You do know that decriminalization is just going back to the system we had before 1996? Criminalizing border crossings actually corresponds to a huge upsurge in our undocumented population that finally only crested when the US economy went in the dumpster. Essentially, because people couldn’t do what they actually…

“If they could” is such a huge condition, though as to make that a fantasy stat.  It basically is a way of measuring people’s views of the US rather than an indication of true intent that is somehow restrained by legal barriers.  I’m not an advocate for unilateral opening of our borders, but I find the concerns of a…

The issue is framing it solely in economic terms. Initially, it plays into the notion that the undocumented present today (11+ million) have done the same thing to us, which simply isn’t true. Second, it comes across (as Bernie often does) as tone deaf on issues of moral justice. He didn’t need the follow up, frankly.

That’s pretty much it - because he believes everyone is as much of a manipulative bullshitter as he is, they must be lying. Never mind that the whole line between “legitimate” asylum seeker and someone who is risking their live to come hundreds if not thousands of miles “only” as an economic migrant is a highly…

The current GOP is not legitimately concerned with the ability of women to compete anywhere - they are all for eliminating Title IX in its entirety, support redirecting women’s health funding away from Planned Parenthood to anti-abortion clinics, think sexual harassment is no big deal, that the pay gap and marriage…

Have you seen what cops make in most cities in California? They are very much members of the middle class they protect, especially when you throw in their healthcare, retirement and home purchase assistance benefits.

Opening prayers can be sectarian as long as there isn’t a captive audience/coercive issue and at least in theory other views are welcomed. The latest version of this was the Town of Greece v. Galloway case - 5-4 with the conservatives saying it wasn’t an issue that this small town almost always did Christian prayers…

The one thing that has changed is Barr is the AG now. I’m guessing in part the timing of the actual letter is driven by the briefing and argument schedule in the case since it represents a change in position, but the overall change seems like it had to come from on high in the DOJ. Here’s a backgrounder on Barr from…

A closer analogy might be the Two Minute Hate out of 1984 - with the GOP and Donny out in front directing their anger at targets of convenience.

If an unfair trade practices claim sticks (and it isn’t clear it will - I could see the companies losing at trial but being vindicated on appeal that their advertising was highly problematic but not “deceptive” in a classic sense) the damages could be enough to put Remington at risk of bankruptcy (the PLCA was passed…

Plus the really fascinating piece I saw today is that these issues are likely the result of a retrofit designed to avoid the complexity of actually redesigning the Boeing 737 airframe and control system to compete with the A320 - in other words, keeping it simple(r) while trying to get better results may be the root…

But only the most luxurious gold bows, am i right?

Well I really wouldn’t trust a theoretical physicist to fly either, living or dead - but that has more to do with having worked with some who were not exactly present all the time, much less zeroed in on a single task like safely landing a metal tube bull of people.

Wal-Mart does support food stamps - in the sense they tell employees to get food stamps as one of the ways to supplement their income/make their wages stretch. But they like the recent tax cuts because theirs went down a lot,  yours went down at most a little  and food stamps will be hard for politicians to make deep…

Next on ABC - a very special episode as we watch Cassie fill out a restraining order on the Bachelor.

Hello, former IP litigator here. People keep thinking that a trademark registration is the same thing as owning words or designs, and that just isn’t the case.

Just Do It! is only “owned” by Nike in the sense that it is an indicator of source of shoes, clothing, etc. Especially because “just do it” is a common phrase in everyday parlance, it is a relatively weak mark, and the registration likely includes design elements in a combination like the Nike swoosh and the…

Jenkins’ work from the 60s, 70s and 80s probably wouldn’t play well today - he’d be accused of racism, misogyny and anti-semitism just to begin with, and likely toss in some accusations of cultural appropriation just for kicks. But he was for me of a piece with Mel Brooks and Monty Python on TV film, Terry Pratchett…

The UK lowered the voting age to 16 on the Scottish referendum. The theory was that it would benefit nationalists on the idea youth are more likely to be angry and emotional, but they actually supported remain because they were thinking of things like jobs in the EU.

I’ll go one better - Purdue University, the Indiana based and generally respected public land grant college (especially in engineering) has now bought Kaplan University, the generally pretty godawful online school and rebranded it as “Purdue Global” - the PU name without any of the pesky Purdue faculty, resources,…