Its McCarthyism time in Tennessee!
July 20th, 2006 by Atomictumor
We now have public officials suing other public officials for putting public documents on private websites.
According to the Observer’s latest edition (which I’d love like hell to link to, but just can’t) Alan Beauchamp, the embattled director of probation service and buildings and grants in Anderson County, and evidently the Boss Hogg of A.C., is laying down a $25,000+ lawsuit against a local school board member for allegedly slanderizing him on a website.
Now, nobody else will link to it, so I will, because, shit, what else am I good for? From my glance at the page, it would appear that there really isn’t grounds for a lawsuit. I mean, its not like the website insinuated that he kept a sweatshop of child laborers, or a brothel of goats. He keeps a website, and seems to like to use it for both recipes and for political smackdowns, as well as bolstering and endorsing his stable of candidates, but thats neither here nor there.
It would have been preferable, with as one sided as the attacking site was, for a little area for perhaps differing opinions, or maybe a chance to talk back, but hell, this is America.
Whats particularly deplorable about this whole thing is that Boss Beauchamp seems to be a lawsuit loving kind of guy. He dropped the bomb on AC commissioner Mark Alderson for a conversation in which he was called “convicted felon” and was accused of being fired from a bank.
Thats it? That gets a slander suit? What kind of skin does this jerk have?
And now he’s turning around and suing a school board member, and an active blogger, for an anonymous web site where some details of a real life investigation were mentioned. Thats some dickheadery.
It could also be the final thrashes of a sea cow speared and being pulled up in a net. Could be the days of wine and honey are coming to an end, and he’s wanting to make as much noise as he can on the way down.
July 20th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Just a form of bullying. He won’t draw any blood.
July 20th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
Yeah, but what an asshole. Seriously. Petty lawsuits like this should preclude people from civilized society.
July 20th, 2006 at 9:17 pm
Sadly this type of bullying has been most effective in supressing public opinion,
instilling fear, and yes, wasting the court’s time. Does it help to know such bullying is
as common as flies on a pile of horse hooey in Tennessee politics? No. That it is
accepted and encouraged by public apathy (or fear of reprisal) is sickening.
July 20th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
“That it is accepted and encouraged by public apathy (or fear of reprisal) is sickening.”
This seems a bit of a reach. What is the evidence that these kinds of suits are accepted and encouraged by public apathy. I rather think that it is one of the prices we pay for living in a civilized society. As long as the legal system ultimately recognizes the frivolous nature of the suit, throws it out, and will accept a countersuit, I think that’s all we can hope for.
July 20th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
NetMom does have moxie. All hail moxie.
http://citizennetmom.blogspot.com/
July 20th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
That was a reference to bullying tactics in politics in general, not just in this
one incident.
I just know of too many cases in numerous counties in TN as well
as at the national level, where intimidation arises and there tends to be a lack
of concern among the community, or fears that getting involved would be
detrimental.
In my experience, unethical behavior is often left for “someone else” to deal with,
and that type of apathy helps to create conditions in which such behavior can
take root and grow.
July 21st, 2006 at 7:31 am
Be careful calling him a jerk, AT. We don’t want to be on his shit list.
July 21st, 2006 at 7:32 am
Was the brothel of goats OK?
July 21st, 2006 at 8:43 am
Alan Beauchamp was a high school classmate of mine. From what I’ve read about his recent behavior, he hasn’t changed much.
July 21st, 2006 at 8:46 am
Yeah, seems like you’ve mentioned that before. Sounds like a real winner. Did he give you purple nurples?
July 21st, 2006 at 9:08 am
Naw, he never bothered me. We pretty much traveled in different circles.
July 21st, 2006 at 1:31 pm
The problem is Joel kept traveling and Alan just kept traveling in circles and never made it out of town.
July 21st, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Thats what this all boils down to, I think, is all you (the royal you) locals never made it out of the weird little high school cliques into the real world. Which is one reason why I think it should be mandatory for every kid to get the hell out of the town they grew up in for a period of at least 5 years. A forced exile, so to speak.
Hell man, I grew up in a city (if you can call Chatt-town that), and I still couldn’t stand the idea of bumping into these people out and about, so I split.
July 21st, 2006 at 2:28 pm
“Thats what this all boils down to, I think, is all you (the royal you) locals never made it out of the weird little high school cliques into the real world.”
Well AT, as you get a little older and have some real world experiences beyond elementary school PTA meetings and blogging, you will realize that some of us have been around long enough to have moved away, enjoyed successful careers in other parts of the country, missed being around family as they continued to get older, and decided to move back to our hometowns.
I know you are a bright guy so I have no doubt you will catch on. BTW, congrats for moving 98 miles north of your “weird little high school clique(s).” ;)
July 21st, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Yeah, but moving away, establishing yourself elsewhere, and coming back is enough to ground you in the real world so that the dumb little cliques of those days don’t have as much power over you as they would have otherwise.
To that end, 98 miles is a good distance. We can go down to the farm for the kids to spend a week, get a tan and some ticks, and still come back to our world up here.
