Shane Bauer back in prison

Wow, one of the Iran hikers can't seem to stay away from prison:

On Friday night, sheriff’s deputies from Winn Parish, La., arrested reporter James West for trespassing at an area prison and discovered a camera-equipped drone among the reporter's belongings. And early this week, an employee of the prison resigned his position in the aftermath of the arrest and was called an "operative" of Mother Jones by Winn Parish Sheriff Cranford Jordan in a chat with the Erik Wemple Blog. "He was working as as guard," said Jordan.

Jordan identified the now-former prison employee as Shane Bauer, who is a senior reporter at Mother Jones, according to the magazine’s Web site.

Looks as though Bauer parlayed his experiences in Iran into a gig doing an exposé on Corrections Corporation of America for Mother Jones. I'm looking forward to the article.

On firing a client

Bah, had to fire a (completely insane, pill-popping, drama-tastic) pro bono client today. They had no-showed at three straight appointments without canceling beforehand.

During the phone call, they repeated, "I don't think you're being very fair," to which I answered, "I'm sorry you feel that way" and offered to give them the phone number of the agency that referred them. I'm good at being a broken record; they finally took the number and I gotta say I'm glad I won't be hearing that particular voicemail.

The client's mental illness played a part in their not making the appointments, and that's sad. I could have tried harder to remind them about the appointments, or maybe even travel to their home to get the case moving along. But I can't afford to keep clearing my calendar to deal with a client who may pop a Valium in the middle of a meeting and who appears to have given me a much rosier picture of their matter than it really is. Man, did they raise some red flags during our intake interview last year -- red flags that I was blessed to receive from the mentally ill person in my family of origin. So much drama. So many prescriptions. So many phone calls they made and answered while I was conducting the intake interview.

And now they're in my own phone's address book as "DO NOT ANSWER - document voicemail."

Just because a person suffers from a mental illness doesn't mean that the people they deal with aren't allowed to set boundaries. And maybe if the people they interact with regularly -- family, co-workers, friends -- set better boundaries more often, then they would be just a little bit better at managing their illness. I may be accused of not having enough sympathy for the mentally ill. (To which I'd say, well, since I grew up in it, I'm pretty damn tired of it. And so while I'm not afraid of it, I do try to minimize the amount of it I ever have to deal with any more.) But it was the client who told me that this matter was very, very urgent and wanted it wrapped up as quickly as possible  . . . and then skipped three appointments to get their case started in the courts. I'm very comfortable with showing this client the "three strikes, you're out" door.

"This makes them immune to the Jew."

Vice.com reads 8chan so you don't have to:

Over the last couple of months, a motley crew of white supremacists, Latvian lawyers, and fertile women have heeded the call [to establish a white people's homeland in Namibia], in a last-ditch effort to save white culture. They have launched a project to found a new nation on the principles of "European Heritage," "Western Values," and National Socialism in the largely black country in southern Africa.

The article is good for a laugh, and I'm glad the author screencaps so much, so that I don't have to sully my own internet connection by going to 8chan.

Holy shit, the NYPD is about to go full military

Anti-terror strike force!

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Thursday that the NYPD is establishing a new anti-terror strike force.

The unit of 350 cops will be specially trained in high-tech weaponry to deal with protests, "lone wolf" attacks and evolving threats posed by terrorists, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.

The Strategic Response Group, Bratton said, will be dedicated to "disorder control and counterterrorism protection capabilities."

"Disorder control"? Rifles and machine guns to control mass protests?

This is what democracy looks like!

Now on Twitter

Now on Twitter, though I'm not sure why: @Glomarization

Weighing in on the Gosnell case

So we have a national news trifecta happening in Philadelphia lately. They've arrested and charged a very likely suspect in the Kensington serial killings; a 12-inch gas main blew up a couple of nights ago, killing a 19-year-old PGW employee; and a doctor providing late-term abortions, apparently some of them brutal and horrific "fourth-trimester" procedures, in a filthy, substandard clinic filled with jars of fetal parts and smelling of cat piss has been indicted and faces eight counts of murder.

I'm still reading the grand jury report (281-page PDF). In the meantime, please take a moment to read my friend Amie Newman's take on the situation at RH Reality Check:

When abortion is stigmatized, and access to care blocked for many women in this country, women are forced to turn to "providers" like Dr. Gosnell and his employees [who are also under indictment]. Dr. Gosnell and others like him are offered easy access, in essence, to desperate and vulnerable women simply seeking to end a pregnancy.

