41 responses so far ↓

• 1 Nick // Jan 21, 2008 at 4:04 pm

  Don’t use that number. Use (270) 442-7723. The other number just has a recording with show times.

• 2 Judy // Jan 21, 2008 at 6:44 pm

  Fire Heather Ryan on MLK Day, in violation of her 1st Amendment rights. Heckuva Job, Mitch.

• 3 kilowat // Jan 21, 2008 at 9:01 pm

  she need to keep the original tape, they will be trying to say it was edited

• 4 Anonymous // Jan 21, 2008 at 9:05 pm

  You mean they fired the woman who sent her kid to do her dirty work?

• 5 Judy // Jan 21, 2008 at 9:41 pm

  No Anonymous — They fired a Navy Vet who asked her US Senator about the War in Iraq. He supports the War, but runs from a Vet when asked about it??

• 6 Steve Bittenbender // Jan 21, 2008 at 11:00 pm

  Mainstream media in Paxton’s Paducah? Yeah, that’s a good one.

  I’d be more surprised if the Paxton machine didn’t make a concerted effort to ostracize her and boast about it in their rag.

  With the exception of Bill Bartleman, is there a legitimate journalist in Paducah?

• 7 YellerDawg // Jan 22, 2008 at 12:01 am

  http://youtube.com/watch?v=XUIDlEKiI6g

  The long awaited youtube video of said encounter. McConnell’s camp said Heather and Heaven were banging on the windows, pounding on the SUV, yelling, “I want you to die”, etc. This is PROOF that none of that happened! No reason to FIRE Ms. Ryan at all!

• 8 Lee from Paducah // Jan 22, 2008 at 9:13 am

  After reading the story at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/1/17/12825/2861/28/438317 it sounds to me like Ms Ryan’s judgement was not so good and she was using her position with MAC to gain access.

• 9 winstnsmth // Jan 22, 2008 at 10:15 am

  There is, unfortunately, one sound byte of Heaven shouting at the Senator, and it ends with the word “die.” Maybe the kid was saying something about death vis a vis the war, but it’s like shouting “your economic plan is going to bomb!”

• 10 Clarity // Jan 22, 2008 at 10:48 am

  Heather Ryan was fired for misusing her professional position and place of employment to promote her personal politics. I guarantee you that you’d be fired for doing the same in your places of employment. It has nothing to do with being Republican, Democrat, Green, or anything else. She’s no martyr– she made a foolish decision and now she’s paying the piper.

• 11 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 22, 2008 at 12:05 pm

  Clarity, I understand why Heather’s employer had grounds for her dismissal based on your reasoning, but the issue here is whether McConnell’s team lied to her employer and/or coerced her employer to fire her.

• 12 Beth // Jan 22, 2008 at 3:16 pm

  It really doesn’t take a genius to see that Heather Ryan took advantage of her position. No common-sense non-prof board would keep her on. Quit blaming Mitch McConnell for this woman’s ineptness. She behaved irrationally. She was the executive director of this place! Would you get away with this where you work? No. Please filter your opinions not through shoddy politics but through common-sense thinking. I am a liberal from Paducah. I’m also an educated journalist who realizes that yelling and bullying doesn’t get your point across to the people you most want to hear it. If Mitch McConnell did something unethical here, it should be thoroughly investigated. But, please stop supporting Heather Ryan’s ignorance and poor parenting skills and look at things for what they are rather than what fits your agenda. You’re all acting like right-wing extremists.

• 13 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 22, 2008 at 3:30 pm

  Beth, I agree with much of what you say, but given McConnell’s previous behavior with respect to the S-CHIP smear, an investigation into what McConnell did should be conducted, whether Heather Ryan’s behavior was appropriate or not, and I agree it was inappropriate.

