Author Archives: Rogier

All rape is created equal. Or is it?

Published: Sunday January 6, 2013 4:13am
By Rogier

So, about Steubenville. Every time we hear of a rape, our righteousness kicks in — I mean the righteousness we share with all smart, empathetic, civilized people just like ourselves, people who abhor sexual violence — and we condemn. Swiftly and easily. We condemn the perps before they even get to trial, because we understand […]

Posted in crime and justice, law, media | Comments closed

TV commercials too loud? Try to stay CALM.

Published: Sunday December 16, 2012 1:09pm
By Rogier

Ever notice how TV commercials are usually louder relative to the programming? The federal government sure did, and rode to the rescue of sensitive TV viewers all over these proud United States by outlawing the practice with something called the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act. I agree that the loudness louts are annoying, but […]

Posted in entertainment, government, law, law enforcement, U.S. politics | Comments closed

We’ve all gone mental, apparently

Published: Tuesday December 11, 2012 4:10pm
By Rogier

The new psychiatric “diagnostics bible,” the DSM 5, is about to be released, and it turns out we’re all patients now. Getting angry is evidence of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder. Normal grief points to Major Depressive Disorder. And that’s not all. Are you getting — what’s it called again? — right, older, and have you […]

Posted in facepalm, healthcare, science | Comments closed

Hemingway’s Cats, Flunkies at the USDA, and the Commerce Clause

Published: Tuesday December 11, 2012 3:49pm
By Rogier

[This is a guest post by First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza. It also appears on his own blog, the Legal Satyricon.] Hemingway said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” That may be true, but you still have to point at the […]

Posted in capitalism, civil liberties, economics, free markets, government, law, politics | Comments closed

MSM update: Dana Kennedy is too good to consider your plebeian criticism. Got that, peasant?

Published: Monday July 9, 2012 5:59pm
By Rogier

A friend of mine, on her Facebook page, posted a link to an article on Scientology by a journalist named Dana Kennedy (who I’d frankly never heard of. My bad). I read the piece and thought it was well reported — but, I said in a comment on the friend’s Facebook page, I didn’t like […]

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Ranaan Katz. Kinda rhymes with putz.

Published: Tuesday June 26, 2012 9:51pm
By Rogier

Miami Heat owner Ranaan Katz has enough money to buy laywers to do his bullying for him, including sending legal threats to bloggers who dare publish an unflattering photo of him (see below). Oh, and he’s suing Google too. Good luck with that. I actually prefer this version, enhanced with extra idiocy (seems apt) : […]

Posted in civil liberties, facepalm, First Amendment and free speech, law | Comments closed

Who’s Your Daddy?

Published: Tuesday May 15, 2012 3:38pm
By Rogier

Here’s an extra-creepy flip-flop from blogger and pundit Andrew Sullivan, a man who knows of flip-flops. First he insisted scornfully, for years, that it doesn’t matter if president Obama supports gay marriage. Even just six days ago, hours before the president’s thumbs-up to marriage equality, Sullivan had this to say: I don’t much care. The […]

Posted in civil liberties, government, libertarianism, politics, U.S. politics, war on drugs | Comments closed

…with liberty and strip searches for all.

Published: Monday April 2, 2012 5:02pm
By Rogier

Come to America! Now extra-free! 100% more ass-cheek-spreading at the low low cost of spitting on the Fourth Amendment. Apply today and you’ll get a free copy of the Constitution with all the silly bits blacked out! Call now, rubber-gloved operators are standing by!

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A shield law for bloggers? OK, but not for extortionists.

Published: Monday April 2, 2012 12:35am
By Rogier

Suppose you own a flower shop called Jack & Jill Bouquets. One day, a woman you’ve never heard of registers jackandjillbouquetssuck.com and jackandjillripoffs.com. Then that person turns those URLs into live websites full of incoherent but wounding accusations against your business — not just claiming poor service or wilted blooms, but saying you engaged in […]

Posted in crime and justice, First Amendment and free speech, law | Comments closed

Two thought experiments in the Tyler Clementi case

Published: Tuesday March 20, 2012 9:01pm
By Rogier

This blog is a friend of equal rights, and of marriage equality. I have written many posts and a newspaper editorial stating my position loudly and clearly. But I don’t think I will ever see eye to eye with people, of any sexual orientation, who believe that harsh words and actions directed at gay/lesbian/transgender folk […]

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Mike Daisy lies about Foxconn, receives spanking

Published: Sunday March 18, 2012 7:41pm
By Rogier

In late January, I wrote a riff on Foxconn, the Chinese parts supplier and assembler of iPhones, iPads, and other consumer technology. Everywhere, it seemed, tempers were flaring over Foxconn’s alleged mistreatment of factory workers. There is little doubt that working conditions at the Foxconn plant can be improved, and I hope that they will […]

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Why the U.S. Postal Service is going broke

Published: Saturday March 3, 2012 4:19pm
By Rogier

I shipped a package to a customer in Canada recently. At his request, I used the postal system instead of UPS or FedEx. It was a shipment worth about $2,000, so I made sure to purchase insurance and tracking, and then, a few days later, went to the Track & Confirm service at usps.com to […]

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