Comments for Overlawyered

Comment on February 14 roundup by Robert

Robert — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:39:32 +0000

I’m amazed anyone does business in San Francisco. I live 40 miles south, and I go years without setting foot in that city! I even travel to NYC about 4 times a year, to catch up on concerts and Opera, because I can’t stand dealing with aggressive vagrants around War Memorial Opera house. The violent crime rate in SF is 2.5x that of NYC (according to statistics on Wolfram Alpha). And they try to tax everyone to death.

Comment on “The most plausible route to the death of football…” by Melvin H.

Melvin H. — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:07:47 +0000

On top of that, if this somehow gets through, how long before players from the NBA, NHL, MLB, soccer, auto racing, and wrestling (both amateur and WWE/TNA style)–along with who knows how many other sports–would haul the leagues (and others) in under the same premise?

Comment on “The court that broke Jersey” by Anonymous Attorney

Anonymous Attorney — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:17:50 +0000

Apparently, one or several of the New Jersey justices who ruled that towns in the state must set aside “fair housing”, i.e., cheap-rent places, ACTUALLY LIVED IN MANHATTAN at the time of the rulings.

As a budding journalist, I tried to give a bit of the “other side” of the Mount Laurel story, but the large newspaper I worked for would have none of it. The only “controversy” they saw was the sluggishness with which those awful rich suburbs complied with the mandate.

Comment on O lawmakers, heed not the mob’s wrath by John Burgess

John Burgess — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:17:50 +0000

@Steve: Good, but I think things should be entering the public domain for all purposes after 29 years and lose protection against derivative works after 15.

Comment on O lawmakers, heed not the mob’s wrath by Jerryskids

Jerryskids — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:56:14 +0000

@Bumper re: @Steve – Amen, brother. SOPA/PIPA is not an imperfect solution to a problem that needs some tweaking, it is using a hand grenade to cure your hangnail problem. The government solution for a problem is often a cure worse than the disease.

Or as a wise man once said, “Don’t just do something, stand there!” is generally a good prescription for good government.

Comment on As FDA and Congress fiddle by Government Thwarts Cancer Cures and Production of Life-Saving Drugs

Government Thwarts Cancer Cures and Production of Life-Saving Drugs — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:20:22 +0000

[...] links on the federal government’s role in causing shortages of hospital drugs can be found here. Cancel replyLeave a CommentName *E-mail [...]

Comment on Hit by car playing hooky, suit blames school by Mike T

Mike T — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:59:23 +0000

boblipton,

Unfortunately, the doctrine of in loco parentis may complicate this case because it places the parents as legal guardians of the minor while the school is supposed to have custody.

Comment on “The most plausible route to the death of football…” by DEM

DEM — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:39:35 +0000

Other than through a transparently results-oriented and football-hostile judge, how would such a suit get past an assumption of the risk defense? Football is a dangerous sport and everyone knows it. Is it even possible for a plaintiff to establish that he (or his family) understood that a football helmet would prevent all concussions? They plainly do not do so, have never have done so, and probably never will do so.

Comment on O lawmakers, heed not the mob’s wrath by Hugo S. Cunningham

Hugo S. Cunningham — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:44:23 +0000

@Steve–
By blocking the unilateral giveaway (and potential technical disaster) of SOPA, the public have gained the chance to negotiate a fair compromise to preserve incentives for creators while rolling back unconstitutional, de-facto-perpetual copyright extensions. Today’s copyright term of life PLUS seventy years bears no relation to the Constitution’s term “limited” to the “promotion of science and the useful arts.”
A possible compromise on copyright terms:
1-14 years: strongest, SOPA-like protection (but without the bugs). This is when creators make most of their profits.
15-28 years: strong protection
29-56 years: copying remains forbidden, but some other prohibitions, eg on derivative works, are relaxed
57+ years: public domain.

Comment on Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer companies over alcoholism by Hugo S. Cunningham

Hugo S. Cunningham — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:24:51 +0000

@Smart Dude–
It would suffice to make alcohol possession a misdemeanor, provided the roadblocks were set up as you describe. But I suppose you were modeling the draconian penalties after our War on (Some) Drugs.