Musk v Altman JUDGE: The jury has sent a question and the answer is no, the death penalty is not "available for both sides" please return to the jury room and limit your consideration to civil damages.

Little wisdom from 1906: “We are quarantined today by the state against all germs of disease that hurt our bodies. But there are other germs … We call them words and ideas. They enter through the eye and the ear and feed upon the brain-cells and destroy the very tissue of the immortal soul”

Gonna talk about censorship some more. This time (remotely) in California: www.bccbooks.org/event/out-of...

Of the many issues, I realized relatively young that I couldn’t pretend with libertarianism because it ignored the coercive power of the private sector. This illustrates that power.

Ready to head home after a good research trip but it was damn weird to visit a former home like this. Lot more socializing than I’m used to (but great) and fun to walk down memory lane. Im looking forward to nearly two months of home time before the next. Writing hopefully. Most likely cat napping.

OMG is this really the source of this hatred of wind turbines. I totally forgot about this

Working on a bunch of material challenged as obscene in a set of cases and one was described as "8mm film entitled Honey Bee" and I assume it is about how bees pollinate. (I have only recently realized the extent of distribution of porn via 8mm in the time before tapes).

Lego Richard is excited because we are done a day early. Got lots of stuff for more immediate use, some longer term stuff, the last thing I grabbed gave me a ton of material over a 1964 fight about a homosexual film that I’m already looking for more stuff on. Now time to write.

Wrote up a bit about some early finds I made in Syracuse.

I don't know, sounds like most of the libertarians I remember in college. They usually hated Black people and/or women but liked pot.

Lego Richard and I are always happy to find a good appendix.

I'm so confused by this. I mean, how would you even know what is "filler" without watching something first?

Reminds me being like 8 and looking up and wondering if people lived in these up there and my mom, I’m sure just tired of me talking, saying “who knows”

This country has a long history of thinking indulging in porn changes someone for the worst, including making you a predator & murderer!

Lego Richard and I are excited by the finds around the Swedish art house/sexy film (the Roger Ebert found decidedly not sexy) “I am Curious, Yellow.” Include a trial transcript. Looks like we are in line to finish with everything by Friday.

Lego Richard and I had a good chuckle at this criminal complaint. “Mouth vaginal and mouth genital contacts” is just too good.

Look at my little Rupert getting so big and regal.

Lego Richard and I have made up and they are preparing to enjoy a bath in the head of a nicely made Irish stout.

What I love about this is that there is nothing more certain in my mind than that my atheist ass has read more of the Bible, thanks to a comparative religion class that I half-assed, than Trump.

Honestly how does this work. The Tangerine Rapist seems to believe he can run again so anyone announcing risks his wrath and since the party is a cult of personality to him, they are over. I assume he has to willing endorse someone but having the temperament of a child how could you trust that even?

"With a potentially embarrassing discovery process looming, the district seemed much more willing to settle the case." This is the end of so many school speech suits. Often it happens that the defense pulls together everything and, I assume, says "are you fucking stupid, settle!"

I wish companies would learn a lesson from this. You can't bribe Trump because he doesn't have the decency to stay bribed. He will take your money and then continue to screw you. So what's the point of a bribe? www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/b...

I love that it is only after I abandon my life as a state courts scholar that the Utah Supreme Court became interesting. This was all tied up in the Republican attempt to void gerrymandering limits because to Republicans there is one certain principle: any Democratic representation is illegitimate

The law, in its majestic equality, forbids Democrats and Republicans to gerrymander in favor of Democrats.

Lego Richard mocked me by pointing out that eventually I have to leave the archives and start writing. So we aren’t talking now. Why yes, I do get weird on long solo trips. Why do you ask?

Everyone gets As. Fuck it all.

Lego Richard loves finding a pile of hate mail.

Summary of conservative thinking: “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass relates only his own views on slavery; we cannot properly assess the merits of his book without giving equal time to his slave owner.”

“I shall lead us to glory and never ending treats!” I miss my adorable dictator.

We're in summer now but I'm still sort of amazed that our IT hasn't bothered to send any kind of notification about this.

I enjoy a good mocking advertisement. Ad for the first unedited Lady Chatterley’s Lover in the US.

Found Barney Rosset’s literature term paper from when he attended Swathmore in 1941. He bought a copy of Tropic of Cancer under the counter at Gotham Book Mart and fell in love with it. He only got a B- but 20 years later he finally brought an unedited copy out and freed it of obscenity charges.

Lego Richard wonders why we don’t skipped the archive and do this all day. I can’t come up with a good response other than I probably shouldn’t be talking with a piece of plastic.

Once again an organization illustrates exactly why they need to hire more social science and humanities graduates. Like what kind of dumbfuck oks this?

I'm amazed by the shear scope of the panic over Tropic of Cancer. There are hundreds of arrests but that misses the mass intimidation tactic such as here where the Cincinnati county prosecutor send officers to threaten ever single seller and this happened in many other locations.

Smutty book trial transcript!

Lego Richard is amused by this story of four actors being arrested for the grave crime of reading aloud from Tropic of Cancer.

As I said years ago on a listserv, to the scandal of some, just because your religion tells you to hate me doesn't mean I have to treat it as legitimate. I don't give a fuck what causes your hate.

I'm not a fancy pants lawyer or anything but I'd think that facing the cost and expense of defending a prosecution against protected speech would be an irreparable harm.

Lego Richard says enough with the smut bring on the beer.

Lego Richard loves when a filthy book is put on trial.

Henry Miller assuring his publisher that the success of the US editions of the Tropics is guaranteed by various astrologers

Ok already had a good laugh from this review of Naked Lunch

Two random thoughts on returning to the Syracuse campus: 1. Holy damn I forgot how that wind cuts you on a chilly morning. It’s like how I imagine life in Winterfell. 2. There’s a lot shop on Marshall st (main food area). Whoever won that location is a fucking genius.

I love this because it is true only when I'm in Utah (all alcohol spaces check everyone.) In upstate NY and the bartender didn't blink at bringing me a drink. She still won't when I pay. It's such a weird mythic world these folks have made up.

The show hit 50k downloads last night (🥹) dropping an episode on the Closing of the American Mind today feels like a fitting way to celebrate

A recovery day prior to the archive was a good idea. And the bartender and I shared compliments over our mutual nail and cardigan game. So my queer duties are fulfilled for the day.

First Syracuse stop. I joke that I live like a 13 year old left alone for a week and this is never more true than long work trips. Picked up approximately 20lbs of candy, collections of reasonably “healthy” snacks, and approximately 32 cans of local beer.

Need to get to this article on my pile. I’m a bit curious about this highlighted statement. Was there ever doubt about this? Or am I just imbedded in higher Ed history

My kingdom for a proportional representation system.