News & Media
Strange
There are direct flights from Buffalo to Detroit? Well, I suppose that at least one businessman made good use of the convenient nonstop.
Salinger Dead
J.D. Salinger is dead. Boy, when you’re dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you’re dead? Nobody
Super Bowl to air "controversial" pro-life ad – care?
By J. DeVoy The big story in my own little slice of hell law school yesterday — other than some ill-planned “joke” by tasteless imbeciles to bring Jersey Shore cast members to commencement — was CBS’s tentative decision to run a pro-life commercial during the Super Bowl. The ad, sponsored by openly Christian group Focus on the Family, features Heisman Trophy-winner Timothy Tebow and his parents, discussing their decision not to abort the child who became the most dominant quarterback in the SEC. (Source.) But, enter the censorshipistas who think this message undermines abortion rights. The Women’s Media Center and over 30 other liberal and women’s advocacy groups sent a letter to CBS, the TV network to air the Super
Choose your URL carefully…
Each kid gets a free bear! Over 9,000 served!
Discrimination – the final frontier
This is where too much PC thinking gets you: When it comes to hiring staff, there are plenty of legal pitfalls employers need to watch out for these days. So recruitment agency boss Nicole Mamo was especially careful to ensure her advert for hospital workers did not offend on grounds of race, age or sexual orientation. However, she hadn’t reckoned on discriminating against a wholly different section of the community – the completely useless. Nicole Mamo, director of Devonwood Recruitment was stunned when a job centre in Thetford, Norfolk, said she could not include the phrase ‘reliable and hard working’ in her advert When she ran the ad past a jobcentre, she was told she couldn’t ask for ‘reliable’ and
Horny Goat?
A goat broke into a strip club. Yes, really. It smashed its way through the glass doors and just hung out for a while. (source)
Fly, Meet Sledgehammer
Discussing Randazza’s litigation style, giving an overview of his work for Corbin Fisher and pursuit of content pirates generally. At the heart of the discussion is copyright piracy, codified in Federal law, which outlaws the unauthorized reproduction and distribution of content made by others. Read more…
Come on, not even partial credit?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCVfWjlMSa4]
Barbie Doll Phenomenon
by Tatiana von Tauber It’s been a while since I’ve been in the land of the fake and blonde. Though my years living in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area naturally included diversity of culture, food, people and philosophies, one thing was guaranteed: where there was beach there was skin and where there was skin there were Barbie wannabes. Having grown up around diversity the “class” of Barbie doll girls didn’t faze me much. It was simply a part of the usual scenery and while a boob or two were occasionally so large I had to stop and stare, I’d normally go about my business barely noticing the bleach blond, top heavy, over-tanned dolls that strutted in their mini skirts or sold
Does the Downing Effect have a role in the IQ-criminality relationship?
By J. DeVoy Several studies have shown and shown again that criminals have lower-than-average IQ. The Downing Effect describes the tendency of people with low IQ to overestimate their IQ, while people with high IQ underestimate theirs, and is related to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, observing that people without a particular skill set view themselves as above average in possessing it, while those who are above average underrate their abilities. There is also a gender component to this, as men tend to overestimate their IQ by 5 points while women underestimate theirs by 5 points, which may contribute to why men are incarcerated at a rate 10 times that of women. (Maybe radical feminists will incorporate this into their ongoing crusade
Audible urination, the final frontier of male privilege
By J. DeVoy Over at Feminist Law Professors – a story I assuredly did not find on my own – a new way to “quiet down the men in your life” is proposed. Pee stools! (Available here.) This is a logical step forward for Japan, the world’s leader in high-tech toilets and worthless, effete men. Combining these trends, we arrive at the pee stool, a bastard demon-spawn of unusual trends if there ever was one. The female obsession with men’s ability to stand while peeing is nothing new and something women have tried to devalue by standing to pee themselves. Apparently, with 40% of Japanese men sitting to pee anyway, this is a redundant invention for that country. Audibility seems
Sometimes…
Sometimes, I just gotta sit back, look out the window, take a deep breath, and laugh my ass off at what a lucky motherfucker I am. And when I do that, I gotta thank some people. You know who you are.
