f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

traffic light

after the storm, icicles

change hue

 

 

Chinese treasures:

the guard positions himself

near the erotica

 

by Pamela Miller Ness, from The Can Collector’s Red Socks (2003),

a haiku sequence

 

Professor Ghosh at AntitrustProf Blog keeps posting items that remind me

that competition policy and antitrust aren’t just important, they’re interesting.  E.g.,

In Text and Pretext in Antitrust Law he asks “If conservative jurists advocate strict

constructionism, then why are they so willing to inject contemporary economic thinking

into statutory antitrust laws?  Ghosh points to in an article by Professors Daniel Farber

and Brett McDonnell.

 

In IP Stifling Competition, Ghosh notes that both the Dept. of Justice and the FTC are

continuing to study the anti-competitive effects of intellectual property rights.

 

Antitrust for wine connoisseurs describes Douglas Whitman’s book Strange Brew, a study of

state and federal regulations that restrict competition in the wine industry.

 

  

       cold gathers

at the bottom of the hill

       empty mailbox

 

   wide-eyed colt

lays back his ears

     falling snow

 

 

from Presents of Mind, haiku & illustrations by Jim Kacian

(Katsura/Red Moon Press, 1996).

 

 

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  by dagosan:

peanut sauce

on her tongue

– two days ago

                                   [Nov. 16, 2004]

 

one-breath pundit

 

If you need this article from the ABA litigation section, you may need a new career: “Client Expectations:

Discovering Them, Understanding Them, Managing Them,” by Bruce Bikin.  Also, despite being posted on the TIPS

page, you won’t find any practical tips on how to discover and understand, much less manage, client expectations.

 

  On a related topic: my Referer list brought me to a cluster of articles about Lawyers Who Sue Lawyers (May 3,

1999, 99 LWUSA 414).   The story of W. Robert Curtis, who only handles plaintiffs’ legal malpractice cases, is quite interesting.  If your firm is engaging in any of the 21 behaviors on Curtis’ “problem areas” list, please cease and desist.  His successor firm, Curtis & Associates, offers a useful Is Something Wrong? page. Of coures, we’re wondering if the Curtis gang uses the oft-unfair standard contingency fee.  Also, see

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  If a Lawyer Bilks You from HALT
  
  
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  Suing Your Lawyer by Sherrie Bennett for law.com
  
  
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  cf. ethicalEsq Informing Consumers page

 

  News for Visiting Martians: “Charles Bahn, a professor of forensic psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said college degrees ‘don’t necessarily lead to a higher moral system… or mean that you are more honest.'”  (via SWVa LawBlog, “Why did so many Virginia social services workers steal”)

 

world of Buddha’s law–
even a dog on winter
pilgrimage

 

                               Issa/Lanoue

  The 9th Circuit en banc has more to say on excusable neglect and delegation to a non-lawyer.  [Pincay v. Andrews]  Like dissenting Judge Kosinski, I’m unhappy with a society (and a profession) that believes “taking full responsibility” for a mistake means never facing any consequences.  Of course, the client shouldn’t suffer for choosing an irresponsible lawyer. See George Wallace.

 

  Venting here was not quite sufficient for Evan Schaeffer, so he wrote his own post “Is Walter Olson Running Out of Material?” concering the slant Overlawyered gave to the get your million dollars vioxx lawsuit website story.   Of course, hoax page or not, those do appear to be genuine Google Ads by lawyers on the website — let’s see if any of them act to have their ads removed. [Update 8 PM: you’ll find some interesting Comments at Evan’s place — with Ted Frank, Fed84, Coyote and more.]

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

scenic viewpoint —
a kite string leads down
to the ice cream van

                       

last cast
a fisherman’s breath
becomes river mist

Matt Morden 

credits:”scenic viewpoint” – The Heron’s Nest (Oct. 2003)

“last cast” – The Heron’s Nest (Jan. 2002)

 

 

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  by dagosan: 

sitting to meditate –

toilet and nose

start running

      [Nov. 15, 2004]

 

one-breath pundit  

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  Check out Evan Schaeffer’s reaction to the vioxx-$million website, which we covered earlier

  
  

  today.  Ann Landers would probably blame Yalies with too much time on their hands.

                                                                                                                    

The get your million dollars vioxx lawsuit website is featured at Overlawyered and RiskProf

today.  Prof. Grace says:

“prof grace”  Everyone who pontificates (one way or the other) about litigation

reform needs to see this advertisement.  It truly puts the $$lot in lottery.

Prof. Yabut wants to go on record saying that the website is most probably a creature of either

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  the tort reform movement itself — hoping to make a few bucks from Goooogle Ads while
  
  
  catching some greedy tort lawyers and plaintiffs in the act of being naughty; or
  
  
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  the very entrepeneurial spirit so touted by Pres. Bush — inspired by his and the Reform

  
  

  movement’s insistence that there is a lot of easy money to be made from the Tort Machine.

If the website were the legitimate creature of a law firm or cartel of some sort, why would “Leon” the

proprietor point to a newspaper article that calls the site unscrupulous?   Or offer to sell the entire

site for “US$120K including content, hosting, and the method for traffics.”

