News & Media
"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
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
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
"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
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
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
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
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
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
"The assertion that someone is gay is not defamatory"
That’s the holding of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group LLC, No. 08-1743, Op. at 13 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2010). The full opinion is available here. The case, brought by a photographer against two shock jocks, involves a number of issues including copyright infringement and defamation based on claims that the plaintiff, Murphy, was a bad business partner and homosexual. Focusing on the latter issue, the court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding the speech about Murphy’s business relationships to be rhetorical hyperbole. The court’s grant of
Lane Bryant Got Sexy
By Tatiana von Tauber Big may be sexy but it still ain’t easy. Thank you Lane Bryant for showing us that full-figured women can be incredibly sexy as shown here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxyZQfMmM4] Shame the networks , specifically ABC and Fox, find plus size cleavage too controversial and therefore inappropriate to air . Talk about double standard. UPDATE: In this Salon article, Lane Bryant’s curvy models censored? , I was rather interested in the author, Tracy Clark-Flory’s comment: Here is what I do know: I found the Lane Bryant ad to be rather titillating. There is so much more flesh, more cleavage, more bounce!…Regardless of the truth behind
Immigrant Equality under the Law
As an immigrant myself, I went through all kinds of shit to become a naturalized citizen. I am therefore displeased to see any group of people violating the law with impunity and then receiving special favors.
Time to Rile Up Old People About Copyright
I hadn’t heard of the movie Downfall before I saw the parodies on Youtube. But after I saw a few choice ones, it peeked my interest and I bought it off Amazon. I’d link you all to some but the production company has aggressively sent take down notices and they’ve been yanked. When pressed on why they are aggressively sending out take downs, the production company shot back with a couple of tired rationales. First, they felt that they weren’t getting their propers: “We haven’t seen any impact — positive or negative — on DVD sales for ‘Downfall,’. . .It
Comedy Central punts on Muhammad (again)
By J DeVoy Comedy Central edited last night’s South Park, where Matt Stone and Trey Parker again tried to push the envelope and depict the prophet Muhammad on national television. Comedy Central also edited the show the last time South Park attempted to show Muhammad. By way of comparison, where were the death threats over this?
Marijuana Legalization and Intellectual Property
Reuters reports on the initiative to legalize marijuana in California. (source) The story claims that a lot of people in heavy growing areas are unsure of whether they want the initiative to pass, since it may mean that big business will move into the weed industry, and local workers who make their money off of pot will be unemployed. That is because legalizing marijuana could turn a cottage industry into Pot Inc. Locals fear big tobacco will swoop in and drive down prices, supplying millions of new, legal pot smokers with “Marlboro Green.” And with that discussion we add in
U.S. v. Stevens and being a vegetarian
Jon Katz has a thought provoking piece on how the U.S. v. Stevens case should make us consider our position on eating animals. I wish for Stevens to be an opportunity not only to celebrate and strengthen the First Amendment, but also for people to re-examine their relationship with and treatment of all animals, both of different species and their own species. Human rights violations continue running too rampant worldwide. Too many people accept violence and the threat of violence as normal for controlling others, for flexing muscle, and for carrying out their daily activities. The human-on-human violence and threats
Holy Crap! Erin is Blowjob Girl!
I was just watching The Office and realized that Erin is Blowjob Girl! (THis video went viral back in aught seven) UPDATE: Since most visiting this post are new to the blog, take a look at these links to see what it is all about: CNN: UnAmerican to Silence… Philly Law Blog: Why I went to law school. The Editor on Savage Nation. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hm7pp_JFOs]
Georgetown Law School steps on its dick
I often write about the worthlessness of legal education. Given that I attended Georgetown Law, it doesn’t take a 179 LSAT score to figure out that for the most part, I am talking about that place. Of course, it is nice that they added an olympic sized swimming pool to the place since I graduated. But, I have a funny feeling that GULC grads want jobs, not a big thing of water to play in. The GULC student bar association came up with an idea as to how GULC could serve them better — by offering more credit for externships
ABA 100
Oh yeah, that ABA 100 thing that was going on a few months ago. We won. Why am I only getting around to announcing it now? Lulz, of course.