A law enacted in 1999 has been struck down by the US Supreme Court today as an overbroad infringement of free speech. In United States v. Stevens (discussed here) the court said that the law criminalizing possession of depictions of animal cruelty goes too far. It specifically said that there is already laws forbidding cruelty to animals in all fifty states and that there is no history in our law of outlawing all depictions. The Chief Justice also ruled that there is no reason to allow an unconstitutional law based on assurances from the government that they would not abuse the law.
This is an excellent opinion and is in the best traditions of American jurisprudence. That's pretty unusual nowadays.
To celebrate, I'm posting a depiction of animal cruelty. The government presumably would have used its discretion in not prosecuting me since bull fights are art, but before now I would simply have had to trust them. I'm not big on trusting prosecutors.
This is not for everyone, so don't watch if you don't want to see a ferocious bull die. (It may not be safe for work if your boss is the government or a sissy!)
Bull fights are like a dance. Strangely, the ferocious and powerful bull is the woman, and the guy dressed in tight pants with puff balls on his toes is the man. For a great treatise on bull fighting, I recommend Ernest Hemmingway's "Death in the Afternoon."
Some may be squeamish, but even Hemmingway noted that the reaction is individualized. Some like this, some don't. I admire the bull who keeps attacking even as he dies. Don't feel bad for the bull, this is what he lives for, and he's going to be eaten anyway, so why not allow him to die fighting? And don't forget that even though the fight is balanced against him, the attraction to the sport is that the bull does sometimes win.
Another Victory for Freedom of Speech