Tell it like it is...

"The [Massachusetts] state pharmacy board ordered Wal-Mart on Tuesday to stock emergency contraception pills at its stores in Massachusetts.

"Massachusetts becomes second state to require the world's largest retailer to carry the morning-after pill.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said... "Clearly women's health is a high priority for Wal-Mart," spokesman Dan Fogleman said. "We are actively thinking through the issue."

My Personal Thoughts: Since when has the morning after pill or any of its successors had much to do with women's health? A woman is not diseased if she is pregnant, though many feminists seem to think so. I understand, though I do not agree with, the argument about abortions for women who are raped or who might die during the birth process. However, if a woman has been raped or is facing pregnancy complications, she should be in a hospital getting proper medical attention, not in Wal-Mart buying drugs. Therefore, the only woman likely, I would think, to be the intended consumer of such a product would be the woman who thinks she might have messed up with her birth control and just wants to make sure...

But then again, maybe this is a health issue...a mental health issue. Women need to stop seeing their bodies as objects to use for their own satisfaction. Women who feel entitled to have sex out of wedlock and who feel justified in using various contraception methods and abortion if necessary to maintain some plastic notion of freedom...these women are simply insane.

Set aside the notion that there is some form of freedom in wordly views. Women are not free when they can kill their babies and have sex with men who are neither in love with nor committed to them. Freedom can only be found when you stop following the dictates of a blind society and start following the truth that is written in your heart.

V-day Philosophy

...speak of one who loved not wisely, but too well.

- Othello.

Lesson of The Day

It is better to be a seal than a penguin.

Facing Ghosts: more on courtship

The pain of heartbreak for me has been linear in nature: the more trust involved, the more pain felt. I think it is quite possible to trust someone more than you love them. The worst kind of heartbreak is the kind where love and trust are equal, and in great amounts...that pain can be almost unbearable.

I've been broken up with before...I've also been the one to do the breaking. It sucks, either way. The term "breaking up" is very apt. Whether or not you are physically involved, there is always an emotional "oneness" that is created during the dating process. Knowing what it means to give yourself to a person takes a lot of heart. In her article, "Why Breaking Up is Hard To Do", Sara Hinlicky wrote about a guy named James who was dumped by a girl named Cindy.

He is the one who really understood what was at stake in their romance. It wasn'’t an arrangement designed to be temporary or merely preparatory for something else. He saw, and felt in his heart of hearts, the profound spiritual implications of his intimacy with Cindy. It was a sacrifice of himself to her that required incredible trust. He willingly blended his identity with hers;

James was heartbroken when Cindy broke-up with him. She wasn't. She moved on. He struggled. I can't say how long any one person struggles or not with such a problem, but it is a tough road for the person who really knows what dating and courtship and emotional intimacy bring.

For the givers out there who give their hearts freely, with complete trust...be more discerning. I speak with experience over many years. I've had to face those ghosts too...the questions with no answers. "Why me? What is wrong with me? Why aren't I good enough? How do I lack...how can I fix it? Don't I have value?" The ghosts of the "exs". The ghosts of regret.

Toward the end of her article, Hinlicky says that perhaps we really aren't one until we are married to that person God has intended for us. Maybe she is right, I certainly do not profess any aptitude for maritial theology. What I do know is this: in marriage, we are one before God; as a married couple, we should build each other up, not tear each other down; my husband should complete me in ways that I am incapable of filling, and I should complete him in the say way.

Reason from Above

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord" Isaiah 1:18.

Many times, I've been chastised in my life for my faith, that faith is without reason. I quite disagree. Faith is the highest form of reason...requiring the utmost in mental commitment from the person in which it abides. And since our relationship with God is based on faith...in Christ..."[i]t is important to realize, [when talking with God], that one is having a discussion. Religious thought is not an abdication of reason or discussion; it is simply reasoning and discussion by other means." (Nate Olman on God and taxes).

It is a plain man indeed that finds solace in mere logic and philosophy.

In Memory

In memory of my Aunt Prissy, who passed away yesterday of cancer at 49 years old.

More on tax treaties

In this post on the Tax Prof blog, the issue of tax treaties comes up again. (See this previous post).

As a general note, I think I find the U.S. entering into treaties that submit the people of this nation to foreign power a bit unconstitutional. (Please add a note of sarcasm to the word "bit").

And you think taxes are bad now...

Can you imagine having taxes on global e-commerce? Ack! Tax Prof blog has a post here, and I have copied the abstract below, regard global taxation.

This paper assesses national and international responses to tax challenges presented by cross-border electronic commerce. Almost ten years after these challenges were first identified, a survey of national government reactions shows that many countries have not passed any significant tax legislation or administrative guidance with respect to the taxation of global e-commerce. This lack of action at the national level can be explained in large part by the leadership role taken by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in developing the guiding principles and, subsequently, the tax rules to confront the e-commerce tax challenges. The OECD’s general success with e-commerce tax reform demonstrates the potential of the OECD to act as a kind of informal (lower case) world tax organization, which emphasizes deliberation, consensus-building and the use of non-binding mechanisms such as the OECD model tax treaty. Moreover, the OECD’s success suggests that calls for a more formal (upper-case) World Tax Organization, which could impose binding tax rules on participating nations, may be misplaced.

The Coolness of Tax

The government will always get its own...

Take for instance this article on the Tax Prof blog.

"Having someone else pay your taxes can get tricky, since the government counts the amount that person pays as taxable income. "

Gary Allan - The One

No rush though I need your touch
I won't rush your heart
Until you feel on solid ground
Until your strength is found, girl

I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river lead you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Somebody else was here before
He treated you unkind
And broken wings need time to heal
Before a heart can fly, girl

I'll fill those canyons in your soul
Like a river lead you home
And I'll walk a step behind
In the shadows so you shine
Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Trust in me and you'll find a heart so true
All I want to do is give the best of me to you
And stand beside you

Just ask it will be done
And I will prove my love
Until you're sure that I'm "the one"

Good Thought

“I WOULD RATHER TEMPORARILY FAIL WITH A CAUSE THAT WILL ULTIMATELY SUCCEED, THAN TO TEMPORARILY SUCCEED WITH A CAUSE THAT WILL ULTIMATELY FAIL.” –WOODROW WILSON

A funny...

From BuffaloWings&Vodka, a funny thought.

Things your law professor is doing instead of grading your exam:

....Looking at the webcounter he's installed to see how many times you've checked your grades, and laughing....

All law student's know how true that seems!!

Spirit of the Law

Every law student knows about IRAC (or the newer CREAC). Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion. The crux of it, that which determines the top and bottom half of the class, comes from knowing the rule and applying it to the facts presented. That is what lawyers do...why they are paid so much sometimes. They have to use their minds to take a rule that can seem impersonal and distant on paper and apply it to a real scenario, involving real people.

It is application that makes those stale words in books come alive. More and more, I'm understanding that is what I need to do in my life as a Christian. In the song "Everything to me" by Avalon, the lyrics go like this:

I grew up in Sunday school
I memorized the Golden rule
And how Jesus came to set the sinner free
I know the story inside out
I can tell you all about
The path that led Him up to Calvary
But ask me why He loves me
And I don't know what to say
But I'll never be the same
Because he changed my life when He became...

Everything to me
He's more than a story
more than words on a page of history
He's the air that I breath
The water I thirst for
And the ground beneath my feet
He's everything, everything to me

Living in a modern world, it is sometimes hard to remember that Christ really did live those words written in the bible. He cast out demons, raised the dead, walked on water, and most important, took the sin of the world with him on the cross and conquered death for us. The significance of that is hard to grasp until you really dig into scripture and see how we are suppose to live. However, the first step is to realize that those stale words on the page won't mean anything to us individually until we apply them to our lives.

I Am, Part 2

In a previous post I talked about Nicole Nordeman's song, "I Am". I've been listening to the song so much lately because of hard times in my life, I'm publishing the song's lyrics in full below:

Pencil marks on a wall, I wasn't always this tall
You scattered some monsters from beneath my bed.
You watched my team win, and watched my team lose
Watched when my bicycle went down again

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
And I said Elbow Healer, Superhero, come if you can
You said, I Am

Only sixteen, life is so mean
What kind of curfew is at 10 pm?
You saw my mistakes and watched my heart break
Heard when I swore I'd never love again

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
And I said Heartache Healer, Secret Keeper, be my best friend
You said, I Am

You saw me wear white by pale candlelight
I said 'forever' to what lies ahead
Two kids and a dream, with kids that can scream
Too much it might seem when it is 2 am.

