November = CRAZY

November for the law student, equates to craziness. This is true. November is the month were we students start thinking, "Oh by golly, there are only 3 more weeks of classes! Holy Cow!" As a second year student, we start wondering how are we going to balance everything: work, school, life, and if you are like me, the moot court competition that needs to be squeezed in.

The student [that would be me] loses sleep. We become grumpy. Our family starts wondering where we are, and why we have not been in touch. If you have kids [I have one], they start thinking that some crazy person has taken over mom's body. This person has less patience than normal, her eyes look wild, and she yells at little provocation.

Then to top it all of, our school district, in all of it's infinate wisdom, also gives a total of 6 days off during this month. So, now I am juggling where my child is going to go while I am at school or work. More stress = more craziness!

Advice to the R's.......

You all better get organized. Last night was a sound spanking from the American people. You want to know why you have experienced failure? You want to know why we the people are disgusted? Let me tell you...........

You lost your identity. You lost what made you great in 1996. You breeched your contract with America. You spent like a drunk democrat, you expanded government to unprecedented levels, and you allowed the President to expand his powers beyond belief. And then, as if that was not disgraceful enough, you turned on each other like jackels fighting over a carcus. Absolutely disgusting.

What happened to personal responsibility? What happened to small government? What happened to reducing spending? What happened to deregulation? What happaned to helping business? What happened?

And don't get me started on how you jumped ship on Bush. You could not distance yourself faster......NONE of you stood by him, fought the press, and spoke the truth. You allowed the Media (if you can call them that) to define him and to define you. In the end, it was your arrogance that destroyed you.

My advice: regroup. Stop listening to the media--they want to see the destruction of your party. Remember that the Constitution was written to protect the insular and discrete minority. Organize. Redefine. And go back to the roots. Let the young, new voices guide you. Stop compromising. STICK TOGETHER.

Advice to the Dems......

Do you want to remain in power? Let me share with you some advice: the average American person is moderate. Unless you do not want history to repeat itself, you better rein in the liberals in your party and "center" your agenda. We the people are tired of the divisive, dirty politics, that have racked the last 8 years........As much as the President was to blame, you all take part of that blame as well. So you better have a plan, and it better be center.

Think I am joking? Let me remind you. The last time the Dems enjoyed this kind of control was in 1992, when Clinton took office. That lasted exactly two years---and then the people were disgusted and elected a Republican controlled Congress. This was the beginning of the problems. Do not, by any means, believe that this election was a mandate for progressive, liberal ideas. What it was a mandate for was "Change" and honestly, I don't know what that really means, no one has explained it to me yet. We in the legal world call this an ambiguous term.

So here's the deal: As a registered independant, I am willing to give you all the benefit of the doubt. So go get to work, but realize that we the people are watching you...................

Nationwide Initiative Results

Last night I wrote about the initiatives that I was keeping tabs on......All the initiatives dealing with abortion failed. The one that surprised me the most was the parental notification one in California----the final count was close, very close indeed. I expected a resounding no to this one, but it appears that the voters are moving closer to requiring the 48 hour notice. The Colorado initiative that would have defined a person as beginning at fertilization was soundly defeated. The South Dakota ban on abortions except in the case of rape and incest was very close but failed. Neither of these surprise me too much because empirical evidence shows that most Americans believe in the right to choose within the first 3 months. If the right to life organizers want to launch serious attacks, they should focus on the 2nd semester ban and then work downward.

California Proposition 8 was surprising to me. I guess I assume that California is composed of fairly liberal individuals and my assumption was wrong. Which begs the question: Was this a slap at the California Supreme Court or a referendum on the meaning of marriage? AND, what remedy in the law do same-sex couples have in order to change the wording put in by the people? Can the legislature override this? Does the Supreme Court have to abide by this? (The answer of course is yes). And finally, what happens to the some 16,000 marriages that have been preformed since June 17, 2008? All matters the court is going to have to deal with in the coming months and years ahead.

Finally with this issue, Prop 8 effected the equal protection section of the law of California to NOT apply to same sex couples. Equal protection has always referred to a person, but in the SC or California extending this to couples, they opened a thorny issue that could actually errode civil rights for those who would want to protect the classification of sexual orientation. Perhaps the court did more harm then good with their May ruling.

Also, Florida voters approved an amendment that would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

On the whole, results last night were interesting as to what will effect the legal community.

More impressions......

My daughter cried, "We're going to die." Somehow, someone convinced her that Obama meant the end of the world and we are all going to die. Now, it was not me....honestly. I did not speak ill of Obama to her. I did not reveal who I voted for because honestly, until I sat down to vote, I remained undecided. She gave me a good laugh and then we sat down to watch his acceptance speech.

