One of the more annoying trends in our national discourse occurs whenever someone has said something offensive, and his/her defenders inevitably defend the comment as being a joke, as if jokes cannot be offensive, and claim that any critics should just get a sense of humor. An even more disturbing example of this framing can [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Law and Justice'
Oh, a Joke. I Get Jokes.
March 2nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · AR, Law and Justice
Tags: Don Imus·jokes·KTLA·Rush Limbaugh·scooping
Better Late Than . . . Once, 14 Years Ago
February 17th, 2010 · No Comments · AS, Law School, Law and Justice, Supreme Court
Weirdly enough, a new challenge to Proposition 209 is underway in federal court. Prop two-oh-what, you say? Yes, Ward Connerly’s hilarious parody “civil rights” initiative of 1996, which prohibited public institutions in California from considering race, sex, and ethnicity EVER (except when they do, constantly), is being called unconstitutional. It’s like some law student was [...]
Tags: 1990s·affirmative action·Beverly Hills 90210·civil rights·Doritos·ethnicity·Garth Brooks·George Washington·Grutter v. Bollinger·I Love The 90s·John Roberts·Ninth Circuit·Potomac·Proposition 209·race·Ricci·Samuel Alito·sex·Supreme Court·The Coyote·The Road Runner·UCLA·UCLA Law·Ward Connerly
What A Girl Wants
January 25th, 2010 · No Comments · AS, Law and Justice, Technology
Last week, the Third Circuit heard arguments in what has been dubbed the “Sexting Case,” although the case actually has little to do with the AARP phenomenon of sexting. The girls in this case weren’t even old enough to realize their Twilight books are homoerotic: The case goes back to 2006, when two girls aged [...]
Tags: AARP·ACLU·gender·New Haven Firefighter Test·sexting·sexting case·sexuality·Third Circuit
No More Arpaio SantaCake (Almost)!
December 8th, 2009 · No Comments · AS, Immigration, Law and Justice
The Houson Chronicle reports that the Salvation Army in Houston has reversed its policy of requiring needy children to present Social Security numbers in order to receive gifts. More good news: it was neither their intention to offend anyone nor to give the impression they were discriminating against people without Social Security numbers. Thank goodness! [...]
Tags: Houston Chronicle·Joe Arpaio·NAFTA·political correctness·Rambo·Salvation Army·SantaCake
Santa Wants Cookies, Milk, And Proof Of Citizenship
December 2nd, 2009 · No Comments · AS, Immigration, Law and Justice
It’s that time of year again, the time when a small sect of religious crazies forget what Christmas is all about: celebrating the birth of the pagan god of winter, Santa Claus. It’s the time of year that inspires weirdos to boycott Best Buy for wishing Muslims a happy Eid el-Adha, for example, when what [...]
Tags: Best Buy·Houston Chronicle·Immigration·Joe Arpaio·Salvation Army·Santa Claus·SantaCake·The Gap·undocumented children·War on Christmas
The Long View
December 2nd, 2009 · No Comments · AR, Law and Justice, Politics
One thing that’s long frustrated me about politics is how opportunistic partisans on both sides tend to be in the positions they take, latching on to arguments that may win a news cycle or a short-term victory but undermine longer-term arguments and priorities. While this practice can be infuriating when engaged in by Republicans, I [...]
Tags: bleeding heartery·criminal justice·hypocrisy·Maurice Clemmons·Mike Huckabee·Politics·Ta-Nehisi Coates·Willie Horton
And Since We’re On The Subject Of Crazy
November 17th, 2009 · 1 Comment · AS, Law and Justice, Politics
Here is some actual, live fear-mongering for your viewing displeasure: I would like to address, briefly, the political correctness argument. This argument was no doubt quick on Shaggy John’s tongue because misguided folks (read: Fox News) have been saying that political correctness is to blame for the Ft. Hood shooting. As in, if we weren’t [...]
Tags: Fox News·Ft. Hood·political correctness·Rep. John Shadegg·Shaggy John
Dahlia Lithwick Kicks Serious Ass
November 17th, 2009 · No Comments · AS, Immigration, Law and Justice, Politics
Check out DL’s Jurisprudence blog post for this week, where she takes issue with all the nutty objections to trying KSM in New York. In sum: It’s one part fear-mongering (“KSM will explode into a lethal ninja and kill people with his laser-eyes the very minute we bring him stateside!”), one part war-mongering (“We are [...]
Tags: Dahlia Lithwick·Guantanamo·Khalid Shaikh Mohammad·Lindsay Graham·Magneto·X-Men
This Is What I Love About The Law
October 19th, 2009 · 1 Comment · AS, Law School, Law and Justice
Every now and then I’m reading a case, and I come across something like this, from the statement of facts in State v. Rose, 612 S.E.2d 336 (N.C. Ct. App. 2005): A half-hour later, defendant arrived at the checkpoint, driving a car also occupied by Kevin Davis and Richard Wilson, who is a paraplegic. Deputy [...]
Tags: Fourth Amendment·gang symbols·Judge Geer·mounted marlins·taxidermy
What Happens In Vegas
October 2nd, 2009 · No Comments · AS, Law and Justice, Technology
Yesterday I flew to Las Vegas for the second time this month. I was sitting in front of a loud, Eastern European couple. I couldn’t recognize the language they were speaking, but at one point in the middle of their impenetrable conversation, the man said in perfect English, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” [...]
Tags: ACLU·airport·airport security·body scanner·idiocy·Las Vegas·millimeter wave technology·national security·privacy·Proust·Susan Hallowell·TSA·War on Terror