Strange Doctrines tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-1703488 2010-07-31T08:01:34-07:00 A blog dedicated to uprooting error.Wait -- that's not right... TypePad This Post Contains Six Errors tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef013485e4618a970c 2010-07-31T08:01:34-07:00 2010-07-31T08:20:01-07:00 Ron Rosenbaum makes it clear by his third sentence here that he simply does not know anything about his chosen subject matter: [Agnosticism] is radical skepticism, doubt in the possibility of certainty, opposition to the unwarranted certainties that atheism and... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f2be80fd970b 2010-07-30T20:45:33-07:00 2010-07-30T20:53:43-07:00 For the week of July 26, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Crack Sentencing Reform Passes. After almost 25 years of 100-to-1 crack-to-powder sentencing, Congress has passed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which would reduce... Michael Drake Next Thing You Know, They'll Be Residing in Extravagant, State-Funded Housing tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f2abb0ae970b 2010-07-28T19:12:13-07:00 2010-07-28T21:40:11-07:00 "Michelle Obama" has asked James Lindgren to sign Obama's mass birthday card. James "find[s] it hard to say precisely why [he finds] this email a bit creepy." Fortunately for aficionados of shark-jumping, though, he gives it a college try: [A]sking... Michael Drake On the Worthlessness of Inauthentic Snobbery as a Criterion of Evaluative Judgment tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f2980230970b 2010-07-27T07:38:40-07:00 2010-07-27T21:02:18-07:00 I think "Achy Breaky Heart" is a goofy track, but that doesn't make "Sin City" a benchmark of genius. Anyway, it's interesting how few of Lemieux's commenters seem secure enough in their own taste not to be bothered by the... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f283dadb970b 2010-07-23T21:03:51-07:00 2010-07-23T21:05:21-07:00 For the week of July 19, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Top Secret America. That's the target of the Washington Post's major new investigative piece. Two years in the making, the investigation assays the complex... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f25ade99970b 2010-07-17T12:31:48-07:00 2010-07-17T12:31:48-07:00 For the week of July 12, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). The "Lie to Me" Effect. Watching the television drama "Lie to Me" makes viewers think they're better at detecting lies. Truth be told, it... Michael Drake Michael Drake Finds This Hard to Fathom tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef013485700439970c 2010-07-14T18:05:12-07:00 2010-07-14T18:07:58-07:00 Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef01348554f89b970c 2010-07-09T19:54:40-07:00 2010-07-09T19:54:40-07:00 For the week of July 5, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Revised Standards for Correctional Psychologists. Criminal Justice and Behavior has published the newly revised standards for psychologists who work in correctional facilities. To download... Michael Drake A Study in Contrasts tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef01348543fddb970c 2010-07-07T18:10:38-07:00 2010-07-16T17:36:07-07:00 Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit decided Lee v. Lampert. Mr. Lee had proven to the district court that he was actually innocent of the state charges for which he was convicted. Too bad, replied the Ninth on appeal: you missed the... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0134852baa67970c 2010-07-02T21:10:39-07:00 2010-07-02T21:10:39-07:00 For the week of June 28, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Great Expectations. Bloomberg has this report on the "growing number" of white collar cases in which the charges were ultimately dropped. This phenomenon puzzles... Michael Drake Privileges and Inanities tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0134851629c5970c 2010-06-29T06:56:13-07:00 2010-06-30T18:53:36-07:00 Shorter Randy Barnett: As the lone, concurring voice of Justice Thomas goes, so goes the great sweep of American constitutional law. Michael Drake Kids Today tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f1dedb16970b 2010-06-26T13:03:16-07:00 2010-06-26T13:03:16-07:00 According to this New York Times piece, a meta-analysis by Sara Konrath purports to find that "college students today are 40 percent less empathetic than those of 30 years ago, with the numbers plunging primarily after 2000." This claim somewhat... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0134850125ab970c 2010-06-25T22:11:37-07:00 2010-06-25T22:11:37-07:00 For the week of June 21, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Defenders in the News. The New York Times has a write-up on DFPDs Julia Gatto and Philip Weinstein, who both represent Faisal Shahzad, the... Michael Drake Blessed Are the Pasta Makers tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef013484c5dfc5970c 2010-06-22T18:26:31-07:00 2010-06-22T18:26:31-07:00 Skeptics of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are missing the point. Obviously, it isn't meant to be taken literally. It refers to any divinity in wheat products. Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f17c9440970b 2010-06-18T18:02:32-07:00 2010-06-18T18:02:32-07:00 For the week of June 14, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). Videos to Play for Your Jury. Fascinating demonstrations of change blindness here and here. Now if only there were some sort of authority for... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133f0e1b35e970b 2010-06-11T18:28:27-07:00 2010-06-11T18:29:27-07:00 For the week of June 7, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). District Judges Speak out about the Guidelines. The Sentencing Commission has published the results of a survey of district judges "concerning their views and... Michael Drake One Should Wield Guns in Campaign Ads Responsibly tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef013483a2801f970c 2010-06-09T07:21:42-07:00 2010-06-09T07:21:42-07:00 I find it utterly charming that David Kopel's problem with Dale Peterson's campaign ad (Peterson is running for Alabama Agriculture Commissioner) isn't Peterson's Colonel-Kilgore affect, his inane tough talk about "thugs and criminals" (because nothing poses a greater threat to... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0134835f926f970c 2010-06-05T06:50:16-07:00 2010-06-05T06:53:13-07:00 For the week of March 31, 2010. [Note: Abbreviated Roundup this week due to scheduling; your regular, full-blown Roundup will return next week, uncut and uncensored.] Batson Challenges. The Equal Justice Initiative has published a comprehensive study of bias in... Michael Drake The FPD's TGIF Roundup tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133ef50e5ce970b 2010-05-29T06:09:11-07:00 2010-05-29T06:12:44-07:00 For the week of May 24, 2010 (cross-posted from the Central District Federal Public Defender blog). It's a Gender Thing. From Science Daily, "[a] study of 300 simulated court cases shows that experienced judges, lay assessors, prosecutors, police officers, and... Michael Drake Petroleum Antinomy tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c8b8a53ef0133ef21204b970b 2010-05-28T06:46:31-07:00 2010-05-28T06:50:40-07:00 To make up for all the oil lost in the Gulf, I'm trying to use fewer water bottles. On the other hand, material from those bottles would come in really handy should there be a need for Operation Junk Shot... Michael Drake