• 14 Beth // Jan 22, 2008 at 9:16 pm

  Thank you fore you comment Steve. I agree that Senator McConnell should be investigated thoroughly. But, Heather Ryan’s behavior, regardless of her reasoning, stands on its own. I am appalled at the very unintelligent conversation going around many liberal blogs in regard to this issue. It’s so emotionally and politically charged. Why Mrs. Ryan was fired has nothing to do with politics. We do not have a right to our jobs. We are interviewed and hired and expected to represent our companies well whether on or off the clock. We go on and on about first amendment rights, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have negative consequences when we exercise them stupidly. The board of MA has the RIGHT to discharge any ED it deems unfit, which Ryan proved herself to be for the entire internet community to see. It’s embarrassing to them as it should be. Her firing is a no-brainer. That doesn’t mean it was ethical IF McConnell urged the board to fire her. That’s a separate issue. It doesn’t excuse her vile behavior. I’m dismayed by many amateur bloggers reporting facets of this story as fact. McConnell’s actions are not known for certain. Look at the facts with an independent mind-frame. Ryan got exactly what she deserved.

• 15 Marty // Jan 23, 2008 at 8:21 am

  Beth…What problem do you have with the first amendment and freedom of expression. The executive director of the cinema does NOT lose this right simply because she works there. It is your own pro-Mitch rightwing bias that says this behavior was in some way inappropriate.

  This woman and her little daughter were acting perfectly sincerely in video-taping FROM OUTSIDE the building what was a public event.Have you seen the proof…the actual video?? I doubt it, because it shows what a lie the accusations of McConnell really were. There was no “banging on the windows”…the little girl TAPPED quietly 3 times and waved hello to the goon inside . His dangerous protective measures were obvious as he positioned himself repeatedly in each window to block the view of Mitch. And he glowered at this dangerous little girl menacingly with his arms firmly clasped in front of him. Then the dangerous mother and her dangerous child went inside for a few seconds…no crime or affront there. When Mitch came out she asked to speak with him about the war in Iraq. She asked about three times before he sped away to safety.

  Mitch doesn’t ever want to speak to we the citizens, and again the same security thug came in front and menaced the little dangerous girl.
  In your rightwing authoritarian brain Beth…it is OK to be fired for this minor, minimal, questioning of our elected representative. It is wrong to videotape him.
  Frankly I am disgusted with the Paducah theatre board for firing this woman, and I hope she takes them to court and gets satisfaction and a lot of financial remedy from the people in a jury. Yes…Mitch should be investigated for using his power and authority to punish a citizen for exercising her rights( a single mother and a Navy veteran no less), and for being sensible enough to realize that Mitch is one of the reasons there are 25000 wounded and almost 4000 dead troops in Iraq. This obviously doesn’t bother you…but then you are part of the 30% of war lovers and Mitch McConnell loyalists. I hope fervently that a real war hero Lt.Col. Andrew Horne,USMC(retired) will rid us of this offensive man in Nov.2008

• 16 Steve Bittenbender // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:55 am

  I just got through reading Marty’s distribe. Oy! It appears he went to the same rant-raving school as Heather Ryan.

• 17 Marty // Jan 23, 2008 at 10:27 am

  Oy to you little Steve,,,it seems you have been in the can with the Repubs. What is the address for your rightwingnut war- monger school?
  Asking Mitch a question about Iraq….that is a rant to Steve.Oy…Oy what a ridiculous attitude…and it won’t fly.

• 18 Steve Bittenbender // Jan 23, 2008 at 12:32 pm

  Marty,

  Those who know me know two things:

  1. I’m not little
  2. I’m not in the can with the Repubs

  Heather does indeed have a right to question our elected leaders. I’m not questioning that. However, as I expressed on the video thread, when you’re the director of a non-profit, you’re always representing the non-profit. And when you’re at a non-profit, you can’t do anything to tick off donors or potential donors. Especially if you want to keep the money flowing.

  Actions have consequnces, and unfortunately, that meant Heather lost her job. It may appear to be small and petty (I think it is, quite frankly), but if the board feared they’d lose funding, then that’s the choice they had to make.

  BTW, I’m against the war and supported Bill Richardson’s plan to get our troops out of Iraq.

• 19 Clarity // Jan 23, 2008 at 2:15 pm

  Ask Heather about her “This Bitch Isn’t With Mitch” sign she had at the Cobb. I see she neglected to mention that anywhere in her stories. As a liberal, I don’t even want to be associated with her. She is a blemish on the city and is doing nothing more than connecting “Paducah” with “nutjob” on Google results.

  Congrats, Heather, this is your legacy.

  Look, Paducah has made leaps and bounds in its cultural arts development in the last few years. Downtown has been revitalized– and a great deal of the money supporting this renaissance has come from federal and state funding. By misusing her official role at the Maiden Alley Cinema, Heather Ryan put this ongoing growth in serious jeopardy.