I was moved. The man is a great orator. Do I believe every promise? No. But I don't believe that of any politician. But the strangest thing moved me.........I elluded to it in an earlier post: the making of history.

I watched Jesse Jackson as tears rolled down his face, watch Obama speak. And I thought that this is the man that walked along side Martin Luther King Jr. and fought long and hard for equal protection under the law---what was he feeling knowing that because of the work he had done, Obama was making that speech? Now, this was strange for me. I am not a big fan of Jackson politically. But to be a part of a generation that watched that moment....I paused. I told my daughter, "You watch this. This is an important moment being made in history. Remember this."

In the span of Obama's 47 years, he was born to a world which did not recognize him as equal. He experienced discrimination and racism. Yet, in the span of his lifetime, he has fulfilled his dream. And in doing so, fulfilled the dreams of those who toiled the fields of racism for years before him. If for no other reason, our nation should be proud of the fact that today is the day that the nation decided based on political message, not the color of one man's skin.....

Now I just wait for the day that this applies to women.......

O elected as President

So the news is out: Barak Obama is the president elect and will take office in January. For what it is worth, here are my thoughts:

1. The ability for a black man to win this office would have been unheard of 40 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago. This is proof that the walls of opportunity for a black man have clearly been torn down. Tonight marks an important historical moment in consideration of the history of this nation. Tonight is proof that a nation can turn it's back on bigotry and hate to promote equality and justice to all regardless of race.

2. Change was the best coin word, PR work of the decade. We don't even know what change was promised to us, we only know that "change" is a coming. The coming year will be interesting to what the defination of change means.

3. What do I think "change" meant? Honestly, I think that people hungered for a change from the current administration, meaning Bush. The people, overwhelmingly, are tired of the approach of secrecy and unilateral decisions made by the Bush Administration.

4. I am going to hold out hope that Obama moves center and remembers that we are a moderate country. But I will make the following predictions for the next four years:

• Taxes will increase. Sorry wealthy people who make more than 250,000 a year, you are going to be looking at paying 5-7% more in taxes.
• Justice Stevens will retire from the Supreme Court and therefore, O will nominate a justice. Look for it to happen in the next two years because then there will be no fight in the Senate for confirmation (plus Justice Stevens is 86 years old).
• There will NOT be an immediate pullout in Iraq. I remain convinced that once O sees the intelligence reports and is briefed, his tune is going to change a bit there.
• Major layoffs by corporations who will fear the policy changes being made that effect the bottom line of their profits.
• Energy prices will skyrocket.
• Uncontrolled spending because there are no checks and balances between the Congress and President. You and I will pay---and then our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
• The fairness doctrine will be attacked--watch out Rush, Sean, and Glen. They will be gunning for you.

Don't get me wrong: I remain optimistic the Barak Obama will work with diplomacy and grace. I also think he has a shot at working across the aisle and pulling down a consensus. What frightens me is the fact that two branches of the government will be controlled by one political party----the government was not set up to work this way.

The good news: We always swing to the right, then center, then left. We are in that cycle.

Ballot initiatives take on major social issues

Ballot initiatives this season involve some very controversial issues that will provoke hot feelings on either side. The state of Colorado will basically outlaw abortion if the initiative passes in this state. The proposed ballot would add to the Colorado state constitution defining a person to "include any human being from the moment of fertilization." This would effectively knock the wind out of Roe v. Wade or the language of the predecessor, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. South Dakota has an initiative on the ballot which would outlaw all abortions unless the woman was subject to rape or incest. Even liberal California is stepping in with a proposition to require 48 hour parental notification (which by the way is allowed due to the reasoning of Casey). Finally, California again with prop 8 would overturn the California State Supreme Court’s decision, which overturned the will of the people, which would define marriage between a man and a woman.

All of these are hot-topic buttons. While the same-sex marriage argument is nothing new in recent years, the abortion initiatives are. Why? What are these states, or people who propose ballots up to? In an answer: challenging Roe v. Wade.
Roe v. Wade can only be overturned completely by the United States Supreme Court. With the resignation of O’Connor, and the appointments of Roberts and Alito, the court is posed to overturn this 1973 decision. In order for the court to do so, there must be a case to adjudicate.

The one to watch will be the Colorado statute defining a person. The Supreme Court has never definitively defined when personhood begins. And the Supreme Court would not have the power to direct whether a state constitution is constitutional. This is a major violation of federal powers.

I will be watching with great interest to see where the people through the voters stand. Rather than the courts, or Congress.