Cripes

Daycare will cost us an extra $3000 this year.

Separating Church and State

DB was kind enough to link to my recent post regarding a private Lutheran School's right to expel students based on their (the students') sexuality. In that post, he also linked to an article posted by PhillyChief that addresses an ACLU case that is going forward. The school is denying the allegations, but essentially, the ACLU is saying that the school is seeking volunteers to lead prayer services, encouraging the children to dress in religion-appropriate outfits (uniforms?), and has issued a handbook instructing the staff to not discuss what goes on at the (publicly funded) school.

The ACLU is filing suit on 1st Amendment Separation grounds, and if the allegations are correct, then this is exactly what the ACLU should be doing - and demonstrating several things public schools should NOT be doing. I will be interested to see how this turns out.

Mickey Mouse Disco (Record Offer, 1979)

For those who really miss the Disco Age

This is Probably a Correct Decision

I've not looked at the decision, nor do I know much about the arguments, and I am not commenting on whether it's the "right" decision, which is likely to be the subject of some debate. But on the surface, I think the 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside, CA was correct in holding that a Lutheran Private School has a right to expel two lesbian students.

The purpose of education is to teach students, but the purpose of religious education is to teach students according to the principles of that religion. Homosexual orientation, whether it be natural or a choice, is viewed as a wrong in the Lutheran religion, and as such, I think it's perfectly acceptable (and in keeping with the Separation of Church and State) for them to determine whether to accept students who violate this principle, just as one who might steal, or cheat, or blaspheme.

Perhaps there might be a different question if this school was receiving vouchers, or being compensated by the State for their teachings - a "bitter with the sweet" situation, but there's been no evidence (in the article I listed above, and time restraints preclude me from following up at this time) to suggest that this is, indeed the case.

I'm not sure which is more embarrassing...

That Rep. King (R) of Iowa would say something this dumb, or that he was the candidate elected by the majority of voters.

Things Others Say

Andrew Sullivan has a reader post that is very well written.

The Problem With Gitmo

Isn't the order to close it. The problem, as is becoming more and more clear, is that it was a bastion of abuse ordered by an administration that believed itself to have found a lawless loophole, a due process no-man's land where the worst could be done with nobody being the wiser.

That justice prevailed brought the situation to the current crisis, however, had the previous administration done right, then we wouldn't be in the position in which we find ourselves now. In other words, circumventing the law for the sake of expediency helped nothing and harmed far more than could have been expected.

More can be read on this topic at Andrew Sullivan's.

No Need For This in Sports.

I Don't Want to Hear About Them

Seriously, aside from the occasional knowing that they are healthy (which I wish of all children), I don't want to hear about the Obama daughters. Let them grow up.

A Sign of Leadership by Followership

John McCain probably would have been a fine president. I couldn't vote for him because of his judgment in statements and certain decisions, but I believe he understands what faces this country, perhaps as well as or better than most of his Pachyderm counterparts.

I think his statements on Larry King (which I read on this Moderate Voice post) are precisely what this country, particularly those on the right, need to hear.

Good for him. And good for America.

Movies

I want to see Frost/Nixon. And The Reader. And Doubt. And Defiance.

But instead, I'll likely go see Inkheart.

The Newest Fear-mongering Campaign from the Right and the Media

Glenn Greenwald puts his two cents in here. In a nutshell, the Right is arguing that if we close Gitmo and move the terrorist suspects to stateside prisons (you know, the maximum security kind that hold domestic terrorists, Jose Padilla, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, Zacarias Moussaoui, etc.), then these locations would become terror targets, and that the communities don't want to have to live next door to their ilk.

Key quote, as I read at the Daily Dish:

If it were really the goal of Terrorists to attack American prisons where their members are incarcerated and if they were actually capable of doing that, they already have a long list of "targets" and have had such a list for two decades. If U.S. civilian courts were inadequate forums for obtaining convictions of Terrorism suspects, then the above-listed individuals would not be imprisoned -- most of them for life -- while the Guantanamo military commission system still has nothing to show for it other than a series of humiliating setbacks for the Government. As is true for virtually every fear-mongering claim made over the last eight years to frighten Americans into believing that they must vest the Government with vast and un-American powers lest they be slaughtered by the Terrorists, none of these claims is remotely rational and all of them are empirically disproven.