  There is no conspiracy at work here, despite the continual rantings of four or five tinfoil-hatted bloggers. Her superiors simply decided that the continual federal and state funding for Paducah’s projects at large far outweighs the personal vendetta of one bitter self-proclaimed activist.

  Some people need to take a serious step back and realize that Ryan would have been fired if she had accosted a Democrat Senator instead. The shape and color of McConnell’s lapel pin has nothing to do with Ryan’s current unemployment.

  Unfortunately, certain individuals refuse to accept this truth– it doesn’t fit their personal agendas.

  It was Heather’s inappropriate behavior as the head of a non-profit organization that caused her dismissal. This is the risk one takes when misusing a professional position for personal gain in an at-will employment state.

• 20 Marty // Jan 23, 2008 at 2:51 pm

  What is this “at-will employment” stuff. You cannot fire anyone for no reason at all, say you don’t like her style, her skin color, her nationality,or her signage. She was not officially at her job, she was not rude or used expletives. I know this for certainty because I saw the video. Did Clarity and” Big “Steve see the video.?

  What on earth is the “personal gain” this woman reaped by this act of courageos dissent???

  She expressed her rights as a citizen to speak freely…this is a constitutional right that all of us enjoy…not to be confused with a contract for employment. There is NO penalty that someone must pay for asking this war mongering Senator about Iraq. In fact as our Senator, he should be anxious to tell us how he feels and personally answer a question…any question. He works for us.
  Steve…I do not know you or your politics. However, the board gets bad publicity for firing this woman, and I hope they feel that in their pocketbook. The problem is exactly that they were worried about donations…geee…maybe Mitch had something to do with that? Do You Think….and if so ,you think it is appropriate for a non-profit to fire their executive director because of threats of financial blackmail from a powerful politician.?? I think it is disgusting of Mitch to be so nasty and petty and damaging to Heather Ryan…and the board should have had some dignity and courage to refuse him. At the least they could have reprimanded her, although I don’t know for what.

  Why was a non-profit giving Mitch a venue for a partisan political ad in the first place. Is that appropriate???

  The arrogance of power strikes again. I certainly hope actions have consequences, and they should include a law suit and severe penalties for this craven supplicant board.

• 21 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 23, 2008 at 3:53 pm

  Marty, Heather Ryan may as well have been at her job, as she was standing outside of the window of the building she worked in.

  Look, she was making her employer look bad, whether the senator involved was a Republican or Democrat.

  If she was protesting McConnell in another venue, her dismissal from her job would certainly be outrageous.

  But, as it stands, the firing is within reason as long as McConnell’s team didn’t feed lies to the board or otherwise coerce it.

• 22 Clarity // Jan 23, 2008 at 4:25 pm

  You are correct that you have a right to free speech. The government may not impede you from gathering your peers and protesting to your collective hearts’ content on public land.

  You may not however use your place of employment as your pulpit and expect the ACLU to come running to your rescue should you find yourself jobless the next day.

  You are also correct that your employer may not fire you based on your age, sex, religion, or race. In an at-will state, your employer however may fire you for using your key after hours, wearing a tacky shirt, or not smiling at him or her in the morning. This road goes both ways– you are not required to work for any employer for any longer than you want. But with that said, if you accosted John Edwards outside your workplace at noon and your boss heard about it that evening, you really shouldn’t expect to be employed much longer.

  This is really not a terribly difficult concept to grasp– even with all the “FIRST AMENDMENT! FIRST AMENDMENT!” ranting going on. Sure you can say it, just don’t expect anyone to pat you on the back.

  I am no fan of McConnell, but even I refuse to clutch to this strawman argument. Lots of accusations here, but zero evidence that a McConspiracy exists. This is just some woman who thought she was could get away with being a complete fool under her bosses’ noses. Ultimately, she paid the price.

  If she hadn’t been so hellbent on getting her 15 minutes of fame, she’d quite possibly still be employed and plotting her next conquest from a warm office. Oh well.

• 23 dumbfounded // Jan 23, 2008 at 5:46 pm

  Why, if not for 15 minutes of fame, would she even show up here and confront him. She is the director and has obvious political views opposite his. Her employeer had to have invited him and therefore by extension she should have attended in deference to her employeer or declined to attend. Her employeer is absolutely within their rights to fire her and should have.

