If you think the Trent Lott debacle was bad, get a load of this one. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the extreme far-right Vice Speaker of the Russian Duma, visited Iraq four months ago and had some illuminating words on America, Bush, and a potential war on Iraq. The following is from a video of him (apparently completely loaded -- the tape was...

As promised, my year end retrospective! Well, at least it's out before the end of January. All things in italics are verbatim searches (punctuation added). How do I throw a tea party? I have no freakin' idea. Try here. Roommate Advice. Don't get one. If you must have one, avoid the "interesting" ones. You know, the ones who talk about...

Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Margaret H. Marshall (whew, that's a mouthful!) has decided to pull out of the candidacy pool for the deanship of Harvard Law School in a move to save the Massachusetts judicial system. The judiciary and the legislature have been fighting an antagonistic battle: the legislators taketh away, and the judges taketh right...

My recent note of Judge Kozinski's law clerk requirements had blogger Waddling Thunder wondering about my true motivations. In the comments section (sorry, no direct link -- javascript!), Nikki wonders if I'm making a subtle dig at everyone else's expense, while Waddle thinks I'm out for sabotage. Muhahaha. I'll never tell....

There seems to be a massive proliferation of law bloggers lately, but as far as I know, no one is yet blogging on ethics or professional responsibility. I would so love to see a good ethics blog. So if you're knowledgeable or passionate about the topic and have the yen to blog, step up to the plate!...

I was apparently struck with a dash of prescience last week. On Friday, Howard asks Judge Jerry Smith why he decided to defect from the law clerk hiring scheme: The current hiring plan . . . will fail, sooner or later . . . ... Any plan with tightly defined deadlines benefits mostly the judges in the I-95 corridor between...

The first incarnation of LazyBlawg is online! Kevin & Jonas have dubbed it the Blawgistan Times. I think it's fantastic that they've decided to archive the contents daily. Dynamic experiences are good, but oftentimes it's useful to take a look back. If you're lost and confused, just visit the site. You'll figure it out. Eventually. Or check out my mini-explanation....

My server is being moved tonight between 7pm and midnight (eastern time). So if you can't get here, it is okay!...

The Federal appellate judge hiring plan is starting to show a few cracks. A quick perusal of the Federal Law Clerk Information System reveals the following: Several justices are apparently using creative interpretations of "fall hiring." For example, Judge Robert Sack (2nd), Judge Paul Kelly, Jr. (10th), and Judge Richard Tallman (9th) are all accepting applications beginning June 1. Judge...

Has anyone else noticed that Hilary Rosen, Mary Matalin, and Karen Hughes have all resigned to spend more time with their families? Does this mark a trend of high-ranking and high-profile professional and/or political women quitting their jobs to actually devote more time to their kids? Or is it a strategic move to avoid harsh inquiry on their actual motives...

Professor Jeff Cooper has returned! Yay! Our hearts were bereft during your absence. Plus there's a link to a wickedly funny blog I hadn't noticed before. (Bonus for all you guys - lots of half-naked women, too.)...

If you hadn't noticed, today I have eschewed long posts for little snippets. Bear with me until I get it out of my system. I promise it won't last very long....

Eugene Volokh wants advice on marketing his newest creation, Academic Legal Writing: Student Notes and Seminar Papers. You can get a sneak peek here! As I have previously mentioned, I found Prof. Volokh's writing advice immensely helpful with my own work....

Are you a 2L? Planning to take the Bar in Massachusetts? You should know (if you didn't already) that the July 2004 exam will be the same week as the Democratic National Convention. If you need a hotel room, you should book it now....

Oh goody. Lazyblawg (see previous post here) is coming to life! Go visit to send in your information....

I think I might have stopped breathing while reading this. One gem (entitled You, the TVP of my desire): Picture it, Poughkeepsie: As I swiped my card at the dormitory door I'd already caught your sweet scent. Your ziplocked brocolli florets, gently radiated by that communal microwave, cast a sensuous robe of olfactory bliss over the lobby. And thine saucepan...

LazyBlawg sounds really nifty. It's kind of like a call for papers, except applied to blogs. You ping the site with your post, which adds an excerpt to the collaborative blog/feed, people visit the blog/feed and are able to comment on the excerpt or ping it with their reply. Even better, I now know about Tech Law Advisor! It's not...

From the Did-You-Really-Need-to-Use-That-Metaphor quote of the day pool: [T]he paradox is related as branch to root to the historic dualism between popular sovereignty and the doctrine of fundamental law that developed with the birth throes of the American political system. Robert G. McCloskey, The American Supreme Court. And I all wanted was a little light reading. Now I feel kind...

Bruce was right - it has all been said before! Here's a short list of law review articles discussing the issue. Links are to Westlaw (subscription required). Fred Rodell, Goodbye to Law Reviews, 23 Va. L. Rev. 38, 45 (1936) ("Maybe one of these days the law reviews, or some of them, will have the nerve to shoot for higher...

Just missed the first installment, but you can now read Brush With the Law by Robert Byrnes and Jaime Marquart in serial form at New York Lawyer. I approached my second year with [one] goal . . . take classes that required the least amount of work and the least amount of attendance . . . I devised The System,...

Unless you've truly been living in a hole, you know the Supreme Court today delivered its ruling in Eldred v. Ashcroft. I thought the rejection of the perpetual copyright argument was rather inevitable given that judicial authority is oftentimes uncomfortable with statistics and modern science, but it doesn't end the fight. There is room for a later court (it surely...

I've really been wanting some sort of legal reference to Snoop Dogg and all the rage about shizzle-speak. Southern Appeal has kindly translated part of the blog into Snoop speak using the Shizzolator. Bonus points to the first use of shizzle-speak in a law review article!...

Although it has been seemingly beaten to death in other quarters, I too have my own perspective on the nature of student-editing and how it affects legal scholarship. There seems to me a big hole in how these commentators [see, I am in article mode] are approaching the student-review problem, and it mirrors the hole I see in many law...

I'm really not pleased with this cold thing. It's just, well, cold! I'd much prefer to be lounging in the sun, but, alas, I have returned. In the past couple days I have also discovered it is much easier to run about town with my pals than to actually blog. Blogging after an absence is particularly painful. It's not that...

I said I'd blog, but I lied! I'm having way too much fun in the sun (and getting a nice tan, too!). I do have a fun year-end retrospective but that will have to wait until my return to the wintry north & constant internet access. And yes, I laughed when I saw the huge snowstorm on the Weather Channel....