By Jeb Harmon On September 15, 2014, Jaleel Abdul-Jabbaar of Washington State hit the “post” button on his Facebook page.[1] Angered by the recent incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white cop killed an African-American teenager, Abdul-Jabbaar posted a photo of the officer, Darren Wilson, with the message, “this dude needs his house sprayed.[2]” In October…

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By Jed H. D’Abravanel The District of Columbia’s (D.C.) peculiar legal status as the seat of the nation’s government has long acted to restrict the ability of its residents to express their popular sovereignty, and constitutional rights to both representation and legislative self determination.[1] Thus, the wishes of D.C.’s residents have long differed from the expressed…

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By Doug Silverstein The NFL is big business for owners, players, and sponsors. However, NFL cheerleaders who work each game day often see very little of that business. In fact, many NFL cheerleaders do not even make the minimum wage.[1] Within the last year, several NFL cheerleader squads have pushed their teams to raise their wages.[2] The…

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By: Amy Farina Like most young children, I used to have one-way conversations with my Barbie dolls. But starting in fall 2015, Barbie will now listen and talk back. Toy maker Mattel teamed up with Toy Talk, a company that creates conversational toys, to reveal Hello Barbie last month at the New York Toy Fair.[1] Hello…

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By Collin Shannon  The free speech protections granted by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution are among the strongest in the world. Even so, a number of exceptions to such protections exist because, even in a free society, there are justifications for restrictions of total free speech.[1] A potential new exception to the First…

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By: Kelly Richardson Since Congress enacted the Tax Reform Act of 1969, section 183 has uniquely affected a variety of individuals.[1] This statute, commonly called the Hobby Loss statute, allows a participant to deduct the cost of engaging in a hobby only to the extent that it does not exceed the profits derived from that hobby,…

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By Theresa Lau January 21, 2015 started as a usual day for most people living in the District of Columbia. But for most civil rights advocates, that particular day was full of uncertainty about the future of civil rights law. The Nine Justices of the Supreme Court gathered to hear the oral arguments on an…

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