But then, it's not really about security, it's about posturing.

Yeah, I got Nothin'

It's Friday. It's been a very long week - a week of deadlines on top of deadlines with missing attorneys and the available attorneys playing roulette on the projects that need to be completed (we each have our own projects that we have unique experience on that drags us away from the common work that we all are working on)...

The wife is coming home late tonight due to an office function, and I ordered pizza from Donnelly's. I really like their pizza, but the hour-long wait is a bit tedious. The kids have been Wii-ing, which had kept them placated up to now. After dinner, I think they might find their way upstairs to watch a movie, quietly. While I stay downstairs and watch a grown-up movie - quietly.

Things That Confuse Me

The NBA All-Star starters were named today. The eastern all stars include Dwight Howard (no surprise, clearly the best big man in the east right now), Kevin Garnett (I'm still not a fan, but don't disagree with this pick), LeBron James (duh), Dwayne Wade (the guy has talent, family issues aside), and ... Allan Iverson?

The same guy who was traded to a perennial Eastern Conference favorite and brought the stats of ALL the other starters down? He's an all star?

I've not been a fan of Iverson's ever since his famous "Practice" press conference - the same year that Steve Yzerman had an osteotomy, a surgery to straighten his thighbone, and played in 16 games. One of the reasons is because I've seen him as one of the prime examples of "I've gotta get mine, so I can get paid" players in the league - the guy who will sacrifice his team's success for his own well-being. The problem is, teams don't play better with him. Denver didn't. Detroit is clearly worse with him than they were without him.

Iverson isn't a superstar. He's not an all-star. He's a talented one on one player who doesn't understand that his role needs to change, not the role of those around him. Look at the constant, and find the one variable.

Not a Bad Start

This is something that is both needed and good. A return to the rule of law is an excellent entree, as well.

While I will reserve judgment on the President's presidency until he's been in office for more than a few days, I must say that I think he hit the ground running addressing some of the most pressing concerns, and doing so in the right manner.

She Wasn't Qualified

It shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that Caroline Kennedy is reportedly dropping her name from contention for New York's vacant Senate seat. Rarely has someone this manifestly unqualified been seriously considered for the position. Seriously. If her last name wasn't Kennedy, would anyone have given her any serious consideration?

Wednesday is Haiku Day

Did anyone else
Feel the anxious relief from
The change of Command?

As always, I look forward to your contributions.

Lord, CSI Miami is annoying

I'm not even sure where to begin with this episode.

When did the CSI officers start referring to themselves as "CSI Duquesne" or whoever?

The episode starts at a horse race. The guy that gets killed is a horse owner. CSI is on the scene, and El Poseur (EP) is standing over the cadaver. There's the entry wound, but El Poseur notes there's no exit wound, which requires someone to state the obvious - the bullet is still in there. Thank goodness we have such astute people working to solve crimes!

Then the Jaw and the Smirker are in the room, gathering more evidence, the Smirker unnecessarily in a 3-piece suit. A little banter, and then they discover some truffles that the Smirker knows don't come in the luxury box gifts - they aren't from Miami... They are from Chicago, and the guy who owns the company happens to have a horse, as well.

A bunch of annoying crap happens, and they tell horse guy to stick around. While at the scene (where they questioned truffle boy), some short guy gets caught pulling used tickets from the trash - apparently, this equals messing with a crime scene in Miami - who knew? They shuffle the guy off; I didn't see if they got his name or not.

In the meantime, side story with Torgo helping a friend of his beat up some Russian mob guy - this happens to be the time that EP is bringing home some boy who happened to have CSI Torgo's card in his backpack - the boy's dad didn't pick him up after school, so he went to the track. EP draws on Russian mob guy, who proceeds to cut his throat with some broken glass.

In the meantime, Smirker and Jaw are talking to Cadaver's horse trainer, and while the Smirker is flirting, the Jaw is searching around, and just happens to find a bolt gun (which is what killed Cadaver, as opposed to a gun). So they bring trainer in.