But when we stigmatize the decision to have an abortion and keep discussions of this safe, legal option closed, as well as keep abortion care out-of-reach financially or geographically, we are not only telling women not to speak of this issue. We are also telling women they don't deserve access to safe, legal care and that they won't get access to a safe, nurturing environment either.

When abortion is illegal, or too expensive, or too stigmatized, or too far away, women will still get abortions. Until all abortions are safe, legal, and free on demand, there will be doctors or other practitioners who will be happy to provide unsafe, illegal, and costly abortions to the women who need them.

Final note: it occurs to me that the clinic was shut down in a War on Drugs operation, not because of any investigation into Dr. Gosnell. (It was raided because they were going after fake oxy prescriptions.) Why is the War on Drugs more important than inspecting and investigating a women's medical clinic, or following up on complaints of serious medical malpractice?

Ginny Thomas to Anita Hill: apologize and give us "some full explanation"

I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.

What on earth led Ginny Thomas to leave this message on Anita Hill's voicemail? Why now?

Even Prof. Hill thought it was so bizarre that it must be a prank, so she reported it to her school's security office rather than take it at face value.

From here it looks like nothing more than a stunt to seek more donations and support for Liberty Central.

Electing judges is "nuts"! Amirite?

Honestly, do we need a better argument against electing judges at all three levels here in Pennsylvania, and for some system of merit selection in the judiciary instead?

[Judge Isaac Stoltzfus] is facing a disorderly conduct charge for allegedly approaching women near the state Capitol and handing them acorns he had hollowed out and stuffed with condoms[.]

Via the smoking gun. Judge Stoltzfus is a Magisterial District Judge, like a Philadelphia Municipal Court judge, only for counties with smaller populations. With a name like "Stoltzfus," you know it's Lancaster County; with conduct like what he's accused of, you know he's a Republican.

Seriously, the joke here isn't that he's the Magisterial District Judge for Intercourse, Penna. (though Intercourse, Penna., is always funny). The joke here is that we live in a state where this guy was elected and has been re-elected so many times that he's been on the bench for 19 years.

Apropos of nothing, I followed some bouncing links off the county court's website and found Lancaster County's government FAQ page. The first FAQ: "How can you obtain a concealed weapon permit?" Maybe Judge Stoltzfus is lucky that he's only getting slapped with a maximum fine of $300.

Because when I think "vacation," I think North Korea or Iran

I've been arrested for civil disobedience, and yet I still do not understand why in god's holy name Americans go to North Korea or Iran illegally on purpose. It's one thing to make a statement in the U.S. by kumbayah-ing Fort Benning and spending a night or a week in a federal detention facility. But it's a whole different ball of wax to risk a dozen years' hard labor or solitary confinement without ever being charged just so you can say you entered one of these countries, or decided to explore an uncertain border area.

SMU Law grad sues the Supreme Court to halt all abortions everywhere in the U.S.

"Ultimately, I will win this case without any doubt."

"Franklin & Marshall" fashion from Italy

An Italian fashion house has created a line of "Franklin & Marshall MCMIC" branded casualwear. It has nothing at all to do with the college in Lancaster (1787), though. The designers apparently just thought it looked nicer than and would compete favorably against Abercrombie & Fitch. According to the company's website, the clothes are "inspired by the American Vintage College spirit" found at literally old-school institutions like F&M.

I gotta get me one of their "DELAWARE BEACH PENNSYLVANIA Franklin and Marshall Swim Champ 87" t-shirts. I'd provide a link but the site is all Flash and I can't gank an image or even give you the URL to their catalog -- which they call a "workbook," keeping with the American university theme.

Sons of the broken glass

I'd say he's calling for a modern Kristallnacht but, you know, I wouldn't want to Godwin the discussion or anything:

Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Ala., former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia, put out a call on Friday for modern “Sons of Liberty” to break the windows of Democratic Party offices nationwide in opposition to health care reform. Since then, vandals have struck several offices, including the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita.

But not just Kansas: also in Arizona and two separate offices in New York. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and John the Baptist on a pogo stick, people.

On the ABA's "Legal Rebels" thing

Will someone please explain to me the theory behind how the legal profession will be improved by lawyers buying merchandise that has "LEGAL REBEL" printed on it?

