Van Jones Should Sue Glenn Beck & DefendGlenn.com For Libel!

[Turborama]

1st I'd like to get the difference between misinformation and disinformation clarified.

Definition of disinformation:

Main Entry: dis·in·for·ma·tion
Function: noun
Date: 1939

false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth
http://mw1.meriam-webster.com/dictionary/disinformation

Disinformation should not be confused with misinformation, information that is unintentionally false.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinformation

Now onto the libel case Van Jones has against Glenn Beck & degendglenn.com...

Slander and libel are not protected by the First Amendment, here are the definitions...

slander
An untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. If the statement is made via broadcast media -- for example, over the radio or on TV -- it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience. Both libel and slander are forms of defamation. (See also: defamation)
http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/slander-term.html

So, I went to libel:

What is Libel?

Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others. Libel generally refers to statements or visual depictions in written or other permanent form, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures. The term defamation is often used to encompass both libel and slander.

In order for the person about whom a statement is made to recover for libel, the false statement must be defamatory, meaning that it actually harms the reputation of the other person, as opposed to being merely insulting or offensive.

The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also have been published to at least one other person (other than the subject of the statement) and must be "of and concerning" the plaintiff. That is, those hearing or reading the statement must identify it specifically with the plaintiff.

The statement(s) alleged to be defamatory must also be a false statement of fact. That which is name-calling, hyperbole, or, however characterized, cannot be proven true or false, cannot be the subject of a libel or slander claim.
http://www.medialaw.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Public_Resources/Libel_FAQs/Libel_FAQs.htm

So, BecKKK and his buddy Kreep have been recklessly libellous against Van Jones and they both deserve to be taken to court for it:

Radical ‘Birther’ Kreep Launches DefendGlenn.Com

Beck and FoxNews have launched increasingly http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/25/beck-van-jones/">vicious attacks on White House official Van Jones, who co-founded Color Of Change in 2005 following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Now radical right-winger Gary Kreep, head of the United States Justice Foundation, is leaping to Beck’s assistance. He has established DefendGlenn.com, not to justify Beck’s indefensible hate speech, but to spread smears about Color Of Change and Van Jones. On the website, Kreep instructs Glenn Beck fans to tell advertisers that Van Jones “went to prison for inciting the 1992 Rodney King riots in L.A.”:

Tell them CoC’s founder went to prison for inciting the 1992 L.A. Riots, and accused President Bush of giving troops orders to shoot black people after Hurricane Katrina.

In reality, Van Jones was a http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-paterson/glenn-becks-attack-on-van_b_271518.html">legal observer in San Francisco, not Los Angeles, during a non-violent rally that took place after, not before the riots. Jones and hundreds of others were http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-04/news/mn-6462_1_mass-arrests">seized in a mass arrest. He was released within a few hours, all charges were dropped, and “the City of San Francisco ultimately compensated him financially for his unjust arrest.”

Jones also has never “accused President Bush of giving troops orders to http://www.defendglenn.com/advertisers.php">shoot black people after Hurricane Katrina,” as the DefendGlenn site claims. Kreep’s inflammatory lie has no factual basis whatsoever.

Kreep’s unhinged attacks come as no surprise, however. He is one of the leaders of the “http://www.thomhartmann.com/2009/08/04/thom-talks-to-gary-kreep-about-obamas-birth-certificate-28-july-2009/">birther” movement, claiming that President Obama is not a citizen of the United States.

Full article: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/29/beck-defense-site/

Glenn Beck's Attack On Van Jones: Fantasies and Falsehoods

Eva Paterson
President and Founder, Equal Justice Society
Posted: August 28, 2009 02:56 PM

After smearing White House special advisor Van Jones for days on his show, Glenn Beck said on August 27, 2009: "I want to point out the silence; no one has challenged these facts -- they just attack me personally."

Well, the White House is wise to stay above the fray but someone has to set the record straight. And as the person who first hired Van Jones, initially as a legal intern and later as a legal fellow, I am in a unique position to know the truth.

And the truth is: Beck is fabricating his facts.

