News & Media
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Orlando Beats Out Sin City for Title of Smuttiest City in America
…According to Men’s Health Magazine. (source.) Florida takes honors as the “Most Salacious State,” with five cities ranked in the top 60.
Couple receives largest internet libel award
A jury in Fort Worth, Texas awarded a husband and wife $13.78 million in a libel lawsuit after anonymous commenters started an online campaign designed to ruin their reputations. (Source). The judgment is the largest ever awarded in an internet libel case. The plaintiffs—an attorney and a salon owner—had previously been the subject of a criminal trial after one of the defendants in the libel suit, a former client of the attorney, accused them of sexually assaulting her. A jury acquitted them in the criminal case, but the libel case arose after the accuser, her husband, and two of the couple’s employees took their campaign to the internet in a blast of anonymous comments and sites. As a result of the
Wait, What? NC's Anti Gay Marriage Amendment Actually Targets Miscegenation?!
By Jonathon C.A. Blevins On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, North Carolina has the opportunity to join the ranks of “progressive” states that allow some form of same-sex union. Conversely, the populace may also send the state into the annals of history as one of the many states that openly discriminate against homosexuals. Not surprisingly, the amendment was drafted by a Republican. The same party that denounces state regulation…unless sex is involved. If it was not course enough that NC is attempting to outlaw loving marriages between two human beings, it appears the law actually meant to dicriminate against a larger population of individuals. Meet Jodie Brunstetter. She is the wife of the drafter of the amendment against homosexual marriage, Sen. Peter Brunstetter
Wanna own the Righthaven trademark?
By J. DeVoy Hey, you! Give your failed life some meaning by purchasing Righthaven’s registered servicemark! Available now on eBay! OWN RIGHTHAVEN’S “COMMERCIAL GOODWILL” LOLOLOLOLZ!
Nerd Alert!
On this day in 1939, The Batman made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27. Source. True, Batman would get his shit wrecked if he tangled with Wolverine, but that did not stop me from squealing like a school girl when I saw the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises Bane is in this one. Sweeeeeeet.
Why Equal Rights in Sports is Sexist
By Jonathon Blevins Everyone champions women who make headway in sports dominated by men. Danica Patrik, Michelle Wie, and this history of girls playing football are examples of female trend setters in the world of co-ed sports. Enter Keeling Pilaro. He is a 13 yr old MALE who plays FEMALE field hockey. Pilaro has become the “star player” of high school team. Unfortunately, in Suffolk County, NY, the star player is awarded by being removed from the team. The legal question is whether the removal of the male student by Southampton High School is a violation of Title IX. More poignantly, the social question is whether anyone will champion a male’s wish to play a female sport. In a society that attempts to be politically correct in every
Iowa bar faces discrimination claim over bar-dancing policy
By J. DeVoy An admittedly portly University of Iowa undergrad, Jordan Ramos, is accusing a local nightclub for refusing to let her dance on the bar. Simultaneously, if she had danced on the bar, fallen and been injured – she would almost certainly have sued the bar anyway. Either way, it is a frivolous claim. And, hopefully, a victory for the establishment, the Union Bar, on a motion to dismiss in either circumstance. Jordan Ramos was denied the opportunity to stand atop a bar platform and dance for onlookers. In Las Vegas, nightclubs hire go-go dancers for this specific purpose. In Iowa City, the bars apparently take what they can get and even allow walk-ons. Ramos was denied the opportunity
Ira Isaacs Update
By J. DeVoy UPDATE: Early reports indicated Ira Isaacs was found not guilty; updated accounts indicate he was found guilty on all counts. This update was made as soon as possible, and reflects the double-edged sword of the instantaneous online news cycle. Even in this digital age, there is room for print journalism and its longer timeline.
Eternity was in our Lips and Eyes**
Egypt’s women urge MPs not to pass early marriage, sex-after-death laws: report. Apparently, some guys in Egypt hope to have one last romantic moment with their wives once they die. For up to six hours post-mortem. At least they are putting in a time-bar; else, Cleopatra and Nefertiti had better start chastity belt shopping. **Antony & Cleopatra, Act I, scene iii Update: Story was fake. Sorry folks.
Say What You Like About the Tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at Least it’s an Ethos.
