News & Media
@Left-wing Nutjobs: Disagreeing with the President does NOT make me a racist
by Jason Fischer An extremely disturbing trend has started to develop in the U.S. political landscape, which needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. It seems that the the left would like to start playing the “race card” every time someone disagrees with President Obama. Not only is this behavior irresponsible and childish, it only serves to breathe new
We Don't Roll That Way
Ellen DeGeneres, aside from being annoying, also hires idiots. She apparently used more than 1,000 copyrighted songs on her show without permission or paying royalties to the artists. Lets set aside whether, as a philosophical matter, she should have to. Per papers filed at a U.S. District Court in Nashville on September 9th, when the labels asked the Ellen show
The Seventh Rides Again in Support of the First Amendment
The Alameda Books rule boils down to this: If a city wants to ban a First Amendment protected business, it can only do so if it has evidence that its regulations actually might help do something about adverse secondary effects, the evidence can’t be complete bullshit, and the regulation can’t negatively impact the quality and amount of speech as a
Sciopero dei Blog
Apparently Italian bloggers are on strike. It even seems like a damn good cause. Arthur Bright at the Citizen Media Law Project made me laugh though: But is a strike really the way to go? Because it seems to me that the bloggers, as a group, are missing the most important element of a strike: economic influence. Bloggers aren’t exactly
"Getting What She Deserves": Stories of Vengeful Women Expand Cyberlaw Regulations
By Lateigra C. Cahill A few weeks ago, Missouri officials arrested Elizabeth Thrasher (40), for posting a fake No-Strings-Attached-Sex ad on the Craigslist “Casual Encounters” section. The sex ad included the photograph, cell phone number, and place of employment of a 17-year-old girl (Thrasher’s ex-husband’s girlfriend’s daughter). Investigators say that the girl received phone calls, text messages and nude pictures
We're Still Thinking of You….
I got an interesting email today. I have redacted the identifying information just to be nice. Dear Marc, Good afternoon. Just a quick note to let you know that you are still being considered for new opportunities by [REDACTED] in [Florida]. If your contact information or status has changed at all, please feel free to update us. Additionally, please feel
"God is not Religion"
The state of Kentucky passed a law requiring the Emergency Operations Center of their Department of Homeland Security to post a plaque stating the following: The safety and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God. Before your “are you shitting me-o-meter” goes to 11, don’t worry. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled that the
Coach Baptizes High School Football Players – Superintendent Clueless
When will public school officials learn to do their jobs, and leave superstition to the kids families? The head football coach at Breckinridge County High School in Kentucky loaded up 20 of his players on a school bus, took them to church, and baptized half of them. The mother of one player said her 16-year-old son was baptized without her
Online UDRP
I finally took a stab at filing a UDRP proceeding with the Czech Arbitration Court (my previous go-to was WIPO, and I’d never use NAF). What attracted me? Online filing! It is about time that someone recognizes that UDRP proceedings are a 21st century phenomenon, and perhaps they should be handled as such. Accordingly, imagine my joy when I found
Obama Poster Flap
I have refrained from writing about this issue, since I am representing NORML in connection with this matter. However, Sam Bayard over at the Citizen Media Law Project Blog has done a great job of it. See Yes We Cannabis: Another Obama Photo Sparks Fair Use Controversy.
"But We're Just An Innocent Web Host" Ain't Gonna Cut It
Akanoc Solutions Inc., Managed Solutions Group Inc., and Steven Chen, the owner of the two companies learned the hard way that being a web host doesn’t make you automatically free from liability for copyright and trademark infringement committed by your customers. The ISPs involved hosted websites that sold knock-off Louis Vuitton goods, and they were made aware of that fact.
Success is like a Girlfriend…
“Success is like a beautiful girlfriend: if you share her, she becomes a slut.” (source) An interesting quote from an interesting guy…
"Stupid" Definied
MONICA NOVOTNY: John, what about this controversy over opposition to Obama’s speech to school children? JOHN HARWOOD: I gotta’ tell you Monica, I’ve been watching politics for a long time, and this one is really over-the-top. What is shows you is there are a lot of cynical people who try to fan controversy, and let’s face it, in a country
Holy Shit, I Can Not Wait for October 16!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–N9klJXbjQ]
Yawn, More idiocy in Polk County, Flori-duh
Honestly, do my readers need any more evidence that there really wouldn’t be anything wrong with putting a wall around Polk County, Flori-duh, and just filling the entire place with liquified pig shit? I mean, not much would change. Latest evidence, a kid tried to take photographs of a traffic light in a school zone, and a dumb as fuck
Freedom From Religion Foundation Wins Victory in Colorado
FFRF had a good victory this week: The national Freedom From Religion Foundation has settled a federal lawsuit against the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colo., over a policy that urged children to spend an hour a week at a religious institution. The District and the Foundation agreed upon wording to include encouragement to children to spend an hour
Cash4Gold Files SLAPP Suit Against the Consumerist
Facts: Cash4Gold is a company that buys gold from consumers and it is based in Florida. They have filed a SLAPP suit against a consumer review site for publishing facts about another lawsuit involving a former employee. Complaint here. A really long, but informative post by the Consumerist is here.
Indianapolis Adult Entertainment Ordinance Struck Down – Annex Books v. City of Indianapolis
The City of Indianapolis has a long and shameful history of treading on the Constitution in its own little private war on sexual free expression. Back in the 1980s, religious fundamentalists on the Indianapolis City Council teamed up with Catharine MacKinnon and passed a ludicrous anti-pornography ordinance designed to creatively outlaw adult entertainment altogether. Under that law, not only was
Tiffany Shepherd, From Bikini-Claid Bait Girl to Porn to Cybersquatting Victim
Tiffany Shepherd, the Port Saint Lucie schoolteacher who was fired from her job because she worked on a fishing charter boat in a bikini has decided to make the jump into adult entertainment. Unfortunately, after being the victim of puritanical flori-duh social conservatives, she is now the victim of scumbag cybersquatters. It looks like one person registered TiffanyShepherd.com, and is
