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March 31, 2023
Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The People's Lawyer, 1615-17
Posted by JD Hull at 11:48 PM | Comments (0)
TJ O’Hara gets January 6 right.
“John Daniel Hull, IV, founder and partner of the D.C. law firm of Hull McQuire PC, joins T.J. O’Hara, host of Deconstructed, to share his political experiences and observations from inside the Beltway. Mr. Hull is a distinguished attorney who, as a Democrat, served as a Legislative Assistant to a congressional Republican before beginning his career as a litigating attorney.
In recent years, his political affiliation has shifted to a more conservative point of view, and he explains what drove his change of heart. He cites the tenor of the media in Washington, D.C. and how it has impacted the way with which events and individuals are often portrayed.
Mr. Hull describes the similarities and differences he personally observed in the Black Lives Matter protests he attended as well as the January 6th rally that served as a precursor to the insurrection at the Capitol later that day. His observations of the attendees and some of the groups that drove the behavior of the crowds are quite interesting in each case. As a former journalist, his “takeaways” are quite compelling.
Then, Mr. Hull does a “deep dive” into “free speech” differentiating the actual element of that phrase and its misplaced use. T.J. quizzes him on “freedom of the press” as well, and he dissects that issue as well.
From Antifa to the Proud Boys, Mr. Hull has had an opportunity to directly observe the behaviors of both and the aftermaths of their actions. He describes what the media reported relative to the facts versus the impact of any partisan spin on national perspectives. Learn how an actual observer evaluates the actions he saw, the people he met, and the way each was presented to the public. Some may be in complete alignment with what you might suspect. Others may stun you with what the genuine details reveal… particularly with respect to the law.
Leave your political biases at the door and enter the world of someone who lives in D.C. and regularly experiences history as it occurs. Then, ask why this isn’t what you may have read or seen from either side of the aisle.”
Posted by JD Hull at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2023
Benjamin Disraeli: On Bad Books.
Books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. Nine-tenths of existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of that nonsense.
--Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
"Dizzy"
Posted by JD Hull at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
Av. Winston-Churchill, 8th Arrondissement
Below is a photo by Clear Blue Sky of the Winston Churchill statue in Paris. In 1998, it was erected and unveiled just outside the Petit Palais. In bronze and by French sculptor Jean Cardot, it stands ten feet high and weighs about 2.5 tons. Cardot modeled it on a photograph taken on November 11, 1944 of Churchill marching down the nearby Champs Elysees with General Charles de Gaulle.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 08:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2023
Encore: Dude, where's my Congress?
Ideology is a uniquely unhelpful way to get anything done.
When years ago I worked on Capitol Hill, no one seemed to hate you because you thought differently. No one got emotional because you were an R or a D. That has changed. I'm frequently in House or Senate Committee meetings and hearings these days for clients on IP, environmental, infrastructure and judiciary issues. Mostly Rayburn HOB. Some days Dirksen SOB. About half of these events are showcases--GOP showcases, these days--for strutting the majority's stuff, ideological posturing and poorly concealed anti-Obama rhetoric or overtures, both express and implied. Frankly, I can see Ds doing the same thing in one or two possible future Congresses; give them some time to catch up. I don't always love my President but I don't think he's Satan, either. Sometimes I'm in Russell SOB, where years ago I had my first job involving a chair, desk and telephone. I followed Sen. Kennedy's Health subcommittee around. I was amazed how people tried to get along in bill mark-ups and hearings. I was proud to be there in the same room. Around 1980, things became personal with many. Ideology is a uniquely unhelpful way to get anything done. Refusal to compromise sounds good but it's better reserved for ancient epic yarns.
Mending Wall (1915)
By Robert Frost
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was likely to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
Dirksen Senate Office Building (SOB) Committee Room 226.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2023
Ah, Spring. Yo’ Beauty. And Truth: Give it up for my man John Keats….
Ode On A Grecian Urn
Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearièd,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.
Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea-shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.
O Attic shape! fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form! dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Daniel O’Connell: Statesmanship. Wit. Trial lawyering with flair and verve.
(How can we put this?)
Posted by JD Hull at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2023
River Styx
“We have no one to guide us. Our only guide is our homesickness.” —H. Hesse, Steppenwolf
Posted by JD Hull at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2023
Whitman on Emerson.
I was simmering, simmering, simmering. Emerson brought me to a boil.
--Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Posted by JD Hull at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2023
Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980)
If you have nothing nice to say, come sit by me.
-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Died on February 20, 1980 at 96.
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Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2023
Dr. Johnson: On Pain.
