PSC 499: Capstone Research Seminar

Presentations, November 2009

Page maintained by Dr. Jeremy Lewis. Revised, 2 Dec. 2009, with additional outline.
Presentation materials posted to the web are fully testable in the appropriate course.
Biographies of students, Text outlines [quick to transmit], Powerpoint slideshows [slower] are linked below.

Contents:
Click a name for the biography, click "title" for the outline, or click [PPT] for the show.

Maegan McCollum, "American Defamation Law: A Twisted Subject." [PPT]
Richard Riley, “Economic and Intellectual influences in the Debate over the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution.” [PPT]
Shane Stinemetz, “The War in Afghanistan: Counterinsurgency Operations in Kunar and Nuristan” [PPTX]

Brief Biographies of Capstone Researchers:
Maegan Ashley McCollum, from Hubbertville, AL, completed the major fields of Political Science and English; she earned the political science award for 2008, and 2009. She is a former women's softball team member, and previously played basketball & softball (first base) in high school; her graduating class comprised only 23 students. Maegan engages in creative writing in her spare time, and writes both fiction and non-fiction; she contributes to, and has edited the college magazine, the Prelude, and won the chapbook (a portfolio of the author's works) in the English department. Interested in a career in law, Maegan made the Dean's List of High Honors for spring 2008. In April 2009, she travelled to the United Nations in New York city with our Model UN team, representing Turkmenistan.

Rick Wilson Riley, from Sylacauga AL, completed the major fields of History & Political Science. He has been an Offensive Lineman (playing #50, at center). He has also been a volunteer with the Presbyterian shelter home. A staunch member of Students for Liberty, he is interested in a career in law.

Shane K. Stinemetz, of Prattville, AL, has completed the requirements for the major field in Political Science. He plays third base on the baseball team; and enjoys outdoor activities including fishing, paddling and waterskiing. He has travelled all over Europe and Asia, plus parts of Africa, with his (military) family. Shane is also an Eagle Scout. In summer 2009, Shane took an internship with Sen. Jeff Sessions in Washington DC, working with his Department of Defense team. He intends a career in the US Marine Corps, and will be commissioned on 8 May 2010.

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Outlines of Capstone Research Presentations:
Maegan McCollum, "American Defamation Law: A Twisted Subject."
American Aristocracy

“Some of their fellow-citizens acquired a power over the rest which might truly have been called aristocratic, if it had been capable of invariable transmission from father to son.”
—Alexis de Toqueville (1840, 4)

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Gained interest because their occupation affects the public at the national, state, and/or local level
Recognized for knowledge, leadership skills, and charisma

PUBLIC FIGURES

Gained interest because their occupation interests the public
“The glamorous impersonates the ordinary.” — Laura Mulvey (1975, 205)

What is Defamation?

False & derogatory statements that injure reputation
Slander & libel
Tortus = twisted

The Twists

The First Amendment vs. English common law
Private Individuals v. Public Figures/Officials

English Common Law Tradition

1275 statute outlawing slander between King & people
Penance vs. temporal grievance
Court of Star Chamber & birth of libel law
Importance of reputation in English society

Defamation in the United States

“Congress shall make no law. . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”
The Sedition Act of 1798
Common law remained intact

Officials Become Public

Prior to 1896—no press space in White House
Appearance of mass-circulation press
Theodore Roosevelt holds press conferences
After Watergate—shift in public interest

Pres. Kennedy as a Public Official

The masquerade of Camelot in the 1960’s
Post-Watergate—reality of Kennedy’s private life

Emergence of Public Figures

The Hollywood Studio Machine
The growth of tabloids

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

The facts of the case
Common law v.s. the First Amendment
Public officials & actual malice
A new American standard

Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967)

Facts of the case
Not a libel suit
A matter of public interest
Hill as a public figure

Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)

Facts of the case
Butts as a public figure
Application of actual malice standard

Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)

Facts of the case
Gertz as a private citizen
Actual malice standard inapplicable
Treatment decided by the states

Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps (1987)

Facts of the case
Common law and the burden of proof
The most constitutionally protected entity
Private citizens bear the burden

American Defamation Law and the Federal System

Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990) — a framework
Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer (1981) — kinds of malice
The categories of public officials and public figures
Differences in degree of fault

The Internet

Internet intermediaries
Communications Decency Act (1996)
Widespread anonymity; 55% of bloggers use pseudonyms.
An advanced version of a classical forum

Remedies & Damages

Monetary awards
Declaratory relief
Self-Help
Right-of-Response statutes
Injunctive relief
Retraction

Five Key Issues

First Amendment vs. common law
Public vs. private citizens
Differences between states
Defamation and the internet
Insufficiency of remedies

