Here's a thought ... Let's stop funding campaigns

Seriously. Why is it at my tax dollars are used to fund someone else campaign? Maybe I support them, and maybe I don't so why do my tax dollars go to fund their campaigns?

This is not like being asked to pay taxes for something that I don't like but probably actually benefits me (like IRS agents or social security programs). This money is going to a private citizen so that he can for an office.

How is it in the public interest for the government to fund someones campaign? It's like it is propping a losing side, since if the candidate was popular enough, then they would be able to get donations from their constituents.

Why is this bugging me so much? Well a while ago I got spammed by the Dewitt Lacey campaign. Apparently, Mr. Lacey is running for Supervisor for district 10 here in San Framcisco. Now I do not know Mr.Lacey, and have no idea where the district is that the hopes to represent (hell barely know which district I live in). Furthermore, I am pretty sure that I did not ask to be put on his spam lit, bit there it was this afternoon in my inbox.

Anyhooo... In his email, along with trumpeting that he had been endorsed by SEIU, which I presume means he is a Democrat because I haven eve heard of a Republican being endorsed by SEIU, he crowed about how he finally qualified for San Francisco's campaign financing program. Not only that, but if I wereto give so much, then the City would match it 4 to 1.

Are you kidding me? The City runs in the red. We've goat litany of needed programs that are screaming for money, but we're going to finance someone's run for Supervisor.

We need to end this nonsense. You want to run for office, you pay your own way. Stop having my tax money go toyour campaign.your going to steal enough from me when you get to office anyways.

It sort of goes along with what I was talking about yesterday

see below.

(H/T to Last of the Few)

Week 2 of Dancing With The Stars Madness (TiVo Cooperated This Time, Yay!)

So no more hasselling the Hoff. Very interesting America. I would have thought you would have taken out someone else first. But there you go.

Leading off tonight is Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke doing the jive. He's a big guy. On Dancing With The Stars, this dance has rarely been that kind to a the big man, especially one with the nickname of the "Tank" who has a tendon injury. I like his attitude. Interesting choice of song by the producers (Tush). He's what I expect, heavy on his foot. And I wonder if he was supposed to catch Cheryl in the face with that kick over. Overall, nice routine. He was in time with the music, but not particularly bouncey. And there were no kicks and flicks, but I think that has to do with his limitations. Len was nice to him, but he pointed out something that most other athletes who are tall on this show don't ever get: he kept his steps small. I thought above the knees, he was fine. 21 was a little higher than I thought they'd give, but there you (I would have expected a 19).

Following up that was Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas doing my favorite ballroom dance, the quickstep. Another interesting song (Suddenly I See). She starts off right on his hip, good for her. Things start to get a little fuzzy as they head back up towards the stage where she gets off his hip. Nice spin turns, but then again, she is back in on his hip. The more open she gets in this dance, the more wrong it goes. The kicks and flicks did not go well and I think it hit her confidence a little since the last section was not nearly as crisp as the start. Bruno gets shouted down, but he is making valid criticisms pointing out there was good but there was bad. And then Carrie Ann does her best impersonation of Paula Abdul blithering on about her dancing. Len was generous, but then again he knows Michael Bolton is waiting to dance. The 19 was a little generous.

Brooke Burke note of the night: she is wearing a great dress. A significant improvement over the atrocity of last week's reveal show.

Brandy and Maksim. Its a train wreck waiting to happen. When will it start? Dancing the jive to some song that was a mystery to me. Brandy looking good in the naughty school girl outfit. Too bad she is lost out there and off beat. Her footwork is not crisp, its not to the right place and then Maksim threw in a solo. Was he trying to get Len to come down on her like the Wrath of Khan?  She is making Rick Fox look like he was bouncy. Can someone please explain the standing ovation she was given? That was a fracking disaster of a dance. Even Carrie Ann had to admit that there were problems. Ahh the train wreck seems to be starting, Maks threw her under the bus and she returned the favor to Len. Will someone please explain to me this score? Mrs. Angrybell is calling foul along with me because Fox's dance was better, yet got the same score. Are they trying to keep her on because they liked last week.

