by Kent Scheidegger · Nov 10, 2022 9:40 am
A bit late on this report. The 2022 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded in September. The winners list is here. The prize in literature went to Eric Martínez, Francis Mollica, and Edward Gibson for their research on why legal documents are hard to understand: “Poor Writing, Not Specialized Concepts, Drives Processing Difficulty in Legal Language.” I pretty much knew that, but it’s nice to see it confirmed in published research. Continue reading . . .
by Bill Otis · Jan 25, 2022 6:51 pm
As “progressive prosecutors” have taken over in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore and many other one-party cities, merchants have had to adjust to the reality that their shelves can be and have been cleaned out by shoplifters and nothing is going to be done about it. The facts that retail theft is still a crime defined by the legislative branch, and in the aggregate causes very substantial economic losses, just don’t register (or don’t count). There is also the fact that it’s driving businesses out of already “under-served” (and almost always minority) neighborhoods, but that too doesn’t count. When the businesses take flight, they leave behind now-unemployed workers and a typically disadvantaged customer base with a skimpy and shrinking selection of alternatives.
Then of course there’s the fact that the indulgence of rampant stealing is the calling card of — how shall I say this? — devolving standards of decency that mark the decline of a corrupted society. But I wouldn’t want to be so old-fashioned as to bemoan stealing simply because it’s dishonest and corrosive to the basics of civic life. Instead, being a capitalist, I want to highlight how stores have adjusted to the new reality.
A picture is, as they say, worth…………………………
by Kent Scheidegger · Oct 22, 2021 9:49 am
Spam is mostly a pain in the gluteus maximus, but every once in a while it furnishes some amusement. I got this gem in my inbox this morning.
I’m emailing you today because I noticed James H wrote a bad review for your company, U.S. Department Of Justice on Google. I don’t think it’s a fair review and I want to help you remove it and others from Google, Avvo, Yelp, and other review sites. We built our company, Dandy, with the sole purpose of helping law firms remove unfair bad reviews … Continue reading . . .
by Bill Otis · Jun 13, 2021 2:39 pm
The police have long since become the favorite punching bag of BLM, Antifa and, of course, liberal mayors and “progressive” DA’s. The complaint is that cops are “overmilitarized,” insufficiently accountable, and too ready to use force, among other things. I have not yet heard specifically an attack on the idea of mounted police, but you don’t have to be a genius to know it’s coming: The use of horseback policing is too intimidating and too likely to panic the ubiquitous “mostly peaceful” protester.
On the other hand, a sufficiently amiable stallion might be able to get this dour opinion turned around.
by Bill Otis · Jan 24, 2021 9:04 pm
From Republicword.com (and confirmed by other sources):
A motorcade thief stole a woman’s car in Oregon, US, but halfway through the drive discovered a baby boy couched in the backseat. In a twist of fate, the suspect drove back due to moral consc[ience] to return the child to the mother, and also to lecture her for leaving her baby unattended. In a statement released by the Beaverton police, the car was stolen on Saturday outside Basics Meat Market. But the thief returned to the spot, chided the woman about forgetting the baby, and ordered her to get the child out of the car before driving off again.
by Bill Otis · Oct 29, 2020 11:49 am
C&C has had a few posts on “progressive prosecutors,” to wit, those, like former Public Defender Larry Krasner, now District Attorney for Philadelphia, who tend to see things from the defendant’s point of view.
As ever with the defense side, however, one step forward is never enough. Thus, I want to bring you the next step. Continue reading . . .
by Bill Otis · Aug 3, 2020 5:47 pm
From the “you can’t make this up” department, this gem: “Man calls police to report his ‘Defund the Police’ sign stolen. Police find and return sign. Man puts it back on lawn.”
I swear I’m not pulling your leg. The story, at no little length, is reported from Illinois by the Kane County Chronicle.
by Bill Otis · Jun 17, 2020 9:58 pm
When I was a federal prosecutor, I often thought that drug dealers would do better if they’d just put their ingenuity into an honest business. I was reminded of that thought again today.
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