News & Media

The last time I did anything resembling Communion it was in 2001 or so. A friend was getting married. I agreed to be a groomsman. We had to go through the motions of Communion. I knelt there at the altar, and the best man came by with the cup of wine. He says “Blood of Christ, Blood of Salvation” and

In a defamation case, the judge is supposed to make a determination as to whether the statements are reasonably capable of a defamatory meaning. It happens less often than it should. But, in this case, Judge Orrick in the N.D. Cal. did his job, screened the allegedly defamatory statements, and tossed the case out. (Order)

In Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Caetano, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that although the 2d Amendment might protect the right to have a hand gun, it does not protect the right to have a stun gun – because the founders didn’t ponder electric weapons. I guess they didn’t have the Internet or T.V. in mind either, but whatever.

Friday, I published a column at CNN.com on New York City’s recent move to observe Muslim holidays, and why I think that is a bad idea.  Why schools should observe ‘Day of the Dude’

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br0NW9ufUUw&t=185]

Leonard Nimoy is dead…. for now.  (source)

Eric Chanson and Kevin Bolleart are $900,000 further in the red as of today. (order)

I don’t want to comment extensively on this – but suffice to say that I am delighted to report that evidence in the Argentine Money Trail case will be open to the public. This is a bright day in otherwise dark days for the Argentine press. The Order is here. The court held that matters surrounding the Argentine debt crisis

For any of you who have followed the case affectionately dubbed “Rakofsky v. The Internet, it is over. This was one of the most unsupportable defamation cases I have ever seen filed. There were clear defenses, which ultimately prevailed. But, since it was filed in New York, which does not have a real Anti-SLAPP law, the parties were subjected to

An Argentine journalist credited with breaking the news of a prosecutor’s suspicious death has been forced to flee the country, fearing for his own safety. Damian Pachter of the English-language Buenos Aires Herald is currently in Uruguay, en route to Israel. In 1994, the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires was bombed, leaving 84 dead. (source) To date, nobody has

The Nebraska Supreme Court reminds us in Steinhausen v. Homeservices of Nebraska, 289 Neb. 927 (Neb. 2015) that rhetorical hyperbole is not actionable as defamation. I can assure you that total idiots nationwide will fail to get the memo. In this case, someone referred to a home inspector as a “total idiot.” Nitz argues that in the context of the

Audrey Dunham is comedian Jeff Dunham’s new (vintage 2012) wife. Before she married him, she was Audrey Murdick. Jeff’s ex-wife is Paige Dunham. Paige is accused of registering AudreyDunham.com, AudreyDunham.net, AudreyDunham.us and AudreyDunham.biz. Apparently though, she registered those names before Audrey Murdick became Audrey Dunham. But, according to the complaint filed by Audrey’s lawyers, she did so in anticipation that

Guest post by Dr. Marty Klein The first issue published by Charlie Hebdo after a dozen staff members were assassinated is out. Instead of the typical print run of 50,000, they printed (and sold) three million copies. Newsworthy? Of course. Was the cover apologetic, conciliatory, or “balanced”? Hell, no. Newsworthy? Of course. But when CNN reported that the magazine had

Mount Holyoke College cancels “The Vagina Monologues” because women who don’t have vaginas got their feels hurt. (source) No. Fucking seriously. “At its core, the show offers an extremely narrow perspective on what it means to be a woman…Gender is a wide and varied experience, one that cannot simply be reduced to biological or anatomical distinctions, and many of us

By Robert Horne Friends describe Jean Cabut, 77, as a man who tried to laugh as much as possible. An interviewer once asked the esteemed French cartoonist if laughter and drawing could bring him through the economic crisis of the press. (source) His answer is haunting. “I try. You can try, but sometimes there are delicate subjects. Sometimes laughter hurts,

I hate to interrupt the obituaries of the Charlie Hebdo martyrs (and I use that term with all reverence). I had promised myself that we would publish nothing else until all 12 were done. But this story demands that I interrupt. I am sure that all of the Charlie Hebdo 12 would approve. Raif Badawi is a Saudi Blogger who

By Robert Horne & Marc J. Randazza Franck Brinsolaro was a married father of two and a police officer. His assignment was to guard Stephane Charbonnier, editorial director of Charlie Hebdo. Brinsolaro’s protection was necessary because of constant death threats against Charbonnier from Muslim extremists. (source) Brinsolaro knew his job protecting Charbonnier was dangerous, but he also understood the importance

By Robert Horne As a copy editor, Mustapha Ourrad lived his life behind the scenes; cleaning up the work of his colleagues to make sure they put their best work out for readers. Copy editors know their lot in life is making others look good, and we do it with a great sense of pride. Copy editors don’t get the

By Alex J. Shepard Phillipe Honoré was born in Vichy, France in 1941. Which, all told, was not a great year to start out. He was a self-taught artist, cartoonist, and regular contributor to Charlie Hebdo who started his career early; he was only sixteen when his cartoons started getting picked up by French newspapers. Honoré is one of the

By Theresa M. Haar Bernard Verlhac was better known as Tignous. His pseudonom is a derivation of “teignoux” which translates roughly to “scabby” or “repugnant” or “nasty.” He was a cartoonist with a reputation for never being excessively polite, proper, or demure. And for that, those who knew him not only loved him, but respected him deeply. Tignous literally wrote