Saturday, January 22, 2011

JG Investigating Bloggers?

It is interesting that Assemblyman Jerry Green is now looking into policing bloggers.

"The blogger should be held legally responsible for the messages relayed through his/her blog and frankly the blogger should face the retaliatory action of a court of law..."

I have recently advised a couple of commenters to present their views without including direct allegations of wrongdoing by individuals. It has become all too common for commenters to toss around inflammatory terms, which at the minimum demean the level of discourse and at the maximum might constitute an actionable slur.

Of course, Green does not publish comments, so he does not have that particular concern. He does, however, use his own remarks on his blog to mischaracterize individuals politically and to assign intentions to people. This brings us to the question of character assassination, defined as "the slandering of a person usually with the intention of destroying public confidence in that person." Green sees nothing wrong with calling someone of his own Democratic Party a "Republican," utterly without proof and obviously to tarnish the person in the minds of the public. Now we see his new epithet is "a Tea Party member," which is even worse, as this particular group has rightly or wrongly gained the image of reverting to extreme behavior to make ideological points.

By registering with a party, a person commits to a particular general outlook that is demonstrated by its leadership. As a Democrat, I voted for and support President Barack Obama. He embodies the progressive ideals of the Democratic Party. To call me a Republican, as Green has done several times, is to assign me an ideology that I have not endorsed. On the local level, to be called out of my political name by an elected official effectively disenfranchises me, as I cannot expect any understanding or assistance from such a politician when as a constituent I may need it.

So let Assemblyman Green wag his finger at bloggers and invoke the weight of the law for those who misstep. And then let him look in the mirror and ask himself, what am I doing when I tell the public on Jerry Green's Page that such-and-such a local figure did wrong or endorses a political stance antithetical to his or her party affiliation. As a blogger himself, will Green man up and accept the consequences of what he says about people?

--Bernice

21 comments:

  1. Not a chance with that hypocrite. Green may be the greatest Tea-partier in town. With his lackeys in City Hall, it's all for one and none for all.

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  2. All I can say is that it is quite obvious that JG is unfamiliar with the US Constitution and the rights we have that are protected by the 1st Amendment!
    What he needs to do is to research what can be done to people who file frivolous lawsuits like the ones he suggests!
    Remeber the words of Sidney Hook . . ."To silence criticism is to silence freedom!"

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  3. Jerry Green is one of the worst things that has happened to NJ and Plainfield, next to Shady Sharon. Maybe Jerky Jerry should retire before his shadiness gets him arrested. Blackdog is also correct. It seems Jerry isn't familiar with the United States Constitution.

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  4. Question: Re: Right to Information
    Since JG's blog is one of public record, and he elects not to post comments, can one obtain copies of the comments submitted (even though not published to the web) through an OPRA Request? Interesting though though.

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  5. Jerry Green should not comment about anyone or anything. If you hear this man speak and then read his written material you know that it is from two different people.

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  6. Your comments about the Tea Party I would construe as slanderous. Your choice to use it as an example shows a lack of tolerance on your part and while not as direct as Mr. Green shows a clear bias.

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  7. anon @ 11:45 -- Why are you anonymous? You're posting a relatively nasty comment aimed at the blog owner here. Sure, you won't stand by your words. You also don't grasp the concept. Bernice is talking about someone personally slandering her. Her comment about the Tea Party is not about an individual. Folks are allowed personal opinions, but not at the expense of making things up about other individuals and naming them by name.

    Get it? Good.

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  8. Oh Mr. Green, someone needs to be policing you, not the bloggers. There are worst things than mischaracterizing someone on a blog. You've been able to fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. It's time for you to go, Sir. Quietly. Very, very quietly.

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  9. Bernice,

    At the risk of escalating this discourse, I feel I have to comment--here is part of the quote about me made by PDCC Chairman Green on his blog:

    "So now the public will have an opportunity to see the real Rebecca. She was the person behind the scenes that ran the New Democrats' campaign and now she has her chance to show the Public the type of an elected official she is going to be - IF she survives the next four years."

    Is this simply rhetoric, or is the chairman actually issuing some sort of threat? Is there some sort of solicitation to inflict harm on me or endanger MY LIFE here? One could construe his comments in that way.