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
--Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, London
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Posted by JD Hull at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2023
March 15, 44 BC: Death of an Alpha Male.
When the pirates demanded a ransom of twenty talents, Caesar burst out laughing. They did not know, he said, who it was that they had captured, and he volunteered to pay fifty...
--Plutarch, on young Caesar, writing in about AD 100
Today is the Ides of March, death date of Gaius Julius Caesar (July 13, 100 BC - March 15, 44 BC), general, politician, schemer, explorer, writer, alpha male, womanizer, patrician and, as we begin to observe St. Patrick's day, no friend of Gaelic peoples. Ambitious and supremely confident, Ceasar made Rome an empire. He conquered what is now France and Belgium--and got Rome more interested in taking on an assortment of Celtic tribes in Britain after his death. He was both a charming vain dandy, and a skilled military leader, and one with a surprising compassionate streak. A century after his death, the Greek historian Plutarch wrote an enduring bio. Plutarch even mixed it up with armchair psychoanalysis, treating Caesar's life in "parallel" with that of Alexander the Great, another wildly self-assured fellow. The term Ides of March ("March 15") has nothing to do with our hero; "ides" means middle in the earliest Roman calendar, which some say was devised by Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome.
Nicolas Coustou, 1713, Louvre: You talking to me?
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Seven Years at Andover: Hull’s Lore and Legend of Handwritten Thank-You Notes.
The Governess, 1739, Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779)
In case your Governess never told you, you're from Utah, or you were stoned all seven years at Andover, please remember that when thanking anyone for something important--a meeting, referral or a dinner--do it and do it promptly with a handwritten thank-you note. We all fail here from time to time. Yet no valid excuses exist for not writing short prompt notes.
Too few of us practice gratitude, in either business or our "other" lives, enough. Some say the practice of saying thanks is good for the soul. Others swear it's good for revenues, too. Many business people and even some lawyers with real standards (i.e., wear socks to meetings or court) think that no written thank-you note means no class--as harsh and low-tech as that may sound. Typed is okay--but handwritten is better.
Even if you are not convinced that thank-you notes are noticed and appreciated (they are), pretend that we know more than you (we do), and do it anyway (thank us later). Good stationery. We suggest Crane's on the lower end, or something better, like stationery from Tiffany's, or a Tiffany-style knock-off, on the higher end. A "studio card", maybe. Plain. Simple. Initials on it at most.
If you get personalized stuff, have a return envelope address to a home or business--but without the business mentioned. It's personal. Leave Acme Law Firm off it.
If you get mentioned on the Internet, electronic thank-yous by e-mails to express thanks for links, comments or mentions in posts or articles--i.e., three different people link to your blog every day, you are working full time for clients, busy firing GenY staff and associates, and writing op-ed pieces entitled "Winter 2022: The Mood of the Midwest"--are totally okay.
Short, sweet, and press "send".
Blogging about you or your ideas is, of course, very nice--but it's not like they bought you dinner, or invited you up to Newport for the weekend. Besides, you'll always miss a few kudos thrown at you in the digital ether.
But what if you are trashed in the ether? A "reverse" thank-you? Sure, you may be insulted, purposely mis-paraphrased, misinterpreted, or just inadvertently misquoted. It happens. Remember, most bloggers and commenters are pseudo-journalists. They are (1) angry, (2) disorganized, and (3) essentially unemployed. Our suggestion? Let 'em have it. And you can be rude. You've earned it.
Anyway, let's get back to manners. If you don't regularly thank people for links or mentions of you or your firm's blog or website, you are fouling your own nest.
Not thanking people in the blogosphere is (1) arrogant and (2) dumb. It adds to the notion that (3) bloggers are insular, passive-aggressive lightweights lacking in people skills.
So develop some habits about all thank-yous for everything--and make handwritten the default position. If you don't, bad things will happen:
1. No one will give you any more business, or invite you to The Hamptons.
2. People will say mean things about your dog, your wife, your girlfriend, or about all three. Worse, they trash you.
3. If you went to Brown, snide people will remind you and your friends that Brown used to be the safety school for the Ivies.
4. If you were at Duke, they'll re-float the completely untrue story that Duke exists only because Princeton had too much honor and class to accept Buck Duke's filthy tobacco money and re-name Princeton Duke.
5. If Princeton, they'll just say you were always kind of light in the Cole Haans, too, and were once even seen dancing at an "alternative lifestyle" bar in the city--dressed in full leather biker garb--so what can you expect?
You get the idea. So thank people in writing. Handwritten as a general rule. E-mail only for a cyber-mention.
Finally, if your site is so successful that your links, e-mails and comments are through the roof, hire someone else to do the thank-yous--written or electronic--for you.
