Someone Needs a Civics Lesson

So...whats a gal with a paper to write to do this morning? Get to work writing my paper, just have to do a few things before I get to it.

So..., I have now been sitting here for about an hou. I let the cat in, I let the cat out, I checked all my email addresses (new school, old school, junk, personal, blog, etc), I had a snack, I had a shower, I watched the end of the Tyra show.

So, the only thing left to do before delving into my work was to check my debate boards to see which lonely housewife/welfare recipient had something funny or interesting to say. Well I did get my fix this morning with a brilliant idea thought up by one poster who particularly lacks a logical thought process.

So She says: A Tax payer cannot track down the taxes they have paid to a specific food stamp allotment, salarary, medicine provided to someone on medicaid, or any social welfare problem. Because of this we cannot say "my money pays for welfare" because we can't say for sure that out specific cash supports welfare. So when someone posts a senario about food stamp users purchasing say crab legs with tax dollars and asks for opinions, apparently none of us are allowed to have an opinion about it.

People tried to reason with her... but that is how the tax system works, but we cannot prove where a single penny of our tax dollars go to does that mean we cannot voice any opinions about government spending? Ummm.... this doesn't seem right. What about those who don't pay taxes (and many people paying taxes out of their paychecks get it back at tax time through refunds and various tax credits), do they get no say at all? Why let them vote????

Oooooh.... the basic premise of this country, democracy huh? What kind of moronic attitude is "I don't know if my money funded that giant government waste so I should keep my opinions about the fact thats a waste to myself."

That doesn't make sensne to me...well I DO understand her arguement I just think it basically concedes that we shouldnt judge what the government spends money on, and I think its very important that American's keep a watchful eye and remain vocal about government spending.

Also... In other news, this site comes up 4th or something when searching for "poor people shouldn't have children". I am so proud of myself :(

First Year :)

One Last Weekend

After this weekend the last paper of the semester is getting turned in!!!! Writing this paper has been one of the most frustrating processes of all time. Most of my issues with this assignment comes from having to write a long paper with another person.

Now, I hate writing alone....try getting 2 law students together to write one coherent paper. Right, but they wouldn't let us use the same partners we have had all semester so, we switch up and I get stuck with (lets call her) Obsessive Nikki "ON".

ON is a perfectly nice girl in class, but I think her employment at XXXX has turned what used to be an easy going person into an OCD monster, a person no one should have to work closely with. So, so every deadline she insists on sending everything to the professor, putting everything together, spliting things up, making lists of things and deadlines, and basically taking control of everything.

Normally this would be great but ON is apparently only good at the organization portion of things and not so much the substance of the writing. During the consult with the proffesor her sections were ripped apart and she apparently missed many landmark cases and hadn't heard of them before.

So, I've had to go back and redo a lot of research and writing. Her grammar and citation skills are great though. seems fair to me... I write most of the paper and she..... ummm... moves commas around and makes sue they are underlined. Those See cites can be tricky!

Sorry for the vent... just can't wait to stop working on this paper and to get back the non-OCD Nikki I knew before this fiasco :)

First Year-

Warrants and the Such

So, the entire 1L class has been working diligently on this memo (which is in fact the bane of my existence) and one of the central issue involved the fine line between an arrest a "terry" stop and frish and a consensual police encounter. In the pursuit of our education in this matter one of the legal writing
proffessors decided to bring some examples up for discussion to illustrate the point:

1. If you were were walking down the street and a police officer was walking towards you and said hello as you pasted, what sort of encounter would this be? Do you feel safe in walking away from this encounter? Do you feel coerced and threatened in any way?

Really teacher... I think at the point that we're in law school we'll be able to walk by a cop, say hi, and somehow resist the urge to run off. Hopefully. But if you do run off....I am pretty sure the consnensual encounter would escalate to a higher level. Cops usually get suspicious if you run from them or refuse to return a pleasantrie in the street. They're still people!!!

2. If you were standing on a street corner and a police officer parked near you and asked you a few questions about your identity and about what you were doing, are you under arrest? Are you free to walk away? Do you feel threatened?

Well... I don't usually stand on a street corner, and depending on the neighborhood I could see how standing around (perhaps while everyone else is at work or asleep???) How about... if you're not doing anything illegal.... just answer the questions, be normal, don't run, don't pull out a weapon. Just answer the questions and move on.

3. If the police have entered your house to execute a search warrant, you are handcuffed on the ground but not in a police car, are you under arrest? Do you feel free to leave?

No... I am not free to leave, I have handcuffs on and the police is rummaging through nmy house. This is a great time to say NOTHING. Just keep your mouth shut and be under arrest.


Even dumber then these examples would be the type of student who would be stumped by them. I can imagine one of my classmates sitting there chewing his pencil, thinking, "well he diiiiid say hi.... that would be sorta like you are under arrest....".

So thanks professor, I appreciate if you would stop assuming we are stupid. Thanks :)

Oh thats right... I have a blog :)

I havent posted in a while, and the odd thing was that the longer it was the less I knew what to say when I posted again. So (in no order) is what I've been up to lately instead of posting here :)

1. spring break
2. huge paper
3. giant amounts of reading
4. planting a bunch of things in the yard/digging it up/etc

Well... that was lame, but I must go back to the paper :)

Getting it Back Together

OK.... so I am really trying to drag myself out of this slump and really writing here does help, or at least it gives me a break.

So, of course I am behind in my reading, which wouldn't bother me so much if I also wasn't feeling so blah about school. I had been making no plans to cram or anything and was missing classes (sometimes when they don;t take attendance it can be a curse).

So... today I am going to do at least the Con Law reading for tonight, and go to class tonight and just not try to think about the large overwhelming picture. I'll use the motto of recovering addicts everywhere, take on day at a time. Because when I think about reading all the back readings, and all the things I need to do before finals it makes me a little panicky and unable to do anything.

Hell, maybe I will even "Brief" the cases for class tonight, something I have not done at all this semester :( Maybe less relaxing will happen over break and a lot more reading. Screw these papers stealing my time, soul, energy, and general motivation for school and life.

Wheeeew, it wasn't fun owning up to my problem, but seeing it in writing somehow makes it more managable.

First Year-

Lawschool Blues :(

Hey all... (and by all I dont really know what I mean) I havent been updating like usually because I've just been buried lately :( I just can't seem to get ahead. I just finished a huge paper and my reward is to start on a huger paper. Then of course the make up classes come forcing us to stay twice as long at night time.

I am just frustrated and really hating this semester. I mean last semester was hard and long, and also not a lot of fun, but at least I was sort of enjoying what I was studying in some way. This semester is void of any joy at all.

I dont have time to see my friends and be there for them in the way that I usually am and want to be. I don't even enjoy writing in my blog and venting because the thought of writing is disgusting to me.

Spring break is next week though and while I will likely spend 70% of it writing this fucking paper of death I also plan to catch up on my sleep, take a bubble bath and most importantly:

READ A BOOK FOR PLEASURE!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I hope you all are alot less stressed then me. I will be just fine. Any other law students/former law students/grad students/whatever that might be reading this....ever felt this way? You know basically questioning what the fuck you are doing there??? Should I have gone for the MBA instead? Just hate doubting myself, I've wanted to be a lawyer since elementary school (when everyone wanted to be a teacher or an astronaut)

First Year-