News & Media
Some Religious People Actually Get It
I can forgive any confusion that anyone might have held about the teachings of Jesus Christ or any other “prophet,” as long as that confusion occurred before 1989. In 1989, we received the word from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. “Be Excellent to Each Other” It looks like there are some religious leaders in California who saw the film.
Kitty Porn
A Flori-duh man has the best excuse ever for having child porn on his computer. He says that his cat downloaded it.
The Only Thing They Have in Texas is ….
Religious zealots and a few Jews trying to stem the tide of theocracy? The Texas State Board of Education is thinking about opening the door to teaching creationism in its science classes. Rabbi Nancy Kasten, of Dallas, said: Jewish tradition teaches that we serve God through a never-ending process of asking questions and making discoveries about our world … Studying the world using the tools of scientific method…and forming and testing hypotheses, is the way that scientists formulated our current understanding of evolution. This understanding does not conflict with the Jewish view of Creation. While there are still things to
Jones Day Trademark Claim Update
Update: Judge John Darrah of the Northern District of Illinois denied Blockshoppers’ motion to dismiss Jones Day’s trademark claims. A quick recap: Blockshopper is a website that reports on real estate transactions. In two reports, Blockshopper deeplinked to two bios of Jones Day’s employees. Jones Day then flipped their shit and filed a five-count trademark complaint. In denying the motion, the Court concludes: It cannot be said, at this pleadings stage, that Jones Day allegations of confusion are implausible. Bell Atlantic v. Twombly , cited by Judge Darrah, mandates that some level of substantive sufficiency be present in the complaint.
Can You Buy Porn on Flag Day?
Adultland XXX, an adult bookstore in Pulaski Township, Pennsylvania succeeded in its quest to overturn a finding that Adultland violated the Pulaski adult entertainment ordinance by, of all things, remaining open on Flag Day in 2006. See Boron v. Pulaski Twp., No. 1555 C.D. 2007 (Comm. Ct. PA 2008). The Pulaski adult entertainment ordinance prohibits “sexually oriented businesses from conducting business on a state recognized holiday.” (Op. at 1). However, the ordinance does not specify what constitutes a “state recognized holiday.” In the absence of such guidance, Police Chief James B. Morris, Jr., suspended Adultland’s business license for being open
19 Year Old Commits Suicide Live on Streaming Video
In a sad testament to the immediacy of the Internet, 19-year-old Abraham K. Biggs committed suicide live on the web-broadcasting site Justin.tv. Biggs overdosed on pills while on camera and appeared to be breathing for hours until watchers realized he might be serious, at which point they alerted the police. The video kept running until police and EMTs broke Biggs’ door down and blocked the camera’s view While this is a disturbing and sad situation, hopefully the knee-jerk censorship goons reel in their impulse to gate the tubes. Hopefully those who watched this poor guy’s last moments know what animals
Obama's AG Pick Has a Censorship Goon Past
Obama’s pick for Attorney General seems to be Eric Holder, a former Deputy Attorney General during the Clinton Administration. AVN’s Mark Kernes reports that Holder does not have a good track record on First Amendment issues. In 1998, Holder wrote a memo to all 94 U.S. Attorneys: “As you are aware within the past few years there has been increasing concern about the distribution of obscenity and child pornography both by traditional purveyors of “adult material” and in particular by those who distribute such material over the Internet. As a result of this unprecedented growth, I wish to remind you
Beaufort City Councilor Admits Anti-Catholic Bias, Abstains from Zoning Vote
Councilwoman Laura Von Harten of Beaufort County, South Carolina is in a little hot water after admitting that she would oppose a Catholic Church’s zoning request due to her opposition to Catholic Church policies. During a Land Management Committee discussion over whether to allow St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in greater Bluffton to expand through a zoning change, Von Harten called the Catholic Church policy barring women from serving as priests “an affront to my dignity and all of womankind.” She also objected to the church’s anti-abortion positions. Von Harten, who doesn’t sit on the committee, said she would
Mr. Obama, Let's Start that "Change" Thing With the FCC
Jon Katz reminds us: Barack Obama did not seem to speak much, if at all, about First Amendment protection during the campaign. However, he did talk repeatedly about change. Mr. Obama, it is time to change the decades long tradition of FCCensorship and prudery. (source) I think that a great “change” would be to send Kevin Martin and Deborah Taylor Tate to Guantanamo Bay to rot in their own feces for 10 years. That ought to be penance enough for the damage they have done to the Constitution during their tenure as FCC commissioners.
