Alaska blogger and radio host Shannyn Moore isn’t taking the attempted strong-arming by soon-to-be-former Governor Sarah Palin lightly. Moore shot back quickly on her radio show and in the mainstream media on Saturday, in response to Palin’s Fourth of July Declaration of Litigation.
Palin’s legal threat, issued for her by her private attorney, Thomas Van Flein, earlier in the day, was itself in response to Moore, and other Alaska constituents, who publicly detailed long-whispered local rumors of a federal investigation and/or impending indictments against the former Republican Veep nominee.
The BRAD BLOG broke details of those allegations, citing Moore as one of our sources, on Friday, following Palin’s manic press conference in which she announced plans to cut and run from her elected position of public service, a year and a half early — seemingly to become a community organizer.
Alaska bloggers quickly circled their wagons in defense of Moore, who spoke out herself over the weekend, describing Palin as a “coward and a bully” whose defamation lawsuit she would welcome, at a press conference in front of the Governor’s Anchorage office…
‘Line of Attorneys’ Eager to Depose Palin
“There is a scandal rumor here that there is a criminal investigation into some activities and that’s been rumored for about, I don’t know, probably six weeks or two months,” Moore explained to the Anchorage Daily News prior to the Sunday presser, in response to being named, along with a number of mainstream media outlets, by Palin’s private attorney, Thomas Van Flein, in a remarkable statement on behalf of the Governor.
“To the extent several websites,” Van Flein wrote, “most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as ‘fact’ that Governor Palin resigned because she is ‘under federal investigation’ for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation.”
Van Flein failed to cite where Moore, or any of the other sites referenced, had reported the wide-spread rumors as “fact,” even though he put it in quotation marks, along with other allegations, similarly quoted but notably unattributed. Palin spokesperson Meghan Stapleton has not yet replied to an email query from The BRAD BLOG seeking the sources of the unattributed direct quotations in the Van Flein/Palin statement. We’ll update this article, of course, when/if we do.
The Palin attorney explained to the Anchorage Daily News that it was Moore’s phone interview with David Schuster on MSNBC, following her comments quoted at The BRAD BLOG, and in her own Huffington Post blog item, which was the reason she was singled out for Palin’s legal threats. (See video at right.)
“I hope (a lawsuit) does come,” Moore told the local CBS affiliate in Anchorage on Saturday. “Because there is a line of attorneys out my email door that are asking to please be the one to depose Sarah Palin.”
No Muzzle for Moore
Several leading Alaskan bloggers spoke out in support of Moore following Palin’s targeted attack. The close-knit band of scrappy and Progressive state bloggers — about whom Eric Boehlert dedicated a chapter, titled “Saradise Lost,” in his recently released book Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press — came to the defense of Moore on each of their blogs. (Some of the more noteworthy and/or amusing passages are re-posted below.)
But Moore had no problem standing up for herself today. She called a press conference late Sunday afternoon in front of Sarah Palin’s Anchorage office, and unlike at the Governor’s bizarre presser on Friday, Moore promised to take questions from the media.
In her written statement, posted at her website (and reposted in full below), Moore defiantly declares she “will not be muzzled” and describes Palin as a “coward and a bully.”
“The governor’s massive overreaction -on the Fourth of July no less- should make any reasonable person wonder what’s wrong with her,” writes Moore. “The Lady protests way too much. Eventually we’ll all find out why she really walked off the job.”
“What kind of politician attacks an ordinary American on the Fourth of July for speaking her mind? What’s wrong with her?” Moore asks in her statement. “The First Amendment was designed to protect people like me from the likes of people like her. Our American Revolution got rid of kings. And queens, too. Am I jacked-up? You betcha.”
“Sarah Palin, if you have a problem with me, then sue me,” she stridently concludes. “Shannyn Moore will not be muzzled!”
Moore’s brief written statement, as posted on her blog, follows below, responses from other Alaska bloggers follow below that…
On the Fourth of July, when Americans everywhere were celebrating our most sacred national holiday with parades and barbeques, Governor Sarah Palin was busy having me, Shannyn Moore, declared an Enemy of the State.
In a rambling quasi-legal letter, the most powerful person in this state accused me of defaming her for pointing out the fact that there have been rumors, -rumors- of corruption, rumors that have been around for years.
When Sarah Palin gave her three-weeks notice to the people of Alaska, aborting her term as Governor, a lot of people wondered why she quit. Mid-level managers turn-in their notice, not elected public officials. It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t. People have been trying to guess why she really quit, and everyone in Alaska has been playing the guessing game. They’re rumors. There are a lot of rumors. And with all the corruption we’ve had here in Alaska, of course we wonder what’s really behind her resignation.
Governors don’t just quit. But Governor Palin did.
The governor’s massive overreaction -on the Fourth of July no less- should make any reasonable person wonder what’s wrong with her. The Lady protests way too much. Eventually we’ll all find out why she really walked off the job.
Sarah Palin is a coward and a bully. What kind of politician attacks an ordinary American on the Fourth of July for speaking her mind? What’s wrong with her? The First Amendment was designed to protect people like me from the likes of people like her. Our American Revolution got rid of kings. And queens, too. Am I jacked-up? You betcha.
Sarah Palin, if you have a problem with me, then sue me. Shannyn Moore will not be muzzled!
