"You don't look like a terrorist . . ."

Older Woman: Oh no! They told me that the bank would be open today but it's not. I called them, they said they would be open. Would you help me with the ATM? I have arthritis and can't press the buttons. I also don't know how to use it and think it will eat up my card.
Me: Um, ok. (in my head, I am thinking about the likelihood that this woman is a con-artist using me to get out money for her)
Older Woman: I mean, you don't look like a terrorist. You just look like a student and I am an old lady. I just need to get money out before my trip, I would really appreciate it if you would help me.
Me: Sure, I guess. Where are you going?
Older Woman: Hawaii, and then Russia. (she looks at me) You know next year, I am going to China.
Me: (I know what she's thinking, she thinks I am Chinese)
Older Woman: Are you Chinese?
Me: No
Older Woman: Korean?
Me: No, I am Vietnamese.
Older Woman: Oh. My son is a translator. He is marrying a nice Korean girl.

Luckily, its our turn at the ATM now and I try to help her but after a few attempts, her pin code to her new card is not working. Of course I think now that maybe this was a whole scam and she would ask me for money or something, but instead she thanks me for helping her.

Have I grown this skeptical of people? Would she have asked someone who looked like a terrorist? What does a terrorist look like? Do I look that young that its noticeable that I am still a student? Why does everyone think I am Chinese? So many questions . . .
--------------------------------------------
In other news, UCLA lost but we covered the 33-point spread and did not get blown out by USC as most people predicted.

Creative Lawyering

While I was sitting in the library today learning the rules of Evidence, there was a candlelight vigil and protest outside the Supreme Court led by nutjobs who say that Barack Obama is not eligible to be President because he is not a natural born citizen.


Their evidence? "[T]hat a 2007 state of Hawaii reproduction of Obama's birth certification is forged, and that Obama's paternal Kenyan step-grandmother Sarah was in the room when he was born. . . .that a mysterious Muslim imam blessed Obama's birth in Kenya, and that this fact would eventually be revealed, somehow." (DCist) Yeah, what did those federal rules say about reliable evidence?

The funny thing is that the case that the Supreme Court is deciding whether to take is not about where Obama was born. Rather, it's about whether you are a natural born citizen if one of your parents is not. In this case, Obama's father was a Kenyan citizen, which according to the claim, makes Obama a dual citizen. (See WSJ)

While I still think the claim is ridiculous and I doubt that the Court won't grant cert, the Petitioners get points for creativity and at least their claim has an iota of legal interpretation debate, as opposed to the he-said, she-said question of fact claims that simply argue that Obama was born in another country.

Crazy claims arose during the Bush administration, now I cannot wait to see what comes up against Obama- considering that people still think he's Muslim and will be sworn in on the Koran. This is what happens when conspiracy theorists get lawyers.

[picture courtesy of dcist]

World's Oldest Profession

Over the summer in California, one of the lawyers told me about a good chicken take-out place called Chicken Ranch. When I googled it, I discovered that Chicken Ranch is also the name of the one of the largest legal brothels in Nevada. I read in amazement the wikipedia page about it; I always knew prostitution was legal in Nevada but had no clue that there were these huge organized brothels. Little did I know then that Santa Barbara had its own brothel, actually not far from where I was working.

Today when I was looking at the Santa Barbara local news, I read that a Madam pled guilty to running an illegal brothel in downtown. Although she pled guilty, it was pretty clear that she did not feel what she did was wrong. She was quoted as saying:

"And I really believe that future generations are going to put my crimes up on the shelf with a lot of other women’s crimes from history . . . Crimes of the Salem witches, inquisitions in Europe, crimes of gentile women having sex with Jewish men in Nazi Germany, the crime of a woman marrying a Chinese man here in California in the early 20th century, and the crime of black-white sex, the crimes of fornication, premarital sex . . . . And, I take full responsibility and pride in being in the same league as all of the women that have suffered for sexual crimes throughout history.”

