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Waiting For Obama
When Everybody Loses
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Cranky Old Women
Foreign Firsts: Egypt Jails A Man For Sexual Harassment Of A Woman
Girl Scout Robber Stefanie Woods: Sociopath? Or Helpless Victim Of The Terrible Disease Of Painkiller Addiciton?
Jennifer Aniston Proves Wit And Charm Don't Matter In A Man: It's All About Having A Tight Ass

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Le Kangourou de Kataroo
09/25/09

In reply to Waiting For Obama
Speaking of her being extremely likable, my old roommate was out with a friend when Sotomayor and her family came in to the same restaurant to celebrate her swearing in and according to roommate they were very nice and fun.
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picassobear
09/25/09

In reply to Waiting For Obama
Speaking of people in the legal field, I'm taking the LSAT tomorrow and I want to throw up and break down crying every 5-10 minutes. Maybe the hope that someday I will be a SCOTUS can get me the score I need.
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J.D.Regent promoted this comment picassobear was starred picassobear was unstarred

J.D.Regent
09/25/09

@picassobear: get a lot of sleep tonight. maybe take a valium. don't overdo it on coffee tomorrow. and definitely do not link your lsat score to whether or not you will be come a supreme court justice. this has been your unsolicited last minute LSAT advice for the day.
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picassobear
09/25/09

@J.D.Regent: I was totally going to PM you when I saw the J.D. in front of your name in an earlier post. Another question if I may, do you recommend studying today/tonight or just kind of relaxing in preparation for test?
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J.D.Regent
09/25/09

@picassobear: definitely relax. i studied/fought with my (crappy ex) bf then loaded up on starbucks in the morning and gave myself a full blown panic attack and had to retake it. it's not like facts you have to memorize, you just have to have your quick fire neurons going and rest is best.
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Penny_Esq
09/25/09

@picassobear: Good luck! Way back in 2002 I psyched myself up by playing "Lose Yourself" on repeat before the test started. Since my LSAT days were pre-iPod, I had two CDs to play - one was my kick ass mix, and one was my yoga breathing mix. I definitely needed them both!
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Lymed
09/25/09

@picassobear: Relax tonight. Don't study any more, unless there is just 1 or 2 specific things you know you need help remembering. Make sure you eat a good breakfast, with protein, to get you through the day and start hydrating tonight. Go to bed early, wake up at least 2 hours before the exam, and then think of the exam as a few hours of problem solving games.
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PinkSoxHat
09/25/09

@picassobear: In addition to the other advice, learn this now and don't forget it until well after you take the bar exam: DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE TEST AFTER IT'S OVER! Nothing good comes of that, you only freak out about something you possibly could have missed. Good luck!
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Residentdrunkgirl
09/25/09

@picassobear: You'll be fine. I took the bar exam this summer and thought to myself - "f, I wish I was taking the LSAT again." Remember now how easy the SAT was???
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picassobear
09/25/09

@PinkSoxHat: That is such good advice because if I hear someone mention something I missed on a game I will spend the next three weeks getting an ulcer stressing about it. Thank you!
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meritxell: an erotic life
09/25/09

@Residentdrunkgirl: Haha! I'd rather take 69 LSATs than one motherfucking bar exam, fo sho.
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vulcanized
09/25/09

@picassobear: Just relax. Take the day off - you've studied enough. Don't drink today - save that for after the test. Have a good healthy dinner with protein and carbs and go to bed on time. Today, drive over to the test location and scout parking. If parking's tricky, have a friend or family member drop you off. You don't want to be surprised tomorrow. Deal with any possible stressors now. Get some granola bars or other snacks to eat during the break. The rest of the day, do something fun.

Always keep in mind, it's just a test. If you're unhappy with the results, you can take it again. I know it sounds flippant, but law school itself is full of tests you wish you could take again and it all pales in comparison to the bar exam.

Don't let people telling you the job market is bad psyche you out. Don't get me wrong, it's shit (right now that's true for most fields), but odds are it will have improved in the 3 years it takes to finish school.

Good luck!
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morninggloria
09/25/09

In reply to Waiting For Obama
I wonder what the caller ID says when you get a call from inside the white house? "PICK UP THE MOTHERFUCKING PHONE" is what I imagine that it says.
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randomnessish
09/25/09

@morninggloria: Even if you have a rotary phone. Fact.
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cheshirecatfish
09/25/09

@morninggloria: Any phone from which the President makes calls automatically displays "Air Phone One".
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fictitious
09/25/09

@morninggloria: Before the days of Caller ID, the White House called my house to thank my sister (then 4) for sending Bush Sr. a Valentine's Day card. My Momma hung up in disgust at the practical joke, and only realized when they called back again that they were for real. I imagine a "PICK UP..." caller ID would have helped the situation!

