Gambling: “State would be winner if it legalizes the game,” opines Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle here. He writes, “Yes, I play poker. And like most poker players in Texas, I’m not sick, sleazy or despicable, and I am certainly no lawbreaker. Well, at times I might be. (A lawbreaker, that is).” Me, too. [...]
Moving the Moving Pictures
May 26, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The Washington Times reports here: “A D.C. Council member’s proposal to allow strip clubs to relocate along the New York Avenue corridor in Northeast has angered residents and businesses who have long been promised redevelopment on the blighted gateway.” Can you say, NIMBY? According to the article, “[t]he bill paves the way for the clubs [...]
The Government & Morality
May 23, 2007 By Leave a Comment
It’s a debate that will never end: Should government judge morality for us? That’s the topic from this op-ed recently posted on MiamiHerald.com, discussing the plight of Sherri Williams and her sex toys case from Alabama. The government (we?) routinely answers morality questions with legislation. After all, both murder and theft are widely considered immoral, [...]
Can you hear me now?
May 21, 2007 By Leave a Comment
This opinion from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concerns an open-atrium nightclub in Miami which, apparently, likes to play music. But the club’s neighbors (or some of them) don’t like to listen. The plaintiffs argued that the City’s noise ordinance was facially unconstitutional. The court disagreed. If you’re listening, it’s “Plaintiffs 0, Miami-Dade County [...]
Tail wagging the dog
May 20, 2007 By Leave a Comment
“Sioux City avoids sanctions in adult business lawsuit,” reported here by CBS 2 News in Iowa. The judge’s ruling (which you can download here) deals with the city destroying records from closed meetings while defending itself in a lawsuit filed by Doctor John’s Lingerie Boutique. In litigation, I frequently encounter local governments which do not [...]
Various
May 16, 2007 By Leave a Comment
A state-imposed door cover charge
May 13, 2007 By Leave a Comment
“Strip club patrons will have to pay an extra $5 at the door, under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday,” reports The Houston Chronicle here. The Texas bill targets sexually oriented businesses (SOBs). It’s sponsored by freshman Democrat Ellen Cohen (who serves as president of the Houston Area Women’s Center), and reportedly “would [...]
One of the best bars in America is …
May 12, 2007 By Leave a Comment
The Clermont Lounge – an Atlanta strip club. This, as reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, you can read about here. The article quotes one patron as saying, “It’s not just a bar, it’s an institution,” adding, “I think it should be on the National Register of Historic Places.” As an Atlantan and a fan [...]
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