News & Media
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
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
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.
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
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
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,”
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
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
Coakley's a lock for senate (rudolph)
By J. DeVoy Relevant to Massachusetts readers, Scott Brown has defeated Martha Coakley and will be its newest U.S. Senator. Apparently, the people of the Commonwealth let she lose. This election could have been decided on facial masculinity with the same result and thin margin of victory. Yikes.
YES WE DID!!!
by Jason Fischer Republican candidate Scott Brown has successfully knocked off his Democrat opponent Martha Coakley in a Massachusetts special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy‘s Senate seat. In doing so, the people of Massachusetts have all but doomed President Obama’s hopes for getting the currently proposed health care reform legislation passed. The message to our government seems clear: “We don’t like what you’re doing!” The surprising part is that it comes from Massachusetts. Massachusetts!! (Maybe Marco’s right about them folks being smarter than the average American.) If one of the bluest states in the nation (Obama won Mass.
Alleged assailant to off-duty cop: Chomp chomp cha-chewy chomp
By J. DeVoy A Chicago police officer may be nippleless after an altercation outside a Gold Coast bar. The damage seemed quite extensive: Along with several punches that caused cuts to the officer’s eye, the man also “severely” bit the cop’s nipple. Both the suspect and the cop were treated for cuts and bruising to their faces. However, a doctor said that the bite on the officer’s chest was so severe, the cop “lost a body part,” according to the report. The mind wanders as to how an assailant gets into the position of biting off his victim’s nipple. Regardless,
Surge in Avatar names suggests few have read Freakonomics
By J. DeVoy Parents are rushing to name their children after today’s latest flash-in-the-pan pop sensation, Avatar. Unfortunately, it’ll bite them squarely in the ass in two decades. From UK’s The Sun: Choices include Neytiri – after the film’s Na’vi warrior-princess – and giant flying creature Toruk. To well-read or even vaguely aware people who haven’t seen the movie, these names are painfully derivative. Neytiri — eerily similar to Nefertiti, Egyptian Queen — will be today’s equivalent of Britney, Stacey or Jenna in 2030. As for Toruk, these parents are naming their children after a giant flying creature, which should
Third Circuit to consider whether "sexting" violates child porn laws
By J. DeVoy In the first case of its kind to make it to a Federal Circuit Court, Law.com reports that justices were “skeptical” as to whether sexting broke Federal child pornography laws. While sexting entails variety of things, this case deals specifically with images minors take of themselves with phones and distribute to others. The facts of this case, however, seem mild and may not result in settled precedent. “If you had probable cause here, you’d have a different case, but all you’ve got is a picture of somebody partially naked and two years later it turns up on
Issue-spotting Metalocalypse
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3maJoOghJZg&hl=en_US&fs=1&] -Property destruction -Criminal drug use -Naming and ownership rights -Restraining orders -Trademark and domain registration -Freeze-outs -Merchandising and licensing rights
Why did we try so hard in the ABA Blawg 100 competition?
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJw1H8RttUo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1] This is the award we should have been vying for. Elegant in its simplicity and actually funny, Bhetti‘s commendation has singled out In Mala Fide and OneSTDV (a personal favorite) for kudos, but not The Legal Satyricon. What. The. Fuck. I imagine Bardamu is sitting in some swivel chair from Target as he reads this, clumsily dancing and singing along like Eric Cartman does to so many popular songs. If awards could be so obscure and hilarious, there would have been no need to escalate with John Turley over the ABA competition. Alas, lawyers are boring
Where in the world is Marc Randazza?
By J. DeVoy Delivering medicine to starving children in pestilence-riddled lands. Ending modern-day economic apartheid that harms groups like coffee growers and the Zapatistas of southern Mexico. Saving the environment. These are all things Marc Randazza doesn’t do when he travels. I received news of Marco “Polo” Randazza’s travels this afternoon when a falcon came to my open window with a crumpled piece of papyrus grasped tightly in its claw. It promptly died as I unfolded the note it was carrying. It turns out that our fearless editor is in Costa Rica, the land of dinosaurs. It was trains planes and
The man-hating crowd’s blood lust strikes again
By J. DeVoy I have no issue with feminists. In this classic case of taking it too far, however, certain women have descended upon bloggers I frequently read and link to here — Ferdinand Bardamu and Roissy — and are harassing them for promoting “anti-woman” views. This is correlated with Roissy’s (brief, thankfully) cessation of writing and closely timed with Bardamu taking a step back from daily blogging. Hopefully it isn’t causative, though it seems unrelated to Bardamu’s slowdown. Worse, this probably isn’t the first time something in this vein has happened, but I’m noticing it only because it affects blogs