Indiana, You've Disappointed Me Again...

I am far too busy cross-checking news stories today to be even remotely interested in studying or in writing the paper that's due in approximately 100 hours. Why, you ask?  Because the Indiana legislature is at it again.

Indiana is the first state to defund Planned Parenthood.  Which, okay, conservative family values, yada yada yada.  It's really almost expected.  The real problem is that this bill will probably cause Indiana to lose all $4 million that it got for family planning services last year.  And this is where it gets funny.*

Let's be real:  this bill really passed because Planned Parenthood gives abortions ALL THE TIME.**  And abortions are bad.  But how can we prevent abortions?  Well, we COULD cut all the money that goes to them.  OR we could do something much more radical.  We could provide proper family planning services that teach people how to not get pregnant in the first place.  Well, look at that.  That's what Planned Parenthood DOES!  Why, with more education at a proper family planning center, we could have fewer abortions!  Especially since there can be NO learning about anything other than abstinence at school.

Are you paying attention, Indiana?  There's more than one way to skin a cat.***

Moreover, beyond the whole "Do you really not get how to prevent abortions being necessary" thing, this law is INCREDIBLY paternalistic.  I know lots of people who went to Planned Parenthood.  I went to Planned Parenthood, too.  Not for any sort of medical procedure, but to ask the questions we couldn't ask at home, at church,**** or even at school.  (Again, not that they would have been answered.  See link above.)  By taking away services like this, you're forcing people to either ask questions where they are too scared to do so or just not to have proper information in the first place.  This bill will help take away people's right to make choices for themselves, based on their own lives.  And not just poor people, but young people and scared people, too.

Plus, in the words of my mother, "What are all the people who pray outside of the Planned Parenthood going to do now?  They're going to have way too much free time."*****

Mitch Daniels is expected to sign this bill into law, even though he called for a truce on social issues.******  This is saddening because for me it means that the state I grew up in has become a place that I'm no longer proud of between this and the anti-gay amendment.  This is why young people don't want to go back.  Nobody wants to say "I live in Indiana," when the legislature proves time and time again that bigotry, hate, and misinformation reign supreme in that little Red land.

If you're an Indiana citizen, I urge you to really think about this issue and write to Governor Daniels.  We young people will never change anything if we don't get loud first.  Tell Governor Daniels that his real problem with brain drain is not anything to do with jobs, but rather has everything to do with not wanting to associate with a state that's 50 years behind.   Prove that at least some of the citizenry can actually use their brains to make a decision about an issue, not just have a knee-jerk reaction to a scary word.

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*I use this term loosely.  I think I mean "ironic," but so many people use that word incorrectly, (I'm looking at you, Alanis Morissette) that I'm not even entirely sure what it means anymore.
**This is not true.  Only about 3% of Planned Parenthood's funds go towards abortions.  But then, you should look at this chart, because it's funny, and probably where people THINK PP's spending goes.
***I'm trying to put things in folksy terms so that people who don't get "actions = consequences" will be able to understand.
****No, seriously, once my youth group had "ask a priest" night, where we were encouraged to ask Fr. Herman all of our questions about sex.  Never mind that we didn't really want to ask anything.  ANYWAY, all of the answers came down to "God doesn't like that," which was not extraordinarily helpful.
*****My mother is much cooler than I used to think she was.  Also, I know people who actually did this in their free time.  They'll probably have to go to jail now and pray for an end to capital punishment.  Oh, wait.  Pro-lifers don't do that.  Also, in the words of my mother "A life is a life.  If you're going to say you're going to support capital punishment, then you're still CHOOSING to end a life, which pretty much makes you pro-choice."  Go Mom.
******He's also expected to run for President.  Signing this bill would probably ruin his political career. As it should.

Truth or Consequences

Consequences.  

