FREE CALIFORNIA LEGAL INFORMATION -- GREAT STUFF

There is a GREAT website, which is actually for judges, but available to anyone who has an internet connection. It is a set of Benchguides for California judges, with the current law on MANY different subjects. The pdf books are jointly published by the California Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the California Center for Judicial Education and Research.

Many private websites are now offering these books. I would highly recommend that you use an official State of California website (which always has "ca" somewhere in the web address). This insures that you are reading the most recent update of the book, which is always important in law.

You can search using "California judge benchguide" plus the legal topic you want or you can go direct to the index of the Benchguides, which is http://www2.courtinfo.ca.gov/protem/pubs/

The people who publish these books RUN the California court system. The books contain a synopsis of the law, with case citations. Usually this kind of research is only available from a law library or an expensive legal research company.

Happy researching!

MORTALITY VS. IMMORTALITY

All life on earth is mortal, in that everyone and everything eventually dies.

This foreknowledge of mortality does not help when someone you love dies. It helps somewhat if the person who died lived a long and full life. But the person is still gone from your life forever, leaving an empty spot.

Fantasy novels tell tales of immortal elves, who live forever, unless killed in battle. The novels make it clear that the price the elves pay for a long life is having almost no children. I would not agree to immortality with no children, not that I have a choice in the matter.

We often portray the new year as a baby and the old year as an old man as a reminder about the cycle of birth, life and death.

Unfortunately, right now, all this philosophy does not make me feel better about loss. I still mourn.

A MORE PEACEFUL EARTH WITH FEWER ATOMIC BOMBS

I am asking Santa for a step towards peace on earth. If the Senate approves the START treaty, Russia and the US will have fewer atomic bombs, we will get to inspect Russia's bombs, and we will be able to replace our older atomic bombs with spiffy new atomic bombs.

Five former Secretaries of State, all Republicans, have said the treaty is a good idea.

However, Republican Senators are resisting voting for anything that did not come from a Republican President. Hey, guys, the first START treaty came from a Republican President.

Call your Senator and ask for the treaty to be ratified.

Let us make one small step towards peace on earth.

NO MONEY FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS?

Our relentless American advertisements make us all believe that the December Holidays are about presents, and expensive food and drink.

The December Holidays are about friends, family, religion, and an acknowledgement of the New Year. All these things can be celebrated using little or no money. Actually, some of the very best celebrations I have attended have been done using a limited budget.

It is all in your attitude. In the Little House book, The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder tells of the Christmas Pa got caught in the big snow. Pa had to eat the children's only Christmas present, hard candy. The family celebrated anyway. Pa was alive, they were together, and that was enough.

Even if you are by yourself, plan on doing SOMETHING on the day you usually celebrate. Take a walk, make a special food, volunteer to feed the poor, anything but sit at home feeling sorry for yourself.

Who knows, it might be your best Holiday ever.

IN MY DREAMS

In my dreams, I am running or riding a horse, speeding over the prairie of my childhood. In reality, I walk slowly, using a wheelchair for trips over half a block.

In my dreams, I am traveling to see my family for the holidays. In reality, travel is very difficult for me, especially in the snow or rain.

Like a blind person, I have carefully set up my life so that I can do the maximum number of things without anyone else noticing there is something wrong. As my arthritis gets worse, I quietly mourn each loss of freedom of movement.

But the worse thing about all this is the difficulty of travel. A phone call is not the same as a hug. Slowly, the friends and family who live far away become strangers.

I tell myself that it could be worse. And it could be. My disease could prevent me from doing anything, or I could live in an underdeveloped country where I would not be able to have a wheelchair and a wheelchair van.

And I do have friends and family. I do my best to celebrate the joy rather than mourn the things I used to be able to do.

WIKILEAKS -- FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads:

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...."*

The US Supreme Court will hold the STEALER of secrets responsible for the theft. The Court will also NOT prevent the publication of secret information unless it can be proven that such information is causing damage. The Court does not consider embarrassment to be damage.

Wikileaks has been really smart and really reasonable about the information that they have acquired. Lawyers around the world should be in awe of the strategy that almost certainly insures the continuing leaking of information. The most important aspects of this strategy has four components.

1. Wikileaks is NOT the only organization that has the information. The information is also in the possession of five respected newspapers in five different countries. They are The New York Times, in the USA; Le Monde, in France; El Pais, in Spain; Der Spiegal, in Germany; and The Guardian, in Great Britain.

2. These newspapers and Wikileaks have spent months redacting (editing) the information so that no person is put in danger. The New York Times had plenty of time to consult with US government agencies about the content of the cables.

3. ALL of these countries have laws protecting freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Each country has slightly different laws.

4. Even if Wikileaks disappears from the face of the earth, the information will still be leaked. Too many people have possession of the information for the information to continue to remain secret.

LET THE COURTS AND THE DIPLOMATS SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. Denial of service attacks are exactly the same as burning books, which most of us deplore.

Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are basic protections essential to democracy. It is not possible to have a working democracy without a full debate on the issues. We need to know things, because the ultimate decisions are up to us, the voters.

OUR COURTS have worked on the problem of protection of necessary secrets since the American Revolution. LET THEM SOLVE THIS.

BTW, people who publish secrets KNOW that they take a risk. I am sorry Assange is in jail, but, as far I know, Britain and Sweden have acceptable systems of justice. Let the British and Swedish courts solve this problem.

* ... means some words were left out because they are not relevant to the current discussion. .... means that the words left out were at the end of the sentence.

SHALL WE MAKE THE RICH RICHER OR MAKE THE POOR POORER?