Michael Bolton and Chelsea Hightower drew the jive. The song is Hounddog. And Bolton comes across in the clips of the training as a whiner. Lots of mucking about at the top of the steps. Once they get to the dance, its kind of sedate. If anything Bolton comes across as heavier on his feet than Fox., And the longer into he gets, the more he loses the jive steps. Part of the problem is that much of the time the steps he is taking are larger than Rick Fox's, and he is surrendering a few inches to Fox. About all I can say that is good about this routine is that he didn't drop Chelsea. This was not a question of chereography. It had a lot of basic in it. This was a lack of execution. Powerful comment by Bruno that this was the worst jive they've seen in the history of  the show. Mrs. Angrybell wonders if Bruno got shot down by Michale Bolton to earn that 3. The total was 12.

Audrina and Tony followed up that routine with a quickstep. Whats up this season? Didn't someone get the memo that Tony is the cougar magnet, not the young single magnet? Mrs. Angrybell wodners how she manages to go on as oppressed she is by this show. Crying? Really? Ms. Partridge, grow the frack up. You are on a contest. Sheesh. Did she raid Anna Trebunskaya's closet? After all that, it kills me to say, she is dancing well. Tony finally got someone who might stick around for a while. Footwork is pretty nice, just little improvements need to be made. I missed the posture problems. So far, best dance of the night. As much as it pains me, she should come back, bloody cry baby. And Tony misses the waxing by a point. 23 was a good score.

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough had to find someway to follow up last week's score. This week, its the jive. Who knew that Baby had cancer. Like the footwork. Its crisp. There's the nice bounce to it most of the time. Her kicks are good and her hands extend  well. I think Derek went a little too conservative with the choreography here. It left her dancing in one spot too much when there might have been a better solution. She moved really well. Good routine. Nice follow up to last week's routine. 24 was a good call by the judges, though I have to say I'm a little confused why they got the extra point that eluded Audrina.

Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel somehow survived elimination last week. This week they get to seek redemption with the jive. Really, second week and all the women seem to want to break down for these absurd reasons? Going for the Blondie look to compliment the song, but its working for Margaret here. Plus, she is dancing much better than the brief clip I saw last week. Some footwork trouble, but its light years better than the dance that Brandy turned in. Its not as good as either Jennifer or Audrina's routines, but she is executing most of the dance better. Plus, this is one of the few times I think Derek gets out-choreographed. Louis has a weaker dancer for a partner, as opposed to trying to choreograph around an injury, but he makes her look more mobile. Margaret and Louis just got hosed. That dance was better than what has been established as the midpoint for the jives tonight (i.e. better than Brandy). The 18 was just wrong.

Kyle Massey and the still blonde Lacey Schwimmer doing a quickstep. By the way, who told her that she should go blonde? And there's a bit of mucking about at the top, but that quickly gives way to the dance, thankfully. Not a fan of this song, but whatever, the producers don't listen to me. Its not precise. His posture is mostly ago. Mrs. Angrybell thinks that the dressers hate Lacey because that outfit makes her look like she was attacked by tulle. I didn't think it was anything special. Good but not great. Mrs. Angrybell disagrees with me about Lacey's new hair. She thinks she looks better.  That 22 seems overly generous.

Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya drew the jive. Let's see how this goes. Apparently Anna never saw Top Gun, because that's where Highway to The Danger Zone comes from. Have to say I am impressed by Kurt. He is lighter on his feet than any of the other NFL greats that have hit the dance floor that come to mind. He needs to watch his hunching. Its not so bad here, but its like he is trying to be smaller and instead of taking smaller steps, he hunches a bit. It was good, solid dance. They gave him a 21. I'm confused by the scoring tonight.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff are looking for some improvement. Is she trying to show off her belly to compete with him? Just wondering. Please, someone gag him. Please. Posture needs work, he needs to not look down. He is on his toes too much, but he's keeping time most of the time. He needs to be in on her hip, and not pull away from her. Wonder how many times he's been told to stand closer to a woman. Anyways. As it goes on, lots of little mistakes are sapping his confidence and he starts to look more tentative. Well.. it wasn't as bad Bolton. There was a lot of charity in that 18.