Disturbing potential weekend activity: Ball Tapping
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9szbXb1DSPc&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Originally linked to at The Spearhead, this is a cringe-inducing way to start off the weekend. Rest assured, as this is the “ultimate” ball tapping video, you need not go further to sate your ball tapping needs. Ball tapping is not only startling, it’s new. Growing up, the testicle-mashing game of choice was Roshambo, popularized by Eric Cartman in South Park’s early days. Unlike ball tapping, Roshambo featured two men taking turns inflicting as much genital pain on one another as possible. (For the record, your author has never played Roshambo.) Unlike Roshambo, ball tapping doesn’t seem to have a clearly identifiable winner. How can you win when you’re letting someone pulverize the family jewels? Everyone’s
Horizon Group's "Twitter Libel" Case Dismissed
Amanda Bonnen had 20 followers on her Twitter account. On May 12, she tweeted, “… Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s okay.” (Complaint at 7). Fast forward to July 20, and Horizon Realty files a defamation suit based upon the tweet. According to Horizon’s complaint, it is “recognized as one of Chicago’s premiere apartment leasing and management companies because, [inter alia] it understands the importance of quality customer service…” (Complaint at 1). Before Ms. Bonnen launched her caustic and hideous public attack, (by tweeting to 20 of her friends), Horizon “was a company of good name, fame, and reputation and was deservedly held in high esteem by and among renters, potential
Mitch McConnell is Such an Asshat
Yes, yes, everyone knows that in Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court split 5-4, on the same old lines, and decided that the First Amendment mandates that corporations and unions should not have limits on how much money they can use to grease the political wheels in their favor. Lets set aside the First Amendment arguments and discussions for a moment. I just want to shine a light on one of the nation’s biggest douchebags, Mitch McConnell. He said, of the decision: “For too long, some in this country have been deprived of full participation in the political process,” the Kentucky Republican said. “With today’s monumental decision, the Supreme Court took an important step in the direction of restoring
I am pleased that Scott Brown won
And I will not bother to write a post about it. Patrick at Popehat did just fine. Well, and Scott Greenfield did too. I have nothing more to add except that I hope someone pours water on Martha Coakley and melts that evil piece of crap. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4aQCiRjvZY&feature=player_embedded]
McDonalds v. McFest: Boo Freakin' Hoo — Journalists should talk to trademark lawyers before writing whine-pieces
Poor Lauren McClusky. She is a 19 year old, civic minded, kind, compassionate kid who founded an organization that puts on charity concerts in the Chicago area to raise money for the Special Olympics. She called the concert series “McFest.” You know where this is going… or do you? The story being told is one of a big bad corporation attacking the poor little charity for using its famous “Mc” prefix. You couldn’t blame Lauren McClusky of Chicago if she were a bit squeamish about using her last name in this story without fear of reprisal from Ronald McDonald and his legal posse. For McClusky, 19, finds herself at the center of a thorny dispute that involves a series of
Update on speech code discussion
By J. DeVoy A few days ago I wrote about Danielle Citron‘s proposals and participation in an AALS panel about student speech and character and fitness review. Though I disagreed with some of her proposals, we did find some common ground in that piece’s commentary. I also extended an olive branch by requesting Professor Citron as a facebook friend. From my news feed today: I appreciate the gesture and the collegiality it implies. Given how little we at The Legal Satyricon care about offending others, it’s nice to see we can all get along with one another.
Lawsuit in Berkeley seeks to treat fraternities as gangs
By J. DeVoy Where fraternities go, drinking, loud parties, hazing and lower property values — things young people generally identify as fun — are sure to follow. (Unless the frat really sucks.) Now, the plaintiff class is seeking an injunction against the revelers under a legal theory pioneered against street gangs. From Law.com: The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court by a homeowner and the South of Campus Neighborhood Association, seeks an injunction against alleged unruly and illegal conduct by the fraternities, including frequently disturbing the peace and encouraging underage drinking. The proposed class is made up of current and past residents, renters and property owners of the South of Campus area, in addition to visitors to the neighborhood
