It occurs to me that I there is one individual, one blog, upon which I’ve come to rely more than any other.  While I try to link to whatever source I’ve relied upon in a post, there’s one I’ve tended to neglect, because it leads me to so many other sources, stories and significant information.  This is possibly the singular most important blog on the internet for those of us concerned with, and interested in, the law.  It’s  How Appealing by Howard Bashman

I don’t know how Howard Bashman does it.  People say that I’m prolific, but I’m a piker compared to Bashman.  An appellate lawyer in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, Bashman’s blog provides source news about all things legal every day.  This is no easy feat.  It takes time, energy and focus.  It is even more amazing that he does this every day, day after day.  It seems we ought to pay for the privilege of reading Howard’s blog, and that he gives all of this to us every day is just a gift. 

Unlike me, Howard provides a constant stream of information about cases, decisions, people and issues, together with links to their sources, largely without commentary or bias.  He’s a legal news aggregator, and has been doing this daily for years.  I cannot stress how valuable this has been to me, and should be to you as well. 

Every morning, I turn to  How Appealing to find out what I should know and where I can find it.  I assume that if I wanted to spend a few hours every day going from media outlet to media outlet, reading story after story, I could accomplish the same result on my own.  But thank heavens that I don’t have to, because Bashman has already done it for me. 

It seems only proper that I acknowledge the importance of How Appealing to my efforts here, and my ability to keep up on legal news in general.  All of us appreciate how time marches on no matter what we try to do to stop it.  Without Howard, I doubt that I would be capable of following as much legal news as I do.  If there is one blog to read to try to stay abreast of developments in the law, as much as I wish it was mine, it’s Howard’s.

I don’t know whether Howard Bashman has ever heard of Simple Justice.  I’m not on his blogroll, and he’s never left me a comment or sent me an email. He’s never linked to any of my posts.  I’ve probably never written anything worthy of making it onto his already overburdened radar.  But he’s certainly become a daily focus of mine.  It seemed that the very least I could do for all that I’ve gained from his blog is to write this brief post and acknowledge how much I appreciate his efforts.  Thanks, Howard.

Update: Somehow,  Howard noticed my Ode!