Back-to-school jitters, I guess

I know the first day back to school can be tricky, but do those kids really need to be out in the alley smoking weed at 8:30 a.m.?

Friday jukebox: Luke I Am Your Father

"I got a ray gun with yo' name on it":



This has been your daily dose of "WTF?"

15th unassisted triple play in modern major-league baseball history

And in case you didn't see it:



So far this season there's been a perfect game (Mark Buehrle, Chisox, 23 July, see amateur video of last 3 outs) and yesterday's unassisted triple play. Now all we need is for someone to hit 4 straight home runs in a single game by October.

When lawyers attack (Pakistan edition)

I guess if you're an attorney with an anger management problem, you could go to Pakistan to blow off some steam:

"Lawyers used to be a very gentle people," says superintendent Sohail Sukhera of Lahore police force. "They were polite and educated. But the last couple of years have converted them into an absolutely different commodity."

He says that, in the last month, there have been 18 cases of assaults carried out by lawyers in Lahore alone.

"In one case, lawyers broke the leg of a police inspector. Others have had their skulls exposed when lawyers have hit them on the head with stones or chair legs. It's really uncalled for."

It would appear that some lawyers, whose civil disobedience made world-wide headlines after the chief justice of the Pakistan supreme court was fired for political reasons, have become drunk on their own power. They "fought for the rule of law over 2 years," but a small yet very visible and noisy group of them haven't quit fighting.

If I had an iPod I would be listening to this constantly

There's nothing to the video at all; just listen:

Now I'm picturing a POSITA of glass dildos. Actually, no, I'm not.

Patent law treats the word obvious with a meaning specific to that area of law. It means that, if you look at a particular device (patented or unpatented) and figure you could improve it, you can't get a patent on your invention if someone familiar with the original device's industry or science would have thought that your improvement was straightforward and predictable. The rationale here is that patent law rewards innovation. So if your improved device isn't new enough, you don't deserve the monopoly that patent law awards to truly innovative inventions.

A very good way to show that your invention was not obvious is to find relevant scientific literature that "teaches away" from the way you solved a particular problem. So, for instance, if you find a textbook that says "you can never make a battery with these chemicals," but you make a perfectly functional battery with those very chemicals, you can get a patent for your battery. But, on the other hand, if other people have used something to solve a problem, and you're just changing out some basic materials or components or techniques, your solution -- even if it's an improvement over the state of the art -- is likely not worthy of a patent. Science ever advances, you see, but not all of it is patentable.

Sex toys, including dildos, can be patented (NSFW, NSFW, and NSFW, just to name a few). And you can buy a dildo made out of glass (NSFW). And we all know that, if your improvement to a device is innovative enough, you can patent your new invention. So the question presented in Ritchie v. Vast Resources, Inc. was, can a new glass dildo be patented as new 'n' improved, if we make it out of Pyrex?

Judge Richard Posner, sitting specially on the Federal Circuit, says no: making a dildo out of Pyrex rather than glass is too "obvious" to make the new dildo patentable (PDF, NSFW, especially if your workplace would ban the word lubricious). It's not enough of an innovative change; it was merely a novelty and a predictable variation in the, uh, market sector of glass sex toys.

It looks as though the patent holder argued that Pyrex isn't just smoother ("more lubricious") than ordinary glass, but it's also better than ordinary glass because it's resistant to electricity . . . presumably a desired quality for dildos in some people's bedrooms. I, uh, wouldn't know about that.

In closing, I'll paraphrase KSR v. Teleflex, 550 U.S. 398 (2007):

The proper question to have asked was whether a [dildo] designer of ordinary skill, facing the wide range of needs created by developments in the field of endeavor, would have seen a benefit to upgrading [glass dildos] with [Pyrex].

(I don't have the U.S. Reports pincite for that paragraph handy, but it's near the end.) It's difficult to get a patent declared invalid; there's a heavy presumption in favor of the Patent Office's decision to award one in the first place. Judge Posner did it in 6 pages.

Libertarian freakazoid blames the downfall of American democracy on the female franchise

Peter Thiel is a founder of PayPal and current hedge fund bazillionaire. He's written a thoughtful piece, blaming the downfall of American democracy on the female franchise, for the Cato Institute:

The decade that followed — the roaring 1920s — was so strong that historians have forgotten the depression that started it. The 1920s were the last decade in American history during which one could be genuinely optimistic about politics. Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of "capitalist democracy" into an oxymoron.