I recently started watching the NBC singing competition “The Voice” while dealing with some family issues. The following are my thoughts on the season so far.
Blake Shelton’s kind of a dick. I can’t tell whether he’s trying hard to be a curmudgeon, an aging rocker, the cool dad or a combination of the three. His dickish nature seems to be a response to the presence of Kelly Clarkson, who apparently loves to fight with Blake constantly. Continue reading
The New York Times editorial board issued its proclamation.
Donald Trump spent years as a candidate, in office and out of office, ignoring democratic and legal norms and precedents, trying to bend the Justice Department and the judiciary to his whims and behaving as if rules didn’t apply to him.
As the news of the indictment shows, they do.
At Slate, Mark Joseph Stern reached the only conclusion that any reasonable person could reach.
When a victim’s brother can single-handedly imperil the exoneration of a man whom prosecutors already set free, we have abandoned any pretense that an expansive conception of victims’ rights can coexist with a fair criminal legal system.
He’s talking about the Maryland appellate court’s vacatur of the nolle prosequi of Adnan Syad, the focus of the podcast “Serial,” It wasn’t the state that appealed, but the victim’s representative, her brother. The court held that the brother was given inadequate notice such that he was unable to be personally present in court, although he was present by Zoom. Apparently, Zoom is good enough for a defendant not to be prejudiced at trial, but not for a victim’s rep to be “present” for a hearing in which he has no right to be heard. Continue reading
The opportunity to study abroad is a wonderful experience for most students. But bad things can happen there as well as here, and when they do, who is liable?
In 2020, Plaintiff Jane Doe attended Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Calvin University offered a study abroad program in the Philippines with Silliman University, a private university in Dumaguete, Philippines. Silliman University selected some of its students to serve as “buddies” for the Calvin University students. Near the end of the
program, the students attended a dinner on the Silliman campus. After the dinner, the Silliman students invited the Calvin students to a local bar and club. One of the Silliman students laced or spiked Plaintiff’s drink and later escorted her back to the hotel where he
sexually assaulted Plaintiff.
Whether you agree with the exceptions to the First Amendment or not, there is little doubt that this is not a “true threat” and thus is protected speech.
It costs money to have deans. They need offices. Staff, Curtains, And they get paid. One would assume, then, that the juice was worth the squeeze and when they come to work Monday morning, they have a job to do. The janitor sweeps the floors. The bursar signs the checks. But what does the DEI dean do when her driver drops her off at the law school?
[H]ow could it be that well-trained DEI Deans at elite institutions can have such a fundamentally flawed vision of the purpose of an academic institution? And what are these DEI staff teaching law students? Indeed, Steinbach doubled-down on her position in the WSJ: Continue reading
Moments ago, I trashed the post I wrote about Levi’s announcement that it plans to use AI generated models in order to provide its customers with greater diversity.
Fashion brand Levi Strauss & Co has announced a partnership with digital fashion studio Lalaland.ai to make custom artificial intelligence (AI) generated avatars in what it says will increase diversity among its models. Continue reading
Despite the facts that Peter Moskos got his Ph.D. from Harvard and teaches at John Jay College of Coppery and Shoe Repair, he’s got a point. A good point. An important point. It begins with a twit showing a video of shooting in what otherwise appears to be a quiet, well-maintained suburban residential street.
🚨NEW VIDEO: SHOOTING
4 shooters open fire on N Frazier St on 03/20/23 striking 3 teenaged males.
Over 50 shots fired🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/qbKUtFvm0O
— PhillyCrimeUpdate (@PhillyCrimeUpd) March 23, 2023
Ed. Note: Chris Seaton is unavailable due to a family emergency for this week’s Friday Funnies, so I asked Keith Kaplan to use Google’s new Bard AI to come up with a story about Sheriff Roy in Mudlick. Here’s what it came up with.
First effort:
Sheriff Roy: A True American Hero Continue reading
It’s not that I’ve argued (or implied, for those unconstrained by reality) that the students who engaged in mob action to silence intemperate Judge Kyle Duncan should be “punished.” But I have argued that there must be consequences for what happened there. It’s not enough that they be sternly admonished, and if they do it again, be even more sternly admonished.
At some point, and that point is usually obvious early on, students realize that the rules are malarkey and the worst that comes of violating the rules is they have to suffer an anti-tummy rub. Granted, the lack of validation is routinely considered deleterious harm by children these days, but they’ll survive with or without puppies and Play Doh. Plus, they get to call themselves “survivors” and all their friends and allies send them thoughts and prayers. Continue reading
