Dwight Meredith, writing for Wampum Blog hits the proverbial nail on the head in deciphering the "joint statement" released by Atrios and Donald Luskin settling their (happily) short-lived feud:

Luskin: Man, did I ever screw the pooch? Having a lawyer write the letter threatening suit against Atrios was a stupid mistake. Not only would any such lawsuit be frivolous, but the truck-load of scorn heaped upon me by the blogosphere has decimated whatever small shreds of credibility I may have previously possessed. Therefore, I have decided to fold my cards and cut my losses.

Atrios: Okay.

Go over and read how Dwight arrived at this analysis.

T. Christopher Kelly writes on TalkLeft as TChris.

He is a member of Kelly & Habermehl, S.C., a law firm based in Madison, Wisconsin. His practice concentrates on the defense of individuals and organizations accused of crime in federal and state courts, with a special emphasis on appellate and post-conviction representation.

In 2005, he was the lead attorney in United States v. Booker, a Supreme Court case that struck down mandatory federal sentencing guidelines as violating the Sixth Amendment.

This appeared on Donald Luskin's and Atrios's weblogs today:

A JOINT STATEMENT FROM DONALD LUSKIN AND ATRIOS We both regret a series of misunderstandings that have resulted in something that neither of us intended. We have discussed our differences, and both of us are confident that such misunderstandings will not occur again in the future. As a result, Mr. Luskin is retracting his demand letter of October 29, 2003. We congratulate each other on having quickly achieved an amicable resolution. We are both glad to have put this behind us.

A credit to both of them for resolving the matter without a lawsuit.

About 15 minutes after our last post on Sunday night, we got hit by food poisoning and a fever that reached 101, sending us to the doctor Monday morning and then back to bed until just now. We're going to try to make it to work today, we should be back here tonight.

Public Defender Dude has been in a jury trial the past two weeks. The jury is out now. His thoughts on the various stages of the trial, from the day there was testimony by "lying cops" to closing arguments and now to sweating out the deliberations is a great read for anyone who's interested in trials.

Mrs. Kos has gone into labor and Baby Kos is on its way. Stay tuned.

Update: It's a healthy boy. We got a phone call from Kos, the labor was 23 hours. Congrats to Kos and Elisa.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.

As everyone knows by know (we're a little behind the 8 ball on this since we're out of town), Atrios got a letter from a lawyer named Jeffrey J. Upton in Massachussetts threatening to expose his identity and sue him over some of Atrios' posts and reader comments to those posts about a NRO columnist named Donald Luskin.

Bloggers are not liable for the content of comments posted by readers. The Batzel case referred to in the article is Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003). The statute involved is 47 USCS § 230, The Communications Decency Act of 1996 . Since Batzel, the 9th Circuit has reaffirmed this position in Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119, 1122-1123 (U.S. App. , 2003). Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin agrees.

Upton charges that Atrios libeled Luskin by calling him a stalker. Professor Balkan responds:

.... read in context, Atrios' post is (a) not an allegation of actual criminal behavior, and (b) is a protected statement of satire and opinion. He is making fun of Luskin's own comparison of himself as someone who stalks Paul Krugman. Luskin's argument that Atrios has libeled him shouldn't survive a motion for summary judgment. Of course, the real problem is that getting to that point will cost Atrios money to defend himself.

Atrios should not have to go through this ordeal. We suspect, however, that just like the Fox suit against Franken lifted Franken's book up the best-seller charts, so too will Atrios ultimately benefit from the mainstream media attention the cease and desist letter will bring.

As everyone knows by know (we're a little behind the 8 ball on this since we're out of town), Atrios got a letter from a lawyer named Jeffrey J. Upton in Massachussetts threatening to expose his identity and sue him over some of Atrios' posts and reader comments to those posts about a NRO columnist named Donald Luskin.

Bloggers are not liable for the content of comments posted by readers. The Batzel case referred to in the article is Batzel v. Smith, 333 F.3d 1018 (9th Cir. 2003). The statute involved is 47 USCS § 230, The Communications Decency Act of 1996 . Since Batzel, the 9th Circuit has reaffirmed this position in Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119, 1122-1123 (U.S. App. , 2003). Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin agrees.

Upton charges that Atrios libeled Luskin by calling him a stalker. Professor Balkan responds:

.... read in context, Atrios' post is (a) not an allegation of actual criminal behavior, and (b) is a protected statement of satire and opinion. He is making fun of Luskin's own comparison of himself as someone who stalks Paul Krugman. Luskin's argument that Atrios has libeled him shouldn't survive a motion for summary judgment. Of course, the real problem is that getting to that point will cost Atrios money to defend himself.

Atrios should not have to go through this ordeal. We suspect, however, that just like the Fox suit against Franken lifted Franken's book up the best-seller charts, so too will Atrios ultimately benefit from the mainstream media attention the cease and desist letter will bring.

According to today's Blog Street Index, we are the tenth most influential blog out of the 144,733 blogs tracked by the site. Thanks to all our readers for putting us there. We are proud to be in the same vicinity as Instapundit (#1), Atrios (#3) and Daily Kos (#7).

We'll be hitting the road this afternoon, bound for New Orleans for a meeting of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers ( NACDL).

We'll be posting again beginning Thursday, on a lighter schedule until we return Saturday. Keep your eyes on Daily Kos, whose baby should be arriving any minute.

Thanks to those of you who have contributed via the PayPal and Amazon links on the left. Blogging and scouring the news multiple times throughout the day and evening does take a lot of our time. So, if you can afford it, your donations are very much appreciated.

According to today's Blog Street Index, we are the tenth most influential blog out of the 144,733 blogs tracked by the site. Thanks to all our readers for putting us there. We are proud to be in the same vicinity as Instapundit (#1), Atrios (#3) and Daily Kos (#7).

We'll be hitting the road this afternoon, bound for New Orleans for a meeting of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers ( NACDL).

We'll be posting again beginning Thursday, on a lighter schedule until we return Saturday. Keep your eyes on Daily Kos, whose baby should be arriving any minute.

Thanks to those of you who have contributed via the PayPal and Amazon links on the left. Blogging and scouring the news multiple times throughout the day and evening does take a lot of our time. So, if you can afford it, your donations are very much appreciated.