{"id":3557,"date":"2005-01-21T13:48:16","date_gmt":"2005-01-21T17:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/01\/21\/baloney-and-hotham-for-a-cold"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:58:02","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:58:02","slug":"baloney-and-hotham-for-a-cold-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/01\/21\/baloney-and-hotham-for-a-cold-day\/","title":{"rendered":"baloney and hotham for a cold day"},"content":{"rendered":"

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first the Hotham<\/STRONG>:<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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loud wind–<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the bed unmade<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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all day<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"rook<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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my move<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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their move<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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morning clouds<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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a pile of orange peelings–<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the night watchman<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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away from his desk<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Gary Hotham<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> from <\/FONT>breathmarks: haiku to read in the dark<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A> <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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(<\/FONT>Canon Press<\/FONT><\/A>, 1999)<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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 <\/FONT>
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by <\/FONT>dagosan<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A>:<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT>  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a green mitten<\/DIV>
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at the curb —<\/DIV>
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warming one small red hand<\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV><\/DIV>
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                                         <\/FONT>  [Jan. 21, 2005]<\/FONT><\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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now the baloney<\/STRONG> beat:<\/FONT><\/EM><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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one-breath pundit<\/STRONG><\/EM><\/FONT><\/A> <\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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“tinyredcheck”  There may be some excellent reasons for entering the Pacific Legal Foundation<\/A>‘s 6th<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Annual Judicial Writing Contest<\/A>, but getting extra spending cash — the point stressed<\/A> by both <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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PLF’s Tim Sandefur (<\/FONT>free money<\/FONT><\/A>) and Crime & Federalism’s Mike Cernovich — does not come readily <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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to mind as a benefit you can count on.  <\/FONT>Mike (Fed84) says<\/FONT><\/A> that not entering the Competition while <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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in law school is one of his biggest regrets, because “First, it’s an<\/FONT> excellent way for you to make some <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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extra money.”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Maybe I’m being uncharacteristically curmudgeonly, but PLF is giving away a total of $9500 to the  \"boy<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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top three prize winners.   I don’t know how many entrants there usually are, but if Tim and Mike are <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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successful in drumming up a lot more essays through weblog publicity, I think the odds will start getting <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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kind of long.   It takes an investment of two bucks and a moment to scratch off a lottery card, but the New <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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York state Lottery gives you the approximate odds of winning<\/A>.  And, laws like Montana’s “<\/FONT>Disclosure of Odds<\/FONT><\/A>” <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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requirement exist in all states for such games.  Do PLF’s entrants — who are expected to submit publishable <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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essays of 8,000 to 14, 000 words — deserve less, even in the libertarian world of laissez faire?<\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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To my cynic’s eye, it’s ironic that the essays this year will cover the Takings Clause of the Constitution and <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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theories of government “givings.”  It seems PLF is taking a lot for all the time and effort the entrants will be <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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giving, basically, to help PLF brainstorm and draft future briefs and other documents.  The usually tough-minded <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and skeptical Fed84 says “I can’t see a downside to your entering the contest.”  It seems to me that the likelihood <\/FONT>of doing lots of unpaid work, and the need to take the libertarian side of the argument for a realistic chance at some <\/FONT>money, might be downsides to many law students.  If your financial aid office counts any winnings aginst your aid <\/FONT>package, you might also see another downside.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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