When I was weak, unable to speak, still I could call You by name
Oh, Shepherd Savior, Pasture Maker, hold on to my hand
You said, I Am

The winds of change and circumstance
Blow in and all around us
So we find a foothold that's familiar
And bless the moments that we feel you nearer

When life had begun I was woven and spun
You let the angels dance around the throne
Who can say when, but they'll dance again
When I am free and finally headed home

I will be weak, unable to speak, still I will call You by name
Creator, Maker, Life Sustainer
Comforter, Healer, My Redeemer
Lord and King, Beginning and the End
I Am, I Am

KLove Ministry

There is a radio station I listen to here in Lubbock. I'm not sure from where, but it is sydicated nationally and anyone can listen via the internet.

They are funded through pledge money from listeners, and they failed to reach their goal during the Fall Pledge Drive. Therefore, they are doing a year-end pledge drive.

One guy called in who said that while he and his wife cannot afford much, they both received the same message from God that they should give monthly to the KLove ministry. They are selling their house and some of their things so they can get financially back on track...but in the mean time, they are donating.

Relying on Malachi 3:10-11, the man said that God has all the money in the world; He doesn't need our money, he needs our trust, our faith.

I say, Amen.

KLove

A resolution worth keeping

From Dr. Jack Graham, Dallas TX:

You probably know the story of Simon Peter, a sometimes brash and confident fisherman, who denied Jesus just as the Lord predicted. When Peter realized his sin, he wept bitterly and went away into the darkness of misery. But that same Peter who had been outside the love of God and having denied Christ moved back into the arms of Christ because of forgiveness. He was renewed, restored, and recommissioned.

He went from that time of turmoil in his life to be ignited by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and become the greatest preacher and Apostle of the first century. Why? Because Jesus said he was going to build His church on people, just like Simon Peter, who are frail, fragile, and often fall, but that also desire to wholeheartedly love, follow, obey, and live for Him.

It may be that in the days of this past year, you’ve found yourself living in denial of your faith at certain times. Maybe you’ve walked away from the love of God or found yourself distracted and unfocused when it comes to your relationship with Christ. Pray that Christ would bring you back into a spirit-filled relationship with Him and that He would reignite your heart on fire for Him.

In the coming year, commit yourself to the spiritual exercise of your soul. Build yourself up in Christ through faith, ground yourself in Jesus growing into spiritual maturity, and live fully in the love of God. Do you want to stay in the love of God during this coming year and those after? Then stay in the Word of God!

YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION SHOULD BE TO BUILD YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE UP EVERY DAY THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST AND IN HIS HOLY WORD.

Guardianship

I'm taking a short course this next semester on Guardianships. I found the following blog post on my professor's website incredibly interesting and thought it was worth an entry on my own blog.

Here is the link

A list to think on

I took this list from another blog. I thought it sounded great...

1. Parents ... have wisdom of gold that is not taken until long after it is given.
2. My greatest ... fear is being left alone.
3. I secretly ... wish I had a room full of books that I could work through at my own pace.
4. The problem with ... problems is that they never go away.
5. My mother used to ... get up early in the morning to go to work, and I would sit in her bathroom door and watch her get ready.
6. Women ... love and feel things deeply.
7. Men ... smell great - sometimes!
8. I hate ... (am massively irritated by) slow drivers.
9. Long ... lines help me build by patience.
10. Being young ... is over-valued, because there is rarely much wisdom in youth.
11. Aging ... is under-valued, because there is quite often a lot of wisdom in age.
12. I love ... good coffee, chocolate, and sunrises.
13. People tend to ... refrain from speaking their minds.
14. My favorite ... thing to do is watch movies.
15. I'm getting better at ... learning to let my issues go.
16. I wish ... I could lie under a blanket of stars and try to count them.
17. Some things ... are of little consequence, despite the value we try to give them.
18. In a year ... I hope I will have found a job that I love.
19. Children ... have enough innocence to give them wisdom beyond their years.
20. I would like to be ... Christ-like in everything I do.

Back in the Saddle

So Christmas is over, and the New Year is right around the corner. Colorado was absolutely fantastic...pics coming soon. I'm back in The Big D visiting my family...but once I return to good ol' Lubbock, just wait! Regular posting will start once again (whereas they ended right before finals) and I'm doing a re-organization of the entire blog.

Hope everyone is having a great time of year! I'm off to Bath and Body to buy 5 Anti-bacterial soaps for $10...lol. Gotta keep those hands clean and smellin' good!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

I'm finally done with finals!!

Woooohoooo!!!!!!!

Now, off to Colorado and then Dallas. Awesome! Here I come oh snow!

The End of Courtship, Part 1: a commentary

In a recent conversation, I posed the question, "What sets me apart from other girls?" The answer surprised me...because it was rather bland. Though token thoughts were offered, ultimately, nothing was offered.

For the first time in human history, mature women by the tens of thousands live the entire decade of their twenties — their most fertile years — neither in the homes of their fathers nor in the homes of their husbands; unprotected, lonely, and out of sync with their inborn nature.

A century ago, things were much different.

In polite society, at the beginning of this century, our grandfathers came a-calling and a-wooing at the homes of our grandmothers, under conditions set by the woman, operating from strength on her own turf.

I write a lot of entries on dating...not because I have some aspirations to be an informal social theorist or the like...but because I am in the midst of it. I want to get married. I'm not saying tomorrow, but I greatly desire to find a Godly man who will be the spiritual leader of my home. He will make me and our children feel cherished; he will see me as God sees me - as one of a kind.

One of the problems with dating today is that it has turned from courtship, in which two people yearned for each other, to advertising. Today, we sell ourselves; we are commodities on an open-market; free-trade princples are the rule.

Those women and men who get lucky enter into what the personal ads call LTRs — long-term relationships — sometimes cohabiting, sometimes not, usually to discover how short an LTR can be. When, after a series of such affairs, marriage happens to them, they enter upon it guardedly and suspiciously, with prenuptial agreements, no common surname, and separate bank accounts....

A fine woman understood [way back when] that giving her body (in earlier times, even her kiss) meant giving her heart, which was too precious to be bestowed on anyone who would not prove himself worthy, at the very least by pledging himself in marriage to be her defender and lover forever.

Defender and lover forever...how fantastic. I dream of the day that a man tells me that he wants to be my defender and lover forever. There are two men in my life that will never leave my heart...even if they leave this world, I know they are still with me: my father and my brother. I know that both of them love me beyond reasoning (for real love cannot be lowered to the level of mere logic)...I am their daughter and sister. I pray simply that someday, a man will cherish me enough...love me enough...be able to see the woman that is uniquly me...to be my defender and lover forever.

Thought of the Week

Speaking as a woman...men, listen up. I have some great advice for you.

The key to a woman's heart is this: courtship. Women want to be courted...they want romance.

Learn the art of courtship, and you are 90% of the way there.

Of course, knowing what is involved in actually courting a woman is a whole other matter....

Halloween Pics

My Costume...Meow!


The Trunk!

These are from "Trunk or Treat" at my church. Good times!

Separation of Church and Church

I was priviledged recently to engage a good friend of mine in a theological discussion about the role of doctrine in the lives of Christians and the Church as a whole. It was my view that the idea of doctrine leans toward religiosity, which I try to avoid at all costs because I think it tends to separate the body of Christ more than unify it. She clings quite closely to that same doctrine that I try to avoid, because she says that the church's doctrine (Catholic, Methodist, Church of Christ, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, etc.) defines the sermons it gives, the activities it engages in, etc.

During our discussion, I could feel her putting up a wall. Since then, I learned that she went away feeling that I did not respect her position, that I had preached at her, and that she felt I was ignorant in "my" church's doctrine and should learn about it. I am hurt by what she said because I tried very hard to remain relaxed and open during the entire conversation. Her exact words in her later email were,

"I was totally shocked at how uneducated you were about your denomination. I know you don't like denominations, but regardless, this is your chosen one at the moment. I think education is key to anything and you can't just say, well I read the Bible, that is all that matters."

I would like to argue that I can say that. Because, the theology of any particular denomination does not bind God. However, God gave us his word; he is perfect, and will honor what he has said. Therefore, when I read the bible, I know what the truth is. Likewise, I feel that even the idea of denominations is unbiblical.

