2L

2003-07-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well the Supreme Court pleasantly surprised me this session. Privacy rights among gays has been recognized and legalized and Affirmative Action is still legal because we are still far away from racial equality. Thank you.

Tonight, Noah and I went to see our friend’s art award show at the SF Art Commission , and then went to the Noe Valley Democratic club to hear from our Mayoral Candidates, unfortunately we only had time to hear from 1, Gavin Newsom,who is such a perfectly trained porcelain politician, it was hard not to eat up everything he said. I am still undecided and I must hear from the rest in the race in order to make that final decision. However, I need more than a homeless plan to sell me.

2003-06-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Major issues expected to be decided by the Supreme Court on Thursday:

-Sodomy: whether states can punish gay couples for engaging in sexual acts that are legal for heterosexual couples, a follow-up to a ruling 17 years ago that upheld a sodomy ban. Lawrence v. Texas, 02-102.

-Free speech: a review of the scope of corporate free-speech protection in a case that involves sneaker maker Nike and allegations it lied about working conditions in overseas factories. Nike v. Kasky, 02-575.

In a sigh of relief the S.Ct upheld Affirmative Action today!--Thank you Sandra Day who wrote for the 5-4 majority as she stated the obvious: "In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity"

My fingers are crossed for Thursday! Oh please see to the rights of homosexuals and the need for truthfulness in corporate advertising! These are major community building decsions that we need for the strength, integrity and health of our societyat large!

2003-06-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

I had a Spanish speaking lunch with a couple of my law school classmates and it was muy divertido. I need to continually practice my Spanish so it will be easier when Noah and I move to Patzcuaro Mexico when we retire.
Tomorrow I get my client with a housing issue and must try to resolve her situation by the end of the summer session either through negotiations with the landlord or action through the courts. Fun actual legal work.

2003-06-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yes it has been far too long...this summer program is heinous: classes 9 - 5 monday through friday and 4 hours of study every day. I went to hear an appeal today to watch the courtroom in action and to better prepare me for my oral argument--agh! I am representing the Government, so regardless of the facts of the case my side is pretty sure to win. The case I heard today had all sorts of juicy bits, including dynomite, airplanes, the INS, naturalization, terrorism, expunged records, minors and school pricipals but not necessarily in that order. The Government had some weak lawyers but it seemed like the law was on their side--imagine that--so they will probably prevail.
I am every so interested in the Supreme Court decisions that are due out this week, particuarly the Michigan affirmative action case and the Texas sodomy law case. Even with this conservative Court I am hopful that affirmative action with be upheld and the all sodomy laws will be overturned. Come on O'Connor and Kennedy...do the right thing!

2003-05-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

audblog audio post

2003-05-06T22:14:00.000-07:00

Exciting news on the audio front: I was on NPR this morning.
Audio Posting got some free press and I got one of my posts aired. Fun.

I am right in the heat of finals. I had Civ Pro II yesterday and it was a doozy. I feel confident about the essay section but that multiple choice –ouch! It seems strange to me that the professor would have so many "D"s in a row as the correct answer on the scantron, and why would all the answers have been "All Of The Above"? Peculiar indeed. Oh well, on the next: Professional Responsibility where I have to decide things like if it is ethical for an attorney to send a potential witness to the Bahamas to live there for a couple of year so they will be beyond the subpoena power of the US. Then the Corporations final on Saturday to try to get a director out of personal liability went he sells his distressed property worth 75K to his corporation for an even million—exciting! and finally ending it all on Monday night for Community Property and determining if the community should be reimbursed for the price of the Iron Lung and if the Person Injury award should be equally divided when the healthy spouse files for divorce in this time of need from the now comatose paraplegic spouse. Who said the law was boring?!

2003-03-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

We need more people like you in the world! People willing to act and work for what they believe in, to help our communities and to bring well-needed, attention, awareness and change to areas of our society that need it most.

Thank you Cesar Chavez and Happy Birthday!

2003-03-25T21:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I was kept up all night with (night) visions of the captured POW's scared faces. Our media has showed them over and over on the news. Those soldiers are so scared and young, their sweet faces look like they are staring into death. I want nothing more than to support our troops--By bringing them home! and not exposing them the of the horrors of war any longer and not putting them in harms way. The anti-war movement does support the troops. We want them home safe and sound, NOW, I believe anything short of that is not supporting the troops!

I am having a hard time trying to find the relevancy in my daily routines when people are being bombed, murdered, injured and mained by the hour. A sadness has taken over me and I feel powerless to change anything. Talking to like-minded people helps.

