I’ve got some first cousins, once removed who would be a great fit!
But yeah, seriously, the final takeaway from all of this is that Republicans are motherfuckers and people who vote for them are motherfuckers and the world is run by motherfuckers so I guess I hope y’all ain’t got no mothers.
Well, a few points here:
The filibuster isn’t anything in the constitution. It was just a tradition of senate rules, and not originally a rule at all.
The actual constitution seems to be based upon some assumption that those in government actually want to govern for the good of the country… and that they have some notion of civility. Sadly, it seems like we’re past that point in history.
[quote]Members of the Asian-American rock band The Slants have the right to call themselves by a disparaging name, the Supreme Court says, in a ruling that could have broad impact on how the First Amendment is applied in other trademark cases.
The Slants’ frontman, Simon Tam, filed a lawsuit after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office kept the band from registering its name and rejected its appeal, citing the Lanham Act, which prohibits any trademark that could “disparage … or bring … into contemp[t] or disrepute” any “persons, living or dead,” as the court states.
After a federal court agreed with Tam and his band, the Patent and Trademark Office sued to avoid being compelled to register its name as a trademark. On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with The Slants.[/quote]
This isn’t exactly an earthshaking case, but it does have some interesting ramifications.
[quote]The case could inform arguments over other, much larger entities than The Slants.
As NPR’s Nina Totenberg has reported, “the trademark office has denied registration to a group calling itself “Abort the Republicans,” and another called “Democrats Shouldn’t Breed.” It canceled the registration for the Washington Redskins in 2014 at the behest of some Native Americans who considered the name offensive.”[/quote]
I think it’s a good ruling. Consumers can still vote with their dollars and/or feet against organizations with offensive names.
It’s a victory for free speech.
We’ll get a wave of stupid shit, but I’m pretty sure you can’t file a trademark anonymously, so that likely wont last too long.
Yeah, this is a pretty easy decision. You just can’t have a government office determining what is offensive and what isn’t. That could be heavily abused. Sorry to the anti redskins folks though, looks like that fight is far from over.
That fight will have to be fought at the ticket office.
[quote]North Carolina argued that our physical world can be equated to the virtual one. Sex offenders are already regularly banned from places like playgrounds and schools, so banning them from Facebook or Twitter, and other platforms that can be used by minors, should be viewed similarly, the state argued.
The Supreme Court rejected that argument, and asserted that social media sites are such important venues for expressions of free speech that it violates the First Amendment to prevent sex offenders from accessing them. The court’s opinion is that “cyberspace” is the most important place for the “exchange of views” in our society today.
“With one broad stroke, North Carolina bars access to what for many are the principal sources for knowing current events, checking ads for employment, speaking and listening in the modern public square, and otherwise exploring the vast realms of human thought and knowledge,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “Foreclosing access to social media altogether thus prevents users from engaging in the legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights.”[/quote]
Another good ruling from my perspective. Truly dangerous offenders should be locked up, the others need to have access to all the tools needed for modern life.
More broadly, this seems to me that it could be a stepping-stone to rules about the availability of Internet access. If “cyberspace” has become the “modern public square” then it seems likely the court would be on the side of wider access in future cases. Perhaps we may someday see a case brought on behalf of forcing Internet providers to address the “digital divide”? I know, that’s a fairly long leap and it certainly isn’t happening tomorrow, but it feels that this could be a step in that direction.
It certainly sets a precedent that could be used in that way.
I wonder if such a ruling might apply to those accused of crimes like paleohacker Kevin Mitnick or Dinesh’s girlfriend on Silicon Valley: cyber-punks that, as part of their sentences, are forbidden from using a computer or using the internet. Unlike (most?) sexual offenders, computer criminals committed their crimes in the virtual public square, and perhaps they should be exiled from that place.
BTW, everyone knows Anthony Kennedy is retiring next week, right?
Well fuck.
So this is the guy folk were hoping would decide to defer retirement for another 3-4 years?
Rumored retirement?
Kennedy is a Republican appointment (Reagan, '88), who had occasionally joined with the liberal faction in the Court on some key issues.
Over the last 5-7 years, he’s come back to the tent and voted pretty reliably with Justices Roberts and Alito.
Breyer and Ginsburg are the two that the left may need to Weekend At Bernies for a couple of years…
I always think of Clue for this sorta thing. . .
It is also criminal how there appeared to be no gifs of this scene already, forcing me to create my own -.-
Best thing in this thread, Armando. Much appreciated.
Well fuck indeed.
The supreme court is the only check on Trump’s near unlimited power. Any change to it is extremely worrying.
Not to mention it just moves the supreme court further away from the population of the country and it isn’t something that can be fixed quickly at all.
Curses be upon Mitch McConnell. He straight up stole that SC seat with his unconstitutional bullshit.
I wish him the most drawn out and medically complicated death possible when the time comes. Money can buy him a lot, but not everything. Maybe he’ll finally develop some empathy for more of his fellow humans then.
But who am I kidding. He’ll probably move to a death with dignity state and go out quickly.