My friend and fellow lawprof Rick Hasen writes: The New York Times reports here that “[i]n a direct challenge to federal limits on political advocacy, the National Rifle Association plans to begin broadcasting a daily radio program on Thursday to provide news and pro-gun commentary to 400,000 listeners. The group says its jump into broadcasting […]
Archive | June, 2004
What women want:
A male friend of mine writes, apropos the “men and sexy” post: I think your friend is missing something. Men spend just as much time and effort as women do on the kinds of things that they perceive will make them an attractive mate. The difference is, men don’t think that the key to being […]
Random and incomplete observation:
There are four kinds of people (at least among heterosexuals of my circle, who are those whom I have most studied on this score): (1) Men whose closest friends are men. (2) Men whose closest friends are women. (3) Women whose closest friends are men. (4) Women whose closest friends are women. (Yes, I know […]
The Journalist as Master:
Here’s today’s Kerryism from Slate: Kerry was asked in a C-SPAN interview, We have had an FCC chairman who’s been a deregulator. I looked back in the records. You missed the vote in the Senate last fall which overturned his media ownership rules. Slate’s edited version: Kerry: Right. I wasn’t there for the vote. What […]
Men and sexy:
My friend Marilyn Zielinski made an interesting observation a few weeks ago; I’ve been thinking about it (purely for academic reasons, of course!) on and off since, and I thought I’d pass it along: I think almost any man can be sexy, can become a good flirt, can learn to attract women, if he is […]
Journalist subpoenas and dutiful citizens as “lap-dogs”:
InstaPundit points to a story about journalists’ refusal to testify in the trial of Lynne Stewart, a lawyer who alleged helped her client — a convicted terrorist leader — communicate with his followers: Prosecutors issued subpoenas to four reporters at Reuters, The New York Times and Newsday, saying they want the reporters to testify that […]
Transportation watch list FOIA case:
U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer has just issued an an opinion and order in Gordon v. FBI, which involves a Freedom of Information Act request for information about the government’s transportation watch lists, including the so-called “no fly” list. The order seems to be mostly a victory for the plaintiffs; here’s the Conclusion: […]
Why did the Court agree to hear the Pledge case,
given the standing problem? Didn’t they know that this was an issue? That’s what a couple of people have asked me. The answer is that they did know. Sometimes, the Court might take a case thinking that it lets them resolve a substantive problem, but there turns out to be a procedural barrier that keeps […]
What about pagan gods?
Some readers asked: Why aren’t references to various pagan gods on government symbols (Athena on the California seal, Pomona on the L.A. County seal) also unconstitutional, if crosses are unconstitutional? Well, there’s no “pagan exemption” as such to the Establishment Clause, but recall that the current Establishment Clause test on this is basically (with some […]
Judge helps robbery suspect escape:
Holman W. Jenkins Jr. writes, in OpinionJournal’s Political Diary (go here to subscribe), Last week, a controversial [New York] state Supreme Court judge [which is what New York calls its trial court judges -EV] helped a convicted drug dealer who was wanted on a robbery charge escape her courtroom from a side door while a […]
Spinsanity criticizes Slate‘s Bushisms and Kerryisms.
Most Blatant Lie I’ve Heard for a While:
Heard on NPR: Montgomery County, Maryland, is considering a measure that would ban very large retail stores, a measure intended to prohibit WalMart supercenters in the county. The measure is being push by Giant Food (a local supermarket chain). A spokesperson for Giant says that the company is not worried about competition, but rather “is […]
Naming Japanese newborns:
Ever considered naming a newborn baby Beetle or Sardine? How about Cancer or Dung, or even Who? Those were a few of the 578 additional Japanese characters the Justice Ministry said Friday it might allow parents to use in names for children. Like mothers and fathers in other countries, Japanese parents agonize over the naming […]
Fishy Trade Number:
We all know that oil accounts for the lion’s share of America’s trade deficit, but who would ever imagine that seafood is the next largest share? At a conference this past weekend, I learned that the U.S. imported over $7 billion net in seafood products in 2001, and the number has only grown since.
Understatement of the Month:
From an article about Stalin’s official movie editor: “Stalin loved movies, but he was much more than a movie buff.” I’ll say!