I’ve always had a problem with these people who are born, raised, and die in a town, because damn near everytime they’re the ones giving me some sort of problem.
There are exceptions to the rule.
However, I won’t say “your mileage may vary”.
July 21st, 2006 at 2:45 pm
“type of bullying has been most effective in supressing public opinion, instilling fear, and yes, wasting the court’s time”
I’ve learned this week that there’s actually a term for it: a SLAPP suit. Stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation.”
AT, I laughed out loud reading this post! Thanks for your support.
July 21st, 2006 at 2:53 pm
You’re in trouble for not being up front with posting that stuff, so don’t thank me yet… finding out in the Observer. Geez.
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:05 pm
What’s interesting about Ms. Agle’s site is that she gave it the same name as the political talk show “Let’s Talk Frank.” She purchased the site in Feb of 2002 when my husband was using that slogan for his campaign. She appears to have intentionally used the name of the show with malice to leave the public with the impression that Lee and/or Terry Frank were the blog authors.
Ms. Agle nowhere makes that clarification on her site, in fact, she was deliberate in her attempt to remain anonymous. I’m all for printing “public information,” but if that were her intent, why didn’t she publish it under her own name? Why did she use Lee’s talk show name to do it?
July 22nd, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Ahh, hello Terry, thanks for stopping by. I noticed in the article that it mentioned something about the TV show. Is your argument against using the phrase “Lets talk frank(ly)”, or against the fact that it was anonymous, because, I’ll tell you what, theres a damn good reason I don’t go around throwing my name all over the place (tho those who are determined wouldn’t have much of a hard time finding it out without a subpoena).
I had a harder time, myself, telling Beauchamps “Inside Anderson County” from the advertising garbage we get here once a month or so by the same name. I daresay that few who are familar with Lee Frank and the show would confuse whats on the page with the show of the same name.
Seems to me that what Agle did was twist a local slogan around, which has been a halmark of dissent since way back when. Hell, the famous Don’t Tread on Me had a similar origin.
July 22nd, 2006 at 5:52 pm
Mrs. Frank, why have you waited until now to let us know that the website and your husband’s TV show are not connected. Seems to me that if anyone were using my name, or the name of my product to hold forth with political innuendo, the ink wouldn’t dry on the web page before I would be posting everywhere I could to set the record straight.
July 22nd, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Daco, to be fair, there was some talk in the same Observer article I mentioned that the Frank’s have a beef over this.
July 22nd, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Caveat emptor.
I gotta agree with daco and AT. If this bothers you, you gotta get in there and push.
What Netmom did was a bit devious, but savvy. She had a hook and she used it. From where I sit, she did a service to her comunity (except for publishing the SS number of another).
Ms. Frank, I figured out that Netmom’s cryptowebsite had nothing to do with you. I’ll bet I’m not alone. If you have something to say–say it.
July 22nd, 2006 at 7:53 pm
“She appears to have intentionally used the name of the show with malice to leave the public with the impression that Lee and/or Terry Frank were the blog authors.”
I find that unlikely, seeing as the website distances itself from the phrase “Let’s Talk Frank” by replacing it with the headline “Let’s Talk Frankly” and adding “because proper grammar dictates that an adverb modify a verb.”
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:10 am
Wow! I just visited Terry Frank’s web site. What a wack-job! She doesn’t even make the pretense of logical argument. Here grasp of logic is typical of a middle school kid.
July 23rd, 2006 at 11:27 am
“Her”
;)
July 23rd, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Daco–We did make an issue of it, in fact we addressed the issue on at least four of Lee’s television shows. If Ms. Agle were in fact just interested in making “public information” available, then she has her own website–a fact that you mention here.
If she is the believer in public information that she claims she is, then why not put it on her own site? But she didn’t have the courage or the decency. It was cowardly to use the name of Lee’s show as her web address. Lee’s show is word for word, letter for letter, identical to the anonymous site she created.
I personally, have no problem with the public dissemination of public information. I have my own blog, I write a column, Lee has a TV show. We discuss public information all the time. But the difference is, we put our name and face on it. We have people who agree, and we have people who call us “whack-jobs” as Joel has done above.
We are willing to take both criticism and praise. Ms. Agle however wasn’t just interested in getting information out, she wanted people to believe that Lee and I put up the site. That isn’t a public service, that was malicious–especially when she had her own site on which to post information.
Your issue with Mr. Beauchamp’s suit is completely separate from her cowardly act of hijacking the show name because she didn’t have the courage to do it herself.
She claims to have purchased the site 5 years ago, but a computer search reveals she purchased it in Feb. 2002. Lee was running a campaign at that time with Let’s Talk Frank as his campaign slogan. Not only did she buy the site while she was running the campaign of Lee’s opponent, she maintained the rights to the site for 4 years—4 years being the amount of time Lee’s show was on the air.
And although she “outed” herself in the media, she has yet to identify herself on the site. It still remains an anonymous site with no disclaimer as to its authorship.
