News & Media
Buy your own damn fries!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRDR_1WnM08]
These Go To 11: Righthaven Files Yet More Copyright Lawsuits
Discusses possible injustices in Righthaven’s suit against the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a client of RLG, for linking to potentially infringing content. Copyright law prohibits the piracy and unauthorized reproduction of another’s content for commercial use, but this does not fit where one source merely links to a site that may be committing actual copyright infringement.Read more…
TSA Employee Confirms Theory
I am laughing so goddamned hard reading this. I keep re-writing jokes about it, and then deleting them. Y’know, sometimes shit is just funny enough without any commentary. This dude did two things: 1) confirmed what we all know about TSA employees, and 2) pretty much made sure that he is probably not going to get laid again for a long time. (source) Oh the humanity.
Zealot's censorship attempt backfires (the best $40.96 I ever spent).
Tina Harden of Longwood, Flori-duh decided that four books in the Lake Mary public library did not meet her standards of morality. The Cecily von Ziegesar books Reckless, The It Girl, Notorious, and Don’t You Forget About Me apparently clashed with Ms. Harden’s view of what other people ought to read. So she refused to return them from the library. “If I turn them in, they will be put back into circulation and they’ll be available for more young girls to read,” said the mother of three, who keeps the four books hidden in a closet. “Some material is inappropriate
Time to end the drug war
Better men than I have articulated reasons that the drug war is a stupid policy, implemented by stupid people, with stupid results. A picture says a thousand words, but a video wraps it all up in a neat bundle. The search below turned up an amount of marijuana sufficient to warrant a misdemeanor arrest. To bust a guy with a little bit of pot, the pigs broke down his door, shot his dog, all in the view of his seven year old kid. And you know what? They were not “just doing their jobs.” There comes a time when a
The best commentary on the Harvard "racist" email controversy
We commented on the story, and rather well. But, Eugene Volokh absolutely brings it home in this post.
New Rule…
…No American patriotism allowed on Cinco de Mayo. It might get in the way of Mexicans celebrating their defeat of the French (an unimpressive accomplishment, really, since everyone beats the French). Interestingly enough, Cinco de Mayo isn’t even celebrated in Mexico.
Marijuana keeps men honest
Tommy Chong, at a rally to derail the candidacy of Mary Beth Buchanan, said that marijuana keeps a man honest, “because when you lie, you have to remember.” (source) If any readers are looking for a campaign to donate to (after you write a check to Steve Cohen), it couldn’t hurt the Republic if you sent a check to Jason Altmire’s re-election campaign.
Yeah? Well I have a pussy too…. AND a gavel!
Jennifer LaPenta, 19, spent 48 hours in jail because she entered a courtroom wearing a shirt with the message “I have the Pussy, So I make the Rules.” Apparently, traffic and misdemeanor court judge Helen Rozenberg did not approve of the message. And, presumably by having a pussy of her own, she was immune to LaPenta’s magic pussy power. She had a pussy AND a gavel, and gavel trumps pussy in a courtroom. “The judge asked me if I thought the shirt was appropriate for the courtroom,” LaPenta said. “I said I didn’t think it was offensive but said I
A Supreme Court decision that I would love to see
Brought to you by the Onion.
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
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
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,
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
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.
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
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
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