MetaFilter posts tagged with laws

The laws of your world don't apply, mortals!

msaleem — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:31:40 -0800

Made to be Broken: laws you can ignore

ND¢ — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:19:22 -0800

American Lawbreaking. "This series explores the black spots in American law: areas in which our laws are routinely and regularly broken and where the law enforcement response is … nothing. These are the areas where, for one reason or another, we've decided to tolerate lawbreaking and let a law—duly enacted and still on the books—lay fallow or near dead." The first two entries are prescription drug abuse and internet pornography.

Welcome to New Jersey: Do not drink and sleep

CameraObscura — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:31:09 -0800

DUI for NOT Driving while Drunk A New Jersey appellate court yesterday upheld the principle that convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) can be imposed on individuals who were not driving. This is not one of those kooky old laws on the books.

Nomic is a game where modifying the game is the game.

cortex — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:57:43 -0800

Nomic, as introduced by inventor Peter Suber (homepage): a game of self-modification—every move is an attempt to alter the rules governing how the game is played. Further from wikipedia. [A great deal more within.]

Malaysia, Politics, and Bloggers

divabat — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 15:31:19 -0800

An Indonesian TV crew was invited to Malaysia for their Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign but encountered many problems. They write up about it - and start a flurry of comments and controversy across the Malaysian government about blogging. [more inside]

Read the Bills

Who_Am_I — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 05:56:03 -0800

The folks at DownsizeDC have this crazy idea that the members of Congress should have to read the bills that they vote on. Here is their plan to make it happen.

Gun control ten years on.

bystander — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:31:00 -0800

Australian gun laws claimed to reduce mass shootings. In October, a study prepared by Australian pro-gun lobbyists and published in the British Journal of Criminology argued that tougher gun laws in Australia did little to lower murder or suicide rates. A newly released report agrees that historically declining murder rates were mainly responsible for the decline in average gun homicides from 93 to 56 per annum. In the USA there were approximately 10000 gun homicides in 2004. The report emphasises there have been no mass shootings since the laws were enacted.

civil unions? marriage?

amberglow — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 12:26:33 -0800

NJ says yes to same-sex marriage! (altho it might not be called that in the end) -- link to pdf of ruling here.

Presidential Signing Statements

baylink — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:05:09 -0800

"What does a bill mean when I sign it into law? Why, whatever I choose for it to mean, no more, no less." This isn't the way I learned this stuff on Schoolhouse Rock; I'm unsurprised Congress isn't pleased by 'signing statements', either. Even the Supreme Court isn't all that happy. No wonder he's only vetoed one bill in 6 years.

I bet you look real purty in a burka, baby...

dejah420 — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:23:14 -0800

The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act (S. 1955) has passed out of committee and is now slated for a floor vote. The bill is ostensibly designed to save small employers money and extend health insurance options to employees who hadn’t had them. What it is actually likely to do is end basic health insurance coverage for women (and diabetics); birth control, regularly taken prescriptions, cancer screenings, maternity care, and more. Women in every state will lose benefits. S. 1955 would allow insurance plans to ignore important state laws that protect patients, directly affecting more than 90 million Americans. [more inside]