Presumed to be awesome.

Every Friday Rianna wakes up and happily announces that it's Fun Friday! Yay! I'm assuming that Fridays at school involve things other than, or at least in addition to, reading, spelling, and math, hence the fun part. In any case, she's always a good deal more excited about school on Fun Friday than she is, for example, on Miserable Monday or Wretched Wednesday. So, this morning I thought, ok, I can get behind this Fun Friday plan. Let's have some fun, dammit!

But then my State government went and took all the fun outa this Friday. I am not surprised; I fully expected our Republican governor to sign this bill. Even though it didn't come as a surprise, I was still deeply ashamed, disappointed, and just freakin' sad when it happened. For those not following Arizona's immigration law debacle, our governor signed into law the harshest immigration legislation to date. It in effect gives law enforcement a free pass to racial profiling, making it a State crime to be in the United States illegally and allowing law enforcement to demand proof of legal status if they suspect someone doesn't have it. It requires legal residents to carry proof of their immigration status with them (I'm not sure how U.S. citizens who happen to have dark skin are supposed to prove their citizenship. Carry a passport with you at all times or risk jail?) And it makes it a crime to give a ride to an undocumented person. So, you know, no more taking nana to the grocery store; or that abused wife that needs a ride to the shelter, so sorry, can't help you; or if you have a medical emergency and need an ambulance, you better damn well hope you remembered to put your immigration papers in your wallet.

Gods, I hate it when ignorance and intolerance carries the day. Ack. I'm just so frustrated with our world today. Someone has something happy and hopeful to share, right? Come on, I need my Fun Friday back!

1. For a Thursday, it seemed disturbingly Monday-ish. I do not approve.

2. You'd think that in my line of work, I would no longer be surprised by the degree of asshatery, unadulterated meanness, and general bad behavior that people are capable at directing toward others. You'd be wrong. Today's example of fandom bad behavior was reprehensible, entirely inexcusable, and quite possibly criminal. It was, in every sense, a complete failure of human decency.

3. Trainer!Boy is moving to L.A. Great for him; less so for me. It seems I am in search of a new trainer. :-/

4. Today in the Obama Administration: on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade President Obama says the landmark case: not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters (Yes, THAT!); Guantanamo will finally be closed and the U.S. is no longer in the business of torture (both Very Good Things); this makes my heart swell with joy every time I see it.

5. I made the most delicious pasta with shrimp in vodka sauce for dinner tonight. I impressed myself with how good it turned out! Yum!

- Even though the day was a typical December Sunday full of laziness and football, I did manage to get quite a bit accomplished, including conquering a mountain of laundry, finally getting my holiday cards written out and ready for mailing, and cooking up a delicious pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup.

- We shall not speak of the Cardinals, but it was good to see the Steelers pull out today's win and Matt Cassell take the Patriots to a win after the personally tragic week he's had.

- This has cracked my shit up all day:



*laughs and laughs* He threw a SHOE at him! Twice! I think that journalist pretty adequately expressed the WORLD'S sentiments about Shrub. *laughs more*

- A certain Texas Boy is still making me ridiculously gleeful. I don't even KNOW. *shakes head* But, yes, happeh-making.

- Rahm Emanuel has accepted the position as Obama's chief-of-staff. People, Josh Lyman just got promoted! My West Wing fantasy administration is becoming a reality and I couldn't be more pleased!!!

- Speaking of President Obama (Hee! That's never going to get old!), the transition website is up at change.gov.

- I've got a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner and my house smells delicious. Yum.

- I know I just got back from vacation. But still, I'm rather excited about a four day weekend! (Since the courts are closed on Tuesday, I made sure not to schedule any meetings for Monday, giving me four days off! Excellent!)

- Jerrod Niemann is putting together a new CD. You can hear a few of the songs he's been working on over at Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury. If anyone wants any of the songs, let me know.

- Boys are confusing.

- wendy shared an awesome music mix today. "Change is Now," music spliced together with bits of Obama's speeches -- I love it! I'm too lazy to re-upload myself, though, so instead I'll link you to Wendy's entry here.