 

And why use a a domain name [yi] based in Yugoslavia?  Of course, “yi” might stand for Yeast 

Infection — or be the Chinese ethics term for “faithful performance of one’s specified duties to

society.”  I wonder what Lawyer Schaeffer thinks of all this.

 

 

as Issa asks:

 

do you shine
so I’ll steal the plum blossom
moon?

                                                                                               

. . . would be reading (or trying to write) haiku like these by ex-lawyer Barry George,

rather than listening to the tv talking heads, who just ignore questions and spout

their talking points.  [I just turned off my tv! It’s a start.]

pink begonias
deepening
the grey fall

wind chimes
sharper, clearer
after snow

 

cats at twilight–
I am the magician
filling their bowls

 

Barry George at simply haiku

 

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  by dagosan: 

laughing alone

at the Sunday funnies

— both of us         

 

 

 

 

“this one goes on the ‘fridge” —

her Dagwood

pretends to nap

                           [Nov. 14, 2004] 

 

 

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  Does anyone really believe that one election in Afghanistan proves that democracy

  
  

  has “taken root” there? 
  
  
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  “If we want the voters to trust the umpires, we need umpires who don’t take
  

  sides.”  NYT editorial calls for election equipment and officials that are fair, open.
  
  
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  Walter has an interesting post about legal liability and Medicine by Phone.  . . . . . .  
  
  
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  Midterms over, Class Maledictorian concentrates on the vital issue of first date kisses.  I could have

  
  

  used her advice about 40 years ago, and 30, and 20, and 10, etc                                                        

Thanks to the Google Free folks, and the generous assistance of Harvard’s news librarian

Jessica Baumgart, you can finally search this website — for particular haiku poets, or the

oft-jaded opinions of ethicalEsq and Prof. Yabut, or anything else at this eclectic forum.

 

 

It’s time to celebrate, with a bit of introspective haiku from our favorite Alaskan,    

Billie Wilson:

 

deepening snow–

she leaves our atlas open

to her homeland

 

 

choosing a melon–

a song so old

I forget why I cry

 

 

from New Resonance 3: Emerging Voices

credits: “deepening snow” – Mariposa 9

“choosing a melon” – Frogpond XXV:3

 

 

 

by dagosan:

waving from the river bank

waving back

cattails

                         [Nov. 13, 2004]

 

 

one-breath pundit

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  Now I’m worried, but thanks anyway to Evan for pointing to this great smile-maker: 

  
  

  33 Reasons Why you shouldn’t post your picture on the internet.
  
  
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  Today, Prof. Bainbridge seems to be congratulating himself on being over 30 and having a

  
  

  brain.  I think our country and the world would be a lot better off if we all still had far more

  
  

  of the idealism and public spiritedness of the under-30 crowd.  The Sermon on the Mount

  
  

  (Matthew 5-7) suggests that Jesus didn’t live long enough to become a conservative —
  
  
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  and I don’t think eternity would be long enough to change His value system.

  News Librarian Jessica Baumgart of j’s scratchpad points to two stories of interest to webloggers

who worry that their enterprise might lose them their current job or prevent being hired in the future:

Getting a Job Because of a Blog.  Jessica cites a Globe and Mail article about employers who

view an applicant’s well-done weblog as a positive factor in the hiring decision.  Joey deVilla

— the accordionguy — is given as one example.  The G&B article offers suggestions on ways a

blogger can use the medium to make her-/himself a better candidate.  (e.g., webloggers should

come out from behind the veil of anonymity)

 

Corporate Blogging Policies This post links to material from Charlene Li of Forrester, who writes

about corporate weblogging policies, shares an example, and posts a code of ethics for company

and employee.

the woodpecker works
one spot…
all through sunset

 

  A job for webloggers:  Let’s join Prof. Bainbridge in urging the President and serious politicians to remove the scourge of gerrymandering — and then following up and staying on the case to get the job done.  (See Redistricting is creating a US House of Lords. David Broder) Let’s use our gadfly talents in a cause that will greatly improve our system of politics and government.

 

boom! boom! ka-boom!
so many duds…
fireworks

 

 

The Law Professor’s Job:  Prof B. also has a tribute to his professor Stan Henderson and quotes from

Henderson on the job of a law professor (and that of a lawyer, too):

The point to be underscored is that, whatever the time period, it is passion and commitment that

bring one to law study in the first place. And that is what carries one through law school and beyond,

whatever the career path. 

 

You now know that we teachers spoke the truth when we told you that we could do no more than prepare

you for a lifetime of self education.

 

We passed on the culture mainly by sowing seeds. But the real game the discovery of self and a sense of purpose, of proportion was always yours, when you sat here in rows, and when, in the years since, you have faced into the headwinds, at times fierce.

