Running from the Cops

Most of you know about my fondness for the TV show Cops. I'm watching it tonight, and here's the big question: What the heck do you hope to gain by running from the cops, especially after the cop already had a good view of your face?

Best case scenario: You get away for a few days, until someone recognizes you and turns you in.

Worst case: You get tackled by a donut-loving Farva with his trusty German Shepherd. Squishing and pain ensue, perhaps with permanent bite scars, along with that "resisting arrest" charge added onto your "pot possession" or "going 55 in the 54." Is it really worth it?

No matter what happens: zip your lips. You have the right to a lawyer, and however nice the cop might seem, shutting up until your lawyer gets there is the best solution.

New Computer

My new computer came yesterday! My old one was almost 3 years old, and while it was still in working order, I decided it was time for a new one. Our law school has a zero tolerance policy during exams for technical difficulties, so if your computer freezes and you lose your work 2 hours into an exam, too bad. You don't get to make up the extra time. Knowing that, and knowing how many tics older computers seem to have, I took advantage of an HP sale and bought this new one. It's also 14 inches wide, compared to my old one's 17 inch-wide screen, so the new one is easier to cart around.

People have different preferences when it comes to laptops, and I got a lot of advice to buy a Mac or Dell. But I've had HPs all my life, and they've never given me any problems. I stuck with what I knew worked for me. It'll take a year or so to determine if I made the right choice, so we'll see.

The new one is also a lot prettier than my old one. Look at the cool design! I have to confess, that was a selling point. I am a girl, after all.

Law School Prom

I've written before about how much law school resembles high school. Seriously. We have lockers, there are about 500 students (total), and the gossip rivals that of Sweet Valley High. Guess what other high school tradition we have?

Prom. Prom!? Prom.

Next week is law school prom. Technically, it's called the "Barristers' Ball," but in reality, it's prom all over again. Yippee -- I wonder if my date will stand by me in public if I wear a poofy pink dress and tiara. Probably not.

Loaded Question

"So, how do you like law school?"

New Word

Property class taught me a new word today: chary. Try to guess what it means before you read the rest of this post.

Chary: discreetly cautious or wary.

"Do you ever hear about somebody whose life is so interesting that you're envious..."

"...even though you don't want to do any of the things that person does?"

Ann Althouse asks.

Eliot Spitzer's Secrets

Was Spitzer addicted to sex? To prostitutes? Until now, I had the impression that it was a one-time indiscretion. But indiscretions like this are rarely solitary. From an article in NY Magazine:

Someone who was certainly not surprised by Spitzer’s fall was Jason Itzler, erstwhile self-declared King of All Pimps. The now-41-year-old but still endlessly openmouthed Jason, whose exploits at his pricey NY Confidential whorehouse were previously described in this magazine (see “The $2,000-an-Hour Woman,” July 10, 2005), knew right away, before it came out in the press, that the Big Spit was a regular. “When I was in the business, if you had someone like him, you’d comp him. You comp him and comp him again, all the while jumping for joy because a client like that is like having the ultimate ‘get out of jail free’ card. But there’s a point you can’t comp him anymore. He’s using too much. You’ve got to begin charging. So if Spitzer was paying, and paying that much, he had to be serious addicted.”

It certainly raises interesting questions.


Secrets of the Megapimps [NYMag]

Deadlines

I'm a deadline-driven person. It helps organize my time when I have a deadline staring me in the face. Consequently, I'm having a hard time getting work done this week (it's spring break for us). How do you work on a paper that isn't due for another 3 weeks?

Sigh. I guess I'll have to learn. Any little tricks that people have to share would be appreciated.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone!

When a Tornado Hits During a High-Stakes Basketball Game

Did you see the game between Alabama and Mississippi State last night? It was played at the Georgia Dome, which was apparently hit by a tornado during the game. The roof was leaking, there were places where the roof was completely torn off, and the structure itself was shaking.

The game was postponed, but resumed about an hour later. MS State ended up winning. (Boo).

Tornado Trashes Atlanta [CNN]

Bracketology

We're watching the parts of the brackets being revealed by ESPN, interspersed by commercials and observations by commentators.

There are about 5 guys in my living room, and even though the entire bracket is already released online, they refuse to look at it. They say it's "all part of the fun" to string out the bracket revelations.

I'm too impatient for this. I'll stick with my instant internet-only bracket.

Is anyone keeping score?

Prof. Horwitz, who is also a blogger (PrawfsBlawg) and my con law professor, and I have had a good natured ribbing going on through our blogs. I wrote about how he had a "pimp cane," he replied on his blog and demonstrated that he has a wonderful sense of humor.

The most recent installment of our good natured war of the blogs involves a post I wrote for Above the Law teasing a "lovely Canadian professor" at my law school for pronouncing "substantive" as "subSTANtive." The next con law class period, he handed me a printout from a Canadian dictionary showing that his pronunciation was, indeed, correct.