While checking the towels for trace, Jaw notices some synthetic dirt, which had some stupid name. He didn't know what it was, but fortunately, a british lab tech happened to stop by to see what what going on. In a great break of luck, british guy knew what kind of soil this was, and knew that it didn't happen to be in Miami, and on top of that, he knew all six of the tracks in the US that had this crap! Wow. One of them happens to be in Chicago, home of Truffle Boy.

I really don't care about the Russian mob side story, but it seems to segue into something later on. I still won't care about it, though.

Truffle Boy happens to own a bolt gun, but is surprised when he sees it missing. In the compartment where it's kept, though, EP picks up a ticket with a winner on it. There's no trace on it, though, as Doe-eyed cop discovers, but there is a circle, which happens to match the circle made by the grabber thing that ticket puller guy was using. Using that as the entire pretext, they pull ticket guy in, take his hands, check for gunshot residue, find it, and get a confession from him. Seriously - the guy couldn't have gotten that from anywhere else? It wouldn't have washed/worn off while he was doing so much other stuff? And he confesses? Anyway, his excuse is that Cadaver duped him into believing the horse he sold cadaver was worthless. The guy was a jockey who put his life savings into this horse, knew it had "perfect" balance, gait, etc., yet was duped?! Come on, now...

Stupid show.

Busy, busy busy

At least, for the time being. As I mentioned before, the office recently lost 2 attorneys, one for good, one for a couple weeks. This means that business is picking up for the rest of us. As a result, I've been getting more work on my desk - I'm not complaining, busy is good.

While I don't mind multitasking, it can be difficult to switch gears on a dime, so I prefer to keep things as segregated as possible. Unfortunately, that's not always feasible, particularly when you are working on multiple dockets at one time...

Hopefully, I can get through this week leaving close to on time all week. Cross your fingers.

The Super Bowl is (Almost) Set

I can say that I am pleased with the teams that will be in there - a battle of former Cowher assistants will be quite the show.

With the Cardinals in the Super Bowl, it leaves me some hope that the Lions may someday make it...

I Don't See the Fuss

I joined Facebook today, because apparently I am the only adult in the Western Hemisphere who has not yet done so.

I don't see the fuss.

A Very High-Thought Question

All right, so we have 24 hours in a day, but the time it takes the earth to complete one rotation is actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and change. In other words, every day we take about an extra 4 minutes than what it takes for the earth to rotate one time. We make up for this by having an extra day every four years (Leap Year).

Here's my question: If we are starting each day about 4 minutes later than the day before, wouldn't we come to a point where the sun would be rising at what we viewed as the middle of the night?

Sage Advice, Albeit Somewhat Ironic

I did not watch President Bush last night. I felt like I already knew the gist of what he was going to say, and couldn't bring myself to listen to him. I feel he has been a poor president, and his commentary on his presidency so far suggest an inability to accept personal responsibility for the decisions he's made.

While reading the comments section on Balloon Juice's open thread of the speech last night, I found the following quote, that I thought was rather poignant: "Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere."

How long have we been in Iraq, Freedom-building? How much collateral damage has there been?

I think it's a matter of interpretation

While I want to see an investigation into this, particularly with admissions by Bush officials that treatment of detainees met the definition of torture, preferably by a bipartisan panel, I don't think this exchange (From Larry King) is necessarily the smoking gun that Andrew Sullivan does:

KING: So there's nothing you've done in the area of treatment of prisoners that causes you any kind of pause?

G. BUSH: No. No. Everything we did was -- you know, it had legal -- legal opinions behind it. Look, you're sitting there, you've captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He's the guy that ordered the September the 11th attacks. And we want to know what he knows in order to protect the United States of America. And I got legal opinions that said whatever we're going to do is legal. And my job is to protect you, Larry. And I've given it my all. I've given it my all.

I think there's a question of interpretation here. In my mind there are two ways to interpret what he's saying. One way is the way Andrew Sullivan does, that W. asked for justification to allow him to do what he wanted to do. The other way to look at it is that W. stated he asked if he COULD do what he wanted to do. I can't say without more context, particularly with tone or investigation, which position is more correct.