When the church was forming in those first centuries, Paul warned the various churches to watch out for division. To the church in Rome, he said, "I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teachings you have learned." (Romans 16:17). To the church in Corinth, he wrote, "I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought." (1 Corinthians 1:10). Christ warned us of this very problem: "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand." (Matthew 12:25).

There are many, many other examples in the old and new testaments about how division causes failure, but unification will glorify. Therefore, I do not spend my time dwelling on those aspects that will divide the church. We should turn to the bible when we wonder what to do. My friend pointed out that at some churches, and she specified the Baptist church, you have to be a member of that church, according to its doctrine, to partake of the Lord's supper. Who is allowed at the Lord's supper? Everyone. When the members of the church in Corinth didn't wait for people, when the were divided about who was allowed to partake of the Lord's supper, Paul chastised them. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40). We are not called to exclude people, but to welcome people. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one ande only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, emphasis added).

I'm not sure if my friend will ever see what I'm trying to say about not focusing on those things that divide us, but bring us together; that the bible is the only set of "rules" that counts. I think the unease between us right now is rather symbolic of the unease within the church as a whole. Personally, I still don't think knowing or not knowing about the particularized doctrine of the church I go to will serve me as a Christian. I will attend a church that follows bibical teachings and no others; I will not attend a church that treats the bible as a euphemism or excludes people. As far as point of view, I will use the discernment given to me through the Holy Spirit to listen to what my pastor says. We are called to do that in all areas of our lives, and that includes in church. You have to watch out for false teachings. Regardless, my prayer is that enough people will see my point regarding denominations that the church can become a unified force in the world to effect change and enable the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of men.

20/20 Foresight

It has become a habit of mine recently to complain. Everyone has negative things in their lives, but recently for some reason, I've thought that my burdens were somehow greater or more important than others...that it was time for me to have some "self" time.

Listening to Third Day's "Cry Out to Jesus" made me change my thinking.

Several years ago, I began loosing weight. Back in 2001, I weighed significantly more. Four years later, I'm 110 pounds lighter. I've manage to keep all the weight I've ever lost off; that is truly a blessing. When I was heavier, I use to wonder why God had allowed me to become that way at such an early age. I remember back into elementary school being overweight. At that point, it was more my parent's duty than my own to make eating choices for myself. Over the years, their bad habits became my own. It took going to college and living on my own to change. I wondered many times over those years why God hadn't provided me with a different situation.

However, God walked with me through my weightloss; I did indeed cry to Jesus many times. Since that journey, people are always shocked to find out I weighed so much more at one point. What was a burden at one point, what drove me to incredible self-hatred before, grace has turned into a blessing. I've been able to be a real, personal role-model for dedicatedly changing something about myself. One of my friends is loosing weight right now and says that she knows she can because I did. God has given me the opportunity to witness in a way I never thought possible: by using my own struggles to glorify him - I never would have made that journey but for God's grace.

Today, when I struggle, I complain. It seems I've forgotten that God uses our struggles to teach us and others. What I learn today, I can share tomorrow. If Christ was as self-centered as I've been recently, if he had as much self-pitty as I do, man would the world be in trouble. The saying goes that hindsight is 20/20. I say that for Christians, so is foresight. No matter the problems I have today, I know that God will use the lessons I learn in my life and the lives of others. I know that I am here for a reason and I won't be here longer than he needs me to be.

Another Golden One

Again, my First Amendment prof makes my day:

The KKK are equal opportunity haters...they hate everyone.

This was noted after reading Virginia v. Black, in which, inter alia, it was O.K. for the "klan" to get together and burn a cross during a rally about how they hate certain people...i.e., people who weren't a part of their group. LoL, I wonder what songs they were chanting.

The Language of Love

One of the most common problems between men and women is that they don't understand each other. That isn't because either sex is incapable. I think it is because people think and act in their own terms; their ways of showing affection are self-oriented. To facilitate communication, I think men and women should learn to speak a language of love.

Speaking the language of love, there is no better example than how Jesus expressed his love for us. To show us he loved us, he gave his life, himself. Because we were unable to act Godly and not sin, he took the punishment: death. He conquered death for us. In return, he asks us to do the same thing; we are to die to this world and be "born again" (like Christ was when he was "risen") and live a new life, modeled after his own. In love, we should give ourselves back to him.

Men and women should learn from this example. When communicating, when showing affection and love, they should start thinking about how they can give themselves to the one they love. Say, for example, I write poems for the person I love, be it a family member, a boyfriend, or a friend. That is most likely because that is how I want love to be shown. "Do unto others as you would have then to unto you." Therefore, if anyone wants to show me love in return, they should try writing me a poem, a letter, or something small like that. Speak my language. And, I should do the same in return. I should give whatever it is the other person needs.

It is said love is not selfish; that is true. But at the same time, it is thoughtful. For many reasons, sometimes people seem to need more than at other times. Loving them, we should unselfishly give ourselves by taking time and understanding what it is they need.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is republished in the comments, but since it goes to the substance of the post, I thought I would paste it here:

The most important thing is, my entry isn't based on expectations of the first person, but the perceptions of the other person. We should be discerning enough to perceive what the other person needs. In fact, if we expect anything in relationships, that is often disappointing and destructive. What I'm trying to say is, in relationships, when showing love and affection, we shouldn't show it in ways we desire, but in ways the other person desires. When I show my family I love them, I do it in their terms (my mom loves to talk, so I listen!).

i carry your heart with me

By: e. e. cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Defensive Driving

According to a new poll, Americans are getting ruder. "From road rage in the morning commute to high decibel cell-phone conversations that ruin dinner out, men and women behaving badly has become the hallmark of a hurry-up world." "The most common complaint about rudeness in the poll was aggressive or reckless driving, with 91 percent citing it as the most frequent discourtesy."

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an aggressive driver. Therefore, I must take up the cross as it were, and perform my duties as an aggressive driver apologist.

It must be noted that, with exceptions, most drivers become "aggressive" and "rude" when another driver...a sloooowwwww driver...cuts in front of him or her. Take the following senario as an example. You are late. Very late. If you are good enough, you can just make it to (fill in the blank with an important place) on time. You are in the middle lane; people are filling up the right and left lanes to turn right up at the light ahead. The person in front of you gets over into the right lane, and the road in clear until past the light...you will make it! Then, just as you hit 30 mph, a mini-van "merges" in front of you (I would prefer "cuts", but I'll be nice). The driver proceeds to go slowly, causing you to miss the light. UGH!

There are many such examples. Sllloooowwww drivers going 10 mph below the speedlimit, coming to complete stops before turning, not using their indicators, stopping at yellow lights, sitting at stop signs waiting for everyone and his brother to go first (out of the order learned long ago in driver's ed). Though I would make the argument that they create us, slow drivers at the very least perpetuate the aggression and rudeness in those of us who actually like to get where we are going.

So I say to those of you who drive in two lanes, who drive slowly in the left lane versus the right lane like you should, who seem uncaring that the person behind is late and needs you to move over, YOU should stop being so selfish. Stop being selfish enough to think the road is yours alone; move over, to that right lane where you belong, obey more of the traffic laws, and I bet you will notice a marked decrease in the aggression of other drivers.

Quote of the Day

From my First Amendment Professor

The Supreme Court is here is save the day, to keep the world safe from or for democracy, I'll let you decide which.

Bring It!

I Love Cold Weather!

Please Make It Stay!

My Favorite Branch

Law.com had a story about the new Chief Justice. Here are some of my favorite quotes. They show both the history and oddities of my favorite branch of government.

The first day of the Court's fall term began early, with senior Justice John Paul Stevens administering a ceremonial oath to Roberts, who had been sworn in more formally last Thursday. President George W. Bush looked on from the seat in the Court reserved for -- but rarely used by -- the president.

Stevens also noted that in his previous career in the Solicitor General's Office and in private practice, Roberts had argued 39 cases before the Court, "a number that exceeds the combined experience of the rest of us. We know him well, and he has already earned our respect and admiration."

The Miers announcement overshadowed the pageantry of the Court ceremony somewhat and was the buzz among the luminaries on hand. "A stealth candidate, par excellence" was the verdict on Miers from Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, who had been invited to attend by Roberts, a former student in his constitutional law class. But the formalities were in keeping with Court traditions. Before he was sworn in, Roberts sat waiting in a chair below the Court's bench. As expected, the sleeves of his black robe carried no golden stripes; Roberts has apparently allowed Rehnquist's Gilbert & Sullivan-inspired wardrobe innovation to lapse.

