gramercy Park, there was one day when she got out of the apartment and went into the open elevator so I called down to the doorman, and was like "my cat's in the elevator, stop her! I'll be right down!" But the doorman just turned her around, hit the button for my floor and then LIttle Kitty got back out of the elevator and came home.

Comments

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

It doesn't seem like many people take that Martin guy seriously, which is always good...I love the part where he passed the bar exam, but the state of Illinois refused to grant him a license to practice based on the results of his character and fitness examination. I wonder why? [/sarcasm]

If only there were a legal way to shut him up, though. Sometimes I abhor free speech; people too often abuse it.

[luke-jaywalker.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but the problem with "abuse of free speech" is that one person's abuse is another person's "dissenting opinion." Majority opinions don't *need* protection, and all.

Libel/slander might apply. I'm fine with those laws. The question being, would filing suit (as opposed to ignoring it) just be giving the troll more of the attention he wants, and making it into a bigger issue than "some nut job being a crank"?

[nicoli-dominn.livejournal.com]

You're right; the laws for libel and slander are there as checks and balances to the free speech law. However, as you said: one person's abuse (or, in that case, libel/slander), could be another person's dissenting opinion, even in a court of law. I think in cases of libel and slander, there is still a lot of wiggle room when it comes time to prove that something the defendant said actually caused damage to the injured party, especially when debates arise over what actually constitutes damage. Marginalized groups are often not very well protected in such cases.

Perhaps in this case, though, the things Martin says and the ways in which he says them are so obviously slanderous that were he to be brought to court, he would inevitably be charged and convicted. Who knows.