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas were the clean up tonight doing the quickstep. I think the costumer must be a Democrat. How else do you expect putting Bristol in outfit that makes her look that heinous. She sometimes has this look on her face thats screams "I'm surprised I haven't tripped yet." Footwork is good, but needs to get off the toes and into the proper stepping, but the dance is moving along well. She hung in on his hip pretty well. Good routine. Ms. Palin, please, you are doing well. Stop looking like you feel like you are going to trip. Fake it. Act perhaps. Just like Bruno said to. 22 was the final score, maybe a smidge high but whatever.

Alright, so who do you throw back this week? The men this season, with the exception of Rick Fox and Kurt Warner are... not great. I'm not loving Kyle Massey. Sorry. I'm just not. Michael Bolton, you have little to fear. You won't have to be showing up for rehearsal too much longer if America votes as it should.

It's Funny How The Past Suddenly Looks So Rosey Already

Now if you're a somewhat regular reader ofthiablog, you probably already know what itinkofthe current Obama Administration. If not, then let me summarize my opinion of President Obama adminsitration as we approach the two-year mark: failure.

Man got himself by a healthy majority of the voters. It wasn't a landslide,butitwas a more decisive victory than the one won by Bill Clinton back in 1992.in addition to winning th majority of voters and the electoral college, President Clinton cameo to office with a substantial majority in the House of Representatives and a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.

With all this support, you would think he would have been able to get his vision accomplished. What we got was a muddled and weak foreign policy. A president easily distractedly by local incidents that the could not resist stepping into (remember the so called "Beer Summit"?) who seemed to only want to lecture in ideals but refused to put out concrete plans for how he wanted to effectuate his ideas. The few laws he did manage to convince congressmen to put forth have either failed miserably, like the mortgage relief act, failed abominably, like the stimulus package that inflated the national debt to levels never seen before, or are on their way to failing (or have you not seen what has been happening with your healthcare premiums lately?)

Along the way, we've seen record numbers of foreclosures and unemployment at rates regularly exceeding 9%, almost 1 in 10 people out of work. Many of those who do have jobs, unless they are high wage earners, we are learning, are earning less and less.

Now, not all of this is President Obama's fault. The problem is, most of this is happening and continuing to happen on his watch. At first, the American people gave him a pass on some of the responsibility. However, that tie has long passed, and yet President Obama doesn't seem to realize that. He continues to encourage people to blame Bush for nearly every problem that has happened since he retook the oath of office.

And this has caused many people to look back longingly at those long distant days of 2005, when President Bush sat in office with his GOP dominated Congress and say to rest of us "Miss W yet?"

I totally understand this temptation. It makes sense. Under President Bush we felt like certain things were happening, for good or ill. We knew that he was going to protect us, even if it meant he was going to protect us from ourselves. We knew what he would do when it came to finding out information that he and his advisors thought were necessary to safe guard our by watch 24 to see what Jack Bauer would do to protect us.

Jokes aside, we knew could depend on him to send unambiguous messages about what he intended to do on foreign policy. Can you image a Bush Administration articulating its policy for Iraq thewY that the Obama administration has for Afghanistan? President bush would never bow to a foreign dictator or monarch, like President Obama insists on doing, but then again President Bush would eagerly take unilateral action which would put our allies in awkward situations. President Obama doesn't bother with that. He is content to leave them hanging, like Poland.

But really this is About e insanity of looking back and saying that everything under Bush was beet. It wAsn't. It's just things are getting so much worse under President Obama. We have a recovery, but because there are all these new mandates, its next to impossible for small and large businesses to be able to afford to hire anyone. Sure the recession is over, but this recovery, but if people aren't working, how is that going to make a difference.

