News & Media
Flori-duh. Thank you, again.
Governor Rick Scott refused to debate Charlie Crist (at least for a while) because Crist had a fan in the podium. Depending on who you believe, Scott cited a rule that prohibited “electronics” in the podium, or there was a rule that was much more specific, which referred specifically to “fans.” Just speculating here, but I would imagine that debate rules would prohibit “electronics,” as I could see a candidate getting an unfair advantage with an iPad or cell phone in front of him. To have a rule prohibiting “fans,” just doesn’t make much sense. If anyone finds a copy
Your Kids' Facebook Activities Can Subject You to Liability (But See 47 U.S.C. § 230?)
As a general rule, parents are not liable for their childrens’ actions simply by virtue of the fact that they are the kid’s parents. (I wish it were different, as that might put a leash on our idiocracy devolution, but sigh). That all aside, the Georgia Court of Appeals just held that parents can be liable for their children’s activities online, most specifically on Facebook. See Boston v. Athearn (Ga. Ct. App. 2014). The facts are pretty standard fare. Some kids decided to bully another kid. They set up a fake Facebook account dedicated to that mission. The Facebook page
I am Sarkeesian
I don’t imagine that I would agree with much Anita Sarkeesian has to say. I admit that don’t know much of what she has to say, because I don’t give a shit. The Guardian describes her as “best known for her YouTube series ‘Tropes v Women in Video Games’, assessing various anti-feminist trends in gaming.” In other words, she’s a perfect storm of subjects that I give no fucks about. Video games and post-modern academic feminism. Both seem like a complete waste of time to me. I got bored with video games back when “Missile Command” was still a thing.
Stay away from the fat kid!
Wow…. seriously? I only have five and a half years of experience as a parent, but I can honestly say that I’ve never considered the body mass index of another kid as a metric of, well, anything. I most certainly would not bring it up when trying to decide who my kids should play with. On the other hand, I might avoid having my kids hang out with kids whose parents are vapid, vacuous, total fucking assholes.
The Ellora's Cave case
I don’t want to write a blog post about this case (yet), since I’m counsel for the defendant. But, here’s a pretty good article on it that someone else wrote. And another good one here, from Techdirt.
How to cite to Walter Sobchak
If you don’t know what the deal is with prior restraint, here, watch: [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn-kxUEySy0] There. Simple. Right? THE SUPREME COURT HAS ROUNDLY REJECTED PRIOR RESTRAINT! I wish I could just submit that clip to the next judge who even considers granting one. Just hold up a chromebook with that on it, play it, drop it on the floor, and walk out. Dudeists have known this since 1998, and even most Dudeists were a bit late to the party. I suppose that should not complain about misguided souls trying to get prior restraints. If they stopped, I might actually have to
Pedo Privacy is Important Too
by MJR Stephen Collins, the actor best known for playing dad/pastor in the long-running TV series, “7th Heaven,” finds himself the latest tabloid whipping boy over allegations that he diddled underage girls. It sorta figures that he played a pastor, eh? With all the rotten eggs being metaphorically hurled at him, it seems like nobody is at all uneasy about how the story came to light in the fist place. Pedophiles are bad. Exposing them is good. End of story. Because fuck him, that’s why. Right? No. Wrong. While the tabloid-consuming dipshits are crowing about the salacious accusations, can I
Criminal Heterosexual Speech
Though the title of this post sounds like SEO keyword trolling, it is not. Yesterday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court released its opinion in Commonwealth v. Sullivan (can be found here). Mr. Sullivan was found guilty of violating G.L. c. 272, sec. 53, which sets forth the statutory penalty for prostitution as well as “persons who with offensive and disorderly acts or language accost or annoy persons of the opposite sex”. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this. Here is the entire fact pattern laid out by the SJC: At approximately 9:30 p.m. on September 28, 2007, R.M.
A loss, is a tie, is a win.
The Connecticut Bar Association voted on whether to sign onto a brief in support of a firearms law. The House of Delegates voted yes, 2-1, but there was a referendum petition. A vote was taken. By a vote of 734-729 (5 votes), the members voted to join the brief. Those opposed to signing the brief technically lost. Yet, the CBA President called it a tie, in light of the close vote. The practical result: the CBA will not sign the brief and the opposition effectively wins. There’s a logic to it, but it is a curious thing. https://ctbar.site-ym.com/news/187606/Shew-v.-Malloy-Referendum-Results.htm
That's one way to do it
It is a pretty common story — “christians” protest other people having fun. In this case, a church in Ohio decided that it is their business to protest a strip club and to harass its patrons. What makes the story uncommon — the strippers decided to protest the church.