I am thoroughly disgusted about the car commercials breaks during the war coverage on TV. It is such a slap in the face. People need to start being embarrassed to drive their big ass fucking gas guzzling cars!

The Global Forecast is Bleak.

2003-03-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

It was a long day of monitoring police activity. I witnessed about 3 incidences I believe was excessive force and reported of about another three from eye witnesses of other incidences. After expirencing the police in formation and performing military movements for about 12 hours then going home and watching the war on television I suddenly felt like i had a small understanding of what war is like, on a much smalle scale of course. But as I saw US tanks surrounding the targets in Iraq, I could identify with it unlike ever before. It is physically and mentally fatiguing. The phychological stress is just as intense and the physical.

2003-03-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

Live from Protests

2003-03-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

Hoping for Peace

2003-03-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T10:38:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-20T00:09:00.000-08:00

Bush is bombing Iraq. He started tonight around 7:00pm. I am protesting this bombing starting at 7:00am tomorrow. I will be a Legal Observer with the The National Lawyers Guild. In that role I will be monitoring, watching, and recording the actions of the POLICE during the protest. This peaceful protest plans to shut down the financial district all day tomorrow letting people know that we do not support this conflict and the disregard for human life.

Promote Peace!

2003-03-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

Getting Phucked

2003-03-18T22:44:00.000-08:00

Check out Kevin Sites,
a US reporter on the front lines in Iraq providing text, audio and photo blogs from on location in the desert.

Everyone is gearing up for the inevitable.

2003-03-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

EMERGENCY MASS NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION & PROTEST

Well unfortunately it looks like tomorrow just might be the day we were hoping would not arrive. San Francisco is calling for an impromptu protest THE DAY THE BOMBING STARTS
at Powell and Market Streets as well as a Call in Sick Day
the day after the bombs are dropped at 7:00 AM at Market and Main, Embarcadero BART, San Francisco, California.

Our goals as protesters are to peacefully help catalyze mass movements to challenge corporate and government power and create socially just, directly democratic, ecological, peaceful alternatives to violent conflict.

Please join the movement toward real peace.

2003-03-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

48 hours until war, actually we are down to 45.5 hours....I feel so powerless. My mind easily wanders to the Iraqi people and their safety and California's budget crisis, and our children who will not be receiving adequate education or healthcare. I think of the billions of US dollars that will be spent killing people and destroying the environment. I think of the greed and power. I think it is all so unfair and unjust. I feel on the brink of tears, I feel so powerless.

2003-03-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

The Moment Of Truth

2003-03-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Senate is Chipping Away My Rights

The anti-abortion/women rights majority that controls the Senate has passed the falsely-titled Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (S. 3). "Partial-birth abortion" is not a medical term, and if the legislation becomes law and it looks likely it will, physicians will not know what procedure the ban covers and many will stop providing abortion services for fear of prosecution. Because the ban would be applied at any point in a pregnancy--not just in the third trimester--an abortion even in the first two trimesters would be affected.

In addition, the bill ignores the vital need to provide an exemption from the ban for women whose health condition warrants an abortion. The woman's health is not protected at all in this bill! Similar language in a Nebraska law was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Stenberg v. Carhart
in 2000.

This is the start to back alley abortions again, we must fight to keep our rights. Stay Active!

2003-03-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

Life seems to be getting crazy...school, internship , family visits, radio interviews, business plans, exercise, letters to family members not online, dead flowers in vases, toothpaste blobs in the sink, bills due, memos due, dirty car, friends to visit, babies to see, love to make...a funeral to go to this weekend, an impending war, gas prices, and freedom fries!

2003-03-10T21:39:00.000-08:00

He is going to do it and he is going to do it without UN support. Tell me again how Iraq is a threat to the US, tell me again how Al Queda and Husssein and connected, tell me again how this is not about oil, tell me again how Iraq is not complying with inspectors, tell me again why you don’t care about the innocent Iraqi people that will be harmed and killed during this war, tell me again why it doesn’t matter that the majority of people around the world do not support this war, tell me again why you don’t care that France, Germany, China, Russia will use their veto power against the adoption of resolution 1441, tell me again why you think Turkey cannot be bribed with 2 billion dollars to be used as US military base, tell me again how you are threatening Mexico, Guinea, Angola, Chile, and Cameroon to vote yes to the resolution, tell me again how you have not added the cost of the war to the budget, including the billion dollars per month that has already been spent on preparation for this war, tell me again why national issues are not a chief concern right now…
Contact your Reps and tell them how you feel!

