Diane,
Barak Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize this morning for...um...I'm not exactly sure. The deadline for applications for this once prestigious award was less than 2 weeks after President Obama was elected to office. I'm not exactly sure how you can foster a sense of world peace while you're still unpacking your office.
I'm not saying Obama will not someday do something that makes him worthy of this honor, but now?!? Giving this to him today just cheapens the accomplishments of those who have won it in the past, especially those who spent their lives fighting for diplomacy and trying to irradicate tyranny.
This is why you have a waiting period on the Hall of Fame in every sport. Give people some time to get out of the moment and judge the accomplishments on their historic value. Giving this to a man who has been president less time than some women have been pregnant is flabbergasting.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The more things change...
Stop me if you heard this one before.
So there's this girl in one of my classes named Holly. We've been flirting with each other pretty much all semester and it's pretty clear we like each other. The problem? She has a boyfriend of 2 years and even though she likes me and would rather be with me, she's not ready to give up the boyfriend because it would complicate things. So she'd rather feel things out with me on the side and still be with him. Tells him we're just friends, even though there's obviously something that draws us to each other.
This is not a re-hashing of 2004-05. This is present day Tulsa, Oklahoma.
UGH. I really know how to make things overly hard on myself.
So there's this girl in one of my classes named Holly. We've been flirting with each other pretty much all semester and it's pretty clear we like each other. The problem? She has a boyfriend of 2 years and even though she likes me and would rather be with me, she's not ready to give up the boyfriend because it would complicate things. So she'd rather feel things out with me on the side and still be with him. Tells him we're just friends, even though there's obviously something that draws us to each other.
This is not a re-hashing of 2004-05. This is present day Tulsa, Oklahoma.
UGH. I really know how to make things overly hard on myself.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Homesick
Diane,
I got up early this morning to get some reading done for my classes. Went over to the cafeteria to get something for breakfast and the guy at the register noticed my University of Manitoba T-shirt. He started talking about how he was from Indiana and how he loved being up north this time of year. It really made me homesick.
I haven't really missed home much this year, but something just clicked in me. I miss the change of the seasons. I miss my friends and family that I barely ever get to talk to anymore. I miss the political discussions with my dad. I even miss my putrid Blue Bombers.
I guess these things come and go. I feel blessed to be pursuing my dream of being a lawyer and Tulsa is my type of town. I have great friends who are very supportive, but it doesn't replace what I've got back home.
I'll be coming home over American Thanksgiving, but that's still 7 weeks away. I guess I'll just have to keep busy and not think about anything but what's directly in front of me. I'll see you in a couple of months.
I got up early this morning to get some reading done for my classes. Went over to the cafeteria to get something for breakfast and the guy at the register noticed my University of Manitoba T-shirt. He started talking about how he was from Indiana and how he loved being up north this time of year. It really made me homesick.
I haven't really missed home much this year, but something just clicked in me. I miss the change of the seasons. I miss my friends and family that I barely ever get to talk to anymore. I miss the political discussions with my dad. I even miss my putrid Blue Bombers.
I guess these things come and go. I feel blessed to be pursuing my dream of being a lawyer and Tulsa is my type of town. I have great friends who are very supportive, but it doesn't replace what I've got back home.
I'll be coming home over American Thanksgiving, but that's still 7 weeks away. I guess I'll just have to keep busy and not think about anything but what's directly in front of me. I'll see you in a couple of months.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sports news
Mrs. C,
This just in...The Bombers still suck.
So I turn my attention south. Vikings and Jets are both 2-0, which makes me happy.
University of Tulsa introduced their new vision of our mascot, complete with a superhero backstory.
http://deadspin.com/5364520/tulsas-proactive-mascot-teaches-you-about-electricity-i-think
It's tough to come up with a mascot for a team called "The Golden Hurricane", but Captain Cane doesn't really strike fear in the hearts of many. Maybe it's an attempt to direct attention away from our nickname being as close to a sexual position as you're going to find on the football field. I still choose to look on the bright side and thank God we're not the Crimson Tide.
The BIG news is that Tulsa was awarded regional games in the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament! It is the most exciting sporting event in the world and the first 2 rounds are usually the games that see the most upsets (AKA the most fun). Couple that with the fact that Oklahoma City is hosting the first 2 rounds this year and it looks like a good time to be a college basketball fan in Oklahoma.
