I'm gonna push this damn envelope of FREE SPEECH and FAIR USE for all its worth, because without them you get this....
FASCISM!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Libel lawsuit filed against Cape blogger" by Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff | September 8, 2008
The libel case was based, appropriately enough, on the dredging of dirt - or sand, at least.
A Cape Cod Today blogger last spring accused the people opposed to dredging Barnstable Harbor of not-in-my-backyard politicking. Naming their names - and using one off-color description - blogger Peter Robbins told his readers exactly whom to blame if their boats ran aground this summer.
Now the leading opponent is suing Robbins for libel, an increasingly common charge against bloggers. Robbins's lawyer counters that his free speech is at stake.
"It is silly to suggest that the statements made constitute libel," said Peter B. Morin, a lawyer who is also a Cape Cod Today blogger. "They're trying to punish him for expressing his personal opinion on the reason for the delay in the dredging of the harbor."
Plaintiff Joseph F. Dugas could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer, Richard Zabbo, would not discuss the case. The lawsuit is the latest challenge to the freedom of bloggers, who are subject to the same libel laws - though not the same editorial standards - as the mainstream media.
Like the MSM has standards!!
For what, how many god-damn lies they can tell in a given edition?!!!
While the First Amendment protects the right to state opinions, bloggers can get into trouble when they include factual statements in their postings, according to David Ardia, director of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Un-fucking-real!!
Yeah, "FACTUAL STATEMENTS" are never a problem for the MSM since THERE ARE NOT ANY in there!!!!!
More than 500 blogger lawsuits have arisen in US courts - often generating more publicity than the posts that spawned them, Ardia said.
Yup, the ATTACKS on the TRUTH-TELLERS ALWAYS BACKFIRE!!!!
What makes the Robbins case particularly interesting, Ardia said, is that his defense is citing Massachusetts' anti-SLAPP law, named for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. Such laws were enacted in 26 states so that citizens could voice their opinions about projects without being sued for defamation and silenced by developers or other powerful players.
"Often these arose in the context of environmental disputes, which is the irony in this case," said Ardia. "The parties are actually reversed."
Bloggers can get into trouble by crossing the line between fact and opinion, Ardia said.
Something the LYING, AGENDA-PUSHING, WAR-PROMOTING MSM never has to worry about!!!!!
They serve up shit opinion as fact all the time. I ought to know, I'm the one getting sick off reading the shit!!!!!!
"If my blog is simply my opinion, then I'm not stating any facts. I can offend as many people as I want and I won't be open to a defamation claim," said Ardia.
The problem is, BLOGS ARE STATING FACTS ALL OVER THE PLACE!
It is the god-damn MSM that is lying!!!!
And how about the OFFENSE of WAR CRIMES, TORTURE, MASS-MURDER, etc, etc, etc?
HANH?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Walter Brooks, the editor and publisher of Cape Cod Today, said he is disturbed by the libel suit, which he views as part of a trend of trying to silence writers and critics. "It's power trying to stifle comment and dissent."
Nothing new about that!!!!
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