Roberts asked five questions in the first case and seven in the second, placing him in the "moderately active" category in comparison with his colleagues -- about the same number that Stevens asks, fewer than Antonin Scalia usually asks, but far more than Clarence Thomas. In a single day, Roberts asked lawyers more questions than Thomas has asked in several terms combined.

And that was just day one! Love it!

Flight Plight

From Reuters...

Labor unions representing most of the nation's 90,000 flight attendants have urged their members to boycott a new Jodie Foster film that portrays a flight attendant and a U.S. air marshal as terrorists.

A union statement issued on Tuesday also complained that other flight attendants in the film are shown as being "rude, unhelpful and uncaring."

She said the portrayal of airline cabin crew members as evil-doers adds further insult to long-standing Hollywood stereotypes that have depicted flight attendants as sexualized bubble heads or as harsh, humorless disciplinarians.

Aw, poor flight attendants. I must wonder if they ever noticed how many movies portray lawyers as evil people...or women who pursue careers as heartless individuals, willing to use sex appeal to get to the top...or men as womenizers in any context...or Muslims as terrorists...or people from Kentucky as white trash.

I guess I must sound rude, but I'm feeling a bit unsympathetic to their cause.

An Odd Parallel

In a law.com news article, one of my favorite justices, Justice Scalia was quoted as saying the following:

"The line between protected pornography and unprotected obscenity lies between appealing to a good healthy interest in sex and appealing to a depraved interest, whatever that means."

I'm forced to wonder, is an interest in pornography a good healthy interest in sex? I would argue that it is not. I'm not sure what constitutes a "healthy" interest in sex, and when that healthy interest is good or bad...I'm not even sure what a bad healthy interest would look like.

The clear confusion on this topic goes to a larger point: the Supreme Court, for all its good intentions, needs to engage in a massive reexamination of the first amendment doctrine. In that same article, Scalia admitted that the Court has not done a good job of defining obscenity. I think the court hasn't done a good job in defining a lot of first amendment issues...making the dialogue surrounding the subject matter unfocused.

For example, the so-called "establishment clause" has been construed to mean "separation of church and state." However, when you read the constitution and its amendments, nothing about separation is ever mentioned. When making an attempt to read the most literal of meanings, really, it would appear the whole point is that Congress can't make a national religion, much like France and England had at the time our nation was formed. Our society has gone too far, trying to require that government employees appear divorced from their values at work.

That is the theory. In practice, I have two wonderful examples of how the secularists fail. Here in Lubbock, County Court Judge, Judge Head, has many books in his office about faith. These include several copies of daily devotionals. He even has a pillow with a quote from the Book of Isaiah about following where God leads you. Also, while working at the DA's office, being a very talkative person, I've made friends with one of the secretaries, Linda. She is a Christian, and we have had many open discussions, especially in the wake of all these hurricanes, about the power of God in our daily lives. She loves the song, "In Christ Alone" (quoted in one of my May entries), and I'm taking her a CD full of Christian music on Monday. Government employees or not, these people carry their values with them as they work.

Coming back to my original point, it would appear the Supreme Court has a lot to learn about the first amendment. Perhaps our Justices should "slum" a little, and work in a grass roots area to see how it works in the "real" world, outside the marbled walls of the court. Then, perhaps, we wouldn't have "healthy sex interests" and "pornography" tied together.

Fear No Evil

...The fact is…bad things do happen and we do live in a world filled with deep, dark valleys. And in this age of anxiety, we hear more and more of panic attacks and episodes of fear that absolutely demoralize and defeat people. But as believers, you and I must realize that Satan only uses fear to keep us discouraged and in despair.

God loves you so much that He allows tragedy and trouble to enter your life to draw you closer to Him. First Peter 5:10 says, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

If you suffer from fear of what’s next in your life, then you can rest assured that there is freedom from it. Consider the fact that you and I have a Shepherd that will lead us through the deepest, darkest, fear-filled valleys. Ask God to carry you through times of fear and calm your spirit with His peace.

--Pastor Graham

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
--Psalm 23:4

To my Dad, Richard, Cody, Sarah, her son Kaden, and Fred and Judy Allen (my mom has a very full house, bless her heart!).

In the Interlude

In his daily email, my pastor wrote the following:

"Most people don’t like to wait—we are very impatient. When I drive up to an intersection and see a green light turn yellow, what do I do? I punch the gas pedal and try to make it through the light because I don’t like to wait. But don’t laugh at me, because I know that’s what most of you do too....We tend to think that the yellow light means “hurry up and get through the intersection” when in fact it means “slow down, there could be danger ahead.” The problem is…we’re always in a hurry when God isn’t....God doesn't speak to you in a booming voice while you're speedily hurrying through life. You can hear the still, small voice of the holy spirit when you take some time to stop, rest, and actually listen."

Waiting comes down to issues of value - we are more willing to wait for things on which we place value. So when we punch the pedal through the light, we are placing value on ourselves and our own plans rather than humbling ourselves enough to let other people go first.

In the greater scheme, we should place value on God's plan for our lives by lifting the lead foot and getting down on our knees. The hard thing about trusting God is that He isn't bound by time, and the moments between submission to His will and knowing where He is taking you can seem very long. The key is to enjoy that interlude...since that is as much a part of His plan as anything else.

This post is dedicated to one of my very good friends, for whom I know waiting is the hardest part in her life right now.

Thought of the Day

Don’t get caught up in the paralysis of analysis, but move forward and God will direct your steps. Take some risks. Don’t wonder what might have been...

- Dr. Jack Graham, Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, TX.

Funny Funny Man

People often ask why I refuse to see Sean Penn movies. I respond: "It is because I can't stand him."

In the spirit of things, I wanted to display this picture for all to see along with some quotes from a Herald Sun article, "Sean Penn's rescue bid sinks":

EFFORTS by Hollywood actor Sean Penn to aid New Orleans victims stranded by Hurricane Katrina [floundered] badly overnight, when the boat he was piloting to launch a rescue attempt sprang a leak....The actor, known for his political activism, was seen wearing what appeared to be a white flak jacket and frantically bailing water out of the sinking vessel with a red plastic cup....With the boat loaded with members of Penn's entourage, including a personal photographer, one bystander taunted the actor: "How are you going to get any people in that thing?" (end article excerpt).

Good try Mr. Penn. Noble effort aside, why the personal photographer? The fewer people you bring, the more you can take with you, right?

Katrina's Fogotten

Mississippians' Suffering Overshadowed

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press Writer

.... Richard Gibbs was disgusted by reports of looting in New Orleans and upset at the lack of attention hurricane victims in his state were getting.

"I say burn the bridges and let 'em all rot there," he said. "We're suffering over here too, but we're not killing each other. We've got to help each other. We need gas and food and water and medical supplies." ....

... In a strongly worded editorial, The Sun Herald of Biloxi-Gulfport pleaded for help and questioned why a massive National Guard presence wasn't already visible.

"We understand that New Orleans also was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but surely this nation has the resources to rescue both that metropolitan (area) and ours," the newspaper editorialized, saying survival basics like ice, gasoline and medicine have been too slow to arrive.

"We are not calling on the nation and the state to make life more comfortable in South Mississippi, we are calling on the nation and the state to make life here possible," the paper wrote. ...

Failed Civil Order

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Unless those tired and poor are already here,
In which case I will smother them...
Those wretched refuse on my own battered shores
Those homeless and tempest-tossed,
I crush them, dead and dying, by my own indifference!

State of Nature

...The chaos deepened despite the promise of 1,400 National Guardsmen a day to stop the looting, plans for a $10 billion recovery bill in Congress and a government relief effort President Bush called the biggest in U.S. history.

New Orleans' top emergency management official called that effort a "national disgrace" and questioned when reinforcements would actually reach the increasingly lawless city.

About 15,000 to 20,000 people who had taken shelter at New Orleans convention center grew ever more hostile after waiting for buses for days amid the filth and the dead. Police Chief Eddie Compass said there was such a crush around a squad of 88 officers that they retreated when they went in to check out reports of assaults.

"We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten," Compass said. "Tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon."

Col. Henry Whitehorn, chief of the Louisiana State Police, said he heard of numerous instances of New Orleans police officers - many of whom from flooded areas - turning in their badges.

"They indicated that they had lost everything and didn't feel that it was worth them going back to take fire from looters and losing their lives," Whitehorn said....

...An old man in a chaise lounge lay dead in a grassy median as hungry babies wailed around him. Around the corner, an elderly woman lay dead in her wheelchair, covered up by a blanket, and another body lay beside her wrapped in a sheet.