But let's look at jobs And the ones we had under the Bush Administration. During President Bush' administration, we saw the middle class getting squeezed. He'll, let's be honest, pretty much everyone was getting squeezed with cost for everything going up during his tenure in office. Essentially under the Bush policies we saw a decade of stagnation occur. Our productivity keeps going up, but the wages remained flat. That's really not good when you consider that the price for everything keeps going up. But hey, jobs with no raises is still better than no jobs and foreclosures right?

And President Obama is not the only US president who has managed to mangle health care policy in this country. Can anyone remember Medicare part D? The GOP's attempt at solving drug costs for the elderly only that only serve to further entrench the entitlement system in this country without doing much to either improve it or to make the costs more manageable?

What this country absolutely does not need is another term for a Bush clone. And it certainly is barely remaining solvent under the current administration. This makes for a nasty situation when you combine with the fact that between 70 and 80 percent of the country disapproves of Congress.

Basically, if you're an incumbent, you are seriously distrusted. This is why so many people have become enamored with the Tea Party. They aren't tainted with the stain of failure that the current rope of Democrats and RepubLican who hold office share. Sure a couple of them are probably racist. Then again, the recently deceased Senator Byrd of West Virginia was a long time member of the KKK (he claimed he quit the organization). And some of them probably are kooks, but then have you ever listened to some of the stuff that has come out of Senator Boxer's mouth sometimes?

That's not the real danger. Voters tend to figure put who the dangerous racist/extremist types are. David Duke never made it to Congress. No, the real danger is when you get someone who runs for office who says all the nice right, popular things. Who presents himself or herself as alternative to the Beltway Bandits who have ruined this country and talk about values like Hope, Prosperity, and Honor. The problem is that when people have gone this long with ineffective leadership, they forget to remember the sufferance between someone who is serious improving this country and someone who views the Office of the President of the United States adjust another stepping stone accomplishment.

This country has had, and in my opinion has now, that kind of President. The worst of the lot was Buchanan just before the Civil War. But we have been fortunate to have had those be the exception rather than the rule.

In 2008,we were an angry country. Angry at the imperial presidency of the Bush Administration. Whether that particular description is right or wrong, that was e sentiment of the country. Somehow, we allowed ourselves to be fooled by a man who had a track record of avoiding making the hard decisions, of taking responsibility for those decisions, or for really ever being held accountable for his actions.

When we go to the polls this November, and in 2012, we need to remember this when it comes time to select what course we want this country to take. We've already had two presidents who have delivered a lost decade to this county. We cannot afford to lose another one.

New experiment here at the Wandering Bell

Mrs. Angrybell really must love me. She got me an iPad. Which is why I am giving it a go as far as using it for my practice.

Yes, I know other lawyers out there have already done so. I'm not the first, but as much as I love gadgets, I really am awful at change.

So my initial thoughts on this after using it for a little more than a day:

1. It's really, really feakin cool. (Just had to say that.)
2. The major problem for me right now is that there seems to be no app that can allow you to read and manipulate a Word Perfect document (aka .wpd). Now, I personally do not use .wpd format, but someone I work with refuses to give up Word Perfect. So that is going to make things interesting.
3. I thought I would have more trouble with this keyboard but so far thie transition has not been as hard as I thought it might be.
4. I really need to sort out how to cut and paste on this. I can do it easily in some programs but when it comes to cutting and copying on the web, it's not been easy. Have to go to the guides to figure out what I am doing wrong.

Alright so I'll be back to my usual grousing later.

GW Law... Skills... Donations?????

So today I received from my law school (that would The George Washington University School of Law, formerly the National Law Center at The George Washington University) sent me a plea for donations that starts like this:

GW Law gave you the skills you need.

Now we need your support.

The first sentence is perhaps the most inaccurate I have ever read. On the letter, they list a series of skills including:

Research, Evaluate, Argue, Represent, Listen, Discover, Write, Persuade, Serve, Represent, Listen, and Discovery

Inside, they continue their malarkey by stating,

GW Law provides today's students with a stimulating learning environment like the one that prepared you for the legal path you chose.