Circling the Wagons
Phil Munger, who blogs both at Progressive Alaska, and as “EdwardTeller” at the Oxdown Gazette, collected a number of the most noteworthy responses to Palin’s attack on Moore, from several Alaska bloggers.
In his piece, Munger notes the possible provenance for one of Palin/Van Flein’s assertions that federal investigations were asserted as “fact,” even though Moore had never done so.
In an Oxdown Gazette posting on Saturday, hinting at the allegations of a corruption scandal concerning the contracting and building of both the Wasilla Sports Complex, and Palin’s Lake Lucille home, as a possible reason for Palin’s sudden resignation, he included this late update [emphasis in original]
“Here’s a quote I got from law enforcement here in Alaska yesterday afternoon regarding Palin “a criminal indictment is pending authorization.“
He notes at Progressive Alaska that the allegation from the anonymously sourced email, was hardly posted as “fact” [emphasis in original]:
But I didn’t post it as “fact,” but that I had received the information as part of an email. And in the article to which it was an appended update, it fit into the context of trying to speculate on the ramifications of very quickly breaking news that made little or no sense. It still makes little or no sense.
Munger then goes on to detail reactions from fellow AK bloggers on Palin’s attack on Moore, as liberally reposted below…
Despite the fact that she specifically refers twice to the report as a “rumor,” Van Flein says she portrayed the story as fact. The only fact is that there are rumors. I know because I’ve been hearing them since last October. They even have a name – “Housegate.” If you Google “Palin Housegate,” you get 8,600 references, beginning back with an article that appeared in the Village Voice. Googling “Palin sports complex scandal” gets you 230,000. How many mentions are required to constitute a rumor? It’s probably less than 230,000. I’m not exactly sure how the legal dynamic duo of Palin-Van Flein is planning to un-rumorize almost a quarter of a million online references to a rumor that started 8 months ago, but it will be interesting to watch.
Linda Kellen Beigel at Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis:
I watched Shannyn’s piece on MSNBC…both she and David Schuster were VERY CAREFUL to say that what she was discussing were rumors circulating in Alaska for weeks. Up here, you can’t ignore rumors. (You know, like the rumors circulating for weeks about Bristol’s pregnancy…those sure turned out to be false, didn’t they?)
Regarding the speculation (something we are doing a good bit of on this blog as well), Palin CANNOT expect to leave the State of Alaska…hell, the entire country…hanging and not expect rampant rumors to persist. Then again, she’s Sarah Palin…I guess she expects to have EVERYTHING the way that SHE wants it!
Gryph at The Immoral Minority:
And just to help clarify this story. ALL Shannyn did was say that there was a rumor of a criminal investigation against Sarah Palin. If you have read this blog or Dennis Zaki’s blog, or the comments at Mudflats, or any number of other blogs you have probably known about that for about two months. It is not news to those of us who follow the Palin story carefully.
And in ALL of that time Sarah Palin and her cronies never said a thing about the validity of the charges. But now that the media is searching for a reason to explain Sarah’s bizarre behavior they suddenly feel all defensive and victimized.
But remember NOBODY said this was an FBI investigation. The rumor I heard was that it was an IRS investigation. Now that MAY turn out to be a false lead as well, but it is definitely a well known rumor. However if you read or listen to ALL of Shannyn’s responses you will hear that she carefully avoided labeling who was investigating Palin, or what kind of and investigation it might be. However even if she had stated what I just stated above, she STILL would have been protected by the First Amendment.
Look let’s cut to the chase. The only reason that Palin targeted Shannyn is because she received air time on Hardball with David Shuster on Friday and that pissed Palin off.
This SLAPP threat is hilarious enough to make some of us think we might donate to HER legal fund, so you can continue to project Palin onto the national stage, as she deals with having to go through your lame designs for her future.
Look Mr. van Flein, as much as we comment about how strange, funny, vindictive, unprepared, ignorant, selfish and foolish Gov. Palin often appears, when it comes to reporting what we hear or read about her, what we write is in the hope of ultimately arriving at truth, not fiction. We sure are not out to hurt her or be malicious. We have quashed many untrue rumors, some of them quite rapidly.
We all have mixed feelings about Ms. Palin. But to characterize Shannyn Moore or the other Alaska bloggers as unscrupulous will not hold water.
Very good article. It documents well what my political instincts were telling me.
Nice job all the way around for all the bloggers involved.
Threats of legal action seldom work when you want to silence critics. It wets the appetite instead.
Additionally, it tends to demonstrate fear on the part of those threatening legal action.
Let the DISCOVERY process begin – put “little shop of horrors” under OATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s see what she has to say…
Boo Hoo. Liar defamer and general asshat Shannyn Moore is calling Sarah a bully. Awwwwwwwww. Guess what idiot, suing for Libel is a perfectly legal recourse and in a court of law, you will lose. Especially since the FBI has stated UNEQUIVOCALLY that they never started an investigation, and have no intention of doing so. Because their is NOTHING to investigate.
So all Moore’s lies and false allegations are just that. She had no sources, none. She made this shit up and now she will drown in the shit of her own making.
Moore is liable for what she wrote as is anyone that reprints her lies or rebroadcasts her lies,
Courts will rule in favor of Palin and it will cost Moore dearly. No amount of “freedom of speech, freedom of the press” BS that Moore will put forward will hold any weight.
