Blog being sued; Collective ruh-rohs abound

Dec.28, 2006 in Media Mockery

The Jessica Cutler lawsuit regarding her debaucherous diary of delicious democratic domestic dicksuckery known as “the Washingtonienne” could have serious ramifications for the world of blogs, blogging, bloggers, and the greater good of the Internets.

According to CNN.com…

If the case goes to trial, its outcome will be important both to bloggers and to people who chronicle their lives on social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said he may teach the Washingtonienne case this spring during his class at Georgetown Law School.

“Anybody who wants to reveal their own private life has a right to do that. It’s a different question when you reveal someone else’s private life,” he said, adding that simply calling something a diary doesn’t make it one. “It’s not sitting in a nice, leather-bound book under a pillow. It’s online where a million people can find it.”

Rotenberg asked, what if Cutler had secretly videotaped the encounters and sold the videos without Steinbuch’s consent? There has to be a line somewhere, he said.

Since being fired, Cutler moved back to New York, wrote a novel based on the scandal, posed nude for Playboy and started a new Web site, where she solicits donations “for slutty clothes and drugs.”

Now, I’m kind of surprised this isn’t getting more coverage than it could. This seems to have legs as a news story, from the political angle, to the possible taming of the “Wild Wild West” that is the Internet, to the fact that this girl is a complete hosebag; it really has a little bit of something for everyone. If this involved a murder as well, I don’t think you’d be able to avoid it. As is, it’s relegated to the B-team that is CNN.com’s legal section.

So what does this mean for you, Johnny G. Internetski? Well, it could mean that you’ll be accountable for the things you say on your various online ventures. Did you slander someone? Did you out your friend Gay Gary? Did you post pictures of yourself with a thumbs up next to someone passed out with penises drawn on their face with a Sharpie? These are all things you could be held liable for.

But more importantly for you, what does this mean for the Blog of Hilarity? I could perhaps not ever write anything mean and especially not post anything about anyone else that could put them in a bad light. Or…I could finally seize the opportunity to go to Nancy Pelosi’s house with a bow wrapped securely around my genitals singing, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and hope that she’ll finally take the bait. Previous efforts with Dennis Hastert were left unanswered and unsatisfying. Though I may have mistakenly gone to Dennis Hastings, aka Mr. Belding of “Saved by the Bell” fame. I don’t know. 2005 was a crazy time man, leave me alone.