Excuse me while I try not to gag on the rest of the letter. It's about as divorced from reality as a Hamas press release.

Yes, I did graduate from that institution. However, other than using Shepards (the book not the utility on Westlaw), I defy them to point to one skill they helped me develop.

Nothing taught at GW Law has been of any use in my legal career. It sure as hell did not help me with the bar exam. Why? Because bar exams questions are either state specific or are weird creature of so-called "common law" that exists only within the four corners of the MBE and the Performance Test. For all that, I had to pay another outfit an absurd amount of money to prepare me to take the bar exam, since none of the law taught in law school was of any use!

I certainly did not learn how to write there. That was pounded into me by a bunch of priests and lay teachers back in high school. As a matter of fact, my writing actually got worse for a while because I was having to write according to their style. A style which was taught which had the virtue of being neither very good, nor of a style that judicial clerks would enjoy reading.

I did not learn how to run a law practice. Nothing in any of the courses prepared me for client relationships (except for the dry recitations of the model ABA rules... but that hardly counts). Nor did they offer any course which discussed the merits of various methods of constructing a retainer agreement.

Now, to be fair, GW Law did offer a way to learn how to engage into alternative dispute resolution. However, when I went there, many moons ago, in order to get in that program, you had to try out and be selected. Another of the "chosen" activities (much like moot court and the various law reviews). Otherwise, you didn't get to play. Basically, when I was there it was a joke if you didn't already know what you were doing.

What skills does one use as a lawyer? Critical thinking. Communication. Oral Advocacy. Effecting and powerful writing. So far my alma mater is 0 for 4. Or as Kruk would say, a golden sombrero.

But you know I did learn one thing. I learned that the administration there would go to any length to protect the reputation of a professor, even if meant screwing over an entire section's grades. But then again, I suppose I knew that from both my undergraduate and graduate education.

Now, surely, GW must have been good for something, right? Well, since I've been there the school has managed to barely hang on to 20th spot in the law school rankings after falling as low as 28th at one point. Basically, after I left, the ranking went down, essentially de-valuating my diploma among image conscious law firms.

Not only did the value of the degree go down, but GW Law's career development yahoos ... er I mean professionals... did next to nothing in helping me find employment during and after my time there. By next to nothing, I mean they gave me a pamphlet on how to use the office and then became extraordinarily disinterested when I informed them that I had little interest in working for a big firm (e.g. Latham & Watkins). After convincing them that I really, really did not want to spend all my waking hours working for a law firm that would demand 2000 billable (as opposed to hours worked) per year, they decided I was not worth their time.

For all this, I had the privilege of paying an obscene amount of money. Money which, in my opinion was wasted on professors who did not give a damn about who they were teaching, administrators who made things exceedingly difficult because they could not be bothered to know their own policies, and career development people who simply could not give a damn about anything other than getting out of their office as quickly as possible.

And once again this year, they beg for more money to continue this ridiculous farce called law school. To make matters worse, GW Law is not the only law school that has these problems. People who want to be lawyers would be better served by doing an apprenticeship with a lawyer. At least then, they would learn how something useful about being a lawyer.

Unfortunately, law schools long ago got into bed with the various bar associations and convinced them that only they could produce competent lawyers. Too bad no one remembered that most of our best lawyers for first century and a half managed to do pretty well for not going to law school, like Justice Robert Jackson (although he did do a year at Albany Law School, but did not get a diploma).

So how about this GW: I will donate to you when you refund my tuition, with interest, I will start making donations of an undisclosed amount for five years.

The Madness Began Before My TiVo did

So ... let's see. We missed the opening. TiVo somehow prioritized Chuck over it. Not that Chuck is a bad show. I love Chuck. Just... well you know.

All I can say for now is... they apparently liked Brandy.

