More chaos Sarah Palin's 9/11 copyight trial: In order to secure confidentiality for the settlement, Sarah Palin's lawyer even made an improper filing, was rebuked by the judge and then outmanoeuvered by the plaintiff - Sarah Palin wants "no hint of compromise to be associated with her name", but her huge waste of SarahPAC money is now out in the open

By Patrick

Sarah Palin's 9/11 copyright trial has already kept us busy with two long, detailed posts, which included lots of documentation on the September 14, 2013 and recently on March 25, 2015. In the last post, we reported that despite various assurances by Sarah Palin's lawyer that they really, really want a settlement, this did not happen due to almost comical circumstances: Good luck with trying to reach Sarah Palin! Let's just say that it is pretty difficult indeed.

In any case, her lawyers finally managed to talk to Sarah, and now we know where the problem lay: Sarah Palin, the woman who can never admit to having made a mistake, due to her legendary personality disorder, strikes again. Yes, she wants a settlement, because the dispute is a lost cause for her, as we also explained in our previous post, but she also does not want the world to know that she did in fact compromise.

Because Sarah Palin is "THE UNDEFEATED", and compromise simply is not an option for her! "Compromise" sounds a  ot like "defeat", doesn't it? Unless of course, the compromise can be kept secret. Then it is apparently perfectly fine.

That is what I call a predicament. We can almost visualize Sarah Palin shouting at her lawyer: Make it happen, you elitist New York bastard! No, she probably didn't say it like that, but in any case, she definitely wanted him to proceed with the settlement, as we learn from the recent court documents. But she also wanted the details to be kept confidential, because compromise is apparently just appropriate for liberal losers, and not for a strong frontier women who kills animals to fill her fridge.

So her New York lawyer, Ronald D. Coleman, tried to earn his money and submitted a "sealed" filing, a "motion under seal", only to be sharply rebuked by the trial judge immediately afterwards, explaining that the fact that the motion was only supported by attorney certification was "insufficient":

Screenshot from the docket, download it here.

Therefore Sarah Palin's lawyer wanted certain documents to be sealed, and the judge warns him that unless a "compliant motion" is filed, the "Court will issue a further order unsealing the documents."

In his (insufficient) certification which Ronald D. Coleman submitted together with his motion, he explains: "As set forth in the filings themselves, releasing this material from its current sealed status would result in harm and would severely undermine not only the motion being filed but the ability of the Court to achieve its goal to achieve a negotiated settlement among the parties."

Translation: "My client shouted at me to keep everything secret, because she does not want to make any embarrassing public compromises."


Screenshot:

Download the full document here.

As you can imagine, the plaintiff, North Jersey Media Group, was not pleased. They apparently thought: If Sarah Palin wants to play games, we can play games as well - only much better.

Because what documents could be so sensitive that Sarah Palin is desperate to keep them sealed? Maybe negotiations between the lawyers about the settlement?

BULLSEYE! So why don't the lawyers for North Jersey Media Group just make these negotiations public? Oh wait, they just did!

It's just wonderful: In return, or should I say retaliation, the plaintiff submitted the original email conversations, which leave no open questions any more (Brian Farkas is the colleague of Ronald D. Coleman):

So now we know that Sarah Palin is willing to settle for $ 15,000, but at the same time she does not want her minions to know that she wasted huge resources from SarahPAC for nothing. The legal bill for 1 1/2 years of proceedings will be massive, and the $ 15,000 for the settlement will just be a drop in the ocean compared to the legal expenses.

Sarah Palin could have just apologised for the unauthorised use of the photo for fundraising purposes, and could have easily avoided a trial. But for Sarah Palin, it's all, or nothing. She will never admit a mistake, even if there will be a huge bill in the end, which then has to be paid by her fans via their donations to SarahPAC. 

This is the character of the woman who the Republican Party wanted to be one heartbeat away from the US Presidency.

Even more embarrassingly, the lawyers for North Jersey Media Group revealed in their extensive new filing from April 20, 2015 (in which they also submitted the emails as exhibits)

2. On or about December 18, 2014, NJMG and defendants SarahPAC and Sarah Palin (collectively, “Palin”) tentatively agreed in principle upon Palin’s payment of an amount to settle this case. Attached as Exhibit A is a true and accurate copy of the email Mr. Brian Farkas, counsel for Palin, sent to me at 6:29 p.m. on December 18, 2014.

3. The parties, however, could not initially agree on whether there would be a confidentiality clause. Palin asserted that there must be a broad confidentiality clause. NJMG disagreed. Attached as Exhibit B are true and accurate copies of emails between Mr. Farkas and me on December 22, 2014.

4. Shortly thereafter, Palin’s counsel, Ronald Coleman, Esq., told me that Palin required a confidentiality clause because her political action committee did not want any hint of compromise associated with her name.

5. NJMG did not want to agree to a confidentiality provision because it is one of the largest news providers in New Jersey, and the lawsuit was a matter of public concern.

Screenshot:

"No hint of compromise associated with her name!"

This is truly epic. It's a real shame that the late Joe McGinniss could not see this any more.

