Tom Delay: JackAss

Contravening his oath to uphold the constitution, Tom Delay told his supporters "of faith": I believe the judicial branch of our government has overstepped its authority on countless occasions, overturning and, in some cases, ignoring the legitimate will of the people. I thought that was the idea behind an independent judiciary, jackass &*#$%&$^#. Call me quaint or old-fashioned, but I thought there was a process for amending the constitution that involved slightly more than congressmen blowing hot air out their arses. Though I hate conspiracy theories, I'm sensing this attack is not meant for the here and now. I think it's meant for the next illegitimate onslaught on our judiciary, and by extension our democracy, which is right around the corner, up and coming and soon . . .

And I thought all I had to worry about was the heart attack or stroke risk!

Today, Bextra was taken off the market, due to its propensity to maim the people who take it. This is the second time in less than a year that a drug I've taken has been recalled. I used to take Vioxx, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory COX-2 inhibitor which is used by folks with rheumatoid arthritis, among other things. It was marketed as a super-powerful one-tablet-a-day easy-on-the-stomach painkiller. Because the FDA did a lousy work-up and let it on the market even though data showed it had a tendency to kill a significant number of the people who took it, the drug was withdrawn in September 2004 once the FDA put it all together. Good thing it only took a few heart attacks, strokes and deaths before the story got out, eh? At the time, a good substitute to Vioxx was Bextra. Today, it is not considered such a good substitute. According to the FDA: Bextra gives no added advantage as a painkiller and can cause a potentially life-threatening skin condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, an allergic reaction that usually begins as a blistering of the mouth and lips and can spread to the rest of the body. Oh, boy. Now, instead of a heart attack or stroke, I can look like I've got herpes on my entire body! What will they suggest next?

April is National Poetry Month

I'm not a poet, so check out someone who is: Chicago Review: http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/review/index.shtml Denvery Quarterly: http://www.denverquarterly.com/ For a fascinating discussion of the subject, check out: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4575085

Disclaimer

This is my personal blog. On it, I express my personal opinions. I do not intend to speak for the Ypsilanti Board of Education through this blog in any way, shape or form. Nothing on this blog should be construed as coming from the Ypsilanti School Board. Additionally, nothing on this blog should be considered legal advice. I do not intend to provide legal advice on this blog. Unless you have a signed fee agreement with me or my office, I am not your lawyer. Legal decision-making is very personalized, situation-based, and it requires a comprehensive analysis of the facts underlying a particular situation. It is risky and dangerous to generalize the law and apply it without consulting a lawyer on the particulars of your own personal situation. The things I say on this blog are merely expressions of my opinion, and you should not rely on them when making your own personal legal decisions.

