News & Media
Frontline echoes The Legal Satyricon
By J. DeVoy For several years, this blog has been shrieking about the utter worthlessness of higher education — or at least that its purported benefits are oversold. Finally, the mainstream media has begun to notice. Tuesday’s Frontline episode, College Inc., was no exception. The upshot: For-profit colleges enroll 10% of all students. Yet they receive 25% of all Federal aid – subsidized by you, the taxpayer – and their graduates are responsible for 44% of all student loan defaults. This issue is creeping into the legal academy as well. Florida Coastal Law School – which curiously promotes “tradition” on its website despite being in existence only since 1996 – is owned by the for-profit InfiLaw group, which establishes law schools
And the homophobe circus continues
As yet another anti-gay demagogue gets busted with a male escort. (source)
And Now For Something Completely Different
In the City of Brotherly Love, Philly fans boo the tasing of an asshat running on the field. Then there is no pleasing you, Philadelphia. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riCu3LJOgmk]
Response to the Harvard e-mail controversy
By All Hands Last week, one Harvard law student forwarded a fellow classmate’s six-month old e-mail to people guaranteed to take offense to it. The original e-mail’s damning line, which has been seized upon by Above The Law, Eugene Volokh and others, is this: “I absolutely do not rule out the possibility that African Americans are, on average, genetically predisposed to be less intelligent.” We are not writing to discuss the merits of this original e-mail, but rather the response it has generated. The above quote can fairly be described as the line that launched ten thousand blog comments. Beyond the sources mentioned above, scores of people have weighed in on the issue at Gawker, Jezebel, Feministe, Bossip, Steve Sailer’s
Rape charges defeated by skinny jeans
By J. DeVoy Apparently juries have a problem convicting men of rape when their alleged victims are wearing skinny jeans. The pants are so narrow and hard to get on or off that reasonable minds believe “collaboration” is necessary for their removal. An Australian man was acquitted of rape Friday when a jury ruled there had to be “collaboration” to remove the woman’s tight size 6 skinny jeans. Nicholas Gonzales, 23, admitted to having sex with the 24-year-old accuser, but insisted it was consensual. The woman said Gonzales pushed her on his bed and held her down against her will, the Daily Mail reported. “I struggled to try to get up for a while and then he undid my jeans
It's true, the Catholic church ain't all bad
Nicholas Kristof shines a positive light on the beleaguered Catholic world. [T]here seem to be two Catholic Churches, the old boys’ club of the Vatican and the grass-roots network of humble priests, nuns and laity in places like Sudan. The Vatican certainly supports many charitable efforts, and some bishops and cardinals are exemplary, but overwhelmingly it’s at the grass roots that I find the great soul of the Catholic Church. (source) Of course, if you read the post and watch the video, you’ll get a very sunny view of Catholicism. I’m not saying that it is undeserved, but isn’t the underlying point that compassionate people are good people? That seems simple enough.
I wonder if anyone's considered this angle yet
by Jason Fischer A new law in Oklahoma requires women who seek an abortion — including when the pregnancy results from incest or rape — to (i) have an ultrasound performed; and (ii) have the fetus described to them (source). (Apparently, a few Oklahoma lawmakers have been watching too much television, where everyone goes all gooey as soon as the woosh-woosh-woosh noise starts and that unrecognizable, grainy image pops up on the tiny monitor. <cueViolins>”It’s a GIRL!”</cueViolins>) Not particularly shocking news, coming from the buckle of the Bible Belt. I wonder, however, if anyone has considered the First Amendment implications. Can the state require an ultrasound tech to describe the fetus? Not if some pro-choice tech doesn’t want to.