The world is full of them.  And usually they're a hell of a lot more immediate than "if a butterfly flaps his wings in Tokyo..." (Which, let me say, is not really a theory that I buy.)  The consequences I'm currently dealing with?  I have PLENTY of time to study!  Instead I'll spend time with the Boy one weekend and then go take a four day weekend at home with my family the next weekend!

Consequences?

Didn't do that great on my final trial for trial ad and just started studying for finals TODAY.  (And I mean JUST STARTED.  Like, at noon today.)  So I'm both disappointed and feeling a little sick at the prospect of finishing everything on time.

But there are such things as POSITIVE consequences too!  Like the fact that I feel incredibly relaxed and my brain is full of oxytocin from the amount of chocolate I ate this weekend.  And I'm not that worried about my trial ad grade.  Why?  Because I worked my butt off for that class during the semester and rocked it weekly.  So, you know, I didn't put in the work at the end.  No big deal.

The trick is to think about the consequences ahead of time.

1.  KNOW THYSELF.  I don't accomplish things if I leave Chicago.  And I don't really accomplish anything other than reading in my apartment.  So I know that if I want to accomplish something, I have to go to the library.  If I don't go because I don't want to put pants on,* I know that I'm not going to get the work done.  Because I know how I operate.

2.  DON'T LIE.  Yeah, just because you know yourself doesn't mean you're getting anywhere.  This is where I usually get tripped up.  Sure, I know that if I stay in my apartment I won't get anything done, but I usually end up telling myself "You can totally work from home today!  You feel super motivated!"  My other favorite self-delusion is "Five more minutes of wasting time and I'll get back to work."  If you know the facts, go with them.

3.  FIND YOUR MOTIVATION.  I know I've talked about proper motivation before, but really, you can't be too motivated.  Sometimes that motivation is positive, like a margarita at the end of the day, or some tv watching before bed, but I like to think in terms of negative reinforcement when it comes to consequences.  That's why whenever I'm making a decision, big or small, I like to pretend all the consequences are in the voice of my mother.  That way I get that feeling of guilt-ridden guidance!

4.  THINK POSITIVE!  I know I just said to be negative, but make sure you consider the positive consequences that will flow from a decision as well as the negative ones.  Sure, sleeping in is a waste of time, but you know what's great about it?  That feeling of sneaky well-being.  Maybe you shouldn't go out on Friday night.  After all, you're broke and too busy studying.  But hey!  Life needs balance and you need to stop sitting and staring at a computer screen!  Just remember:  When considering your pros/cons list, really consider the pros of the situation.

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*Which is what happened yesterday.

Wake up in the Morning, Feeling Like...

Boyfriend and I made a promise last night.  We promised each other that we would get home at a reasonable hour because I had class at 9 am this morning.  But then we had too much fun and closed down the bar instead.  Oops.  At least I made new friends.  (Hi new friends!)  So since I didn't get home until three and didn't get to sleep until 3:30 and was awake at 7:30 this morning, I have nothing prepared for you.  So while I think about my priorities and how I clearly need to rearrange them, I'm going to send you over to the brand new blog of my friend Michonne.

She actually writes two.  One is about food, but the other one is about law school.  Michonne is what we call a "non-traditional" student.  That means that instead of getting a useless undergraduate degree and coming straight to law school, Michonne got a useful degree (in journalism) and worked for a newspaper for a little while first.  She also appreciates sleep as much as I do.

So, while I sit here in utter misery because my attendance is required, I'm going to go ahead and send you over there to read something interesting, ok?  Ok.  Sorry.

http://yellowbrickrodeo.wordpress.com/

It's that Catholic Guilt

My morning class was cancelled today, so I decided to sleep in as late as I wanted.  I apparently only "wanted" to sleep in an extra 45 minutes.  Or at least part of me did.  My body is saying, "Go back to sleep.  The last two days were awful.  You deserve it."  Meanwhile, my brain is behaving like it's an ADD squirrel on drugs.  "GET UP!  IT'S MOOOOOOORNING!!!!!"  Because my brain wouldn't leave my body alone.  Here I am at 8 am with nothing* to do in the morning for the first time in two weeks, and I'm awake.

