News & Media
This week in good deeds
By J. DeVoy Earlier this week I tried to start Ferdinand Bardamu’s political career. I submitted evidence of my efforts to him, which is available at In Mala Fide.
he's got a point…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX1CvW38cHA]
The Art Cure for Boobies
by Tatiana von Tauber As much as I fought integrating into Southern living, I’ve managed to walk into terrains new to me and it brought unexpected happiness. After a friend came down with stage IV cancer, I suddenly got tired of trying to make “my” life good. From the looks of it, it was. I was breathing with no possible end in its near future unless I was hit by a bus. Within a weekend I went from trying to figure out which way to tweak my professional life to creating an international art show and charity event, a most humbling experience that’s way overdue. To share, I’ve founded The Art Cure. When I thought I wouldn’t make it through life’s
Supreme Court Justice Questions the Right to Burn a Koran
by Charles Platt On Good Morning America, Breyer compares burning a Koran to shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater. I guess this must mean that if you do anything at all which upsets delusional wackos, you are not protected by the First Amendment. That’s good to know.
Well, Delaware *is* Below the Mason-Dixon Line, Right?
Congratulations, Delaware Republicans, you just nominated an actual, honest to goodness, imbecile. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UFn_DoaSKw] Edit: Delaware is not below the Mason-Dixon line. That line takes a 90 degree turn and encompasses Delaware’s western border with Maryland.
Carl Paladino – the man to watch in November 2010
By J. DeVoy “They say I’m too blunt. Well, I am.” — Carl Paladino, Sept. 14, 2010 Tonight, Carl Paladino cinched the Republican nomination for Governor of New York State. Paladino, a lawyer-cum-real estate magnate in upstate New York, has had a storied past. Before wading into the political realm, he would buy radio and print advertisements to air his grievances with people he disliked in New York, specifically local politicians in Upstate cities. After announcing his candidacy, the Western New York media network obtained e-mails from Paladino, featuring racist photos and videos, pornography of all kinds, and general insanity. In his own defense, Paladino described himself as “uninhibited and probably a little out of the box,” but “mean[ing] no
Blog L00t!
Hola! Chris is back with more L00T! This is a lovely collection of the best from the friends of the Satyricon this week. Corporate Stiffness is Bad for Innovation, Particularly in the Tech World Being a Boston guy, I had to reference this post by Lee Gesmer at the Mass Law Blog. The post presents the differences between the technology areas of the Rte 128 corridor in Massachusetts and Silicon Valley. Gesmer points out the massive changes in the tech sector since the 1990s Internet boom in Silicon Valley, and how the region has left the Boston area in the dust. It really comes down to the corporatist structures in the tech world that put Boston on the map
If your son is a complete pussy…
It might be because you’re raising him in a world where a football coach calls 911 to break up a fight between two 10 year old boys. Or, it might be because you’re raising him in a world where a dipshit prosecutor has nothing better to do than actually charge one of the boys with a misdemeanor for getting in a fight. (source) H/T: Greenfield
Unprotected Speech from Outside the US
by Charles Platt Send a drunken email from the UK to the White House, calling the president a prick, and you’re banned from the United States for life. Or so it says here.
Kudos to the Poway School District
Students at the Twin Peaks Middle School in Poway, Calif. were reminded by their principal that they were not required to participate in the pledge of allegiance. (source). Initially, the principal would say “Please stand for the pledge of allegiance.” However, the parents of an unnamed student complained — informing the school that when the principal gives directions like that, students feel compelled to obey. Therefore, the school changed the direction to this: For those who wish to participate to please stand, others please stand or sit quietly. Naturally, this provoked a freak-out from the “I wear cowboy hats, and not to be funny” crowd. School administrators said they have worked out a compromise. The principal will now say “It
9th Circuit Allows Copyright Holders’ Rights To Go On… and On… and On…
By J. DeVoy On September 10, 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that software producers can forbid the transfer or resale of their products in their shrink-wrap or click-wrap licenses. The court’s opinion in the case, Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., No. 09-35969 (9th Cir. 2010), is available here. The decision deals a blow to the first sale doctrine that Eric Cartman would best describe as a “kick in the nuts.” Under the first sale doctrine, established in Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus, 210 U.S. 339 (1908), and codified in 1976 as 17 U.S.C. § 109, a purchaser can transfer a lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. As long as the purchaser
Craigslist: Now the Inevitable Congressional Committee
by Charles Platt Nice piece at cnet by Declan McCullagh summarizes the worsening situation re Craigslist. The repercussions have only just begun, and the usual maddening mantra, “Protect the Children,” is being used to justify the usual demands for censorship. I guess it really doesn’t matter which party has control of Congress or the White House.
