Calblog

Bear Flag Socializing

The next lunch is on Sunday, April 25, at Pico Kosher Deli at 12:30 pm. PKD is on Pico a few shops from Robertson. Please RSVP to me by email ASAP so I can make sure they can handle us!

You're hired

I didn't watch the Apprentice. That's a little surprising because I love Mark Burnett's work. I used to count dowm the days to the annual Eco-Challenge, before there ever was a Survivor. Trump has long annoyed me.

At first, I didn't even pay attention to the show but in the past 2 weeks, it's been impossible not to notice. Now there's a winner. The pretty white boy. Someone tell me he really was the best.

Responsibility for 9/11

We watched Bob Kerrey on Hannity & Colmes last night. Colmes asked him "who's responsiblefor 19 men getting on planes and hijacking them?" I screamed at the TV -- the 19 men! Apparently that form of thinking has left the building.

Kerrey gave one of those weaselly answers. He doesn't think Bush is TOTALLY responsible. Was he always this partisan?

Oliver Stoned

I always knew that film director Oliver Stone was an apologist for Stalinist thugs and American-hating regimes, but even this interview had me in stunned disbelief....

(Hat-tip: Andew Sullivan)

The Adult Film AIDS Scare (Parental Discretion Advised)

After my last entry on the Porno Seminar at the Learning Annex, I don't wish to give the impression that I am only blogging about X-rated material these days, but I think its time to weigh in on the reported cases of AIDS that have recently cropped up in the adult film industry.

I will try to keep the descriptions clinical on this blog, but be forewarned that it will still have to deal with explicit subject matter.

"How to Shoot Your Own Live Adult Video" Seminar Cancelled

Bill Clinton must be upset right about now.

Will he get his $149.99 refund from the Learning Annex?

The most curious part about this is the column on the right which states -

"Other people who are taking this class are also taking...
Meet Barbara Bush with Barbara Bush coming 04/23/2004"

Hmmm...must be Libertarians that are signing up for this puppy.

Buy Lynne Cheney's Book...after a mark-up of over 24,000%

After Lynne Cheney convinced her publisher to not reprint one of her earlier novels out of fear of political embarrassment, one copy has been found on the auction block at Ebay.

As of this post, it is going for a mere $61 after 18 bids with still over 5 days left in the auction.

The original price of the paperback was $2.50, yet the winner of the Ebay auction will still not likely be able to make copies of this work for others to enjoy since the original copyright owner wishes to make it disappear.

Yes Sireee! Our great copyright system at work...providing incentives to create works and make sure they get wide distribution in order to promote the arts just like the Constitution suggests....

Rates, Housing, Markets

A while back I wrote on rates and markets. I don't know if what I wrote will come to fruition. But tomorrow is a very big day. Here's the key, If CPI and PPI stay low, the connection between interest rates and inflation will be less talked about. (Something I've long been skeptical off as Japan showed with deflation with a 0% rate and under Carter we had sky high rates and sky high inflation, then lower interest rates under Reagan led to a reduction in the rate of inflation). If this happens rate pressure will unwind somewhat and perhaps the Board of Governors will rethink what the natural rate should be. If that happens rates may actually stay low indeterminately. Ultimately, the link between strong economic growth and low inflation will be established. This is somewhat counter-intuitive (at least based on what economic thought has long been), but deeper it may make sense, when economic growth is substantial there is a greater desire to invest in that market. The opposite happened in Japan, because the economy looked weak people pulled more and more money out. Finally, strong economic conditions keep prices low because competitive pressures keep prices down. I know Wal-Mart is the bane of many on the left in the US, but their pressure on prices is much of the reason inflation has stayed low. Companies can't raise their prices when someone else will undercut their prices. Commodity prices have risen substantially, but this is partially related to a high level of speculation in commodity markets by hedge funds. They may be in for a whip-saw if the dollar strengthens, Gold lost 3.5% today, and Silver lost more value in one day than it has in almost 10 years. Tomorrow holds an important number keep an eye out!

Is Housing About to Burst?

