LiberalDesert

2009-11-23T12:58:00.004-07:00

A Beautiful Day

No records broken, but a very nice 24 hours. Friday afternoon I drove to Tucson for El Tour de Tucson. I only get to ride every 4 or 5 years, because usually we have a Devereux Foundation meeting the weekend before Thanksgiving, but this year--thanks to our innumerate celebration of the Devereux New Jersey Treatment Network's all-important 19th anniversary--I could ride ETT.

By the time I finished registering, checking into the hotel, assembling my bike, and laying out my kit for the race, I wound up getting takeout from Feast, which is now on the Liberal Desert highly recommended list. The potato gnocchi and sausage was just what Dr. Carbo Loading ordered. Plus they had small gift bottles of St.-Germain at the checkout at a tastefully restrained price.

Saturday was pretty much a perfect Arizona day, except for the last 28 miles of the route--for me, anyway, which was work and not much fun. (Very cool Arizona Daily Star 360-degree photograph of the start here.) I pretty much knew I would not finish in under 6 hours this year, with not nearly enough training and a bad cold from two weeks ago. That meant anything better than 6:30 would have to be acceptable. But during the ride, I kept falling in with groups and managed to draft my way to Marana in less than 5 hours, and my enthusiasm started rising. But around mile 80, I had to stop for water, and got dropped with finality and realized it was going to be a long slog to the 108-mile finish in 6:25:48. (That's the official time, it took 3 minutes to get to the start, so my watch said 6:22:50.) Who knew there were so many rest stops after mile 80? But either officially or unofficially, my time is still under 6:30 so I should be satisfied. Results here.

I then packed up my bike, picked up my finisher's medal, and drove home in plenty of time to shower, change, and dine at Cibo and then attend the Arizona Opera production of Richard Strauss's Salome (Greer Grimsley is pretty impressive, but so was Noah Stewart.) Good food! Bicycling in the sunshine! Opera! I need to sleep now.

2009-11-08T10:46:00.003-07:00

Page Counts

In 1993, nobody ever asked if anyone who voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement had read all 3,000+ pages. Apparently, page counts only matter for stuff Republicans don't like.

Besides, while the House health care bill may have 2,000 pages, the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was only 5 pages long (really, 4 and a quarter), so there was no question that everybody could read every word. So, all you page counters: Which vote will look better in retrospect?

2009-11-03T10:58:00.006-07:00

Like Father, Like Son

It's a That 70's Show remake! It's Freaky Friday but with marching and music! And YouTube!

You can check the Harvard University Band blog for the official (but not yet posted) videos, but a Band parent has already posted videos of pregame, halftime, and the beginning of the march back to the Square after the game:

Pregame:

Halftime:

March back:

2009-11-03T10:56:00.001-07:00

Maira Kalman on Our Democracy

Recommended.

2009-10-22T10:05:00.003-07:00

Jon Kyl Decides It's More Important To Hurt Democrats Than To Help Doctors

Announces he'll vote againt his own bill. Maybe he's a secret health care mole somehow? It's not very easy to get the AMA mad at Republicans, that's a nice trick.

2009-10-09T08:58:00.005-07:00

Non-Prize-Winning Jokes

Working on the proper humorous reaction to today's Nobel Peace Prize announcement:

Sure, it's nice, but it's not like it's an honorary degree from ASU
Don't react immediately; instead, wait for David Broder and Robert Robb to explain how this actually is good news for the Republicans
There goes Michael Crow's chance to serve on the Nobel Prize committee
See? The rest of the world doesn't like the GOP, either.
Or else they secretly want to see Bill Kristol's head explode. That would be pretty cool.
It's a double-edged sword. Because winning the Nobel Peace Prize can really ruin your whole day.
So Obama can't do anything in Copenhagen, but he's a hero in Stockholm? Choose your Scandanavian destination carefully, I always say. (Yes, the award ceremony -- for the Peace Prize only -- is in Oslo but the committee is based in Stockholm, where the other awards are given on the same day. I'm not letting you make my travel arrangements.)

Maybe the Nobel people are simply relieved at having a US president whose first reaction to anything isn't to bomb or send (more) troops. Still, that position got 46% of the vote in November.

2009-10-05T08:10:00.007-07:00

Tour de Scottsdale 2009

Seventy miles, 3:39:09. The organizers give the time down to the tenth of a second, which is what we call in the business either (a) excessive or (b) a joke. But if you're keeping score at home, officially it was 3:39:09.2. Full results here. No photos yet. Not bad, overall; it was fairly windy and while I got dropped by the pack around mile 55, I finished about 2.5 minutes behind my goal. A lot of work to do before ETT next month, though.

2009-10-03T14:22:00.003-07:00

"If It's Only Broke For Tens Of Millions Of People, Don't Fix It."

Financing health care for anyone less than 65 years old is socialism, I tell you. Socialism!

2009-09-21T09:32:00.003-07:00

At Least Dan Quayle Wasn't Elected in '96, Either

I'm now old enough that I'm eligible for a college newspaper's dive into the archives. I look scarily young (and presumably healthy). I don't recall the Tucson rally as focused on health care, but what the heck.

