I want to bloviate about the economy and the stimulus a bit, so I'm going to try to explain our current unpleasantness as I understand it. My economic knowledge is purely amateur, so if you think I'm wrong, let me know. (And if you think my explanation is so bad it's not even wrong, let me know that too.) The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is, roughly speaking, the value of … [Read more...] about Thinking About the Stimulus: GDP
Handicapping the Phelps Fiasco
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is apparently out to get champion swimmer Michael Phelps for smoking pot. After Phelps's admissions last week, Sheriff Lott arrested eight people as part of his "investigation" into the matter. Now word is coming out about some of the details of those arrests: "He's sitting there on Saturday, and 12 cops kick in the door with guns drawn, … [Read more...] about Handicapping the Phelps Fiasco
Nordstrom Backs Down…Maybe
InformationWeek has the story. (Hat tip: Randazza) … [Read more...] about Nordstrom Backs Down…Maybe
The Bullies at Nordstrom
I've been a little busy, so I'm late to the party on this one, but Randazza, Popehat, Greenfield, and Bennett (among others) have been piling onto Nordstrom for their attempts to bully a small business. There's a nice summary of the situation at InformationWeek, but basically the U.S. Patent and Trademark (PTO) office mistakenly approved "Beckon" as a trademark … [Read more...] about The Bullies at Nordstrom
Give Jurors a Guide
Once again, I offer another crazy idea for reforming the justice system... A few days ago, Shawn Matlock wrote a Top Ten list of causes of Jury Anxiety which Ken Lammers commented on yesterday. I've served on two juries, one civil and one criminal, and both of these lists seemed reasonable, but they tended to miss one of the key causes of anxiety and confusion that I had … [Read more...] about Give Jurors a Guide