We have been discussing the ever-expanding copyright and trademarks claims on what seems every object and observation in modern life, including such things as pictures taken of public scenes in London and in New York. Now one of the most iconic public images is being claimed as protected: the Eiffel Tower at night. Under EU law, the tower light display constitutes an “art work” and is therefore copyrighted. Thus, you can take a picture during the day but at night the copyright lawyers come out and roam the streets to see if you are taking pictures of the lights of the city of the “City of Lights.” (To show my innate sense of legality, I took this cunning picture just before the lights came on at dusk in Paris a few years ago. Ha!)
There continues to be a national debate over how to handle “deadbeat dads” with some questioning whether jail time is useful as a punishment for non-payment since it often makes it harder for the fathers to hold jobs. Others say that deadbeat dads are often do not take civil penalties seriously and that only jail will motivate compliance to shoulder their responsibilities. There may be no greater case study to support criminal sanctions than Terry Turnage, who has fathered 26 children by 15-20 different women, though the precise number seems difficult to confirm. He has reportedly failed to pay virtually any support to any of the women while driving expensive cars and throwing lavish parties.
As many on this blog are aware, I have previously testified, written, and litigated in opposition to the rise of executive power and the countervailing decline in congressional power in our tripartite system. I have also spent years encouraging Congress, under both Democratic and Republican presidents, to more actively defend its authority, including seeking judicial review in separation of powers conflicts. For that reason, it may come as little surprise this morning that I have agreed to represent the United States House of Representatives in its challenge of unilateral, unconstitutional actions taken by the Obama Administration with respect to implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It is an honor to represent the institution in this historic lawsuit and to work with the talented staff of the House General Counsel’s Office. As in the past, this posting is meant to be transparent about my representation as well as my need to be circumspect about my comments in the future on related stories. Continue reading “TURLEY AGREES TO SERVE AS LEAD COUNSEL FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE”
There are serious questions raised this week as to whether a star football player from Florida State was given preferential treatment not only by university police but Tallahasee police after a hit-and-run where two cars were totaled. At the heart of the controversy, is starting cornerback P. J. Williams who was allegedly driving the car that slammed into an oncoming vehicle. A second starting cornerback, Ronald Darby, also reportedly fled the scene at 2:30 am. However, neither was charged and the incident was not written up by the university police — as if it never happened. Just a couple of minor tickets for the “Noles.” It is a new meaning to nolo contendere. It usually means a defendant not contending a charge. In this case, Nole contendere is used by police to say “I do not wish to contend” a criminal charge against a FSU player. [For full disclosure, my wife is an FSU graduate and a “Nole”].
Of all the victims of the Islamic State, none are more horrific than the girls captured by the jihadists and treated as sex slaves or forced to “marry” fighters. That is the fate of girls from the minority Yazidi towns and we have first-hand accounts from girls who recently escaped from IS forces. What is most striking is that clerics have justified their rape and slavery as consistent with the Koran and expressly justified under the extremist views of Islam and Sharia law. The girls are being declared “chums” or war spoils and their rape is being defended as allowing pure Islamic fighters from committing adultery. Kidnapping and raping thousands of girls is considered a better alternative than the scourge of adultery to these clerics.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan appears to have the same fluid understanding of history as he does civil rights. Erdogan became the latest — and certainly highest ranking — person to proliferate the myth that Columbus not only found that Muslims had discovered the New World before him but that there was an actual mosque left on a mountain in Cuba to greet the explorer.
Continue reading “Erdogan: Muslims Discovered America Before Columbus”
I have previously written about the array of added fees and costs associated with every aspect of air travel from seats with minimal leg room to meals to even bathrooms on some flights. One of the most profitable however is to charge for wifi. Like high-end hotels (another pet peeve of mine), airlines charge for this basic service. However, Jeremy Gutsche, a Canadian entrepreneur, never imagined how much when he received a $1,200 bill from Singapore Airlines for exceeding his wifi package. It appears that it does not simply cut off but continues to charge you — a useful glitch if you want to fleece customers.
By Mike Appleton, Weekend Contributor
“What you going to do when the rain comes?
Are you going to sail on the rising seas like Noah?
What you going to feed your little orphans
When there’s no more fish in the sea forever?”
–Brendan Perry, “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” from Ark (Cooking Vinyl, 2010)
In April of this year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued the first part of its Fifth Assessment Report on climate change. Among its conclusions is that “atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased to levels unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years.” The report also states that it is “extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.” In order to limit the increase in global temperature to two degrees Celsius, the panel estimates that it will be necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 70 percent below 2010 levels by 2050 and to virtually nothing by the end of the century.
