- The undergraduate UNLV Criminal Justice Mock Trial Team will square off against some Boyd students later this week. [UNLV]
- A Reno attorney was convicted for filing false tax returns. [KRNV]
- Aviva Gordon writes about steps to try before resorting to business litigation. [Vegas Inc.]
- Independent contractors are a growing trend, even in the legal industry. [Vegas Inc.]
- A look at some of the legal aspects of free speech and #takeaknee. [Washington Post]
Got to admire the players using their freedom of speech to protest a symbol that the majority of their fan base idolizes. The number of virtue signalling anti-Trump types is far outweighed by the silent majority who are exhausted by outrage politics invading yet another aspect of American life. The taint of actions from this weekend is not something that can be washed off quickly and the NFL will now see their ratings, merchandise and sponsors take a hit for some time to come.
ReplyDelete^^^THIS^^^
DeleteI just don't understand how people can get so upset about this. The flag represents our country and the freedom of speech is one of the big things that sets our country apart from the others. What's the point of the flag if people can't take a knee?
DeleteWho cares if someone protests? I would never disrespect the flag of my beloved country. People have the right to protest.
DeleteNo one is forcing them to stand, but they cannot have their cake and eat it too. If they want to use their freedom to protest by taking a knee, then be prepared to lose viewers who do not agree with the message or politics. You have every right to speak your mind, but I have every right to ignore you. God Bless America.
DeleteAbsolutely right. But lets not pretend that these players are not taking a principled stand that they cannot be compelled to stand in reverence to a flag of a country that treats so many people badly. These players are not protesting saying that they have been treated badly but are saying that there are people who get screwed by the Government. As legal professionals, we see people screwed by this nation and its government all the time. I don't respect a piece of cloth. I respect (which may increase or wane) based upon what the nation behind that flag does. And my respect for this nation differs from my respect for the government of this nation. And if people want to vote with their pocketbook and not support the NFL or NBA because players wish to take a stand against injustice, then that is their right also.
DeleteI second 11:15
DeleteI second 12:25's second. And anyone whining about what these athletes are doing (lending their strong voices to the weak) should check out some of the many, many statements from vets pointing out that they didn't fight for the flag, the fought for the freedom of the citizens of the United States, which includes the right to protest). So many of the folks out there decrying these actions ignore this important fact.
DeleteAnd yes, they chose a form of protest that was designed to get attention and be controversial. If you protest something that no one cares about its totally ineffective. You have to actual make a statement to be taken seriously.
If people really want these protests to "go away" how about spending some time discussing, or at least thinking about, the reason these protests are happening. Maybe if the issues underlying these protests were addressed and taken seriously we could see real change on both fronts.
I fourth 11:15. I third 12:25. I second 1:21.
DeleteNobody fifths you, 11:15/12:25/1:21/2:17.
DeleteJust for that, I will fifth you.
Delete12:25 here, is it possible to sixth yall? or is that inception level kinda shit lol
DeleteThis is the type of pure silliness that I hope never leaves this Blog.
DeleteStop playing the national anthem before games, problem solved. Politics are already injected into sports before the start of every game. All this false patriotism disgusts me. Flag waving, bumper stickers, talk radio shouting about "respecting troops." It's all a big marketing ploy and about 1/3 of the country has fallen for it. If we don't have the freedom to disagree without the president calling for boycotts then everything the flag represents is meaningless.
ReplyDelete9:33 AM. What a silly comment. Then..... let's stop pretending we have a country. No way, obviously. Even in Europe at soccer and rugby games they play the national anthem for each team. They do so at boxing events. It is a tradition. If we stop playing it then the dumb down Facebook generation will never recognize it.
DeleteAlso, you can protest police brutality without disrespecting the national flag. Police brutality is a local problem (if it is, which it isn't). The federal government has nothing to do with some municipal cop throwing an undeserved beatdown or shooting an unarmed guy who isn't a threat. How about just wearing a black armband or black socks or something instead of making a show during the national anthem. That's just going to piss people off and make them less likely to listen to your potentially meritorious complaints. Oh wait, if you wear black socks, Roger Goodell will fine you $25,000. But go ahead and crap all over the national symbol.
DeleteWhy not protest the cops in the stadium, as symbolic representatives of police brutality, instead of the flag? Serious question. That would be a direct protest and much easier to understand by the general public.
Delete"Stop playing the national anthem before games, problem solved." This solves nothing. It only masks the underlying problem of increasing polarization.
