iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 28/09/2026

Wilmington, Ohio has a referendum on rezoning of land to build a data center — a direct test of the electorate’s view of issue isolated from partisan politics

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 27/09/2026

Lady Macbeth gets a double f-bomb when MacBeth forgets to leave the daggers at the murder scene (Act II, Scene 2): Go get some water And wash this filthy witness from your hand.— Why did you bring these daggers from the place? For fucks sake, they must lie theret… You had one fuckin’ job.

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 18/09/2026

I was informed — by the very best and most credible journalists — that wearing pins and pocket squares with the text for the First Amendment would solve the whole problem!

A television studio set with a host sitting at a desk on the right, looking toward a guest on the left who is holding up a white pocket square displaying the text, 'Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 16/09/2026

3/ The OSHP colonel acknowledged this fact, and responded only, “yes, but people expect troopers to look a certain way”

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 16/09/2026

2/ Someone smartly illustrated the lack of relationship to fitness to do the job by stating, “you mean the starting linebackers for Buckeyes — who would not meet the weight requirements — can’t run down a bad guy?”

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 16/09/2026

“Looks” requirements unrelated to actual performance is not limited to Dept of Defense, sadly This can get silly When I worked for State Ohio, I recall a meeting with head of state highway patrol over height and weight requirements for Troopers — they were required to weigh-in every month 1/

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 12/09/2026

Penn used to sing a version of John Brown's Body/Battle Hymn of the Republic starting with the line "Hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree" The song is mostly retired now (the lyrics were mostly vulgar nonsense), but presumably anti-secessionist sentiment remains strong youtu.be/onL_7cD6tTk

youtu.be

Hang Jeff Davis (2006)

YouTube video by The University of Pennsylvania Band - Topic

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 06/09/2026

Great example of why “time doesn’t exist, yet it controls us anyway”

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 29/07/2026

I suppose there’s no point in observing that the bar exam is an antiquated custom that tests mostly irrelevant knowledge which should be abolished

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 28/07/2026

Maybe I am one of the last free speech absolutists, but after watching the video this preaching seems mostly harmless A marketplace of ideas sometimes means putting up with annoying speakers; a brief sermon while waiting to deplane is pretty low down on list of indignities suffered while flying

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 19/07/2026

Being on an airplane when a lot of people are watching a big game is a unique communal experience — there is less conversation and the otherwise quiet hum of the aircraft gets punctured by cheers, groans, and oooohs

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 18/07/2026

Colorado … because of both Coach McCartney and Ralphie

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 16/07/2026

But, but, but… some journalists had the audacity to wear First Amendment pins and pocket squares to the WHCD I mean, they still attended to dinner… but they showed everyone that they *actually* value freedom over access, right?

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 03/07/2026

Really admire the beagle courage and confidence: “I don’t know what is in this hole… but whatever it is, I can take it!” (Meanwhile, our golden retriever is afraid of the baby pool)

A happy golden retriever with a graying muzzle stands on a shaded stone patio next to a blue plastic kiddie pool, tongue out and coat still wet. Behind the dog is a wrought-iron patio table and chairs surrounded by potted flowers, with a grassy backyard and multi-story brick condo buildings in the background.

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 28/06/2026

When you “Move fast and break things" sometimes things just get broken… I think this is why the reflecting pool story resonates so strongly with a lot of people

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 20/06/2026

I am going to now have to include an amphibious exploring vehicle in my lifeguard equipment

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 16/06/2026

Waiting on lines is definitely a New York thing No Midwesterner is waiting on a long line for much of anything, much less, checks notes, frozen yogurt www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/m...

nytimes.com

Why Is Everyone Waiting Hours for Frozen Yogurt? Why Am I?

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 10/06/2026

I am going to try the same argument the next time a school tries to expel one of my clients for using AI for a paper or exam I guess expelling *these* students from school would also deny them access to the community and the support, monitoring, and oversight to overcome *their* ethical lapses

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 07/06/2026

The inverse is also true -- very few journalists know how to effectively cross-examine a witness Ex: journalists rarely correctly impeach with prior inconsistent statements; they just ask someone to explain a shift in views, which gives the illusion of being a "tough interview" but allows easy out

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 05/06/2026

Now I feel that not naming our intramural basketball team in law school “Beyond Contempt” was a real missed opportunity

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/05/2026

Good point! I have observed that one of the primary skills people with “leadership” degrees develop is fluency in the type of business-speak BS (SWOT, Six Sigma, etc…) that is especially appealing to the types of people who now tend to, as you observed, make up much of governing boards

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/05/2026

As an attorney who handles a lot of higher ed cases, putting aside Israel-Palestine (which seems to bring out the worst in *everybody*), the overwhelming majority of my disputes with schools that end up in litigation involve administrators who do not come out of traditional academic backgrounds

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/05/2026

Many administrators and university presidents (not Cornell, to be fair) now have degrees in suspect fields like “leadership” which results in excessive use of policies and technology at the expense of traditional liberal arts values like free speech and academic rigor

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/05/2026

I think @brianphillips.lol is right in observing that university leaders “are frequently hostile to the idea of the university itself” One unmentioned reason is trend towards leaders with background in professional higher ed admin, not an academic background www.theringer.com/2026/05/22/n...

theringer.com

Who’s to Blame When an Ivy League President Drives Into His Students?