I’ve had a soft spot for banned books for many years. It started in high school when my English teacher produced from the dank and cloistered School Board file room a list denouncing certain books as verboten because my fragile teenage mind would be forever ruined by the filth contained on the pages therein. Needless to say, I spent the next day in a used bookstore locating and purchasing as many of the verboten as I could find. And I am proud to say my home library has since become a cornucopia of evil tomes that the thought police would love to use as kindling. As an aside, and in deference to pop culture, if you want to read a
From the "I'm So Clever" File
Federal Judge Slaps Back Dino M. Zaffina in Darts Trademark Battle – Los Angeles News – The Informer Odd story. Basically, some dart fan joins the Southern California Darts Association. They snub him by not using his middle initial, unlike, say, the SAG forcing Michael Fox and Jim Bullock to add middle initials. So, he finds out that there is no corporation with that name (as the former corporate entity lapsed). He registers a corporation with that name and tries to stop the association from using that name. After some surprising initial success, he met with a big ole Fail. Not sure why he met with initial success (and no, I’m not making a pun regarding the snub), since this
Michael Lucas Pays Homage to a Friend
By Laura Tucker Michael Lucas of Lucas Entertainment recently wrote a heartbreaking post about the suicide of former porn actor turned personal trainer Dror Barak. Lucas describes Barak as “shy, smart, sweet-natured, and serious,” someone who helped him out at the gym because Barak was worried Lucas would hurt himself. Lucas takes aim at the commenters on the websites reporting Barak’s death, countering their cold-hearted sneers with warm stories about his friend. Props to Lucas for calling out those who chose to make assumptions about a man they didn’t know. Nice people don’t do porn, one commenter said. Well, here’s one who did. Read Lucas’ post here.
The Boy Scouts are gay for heterosexuals
by Jon Blevins Most understand that the Boys Scouts of America are a private entity. Further, most understand that the Boy Scouts employ religion in its teachings. Thus, most understand that the Boy Scouts probably can keep homosexuals from its ranks. The problem with the Boy Scouts is that it cannot create a rational argument why homosexuals should not be allowed to be troop leaders. For example, in defense of its overt bigotry, the Boy Scouts explained: “Our focus is on delivering the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. Our mission does not include teaching young people about sex or sexual orientation, and we do not believe it is Scouting’s role to introduce this topic in
Anonymous commenter hit with lawsuit
Former Las Vegas Chief Deputy District Attorney Mary Brown and her husband, defense attorney Phil Brown, filed a complaint against an anonymous reader who commented on an online newspaper article that Mary Brown “had sexual relations in order to get promoted.” (Source). The Browns claim that the comment is false and harmed their reputations, as well as caused them emotional distress. The Browns served a subpoena to the newspaper for the identity of the anonymous commenter. An attorney for the anonymous commenter said that anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment and is looking to quash the subpoena.
Why Journalism Isn't a Useless Major
By Laura Tucker As a former journalist, I’m used to being scorned in the court of public opinion. About the only profession regarded with more derision is the legal profession, so I suppose as a current law student, that means I’m moving down in the world. The derision continues with The Daily Beast, which recently released a list of “Most Useless Majors,” on which journalism was named prominently. I find The Daily Beast’s reasoning behind the choices suspect, questioning the logic behind these lists as any good journalist should. For one, it seems as though the reason for including these majors is the amount of money you will make after you get your degree (and I can attest that the
The Righthaven Experiment: A Journalist Wonders If a Copyright Troll Was Right to Sue Him
ABA Journal features an article from a journalist who was sued by Righthaven, LLC, although the suit was later dropped. The writer speaks with attorney Marc Randazza, who represented multiple defendants in the Righthaven litigation. The article states: Consider Marc Randazza, who is probably the lawyer who has done the most to destroy Righthaven: His court-ordered legal fees for vigorously defending a Righthaven target forced the company to sell its own domain name. Read More….
Do NOT cite Wikipedia…unless you are in Federal Court
To the chagrin of Legal Writing professors nationwide, citing Wikipedia as a source is gaining traction in Federal Court. The evolution from a question “should a judge cite Wikipedia?” to Federal Court routinely citing the peer edited, open source encyclopedia has been quick. It appears the marketplace of ideas is willing to evolve with technology. Also, this is a testiment to the integrity of Wikipedia and its editors. Though, in the interest of full disclosure, to make a point in law school, I edited an article about the War of 1812. I replaced the Secretary of War with my name. For 24 hrs, I played an integral role in the War that gave us the Star Spangled Banner. I was