Proposed Solution to Issue One: The First Amendment vs. Common Law

Support New York Times interpretation of First Amendment & common law
No actual malice requirement in declaratory relief claims

Proposed Solution to Issue Two: Public vs. Private Distinction

Categories needed
Recommend the courts redefine the major categories based on today’s social constructs

Thoughts on Issue Three: Differences Between States

Importance of enabling each state to craft its own defamation law
The national framework holds the law in place

Proposed Solution to Issue Four: Defamation & the Internet

Support Solove’s proposal for exhausting informal mechanisms when the defendant is not a repeat offender or part of a broadcast or print-media publication

Proposed Solutions to Issue Five: Insufficiency of Remedies

Support a loser-pay-all system
Believe declaratory relief issued in the same publication the defamatory statement was released as the most sufficient remedy

Final Thoughts

The twist in defamation law cannot be fully straightened because of its very nature, but perhaps, it can be slightly untwisted with new revision of the old law.

Major Sources

Collins, Matthew. 2005. The Law of Defamation and the Internet. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, INC.
Curtis Publishing Company v Butts, 388 US 130 (1967) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=388&invol=13> (accessed 20 September 2009).
Gertz v. Robert Welch, INC., 418 US 323 (1974) < http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi- bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=418&invol=323> (accessed 19 September 2009).
Kupferman, Theodore R. ed. 1990. Defamation: Libel and Slander: Readings from Communication and the Law, I. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Corporation.
Milo, Dario. 2008. Defamation and Freedom of Speech. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.
Mulvey, Laura. 1975. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” In The Routledge Critical and Cultural Theory Reader. 2008. Eds. Neil Badmington and Julia Thomas. New York, N.Y.: Routledge. 202-212.
New York Times Company v. Sullivan, 376 US 254 (1964) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=376&invol=254> (accessed 20 September 2009).
Philadelphia Newspapers, INC v. Hepps, 475 US 767 (1987) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=search&court=US&case =/us/475/767.html> (accessed 19 September 2009).

Major Sources

Schwartz, Victor E., Kathryn Kelly, and David F. Partlett. 2005. Prosser, Wade, and Schwartz’s Torts: Eleventh Edition. New York, N.Y.: Foundation Press.
Siegel, Paul. 2008. Communication Law in America: Second Edition. New York, N.Y.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC.
Smolla, Rodney A. 1986. Suing the Press. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, INC.
Solove, Daniel J. 2007. The Future of Reputation. New Haven, C.T.: Yale University Press.
Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967) <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgibin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=385&invol=374> (accessed 19 September 2009).
Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1840. “Equality of Condition.” In Classic Readings in American Politics: 3rd Edition. 1999. Eds. Pietro S. Nivola and David H. Rosenbloom. New York, N.Y.: Worth Publishers INC. 3-8.

Base Image Sources

http://www.webring.com/hub?ring=americaskennedys
http://images.chron.com/blogs/fanblogastros/archives/american-flag.jpg
http://www.rogersrants.com/uploads/RonaldReagan.jpg
http://s3.images.com/huge.1.8461.JPG
http://www.historyplace.com/kennedy/jfkpix/63/porchthp.jpg
http://www.elvispresleymuseum.com/images/page_3_68_ep_leather_with_audience.jpg
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/specials/oscars07/show/beauty/beyonce_knowles.jpg
http://filmonic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/brad_pitt.jpg
http://www.venuereservations.co.uk/userfiles/venues/places/12/main/main.jpg
http://www.nndb.com/people/362/000022296/george-bush-sr.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Jeff_Sessions_official_portrait.jpg
http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kobe_bryant_main.jpg
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2008/database/ellenpompeo/ellenpompeo300.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Governor_Jan_Brewer.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_crop.jpg
http://www.corbisimages.com/images/HU058230.jpg?size=67&uid=9EA7A5EA-298E-44F3-B3BB-320BEA9D61D0
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5ir3oXdw4zg/SYRtHpTll7I/AAAAAAAACww/uGhW_DZmJxA/s400/20081117075104.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/JFK_and_Marilyn_Monroe_1962.jpg
http://www.rotoinfo.com/admin/images/adrian-peterson2(1).jpg
http://www.javno.com/slike/slike_3/r1/g2008/m10/y183731481725298.jpg
http://www.australia.to/images/stories/6News/US%20Supreme%20Court.jpg
http://lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/usa_blank.jpg
http://www.thehawkgroup.com/images/computer.jpg
http://www.freefoto.com/images/04/34/04_34_12---Computer-Keyboard_web.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_BtX3mbqRLh8/SDMVJuv1vMI/AAAAAAAABro/iC6sUdwTmtQ/DSC03004.JPG
http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/misc/notebook.jpg
http://www.rogerwendell.com/images/solutions/solutions.jpg
http://lehrman.isi.org/media/images/cache/Alexis_de_Tocqueville.jpg/638px-Alexis_de_Tocqueville.jpg
http://www.hunton.com/files/tbl_s33PracticeGroups%5CImage5695%5C823%5Cdefamation.jpg
http://www.canadianlawsite.ca/images/slander.jpg
http://blog.communiquepr.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/newspaper.jpg
http://heavenawaits.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/hourglass.jpg

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Richard Riley, “Economic and Intellectual influences in the Debate over the Ratification of the U.S. Constitution.”

