February 2012
152 posts
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Obama Winning GOP Primary →
Hilarious headline. The lead photo definitely adds a certain je ne sais quoi:
h/t sarahlee310
words-are-eternity asked: Just wanted to say that I love that your pictures is of Thomas Paine. In my US History class we did a mock trial and I was Thomas Paine. He is one awesome, outspoken man; you do his image justice.
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Life, With Dementia →
The NYT reports on an example of Churchill’s wisdom:
Secel Montgomery Sr. stabbed a woman in the stomach, chest and throat so fiercely that he lost count of the wounds he inflicted. In the nearly 25 years he has been serving a life sentence, he has gotten into fights, threatened a prison official and been caught with marijuana.
Despite that, he has recently been entrusted with an...
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Necessarily, X will happen if Y happens (Y being...
sijemesouviensbien:
statehate:
RE: this.
Yeah, I got that. That seems to be the theological argument: that just because God foreknew that A would happen does not mean that A was fated to happen (i.e. that A happened because God foreknew it).
But I’m trying to understand the logic of that deductive argument, and why the conclusion does not follow from the two premises.
My brain hurts.
I...
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“I think that there is just such a toxic atmosphere right now, specifically in...”
– Mike Huckabee Sullivan notes that “Huck’s hands are hardly clean, however.”
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Does The First Amendment Protect Atheists?
You’d think so, but not according to a District Court Judge in Pennsylvania:
There is a surprising story out of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania that seems the perfect storm of religious tensions. You begin with Ernie Perce, an atheist who marched as a zombie Mohammad in the Mechanicsburg Halloween parade. Then you add Talaag Elbayomy, a Muslim who stepped off a curb and reportedly attacked...
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“I was visiting with this family and one of the little boys said he wasn’t going...”
– HuffPo: Michigan Welfare Cuts Forcing People Back To Work Or Straining Safety Net?
Goddamn welfare kids skipping meals on my dime.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook: "We Have More Money Than We... →
There’s no doubt that Apple is a cash cow. Just last year, many reports started circulating that the tech giant had a larger bank account than the U.S. government, where Apple ended June 2011 with $76.2 billion and the government had $73.8 billion. Now, Apple CEO Tim Cook is saying that the company has more money than it needs. At the annual shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, which...
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Abortion In Nature →
Sullivan observes a Discover Magazine article that discusses the “Bruce Effect:”
The trend of aborting babies in the face of strange males is known as the Bruce effect. That’s not a slight against men of that name; the effect is named after the scientist who discovered it – Hilda Margaret Bruce. In 1959, she noticed that pregnant mice will abort if they’re exposed to unfamiliar...
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Bad Case Blues, Ctd.
lawschoolskeptic replied to your post: Bad Case Blues, Ctd.
I’m working on an appellate brief where my client had a motion for summary judgment entered against him, so I’ve got all the places to use it in right now!
Was the summary judgment attained in a previous action or the one being appealed? Just be careful not to confuse Stare Decisis with Res Judicata. If judgment was attained in a...
Bad Case Blues, Ctd.
lawschoolskeptic replied to your post: Personal Notes: Bad Case Blues
Can I use the phrase “steel-toed boot of stare decisis”? I promise to cite it to you. That’s excellent.
Not only can you use it, I demand that you do. Especially if it appears in a memorandum of law accompanying a motion to dismiss, or an appellate brief. If after I die, I live on through my sardonic rhetorical flourishes, I...
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Personal Notes: Bad Case Blues
There’s nothing worse than finding out that one of the cases you were relying on for a legal argument is no longer good law.
WHY on earth would Justice Stevens cite a 9th Circuit opinion that was overruled by the Supreme Court on the very point of law which he cited it for?* I mean, it wasn’t even close. They might as well’ve done an touchdown dance in the 9th...
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Public Service Announcement
Cutting one’s own hair can lead to tragedy.
You’ve been warned.
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Why Medicaid Is Hard To Cut
Sullivan spots Aaron Carroll breaking down the pie on Medicaid spending:
The biggest share of the pie, or the greatest percentage of Medicaid money, is spent on the blind and disabled. It’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to cut care from that group. The next largest share of Medicaid goes to the elderly. Yes, even after they get Medicare, the very poor among those age 65 or older...