DeleteI think there is petty silliness on both sides of the debate, and I find the debate exhausting. However, the flag and national anthem before games is important because it is part of our shared, national experience and civic religion. In an increasingly polarized and tribalized country, we need a shared experience like the national anthem. Sadly, it looks like we're losing even that.
Let's talk sports for a second. This all started because a QB with an overinflated sense of his own skills went through an identity crisis and wanted some attention. Kaepernick was a big fish in a f***ing terrible college conference because he can run. QBs like him are a dime a dozen, and he got drafted way too high because SF made the cardinal drafting error and grabbed a shiny object in the 2nd round instead of a lineman. But Kaepernick's style of play doesn't work in the NFL. In the NFL, a QB has to be able to consistently hit tiny targets moving very quickly. If your go-to move after 6 seconds of looking around is to run instead of throwing it out of bounds or sliding for a 0-2 yd gain, you're screwed in the NFL, unless you're Brett Favre, who was a freak of nature. A 6th round QB pick can put up Kaepernick's sub-90 career QB rating stats, and if your right tackle is a 2nd round pick instead of a 7th round backed up by an undrafted, you'd be way better off.
DeleteHow is this crapping all over the national symbol? 1. Taking a knee is not a disrespectful gesture and 2. the symbol actually stands for a lot, including the right to free expression. How is police brutality not a national problem when it's going on in every state? And who are you to say the players aren't protesting for what goes on in their individual communities? Did you ask them? 9:45 your comment exemplifies everything that is exhausting about outrage politics - half the story, baseless assumptions, incorrect information, etc. In just a few sentences you've managed to spew so much wrong...it's exhausting to just read it.
Delete1. Taking a knee during the national anthem, when the custom is to stand and put your hand over your heart (or salute if in uniform, or to stand silently even if you're from another country), is self-evidently disrespectful. The act of kneeling during this event is specifically designed to attract attention to the fact that you are not rendering the customary respect.
Delete2. Police brutality is hardly a national problem. Texting while driving, DUI, obesity, and crime are way bigger national problems.
I agree with Lawyer Bird.
Deletehttp://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/05/454834662/pentagon-paid-sports-teams-millions-for-paid-patriotism-events
Just because there are other problems you believe are "bigger" does not mean others should prohibited from raising awareness of a different problem.
DeleteActually, the NFL rules require the anthem to be played before games, and they also provide for penalties for disrespect during the anthem, including failure to stand. So, Goodell is a hypocrite in addition to being a douche.
Deletehttps://news.grabien.com/story-roger-goodell-ignoring-leagues-own-rule-book-letting-players
And before anyone chimes in about the 1st Amendment, let me take you back to 1L year - the NFL is not a state actor.
DeleteOnce again, "shared, national experience and civic religion." What if your national experience is being beaten by a cop? What if it is having the Treasury and FBI agents threaten you with 30 years in prison unless you agree to go to prison for 9 months? What if your experience is not the xenophobic tripe that everyone wants you to mouth? Your experience is not theirs. If you want to spend your money on NASCAR, do it. No one is forcing you to spend money on the NFL. But your right to speak with your feet and your pocketbook is the same as their right to speak with their knees, mouths and pocketbooks.
DeleteOh, Lord. The Internet has everyone convinced their preferred side of this argument is supported by facts. @10:48, there are no penalties for disrespect or failure to stand included in the current version of the NFL 2017 Official Playing Rules.
DeletePersonally, I think the entire issue is ridiculous. Is it contrary to established expectations and norms... yes. Is it disrespectful...debatable Does it really make a hill of beans difference in the grand scheme of life or the national problems...no.
DeleteI would be far more offended if the players, instead of taking a knee, exhibited a Nazi salute or turned their back to the flag... but that's just my sensibilities...
@11:25, that's because the rules manual and the game operation manual are two different documents. The anthem ceremony has nothing to do with rules of the game itself.
Deletehttp://time.com/4955704/nfl-league-rulebook-a62-63-national-anthem-rule/
I have to say that if I was out to disrespect the flag and/or country, I guarantee you I could and would find something more polarizing than kneeling or sitting during the national anthem.
DeleteI read somewhere (but did not verify) that until 9/11, the teams didn't even come out of the locker rooms until after the national anthem was played. This was a non-issue for the first century of pro sports.
ReplyDeleteI agree -- let's dump the false patriotism and get back to sports being sports.