The Competing Schools of Thought on Constitutional History
Economic Model

Charles A. Beard, Jackson T. Main
Progressive/Liberal
Constitution was designed to benefit Founders economically
Anti-Federalists and Federalists divided along class lines

Intellectual Model

Forrest McDonald
Conservative
Constitution had ideological roots
Anti-Federalists had localist tendencies
Federalists were Nationalists

McDonald V.S. Beard State by State
Early Ratification States

New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia
All ratified unanimously
Beard: Farming interest not given enough time to organize, security holders dominated.
McDonald: large number of farmer delegates
Small number of Personality Interests

Southern Opposition States

Virginia and North Carolina
Large number of farmers
Holders of Confiscated British Wealth in Virginia
Public Security holders support Constitution
Debtors divided in North Carolina

Agrarian Dominated States

Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire
Beard: Personality Groups dominated conventions
McDonald: over half of Delegates were farmers in all states
Majority of Debtors vote for ratification

Personality States

Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
Eastern Regions: Strong Federalist cities
Western Regions: Majority Anti-Federalist
Few members of realty interest, yet, strong opposition

Jackson T. Main’s Class Model

Federalists were in high leadership positions
Anti-Federalists in lower class
Disproven in many states

McDonald’s Economic Groups

Beard’s economic interests too rigid
Economic interest were complex
Four primary interest groups
    -Farmers, Manufacturers, Merchants, professionals
Numerous subgroups
Farmers
Subsistence
     -permanent group
     -potentially commercial
     -all from isolated areas
Commercial
    -Slave holding: Divided, depending on situation
     -non-slave holding:
       Mainly Anti-Federalists
Manufacturers
Service Industries
-Tied to customer’s interests
Stable producers
-Nothing at stake
Capitalists
-Heavily Federalist for economic reasons
Mercants
Retail
Foreign trade agents
Shipping Merchants
Non-Shipping Merchants
Professionals
Physicians
    -Not affected
Lawyers
   -Constitution Elevates them
    -some with political careers
Public Office Holders
     -Support based on stability of situation

Intellectual Influences

McDonald’s Two forms of Republicanism
Puritanistic Republicanism
Influenced by Ancient Republics and Great Awakening
Prominent in New England
Private Behavior important to public virtue
Community before the Individual
Virtues: Industry, Frugality, Work Ethic
Prominent Founders: John Adams (Federalist, MA.), Richard Henry Lee (Anti-Federalist, VA)
Agrarian Republicanism
Influences: 17th and18th Century theorists and The Anglo Saxon Myth.
Prominent in the South
Property ownership and Right to Bear Arms.
Rights of the Individual over community
Vigilance and jealousy of power
Prominent Founders: John Taylor of Caroline (VA, Anti-Federalist), Patrick Henry (Va, Anti-Federalist)

Views of History

Federalists
“New Science of Politics”
Hamilton, “Federalist No.9,”
“The science of politics, like most other sciences, has received great improvement.”
Anti-Federalists
Historical patterns of Human Nature.
Robert Yates, “Brutus”
“It is a truth confirmed by the unerring ages that every man, and every body of men, invested with power, are ever deposed to increase it, and to acquire superiority over every thing that stands in their way.”
Interpretations of Montesquieu
Federalists
Ruling Elite
Madison, “Federalist No. 51”
Protection from insurrection
Hamilton, “Federalist No.9”
Anti-Federalists
“Moderate Governments” and States Rights
George Clinton, “Cato’s Letter III”
Level of Contact with Outside World
Federalists Lived in areas were contact with outside world was common
Anti-Federalists tended to be from Isolated Areas
This divide consistent in most cases
Exceptions

Conclusion

Multiple and diverse influences
Economic Models of Beard, Main discredited by fact, but not in all cases
Diversity of Influences