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Conservatism's Detachment From Military Values
It has been relatively clear for awhile now that modern Conservatism’s lock on the National Defense and the military vote is collapsing. This latest chart from Mother Jones seems to all but confirm that thesis:
Jake Diliberto, a former Marine, explained his support for Ron Paul:
I have always been a conservative, and I recognize that I am the kind of conservative that doesn’t exist...
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“I would say [my political philosophy is] practical progressive, which means that...”
– Alf Landon, 1936 Republican Presidential Nominee, Nov. 1962.
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“The Framers also recognized a second reason to oppose the linkage of state and...”
– PoliticalProf, laying it down. I recommend The Godless Constitution for further reading on the subject. Not a few of the strongest advocates for the Separation of Church and State in colonial America were religious leaders who recognized that melding church and state together (where the terms...
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Rare Whale Sighting →
From TDW:G:
Rare Whale Sighting of the Day: A pod of 10 to 12 Shepherd’s beaked whales, a species so rare that it has only been spotted in the wild a handful of times, has beencaught on video for the first time ever.
The Australian Antarctic Division spotted the unusual whales — which are black and cream-colored, with dolphin-like beaks — during a blue whale tracking mission off the coast of...
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Oh Look, The Universe Is Just Generating 20... →
No big deal.
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The Road To Socialism, Ctd.
metamorphoseandbodhi replied to your post: Letting Women Fight In Combat Is A Sure Road To Socialism(!)
…….HE’S AN IDIOT! Technology has completely changed the way war is carried out by troops the ground and women are serving “on the frontlines” right now anyways! Why does one’s gender matter if they’re willing to sacrifice and fight for country!?
Hear hear. I’m reminded of this recently...
huskerred asked: You're going to get a real kick out of my article on Santorum that publishes in a few hours. My editors cleaned up most of the frothy references, but it's still pretty seething.
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Letting Women Fight In Combat Is A Sure Road To...
via UnitedWorkers, I encountered this stunning photograph of Roza Shanina, a Soviet sniper circa 1944:
From Wikipedia:
Roza Georgiyevna Shanina[note 1] (Russian: Ро́за Гео́ргиевна Ша́нина; 3 April, 1924 – 28 January, 1945) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, credited with 54 confirmed kills, including 12 snipers during the Battle of Vilnius. Praised for her shooting accuracy, Shanina...
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Sexual Innuendo For Lawyers, Ctd.
squashed replied to your post: Sexual Innuendo For Lawyers
Adverse possession of the boyfriend is when you let the boyfriend dance with somebody for 21 consecutive songs openly, notoriously, and under claim of right. After that? Any titular interest you had is gone.
Any longer and it would violate the Rule Against Perpetuities.
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Hair Stylist Won't Do NM Governor's Hair Until She...
From TDW:
No Shoes, No Same-Sex Marriage, No Service of the Day: New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez will have find a new place to get her hair did after her openly gay stylist refused to allow her back in his salon until she changes her stance on same-sex marriage.
“The governor’s aides called not too long ago, wanting another appointment to come in,” Antonio Darden, owner of a popular hair...
Sexual Innuendo For Lawyers, Ctd.
pinionsandpoplars replied to your post: Sexual Innuendo For Lawyers
what about geology? the two most notable are thrusts and cleavage. Also, there are measures of hardness in minerology. I suppose they are less subtle.“
This is begging for a new family of Ryan Gosling tumblrs.
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Sexual Innuendo For Lawyers
Studying the law, I have noticed that this profession is more amenable to sex jokes and innuendo than any other allegedly respectable vocation. There’s no way someone didn’t plan this.
Adult film titles are just far too easy:
“Fiduciary Booty” ?
“Assportation 3: Felonious intent” ?
“Firm Offers 2: 3 months later” ?
“Motion in Limine:...
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The Ethical Duties Of A Prosecutor
Not that these get applied very often, but a boy can dream…
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, MR 3.8
Rule 3.8 Special Responsibilities Of A Prosecutor
The prosecutor in a criminal case shall:
(a) refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause;
(b) make reasonable efforts to assure that the accused has been advised of the right to, and...
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“On the doctrinal side, I do not see that we are further along today than where...”
– W.V. Quine, Epistemology Naturalized, 1969.
My roommate hates Quine, but he honestly doesn’t seem like such a bad guy. He synthesizes Hume and Bentham and doesn’t afraid of anything.