McYuck

McDonald's has had some interesting ideas over the years - curly fries, the MickeyD, the Big and Tasty, Fajitas, etc. Some ideas have been better than others. But where did they get the market research that told them that what the world needed was the Big Mac Snack Wrap? Hamburger strips just doesn't look right at all.

Professional Victim

When a newspaper asks legitimate questions, and you go public to complain about the "evil" MSM while not answering the question, then you are playing the victim for personal gain. I'm so glad she's not the Vice President.

Perhaps she should have answered the questions. But that would have settled the issue, and we can't have that.

You can find the transcript of the e-mail exchange between Palin and the Alaska Daily News here.

Investigation

This is something I would support, and is something I have stated I favor for some time. The Democrats in the House have issued a report suggesting that the incoming administration should launch an investigation into potential abuses of power. I think a bipartisan investigation is probably the best way to go. But I think it's very important to look into what happened, particularly in the wake of admissions of torture (or the gestapo-coined "enhanced interrogation"). While some people may consider these "right," I heartily disagree.

I Hate CSI Miami

My first episode of the year - maybe my last - it's as bad as ever.

Opening sequence - random young man walking down the middle of the street with random people yelling at him from his cars. Ultimately, a cop pulls him over, stops him, while he's trying to get the kid's attention, a white SUV almost hits him. The cop, of course, calls for backup - 3 cars and the SUV Hummer carrying El Poseur pulls up. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Instead of bringing the guy with the bloody shirt into the station, bring the station to him - and wait for El Poseur to ask the stupidly obvious questions like "Who are you?"

Torgo: "So what kind of victim are we looking for? A man or a woman?"
Random blonde lab tech: "Try a man and two women?"
Torgo: "So, three people?"
Glad to see No Child Left Behind is working well in Miami.

They have the suspect - send out 4 cop cars, a helicopter, and of course, CSI mobile - everyone running out with their guns drawn. No warrant mentioned. Random delivery guy there, as they look like they're going on vacation.

I love how lab work in Miami can all be completed while the doe-eyed cop girl waits. Fortunately, she remembers a land scene where the land was tainted with TNT - which they found on the guy's boots.

Ooh, bloody footprints - at least they have more than one. Still no warrant, no hot pursuit that a crime is currently being committed, but they go in - guns drawn again, El Poseur and The Jaw.

Fortunately, the FBI has some fancy brain machine that measures his brain activity, and Callie Duquesne, the smirker, calls in a favor. Even more fortunately, they already have pictures of the crime scene available to show the guy. The kid remembers when he sees the dead guy, but states he didn't kill him.

Apparently, the kid witnessed his father's murder years before. The first time he had amnesia. The question then becomes... which murder is he remembering? Classic Poseur.

They analyzed the personal effects - fortunately, there was a fiber or hair in the ring - talk about luck! To whom does it belong, though? Some random club owner - need to have more than one suspect, right?


The smirk walks in when amnesia guy says he killed his family. So, did he do it? I guess that's the real question. Well, the dad's son skipped school, talk about lucky breaks! and left a footprint in the dirt. He ID's amnesia kid - so he MUST be the guilty guy.

They even found his hat - and it's Amnesia Kid's hat - but wait! There's black particles falling from the hat that fell in the sewer - they must point to the real killer. It's GSR! Thankfully El Poseur is a lab technician, too - can't trust this to those amateur professional lab techs. Clearly amnesia kid was forced to kill his family.

They bring in military school kid again - they interrogate him, no rights, no attorney, fortunatel, just random questions.

Now they're searching for the money - they look in the grill and find the fingerprint of the guy who stole the money. One fingerprint. Back to nightclub owner. Now he's got no attorney, and he's confessing, basically. Comparing GSR while he's saying the guy had it coming. Where in the world is his attorney? He is confessing now, since a fiber from amnesia guy's hat ended up on nightclub owner's shotgun. Of course. Makes perfect sense.

The episode is over. El Poseur thinks there's hope for Amnesia Kid, who's going to be put on trial for 2nd degree murder. End scene with EP looking out the window, his back to us and his hand on Amnesia Kid's shoulder. I missed the dramatic sunglasses scene on this one.

Monday Night Comedies

I can't think of a creepier television idea than "How I Met Your Mother."

