My Election Day

Tuesday, I spent the day- 13 hours, to be exact- under a tent in James City, VA, handing out sample ballots and answering various questions about voter registration and ID requirements. The weather was unseasonably warm for November, but the rain was constant. Since I was at the Obama tent all day, I got to meet a dozen or so local volunteers- mostly retirees- as they came and went throughout the day in shifts. These men and women shared their stories with me. One man was a former State Department official, another was an airforce and airline pilot, another was an entrepreneur in Boston. Their wives were equally interesting: one was a former campaign operative in D.C., another a Ph.D. in education, another made the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted. All were giving their precious time to participate in democracy. All were filled with hope at the possibility of fundamental change in America.

I met a Mexican woman who had just voted for the very first time. She beamed with pride as she told us she became a citizen so she could vote for Obama.

I saw dozens of black men, women, and children entering the voting precint, each with the opportunity to vote for a president who shares their skin color. I saw a young black boy, who had just accompanied his mother to the voting booth, chanting "Obama, Obama" as they walked back to their car.

I witnessed true comradeship with the McCain-Palin volunteers, who were as dedicated as us in braving the rain and cold. At one point, a man volunteering with the McCain campaign came over to our tent and extended his hand as an expression of unity. We had a warm and lively conversation about the ideals we share.

Then, when I finally returned home to my apartment, soggy and frigid, I watched in the TV room as the first black man to ever be elected U.S. President delivered his victory speech. I, along with million of others, got to witness a defining moment in our history.

And, at the White House, thousands of people gathered, cheering and crying and dancing and laughing. People honked their car horns. People leaned out of windows in nearby buildings to shout expressions of jubilation.

Yes. We did.

And now, the real work begins.

Initial Impressions on the Governor from Alaska

I have seen her interviews, I have seen her speech at the convention, and I have reviewed some of her record. I cannot understand how anybody can honestly say that Sarah Palin is either qualified or prepared to assume the office of Vice President. It is one thing to belittle an opponent for his work as a community organizer. That at least can be blamed on a speechwriter's rhetorical bullying. It is another to mindlessly repeat the same talking points during interviews, dodging difficult and legitimate questions about our nation's most pressing issues like the economy and foreign policy. How can anyone deny Sarah Palin's ignorance about our economic problems and our foreign policy after witnessing her bumbling responses in her interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric? You can't blame her lack of coherent answers on journalistic bullying or biased media. It's clear that she has little knowledge about the issues.

Please watch her interviews, and consider whether this woman is genuinely qualified to be Vice President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNPGnZurs1k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg6hF0nShQ

My Life in Pictures

So, here are some photographic representations of my life these days. I would have posted these sooner but I just now figured out how to connect my camera to my computer. Voila mes amis...


The outside of the "Aston"- my apartment building


The lobby of The Aston


The lobby of The Aston


Our TV room


Our communal room


Up the stairs to my room....on the 9th floor


Welcome to Aston 901, a.k.a. "Chez Sidler"


Once you walk in, look to your right: there's my bathroom and walk-in closet


Walk a little further, and there's my kitchen on the right


My dining room, a.k.a. bar


My desk of knowledge


Yes, I've reverted back to a twin bed. It is uber-non-comfortable.

And now, to campus!


A brief subway jaunt


Our illustrious namesake


Walking past George Washington University Hospital


Here's the campus gym


A cool-looking church on campus


The campus "gate"


Another George W. statue- this one on the law school quadrangle


The law school quadrangle


This is where the magic happens...


The "leather lounge" on the first floor of the law school


The "hard lounge" on the first floor of the law school


Another study lounge


The moot courtroom


Yes, we have lockers...just like in high school, except smaller


The "Uptowner Cafe" on the law school campus


Here's my section just after a class

Life in D.C.

Whew! The first two weeks of law school went by in a flash, I must say. It's definitely been an adjustment getting back into the "student" mode, but all in all it's been manageable and interesting. And a lot of work. Monday through Wednesday are my busiest, and it's quickly becoming apparent that I will not be a stranger to 14-hour days. It's not necessarily the amount of reading we're assigned that's so time-consuming, it's the amount of detail we are expected to glean from case excerpts that are sometimes written as if they're in code. Nobody writes like a lawyer! And no, that's not a compliment to lawyers.

So.......

To give you an idea of what they're teaching us here, I'll give you a run-down of my classes this semester. First, there's Civil Procedure, which is basically an overview of the procedural process that's followed in bringing civil cases (as opposed to criminal cases) to court and litigating them. There's all manner of fun new vocab words like "in rem jurisdiction" and "interrogatory."

Next, there's Contracts, which is the study of...you guessed it: contracts. Basically, this class is about promises people make and when they're enforceable by law. Now, you might be thinking that all promises are enforceable, but no. People simply can't be forced to keep their word 100% percent of the time or we'd be litigating until kingdom come. Fun vocab words here: consideration, reliance, breach.

Third, there's Criminal Law, which examines the criminal justice system, including theories of punishment and discussions of what constitutes a crime. We've been spending much of our time discussing the various theories behind why we punish people for wrongdoing. Fun vocab words here: utilitarianism, retributivism, mens rea, actus reus.

Fourth, there's Torts, which you might understand if you took French in high school. The French word, "tort", means "wrong". So, basically, Torts is about when people should be held liable for non-criminal wrongs they commit against others, whether intentional or not. We've been spending time discussing strict liability and negligence so far. Fun vocab words here: trespass on the case, standard of care, tortfeasor.

Seriously, I think I'll name my first child "Tortfeasor". "Come here, little tortfeasor."

Finally, there's Legal Research and Writing, which is a small 12-person seminar which is supposed to teach us, you guessed it, how to research and write. You may be thinking that we were supposed to have learned this in college. Well, au contraire, amigo. This is LEGAL research and writing, which is a third cousin twice-removed from normal research and writing. This weekend, I will have the distinct privilege of paging through various case reporters and volumes with scary-looking covers and absolutely no pictures. We'll see how it goes...

Well, that's a brief introduction to my life in the law over the past two weeks. I'll keep you posted as time unfolds.

Ciao!