The ship is sinking.

Here's the liferaft.

Weekly Update

I may or may not post more regularly, but I at least thought I'd try to avoid misrepresenting my meager ambitions.

1. Appellate advocacy (the graded part, at least) is over. Turned in three identical copies of my brief on Monday. I still have to do oral arguments, but they're pass/fail, so I'm not terribly concerned.

In case I haven't mentioned it, appellate advocacy is the devil. It's a class where you apply real law to a fake situation and pretend to care. As in the care's not real- it's fake. Got it? Good- explain it to me.

2. Still riding my bike 3-4 days a week. One of the more enjoyable parts of my day.

3. Went to the Mississippi State Fair Monday night. My Asperger's was manageable, as it's easy to get lost in large crowds.

4. I've got an Evidence mid-term coming up, a Business Associations project due soon, and a paper scheduled in Electronic Research Seminar. Fun times, indeed.

5. Apparently North Korea detonated a bomb (or didn't, sources are in conflict). At any rate, it was 22 times smaller than the one dropped on Hiroshima. Looks to me like Kim Jong Il is rattling his saber, trying to get some attention. He's like a puppy, really.

6. That's about all I've got. I think my well is exhausted- don't look for any earth-shattering truths anytime soon. Of course, with an average of 20 hits a week without posting anything, it might be good for business if I stay away.

Asperger's

Shape-shifted and formed before leaving the crib,
Words are rolled about for weaning,
Bounced off of tongue and tooth,
Silently chastised and bantered about.
(Should I use alliteration?
An allegory perhaps- but shall it muddy my meaning?)

My Isolde is not mine at all-
I have held them and loved them so much
In their youth- they have become their own.
Thus, like a late-aged Cronus
My children fall from my lips
A shameful glory if there ever was-

I am so fashioned and formed
In speech and thought that
Nature alone subdues the shape.
Raw in her unheeded power,
She reminds me of what men were
Wrought to make- namely, life and love.

She has no snytax but that of time
No diction (truth offers no choice.)
Her poems are silent, yet always speak
With a haunting and reverent voice.

It is here, among the altar of elms,
That I lay this burden, when words, like slaves
Threaten to forget their master.
I fall full of clumsiness, and speak like a child
In uneven, fitful bursts.

The veil I wear is invisible,
Yet complete-
No one pierces it but my wife.
Her love for me, and my love for her
Arms her with a lover's knife
That bares me- naked and weak
The words so formed, refuse to speak
Then crumble back to the clay and dust,
Leaving me mortal, for a moment at least.

Congress Caps Interest Rates on Payday Loans for Military Personnel

Apparently Congress has decided that payday loan businesses have been using "predatory" behavior to screw over military personnel. With loans averaging 400 percent annually (with some states allowing higher) people are falling into a financial black hole, one which sucks the money out of their pockets faster than they can make it.

I have four major problems with this legislation.

1) It's anti-capitalism. Although it's a nice gesture, I'm more of a laissez-faire economist. The market generally sorts itself out. There's a reason no one can sell a live chicken for $10,000- the market won't bear it. So the price is lowered until you find a willing buyer. This is true of all things- couches, platform shoes, antique furniture, etc. The price in a free market is what a customer is willing to pay.

If someone wants (or needs) to borrow money, they've obviously decided the "price" is good enough to do it. It might be highway robbery, but the other person doesn't have to help them in the first place.

2) It specifically targets military personnel. I admire the military, but perhaps we should pass legislation that will benefit all who use the payday loans, just not the men and women in uniform. Then again, I suppose it's okay if they use "predatory" lending practices on the guy who wanted to join the army but has a heart condition. Sheesh.

3) It fails to take into account what will happen as a result of this legislation. Either (a) payday loans will either stop giving military personnel loans- no one says they have to, or (b) they'll offset the loss in profits by ramping up the interest rates on non-military personnel. Or get one of their bazillion lawyers to find a way to tack on more "late fees" for both parties until the numbers add up. It's band-aid legislation passed around election time, meant to look good but do nothing particularly helpful.

4) Lastly, it fails to look into the reason the problem exists. Perhaps there's a reason that military personnel are forced to use payday loans? Perhaps they're not paid enough? Perhaps those who defend our right to do anything we please should make enough money where they don't have to hunt out the vultures of the lending world?

I'm sorry, that's logical and makes sense. Surely Congress would never understand.

So, instead of empowering them to direct their financial lives, we've only managed to slightly dull the moneylender's blade when he comes to take his pound of flesh. He still gets a ragged and bloody ounce, though, and the wound still bleeds just as much. However, thanks to #1 above, Congress won't raise wages until people come to the conclusion that the current salary isn't worth it, and move on. I can't imagine this story is really helping with military recruitment. Eventually, the numbers of those enlisting will force the issue to change.

Hiatus

I haven't been posting for a while.

Not sure why- perhaps the magic is gone. This will officially be my 481st post, and I'm dreadfully aware of how shallow the proverbial barrel has become.

It seems I must either take this blog in a different direction or just let it die a dishonorable death, left to rot among the vestiges of Internet carrion. It certainly wouldn't be the first.

I haven't decided quite yet what to do with this beast- when I do, I'll let everyone know.

Al-Qaeda Cracks Disney Vault, Preparing to Release Return from Witch Mountain on Unsuspecting Public

AP, Washington, D.C.-- Government authorities have learned that at 9:53 p.m. last night, Al-Qaeda terrorists managed to breach the top-level security at the Magic Kingdom. Details are scarce, but we do know that the Vault's location has changed several times, probably to thwart overly ambitious MGM executives.

However, no one could have foreseen this.

In a daring late night raid, terrorists seized such charming classics as The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Rocketeer. Mustard gas canisters and heavy-duty explosives were found among the ruins, quite possibly to explode the fourteen-inch steel walls that protect the cinematic masterpieces.

Even worse, after dealing with the extensive clean-up, they learned of the real target.

In an exclusive scoop, Al-Jazeera television released a filmed threat, stating that Return from Witch Mountain would soon be airing, simultaneously, on every American's TV. Mass chaos, quite expectedly, quickly ensued.

"I can take the fear of never leaving my home," said Ted Danderford, area resident, "but the acting of Christopher Lee? My God, man. My God."