• 24 Marty // Jan 23, 2008 at 6:23 pm

  Mr. Magruder,

  Are you saying that if an employee is not working, but comes to the place of work and stands OUTSIDE on the street…that she “might as well have been at her job”. I don’t buy that. She was on a public street and I would guess there is NO prohibition against looking inside or using a video camera.

  Yes indeed…”as long as McConnell’s team didn’t feed lies to the board or otherwise coerce it” the firing was within reason. But what if Mitch lied about what happened ,and threatened the board with loss of funding??? That is what I want to know. Can’t a journalist ask these questions of the board…before it gets to court?

  Mr. Clarity..you said
  “But with that said, if you accosted John Edwards outside your workplace at noon and your boss heard about it that evening, you really shouldn’t expect to be employed much longer.”. That I don’t believe. If you asked a civil non-threatening question to any politician…much less your own Senator, there should be zero grounds for dismissal of her job. I would be furious if a Republican asked Edwards a question and was then terminated for that reason.At least we have cleared up that this is not an “at-will” state whatever that is supposed to be. Improper or unfair dismissal can and I hope in this case leads to legal action. Then we will see exactly what Mitch and his minions actually said, and whether they coerced the board to fire this heroine. He does not have a great track record.

  I am “dumbfounded” that the bloggers here think so little about our constitutional rights that they actually believe this woman was after “15 minutes of fame” or “personal gain”. There is no place for legitimate and polite dissent I guess. Even on a public street.

  There well may be more citizens that agree that Mitch is a rubber stamp and is responsible for enabling and prolonging this war than who support him.There are more (%70) in the nation, and in the state. I don’t know about Paducah. In any event, I give this brave woman credit for her dedication and principled dissent…and I applaud it. If the board had not caved, I would have saluted them as well.

• 25 Steve Magruder (I, not D or R) // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:09 pm

  Are you saying that if an employee is not working, but comes to the place of work and stands OUTSIDE on the street…that she “might as well have been at her job”. I don’t buy that. She was on a public street and I would guess there is NO prohibition against looking inside or using a video camera.

  Hanging around her place of employment and embarrassing her employer while a high-profile politician (of any party) visits is grounds for dismissal in my book. You can see in the video she wasn’t simply looking in — please get real on this. I would have fired her without haste, even without any lying/pushing by McConnell’s staff.

  Yes indeed…”as long as McConnell’s team didn’t feed lies to the board or otherwise coerce it” the firing was within reason. But what if Mitch lied about what happened ,and threatened the board with loss of funding??? That is what I want to know. Can’t a journalist ask these questions of the board…before it gets to court?

  As I’ve said, if Mitch’s staff lied or threatened, it’s wrong, and Mitch should be called out on the carpet if that happened. And I would think it would help Heather in a civil case against her employer as well. Based on her behavior, her victory in such a case wouldn’t be guaranteed, but she would definitely have a leg up.

• 26 Anonymous // Jan 23, 2008 at 10:10 pm

  Ask federal employees how much freedom of speech they have, thanks to the Hatch Act.

  Ask state employees how much freedom of speech they have, thanks to KRS 18A. (Did you know it’s illegal for a state merit employee to write a letter to the editor in support of or opposition to a partisan political candidate? That’s one reason you saw people like “CSI” or “Sam Wise” or “Zork The Rabid Merit” posting their anti-Fletcher, pro-Beshear screeds under screen names and not their real names).

  There are restrictions on the political activities of employees of 501(c)3 organizations who receive federal government grants. I’ve been there, done that, and gotten warned by my board even though I supported the incumbents who were funding our programs.

  And yes, Kentucky is an “at-will employment” state.

• 27 Beth // Jan 24, 2008 at 3:25 pm

  Wow, I came back today to look for any responses to what I said. Marty is certainly amusing and ignorant to boot. Please do not put labels on me that you can’t substantiate. I’m not a republican. I’m not a Democrat either. I know that may be hard to imagine. And, yes, I watched the entire video…twice. Did you watch it closely enough to notice that she made edits to the video? I’m very curious as to what she edited out.

