NOTE TO SELF: If you are ever asked to sing the Star-Spangled Banner at the Superbowl (unlikely, I realize,but you never know for certain), do not — REPEAT, DO NOT — attempt to sing it a cappella. Remember Carrie Underwood’s gruesome, off-key performance at the 2010 SuperBowl, and resist the temptation to show off your […]
Author Archive | David Post
Corporate Personhood, con’t
A friend forwarded me the link to this announcement by “the liberal public relations firm,” Murray Hill, Inc., that it will follow up the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case by running for Congress. It’s absurd and tongue-in-cheek, of course, and pretty funny to boot. But the more I thought about it, being […]
Google pulling out of China?
According to a variety of sources, including Google itself, it appears that Google has made a decision to pull all of its operations out of China. The official Google blog notes a number of cyber-attacks on Google infrastructure in China, apparently targeted at obtaining information about Chinese human rights activists, and notes: We have taken […]
The Iceland of the Internet:
Those of you who know my writing on matters of Internet law and jurisdiction will understand why I like this little item. The folks over at wikileaks.org* have put together what sounds like a reasonably serious proposal to prepare a jurisdictional “safe haven” for information on the global network, a set of highly-protective laws for […]
Jack Bauer interrogates Santa:
Funny stuff, and nicely done . . .
A VC First (I Think):
I could be wrong, but I think I can lay claim to being the first regular VC contributor whose offspring has started a blog of his own — my son Sam, here (and, along with his friend Eli Luberoff, here as well). [Sam’s a good writer — but an even better pianist! Or so says […]
Why Studying Law is So Hard:
Now that it’s exam season, and I’m facing the prospect of reading 100 Intro to IP exam answers, I confront again the great puzzle: What is it about the Law that is so difficult for people to “get”? I think I have the answer to that. The Law is hard — uniquely hard, I’m tempted […]
The Death of Copyright, con’t
As part of my continuing efforts to explain — both to myself, and to others — why it is that copyright law as we know it is so grotesquely unsuited to the global network, I gave a talk recently at a joint meeting of the NYC chapters of the Copyright Society of the US and […]
More judicial corruption in S.E. PA:
More depressing news from Wilkes-Barre, where a third local judge, and the 20th person overall, has been snagged in a corruption inquiry. I’ve blogged a number of times about the two other judges that will (hopefully) spend a good deal of time in prison on the charge of “honest services fraud for improperly influencing a […]
First Look at the World Cup Draw
Today’s draw for the World Cup 2010: the US finds itself in the same group with England, Algeria, and Slovenia — not nearly the worst possible result for the US’s chances of getting to the second round; England will be difficult (in the opening match, to boot), but Slovenia and Algeria, while both decent squads, […]
Are Judges Really Immune when Taking Kickbacks?
Earlier in the year I posted a story about a particularly revolting episode of judicial corruption in Eastern Pennsylvania. I wrote: Eastern Pennsylvania has a terrible reputation for judicial corruption and venality — the stories one hears from practitioners and others around Philadelphia are truly awful, with bags full of money and all the rest. […]
Politics and Poker — er, I mean, Soccer
Nate Silver — the fellow who built FiveThirtyEight.com into one of the more successful and sophisticated predictive electoral sites on the Web, and who was remarkably prescient in his electoral vote predictions in the 2008 Presidential election — has now cast his net over more profound and important prey: the world of international soccer. As […]
Yeah, That’s A Good One:
As most people are well aware, a variety of copyright and trademark disputes have prevented the online distribution of the most valuable catalogue of musical recordings known to humanity — viz., the songs of the Beatles, whose value in the online marketplace surely exceeds a billion dollars. So imagine everyone’s surprise when the online seller […]
It Was Only a Matter of Time:
I actually discussed this idea many years ago, but never went any further than that, and now Josh Blackman has set it up: a fantasy league based on the future dispositions of Supreme Court cases! The basic rules: For each case on which the Supreme Court grants cert, points are allocated for * The Outcome: […]
Any VCers in the Vicinity of Monticello Tomorrow?
I’ll be giving another presentation about my book at the Jefferson Library at Monticello tomorrow (Wed. at 4 PM) — if you happen to be in the neighborhood, come on by. Obviously, it’s a wonderful place to be giving a talk about Jefferson, and I’m trying, at least, to match the grandeur of the place […]