But Moore knows that, and her whining about being bullied is the mark of a lying, coward who victimizes others and then plays the victim when they fight back.
Moore is the architect of her own demise, she’ll drown not just under the weight of lawyers fees, but under the heap of her own shit.
Brad Blog should consider itself warned.
What’s the big deal? Wouldn’t y’all like to have a house for free? She was the mayor! She was elected to be the boss! And when they accidently order too much materials for the sports complex the city was building, why not build a house for the mayor? Makes sense. I’m sure we’d all do it, if given the opportunity. But this is just a RUMOR! Please don’t sue me, Ms. Guvnuh!
shw
SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE, Juliana
SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE, Juliana
Grab some popcorn and watch palin squirm under oath!
SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE, Juliana
SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE SUE, Juliana
[ed note: Comment deleted. You are using five different screen names, and I already asked you yesterday to pick one and stick with it. –99]
Palin will not dare sue anyone. During the depositions the lawyers can ask any questions they want of the person they are deposing. Could Sarah handle that?
Good for Moore, she is obviously not a “democrat” she must be an Independent or Green Party supporter.
If she were democrat she would be crawling into her shell only coming out to apologize profusely for telling the truth.
What you want to bet that Palin now shuts up?
Could Sarah handle a deposition if she can’t handle Letterman or Katie Couric?
The Empress’s wearing new clothes.
Sue me bitch. Sue me.
All that is needed to make the house concerns go away is to have Todd name the ‘buddies’ that helped him build it and produce some of the receipts for materials.
I know a man that built a 1500sq ft, ranch style house with the help of a buddie (he had a contractor pour the foundation) and it took him nearly six months of quasi-full time labor (did it in addition to his day job) and it was lovely. He had a file with all the paperwork and receipts in it for everything he bought and the foundation/HVAC he contracted for. He was virtually a master carpenter and the house was well built and beautifully done. He did all the finish carpentry, kitchen, plumbing and electrial also.
If there was ever a question about anything from the State or Feds regarding money or inspections(he built it for a close relative and sold it to them at a no-profit price) he could just pull out his file which was stuffed with all of his receipts, plans, permits etc. The paperwork got put into the file as time allowed during the building process and the need arose but started out in a cardboard box.
Prudence and common sense dictates that Todd ought to be able to produce something approaching that and name his helpers. Case closed on the house. If it was on the up and up there shouldn’t be a problem.
The FBI seems to have disclosed that there were no investigations pending so once the house thing is put to rest the ‘rumors’ go away, no?
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/05/huckabee-palin-raised-more-questions/
I’m resigning…and if you try and figure out why…I’LL SUE YOU!!!
Thou dost protest too much!!!
Were her threats like 24 hours after her crazy resignation speech? She was hoping to threaten people. It would’ve been somebody. The plan was to make a resignation speech, and then immediately threaten people if they try and figure out why she resigned.
Actually, she should’ve rolled it all into one: put a “pre-emptive threat” in her resignation speech.
Her resignation speech should’ve been:
“I’m resigning, and I’ll sue anybody who tries to find out why”
Why did she break it up into two different things 24 hours apart?
Better yet:
“I’m going to sue people for what I am about to say: I’M RESIGNING!!!”
She should’ve said:
“I’M GOING TO SUE THE TUBES OF THE INTERNETS”
Isn’t that Alaska again? The guy who said “tubes of the internets”???
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
… Juliana said on 7/6/2009 @ 6:14 am PT…
Boo Hoo. Liar defamer and general asshat Shannyn Moore is calling Sarah a bully. Awwwwwwwww. Guess what idiot, suing for Libel is a perfectly legal recourse and in a court of law, you will lose. Especially since the FBI has stated UNEQUIVOCALLY that they never started an investigation
Juliana: They’re only threats until she actually sues. We can conjecture all we want about what would happen “if” Palin sues. Let’s see if she sues. Hasn’t happened yet!
And do you believe everything the FBI says? btw? So, they find ONE guy somewhere, who says there’s no investigation (so far)…
Moore threw Bradblog under a bus, she is now saying Brad Blog totally mis quoted her and she has no control over what other blogs say!
Hilarious.
Comment 17…Timbeer…
That’s easy to resolve…have you ever considered going to Shannyne Moore’s blog and seeing for yourself what she said and then comparing that to what’s post here by Brad ?
both blogs stated there are RUMORS of an investigation.
oh and the FBI speaks agai — sorry your scadal was just another Jason Leopold pipedream there losers.
Don’t you love the way people quote the dishonest FBI, only when it suits their purposes? As if they are the shining example of being above board and honest! That’s a JOKE in itself!
I would sooner quote FORMER FBI agents (like whistleblowers) than anyone actively in the FBI right now.
Now we’re quoting FBI agents. They’ve never lied, right?
It was wonderful to see all Shannyn Moore’s supporters at her press conference. Ms. Moore’s courage in the face of the wrath of the all powerful and vindictive She Wolf of the North is inspiring. Mr. Van Fleet will not dare harass a citizen with his frivolous lawsuits. Unless of course he has screen shots to prove his claims.
What if Palin’s under investigation by some other entity, besides the FBI?
Comment 22….Big Dan….
BINGO!
