1. Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder (the man who makes Oakland Raiders fans say, “whew, at least our team is not run by that guy”) was upset by a hilarious Washington City Paper story portraying him as an incompetent, money-grubbing bully. And what better way to show you’re not a bully by suing the paper for defamation and threatening, ” the cost of litigation would presumably quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper”?
Bonus: Snyder also accuses the paper of anti-Semitism. If he wants to get all PC on us, maybe he should look at that team nickname again.
2. Jimmy Carter is being sued by some people who were shocked to find out his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, was a bit one-sided:
More than four years after its publication, five disgruntled readers have filed a class-action lawsuit against President Jimmy Carter and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, alleging that his 2006 book “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid” contained “numerous false and knowingly misleading statements intended to promote the author’s agenda of anti-Israel propaganda and to deceive the reading public instead of presenting accurate information as advertised.”
The five plaintiffs named in the lawsuit are seeking at least $5 million in compensation. The hard cover edition cost $27.
The suit accuses Carter and his publisher of violating New York consumer protection laws because they engaged in “deceptive acts in the course of conducting business” and alleges that they sought enrichment by promoting the book “as a work of non-fiction.”
In a press release, one of the attorneys, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner stated: “The lawsuit will expose all the falsehoods and misrepresentations in Carter’s book and prove that his hatred of Israel has led him to commit this fraud on the public. He is entitled to his opinions but deceptions and lies have no place in works of history.”
My position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can effectively be summarized as “the opposite of whatever Jimmy Carter says,” but this pretty silly. In the unlikely event that this isn’t laughed out of court, do we all get to sue writers just because we’re offended by their politics? (If so, dibs on Hints from Heloise. She knows why.)
Damian J. Penny 
The threat of litigation can be a remarkably effective tool in silencing people, even if the underlying case is weak.
Hey Bruce! You’re right. For the record, I hope the plaintifs lose and if there is any poetic justice these days, they get counter-sued for malice. Don’t get me wrong: Carter has always been one embarrassing, nasty piece of work. He has a perfect right, however – indeed, an obligation – to spout his nonsense for all to admire.