News & Media
I Challenge Andrew Contiguglia
My good friend and fellow blawgger, Andrew Contiguglia is based in Denver. (Yeah, you see where this is going…) He had the audacity to send me an instant message this morning predicting the Rockies will win the Series in six games. I hereby throw down the gauntlet and throw out the following wager: If the Rockies win the Series: (heh,
I'm kinda loving this Blog "Mr. Furious"
If you are looking for a perfect mix of progressive politics and Red Sox fanaticism, Mr. Furious is just what the shrink ordered. Warning, you may wind up stuck there for hours… I found this video there…. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkAvxrgtLr4]
More Mary Beth Buchanan Hijinks
The New York Times Reports: WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 — Richard L. Thornburgh, attorney general in the Reagan and first Bush administrations, charged Tuesday that political reasons motivated the Justice Department to open corruption investigations against Democrats in Mr. Thornburgh’s home state, Pennsylvania. In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Thornburgh became the first former Republican attorney general to join
Colorado Rockies Going Down in More Ways Than One!
As if they weren’t already doomed to lose the World Series, the Colorado Rockies follow the NFL into the arena of “stupid trademark ideas.” (See NFL Drops “Big Game” Trademark Bid). DENVER (AP) — “Rocktober,” the new shorthand for the Colorado Rockies’ amazing playoff run, is showing up everywhere from newspaper headlines to handmade ballpark signs. But now the team
Update to Body Paint, The First Amendment, and Student Speech
Regarding an earlier blog post on the Bradenton Body Painting issue: Body Paint, The First Amendment, and Student Speech, I was asked to comment on Fox and Friends. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pxg9oa3jSA]
Neat Course – Equine Law
Here is one of those areas of law that I know nothing about — Equine Law. Concord Law School, the only online law school, is offering a course in this subject next semester. I’m not sure how I feel about online law schools — one way or the other — but I do think that innovative and unique courses like
Community Standards on the Internet, Where is the "Community?"
According to Miller v. California, in order for material to be deemed legally obscene, a court must determine the following: Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, Whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions specifically defined by applicable
$164K Fine for Typosquatting
Zuccarini is at it again! Notorious typosquatter, John Zuccarini is in trouble again — this time with the Federal Trade Commission. They just imposed a $164K fine on the Moby Dick of typosquatters. He has already spent two years in jail for the same activity, so I doubt that this will deter him in the future. source – XBiz.
Mukasey… Could He Really Be This Ethical?
Back in September, I had the initial impression that Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey might be a welcome change from Ashcroft’s reign of idiocy and Gonzalez’ reign of “situational ethics” (in other words no ethics. See Attorney General Nominee Mukasey on Trademarks and the First Amendment. Of course, I predicted that A-Gonz would be a decent Attorney General, and look how
House Passes Shield Bill!
I’m shocked. We finally managed to get enough sensible members into the House of Representatives that they passed a bill supporting a federal shield law for reporters — if it passes the Senate, it looks like it has enough votes to override a Presidential veto! This is something that the country has needed for a long time. Branzburg v. Hayes
Body Paint, The First Amendment, and Student Speech
When two girls in Bradenton, Florida painted their bodies to attend a high school football game in a show of school spirit, they didn’t expect that their body paint would be the latest blood spilled in the culture wars. The girls were actually dressed quite modestly — sporting cargo shorts and bikini tops in the hot Florida night, they covered
Fantasy Baseball Gets First Amendment Protection
In 2006, the Eastern District of Missouri held that the operator of a Web site offering fantasy baseball games using Major League Baseball player names and statistics did not violate the right of publicity or copyright rights of the players. C.B.C. Distrib. & Mktg. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., 443 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (E.D. Mo. 2006). Undaunted,
Boston Globe on "Gripe Site" Suits and Anonymity
This recent article in the Boston Globe discusses gripe site litigation and the protection afforded to anonymous speakers on the internet. The article suggests, and my experience concurs, that many defamation suits are filed by businesses trying to stamp out consumer complaints. While the article is balanced, it does have some pointed quotes taking shots at those who file defamation
"Regent-Gate" Update
David Lat over at “Above the Law” has an exclusive interview with Adam Key. The entire interview is worth reading, but here are some choice excerpts. David Lat: In terms of coverage of the controversy, what facts or themes do you think have been overlooked? Adam Key: A lot of people have missed the point about my First Amendment argument.
Sex With Robots!
Fox News reports that David Levy at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands presented a theory that humans will begin having sex with robots within 5 years, and marry them by 2050. Levy’s thesis, “Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners,” predicts that robots “robots will become so human-like in appearance, function and personality that many people will fall in love
Katz on Sterilized Representative Democracy
Jon Katz reports on the latest incident of political sanitization of media appearances. Apparently, Laura Bush appeared at an event at a DC public school and a reporter had the audacity to ask a question that probed the fact that the citizens of the District of Columbia are denied representation in Congress. Bizarrely, and according to WTOP (Washington, D.C.) news
Andrew Contiguglia on School Search and Seizure Case
A recent case on the further erosion of Constitutional rights in the schools caught my eye. The news article is here. Since this is a bit beyond my traditional areas of expertise, and it takes place in Colorado, I asked Colorado Attorney and brother FALA member, Andrew Contiguglia to share his thoughts on the matter. His thoughts were so extensive
S&M Death Discussion
The recent story about an S&M practicioner’s untimely, and unfortunate, demise has garnered a lot of media attention, and some snarky guffaws in the blogosphere. I won’t link to the snarky — as this is a sad story, not one with any room for gloating. However, here are some of the more balanced stories on this event: CNN.com – Salon.com
Regent "Censorship" Update
As noted in this earlier post, Regent University might have the right to censor its students — but that doesn’t make it right. Above the Law has an update on this situation. It seems that Regent is playing the Virginia Tech card with the protagonist. Right out of the censorship handbook. When you get caught being a censorship monkey, immediately
Freecyle v. Oey – Victory for Free Speech
A few months ago, I blogged on the Freecycle v. Oey case, here. In that case, Timothy Oey a former member of “The Freecycling Network” opposed TFN’s efforts to trademark the term FREECYCLE. Oey argued on various discussion boards that “freecycle” is a generic term and that it should remain free for all to use as a term for giving