I’ve asked the same question…
All these Palinites avoid it…
great question
For some reason I think the deposition phase of the litigation will be a lot harder on Moore than on Palin. She isn’t going to want to reveal who funds her. Palin has a defense fund. Perhaps Moore will start one.
My guess is the end game here is new “loser pays all” legislation in AK, which will chill any legitimate ethics complaints in the future. I wonder if that is something Moore thought of when she started down this road.
The rumor in Alaska for the last several months, if the Palin supporters cared to look, was that the IRS was investigating her, not the FBI.
There’s also the U.S. Attorney’s office that could be investigating her.
Just because the FBI says they’re not investigating her doesn’t mean she’s not under an investigation.
“She isn’t going to want to reveal who funds her.”
Moore wouldn’t have any problem revealing that information.
I’m one of her funders. Her funding comes from individual contributions.
Care to explain why she would have to reveal her funders since it would have nothing to do with the case?
“My guess is the end game here is new “loser pays all” legislation in AK”
It would be unconstitutional. The SCOTUS has already ruled in such a case.
In fact, the Republican controlled Alaska legislature has shot down proposed legislation (brought up by a Palin Republican ally in the legislature) because they didn’t want a protracted court battle they know they would lose.
It’s easy to tell the people who haven’t been keeping up on Alaska’s politics.
Here’s what Sarah Palin would have to prove in a libel case…
http://www.ehow.com/PrintArticle.html?id=2086301
Step One -Show defamation. Prove that there was in fact defamatory language that shows badly on your morality or integrity or questions your credibility in your profession.
Step Two- Explain identification. Show that the libelous statements in question refer to you and show that at least one reader could identify you as the defamed person.
Step Three-Demonstrate publication. Prove the public received–generally that they read–the libelous statements.
Step Four-Prove fault. Show negligence or recklessness, if not intent to defame, on the part of the defendant.
Step Five-Establish falsity. Prove that the published statements were untrue. You only need to prove this in cases involving public concern.
Step Six-Confirm personal harm. Show the loss of reputation, emotional distress or money. If there was no personal harm done, and instead the published statements just caused annoyance, for example, there is no libel suit.
Any lawyer worth his salt will demonstrate to Sarah Palin that she has NO CASE…steps 4, 5 and 6 will do more harm to Sarah if she had to answer those in court.
Please Sarah sue…There are many lawyers that would love for Sarah Palin to incriminate herself on the stand while suing for libel…
kinda ironic when you think about it…
Shannyne Moore’s defense…
1964 Supreme Court of The United States ruling.
http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/libel-and-slander
“In 1964, the United States Supreme Court heard the case of The New York Times v. Sullivan, and the law of defamation changed drastically. For the first time, the Supreme Court recognized that the First Amendment, which protects an individual’s freedom of speech and expression, protects even speech and expression that is defamatory. In Sullivan, the plaintiff was a public official who sued The New York Times for libel after the newspaper published certain unfavorable allegations about him. The Supreme Court discussed the First Amendment to the Constitution, which states in part that “Congress shall pass no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press.” The First Amendment exists, according to the Court, to help protect and foster the free flow and exchange of ideas, particularly on public or political issues. The Founding Fathers of the United States valued open debates regarding political issues or governments, determining that citizens in a democracy need a free marketplace of ideas in order to become informed and make good decisions. Open debates often become caustic and emotional, with opponents sharply attacking one another in the effort to persuade others. Sanctioning defamatory speech or expression would put an end to such attacks, but sanctions would also jeopardize the free marketplace of ideas by effectively censoring free and open debate.”
Shannyne Moore this case in a walkover…U.S. Supreme Court precedence.
Of course I do understand that when Sarah Palin shot off at the mouth about suing…she wasn’t aware od SCOTUS law.
Palin isn’t aware of much…
Off Topic, Warning, Caution.
Be careful. Have a backup plan. I am goin on day 8 of hard core rebuild on new iron…lost everything. Seriously, watch out.
Maybe I just fucked up and hit a bad page. Maybe I was targeted to be shut the fuck up. Who knows, with a corrupted NTSF partition who won’t recover, not even the NSA can find out.
hint: look up virut.ce (Kaspersky definition)
Laugh if you want, I thought I had it fixed, then it removed all my data.
Sweet Virus, like back in the DOS days. gotta give cred where cred is due. Think your a tech? HAHAHAHAHA!!
One thing that might help if you get hit, is the TOOLS you use. I actually had a small window to save some data because of the way I went about it, some AV and other tools remove that chance.
Oh and while your trying to fix it, better get a knopix disk or something and change all your bank, domain, hosting, passwords…eh?
“Care to explain why she would have to reveal her funders since it would have nothing to do with the case?”
In a deposition you can ask anything that “may lead to discoverable information”. Certainly if Moore is being funded by a democratic operative, that would be relevant. And of course no one can know that unless they ask.
“It would be unconstitutional. The SCOTUS has already ruled in such a case.”
I’m not sure that is right. Do you recall the case?
“Please Sarah sue.”
I sense a “be careful what you wish for” moment coming on.
BTW I think the facts of this case put Palin outside of Sullivan. After all, she can probably prove malice.
Secunia PSI WorldMap [ Change Location ]
Your Secunia System Score of 100% is 5% HIGHER than the average user from California, United States.
