Show me a single instance in the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, or the Declaration of Independence where the term 'democratic' in any variation is used. There isn't. However, Article IV, section 4 says that "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government". Seems like this bill is simply trying to reflect the Constitution.

"the United States relies on representative democracy, but its system of government is much more complex than that. It is not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered." - Taken from 'An Introduction to the American Legal System' written in 2006.
The United States is not a true representative democracy, Canada is. The United States is a constitutional republic in every sense of the word.

Are you the Sheriff of Rottingham? This isn't Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but that was a flawless impression.

This only really applies when you have something to compare it with. Besides, this technique just forensic document examination, which is older than computers are, how is this news?

This isn't the Sopranos. You might want to finish your post and not just cut off mid sen

Name a flag that isn't a graphical representation of something. A flag is nothing without meaning.

Slashdot poster arrested for misleading articles

"One douchebag in the UK has been sentenced for up to five years in jail for creating and operating bullshit, one of the world's largest English-language internet annoyances. The bullshit, which had about 8,000 misleading statements, was dubbed by the court as the 'criminal equivalent of the television show House, M.D.,' or 'Crimehouse.'"

House is a popular show, so anything not really related to it should be stretched to try to apply it to the article, right? No one cares about criminal forums. But Facebook? That gets page hits.

More importantly, they're wasting the other person's time. Fuck with Company X, be prepared for a hassle. This is the message they want to send, imo.

I didn't realize that the movies were made during his lifetime. Besides, you being sure of something is not a legal reason for invalidating a trademark.

That's exactly the point I was making. I'm not suggesting that Tolkien invented elves, or have any rights to elves in any way. But that the usage of 'Tolkien' to describe a type of elf gives the word Tolkien a secondary meaning. You're arguing the same points I was making.

And I'm not saying that what happened in this particular instance is valid. I was stating that names can in fact be trademarked. Xerox and Canon are trademarked.

That's a frightening concept. At least I'll be entertained while he takes me to the land of the dead.
And by the way, fire engine red is a color. #CE2029.

Sorry, I wasn't clear on my meaning. If you were to say "Tolkien elves', that would identify a 'type' of elf saparate from 'North Pole elves', etc., being immortal beings leaving on boats as opposed to little pointy eared beings who make toys. The usage of Tolkien in that phrase has a meaning secondary to that of J.R.R. Tolkien, and thus is legally able to be trademarked. I wasn't trying to suggest that the Tolkien estate has rights to the concept of elves by any means.

Well, you can, actually. It's not easy to do, but certain people have done it. Martha Stewart, for example. Personal names are included in the class of common words that may not secure protected trademark status until secondary meaning has attached. Tolkien would certainly fit in this category. What kind of elves are they? Tolkien elves you say? Certainly fits the criteria of a secondary meaning.

Actually that's (possibly) not true. The climate has been superheated before, but not from 'natural' means, it was speculated that a meteor (the one that eliminated the dinosaurs) superheated the atmosphere and the ocean, forming hypercanes, and completely destroying the ozone layer. Unfortunately I don't have a link or source available (as I saw this on a documentary), but if this theory is correct, than the Earth has suffered far worse before, and got better. Now, us being alive through all that is another matter.

Nah, that's Facebook you're thinking of, not Google.