101 things 'bout me

My true passion is songwriting But I'm not terribly good at it Which doesn't deter me My best songs are the ones that star my daughters And my next best songs are the ones in which my friends guest-star I have done 4 CD’s to date, with artwork and all My daughters are the *most* important people in the world to me They are the focus of my life, and they take up all of my time, and all my money But I don’t mind at all - in fact, I like it I love to camp in the backcountry But I hardly ever get to anymore And I miss it I have two tattoos One of which is a color drawing of Jimmy Page's 1959 Les Paul Sunburst And the other which is a musical note with a flame for a flag I don't like to drink beer I can see through But I will if that's all that's around I prefer tubes to solid state But most of my gear is digital, 'cause it costs less and still works pretty well I have watched every episode of BtVS and Angel at least once I once had the honor of working (for just a couple days) with Tori Amos on the first version of her Little Earthquakes record Which was rejected by her record company the first time around *But not because of anything I did or didn't do!* I find women who are smarter than me to be very attractive Which will probably be my undoing I am a trial lawyer, but I'm not evil (or greedy) Well, okay, maybe I'm a little greedy, but I'm really *not* evil I own 8 electric guitars One of which is a Japanese made, Squier Venus I got on eBay That I refer to as the “George Bush Memorial Tax Cut Guitar” Because I bought it with my $300 tax refund check that the feds sent me a few summers ago And (back to my 8 electrics) 2 of which I assembled and finished myself to my own specs And I own 2 acoustic guitars I *love* heavy metal music, but I'm a total sucker for a catchy pop tune My undergraduate degrees were in Music Composition and Philosophy Which were also the two least marketable degrees offered at the college I attended Which was Oberlin College Which is in the middle of nowhere in Ohio Which was good for me, 'cause if there had been anything else to do, I never would have studied or shown up for class I graduated college in 1990 After completing what I fondly refer to as "the five year plan" I drive a 1998 black Infiniti Q45, which I refer to as the "lawyermobile" But until recently I drove a 2001 silver PT Cruiser with flames on the side, which I consider an homage to my adolescence I once drove Susanna Hoffs (of the Bangles) to a restaurant in West Hollywood And I did not like her personality at all And apparently neither did her producer, who declined to drive her, leaving me with the task I have jumped out of perfectly functioning airplanes 3 times I'm licensed to practice law in two states, Michigan and Colorado But I have also been admitted pro hac vice in Federal Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, MD And I don't even practice bankruptcy law -- in fact I know almost nothing about it I graduated from law school in 1997 I was an exchange student in Germany when I was 16 Which is where I learned to drink beer you can't see through My house was built in 1884 It's in a federally recognized historic district And I have been working on it for years And I will be working on it for years to come I am a publicly elected official on a Board of Education At least 'til someone recalls me I love to bungee jump every time I make it to Las Vegas And go to the spas And ride the roller coasters And eat good food -- like at Nobu But I don't like to gamble at all I once had lunch with Michelle Shocked At a Mexican Restaurant in L.A. Where all the waiters appeared to be gay, Hispanic men I liked her personality But I was really glad that I wasn't the person who accidentally erased a portion of her master multitrack tape after she took it to another studio to mix 'Cause, boy, was she mad . . . And had to come back to re-record the entire song in just one day I used to star in children's youth-theater plays as a kid I am a card-carrying member of the A.C.L.U. And I don't understand why some people think that's a bad thing I once worked a recording session at which Barry Manilow sang Silent Night, Holy Night to an entire string orchestra It was surreal watching a Jewish man make a Christmas album in Hollywood in the middle of summer I am one of the unlucky few who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis But for me it is considered mild and treatable with prescription drugs The first of which was Vioxx, which worked very, very well Until it was pulled from the market So I started taking Bextra, which worked equally well Until it was pulled from the market So I went back to the Vioxx I had left over, ‘least ‘til I ran out And now I take Mobic, which is nowhere near as good, but it works *okay* But I would really prefer to have my Vioxx back I recently went through a painful, but otherwise amicable divorce Which means that I am a “single parent” Of “at risk” kids, who live with me And worst of all, I am apparently supposed to start dating Which kind of terrifies me ‘Cause the last actual date I went on was with my soon-to-be-ex-wife sometime in 1986 And I can’t even recall the last actual date I went on prior to that I have three real vices The first is heavy metal music Which I can’t get enough of The second is fine Scotch Which I *never* drink too much of ‘Cause it leaves a terrible hangover The third vice I have is cigars Which many people think are gross But hey, that’s life :) I like ‘em

You can't believe everything you read . . .

Let's set the record straight: Lately, both the A2 News and the Courier can't seem to get the key facts right. Last BOE meeting, according to the Courier, the BOE apparently laid off 17 administrators: Administrators get pink slips for 2005 UPDATED Mar. 30, 2005 3:10 PM EST A capacity crowd of upset parents and concerned administrators filled the board room at Ypsilanti High School as the Ypsilanti Board of Education laid off 17 administrators. The administrators currently fill positions that might be cut due to the district's financial crisis. The district has a $5.5 million deficit. I was at the meeting. I'm on the Board. We didn't lay anyone off. What gives? Doesn't the major local newspaper know what what a pink slip is? According to the A2 Snooze, we are drowning in "red ink." Last time I checked the list of terms in the acccounting manual, "red ink" meant debt. That's when the liabilities exceed the assets. We are not in debt. Our assets exceed our liabilities. There is no "red ink." What's the story?

Did you know . . .

That Merriam-Webster OnLine teaches us that a 'trusty' is: a convict considered trustworthy and allowed special privileges