What the First Amendment is all about
Judge William Downes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming ordered the University of Wyoming allow William Ayers speak on its campus with this explanation: “This court is of age to remember the Weather Underground. When his group was bombing the U.S. Capitol in 1971, I was serving in the uniform of my country,” Downes said. “Even to this day, when I hear that name, I can scarcely swallow the bile of my contempt for it. But Mr. Ayers is a citizen of the United States who wishes to speak, and he need not offer any more justification than that.” (source) Hat Tip: Popehat
Belgium Bans Burkhas
Belgium has banned the burkha. (source) One might think that this is an intrusion on civil liberties — and I suppose that one could credibly argue that it is. You ought to be able to wear a burkha if you want to. On the other hand, I question how many women wear burkhas voluntarily. I bet that sub-group of burkha-wearers is somewhere around 12 worldwide. When you are up against one of the abrahamic cults (christianity, judaism, islam) sometimes it takes radical moves to push for progress. In Turkey, back in the early 1900s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk helped make the burkha a thing of the past by decreeing that all prostitutes must wear them, and simultaneously banning the headscarf for
Nostalgia rush
By J. DeVoy If you’ve ever wondered how much easier it would be to beat Super Mario Brothers with characters from other Nintendo classics, you’re not alone — and now you can indulge your fantasy. In Super Mario Crossover, you can play through Super Mario Brothers as Mario, Link (Legend of Zelda), Bill R. (Contra, pictured above), Simon Belmont (Castlevania, pictured below), Mega Man, and Samus Aran (Metroid). Surprisingly, some aspects of Super Mario Brothers remain much easier with Mario, especially underwater levels. As a lifelong Castlevania devotee (yes, those are pajamas), I’m surprised and disappointed by how difficult it is to make Simon Belmont work well in the game. But the strong projectile attacks of Mega Man and Bill R.
"We would prefer a caucasian waiter, mkay?"
If this is true, it’s pretty nasty. Rodney Morgan, and his family (visitors from the U.K.), recently stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Floriduh. According to the Naples News, “they made it clear they didn’t want to be served by a black waiter or one with a foreign accent.” (source) Okay, there’s WTF #1. I’ve asked for strange things at hotels. Late checkout, change my sheets at 3 AM because I puked on them in my sleep, two bottles of tequila, and I don’t care how far you need to drive to get them, nor what it costs, because God Damn It, it’s an emergency. I can not, however, ever recall checking in to a hotel and even thinking about
Charlie Crist Leaves Republican Party
It looks like Charlie Crist is going to run as an independent. (source). Given that Charlie is a relatively level-headed and mentally stable guy, it seems like a rational move to leave a party that has been taken over by bat-shit-crazy-Palinite teabaggers, which is the constituency that is lining up to fellate Marco Rubio right now.
From the "Thank God Congress Has Nothing Better to Do" Desk: Four U.S. Senators Write Stern Letter to Facebook
by Jason Fischer Plenty of whiny types are up in arms over Facebook’s recent “personalization” improvements, which automatically link fan pages for companies, bands, television shows, etc. to users’ profiles, based on their self-proclaimed favorites. Also, when a user specifies their favorite music, movies, books, and the like, that information may now be accessed more readily by parties not in that users’ friend list. Critics complain that this gives unwanted access to evil corporations, who will use gathered information to exploit their consumers. This week four U.S. Senators, including asshat Al Franken, have put their displeasure with the social networking giant onto paper and mailed it to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. No doubt these idiots are only responding to angry
Massachusetts School District Says "Why Bother?" To a Stupid Clothing Rule
Here’s something you would never see in Flori-duh. A Central Massachusetts school committee considered a proposal that would ban the display of cleavage, bare midriffs, and exposed underwear — and shot it down. (source) Wait… Jesus Christ on a crutch! They want our kids to be PORNOGRAFIED??? No, that’s not it at all. The Tantasqua School Committee shot down a proposal to ban cleavage along with bare midriffs and exposed underwear, which are already forbidden at the Tantasqua Regional Junior High School handbook, said Principal Jennifer Lundwall. “We are pretty strict here with the dress code in general and don’t really have a huge dress code problem,” said Lundwall. “We don’t have something that’s out of control.” (source) You see
