Speakeasy forum: Gloria Allred has gone....oobatz...

Hardly true. He's unwittingly increased the value of her stock...so to speak. She should beg Rush for another round of abuse.

Josh, I don't think a suit would be successful. first a legal note- Although Limbaugh spoke those words, it would be considered to be Libel, rather than slander. It's just a legal detail, but the possible penalties are greater for libel. As his program is recorded and could be repeated, it's legally considered to have been published and permanent.
That said, with a defamation case he was voicing an opinion about person who is actively involved in a public controversy and has a history of involvement in similar cases. The word sl*t is a general opinion of someone's character or actions, like calling someone obnoxious or dishonest. His use of the word prostitute might be referring to a specific action that is illegal in many places, but it is common for people to call someone that meaning of loose morals, rather than someone who engages in sex for pay. A defamation suit would have to prove that he meant someone selling sex for pay and he used that word with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard for whether the statement was true or false.
One other note: Did you notice that Alread labeled Fluke, who is a known activist and over 30, as "a young law student"?

he doesn't really speak of her in those terms directly but poses those possibilities as more of a question. It's more "if she does yada yada yada, what does that make her? a ****....right?" I'm not saying this in his defense. He is offensive but I don't see anything in that video that I've not seen worse in others.

He asks, "What does it say about?....what does it make her?....". I didn't bother to review it before posting but it was still posed as a question and not made as a statement. I don't see it as anything illegal but I do see it as both inappropriate and stupid. Sometimes that can be even worse. I'd hate to see court time wasted on stupid.

litigation; the false question and answer format where the libeller both asks and then answers the question. This muddies the waters just enough to make a jury, carefully selected to ensure at least one or two mildly sympathetic Rush-ite jurors likely to cause a hung jury.

He's not really stupid, only his opinions are, and he holds them because he functions as a kind of relief valve for the extreme right, and is incredibly well paid for it. I don't think it's about honestly held beliefs in his case, I think it's a performance for the money. The man is the Sam Kinison of the Right.

Now this may sound slightly contradictory to what I've said before, because I do wish it were possible to impoverish him for his utterances, his worsening of the incivility of public discourse, and to punish him for his behaviour. But that's no different than the majority opinion here about anybody mildly centrist or left. You'd like to do the same to Maher, even though RL's attack was far beyond anywhere Maher has gone. There is a difference between attacking a private citizen and a public person/politician.

I suggest you Google conservative David Frum's discussion of the Rush Limbaugh situation. He is clearer and better at phrasing it than I am. David may just be the new William F. Buckley, a conservative with a brain. If he can restore civility to the political and journalistic realms, he may be the new Moses leading us out of the wilderness.

Rob

.....do you think Sandra Fluke has grounds for a libel/defamation suit?

Yes or no. If "no," why not?

Whether you think Rush Limbaugh's comments were libelous and/or defamatory. In court you wouldn't be able to compare his statements with Bill Maher's or anyone else's; they'd be judged on their own.

You don't think Rush's comments were libelous or defamatory. Thanks for answering.

all the other things he said, like "prostitute", "she wants to be paid to have sex" (since when is having birth control provided "being paid to have sex") and the fact that he didn't say it just once, but ranted for 3 days at 3 hours or more a day at her. All his statements were palpably false, but most appealing to a certain element too cowardly to shout those words in a forum where they might be actionable. To quote the Duke of Wellington in another context, "the scum of the earth".

The problem with Rush, who leaves a slime trail wherever he goes, is that if you silence him on shaky legal grounds that opens up Bill Maher, the late George Carlin, and dozens of other comedians to action. First Amendment privilege applies.

The difference is that Maher has always been a comedian, whereas Rush after a number of jobs became a Political Commentator, who ran for cover as an "Entertainer" when it looked like he might be sued. I'd call that evidence of cowardice and of the shallowness of his supposed beliefs. "I'll say anything unless it costs me money" appears to be his motto.

Incidentally Toni, what were your feelings when Rush got arrested when travelling alone with 30 Viagra for a long weekend in the Dominican Republic. Did you think he was meeting up with a friend, or would be preying on the local populace which, if rumours are correct, may not be of the age of consent in the United States.

Me, I don't take the entire bottle of any of my meds whatever they are, I take the length of stay, plus 3 days. Oh, and two inhalers just in case I lose one.

Rob

then replied to Limbaugh's charges. It was Limbaugh who made her a public figure after the fact, she didn't make herself a public figure, he did. Don't lose sight of the Egg before Chicken situation here.

And how long was her testimony? 30 minutes, 45. Limbaugh spent 9 hours on the public airwaves denouncing her.

Rob

Have you looked at her bio, Rob? Some might consider it to contain things that did. Here's a link to her bio at Georgetown Law:
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/pils/CurrentPILS.htm

... but after reading the statute... it does look like Limbaugh could be charged and convicted of a misdemeanor.

Funny how those old laws can sometimes trip folks up.

I just read this article at http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/05/okorie-okorocha-claims-gloria-allred-stole-his-client-who-accused-john-travolta something about Gloria Allred "stole" the client from Okorie Okorocha.

He's got a couple fairies and their godmother (Allred) suing him for something he supposedly did to them while over 2500 miles away. When that was discovered they simply changed the day they say it happened.