This is a debunked rumor and there are numerous pictures showing the contrary. Quick Google search will show players standing for it as early as 1992 (and likely earlier, but that was just my few seconds of effort)
DeleteThey've always had the option of standing on the sidelines but were not EXPECTED to until 2009.
DeleteIf you don't like the players protesting, move along. You will be well received at NASCAR, which is seeing its revenues decline at an even higher rate. Just find something else to watch, if you are even watching football to begin with. The sooner the NFL stops with its quasi-military public relations campaign the better. There are even more people who are tuning out for this reason than will ever stop watching because a few players are exercising the most important right that we enjoy as U.S. citizens. For proof, I would simply refer to the popular vote of the last election. You know, the one that the current president lost.
ReplyDelete"Not my President!!!"...actually he is and will continue to be for the next seven years.
DeleteRegarding that popular vote. Have you noticed any of the findings coming out happening with the election commission? Strange how (1) some counties in CA and other D states had over 100% of eligible votes voting, (2) other states are starting voter roll purges to eliminate ineligible voters, or (3) how 6,500 people voted in the New Hampshire general election using same day voter registration but never took up residence in the state (Trump lost NH by 2,400 votes, and the Republican senate candidate lost by 1,1017).
I know it’s hard to admit, but the ivory tower is crumbling and we couldn’t be more excited.
Wait until we have single-payer healthcare and the government outlaws contact sports because over 99% of former NFL players (as well as 95% of college players and 20% of high-school players) suffer permanent brain damage from repetitive micro-concussions. Then the end of the NFL will be because it turns into a modified form of soccer where you can't even use your head.
DeleteTo be absolutely, 100% clear, I did not say that Trump is not the president. He is, and that is why I expect him to act like a president and represent the interests of all Americans. It is a cold, hard fact that he lost the popular vote. If you cannot accept that, then you are just as guilty of refusing to accept facts as those who state that Trump is not their president. As to the crumbling ivory tower, I really don't know what you mean by that. To be sure, I have more important things to do than feed the trolls, so please have a wonderful day.
DeleteThe Left is destroying everything American. No national anthem. English not the official language of U.S.. Reverened Wright, Obama's preacher "God Damn America." Sorry, I love my country. It brings tears to my eyes when I hear the National Anthem "...our flag was still there..." The jets overhead. It gives me goose bumps. I love football and just wish those silly players would take it elsewhere and be done with it.
Delete"The Left is destroying everything American." Wrong. This reductivist, reactionary polarized attitude on both "The Left" and "The Right" is what is destroying everything American.
DeleteYou are the problem, 10:46.
Panthers had more total yards than Broncos in Super Bowl L. I guess they won? No, because the rules say the team with more points wins. If the Constitution said popular vote winner wins, both sides would campaign differently. Popular vote is meaningless. It's not only meaningless for the outcome, it's not even an argument.
Deletehttp://www.espn.com/nfl/matchup?gameId=400820438
I have no issue agreeing with the proposition that Trump, like several before him, lost the popular vote. That fact, however, is a totally irrelevant fact since our founders had the wisdom to develop a system that relies on not the popular vote but rather winning the consent of the majority of states (large and small) through the electoral college. When you go back to the founding of the nation, if it was based on the popular vote, a candidate could win the presidency with winning just a couple of states (e.g. New York, Virginia, etc.) and completely ignore the smaller states (e.g. New Hampshire, Vermont, etc.).
DeleteIf you want to argue that only a person that wins the national popular vote should be president then George Washington should never have been president. Of the 13 original states during the 1789 election, six states chose electors by some form of popular vote, four states chose electors by a different method, North Carolina and Rhode Island were ineligible to participate since they had not yet ratified the U.S. Constitution, and New York failed to appoint their allotment of electors in time because of a deadlock in their state legislature.
As a nation, I doubt we will ever agree on the individual that becomes elected to the highest office in the free world. Whether it be Trump (or Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Kennedy, etc.) a significant portion of the country will always be opposed to the election of the winner.
Once the election is over, we as a nation have to get over it and try, to the best that we can to find ways to come together as a nation to find areas of common ground we can improve upon. It is perfectly appropriate to disagree with opposing views, but please do it in appropriate and constructive manners. If you don't like what someone is proposing, express your disagreement, but also provide a competing proposed solution to the problem. Sometimes both sides have it wrong but if they listen to each other with an open mind, a better solution can arise from the debate of competing ideas.
