The comedian’s attorneys have sent nastygrams demanding that “House of Cosby” be removed. (Lea Miller, “Cosby’s Lawyers See No Flattery in an Imitation”, New York Times, Mar. 6).
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Paul Harris show on food nannyism
Yesterday I was a guest on Paul Harris’s radio program (KMOX St. Louis) to discuss the latest push for government regulation and courtroom action over tempting and calorie-laden items found in the refrigerator, in particular sodas. We talked about a new Associated Press article reporting favorably on some nutritionists’ plans to “make the case for higher taxes on soda, restrictions on how and where it is sold and maybe a surgeon general’s warning on labels”. (Marilynn Marchione, “A hard stance against soft drinks”, AP/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Mar. 5). More on our Eat, Drink and Be Merry page.
SeaSponge SpellCheck
Yes, everyone else has already posted on this, but it is funny (Mike McKee, “Solo’s Errant Spell-Check Causes ‘Sea Sponge’ Invasion”, The Recorder/Law.com, Mar. 2).
Suing Craigslist — with your money
The federal taxpayer, by way of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, funnels substantial sums to private “fair housing” advocacy groups for purposes of suing landlords, newspapers, and other likely suspects over alleged housing discrimination; raising consciousness among potential claimants and others; and generally promoting expansive readings of housing-bias law. For example, in this listing of $20 million worth of fiscal 2002 grants, HUD boasts of bestowing $242,339 on the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. for something called its Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI), described as follows:
While addressing the needs of minorities in the metropolitan Chicago area, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights will increase awareness of fair housing rights; empower victims to report incidents of discrimination; develop credible, legitimate evidence to support discrimination complaints; increase the number of complaints referred to HUD for enforcement; and provide relief to discrimination victims. Utilizing access to pro bono attorneys from Chicago’s most prominent law firms, as well as their resources, the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee will receive, document, and investigate individual complaints of discrimination.
If the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee sounds vaguely familiar, it’s probably because it’s the group that last month filed a widely criticized lawsuit against Craigslist (Feb. 9, Feb. 20) seeking to force the online service to pre-censor users’ postings of roommate and other housing classifieds (rather than just pull them off after complaints, as now).
Even if the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee suit fails in court — as is widely expected — the controversy is likely to continue. In yesterday’s New York Times, Adam Liptak says the activists are likely to push for federal legislation stripping website operators of their current protection against being held liable for users’ postings. (“The Ads Discriminate, but Does the Web?”, Mar. 5). Don’t assume that “fair housing” advocates are powerless on Capitol Hill these days, either: at one set of hearings last week, all the witnesses called (including this one (PDF), quoted in the Times piece) were there to speak up for expansive enforcement of the law, with nary a dissenting word about any possible competing values at stake. More: Maggie’s Farm.
Sammenhold
It means “solidarity” in Danish, and specifically solidarity with the endangered liberties of Denmark, where some of the “Mohammed” cartoonists live in hiding after threats to their lives. (Michelle Malkin, Mar. 3, complete with “Lego My Free Speech” rally sign; Flemming Rose, “Why I Published Those Cartoons”, Washington Post, Feb. 19). More here and here. 
Katrina cruise-ship evacuees dig in
“A federal court hearing on whether some two dozen hurricane evacuees can remain on a cruise ship past a mid-week deadline was delayed Monday while lawyers for the evacuees and the federal government tried to work out a compromise.” (“Settlement efforts underway in lawsuit over cruise ship deadline”, AP/KATC, Feb. 27). The Scotia Prince, on loan by its owners to FEMA to house St. Bernard Parish evacuees, was supposed to set sail this week. “Evacuees’ attorney Michael Ginart Jr. said he would work to keep the evacuees on the ship as long as possible but declined to say what exactly what the settlement might entail.” (“Hurricane Evacuees Head to Court Over Cruise Ship Housing”, AP/FoxNews.com, Feb. 27; Steve Ritea, “Cruise ship residents sue over Wednesday eviction”, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Feb. 25).
“Your World With Neil Cavuto”
I’m scheduled to be on the Fox News program at approximately 4:20 PM ET discussing the United Seniors’ suit against tobacco companies, which we covered on Feb. 23.
Soda suits: Banzhaf browbeats school officials
More skirmishing in preparation for the expected lawsuit against soft-drink vendors over sales in Massachusetts schools (see Dec. 5, Dec. 7, Feb. 7, etc.), via a Boston Globe editorial (“Vending against obesity”, Jan. 30):
In advance of the suit, Washington lawyer John Banzhaf sent an e-mail to 50-100 school committee members in Massachusetts ”to warn of your inevitable involvement in these law suits as a named party or otherwise…”
A couple of years back, Banzhaf threatened to sue the Seattle school district for renewing a $400,000 vending-machine contract with Coca-Cola (Jul. 3, 2003). Prof. Banzhaf’s other doings, which have ensured him regular appearances on this site, include proposing lawsuits against parents of obese children and against doctors who fail to warn their obese patients about overeating (Dec. 3, 2004).
A South Park episode, deep-sixed?
From a Rolling Stone investigative report on L. Ron Hubbard’s Church of Scientology (Janet Reitman, “Inside Scientology”, Feb. 23):
The church has a storied reputation for squelching its critics through litigation, and according to some reports, intimidation (a trait that may explain why the creators of South Park jokingly attributed every credit on its November 2005 sendup of Scientology to the fictional John and Jane Smith; Paramount, reportedly under pressure, has agreed not to rerun the episode here or to air it in England).
More on Scientology and litigation: Oct. 25, 2005, Apr. 16, 2004; Mar. 25-26, 2002; Mar. 19-20, 2001; May 3, 2000.
Sued for taking baths too early
Shannon Peterson, a special education teacher in the Arvada, Colo. public schools, “can’t believe she’s being sued for bathing before leaving for work.” But the elderly couple who lives upstairs from her Denver condo unit have been complaining about noisy pipes, and unfortunately for Ms. Peterson they happen to have a son, Sheldon Smith, who’s an attorney at the large law firm of Holland and Hart. Represented by their son, the Smiths “sued Peterson just before Christmas, citing the ‘reckless and negligent use of her bathtub.'” Before that, the younger Smith had fired off a letter to Peterson, saying her “intransigence … and tortuous conduct have resulted in incredible sleep deprivation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Your obstinacy has ruled the day. That will now cease.” According to the Denver Post, his demand letter insisted that Peterson not run water in her bathtub before 8 a.m. Peterson says she can’t afford steep legal fees on a schoolteacher’s salary; a judge has scheduled a hearing on the suit for March 22. (Mike McPhee, “Lawsuit: Baths swamp sleep”, Denver Post, Feb. 21).