Please Hillary--Don't Quit the Race

I am so dismayed that people are trying to get Hillary to quit. They are saying she should step aside and let Obama nail down the nomination. Who are they to make these rules up? What they don't understand is that would not only be unfair to Hillary but it would also be unfair to all the people who support Hillary, and it would also be unfair to the states that haven't had their primaries yet. There will be plenty of time to square off with John McCain when the time comes.

Walmart Sucks

Walmart is a disaster. Just as they were starting to look better with their environmental initiatives and fits and starts toward being a more responsible company, here they go again: Suing a brain damaged woman for the money she needs to lead a decent life. Details on Anderson Cooper tonight. She was an employee of Walmart who was injured in an accident. She won a settlement; now Walmart is suing to get some of their money back. It is not that they are not entitled to do so. What is at issue is their backwardness. Their cold heartedness. Their utter stupidity about business in this day and age, and their backasswardness when it comes to public relations. I love it that they are getting such bad press about this. They deserve it.

Count Down to Graduation

I am sitting here after class exhausted, and panicked about the next five weeks. I have so much to do before graduation, and I don't see how I can get it done. Moot court oral arguments, three tests, and haven't even really started studying for any of them yet. Fill out the bar application. Try to get at least a little sleep. Try at least to clean up my hopelessly dirty condo. Not lose my mind. Continue trying to lose a few pounds. Forget about even trying to do exercise. I love school too, and I hate that my last five weeks are going to be so awful. I did order my cap and gown yesterday, so that is a good thing. Another good thing is it looks like I am going to graduate. Another good thing is I will pull this off. Flip switch. Flip switch. Flip switch. Know that I will get through this and do well.

New Look for BizABiz

I decided it was time for a change for BizABiz and chose a new template. As much as I liked the other scenic one, it just didn't fit the subject matter very well. I am a writer/editor (in addition to the other things I am) and this template seems more like news or magazine column type, so it makes me feel more at home. Plus a change now and then is good.

Phil Valentine Off Base

Even though I am a liberal, I listen to the wackadoo conservative radio shows sometimes, often because I am tired of music and sometimes because I want to get my jollies. Lately, I have been wincing every time I listen to the Phil Valentine show because he is so wrong about courts. He discusses the Supreme Court's "precedents" as if they were something untoward. He says the court should interpret the Constitution and stop relying on precedents. Um....hello! Obviously, he is either ignorant about the Supreme Court and the Constitution, or he is relying on the fact that his audience is naive. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution is the law, and begets precedents. It is then decided law. I hope most of his listeners understand his mistakes. I think a civics lession is in store. I hate to think of all the misinformation he is spreading.

PMBR--Day 2--Property

The second day of the PMBR was scarier for me than the first. It was over property. I did very well in property in school, but it is one of the subjects that can vacate your head very quickly. The good news is the teacher said don't worry about studying about the Rule Against Perpetuities for the Bar Exam. Woo hoo! The bad news is there are lots of other property questions on the test. I did not do the practice questions before the review session, and that was a big mistake. After hearing the lecture, I did the practice questions and still missed 18 out of 50 questions. But the other good news is this is only the pre bar review session, so I will get to do it again in May. I disagree with all of those who I have heard say PMBR is a waste of time. It is a good review, and even better because I am doing it so far in advance.

PMBR--Torts and Snorts

I started the PMBR review this week and was looking forward to the first lesson, which was on torts. I really wanted the review: It has been 4 years since I had torts and I felt like I had forgotten most of what I learned. I got a C in the course so was afraid I never learned it that well to begin with. The course offered a wonderful collection of attractive nuisance, slip and fall, defamation, and other eclectic cases. While it was fascinating and often entertaining, it also had a reputation for flunking students out. And sure enough a large portion of our class succumbed. My goal was to shore myself up on the subject, to get rid of my deficiency there. But, who has time to revisit old courses when you are still taking new courses? So the PMBR review was the first look at torts for me in a long time. It felt good to get some of those concepts back in my head and get a better understanding of them. I know torts is traditionally offered in the first year of law school, but I really think I could have gotten more out of it if I had taken it in a later year.

Self Sabotage at Work--Fear of Progress Variety

There are a number of ways people sabotage themselves at work, and I have been very aware of one kind recently. I work for a business in a mature industry. That means we have to be on our toes and on the lookout for ways to grow in the future or we will become irrelevant. We have had a number of good ideas, and we get them started, and they.........all fizzle out. Or at least most of them. Why is that.? Because the projects linger on the owner's desk. It is very strange. He wants the company to grow and succeed, but then he doesn't follow through. Or he takes such a long time that all momentum is lost. He loses steam, and then people lose interest, and then he seems to wonder why things don't get done. And then he tends to blame other people for things not getting done.

Huh?

I can't figure out why he would do this. My only thought is that he is really afraid of the outcome. What if we get a lot more business? Or that we have to start thinking in other new ways? With our Website, people will now be able to access their own information rather than coming through us to get it. Does that wierd him out?

All I know is that I hope he will stop this soon or that I can shake him out of it. After all, it may be my company someday, and we need to stop just talking about the future and actually do something about it.

Eliot Spitzer's Wife

Tonight when I saw the press conference when Eliot Spitzer resigned over his dalliances with a prostitute, I just wished his wife had hauled off and slapped him on camera. He looked so unconcerned about her, even as he spoke his words of resignation.

