What About Paris? ™

« November 20, 2011 - November 26, 2011 | Main | December 04, 2011 - December 10, 2011 »

December 03, 2011

Expat Mixology in Marrakech: Name Your Poison.

American expat Maryam at My Marrakesh runs a boutique hotel in a Marrakech olive grove. There's something for the stimulant lover of every addiction in this series of her photos: gin, triple sec and Peacock prohibition tea. But we like most the Mixer in Red.

Posted by JD Hull at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 02, 2011

The Mitt Romney Syndrome: "But the dogs don't like him..." Bring back Dick Gephardt for Dems?

Mitt Romney can't "connect" with y'all. See at today's MSNBC "Voters remain cool toward Romney".

You see The Mitt Syndrome a lot in U.S. presidential politics. The guy is exemplary in nearly all respects: mega-smart and mega-talented (he is--don't kid yourself), well-spoken, energetic, good-looking, celebrated for past successes, did well at the best schools on earth, has family values up the wazoo and a squeaky clean past. He has, in short, a golden résumé. He's a little too perfect maybe?

And for whatever reason, Romney is hopelessly incapable of making a connection with other humans (i.e., voters) outside his admiring circle of family, friends and allies. He's detached and remote--qualities which even John F. Kennedy often displayed but somehow made work for him.

In that respect, Romney reminds you a little bit of Al Gore--but much more of Dick Gephardt, the respected Democratic former Missouri Representative, House Majority Leader, lawyer's lawyer and Eagle Scout. Gephardt impressed me both on paper and visually from the first time I saw him on a close-circuit C-SPAN system in the Longworth Building in 1980. But he couldn't and didn't turn anyone on, either. Of Gephardt, when he last ran for president in 2004, a Midwestern political consultant finally said:

Gephardt is like the Perfect Dog Food. Made with the best ingredients. Tested. Meets all quality standards. Attracts the right investors. Perfectly packaged. And the dog food industry? Competitors are envious and in awe of the product.

Problem is the dogs--the dogs just don't like it.

Dick Gephardt, now just 70, in 1988.

Posted by JD Hull at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

Congratulations to the ABA Journal Blawg 100 Winners.

ABA's Fifth Annual Legal Weblog Fest and Talent Hunt. The list for 2011 ABA Journal Blawg 100 is out and right here. And it's the strongest list ever--a good sign from an organization that has worked hard to make its activities meaningful to more than a few old white guys in bow ties with Nantucket getaways and mid-Atlantic accents. I looked at the list this morning and, in my view, it's the best collection of legal resources out there--traditional or digital--and certainly the best line-up of sites since the Blawg 100 started in 2007. The best of the 100? Look generally to those which are by active practitioners. One blog that comes to mind which should have made it but did not: Eric Mayer's Unwashed Advocate. Favorite newbie: Associate's Mind by Keith Lee. Cy Young Awards for Continued Excellence: China Law Blog by Dan Harris, and Simple Justice, by Scott Greenfield. And there are lots of repeat appearances by the mainstays that have served to keep the blogosphere vibrant, practical, fair, instructive, literate, well-rounded and even funny. Kudos to these folks.

Posted by JD Hull at 12:23 AM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2011

Breaking law firm news: "It's about you--not about us..."

On Sunday night I was at once encouraged and amused to see at Reagan National Airport (DCA) a corridor advertisement placed by an American law firm with a bold, triumphant and "innovative" reminder. Apparently addressed to Prospective Clients Everywhere, the ad proclaimed, in effect, that Clients, Not Lawyers, are the Main Event, i.e., "hey, we're your friends--we're not like the others". Well, bravo to that firm. But should it take centuries for the legal profession to catch on that lawyering is never about lawyers? Why a reminder about the most basic fact of the profession? Our Roman friend Cicero argued his first case on behalf of a charge or "client" over 2,000 years ago. Are we ever going to get it?

"Young Cicero Reading", Vincenzo Foppa (1464).

Posted by JD Hull at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

Scott Greenfield: On Bullying, Cyber-Bullying and Real Life.

Life is Tough, Growing Up Hard, Legislation Expensive. At his enduring, highly-regarded, always-excellent and intermittently sensitive Simple Justice, see this one by Scott Greenfield yesterday: "When Bullying is Bull". Excerpts:

It's impossible to have any sort of reasoned discussion about bullying in the absence of a viable definition, and yet the conduct that is being swept into the mix continues to devolve. The overarching criterion seems to be conduct that is "hurtful," which leaves it to the person whose feelings are affected to determine that someone else is a bully. This can't be.

The issue isn't the mechanisms by which bullying occurs, even though the feds have an arguable basis for regulating these platforms or arenas. The issue is defining the conduct that comes within the parameters of regulation. The issue is that the teacups, the overly sensitive who are finally empowered to assert their feelings on the conduct of others, cannot be allowed to define wrongs based on their personal delicate sensibilities.

While most of us focus on this issue for only the few moments a high profile case arises, those who are behind the anti-bullying legislative thrust to vindicate their hurt feelings or further their scholarly niche are still busy at work pushing laws that would make most, if not all, of us and our children criminals. At some point, everyone hurts another person's feelings, whether deliberately or by benign neglect.

New York City's Greenfield in early 2010, just weeks before start of sensitivity training regimen.

Posted by JD Hull at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2011

Rep. Barney Frank Retires: One Far-Out Mother Who Everyone Will Miss.

Political persuasion, party affiliation and sexual preference rarely define anyone. Heart, soul and moxie do. We will all miss Barney Frank, who is leaving the U.S. House of Representatives after 32 years. See yesterday's Politico at page one and Frank Legacy: ‘One of a Kind’. Frank, now 71, was a partisan Democrat. But in the tradition of Henry Clay, Jacob Javits, Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy, he could cut non-partisan deals. Excerpt:

Frank rose to prominence during the early years of C-SPAN coverage of House floor action, perfecting the art of drawing sharp contrasts in public debate while negotiating compromises behind closed doors.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

Regarding Chula of Paris.

See at Richard Nahem's I Prefer Paris Meredith Mullins: A New Perspective, which appeared yesterday. It begins:

I first met Chula on a street in Paris. I admit to being terrible at recognizing celebrities, but there was something about Chula that made me take notice.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

November 29, 2011

OECD: American and EU fiscal leadership may make global recovery a pipedream.

The respected Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts a gloomy near-term future--unless Western leaders step up. See this piece at MSNBC and the OECD summaries.

Posted by JD Hull at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2011

Mitt Romney is like his dad Michigan governor George in any respect?

I don't see it--but the Washington Post does. See "George and Mitt Romney: Like father, like son, until a political parting point".

Posted by JD Hull at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)