California Considers "Affirmative Consent" Requirement for Sex at Colleges
The motivation for this law is noble – who doesn’t want college kids to consent before sex? If SB-967 passes, then California colleges will be required to adopt policies that require “an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision” by each participant. If one of them is silent or expresses no resistance, that’s not enough. If the accused party wants to claim that there was consent, it won’t fly if the other party was asleep, unconscious, drunk, or on drugs. “No means no” makes plenty of sense. Some of the bill makes plenty of sense too. But, there is some question as
Gov. Dewey was Wrong: Obama 2016
During his 1944 campaign for President, N.Y. Governor Thomas Dewey argued that permitting Pres. Roosevelt to have a fourth term was a dangerous threat to freedom. Gov. Dewey lost in 1944 and, more famously, in 1948 against Pres. Truman. However, Gov. Dewey, with a Republican Congress, managed to get the 22nd Amendment introduced and, ultimately, ratified. This may have backfired. President Franklin Roosevelt was the first person to win more than two terms. But, he was not the first President to seek a third term. His distant cousin, Theodore, sought a third term. As did others. Rather than threatening freedom
Marriage Equality Marches North in Florida
It wasn’t much of a surprise that a Key West judge ruled that Florida’s ban on same sex marriage was unconstitutional. Miami-Dade was a crapshoot. Now a Broward County judge held the same thing — but going beyond, recognizing same sex marriages outside of Florida. (source)
Cop shoots kittens in front of children
An Ohio mom called animal control to take away a feral mother cat and her kittens. So, in front of her kids, he pulled out a gun and shot them. Police Chief Mike Freeman defended the shooting as a method of euthanasia and defended the action of the officers, stating that, “the officers will not face any disciplinary actions.” (source) I was pretty sure that this was something from The Onion when I first saw the headline. It is not.
UK Duo Convicted of Mere Possession of Pornographic Images
Two men in the United Kingdom were sentenced to a £500 fine and a two year suspended sentence for possession of “disturbing” pornographic images. The images were described as “extreme pornographic image[s] likely to cause injury,” and “pornographic images involving animals.” (source) The men claimed that they did not view the pornography, nor did they seek it out, but that the videos were sent to them via WhatsApp. When your receive a video or an image from that (or other messaging services) it often gets automatically added to a smartphone’s camera roll. The men were unaware of this fact, and
Prostitutes the Prophet Would Love?
According to Alba Waba, there is a loophole in Islam that allows “Halal Hookers.” The loophole is Nikāḥ al-Mutʿah (Arabic: نكاح المتعة), which is a “temporary marriage,” where the duration of the marriage is pre-determined, and the dowry pre-set, and the husband can give the wife money, if he wants. (source) Unfortunately, it is bullshit.
Genital mutilation of child ordered by Third World court
This is a horrifying story. A little girl in Somalia was born to a couple who are no longer together. The father believes in a practice where they remove a portion of the girl’s genitalia at birth. The mother does not share those beliefs. Despite her efforts to save her daughter from genital mutilation, for the past 3 1/2 years, a local Sharia court has ruled in the father’s favor. The Sharia court ordered that the father can have the little girl’s vagina mutilated, but to make matters worse, the Sharia Judge ruled that the mother was not allowed to
You people are weird
Today’s top 10 search terms leading people to the Satyricon.
Check your privilege
“Black’s … are more defensive in nature and attempt to undermine White’s initial advantage.” (source)
Canada's 11th Province?
This issue seems to come up every so often — the Turks & Caicos islands joining Canada as the 11th province. (source) Some refer to the dream as “Canada’s Hawaii.” In fact, the idea has been bouncing around since World War I. In 1917, Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden first proposed Canadian Annexation of the archipelago. (source) However, Great Britain was not amused. In 2004, Nova Scotia discussed inviting the Turks & Caicos to become part of that province. But, nothing has yet come of this nearly 100 year quest for a Canadian outpost in the warmer climates. But that