“Ah! He just ran over my fucking foot!”

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 19/05/2026

Related law story My certificate from the U.S. Supreme Court contains a mistake I did not replace it but keep it as a reminder that the Court is not infallible www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...

nytimes.com

NFL sending Jaxon Smith-Njigba new Offensive Player of the Year trophy after typo

Smith-Njigba posted a video of the trophy, showing that it appeared to call him the

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 13/05/2026

Those with a solid humanities education see what you did, here... cleverly played!

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 09/05/2026

And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains.

A massive, weathered stone head of an Egyptian pharaoh lies half-buried in a desert landscape. In the background, two giant "trunkless" stone legs stand atop a pedestal against a clear blue sky, creating a literal depiction of the imagery from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Ozymandias."

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 01/05/2026

The bible instructs us not criticize people for past mistakes if they desire to move in the right direction: Ezekiel (18:23) teaches that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires that they turn from their evil ways and live

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 30/04/2026

SCOTUS and Supreme Court bar are like the old poem about Boston Brahmins: "Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots, And the Cabots talk only to God"

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 30/04/2026

Important to continue to differentiate between the federal judiciary (which seems to be holding up well) and SCOTUS (less so) Why? One big differences which many of us lawyers who practice in District and Circuit courts see right away is that SCOTUS culture is unique and insular (cont...)

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 28/04/2026

Very difficult for First Amendment lawyers to convey how deeply unserious -- essentially frivolous -- this indictment is

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 28/04/2026

The inevitable end-result of the Unitary Executive Theory 👇

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 27/04/2026

Unlikely to bite: The most under-appreciated aspect of the Unitary Executive Theory is the ability of the Unitary Executive to expand or contract as necessary to meet the needs of the Unitary Executive

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 26/04/2026

The expectation among Farmers (at least here in Ohio) is that they will *always* be bailed out by the Federal government, particularly with GOP in charge

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 26/04/2026

In this part of rural Ohio, at least, data center developers are already paying way over market value for land with access to water and power, so farm bankruptcies probably wont make a huge difference

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 26/04/2026

If there ever was an event that should be consigned to the trash heap of history, it is the WHCD

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/04/2026

Right there with ya for 40+ years!

An on-court altercation between NBA legends Larry Bird (Boston Celtics #33) and Julius Erving (Philadelphia 76ers #6). Erving is gripping Bird by the throat with his right hand as Bird tries to push his arm away. This is a black and white close-up photograph capturing the tension.

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/04/2026

String likelihood he ends up starting a few games at RT in 2026 season, right?

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/04/2026

Thank you for your service (Serious, not sarcastic; we know how hard people covering Eagles work this time of year with little sleep)

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 25/04/2026

The most under-appreciated aspect of the Unitary Executive Theory is the ability of the Unitary Executive to expand or contract as necessary to meet the needs of the Unitary Executive

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 20/04/2026

Just because the Patel lawsuit almost certainly will laughed out of court doesn’t make it a laughing matter Fighting a baseless defamation suit burns up time, attention, and money And that's the point; Patel's goal is not necessarily to "win" the lawsuit, but rather to chill the media

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 15/04/2026

Lawyers just love it when clients go rogue... Reminds me of a former client in jail who thought he could help his delicate plea negotiations by calling up the detective just to make sure the police knew his side of the story a little better

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 14/04/2026

Big supporter here of more statutes honoring the greatest President from Penn… William Henry Harrison

A young woman in a gray knit cardigan and white pleated skirt stands in front of the bronze equestrian monument of William Henry Harrison. The statue sits atop a large stone pedestal surrounded by vibrant yellow, red, and pink flowers in a city park at dusk. High-top sneakers and a brick building with lit windows in the background complete the scene

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 13/04/2026

Sullivan actual malice standard remains virtually undefeated Law is clear that fact that Trump denied authenticity does not create actual malice. Harte-Hanks Communications, 491 U.S. at 691, fn. 37 (speaker “need not accept” denials from a plaintiff, “however vehement”)

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 12/04/2026

My grandmother always joked that our family recipe for Chicken Paprikash began, “First, you steal two chickens…”

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Joshua Engel, Esq. @joshuaaengel.com · 12/04/2026

One, less discussed, reason the “threatening genocide is good”argument is counterproductive is that it *encourages* rather than dissuades Iran from seeking nukes Iran might rationally think best way to stop Trump from following through on threat is to have a mutually assured destruction response

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