I just checked the official line...We're not talking about it; it's a non-issue; We're handling it internally...and the Bombers still suck.
This just in...The Bombers still suck.
So I turn my attention south. Vikings and Jets are both 2-0, which makes me happy.
University of Tulsa introduced their new vision of our mascot, complete with a superhero backstory.
http://deadspin.com/5364520/tulsas-proactive-mascot-teaches-you-about-electricity-i-think
It's tough to come up with a mascot for a team called "The Golden Hurricane", but Captain Cane doesn't really strike fear in the hearts of many. Maybe it's an attempt to direct attention away from our nickname being as close to a sexual position as you're going to find on the football field. I still choose to look on the bright side and thank God we're not the Crimson Tide.
The BIG news is that Tulsa was awarded regional games in the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament! It is the most exciting sporting event in the world and the first 2 rounds are usually the games that see the most upsets (AKA the most fun). Couple that with the fact that Oklahoma City is hosting the first 2 rounds this year and it looks like a good time to be a college basketball fan in Oklahoma.
I just checked the official line...We're not talking about it; it's a non-issue; We're handling it internally...and the Bombers still suck.
Changes...
Diane,
This past week has been a little interesting. A friend of mine broke up with his girlfriend of almost 3 years on Monday. By Wednesday, she had left the apartment they shared and was on her way back to Chicago. We all hated her, but it still reminded me of what I gave up. There was part of me that wanted to tell him to reconsider before she was gone because once she is, it's over and she's not coming back.
Watched One Tree Hill tonight. A couple of twists I didn't expect came up and my first reaction was to pick up the phone and call her. It's what I've done in the past and it's what I wanted to do tonight. It takes everything not to call her. I still love her, but I'm trying my best to forget her. I don't check her facebook or livejournal anymore to try not to think about her, but it's still tough. I still consider her my family. Turning my back on her when she needed me the most is something I will regret for the rest of my life, but it's something I have to live with.
But time for me to stop whining and get back to the books. Evidence is calling my name.
This past week has been a little interesting. A friend of mine broke up with his girlfriend of almost 3 years on Monday. By Wednesday, she had left the apartment they shared and was on her way back to Chicago. We all hated her, but it still reminded me of what I gave up. There was part of me that wanted to tell him to reconsider before she was gone because once she is, it's over and she's not coming back.
Watched One Tree Hill tonight. A couple of twists I didn't expect came up and my first reaction was to pick up the phone and call her. It's what I've done in the past and it's what I wanted to do tonight. It takes everything not to call her. I still love her, but I'm trying my best to forget her. I don't check her facebook or livejournal anymore to try not to think about her, but it's still tough. I still consider her my family. Turning my back on her when she needed me the most is something I will regret for the rest of my life, but it's something I have to live with.
But time for me to stop whining and get back to the books. Evidence is calling my name.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Political Posturing
Diane,
As you know, I'm interested in the Manitoba political scene. No secret there. I was reading the Free Press this morning and this jumped out at me.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Ashton-team-suggests-first-ballot-win-59226762.html
Steve Ashton is holding a press conference to discuss his brisk membership sales in the NDP leadership race. Apparently, he has so many that it's possible that he'll win on the first ballot. I had him pegged as the winner, but this news actually has me wondering.
This seems like a classic bluff; puff out your chest, act like a winner, and hope that you draw the bandwagon jumpers in. It's a strategy that worked in the past, but it often backfires. I remember the rumoured 5,000 membership books that one candidate had supposedly taken out during the PC Leadership. When the votes were counted, there definitely wasn't 50,000 people voting for him.
What I like about the announcement is the way politics are changing in the province. Gary Doer has long steered this province by setting a low bar and coming through with what he promised. It's worked wonders politically, as we've trotted out promise after promise that seemed unrealistic to the voters.
If I'm right and Steve Ashton is going to become the next Premier of Manitoba, then this bravado is a good sign for all those drinking the haterade. The NDP moves left, reverts to campaigning on vision, and Manitoba's moderate population has to reconsider where they park their votes. Interesting days ahead.
As you know, I'm interested in the Manitoba political scene. No secret there. I was reading the Free Press this morning and this jumped out at me.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Ashton-team-suggests-first-ballot-win-59226762.html
Steve Ashton is holding a press conference to discuss his brisk membership sales in the NDP leadership race. Apparently, he has so many that it's possible that he'll win on the first ballot. I had him pegged as the winner, but this news actually has me wondering.