The Attorney General’s Job:  The New York Times, and many webloggers (e.g.), are talking about whether appointment of Alberto Gonzales to be AG is more or less likely to position him for a Supreme Court nomination.  Despite Steve Bainbridge’s points, it seems to me that being recently vetted for Attorney General does not and should not give a nominee a get-into-court free card — not only are they very different positions, but service as AG may provide much insight about the candidate.  [Prof. B certainly cannot be gainsaid, however, that “Blogospheric prognostication has proved fallible.”  Is he similarly insightful in class?]

 

  Snow Job?  Bill O’Reilly was on the Charlie Rose Show last night (11/11/04) — see the

forum discussion.  O’Reilly says he now has people with him 24 hours a day to assure he never again

gets attacked with false charges like the recent sexual harassment allegations.  Bill blames the

internet and weblogs for creating an atmosphere where every rich or famous person now has no

ability to defend themselves from false charges.  O’Reilly constantly stated that the settlement

agreement kept him from discussing the case (and that he had insisted on the clause) and that

the settlement “said I did nothing wrong.”  Charlie never noted that virtually all settlements use

that boilerplate. 

the market workers
bare-chested…
spring snow falling

 

  Did we mention assigned work? click for a smile-groan. 

 

Back to work: Stuart Levine says he’s finally going to get back to work on his TaxBiz weblog.  We are

pleased (while remembering he seems to have said this before).

 

the dragonfly, too
works late…
night fishing

 

all above haiku by Issa, translated by D.G.Lanoue

 

  Not working: Despite our early enthusiasm for Blawg Republic, it seems clear 

that its revamped format is not working.  I can get virtually any post (from my or another weblog

in its Directory) into the list of twenty “Top Blawg Posts” by just mentioning it on this humble

homepage.   From the many repeat weblogs on the list, others have learned this trick, too.  BR is no

longer a place to go to see what is new in the weblawgiverse.

 

 

the anger from work

in my son’s birthday balloons

George Swede from 

Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede 

 

 

long deposition–
the lawyer’s
“at the risk of repeating myself”

by Barry George  

 

• 
  
  by dagosan:

first snowfall

no one knows how to drive

‘cept I

                              [Nov.12, 2004]                                                                                                                              

November

yesterday’s puddle

brittle under my boot

 

 

Veteran’s Day

the soliloquy lengthens

the afternoon chill

 

 

 

  Tom Painting, from the haiku chapbook piano practice       

(Bottle Rocket Press, 2004)

 

 

 

 

• 
  
  by dagosan:

handful of pawns

protect the king –

Veterans Day

                              [Nov.11, 2004]

 

one-breath pundit  

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  My thanks to all the Veterans of every generation who have fought — when needed — to make America and the world more free.

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  My apologies to all the soldiers whose job in Fallujah is so much more dangerous because their (our) Commander-in-Chief delayed the battle to assure his election victory. (see Fallujin’ around; With the election over, let the Fallujah bloodbath begin!; where’s the American media hiding?)

          

The plumber finally came to stem a hot water leak in my bathroom.  Despite gray clouds,

things are looking up.  To celebrate, you get both George Swede and Alice Frampton today.

 

as the rain ends

once more the drip

of the tap

 

ocean sunset

he whispers something

and her earrings glow

 

 

George Swede from Almost Unseen: Selected Haiku of George Swede 

(Brooks Books, 2000) 

 

 

last goodbye –
scent of his wool coat
deeper into my nose

 

 

 

mammogram–
morning snowflakes
stick 

 

 

Alice Frampton  from New Resonance 3: Emerging Voices

“mammogram” – The Heron’s Nest 3:9; “last good-bye” – The Heron’s Nest Volume 4:2

 

by dagosan: 

even lovelier

naked —

backyard elms

                                       [Nov. 10, 2004]   

 

one-breath pundit  

  Former Senator Gary Hart, who recently wrote The Fourth Power: A Grand Strategy for the United States in the Twenty-First Century had some wise words in an NYT op/ed piece this week, including:

Whether Bush supporters care or not, people around the world now see America as arrogant,

self-righteous and superior. These are not qualities of any traditional faith I am aware of. 

 

If faith now drives our politics, at the very least let’s make it a faith of inclusion, genuine compassion, humility, justice and accountability.

• 
  
  
  
  Law student and weblogger sarnia has guest-written an excellent piece at Legal Underground today on Effective Communication after the elections.  She suggests that respect and understanding work better than nastiness.  Sarnia raises the average thoughtfulness of student webloggers significantly.

• 
  
  Like Prof. Bainbridge and Paul Caron, I wonder just what the New Jersey Court administrators were thinkiing when they told jurists not to respond to USNews questionaires on law school rankings.  As Brian Leiter pointed out: this will simply penalize the New Jersey law schools, which are, presumably, rated more highly by New Jersey judges than judges in neighboring jurisdictions.dissuaded from participating.” Frequent visitors to this weblog already know the low esteem with which this Editor holds the organized bar in the Garden State.

• Like Walter Olson and Lester Brickman, I ‘d like to see actual payouts in class action settlements like the Ameritech case discussed here tracked and made public.

  Inadvertant Searchee update: in the past two weeks, querists have made the following search engine queries.  Click TISK! to find out how f/k/a fared in the results and how your Editor reacted — yes, there were lots of #1’s.

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