  If a child used swear words in school and was given detention, would you defend her under the first amendment? A reasonable parent would discipline that child. It’s all very relative, isn’t it?
  Why do we have a sense of correct behavior for some and not for others?

  I’m a professional journalist. I love the first amendment. It’s the very cornerstone of my profession…so is truth. And, before I hear any slams on the media, it’s possible that the reason this hasn’t been covered much is that there are other things going own deemed much more dire, or they can’t substantiate the claims being made by the general public and would rather not engage in hearsay. Good for them if that’s the case. It’s not as newsworthy as everyone thinks.
  Primaries, economy…that’s really important. If we all new how the media really works and what they deal with on a daily basis, there’d be less media-bashing (bashing FOX is okay). I come from pub radio/NPR, which I consider respectable.

  Marty, you’ve sorely misconstrued what I said because you are filtering this story through your political agenda rather than common sense. I never said is wasn’t okay for her to question the senator or even videotape. It’s how she went about it and where she did it. She was the executive director of this place.Please, think about this rationally.

  And, what about the board’s right to the first amendment? Why does Ryan have more rights than they do? They confronted her about her actions as she did McConnell. They just did it with some sense of decorum.

  “Right-wing authoritarian brain” — never in a million years. Sorry, Marty. Good one, though.
  When will we start realizing that extremists on either side are much closer under the sheets than we’d like to admit? Same tactics. Same means of propaganda. Same twisting of the facts to fit a personal agenda. That’s true progress!!

• 28 Beth // Jan 24, 2008 at 3:34 pm

  Also, please pay attention to the manipulative words and phrases that Heather Ryan uses in her writings. Low income? Really? Well, maybe now.

  Her language is very dramatic and narcissistic. It’s really disturbing. There are people suffering far worse fates than her and not by their own making.

  I highly doubt Heather’s claims about how her firing was handled because no board would need strong-arming to convince them to fire her. Something doesn’t add up in her story at all.

  At what point to we decide to grow up and take responsibility for our actions, especially when we distribute them to the world on you tube?

• 29 Clarity // Jan 24, 2008 at 4:37 pm

  I wonder when Heather will post the part of the video where she unlocks the theater with her key and stalks the hallways for her prey. It’s funny how that part didn’t make it onto YouTube.

  At least people are catching the edit that was made at 05:14 in the video. “I don’t know how to edit videos?” Please, you were chosen as the Director of a cinema for a good reason. And yet some bloggers and posters are so quick to cry out that McConnell is the one lying here. Once again, her story just doesn’t add up.

  So much speculation and anger has been posted, but is there a single shred of evidence that McConnell’s staff lied to or otherwise threatened the city over her employment? Maybe they just didn’t want a off-balance zealot handling the finances and quotidian business of a high profile establishment.

  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are many valid reasons for folks to dislike McConnell or support that whole DitchMitch campaign, but this just isn’t one.

  Remember: when at the Downs, don’t bet on the lame horse.

• 30 Marty // Jan 24, 2008 at 6:43 pm

  Beth and Clarity, Do you think Mitch will ask for a hearing so he can demonstrate that he did not put damaging influence upon the board . That he didn’t complain about the “harassment” to the board….wink..wink. It stinks to me, and I don’t know what the truth is. That is why I hope there is a legal action that will expose if Mitch used his power to avenge himself on this dangeroous woman. We all seem to agree that if he used his clout to harm her, then it would be egregious. How will we ever know the truth.

  I didn’t see an edit, but that is what would be asked of Heather under oath . Let’s get the truth out. Was an unfair and manipulative edit made which distorts the story. You who say you see an edit…is there “evidence” that this changed the truth?
  Beth…so you are a journalist. Great..lets ask the board to explain why they fired her and if in fact the Mitch accusations were false. Are you not interested. Go for it. It would be important would it not?

  And was Heather a federal employee, or was she an employee of a non-profit that would not be accountable to the Hatch Act. Was she a state employee…KRS18A…I am not a lawyer and have no clue. Tell us. Anonymous..are you a lawyer?? Is she a Federal or state employee, or only an employee of a non-profit…which has no krs whatever, and a Hatch act…if there is such a thing. Explain..it sounds very legaloid.

