Thane Rosenbaum has an opinion piece at the Daily Beast arguing that we should suppress the rights of Neo-Nazis and others to spout "hate speech." That's a common and well-meaning proposition, however misguided, but his reasoning for why we should have these laws is dangerously overbroad.Let me start, however, by pointing out that the Nazis themselves were no fan of free … [Read more...] about Thane Rosenbaum Wants Us to Stop Being Mean…Or Else
Scattershot 2014-02-01
Random shots around the web:Matt Brown has a lot more background information about the cop who shot a surrendering man in the back and about the leadership in Pinal County that make it likely he'll get away with it.Norm DeGuerre has a very good essay describing the mismatch between how the justice system works and how real people live their lives.Gideon notes that … [Read more...] about Scattershot 2014-02-01
More Photos of Beezle Growing Up
I was working on my comprehensive paragraph-by-paragraph commentary on President Obama's State of the Union address, when suddenly it hit me: I should just post more pictures of Beezle growing up. Here he is on my home computer desk:Beezle finds a spot on my deskThis used to be one of his favorite spots:Beezle sleeping in the sinkI never had a desk cat … [Read more...] about More Photos of Beezle Growing Up
A Modest Solution for Handling Multi-Format Legal Briefs
After reading Daniel Sockwell's article about writing legal briefs that you expect a judge to read on an iPad, Scott Greenfield is a little bummed out over the suggestion to eliminate footnotes: Initially, Sockwell’s point about eliminating footnotes is a critical one, not just because they’re hard to read on a tablet but because that means footnotes won’t be there to be used. … [Read more...] about A Modest Solution for Handling Multi-Format Legal Briefs
Obamacare Meets Basic Economics
I recently received an email pitch for a Change.org petition: My name is "Sue," and I work at Staples. I can't tell you my full name because I'm afraid I'll lose my job for what I'm about to tell you: Staples recently decided to cut part-time employees' hours just so they won't have to provide health care benefits under Obamacare. Staples is taking advantage of a loophole in … [Read more...] about Obamacare Meets Basic Economics