A number of voices [Also See Calpundit's point.] are warning of the possible bubble in housing prices. Honestly, I don't know what to think, but I do know the situation is complex. Larry Kudlow of Kudlow and Cramer points to a graph that shows a huge divergence between 10-year T-Bond Yields and Commodity Prices. He notes this hasn't occured in 20 years. And it is quite persuasive that something has to give, but what? Today with the big retail numbers, the dollar jumped, and as I've mentioned before one of the biggest investing problems is where other than the US would you put your long-term investments? Kudlow's right something is out of whack, but what? I also know that the cost of obtaining building permits in some places in California nears $100K, this is much of the reason of the McMansions that liberals complain of. If it costs a bundle to lay 1 brick, might as well lay a million to increase the revenue. Also, when housing slumps people tend to sell less instead of selling at a loss. One big difference in the economy today though is the large-scale involvement of hedge funds in commodity dealings. This may explain the divergence to some degree in combonation with unusually low yields. But will housing burst? I don't know, but the consensus tends to be for a soft landing, but even then, there's disagreement.

Blog Thoughts and Independence

Not only does Professor Bainbridge mention the Buffett issue, but then later he goes on to write about independence. I'm thrilled! He writes on independence, and notes that independence, (my interpretation), is neither an inherently good or bad thing, but some places it fits other places it doesn't. I keep saying I agree, and I do. As an aside, UCLA now has a couple excellent Professor bloggers. (Volokh and Bainbridge), (and a student in the Bear Flag)...What's up with Hastings...huh...Get with the program! I'm disappointed in my school. Although, one of my fellow students has an excellent blog at Phoblographer. Even if I tend to disagree with her, it's a great read. And another especially appealing blogger went to my school and later transferred to my great disappointment (before I got to meet this person, but I won't name this person here.)

Too Many People Gardening?

There was a selloff in the market today, evidently, Retail Sales were too strong. Horrors I know! This meant there was an increased risk of an interest rate rise. Oh well, so it goes. Either way, it's suggested that the retail sales numbers are .8% higher because of a huge increase in fertilizer sales, which includes home gardening. So there you go, because too many people have been working in their garden lately people got spooked in the market. I'll note that I'm not saying rates shouldn't go higher or anything. Just that it's interesting that fertilizer numbers were up so strong which sparked overheating fears. I will note that traditionally rising rates correllate with a rising market.

Working through a History Mystery

I'm wroking on the mystery of Francois, who's last name may be Kerolleur. In the extended entry are more documents I can't read.

I'm finding some interesting information on the Holocaust in general, such as this bit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

The single most important thing to keep in mind when attempting to document victims of the Holocaust is that no single master list of those who perished exists anywhere in the world. This circumstance has frustrated many of those trying to uncover the fate of family members, but the horrible fact remains that millions died with little record of the event.

Despite the German reputation for meticulous recordkeeping, many incidents occurred during the Holocaust without any information being recorded.

Bush Wins

So we watched the History Channel's Bible Code special. We're suckers for those shows, even though we go in highly skeptical and come out even more skeptical. The main problem is that they are deadly accurate in hindsight. Look, there's clear evidence that the Twin Towers would be attacked. Let's ask Condi about that, why don't we?

There's even code telling us that Saddam would be captured last year. Any code about Usama's capture date? Didn't think so.

There were some predictions. The world is ending in 2012. No need to worry about the Social Security system.

Then there was the most precise prediction. The WMDs were moved through Syria and hidden in the Bekah valley in Lebanon. We'll have an extensive military operation to recover them in 2005. Now we know Bush will win. You know Kerry isn't going into Lebanon in his first year.

The Pledge of Allegiance Case - Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court

Been so busy recently that I didn't even catch the fact that a transcript of the oral arguments of the Supreme Court "Pledge of Allegiance" case has now been posted.

(Hat-tip: Supreme Court Blog)

Haven't had time to read through the whole thing yet. I'll post further comments if something strikes me in particular after I get through it.

The Libertarian Arguments Against Intellectual Property

Much debate in Bear Flag circles recently about Intellectual Property - specifically the appropriateness of attempting to equate intellectual property with other traditional forms of property.

I don't have the time to blog extensively on why I feel it is improper to equate intellectual property with real property. So I have decided to let others do it for me...

A few more sentences from me in the "comments" sections probably wouldn't be nearly as productive as having you all read two treatises putting forth the full libertarian argument against intellectual property.

Read if you dare...