Compared to users WITHOUT the Secunia PSI installed, your Secunia System Score is 15% HIGHER (more secure).
This has all the traits of a high school female cat fight. There are much bigger issues with what is going on in the U.S. besides this garbage.
Fox News Contributor Rips Into Palin: “The Woman Is Inarticulate, Undereducated” (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/06/fox-news-contributor-rips_n_226370.html
The Myth of How the Media Destroyed Palin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/the-myth-of-how-the-media_b_226136.html
Sarah Palin Flashback: ‘Whining’ About Media Coverage ‘Bothers Me’ (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/06/sarah-palin-flashback-whi_n_225955.html
Shannyne Moore’s website is on WordPress…doesn’t take much funding for that.
From what I read here Shannyne Moore wouldn’t hesitate to answer the question of who funds her site.
Sarah Palin would have more trouble PROVING that Shannyne Moore’s claims are false and damaging to her (seeing as how Sarah’s resignation was self-inflicted)
And more trouble yet in PROVING malice by Shannyne Moore.
The SCOTUS Sullivan (1964) ruling applies directly to this scenario…
But hey let Sarah sue and answer questions in open court…
her adoring public awaits…
Actually Sullivan doesn’t apply – at least based on my reading of it (which is a few years old, but I don’t think it has changed.) Even if it does, I doubt it is about winning for either of them.
If Sullivan is applied and accepted it will never go to Court – it will be decided in summary judgment – but it will still cost lots and lots of money to get there. And Palin may bring in other bloggers as well.
But I agree with you. Palin should go forward and we can see it play out.
Comment #36…Plumber
See Comment #29…it’s a summnation of the Sullivan ruling. It applies directly. Go to the link provided in 29.
Shannyne Moore is a journalist…She made charges in her blog about Palin. Sullivan applies; also see post 28 about proving libel in court…Palin’s lawyers will be mal-practicing if they advise her to sue. Palin can’t win.
it’s a summnation of the Sullivan ruling.
It’s actually not. It leaves out the most important part – malice. DO you not think Miller meant malice? How about Brad?
Palin may not be able to win, (although I’m not as convinced as that as you are) but that may not be the point. Have you been following what has been happening in Canada with the HRC or the proposals by our own AG?
There is an awful lot more in play here. And Miller widely opened that door.
Comment #38….Plumber…
See post 28…proving libel…
Step Four-Prove fault. Show negligence or recklessness, if not intent to defame, on the part of the defendant.
Step Five-Establish falsity. Prove that the published statements were untrue. You only need to prove this in cases involving public concern.
Step Six-Confirm personal harm. Show the loss of reputation, emotional distress or money. If there was no personal harm done, and instead the published statements just caused annoyance, for example, there is no libel suit.
I just posted those 3 because Palin would have HUGE trouble proving those points (especially step 6 her resignation was SELF-INFLICTED).
She can’t sue Moore for what she did to herself.
That alone with Sullivan makes Palin a fool to pursue this in court…
Juliana @ 3 said:
Just for the record, Juliana, neither The BRAD BLOG, nor Shannyn Moore, to my knowledge, has ever reported an FBI investigation of Palin.
Though Palin is, as any citizen, welcome to file a lawsuit against either me or Shannyn, or anybody else I suppose, on those grounds if she so chooses. Beyond that, thank you for your thoughtful ‘warning’. The Free Speech Police are, no doubt, indebted for your vigilance and servitude.
Shannyn Moore would be unlikely to incur significant personal expenses in a Palin libel suit against her except in the extremely unlikely scenario of a judgement against her. This would be a huge Free Speech/First Amendment case and she would have the ACLU and virtually every legal group interested in Free Speech offering more free representation than Moore would know what to do with.
Shannyn Moore would be unlikely to incur significant personal expenses in a Palin libel suit against her except in the extremely unlikely scenario of a judgement against her.
I disagree, the legal fees will be huge. She needs her own lawyer, not the ACLU – any lawyer would tell her that. The ACLU looks out for their own interests, not Millers.
Bluehawk, I don’t agree with your analysis. Do you think there was malice involved in Miller’s posting?
I like the part where Juliana says: “She will drown in the shit of her own making”. That’s so poetic!
Also: “She’ll drown not just under the weight of lawyers fees, but under the heap of her own shit.”
The “Drown in shit” troll, Juliana will henceforth be known as…
Maybe she had some traumatic childhood experience, where she almost drowned in shit, or something…
I am still wondering why Moore, a journalist, has to wait until this goes to court to tell us what she knows about Palin? She really doesn’t know anything, does she? Otherwise, depositions wouldn’t be necessary. Basically, what Moore is telling you is she repeats gossip. I know a few of those around my small town too. We don’t call them journalists, though.
Her attorneys aren’t aware of SCOTUS law? Very odd for an attorney to not be aware of SCOTUS law. I have never heard of SCOTUS law, but then google hasn’t heard of it either.
She really was just repeating rumors. I’ll be damned. She really does need depositions to find out something, anything, on Palin. LOL.
I think Brad has been had. Icebergs. Get your icebergs!
But I thought Moore knew. Icebergs were mentioned.
So, now that a Fox News commentator said that Palin could be up for an investigation on her dealings in Wasilla as an answer for her quitting, does that mean Fox News will be sued, too?