(Also, the fastest way to embarrass my staunchly liberal gov't policy working sister is to remind her she sent a love card to H.W. Bush. Years of fun)
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Lymed
09/25/09

@morninggloria: The golden phone that is kept under a glass dome rings, and emits rainbows and marshmallows.
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
09/25/09

In reply to Waiting For Obama
Just like a man. Sure, they always SAY they'll call at 5, but then there's always some excuse. "Oh man, I got hung up at work! My secretary was out sick and my boss was totally breathing down my neck and then Kim Jong-Il set off a nuke!" Next thing you know, you're eating chocolate chip ice cream straight out of the tub and checking to make sure your phone line isn't disconnected every five minutes and then wondering if he called while you were checking the line.

A likely story, Mr. Prez, a likely story.
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morninggloria promoted this comment Edited by Zombie Ms. Skittles at 09/25/09 1:26 PM

J.D.Regent
09/25/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: and you have to track down all his boys just to get to him because his goddamn cell phone is always off.
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Edited by J.D.Regent at 09/25/09 1:29 PM J.D.Regent was starred J.D.Regent was unstarred

dreamweave
09/25/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Really, looks like someone hasn't read The Rules.
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
09/25/09

@J.D.Regent: And you know Joe Biden is all, "bros before hos" about it and acts like he doesn't know where he is when you can CLEARLY hear him in the background.
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BeckySharper
09/25/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: I believe that's the premise of the bestseller "Barack Obama's Just Not That Into You."
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philoclea
09/25/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Yeah, but when POTUS crawls into bed at 4 am stinking of beer and cigarettes, and he puts his arms around you and nuzzles the nape of your neck, you somehow find it in your heart to forgive him after all.
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J.D.Regent
09/25/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: Is that Kim Wardlaw I hear on the other line? You told me you were done with her!
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sleepeatread
09/25/09

In reply to Waiting For Obama
Even Sotomayor waits on the phone for some guy to call.
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J.D.Regent
09/25/09

@sleepeatread: although, I have to say, it might be worth waiting if the guy on the other end of the line said shit like:

"He asked me to make him two promises, The first was to remain the person I was, and the second was to stay connected to my community. And I said to him that those were two easy promises to make, because those two things I could not change."

sorry, I have something in my eye.
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philoclea
09/25/09

@J.D.Regent: It's all I can do not to bawl like a baby.
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sleepeatread
09/25/09

@J.D.Regent: Way better than "You had me at hello."
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Lymed
09/25/09

@J.D.Regent: Personally, nothing moved me like my husband calling me after our first date and asking me to make two promises, the first was to uphold the constitution of the United States, the second was to make funny faces behind Scalia's back.
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Adah
07/09/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
If it were my kid who got raped, I'd have no problem with this.

Mentally retarded or not, the guy obviously needs to be locked up somewhere and kept away from little kids. Clearly the support system he has now failed catastrophically.
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TheGuvnah
07/09/09

@Adah: I agree. I don't know if I would use the phrase "locked up" but certainly he needs constant supervision.

I'm just not that up in arms about this particular case.
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shorty63136
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
I feel very bad that this happened to the 6-year-old. He's not mentally equipped to really understand any of this.

Unfortunately, neither is the person who did this to him. There is NO WAY a man with an IQ of FORTY-SEVEN...4-7...should be locked up for 100 years over this.

If I were the prosecutors, I would not be able to sleep at night. I do not see how they think that this was the WRONG thing to do in these circumstances.
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shorty63136
07/08/09

*that this wasn't the WRONG thing to do...
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AshleyStIves
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
The kid is lucky. Usually the State of Texas prefers to execute the mentally retarded.

\sarcasm
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shorty63136
07/08/09

@AshleyStIves: I thought that was Louisiana.
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JesterPrynne
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
I take issue with the use of pedophile to describe this defendant. His body may have matured to adulthood (with adult hormones and urges), but his intellectual peer group remains on par with the six-year-old. And it will stay there.

In this case, although there is a victim, there is no perpetrator. This poor man had no malice, no urge to harm, and no awareness whatsoever of the wrongfulness of his actions. Period. I feel that he deserves no criminal punishment whatsoever.

But he clearly needs to be kept from doing this again. Hey society - any idea what to do about this class of defendant? 'Cuz I have no idea. But this ain't it.
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Ultraprison!
07/09/09

@JesterPrynne: I like that - a victim, but no perpetrator.

I'm sure there are homes and stuff for this kind of person. But it said his family was very poor - they probably couldn't afford a nice facility. I'm sure that if they let him off with probation, his family would have spent every day for the rest of their lives watching him like a hawk.
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SarahMC
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
If he were a man of average intelligence who fondled a little girl he'd have gotten a year, if anything.
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Ultraprison!
07/09/09

@SarahMC: I'm doing this!: And if he was rich (or had a family member that was), he never would have even seen the inside of a courtroom.
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Dodgergirl
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
God, this story is horrible. The way we handle the intersection between mental health and criminal behavior in the US is very, very troubling, and this is just one particularly horrific example of many.
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sheleftyouasong
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
wait, "mentally retarded" is still an acceptable term for a disabled person in texas? that really disturbs me.
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voteforme
07/08/09

@sheleftyouasong: It's the medical term for someone whose IQ is under 75. It grosses us out because of its common colloquial usage, but it's still a proper diagnostic label.
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LolaQuinn is full of beans
07/08/09

@sheleftyouasong: Yeah, it's definitely not politically incorrect. I work in mental health and it's an accepted medical term.

