News & Media
What goes around comes around, Mr. Assange
I support Julian Assange and his Wikileaks project. More transparency in government is a good thing, and it appears that Wikileaks was not conducting its document dumps willy-nilly. Wikileaks seems to have vetted the content with responsible journalism organizations (source), and it has done more good than harm. Those who call him a “terrorist” are either stupid, servile statists, or
Charitable Satyriconistas
By Vaughn Greenwalt Keeping with the spirit of giving this Christmas holiday season, we at The Legal Satyricon are giving back to the causes we support. It is our hope that you, our readers, will also give back in any way you can. If you haven’t tucked one of those long-shaped cards (that every kid knows has money in it)
First Amendment Alert! Author arrested for writing a book
I’m the first to admit that Phillip Greaves is not the most sympathetic figure in America. Greaves wrote “The Pedophile’s Guide,” which was originally for sale on Amazon.com before the online retailer bowed to public pressure and pulled the book from its online shelves. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. But, I have a big problem with today’s
Brit plan to "protect the children" by blocking porn
THE UK Government is to combat the early sexualization of children by blocking internet pornography unless parents request it, it was revealed today. The move is intended to ensure that children are not exposed to sex as a routine by-product of the internet. It follows warnings about the hidden damage being done to children by sex sites. The biggest broadband
Shock study: Increased availability of child porn results in lower rates of child abuse
By J. DeVoy A new study from the Czech Republic claims that the availability of child pornography has led to lower rates of child abuse. This result allegedly is consistent with similar observations in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Sweden and the USA. Here’s the research’s crux: The findings support the theory that potential sexual offenders use child pornography as a substitute
Increasing the tax base
This editorial calls for the elimination of the charitable giving deduction. He says that the mortgage deduction is firmly in place, given the current housing market. I disagree. It would be a great time to yank that absurd deduction – even when I owned a house, I thought it was absurd that since I was wealthy enough to own my
Amazon Censoring Kindle Title List
by Charles Platt After Amazon caved in and removed _The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure_, other titles with erotic content are now being targeted. The currently uncertain situation is summarized here.
Likely Backlash Against Assange’s Self-Righteous Crusade
by Charles Platt I’m getting an uneasy feeling when I watch Julian Assange using pretentious phrases such as “my philosophy” and “my work.” (See his latest interview, here.) It’s the same feeling I had when I saw the World Trade Center going down. A feeling that I am watching a golden opportunity for people in power to take away some
Not wanting to do doc review called "immature" by "consultant" – follow the money and smell the bullshit
The ABA reports on Ann Israel, a “career consultant” who scolded a Yale Law graduate as “very immature” for wanting to know how to escape from document review purgatory. (source) Here is his question: I’m a Yale Law grad winding up a federal clerkship in a small legal market. I had a horrendous experience with document review a few summers
Big Win for Common Sense and EFF
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed common sense this week. In U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit ruled the government must obtain a search warrant prior to a search and seizure of our emails stored by email providers. The Sixth Circuit decision closely followed arguments of EFF in its amicus brief, holding that email shares fundamental similarities with traditional
Legislation banning "crush" videos signed into law
By J. DeVoy Ever the free speech patriot, president Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 (ACVPA) into law earlier this month. The bill, which labels crush videos as “obscene,” contains a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment for violating its provisions. (full text here.) Here’s the relevant portion of the new law, 48 U.S.C. § 18:
McDonald's sued for enticing children to eat poison while their dumbass parents stand by and watch
By Randazza The LA Times reports: The Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp., claiming that the company’s meals with toys unfairly entice children into eating food that can do them harm. (source) Here’s the thing. I agree. I agree that McDonald’s is rat dung. I agree that no human should consume that
'We operate on the principle that it's much more effective to detect the would-be terrorist than try to find his bomb."
Israelis are neither the servile fucking pussies that Americans are, nor are they brain dead morons trying to detect the last bomb. (source) Aside from the whole neo-apartheid thing, Israel seems like a pretty nice place to live.
Nothing can hurt a Marine – except Teh Ghey
General James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps said that allowing gays to openly serve in the military would “pose a distraction” and cause more battlefield casualties. (source) Huh? Seriously? Does this guy think that a gay soldier is going to be hiding behind a wall, shells exploding all around, and his buddy is going to rip off his
Introducing Vaughn Greenwalt
Faithful Satyricon Readers: I come to you after arriving entirely overdressed (and Moto Guzzi-less) for an interview with Marc in San Diego. My name is Vaughn Greenwalt, and I am apparently the latest victim to become a Satryiconista. My experience with the internet consists mostly of porn but I occasionally peruse Drudge Report, Politico, The Huffington Post, POPEHAT, Andrew Sullivan,
If you're in the military to "protect freedom," please see a doctor, because you can die of asphyxiation if your head is in your ass for too long
I remember when I was briefly in the army. We had all this rah rah hoo ha shit about how we were “protecting freedom.” With sincere adoring apologies to the people I love who are in uniform, that’s bullshit. If you’re in the military because you like the job security, then good. I approve. If you’re in the military because
For-Profit Toilet Colleges Preying on Fear, Deception
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSV3dS2uc8g&fs=1&hl=en_US] In short, we have institutions that: -Get 25% of Federal education aid, yet -Are responsible for 44% of discounts, and -Forge records and use deceptive tactics to enroll students And yet they’re blaming the government for obstructing the relationship between potential students, who need to be saved from themselves, and these money pits. Hardcore libertarians, take
"Tater disease what brung us Irish."
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsBRfmErTEA] H/t: D. Sterlace
Abercrombie & Fitch brings guns to bear on cybersquatters
Lets say you go to the website “abercrombieandfitchstore.com.” What would you expect to find there? Probably not what you see below. That’s cybersquatting, and it is illegal. Abercrombie & Fitch have had enough, and they’ve brought suit against the as yet unidentified owners of more than 150 infringing domain names. Most of them are Pay Per Click sites, and it
