Another reason for tort reform

Powerline points to a "troubling" David Frum article on the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and it's worth your time to click and read, with these thoughts in mind:

Frum and the American Enterprise Institute have been served "notice" that CAIR may file a libel suit against them for alleging in print that the institute encourages terrorist activities. Apparently this is now the tactic of choice and is being used against a half dozen or so publications and writers in the U.S. and Canada.

In the U.S. truth has historically been considered a sure defense against libel actions. If what is said against you is true, while it may hurt feelings, damage reputations and incomes, a libel action is not a remedy open to you. This concept has eroded somewhat in recent years because, with the sheer flood of litigation produced by our society, there is always the risk of bad decisions watering down First Amendment protections.

In the case of CAIR it is less likely they would actually go to court. Instead they hope to chill the pens/laptops of those who would research and write about certain Islamic activities, thus enabling these activities to fly under the radar of the news and opinion journals. The logic is simple: the cost of successfully defending a lawsuit often results in a pyrrhic victory. You win but you're broke and you won't light-heartedly make the mistake again of writing anything controversial even if it true.

We could use some tort reform to stop this sort of nonsense. A simple "loser pays attorney fees" rule would help.

A couple of excerpts from the Frum article to whip you into a reading frenzy:

CAIR was founded in 1994 by alumni of an older group, the Islamic Association for Palestine. The IAP, founded by senior Hamas figure Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, calls for the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state under Islamic law in Israel's place. (In 1996, CAIR would condemn the U.S. government's decision to deport Marzook as an "anti-Islamic" act.)
***
CAIR's founding chairman, Omar Ahmed, also an IAP alumnus, is said to have declared at a public event in California in July, 1998: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth." Ahmed has since disputed the accuracy of the quote--five years after it was reported by a California newspaper.

Read the whole thing.