The 8 Most Underrated Muppets
The PC police have ruined most of our childhood favorites. Bugs Bunny is censored now as “racist,” the Road Runner is “too violent,” and the Cookie Monster eats celery! If you are an old fart sitting around wondering, “what is this world coming to when you can’t even show an ACME anvil falling on a coyote’s head”? then you’ll love this: The 8 Most Underrated Muppets HT: Bob Berger
TSA Security Theater Proven Useless, TSA Declares Victory Anyhow
This just in from the “tell me something I didn’t already know” department. It turns out that the TSA’s program to screen people who seem nervous (according to their Behavior Detection Officers) is useless. After annoying the ever loving fuck out of screening 160,000 sheep travelers, the BDOs have netted 1,266 arrests for drug possession and carrying fake IDs and umm… ZERO potential terrorists. (source) While this program has not ensnared anyone that it was intended to ensnare, I guess it makes everyone feel better, right? I got swept up in this bunk at LAX a few months ago. I
"Happy Holidays" Cause of Economic Crisis
Ken over at Popehat points out the latest Wall Street Journal bizzaro-world editorial; one which bears further gawking. According to editorial page Deputy Editor Daniel Henninger, the cause of the current economic crisis can be boiled down to the cultural trend to offer your neighbor a “Happy Holidays” instead of the more traditional “Merry Christmas.” This year we celebrate the desacralized “holidays” amid what is for many unprecedented economic ruin — fortunes halved, jobs lost, homes foreclosed. People wonder, What happened? One man’s theory: A nation whose people can’t say “Merry Christmas” is a nation capable of ruining its own
You So Smart
This website claims to analyze what “type” a blog is. By extension, this would also suggest what “type” the bolg’s readers are. Here’s the result for Legal Satyricon: The logical and analytical type. They are especialy attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications. They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come
The First Amendment Is A Beautiful Thing
Often we are challenged to remember the importance of the First Amendment in the context of truly objectionable expression, such as hate speech. But every once in a while, the truly objectionable transgresses into the truly hilarious – as is the case with this gem. It’s an amicus brief filed in the California Supreme Court by the Kingdom of Heaven: World Divine Government in support of Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriages. The brief’s author, one D. Q. Mariette Do-Nguyen, “Heiress Of The Almighty Eternal Creator,” is not merely advancing her own political perspective here. She had a dream. After
This is how we do it, baby
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOvqF4ZPDNM]
The Recession Isn't All Bad News
Quizlaw reports that the recession appears to be hurting the douchebaggery industry: [Y]ou know what the best part of the recession is? Focus on the Family, the right-wing nutjob institute of religious zealotry that just spent $500,000 to defeat Prop 8 in California, is having to lay off 20 percent of its workforce! Yay for unemployed bigots! Want more: Oral Roberts, which spits out hate-and-fear mongering evangelist by the hundreds, is also laying off 10 percent of its staff! Yay for unemployed, academic bigots. Ha ha!
Douchetastic Defamation Suit Filed in Nevada
Michael Minelli, a 27-year old “club promoter,” is spewing vinegar at Simon and Schuster, publisher of the book Hot Chicks with Douchebags. Apparently, Mr. Minelli finds the description “douchebag” to be inaccurate, and to say the least, neither sweet nor fresh. In his complaint, Minelli seeks at least $10,000 in damages per count in his five-count action for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and a loss of that fresh feeling (to his goodwill, anyhow). Minelli says he “has been, is now and continues to be called a douchebag by friends, acquaintances, coworkers, employers and
Medway, Mass. May Increase Areas Available for Adult Entertainment
The town of Medway, Mass. is considering expanding the size, but changing the location, of its adult entertainment zoning district. At this time, the only place in Medway where adult entertainment businesses can locate is “a small trapezoidal block on Rte. 109, east of Pond Street.” (source) Resident Mark Cerel, a municipal lawyer and the town moderator, said he is concerned the allowable area is so small – only a couple of properties – that the courts could find it unfairly limiting, and then permit adult entertainment to locate in any retail spot in town. (source) Mr. Cerel is correct.
Are Speech Codes Coming Back?
Before Constitution voters start doing a victory dance over the Obama win, lets not forget that threats to free speech come from the left as often as they come from the right. See Unlike Others, U.S. Defends Freedom to Offend in Speech. The article quotes a “legal philosopher” as saying that he isn’t sure that the Europeans are wrong – referring to European restraints on so-called “hate speech.” Of course, it is only “hate speech” when it is speech that the would-be censor doesn’t like. I don’t trust anyone to apply such principles fairly, evenly, or in any way sanely.
News Flash – California Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of Prop 8
Just over an hour ago, the California Supreme Court issued an order stating that it will hear the challenge to the consitutionality of Proposition 8, the ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in California which was approved by voters in this month’s election. The issues to be heard by the Court are: (1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution? (See Cal. Const., art. XVIII, §§ 14.) (2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation of powers doctrine under the California Constitution? (3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is