The Libertarian Case Against Intellectual Property Rights by Roderick T. Long

Against Intellectual Property by N. Stephan Kinsella (Adobe Acrobat required)

Much ado About Nothing

So the Presidential Daily Briefing is out. Absolutely nothing in it that would have allowed anyone to know or do anything about 9/11. Is it any wonder that Condi rolled her eyes at the question "and what was the TITLE of that PDB?"

The priest shortage

There has been a decline in vocations -- the number of men becoming priests -- in the Catholic Church for quite some time now. The effects can be seen throughout the area. Churches that used to have several priests only have one and there are indeed parishes without a priest.

The decline has long been seen as a crisis and then more recently, I have heard many in the church speak of the surprising benefits. The decreased number of priests has forced a greater involvement of the laity in church life. Priests become a member of the Church with a specialized role.

While I generally adopted that view, I think there are some distinct disadvantages. My uncle is a priest and when we visited in New York, we had Palm Sunday Mass in the rectory chapel with my uncle, the twins and me, and my brother's family. I thought about how accustomed I am to have a priest in the family. The priesthood is demystified for me. There's someone close to advise on questions of ritual and theology.

With fewer priests, some people rarely have a conversation with a priest. Priests become even more specialized, with important powers. I think that we will suffer in the long run for that.

Detective time

I spent the week in New York visiting my family. I came home with a mystery. If only I spoke French.

Meathead Loses Out

If you haven't noticed, I have too much to say today, So it goes when you take a day off to run some personal errands and end up sitting at your computer after you run your errands...But back to Politics...

Word comes from California Insider that the Split-Roll Initiative has been dropped. No doubt, this is because of the press conferance highlighted yesterday by Weintraub. I'm sure they quickly realized that the drafting "error" (maybe it wasn't an error?) would kill the initiative quickly. Certainly didn't make much sense pouring money down that hole after the error was pointed out.

Why I Could Never be a Libertarian.

Prof. Volokh writes on the federal government's new drive to target pornography. Earlier, Prof. Volokh gave a description of why such enforcement was consigned to failure. I agree with the Professor that it would be very difficult to stem the flow of pornography into our homes and lives. However, where I part ways with the professor is the idea that this makes it a battle not worth fighting. Pornography, much like drugs, destroys lives and destroys, more importantly, souls. I find it distressing how so much of libertarian thought would throw our fellow citizens to the wolves ("well, they just have to learn it for themselves"), and not recognize that a community defines its values and what it cherishes, to discard these things destroys communities. But now, "tolerance", and "freedom" (I put in quotes because PC tolerance and freedom is really nothing more than a perverse intolerance and slavery) forces communities to stand idly by as those who addict us to unhealthy things tempt away our neighbors. Peh, I am no libertarian.

Lastly, a long time ago [probably well over a year ago(Yikes-I've been reading blogs a long time)] Prof. Volokh wrote about red light cameras. I strongly oppose Red Light Cameras, and my impression was that Prof. Volokh was relatively ambivalent or mildly supportive. My main reason for opposition has always been a strange one namely that, limited resources on the part of the executive insures that only laws that the general public want to see enforced get the greatest enforcement. To the extent that a crime is more minor (say for example watching porn is likely to be considered less serious than running a red light) the executive will allocate resources to more important enforcement. This is a corrolarry of why I often feel like when Police note they are stretched, I tend to think the "system" is working. There are far too many laws than could ever be enforced, and the only check we have against all those laws is the fact that enforcement would overburden police departments. To the extent that enforcement of red lights become more automated the more resources departments will devote to other things, like pornography. However, the less enforcement can be automated, the less "silly" laws get enforced. Regardless, a (small d) democrat should recognize that silly laws the community wishes to have should be so allowed.

Overrated Independence

ISS recently warned investors to withhold votes from Warren Buffett as a director for Coca-Cola, citing independence issues. Although I understand the desire for independence, Independence is truly overrated. I say this because the less talked about need is the need for rightness, or ethics. However, because we can't talk of ethics anymore, because really frankly...Who are we to judge? We must instead exalt independence above all else. Edward C. Johnson III of Fidelity Investments lays this out well in a piece he wrote for the WSJ. Unfortunately, as right and wrong have been forgotten we exalt virtues like independence (although I do grant appearances can be important) above truly important virtues. After all, interested managers are likely to be the best, but they must first be ethical or else they will take advantages of others.