2003-03-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Sad news, the USSC has upheld
California's 3 strike law. Yes, it is not cruel or unusual, nor unconstitutional to go to prison for life for stealing golf clubs, or childrens videos from Toy R Us. This decision will lead to even more overcrowding of prisons for petty crimes--in all the states. California has already cut education and increased the prison budget this year. We can count on this continued allocation throughout the nation.
Hmmm, I wonder if there could be a relation between the lack of education and crime?

Other sad news is our pet wild pigeon (Dos Huevos) who laid 2 eggs in the planter box out side the kitchen window, has been sitting diligently on her eggs--is psychotic. The eggs hatched a few days ago and today when she left the nest, we went to peek at the little chickadees and they were not there! She has been diligently sitting on cracked eggs and an otherwise empty nest for a week! It is a mystery! Did she eat them? Did they fall? Did the daddy eat them or some larger bird? The thought we were about to dispel the myth that there are no such things as baby pigeons, because no one has actually seen them--well we haven't either. To date we still have seen no emperical evidence that baby pigeons do indeed exsist.

2003-03-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-03-03T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Ito party was a blast. To be in the same room having conversations with all the blogstars
was fantastic. People were moving and shaking and the talk was being talked. It is so exciting to be involved in this movement at this time. I am so excited for Noah, he is an instrumental part of this facilitation of information and communication, he is contributing to the tools to make it happen. The time is now and it is happening.
Noah's
audio posts from the party.

2003-02-26T15:56:00.000-08:00

FILIBUSTER: Estrada is on hold and he won't be seeing a vote in the Senate. Democrats say they have 44 of their 48 votes agreeing to a filibuster. They only need 41. It is about time we see some spine in the democrates on the hill. Let's hope this is the beginning of more action! We need answers on where judicial nominees stand on major issues such as the 1st Amendment and Roe v Wade, for Estrada not to answer basic positional questions is not acceptable.

2003-02-25T15:46:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post
dreams of joinder devices

2003-02-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

Over 80% of women in the US have taken the pill since its inception, I can't fathom life without the pill or why men would not have wanted women to be sexually free. It is way more fun this way I am sure! Thank you Margaret Sanger, who decided there must be another way after experiencing her mother pregnant 18 times, have 11 children and 7 miscarriages. OUCH. But she had to fight for 50 years to see her dream of the pill to come true. Now that we can vote (1920), control conception (1960), and manage and control our own property (1975) it seems women have become complacent. There are still barriers, women need to speak up everytime something doesn't seem quite right, or misogynistic or unjust in any way. Just keep in mind that by letting comments and generalities go unchallenged, we buy into the philosophy that nothing can change, and more importantly, we miss a golden opportunity to educate our community and maybe, just maybe---change the way some people think about certain things. It's worth a try.

2003-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

So much for unsubstantiated rumors. I should know about trusting hearsay. Don' t do it! Anyway I still think he did it, the police just can't find her yet.
The library is oh so dark and cold! It's bringing me down, but only 20 more pages on the civil procedure of class actions. Then into the sunshine I go...for the next block of studying for the day at home in a sunny window.

2003-02-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

2003-02-20T18:13:00.000-08:00

Rumor mill...from a friend in the media, Laci Perterson's body has been found in the basement of her home!
I have major problems with the death penalty, but they are primarily socioeconomic. This is a middle class white man and if he did this heinous crime to his pregnant wife I see no reason to keep him alive, unless the greater punishment for him is being in jail for the rest of his life. His worst nightmares need to come true. This is just another example of the continual violence against women in all stratas of our society. Fact 1: There are 3 women killed a day in this country from their boyfriends and husbands, that number is exponentially larger on a global scale. Does this mean the people we should be most afraid of are the ones we share our lives with, the ones we love, the ones that supposedly love us? Fact 2: The number one reason men get violent with women on a fatal level is because the woman want to leave the relationship. My theory: Laci probably found out about Scott's affair with Amber and threatened to leave, Scott didn't like that very much and killled her.
Do everything you can to protect the women in your lives and community against this violence !

2003-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

Ok now the heightened security alert has had dircect effects on my life! First last weekend my family was too scared to come to San Francisco for fear that the bridges would blow up as they crossed them, leaving me with out a family birthday celebration. Then today all the doors ( the ones convenient to and from muni) in the back of my law school are now always locked due to heightened national security alert. I've had enough of this fear campaign, the propoganda must stop. Let us live our lives without the government implanting fear into the citizens of this country and the world for that matter. Our government is a big fat bully and we have to stop the torture! Don't listen to them, don't believe them, don't get ready for the READY CAMPAIGN and promote peace.

