News & Media
Hole in the sea floor
By J. DeVoy BP confirms that there’s a hole in the sea floor, spewing oil and deadly methane gas into the Gulf of Mexico. While some reports indicate that this fissure has existed since the crisis’ beginning, details remain hard to find. The high volume of methane gas found in this fissure is worth noting, and troubling, as it corroborates earlier reports about a giant, deadly lake of methane gas lying beneath the oil reserves tapped by the Deepwater Horizon.
An event for the free speech-minded
By J. DeVoy The Lords of Acid are touring! For those who haven’t heard of this group, it’s the kind of bizarre music and stage act that only a First Amendment zealot can truly appreciate. For others familiar with the group, this is a bit of a head-scratcher, as it hasn’t released new material in roughly a decade. It is, however, up every Satyricon reader’s alley. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESFj4rI6U6g&hl=en_US&fs=1] Perhaps this is not in the top tier of shocking concerts like Gwar’s and Gorgoroth’s, but it’s enough to raise puritanical eyebrows across “are” country. Also headlining with the Lords of Acid is My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (“TKK”). While not as extreme as the Lords, TKK has always proven to
FYI
If I get asked about Congress’s postal power on the bar exam, I will cut someone.
BREAKING: JUDGE DISMISSES STAGLIANO OBSCENITY CASE
By J. DeVoy Xbiz reports that the government’s case, failing to meet its burden of proof on any of the counts against Stagliano, has been dismissed. The trial, pending before Judge Richard Leon in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, was dismissed on the defense team’s Rule 29 motion at the end of the government’s case. And what a team it was: H. Louis Sirkin, lead counsel for John Stagliano Inc. and Paul Cambria Jr., lead counsel for Stagliano. A solo practitioner, Allan Gelbard, represented Evil Angel Productions. Davis Wright Tremaine partner Robert Corn-Revere served as local counsel. (source.) The proceedings came to a jarring halt when the government’s star witness, an FBI agent, impeached his own
Don't let your children use the internet
By J. DeVoy From Jessica Leonhardt, a/k/a Jessi Slaughter, 11-year-old Florida resident: Im sorry guys. I really am. I just figured that picture was all over 4chan and ebaumsworld and everything. And it reallly isnt child porn is it? [Ed.’s note: CHECK YOU THIRD CIRCUIT PRECEDENTS.] you couldnt seee anything, it was like seeing me in a bathing suit. people that are minors post pictures of themselves in bathing suits all the time. like i did. and you really couldnt see anything in that last picture. so is everyone on tumblr going to get arrested then for distribution of child porn? and ebaums world? and my impersonators posting stuff too? im sorry, please reply to this with a serious answer?
Worst. Dad. Ever.
Dad puts 14 year old son on a Southwest Airlines flight (bound for Flori-duh, of course). On flight, older woman gets frisky. The older woman allegedly made sexual advances toward the young man and offered him unnamed “illegal drugs.” (source) How does dad react? He sues Southwest airlines. FACEPALM
Bastille Day
In celebration of Bastille Day, today’s entry is my annual expression of gratitude to La République Française et les citoyens français (the French Republic and the French Citizens). It is all too popular of an American sport and political diversioin, to mock, insult, and scapegoat the French. They frequently oppose U.S. foreign policy, have a reputation for rudeness, and we do often hate that which we do not understand. I will agree that the Gallic mentality is sometimes unintelligible to me, and that France and the French are not without their current and historical flaws. Nevertheless, Anti-gallic propaganda has unfortunately convinced many Americans to forget the tremendous debt we owe to our French brothers and sisters. Gandhi said “be the
Putting $1 trillion in perspective
By J. DeVoy The Federal budget’s gap between assets and spending topped $1 trillion in June. If you spent $1 million every single day since the birth of Jesus Christ (not that he’s relevant here, but it’s a good yardstick) through today, you still would not have spent $1 trillion. In fact, you wouldn’t have spent even 75% of that amount by now.
Massachusetts censors IMs, SMS, e-mail and web
By J. DeVoy Massachusetts has long had laws prohibiting individuals from providing minors with “harmful matter” under the state’s Crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order law. As Ars Technica reports, though, this law is getting an important update. Effective yesterday, the material that may harm minors now includes: [A]ny handwritten or printed material, visual representation, live performance or sound recording including, but not limited to, books, magazines, motion picture films, pamphlets, phonographic records, pictures, photographs, figures, statues, plays, dances, or any electronic communication including, but not limited to, electronic mail, instant messages, text messages, and any other communication created by means of use of the Internet or wireless network, whether by computer, telephone, or any other device or
Second Circuit Strikes Down FCC's "Fleeting Expletive" Rule
Huzzah! Broadcasters and free speech wonks scored a major victory today as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC’s “fleeting expletive” rule for chilling protected speech because the rule was unconstitutionally vauge. The fleeting expletive prohibition required broadcasters to monitor live broadcasts and censor naughty words or face fines upwards of $300k. Given the subjective nature of what is obscene, broadcasters often chose to forgo broadcasting controversial live events rather than these risk massive fines or losing their license. This just in: A zombie George Carlin was seen dancing in the streets of Manhattan. We will update this post with a copy of the decision as soon as it is available.