    Green further writes: "The blogger should be held legally responsible for the messages relayed through his/her blog and frankly the blogger should face the retaliatory action of a court of law..."

    So, is he saying that I should consider filing charges against HIM for what he has said about me possibly not being able to "survive" for the next four years? Political discourse is one thing, but this is quite another. It is well-known to everyone who knows me that I feel Green is ineffective and that I think he should retire, but I have never made any statements about his survival. I hope he will issue a clarification immediately, as I find this quite troubling.

    Rebecca

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  10. Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.--Adolf Hitler


    "It also gives us a very special, secret pleasure to see how unaware the people around us are of what is really happening to them." ---Hitler
    ---------------------------------------

    It is so important for those in power to keep the illusion of conflict going!

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  11. Pat Turner KavanaughJanuary 22, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    Hey, maybe Rebecca should get a round-the-clock police bodyguard/driver the way the mayor did when she felt a blogger's remark put her life in jeopardy.

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  12. We have the constitution to protect us from people like Jerry Green.
    Again...will the New Democrats begin using the phrase "Vote Smart" instead of Vote Democrat? This action is further proof what happens when you are a mindless party voter...you get Jerry Green and his bumbling court jester Sharon.

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  13. Really Rebecca you are reaching. A 5th grader could read that in the proper context and get the meaning. You are an English Professor, right?

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  14. Thanks for being right on the money.

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  15. Its funny that the man who does not post public opinion comments on his own blog; yes, his right to do so, has the nerve to criticize the ones that do. I am now a Republican living in Plfd, an anomaly, but it had to be to get rid of Corzine, who I voted for originally, but since he did nothing, could not be re-elected. If the comments about you are wrong, prove us as wrong. If Jerry were smart, which is debatable, he would get into a dialogue with his local constituents to discuss these issues. Instead, he gets into his own pointless rants that are usually written by others. I could go on and on.

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  16. Rebecca is clearly over-reacting. But that's nothing new. Fake outrage can be amusing for a while, but then it gets boring.

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  17. Regardless of what Mr. Green's intentions were when he wrote "IF she survives the next four years", this is not the kind of dialogue elected officials should use. In fact, it's childish or worse.

    And Rob is right about the New Dems pushing the "Vote Democrat" line. It does us no good to have one exclusive party in power. Further, it sends a message to all the dems of Union County that no matter how badly they govern, we will keep electing them. That is the definition of madness.

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  18. To 11:05 pm--I was trying to make a point. I guess I didn't make it clearly enough for you.

    To Blackdog--Your points are well-taken.

    Rebecca

    P.S. My blog will be up by tomorrow.

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  19. Jerry just needs to keep bullying for the people who support him, who I believe are also a bit thuggish.

    He needs to pretend he has power. Those of us who have brains no better. These are the people that Jerry thinks he is going to influene but never will.

    I kind of feel sorry for Jerry. It's as though he has everything he wants except respect of the people. Which, because of his lack of ability to be reasonable and work with people, he will never have.

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  20. I just read JG blog where he said the people of Plainfield should have elected Rashid instead of Rebecca. Sadly, Jerry doesn't understand that he - Jerry - lost the election for Rashid. I think most people agree that Rashid was a statesman, and a good councilman. However, with Jerry's overt backing, and tasteless campaigning against Rebecca, people in the 2nd and 3rd ward could not be convinced to put someone in place who would have any affiliation with Jerry. Simply put, people in wards 2 and 3 have no respect for Jerry or anyone he supports. Sounds pretty smart to me.

    Rebecca at this time appears to be concerned about the people of Plainfield - including voting to increase council meetings.

    Jerry is head of the PDCC by council vote, because he can't be elected in the very district where he lives. And he knows it.

    Go home, Jerry. It's time to go.

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  21. The record is clear, for over 22 years Jerry has been around. Is Plainfield better today than it were 22 years ago? The answer is NO. For all of his claims he hasn't done anything substantive here. I'm still not sure how he keeps getting elected. It must be all the paybacks he allows to happen with city money. Too many hands out around the city.

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