"Show Me Your Papers!" – Not new law…
by: Jonathon C.A. Blevins The sky is not falling… The new AZ law requiring law enforcement to inquire as to the legal status of its population is a hot button issue. The reason the issue is so hot is that the law is targeted at illegal immigrants, undocumented workers, aliens, or whatever politically correct noun is currently popular. I will concede the facts surrounding the passage of the law are unpalatable. However, the law is probably consitutional. Further, the request for “your papers” is similar to a request for “your driver’s license or ID.” (The analysis assumes the law will require LEOs to inquire to EVERYONE about legal status). I cannot postulate on the status of AZ law. But, I am
Legal blogger Ann Althouse gets skewered
By J. DeVoy, Madison’s second most famous blogger In the land of big egos and petty catfights known as the legal blogosphere, Ann Althouse looms large. Beginning her blog in 2004, when the internet was a barren wasteland devoid of YouTube and easy file embedding, Althouse’s commentary on law, politics and life now garners more than 500,000 viewers per month. The x-factor that put her in this position, a certain jai ne sais quis, irks some people, and one of them finally called her out on it. UPDATE: This is far from the first time Althouse has come under fire from others. Last summer, commenters at The Volokh conspiracy raked her over the coals for giving this exam question (reprinted in
Thinspiration: Still legal in the U.S.!
By J. DeVoy While not all speech protected by the First Amendment is palatable, it is valuable. Almost two years ago, France tried to stifle the spread of information about anorexia and bulimia. The bill proposed to the country’s legislature provided steep penalties for promoting these diet and lifestyle choices. [The bill] would take aim at any means of mass communication – magazines, blogs, Web sites – that promote eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia with punishments of up to three years in prison and €45,000, or $71,000 fines. (Source.) Depending on the bill’s language, these terms could be dangerously vague. Only a few blogs are well-read enough to rival traditional media and truly be mass communication as most people
Largest. Class. Action. Ever.
Yesterday the Ninth Circuit upheld (mostly) a California District Court opinion certifying a nationwide class action against retail giant Wal-Mart. The classes and sub-classes could encompass as many as 1.5 million current and former female employees of Wal-Mart, who may be entitled to billions in back wages and punitive damages. Not to mention the attorney’s fees and costs. The case was filed in 2001 by The Impact Fund, a Bay Area non-profit organization that takes on large scale civil rights related litigation. The lawsuit alleges that Wal-Mart pays female employees less than their male counterparts (in violation of equal pay laws), and promotes women more slowly than men (in violation of Title VII). What’s so interesting about this behemoth 137
Police Raid Gizmodo Editor's House Over iPhone Leak
by Christopher Harbin For those who haven’t kept up, here’s a recap of this story: 1. Apple engineer loses his iPhone in a bar. 2. Some dude picks it up and contacts technology blog Gizmodo. 3. Gizmodo buys it off some dude and runs a story. 4. Gizmodo editor’s house gets raided by the fuzz. And here’s a preemptive strike at people who say “but he’s possibly trafficking in stolen property.” Fuck you. I hope you die in a fire. It’s a friggin’ iPhone. If Apple can’t manage its trade secrets correctly, fuck em’. Seriously, it’s a fucking iphone that was lost in a bar — is this really worth raiding a journalist’s home over? Isn’t there a better
I solve the immigration problem
I have never met an illegal immigrant who annoyed me. No, not a single one, and I have met a lot of them. When I hear of people climbing fences and walls, swimming across rivers, and trekking across a desert, dodging rattlesnakes and white trash with guns — just to live in America, I think about how lucky I am that I live somewhere that people would risk their lives just to have the privilege of mowing my lawn. I say that they’re all welcome. Of course, the anti-immigrant crowd has some valid points. We can’t just have the borders wide open for every Tom, Dick, Harry, Phong, Rosalita, Priya, or Cinque to move here… can we? Well… maybe we
