American Values Alliance | Practical voice for progressive valuesAmerican Values Alliance | Practical voice for progressive valuesA few days ago, I posted testimony given by Dr. Woody Meyers in the late 1990s, which had been sent to me (and presumably others)anonymously. (I assume it was sent to me because I write for the Indianapolis Star.) I checked the source cited for the testimony, saw it was accurate, and posted it. Subsequently, a commenter from Dr. Meyers' campaign posted a response, to the effect that the testimony was indeed correct, but that it had been offered in response to a different amendment to ERISA than the later amendment familiarly known as the Patients' Bill of Rights.
I have now been advised by counsel for Dr. Meyers that the Doctor considers my original post "libelous," and that failure to correct the record will be grounds for an immediate lawsuit. While a simple, civil telephone call would have accomplished the same result (and while my recollection of libel law from my lawyer days leads me to doubt that my blog post qualifed), I am always willing to correct a factual error.
On the positive side, it's wonderful to know that the AVA blog is so widely read!
Sheila Suess Kennedy's blog | login or register to post comments
Good Heavens......I have some admiration for Woody Myers, but putting one's attorney's on the trail of bloggers for what seems at best to be a non-material error hardly seems the way to win friends and influence people when you're running for political office. Even if it is his own money he's spending.
But then it's been years since the Supreme Court's seminal "New York Times vs. Sullivan" decision said that "public figures" (I assume Myers is for this purpose) have a pretty uphill battle in winning libel suits. But since Justice Scalia probably thinks the framers of the Constitution never heard of either Myers, ERISa, or the Patient's Bill of Rights, the state is likely set for his overrulling that case. Hmmmm. Myers vs. Kennedy, Browning, et. al. When are the oral arguments?
We're not even together and we're getting in trouble! I mean, when you were at Bilerico, I could see how we'd get in trouble together... LMAO
Let's see if I have it all straight here. A while back, you wrote a blog entry on Dr. Myers' appearance before the House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations / Committee on Education in the Workforce as it observed the 25th Anniversary of ERISA. In that entry, you included what you felt was relevant matter from the Congressional Record. I checked the record, and what you posted and attributed to Dr. Myers sure seems to be a correct reflection of the record.
Shortly after that, a member of the Myers campaign wrote to expand and explain what they felt were important points in a post which was put up without amendment (and probably should have been posted by the Myers campaign as a comment to your original post instead of a stand-alone entry, disconnected to the originating entry).
Do I have it all together so far?
What the sweet hell is the Myers' campaign's maladjustment? Everyone is free to post to the AVA blog. In fact, we routinely invite candidates to post here--even ones we don't exactly see eyeball to eyeball with. And everyone is free to contact us with information to help shape our points of view...or to post corrections themselves.
We're a self-policing community of grown ups here.
To be clear on the extent of the Myers Maladjustment, his campaign has also gone after blogger Bil Browning from Bilerico, demanding to get the name, blood type and a urine sample from a commenter on his site.
Step back and take a breath here, Dr. Myers. Your reputation is only in danger from your actions--not Sheila's, Bil's or anyone else's in the blogosphere.
Oh, and if taking a breath doesn't do it, try this: piss the hell off.
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Lalita L. Amos, CRC
http://www.totalteamsolutions.com
http://totalteam.blogspot.com
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