This seems like a classic bluff; puff out your chest, act like a winner, and hope that you draw the bandwagon jumpers in. It's a strategy that worked in the past, but it often backfires. I remember the rumoured 5,000 membership books that one candidate had supposedly taken out during the PC Leadership. When the votes were counted, there definitely wasn't 50,000 people voting for him.
What I like about the announcement is the way politics are changing in the province. Gary Doer has long steered this province by setting a low bar and coming through with what he promised. It's worked wonders politically, as we've trotted out promise after promise that seemed unrealistic to the voters.
If I'm right and Steve Ashton is going to become the next Premier of Manitoba, then this bravado is a good sign for all those drinking the haterade. The NDP moves left, reverts to campaigning on vision, and Manitoba's moderate population has to reconsider where they park their votes. Interesting days ahead.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
So this is what I'm going to have to deal with?
Diane,
We were discussing a case in Professional Responsibility today that got to me a little. This man, Alton Logan, was tried and convicted of the 1982 killing of a MacDonald's security guard. The problem was, he was innocent, and the lawyers for the man responsible for the murder knew it.
The moral thing to do is to prevent an innocent man from going to prison, but that's not how the justice system works. A lawyer's first, last, and only duty is to live within the ethical rules of the legal system, giving the best defense possible to their client and keeping what is told to them confidential under attorney-client privilege. The lawyers knew that Logan was innocent, but their hands were tied by the law.
*Side Note: They were able to come forward now because they had worked out a deal with their client that if he died they could take his sworn confession public, as he could no longer face punishment for the crime. He's dead, and they came forward.
Logan was convicted and sentenced to life in prison when the death penalty vote wasn't unanimous. The ironic part of this is that to save his life, they would have had to vote to kill him. The death penalty vote was 10-2 in favor and had the 2 members of the jury that spared his life voted to kill him, the lawyers with knowledge that he was innocent would have been allowed to break privilege to save his life. But sending him to jail for the rest of his days is okay by system standards.
While it's awful to think that this happens, you can't blame the lawyers. Had they broken privilege and come forward, the evidence would have been suppressed because it came from a broken Attorney-Client Privilege. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
I swallow hard when thinking about keeping these things to myself, but I know it has to be done. Upholding the system is the most important part of a lawyer's oath to himself and his profession. It may not make for the greatest morality discussion when you discuss the rules with people who don't have to deal with lawyers, but in the situation that someone needs legal help, you can rest assured that what you tell your lawyer stays between you and him. I just need to start thinking more like an attorney and less like a lay-man.
Here's the 60 Minutes video link of the story:
http://http//www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4126194n&tag=related;photovideo
We were discussing a case in Professional Responsibility today that got to me a little. This man, Alton Logan, was tried and convicted of the 1982 killing of a MacDonald's security guard. The problem was, he was innocent, and the lawyers for the man responsible for the murder knew it.
The moral thing to do is to prevent an innocent man from going to prison, but that's not how the justice system works. A lawyer's first, last, and only duty is to live within the ethical rules of the legal system, giving the best defense possible to their client and keeping what is told to them confidential under attorney-client privilege. The lawyers knew that Logan was innocent, but their hands were tied by the law.
*Side Note: They were able to come forward now because they had worked out a deal with their client that if he died they could take his sworn confession public, as he could no longer face punishment for the crime. He's dead, and they came forward.
Logan was convicted and sentenced to life in prison when the death penalty vote wasn't unanimous. The ironic part of this is that to save his life, they would have had to vote to kill him. The death penalty vote was 10-2 in favor and had the 2 members of the jury that spared his life voted to kill him, the lawyers with knowledge that he was innocent would have been allowed to break privilege to save his life. But sending him to jail for the rest of his days is okay by system standards.
While it's awful to think that this happens, you can't blame the lawyers. Had they broken privilege and come forward, the evidence would have been suppressed because it came from a broken Attorney-Client Privilege. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
I swallow hard when thinking about keeping these things to myself, but I know it has to be done. Upholding the system is the most important part of a lawyer's oath to himself and his profession. It may not make for the greatest morality discussion when you discuss the rules with people who don't have to deal with lawyers, but in the situation that someone needs legal help, you can rest assured that what you tell your lawyer stays between you and him. I just need to start thinking more like an attorney and less like a lay-man.
Here's the 60 Minutes video link of the story:
http://http//www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4126194n&tag=related;photovideo
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