The amendment, enacted in 2004, provides, Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, […]
Archive | July, 2007
Gay Marriage or Homosexual Marriage?
Frank Cross writes, though in the course of making a separate point, I was advising a conservative student arguing in a debate against gay marriage and suggested he say “gay” rather than “homosexual.” I have a simple suggestion: same-sex marriage. It’s clear, descriptive, and does not unnecessarily distract listeners into thinking about subsets of the […]
Prisoner Prosecuted for Masturbation:
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Terry Lee Alexander … was sitting on his bunk alone in his cell masturbating when a female deputy, monitoring his cell from a nearby control room, took offense. Today he’s scheduled to go to trial to fight a misdemeanor indecent exposure charge and the maximum one-year jail sentence that would […]
Conservative bleg:
Have some pro-life people argued that, in light of the great evil of abortion, judges ought to bend the law (to the extent they can get away with) to pursue pro-life policies? Please be as specific as possible.
Lesbos:
Can anyone who knows something about modern Greece tell me what (if anything) the inhabitants of Lesbos — Lesvos in modern Greek, I believe — think about the term “lesbian”? Do they perceive it as annoying? Offensive? Amusing? Is there no dominant view on the subject? Relatedly, my quick searches suggest that the term “lesbian” […]
Amended Opinion in Forrester:
Good news for those following United States v. Forrester, the computer pen-register case; the Court very helpfully amended the opinion today to clarify that the surveillance program was installed at the ISP’s connection facility rather than on the individual’s personal machine. That’s very good to know, for reasons I explained here. I think the opinion […]
Text of University of Colorado President’s Letter About Ward Churchill:
Thanks to Diana Hsieh (NoodleFood): TO: CU-Boulder Students FROM: Office of the President SENDER: officeofthepresident@cu.edu DATE: 07/24/07 SUBJECT: Communication from President Hank Brown on the Board of Regents Vote Dear Students of the University of Colorado, The Board of Regents today voted to accept my recommendation to dismiss Professor Ward Churchill from the faculty. I […]
Another Word I Will Gladly Continue To Use:
A commenter writes: One easy way to identify a Christianist or a bigot is their use of the word homosexual, when the term we use for ourselves is gay or lesbian. I’ve heard similar objections elsewhere (or else I wouldn’t have responded to an isolated comment), but I find them utterly unpersuasive. First, the descriptive […]
En Banc Sixth Decides Getsy v. Mitchell :
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, sitting en banc, overturned a prior panel decision in Getsy v. Mitchell that Jason Getsy
Disturbing News About Hezbollah:
Ha’aretz: The head of American intelligence, Admiral (ret.) Mike McConnell, revealed a secret a week ago: Hezbollah sleeper cells are waiting in the United States for the order to carry out terror attacks. The unclassified version of the intelligence assessment, the one distributed to the public, has been stating for years that Hezbollah has the […]
Justice Stevens on the Ninth Circuit:
While chairing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s judicial conference last week, Justice Stevens addressed concerns about the Circuit’s apparently high reversal rate at the Supreme Court. The 9th Circuit’s dubious record of a 90 percent reversal rate last session, reversing 19 of 21 cases, is “misleading” and does not reflect where […]
How to Get Yourself Fired From a Summer Associate Job:
One of the most difficult feats in the legal profession is getting fired from a job as a summer associate at a big law firm. Stupidity, incompetence, and misbehavior are simply not enough to persuade most firms to show summer associates the door. However, David Lat at Above the Law recounts a recent example of […]
Bloggers — You Might Have Already Had Libel Insurance,
but you might have lost it by having ads or a tipjar. I posted about this a couple of years ago, but I was reminded of it recently (fortunately not because of anything involving this site), so I thought I’d post again about it. (Thanks to Kurt Opsahl of the Electronic Frontier Foundation for first […]
Fowler on Pronunciation:
The ambition to do better than our neighbours is in many departments of life a virtue; in pronunciation it is a vice; there the only right ambition is to do as our neighbours. Fowler goes on to acknowledge and discuss important subsidiary questions, such as who counts as “our neighbours” for this purpose. But the […]
Against descriptivism and prescriptivism:
This whole series of posts just underscores why I don’t like the words “descriptivism” and “prescriptivism.” When one says one’s a descriptivist, this immediately makes people think one doesn’t want to prescribe. This is of course completely false, and I would have thought that my posts (and Eugene’s) would have put that idea to rest. […]