Bibliography

Beard, Charles A. 1960. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States of America. New York. MacMillan
Epstein, David, F. 1984. The Political Theory of the Federalist. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press
Frohen, Bruce. 1999. The Anti-Federalists: Selected Writings and Speeches. Washington, D.C.:Regnery Publishing.
Main, Jackson Turner. 1961 The Anti-Federalist Critics of the Constitution, 1781-1789. ChapelHill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press
McDonald, Forrest. 1979. E Pluribus Unum, The Formation of the American Republic 1776-1790. Indianapolis: Liberty Press
McDonald, Forrest, 1992. We The People, the Economic Origins of the Constitution. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers
McDonald, Forrest, 1985. Novus Ordo Seclorum, the Intellectual Origins of the Constituion. Lawrence, K.S.: University Press of Kansas
Rakove, Jack, N. 1997. Original Meanings, Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. New York: A.A. Knopf.
White, Morton, 1987. Philosophy, the Federalist, and the Constitution. New York.: Oxford University Press.

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Shane Stinemetz, “The War in Afghanistan: Counterinsurgency Operations in Kunar and Nuristan”
Situation

September 11th terrorist attack
OEF launched October 7, 2001 as a response
Find Osama Bin Laden and all high-ranking Al Qaeda officials, destroy Al Qaeda organization & the Taliban regime in Afghanistan who provides safe-haven for al-Qaeda.
OEF successful but since 2006 al-Qaeda and the Taliban have surged in northeast through insurgent/guerilla warfare
Coalition forces are struggling to implement COIN strategy in the isolated populations and mountainous regions of northeastern provinces
McChrystal calls for 40,000 troops. Waiting on Obama…

Thesis

Examine the current war-fighting strategies implemented by US forces in the Northeastern provinces of Kunar and Nuristan.
Study the military history of Afghanistan (Soviet & British invasions) to conclude a greater modern counterinsurgency strategy in Kunar and Nuristan

Population

Multiple ethnic groups: Pashtun, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks
Language: Dari, Pashtu, Turkic
Religion: Islam
Est. Census of 2005: 29,928,987
- 84% Sunni Muslim
- 15% Shiites Muslim

Geography
British Invasion

Britain invades in 1838 to keep the Russians from controlling the country.
Unable to win the hearts and minds of the population
Unwilling to make long-term, large-scale, military commitments
Left Afghan’s bitter and hostile towards foreign influence and modernization

The Soviet Invasion

Soviet Union invades Afghanistan December 1979
Afghan government becomes pro-soviet and communist.
Radical Islamic fundamentals counter by forming an insurgent force called the Mujahideen
Soviet strategy: depopulate remote villages in the countryside
US finances and arms the Mujahideen’s fighting force
Soivet Regime begins leaving Afghanistan in 1985
The Taliban is born!
US must be weary of the historic strength of Afghan insurgent groups.

US Invasion of Afghanistan

September 11th attacks
Osama bin Laden identified
Bush: issues ultimatum but Afghan government refuses to cooperate
US initial attacks (ariel bombing and US Special Forces) are a success!

Kunar and Nuristan

Battle of Tora Bora serves as major turning point
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda officals retreat across Kunar border into Pakistan

Overview

History of violence and unconquerable thus far
Extremely treacherous terrain: rocky and hilly
Share a River Valley system
401, 000 Afghan locals live in the valleys
Korengal Valley considered deadliest place on earth!
River Valley people are strict conservatives and rural
US Forces must earn the trust and support of the locals

Enemy Syndicate

Al-Qaeda is ring leader for multiple “syndicate” insurgent groups
Enemy insurgent force estimated between 7, 000 and 11,000 fighters
Must focus efforts on destroying al-Qaeda
“Taliban” has become a generic description for all insurgent forces

Counterinsurgency Strategy

Major flaws in the current strategy “clear, hold, build”
We must…
         A. PROVIDE FOR THE POPULATION
         B. Limit the flow of insurgents in the region
         C. Reduce civilian casualties/destruction of property
         D. Expand Afghan Security Force in the region
SOLUTION: Increase the number of US Troops in the region.

Korengal Valley

Extremely hostile locals – deadliest region in Afghanistan
Taliban smuggle timber out of Korengal to fund the insurgency
Korengalis don’t support US presence or Afghan government
We must…
          A. Concentrate on insurgent forces and take the Korengalis out of the fight
          B. Eliminate large amounts of indirect fire in the Valley
          C. Decrease US casualties in the region
SOLUTION: Remove US troops from the Korengal Valley and shift the focus of the fight to the origins of the trade routes

Conclusion -Population is Paramount-

Protect the people of Kunar and Nuristan
Stronger military presence in the region
Train the population
Remove troops in extremely hostile (untouchable) regions
SOLUTION: Win the hearts and minds of the people in order to defeat the insurgency in Kunar and Nuristan

QUESTIONS?

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