Formed in 2009, the Archive Team (not to be confused with the archive.org Archive-It Team) is a rogue archivist collective dedicated to saving copies of rapidly dying or deleted websites for the sake of history and digital heritage. The group is 100% composed of volunteers and interested parties, and has expanded into a large amount of related projects for saving online and digital history.
The votes are in! At 1176 votes -- an overwhelming 49.49% of all votes cast -- Popehat's 2016 Censorious Asshat of the Year is the City of Parma Police Department, which I profiled in April 2016. Congratulations! Sort of. How did the police of a modest Ohio town beat out luminaries like Donald Trump and the assorted colleges and college students of America? They earned it, friends and neighbors. They didn't just bluster, or threaten suit, or denigrate free speech values. They arrested … [Read More...]
There's A Pony Born Every Minute
Juda Parker 9:23 AM (22 hours ago) to me Hi There, I've been trying to get in touch with somebody in regards to learning about your site's advertising strategy – specifically how you're set up monetizing your site. My name is Juda and I work for Sovrn Holdings, which is a premium ad exchange that[Read More…]
Criticizing An Adverse Witness — Free Speech or "Retaliation"?
If you trash-talk a business and the owner sues you, the legal path is clear. You're protected by the First Amendment, indolent bloggers may write to support you, luminaries like Paul Alan Levy may get all up in your grill, and legislatures may pass laws to protect you. But what are your rights if you're[Read More…]
DC Appellate Court Hands Michael Mann A Partial Victory On Climate Change Libel Case
More than four years ago climate scientist Michael Mann sued the National Review, Mark Steyn, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Rand Simberg for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, complaining that they wrongfully suggested he used fraudulent methods in framing his much-discussed "hockey stick graph" purporting to show an increase in global warming. Mann[Read More…]
Return of the Popehat Shirts
Popehat shirts are available again here, in three varieties, this time with text. They run a bit small. Enjoy.
Who Will Be Popehat's Censorious Asshat Of 2016?
With 2016 safely behind us, it's time for Popehat's annual Censorious Asshat of the Year contest! As always, only asshats we have written about are eligible. Candidates have been narrowed down through a process involving ennui, psychological trauma, and misanthropy. It's a rather weak lot this year, heavy on bluster and light on actual censoriousness:[Read More…]
Breaking: Very Stupid Idea Arises From Florida
A government lawyer in Florida would like courts to impose community service and forced speech on you if you're unpleasant, and a prominent Florida newspaper is taking it seriously. Wait. Taking it "seriously." No. "Taking it seriously." Shit. "Writing about it without open ridicule." There. The government lawyer is one Mikki Canton, "chief strategic adviser[Read More…]
The Prenda Saga Goes Criminal: Steele and Hansmeier Indicted On Federal Charges (Updated)
This is the latest post in the Prenda Law saga. More than three and a half years ago I started covering a copyright-troll firm called Prenda Law, which came to my attention because it was filing defamation suits against critics accusing it of wrongdoing. Rarely does the Streisand Effect so utterly annihilate a group of[Read More…]
Deserving Trust
"Fake news" is the slogan of the day. As a concept, it's typical: it has a grain of truth and descriptive value, but has been wantonly overused and twisted for partisan ends. Will you run into "news" that is based on simply false facts? Yes. Will you also see people using "fake news" to describe[Read More…]
Cracked Drunkenly Paws At Free Speech Theory Again
I feel both fondness and respect for Cracked. I remember reading the magazine as a kid — it was number two or three to Mad, but it tried harder. As a web site, it's done good work in the realms of satire, fatuity, and social and political commentary. But like any institution it has a[Read More…]
Update on The Popehat Podcast
I've written about it before, and I teased it in yesterday's flag burning post, but a Popehat podcast is getting closer. (I know, I said that last December.) I have all the content ready for the first episode. I've been listening to a lot more podcasts and have gotten more of a sense of what[Read More…]