2009-09-19T08:54:00.005-07:00

He Said, She Said: Special Muslim Man-on-the-Street Edition!

You could read this Arizona Republic article three times, as I did, and finish with absolutely no idea whether CAIR is evil and connected with terrorist organizations, or if its real crime is not being acceptable to right-wing Republicans. It's also not clear if the American Islamic Forum for Democracy has any members apart from its president, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser. But what's beyond dispute is that Dr. Jasser is the Repubic's right-wing Islamic answer to Greg Packer.

2009-09-19T08:44:00.003-07:00

White People, Obsessed With Race

Of course they all have to ask the President. They probably don't know any other black people.

See also Andy Borowitz: Criticism of Obama 'Not About Race,' Says New Poll of White People.

2009-09-05T05:16:00.003-07:00

More Murtha, Less Johnstown

Now the Wall Street Journal joins in, going after the Cambria County airport, another local earmark-fest. Here's Matthew Yglesias, taking the long view more expansively than my prior post. We're getting to critical mass here, which can't be good for Johnstown.

I'm on the email list of a Johnstown guy, who sends out constant streams of emails about Israel and whose latest missives are World Net Daily (!) articles on Van Jones. (He sent around articles about the birth certificate lawsuits during the election but has since moved on, unlike the last remnant Birthers, so he's not completely untrainable.) His legal and lobbying practice is completely dependent on Jack Murtha. Very dark storm clouds are gathering, if not for next fall then after redistricting in 2012, and he's obsessing about Van Jones.

You can see what's happening, it's the Reverse Johnstown Flood. When the federal dollars stop flowing, the buildings will still be standing and there won't be any mud to clean up, but the effect on the community will be equivalent to when the steel mills shut down.

2009-08-31T22:39:00.001-07:00

My Home Towns

My original home town gets a visit from The New Republic, and they can learn a lesson from my home town now. I fear Jason Zengerle gets Johnstown's economic future right. The community's leadership sees a diversified economy, moving away from dependence on government contracting in the same way that Phoenix's leadership saw our economy diversifying from dependence on real estate. (Look at all the finance, law, accounting, and title insurance firms! Tourism! Retail! Call centers!)

The temptation to credit success to your own virtue is fairly impossible to resist. Once luck runs out, however, the result isn't pretty.

2009-08-31T11:31:00.005-07:00

He "Overcame Great Privilege to Build a Life of Real Accomplishment."

My Ted Kennedy appreciation in this week's Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. (Conclusion of rest of article: Yes, he was good for the Jews.)

2009-08-30T21:14:00.005-07:00

This Cartoon Was Much Funnier In The Original German

Which must be why the Arizona Republic editorial page chose to print it this past Saturday.

Special audience participation contest: See if you can count the number of unproved assumptions in one little cartoon. ("Because Dick Cheney said so" is not proof.) First prize is a week in Gitmo. Second prize--need you ask?

2009-08-30T19:58:00.006-07:00

They Drop the House Liberal, and Nine Months Later They're Bankrupt

Freedom Communications to file for bankruptcy this coming week, according to the New York Times. It's cause for glee in some circles, however unseemly. So now the creditors can do to the owners what the owners did to the reporters. And what will happen to the Hoiles family's fourth generation--the ones that now (gasp!) have to get jobs?

There are two lessons to be learned here: (1) Drop my column, lose your newspaper. Post hoc, ergo prompter hoc. (2) Subscribe to the Arizona Guardian. It's outlasted the Tribune!

2009-07-26T13:14:00.003-07:00

NYC Triathlon Results

Age group 104/151
Swim 18:21, rate 1:06
T1 7:56
Bike 1:24:51, rate 17.6
T2 3:57
Run 1:04:01, rate 10:19
Total 2:59:03 -- Under 3 hours!

Update: More Photos!

Here's another picture, from the beginning of the run as we head into Central Park. Please note that I'm running too slowly to make it into the picture (that's my arm at the right edge of the frame):

2009-07-04T18:52:00.001-07:00

The Award-Winning Beth Schermer

Last week at the American Health Lawyers Association annual meeting in DC, Beth received the David J. Greenburg Service Award from AHLA. (The page has just been updated!) You’d never get Beth to admit that she’s been honored, so I thought I’d better let people know.

This is a wonderful honor, and well deserved, and just in time, too; I was sitting at the dinner and as they read the list of past recipients, I started thinking “One of these years, these guys had better give this award to Beth or I’ll—be really, really grateful I didn’t say anything out loud.”

2009-07-02T09:36:00.001-07:00

The Internet! Now With Broadway Show Tunes!

It's like they made it just for me.

2009-06-08T19:54:00.006-07:00

Lake Tahoe Century 2009

It's called "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride" and it probably is. I rode with my peeps from Westchester-Hudson Valley again, and had a great time. Thanks to the recession, we had much better accommodations (no disorientation from having to walk through a casino everytime you enter or leave the hotel), and I learned my lesson about bathroom breaks last year (which is don't wait until the rest stops, use the facilities at the state parks along the route, or the supermarkets, or the ski area. No lines, while people are standing dozens deep at the port-a-johns).

