Law

January 26, 2006

America's Legal Isolationism

On Thursday's New York Times Op-Ed page, Felix G. Rohatyn, a former US ambassador to France, repeats a basic fallacy of the argument that foreign law should carry weight in American courts. I don't mean to pick on Rohatyn. I agree completely with his aims, and all he's doing is offering the best argument those frightened by American exceptionalism currently have. But that's the problem: The best argument sucks.

Law

January 3, 2006

Trademarking the Scandalous

The San Francisco-based women's motorcycle group Dykes on Bikes has finally been allowed to trademark its moniker after the U.S. Patent and Trademark office reversed two earlier rulings (San Francisco Chronicle). Initially, the group's application was rejected after the office claimed that the word "Dykes" was derogatory and therefore untrademarkable, but the office reversed itself after the group submitted hundreds of pages of documents from dozens of experts testifying that the word was no longer considered pejorative. That the women had so much trouble is testament to the weird system that the government uses to decide which trademarks are too offensive to be acceptable.

Education

November 4, 2005

The Essay and the Tutor

Many college admissions officers are downloading students' new SAT writing sections to compare them to the essays the students submit as part of their college applications. As the New York Times explains, admissions officers seem to think that putting the prepared essay up against the one written on the spot will allow them to decipher which students have received extensive outside help on their applications. Sadly, this practice does nothing more than underscore the benefits of expensive tutoring services.

Politics

September 20, 2005

Resign, Just in Time

Until Friday, David Safavian was head of procurement at the Office of Management and Budget. On Monday, he was indicted, and arrested. So it's interesting to compare the Washington Post and New York Times headlines on him: Ex-White House Aid Charged in Corruption Case (NYTimes)
Bush Official Arrested in Corruption Probe
Now, I suppose the "ex-" in the Times's headline is technically true; and, sadly, it's easier to forgive a misleading headline than misleading body text.

Politics

September 19, 2005

He Said, He Said

The New York press is baffled by the abysmal turnout in last week's mayoral primary—just 17% of registered Democrats chose between the winner Fernando Ferrer and a few also-rans. Why so little public interest in the outcome? The press can place some of the blame on its own dreary horse-race fixation, which unfortunately is the dominant theme of US political coverage.

Politics

September 7, 2005

Rehnquist on eBay

On Monday, shortly after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a copy of the Bush v Gore decision, signed by the justice, was put up for sale on eBay. The nature of the posting, which in one place misspelled the justice's name as Reinquist and offered a money-back satisfaction guarantee, led Wonkette writer Holly Martins to question the document's authenticity. Gelf talked to the seller, Tim Miller of FlatSigned.com, to figure out what was going on.

Politics

September 6, 2005

I Knew the British Were Slow

But this takes it to extremes… From today's New York Times:

The 1953 storm also pounded Britain. Along the Thames, flooding killed more than 300 people, ruined farmland and frightened Londoners, whose central city narrowly escaped disaster. The British responded with a plan to better regulate tidal surges sweeping up the Thames from the North Sea. Engineers designed an attractive barrier meant to minimize interference with the river's natural flow. It went into service in 1982 at Woolwich, about 10 miles east of central London.

Politics

September 2, 2005

Now That's Taking The Second Amendment A Bit Far

Today's New York Times reports that:

A convoy of dozens of National Guard trucks bearing food, water and weapons arrived here [New Orleans] today to begin helping thousands of homeless people…

Politics

September 2, 2005

Gelf SadLibs™

Let's say you have just shown up in a disaster zone. Maybe you're a TV reporter, or perhaps a conscripted national guardsman. Certainly, the area is a wasteland, but are you in Iraq or New Orleans? There's only one sure way to find out. Use Gelf SadLibs™ to figure out where you are, and who's responsible for the situation. If you find yourself always picking the first option, you're probably in the bayou. If you're generally choosing the second, that means you're most likely in that other gulf.

Politics

August 31, 2005

Some Disasters Are More Equal Than Others

In his sometimes hokey, sometimes endearing book The Prophet, Khalil Gibran admonished: "Do not compare yourself to others, for you will become vain or bitter." It is a warning that Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, and AJ Holloway, the mayor of Biloxi, would do well to heed. Barbour said the devastation on America's Gulf Coast looked like Hiroshima must have, while Holloway unwittingly echoed Kent Brownridge, the publisher of US weekly, in declaring, "This is our tsunami."