Well, it is official. Yesterday we passed the 11 million mark for “hits”. We continue to be ranked in the top ten most visited legal blogs in the world by AVVO. We are also just short of 5000 followers on Twitter.
Year: 2012
An elderly Florida couple in Sanford, Florida is living through a nightmare after director Spike Lee sent their address to his 250,000 followers on Twitter — wrongly stating that this was the address of George Zimmerman, the man who killed an unarmed black teen, Trayvon Martin, in Florida. It was a uniquely stupid act by Lee and invited the very type of vigilante response that Zimmerman has been accused of. The question is whether there is liability for such negligence as David McClain, 72, and his wife Elaine, 70, live in fear of threats and packages arriving at their home.
It appears that this DUI suspect had the right but not the inclination to remain silent. Instead, he offers a full performance of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I must say that the selection of the song was pure genius.
Continue reading “Little High, Little Low: DUI Suspect Performs Bohemian Rhapsody In Custody”
It appears that the Supreme Court justices did not hear about the results of the GW Supreme Court deliberations. Key conservative justices expressed notably skepticism about the constitutionality of the health care law. The statements of Roberts and Kennedy are particularly interesting. I will also note that the continued refusal of these justices to allow cameras into the courtroom is indefensible and insulting. The fact that millions of Americans have to wait for individuals to offer second-hand accounts is a ridiculous exercise that, I believe, would have been viewed as positively moronic by the Framers.
As I mentioned on Countdown last night, my Supreme Court class (which reviews the leading cases of the term and deliberates as an alternative Supreme Court) ruled on the constitutional challenge over the individual mandate provision (we will be considering the other issues in a separate class). The class ruled 12 to 2 to reverse the 11th Circuit and uphold the health care law. The class also voted on the ethical question of Kagan’s recusal as well as their prediction of what that other Court would do. The associate justices were not sway by the stated concerns of the Chief Justice (here and here) over the future of federalism if the Act is constitutional.
There is a new report that the mother of Trayvon Martin is seeking trademark ownership for the phrases like “I Am Trayvon” and “Justice for Trayvon.” I have long been a critic of scope of claims under our trademark and copyright laws. Despite my sympathy for the family, I fail to see why anyone should have trademark ownership over “Justice for Trayvon.” Moreover, I would think that there would be a preference for unlimited and widespread use of such terms.
Continue reading “Trayvon Martin’s Mother Reportedly Moves To Trademark Son’s Name and Phrases”
The great American selloff continues with cities and states selling parks, government buildings, and other sites (here and here and here and here and here) to raise money — as we continue spend billions in Iraq and Afghanistan where our allies have called us “demons” and sought to create governments that deny basic rights to citizens. Even national parks are being pushed on the chopping block. The latest such example is Baltimore which is preparing to selloff over a dozen historic sites.
Continue reading “Baltimore Moves To Sell Off Historic Sites”
This story is so bizarre that I had to check it twice to make sure it was not an early April Fool’s joke. The New York City Department of Education has barred the use of “Dinosaur” on tests to avoid upsetting people who believe creationism. Putting aside the fact that creationists do not deny that dinosaurs existed, the decision is to bar the use of a reference to an entire species because a fact might insult religious sensibilities.
While the parents of Trayvon Martin are saying that he is wearing a hoodie in heaven, Geraldo Rivera went on the air to denounce hoodies as evil garments causing the death of teenagers across the country.
Continue reading “Hoodie and the Blowfish: Geraldo Calls For Crackdown on Killer Hoodies”
Was the first day of arguments over the health care law historic . . . or just a giant practical joke? Paul Clement, representing the 26 states challenging the law, said the first day of arguments in the litigation was “a kind of practical joke that the court is playing on the public.” It would not seem the most politic comment to make when you will be seeing these nine jokers in the morning.
Sometimes great things come in big packages.
This week, the Supreme Court will take up its historic three-day consideration of the health care law. My Supreme Court class will be spending two weeks on the four insular issues before the Court, including the question of federalism.
The facts behind the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida continue to slowly emerge. I have previously stated that I view critical facts as murky for a prosecution — even though I believe that there was sufficient evidence to arrest George Zimmerman at the scene. While we have still not seen some of the forensic evidence, a new report indicates that police may have based their initial decisions in part on the statement of a witness. We have been discussing the maddening gap in witness testimony at the critical moment of the confrontation. Now a new report suggests that there may have been a witness to the struggle and that witness reportedly told police that it was Martin who was on top of Zimmerman before the fatal shot was fired.
Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi has a blockbuster on his hands. The Islamic writer has a book that has sold out in many bookstores in India. The book lays out in detail how Muslim husbands should beat their wives.
Continue reading “How-To Beat Your Wife: Book Details The Need and Method For a Proper Beating Of A Muslim Wife”
This foreign news segment has gone viral and frankly it is pretty embarrassing. If you wonder why other countries view us as insincere and artificial, just listen to these clips of President Obama complimenting a series of “little countries” for “punching above their weight.” It is insulting on so many levels but Obama appears entirely clueless.