News & Media
Quiz: Which religious cult slices up its babies' genitals and then sucks on them?
There’s this strange cult where they cut off a piece of a little girl’s genitals, and then the witch doctor who does it sucks the little girl’s vagina. Isn’t that disgusting? Barbaric? Stone age? Oh, wait, its not little girls, its little boys. The “cult” is a sect of judaism. As part of the ultra-orthodox Jewish circumcision ritual—known as metzitzah
Leaked stripper video leads to extortion charges in New Mexico
In what has been dubbed “Lapdance-gate” by local New Mexico media, Sunland Parks’ mayor pro-tem and city manager entered not-guilty pleas for extortion charges. District Attorney Amy Orlando alleges that City Manager Daniel Salinas and Mayor Pro Tem Jaime Aguilera attempted to blackmail mayoral candidate Gerardo Hernandez into withdrawing from the race with a recording of Hernandez receiving a lapdance
Judge rules court has no personal jurisdiction over Faceporn.com
U.S. District Court Judge Nathanael Cousins recently denied Facebook’s motion for default judgment against Faceporn.com, a website operating out of Norway, for trademark infringement. Judge Cousins said the court lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendants and recommended that the case be dismissed. Facebook originally brought suit against Thomas Pedersen and Retro Invent citing ten causes of action, including trademark dilution,
My Friend Dahmer
John Backderf, author of the comic strip, “The City” was buddies with Jeffrey Dahmer in high school. On Thursday, he is releasing a graphic novel about Dahmer’s high school years. (source) He says he waited 21 years because he didn’t want to jump on any exploitative bandwagon. It’s been 21 years, so it’s not like exploiting the story for personal
(Former) Judge Willie Singletary – Preacher Mode? Judge Mode? Its all Crazy Mode
When Willie Singletary ran for traffic court judge in 2007, he was described as “a scofflaw of major proportions” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. As of primary day, Singletary, 26, owed $11,427.50 for 55 violations, including reckless driving, driving without a license, careless driving, driving without registration, and driving without insurance. In fact, a bench warrant had been issued for his
This is not what I'd call "game"
CBS Pittsburgh reports that John Jardini, 26, really liked a girl. He liked her so much that he robbed her, took $60 from her, and asked for her phone number. (Which she gave him, for some reason). After he robbed her, he called her twice trying to get her to go out with him. Police used cell phone records to
Woman sues school because her roommate got laid too much
A woman is suing Stonehill College in Easton, MA because her roommate had too much sex in the room. Lindsay Blankmeyer, who says she suffers from depression and attention deficit disorder, is seeking $150,000 from Stonehill, claiming the college violated state and federal laws because housing officials did not give her reasonable alternatives for escaping a bad living situation. (source)
Sheriff Mike Scott vs. The Media (again)
Lee County, Floriduh: Sheriff Mike Scott, (who I wrote about here) didn’t like being questioned about a federal lawsuit filed against his department. To show everyone that he’s boss, he decided that the Fort Myers News Press will no longer have the right to ask questions at press conferences, and he’s decided to severely limit press access to his department.
D.C. Judge Smokes out a First Amendment Violation
The “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act”, Pub. L. No. 111-31, 123 Stat. 1776 (2009) gave the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Under that law, Congress mandated that the DHHS must “issue regulations that require color graphics depicting the negative health consequences of smoking.” It also required that the
Did Rush Limbaugh Defame Sandra Fluke?
Update: A more complete analysis is here. I received an inquiry asking if Rush Limbaugh calling Sandra Fluke a “slut” would be the proper basis for a defamation claim. I do not believe it would be. In order to have a valid defamation claim you must have: A false statement of fact About the plaintiff That harms the plaintiff’s reputation
Ken Mehlman, "my bad"
Ken Mehlman feels bad about his part in anti-gay bigotry he supported to get his dipshit in chief re-elected. “At a personal level, I wish I had spoken out against the effort,” he says. “As I’ve been involved in the fight for marriage equality, one of the things I’ve learned is how many people were harmed by the campaigns in
A brilliant attack on "bullying laws"
Derek Bambauer gives us a great essay on what is wrong with bullying laws.
Sandra Fluke is not a "slut" (just a liar)
Apparently, Rush Limbaugh found Sandra Fluke’s bullshit slinging on Capitol Hill to be worthy of disrespect. (so did I) He called her a slut (I did not), which of course, brought about the shrill screeching of harpies. Nancy Pelosi had this to say: “When Sandra Fluke testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee after Republicans attempted to silence,
Is Nevada's Anti-SLAPP statute as weak as it seems?
Generally, Nevada’s Anti-SLAPP seems like a pansy-ass statute without much teeth. But some recent applications of NRS 41.635-70 give the Nevada version almost as much of a bite as California’s—the state regarded as having the best Anti-SLAPP statute in the country. Last year, Clark County Court Judge Gloria Sturman dismissed a lawsuit against local real estate investors on behalf of
Judge should review history of First Amendment
Pennsylvania District Judge Mark Martin needs to review his First Amendment law a little more carefully. Ernie Perce, an atheist who marched in a Halloween parade last year dressed as “zombie Mohammed,” was before Judge Martin after he alleged he was attacked by Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim who took action after he witnessed Perce’s costume. Perce wore a turban and
Legal Education Reform that I can Stand Behind
Back in 2007, before it was all cool and shit to do so, I wrote “What is Wrong With Legal Education?” Looking back on it, I think that it somewhat missed the mark. One of the worst things about legal education is the fact that any moron can walk into a shit law school, get a guaranteed student loan, and
World of Warcraft promulgates epic 7th Circuit opinion
In an opinion so bizarre it is only fitting to be released on Leap Day (February 29), the Seventh Circuit ruled on the appeal in U.S. v. Lucas today. The order is available here, and the case originated from the Western District of Wisconsin. In the appeal, Lucas argues that the district court committed errors that resulted in a too-long
Proposals to fix Copyright
Public Knowledge proposes some ideas for how to fix copyright. (source) Curb abuses of DMCA takedown notices. The best part of this is is that they propose broadening the penalties for bogus takedowns. I think this is a pretty good idea, as I have seen my share of DMCA takedown requests that targeted clearly fair use or were used to