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So Am I The Only One Whose Wondering Why The... →
I know there’s a lot going on in the world right now, but I feel like the media really glossed over this one. I don’t recall there being too many articles written about this.
note: link above is to an article about the new gov’t.’s attempts to crackdown on opium. here’s a NYT blog post that mentions the elections. Here’s a CFR article that discusses them as...
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“Object sexual penetration is a serious sex crime in Virginia. It is very...”
– David Englin, Democratic delegate from Virginia • Explaining the new tactic taken by Democrats in Virginia, in their effort against a bill expected to pass the state legislature that could mandate unwanted, penetrative ultrasounds for women seeking abortions. That happening under any other...
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On Reading Cases, Ctd. →
ataxiwardance:
letterstomycountry:
squashed replied to your post: Personal Notes: On Reading Cases
And when it’s a Thomas opinion, I close the book. Because Thomas’s opinions are written terribly. Scalia was at least witty.
Thomas is horrible 99% of the time. But he is actually fairly lucid when he’s writing…
I’m not going to address Affirmative Action on the whole as theory or practice...
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On Reading Cases, Ctd.
squashed replied to your post: Personal Notes: On Reading Cases
And when it’s a Thomas opinion, I close the book. Because Thomas’s opinions are written terribly. Scalia was at least witty.
Thomas is horrible 99% of the time. But he is actually fairly lucid when he’s writing on very specific topics. His opinion from Grutter v. Bollinger, dissenting on the question of the...
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Personal Notes: On Reading Cases
Whenever I open up a case and read the words, “JUSTICE BRENNAN delivered the opinion of the Court,” I know I’m going to be happy for the next 20 minutes of my life.
Just throwing it out there.
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“Plausibly and sophistically it is said the laws of North Carolina do not...”
– Senator Pratt of Indiana, speaking in Congress in support of the Klu Klux Act of 1871. The Act was the precursor to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 of the United States Code, which allows private citizens to file suits for civil damages against state actors who violate their constitutional rights. Pratt was...
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On Pasty White People, Ctd.
metamorphoseandbodhi replied to your post: On Pasty White People
You mean in modern white cultural aesthetics. Generally for all POC the darker you are the “uglier”, “stupider”, and more undesirable one is; especially those dealing with post-colonialism.
Good point. You can see that reflected in the media, too: black women who are “desirable” tend to be lighter skinned, or they...
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On Pasty White People
metamorphoseandbodhi replied to your post: hello. i stumbled on your blog and am overjoyed to hear from a black atheist. i believe there are more of us out there but we are afraid to “come out of the closet” (lol) because of the stigma attatched to having this belief (or lack of belief). i feel that clinging to stereotypes (yes, i believe the black church lady, or the righteous male black pastor...
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scented31 asked: hello. i stumbled on your blog and am overjoyed to hear from a black atheist. i believe there are more of us out there but we are afraid to "come out of the closet" (lol) because of the stigma attatched to having this belief (or lack of belief). i feel that clinging to stereotypes (yes, i believe the black church lady, or the righteous male black pastor are stereotypes) in the hopes...
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Where Are All The Black Atheists, Ctd.
Apropos of these posts, metamorphoseandbodhi discusses the historical roots of the black community’s relationship with religion:
The reason for African Americans devoutness is because of slavery and all that has occurred from then til now. When they took our names they stripped us of our culture and heritage. They forced our ancestors to adopt Christian beliefs. Since the end of slavery...
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metamorphoseandbodhi asked: Being an African American and agnostic/atheist is actually holds more stigma than being gay or trans between African Americans and homophobia/transphobia is a HUGE problem in African Americans. One has to "come out" as agnostic/atheist. 88% of African Americans are Christians and I'd bet a good portion of the 12% are Muslim. :( It's lonely being an African American agnostic....
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Where Are All The Black Atheists?
Jamila Bey contemplates her identity, suggesting that religiousness and blackness are unfairly wrapped up with one another:
Life as an African-American atheist looks much like the lives of my religious brethren. I love my family. I perform my job. I rant about my government. The only distinction for me is that instead of going to prayer service and Bible study during the week, capped off with a...
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Ninth Circuit Refuses To Remove Name Of Federal... →
Jon Turley takes note of a recent opinion from the 9th Circuit in which, refreshingly, a prosecutor was disciplined for unethical conduct. The DOJ tried to get his name erased from the opinion, but the 9th Circuit refused. Here’s an excerpt from the opinion that’s worth reading in full:
The mistake in judgment does not lie with AUSA Albert alone. We are also troubled by the...