News & Media
Time to Rethink the Libel Process
by Charles Platt I don’t much care for libel laws. If someone seriously defames me, my classical recourse is to engage in a lengthy and expensive court battle which is a huge waste of resources. When a writer I know pursued such a battle, more than five years elapsed before he finally made it into court, and even with an
According to poll, Teabaggers are not poor white trash
Despite the fact that Teabaggers seem like an unwashed mass of poor white trash to me, it seems that the data conflicts with my anecdotal perspective.
Fireball lights up the midwest
By J. DeVoy I was wondering what the huge, bright streak across the sky was last night. The event lasted for several seconds and lit up the 10 pm sky as if it were dusk. Things returned to normal shortly thereafter, largely because none of this stuff happened. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr76hNngqts&hl=en_US&fs=1&] UPDATE: CNN has video of the event.
Tax day arrives!
By J. DeVoy Dear the top 10% of income earners: Thank you! Because of your toil as business owners, doctors, lawyers and financial service experts, you are able to subsidize the lifestyles and safety of people like me – somewhat literate, moderately intelligent lifetime students – by paying more than 70% of all Federal income taxes. My dirty secret
Alan Grayson wins a muzzle
By J. DeVoy Alan Grayson, the Democrat Congressman from central Florida, has been on a hot streak for bad PR. In December, Marc broke the story about Grayson’s poor reaction to constituent outcry over his childish antics. I truly admired Alan Grayson. I think that his policies are good for America. I think that his style is exactly what the liberals need.
There Goes the Neighborhood
In Eastwood (near Syracuse, NY), a church congregation is up in arms because a video store is opening next door and they intend to have adult videos available. (source) Roosevelt Baums, pastor of the church puts it more simply: It’s just not right. “Well, according to the membership, we wouldn’t like that in our community, especially because 4 percent of
If you're still Catholic….
You must be on crack. Hartford, Connecticut (CNN) — A bill in Connecticut’s legislature that would remove the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases has sparked a fervent response from the state’s Roman Catholic bishops, who released a letter to parishioners Saturday imploring them to oppose the measure. … The proposed change to the law would put “all
Dumbass Typosquatter of the Day
Some dumbass registered thousands of typosquatting domains. A handful of them were typosquatting on Microsoft’s trademarks, so Microsoft sued him for $2.4 million. Now the dumbass wants to just hand over the domain names and call it a day, and if Microsoft doesn’t like it, he’s not going to bother to answer the complaint. (source) Lemme know how that works
2010 U.S. News rankings leaked?
By J. DeVoy Via Above The Law, it appears that someone released the 2010 US News Law School rankings before their street date. To be very clear, this may be a hoax, and we make no representations as to the accuracy of the rankings being proffered by anonymous internet posters. This always happens, though, so it may be accurate. Check
"Only verifiable statements of fact can be libelous."
“Only verifiable statements of fact can be libelous.” So sayeth New York Supreme Court Justice Alice Schlesinger in rejecting a defamation claim brought by Sandals resort against an anonymous critic. (source) Too bad that so many other judges are too stupid to understand this basic legal principle.
Towing company sues student for starting Facebook page
A Kalamazoo, Michigan towing company is suing a Western Michigan University student for starting a Facebook Page against the company. The complaint is here. The quality of the work is exactly what you would expect from a lawyer who would file a claim like this. Go figure. The towing company, T&J Towing has an F grade with the Better Business
Reason 1313 that Flori-duh needs an anti-SLAPP law – the tale of emiller1313
Michael Steadman bought a time clock from eBay seller emiller1313 for $44. He says that the ad for the clock said that it was in good working condition, but that when it arrived, it was not as the seller represented it. “it was not what it was supposed to be. It sounded like a good working time clock. It came
Will the healthcare bill cover sewing someone's jaw shut?
Quote of the day: ‘If you’re trying to be bitchy, you’re doing a good job.” Said by Barney Frank’s boyfriend to a pair of bitchy opthalmologists on a flight from LA to Boston when Frank wouldn’t talk to their drunk stupid asses. (source) I don’t even understand what the healthcare bill did. Sorry to plead such ignorance, but I really
Slap happy at Ball State University
By J. DeVoy An unknown assailant is tormenting the women at Ball State University by slapping two of them on the bottom. As suddenly as the attack began, the assailant would pedal away into the darkness, “no doubt while twirling his mustache and cackling maniacally.” The fallout has been predictable, closely following the arc of PCU‘s plot. Of course, there
Drunk Driving: A Victimless Crime
by Charles Platt I wonder if anyone else agrees that drunk driving is a victimless crime. A conviction merely affirms that a person was more likely than average to hit someone or something. Well, all kinds of people are more likely to do that, such as the elderly, or people who simply don’t have an aptitude for driving. State laws
Arrest the Pope
This sounds like a great idea: Arresting the Pope. Too bad it won’t happen. But, if it did, imagine the poetic justice of him getting raped in the joint… and then the guards could cover it up so that the prison doesn’t get a bad reputation. H/T: Mike McCoy
What Apple Should Have Launched Instead of the iPad (Or why Apple should beg for help from Kyocera)
Okay, fine, the iPad is neat. I’m not even going to bash it here. But, if Apple really wanted a killer device, it would have launched my idea — the iPhone power keyboard. Lets face it, the two worst things about the iPhone are a) its “virtual keyboard” and b) its shitty battery life. If Apple could solve those problems,
Cuckoldry in nature
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mb0GOITRUU&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Online "dating" catches on among newlyweds
By J. DeVoy Via Roissy (I don’t care what he’s calling himself these days), Ashley Madison – the online dating service specializing in matching married men and married women – has had a membership explosion in the Toronto area. Sexually frustrated and a little lonely, the 25-year-old started Googling “sex club” and “swingers club” before stumbling upon AshleyMadison.com, advertised as