Download:

Filing by North Jersey Media Group in opposition to "sealed" motion by Sarah Palin's lawyer

Email 1

Email 2

Email 3

So now we can say good-bye to the secret settlement!

In a rather comical twist, Sarah Palin's lawyer Ronald D. Coleman then quickly conceded on April 21, 2015 that due to the clever response by the plaintiff with the enclosure of the "incriminating" emails, the reason for "sealing" has disappeared:

Download the document here.

I guess that somebody should have warned Coleman that Sarah Palin is not your "everyday" client.

The lawyers for North Jersey Media Group also filed an additional extensive explanation, arguing that a settlement has not been concluded yet.

Download the document here.

So what will happen now?

The media reported that there will be "a decision on the dispute in the coming weeks", but the scope of this decision remains uncertain. After all, North Jersey Media Group asked the court in February and March to reactivate their pending motions, that were put on hold in December due to the impeding settlement.

Therefore it seems possible that the settlement could fall through entirely. Which would mean more wasted resources for SarahPAC, as they have no chance to win this case, just as Fox News lost an almost identical case in February 2015.

But don't blame Sarah Palin. Did I already mention that she is the victim here? I mean, she is just a housewife from Wasilla, how could she possibly understand all these legal details. I mean, WASILLA! Have you ever been there? Well, I haven't, but I heard that the population there is not exactly famous for their legal expertise. So don't blame her! Blame these fancy New York lawyers! If they cannot keep secrets, they should ask their client for help, because Sarah Palin has not shortage of secrets, and most of the time she manages to keep them. Over and out! :-)

Open Thread - Let's Talk Food or Whatever

by Ennealogic

It's been some time since I posted, and as HIG noted, it takes a lot of time and effort to do so. What I can do is open up a new thread for comments, no need to keep on topic, until something stunning happens that inspires one of us to take that time and effort to create a post worthy of Politicalgates!

We all like to eat and many of us like to cook. And in the Eastern US where I live, it is springtime and garden time - so I offer here a video featuring Food Network star Justin Warner about building a kitchen (salad) garden.

I am about to get planting myself, after tending pots and planters of herbs over-winter in my bathroom under a grow-light.

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Hard to go wrong with that mix!

Religious War in Indiana: The gay-haters started it, and they will lose it - UPDATE: Yes, they lost! Hallelujah! - The anti-gay activists who supported the original SB 101 Bill claim that due to the new "fix", the law is now "broken"

By Patrick

The USA, the good old bastion of freedom, already has no shortage of domestic problems, but now a particularly controversial issue rears its ugly head: "Religious freedom."

So what does this mean? Am I not free if I cannot "reject" people who are for example gay and want to marry? Am I not free if I cannot deny contraception to my female employees?

Or is it the other way around? Are the people "at the receiving end" not free if they cannot buy a cake for their gay wedding or receive contraception with their health insurance, as the law orders? Doesn't "religious freedom" also mean that they should be free from the consequences of the religious beliefs of other people?

Well, whatever the answer, it is more than obvious that the people who don't want to sell a cake for a gay wedding are making a lot of noise right now. But the backlash is also considerable. These days, many businesses embrace diversity, and now also embrace gay and lesbians as employees as well as customers. Times have changed. The "Christian conservatives" (as well as "conservatives" from other denominations) have lost the "gay marriage battles", and now it feels like they want to make a "last stand."

But the "conservatives" will lose this battle as well, badly. Big Business already decided that diversity is the preferable option, and big business rules the USA.

Here are some reactions to the current controversy which are worth watching, for different reasons:

Conan TOTALLY nailed it on his show - this will give you a REALLY good laugh:

Then, TYT made a very good report, as usual:

So Governor Mike Pence denies that the new law in Indiana allows discrimination. This is of course total nonsense, as the law clearly was crafted to allow discrimination, but Mike Pence is not known to be particularly bright, as far as I can tell.

However, in order to understand what this law is really all about, we need to listen to its biggest supporters - the Christian conservative extremists. Fortunately, "Right Wing Watch" did the job for us:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has been appearing all over the media in the last few days to insist, erroneously, that Indiana’s new “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” is no different from other similarly-named laws in other states and will not effectively legalize discrimination.

According to reports, Pence and others may push for the legislature to clarify that the law does not sanction discriminatory practices.

However, Micah Clark of the American Family Association’s Indiana chapter, who stood right behind Pence, along with several other Religious Right leaders, when he signed the bill into law and has quite a record of anti-gay activism, said today that he opposes any such clarification.

He told AFA President Tim Wildmon today that conservatives should call Pence and other state officials and demand that they oppose any effort to clarify that the law does not legalize discrimination: “That could totally destroy this bill.”(In Georgia, supporters of a similar bill also opposed a push to ensure that the legislation will not permit discrimination in business.)

Wildmon agreed, adding that the Indiana law is necessary to protect anti-gay business owners from “persecution.” The law’s critics, Wildmon claimed, are waging “spiritual warfare” against state officials.

"Right Wing Watch" published this very revealing clip:

Don't you suppress me if my religion tells me to hate the gays!

Micah Clark, head of the "American Family Association of Indiana", has quite a track record.

