If repealing Bush's puny marginal tax cuts makes Obama a socialist...

Then prepare yourselves to meet Presidents Ronald "Marx" Reagan, Richard "Trotsky" Nixon, and Dwight "Lenin" Eisenhower.




Anyone have any idea why I decided that wanted to be a lawyer?

I decided to be a lawyer because our world is full of people using language in nefarious ways, exploiting words like "socialist", "freedom", "diet", "healthy", "responsible", the list just goes on and on and on.....

I think that the law is a way for me to use precise language to advance something good, at the heart of the matter, where it counts.

Law school update

So, here's the final tally for law school admissions:

ACCEPTED:
Brooklyn Law
Northeastern
American

WAITLISTED:
Fordham
Georgetown (!)

DENIED:
NYU :(
George Washington

So, I'm really trying to decide between the three schools that accepted me, and to ignore the very slim possibility that I'll get an acceptance from the schools that placed me on their waitlists. But it's complicated, and here's why...

So, I love Northeastern. It's a very liberal school, very public-interest and social justice oriented, and it's widely considered the top school for public interest lawyers to attend. It places very well in San Francisco, which is, for now, where I think I'd like to head after graduation. They are known for their one-of-a-kind co-op program, which places students in four 3-month legal internships during the last two years of school; this means that upon graduation, I'll already have a year of experience in my chosen areas. It's here in Boston, which is a city I know fairly well now and really love. There may be a good dual-degree opportunity for me there, but since I didn't apply to the other component this year, there are no guarantees. The atmosphere there is collegial and almost nurturing but still academically and intellectually challenging; learning that law schools could be like that, as opposed to the classical adversarial/competitive idea of law school, is what piqued my renewed interest in law in the first place. Finally, instead of grades they give detailed evaluations, which I think is an interesting and possibly superior means of evaluating student performance. To be honest, I have thought for a long time that this is where I might go.

But then, there's American. It's also liberal and public-interest oriented, with a bit more emphasis on international law. It's in DC, which sketches me out a bit, even though I like DC; I haven't spent much time there, and I'm just not sure how I'll like living there. I'm also not certain how American places on the West Coast and other areas outside of DC, but I aim to figure it out. It's better-known (and better-ranked) than Northeastern, though this isn't necessarily the case in public-interest legal circles. Here's the real clincher: I've also been accepted to the Master of Public Policy program there, so I could do my optimal dual degree program at a great law school and a truly excellent school of Public Affairs.

Finally, there's Brooklyn. This was the friendliest law school I visited back in '05, with great facilities and a surreal location in Brooklyn Heights. The public interest component there is definitely good enough, with plenty of clinical opportunities, courses, and connections. The truth is, whereas I really like this school, it just doesn't quite compare to the opportunity at American. (Up until last year, Brooklyn offered the dual-degree program that I want, but recently stopped offering it. I kept the school on my app list because I liked it so much.) However, I'm going to visit all these schools again in the next few weeks, and standing in the shadow of the Federal Courthouse while looking up at the main law school building sure is something... and so is New York. As they say, if I can make it there....

:/
Any thoughts? I'm not making up my mind until I do visits, but that time is drawing nigh, and I am spending most days obsessing over the choices....

What is up?!?!

That's about it. What's up with you all?

Naw, just kidding. I got some stuff. It's so weird, I was cranking out between 2 and 4 posts per day leading up to the election, and now... nothin'. :) I really think I got so plugged in to the news cycle that nothing seemed new or interesting enough to blog about... although that doesn't explain why I haven't been blogging since I got home. Which I suppose could be due to a whole new set of factors anyways.

Here's a thing... lately I have been reconnecting with a whole cast of random characters from my past on Facebook! There are people with whom I had nothing in common in high school, but with whom I now have tons in common. There are people with whom I was great friends in high school, and whose lives, values and interests are radically different from my own. There are people who I was sorta friends with in high school, and with whom I don't necessarily have tons in common, but who I just think (and often have always thought) are the most interesting people ever, and who make me wish I had known them better all along!

There are people who I knew from work, people I loved, people I had crushes on, people I detested, people who changed my life and people who never made one ounce of a difference, and people who I never thought would ask to be my Facebook friend. I understand that they're not really asking for my friendship, but I do think that they are asking me to take part in their lives in a way, and that makes me happy. It makes the whole "social networking" thing worthwhile despite all the annoying things about it. Importantly, these folks are generally supportive of, or indifferent toward, my sexuality. Despite having formed the thrust of much of my writing so far on this blog, it doesn't come up too often on Facebook, especially since the die-down of the Prop 8 frenzy. However, it is perfectly obvious.

On a completely unrelated note, Obama is a smart guy. That's all. He is really a smart guy. Say what you will.

I have got to get on the ball with my health and health-related goals. I gotta quit smoking, gotta lose weight. I wonder how many other blogs say the same thing, especially right now with the New Year and all. But really.

S'poseta start snowing again tonight, and we're all excited. So far I would say we're adjusting to the weather extremely well. We're well-insulated individuals.

Oh, a law school update: So far I've heard from 4. I got into the two schools I already mentioned, was rejected from NYU (no big surprise there), and got on the waitlist for Georgetown. While it's sort of nice compared to an outright rejection, being waitlisted, especially by a competitive school like that, is pretty much like being rejected. So now I'm waiting to hear back from Fordham, George Washington, and Brooklyn. I think that Brooklyn will accept me, but I'm not sure about Fordham and GW. If I get in to either of those schools, I will be not a little bit surprised!