Update: I was hoping Professor Bainbridge would write about this, and lo and behold, he has. Although, I don't know his opinion on the "independence" issue, it's nice to see he thinks the idea that votes for Buffett should be withheld is insane. Importantly, the professor points out Buffett's integrity. My point mainly was and is, integrity is far more important than independence.

Copyright Proves To Be The Worst Form of Censorship (Lynne Cheney writes on "brothels, attempted rapes and a lesbian love affair." Yeah, baby!)

Regretfully, censorship has reared its ugly head on the Republican side and I feel compelled to speak up against it.

Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, has pressured a publisher not to issue a reprint of a novel she wrote in 1981 entitled Sisters, a "historical romance" that includes "brothels, attempted rapes and a lesbian love affair."

It is clear in reading the AP account of this story that both the decision to reissue the novel and the pressure to cancel it stemmed from political considerations in an election year.

Please don't misunderstand me. I certainly prefer the Bush-Cheney ticket to any other viable alternatives.

Do I then wish to see the Cheney's embarrassed? No.

Especially over a so-called controversy that in may ways would create a "manufactured" outrage.

But at the same time, do I want to read a novel by Lynne Cheney featuring hot lezbo action?

Hell, yes!!!

Check out this one steamy passage that managed to find its way into the news wires -

The Iraq Uprising - One (Female) Soldier's Story

Once again, blogs are proving far more useful in learning about the current Iraq situation than anything the traditional media are giving us.

Check out this harrowing, first-person account from the only female soldier present at the Iraqi assault on the coalition compound yesterday.

( Hat-tip: www.command-post.org )

Bomb found on Spain rail line

How is this possible when they already voted in the doves?

April Fools day

It is my favorite of all the holidays.

An earthquake prediction

Interesting but the 1999 Hector Mine quake did almost no damage (I recall a train derailing and 5 minor injuries) so the predicted quake sounds like a non-event. However, if they can start predicting, that's a good sign.

Ha!

Hey, look everybody, look at me! I just hacked my way on to Justeane's blog! That will teach her to pick blogfights with the great XRLQ. Bwahahahahahahaha.

I don't actually have anything to say now, I just thought I'd post this to prove that I can. Neener.

UPDATE: I'm an idiot. Now that I see how cool and wonderful it is behind the scenes here, I can never insult this fine woman again.

It never ends today

Be careful of trying to think thoughts larger than who's a 'hat. Your friends might object.

Damnum

Apparently some think this is an April Fool's joke. I guess I should have waited until tomorrow to respond but I am just so upset. C'mon, he's mean. He's so mean that sometimes he has to chastise himself. And he's proud of it. Look at his sidebar.

Maybe he started it as a joke but I've seen no acknowledgement from him and therefore, I am not treating it as such.

Un -- Jeffin - believable

Are you reading this crap over at that site I can barely mention? He claims that it's immature to call him Jfef. Let's remember who started the immaturity. Plus, I'm not randomly attacking other people. Listen, Xavier, you're pissed at me, deal with me. Leave Justin out of it. Or are you really so stupid you can't figure out the difference?

Following the damnum logic

At some point, Jeff, emphasis on the eff as in effing break, decided he knew more about language than George Bernard Shaw. Shaw, mind you. Based on this brilliant welf-assessment, he picks random letters and expects the entire blogosphere to remember whether he is xrlq or xlrq or Jfef.

Then after admitting it is random letters, he actually gets irritated when you scramble them.

But apparently what's good for the goose is not good for the gander. There's another term for him to pompously expound upon. He can name call and then defend the sexism of the namecalling by saying that it's sexist. There's a fine bit of mental gymnastics. Hey, Jfef, what's another name for father rooster?

That Xlrq has gone too far

You would think after eating crow, he'd know better than to pick on chickens. Yeah, it occurred to me that other initiatives make the ballot, THAT"S WHY I LINKED TO THE SITE. If Xlrq could work a mouse and click on the link, maybe he'd learn something. However since he thinks the lack of patentability of fire is some huge insight, what can we expect?

And after keeping silent for this long, I have to say that mother hen is a sexist term and I decry its use. Of course, what do you expect from someone who can't tell the difference between Justin and Justene and lumped one of Justin's posts into his screed.

First Iraqi Shelter For Women Opens

Nope, this isn't an April Fool's joke -

From www.healingiraq.com

"The Iraqi Women Freedom Organization, an Iraqi Communist Workers subsidiary organization, announced the opening of the first shelter for women that are under the threat of honour killings, intimidation, and familial or domestic violence."