This is quite possibly the LOOONGEST Monday in recent history. There was tons of work to get through (and there still is) as I'm trying to ramp back up from vacation. On the plus side, though, I had a new, super cute dark pink swing jacket to wear to court today! I'm quite certain I looked stunning! *g*

This evening I spent several hours at the local Dem headquarters making calls, making sure voters knew where their polling place was at, and that everyone had a ride to the polls. It's pretty awesome to talk to so many people who are really excited about voting tomorrow. Spanish speaking voters are always so happy to get someone who can give them the information they need in their own language. Which makes the effort feel significant. And the place was swarming with volunteers tonight! We were spilled out in to the parking lot, on the sidewalk, in any strip of real estate we could find, with our cell phones, busily making calls! It's so cool to see such a ground effort for Obama here in McCain's home state. Exciting!

I'm now distracting myself from the alternating excitement and terror over the election by watching football. The Steelers are just owning the Redskins. But, oh, Ben. Why you gotta go and get yourself hurt? *sadface* I'm happy to report, however, that Hines still has the most stunning smile ever! *pets him*

Tomorrow I'm planning on being at my polling location when the polls open at 6 a.m. Dear gods, that's SO EARLY! *weeps* But my court schedule tomorrow is so screwy, that I don't want to risk getting back on this side of town too late. As soon as I've cast my ballot, I will hie myself off to Starbucks for much needed caffeine fortification. (Free coffee!!! \o/)

Speaking of free shit for voting, Babeland has a free Maverick sleeve or a bullet vibe for you tomorrow if you vote. Sadly, the free sex toys are only available at Babeland's New York or Seattle stores. But, regardless, is this not the coolest voting freebie EVAR???

Ok. Eight hours 'til the polls open here. *breathes deep and crosses fingers*


(And, yes, I did just quote ABBA. What? This election has me STRESSED. Don't judge me!)

- Congratulations to National League Champions the Philadelphia Phillies!!! *pops champagne and throws confetti* Also, I think I'm smitten with Shane Victorino. He was miked in yesterday's game and he's just adorable and funny and self-effacing and, well, ADORABLE! *g*

- OMG!!! ONE WEEK FROM TODAY WE WILL BE IN NEW ORLEANS!!!!!!! *spazzes* I have approximately two million things to do before then, including a mile-long work related "to do" list. But, I don't care because in exactly 7 days there shall be musical merry-making, drunken revelries, and all sorts of fun-filled shenanigans!!!

- Fuck you very much Senator McCain and your air quote disdain for women's health. (At this point of the debate my rage was maxed out, so I watched baseball and the adorable Shane Victorino instead.)

- I'm getting my hair cut this evening! Not a moment too soon. *studies split ends*

- Today I'm celebrating a slightly belated Love Your Body Day. ( What is Love Your Body Day? )

So, today I'm going to love my body exactly as it is. Today, because I love my body, I'm going to care for it by feeding it nutritional and delicious food, by being active, by giving it the rest it needs, and by treating it to loving and pampering care. Today I'm going to think and speak well about my body. Who's gonna join me in loving your bodies today? *beams*

A legal meme! *geeks out* But mostly, as these things tend to be, this is just a highly effective procrastination device on my part. *g* Also, I have NO DOUBT that everyone on my flist is infinitely smarter than Sarah Palin, so let's see those smarts!

As evidenced by Katie Couric, Sarah Palin is unable to name any Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade.

The Rules: Post info about ONE Supreme Court decision, modern or historic to your LJ. (Any decision, as long as it's not Roe v. Wade.) For those who see this on your flist, feel free to take the meme to your own LJ to spread the fun.

Show me your legal briefs! *g*

Here are some of mine: In 2005, in Mayle v. Felix, the Supreme Court reversed a Ninth Circuit decision that I had written the opinion for during my clerkship. You'd think this would bother me, but, really, I had called the reversal. The case involved a procedural question about the timing of a petition for habeas corpus. I thought it should be decided one way; my judge disagreed. I did what clerks do and presented all the arguments and legal authority for my oh-so-wise opinion and he did what judges do and decided the case the way he saw it. It was still "my" case though, so I wrote the initial draft of the opinion and it ended up being published almost exactly as I penned it, only to be reversed the next year when the Supreme Court agreed with me! \o/

Another favorite of mine: Marbury v. Madison, (1803), which formed the basis for judicial review in our legal system. So, you know, despite the Conservative rhetoric about the evil of judges who "legislate from the bench," the basic principle of judicial interpretation of the law and the Constitution, well, it's sort of been around for a while and it's sort of an important part of what we like to call check and balances.

[Poll #1270746]