I have become completely incapable of sleeping in in the morning, no matter what day of the week it is.  I expect many of you have this problem too, whether you are legal-tastic or not.  Unfortunately, I've gotten my body set to a 7 am to 11 pm schedule, so even though I stayed up until 2 am last night, my brain clicked on at 6:45, and I only managed to put it into sleep mode for another hour.

I read a study a few years ago^ that said turning off the alarm isn't a good thing to do for your health.  Sleeping in on the weekend is apparently bad for your brain, as it confuses your internal clock and makes you more tired.  Back then, this made me feel superior, as I've always been bad at sleeping late.  Now it just frustrates me more because when I'm trying to get much-needed rest, the little voice in the back of my mind is going "It's not good for you anyway."

I would like to smash that little voice with a sledgehammer.

However, I have learned a very neat trick when it comes to turning off that voice in your brain, which I would like to share with you:  Do something.  Doesn't matter what it is.  Whatever tasks your brain is telling you must be accomplished, pick one or two that you can do from bed.  I, for instance, am writing this, and then I am going to make a quick phone call.  All from my bed.  And then my brain can't tell me, "What are you doing?  It's morning!  You need to get busy!"  I got busy.  And now I'm going to take a nap.

Now where is my sledgehammer?

Or I can make do with a giant knife.  Whatever's handy.

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*I mean, it's law school, there's always something to do, not just something incredibly PRESSING.
^Which I of course can't find now.

Monday, Monday. Can't trust that day.

Today I have seen more posts on facebook about how unhappy people are that it's Monday than I usually see in a whole month.  I have to agree.  This weekend, for all I didn't have classes for nearly four days, seemed ridiculously short.

Of course, it doesn't help that Monday has been screwing me over in numerous ways already.

1.  I did not get to drink my morning coffee because when I poured the creamer in, a gluey ball of creamer went in and when stirred, did not separate.  It was a cup of hot, steaming French Roast with a creamy center.  Gross.  I dumped it out.
2.  Lettuce froze in the fridge.  Sandwich now looks super gross and rotten.
3.  In Secured Transactions, the professor announced that his lectures for the rest of the semester would not be related to any exam material.  Of course, attendance is still required.  Even thought it's my least favorite class, I will be stuck listening to irrelevant lectures for the next two weeks without reprieve.

So yes.  It's only been 60 hours since Friday and I am ready to quit until Friday shows its face again.  Whoops.  Not possible.  I apparently have to attend classes that are irrelevant.

How is your Monday going?  Is it making you miserable as well?

Legal Television Tropes, Part the Second

I really hate television shows about the practice of law.  I may be the only law student who can truthfully say I have never seen a full episode of Law & Order.  Not a single one.  In any of its incarnations.  I think I watched half of an episode once, but two things stuck out to me immediately:

1.  The whole thing was so unrealistic that it was a major turn-off.  The timeline, the political pressures, the investigation, it was all ridiculous.
2. It’s shows like Law & Order that helped make my mother completely overprotective.  Everybody is always getting raped and murdered.  It’s no wonder I had to be home by 10 pm even though I was 20 years old and lived in the world’s tiniest town-without-crime.

So it’s really no wonder that I made it a crusade to avoid legal shows.*  However, I must confess: I have become addicted to NBC’s Harry’s Law.  And I’m sure half of you out there are going, “WHY?”

Okay.  I know the premise is crazy.  Brilliant patent lawyer (Kathy Bates/the titular “Harry”) gets bored with her life and starts smoking pot in her office while watching Looney Tunes.  She then gets fired and has two near death experiences which convince her that she should open up a law office in an abandoned shoe store in the worst part of Cincinnati.  I told you it was far-fetched.