During a week of particularly bad news from the region, this represents just one typical example of how the media fails to report on the tangible progress being made over in Iraq.

Am I thrilled that an avowed Commuinst organization is behind this? No. But just as we sometimes allied ourselves with Islamic fanatics in order to win the Cold War,

Initiatives Go Down

Most intiatives never make it to ballot. Here are the latest casualties.
1000. Limits on Class Size. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Failed to Qualify

1001. Sexual Orientation, Status, Conduct or Relationships. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Failed to Qualify

1002. Referendum Petition to Overturn Domestic Partner Law. Failed to Qualify

1004. Preferential Voting. Terms of Office. Redistricting. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Failed to Qualify

1006. State Revenue and Expenditures. Initiative Statute. Failed to Qualify

Arnold Arnold Arnold

The Insider has the Reader's Digest version of the Arnold interviews.

Judge throws out lawsuit against J-Lo (a moment of sanity from our federal courts)

This item came across the California News Service. I haven't seen it on the Internet yet, so I apologize for not providing any link. What follows is my own summary of the newswire account -

In Los Angeles, U.S. District Court Judge Terry Hatcher threw out a lawsuit against Jennifer Lopez by a woman who claimed that Lopez needed permission to do an homage to ``Flashdance'' in a music video.

The order granting Lopez's motion to dismiss the lawsuit came on March 23.

The lawsuit was filed by a Canadian named Maureen Marder (and her attorney Robert Helfing). She says the 1983 movie "Flashdance" was based on her life and alleged that J.Lo's recent ``I'm Glad'' video featured ``elements of
characterization'' from the movie's lead character.

Marder was a construction worker and exotic dancer who aspired to formal
dance training when she met Thomas Hedley. Hedley received partial screenwriting credit for the movie.

She originally accepted $2,300 for helping to inspire the film, allegedly without realizing she would be the basis for the main character.

My only question is -

PETA parenting

I read Psychology Today about 20 years ago. I picked one up last night at the grocery store because I couldn't resist the headline "The Lighter Side of Brain Surgery." I won't be subscribing.

Check out this paragraph:

"When I was 10, I was a closeted vegetariam. I was so afraid to tell anyone," says Patrick Kwan, 22, a vegan who lives in Mew York City. At school, other kids pelted him with meat when they discovered he wouldn't touch it. "I used to run home from school crying and call PETA," Kwan says . . . .

Does Psychology Today think it's a little weird for a 10 year old to be calling PETA instead of, oh, I don't know, talking to his parents?

Apparently not. The next sentence is "Vegans are used to scorn and misunderstanding."

We are everywhere II

After the response to the conservative punk post below, I'm hesitant to point it out but take a look at The Black Republican. (hat tip: Left Coast Conservative)

The Nature of Truth

Most of the time, I maintain an active prayer and meditation life. So I end up learning things about myself. Recently, I've discovered that I have a rather religous, mythic understanding of Truth. Sort of difficult for someone who is a lawyer but that may explain some of my inner conflict.

What am I talking about? I find that, often, too often, someone will say something that is literally, factually true but they are hiding a greater truth. Sometimes that someone is a politician. Sometimes, a personal acquaintance. Sometimes, it's me. The girls have mastered this technique. "I was stretching on the couch." Yes, but we all know that the side effect of accidentally kicking your sister was not all that accidental.

So I am trying to be more honest. Really honest. That doesn't make everyone happy especially when I have to be honest about negative feelings. I also have to admit that, after years of pretending all is well all the time, that I have a little difficulty managing those negative feelings. I don't hit or throw things. Horror of horrors, though, I have yelled. When you yell at someone who is pretending to the outside world that they have done nothing, well it gets messy.

I am assuming that working through all this stuff leads to a better place.

We are everywhere

Check out this sample from ConservativePunk.com.

