Gawker vs Sarah Palin: Left Wing Media Loses!

Gawker Loses Round With Sarah Palin



A Federal Judge on Saturday ordered the website Gawker to pull down unauthorized excerpts from Sarah Palin’s forthcoming book, “America by Heart,” until a hearing scheduled for Nov. 30.

On Saturday evening, the link was broken to Gawker’s scoop, “Sarah Palin’s New Book: Leaked Excerpts,” which included 14 images of partial pages from the book, scheduled for publication Tuesday.

A two-page order signed Saturday by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa, who sits in Manhattan, says: “Gawker is temporarily retrained and enjoined from continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages" of the book.

See the order here.

POLITICO has asked Gawker for a comment about the judge’s order, and will add it.

On Tuesday, the former Alaska governor begins a book tour of 16 heartland cities. The book, "America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag," is described by her publisher, Harper Collins, as "an intimate and personal look at the woman behind the public servant," including "selections from classic and contemporary readings that have moved her — from the nation’s founding documents to great speeches, sermons, letters, literature and poetry, biography and even some of her favorite songs and movies."

Palin's previous book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," was a No. 1 best-seller. Her new book comes as speculation increases about the possibility she will run for president in 2012. She told The New York Times Magazine that she was "engaged in the internal deliberations" about a race. When asked by ABC's Barbara Walters whether she could beat President Barack Obama, Palin replied: "I believe so."

HarperCollins said in a statement after the judge's ruling that on Friday, “HarperCollins sued Gawker for copyright infringement after Gawker posted several pages from Sarah Palin's as-yet unpublished book, 'America by Heart,' on its website. [On Saturday], Judge Thomas Griesa of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Gawker from posting pages of the book pending a hearing on HarperCollins' motion for a preliminary injunction, to be held on Nov. 30.”

HarperCollins had announced the litigation in an earlier statement: “We believe that the reprinting of pages from Gov. Palin's book without permission constitutes a blatant infringement of copyright. HarperCollins sent a cease and desist letter to Gawker, which was ignored. Accordingly, HarperCollins has filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York to stop the infringement and to protect our legal rights in the content of the book.”

The disputed Gawker post began: “Well, look what popped up five days early: leaks from Sarah Palin's forthcoming memoir/manifesto, America By Heart, in which the reality TV matriarch rants against ‘talent deprived’ reality TV stars, lauds daughter Bristol's chastity and celebrates not aborting Trig. … The book is currently in distribution centers, awaiting its official release on Tuesday. We got our hands on some of the pages … Here's an annotated guide to our favorite parts, featuring rants against the media and new material about Bristol and Levi.”

Gawker later taunted Palin in a post titled, “Sarah Palin Is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book.”

“Did you catch the excerpt we posted yesterday from Sarah Palin's new book? Sarah did. She tweets with rage: ‘The publishing world is LEAKING out-of-context excerpts of my book w/out my permission? Isn't that illegal?’ [Sarah: If you're reading this — and if you are, welcome! — you may want to take a moment to familiarize yourself with the law … ].”

Gawker showed the dedication page, which says “For Trig: I’m glad you’re here.” The page also quotes Thomas Paine, “Founding Father,” as saying: “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”


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Sources: AP, Facebook, Gawker, MSNBC, Politico, Youtube, Google Maps

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Stopped By A Federal Judge!

Federal Judge Orders U.S. Military To Stop Discharging Gays


A Federal judge Tuesday ordered the government to immediately stop discharges of gay service members under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips found the policy unconstitutional in September. On Tuesday, she rejected an Obama administration request to delay an injunction and ordered enforcement of the policy permanently stopped.

The Justice Department has 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the government is under no legal obligation to do so and they could let Phillips' ruling stand.

The Federal government is reviewing the ruling and has no immediate comment, said Tracy Schmaler, spokesman for the Justice Department.

Phillips declared the law unconstitutional on Sept. 9 after a two-week nonjury trial and said she would issue a nationwide injunction. But she asked first for input from Department of Justice attorneys and the Log Cabin Republicans, the gay rights group that filed the lawsuit in 2004 to stop the ban's enforcement.

The Log Cabin Republicans asked her for an immediate injunction so the policy can no longer be used against any U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world.

"The order represents a complete and total victory for the Log Cabin Republicans and reaffirms the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians in the miltiary for fighting and dying for our country," said Dan Woods, an attorney for the Log Cabin group.

Government attorneys objected, saying such an abrupt change might harm military operations in a time of war. They had asked Phillips to limit her ruling to the members of the Log Cabin Republicans, a 19,000-member group that includes current and former military service members.

The Department of Justice attorneys also said Congress should decide the issue — not her court.

Phillips disagreed, saying the law doesn't help military readiness and instead has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed services by hurting recruiting during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills and training.

She said the law violates the free-speech and due process rights of service members after listening to the testimonies of military officers who have been discharged under the policy.

Legal experts say the Obama administration could choose to not appeal her ruling to end the ban — but Department of Justice attorneys are not likely to stay mum since Obama has made it clear he wants Congress to repeal the policy.

"The president has taken a very consistent position here, and that is: 'Look, I will not use my discretion in any way that will step on Congress' ability to be the sole decider about this policy here,' " said Diane H. Mazur, legal co-director of the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara that supports a repeal.

Gay rights advocates say they worry they lost a crucial opportunity to change the law when Senate Republicans opposed the defense bill earlier this month because of a "don't ask, don't tell" repeal provision.

If Democrats lose seats in the upcoming elections, repealing the ban could prove even more difficult — if not impossible — next year.

Woods said the administration should be seizing the opportunity to let a judge do what politics has been unable to do.

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but bans those who are gay from serving openly. Under the 1993 policy, service men and women who acknowledge being gay or are discovered engaging in homosexual activity, even in the privacy of their own homes off base, are subject to discharge.


Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Youtube