(Video here.)
Can you imagine Palin’s reactions to cartoons, media, and other world leaders comments about her if she were President? At this rate she’d last just a few weeks. What if Ahmadinejad called her the devil? She’d cry and go fishing?
Look at all the flak Obama takes. He made a contract with all his voters just like Palin did, but he’s still working on the job the best he sees fit.
People who are secure about themselves, whatever their ideology and worldview, don’t let other people bother them. It’s only the insecure who feel threatened.
{Ed Note: Broken link fixed. – BF}
UPDATE: Alaskan Sarah Palin authority (and
Went back and looked to make sure my memory of the wording was correct. It was. “Iceberg scandal”. Now, we’ll all find out eventually.
umm, Axey….. you haven’t heard of the Supreme Court of the United States (aka SCOTUS)
Idontgetit,
Sure. Just not SCOTUS law.
I will guarantee that not only would Palin not win a defamation suit, she won’t ever file one in this case. The idea that she could win such a suit is just the wet dream of wingnuts who think the Constitution is “just a piece of paper”, that First Amendment rights are so easily assailable and that the media should be so easily intimidated. “Plumber”, you can conjecture all you want but your arguments are just legal hot air. I’ll be waiting to hear from you here in a few months when I’m proven correct.
Aren’t y’all a little disappointed in Ms. Moore? An “iceberg scandal that’s about to break” and “resigning as part of damage control” turns into “there have been rumors, -rumors- of corruption, rumors that have been around for years”. You can pretend Ms. Moore hasn’t walked back what she told Brad (either that or Brad misquoted her) but she did. She can be defiant all day long, but she repeated gossip. She admitted it.
Axey, surely you don’t need the Cliff Notes to understand that when someone says ‘SCOTUS law’ it means precedent. ‘SCOTUS law’ is a ruling of law.
As far as icebergs are concerned, they tend to float towards you either very quickly or move away very slowly depending on the weather. It’s still very early to predict the weather at this moment. But many forecasters suggest looking out for them just in case.
Notice how Shannyn didnt cross the line against the attorney warnings….she sure as hell stopped making factual statements and replaced them with sue me sue me…..what a pansy ass.
Well, thanks for the Cliff notes. I thought SCOTUS issued opinions, not law. My bad.
So you aren’t bothered by Ms. Moore needing depositions to find out if the gossip she repeated is in fact true? I didn’t realize that is how journalism worked. I must need the Cliff notes for that one too.
What I’m thinking is that Palin’s move puts yet more pressure on Obama to finally get some results, as the soaring rhetoric isn’t hypnotizing the plebes like it used to.
Last week Helen Thomas, Colin Powell, and Warren Buffet all turned on him. Polls are looking droopy for The One lately.
And Obama’s porkulus program is a train wreck, all it’s done is bump interest rates and tank the dollar. We are being laughed at by bad guys like Tehran, Pyongyang, and Al Qaida who amazingly turned-down Barack’s friend-requests.
Palin could trounce him in 2012, when Americans would vote for the Gipper-in-Heels in droves- while begging for lower taxes, free enterpise, a defense posture with some backbone… an end to the radical, anti-American nightmare we’ve got now.
Go get ‘em Sarah-
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
Comment #59…Axey…
Who says Shannyne Moore NEEDS anything from Sarah Palin ?
Sarah’s action has given Shannyne Moore everything could could have dreamed of. A lawsuit was be early Christmas for Shannyne Moore; it would vault her to national hero…
“…aborting her term as Governor.” lol.
Keep the faith, Shannyn! And it’s amazing how little Palin knows about the law. No one but her fanatical true believers will take her seriously as a presidential candidate after her public meltdown and running away from her responsibility to the people of Alaska.
“Plumber”, you can conjecture all you want but your arguments are just legal hot air. I’ll be waiting to hear from you here in a few months when I’m proven correct.
And I from you when you are handed your hat.
Who says Shannyne Moore NEEDS anything from Sarah Palin ?
I’m pretty sure she needs a release and I suspect you agree given your unwillingness to address the malice issue.
Someone up above. Oh and Ms. Moore herself…”‘Line of Attorneys’ Eager to Depose Palin”. If she didn’t need the depositions, she would release the information she had instead of stumbling around with rumors, and corruption in Alaska and we’ll see comments.
Hey Reaganite,
Being insane is not a virtue….please crawl back in your hole…
Comment #63….Plumber…
Spelling it out for you…
Malicious or slanderous material is considered INJURIOUS (key word).
Shannyne Moore reporting from unnamed sources things that she heard about Ms. Palin’s frauds and unethical dealings is not considered “malicious” because Sarah Palin WAS NOT INJURED! by those reports…I’m sure they were irritating but not injurious.
Sarah Palin’s resignation was SELF INDUCED
What Sarah Palin would have to prove in court is that Shannyne Moore personally was out to smear and destroy her.
That’s tough…and given Ms. Palin’s public persona probably impossible to prove.
Sarah Palin suffered what most public figures endure with rumors, innuendo and the such…it goes with the territory*.
*See Bill Clinton’s being called a murderer (Vince Foster) for almost 8 years by right wingers in the media.
Sarah Palin would have to PROVE that what Shannyne Moore wrote was false.