Although I have heard the "feminist arugment" for prostitution and explored the ethical issues of it in college, I still have a hard time buying that it is a form of female empowerment. Especially, this brothel, where the prostitutes were teenage girls.

And although Heidi Fleiss, Elliot Spitzer, and the DC Madam have taught us that there is a large market for high-end prostitute, I am still shocked that it is so prevalent in the well-to-do Santa Barbara (aka, Paradise to my friend Faithsalutes). When I told Alex, who grew up in the area, about the brothel he was not surprised at all and actually said that there were a few well-known ones. No I am really starting to wonder about that Asian massage place I walked by every single day on my way to work . . .

End of the Tunnel

One of the best ways to get through finals is to think about all of the things you get to do afterwards. So I'll make my list instead of study:

• Vicki's Holiday Party
• Spa Week Massage at Hela
• Winter festivities: Ice skating in the sculpture garden, National Christmas tree
• Getting to sleep in
• Reading for pleasure
• DC Bruins Holiday Party
• Wrapping presents (its therapeautic)
• Going home to warm(er) Southern California
• Seeing friends from home
• Seeing my little cousins
• Playing the Wii

Finals Hibernation

Shhh, I am studying.
Ok, the pictures are of my 1L books, but it is appropriate considering it's finals studying week and Beat U$C Week. I will be back to normal on December 12.

No News, Good News?

While I was having a lot of fun with my family this past weekend, my heart also filled with grief when I saw and read about the attacks in Mumbai, India. I also became really upset and angry when I heard about the WalMart worker who was killed in a Black Friday customer stampede. While it did make it thankful for what I did have, the string of horrible events presented strange conflict of emotions.

It almost makes me wonder why I follow the news so much. Like my dad, I am a news junkie. I read it online constantly, I watch it on tv, I listen to news-related podcasts, I occassionally even read a newspaper. And thanks to the 24-hour news cycle and sensationalist stories, it seems like I get non-stop bad news. And the sad part is, that's just what makes the news. There are so many other horrific things that go on in the world that get no attention.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to not just care, to live in ignorance of what's going in the world around you. But I know I could never be like that. I think I just need to be a little less news-obsessed, do more, and remember that there is a lot of good out there. Maybe this is why I love sappy, inspirational stories on Extreme Home Makeover, during the last ten minutes of nightly news, and between sporting matches; it helps restore my faith in humanity.

Signs that My Brain Has Been Rewired

I was going to entitle this list "Signs that I need a Vacation," but even with a siesta, I doubt that it would be unable to undo what the past two and a half years of law school has done to how I think about things.

People warned me. My LSAT teacher, professors, and other law students. They said you will never be able to see the world the same way after law school. And while I thought that seeing torts everywhere was just a first-year thing or nerdy law analogies would only arise around my fellow classmates, being solely around non-law family and friends made me realize that the damage is probably permanent.

Here are just a few examples from this weekend:

• I volunteer to write letters complaining about anything and everything. My dad has a problem with the BMW dealership denting his car, not fixing it right away, and not giving him a rental car, I will complain. My mom is still angry about the politicized sermon given at church right before the election, I will complain.
  
• While developing the rules for our family's gift exchange, I want to make sure that everyone knows the rules and that they are applied equitably. I also suggest that people confirm that they have read the rules. Geez, a Christmas contract?
• When I meet my friend for breakfast and find out that someone from our high school is getting divorced, I do a run-down in my mind of her grounds for divorce. When my friend also tells me that the person we know got a restraining order and custody of the kids, I think about the elements needed for those things too.
• Watching college football by my brother, I decide who to cheer for based on which state I have greater contacts with.
  

Sigh. I promise that I do have a life outside of law school and I do other things. My only hope is that my mind is in legal overdrive now that I am studying for finals and in full clinic mode. Hopefully I will not be as bad after I graduate.