Like most legal shows, it follows a relatively small cast of characters in a “case-of-the-week” context.  There is some bad dialogue.  I think it comes from the usual problem of non-lawyers trying to write witty things about the law and not  quite making it.  Also, I wish Brittany Snow would disappear from the show.  It is set in the Cleveland ghetto.  I wish someone would shoot her.  But that’s not important, because that’s not where the glory of Harry’s Law lies. 

No, the glory of Harry’s Law lies in two things:

1. Kathy Bates delivering dry, sarcastic lines because while she cares deeply about the people around her, she really doesn’t give a damn about their personal problems and has no issues with telling them so.
2.  The presentation of the law itself, from making appropriate objections (which NEVER HAPPENS IN LEGAL SHOWS AND MOVIES AND IT MAKES MY STOMACH TURN), to ethical concerns that most people don’t realize lawyers face every day, to trying to find justice for everybody, not just the white and wealthy.

In a recent episode, “Send in the Clowns,” the show dealt with the idea of public defenders, and how they’re seen as law trash, scum who trick juries into putting criminals back on the street.  But as the “law trash” defense lawyer points out in a great scene, “He could be innocent.  Which is a jury question.  Our job is to fight for the guy.  And if you’re sitting there, suggesting that we fight a little less hard for the ones we think did it, maybe you should save a little of that disgust for yourself.  Ronald Perry deserves best efforts.  They all do.”

And isn’t that the essence of the law?  Everyone deserves due process?  Everyone gets to be innocent until they’re proven guilty?  And then, my favorite part of the show is always Harry’s closing argument that encapsulates the point the episode is trying to make about the law.  It’s always brilliant and heartfelt without being overly preachy.  To make my point: 

“To be honest, when I first got this case, I thought, ‘ick.’  Who wants these kinds of cases anyway?  The facts are ugly, they don’t pay, and when I first saw the defendant, I thought ‘He probably did it.’  I’m sure a few of you think the same.  And the victim, he’s intelligent, clean-cut, upper middle class, certainly no motive to lie, why wouldn’t we believe him?  I mean, he was there, for God’s sake.  If he says it was Ronald Perry, then who the hell are we to doubt him? 

“Well, you have a duty to doubt him.  You took an oath to demand that the prosecution satisfy its burden of proving guilt beyond all reasonable doubt.  And they haven’t done that.  They never found the watch or wallet in my client’s possession, never located a gun, they introduced no physical evidence, no circumstantial evidence, no forensics of any kind.  Just the eyewitness account from a man who clearly had to be in shock.  A man who was able to describe almost nothing about his assailant.  For the gun, you heard the meticulous details; for the suspect, “fat latino.”   That’s it.  Maybe Mr. Layton got it right.  Perhaps it was Ronald Perry...

“What’s the point?  Well, the point is, once you relax those standards, once you say, ‘close enough is good enough,’ seems guilty, lock him up,’ it’s not just the guilty who are at risk, but the innocent.  You.  Me...The State has not satisfied its burden.  It hasn’t even come close.  He has not been proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.  You can’t charge a man, take away his freedom with no physical evidence but one shocky I.D. and call that justice.  You can’t be satisfied with that.  Assuming of course, you care.  Do you?”**

This was a ridiculously long post, thanks to all of the transcription.  But seriously, Harry’s Law is a winner.  And though the season finale premiered Monday, it’s worth catching on summer repeat, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it gets picked up again next season!

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*I will admit, I watched ABC’s The Deep End while it was on and really enjoyed it.  But that was more like Grey’s with lawyers than it was an actual legal show.  I like watching Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva for the same reason.  It’s not really a legal procedural, so much as a drama that happens to be about a lawyer.

**You can watch Kathy Bates’s delightful delivery yourself by going to Hulu.com or NBC.com and looking up the episode “Send in the Clowns.”  Her closing starts at about 31 minutes.  It really is worth watching, even if you're not interested in the show, if just to note that the most important thing you can do is capture the jury's attention.