News & Media
Missing Child Alert — oh, wait… she's black. Never mind.
You ever heard of Jahessye Shockley? Of course not. When little girls go missing, we only give a shit if they are white — preferably from middle to upper class families. That’s what her uppity grandma says. (source) Please join me in telling her that she should have thought of that before she decided to be black. You may now resume your regularly scheduled viewing of the Nancy Grace show. And don’t say that Nancy Grace doesn’t give a shit about missing minority kids. She once reported on a missing half asian kid. Seriously. The next time you wonder what
The Pope Goes all Kucinich
Say what you want about the Catholic Church… but the supreme leader of the boyfucking cult of the magic space zombie jew is apparently taking on a position that would find a lot of favor in the Occupy Wall Street movement. (source). Go Benny with your bad self! Wear the super big pointy hat when you come out on the balcony, fist raised, screaming potere al popolo!
Not THAT kind of Brotherly Love
The NAACP and the ACLU filed suit against the City of Philadelphia over a refusal to accept an advertisement for placement at Philly International Airport. (source) The billboard reads: The City claims it rejected the ad because of a policy against “issue” and “advocacy” billboards. However, the suit alleges that the City has allowed such ads in the past. “There is no legitimate justification for the defendants’ refusal to accept this advertisement. The City now claims that it forbids ‘issue’ and ‘advocacy’ advertising at the airport, but there were numerous examples of such advertising in place before and after the
And now, the inevitable TSA mission creep
Candle of Liberty, Amy Alkon, brings us news that the TSA is now setting up on the highways. Remember that, the next time you silently and submissively put up with them at the airport — saying “oh, I can’t be bothered to give a shit.” See Did You Really Think The TSA Would Just Be An Airport Thang?
Dominatrix Lawyer Spanks Former Boss
Former New York state prosecutor Alisha Smith, who helped secure a $5 billion settlement from Bank of America, was unceremoniously suspended from her job because she spent her spare time as a dominatrix. She was suspended from her job because the New York Post questioned whether she was paid for her nocturnal activities. The prosecutor’s office has a policy that prohibits outside employment without prior approval if the prosecutor earns more than $1,000. (source) The New York Post reports: Famous in the S&M world for her skillful spandex-clad spankings, Smith, while not denying her freaky ways, says she did not
Quantum Levitation
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ws6AAhTw7RA#!]
Qaddafi Dead
The “Arab Spring” has claimed the life of the Libyan despot. (source). We shall see if what replaces him is any better. Meanwhile, the House of Saud, worse than Qadaffi ever hoped to be, is still supported by your tax dollars.
Stripper lacks class (status, that is)
She take my money, well I’m in need Yeah she’s a triflin’ friend indeed Oh she’s a gold digger way over time That digs on me An exotic dancer by the stage name “Ms. Behaved” sought to be a class representative in a class action against Fantasy Topless in Colton, California. Beachemin v. Tom L. Theaters, Inc. No. SACV 11-0394-DOC (C.D. Cal. Oct. 6, 2011). Beachemin brought suit against Fantasy Topless in an increasingly-common class action claim against strip clubs — alleging that the club misclassified the dancers as “independent contractors” as opposed to employees. The claim further alleged that
Wanted: Satyriconista
If we had the time to make an audiovisual ad for this position, it would look something like this: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjkY_Gb9_Qo&w=560&h=315] Since we don’t, you’ll need to settle for this written post. We are seeking a new contributor. The editor prefers that it be a law student, because to date, two law students who were Satyriconistas eventually became associates at the editor’s law firm. This is not going to be some dead end, if the right person steps forward. The winner will be able to quickly and coherently organize research presented to him or her, and write an interesting blog
Receiving DMCA protections while remaining anonymous: Having your cake and eating it too
By J. DeVoy A significant portion of the blogosphere – or at least what I read of it – acts under cover of anonymity. I think this is important, especially given the candid statements these authors make about political matters and issues of public concern – particularly because these sentiments are far outside the mainstream. In some cases, their voices cannot be heard elsewhere. Society cannot grapple with the truth. When this ultimately has career consequences, or some psychotic antagonist gets too close to the writer’s identity, he can pull the plug immediately, and then work to purge his writings
Support for Marijuana Legalization Breaks 50%
So says a recent Gallup Poll. (source) Libertarian Five Star General, Rogier Van Bakel says: Popular support for legalizing marijuana is now at 50% — “the highest on record,” says Gallup (good pun there, Gallup). And just out of curiosity, what’s up with the 66% of so-called conservatives who insist on keeping the ‘devil weed’ illegal? They’ll wax poetic about personal liberty, and reliably rail against government being overbearing and too powerful … but when it comes to individuals choosing to toke up at home, they find it advisable to bring in the SWAT team, apparently. Cognitive dissonance … it
The Real Housewives of Southie
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SQoTlVgmPK8#!]
