Happy New Year.

First, I realize this is a little out of character. I can't imagine my hero, George Costanza, talking about New Year's resolutions. Although doing everything against his nature and instincts worked out quite well for him.... so this is from me, not my alter-ego GCNOF.

I'd like to wish you all a happy new year. Next, if your New Years Resolution can be ruined in one day, you probably aren't going to keep it... So if you say you are going to swear off porn. That probably isn't a good New Year's Resolution. A more realistic one is "I will look at less porn this year than I did in the last one." Or I'll eat better than I did the year before, or exercise more than the year before. We, regulars at the gym, always joke about how crowded it is, in January and February; but we know will get our parking spot and weight machine back by March (at the latest).

So if there is some way you are still making progress on your resolutions, by say, April, you are doing a good job, or at least are above average. If it's a news years resolution that can stand some backslidding, even better. The key isn't to do something every day, but to keep doing it, whatever it is, in June.

A swim buddy of mine, pointed out that the Japanese way of looking at change, was to do one small thing each day. That way there is less to regress and progress is less intimidating. Like climbing a mountain, with the smallest steps, as opposed to making big jumps. The problem with big jumps? big falls. I think we all to some degree are scared or put off in some way by drastic change. As they say, easy come, easy go.

Progress, and learning are two things that can't be taken away from you. So I urge you all to vow to make this new year better in at least one.

What are my New Year's resolutions? To work more than I did last year; to write more; be better to the environment; get a better sleep cycle; and to stay healthy (fewer injuries; antibiotics).

ok. date more. don't just rely on the internet for dating. try to be as present as possible in a relationship. break up only once. appreciation everything I have. realize if I'm confused about the status of a relationship, the other person is as well. try not to think too much. and realize that most of the people I meet know (much) more or much less than I do.

(that's Donald circa 1955, making his dishonest New Year's resolutions, that's why he's looking mischevious. of course, yours and mine are going to be genuine.) Happy 2009!

Journal Entry 9.30.08-Rosh Hashanah

Loyal Readers (or Reader),

I made it a point to start writing this year. don't necessarily expect more posts (once a month or so). but I hope to actually write like a book or a screen play. Something substantial.

It's a new year. Rosh Hashanah began last night and that's my goal. that to become more observant, to get a real full time job and to stop looking at internet porn. hopefully, that will entail moving out of the parent's house. and also to spend more of my time in the real outside world, as opposed to my inner world, full of day dreams and day nightmares.

I would also like to figure out what to do about my dating life. but I've recently come to the conclusion, that in addition to alcohol,

Personal note: those who don't like to invade other people's private life, should read no further.

...love life is something that is very hard for me to enjoy b/c of the prescription drugs I'm on. (not that I ever had "relations" before being on them, so it could be just me).

But besides my problems. I'm already happy and headed for a good year, because I heard the shofar. Something that I haven't done in three or four years!

As we said at Temple today. Shana Tova! Happy New Year! may you be wiser this year, than you were in the past (year)! (That's the only ability you have the potential to improve in year after year. no matter what else happens.)

House Committee v. Miers

I have a fun assignment in con law this week. We are going over the case mentioned in the title of this post. It stems from the Federal judge firings that happened a little while ago. The House of Rep. wanted some of the presidents aids to come before the house oversight committee and the president refused to hand them over. Usually when the house orders a subpoena and some fails to show they can hold that person in contempt and send federal marshals to arrest them. The marshals of course are part of the executive so in this case if congress asked the marshals to arrest presidential aids, most likely the president would say no. When two branches contradict each other this is a called a constitutional crisis. So instead of holding the aides in contempt the house sued the president. The district court judge ruled in favor of the house, saying that the executive need to hand over Miers. So, the teacher divided the class into the two sides and, we will argue it in class as if we were in the supreme court. On Tuesday the professor will pull names out of a hat and you are either represent the Executive, the Legislative or the Judges. I am going to bring a fake gavel just in case I get called up as a judge. We are supposed to represent specific judges (Roberts, Thomas, Scalia...)and I hope I get picked for that job so much. Peace out bitches

Verbal Bitch Slaping

For this post I think that I will just rant a bit, so please bear with me. My most intense class has been constitutional law. We receive about three times as much reading in this class comparatively. We just got done reading three cases about enemy combatants. I don’t know if any of you remember I had a nightmare about being classified as an enemy combatant. Anyway, I digress back to the law. The three cases were Hamdi v.Rumsfeld (2004), Hamden v. Rumsfeld(2006) and Boumediene v. Bush (2008), all three cases revolve around Guantanamo and prisoners of war. They are presented as rulings over detainee rights, but are more or less battles between the Judicial and the Executive branches for control. It seems that both branches have been usurping powers away from the legislative and, the fact that the legislative is so split politically means it is less effective. The executive set up military tribunals, bypassing the legislative and the judicial. The legislative being charged with making the laws, however did nothing to slow down the executives power grab. This is where the Judicial laid the smack down. They asserted their right to decide what the law is and in essence bypassed the legislative to remake the laws. I should note that in the Boumedine case the courts rejected the Legislatives ability to write the Executive a blank check for power. The vote came out 5v4 and the 4 dissenters were very upset. Justice Scolia Said “ The nation will to regret what the court has done today”. There were many other verbal bitch slaps in the dissent, I suggest every one read that case.

Page 3 article

Page 3

Hey, I made page 3 of my local paper. Because of privacy issues: if you are a real fan of the blog, and not just a relative or a friend of a relative, I can't tell you what paper or what my name is. but I'm sure you can figure it out. it's probably on this blog somewhere.

It's just in situations like this I know exactly what George would do. (He would probably never get into this situation in the first place.) basically I may or may not be a local hero, but I'm already regretting doing what I've done, and not just because my arms are covered in poison oak (that's the poison plant we have on the west coast for all you east coasters).

tangent, notice how I didn't call you the right coast... please do me the same favor. I am a conservative on this issue. I like north south east west. (besides do you always look at a map north pointing forward or up? ok, maybe you do. still) calling us the left coast won't make you cool or hip. it will just piss me off.

back to the problem. I've been called a local hero twice today. I'm already embarrassed about it, just having one neighbor, one swimming buddy and one friend call me up. it'd be so much cooler, if I did it anonymously. of course I did get a case of Sierra Nevada for my efforts, but I'll need to drink it up, just to forget about the itching oils all over my arms.

I'm just easily embarrassed. I lose on purpose, just so I don't have to deal with the embarrassment/attention of winning. Part of the reason might be I lost so much in youth soccer and baseball, that I got quite comfortable with not winning.


this is why I admire George Costanza so much. He rarely gets embarrassed. He would never get embarrassed for winning or doing something good. If I am drunk for the next few days, know that I am avoiding the attention and the poison oak.

-Over and Out from the west coast. maybe west is too close to best, is that you're problem?

Law quote of the week.

The case this quote is brought to you on is brought to you by my contracts class. In this case the plaintiff is suing the defendant to force the defendant to make good on a contract. The plaintiff says that he bought a farm from the defendant for 50k, and the defendant claims that he was drunk and joking when he wrote out the contract. Just a note both he and his wife were at the bar and signed the contract. The defendant says he "[W]as high as a Georgia pine" and that the transaction "[W]as just a bunch of of two doggoned drunks bluffing to see who could talk the biggest and say the most." As you can guess this defense did not hold up in court and he lost the farm.