"The Big Bang Theory" is possibly the best sitcom on television, since 2 1/2 Men is showing its age.

I will try to watch CSI:Miami tonight. We'll have to see.

Marinelli - moving up by stepping back

Rod Marinelli will be joining the Chicago Bears as an assistant and defensive line coach. Marinelli was the defensive line coach in Tampa before becoming the head coach of the hapless Detroit Lions. I think this is going to be an outstanding move for Marinelli and the Bears.

It is a step back. Coach Marinelli went from being a head coach to a line coach. But, I think it makes perfect sense. Marinelli is a defensive line specialist - he knows how to motivate, how to teach, how to coach and how to manage this position. I believe he is a very intelligent person who was in over his head as head coach. He was hamstrung by a GM who didn't know anything about football and a VP who didn't know anything about measuring talent to put together a winning team. While it is impossible to coach a team to the only 0-16 season in NFL history and not take some of the blame, he is hardly the only culprit, and likely not the major one.

Coach Marinelli is moving forward. He has changed to a position that he knows as well as anyone in the league and is inheriting talent that is massive, though the players' heart and guidance are in question. This is where Marinelli should thrive.

As a Lions fan, I see it as a given that there be a change in the coaching position - the entire team needs an overhaul. But while I see that, I know that it makes little sense to harbor much ill will for Rod Marinelli, who was a victim of one of the most incompetent Matt Millens in NFL history. Because of that, I wish him very well in his new position, except for the two times each year the Bears play the Lions, of course.

More Separation of Church and State

From Lenni Brenner's book of writings from James Madison and Thomas Jefferson:

James Madison, Last Annual Message, December 3, 1816:
And I may not be allowed to add to this gratifying spectacle, that I shall read in the character of the American people, in their devotion to true liberty, and to the constitution which is its palladium, sure presages that the destined career of my country will exhibit a Government, pursuing the public good as it's (sic) object, and regulating its means by the great principles, to which they are so well allied; a Government, which watches over the purity of elections, the freedom of speech and of the press, the trial by Jury, and the equal interdict against encroachments and compacts,, between religion and the State; which maintains inviolably the maxims of public faith, (emphasis mine) the security of persons and property, and encourages, in every authorized mode, that general diffusion of knowledge which guarantees to public liberty its permanency, and to those who possess the blessing, the true enjoyment of it.
These contemplations, sweetening the remnant of my days, will animate my prayers for the happiness of my beloved Coutnry, and a perpetuity of the Institutions under which it is enjoyed.

Time to Face the Change

There's been a little turnover in the office going on. One of the document reviewers I worked with when I started left yesterday to pursue an internship related to her career choice. Additionally, one of the staff attorneys with whom I've worked for the last year or so is leaving next week. On top of that, one of the other staff attorneys has started looking for a change in jobs as well. All this means that there is a void in the office of staff with whom I commiserate. While change is part of life, it also seems like it's a sign for me that it's time to start looking at moving on.

I am a contract attorney at a mass tort law firm. Practically, this means that my days are numbered, as litigation can dry up anytime, and settlement can come at any time. So it's not a bad idea to keep your ear to the ground anyway. But having fewer associations with the firm will make it easier to break away.

Wish me luck in my search. Maybe I can find the mythological $100k job with a 30 hour workweek and no stress.

Football Referees

They did everything they could to give San Diego the game on Saturday, and then last night did the same for UT.

The Buckeyes lost that game because the referees made at least 4 bad calls (and one questionable one) on the first drive by UT after halftime - a 7 minute drive that wore out the Buckeye defense and allowed the Longhorns to get the advantage.

That said, if you have the lead with 2 minutes to go, you need to stop the other team - Ohio State could have won nonetheless.

I don't think I can root for the Longhorns. If one of my kids ends up at UT, that might change, but until then...

Happy Epiphany

I know it's not yet Epiphany, but it's close.

We went out for dinner with Mr. and Mrs. the Photog New Year's Day. We ate at Cafe Adobe. While the service was all right (we got our refills without needing to be asked), the greeters/sitters left something to be desired.