Why can't people start thinking for themselves and researching for themselves before taking the written (and spoken) word as Gospel? Why must a conservative-leaning individual feel like a second class citizen just for expresing his or her thoughts openly and showing some backbone when faced with obviously misguided leftist propaganda? Most importantly, why has the Punk community so openly and blindly embraced the left? Thank God for this website and Nick Rizzuto for bringing it to life ... letting the disenfranchised Conservative punks of the world know that they're not alone. I only wish that this site had existed back during the Reagan era (when I was growing up) but, then again, the internet had not even been fully developed yet. Great things take time and, in time, I'm sure that even a skeptic like myself will come to fully realize that the Conservatives in the Punk community are NOT such small numbers. Until then, I will do my damnedest to spread the word.

Critical Reading

What's wrong with this paragraph from TIME magazine?

But, inevitably, his religion and his politics will clash. Already, one employee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington says he has lost his job as a result of his political activities on Kerry's behalf. Ono Ekeh was a program coordinator for the conference until last month, when he says his supervisors there confronted him with what he had written—sometimes using workplace computers—on his Yahoo discussion-group website, Catholics for Kerry. What alerted them to his postings, he believes, was a mass e-mail by activist Deal Hudson, editor of a Catholic magazine, Crisis, and a close ally of the Bush White House. Ekeh, 33, had criticized the bishops' recent edicts that Catholic politicians should vote according to church teaching.

They give us Ekeh's statement -- that he was fired for political activities. Then they give us not one, but two facts that are the more likely reason. One purely work-related -- postings on work time. The other a more likely ulterior motive -- his criticism of the bishops' edict when he works for the bishops. Yet all of this is support for the topic sentence that Kerry's religiion and politics clash.

While I'm ranting, check out the part about the St. Louis bishop telling Kerry not to take communion but he's taking it anyway. Catholicsm is not one of those individualistic religions. The individual decides whether he can take communion, unless and until the bishop says otherwise. What makes Kerry think he gets to overrule the bishop? If the bishop has no authority over him in church matters, then why is he still a Catholic? Find one of umpteen religions with no such rules.

Sunday Chicken Blogging

5 out of 6.

Three Strikes -- Fouling off the pitch

There's an initiative coming up to modify the Three Strikes law. No one knows as much about this topic as Patterico and he's keeping us informed.

There is a legitimate debate concerning whether the law as written makes sense, when you compare the benefits against the cost. The main benefit of the law is that you are safer. But the media doesn't want to tell you this. The media makes it sound as though we are spending scads of money for no discernible benefit whatsoever. Media types will support this argument by suggesting that offenses such as car burglaries subject you to the harsh penalties of the strike law.

The Odyssey of the Chickens

The chicken at the shelter was not one of mine. My batch of eggs, scheduled to hatch today, did not hatch. (Do you think it has anything to do with the housekeeper unplugging the incubator?) We finally found the local feed store that sells chicks. The county says you have to buy a minimum of 6. Richard took pity on me and I now have six little baby chicks. All female, four different breeds.

Six won't fit in the cage. We'll have to get a coop. Maddy will get a bunny for the cage. We will not get the bunny from these people. They don't allow bunnies outside. They also inspect your home and make sure it is childproof. They wanted a playpen in Maddy's room for the bunny. If I wanted 2-year-old child . . .

I May Have Found a Chicken

After they left me, I checked the shelter site twice a day, looking for them. Finally, I gave up. I posted my sad tale here on March 6th and bought myself some eggs. The eggs are supposed to hatch tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that this batch is failed. I was actually thinking of adopting some of those shelter chickens. So I went looking.

A chicken that looks like one of the hens wandered in on March 9th.

Here's the picture of my chickens before they left (with an odd reddish hue):

and a much earlier picture where you can see their proper color:

Now go look at the picture of the chicken in the shelter.

Then tell me I can be excited. The shelter opens at 9.

Claims of Blog Libel Continue to Spin Out of Control

(Sigh)...Another day, another claim of libel from a petty lawyer with nothing to do but send off letters to those posting opinions that happen to be justified with facts.

This latest case involves California author John Gray threatening to sue this Irish blogger for a post of his. (hat-tip to Instapundit for this story)

The lawyer's letter can be found here.

This has caused some bloggers to echo what Justene has previously suggested - the need to create a legal defense organization for bloggers.

Of course frivolous libel claims are nothing new in the blogosphere. And regretfully, even some bloggers themselves don't seem to understand either the law or the true implications of the debate.

But others seem to get the big picture, like this blogger here with a great summary of the law and how it would apply to the above blogger's case.

It's so good in fact, that it saves me the trouble from having to type it myself.

Thanks J.B.!