News & Media
How to take a profile picture
One of the many reasons that I am glad that Jennifer took me off the market: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcbZ0v8Mpvk]
The French can't handle their buzz
On August 16, 1951, the inhabitants [of a quiet French Village] were suddenly racked with frightful hallucinations of terrifying beasts and fire. One man tried to drown himself, screaming that his belly was being eaten by snakes. An 11-year-old tried to strangle his grandmother. Another man shouted: “I am a plane”, before jumping out of a second-floor window, breaking his
9th Circuit Reverses its Position on "Under God"
Apparently, acknowledging the existence of someone else’s imaginary friend is a “patriotic exercise.” I find few things that make me feel less patriotic than the sight of a group of kids lined up into rows fetishizing a piece of cloth while acknowledging the existence of a fairy tale. The opinion is an abomination, but not something that surprises me when
Biglaw Bignews
One of my most famous misquotes was in an otherwise awesome interview with Bitter Lawyer. I was quoted as saying: I’d rather drive a stake through my balls than work in BigLaw, where it’s all about being a billing machine and ethics aren’t important. What I actually said was I’d rather drive a stake through my balls than work in
Indian Court Rules Against Blanket Prohibition on Sexually Themed Websites
An Indian NGO filed a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking a blanket prohibition on websites that display any “material pertaining to sex.” The justification for the proposed ban was that this material “is harmful to the youth of this country in their formative years.” (Op. at 1). The Indian Information and Technology Act (ITA) prohibits sexual content in
Is a third creative commons-licensed Nine Inch Nails album forthcoming?
By J. DeVoy Something’s happening at the official Nine Inch Nails website. In the past, such pictures portended the release of Ghosts I-IV and The Slip (available for free download). Both of those albums were released under a creative commons license, a move praised by Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig. The band’s move to creative commons licensing and self-distribution isn’t
Short, cool video on black holes
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKyt3C0oT4&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Around age four, I had great anxiety about black holes and their ability to destroy the planet. Some parents have to convince their children that they won’t be eaten by monsters; mine had to constantly reassure me that I, along with the rest of the world, wouldn’t be torn apart on an atomic level and sucked
Who will look after the dog when God comes for us?
There are an estimated 20-40 million cult members whose beliefs have come into conflict with their love of their pets. This cult is commonly known as “christianity.” Some cult members believe that their leader is a guy who lives in space (sort of like Xenu) and that on the day of “rapture,” he is going to come and pick them
Quick, someone reanimate Ayn Rand!
By J. DeVoy In a delightful smackdown of self-righteous and ignorant Americans who think they have a “right” to everything, including not being inconvenienced, American and Continental airlines will cancel flights rather than abide by new Federal regulations limiting the time flyers can spend sitting on a tarmac. Under the new regulations, airlines can be fined in excess of $27,000
Florida proposes tax credit only for "traditional values"
By J. DeVoy Florida’s Republican representatives have added a provision in a $75 million bill, intended to attract entertainment business to the state, which would deny a tax credit to television shows not considered “family friendly.” Shows that feature “cross-generational appeal” and forego smoking, profanity, nudity, sex and obscenity, will receive a tax credit equal to 5% of production costs,
There is apparently only one Lindsay
Lindsay Lohan has filed suit against eTrade for using the name “Lindsay” in its Superbowl ad. (source) Apparently, Lohan’s position is that eTrade used the name “Lindsay” to trade off her name and likeness. The complaint is here, and a perfunctory review of it leads me to the conclusion that it is a piece of shit. Of course, in addition
Is Porn good or bad for society?
Kate Harding doesn’t care. She doesn’t want to take it away, even if it is bad. She does, however, demand evidence for any claims to the contrary. (source)
Don't shave your pubes and drive
Don’t shave your pubes while driving. Megan Mariah Barnes, 37, learned this lesson the hard way. Florida Highway Patrol troopers say a two-vehicle crash Tuesday at Mile Marker 21 on Cudjoe Key was caused by a 37-year-old woman driver who was shaving her bikini area while her ex-husband took the wheel from the passenger seat. “She said she was meeting
Westboro Baptist Church gets its day in front of the Supreme Court
Cert. granted in Snyder v. Phelps. Regular readers already know that I reluctantly side with Westboro on this one.
Has anyone seen Bill Ogletree's coat?
If you’ve seen it, please contact me so that we can arrange to have it delivered to him. That way we can help Continental Airlines, the City of Houston, and a restaurant at the Houston airport avoid a costly lawsuit. You see, Bill is an attorney and he lost his coat. If he doesn’t get it back, some-fuckin-body gonna get
A Blogospheric Get Well Card
Many of you may be familiar with Professor Michael Froomkin of the University of Miami. Apparently he needed emergency open-heart surgery, but is recovering well. Agree with him or not (I usually do not) you must respect his intellect, ethics, and intellectual honesty. I am not sure that I know how to bestow higher praise than that on an academic.
ANTI SLAPP MONTH: My SLAPP experience
By J. DeVoy Although SLAPP suits are uncommon events, they influence real-world, extradjudicial interactions between different entities – especially in disputes. Groups and individuals can leverage tacit threats, insinuations and asymmetries of power to silence their opposition without ever going to the courthouse. Similarly, just as the broad effects of SLAPP suits have trickled down to apply outside of litigation,
Sunstein calls for "cognitive infiltration" of dissident groups
Cass Sunstein, drunk with his little thimbleful of power he got by being given a job in the Obama administration is really letting his statist colors show through. Sunstein takes a page out of the Bush administration’s playbook and suggests that the government should engage in “cognitive infiltration” of disfavored political groups. (source) Cass Sunstein, a Harvard law professor, co-wrote
ANTI SLAPP MONTH: More on the Citizen Participation Act
By J. DeVoy The Public Participation Project (PPP) weighs in on the importance of the Citizen Participation Act, which Marc previously discussed. In the midst of an ongoing war in Afghanistan and malaise over gossamer healthcare reform, PPP notes how a preoccupied Congress and public may overlook this important issue. With so much happening these days: Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Health Care, Jobs,