"I don't treat my dog like that," 47-year-old Daniel Edwards said as he pointed at the woman in the wheelchair.

"You can do everything for other countries, but you can't do nothing for your own people," he added. "You can go overseas with the military, but you can't get them down here."

The street outside the center, above the floodwaters, smelled of urine and feces, and was choked with dirty diapers, old bottles and garbage.

"They've been teasing us with buses for four days," Edwards said. "They're telling us they're going to come get us one day, and then they don't show up."...

..."We've got people dying out here - two babies have died, a woman died, a man died," said Helen Cheek. "We haven't had no food, we haven't had no water, we haven't had nothing. They just brought us here and dropped us."

Tourist Debbie Durso of Washington, Mich., said she asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "'Go to hell - it's every man for himself.'"...

From: New Orleans in Anarchy With Fights, Rapes, by ALLEN G. BREED

Our leaders response to the Hurricane

An angry Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans' emergency operations, watched the slow exodus from the Superdome on Thursday morning and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency response was inadequate. The chaos at the nearby New Orleans Convention Center was considerably worse than the Superdome, with an angry mob growing increasingly violent and few options for refugees to leave the scene.

"This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control," Ebbert said. "We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out the city of New Orleans."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lolis Eric Elie
5:50 p.m.

By Lolis Eric Elie
Columnist

Years ago, a young South African scholar told me about his trip to America, to Boston, specifically.

I don't know who was in charge of his trip, but either they failed to give him his script or he failed to memorize his lines.

He was supposed to tell me about how wonderful our country is. He was supposed to have been impressed with the vast wealth of this place and with the quality and quantity of the latest technology here.

He was supposed to envy our First World status.

He didn't.

What he remembered from his trip was not our wealth, but our poverty. He was shocked by the slums of Boston.

He wondered about American aid to poor countries. How can you send aid to these places, he asked, when you need such aid in your own poor communities?

What we are watching in New Orleans now is an indictment of our nation.

I can understand why we see refugees in Liberia walking miles in the hope of finding sustenance or safety; often there is little of either in that country. But why are we seeing these same images here?

Do we lack the trains, planes and automobiles to move our people to safety?

I can understand why it takes so much time to get aid halfway across the world, but why does it take so long to get aid to our own Gulf states?

I can understand why lawlessness rules the streets of many poor countries in crisis, but we have a huge standing army. Do we lack the soldiers to police American streets?

I am used to seeing images of desperate people hindering the very relief efforts aimed at saving them. I have seen news reports of refugees looting food shipments. I've even heard of warlords in some countries looting the shipments and then trying to sell food to those so desperate and poor as to be scarcely able to afford it.

But why are we seeing these images and hearing these reports of wanton looting — by at least one police officer, no less —in an American city?

I make no excuses for the looters.

What may have started out as a legitimate attempt to secure the most basic of necessities has quickly turned into a nightmarish free-for-all.

But we shouldn't be surprised that the criminal element that terrorizes New Orleans and just about every other major American city, declined to alter its behavior in the midst of this crisis.

I am surprised, however, that our leaders have failed to provide a more adequate and timely response to all of this.

I am surprised that, in light of the current crisis in New Orleans, that the United States of America can be seen to have so much in common with the poorest and most wretched places on earth.


Read Original Story Here

Tulane Law School

From the IT Director at Tulane...


We appreciate the efforts of all of you to assist those of us at Tulane
Law School as we put in place methods to communicate with one another.

Our efforts will be helped immensely if all were to put links directing
people to the "official" Tulane Law School website, which is being
hosted and co-developed by our colleagues at Emory:

click here

Research Credit

After long, arduous nights of toiling over statutes and bills, finally there is something to show for it! My prof even thanked me on the website!

click here for proof!

NOTE: scroll past all the codes.

See the Probate and Property codes...they took forever.

I Am

We call upon God many times in our lives to be what we need Him to be. Nicole Nordeman listed some of his roles in her song, "I Am": Elbow-healer, super-hero...heartache healer, secret keeper, best friend...shepard, savior, pasteur-maker...creator, life-sustainer, comforter, healer, redeemer, Lord and King, beginner and the end. We call Him to be all these things, and He says, "I Am."

Between two thieves, hope was born from suffering. By grace, we can call God, "Abba, Father." When we suffer in our lives, God is right there with us. There is no reason for us to fear, because our debt is paid. Finite and powerless though we are, Christ's strength, that same strength that led him to the cross to die for us, is there to guide us through life's troubling times.

In Genesis 12:1-9, Abram left his home on faith. He allowed the Lord to guide him; by faith, he knew God would prepare a place for him and bless his new home. God calls us to walk by faith. The desire to please Him, does; following that desire, we must go down the path even though we do not know where it leads. Faith is not always comfortable.

But, when we walk that path, narrow though it is, God walks with us. So, when life is uncertain, scary, troubling...when we think we can't go on, that it is just impossible for us to make it, and we say, "God, where are you? Why aren't you here with me...going with me through this?", He will say, "I Am."

Research

So, I just started as a Research Assistant for one of my prof's, and I have discovered something rather profound: our state government is goofy. They make the silliest mistakes...and the strangest revisions to laws.

For example, the House and Senate will pass bills with different wording! Um, didn't we learn about the good ol' conference committee in like, 5th grade government?? They are suppose to pass the same bill!! Section 761 on Removal in the Probate Code has TWO versions from the House and one from the Senate, with different days for time of removal! Insane. Wasn't anyone paying attention? No, not even the governor, who signed all three bills.

I guess this is why some people call legislative units Money Business.

Another Year...

There is nothing like a birthday to get you to reflect about where you are in life and what you have learned. Upon turning 23, I thought of three things that I've learned in my life.

1. We always remain children inside. Yesterday, I took down the poster I have of a penguin. Not because I don't like penguins anymore, but because I don't think a 23 year old in law school should have a poster of a penguin on her wall. However, I did not put the poster in a box...I hung it on the wall in my closet. It is out of general view, much like the child-like preferences I have retained, but anyone who is close enough to me to go inside my closet will see it and know a little bit more about me. Having that poster says I still lick my fingers, chew gum and blow bubbles, and like to walk through puddles. But having it inside my closet says that I can act and dress professionally when required, have learned and am still learning to keep my mouth shut when needed, and pay my bills on time...for the most part.

2. This may or may not sound profound, but the second thing I learned: family matters a lot. I did not realize how much until they weren't there. My brother had to work on my birthday, and my parents called in the evening to wish me. So, for most of the day, I didn't have a lot of contact with my family, and that made me depressed. So while my friends gave me gifts and took me out, I was still sad until my parents called and my brother got home. Things don't really matter at all, people matter more, and family matters the most.

3. Lesson three: being yourself is harder than you might think. When looking around my room and assessing the "23ness" of it, I noticed how I've kept some habits from my teen years. For example, I still hang meaningful tokens in random places...like a funky neckless from India on my vanity, and a key-chain mouse with my alma mater logo on it on my floor lamp switch. I don't know how many 23 year olds do such thing, but I decided I didn't care because those things mean something to me. And when people see my room, I want them to know I am a colorful person with lots of interests. Wherever they look...my bookshelf, my desk, my bathroom sink...I want color and life, pieces of who I was and who I am. Hence, my masquerade ball masks from prom stayed, so did my art-postcards from the Kimbell. And the cute little whiskered friend from undergrad remains put...proudly displayed for all to see.

Othering

I was recently informed by a guy that I am rather intimidating due to the intellectual level upon which I engage in conversation. After my initial shock, and after I had a chance to reflect, I can understand what he meant. However, I think the intimidation had less to do with my intellect and more to do with my sex. Then again, that is just my opinion.

Several times in my life, I've experienced "othering" moments in which I'm kind of an outcast. I'm not a normal girl since I enjoy reading novels to magazine flipping; book stores over clothing stores; wi-fi blogs over E online. I think that intimidates men, who prefer their women (as a general rule) "dumber" than them. That isn't to say the average woman is stupid. Quite the contrary...I just think they don't show how smart they really are. My other status is due to the fact that I don't hide my intellectual curiosities. Still, I don't think women should have to do this. I think men need to get over it.

I find it incredibly sweet when guys want to protect women and provide for them. But what seems to go along with that is that women must need to be protected and provided for; they can't protect or provide for themselves, or that goes too far into the man's territory. Men seem to want to dominate certain areas of life, including smarts, money, and occupation. I'm not trying to sound like a feminist...I love chivalry as much as the next southern girl. I just wish guys would add a dimension to chivalry - be able to hold a conversation and not back-off when I go into an area with which you are not familiar. Chivalry should include sticking your pride in your back pocket. I find curiosity and a love of learning far more attractive than arrogance and stupidity.