For instance: several times on his show, Beck has said or implied that Van went to prison for taking part in the Rodney King riots.

No Criminal Convictions

Van has never served time in any prison. He has never been convicted of any crime. And just to be clear: Van was not even in Los Angeles during those tumultuous days.

Continues: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eva-paterson/glenn-becks-attack-on-van_b_271518.html

Seems like a pretty strong case to me...

[Buzz Clik]

1. Beck is unhinged. Now that Jones correctly resigned his position...

... he is free to sue Glenn Beck. It won't accomplish much, but he's free to do so.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. You'd lose...

...on the first motion for summary judgement: Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)

[Turborama]

3. "knew that the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity"

This is acting in "reckless disregard of its truth or falsity", is it not...?

From defendglenn.com

Suggestions (but don't just copy the text, originality is more effective):
Be respectful and calm-NO ANGER. Do not use words like "socialist" or "communist" or other inflamed rhetoric. Ask them when they will be renewing their ads on Glenn Beck. Remind them that Color of Change, which sent them form letters demanding a boycott of Glenn Beck, is a radical group that engages in racist hate-speech. Tell them CoC's founder went to jail after the 1992 L.A. Riots, and endorsed Kanye West's statement that President Bush "gave troops orders to shoot" black people after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

[Davis_X_Machina]

5. Political public figures...

...just do not win libel suits in this country. The standard's too high.

And it's a good thing -- imagine the last eight years without Times. Half the websites you visit would be gone. You're pissed this time because Times stands in the way -- wait long enough, and you'll be relying on it.

[Statistical]

6. It is garbage but unlikely that is rises to the level of libel

"is a radical group that engages in racist hate-speech" pretty vague and broad definition hard to prove in court of law that the group or anyone acting for the group has never said anything that any reasonable person would find racists.

"CoC's founder went to jail after the 1992 L.A. Riots" this is a true statement. The reader may assume it was related to the LA riots but the text doesn't make that false claim. The reader may also assume he was convicted of a crime but once again that claim is not based.

IIRC Jones did got tot jail (before being released without a trial/conviction) after the LA riots.

[Turborama]

8. I'm going to watch that whole hour of Beck v Jones again just to make sure of exactly what he said.

What about the, "and endorsed Kanye West's statement that President Bush "gave troops orders to shoot" black people after Hurricane Katrina in 2005" part?

[Statistical]

9. The bar is very high for libel. Maybe it shouldnt be but it is.

Just saying somethng that is wrong is not libel.

The bar for politicians and people in public life is even higher (almost impossibly high).

Ever seen taboid magazine. If it was so easy to win a libel/slander suit in court don't you think every tabloid would have been out of business 100 years ago.

Did Glen Beck make false statements? Of course he did.

Is there enough to win a libel case? I would put money on a loss.

If Jones files a case and loses he is out thousands of lawyer fees, and gets Beck "the patriot" tons of free publicity and Beck will spin it as fighting the good fight to keep the airwaves free.

[Statistical]

4. I think you need to do some research on what EXACTLY is required to prove libel

[opihimoimoi]

7. Beck needs to BE MASS MOONED...86978 people need to mass moon him at his headquarters

[crsteiny]

10. Van Jones' Own Words...

In early May 1992, after the L.A. riots had ended, Jones was dispatched by LCCR Executive Director Eva Patterson to serve as a legal monitor at a nonviolent protest (against the Rodney King verdicts) in San Francisco. Local police, fearful that the event would devolve into violence, stopped the proceedings and arrested many of the participants, including all the legal monitors. Jones spent a short time in jail, and all charges against him were subsequently dropped.

Recalling his brief incarceration, Jones says: “I met all these young radical people of color. I mean really radical: communists and anarchists. And it was, like, ‘This is what I need to be a part of.’ I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary.”

Not such a strong case when the man admits he was in prison - his words. Eva Patterson obviously also has a biased opinion when it comes to Jones. This is of little relevance to the big picture, but Mr Beck pointed out he was arrested in San Fransisco, not sure what Ms Patterson means by saying he wasn't even in LA.