Original version: July 7, 2014
Posted by JD Hull at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
March 14, 2023
The Weird Turn Pro.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2023
Samuel Johnson: On Work and Habit.
What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence.
--Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Irish Guys on the World Stage.
"The purpose of the Irish guy is to drink and wear trousers."
--Irish Woman, Dublin, to Dan Hull, 2011
But there's more. Never underestimate Irish guys. St. Patrick's Day is in honor of a Brit captured and sold into slavery by Irish marauders to the chieftain Mil uh in the year 403 to work tending animals in what is now the County of Antrim. After six years, he escaped and returned to England, later becoming a cleric. He eventually returned to northern and western Ireland, and changed that country forever. He is generally credited with turning the Irish from Celtic pagans to Christians. Patrick died on March 17--in either 493 or 460. Never underestimate Irish guys.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2023
J. Daniel Hull, Jr. March 11, 1900 - October 13, 1987
Happy Birthday to Dr. John Daniel Hull, Jr. March 11, 1900 - October 13, 1987. Born Mountain Grove, Wright County, MO. Died Springfield, Greene County, MO. First Virginia-settling German-American Hull (1750) to go college. Born Mountain Grove, MO. Yale. University of Chicago. I still miss you Grandpop. Thanks for teaching me what no one else could. We all miss your understated elegance, quiet courage, effortless class. You put family above all else.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2023
Regular Guy Writers: John Winslow Irving
John Irving (b. March 2, 1942)
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2023
Columbus at gates of Santa Maria de la Rabida - Benito Mercade, 1858
Posted by JD Hull at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
March 06, 2023
Storytelling
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
--Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
Posted by JD Hull at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)
Potomac Boat Club. 3530 Water Street, N.W.
Established in 1859 as the "Potomac Barge Club", the Potomac Boat Club is a rowing club on the Potomac River that sits on half an acre along Georgetown's southwestern border. It hosts several hundred members: recreational rowers, Washington-Lee High School crew team and professional athletes. Two members, Larry Hough and Tony Johnson, won the silver medal in coxless pairs at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The club's current building (below) dates to 1908.
Posted by JD Hull at 02:30 AM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2023
Blind Willie McTell: Statesboro Blues.
Woke up this morning,
We had them Statesboro blues.
I looked over in the corner,
Grandma and Grandpa had 'em too.
--Blind Willie McTell
Posted by JD Hull at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2023
Stand-up Guys: Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847), "Liberator of Ireland", led a movement that forced the British to pass the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829, allowing Catholics to become members of the British House of Commons. As a leader, O'Connell had moxie, brains, drive, patience, organizational skills, and big personality. More about him here and here. O'Connell was also a consummate and legendary trial lawyer, a bit of an actor, and way-fun just to be around. In a set of lectures published in 1901, John L. Stoddard said of him:
He was a typical Irishman of the best stock--wily, witty, eloquent, emotional and magnetic. His arrival in town was often an occasion for public rejoicing. His clever repartees were passed from lip to lip, until the island shook with laughter.
In court, he sometimes kept the spectators, jury, judge and even the prisoner, alternating between tears and roars of merriment. Celtic to the core, his subtle mind knew every trick peculiar to the Irish character, and he divined instinctively the shrewdest subterfuges of a shifty witness.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2023
Hunter Thompson: On Quality Time.
Excerpt from the famous November 1974 Playboy Magazine interview with writer and humorist Hunter S. Thompson conducted by Craig Vetter, a well-regarded writer and storyteller himself.
PLAYBOY: ....this morning you've had two bloody marys, three beers and about four spoons of some white substance and you've been up for only an hour. You don't deny that you're heavily into drugs, do you?
THOMPSON: No, why should I deny it? I like drugs. Somebody gave me this white powder last night. I suspect it's cocaine, but there's only one way to find out...
PLAYBOY: What do you like best?
THOMPSON: Probably mescaline and mushrooms: That's a genuine high. It's not just an up -- you know, like speed, which is really just a motor high. When you get into psychedelics like mescaline and mushrooms, it's a very clear kind of high, an interior high. But really, when you're dealing with psychedelics, there's only one king drug, when you get down to it, and that's acid. About twice a year you should blow your fucking tubes out with a tremendous hit of really good acid. Take 72 hours and just go completely amok, break it all down.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2023
Racehorse Haynes: On His Imperfections.
“I would have won them all--if my clients hadn’t kept reloading and firing.”
--Richard "Racehorse" Haynes (1927-2017). Trial Lawyer.
Posted by JD Hull at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)