I agree with President Obama. As distasteful as it is to give millionaires a tax break, it would be even worse to allow the unemployed to suffer homelessness and worse.

It is unfortunate that the rich get a two year break and the unemployed get a one year break. It is something to remember during the next election.

BUT WE NEED MORE STIMULUS AND THIS IS ECONOMIC STIMULUS. So pass the bill quickly and get the atomic bomb treaty done also.

BTW, I think the reason that people do not want millionaires to pay taxes is that, like girls wanting to go to the Prince's ball, everyone in the US wants to be a millionaire. And when they reach their illusory goal, they do not want to pay taxes. NO ONE seems to have the attitude of, "This country made me rich, now I can pay back for the infrastructure that allowed me to become rich."

NEW INTERNET SCAM -- DYING CANCER PATIENT TO GIVE MONEY

The new internet scam is an email from a fake doctor saying that his patient is dying and would like to give you money.

YOU DO NOT GET MONEY FROM EMAIL FROM AN UNKNOWN PERSON. These kinds of emails are SCAMS and will COST YOU MONEY.

The people who fall for these scams are the people who are desperate for money. Unfortunately, the scam artist will make their money problems WORSE.

BETHLEHEM IN SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA

I LOVE history recreations. Often, the recreation gives you SOME of the feel of what like was like during a particular time and place. For instances, I always enjoy the Renaissance Pleasure Faire.

I am NOT a fan of Victorian Christmas, which I think started the "only the rich can properly celebrate Christmas" attitude. However, the Dickens Faire can be a lot of fun. And you can buy great gifts at the Dickens Faire.

Myself, I try every year to go to the local churches' recreation of the town of Bethlehem, set up in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church of Santa Clara. There are donkeys, camels, examples of shops from the time of Christ, Mary, the innkeeper, and very little "preaching". Each year it gets more elaborate.

No matter your religion, the WORDS that are quoted as the words of Jesus are useful for living a good life.

You cannot buy anything at Bethlehem. But you can make bracelets, pet camels, kneed bread, and watch the reenactment of the birth of Jesus. My favorite year was the year some of the wisemen rode camels.

WIKILEAKS

I think the reason this US State Department information was available to a private first class, a very LOW rank, is that the cables were designed as an insider's political and historical lesson for people being considered for the job of political analyst.

This information is either NOT a surprise or is a logical extrapolation of events in the news.

I WAS surprised by the Chinese envoy's comments about North Korea, but it makes sense that China would prefer that South Korea be saddled with the expense of a shattered North Korea.

The snarky comments were left in the cables to keep people interested in reading the stuff, which is mostly fairly boring information.

BTW, I read the entire cable about Prince Andrew and I think it was the Americans that Prince Andrew was "just short of rude" to. His hosts seem to have been very pleased with him.

The Guardian in London has almost all of the cables up in a searchable date base.

Oh, and I was almost certainly RIGHT about China and backdoors! It is time to stop infighting and PAY ATTENTION. (All you need to do is search for the Google China information, and the information on part of the internet, including military information, being briefly diverted to China, instead of where it was supposed to go.)

DEAR ABBY IS WRONG! ALCOHOL IS NOT ALWAYS A GOOD GIFT!

Dear Abby says that alcohol is the perfect Christmas gift because if someone does not want the alcohol, they can give it to someone else.

GIVING ALCOHOL TO AN ALCOHOLIC IS A HORRIBLE CHRISTMAS PRESENT.

Many alcoholics do not tell other people about their problem. That is why they call their meetings "Alcoholics Anonymous". Some alcoholics do not want alcohol in their home because they know they are unable to resist temptation.

Unless you know a person well enough to know their favorite alcoholic beverage, do NOT give alcohol as a present EVER.

$900 TAX TO GIVE HALF OF HOUSE TO DAUGHTER

One of the easy ways to avoid probate for a home or a bank account is to put your child, or your children, as "joint tenants" on the deed or on the bank account. In California, the term "joint tenant" means that if one of the tenant dies, the other tenant gets the property.

BUT WAIT, THERE IS A NEW DOCUMENTARY TRANSFER TAX, which is a relatively EXPENSIVE tax. In a city in Santa Clara County, the transfer tax could be around $900.00 for a property worth $200,000. (See California Revenue and Taxation Code section 11911.) You can NOT record the change to the deed without paying the tax.

In Santa Clara County the only exemptions to the tax are transfers between married people and transfers to and from a TRUST. (LA County has more exemptions, so check with your own county.)

The DOWNSIDE of avoiding probate by joint tenancy is that you lose control over your property while you are still alive. The joint tenant on a bank account can clean out the bank account. The joint tenant on a house can refuse to agree to sell the house.

IT IS WAY BETTER TO HAVE A LIVING TRUST and a will. (Your 'living trust' is a trust which can be changed during your lifetime.) YOU CAN AVOID BOTH PROBATE AND THE TRANSFER TAX.

REMEMBER THAT A TRUST CAN ONLY AVOID PROBATE ON PROPERTY WHICH IS HELD BY THE TRUST. If you do a trust, but do not put the property into the name of the trust, you have wasted the time and money you spent on the trust.

You should also have a will in case some of your property does not get put into the trust.

I am offering a recession special of a living trust and a will, including preparing a new deed for your home, for $750.00. This includes a discussion with me about your wishes. This offer is for ONE person. Married people may need a more complex living trust.

Note that my trusts do NOT have the property and heirs as exhibits to the trust. In the age of computers, being lazy and putting property and heirs as exhibits is making fraud too easy to accomplish.