The Questionable Authority

Jn 11:35

I saw a post referring to an AI as a "silicon RA," and not only is that a wonderful way to wind up producing shit academic work, it's a wonderful way to telegraph your views about students, and does shit to develop future scholars.

You can do the same thing, buying a house and borrowing against it—ha ha, just kidding, normal people get taxed annually on their wealth via property taxes, the "you can't tax wealth, the economy will collapse!" rule applies solely to the super-rich.

That admission, by lawyers of this apparent skill level, is the only reason I'm not positive it is novel.

For the nonlawyers: This is an accurate description of the DOJ's position. Legally, as they frame it, it is an "Air Bud" argument - new, but no rule against it. It's simultaneously bananapants clownshoes crazy and morally reprehensible.

The Department of Justice invented a new way to lose in court today.

I understand each of the words in this post individually, but not when they're put in this sequence.

There was a time, not long ago, when the Department of Justice was professional.

... ... ...

68 = two-blanket night. "It's 65 in the office" = hell hath officially frozen over.

My heart is heavy. Walter Koenig, our Ensign Pavel Chekov, passed away early today. Walter and I met on the bridge of the Enterprise in the 1960s, and we stayed friends for nearly six decades. When Brad and I married in 2008, Walter stood beside us as our best man.

everyone in the south: “first time?”

Trump and Co. will try to steal the midterms. They're already trying. Gerrymandering, bad faith lawsuits, voter intimidation, and a whole lot of lies. But they don't have a genius secret plan. They're already doing whatever they can think of. And it's beatable. Shouldn't have to, but here we are.

Genuinely: We crossed that line a while ago. It can still be recrossed, but only with a lot of sustained and deliberate effort

Come to Bluesky for the Alf Hog. Stay to watch a politician lose 110% of his shit over horrible NFL commentary.

I would feel bad for the DOJ lawyer getting creamed by this panel but he is taking an evil position and trying to subvert free and fair elections.

Congratulations, Republicans. I'm a well-off white dude in his 50s. I'm a lawyer. I have additional degrees (plural) in commercial law. I am institutionalist and adverse to major change by nature. And, thanks to your decades of hard work, if I'm not a socialist now, I'm just a short step away.

This is a true law-knower, not a frivolous litigant. 100%.

Oh. Oh my. Want. And I'm not really into either franchise.

They lost the request for sanctions because the judge is kind to pro se litigants, and reluctant to find subjective bad faith. I don't think you realize how absolutely lucky you got on that front. I think most attorneys would read this the same way I do: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The best compliment that I can give your pro se filings is that they aren't as bad as that legendary thing actual attorney Ty Beard filed that time.

*Megacorps should be defined broadly, using effective control. We've seen billionaires use multiple companies they control toward common ends plenty. Also the "corporate veil" needs a more holes than it has right now; there should be a "oh, come on, just look" test for alter ego, minimum.

Not wrong.

Yeah, your kink is not my kink and your kink is not ok.

Also, I know a bunch of people who have/had loads and loads of RIFTS and/or GURPS source books (and have been one of them). Not sure I've met anyone who has played either system.

My first 5 RPGs played: 1. D&D 2. MERP 3. AD&D (2d edn) 4. Cyberpunk 2020 5. Vampire (1st edn)

I really want this sex pest, Hillary, and their whole motley crew of unprincipled two-bit political hacks to just sit down, shut up, and go the hell away.

The Orange County Registrar of Voter (OCROV), led by Bob Page (who had to undergo a full on baseless inquisition by our HB city council), is the gold standard for not just our state, nor our country, but for other countries as well in that they come in and ask “how do we keep our elections secure?”

This election will be won by the 420th Revolutionary Cadre (fursuiters) and their Honorary Colonel, comrade Bill Kristol.

This election will be won by the 420th Revolutionary Cadre (fursuiters) and their Honorary Colonel, comrade Bill Kristol.

I've never been entirely sure of what "federalism" really means, but the DOJ's theory that any time a state does anything contrary to federal law, the DOJ can sue the state because breaking federal law violates the supremacy clause definitely isn't it.

$5.27 for gas at the PX.

Disappointing choice by GW here - I was looking forward to the RPG.

Boss and his boss, independently, at interviews for this gig early last year: "Aren't you afraid you'll be bored if you take this job? Me: "Ask me in five years. Right now, I'm afraid I won't be." Me, frequently, since: "Boss, when you interviewed me you promised boredom and you're not delivering."

This needs to be said openly: This is what happens when the government is led by someone who attempted a coup d’etat, and his agencies are run by his stooges.

"If I, the consumer, simply refuse to use this tech, it will go away" shut up. Just shut up.

We've been improving dogs through genetic engineering for literally twenty thousand years but throw enough buzzwords into the prospectus and you, too, can achieve a valuation of over a billion dollars. If only poor Thrug had known the trick, he wouldn't have died broke in a cave.

Meanwhile, “my” section of (one room’s) bookshelves