I actually am surprised to hear that people think it is impolite.
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WaltzingMatilda
07/08/09

@voteforme: @LolaQuinn: WORD. "MR" for short. It is in the DSM folks.
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sheleftyouasong
07/09/09

@voteforme:

maybe@LolaQuinn: @sumerfish:

as much as it is a medical term the reality is that it has become socially unacceptable. retaining the name of a facility with that term seems in poor taste, given the unfortunate definition it has taken on.

maybe it's because i have disabled family members or maybe it's because i'm canadian and there's a certain culture up here for tip toeing around things with the goal of being politically correct, but i don't know anyone who believes it's acceptable.
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LolaQuinn is full of beans
07/09/09

@sheleftyouasong: Well, we certainly wouldn't call someone with a mental handicap a "retard"...perhaps that is where the line become blurry for you? We're just as concerned with political correctness in the medical field here in the states, but the fact is that the negative connotations you associate with the word are separate from the actual medical use of the term.

Wikipedia covers the use of the term: [en.wikipedia.org]
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sheleftyouasong
07/10/09

@LolaQuinn: i was not confusing the naming of a facility with calling someone with a disability a "retard" and there is no blur.
the name of a facility and the terminology used within do not need to match. to many people retaining that name may be seen as offensive, that's all. perhaps to those in the field it is not, but i know others feel it's mildly inappropriate at best.
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karmasutra är svensk
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
I have to wonder if there is a bias against the mentally handicapped in courts. Does that often seem to be the case?
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bluebears
07/08/09

@karmasutra (can haz bigger star than youz?): honestly I feel like there is and it sickens me, I also feel like there's a bias against mental illness.
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lolacat
07/08/09

@karmasutra (can haz bigger star than youz?): There is a huge bias against the mentally ill and the incompetent in court. The justice system has difficulty acceding jurisdiction over those it should have no jurisdiction over at all. They drug the mentally ill so they will be mentally competent to stand trial regardless that they were incompetent when commtting the crime. Or the fact that the Seventh Amendment requires a defendant be capable of assisting in his own defense - while apparantly everyone could tell this defendant could not help himself much less his attorney.

Yeah- there is a huge bias.
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willwriteforfood
07/08/09

@karmasutra (can haz bigger star than youz?): Oh absolutely. I'm willing to bet people just do not have a good notion of what a mental disability is (or mental illness, for that matter). Talk to 10 people and I bet the majority still think being mentally ill or cognitively disabled means you're more prone to violence or perversion.
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Penny
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
So my understanding is that, due to the incompetence of his counsel, he confessed to 5 counts and was considered competent to stand trial, right?

Does 5 counts usually amount to 100 years?
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Lymed
07/08/09

@Penny: His confession came before he had counsel. He confessed immediately to the police officers. Of course, a truly competent counsel could probably have succesfully argued that he did not understand his Miranda rights and therefore get the confession waved. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to win an appeal on imcompetent counsel...cases where the counsel slept through portions of the trial have lost appeal.
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Ultraprison!
07/09/09

@Penny: I doubt it. Also, the article said the judge could have chosen to run the sentences concurrently, so he would have only gotten 30 years. The judge CHOSE to stack them, so he got 100. Incomprehensible.
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apocalypse-nowish
07/08/09

In reply to When Everybody Loses
Please don't start in with 'fuck you Texas' and 'this is why everyone hates Texas'. This has nothing to do with the state and everything to do with horrible prosecutors. And the fact that people are talking about this in the newspapers and maybe even on local news (don't watch my local news so I don't know) shows progress.

And oh my god we need to make a state law saying that those who are mentally unstable/challenged CANNOT have a moron PDA right out of law school but one of the more seasoned and experienced lawyers.
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Penny
07/08/09

@apocalypse-nowish: People don't talk smack about Texas here.

Florida, on the other hand...
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apocalypse-nowish
07/08/09

@Penny: Every time a post comes up about something bad happening in Texas, there are more than a few extremely rude comments. My personal favourite was 'Fuck you, Texas, go back to Mexico', on a story that was actually later proved to be fake.
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Penny
07/08/09

@apocalypse-nowish: I was joking. But, I don't think you'll find TOO much of that and if you do, it gets the smack down really quickly.
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greengrey
07/08/09

@apocalypse-nowish: Fuck you, Texas.

Oh, c'mon, I HAD to!
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Snowbunny
07/08/09

@apocalypse-nowish: I had to admit to laughing out loud on that one. That will now be my requisite comeback:

Fuck you California, go sink into the Pacific.

Fuck you Louisiana Purchase, go back to France.

Fuck you NEW York, go back to York.
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VPea
07/08/09

@greengrey (raidersofthelostSTAR): hahah well played!
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Gretchen is a new kitten mom!
07/08/09

@apocalypse-nowish: I won't say "fuck you Texas" but I will say "fuck you Bush". While he was governor of Texas, Bush set the precedent for how the mentally disabled were treated in the courts. How many were executed while he was serving?

The Shrub's legacy lives on.
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