The blogger was spending a Sunday morning with the e-versions of the NY Fishwrap and the Austin Fishwrap with NPR playing in the background. The Sunday talk show at the time was "On The Media" with Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield. Toward the end of the show this AM, a story penetrated this blogger's consciousness: "SLAPP Back." A SLAPP is a strategic lawsuit against public participation and SLAPPs are meritless suits brought by companies, individuals and sometimes the government, not to win, but to silence critics. The usual targets of SLAPPs are bloggers without financial resources (or a legal department) who can be sued with impunity because they cannot defend themselves or mount a counter-suit. What's a poor blogger to do after calling the faux media star of Faux News a name that rhymes with "ditch," even if she is the former governor of Alaska? Duh? Take out a defamation rider on his/her homeowners/renters insurance policy. So, after this post goes up, this blogger is sending e-mail to his insurance agent with a request that a defamation rider be added to his renter's policy. Take that, you Alaskan bitch! If this is a (fair & balanced) defense of First Amendment rights, so be it.
[x Comics.com]
"Candorville — Lemont Brown As Blogger"
By Darrin Bell
[Darrin Bell writes and illustrates the syndicated comic strip "Candorville" (collected in Another Stereotype Bites the Dust, 2006), in addition to illustrating the comic strip "Rudy Park." Bell, who is Black and Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, CA. He started drawing when he was 3. He's been published in the Daily Californian since 1993, during his freshman year at the University of California-Berkeley, and in major papers across the country. He is the first African American to have two strips syndicated nationally. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a BA in Political Science in 1999.]
Copyright © 2010 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
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Copyright © 2010 Sapper's (Fair & Balanced) Rants & Raves