We were all worried because Saturday was miserable, constant rain and temps in the low 40's. But it stopped raining Saturday night, and while it was cloudy at the start, the sun came out around 9 am and stayed out. It's still an odd ride--spectacularly beautiful, all around the lake. But they don't close the roads, and you have to ride single file, and among cyclists of widely varying skill and speed levels. People ride two abreast, which is against the rules, then hassle you if you ask if they intend to pass or will kindly get the frack out of the way. But if you figure you're just riding slowly much of the time and won't find a rhythm (or have a clear line of sight to the photographer), it's OK.

I also can recommend the J. T. Basque Bar and Dining Room in Gardnerville on the way to Tahoe--a ton of food for $15. The special Saturday for lunch was beef tongue stew. My grandmother would have been proud.

2009-05-30T14:05:00.003-07:00

When Jon Kyl Played The Race Card

In 2003, according to the Senate's #2 Republican, the only possible explanation for opposing confirmation of a Hispanic judge was prejudice:

Republicans have seized on Mr. Estrada's stalled nomination to drive a wedge between the Democratic Party and Hispanic voters, whose ranks are growing faster than any other minority group in America. "I see this, really, as a slap at Hispanics," Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, said Wednesday.

Washington Times, March 14, 2003. Isn't NEXIS wonderful?

2009-05-26T10:30:00.004-07:00

Constitutional Law with Jon Kyl

Sen. Jon Kyl on the propriety of Senate filibusters of judicial nominees:

"For 214 years it has been the tradition of the Senate to approve judicial nominees by a majority vote. Many of our judges and, for example, Clarence Thomas, people might recall, was approved by either fifty-one or fifty-two votes as I recall. It has never been the rule that a candidate for judgeship that had majority support was denied the ability to be confirmed once before the Senate. It has never happened before. So we're not changing the rules in the middle of the game. We're restoring the 214-year tradition of the Senate because in the last two years Democrats have begun to use this filibuster....
This is strictly about whether or not a minority of senators is going to prevent the president from being able to name and get confirmed judges that he chooses after he's been elected by the American people. And it's never been the case until the last two years that a minority could dictate to the majority what they could do." [NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Judicial Wars, 4/25/05].

But that was then, this is now:

Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl on Sunday refused to rule out a filibuster if President Barack Obama seeks a Supreme Court justice who decides cases based on "emotions or feelings or preconceived ideas."

The Senate's No. 2 Republican made clear he would use the procedure if Obama follows through on his pledge to nominate someone who takes into account human suffering and employs "empathy" from the bench.
Kyl acknowledged that his party likely does not have enough votes to sustain a filibuster, but he said nonetheless he would try to delay or derail the nomination if Obama ventures outside the "mainstream."

It makes sense once you realize that instead of the Constitution, what Senator Kyl wishes to preserve, protect, and defend is the Republican Party of the United States. After all, wasn't that the holding of Marbury v. Madison, that it's OK if you're a Republican? Or was it "two wrongs make a right?" I can't remember, 2005 was so long ago.

2009-05-19T08:39:00.007-07:00

Promotional Consideration Provided To My Little Ol' Law Firm

Which isn't quite so little anymore. Here's our updated announcement of our recent comings and going. The original appeared in the Arizona Attorney magazine, but the deadline for the ad was too soon to include our newest arrival, Naomi Jorgensen.

People here were a bit freaked initially over Andy's departure but from what I can see, the net result is that as a firm, we're younger, smarter, and better looking.

2009-05-18T17:29:00.002-07:00

Brief Moment of Self-Promotion (as opposed to all our other programming?)

In the hope that this humble blog will become a must-visit destination for readers interested in both politics and resolving real estate boundary disputes short of litigation, click here or here for information about the continuing legal education seminar that I am presenting with Scott Malm of Gust Rosenfeld P.L.C. and John Stock, PLS, USMS, CFM, of the Maricopa County Flood Control District on June 9th entitled "Boundary Disputes: Resolving Conflicts Without Going to Court." We hope it's "Must-See CLE."

2009-05-18T17:19:00.008-07:00

A Hot Time in Tempe

Results from Sunday's Tempe International Triathlon are available here (scroll down for the Men 50-54 results.) (UPDATE: Photos!) It was a good swim, a barely OK (at best) bike, and a very long, very slow, and very hot run. I had hoped to break 3 hours but straggled home in 3:09:43 (378/540 overall, age group 20/27.) But my one point for finishing helped my team (Go Ungainly Named Tri-Scottsdale/Gage Racing Triathlon Club!) win the state team championship. (Now maybe the emails will stop.) But if I can get my run time down to a far less embarrassing 59 minutes, show more speed on the bike, and work on my transitions, I should be able to break 3:00 in NYC in July. I hope.

No wetsuits, the water was too warm. Too bad, as it's hard not to look cool in a wetsuit.