How a billionaire GOP rainmaker tried (and failed) to rewrite history by suing Mother Jones

[anon8420928]

@ActionAbe

Tax breaks for paying your workers decently? Could be an interesting angle.

Hmm, I like that, as long as the breaks are for individuals and not companies.

ETA - On second thought, what’s the difference? Silly me.

[LDoBe]

@Boundegar

I wonder if there’s any simple solution?

Anti-SLAPP statutes. Suing for defamation regarding the reporting of true things is the exact definition of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, is a form of censorship, and in our best states is so frowned upon that you can often get an immediate dismissal of the case if you’re fast enough and can get a lawyer for fifteen minutes.

[LDoBe]

We could also have a progressive income tax on investments, instead of treating rich people like they actually earned the money, or did work, or even need it.

[anon8420928]

@LDoBe

We could also have a progressive income tax on investments, instead of treating rich people like they actually earned the money, or did work, or even need it.

It’s fair enough to assume that if it’s not inherited income, it’s earned.

With that said, wealthy people and companies (what’s the difference!?) get breaks because they’ve influenced lawmakers to twist things their way. Tax 'em at at least the rate everyone else pays!

And that said, I do think that our higher earners should do more, because they have the means, and a healthy society benefits them.

No more loopholes. I hope Pres. Sanders will do this, but I’m holding out for my mythical hero.

[ChuckV]

Welcome, new posters!

[chgoliz]

What is the connection between a gay reporter and covering news stories about pedophiles or Boy Scouts? Is it that a gay reporter shouldn’t be allowed to work in journalism, or that those two groups get a special pass from being reported on by journalists?

[jpc2769]

Surely there is some way for newspapers to get creative with their corporate structure to protect against this kind of thing?

[AnthonyI]

His company reminds me of Amway, which too spawned some rapacious hardcore right-wing billionaires in Michigan. A person would have to be a natural born mega asshole to start a company like that.

[jdaniel30]

I would think it would be difficult but not impossible to compensate an anonymous reporter through some kind of blind mail system.

[Craig_Michael_Ranapi]

@doctorow

But the real issue here is that the 0.0001% have a powerful weapon in their arsenal: punitive civil lawsuits through which they spend less-resourced news-agencies into the ground to prevent the truth from being reported or kept in the public record

And the really shocking thing is that this is still surprising anyone – harassment and intimidation via vexatious litigation is nothing new, and hasn’t been in my 43 years on this planet. When British media mogul Robert Maxwell died in 1991, he had over a hundred defamation actions in train, a good chunk of them intended to shut down journalists asking awkward questions about the state of his employee’s pension funds. (Spoiler: They weren’t there any more.) And he financially and professionally ruined a lot of good people in the process.

[Craig_Michael_Ranapi]

@avunculoid

Why can the magazine not get legal fees paid for by the complainant–isn’t this the very thing the SLAPP law was meant to take care of?

Even if they can, you don’t need a crystal ball to see millions more in legal fees (and years of time and energy) going down the crapper. That’s petty cash to the likes of VanderSloot, but I really doubt Mother Jones hasn’t got beter things to do.

[nimelennar]

@anotherone

@Boundegar

I wonder if there’s any simple solution?

In England the looser pays litigation costs for both sides but that seems to only prevent the middle class from bringing any suits.
In these cases it’s not easy but the defendant really should be going after those costs from the plaintiff when the plaintiff is monied and vindictive.

In The Amulet of Samarkand, set in England, there’s a scene where a girl sued someone for assaulting her with magic and seriously injuring her friend with the same.

The defendant showed up late and was fined for being late.

Due to a rare immunity to magic, the girl was uninjured in the attack. The judge, seeing no injury and thinking she was lying, dismissed the case and transferred the fine onto her.

Is that really what would happen in England? Even the fines for things the other side does wrong are imposed upon the loser of the case?

Please tell me that’s just fiction.

[Craig_Michael_Ranapi]

@darthere

MJ can hide behind freedoms of the press rules in not disclosing where they got the story, as well as if the story is true.

What the hell? VanderSloot was claiming material drawn from public records were defamatory lies. Honestly, I don’t want to indulge in mental health shaming language but if this isn’t at least in the vicinity of clinical psychosis, I don’t know what is.

@mary_neto

read what Judge Williamsen wrote on pages 52-53 of her opinion about Mother Jones’ journalism

Yeah, I think we’ve established she’s not going to be taking out a subscription to Mother Jones any time soon. She still threw out his defamation action, root and branch.

As many others have pointed out, if VanderSloot’s views on LGBT equality have “evolved” over time, good on him. But what he shouldn’t be allowed to do – what NOBODY should be allowed to do – is bully others into rewriting history he now finds politically inconvenient.

[ChickieD]

Welcome to BoingBoing mystery guest who is totally not a sockpuppet for VanderSloot!