Blog

Between 2009 and 2020, Josh published more than 10,000 blog posts. Here, you can access his blog archives.

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

Blackman’s Boots and Shoes

February 22nd, 2013

Apparently there is a famous shoe store in the London called “Blackman’s Boots and Shoes.” It’s been in business since 1935, and is still in operation as a father-son business.

Retronaut has collected some great pictures.

Blackmans-old

Blackmans-60s

BLACKMANS-2

As far as I know, there is no relation.

Here is a video.

7th Circuit Denies Rehearing En Banc in Illinois Conceal Carry Case 5-4

February 22nd, 2013

Today the 7th Circuit denied rehearing en banc in Moore v. Madigan 5-4. Voting against rehearing were Chief Judge Easterbrook, and Judges Posner, Flaum, Sykes, and Tinder. Dissenting from the denial of rehearing were Judges Hamilton, Rovner, Wood, and Williams. Judge Kanne did not participate.

I blogged earlier about the Madigan decision here. I guess attempts at urging Judge Posner to change his mind failed.

Judge Hamilton issued a dissental begging the Supreme Court to take the case.  It focuses quite heavily on the social costs of the Second Amendment:

In so many public settings, carrying and using firearms present lethal risks to innocent bystanders. Yet when people go about their daily lives in public places, they have no choice about whether to consent to the dangers posed by firearms in public. We can all choose whether to visit homes where firearms are present. To illustrate the dangers posed by lawful use of firearms in public, consider a deadly confrontation on the streets of New York City in August 2012, when police confronted an armed man who had just shot and killed another man. The police officers were well trained in both how to shoot and when to shoot and not shoot. The officers fatally shot the gunman, but the officers’ many shots also wounded nine bystanders. I intend no 1 criticism of the officers, who confronted an urgent, dan-gerous situation that few have experienced first-hand. We will always need armed police officers, and some harm will be unavoidable despite their training, skill, and experience. But consider how much worse the situation on the crowded streets of New York might have been if several civilians, without the officers’ training but carrying firearms lawfully, had tried to help with their own firearms.

Isn’t this an argument about why police officers should shoot innocent people less?

Unless the Supreme Court is prepared to embrace the view attributed to it by the panel majority, that the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not depend on “casualty counts,” 702 F.3d at 939, we should not assume that the logic of Heller extends naturally and without qualification to firearms in public.

This tees up the issue for the Court in stark terms.

 

Video: Presentation of “Unprecedented: The Supreme Challenge to the ObamaCare.”

February 22nd, 2013

This will be the preview of my book-tour presentation. I gave the dry run to the Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association 34th Annual Full Day Business & Litigation CLE Seminar, Houston, TX on February 15, 2013.

It was a packed house with almost 100 in attendance.

2013-02-15_14-23-02_284

It got a great reception. I look forward to doing this talk dozens of times throughout the country over the next year. Coming soon to a city near you 🙂

Which Justice has the best seat on the Court?

February 22nd, 2013

I recently realized that Justices Holmes, Cardozo, and Brandeis shared the same seat on the Court in succession. That is pretty awesome. Here are some of the previous residents of the Nine

Excluding the Chief, Breyer’s seat is probably the best, followed by Scalia’s seat, with Kagan in a distant third (if nothing else due to the longevity of its occupants).

Speaking of which, Happy President’s Day!

“Cowboy up. I’m fixin’ to ride, and Jesus is my vehicle.”

February 21st, 2013

The final words spoken by Carl Blue, before he was executed tonight in Huntsville, Texas. In 1994, he doused his girlfriend with gasoline and set her on fire (he purchased 50 cents worth of gasoline and poured it in a Big Fulp cup).

In his final statement, Blue greeted his victim’s daughter, Terrella Richards, as she entered the death chamber viewing area by telling her he loved her.

“I never meant to hurt your mama,” Blue said while strapped to a gurney. “If I could change that, I would. … I hope you can forgive me.”

He then told his parents, watching from an adjacent room, that he loved them and acknowledged he had done something wrong. He said he was “paying the ultimate justice. … It may be crooked justice but I forgive those people.”

He later added: “Cowboy up. I’m fixin’ to ride, and Jesus is my vehicle.”

Blue took about a dozen breaths as the lethal drug began taking effect. He said he could “feel it,” then slipped into unconsciousness before being pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m.