July 29, 2003
An "F" in Constituional Law
The Smoking Gun has posted a seven-page brief by a Colorado Public Defender, waxing eloquently on the constitutional freedom of a student to use the F-word. Warning: link contains profanity. Lots of it.
July 28, 2003
Site Design Downgraded to Work in MSIE
Bryan Bell has a sweet new design timed to coincide with his move to the Blosxom content-management system. In the sidebar, Bryan posts the following:
Site design downgraded to work with Windows Internet Explorer. Images surrounded by grey result from IE's failure to support the revolutionary PNG standard. Alternative web browsers (Mozilla, Safari, etc.) provide better web experience.
Heh.
July 27, 2003
Ninth Circuit Smites VeriSign in Sex.com Case
The Ninth Circuit has held that VeriSign can be held legally responsible for giving away your domain name to someone other than the rightful owner.
"Exposing Network Solutions to liability when it gives away a registrant's domain name on the basis of a forged letter is no different from holding a corporation liable when it gives away someone's share...
We must, of course, take the broader view, but there is nothing unfair about holding a company responsible for giving away someone else’s property even if it was not at fault. Cohen is obviously the guilty party here, and the one who should in all fairness pay for his theft. But he’s skipped the country, and his money is stashed in some offshore bank account. Unless Kremen’s luck with his bounty hunters improves, Cohen is out of the picture. The question becomes whether Network Solutions should be open to liability for its decision to hand over Kremen’s domain name. Negligent or not, it was Network Solutions that gave away Kremen’s property. Kremen never did anything. It would not be unfair to hold Network Solutions responsible and force it to try to recoup its losses by chasing down Cohen. This, at any rate, is the logic of the common law, and we do not lightly discard it.
The common law does not stand idle while people give away the property of others.
Although the case turned on a particular question of California law (whether intangible property such as a domain name can be the subject of "conversion," which is basically a wrongful disposal) it would seem tohave application far beyond California borders. This means that anyone who has suffered at the hands of VeriSign's incompetence may be able to recover damages for domain names they have lost.
The opinion is online in PDF.
July 23, 2003
Recalling Davis
Barring a successful court challenge, there will be a recall vote on California Governor Gray Davis sometime in the next several months.
With his approval ratings hovering in the low 20s, Davis acknowledged Wednesday that he has not "done everything perfect," but vowed that he will fight and win the election.
"Remember, there's a lot more people willing to vote against the recall than there are who think I'm doing a good job."
Exactly right. If he had been doing a just bad job, instead of soaring to the "less than perfect standard," his approval rating might be, oh, in the single digits.
UPDATE: Article 2, Section 15(c) of the California Constitution, states in pertinent part: "The [recalled] officer may not be a candidate" in the replacement election, so Davis cannot replace himself.
July 19, 2003
Threat Level Raised to Blue Screen of Death
On the news that the Department of Homeland Security has given Microsft a five-year, $90 million contract for server and desktop software, here's the obvious comment:
Threat Level Raised to Blue Screen of Death
July 17, 2003
Happy Birthday
Today is Dineen's birthday. If you'd like to send your good wishes, please feel free to add a comment.
How to Do Your Whole Site in Movable Type
Ever think of doing more than just your weblog using Movable Type? These guys did:
Cool stuff.
July 16, 2003
Hosed
Sorry for the absence. Several evils converged:
- I paved my Movable Type cgi file by mistake last week.
- My efforts at logging on to fix that were thwarted because my Verzion DSL keeps going out - but only at night!
- That really bad storm we had last Thursday night flooded our basement, which means that DSL restoration was not so high on the priority list.
Fortunately, it looks like our carpet was the only casualty.
July 04, 2003
American Exceptionalism
Today we celebrate this great nation of ours. Although this date is best known for its relation to another important document, I submit that the most important contribution to human society made by the citizens of the United States of America - the former thirteen colonies of Britain - is the system of government we live under today. It is imperfect, and imperfectly implemented by imperfect people, but it is the best method for conducting the affairs of a free people that any nation has developed, in my not so humble opinion.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the Constitution and Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
July 03, 2003
Switched On
Ernie the Attorney took the plunge and switched to Mac. He joins other notable Mac-toting attorneys like Larry Staton, Denise Howell, and me.
Lucky
As a counterpoint to this week's article about losing, here's one about how lucky people make their own luck. Oddly enough, there are some common themes through both.
Early Debut
I thought Alex made an early debut on the web.
Then I saw a post by the future Zeldman prodigy child, not yet a glimmer in the newlywed couple's eyes.
Congratulations to the happy couple!
July 02, 2003
Crossing Paths
I met Ben Domenech last night, along with several other interesting folks.
Big things happening, and I'll enjoy watching them happen. And of course, Mike is right in the thick of everything. He's so disobedient.
July 01, 2003
On Losing
It has been said that the only lawyers who never lost a case are the ones who never tried a case. The legend of the trial lawyer who never loses is a complete myth. All of us, of course, strive to win, but only one side can win any given case, and that often rests more on what the lawyer has to work with than what the lawyer does with it.
Losing, by Glenn Bradford
Link via the Sophorist.