We got there shortly before the Photogs did, and I mentioned that we would need a table for 7. The blonde greeter stated there was no table available yet, but that they had a booth in the smoking section, "but nobody is smoking in there now." I mentioned that we would prefer a non-smoking table, and she said that would be no problem, and it would take them about 2 minutes to put a couple tables together. I said that would be fine and sat down to wait. While waiting, the Photogs arrived while the Brunette greeter was sitting a table of 25. The Blonde greeter was sitting a table of 5 and another group of 8 or so was also seated. I went back up (after mentioning to the Photogs about the offer for the booth that I declined as it was in the smoking section), and asked about our table as they had seated 3 groups before us. Brunette Seater said they didn't have a table ready, but that there was a booth available. I asked if this was the same booth in the smoking section that I had already declined, and she said "yes, but nobody is smoking there right now." Mrs. Photog astutely noted that simply because nobody was smoking now did not preclude anybody from coming in and smoking after we'd been seated. I commented on how I was confused that they had no table for us even though they seated 3 groups each with more than 4 people and two of which were larger than ours even though they said it would only be 2 minutes for us to be seated. Blonde Seater grabbed some place settings while I was asking the manager what was going on, and she went and started setting two tables together for us. The manager commented that it would be no problem for us to get two tables together (the place was fairly empty; it was New Year's after all), and the Brunette seater went to get some place settings and started to lead us to where Blonde Seater had already set the menus down, so she put hers back.

Long story short (too late), we finally got seated. As I said the service itself wasn't bad, though the food took a little longer to get out than I would have normally liked. The company was terrific, as the Photogs are always fun to be with. They even got the Binjo kids a terrific gift - season passes to the Zoo. This is good news, indeed! Thank you, again, Photogs - the kids will have a great time.

Right now, the Boy is ill with whatever the Apple had a couple weeks ago - high fever, some congestion. It's a good little flu or something. Hopefully he'll be okay in the next day or two - I don't like seeing the young'uns sick.

MAYBE It's Not Hypocrisy

But I'm not sure.

New York state assembly speaker Sheldon Silver reportedly has stated he would support Caroline Kennedy's appointment to the Senate. The reason I think there is some hypocrisy here is due to his request that Tina Fey do her mock-up of Sarah Palin (you betcha!) at a fundraiser just last month. You see, in my opinion it's wrong to make light of one candidate so completely unqualified for the position she's seeking and then state the very next month that you would support the appointment of one candidate even less qualified to a federal position.

As I said before - if Caroline Kennedy wants to be a Senator, then she needs to enter her name as a candidate, run for office, and be elected. The State owes its citizens a qualified Senator to replace Senator Clinton.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he thought Governor Palin was eminently qualified, and he just enjoyed Tina Fey's portrayal. But I am skeptical of this possibility.

More Jefferson on Freedom of Religion

In a letter to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pittsburg, PA, 12/9/1808:

I am much indebted; fellow citizens, for your friendly address of November 20th, and gratified by ts expressions of personal regard to myself. Having ever been an advocate for the freedom of religious opinion and exercise, from no person, certainly, was an abridgment of these sacred rights to be apprehended less than from myself.
In justice, too, our excellent Constitution, it ought to be observed, that is has not placed our religious rights under the power of any public functionary. The power, therefore, was wanting, not less than the will, to injure these rights...
For that portion of your approbation which you are pleased to bestow on my conduct, I am truly thankful and I offer my sincere prayers for your welfare, and a happy issue of our country from the difficulties impending over it.

From Jefferson and Madison on Separation of Church and State, by Lenni Brenner.

People who claim Jefferson was only pandering to the Baptists of Danbury have not studied Jefferson nearly enough.

Welcome to 2009

This is the first day of the new year. Two years ago, I spent this day going to New Orleans to help with hurricane relief. This year, I think I'm going to go out for lunch. Technically, we have a 4-day weekend, but I'm going to go in to work tomorrow to get a few more hours in.

My plan is to start looking for a new job this year, something a little more permanent than contract/staff attorney. I don't mind pharmaceutical litigation, but the process is so long. I guess I like to see returns a little more quickly.

At any rate, the kids had fun last night, though only the Apple made it to midnight. Kir made it to bed about 12:04, and is still asnooze.