That debate of ideas is the real reason that the first amendment freedom of speech exists to protect. Everyone is free to reject the ideas of others, you are not free to prevent their expression. Let the marketplace of ideas reign!
10:29,
Delete"Have you noticed any of the findings coming out happening with the election commission?"
I haven't. But they sound interesting. Could you post a URL to those findings or an article you've read about it?
12:54 Apparently you don't follow those paragons of truth -- Breitbart and Infowars. If you did you would be well aware of all of those "factual findings" by the commission.
Delete10:29,
DeleteNo citation?
Yeah, I figured you were pulling that out of your ass or eating what Steve Bannon dumped out of his.
12:54
Just a brief look (not a single Breitbart or Foxnews link)
DeleteNew Hampshire
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/kobach-faces-critics-election-integrity-panel-after-claiming-fraud-new-n800751
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/10/new-hampshire-voter-fraud-needs-to-be-investigated/
California's Self-Reported Numbers:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-warns-california-clean-voter-registration-lists-face-federal-lawsuit/
" 2016 Election Administration Voting Survey and through verbal accounts from various county agencies show 11 California counties have more registered voters than voting-age citizens: Imperial (102%), Lassen (102%), Los Angeles (112%), Monterey (104%), San Diego (138%), San Francisco (114%), San Mateo (111%), Santa Cruz (109%), Solano (111%), Stanislaus (102%), and Yolo (110%)... Los Angeles County officials “informed us that the total number of registered voters now stands at a number that is a whopping 144% of the total number of resident citizens of voting age."
New Mexico Purge of Voter Rolls of 85,000:
https://www.abqjournal.com/1057269/nm-voter-rolls-drop-by-85000-after-voter-purge.html
Denver Colorado has seen a "2,150 percent increase in voter registration withdrawals" after the commission asked for voting data.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/opinion/donald-trump-voting-rights-purge.html
I could go on, but suffice to say I don't need to do your research for you. Knock, knock.
10:29,
DeleteNone of that shows “over 100% of eligible votes [sic] voting.”
Talk about gossamer threads of whimsy. You and Trump’s conspiracy theory panel merely point to a theoretical margin of error that exists because voter roles (in EVERY STATE) include registrants who were not expunged immediately upon death or relocation. What’s the basis for leaping from remote possibility of fraudulent voting to the probability, or even reasonable plausibility, that a critical mass of people voted wrongfully?
The theory defies common sense. Consider that about half of eligible voters in this country do not vote because they (rationally albeit selfishly) understand that their one vote would not make a difference. You fantasize that thousands of individuals decided to risk criminal fines, imprisonment or deportation just to increase the chance of victory for a moderate Democrat (a D.I.N.O.) by .0000000001%, hoping that tens of thousands of other people would take that risk too. AND, then, those thousands, even millions, of people were so sly that they didn’t get caught, individually or acting in conspiracy.
OK. Now, assume it’s plausible. A margin of error goes both ways. It would be just as likely that Trump lost by six million votes as it is that he won narrowly. Why do you assume that more Hilary voters were fraudulent than Trump voters? Was anyone caught trying besides this Trump TRUMP VOTER: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/29/trump-supporter-charged-with-voting-twice-in-iowa/?utm_term=.0fb92c98bfb8 ?
Seems to me that fraud is more likely in close situations, where you only need to fudge a little in order to change the result. So, if it happened, isn’t more likely that Trump won by fraud. All he had to do was nudge the totals by 0.7% in Pennsylvania, 0.3% in Michigan, and 0.7% in Wisconsin.
Come on, man. Seriously?
Moreover 10:29, you referenced "findings" by the Commission. None of your links are "findings" by the commission.
DeleteAre you this adamant about investigating the extent to which Russia attempted to manipulate a Presidential election in the US? Whether they were successful or not, the mere fact that they attempted to do so should cause every citizen of this Country to demand an investigation and determine the extent as well as determine how to prevent it in the future. Of course, that assumes you are interested in the facts, rather than made-up boogeymen to support your false narrative of rampant voter fraud.
If the national anthem is such a sacred song, how many of the fat fu&$s sitting at home watching the game complaining about players not standing for the anthem get off their fat arses to stand for the anthem? Yeah, pretty much zero.
ReplyDeleteRight??? They're right down there with the fake patriots who proclaim support for our troops but have never actually thanked one in person or donated money to the causes of military families.
DeleteHow many of them know all of lyrics? How many of them know Francis Scott Key was a slave owner and fought against the abolition of slavery? How many of them know that Key was a district attorney who tried to imprison an innocent black men? How many will learn those facts and still "tear up" when the song plays. Give me a f*cking break.