The political response was predictable. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a short hearing, promptly declaring that the science is not “settled” and accused Democrats of “trying to scare America.” Republican reaction to this week’s announcement of a climate agreement with China was even harsher, with Sen. Mitch McConnell complaining that “these carbon emission regulations are creating havoc in my state and other states across the country.”
Although there are serious scientists who dispute the IPCC findings, the cumulative scientific evidence that anthropogenic activities significantly impact climate change is overwhelming. So why are the IPCC’s findings so controversial? The answer is that the politics of climate science denial are largely shaped by two forces: the contrived skepticism of the energy industry and the religious skepticism of the evangelical right.
Continue reading “The Theological Dimensions of Climate Science Denial”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
KOMO News reports:
[E]xchange chief executive Richard Onizuka said in a new release. At 8 a.m. Sunday, the system was working properly.
“Consumers expect to be selecting and purchasing health coverage with the correct information,” Onizuka said. “While we recognize that this Saturday was an inconvenience, being able to provide correct information to our customers is paramount to what we do.”
Continue reading “Update: Washington Health Care Exchange Back Online”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
In the past, I have written about the Big Banks continued unlawful actions that only result in “slap on the wrist fines” that in many cases are passed on to the shareholders and/or used as a tax deduction. It seems that Wall Street and the Banksters have not learned a thing. Or have they?
The latest wrinkle in Banksters taking advantage of American citizens is noted in a Crooks and Liars report which detailed an investigation into several Big Banks and their alleged refusal to honor the orders of Bankruptcy judges across the country. Of course, the “usual suspects” have been named in the latest investigations. Continue reading “Banks Ignore the Bankruptcy Laws”
Some of you may have seen this, but it might give you a light moment this weekend. My son Benjamin showed me the video below on YouTube featuring singer Rob Cantor and his song, “Shia LaBeouf” — the actor best known for his role in Transformers as Sam Witwicky. The performances by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, the Argus Quartet, the West Los Angeles Children’s Choir, and other artists are brilliant.
Continue reading “Musical Number Explores The Dark Cannibalistic Side of Shia Labeouf”
I did my usual hike on Billy Goat Trail this morning at dawn and it was a beautiful crisp fall morning. While a bit chilly at 36 degrees, it was great for a vigorous hike. The leaves are down but the result is a quiet and stark forest with trees silhouetted on dark waters of the ponds and the Potomac.
By Darren Smith
What is it with government software? Voting machines are dysfunctional, Federal healthcare systems self-destruct under heavy load, billions wasted on Federal Retirement systems that no longer work. Now, Washington State presents us with another example: The Washington Health Care Exchange’s Washington Health Plan Finder.
The website began open enrollment and was shut down after a just a few hours when the system detected that tax credit calculations were incorrect. State software engineers and managers are working to correct the problem that somehow fell under the radar when the system was being developed. How such a basic component could be missed by their QA is remarkable.
Exchange CEO Richard Onizuka stated that the credits were off by “just” a few dollars in some cases.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
O
n November 14th a grand jury in the Western District of Oklahoma issued a true bill indicting former Oklahoma City Police Officer Doug Williams for Obstruction of Justice, Witness Tampering, and Wire Fraud for allegedly being “…hired and paid to train customers how to conceal misconduct in other disqualifying information during Federal employment suitability assessments, Federal security background investigations, internal Federal agency investigations, and other proceedings.”
Williams proffers himself as a crusader having the hopes of eliminating polygraph examinations, informally known as lie detector tests, from government use in that fifty percent of truthful answers are deemed by polygraph operators to be lies. He maintains the website polygraph.com. Fees include one thousand dollars for his training locally and up to five thousand dollars for sessions in which air travel is requested of him.
In essence, Williams attests to the fact that innocent individuals are falsely accused of lying and that his service helps his customers bring out truthful answers. The website does not promise to assist customers to be successful in covering untruthful information.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Seattle City Council is considering a resolution directing the city Law Department to investigate the possibility of imposing an excise tax on individuals having incomes in excess of one million dollars.
Washington has no state income tax. Seattle’s pursuit of this might be attractive to many voters who view income tax as a form of balance against what is considered by some to be the regressive nature of Washington’s taxation system. Yet voters over the years have resorted to the voting booth to end the discussion among some politicians who have tried to enact similar measures. The city garnered much national attention by working toward a controversial fifteen dollars minimum wage.
Seattle might have a difficult task if it chooses to enact such an ordinance as the State Supreme Court declared income taxes of this type to be unconstitutional.
Continue reading “Seattle City Council To Study Possible “Millionaires Tax””