Polite Society

This post is a continuation of my previous post regarding Ahmakillajoos' visit to Columbia. There is an AP article today discussing Iranian anger at Bollinger's (Columbia University president) introductory comments at the speech. He writes:

While Ahmadinejad probably expected at worst a hostile grilling by the audience, Bollinger's sardonic comments reflected a blatant disregard for the tradition of hospitality revered in the Middle East.

Personally, I though Bollinger's comments were great, accurate, appropriate, and reflective of the American spirit of saying things like they are. Why should we display the showy, fake flattery that is being called hospitality but is really a way of masking brutal atrocities and the suppression of political dissent in Iran. It was obvious to anyone who watched that when Ahmakillajoos was asked if he desired the destruction of Israel that his answer was not honest and contradicted previous comments. He didn't actually answer the question even when confronted. One thing I like about American culture is our brazen willingness to confront people and challenge them on their positions. This is something that lands people in jail in Iran. I prefer the tradition of free confrontation to the tradition of hospitality that is nothing but show.

Adolfmadinejad

I just watched the speech by achmyrimjoberdo at Columbia University. The segment where he states there are no homosexuals in Iran is hilarious and I am glad he was laughed at vociferously. I originally thought it was a bad idea to have him come speak, and I still think it is kind of stupid to let him make a propoganda film out of a visit to America, but after seeing that he was publicly humiliated and made to look like an ignorant fool, I think there might be a positive effect to his visit.

But before I say what I think was good about his speech, I should say that this speech was not about the First Amendment. Because this is a legal blog, I should make some attempt to make a legal point. The First Amendment does not say that we have to give a platform for all views. It simply protects someone who expresses views that may be contrary. Almost all of what we consider the fundamental rights are less positive rights than negative restrictions on what the government can do to you as an individual. So his speaking at Columbia has nothing to do with a First Amendment right, except that he was not arrested for what he said.

But what he said was both extreme and dangerous. The best thing that might have come from the speech is that more people will realize what a crazy tyrant Adolfmadinejad really is. He denies the holocaust on the basis of needing academic freedom, he denied well documented torture and killing of homosexuals and women by claiming that homosexuals don't exist in Iran and that woman are beautiful creatures, and that the moderator was insulting him because he asked the simple question of whether he believed Israel should be wiped off the map (which he ha said many times in the past but avoided today by talking about the plight of Palestine.)

Basically, after watching that speech, I have the following question. . .would you rather have America trying to establish order in Iraq or this guy?

Tool for Seattle U. Law Students

I don't know who this person is, but I found a blogger who has created a bunch of tools to import the School's master calendar into your digital life. You can get the calendar as a RSS feed or import it into a Google Calendar. He, or she, welcomes anyone to take advantage of this work, and you can find the post here.

New Word: "Slumper"

I learned a new word last week: a "slumper." From what I can tell, this word is familiar to police officers and first responders and is used as a noun. It refers to a vehicle that is otherwise functioning but is stopped at an intersection with a green light and not moving because the driver has passed out. It can be used in a sentence like this: "I was called to a report of a slumper at the intersection of Main and First," or "I came upon a slumper blocking traffic at a green light."

When I read that, I laughed out loud. And in that particular case, you could say it was a "double slumper," because the passenger was also taking a nap when the officer peered into the window.

Crim Law is Fun

Criminal law is a lot of fun. Before this is taken the wrong way, I am not talking about the horrible things that happen to people by criminals. I am talking about the craft of law practiced in criminal courts as opposed to civil. First, criminal law moves quickly. Civil cases drag on for years and then settle right before the case goes to trial. The state has to bring a defendant to trial withing speedy trial, which means cases don't tend to hang around for years waiting for one side to budge. Secondly, there are a lot of cases. This means that, for better or worse, you are not going to be able to always prepare for everything in every case. You have to fly by the seat of your pants in court. Motions are often done orally without ever filing any paperwork. You have to think quickly and have a good enough grasp on the law that you can make an argument on the fly. That's fun. Civil law is the practice of using the more paper than your opponent in hopes he will run out of money. Finally, the things criminals do is often funny, especially when we are talking about the type of street level crime that I see in misdemeanor court.

Think about the Larry Craig case. That would be fun to bring to trial. The prosecutor should not object to his recent motion to revoke his plea agreement. The prosecutor could set up a model of a public toilet in the classroom and asked Mr. Craig to show his "wide stance" to the jury. The other thing I find ridiculous is that Craig claims in his motion that he was not fully aware of the rights he was waiving. Yes, he did waive his trial rights by mail when he signed the plea agreement and a judge never got to question him about the rights he was waiving. On the other-hand, he is a United States Senator and has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. If there was ever a person in a position to waive constitutional rights, I think it would be him. From what I can tell, this is a win-win for the prosecutor, and for the Senator, it seems to only continue to make him the subject of nation-wide bathroom humor.

And about him being gay. . .watch this video and tell me what you think:

Two-L 25

You have certainly heard of the "freshman 15," but you have probably not heard of the "two-l 25." With only my third year of law school ahead of me, I have taken a little time out to weigh the past two years. I see all of these one-ls coming in all fit and fresh and, in general, pretty darn healthy looking. They are coming off the summer after college, or a year off working at Starbucks, or volunteering for non-profits so that, well, at least their resume might look a little fatter. Even last year's one-ls look pretty the same as when they came in and seem to have worked off the stress eating from the first year, but those of us who have survived legal writing-two and two full summers of real legal work certainly have a little more to show for our efforts--and much of it around the waist.

Before I get to calling anyone fat, I am basing these observations on my own weight gain and statements made freely to me by others in my class. Second year is probably the busiest and most stressful part of law school. In addition, you have been living off student loans for a year, which means your budget for healthy food has been diminished for two years now. I weigh more now than I ever have before, approximately 25 more pounds than I weighed at the beginning of law school (when, if you remember, I worked all day on my feet in a hot kitchen.) The law is very much a sedentary profession. Even in court, while I might be on my feet, I don't move around too much. And it is a busy profession, which means it feels like you don't have time to sit and eat slowly and healthfully (which may not actually be the case, but that is what it feels like.)

The good news is that your first year in practice looks to be even busier so that there won't even be time to eat, so those 25 pounds come off pretty quickly after getting your bar number. I also seem to have hit a plateau, so if I can get some regular exercise this semester, as I plan, I may actually start moving in the other direction.