The epicenter was Mineral Virginia in the district of Republican Congressman Eric Cantor. You may recall Cantor’s effort to slash the budget of the United States Geological Service (USGS).
We have another rather bizarre infringement action based on a fairly common symbol. The State Bar of Wisconsin has sued LexisNexis over its use of an online logo that looks like its own symbol. Once again, as with prior lawsuits by Apple and other organizations, I fail to understand the tightening stranglehold of infringement actions over the use of common symbols and terms. The column is a standard symbol for lawyers and schools. In my view, the Wisconsin Bar is showing poor judgment in litigating such an issue — particularly when there is little danger of confusion for observers.
Continue reading “Pillar Envy: Wisconsin Bar Sued LexisNexis Over Use of Column Symbol”
Former McDermott Will & Emery partner Bruce Paul Golden is facing disbarment in Illinois after officials learned that he had allegedly lied about his income on a financial aid form for a private school. The school is Francis W. Parker, one of the most affluent schools in Chicago. I graduated from Parker’s traditional rival, Latin School of Chicago. Both are ridiculously expensive, but Golden is accused of actually altering his tax forms to establish a base for support.
I was sitting in my office an hour ago when my pictures begin to fall off the walls. It was a rare earthquake in D.C. and it was pretty exciting. I am told that it was a 5.9 quake. Of course, this could lead to Georgetown law reporting their quake as 6.0 and our revising our figures accordingly.
Continue reading “EARTHQUAKE!”
It is often said that “academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small.”[FN1] Some may view the recent dust up between University of Colorado Paul Campos (left) and University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter as such an example. However, there are some important issues raised in the controversy over the writings of “ScamProf.” Campos recently admitted that he is the anonymous law professor who created such a stir with a criticism of law teaching and law schools. Critics say that Campos only came forward after various bloggers had deduced his identity. However, Leiter and others went further and challenged Campos personally and professionally.
Continue reading “Lawyers and Law Professors Erupt in Bitter Debate After Identification of “ScamProf””
Roy Lester, 61, has filed a rather novel challenge against the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Lester is a bankruptcy lawyer who has worked as a Long Island lifeguard as a second job. He has filed an age discrimination suit based on the requirement that he wear either a speedo swimsuit or, alternatively, a loose-fitting swimsuit. He insists that he should be allowed to wear swim jammers and that the denial of his choice constitutes age discrimination. Lester is a bankruptcy lawyer and this lawsuit indicates that he is better suited for that field than constitutional and discrimination law.
Continue reading “Swimsuit Lawsuit: Bankruptcy Lawyer Sues New York Over Swimsuit Requirements in Lifeguard Tryouts”
South Carolina Dale Richardson has been arrested on charges that he is a serial rapist who kidnapped women and assaulted them in a trailer behind his Freedom Free Will Baptist Church.
Continue reading “South Carolina Pastor Charged With Serial Rapes Of Women Behind Church”
For months, critics have observed that the rebels in Libya contains worrisome elements of religious extremists and that the rebel forces have been accused of war crimes (as have the government forces). The concern is that, like our work in Afghanistan (ultimately helping Al Qaeda and the Taliban), we have little understanding of who we are bringing to power in Libya in our intervention into that civil war. That concern is magnified this week by the release of the draft constitution, which (unless changed) would make Sharia law the governing law of Libya.
Continue reading “Proposed Libyan Constitution Would Make Sharia The Governing Law”
Industry lobbyists and political allies are launching a full court press against the closure of highly polluting coal-fired plants across the United States this month. The effort dovetails with the focus of Republican candidates like Bachmann, Gingrich, and Perry to demonize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and even call for its elimination. However, this move has been delayed too long and is expected to save thousands of lives. The story is the latest example of how industry is able to treat such health risks as abstractions while fighting to keep such plants operating.
Continue reading “Industry Launches Campaign Against Closing Outdated Power Plants”
Even wonder how those lobbyists let candidates know where the money is coming from? A camera caught a Bank of America executive quietly assuring Gov. Rick Perry of the support of the Bank of America.
Continue reading “Bank of America Executive Caught Promising Perry Support”
There was an interesting story out of Germany where researchers have found a highly carcinogenic substance in a flask of lotion believed to have belonged to Queen Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt 3,500 years ago and was known to have powerful enemies, including her stepson Thutmose III. However, she may have died from poisoning at her own hand.
Continue reading “Was Queen Hatsheput Poisoned? Scientists Find Evidence of What Could Be One Of The World’s Oldest Product Liability Cases”
This week, Atlantic Magazine ran a story on Rick Perry, Manly Man — a piece exploring how Perry is known to emphasize his manliness — both physically and verbally. The magazine considers how well the macho image will play across the political spectrum. However, that may be the least of the problems for the Perry camp. Word has now reached our shores of the selection of the Scots, not the Americans, as the world’s most manly specimens. Now, I take nothing from the Scots. It takes a lot of guts to wear kilts in a cold, wet climate. However, the world’s manliest? Followed close by the English? I fully expect this to become a major issue in the presidential election: the manliest gap.
Continue reading “The Manliness Gap? Scottish Men Selected As World’s Most Manly”
There is an interesting video of Todd Palin out in the last few days that finally admits what many have long argued: Sarah Palin quit the Alaskan governorship to cash in on her celebrity status. When a woman confronted Todd about his wife not finishing her term, he responds “What would you do” with “thousands and thousands of dollars a day?” He notes that the had “all this debt” and made the obvious choice.
Continue reading “Todd Palin: Of Course Sarah Quit For The Money”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger
We have heard both sides of the aisle claim that they have the next big idea to bring jobs back to Main Street. Recently President Obama, according to an article from former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, has claimed that he will be submitting a Jobs Bill to Congress when they return from their 5 week summer hiatus. Continue reading “The Unofficial Turley Blog Job Creation Plan”
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
A recent development in Congress is the creation of the so-called “Super Congress”; a bi-partisan committee tasked with recommending steps to reduce federal budget deficits by at least $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Like most committees, the Super Congress has to submit its recommendations to the rest of Congress for consideration. Unlike most committees, the Super Congress has a loaded back-end provision that will institute automatic military and domestic (read Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid) spending cuts in 2013 that neither side wants will be triggered. This would seem to give the committee some incentives to find viable solutions. But does it really?