PA Primary

Tonight after the Mississippi primary, the pundits were looking ahead to the Pennsylvania primary. There is no doubt that Pennsylvania is still the Keystone State. The whole Democratic nomination could hang on it. Howard Fine from Newsweek magazine was on MSNBC tonight saying that PA is "Pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama (white Alabama) in between. Having lived in PA and loving PA and the people, I am afraid I might have to agree with that statement, at least a little bit. And that is a negative.

What Not To Say in Class

When you are taking an upper level law class, taught by a justice on the Supreme Court, it is probably best to not use vulgar language when addressing him. The other night in class, a student did just that, even though he meant no harm. In asking a question, the student used the word f*** (not that four letter word, but the one that means a bodily emission). The minute that word came out of his mouth, there was an audible gasp from a number of people and a faint titter that ran throughout the room. There was also a lot of wincing, including from the Justice. This goes under the category of "What were you thinking???"

Seeing Red

I am seeing red, and it's not because of a lack of sleep from school or because of "bar review." I am seeing Red because of the project (Red) that Bono and Bobby Shriver started. When you buy designated products, a portion of the purchase price goes to the The Global Fund, which helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa. One hundred percent of that money goes to the fund. That is a great way to bring attention to this horrible problem. Their Website says that to date, Red partners have generated more than $60 million for the Global Fund. There are a number of products included in Red, and they are going to keep on adding more. I am a little cash strapped until after school, but the ones I can buy are the Hallmark Cards and the Gap shirts. I would like to buy the shirt that says Inspi(red). That would be a neat way to help spread the message.

Snow Day!

It snowed and classes were cancelled today! yay! A day off. I am trying not to waste it. But waste it is a relative term. If I were to sleep in and watch movies after weeks and months of ongoing stress, would that be a waste? Or would that be smart? I think it might be smart. wink, wink. But I also need to clean. How I need to clean! I am going to think of flylady and do housework in 15 minute increments. If I do that all weekend long, I might actually get some of it done.

Mortgages in TN

I just had a test on mortgages, so I can volunteer a little info on the subject. Actually in TN, mortgages are really deeds of trust. It is a three party transaction, as opposed to a two party transaction as in a mortgage. With a deed of trust, a mortgagor executes a deed of trust, and it gives legal title to a trustee. A granting clause in the deed of trust gives the trustee the power of sale. This means that a property can be foreclosed non judicially, which saves time and money.

TN is also a title theory state, which means that the mortgagee holds title until the property is paid off. Unlike the lien theory states, where the mortgagee just basically has a lien on the property.

TN also enforces due on sale clauses as written. Bored yet? I could go on, but you may not be listening.

I am just floating on air because I think I did well on the test. Maybe even an A! I hope so, but you never know with these dang law tests. Here's to positive thinking!

Dirty Dancing

Once in a while a movie captures the mood of the country. Or at least part of the country. Dirty Dancing was one of those. I was young and all of my friends and I saw that movie over and over. We loved the music and played it all of the time. We loved the story. Many tried to dance the way they danced in the movie (to no avail). Today I heard that Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer. That makes me so sad.

Lining Up Bar Exam References

As the year starts on the downhill slide, my mind has turned to the infamous bar application. Like everything connected to the bar, the number of references we need seems excessive. There are several categories we have to nail down.

First, we have to have three letters of recommendations from our law professors. I received my third one today (all three from judges). I am so thrilled, and they seemed happy to comply with my request for the letters. I will attach them to the application.

Not surprisingly, we also need employment references. I have asked a current colleague and lined up three from my last place of employment. I really only need one, but I was there for such a long time, I thought maybe I should ask three, and they all said they would speak of me glowingly. They don't have to write a letter but have to respond to questions the bar examiners may have.

Then there is the general reference category, and we need six of them. I have asked six friends and/or colleagues and they have all agreed. Two of them are deans, four of them are professors (two are law professors), another is a judge, four are lawyers, and one is on staff of an agency where I used to serve on the board of directors. I think this is a good mix, and I am so grateful to know such good people and that they think well of me to do this.

One more step accomplished on the road to the bar exam!

Channel 2's Concept House Benefits Cystic Fibrosis

Channel 2 in Nashville is promoting its 2nd annual Concept House, going on right now. It is an amazing house in a wonderful neighborhood. In fact, it is a dream house! When I toured the home this past week, not only did a I dream of someday owning a nice house like that (or maybe something at least a little bit like it) it also inspired me to take better care of my current house. After touring that wonderful place, I had to go home and face down the dust bunnies and clean clothes that still had to be hung up. Being in that dream house revived my dream of living better and in a more organized and luxurious fashion right where I am. The best part of the tour though is that the proceeds benefit cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease that needs donations badly and has a great track record of using donations very wisely.

Vanderbilt's New Chancellor

Vanderbilt University, my alma mater, today announced only its 8th chancellor in its history: Nick Zeppos. I have met Zeppos and think he is a fine choice. A law professor and provost, he is very intelligent, witty, and will put on a very good face for the university. I had heard rumors that they might want to choose somebody from outside the university family, but they decided to stick with one of our own. And they made a good choice, IMO.