• 31 Clarity // Jan 24, 2008 at 10:03 pm

  As a liberal, even *I* think this is a complete waste of time, and a hearing (I guess you mean ‘congressional hearing?’) would only be an additional waste of time and money. There are things that merit public hearings, but this shortsighted fool’s firing just isn’t one. If public figures catered to every nutjob’s comments, we’d never get anything done on any the local, state and federal levels. There are always people who want to be famous and liked….and at any cost.

  I don’t know any other way to say it– there is no conspiracy here and McConnell’s role in this episode ended as soon as he stepped into his vehicle. Heather is the only one who is saying that he or his staff threatened the board, and to be quite honest, she wouldn’t have been privvy to such a conversation even if something similar had taken place. But she did one bang-up job of fabricating a story and email to suggest it.

  Anyway, as for the other questions, Heather was an employee in the private sector. Her employment was no different than that of a factory machinist in Calvert City. Just because she worked for a non-profit does not mean she was under any special employment guidelines. No employment or politicking laws were broken, like it or not.

  In fact, the only possible crime here is Heaven’s possible truancy. Last I checked, “doing well on a spelling test” is not a valid excuse for taking your child out of school. But we really don’t need to stoop to questioning Heather’s wonderful parenting skills here. She did enough damage on her own in her emails and edited video.

• 32 Marty // Jan 25, 2008 at 8:56 am

  So Clarity…let us have some “clarity”.

  Your bias against this woman is clear as you refer to her as a “nut-job”. Yes….a citizen who is opposed to Mitch and his support for this most unpopular war is obviously a “nut-job” , not like the %30 who support either this Pesident or his war. Good start.
  I must agree with this statement…”No employment or politicking laws were broken, like it or not.” ..then you become the nut-job when you declare in total abject ignorance that “In fact, the only possible crime here is Heaven’s possible truancy.”

  Right…let us fire her over this breach.

  You are a liberal??? I think maybe like Lieberman is a liberal.

  This woman has been wrongly dismissed…either by the board(who should be found culpable) or through unfair pressure exerted by Mitch and his crew. A hearing in congress??? don’t be3 silly. The ACLU should launch an unfair dismissal from work suit, and thge hearing will be a deposition under oath in the lawyers office. That is what should happen. Then we will know whether only the board was derelict or it was forced by pressure from Mitch.
  I disagree with your assumption that this is unimportant. In our state the existence of Senator McConnell is pivitol….and egregious power lust behavior…if this is what happened is unconscionable…and the voters should know if the Senator did indeed engineer the firing of Heather.
  As to the appropriateness of her actions…..after consulting with my lawyer friend, I can only ask you and the other expert Beth(the one who thinks that people defending Heather wear tin-foil hats..nice insult there) to do the same. The 1st amendment is the law of the land, and supercedes any desire by the non-profit board to punish her free speech…speech that was neither threatening or vulgar, and if there were nothing but war supporting Republicans on the board…they MUST not fire her for this phony reason. Kentucky is an “at-will” state, but there must be true cause for the dismissal…and that clearly was not the case here.( Ohh…her 7 year old bad and dangerous daughter might have yelled out something??? They can fire her)

• 33 Anonymous // Jan 25, 2008 at 9:09 am

  Actually, if the agency Heather worked for was a 501(c)3 and a federal grantee, there are guidelines restricting political activities that employees must follow. I used to work for a 501(c)3 nonprofit that got the bulk of its money from a federal grant program. There were all sorts of conditions attached to the receipt of that federal money, not the least of which was some arcane restrictions on political activity. I was generally supportive of the incumbents who funded our program and yet my board cautioned me about being too overtly politically active in the community (I wonder if the fact that I was outspokenly for Fletcher and two of them were ardent Chandler suppporters and active in the local Democrat women’s club had anything to do with that?) because they didn’t want the federal grant endangered.

  Heather endangered her organization’s federal funding. I’d venture a guess that the facility in Paducah gets its money through an earmark. How simple would it be for that earmark to be omitted in the next budget cycle? You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

• 34 Marty // Jan 25, 2008 at 11:09 am

  Anonymous…it was not hard to spot you for a Republican and a Fletcher supporter to boot.

  “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

  This woman did not bite any hand…..the Senator is the biter here. There was NO justification for her firing, and that stuff about 501Cs is bunkum. You are obviously not a lawyer…why don’t you consult one before you bloviate.