So Mrs. Angrybell and I came in on Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas. First impression: this girl is so nervous its not fun. But hey, Mark Ballas is good for her. The Three Dog Night songwas good. She looks lost out on the floor. Her footwork is awful, but she remembers to use some hips and she likes to shimmy. We've seen worse (ahem Macy Gray)... but not many. I think Len is cutting her some slack. Would the Judges cut her a little more slack? Mrs. Angrybell (my GOP wife) believes that Bristol's mom is a terrible mother who has essentially abandoned her daughter and granddaughter. The 18 was generous by the way.

That preview bit with Florence was just wrong. Just wrong. Please dear lord never let me see that again.

And after the break, its Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas. Mrs. Brady doesn't look bad for her age. Out of the gate, her footwork is light years better than Bristol, her hips not so much. However, she is a little wooden at time and very flat on her feet. Rather, she is heavy on her feet, which makes it a struggle for her to keep up with the music. On the other hand, she seems game to go for it so lets see what will happen. She should get about what Bristol got, if I had a paddle. Len, just a question... when did Florence become thick and unfit? She certainly looks in good shape for someone her age. And the 18 seems right so far.

Michael Bolton and Chelsea Hightower came up next. Described as a music legend. Music nightmare perhaps. They drew the Viennese Waltz. He dances the beginning trying to get the right rise and fall but ends up with the common novice mistake of being on his toes too much. He is not getting any heel leads. Chelsea is also back leading him through this routine. He almost fakes it nicely and appears to have some rhythm. Carrie Ann was very generous in her description of what was going on with the leading and the following. I was a little surprised by the 5's, for a total of 16. I didn't think he was that much worse than Flo or Bristol.

Next comes The Situation. Mike and Karina Smirnoff apparently had an abbreviated training period. He embarrasses my wife (who has more than a little Italian in her) and he is already annoying me. Already I've had enough of The Mouth...er The Situation... Ugh. And he hasn't danced yet. So far, she threw in some nonsense to start this cha cha cha. His footwork is a disaster. Mrs. Angrybell thinks he could be worse. Sure, he could be Macy Gray or Master P. But he is not that far from either of them. Oh Karina.. I am so sorry. Len, I love that "You've got the guns but not the ammunition". The judges are correct, there may be something there. The question is how quick he bring it to the fore. On the other hand, he is so freaking obnoxious already... I would not shed a tear if he went home after this one. The 15 was earned.

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough followed that mess. And right off the bat, making the Dirty Dancing references. And they drew the Viennese Waltz. Mrs. Angrybell thinks that Jennifer should do well because of her background (as well as "Who doesn't want Baby to win?"). Then again, she is doing the routine pretty well. Her footwork needs help, but that is more in the fact that it is hard for people to pick up the heel toe movement quickly. Of the ones I saw, this was the best so far. Can Carrie Ann get more full of crap? Someone people turn off her mike so we don't have hear her drivel. 24. Wow. Baby is out of the corner for this week.

Kym Johnson and David Hasselhoff followed up that. The Hoff appears to be trying out Situation the Situation when it comes to cheesiness. He is looking old. Kids... don't be a drunk. Can someone explain to me his love affair with going sleeveless all the time? His outfit makes him look like a bad Elvis impersonator. He is off beat to start the song. Sometimes he is getting the cha cha cha action going, sometimes eh is missing it (and I know there are some steps where he doesn't have to get the cha cha cha step in). Good attempt at trying to work the hips for a guy his age. Sex Bomb... interesting song. Better than Mike Sorrentino. But then.. that's not saying a whole lot. Donny Osmond and Jerry Spring... interesting of Carrie Ann to say that. And Len is spunky tonight with his comments. The 15 was a little harsh, but not too much harsher.

Given the ones I saw, here's what I say:

Jennifer Grey looks like she came to dance. As far as the rest of them go... throw them back and hope the professionals get something better next season. If I had to like any of them, I suppose I'll take the Hoff and Brisol. If I get a chance, I'll track down the first hour.

This season does not seem promising right now.