Selection of his anti-gay quotes:

-- Used biblical passage about it being "better to have a millstone tied around your neck and thrown in the sea" in reference to the Boy Scouts accepting gay youth: "What did Christ say about harming the least of these? He said it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be thrown in the sea on the day of judgement than to cause a child to stumble into sin. And if we're going to support organizations telling kids that homosexuality is okay—which is treatable, changeable, you don't have to be homosexual, but if you are, you are at significiantly higher risks of mental harm, pshycial harm, emotional harmm and spiritual harm—we cant be a part of that. (Source; starts around 2:00 mark)

-- An advocate of so-called "ex-gay" therapy, claims "[t]here are scores of organizations across America that help people overcome same-sex attraction disorder and gender identity confusion; his organization promotes three different groups geared toward "changing" gay people

-- Compared a license plate benefitting an LGBT youth center to a plate promoting smoking; claimed the youth center "recruits" gays: "You have to question what the BMV was thinking when they approved a license plate for a group which recruits teens into the homosexual lifestyle. Since health risks do not seem to matter, what is to prevent a cigar club from now getting a license plate from the BMV?"

-- Claims that "homosexuality has no societal benefit...and its individually destructive and dangerous." (*specific quote found at comment labeled "February 07, 2009 at 09:32 AM;" general idea is repeated throughout thread)

-- Publicly raged against a lesbian student who felt more comfortable wearing a tuxedo to her high school prom, claiming her choice was both a "sexual statement" and "destructive"

-- Claimed a political party's support for marriage equality was really "calling for the unraveling of marriage " and was an attempt to "official undermine the family"

-- Chastised media for reporting on openly gay NBA player Jason Collins, putting Collins in the same category as "musicians who run afoul of the law or father multiple children out of wedlock": "It is a strange world we live in when we elevate athletes who deviate from natural norms, we heap fame on musicians who run afoul of the law or father multiple children out of wedlock and turn our backs on those of honorable behavior like Tim Teabow [sic]. We mock or even attack anyone who stands for traditional values. All the while, we continue to wonder why we have so many social problems."

-- In crude blog post subtitled "dude looks like a lady," says a transgender woman who competed in a beauty pageant has "surgically disfigured himself"

Micah Clark is very outspoken on his twitter, and he proudly published this photo, apparently from the signing of SB 101 (this info also according to "Think Progress"), on his twitter:

Yes, Mike Pence really loves the gay-haters.

Somebody on twitter helpfully explained further:

This graphic was created by twitter-user @seamonkey237

No, these crappy people won't win!

Good night, and good luck! :-)

+++

UPDATE:

Here are some really good cartoons on this controversy:

+++

UPDATE 2:

In a totally predictable development, called "an incredible reversal" by CNN, the gay-haters suffered total defeat in this battle.

Not only was the controversial bill fixed in record time, but now Indiana got the opposite of what the gay-haters like Micah Clark wanted: For the first time in Indiana history, the rights of gays received legal protection.

Hallelujah!

CNN reports:

Washington (CNN) Indiana's social conservatives wanted a law that insulated them from the gay rights movement. Instead, the state has now enacted protections based on sexual orientation for the first time in its history.

Top Indiana Republican lawmakers overhauled their week-old religious freedom law Thursday with a follow-up measure intended to ease concerns driven by businesses that it could lead to discrimination. Gov. Mike Pence then signed it into law.

The changes appear to have tamped down some of the criticism -- but in doing so Pence and lawmakers infuriated social conservative activists and set the stage for a bigger fight next year over expanding Indiana's anti-discrimination law to cover gays and lesbians.

Republican legislative leaders unveiled their series of changes Thursday morning to the law that triggered intense backlash from businesses, sports associations, pro-LGBT groups and even fiscally-focused conservatives when Pence signed it last week.

The GOP-dominated House and Senate approved a legislative fix, which was added into an unrelated bill, on Thursday, sending it to Pence's desk almost immediately.

Despite last-minute lobbying from conservative groups like Indiana Right to Life to get Pence to veto the fix, the governor signed it Thursday evening.

"In the midst of this furious debate, I have prayed earnestly for wisdom and compassion, and I have felt the prayers of people across this state and across this nation. For that I will be forever grateful," Pence said in a statement.

That's what I call a total victory for diversity!

Needless to say, the gay haters like Micah Clark are livid!

He tweeted:

More tweets from him:

Did you see the last tweet! Yes, Micah Clark thinks that the original law "would protect homosexuals with religious faith from Govt infringement"...!

Yes, haven't we all heard about the popular religion of "Gayism", where the gays are expecting to live in gay heaven forever! Finally they could have protected themselves from the dreaded heterosexuals, they just did not realize it, they poor gays!

Or maybe I just didn't understand what Micah Clark was talking about, LOL! Did anyone understand it? Could he himself even explain it?

Well, I guess we will never find out, because after enjoying his 15 minutes in the spotlight, the world will probably never hear of Micah Clark and his anti-gay friends again, as they have single-handedly caused one of the biggest defeats in Republican history!

These are our good news for Easter! Enjoy the happy days!