"... justice porn is a potent, ubiquitous presence in our lives.... justice porn constantly preaches doctrines of prudence, responsibility, and self-empowerment..." That doesn't sound very porn-like. Why is Greg B…
A Russian technique , apparently: IN THE COMMENTS: This picture is bringing out some... male anxiety . And -- unexpected bonus! -- the blogging cockroach: ooh i love sausage but i m not getting anywhere near 219 volts tommy tried…
Asked Dan Drezner , quoted by Language Log's Geoff Nunberg in his post about the oral argument in the Supreme Court case about "fleeting expletives" in the broadcast media. (Kevin Martin is the FCC chairman who favo…
The college did not appreciate his on-line confession of a crime. Here 's Phil Busse's Huffington post item, called "Confessions of a Lawn Sign Stealer": [T]he oversized 4 x 8 foot mini-billboard in front of the…
Christina Reihill writes: While the idea of the modern man as a hairless metrosexual more interested in manicures than motors challenges my notions of a heterosexual man, I'm more interested in the state of play between the s…
It's not through Jim Webb: Democrats can't out-tough the GOP. It's possible that James Webb can do it. But he's sui generis ; a Democrat who can win at politics when played under Republican rules. Democrats love …
I'm so glad -- I'm glad -- that Ann-Margret appeared in that video -- the second one -- in the previous post , because I love when diverse things happen to fall together. I could make a great paranoid if only I could bel…
Karl Rove is leaving the White House. Mr. Rove was not only the chief architect of Mr. Bush’s political campaigns but also the midwife of Mr. Bush’s political persona itself. Love the metaphors. You need an architect for a campai…
Yesterday, we read that the great film director Ingmar Bergman had died. Today, the morning's news is that Michelangelo Antonioni, another great director, has died . He was 94. The critics loved ["L'Avventura"],…
Geoffrey K. Pullum has some subtle analysis of the subtle line: If I had hoped Mr McIntyre would not identify the source of my very funny metaphor and would think me responsible for its brilliantly humorous simile, I would not b…
Paris Hilton sent back to jail. ADDED: Some description from the Daily News: Dressed in a gray sweatshirt over slacks, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and wearing no makeup, the spoiled 26-year-old bawled throughout the…
So says the artist. "They completely ignored the concept and ideology behind this particular art work." But that art exhibit put the toads, tarantulas, lizards, crickets and scorpions in an environment designed to pro…
Mark agrees with Andrew about Maya's malapropism. But then he takes a closer look: There are plenty of solecisms printed every day, and we comment on a small sample of them here on Language Log -- but Andrew Sullivan usually…
In case you're worrying about me driving all over God's creation... I am home. MORE: I had all the windows closed on the house. After that freak storm that blew a screen in, I thought the windows should be left shut -- su…
Writes Tobin Harshaw in the NYT Book Review. I'd prefer to stock up on all those Beatles and Bob Dylan books mentioned in the previous post, but there are also all these new books giving advice to Democrats about what they ne…
I'm just noticing how harshly Stanley Fish slammed George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language." This is in a review of a book that I've been reading lately: Geoffrey Nunberg's "Talking Righ…
"No one is more opposed to using foreign law than I am, but I'm darned if I think it's up to Congress to direct the Supreme Court how to make its decisions." Let's have a response from the congressional Sc…
That's Sheryl Gay Stolberg's sharp take on the Hayden confirmation hearings: The former were mostly polite. The latter, especially Democrats, threw the Congressional equivalent of a temper tantrum. General Hayden, Presid…
Religious imagery from John Roberts, giving his first major speech since becoming Chief Justice. Do you like the building metaphor for law? If you do, do you see any reason why the building should be a cathedral? If you do, do y…