News & Media
She's got big tits. So what?
Meghan McCain posted a picture of herself on Twitter that, I guess, failed to cover up her tittehs enough. I know, as a young republican, perhaps she should have worn a burkha. The fallout was absurd, with bloggers and commentators calling McCain a “slut,” and the gentlest commentators saying that she was an “ill-advised young woman for posting that photo.” I know that Gail Dines isn’t about to nominate me as “feminist of the year,” but jesus christ. Leave the girl alone. So she’s got tig ol bitties. Wonderful! There’s nothing in the rulebook that says a girl can’t be
Did Josef Stalin Rape and Murder a Young Girl in 1990?
Probably not, but I have seen no documents to disprove these charges. On the other hand, Stalin’s grandson filed a defamation suit because people said bad things about his grandpa. How do you say “asshat” in Russian?
Retarded Paparazzi law signed
I’m not shocked that Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor. I’m just surprised that it wasn’t Flori-duh that elected him. The Governator signed an anti-paparazzi bill to permit lawsuits against media outlets if they pay for and make use of photos taken by paparazzi. Brilliant. Since 30 annoying fucking rich people don’t want their picture taken, unless it is on their terms, the rest of us get to watch the First Amendment get whittled down. I got a few words for the whiny celebrities. You rushed to the spotlight. Don’t bitch when it burns your eyes. A better law would have given
"We did this for the show?"
Douche: (noun): A moron who thinks that a six year old is a good person to rely upon when pulling a national hoax. See also, people who should be punched in the dick again and again for hours. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI6UONWCq7A]
New Rule: When your name is a meme, you've got to be ridiculous.
I honestly had to do some fact checking when I found out that there was someone named Orly Taitz. I really had to check snopes when I saw was a frigging nutbag she is. She filed a lawsuit on behalf of a soldier who didn’t want her representing him, she’s the legal face of the “birther” movement, and after being told to stop filing frivolous claims, she immediately filed a motion for reconsideration. (source) The judge didn’t have much of a sense of humor about it (nor should he have). He slapped her with a $20,000 fine. The judge’s order
Cybersquatter gets his Comeuppance
Cybersquatters often either hide offshore, or they claim to be offshore, or they claim that they don’t have any money — ergo they are “judgment proof.” Well, Marc Trachtenberg, the domain law equivalent of Mr. T, just kicked a cybersquatters’s ass. The squatter decided that he would rather not pay the $120,00 judgment. Since he believed that he was outside the reach of the U.S. courts, he just ignored it. Trachtenberg loaded up the van and brought a plan together — he foreclosed on the cybersquatter’s domain name portfolio. Judgment Debtor Luis Zavala (“Zavala”) and any and each of his
Noonan v. Staples – the bad law remains, but Noonan Loses
We previously reported on Noonan v. Staples, and the bad appellate decision in that case. It turns out that Mr. Noonan lost his libel case anyhow once it got to the jury. Accordingly, Mr. Noonan left us with a terrible decision but got nothing for his trouble.
Alma Mater Report
University of Massachusetts might get a law school. Meh. At least they are going to possibly acquire an existing unaccredited law school, rather than open yet another one. I think they would do the public a greater service if they acquired it and then bulldozed it, along with three or four other schools. Either that, or let it remain unaccredited (its grads can take the Mass. Bar), and devoted to public interest lawyering only. On the other end of I-95, The University of Florida is tops for lowest tuition for an LLM in Tax. And Georgetown… umm… sent me another
Palinland Hates the First Amendment
I spent a summer in Alaska and loved it. I saw no indication of a people who would be dumb enough to elect Sarah Palin. I guess I didn’t pay attention. There is a prosecutor there who doesn’t care that the Supreme Court has already ruled that non-obscene “child porn” that does not depict real children is protected by the First Amendment. See Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (2002). He wants to make it illegal to produce or possess mere cartoons that depict children in sexual activity. (source)
Boston Globe Editorial on U.S. v. Stevens
The Boston Globe’s editorial staff has weighed in on U.S. v. Stevens. No big surprise that a newspaper thinks that we ought to preserve the First Amendment.
NYT Calls for Obama to Live up to Campaign Promise
Obama hasn’t exactly lived up to all of his campaign promises. In fact, he hasn’t done a whole hell of a lot at all. The New York Times calls him out on his failure to put a brick back in the wall between church and state — a wall that his predecessor spent eight years whacking at it with a biblical jackhammer. President Obama promised in his campaign to preserve President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative aimed at helping social service programs sponsored by religious organizations win federal grants and contracts. He also promised a vitally important change: groups receiving
Immoral or Scandalous Matter?
by Jason Fischer One of the “peculiarities” of U.S. trademark law is that the government has a stick up its collective ass about recognizing trademarks that may be suggestive of dick-and-fart humor. Section 2 of the Lanham Act (the federal statute that creates trademark rights) provides: No trademark by which the goods of the applicant may be distinguished from the goods of others shall be refused registration on the principal register on account of its nature unless it — (a) Consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter . . . . 15 U.S.C. § 1052 (2008). Presumably, you
This is COLUMBUS DAY!!!
This is COLUMBUS DAY. I’d like to invite anyone whose name ends with a vowel (Persians excluded) to raise their hands, extend their middle fingers, and flip off the Native Americans, the hippies, and everyone else in the International Association of Crybabies who has a piss and a moan about Christopher Columbus. This is not “indigenous people’s day,” it is not “la dia de la raza” and it isn’t frigging “wear a beret, listen to Joni Mitchell, and wear patchoulli day.” To the “Native Americans” who have a beef with Columbus Day — suck it. First off, it isn’t as
Pig in a Poke
When the judge tells you “no contact” with another person, that means NO FRIGGIN CONTACT! That includes, not surprisingly, a “facebook poke.” A reason that “Social Networking Sites Suck.“
You can Cheat on your Spouse but NOT on your Taxes
Rephrase: you can probably get away with cheating on your spouse, but the IRS will always catch you. Case in point, Mr. Walter Halby who attempted to reduce his tax liability by claiming medical expense deductions for his patronage of prostitutes. Mr. Halby claimed $100,000 in deductions for payments to prostitutes as necessary treatments for medical conditions (sexual addiction and erectile dysfunction). I’m not a doctor so I won’t comment on whether feeding an addiction is a proper course of treatment for any type of addiction, but Mr. Halby failed to take the “treatment” part of the allowable tax deduction
One Nation "Under God" in Picture Book Form
This is all kinds of awesome. Use the scroll over function. I found this at Shit Planet. That blog brings us the eternal question, which is more amusing? The Legal Satyricon or watching a guy shove his own balls up his own ass?
Hate Crime Legislation
The Moderate Voice has a thoughtful post on why Hate Crime legislation is wrong-headed.
Asshat of the Day: DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse
Woodhouse said: “The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists – the Taliban and Hamas this morning – in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize,” DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse told POLITICO. “Republicans cheered when America failed to land the Olympics and now they are criticizing the President of the United States for receiving the Nobel Peace prize – an award he did not seek but that is nonetheless an honor in which every American can take great pride – unless of course you are the Republican Party. (source) Fuck you, Brad Woodhouse. It
It's official… The Nobel Prizes have lost all significance
by Jason Fischer Maybe I’m just too young to realize that it’s always been effed up this way, but when I was a kid, I used to think it meant something to hear that someone had won a Nobel Prize. Now it is clearly just a leftist love fest with no real accomplishment value whatsoever. Congratulations, President Obama, on your meaningless award that you got for playing basketball with the boys in the White House instead of bowling giving the world hope. Great Success!! High Five!!