Another example of the whiny nanny-state in action
By J. DeVoy In 1990, the world was a different place. Gas was cheap, mini-vans were coming into vogue, and Iraq was a country where our dealings were mostly sub rosa arrangements between Donald Rumsfeld, the CIA and Saddam, rather than another costly foothold in the American empire. Additionally, Aghanistan was more of the soon-to-be-defunct USSR’s problem than America’s (and it wasn’t producing as much dope). Most importantly, the year 1990 was a time of trust. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXKOR5Oepo&hl=en_US&fs=1] Back then, bands and venues, however small, allowed fans to push themselves right up to the stage and be in the thick of the performers’ action. This contributed to the stage diving meme of the early and mid-1990s, but it had a certain egalitarianism
Dead Wrong on Copyright
by Christopher Harbin Tony Woodlief of the Wall Street Journal recently penned an opinion piece rife with terrible analogies and poor logic on the subject of copyright incentives. One passage in particular really irks me. In reality, both sides agree with the premise embedded in the Constitution, which is that people ought not enjoy art without compensating the artist, any more than one can dine without paying the chef. The first flaw Woodlief makes is that he frames copyright as a merely a measure to ensure an artist gets paid fair compensation for her work. On one level, I suppose that is somewhat correct, if not rather narrow. But copyright is properly viewed as not compensation for their fruit of an author’s
Time to pack it in
Well, I guess that’s the end of this blog. According to Prince, the Internet is on the way out. See you all on the next publication medium.
Wanted: My Illuminati subsidy
By J. DeVoy Henry Makow spells it out in the succinctly titled blog post “Illuminati Use Sex to Degrade Us.” I suspect porn receives a hidden subsidy from the Illuminati[.] Well then! What contacts do I need to cash in on that nice little arrangement? Porn serves a vital function for the Illuminati. We know they want to enslave us using debt, mind control and false flag terrorism. But we are not aware they have a deliberate program to enslave us spiritually using sex. The Federal Reserve, MK Ultra, the Gulf of Tonkin cover-up, mandatory RFID chipping and Lexi Belle? Sounds cool, although starting the second sentence with “we know” is a reach. Also, note that the enslavement is purely
Attention hippies: Avoid oil cleanup efforts
By J. DeVoy Because otherwise you’ll die. No, really. Almost every member of the Exxon Valdez cleanup crew is dead, believed to be caused by – or at least strongly correlated with – exposure to crude oil and dispersants. The toxic soup brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, a mix of that same crude oil and dispersants with methane and benzene, a known carcinogen. My first thought was that volunteers in the Exxon Valdez incident were already extremely aged, namely retirees with enough time to go painstakingly scrub oil off of rocks with toothbrushes. But the life expectancy of those who helped clean up that spill is only 51 years, scuttling that theory. More likely than not, this stuff is
Silly Redneck
by Jason Fischer Anyone with a law school education knows that state action is required before anyone can whine about having their free speech rights taken away. Well, okay — you can whine about it, but that’s about it. You can’t get a court to step in and fix your problem, unless some government entity is involved. Not to go too far off track here, but this is the whole idea behind the Constitution. It’s a big long list of the things that government isn’t supposed to do, and a really short list of what it *may* do. Enough 1790’s background; let’s talk 2010. If you’re a redneck (this is not necessarily a requirement, but it helps), and you decide
XXX Revenue Reporting?
Provides analysis of a new tax statute that will require online businesses to report all earned revenue on form 1099-K beginning in 2011. Previously, the federal government has not been able to effectively tax online commerce, and according to Randazza and RLG attorney Jonathane Ricci, reporting requirements were lax. This new requirement bears significant implications for online businesses in the adult entertainment field, which heavily use affiliate programs and payment processors, which now have new obligations to address – even if based outside the United States.Read more…
Girl Drink Drunk
By J. DeVoy The greatest Kids in the Hall clip of all time. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_H_sVNgvf4&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Elena Kagan on the First Amendment – troubling, to say the least.
By J. DeVoy From the Citizens United v. FEC oral arguments, Kagan argues that a statute banning books is valid as long as it is not applied. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBqdKKKRrrg&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Future post: Obama’s shockingly poor record on civil liberties, including things like giving INTERPOL agents unprecedented diplomatic immunity in the United States, the continued cyber-surveillance of average citizens, and renewing the Patriot Act despite his expressed desire to change or repeal it, which never happened despite his supersonic-speed backtracking. His blasé attitude about the First Amendment, evidenced by the Kagan nomination, is just another data point to this end. For those of you who maintain hope in Mein Obama for whatever reason, please send my thoughtcrime to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Beyond Garcetti: Public employees and the Pickering-Connick test
I’ve previously written about the landmark public employee speech case Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), which provides a threshold inquiry as to whether state actors may punish employees for their speech. Generally, speech made pursuant to employees’ work duties is not protected, while private speech is. Among the Federal Courts of Appeals, there is growing dissension as to how fact-intensive this inquiry should be. If, however, an employee is not speaking as a public official, another test is applied: The Pickering-Connick balancing test. Public employees’ political speech is protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, but this is not an unlimited right. Public employees may be subject to discipline prescribed in the relevant collective bargaining agreement
