The echoes of President Nixon�s radical interpretation of American democracy are still heard frequently today, most notoriously in relation to President Bush�s warrantless domestic spying program. �

Consummate Chicagoan, supreme storyteller, raconteur, and the man who elevated the interview to high art, Studs Terkel turned 95 years old on Wednesday. �

Talk about being ungrateful. Talk about turning a nice gesture into a media opp for yourself and your agenda. �

You know, I’m not all excited about Al Gore getting into the presidential race, but I know one thing: We should be listening to what this man is saying, and not just about global warming. In an excerpt from his new book, Gore writes:

…our democracy is in danger of being hollowed out. In order to reclaim our birthright, we Americans must resolve to repair the systemic decay of the public forum. We must create new ways to engage in a genuine and not manipulative conversation about our future. We must stop tolerating the rejection and distortion of science. We must insist on an end to the cynical use of pseudo-studies known to be false for the purpose of intentionally clouding the public’s ability to discern the truth. Americans in both parties should insist on the re-establishment of respect for the rule of reason.

The rule of reason. It almost sounds like a new romanticism, but hey, I’m all for it.

Plans to vaccinate young girls against the sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer have been blocked in several US states by conservative groups, who say that doing so would encourage promiscuity. � Idiots.

So you think you want to go to law school but you just can’t decide/ Well, as I’ve often said, there are many reasons not to go to law school. One is that it puts you in so much debt. Another is that, well, it can sort of suck. And, despite there being dozens if not hundreds of books on the subject of what law school is like, it still seems hard to know what you might be getting into before you actually decide to go.

Enter “The Trials of Law School,” a new film that attempts to provide at least 6 more answers to those all-important questions about what law school is like and whether it’s right for you. According to promotional materials for the film:

The Trials of Law School is a fascinating feature documentary film about the law school experience that follows 6 students through their grueling first year of law school. With different backgrounds and expectations, these students struggle to balance their families and personal lives while learning a new language, a new way of thinking and a new way of life. The film also features distinguished legal scholars and professors from 25 law schools across the country.

It sounds like it might be just the thing for those potential law students who just aren’t sure it’s really what they want to do.¹ [tags]movies[/tags]

1. This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter P.↩

I do not know why some posts are appearing twice. I do not know how to make the duplicates go away. I do not have the time to track this down right now. I do not like it. Please, someone, make it stop.

I’m thinking maybe it has something to do w/the fact that I can no longer post from ecto, either, which is also very not good. If you have any suggestions for alleviating these technical difficulties, please share!

UPDATE: Maybe this has fixed it.

UPDATE II: I failed to upgrade several plugins after the last Wordpress upgrade. Oops. I thought this blogging thing was supposed to be simple!

The Cook County (Chicago) public defender’s office has recently laid off at least “15 of its least senior members,” including, apparently, the blogger at Second Guessing in the Second City. Ouch.

When I graduated from law school a year ago I had basically two choices for where to go � here in Montana, or to Chicago. It seems, despite other evidence to the contrary, I made the right decision.

Best of luck to all of those laid off. If you want a serious change of pace and scenery, I know there are still openings around Montana…

The Miami Herald recently ran a story about how hard it is for public interest lawyers to pay their law school debt. Boy, do I feel that pain. Here are the numbers, for the record:

1. Total debt as of April 18, 2007 (it grows every day w/interest): $171,568.01
2. Monthly take-home at $43k/year: $2311.84
3. Monthly loan payment: $1134.21
4. Remainder for living expenses (including rent, car payment, credit card payments, food, and entertainment): $1177.63
5. Effective annual salary after loan payments: $14,131.56

If you think that doesn’t sound bad, add up your monthly bills and see how close you are to $1100. I know lots of people live on less, but it’s not super-fun. And can I just say that credit cards are evil? That’s what’s going to kill me, I swear.

On the bright side, GW has a Loan Reimbursement Assistance Program (LRAP). That is, in fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to law school there in the first place. Now, if all goes well (meaning the program has enough money for me, they decide to give me some, and their calculations come out the same as mine), that program should reduce my monthly loan payments to $532.58. That’s still a lot, but way, way better.

The point of this post is give prospective law students an idea of what law school debt really looks like once you start paying it back. It could be worse, but it’s definitely not pretty. If you’re thinking about taking on massive debt for law school, I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but I am saying that you should listen to the advice you’ll hear over and over and over again: Scrape by on the lowest amount of borrowing you possibly can, and, no matter what, don’t charge up your credit cards! Also, if you think you might want to work for the public interest, go to a law school w/an LRAPââ�¬â��it just might make the difference between a little pain and a lot.
[tags]loans, lrap, gw, debt[/tags]

This is ridiculous. It is utterly obtainable, we just need consumers to actually buy them. �