From my pastor...

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by it our ancestors were approved. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.

--Hebrews 11:1-3

Josh McDowell, well-known author and speaker, wrote one of many best-selling books titled, Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Our faith is something we know is true because of evidence and because God has given us the ability beyond our humanity to believe. Nowadays, science is picking up on this. In a major report on scientific investigation and discovery from Time Magazine called “God and Genetics,” scientists suggested that every human being is hard-wired for God. The Scripture said long before us that God has set eternity in our hearts—the spiritual ability to know and experience Him through faith. This is a simple lesson on faith. Someone once said that: “Faith is the ability to see the invisible, hear the inaudible, feel the intangible, and do the impossible.” Do you believe that? Most people think that God is too hard to please and enough is never enough. But God is pleased by people who have faith that receives His Word, rejoices in trials, and refuses to quit. The most amazing thing about our faith as believers is that we have a hope beyond today. Some of you may be wondering how to have faith when it comes to your career, finances, children, health, and so on. But I say just keep believing, hoping, and trusting God. Keep singing hymns of praise and worship to Him. And then sit back and watch, because while you are waiting God will be working constructively, creatively, and powerfully in your life. BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH AS BELIEVERS, WE CAN KNOW THAT WHEN GOD COMES THROUGH…IT WILL BE RIGHT ON TIME.

Randomness

Soda that I currently drink: It is not soda, it is tea! Chai Chai Chai, wonderful stuff.

Something I have recently learned: how to make my own sushi rolls! Talk about saving money!

Recent movie I recommend: Bride and Prejudice - Indian version of the Jane Austen book. Great music.

Things not to do in the rain: try to play Cricket. However, if you want a tan, Cricket in the sun is the way to go!

Current Fav Songs: Rebecca St. James - Wait For Me, MercyMe - Here With Me

Things that tick me off: not having an air conditioner, insurance companies, Mears Mazda-Volvo, west TX drivers.

Difficult thing to do: writing a Revocable Living Trust

Things I do too much of: read the news, surf blogs, read books, listen to music, and not study!

Have No Fear

photo credit

It is nice to see that Londoners are not giving in to the fear and disorder those cowards wish to sponser and encourage. In case the print is too small to read, it says, "Following yesterday's attacks, services are now running on most lines, although you may experience some delays."

Likewise, it appears the markets rebounded rather quickly. I am truly inspirired by the courage of Londoners. :)

ONE

20 years ago...

Look at Africa today...

Will a second time around make a difference?

Me, My Sombrero and Cricket!

Cute Cricket Hat Pic!


Another Cute Cricket Hat Pic!


Will he hit my super bowl?

Inter Alia

Politics, Science, and Faith. Three topics...three little words. Yet they sponsor controversy and cynisim; adherence to ideals for their own sake; positions beyond reproach.

I have been working over the past several weeks on an entry on M-theory (the "mother" of all theories that seeks to establish a Theory of Everything for physicists) and faith. However, during the course of study and compilation, I've come across many a secular view that shows ignorance, to put it frankly, on the part of many "secular" people about what it means to be Christian, what it means to have faith, and what the roles of both those ideas are in daily life.

Take, for example, the recent battle about the ten commandments and whether it is ok to have them on public grounds. The Supreme Court ruled recently that it is ok to have them there, but they can't be in the court room. An attorney and pastor for the Church of Christ, Barry Lynn, said, "No one expects politicians and policy-makers to divorce themselves entirely from the roots of their belief system, but in the United States, our laws have to be based on secular justifications."

Since when? The American system of jurisprudence is common-law based. It is based on the English common law system...which cannot be divorced from its Biblical roots. Whether it is right or not, I find it impossible to argue that our laws historically lack grounding in Christian ideals. That said, many I assume would argue that even if we once were religiously inclined as a nation, that should end. Church and state should be separate institutions. I would have to say that I agree...only because my current "secular" government disgusts me. Even still, it saddens and disheartens me that we are steering so far away from what Christ called the spirit of the law. However, I suppose it is inevitable in the great scheme of life. The Bible has a lot to say about the downturn of men in the end of times; I just wish it wasn't America leading the way.

In the mean time, I wish that Christians would not focus on divisive schemes in politics...playing the games politicians play. It doesn't seem to me that is the place to win any battle, much less the war. Governments are, perhaps inherently and most unfortunately, secular. Fight for the things that really matter, such as continuing ability to pray in school (I must note that it is a common misconception that we are not allowed to pray in school - we are). The law might permit abortions, but a girl will never have to make that choice if she hears God's word from the beginning. Remember that our role as Christians is to spread the gospel, and lead all who would hear to Christ. Remember that he said the greatest commandment is to love. Do not judge someone when you learn his sins, no matter how great. We are all tainted in God's eyes.

The thing is, secularists (I use the word broadly) are afraid of Christians, and hence uninformed about what it means to be a Christians, because as a group we have not sent the message properly. We do not live as we should, we do not speak as we should, and we do not listen as we should. Instead of sitting down and explaining the intimate dynamics of a relationship with God, we shout and condemn a sinner for his sins. Remember to remove the spec from your own eye first. Many conservative Christians, instead of going to prisons and getting to the heart of the criminal, sponsor politicians who would build more prisons, which does absolutely no good.

This entry was slightly long and rambly, but I wrote it to say this: faith is not religion. Faith is the anti-religion. Faith gets to the heart of what it means to be human - the ability to know God. Faith is not "a willingness to accept belief in things for which we have no evidence", it is the ability to see and the willingness to accept what is already before us. It is the duty of a Christian to teach this idea through the Bible. However, when the secular of the world make statements like the one above (read more here: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1119875749550), then we are failing.

Para mis amigos bilingües

Un actualiza en mi vida:

Mi novio anterior, Suhas, retrocedió a India. Estaba muy triste, pero ahora, estoy bien. Mi hermano y yo moverán a algunos apartamentos nuevos. Mi coche se rompió en, y ahora no me siento seguro. Terminé mi primer año de law school; ahora, asisto las clases del verano - Wills and Trusts y Federal Litigation. ¡Mi profesor para Wills and Trusts es maravilloso! Salgo más también. Lubbock tiene algunos lugares divertidos.

Mi madre moverá a Houston pronto. Todos somos muy entusiasmado. También, uní el equipo de Cricket de escuela. ¡Cuán divertido!

Bien, ahora estoy fuera de español. Espero que todos tengan tanta diversión que lee este como hice escritura.

The Grace by which I stand

When we are too weak to find the words to ask for what we need, the Spirit intercedes for us. We are reminded that we can do all things through Him that strengthens us.

My pastor said that to be a leader, it takes courage. We must face off with trials, stand up when tested, prove true through conflict, and stay the course trusted. Courage sets us apart. When he was tested, it was because of King David's convictions and his commitment to God that he gathered up courage, went to battle against the giant Goliath, defeated him, and overcame the great enemy of the Israelites at the time.

Daddy: thank you for teaching me the power of prayer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist : Brian Littrell
Song : In Christ Alone

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won
For I've been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone I overcome
Oh, I could stop and count successes like diamonds in my hands
But those trophies could not equal to the grace by which I stand

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope

Is Christ alone

In Christ alone do I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed
For only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness to my need
And now I seek no greater honor in just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses to the glory of my Lord

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope

Is Christ alone

A Legal Marvel

The following article really speaks for itself. I used Tribe's book this past semester. Good stuff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laurence Tribe's Big Surprise
Tony Mauro
Legal Times
05-27-2005


Ordinarily, the announcement by a law professor that he is not completing the second volume of the third edition of his book would not even merit a yawn.

But when that professor is Harvard Law School's liberal lion Laurence Tribe, the book is his famed treatise "American Constitutional Law" and he announces his decision in a letter to a Supreme Court justice, legal academics are left gasping in surprise and reaching deep for the appropriate metaphor.

"It's like Michael Jordan leaving basketball at the top of his game," says Ross Davies of George Mason University School of Law.

"This is like George Lucas announcing that he would not finish Episode III," adds Florida International University law professor Thomas Baker.

