A Bloggin Response to Academia Semillas del Pueblo "Cease and Desist Request", BRING IT ON!

Academia Semillas del Pueblo's Charter School "Cease and Desist Letter" to blogger Scott Johnson

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Page Three ** BTW, how many Costco Pizzas could have been purchase to feed Academia students with the legal cost of this letter?

Memo to Academia Semillas del Pueblo Executive Director Marcos Aguilar and "Legal Counsel" Salomon Zavala, care to join us in a teachable moment regarding Academia Semillas del Pueblo's latest attack on First Amendment rights and a Free Press? 

For the bloggin benefit of our political cyber audience, lets refresh our readers on tactics behind your latest threat of a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" aka S.L.A.P.P. and some background via Wikipedia., against a journalistic entity. **.... and remind everyone how much was awarded KABC 790 AM Morning Host Doug McIntyre and Disney in legal fees last time Academia attempted to use S.LA.P.P. to silence their critics.

A strategic lawsuit against public participation(SLAPP) is a lawsuit that is intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.^[1]The typical SLAPP plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. The difficulty, of course, is that plaintiffs do not present themselves to the Court admitting that their intent is to censor, intimidate or silence their critics. Hence, the difficulty in drafting SLAPP legislation, and in applying it, is to craft an approach which affords an early termination to invalid abusive suits, without denying a legitimate day in court to valid good faith claims.

We here at Mayor Sam have some history with these "Cease and Desist your First Amendment Right to Free Expression Demands" (in the writer's own words with help of "spoll check"). Our cyber audience will remember this blog's  first encounter with "Cease and Desist" via "Infant Assemblyman Mike Gatto" (one is easily bully the first time) and we are still here today despite repeated bile personal attacks via the dreaded "Gatto Truthers". Recently, "Private Citizen/ Democratic Campaign Consultant" John Shallman took issue with some of this blogger's past commentary and made threats about libel which were just that, threats to intimidate our opinions. Now we have this latest tired example of waste of legal fees and paper to which we say BRING IT ON!


In what is becoming this writer's standard disclaimer......, let me state that we endeavor here at Mayor Sam to base our musings on the facts. If we choose to incorporate speculation, we label it as such. Plus, in the course of writing we have the right to question all possible story angles base upon the information at hand and craft our product in a style that may incorporate satire, mixed with parody. That is the bloggin way (especially for this writer).


In the case of our coverage of the on going issues at the controversial Charter School, we are very aware that only the facts are expose, especially in reporting on a trouble institution of learning (that is why LAUSD professional staff recommended non-renewal of charter) who's actions may have a detrimental effect on the children it supposedly serve. We stand by our reporting and commentary. We also extend the invitation to Academia Semillas del Pueblo staff and supporters to respond in writing to any of our coverage which we will post in the interest of a communal dialog. That is what blogging promotes, truthful dialog, not legal threats.


Your thoughts ..............
Scott Johnson in CD 14