Is That Legal?

I'm Back!

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:07:49 -0500

But I'm not here. I'll be blogging (very sporadically, no doubt) at The Faculty Lounge, a wonderful group blawg. Stop on by.

Elizabeth Edwards to Open Furniture Store

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:21:21 -0500

I'm guessing there will be no loveseats.

My Grandparents Were Incarcerated at Manzanar ...

Mon, 18 May 2009 22:55:04 -0500

And all I got was this lousy t-shirt! (Though I must admit, their book selection ain't too shabby!)

Typing Head

Mon, 18 May 2009 19:47:14 -0500

Here's a link to some blowhard law professor yapping at washingtonpost.com today about the SCOTUS decision in Iqbal v. Ashcroft.

A Lovely Lunch with Jay Bybee

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:56:14 -0500

Back in the spring of 2003, several of my UNC faculty colleagues and I had a very pleasant lunch with Jay Bybee, who was still at OLC while he awaited confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. How I wish I could turn back the clock so that I could get up and leave. (It's worth recalling, by the way, that Senator Russ Feingold opposed Bybee's nomination on the ground that the Administration had refused to make available the legal memoranda that Bybee prepared while at OLC. How prescient that objection now seems...)

Warner Brothers on the Second Amendment

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:28:02 -0500

Two days ago, a U.S. Marine was caught carrying an arsenal of weapons in his luggage through security at Boston's Logan Airport. He was charged with the crime of "possession of an infernal machine." Boston District Attorney Yosemite Sam had the following to say: "Dagnabit! What in tarnation does a fella need these doggone infernal machines for?!? Blast it all, I'm a-gonna make him pay!!"

"Laying Blame for the Past"

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:34:19 -0500

President Obama yesterday on Justice-Department approved torture by CIA agents:

This is a time for reflection, not retribution. I respect the strong views and emotions that these issues evoke. We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past. Our national greatness is embedded in America's ability to right its course in concert with our core values, and to move forward with confidence. That is why we must resist the forces that divide us, and instead come together on behalf of our common future.

Why is it that we think it right that the South Africans lay blame for the past, and the Argentinians lay blame for the past, and the Austrians lay blame for the past, and the Germans lay blame for the past, and the Russians lay blame for the past, and the Iraqis lay blame for the past ... but not us?

Maybe Ford Will End Up Where GM Is.

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:23:42 -0500

I just called our local Ford dealer to inquire about the 2010 Fusion, a hybrid that is getting fantastic press and that is supposed to be available starting right around now. ("Right around now" would be a very advisable thing, given that there's a $3400 tax credit for the purchase of hybrids that expires today, March 31, and is replaced by a credit of just half that amount, which itself expires after the next quarter.) The answer from my area Ford dealer: Good luck finding one. He said he'll have a single vehicle, "a white one," in maybe around a month. And he said that no North Carolina dealers have any in stock right now. And we wonder why the US auto industry is struggling?

%$#%$#

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:15:14 -0500

I am not sure that there is a front page of the historical Onion that makes me laugh harder than this one. Every time I see it. No matter how many times.

Some Stories Will Bring A Blogger Out Of Retirement.

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:58:44 -0500

My daughter just told me that the school cafeteria at her high school here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, recently served fried chicken and watermelon "in honor of Black History Month." I am not making this up. UPDATE, March 25: I just had a nice phone conversation with Mark Rusin, the Child Nutrition Director for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. He explained to me that the meal that was served in February was a "Southern Cooking" meal (including fried chicken, but no watermelon because it's too expensive this time of year) that the cafeteria occasionally offers as a promotional meal. The idea, he says, was not to link that meal to Black History Month -- and in fact, the meal is occasionally offered at other times of the year. He surmises that when the cafeteria contacted those who do the school announcements to inform them of the promotional meal, somehow someone outside the cafeteria staffed must have linked the meal to Black History Month, which was not what the cafeteria intended. (I do know that the meal was presented to the students on the morning announcements as linked to Black History Month; not only is this what my daughter told me, but two recent items in the school newspaper registered student complaints about the linkage. The school newspaper is not available online, it seems.)

The View from That Other Illinois State Senator.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:20:12 -0500

Shehecheyanu.

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:46:02 -0500

Yes, I'm still here. Your video for today:

It's Enough To Be On Your Way.

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:27:52 -0500

On Second Thought, Maybe There Is Something Worse.

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:21:44 -0500

Two adjacent (and different) stories, just spotted on the CNN webpage:

Hey You With The Pretty Face!

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:43:09 -0500