The Stolen Valor Act: This Time I Agree with the Government
I think that I am the only member of the First Amendment Lawyers’ Association who thinks that the Stolen Valor Act should be upheld. The Act makes it unlawful to falsely claim that you were awarded a military medal. The 9th Circuit struck down the law: “The sad fact is, most people lie about some aspects of their lives from time to time,” wrote Judge Milan Smith in a 2-1 decision. “Given our historical skepticism of permitting the government to police the line between truth and falsity, and between valuable speech and drivel, we presumptively protect all speech, including false
More Righthaven Fun – Urgent Appeal
Since my firm is handling this litigation, I will keep my comments somewhat neutral. Our old friend, Righthaven was ordered to pay $34,000 to a guy they wrongly sued. Righthaven didn’t pay. Righthaven begged the court to excuse it from paying. The Court told it to pay or it post a bond for that amount. Righthaven filed an “urgent” motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (here) We, naturally, opposed the urgent motion. Opposition here. I need not comment where others have done such a good job. Ken at Popehat gives us an homage to “A Few Good Men,”
Philadelphia > New York (when it comes to appreciation for the First Amendment)
Say what you want about the merits of the “occupy” movement. Whether you think they are the left-wing tea party, freedom fighters, speaking truth to power, simpleton dirty hippies playing hacky sack, they still have a First Amendment right to peaceably assemble. And the asshat award winner, Michael Bloomberg, is renting out the NYPD to Citibank, and he takes the position that they are just “taking away jobs.” It doesn’t really sound like the mayor of a place like New York City, does it? But, those dipshit Yankees Fans elected him. They get the mayor they deserve. Ninety miles to
Can Connecticut take porn from its prisoners? Should it?
Many concerns come to mind when someone thinks about spending time in prison. First and foremost, there is always the risk of being shanked with a very, very sharp toothbrush. For the financial criminals, there is the distinct shame of being bested by Bernie Madoff in a game of badminton. This is to say nothing for the fable of being made someone’s bitch. But what about a lack of porn? Connecticut’s prisons were very tolerant of pornography in its prisons until recently. (source.) Now that the Connecticut prisons are pulling the plug on this entertainment, the inmates are threatening to
Stupid Unamerican Hippies at Occupy Wall Street Protest
/end sarcasm [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aaTGsGdp4c]
Don't Get a Warrant in Essex County.
The Supreme Court has been tapped to decide if it’s OK to strip search someone who is in custody for a minor traffic offense. Source. Albert Florence had a warrant for an unpaid traffic ticket, which he eventually took care of, but in a “whoops, my bad” moment Essex County didn’t remove the discharged warrant from its computer system. So, when Mr. Florence was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in 2005, that system mistakenly told the arresting officer that Florence had an outstanding warrant. Despite showing the arresting officer proof of the discharge, Mr. Florence was arrested and
Why Good Cops Should Like Citizens Filming Their Activities
Because sometimes the Cops are right. Not only right, but they show incredible restraint when perhaps even more aggressive responses are appropriate. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaX8pdapc-I] Source, Carlos Miller.
Reverse Graffiti
Awesomeness. These guys drive around cleaning grime off of public surfaces, and leaving art behind. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9n4RCAQKCY] This video was filmed in Riga, Latvia. That’s probably why they were able to do it without some shit head confusing it with terrorism.