@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social
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heidilifeldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social

Law professor, philosopher, progressive. Committed to rule of law and pluralistic democracy. Interests include art, books, history, science, cats, sharp wit. Boosts are not necessarily endorsements.

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heidilifeldman, to random
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#Alito has no shame. It isn’t just that he refuses to recuse himself from #Jan6 cases before the Supreme Court — it’s his arrogant assertion that he can assess how a “reasonable person” would view his involvement. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/05/29/justice-alito-rejects-recuse-flags-jan-6-cases/ 73895356007/ 1/ #JudicialEthics #RuleOfLaw

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

, who is avowedly motivated by political and ideological considerations - per his own public comments as well as his many law-free judicial opinions - has no standing to insist either that the hypothetical “reasonable person” is supposed to be free from commitments to . 2/

heidilifeldman,
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It makes zero difference whether had “nothing to do with” flying the U.S. flag upside down or with flying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag. Both were flown at his residences. This would give any reasonable person grounds to believe he condones the sentiments and ideas those flags represent. 3/

drewharwell, to random

Justice Alito's wife loves her flags. In a three-page letter, he writes:

"As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused"

"There were no additional steps that I could have taken to have the flag taken down more promptly"

"My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/29/supreme-court-alito-recuse-flag-jan-6/

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

@drewharwell It is beyond belief that didn’t know the connection between that flag and the Stop the Steal Movement. It was all over the news. Or maybe Alito feels no obligation to be informed about the events of the day, which itself is a dereliction of judicial duty. @waldoj

waldoj, to random
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I'm kind of a big deal

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

@waldoj 🤣

GottaLaff, to TeslaMotors
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🤦🏻‍♀️😳#Trump & #Musk have discussed a possible advisory role for the Tesla leader should TFG reclaim WH, the latest sign that the once-frosty relationship between the 2 has thawed.

The role hasn’t been fully hammered out and might not happen, but they discussed ways to give Musk formal input & influence over policies related to border security and the economy, both issues on which Musk has grown more vocal.
https://apple.news/A12U7FLPbQbm6Nfj7Y1_glQ

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff @lisamelton Gross.

stux, to random
@stux@mstdn.social avatar

Pff what a day :sad_cat:

Hello and a good meowing :nkoWave:

This morning I woke up with a massive pain in my stomach that kept getting worse

With a bit of panic we rushed to the first aid but there they refused to help me since I had to go to the "doctor first" and take an asprin :nkoFacepalm2: (someone should lose their job)

So when looking for an alternative I could not hold it anymore and we called the ambulance on the parking place

So I went in the ambulance to the hospital today

heidilifeldman, (edited )
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@stux Just seeing that you were unwell. Glad you are doing better.

heidilifeldman, to random
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Apropos of nothing, I just have to say that LinkedIn is insufferable.

heidilifeldman,
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@drustevenson Share the secret, please!

heidilifeldman, to random
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Here’s an excellent article about important lawsuits just filed on behalf of Uvalde families who lost loved ones to a mass shooting there. The families, represented by the same attorney who represented the Sandy Hook families, are suing Daniel Defense, the maker of the AR-15 used by the shooter, as well as the publisher of Call of Duty video games and Meta. (I am quoted in the story.) https://wapo.st/3R1Y9LA

heidilifeldman,
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The complaint then explains how the same characteristics that made the AR-15 easy to use by soldiers makes this sort of weapon easy to use by adolescent school shooters today. 9/

heidilifeldman,
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Daniel Defense, the complaint alleges, courts adolescent boys who are socially isolated, hooked on Call of Duty, and struggling with masculinity - the all too familiar profile of school shooters. It spends heavily on marketing to ensure that its expensive AR-15 is the weapon of choice for 18 year old males. 10/

heidilifeldman,
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The complaint lays out marketing tactics Daniel Defense uses to appeal to adolescent boys. In ads on social media the company shows its AR-15 being used by military “operators” to “hunt” civilians. The company also uses ads showing an “assassin set up”, a shooter aiming a Daniel Defense AR-15 at vehicles on a city street at night. The company responds positively to enthusiast comments about the apparently criminal use of the product and ignores critical comments. 11/

heidilifeldman,
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“On May 16, 2022, the day the [Uvalde] Shooter purchased his Daniel Defense DDM4v7, Daniel Defense posted a social media advertisement showing a toddler holding a Daniel Defense AR-15 and a quote from Proverbs 22:6, “[t]rain up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 🙏” 12/

heidilifeldman,
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Daniel Defense also labels many of its social media posts as “gunporn” and refers to its assault weapons as objects of lust. The company posts images of beautiful women in bikinis or lingerie posing with Daniel Defense weapons. 13/

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

Furthermore, the complaint explains, the company associates its product with pop culture aimed at adolescent boys, e.g. by showing rock musician Post Malone happily frolicking with a Daniel Defense AR-15. 14/

heidilifeldman,
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In addition to its use of social media, Daniel Defense had its AR-15 featured in the video game Call of Duty, which has been the best selling video game almost every year since 2009.

All the marketing drives adolescents to the Daniel Defense website, where its sells its AR-15 direct to consumers. 15/

heidilifeldman,
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Through the Daniel Defense site, explains the complaint, a visitor is encouraged to give the company his email address, which the company uses to track the visitor’s use of the site and to generate targeted ads and offers emailed directly to the visitor, regardless of his age. 16/

heidilifeldman,
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I won’t recap all the detailed information the complaint provides about the shooter. In short, the shooter was a troubled boy, with a history of abuse, neglect, and being bullied. He was failing out of high school, was depressed and anorexic. He spent “hours and hours” on instagram and playing Call of Duty. The shooter’s phone and computer showed how he repeatedly visited the Daniel Defense website. 17/

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

The complaint also describes the accessories the Uvalde shooter purchased to increase the rate at which he could fire the Daniel Defense AR-15. The suit names the makers of these accessories as codefendants. The complaint includes ads by these manufacturers and shows how Danuel Defense ads show their weapons being used with these accessories.

The marketing relationships between Daniel Defense and the accessory manufacturers are “symbiotic,” says the complaint. 18/

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

The complaint then itemizes how the shooter used the Daniel Defense weapon to kill 19 students and two teachers. (This is legally necessary, but too gruesome for me to review here.) Finally, the complaint lays out the specific legal causes of action the families are bringing against Daniel Defense. The central claims are for negligently causing the wrongful death of the children and teachers. 19/

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

That concludes my sketch of the complaint, filed today, against Daniel Defense, for its role in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. News reporting on this suit and related ones filed today is at https://wapo.st/3R1Y9LA (I’m quoted). The complaint is extremely well done, with specificity and precision. Still, there is going to be a lot of litigation before the suit is resolved, indeed before it ever gets to trial, if it does. 20/20

heidilifeldman,
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@KatM Eventually, one of these suits against an AR-15 maker is going to get to thorough discovery and fuller details will come out about the relationship between some marketing agencies and the firearms makers.

heidilifeldman,
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@flowerpot I had that reaction over and over reading the complaint.

heidilifeldman,
@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social avatar

@rustoleumlove You understand the complaint against Daniel Defense precisely: the emphasis is on how Daniel Defense uses the game for marketing to adolescent boys. I haven’t read the complaint against CoD’s publisher but at least in the Daniel Defense suit the claim is not that the video game caused the shooting.

heidilifeldman,
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@rustoleumlove I was endorsing your comment! You were exactly right - my clarification was for others, not you. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear.

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