Fire, Fury, And The First Amendment

We have a new presidential biography on the market, called, Fire And Fury, by Michael Wolff. Donald Trump, styling himself as the forty-fifth president of the United States, has reportedly reacted badly to this book. At this point, Trump should know a few things about elected officials and publicly spoken and written words: primarily that after winning an election, the official is no longer a private person and therefore no longer protected by state and federal laws pertaining to libel and slander. Such an individual is still entitled to a certain amount of privacy, and making threats of violence against an elected official is unlawful in most cases, but satire and whistle blowing are fair game; more so than in the case of a private person. An elected official in northeast Kansas discovered this for herself in 2013. Satire and whistle blowing are still very acceptable under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Another very important aspect of the laws about libel and slander concerns specific losses that can be ascertained by the court. If one does not have those, one's case will generally be dismissed. Since we have laws about the types of income a United States president may rake in while in office, declaring a loss might be difficult for Mr. Trump. Using the White House for financial gain is legally defined as a conflict of interest for a president, and if published, written material impedes a president's ability to commit a civil tort, the president scarcely has legal recourse!

Donald Trump has been in office long enough to understand the legalities of satire and financial conflicts of interest involving elected officials, so it appears that he is only running his yap in an ongoing effort to distract the American public from matters that are more important that Fire And Fury. It is nice to see Americans take a renewed interest in reading books, though.

A Christian Myth Dispelled

Ted Crockett, a spokesman for the failed Roy Moore campaign for the Senate in Alabama, seriously thought that Muslims and others who are not Christians could not serve as elected officials in the United States government because they do not always use bibles for their swearing in ceremonies! Where did he get that idea? From Roy Moore, of course! It is a misconception, and Jake Tapper dispelled it in an interview, shortly before the election. Since Doug Jones (D) won, it is moot. Roy Moore can now go home, and build a wall of bibles around his house. He probably will not bother to read one though.

In Case You Were Wondering

In case you were wondering, since the subject of information shared and information not shared has been a big item lately, it came to my attention that here in Kansas, and pretty much nationwide, elected and public officials are not nearly as protected by laws governing public descriptions of their actions, words, and political positions as people who are not elected or public officials. That's why one can find so many photoshopped pictures of Newt Gingrich, criticisms of the late Amy Winehouse's lifestyle, and bumper stickers that say things like "Buck Fush"! So to those thin skinned elected officials and et els who cry about Facebook and stomp their feet about the media, I am going to suggest ethical behavior toward supporters and detractors. If an elected public servant acts morally, does justice in all things, refuses to play favorites, and does not lie; the words spoken and written about that public servant will probably consist mostly of compliments.