Archive | September, 2004

Does sending cornstarch designed to look like anthrax through the mail with the intent to scare the recipient violate the federal threat statute? In a 2-1 decision, the Third Circuit has ruled that the answer is yes. Here’s the relevant statute, 18 U.S.C. 876(c): Whoever knowingly so deposits [in the U.S. mail] any communication . […]

An interesting story from today’s Washington Post.

It’s well-known in the blogosphere that Reuters refuses to call terrorists “terrorists,” preferring various euphemisms and evasions.Via Honest Reporting, we get a revealing perspective on Reuters’ integrity. The New York Times reports that Reuters is upset that the CanWest newspaper chain changed a Reuters story to describe the Al Asqa Martyrs’ brigade, a Palestinian terrorist […]

Mickey Kaus quotes a reader who makes an excellent point — last week, “Sandy Genelius, a network spokeswoman, said, ‘We are confident about the chain of custody; we’re confident in how we secured the documents’” (I’m quoting the Sept. 14 New York Times). But “[h]ow could they be confident of the chain of custody if, […]

I continue to feel strongly about the need for ideological movements (whether Christians, liberals, conservatives, and so on) to police their own, and publicly condemn them when they merit condemnation. Nonetheless, I’ve gotten two kinds of responses that, if factually well-founded, would undermine this as to Swaggart. First, a couple of people suggested that “kill […]

Love’em or hate’em, cell phones have changed our daily experiences over the last decade. Christine Rosen has authored a thoughtful essay, Our Cell Phones, Ourselves, that considers some of those changes: But if this ubiquitous technology is now a normal part of life, our adjustment to it has not been without consequences. Especially in the […]

While the recent case of Sue Niederer looks kind of bogus when put under the microscope, it is worth pointing out that other cases are not so bogus. In particular, this case from July looks like a legitimate case of a couple being arrested for their anti-Bush speech. The ACLU has recently brought a lawsuit […]

Tonight I attended a lecture by Justice Antonin Scalia, entitled The Courts and Democracy, hosted by the Ethics and Public Policy Center here in Washington, DC. Scalia hit on a number of his usual themes: the dangers of a living Constitution, the tension between democracy and expansive judicial interpretations of the Constitution, etc. But I […]

Swaggart says this about homosexuals: I’m trying to find the correct name for it . . . this utter absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men marrying men. . . . I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I’m gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me […]

I’m glad to say that my Speech as Conduct: Generally Applicable Laws, Illegal Courses of Conduct, “Situation-Altering Utterances,” and the Uncharted Zones is now off my desk and sent to the law reviews. Now I can move on to some new projects (the chief one likely being Freedom of Speech and Child Custody).

Drudge was indeed right. Here’s the official Rather statement: Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a “60 Minutes Wednesday” story about President Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question-and their source-vigorously. And we promised that we would […]

A reader writes, apropos the various posts on homosexuality: I think the basic problem is simple: many people find anal sex to be gross. Unfortunately, in thinking so, people seem to very carefully overlook the reality that pretty much EVERY form of sex is pretty darn gross from the standpoint of “finer sensibilities.” It’s just […]

The Drudge Report reports: EXCLUSIVE // Mon Sep 20 2004 11:58:02 ET STATEMENT FROM DAN RATHER: Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY story about President Bush’s time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question—and their […]

Many thanks to all those who responded to my Friday post on moral relativism and liberals. I’m guest-blogging at GlennReynolds.com this week (though I’ll still be posting more often here than there), and I’ve posted a much elaborated version of my post there. I hope the version responds to most of the objections that I’ve […]

at PointOfLaw.com. See the first pro-Kerry post (from Ron Chusid, Doctors for Kerry) and the first pro-Bush post (from Ted Frank, a lawyer and coblogger at OverLawyered.com).