Koran-Hating Pastor Heads Cultish Ministry
by Charles Platt Terry Jones, who has backed away from his plan to burn Korans this weekend, turns out to run a ministry which has cultish attributes, including a rule book that encourages the faithful to limit contact with unenlightened family members, it says here. What a surprise.
The taming and domestication of religious faith is one of the unceasing chores of civilization.
Christopher Hitchens, awesome as always. Here.
Ending the prohibition on prostitution
Danny Ledonne thinks we should.
"Great empires expand beyond their own borders. Empires in decline build walls. "
In the LA Times, Richard Rodriguez laments the wall we have built on the Mexican border. On patriotism-for-profit talk radio and television, the illegal immigrant is, by definition, criminal. She comes to steal the American dream. But in my understanding, the dream belongs to the desperation of the poor and always has. The goddess of liberty in New York harbor still advertises for the tired and the poor, the wretched refuse. I tell you, there is an unlucky man in the Sonoran Desert today who will die for a chance to pluck dead chickens in Georgia or change diapers in a rest home in Nevada. (source)
Lets not pick on the Muslims, come on man.
Islam as we see it in the world today is more likely than most other major faiths to encourage violence against nonbelievers, at least if we focus on encouragement that actually makes the violence materially likely (which is the sort of encouragement that I suspect most people are worried about). – Eugene Volokh (source) Lets get one thing out of the box right away. Eugene Volokh is THE guy I would pick to put on the Supreme Court if I were POTUS. Hands down, the guy is the greatest legal mind we have in America today, and nobody who currently serves on the Court is qualified to shine his shoes or carry his briefcase. Having that opinion of him totally
Synth Porn
By J. DeVoy Readers interested in electronic music and the technology behind it will love this: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n7rL5SMT-E&fs=1&hl=en_US] Subconscious studios, spearheaded by Cevin Key, has been remarkably prolific. The studio’s equipment created one of the most influential bands of the last 40 years, Skinny Puppy, and collectively is worth more than an upper-middle class home in many areas of the country.
Blog L00T: Another Installment.
This is Chris, back again for another update of the L00T! Our blawgers-in-crime have been posting a multitude of sensational stories, stories we’ll think you’ll enjoy reading… Some Judges Prefer Being on All Fours Rather than Sitting on the Bench Our first story comes from Above the Law, where David Lat uncovered a salacious story involving “Jungle Fever” – the exact words used by the plaintiff in the ethics complaint. Apparently, Madam Justice Lori Douglas of the “Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Family Division” stepped down because of a pending ethics complaint and a $67 million dollar lawsuit against her and her lawyer husband. Evidently, Alex Chapman, an African-Canadian man, filed a sexual harassment suit against the couple. Chapman claims
12 People in Forrest City, Arkansas are True Patriots and True Americans – Thank You
By Marc J. Randazza In St. Francis County, Arkansas, local prosecutors are apparently the kind who think that the whole “First Amendment thing” is a bit over-blown. Despite taking oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution, they brought the owners of “Adult World” up on two felony counts of “promoting obscene material” for selling a couple of movies starring consenting adults to consenting adults. (source) These prosecutors alleged that Jim Philpot and Wayne Philpot, as owners of the store, violated state law by selling “obscene materials” in their stores. Prosecutor Fletcher Long told the media that he devoted a lot of time and resources to shutting down this “threat.” “We have made cases in the past against the clerks and