Kirby Delauter Wants Permission Before Media Publishes His Name. Now Kirby Delauter Is This Week's Big Internet Meme.

People are laughing at Kirby
Delauter because Kirby Delauter
does not want Kirby Delauter's
name published anywhere unless
Kirby Delauter grants permission
for the use of the name "Kirby Delauter"  

UPDATE: 

After a 24 hour media storm, in which Kirby Delauter was in EVERY news outlet, he's apparently come to his senses about demanding that people ask him permission before mentioning his name in a news story.

Here's what he said today in a news release:

"I thought I had long ago learned the lesson of waiting 24 hours before I hit the send key, but apparently, I didn't learn that lesson as well as I should have....

Of course, as I am an elected official, the Frederick News-Post has the right to use my name in any article related to the running of the county --that comes with the job.

So yes, my statement to the Frederick News-Post regarding the use of my name was wrong and inappropriate. I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong."

Well, good. We've got that straightened out.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION: 

Like it or not, if you're a politician from local city councilor on up to President of the United States, your name is going to get in the paper. Or any media for that matter.

You might like the coverage you get. You might hate it. But you're name is going to be in the paper.

According to the Frederick (Maryland) News-Post, Frederick County Councilman Kirby Delauter decided, hey, First Amendment, Smirst Amendment.

Anybody has the right to print a name in the media, as long as they're not being libelous. But Delauter decided the News-Post's coverage of him was unfair, so he demanded they ask his permission before even mentioning him anywhere in the publication. 

Now Kirby Delauter says he's going to sue the paper because the paper put his name in a story anyway.

Kirby Delauter! Kirby Delauter! Kirby Delauter!

Oh, sorry, I got carried away there with my First Amendment enthusiasm. My bad.

Kirby Delauter learned today that if you want to keep your name out of the media, you don't demand that people keep your name out of the media. #KirbyDelauter was among the Top 10 most trending hashtags on Twitter Tuesday evening.

The popularity of the name "Kirby Delauter" really got underway when the Frederick News-Post decided to have fun with a little editorial highlighting how ridiculous Kirby Delauter is for demanding publications ask his permission before mentioning his name.

The paper has trolled Delauter in the most fun way with an editorial headline: "Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter."

The editorial goes on to mention him by name 27 times. Plus the first letter of each paragraph in the editorial spells out "Kirby Delauter."

Here's the Facebook exchange, since
deleted, of the exchange between
Kirby Delauter and a Frederick, Maryland
News-Post reporter. Click on the image
to make it bigger and more readable.  

The paper speculated, tongues firmly in cheek, that they could get around Delauter's edict by giving him sort of a hip hop name like K-Del.

Or just change letters around to make him Sherbert Deluder, Derby Kelauter or Shirley Delaughter.

Of course, the editorial made its serious point:

"Kirby Delauter's ignorance of what journalism is and does is no joke and illustrates one disturbing aspect too prevalent in conservatives' beliefs: That the media are all-liberal stooges hell bent on pursuing some fictional leftwing agenda."

As Washington Post blogger Eugene Volokh put it: "Uh, Council Member: In our country, newspapers are actually allowed to write about elected officials (and others) without their permission. It's an avant garde experiment, to be sure, but we've had some success with it. You know that whole First Amendment thing."

Back to the Frederick News-Post editorial:

"Enough. Seriously. What's Kirby Delauter going to do? Sue everyone who's making fun of him on Twitter using the #kirbydelauter hashtag or on Facebook? Boy, his attorney will be able to retire off that."

Kirby Delauter's attorney is going to be extremely busy, since most major media outlets in the nation have picked up this story. Even the BBC is covering it. And there's a Kirby Delauter parody Twitter account. He's being skewered on Facebook, too. 

So many Kirby Delauter jokes and parodies!  

This is a classic example of the Streisand Effect, named for the time Barbra Strisand tried to stop people from photographing her Malibu home.

Her efforts garnered lots of attention and suddenly the whole world heard about it, and was laughing at the attempts.

Now, though, we're all paying attention to Kirby Delauter, who at this rate is going to be more famous in the Internet than Kim Kardashian.

As long as Kirby Delauter doesn't post a photo of his butt on the Internet like Kardashian did, I'm happy.

Thanks, Kirby Delauter for entertaining us today.