• 35 Clarity // Jan 25, 2008 at 11:42 am

  While I applaud your use of larger words this go-around, this doesn’t change the fact that you are still arguing your opinion rather than any fact.

  And I’m sorry, but just because you have spoken with your “lawyer friend” does not give you any more knowledge or greater authority in this matter than the ranting you were doing yesterday or the day before. You have shown ignorance of the law multiple times now, and it’s quite clear that you do not want to learn anything here. Mentioning your lawyer friend is not quite the trump card that you were expecting.

  You STILL cannot grasp the concept of at-will employment, and it is not my responsibility to educate you. But I will help you out one last time.

  Please start reading case law and statues on first amendment issues. Yes, you obviously know that free speech is written in the first amendment, but that’s as far as your knowledge on the subject goes.

  Here’s a lead on your quest for knowledge regarding the first amendment. How does the first amendment protect one who falsely yells “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

  Go do a little research on that issue, and you’ll start finding links to other laws and statutes that further define free speech. If you read long enough, you will in fact learn all about at-will employment and free speech issues. This is not the first time someone has been fired for doing this, nor will it be the last.

  You’re welcome to come to Paducah at any point, and we can take a tour of downtown together and I’ll have some books ready for you at the library on law and employment.

  Best of luck in your continuing education!

• 36 Steve Bittenbender // Jan 25, 2008 at 12:48 pm

  I think everyone here not named Marty will agree that Marty is a troll. Let’s not feed the troll anymore.

  But thank you Marty for bringing Republicans and Democrats in agreement and closer together.

• 37 Mar ty // Jan 25, 2008 at 5:59 pm

  Wow…big Steve has called me a” troll.”..amazing. Never thought I would see that day. That is obviously the final point on his argument.

  Clarity…are you an attorney ,or do you just pretend to be and quote websites? My Attorney is a real attorney and everything I have posted is accurate…from a practising and successful attorney here in Kentucky. You are blowing smoke…ignorantly and being offensive like praising my “rant” as to using “big words”. Ohh you are soooo erudite…in your own opinion.
  I think both you and buddy Steve are the ranters.

  When someone is fired…does there need to be “just cause” which is documented, or can an employer fire anyone they want with no valid justification. Now carefully you ranters…go to your case law and look that up. You are simply both wrong and ignorant of the law.

  Finally to the Democrats(I doubt that) and the Republicans( I can see them here) whom I have somehow brought together by challenging there bullcrap, answer this.

  Would Heather have been fired if her sign said”we love Mitch” and the other side read”reelect Mitch” and she was screaming “six more years”. ABSOLUTELY NOT..she would have had a photo-op with her Senator and been praised by her board.(Just speculating). They were pissed at her because she didn’t agree with Mitch and his position on Iraq. Tough isn’t it when there is a huge number of your citizens that you nare required to represent, and they don’t like you or your record. Real tough…but it does not mean that this dissenter should have been fired.

  Steve…state the case law or any law that says that the director of a non-profit must represent her employer 100% of the time and has no right to express her own opinion publically. Go ahead…don’t just rant..do something.

  YOU go and ask an attorney…a real one, not your buddy big Steve whether an “at will” state means you can fire someone WITHOUT CAUSE. You cannot and if you do, you can be taken to court for unjust dismissal. THAT is the law…and you are both ignorant and obnoxious for so arrogantly denying it.

• 38 jake // Jan 25, 2008 at 6:02 pm

  Marty-

  Don’t take this personally, but all of the IP addresses you’re using are the very same IP addresses of the Greg Fischer troll who accused me of lying about 150 times last week.

  Hopefully you’re not behind all of that. Especially after I worked to quash the AIPAC event all those months ago.

• 39 Mar ty // Jan 25, 2008 at 6:13 pm

  Jake…I do not know what you are talking about.I don’t have IP addresses, don’t support or know Greg Fischer, and certainly appreciate the good work you did on that AIPAC problem.
  You have my Email address . Please explain this to me.

• 40 jake // Jan 25, 2008 at 6:14 pm

  Marty–

  No worries, then. Must just be the IP addresses changing each time you’re online.

• 41 jake // Feb 11, 2008 at 5:43 pm

  Keep your sexist, racist shit in check if you wish to comment here.

  That’s the quickest way to get banned.

Leave a Comment