July 23rd, 2006 at 1:19 pm
Terry, do you have a copyright on the name? If you do, sue. If you don’t, and you want to prevent others from using it, get one. If you can’t be bothered, don’t be surprised if others see the appeal of the name and use it (or some recognizable variant of it). In fact, Netmom’s websites have created free advertizing for your site and for the show (which I’d never heard of until coming here and visiting both of Netmom’s sites. Perhaps you should be paying her (and AT) a finder’s fee.
July 23rd, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I still don’t see how it could be that Ms. Agle wanted people to believe that Lee & Terry Frank put up the site. Why on earth would Mr. Frank create a website that corrects the poor grammar of his campaign slogan/television show name?
July 23rd, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Mrs Eaves/ Mrs Agle: She directly copied the name of the show. She has squatted on the name for the show for 4 years. She didn’t identify herself on the site. And Joel, it doesn’t have to be copyrighted. You can research the law if you like. I wouldn’t expect you to address facts—your emotion is in the way.
The show “Mrs. Eaves” is called “Let’s Talk Frank” as in Lee Frank—not as in Frankly speaking.
July 23rd, 2006 at 2:03 pm
By persuing a position in the public eye, one puts one’s self in a position to receive close scrutiny, hard questions, and even mockery. It should be expected that commercials, campaigns and websites will come about that mislead, attack and raise suspicion about platforms and positions.
Anyone who looks at Ms. Agle’s website should immediately realize that it is in no way affiliated with your husband’s campaign. If you didn’t want anyone to create a website based on your husband’s slogan, perhaps you could have chosen a better phrase than “Let’s Talk Frank”.
July 23rd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
“The show ‘Mrs. Eaves’ is called ‘Let’s Talk Frank’ as in Lee Frank—not as in Frankly speaking.”
Are you saying that you didn’t intend the slogan/show name to imply a double meaning?
July 23rd, 2006 at 2:37 pm
“And Joel, it doesn’t have to be copyrighted. You can research the law if you like.”
It does if you want to enforce any legal claims. You can research the law if you like.
“I wouldn’t expect you to address facts—your emotion is in the way.”
Heh.
Pot, kettle, black, etc.
July 23rd, 2006 at 2:38 pm
What is the connection between Beauchamp and the Franks that the site, Let’s Talk Frank(ly), seems to make?
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Uh, bos, it is that the title of Netmom’s alter-ego web site and the title of Terry’s husband’s show are very similar (the URL for Netmom’s site is identical IIRC). On that site, Netmom exposes some pretty unsavory allegations against Beauchamp. Terry believes that Netmom is deliberately trying to confuse readers into believing that her site belongs to or is otherwise sanctioned by the Franks.
Since Terry displays a propensity for projection (see above), I can understand her concern.
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:21 pm
Uh, Joel… thanks there Mr. Obvious. I’m pretty clear on that point.
I think the play on the Frank name is clever, like you said, but that’s only part of the story. It seems to me that Netmom could have called her site anything she wanted to and then published the info about Beauchamp. She could have done that, if all she wanted to do was simply bring Beauchamp to task on his alledged criminal activity. However, by naming the site what she did, it seems to me she is also suggesting a connection/association between the Franks and Beauchamp.
So, what is the connection between Beauchamp and the Franks that the site, Let’s Talk Frank(ly), seems to make?
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Well, beyond the obvious one I already pointed out, none that I can see. IIRC, she’s had the domain name for several years.
July 23rd, 2006 at 3:54 pm
“And Joel, it doesn’t have to be copyrighted. You can research the law if you like.â€
OK, here’s my research:
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/11_9/news/9711-1.html
Where’s yours?
July 23rd, 2006 at 7:43 pm
“So, what is the connection between Beauchamp and the Franks that the site, Let’s Talk Frank(ly), seems to make?”
None that I can see. Mrs. Frank may disagree, but I don’t think that NetMom (Agle) was implying any connection between the Franks and Beauchamp.
I don’t know this for a fact, but I have heard that there is some bad blood between Mrs. Frank and Mrs. Agle because of past Anderson County Republican party politics. That would explain a lot and ladies….do jump in here and correct me.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:06 pm
“None that I can see.”
Dang it, daco! Stop agreeing with me! Next thing you know, I’m gonna become an old fart conservative like you. I’m not having it.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Sorry Joel. You know come to think of it, it could be worse. I could become an old fart liberal like you. Oh the humanity!
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:22 pm
I’ve found myself disagreeing with Joel lately for a change… maybe he is hitting that magical ‘old age’? I figure Bos will be there in a few weeks.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:42 pm
“I could become an old fart liberal like you.”
Whoa! Wait a minute. That’s it! We agree because you’ve become a liberal. I love it!
And AT is becoming a fascist.
It’s all making sense now.
July 23rd, 2006 at 10:06 pm
And I’ve somehow just become an old fart in this exchange. I don’t know about this… I think I’m getting the short end of the stick here.
July 23rd, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Don’t trust anyone over 30. I read that somewhere.