2003-02-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Spreading like wildfire, or as my mother said tonight like wild flowers, I like the image of that way better. It brings to mind fields filled with poppies as far as the eye can see, each one representing an audio post.

My dogs are tired from the march, it was powerful and peaceful. The dissent is growing, communication is occuring and information is being spread like wild flowers.

2003-02-16T15:35:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-16T13:09:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

I am catonically excited and anxious about blogosphere today, I can hardly think about anything else.
Glitches in the system are so scary...But Noah is successfully audio blogging live on location as we blog. It is so exciting. I just heard Evan on stage talking about creating blogger about 3 1/2 years ago as an intra-office communication tool at a start-up. I feel like I am there too! I love it!

It appears as though there were record numbers of protesters today around the world! and the only picture CNN shows is of tear gas in a crowd. We are peaceful resisters, violence is the exception and it more than likely is not started by any protesters!

Noah first dreamt up audblog at a protest in Dolores Park, and now today on the biggest day of protests around the world--it is unveiled to the world. It is a communication tool for the people to get their stories out as they happen! I will be one of those people tomorrow at the SF march for peace.

Promote Peace

2003-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-15T15:48:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-15T11:50:00.000-08:00

The Blogoroaptrip is on its way....
check the audio posts along the way at blogoroadtrip.blogspot.com

Sign up for audio blogging yourself at www.audblog.com

2003-02-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!
2003: The Year of Ram Lost Among Ewes; AKA the year of the Black Sheep, which I prefer.
SF has the largest CNY celebration outside of Hong Kong.

The notion of a ram in the middle of a flock of ewes, (male in the middle of many females) may appear to some to be a position of good fortune. However, much as this may have some benefit, it also means that this year is a year in which it is easy to be seen, and therefore behaviour must be appropriate if you are not to be noticed for the wrong reasons. It will certainly be a year when inappropriate behaviour will be far more noticeable, and open to challenge.

The direction with which the Ram is associated is not north, south, east or west, but the Chinese fifth direction, (not used in the West) - central. This centrality is perhaps indicative of the Ram's desire for PEACE and tranquillity.

This trait may be exacerbated by the Ram's paradoxically sharp tongue. Rarely used in malice, it is often a result of thoughtlessness. It is wise, therefore, in this year to think carefully about what one says, but equally, to try to see beyond the words people actually use, and to understand the motivation behind what is said. Without taking that extra care, confusion may arise, and this may lead to conflict.

Blogosphere is where it's at tonight--I expect to hear blogs from on the scene on progress, communication and culture...

2003-02-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day.
Today my lover had placed a valentines day card on each step of the staircase in our home, as I ascended I was filled with the overwhelming power of love unitl I reached the top, where he was waiting...
He is undeniably the finest thing to me.

2003-02-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-13T23:11:00.000-08:00

My school week is over, but I have my first day at my clerkship tomorrow at a fancy schmancy law firm downtown with an attorney who talked about a dog licking his balls during my interview, not the attorney's balls, the dog's balls. There is a debate regarding the appropriateness of this comment.

The tool is unveiled tonight! This weekend is the big weekend. Let's go and revolutionize the revolution!

Dos Huevos, the pigeon who has laid 2 eggs in our flower box outside the kitchen window, is back roosting for the night after adding a few more twigs to her minimalist nest.

Go Noah and Justin!

2003-02-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-02-13T16:21:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!!!!!!!!!!!! You rock the bells and my world!

2003-02-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

I am sooooo excited about the Tool!!!!!

School is good, off to a slow start so I can ease into the chaos to come.

I'll be attending the SF Peace March on Sunday with my family and friends.
More need to join in the dissent, Thank You France, Germany, Belgium, China, and Russia--keep it coming! Dissent is not unpatriotic! Spread the word.

2003-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

audblog Post

2003-01-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the first day of my second year of law school. I've just caught up on the sleep deprivation from last semester's finals and here I go again. You would think I should have a better hang of this now since I've been doing it for a year, but I don't. This semester's classes will no doubt prove to be just as time consuming, difficult, and interesting before too long. I already have homework and the semester hasn't even started, with that I am already behind and the semester hasn't even started. But strangely enough, I enjoy it.