One point for Prof. H.

Spring Break

Anyone doing something fun for spring break? I'm faking it by working on the book, law school work, and ATL -- but going to the tanning bed and watching basketball in between. At least I'll be a tan, basketballsy-informed workaholic.

Regal me with your tales of white beaches, blue waters, and pina coladas until the sun comes up. Or console me with your similar workaholic spring break.

Absence on ATL

David (daBossmann) Lat is trying out new bloggers, and wants several to fill in at different points. I don't know right now what my role would be exactly, but I think he has a role for me on the site when things get settled. Something like "Project Chick" would do just fine.

I'm just learning a ton with ATL, pushing boundaries, and having a great time. I see good things in our future together.

On Ending Sentences with Prepositions:

I tend to agree with Gloria:

My understanding as to not ending a sentence with a preposition was that the rule originated in Latin - where the preposition must be followed by the object in order to be correct. I'm ambivalent about the rule. I think the rearrangement of words to avoid such is a neat trick that shows off one's verbal acrobatics, but also generally unnecessary to clarifying one's meaning.

Thanks, G.

Prof. H Makes us Laugh

"We might have some visitors during class towards the end of the semester. It may be other faculty, etc. It's all standard stuff. Don't worry about it -- I'll pretend I'm sober, and you'll pretend you're paying attention."

And the Aides Fall

Samantha Power worked for the Obama campaign, and she stepped down last week after calling Clinton a "monster." Compare this to the quote that Geraldine Ferraro, who worked for the Clinton campaign, was forced to step down over today [CNN]:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

Is this racist? Is pointing out someone's race racist? Is pointing out someone's sex sexist?

UPDATE: From the comments:

RumorsDaily said...

Pointing out race isn't racist, claiming someone is where they are BECAUSE of their race is potentially racist.

Warm Weather Brings the: Preachers?

As the temperature has risen, so have the number of campus preachers. Today's Crimson White has an article about the students who use a little outdoor "free speech area" to preach to students walking by. Some of the group's tactics are fine, even admirable: they read passages from the Bible and talk about them, sometimes encouraging a dialogue. If this helps students make more informed choices, then great. It also encourages debate, which is (arguably) the purpose of higher education.

"I try to make people heckle me so I can engage them and preach to them," he said. "It's more fun for people. It's good to act a bit dumb sometimes. It's good to make statements that are politically incorrect."

The article doesn't talk about anyone challenging the preachers' right to preach, but it does describe some disagreements and times of tension that the preachers caused.

Alex Perkins, a senior majoring in theatre, said Venyah's tactics go too far.

On Monday afternoon, Perkins asked Venyah a question. Venyah started pointing at Perkins, referring to him only as "you homosexual." Perkins said he became irritated and asked not to be pointed out, but Venyah told him to be quiet and shouted that homosexuals were taught by Satan.

"I find that incredibly offensive," Perkins said. "I think [Soulwinners is] just as militant as [Armstrong] is, but more offensive."

Venyah said he did Perkins a service.

"I just told him the truth," he said. "It's not Christ telling men to have sex with men, to masturbate, to drink alcohol. That's the devil."

The preacher singled out someone in a crowd and called him "you homosexual." Just because Jesus did something, it does not mean that you have the authority to do it. Thoughts on this?

Freedom of speech probably covers this type of behavior, but I'm not sure about that. Simple ethics -- respect for others -- would seem to prohibit it.

Advice for Eliot Spitzer

So, (ex) Governor Spitzer, how did they catch you?

On a federal wiretap.

Isn't that how you caught all those Wall Street crooks? Shouldn't you know that when the transaction is shady, you shouldn't talk about it on the phone? Lastly, should you be inclined to tangle with prostitutes in the future, Randy Moss has some advice for you:

"Straight cash, homey."

Also, Spitzer's escort really, really "loves" who she is.

Spitzer Agrees to Resign

Spitzer agrees to resign over his ties to a prostitution ring.

When I first saw this story, I thought he was being nailed for participation in the money side of the ring. The guy is already Governor of NY, but money is a universal motivator. "So what?" I thought. "He got greedy and got caught."

But the story is much stranger than that. It's being reported that Spitzer met with a high-dollar prostitute in a DC hotel. Why would he pay for sex? He's in a position of power, there HAVE to be other women who want to sleep with him for free. Of course, adultery wouldn't make the situation any more morally acceptable than prostitution. I'm just talking about whether or not his decision was rational.

When I voiced this opinion to my friend Gloria, she reminded me that the prostitute was likely under a contract that would bind her to keeping silent about the affair for the rest of her life. Most likely, Spitzer didn't pay for the sex -- he paid for discretion.

I'm sure a good lawyer could turn that into an argument and get Spitzer off (in more than one way).