More esoterically, Yale Law School Professor Jack Balkin compares Tribe's announcement to Harvard Professor Henry Hart sitting down and refusing to deliver his third Holmes Lecture at Harvard Law School in 1963. "I can't think of a scholarly decision of similar symbolic importance," Balkin wrote on his Balkinization blog.

Tribe's treatise, first published in 1978, has been acclaimed as the leading -- or at least the most provocative -- modern synthesis of constitutional doctrine, assigned to countless law students and cited in more than 60 Supreme Court decisions. He revised it in 1988 and again in 1999 when the first volume of the third edition was published.

That most recent volume made headlines, surprisingly enough, because in it Tribe embraced a more individual rights view of the Second Amendment than he had before -- a shift that the National Rifle Association and other gun rights advocates seized on as vindication of their longtime assertions.

Now, with the nonpublication of the second volume, Tribe may make headlines again. Tribe's announcement came April 29 in a letter to Justice Stephen Breyer, who had asked him casually how he was coming on the second volume, which was scheduled to cover individual rights issues.

Tribe decided to write Breyer back. His "Dear Steve" letter and a 12-page elaboration will be published by Green Bag, Davies' law review at George Mason.

Tribe, 63, said neither personal factors nor ennui were at issue in his decision not to proceed. "It's not my health, which is fine," he wrote. "Or that I've lost interest in the questions the unpublished chapters would have discussed or the drive to pursue them doggedly."

Rather, Tribe said he had made his decision because, as he told Breyer, "conflict over basic constitutional premises is today at a fever pitch," moving rapidly in unpredictable directions. "No treatise, in my sense of that term, can be true to this moment in our constitutional history -- to its conflicts, innovations and complexities."

Tribe implies that a mere catalog or hornbook reciting recent decisions might be achievable, even if rapidly outdated. But a treatise seeking to explain constitutional themes and pull together seemingly disparate doctrines can't be done now, Tribe asserts. "I do not have, nor do I believe I have seen, a vision capacious and convincing enough to propound as an organizing principle for the next phase in the law of our Constitution."

Comparing the current turmoil to the beginning of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency in 1932, Tribe said, "attempting to proclaim a new synthesis would bespeak utter hubris were it not so manifestly quixotic."

Tribe cited the current debate over the use of international law in Court decisionmaking, renewed discussion of the "Constitution in Exile" movement, and sharp divisions over Establishment Clause doctrine as examples of flux in constitutional law. He also took a swipe at the "tragic" handling of the Terry Schiavo case by President George W. Bush and others, and conveyed a general discontent with the combative conservatism that he sees dominating the legal landscape.

Tribe's statement marks "an important moment" in legal scholarship, Yale's Balkin says, because of Tribe's status as the leading symbol of liberal constitutional interpretation. "When Larry Tribe says that a paradigm shift may be on the way, it is worth sitting up and taking notice."

Georgetown University Law Center professor Mark Tushnet, former president of the Association of American Law Schools, also said Tribe's decision is noteworthy -- and understandable. "There is always fluctuation, a buzz about certain doctrines," says Tushnet. "But here he's saying, correctly I think, that the uncertainty is much greater. Constitutional law has been proceeding on a plateau or a mesa, but now we are moving toward the edge."

Vanderbilt University Law School Professor Suzanna Sherry says Tribe is "a little late in realizing there is no grand unifying theory." She adds that Tribe's treatise was "invaluable when it was published, but now there are many more resources available."

George Mason's Davies held out hope that Tribe, like Michael Jordan, might "come back and take another swing at it." He added, "I refer to it all the time. When you are reading his book, it's like reading a book, not an encyclopedia. There's a rhetorical flair." Baker at Florida International agrees: "I feel a sense of loss that such a gifted and capable scholar has thrown up his hands."

Tribe's publisher is more optimistic. "Foundation Press will wait," said publisher Steve Errick. "We'll write Larry next year about his plans and keep the light on." Errick added, "Other texts and other publishers might fill the gap for now, but Larry's book defines and leads the way."

Tribe's decision gives a boost to his two main competitors in the market for constitutional treatises: Erwin Chemerinsky's "Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies" and "Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure" by Ronald Rotunda and John Nowak.

Authors of both books had different reactions to Tribe's announcement.

Chemerinsky, now a law professor at Duke, once worked as a research assistant to Tribe for his first edition. "Larry Tribe's book is the most brilliant book on constitutional law that I have read. Everyone -- judges, lawyers, professors, students -- will be worse off for not having up-to-date editions of this landmark book. It's a huge loss."

Rotunda, a professor at George Mason, said, "I can sympathize. It's a lot of work to synthesize." But Rotunda did not agree that the current flux of the law made synthesis impossible. "Every time is a transition time. There are always new directions in the law. I'm not sure this time is all that different."

Law as a Profession

A common stereotype, and one that probably deserves some credibility, is that practicing law is a lucrative choice of a profession. There are many lawyers who earn a lot of money. What is more, our culture builds up this image, much like it does the medical profession. Doctors and lawyers - marry one and you are set for life.

The sad fact of the matter is that the legal profession's image takes away from its higher calling: justice. The powerful dollar (or yen, or euro, or whatever) becomes a glittering deterrent for a newly minted attorney in deciding what jobs to consider and which one to take. Paying back student loans, buying fast cars, and living in the ultra-nice areas all entice and enslave the profession. We forget those principles of justice learned in our opening days and months of law school. We set aside those legal ideals of great jurists past in favor of current trends and impressions.

As a profession, we should not focus on money or power. Both are finite and corrupting. Instead, we should focus on what my Con Law professor called the General Level. Every now and then, and more often than we do, we should think about the cases we are presenting before the court and what they mean in the larger scheme. We should think about how we are contributing to precedent, and whether it is in a good or a bad way. We should carry with us always those principles of justice so rooted in our society that they are fundamental ways of thinking - or at least they should be for practicing attorneys. We should not choose the area of law that earns us the most money, but the area of law we would most enjoy practicing in and to which we could contribute the most. That may very well be business torts, but it may also be civil litigation for people in rural areas. It should be our conscious, not our wallet, that guides our practice as individuals and as a profession.

Set Apart

I begin with a statement: The essence of humanity is spiritual. There is logic and emotion, yes, but that is not what makes a person, a person. In the beginning, the world was created - the oceans, the land, the animals, and the heavens. Then, God created man. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27). What sets us apart is that we were created in the image of God.

The question at this point becomes, what does that mean? Does God have two legs and arms, a head full of hair, a sense of smell? I do not think it is our physical nature that the Bible is referring to, but the spiritual nature of man that was created in God's image. That is what sets us apart from all the other creatures on the earth.

Nothing in the physical world gives us salvation; it is through faith, by a decision of the heart, a decision of our spirit to accept and follow Christ that we rise from the fall and come to God again. For many years, physical offerings were given to God for forgiveness. Ultimately, however, it was a spiritual offering that brought salvation to the entire world. "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." (John 5:25). If the essence of humanity is not spiritual, then how could it be that those who are dead physically can still hear the word of God and chose life? Humanity is spiritual, and that spirit was created in God's image, and that is what sets us apart from the rest of creation.

This has great significance today. For example, in the debate about homosexuality, some people justify it by saying it is natural and point to species of, say, African frogs that can change sex on call. However, though frogs are a part of creation and received the breath of life (See Gen 1:30), they were not set apart and created in God's image. Men have a higher calling than frogs and the rest of creation. We are called to serve God and submit to Him in love because He loves us. There is a specific prohibition against homosexuality in the book of Leviticus, and we must follow it.

Another example is in the abortion debate. When does life begin? Life begins at conception with the zygote. God knew us before and during our growth in our mother's womb (Jer 1:5). The physical status of a person does not correlate to his or her spiritual status. If we are spiritual, then abortion must be murder, since the spirit already resides in the mother's womb no matter the size of child.

This particular blog entry may offend some people who think they can't help but be homosexual or that it is woman's body, she may do as she chooses. We all belong to God because He created us. We are called to treat our bodies as temples to the Lord. That is so very important when living in a culture of pleasure, gratification, and sin.

Can we amend some amendments?

This will be short due to time constraints. Nonetheless, I must rant.

The 9th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America says, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

The 10th Amendment to the Constitution says, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Well, now isn't that great? It is pretty clear there are some "rights" out there not mentioned in the constitution, like the highly inclusive right of privacy perhaps, but it isn't clear who has them and who isn't allowed to mess with them except that the Federal Government neither has them nor can touch them. So, my fellow Constitutional law scholars, we have a problem; a problem the Court has yet to really address.