Sarah Palin would have to demonstrate how Shannyne Moore injured her in a tangible way.
Sarah Palin would have to PROVE there was no reason or circumstances that Shannyne Moore can cite for calling her a fraud and dishonest.
And that’s just off the top of my head…
Axey,
She doesn’t want or need depositions. That is a talking point. It’s a pretense to flex her muscles – but given how far she has backed down it’s an idle threat. No serious reading of the events thus far would say otherwise.
Nor do I think Sarah Palin has any interest in suing Moore. What she has an interest in is stopping irresponsible malicious defamation and my guess is that she has largely succeeded (assuming Moore is being counseled by a semi-smart lawyer).
stick a fork in her boys (metaphorically speaking of course), she’s done!
So Long Sarah, wish we didn’t know ya!
I find it ironic the right wingers are up in arms about Shannyne Moore regarding Sarah Palin…given the right wing smear jobs over the last 15 years…off the top of my head…
Bill Clinton- Called a murderous head of a crime family by right wingers.
Hillary Clinton- OMG! take your pick of slanderous stuff about her…the right hated her with a red hot passion
John Kerry- That Swiftboating of an honorable veteran was shameful…from a party that preaches patriotism.
John Edwards- Ann Coulter called him a fag-ot on national television and got away with it.
Barack Obama- the lies the right are floating out there about him are racist, insidious and reek of sedition.
yet these yahoos are perplectic about Sarah Palin…it’s reeks of hypocracy from the right wing…
Everything reeks of hypocrisy. Depends on which side of the aisle you are sitting on whether you believe your side is hypocritical or the other side is.
So Long Sarah, wish we didn’t know ya!
Why?
Comment #70….Axey…
typical right wing reply…
“hyprocracy is normal”
That alone illustrates the state of right wing thinking.
a sad observation
I believe I said it depended on which side of the aisle you were on whether you thought it was hypocritical. I see hypocrisy in the left, you see it in the right. So if that makes it normal, which I didn’t say, you did, then I won’t argue with you.
Axey…
Great deflection of the statement…you didn’t deal with the examples given or acknowledge their legitimacy. You just gave a standard right wing retort …
“everyone does it according to where one sits”
and all is fine in your world.
Truth be damned
Right Wing thinking is scary sometimes…
No, I didn’t respond to your actual points because I could list those that were made against republicans that were inaccurate and we would argue whether they were accurate and neither of us will give an inch. So, I think it is hypocritical that the left thinks Palin and her children are fair game while defending John Lying Kerry, John Baby Daddy Edwards, Bill Cigar Clinton, Barack Hussein Obama. I kind of like Hillary, so I’ll agree with you on that one. You see hypocrisy, I see hypocrisy.
Bravo Shannyn Moore. Caribou Barbie salivates at blowing animals away and gutting them but seemingly lacks the guts to actually sue you for defamation….clue to sarah..you’d have to answer lots and lots of difficult questions under oath.It think that would be a depo that could go on for several days . Shannyn. You keep on unmuzzled and please be my guest some evening on KGO RADIO…I think you are absolutely fabulous..and thanks Brad for bringing her to us bradblog fans.
CHRISTINE CRAFT
LAWYER, RADIO TALK HOST.
Comment #75….Axey…
So we’re in agreement that what Sarah Palin endured was actually pretty tame in light of what Bill Clinton, Hillary, John Kerry and John Edwards endured…right ?…
Not to mention the many jounalists who were smeared because they dared question the Bushies. and let’s not forget Valerie Plame and Cheney putting her life in danger by outting her as a CIA agent.
OH! what about the mother who lost her son in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan…the smears and lies about her from the right wing were just peachy huh ?
Her son gives his life in Iraq…and his mother gets treated like crap at home…nice right wing stuff there.
all that kinda makes Sarah Palin’s whining and playing the victim about a blogger on the internet seem kind of small and petty doesn’t it?
Please Sarah sue…put the finishing touches on any chance at a public life again.
Steve #55 the Constitution is “just a piece of paper”
No no – you’ve got that wrong – It’s a “Goddamn Piece of Paper”! G.W.B.
#60 Palin could trounce him in 2012, when Americans would vote for the Gipper-in-Heels in droves- while begging for lower taxes, free enterpise, a defense posture with some backbone… an end to the radical, anti-American nightmare we’ve got now.
ROFLMAO LOL LOL LOL LOL
There’s one single outstanding reason I wouldn’t ever vote for Sarah Palin, Massive Security Breech. How she even maintains any security clearance at all has got to be due to straight up corruption at the highest levels of government. Frankly she’s a HIGH RISK.
Remember how she wasn’t supposed to have a yahoo webmail ack!!! Yuck!!) account being used for government business. She was TOLD not to. Yet did it, and then denied it (lied) and then got caught by account crackers and exposed. The simple fact she was using WEBMAIL and not pop3 is an egregious act all in itself. Did you know that government employees are NOT ALLOWED to use webmail at all currently?! There’s a reason for it, it’s hell of insecure and can cause your entire network to be compromised.
Ignoring the whole Republican vs. Democrat bullshit nonsense, Why a single person would vote for such a security risk is beyond me.
Oh and since we are discussing security.
I’d like to point out a couple of free tools that might help you to find things on your box you might not be aware of. (You don’t use webmail or ftp do ya? Gopher? Telnet? Old gtk libraries?)
