Normally a voluntary departure means no unemployment benefits, but if your boss is offering cash prizes for guessing who will be fired next, you can probably quit and still get paid. "Egregious and deplorable," said the ALJ who approved Misty…

I still didn't want to believe that Italy was actually going to put seismologists on trial for manslaughter for failing to predict an earthquake, but that farce did in fact begin on Tuesday. This was just a preliminary hearing, and…

I'm not saying that abducting four young girls from a bus stop and then pleading insanity should disqualify you from ever holding a job again, but it might be considered a black mark if you are running for the school board….

WikiLeaks said today it has "commenced pre-litigation action" against the Guardian newspaper and a German citizen for negligently disclosing decryption passwords WikiLeaks gave the Guardian. In other words, it is about to sue somebody for leaking secret information. Based on…

City's defense to a breach-of-contract claim: contracts aren't valid because the mayor was drunk when he signed them. "Them" being nine separate contracts worth about $1 million. "Again," the mayor said in a deposition, "this was after two or three…

A Twitter response to a post I wrote for Forbes.com about "Caylee's Law" being a bad idea: "what a STUPID article by @loweringthebar [link] STUPID!" I stand corrected. After being told by a judge that your latest mistake shows you are…

Doctrine of Proportionate Response: "Reed told police that he sat behind Willis and initially planned to attack him with a hammer, but fearing that would kill him, chose to light him on fire instead." Ladies and gentlemen, the complimentary peanuts…

Colorado now proposing to regulate doll diversity, number of blocks per child and the proper manner of labeling and application of sunscreen at child-care centers in that state. Puppetry authorized but not mandated. Merry-go-rounds and, terrifyingly, "sea saws" are prohibited. Also, "googly…

How do you hide a mink coat in your underpants for three days? It's not a riddle, I really don't know. I've read this report several times now and I can't visualize how this might have worked. And for that…

Finally, someone is standing up for the rights of the Great Hamster of Alsace. Via Popehat: the very funny site WTForever 21, which sometimes praises but usually mocks the fashions sold by Forever 21, is now being threatened by that…