DL Open Thread: Sunday, March 13, 2022
First Amendment Lawyers Rooting For Media–To Lose? I might be right with them:
The suits, which are being argued in several state and federal courts, accuse Project Veritas, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, One America News and others of intentionally promoting and profiting from false claims of voter fraud during the 2020 election, and of smearing innocent civil servants and businesses in the process.
That “may well turn out to be a good thing,” said Lee Levine, a veteran First Amendment lawyer who has defended some of the biggest media outlets in the country in libel cases.
Mr. Levine said a finding of liability in the cases making their way through the courts could demonstrate that the bar set by the Sullivan case did what it was supposed to: make it possible to punish the intentional or extremely reckless dissemination of false information while protecting the press from lawsuits over inadvertent errors.
Increasingly, many First Amendment lawyers see the courts as one of the last viable paths to deter the spread of political disinformation and help prevent repeats of dangerous situations — from another Jan. 6-style riot to the more isolated threats against local officials that grew out of Mr. Trump’s false insistence that the election was stolen from him.
“I think we are at a time in U.S. history and world history of losing any ability as a civilization to distinguish between truth and falsity,” said Rodney Smolla, a lawyer representing Dominion Voting Systems, a technology company suing Fox News and several individuals who promoted conspiracy theories about the last election, including Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sidney Powell.
Disney Fucks Up. Tries To Unfuck Itself:
In a statement sent to employees on Friday, Disney CEO Bob Chapek also announced that the company would increase support for advocacy groups fighting similar laws elsewhere (such as one recently introduced in Georgia) and would reassess Disney’s political donation policies. Chapek apologized to the company’s workers for not making a statement sooner, writing, “You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down.” In response, DeSantis criticized what he called the company’s “woke” ideology.
Disney’s slow response stands in contrast to its branding as LGBTQ-friendly. In recent years, the company has featured gay characters in films; Disney stores sell LGBTQ pride-themed merchandise; and its theme parks have a loyal LGBTQ fan base. More than 150,000 visitors come to Orlando’s Walt Disney World during what are known as annual “gay days.”
Is Clarence Thomas The Worst Person In The United States? Or just the most-influential worst person in the United States?:
The US supreme court could “at some point” become “compromised” by politics, said Clarence Thomas – one of six conservatives on the nine-member court after Republicans denied Barack Obama a nomination then rammed three new justices through during the hard-right presidency of Donald Trump.
“You can cavalierly talk about packing or stacking the court,” said Thomas, whose wife, Ginni Thomas, has come under extensive scrutiny for work for rightwing groups including supporting Trump’s attempts to overturn an election.
“You can cavalierly talk about doing this or doing that. At some point the institution is going to be compromised.”
“By doing this,” he said, “you continue to chip away at the respect of the institutions that the next generation is going to need if they’re going to have civil society.”
Presumably spoken without irony. Feel free to supply your own.
DuPont Family Vs. Winterthur. I can only hope that the attorneys are Democrats. How dare Winterthur to be so–indiscreet?:
Polisi, du Pont-Langenegger’s attorney, wrote that her client is “profoundly disappointed” that the museum is pursuing the challenge through “public litigation” instead of a “more discrete resolution.”
“She’s now left with no choice but to defend her reputation and her father’s legacy,” Polisi wrote on behalf of her client. “We’ve been shocked that the museum would treat anyone this way, much less the daughter of one of its greatest benefactors.”
Her reputation? Consisting entirely of having been birthed into a filthy rich family? Has anybody ever heard of her?
What do you want to talk about?
Here’s an even better piece on the Winterthur/DuPont imbroglio:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-18/winterthur-museum-sues-du-pont-heiress-claiming-she-took-antiques
I’d forgotten how much I can’t stand the idle rich of Chateau Country.
“The US supreme court could “at some point” become “compromised” by politics”.
Had a chuckle on this one. Especially since Thomas was the source , he remains the premier example of a political court with a distinct far right agenda.
Indeed. God forbid the Supreme Court is viewed as a lawless body of partisan hacks and just an another policy making arm of a political party. That would be terrible.
Here is the thing. Thanks to accomplices like Senator Chris Coons, we have so many Trump judges on the federal bench now that whenever a conservative person or media outlet loses a case – they can appeal it up and find partisan conservative judge to overrule any decision that doesn’t go their way.
I’m very pessimistic.
Leaked Kremlin Memo (this is not satire): It is ‘essential’ to feature Tucker Carlson in the Russian media as much as possible:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/03/exclusive-kremlin-putin-russia-ukraine-war-memo-tucker-carlson-fox/
Gee, wonder what the feckless D’s will do about this?
Interesting interview with Cornel West in the New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/cornel-west-sees-a-spiritual-decay-in-the-culture
Highly-recommended. Not many more interesting thinkers out there than Cornel West.