Nitwit Councilman Orders Reporter To Stop Using His Name Without Permission
By Robert Gehl, January 6, 2015.
Kirby Delauter is a council member in Frederick County, Maryland. He’s a Republican, U.S. Army veteran and graduate of Virginia Tech.
He’s also a threatening bully and is shockingly ignorant of how the press works.
And as an elected official, his ignorance is so incredibly awesome it’s jaw-dropping.
Councilman Delauter – who I assume has some sort of cognitive ability – actually threatened a local reporter for using his name without permission.
I’m not making it up or making assumptions or drawing conclusions. Look:Delauter
Delauter wrote on Facebook to Frederick News-Post reporter Bethany Rodgers:
“Shame on Bethany Rodgers for an unauthorized use of my name and reference in her article yesterday … Let me be clear …. Do not contact me and do not use my name or reference me in an unauthorized for in the future.”
Now, I don’t know Rodgers’ politics. She might be a communist for all I know. It doesn’t really matter. He’s an elected official, she’s a reporter and is allowed to write about him as much as she wants. If she writes something that’s false, then there are libel laws to deal with that. But Delauter didn’t bring up libel. He just demanded she not mention him at all.
Rodgers was taken aback, and argued – correctly – that she is allowed to do exactly what she’s doing.
In response, Delauter upped the threat:
“Use my name again unauthorized and you’ll be paying for an attorney. Your rights stop where mine start.”
Terry Headlee, The News-Post‘s managing editor, said the newspaper typically does not seek permission or authorization to publish a person’s name or reference, except in the case of children.
“Kirby Delauter can certainly decline to comment on any story,” Headlee said. “But to threaten to sue a reporter for publishing his name is so ridiculously stupid that I’m speechless. It’s just a pointless, misguided attempt to intimidate and bully the press and shows an astonishing lack of understanding of the role of a public servant.”
Amazingly, Delauter has a nitwit ally on the council in Billy Shreve, who told the paper: “I did not see his post, but I think The News-Post is extremely biased and someone should sue them.”
Well, Mr. Delauter, I’m not sure what Ms. Rodgers wrote that irritated you so much, but I’ll bet it wasn’t this bad:
You’re a bully and a big dummy. Dummy, dummy, dummy.
I’ll wait for your lawyer.
http://downtrend.com/robertgehl/nitwit-councilman-orders-reporter-to-stop-using-his-name-without-permission/
