Declawed here, but your sophmoric slander

• I have a BIG problem having a beauty queen as VP! - CG
  • beauty queen - weepaws
    • sounds like jealousy - dee
      • exactly what all these catty little - Thank you! That is
    • B-U-tiful....and smart, too! - It's what's-her-name's positions, not rat
  • Former Beauty Queens - Peggy
    • Did I say they were dumb? - CG
  • I seriously do not see how that - Chele
    • CG, me, Hillary's angered base, feminists, - Real women with half a brain...sm
      • Meowwwwwww aren't YOUR claws showing.... - sam
        • Declawed here, but your sophmoric slander - is coming in loud and clear.
          • Drew the sophomoric slander straight from you....your own words.... - sam
            • Tit for tat is infantile and not my style. - Nothing of interest here.
              • Another drive-by potshot over the bow...also infantile...but definitely, it appears... - sam
      • What on God's green earth makes - Chele
        • yea sista - you tell them - great post - me
          • Still trying to make this about beauty - Instead of brains? No wonder you like her so much
            • Palin does have brains. - Chele
              • you hit it right on track again - what is the poster's point. - me
        • Ummm...my analogy refers to - with you tonight. see message
          • I would see how a - Chele
            • I'm taking my response to a new thread - At the top. nm
          • Make that "my analogy refers to - Brains, not body. see above post nm
        • Great post, Chele... totally agree.nm - Independent
          • Another who misses the point. - nm
            • oh, good comeback. What is the point - that we are missing?! nm
              • New thread above. - nm
    • All I can say to that is... lol (nm) - Go McCain and Palin
      • Me Too -Go McCain and Palin! - (at least have a REAL reason to dislike her first)
      • Don't need your lol. - We'll find our strength in numbers. nm

The messages you are viewing are archived/old.
To view latest messages and participate in discussions, select the boards given in left menu

Generally speaking, defamation is the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm. Slander involves the making of defamatory statements by a transitory (non-fixed) representation, usually an oral (spoken) representation.Typically, the elements of a cause of action for defamation include:

1. A false and defamatory statement concerning another;
   
2. The unprivileged publication of the statement to a third party (that is, somebody other than the person defamed by the statement);
   
3. If the defamatory matter is of public concern, fault amounting at least to negligence on the part of the publisher; and
   
4. Damage to the plaintiff.

A defense recognized in most jurisdictions is "opinion". If the person makes a statement of opinion as opposed to fact, the statement may not support a cause of action for defamation. Whether a statement is viewed as an expression of fact or opinion can depend upon context - that is, whether or not the person making the statement would be perceived by the community as being in a position to know whether or not it is true

Example:  A defense similar to opinion is "fair comment on a matter of public interest". If the mayor of a town is involved in a corruption scandal, expressing the opinion that you believe the allegations are true is not likely to support a cause of action for defamation.

Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 Case, New York Times v Sullivan, where a public figure attempts to bring an action for defamation, the public figure must prove an additional element: That the statement was made with "actual malice". In translation, that means that the person making the statement knew the statement to be false, or issued the statement with reckless disregard as to its truth. For example, Ariel Sharon sued Time Magazine over allegations of his conduct relating to the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Although the jury concluded that the Time story included false allegations, they found that Time had not acted with "actual malice" and did not award any damages.

I.E., what the poster stated was freedom of speech, not slander, libel or defamation of character. It is a known fact that O hung around with not-so-nice people until he ran for President. Is that slander? Nope.

The poster was giving an opinion. That is freedom of speech. If it was slander, O would have be having a lot of lawsuits on his hands towards all the people who have ever stated anything against him, which would probably be around 250,000,000....including me...out of 300,000,000 people living in the USA.