Since, I recently got ALL MY DATA DESTROYED by an extremely nasty plethora of virus’s, trojans, rootkits, and worms, and considering I had several firewalls (Soft and Hardware), several anti-virus, I subscribe and take action on several security mailing lists, I don’t use webmail, and generally watch my logs, and even network traffic and packets on a daily basis, apt-get, etc. (cough usually have backup see below) and yet STILL I GOT HIT..
1. Secunia (PSI) Vulnerability Scanning – Secunia.com (Download Website) note: be sure to use the “advanced interface mode!!!!!!!
2. Protector Plus – Windows Vulnerability Scanner
(Download Website)
These two things will probably keep you busy for awhile, hopefully the next couple of days. I doubt one person reading this could pass both these tests on a windows platform. And even if you did, yet you would already KNOW, there’s still an exploit for internet explorer.
The other thing, (which I had, but didn’t have at this time I got hit–long story, big fuckup) is a pair of matching hard drives (same size) which you mirror back and forth. After the mirror is written you unplug the backup drive. Yeah yeah yeah yeah all you got raid, who cares. I don’t. I Hope both your all raid drives DONT get infected at the same time. ;o)
Look just MIRROR your drive then UNPLUG IT. If I help ONE PERSON out there with this advice–I’m good. It won’t help you change all your passwords, but it will get you back up and running fast. You really don’t want to be where I am at…Day 9, and and I am no slouch or idiot.. Did my whole network get destroyed? Were my Bank Accounts emptied? NO. only the one box. I caught it quickly, and used another box to change passwords. Am I stupid and keep network netbios and other microsoft shares open, or do I force all traffic through ssh, iptables, SPA (Single Packet Authentication) like port knocking? A: No. I use ssh, iptables, SPA knocking.
You can’t get a virus when there isn’t any electricity, well maybe the pig flu, or west nile but those aren’t computer related… o;)
Yeah it’s people *like* Sarah Palin who compromise government networks, bringing in their rootkit/worm CD’s or USB’s, etc. when they were told not to. You literally have to glue the ports shut and disable the drives and put a lock on the case. Yet even if one tries to be safe there is danger, better to have people who at least show they have some grasp of security, instead of doing what they were told not to do.
But you know, the Corporate media won’t ever tell you about her past history with security. There’s a reason, they won’t allow the PRESIDENT to have a fucking off the shelf blackberry.
It’s one thing when you try to do everything right and follow your security plan which is setup withing your existing budget, it’s another when your arrogance openly flaunts set rules, because your just an rotten corrupt jackass to begin with.
Full Disclosure, I have nothing to do with any of the tools mentioned, no stake, no stocks, no employment, and I don’t get paid to tell you anything.
I support you 100+% Shannyn! sarah is the worst thing that has happened in politics since george bush.
You speak loud and clear for me.
Shirley
The threat to sue anyone who even discusses the possibility of illegality on the part of Palin is laughable and chilling in its implications for how these people perceive the First Amendment.
This threat is also understandable when one looks at who two of Sarah Palin’s biggest supporters are. Greta van Susteren and her husband John Coale are both Scientologists. Not just “here, take all my money” Scientologists, but apparently movers and shakers within that particular group.
For the past several years, Scientology, the corporation, has aggressively used SLAPP suits to intimidate critics. This was the first thing that crossed my mind when I heard Palin’s spokeperson talking about suing people who were even considering talking about what investigations might be underway.
As for some of the rhetoric on the comments here, if the people making outlandish statements about how un-American the current administration is are really serious and actually believe this we are in serious trouble as a country. And all the back and forth about SCOTUS “law” and whether Sullivan applies think of this: would the current members of the Supreme Court, the ones who unconstitutionally interfered with an election, hesitate for one moment in ignoring stare decisis and overturning Sullivan if it suited their purposes?
Shannyn Moore…it is you who is the bully and cowrd. You speak in ominous tones about scandals about to break; then when Gov. Palin exposes you, you scream “Whaaah! I just said there were rumors, whaah!”
Hey Christine Craft, are you still hurting emotionally from the fact that your lawsuit against KMBC-TV was shot down in flames? Sounds like it. And then you go off and pose nude, for crying out loud. Talk about unhinged.
Shannyn Moore is the one that is the bully, and what an arrogant bitch too !
I hope that Palin cleans her clock !
Did Moore actually say “Shannyn Moore will not be muzzled ” ? If so, gawd she thinks highly of herself doesn’t she ?
Moore is gutless. She deletes any negative comments on her board, only posters who have their nose up her ass get displayed.
The arrogant Moore brags about all the lawyers she has, but if she has been wrongfully defaming Palin, no judge is going to give a shit how many lawyers she has. Hopefully Palin will carry through with her threat to sue, and clean out fat ass Moores wallet.
Shannyn Moore want’s moore publicity and moore attention..Who funds you has everything to do with false charges! Your Soros-Acorn-Obama Rules for Radicals FALSE LITIGATION has been STRATEGICALLY FUNDED in the past, and many of us have NO DOUBT that people like you have been funded for these “FALSE LAW SUITS”…Shannyn..”What does a man profit to gain the world only to lose their soul?” Perhaps you might consider writing a book on the benefits!