bmelton

105 ms·

961.
by bmelton 11y ago
In the words of Alan Gura, the attorney who successfully argued in D.C. v Heller (the pivotal modern firearms case) -- because banning bullets is a backdoor ban on firearms. Firearms without bullets are no longer firearms, they are simply
962.
by bmelton 11y ago
Which is almost certainly why gun owners fight so much more vehemently for their rights than the opposition does, and for better or worse, there are people who very much espouse and believe in the "cold dead hands" mantra. I'
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by bmelton 11y ago
Not OP, but as a paper & digital subscriber of the Washington Post (which I subscribed to for the Volokh Conspiracy, when they migrated), I have decided not to renew my subscription as I find the editorial board too opinionated. I have
964.
by bmelton 11y ago
Not to be too witty, but mine cost approximately fifty dollars, which amounted to the costs of the permit ($20) and time with the justice of the peace ($30).
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by bmelton 11y ago
In the event of a tie, the the lower court is the tie-breaker. Having an even number of justices doesn't break the court, and even if it did, it'd be another long while before this case could be appealed that high anyway. Even if
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by bmelton 11y ago
Another point to consider: Even if the NSA had relevant data to the San Bernardino shooters, and even if the NSA was happy to share that information, that still does not guarantee that the FBI would not move forward with the request to cons
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by bmelton 11y ago
Ostensibly, they made the security increases in iOS to prevent from being able to comply with these types of requests, ensuring that their software was as secure as possible. Aside from that, a fourth amendment search or seizure cannot gene
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by bmelton 11y ago
> Alternatively, introduce a restriction that this form of forced labor can only be compelled in terrorism cases That would simply spur a lot more manufactured "high profile terrorism cases" hitting the news.
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by bmelton 11y ago
Apple has not done "this" before. Apple may have unlocked phones for older models (with less security), but with the upgrades to iOS for versions 5 and 6, this is a much different ask. The FBI is hoping to have Apple develop a ne
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by bmelton 11y ago
Technically speaking, it needn't be a longer-than-usual-wheelbase to be considered a limousine. (Though if strictly defining a limo, it should have a partition between you and the chauffer.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wi
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by bmelton 11y ago
I mean "types" more like I might say "types of water". Sure, there's only one real water, and whether there's lemon added, or if it's filtered through limestone, it technically bears a different configu
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by bmelton 11y ago
The usual shell game when pegging a new tax to education is that whatever old funds for education get pulled, and simply replaced with the new tax money. So, if the schools were getting $3 million in subsidy before, they peg the pot taxes t
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by bmelton 11y ago
I suspect that they're right for certain brains on certain types of LSD, but as someone who once had a pipeline to the stuff, there are many different formulations that produce dramatically different effects. Distinctly, I remember wat
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by bmelton 11y ago
It strikes me as curious as to how you've taken his complaints, which seem largely based on government-imposed restrictions, and subverted the point to be anti-capitalist. That said, how do corporations force you to live in cities? Ho
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by bmelton 11y ago
Very fair point. As a slight point of clarification, let me amend my statement to this: > Internal memorandums insisting that diversity is a key company value, for example, is *legally considered" anti-discriminatory
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by bmelton 11y ago
I would. Moreover, I would be perfectly happy with them advertising as such, so that I could know that they were assholes, and happily give my money to their competitors. Instead, the system we get is one in which everyone pretends to be i
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by bmelton 11y ago
Understood, and why I specifically stated "in America". That said, while I do not study Canadian law in any capacity, I would wager that this is also illegal in Canada under the Canadian Human Rights Act. http://laws-lo
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by bmelton 11y ago
Refusal to consider someone's application on matters of race is prima facie discrimination. Calling discrimination what it is might be lazy, but it's also very accurate. Legally speaking, there are a variety of ways to promote di
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by bmelton 11y ago
I know I'm not the normal, but this doesn't bother me. I believe that in the marketplace of ideas, the best ideas tend to win out, and if hiring "non-white males" is the best idea, then more power to them. Fighting dis
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by bmelton 11y ago
Trust-busting also comes to mind.
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by bmelton 11y ago
I think you're radically mistaken on how corporate contributions work. Near as I can find, corporations don't have carte blanche to give unlimited money to an individual campaign. In fact, corporations cannot give any money to
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by bmelton 11y ago
If you don't allow the government to make mandates, then there's very little purpose in lobbying them. People tend to believe that regulations are imposed to keep big businesses in check, but many if not most business regulations
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by bmelton 11y ago
Yes. https://www.ngpvan.com/ I've worked on similar. An app that helps organize volunteers, sort and categorize mailing list responses, build street-maps for volunteers to walk to get the most value out of their canva
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by bmelton 11y ago
I have first-hand experience dealing with Michael Chertoff. You may not know the name, but he's been a SCOTUS clerk, federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, NSA Director, and Secretary of Homeland Security. He was also ch
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by bmelton 11y ago
It gets harder to measure, but on the argument of scalability, that varies dramatically. If I wrote an app that was as popular as GMail, it's very possibly much more impactful than a $100M worth of advertisements.
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by bmelton 11y ago
I disagree 1) that they are, and 2) that they oughtn't be allowed to be for what you're intending. On 1) They aren't persons, but do have a limited degree of personhood. Among other things, that personhood is what allows us
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by bmelton 11y ago
And this is why ultimately I agree with the decision in Citizens United. If my bill rate is $200 an hour, then it's possible to put a financial amount on any activity I do in support of a candidate. If they did that, then we would jus
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by bmelton 11y ago
Not to put too fine a point on it, but I would argue that your point does still apply. Sanders converted to a Democrat to be available to their platform, but everyone who knows him knows he's not a Democrat. As such, the Democratic p
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by bmelton 11y ago
Possibly. Not sure which is more out of date; the numbers from the FEC didn't jive with OpenSecrets the day the article was published either. It's just as easy to believe that OpenSecrets has a reporting delay as it is to believe
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by bmelton 11y ago
This article cites the FEC. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/bernie-sanders... In one sense, it's hard to track the dollars directly. For example, an Anti-Hillary PAC at this poin

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