Saturday, May 17, 2008

Of blogs and men

So the mayor of Kingston sues an unemployed man for $100,000 because the politician claims he was libeled in the man's blog.

So James Sottile - the very public, powerful and influential leader of this city who apparently lost his thick skin when he was slapped at a bar last year -- wants to let you know that this is a private matter -- by making the whole thing a matter of public record, ensuring the offending article gets repeated over and over.

Don't believe me? Google "Mayor Sottile bid rigging."

For the record, opinion is protected speech. So if I write, "The mayor is stupid and is acting childishly and like a bully," he can cry "pain and anguish" all he wants, but there's nothing he can do.

Seriously. Sue me.

Similarly, however, If I were to write something that's not true, like, "Mayor Sottile to be indicted for Bid-Rigging," I would be fired in a heartbeat. Note, however, that I can ironically write it in a didactic fashion. 

So you can try suing me for that one, too.

So maybe the mayor wants to get back at doing the people's business and maybe the bloggers want to do some fact-checking before the start blogging like this.

And yes, I'm a public figure too, so you can smear me all you want.
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Also, and for the record, I didn't vote for the mayor. I was busy not voting for the other guy.