DeleteThis is the third verse of the anthem:
DeleteAnd where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
British soldiers offered slaves freedom in British territories if they fought for them. Key's lyrics applaud their deaths. Key also called black slaves "a distinct and inferior race."
The Left is totally nuts. Now no more National Anthem, no pledge of allegiance, no more history because it is offensive and hit the RESET button and create a new America. This is ISIL or ISIS madness. Let's wipe out all of our history and heritage Take down that statute.......
Delete3:24 has had four failed marriages and doesn't see the common denominator. It's hard to take anyone seriously who refers to "The Left" or "The Right" as a monolithic entity.
Delete"ISIL or ISS madness"!?!?! LOL!!!!! What a triggered snowflake.
DeleteI am actually a Republican 3:24. No one is saying we as a nation should no longer have a National Anthem. No one is saying no more history. To the contrary, what I read is lets celebrate and acknowledge a nation of wars and warts. Lets celebrate the good and acknowledge the bad. Lets not sugarcoat our history and pretend it is great; instead lets keep an open mind that merely because it is history does not make it good.
Delete"If the national anthem is such a sacred song, how many of the fat fu&$s sitting at home watching the game complaining about players not standing for the anthem get off their fat arses to stand for the anthem? Yeah, pretty much zero."
DeleteThis comment is amazing. YES. You are exactly right.
@10:46. I love football and just wish the F'n Leader of the Free World would leave it the f'k alone. What is he, the President or some half-drunk self-aggrandizing tail-gating jersey-wearing foul-mouthed redneck fan??? Because he keeps acting like the latter, and it is Disgusting, particularly if you have Children. At least with Kim Jung Un, he's actually being president (but not presidential). No one elected him sports commenter in chief.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are wholly lacking in substance, intellect, or any real plan to address the actual challenges of the world, you tweet like madman in an attempt to divert attention from your failings.
DeleteI am bombarded with politics on every social media platform. My Twitter TL is full of politics. I go to sports for a break, which is why these protests make me much less likely to consume the NFL. If it continues, I'll just watch college football and catch the highlights.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to carry over to college football eventually. Screw it, I'm just going to watch women's volleyball with the sound turned off.
DeleteThis will all blow over and one day be nothing more than another "30 for 30" on ESPN.
Delete1:28 - the protests don't disrupt the games. In fact, they don't even carry over into the games. If you're watching sports for sports, start with the kickoff / tipoff / starting gun and you'll be just fine.
Delete1:28 here. True. But, then the announcers bring it up, its part of the twitter conversation during the game, and it becomes a part of the pre/post game narrative. I have no issues with the players speaking out, but the NFL provides a product. If that product is tinged with politics, I'm out. I'm exhausted from politics right now. I think lots of other people feel the same.
DeleteSeriously, why couldn't the founders have thought to include a "Separation of Sports and Politics" provision in the Constitution?
DeleteAnd now for something much more relevant: word is that the mother of a defendant in a murder case tried to run over a witness against her son. Lots of cops in front of the RJC. Anyone know the details?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/witness-in-murder-case-hit-by-vehicle-in-downtown-las-vegas/ - The Review Journal has a little more information.
DeleteI get that Trump makes lots of bombastic (and usually dumb) comments that thrust him to the front page, but I've been sick of hearing about politics and Trump in particular for months. And now I can't even watch a game without enduring endless discussion on those topics. So count me among those that are tuning out of football games--not because I'm a Trump lover--but because I'd just rather not listen to any more political hot takes.
ReplyDelete^ THIS
DeleteI long for the old days. I wish I could hear Dan Dierdorf lisp us some political commentary and see Madden diagram the protests with his yellow, on-screen pen.
DeleteWonder if this could happen in our court. Those 11 years will be at least 9.5 years served.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-clerk-orange-county-superior-court-sentenced-over-11-years-federal-prison
From the above link ".....who worked at a Santa Ana bail bonds company and funneled a bribe to Lopez so a second-time drunk driving offender could avoid serving his mandatory 60-day jail sentence."
Delete60 Day Mandatory jail sentence for 2nd DUI??? We need that in Nevada!
Not a sports fan...don't give a flying rat's a$$ about Raiders or any other sports team, game or championship.
ReplyDelete63 comments so far today. Who is paying for those imaginary billable hours?
Insurance companies.
Delete