Really these amendments need to be changed...Replaced...something. I'm very much the advocate of states rights, but I'm even more an advocate for individual rights. Ultimately, fundamental rights (and yes, that is ambiguous in and of itself) should be retained by the people exclusively. States should have no say in that area.

Now the question really is, what is fundamental? If the right to an abortion fundamental? What about the right to marry someone of the same sex? The question depends on how you define the right; there may not be a fundamental right to have an abortion, but there may be a fundamental right to privacy and decisional autonomy. Should the government have any say at all in what we do with our bodies? Or is that ultimately a moral choice - one which has consequences before God and no other? Then again, if you say it is a moral choice, the bible if very clear about civil obedience and the need to obey the government. No man (or woman) has power but for the grace of God.

Regardless, the Framers could have been a lot more clear about who has what rights. If they had just said that rights not given to the Federal Government or States in the Constitution or the amendments were reserved to the people, that would make studying for a Con Law exam easier...and Constitutional jurisprudence more manageable. However, we are faced with debates of static and dynamic rights, of expressed and implied liberties, of original intent versus evolving mores. Posterity has been given the task of defining individual rights, who has them, and who can limit them. Wouldn't it have been better to say that in the first place?

What men must understand

Recently, one of my friends told me about a personal struggle that I understand all too well; she was absolutely taken with someone who couldn't even see her. She clings to the hope that one day he will, not because she actually desires him, but because he symbolizes her need to be loved. She is experiencing a loneliness unique to women.

What men can never understand is the spiritual struggle women go through almost daily. Yes, there is some degree of difference between men and women. The measure isn't really in the performance of work, education, or sports. The real measure of that degree is in our spiritual conversations with other people and most importantly, God.

"...Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (genesis 3:16). I think that must be a hard line for most women to read. But the key to understanding is that, like every other part of the fall, our lot has also been redeemed. For, though as wives we are suppose to submit to our husbands, the apostle Paul said: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy..." (Eph 5:22). In Ephesians 5:21, we are all called to submit to one another; it is an act of love, not of domination.

This of course doesn't mean that the pain my friend feels will vanish. Just because God commanded men to honor women doesn't mean they will. However, God loved us first; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;" (Jer 1:5). In the end, we are sisters in Christ and daughters of God. He loves us and we can call Him our father. No matter the pain we feel in dating or, unfortunately, even in marriage, God is there for us regardless - no matter what. We pray to find Godly men who will love us as we should be loved, but even if we don't, God's love is greater than we could ever find here anyway.

There is a song by ZOEgirl called "Scream" that exemplifies this discussion beautifully.

"Does anybody know how I feel? Sometimes I'm numb, sometimes I'm overcome; Does anybody care what's going on? Do I have to wear my scars like a badge on my arm, For you to see me, I need release; Do I have to scream for you to hear me? Do I have to bleed for you to see me? 'Cause I grieve, you're not listening to me. Do I need to scream?"
...........

"I've been marked, set apart; But I'm cut so deep and afraid of the dark; One drop of blood from the hole in Your hand, is enough to heal me and make me stand.

'Cause I'm clean, He is listening to me

I don't have to scream for Him to hear me; Don't have to bleed for Him to see me; 'Cause I'm clean, He is listening to me;"

Exposition will come "post haste"; reference is "Eve's Revenge" by Lillian Calles Barger and the essay "This is my body" posted at: http://www.damarisproject.org/content/Features.asp?Action=Detail&Id=42

Power!

Not that I think there is a mass conspiracy afoot...but, think about the following. In the midst of a national energy crisis, what is the president in the news for most often (besides, of course, his "occasional" verbal slip)? Social Security. What is on the mind of the average voter? Gas prices. In addition to looking ahead to the next 40 years of social security, which is great, I think something more needs to be said about the next 40 years of energy also. That doesn't stop at the debate about the Alaska. It means moving away from oil to other forms of energy. Other energy sources would help us cut off those nasty OPEC ties. This isn't going to happen overnight, so a long term plan needs to be put into motion now. But where is the dialogue on this topic? I haven't seen much. "Alternative" energy sources seem to be left to the leftys, the hippies, "those" people. Of course, this is only one person's perspective. But I am none of the above, and I am most definitely for getting away from oil as our main energy source. There are a number of things that could replace it. Wind power is becoming pretty big here in west Texas. But that isn't it. We could have a number of sources or we could move to one main, streamlined form of energy - like hydrogen or hydro-electricity. It could be government or privately run. (That is a whole other debate). Regardless, something must be done and soon.

Who does he think he is?

Bill Gates was at it again, dabbling in something his "education" doesn't really qualify him to do. I understand that the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation gives a lot of money to high school programs. I understand also that it might take someone who has experienced something to really know the bad impact of it. That said, Bill Gates goes beyond the reach of his mouse pointer when he shows up at a Governor's convention this past weekend saying high schools are obsolete. I understand he was a corporate sponser, so he is more than entitled to get up and speak. Still, what qualifies him to give suggestions to our elected governors on how schools should be run? Where is his Masters in Education and Business Administration? Oh that's right, he dropped out of college. So when he says high schools today aren't preparing kids for a college education and that every kid today needs to go to college, he must really know...right? He was smart enough to get into Harvard, but his high school teachers never taught him the value of education. Wrong. He attended Lakeside School, Seattle's most exclusive prep school. There, he got the education that took him to Harvard and that enabled him to drop out so he could become a software developer. Further, Bill Gates has no idea what it is like in the high schools to which he refers - the ones that are obsolete because they don't prepare kids for college. Those are typically the poorer schools, that have less funding due to whatever reasons, be it a poor state finance system or what not. Bill Gates never went to such schools...not when his mother was a trustee on various corporate boards and his father was a corporate lawyer. So where do his credentials come from that he is qualified to advise on such a matter? I grow very tired of money and power being the only two criteria one must meet before you are a guru on every subject. Governors should be listening to teachers, principles, parents, and students in these "obsolete" high schools to get the real picture. Corporate sponsorship is fine - but that is where it should end, at sponsorship. The goal of education reform is good, but the means choosen to effect that goal - coporate lecturers - have no rational relationship to that end. When will our politicians get a clue?

Law School Culture

I have decided that I really don't understand the law school culture. Competition ^ infinity. Ugh. Why can't we all just get along? Like those crazy English majors? Then again, I really don't like English majors....they think too much and do too little. At least law is a profession that can change the world. English can of course too, I suppose, but when was the last time English gave you a speeding ticket, settled a million dollar law suit, or held an election in a place that isn't even a country. No, law is much more exciting and intriging. But way too mean.

Yes I know, cry me a river. I was reading some of the introductory stuff in my Con Law book right after Marbury. Wonderfully thoughful material. It made me excited to be in this profession. But then I started reading blogs and such, where people talking about T1, 2, 3, and 4 schools. Who Cares! Tell me, what are people at Harvard learning that is so much more golden than me at Tech? Give me a break.

Well anyway, I'll just stick with my books. They seem to be nicer.

Back at it again

::silence:: ::silence:: ::BANG!:: The horses are out of the gates again. Many a law student has experienced this once in a life time event...the beginning of the second semester of One L. Grades are back, and no matter how you did, you wonder how everyone else did and if you are in the dreaded last spot.

No matter how you did, you still have to play the game. You still have to look interested in class...typing away like a madman. But I've noticed long looks in the hallways of people who were previously jovial and the first people to ask me last semester, "How are you doing? Are you understanding everything?", and then to continue without pause to say, "Yeah, whew, I just finished compiling my completed outline with the one the Law Review editor gave me."

Long faces and game playing aside, I really distress that grades are such a big deal. No matter how people did, most of the class is glad to not be at the bottom of the curve; that Glad It Isn't Me mentality. At orientation, we were told we all deserved to be here or we wouldn't be. We are the best of the best. But then, why the Ds? And why are 28 people on academic probation? Though I am fully aware that law school is about learning how to deal with the competitive field of law, and I know in general what it feels like to get good grades and feel proud of what you did, some days, I really feel law school should be pass/fail. You fail if you really don't know the stuff and you pass if you are someone above that. The Bar Exam will distinguish the real lawyers from the pretenders.

In all this mess, there are still the good people. The people who did well, but don't brag. The people who didn't do as well, but are happy for those who did. The people who have high spirits in general, and know that law school isn't the be all and end all, and that 40 years of practice will be what makes you, you. I aim at being one of these people; they are the ones that I want to practice with and the ones that I will be proud to say are my colleagues.