How professions rate – surprises?

Some of these Gallup poll results outlined in the NY Times may surprise you – but most seem pretty predictable. Continue reading

The judge and the SEC …

See the article in the Atlantic Wire here. A money quote from the judge:

In much of the world, propaganda reigns, and truth is confined to secretive, fearful whispers. Even in our nation, apologists for suppressing or obscuring the truth may always be found. But the S.E.C., of all agencies, has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges; and if fails to do so, this Court must not, in the name of deference or convenience, grant judicial enforcement to the agency’s contrivances.

 

On unconscious effects in decisions

A recently posted paper on SSRN caught my eye - “Unconscious Influences on Judicial Decision-Making: The Illusion of Objectivity” by John Irwin and Daniel Real. Here’s an excerpt: Continue reading

Insider deals for members of Congress?

See it on 60 Minutes (via Boing Boing) here.

History of Veterans Day

Soldiers of the 353rd Infantry near a church at Stenay, Meuse in France, wait for the end of hostilities.

… from the Department of Veterans Affairs website:

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…” (See the rest here)

Envy of the rich or simply calling out cheaters?

Matt Taibbi has what I consider one of the better treatments on OWS in a recent article in Rolling Stone – “Wall Street Isn’t Winning – It’s Cheating”. It’s one of the few pieces I’ve seen that has included discussion of the underlying problems at play in Wall Street. Here’s video of him discussing the same topic on CNN. And here’s a excerpt from the article: Continue reading

On “practice ready” and the future of legal education

I ran across an interesting article today on the meaning of “practice ready” and what that means with regard to the education of law students. Here’s an excerpt: Continue reading