There are a lot of Latin phrases you learn when you’re in law school. Some of them have even made their way into common, everyday English! One of those is the warning caveat emptor, “Let the buyer beware.” Expressed in more modern terms, caveat emptor serves the same purpose as the reminder that, if a… more
"Should he still be a trainer? Still be a cop? Probably not, but let the investigation proceed and let his full record be taken into account as higher-ups decide how to handle the incident. But let’s consider how an ordinary citizen would be treated under similar circumstances. Let’s say an NRA instructor had been 'playing around,' picked up a loaded weapon, and accidently fired at some spectators during a training session. Would reckless endangerment charges be brought?" Continue reading →
"'A gun is not a defensive weapon,' insists Emeryville, California Police Chief Ken James, who claims that his mind, which most likely boggles easily, is 'boggled' by the idea that guns could serve a defensive purpose. 'That is a myth. A gun is an offensive weapon used to intimidate and used to show power. Police officers do not carry a gun as a defensive weapon to defend themselves or their other [sic] officers. They carry a gun in order to do their job in a safe and effective manner, and face any oppositions [sic] that we may come upon.'" Continue reading →
"A former California mayor admitted in federal court on Thursday to stealing more than $2 million from her dead husband’s charity to fuel a $1 billion gambling binge. The former mayor of San Diego pleaded not guilty to money-laundering charges, and now has two years to repay the charity. O’Connor’s attorney said the former mayor suffered from a gambling addiction that caused her to lose $13 million, mostly playing video poker at casinos both locally and in Nevada and New Jersey. O’Connor, who served as mayor from 1986 to 1992, blamed her gambling largess on a brain tumor that was not diagnosed until 2011." Continue reading →
"Las Vegas Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks, 40, is not welcome in the state legislature anymore following his arrest Sunday for allegedly threatening his wife. Brooks was arrested January 19 on a felony charge after allegedly threatening Assembly Democratic Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, then detained by police several days later on a domestic disturbance call at his grandmother’s home. An investigation was launched at that point and lawmakers began moving forward with plans to bar him from the legislature, and he was kicked out of the Democratic caucus." Continue reading →
"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers' jobs. 'I don't think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do,' Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. 'I think it's necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded.' Pelosi, whose husband is a wealthy real-estate developer, was quick to note that a cut in her own pay would be far less significant than that for both staffers and less wealthy members of Congress." Continue reading →
"Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Friday said he plans to introduce legislation that would bring back the military draft and extend it to women for the first time. Rangel, who has pushed for years to bring back the draft, said the Pentagon’s decision to allow women to serve in combat means that they too should register for the Selective Service. In an interview on MSNBC, Rangel said the draft should be reinstated because the majority of Americans make 'no real sacrifice' when the country goes to war." Continue reading →
"There is some idea, apparently, that a government petition focused on firing the chief prosecutor of the Aaron Swartz case will begin to redress injustice. We doubt it, however. If ever the US government needed to explain a prosecution, it is this one. However, the petition process in which people seem to place some trust is probably not going to deliver a satisfactory result. The administration of Barack Obama is under no obligation than to do more than respond, whatever that means. The response can take the form of an explanation but presumably it doesn't have to. In this case, we doubt an explanation will be forthcoming." Continue reading →
"Soverain isn't in the e-commerce business; it's in the higher-margin business of filing patent lawsuits against e-commerce companies. And it has been quite successful until now. The company's plan to extract a patent tax of about one percent of revenue from a huge swath of online retailers was snuffed out last week by Newegg and its lawyers, who won an appeal ruling [PDF] that invalidates the three patents Soverain used to spark a vast patent war. The ruling effectively shuts down dozens of the lawsuits Soverain filed last year against Nordstrom's, Macy's, Home Depot, RadioShack, Kohl's, and many others." Continue reading →
"Bill C-30 caused a furor when it was introduced a year ago this week. The legislation would have permitted police and other government officials to compel Internet service providers to disclose identifying information linked to clients’ ISP addresses without a warrant. Telecommunications companies would also have been required to collect and store data on clients’ digital activities. The law was fiercely opposed by federal and provincial privacy commissioners as a fundamental intrusion on privacy rights. Instead, the government has carved out a sliver of the bill to ensure warrantless wiretaps during emergencies remain legal." Continue reading →