Two Months

I'm back. I'm not going to pretend to make any promises about how long I'm going to keep this up, but I felt like writing for the first time in a long while. Maybe it's because I had my first truly shitty week at work. Maybe because I felt a need to share that I got my socks knocked off by this "special comment" by Keith Olbermann:



Or maybe it's because I miss writing this blog. I used to write much, much more when I was in college, and even while I was teaching, and I definitely missed it during law school. I know this isn't much, but at least it's something. Meh.

Watch the Olbermann clip. And let's see if this is a one-off or, to invoke High School Musical 1, "the start of something new...."

Happy Law Day!

36 U.S.C. § 113:

(a) Designation. — May 1 is Law Day, U.S.A.

(b) Purpose. — Law Day, U.S.A., is a special day of celebration by the people of the United States—
(1) in appreciation of their liberties and the reaffirmation of their loyalty to the United States and of their rededication to the ideals of equality and justice under law in their relations with each other and with other countries; and
(2) for the cultivation of the respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life.

(c) Proclamation.— The President is requested to issue a proclamation—
(1) calling on all public officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Law Day, U.S.A.; and
(2) inviting the people of the United States to observe Law Day, U.S.A., with appropriate ceremonies and in other appropriate ways, through public entities and private organizations and in schools and other suitable places.

Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 as a counterpoint to the socialist May Day celebrations. As the New York Times tells us in a great editorial today (yes, yes, I'm well aware that it seems like I only read the Times), it was quite the big deal back in the day:

Law Day proved to be a boon to international law, which was seen during the cold war as a check on communism. In his proclamation creating the holiday, Eisenhower emphasized law’s role “in the settlement of international disputes.” On Law Day 1959, Senator Prescott Bush of Connecticut, grandfather of the current president, urged, remarkably, that international conflicts be settled by the World Court.

("Senator Prescott Bush of Connecticut." Wow. W is so good at making me forget he's a mid-Atlantic snob like yours truly. Or is Connecticut considered New England? Hmm...I think it might be New England. Either way, you get the point: You ain't a Texan if you were born in New Haven.)

It's a shame that once the U.S. stopped being so freaked out by Communism, we stopped caring about Law Day. I join the Times in calling for it to return to our national consciousness. Perhaps if the public is reminded of the law (beyond the day-to-day traffic infractions and medical malpractice lawsuits), they'll start getting mad about how the current administration has been pissing all over it for the last six years.

HAPPY LAW DAY, EVERYONE!!!

Quote of the Week

You may not have noticed but, back in the old format, I had a quote at the very bottom of the page that I'd update now and again. I've moved the quote over to the left side of the page in an effort to make it easier to find, but I wonder if people even notice it. I will try to update it weekly. If you missed the first quote last week, well, too bad so sad.

I wanted to feature this week's quote because I enjoy all things critical of the current administration:

"The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going . . . . So rather than go over there, develop an ulcer and eventually leave, I said, 'No, thanks.'" - retired Marine General John J. "Jack" Sheehan, a former top NATO commander who was among those rejecting consideration by the Bush Administration for the job of "War Czar."

You can read more about it in the Washington Post.