That’s the quickest way to get banned.

She”stalked the McParty”..once again your true colors come out. In what way is the attempt to meet and greet and ask a question of your Senator considered “stalking”…only in your world or the land of Mcconnell supporters.

You then say with what I assume is bold certainty…

“she took it upon herself to air her personal issues while in her professional role. She may have assumed she put on her personal life’s hat, but like it or not, she’s constantly wearing her work life’s hat.”

This is false…you really must speak to a lawyer before you bloviate. There is no justification for the position that a person who works for or is an executive director od a non-profit must at all times be assumed to be a public model for the non-profit corporation. Give some justification for that notion. My lawyer friend says that if one is not working at the time, then that person has EVERY right under the law to express her views freely and without fear. you cannot fire some without just cause.

Anonymous is another bloviator with no credentials. First he says tha a federal employee is subject to the Hatch act.
1) Heather is not a federal employee…and
2) The Hatch act applies to the activities of a public employee like Carl Rove on behalf of a political agenda…it does not aqpply to an individual asking a question(3 times) to her Senator.

Heather was not a state employee , so the bullcrap about Krs##@@^^is totally oirrelevant…another false attempt to blow smoke..

Heather has been improperly fired and should seek legal action…hopefully then ACLU will help. Then we will know when there is a discovery depositiuon whether the board is solely culpable, or there was impermissible pressure on them from a public official.
I would like Steve to prove (Or give a source)that there is a rule or agreement that an executive director of a non-profit must lose her 1st amendment right. My attorney friend says that that is a false notion.
He also says there is a rule” never piss off a donor”…is Mitch a donor…or is he giving out public funds….ones that we all donate through our taxes. The law says that Mitch may not use his funding of groups as a political weapon. It is not HIS money…..it is the public’s. And as for pissing off donors, I venture there is either an equal number or a majority of donors who are “pissed off” by the boards ‘s behavior. That cuts both ways…and is in any event NOT a legitimate reason to dismiss this woman from her position.

And what is this focus on this little girl…she is a kid…she doesn’t vote….she is cute…she can say whatever she wants..and that also has no bearing on whether Heather should have been fired.

“Heather Ryan acted inappropriately at her workplace, embarrassed her organization, and had the audacity to brag about it on the internet”

Sorry..but I totally disagree. Heather acted entirely appropriately, legally, politely and under the rule of law and our constitution. She was not “at” but outside her workplace. She didn’t embarass her organization, the board itself did that with their illegal and craven behavior. She has every right to “brag”…(interesting how this use of words shows Clarity’s true leanings)…I mean tell her story…another free speech issue..on the internet, radio, newspaper, TV or wherever she wishes. Too bad for the authoritarians here, but this is not yet a police state.

And of course, there is no prohibition on videotaping something in public– although it’s always wise to get consent to avoid a civil court matter. The government cannot legally stop you from videotaping its activities unless the subject matter at hand threatens national security or impedes certain criminal investigations.

Now with that said, neither of these pearls of wisdom changes the fact that her employers were well within their legal rights to dismiss Ryan based on her actions as Executive Director of the theater. As their spokesperson and “face” to the community, she took it upon herself to air her personal issues while in her professional role. She may have assumed she put on her personal life’s hat, but like it or not, she’s constantly wearing her work life’s hat.

Again, I know that some groups are just hammering at this to be some vast conspiracy involving McConnell, but this just isn’t the case.

Heather Ryan acted inappropriately at her workplace, embarrassed her organization, and had the audacity to brag about it on the internet. Her employer subsequently found out about her actions and legally terminated her employment. She would have been fired for doing the exact same thing with a Chinese Ambassador, Jesus Christ, or Jane Fonda. But only because a handful of bloggers love all-things-anti-McConnell does this hit the news. And unfortunately it’s hurting the wrong people.

Is there a prohibition to using a video camera on the sidewalk?
Is it proper for this non-profit to be assisting a politician to make a partisan political film which will be used in a political campaign…purely to benefit him. Is that what the grants were for????

I’m curious what legal firm in Paducah would represent her at this point. Even a first year law clerk would tell her that her free speech/wrongful termination crusade is a pipedream on private property in an at-will state.

From what I’m hearing now, even Dem party heads in town want nothing to do with her. She has tarnished the theater, enraged the community, and embarrassed the party.

But hey, at least the blogs have something to froth over for the next 14:59.

Her termination is justified for her unprofessional behavior at her work place, for the reasons Steve Bittenbender described in his comment. If she wasn’t at her place of employment at the time, this might be a story.

Stupid tactics like these get us no where. How does something like this help get rid of a crooked politican?

Jake…could you please confirm whether this girl is in fact the same screaming girl from Fancy Farm…who I also believe screamed at a Forum at the University of Kentucky? If so…jig’s up. That “little girl” disrupts every event she attends and alienates people on both sides. Her screaming at these functions was absolutely ridiculous…and I assure you that Republicans, Democrats, Independents and just humans in general were covering their ears. It is one thing to speak your mind…but quite another to ensure that others cannot hear the conversation on the other side.

Thanks to CollegeDem for that bit of info. Says it all for me…

And yes, Steve I’ve been around politics and other organizations long enough to know you never piss off a donor.

When you’re the executive director of a non-profit, you’re always representing your organization. Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing, you’re still the executive director of the non-profit. That’s the first rule of non-profits.

That leads to the second rule: never piss off a donor or a potential donor.

Heather Ryan broke both of those rules. While it’s unfortunate that she lost her job over this, she has no one to blame but herself.