Lots of news of late, but it seems as if it’s deja vu all over again. Many readers have expressed their burn out on stupid and/or unlawful stuff Trump does, which is understandable given his proclivities. Then again, there are so many legal issues wrapped up in Trump’s actions that it’s hard, if not impossible, to ignore his weekly daily hourly disruption of law and norms to suit his impetuous whims.
Even so, it can get boring and tedious to read about it almost every day. I know that I’m tired of writing about Trump. So it struck me as an opportunity to learn what’s on other people’s minds.
What’s on your minds, dear readers?
*Tuesday Talk rules apply, but keep it rational and civil, please. Please don’t make me regret this.
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It struck me the other quiet Tuesday Talk that the bar might not be empty, so much as full of people with nothing more to say. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of uncertainty to discuss.
Weary?
Last time I checked poems on “weariness” are still legal to put in print…
And how many times do I gots-to-tell-you to get out of the house more often?!
So anyway, I snuck into a minstrel show the other night, in the basement of a megachurch and they were serving red Kool-Aid during a simulated 19th-century performance.
It was so perfectly done that my brain completely shut down before 1865.
It was like it never even happened…
Go figure that? Was I tripping? Was I dreaming? It was some spooky shit.
Just think of the odds of that? They gotta be a million times longer than going to a bluegrass festival and not hearing at least two of the bands reference their grandparents and Jesus in the same intro prologue bits before the banjos get going…
I think I gotta start going to more Fur Rendezvous festivals or something, and perhaps calendar in an off the beaten track Día de los Muertos, Holi, and a Songkran festival on the yearly before my brain melts for good…
P.S. If I had given you $.05 cents for every time you have cited that newspaper you read everyday, you could have started your own CDL festival by now… Just think of all the suicides, depression, and despair a no holds barred CDL festival could prevent too!!!
And the skits could become legend!!! What are you waiting for? Porta-potty rents are going up, young man, get out there and party!
Kevin Reddington is a brilliant defense attorney. I admire his work so much.
I am interested in what the bar thinks of the trial, the rulings, the arguments, the evidence, the investigation, etc.
Would agree. Not been paying close attention, but the people in my office think I have insight since I went to law school 30 years ago and never practiced.
Love to see some discussion after the verdict.
As a mostly lurker, I appreciate the variety of topics that are knowledgeably discussed here. As a non-lawyer, I have no specific suggestions of what to discuss, but I agree that less Trump would be a good thing. I agree with David’s take that the bar is likely more full than it appears.
I guess it has been a long time and you probably had your reasons for changing things up but I enjoyed the “But for video” posts you used to do.
Maybe I am the odd man out but while I am burned out on the stuff Trump does I get value from your takes on it. The extent of my knowledge of con law was one law school class forever ago so I enjoy the depth of analysis both from a statutory and case law perspective on some of these issues. I learn a lot here and you make me think about things from a technical perspective that I otherwise wouldn’t have.
I agree with Jeff. Been learning here for a long time. Dad is still kicking and also reads your posts.
I miss Judge Kopf.
Keep fighting the good fight.
Scott, thank you for this. Life will go on post -Trump and we’ll still have engaging and challenging topics to discuss. Focusing on Trump and his acolytes distracts us sometimes from substantive challenging issues.
For example, SCOTUS just overturned the preliminary injunction issued to halt the White House renovation. Of course we know that it is a typical Trump act of excess, but for me the more interesting aspect is the standing issue that formed the grounds for overturning the DC district Court and DC Circuit determination that the construction should be halted. We have a real and serious legal problem, I think, with the excessive use of judicial intervention in actions commenced by people or organizations that do not satisfy jurisdictional standing requirements. It’s a tough problem with gray areas, worthy of intelligent discussion, without any regard to Trump, and it seems like the courts may have lost their way here. The “Trump factor” often distracts from the real issue. Is not liking to see a renovated White House really grounds to allow an organization to halt Executive action? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s worth an informed discussion of the law on this. I doubt the DC courts got it right, but I’d enjoy seeing thoughtful discussion of whether they did or not.
Another interesting recent event is the strategic decision in the Luigi Mangioni case to plead to the federal crime in order to try to avoid NY State criminal exposure. I didn’t have much of a criminal practice, and was not aware that this gambit could be used to avoid facing State murder charges. Will it work? I’d be interested in hearing thoughts on this.
In sum, I think if we can get back to talking about the many legal issues we see arising all the time, I, for one, would look forward to seeing your take on those issues with my morning coffee, and the lively responses that ensue.
Well now I’m thinking about normalcy bias because your commenters seem to think that the next POTUSes will give up the broader authority exercised by the current POTUS when that has never happened in our entire 250 years. Watch people in an emergency and see how quickly they react to clear danger. Not well, it turns out. We pattern-seek and get lazy about it over time. This isn’t an aberration but a new normal being hammered out. Write about it, please. These are interesting times.
That said, no blame on you for tiring of writing about it. Though the second you take a break, he’ll inevitably do something so drastic and extraordinary even for him that you’ll be nigh-compelled to return to write about it. I have little positive to say and have already made up my mind on Trump. It’s tempting then to say the cascade of stories are but drops in the bucket, but if we’re ever going to actually reverse course and reconcile with each other, we should analyze exactly how we went awry.
I like when you cover education and even when you get the social sciences wrong. I’m worried about something called the “Flynn effect” which showed a general increase in our average IQs over time. It’s reversing now. Of course, that’s an average and I’d have to go into depth to get to all the nuances, but it’s enough to worry me. Kids are reporting higher rates of anxiety, depression, social isolation/alienation. That’s not good for the future. I’d rather we be getting smarter and happier instead.
Other than that, I’ve been thinking about the anti-federalists because I’m reading all of them. Their alarm and warnings were prescient. They are founding fathers too and deserve our respect.
This is on my mind. Yesterday, I received a partially filled out State of Alabama Voter Registration Form in the mail. It was addressed to Current Resident and sent by the Voter Registration Center. Apparently, they have been doing this sort of thing for about 20 years or so all over the nation. Some Secretary of States sent them cease and desist notices. The Alabama Secretary of State just told them their help in voter registration wasn’t needed. Is anyone familiar with this 501(c)?
as I may have mentioned here once (and I am old enough that every story is now told 2.3 times, miniumum), my friend David K said that the miracle of Niagra Falls is not the spectacle itself, but its persistence. So kudos to you and all commentators who have not given up in dispair. PS I think I detect a new interface, as my last few comments did not make it up… or perhaps you have developed even keener perspicacity and deleted anything coming from my address.
(Ed.Note: I haven’t trashed any of your comments.)
In the past, the interface gave you 5 minutes to edit, and then said that comments are pending moderation. Recently, I have seen neither of that, and some comments I entered did not make it up. I easily agree that the world is not worse off with that development. Just noting that I tried….