CALIFORNIA SNOW

I really like California snow. It stays up in the mountains so I can visit it whenever I want. It does not block my driveway. I call it polite snow.

Californians really like their snow.

I was totally shocked when I discovered that California schools each chose different Easter vacation weeks. I was reliably informed that this is because otherwise the ski resorts got too full, and some of the children would be unable to ski. That year my son had chicken pox while my daughter was on Easter break, then my daughter had chicken pox while my son was on Easter break. So I was REALLY unhappy with the schools.

Then I discovered that the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, churches, and various friends would arrange ski trips for my children. Since the wheel chair does not work well in snow, I was really grateful.

The cost of these snow trips was very reasonable as the children would sleep on the floor. Ski clothes for the kids were found at the Palo Alto Goodwill. Thrift stores in wealthy areas are better for such purchases. Most poor people do not give away ski clothes.

So, if someone invites your children to go skiing, accept. Honestly, you can stop worrying about child molesters. The Boy Scouts solved this problem. Just tell your children that they will be safe if they travel in pairs. The molester has to get the kid alone in order to molest. This also makes pairs of adults almost perfectly safe. Adults who hunt in pairs tend to be so weird that they are not trusted.

I always felt really guilty as I slept late, avoided all cartoons, and ate food too expensive for more than one serving. Well, I did WANT to feel guilty. %<)

LOW COST KID PRESENTS AGE 4 - 11

The present that my children used until it was destroyed was a tape with me reading the Just So Stories. You can record onto a CD using a computer. (The kids need to be able to replay the recording. This means that you need to use child friendly play back. Fisher Price used to have a child proof tape player. It even survived the milk. They probably have an updated version.)

My children listened to book tapes as they went to sleep. They LOVED the Just So Stories, but I could not find a professional tape of the stories. I gave them the book so they could follow along if they wished.

You could scan family photos and give the children a digital photo album. Be certain to mark the photos so they know who the people are.

You can buy books at a used book store. I think comic books can be a good way to encourage reading. I still have copies of Star Wars and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Encyclopedia Brown books are always good.

There used to be a really neat toy, which had a compass and two lenses. It could be used as a magnifying glass and a low power binoculars. The toy worked sort of like a Transformer toy as you had to manipulate the toy in order to use it. We took these on walks and to zoos.

Kids learn best when they can touch, feel, build, take apart, explore. Buy things that help them do this.

Do not give electronic shooting games to children. Buy games like Legend of Zelda, where you have to explore and solve logic puzzles. If you must buy shooting games, let the targets be ducks. If you think shooting electronic ducks is evil, then you certainly should not be shooting electronic people.

REMEMBER THAT KIDS BREAK THINGS. Do not give them expensive electronics.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

It will not be possible to have happy holidays for retail stores if the middle class has to worry about a 2013 tax increase. It will not be possible for the poor and the sick to have happy holidays if they will not be able to get food stamps in 2013.

I fail to understand how Christians can believe that giving more money to the rich is the correct way to run a country. For 150 years we have known that the rich are usually so selfish that they have to be forced to pay workers a living wage. Currently, the rich are whining that they will not be able to hire workers without a tax cut for the rich. Did you know the US gives tax credits for hiring workers? A worker's pay is a tax deductible business expense.

These selfish rich people are acting like three year old children. Three year olds often state that every toy in the house is "MINE!"

Their excuse is that they want a smaller government. Of course, a smaller government will not have the resources to stop fraudulent businesses, which means that the middle class can kiss their money goodbye, AGAIN.

A CONGRESSIONAL GOING AWAY PRESENT

Let's give Barney Frank and Ron Paul a going away present. Pass HR 2306, and stop federal prohibition of marijuana. It is the only issue where Democrats and Libertarians actually agree.

If any other substance had shown the cancer curing properties of cannabinoids in marijuana, people would be demanding US research into a promising cure that does not damage non cancer tissue. I can not understand how cancer doctors can ignore a substance that does not cause hair to fall out. But no one can do effective research because of our draconian drug laws. If you do not believe me, Google "national cancer institute marijuana".

The National Cancer Institute also says that a marijuana overdoses can NOT kill people. Too much alcohol can kill people.

Perhaps the Republicans will violate their pledge to not raise taxes if they have a chance to tax non medical marijuana.

The Prohibition of Marijuana is not working. Anybody who wants to buy marijuana can buy it. Because it is illegal, it is easier for children to purchase marijuana than to purchase alcohol.

Let the states decide whether to make marijuana illegal.

UNRECORDED JUSTICE IS A DENIAL OF JUSTICE

In order to save money, courts are not providing court reporters. This often means there is no record of the hearing. I am certain that it is just coincidental that no reporter's transcript means no appeal is possible, allowing the judge to rule without fear of appeal.

This can result in injustice. To illustrate, I will give you an example of one of my current cases.

An administrative judge ruled that a person was not telling the truth because the person "denied being represented by counsel even though his attorney also signed off on the agreement."

The transcript reads:

"You were advised and represented by counsel before you signed this agreement, correct?"

"No. I talked to a lawyer."

This would be funny, if it were not also tragic. The person was testifying by telephone from thousands of miles away. Obviously, the person did not understand complex legal language. So the judge ruled that he did not tell the truth.

Without a transcript, there is no way to tell if the judge misheard something. In a divorce, a hearing without a transcript is an exercise in futility. If you have ever talked with both persons involved in a divorce, you know that they hold radically differing views of the facts. So unless testimony is recorded, it is pretty much a waste of breath.

We can all read the transcripts of the Salem witch trials held in 1692. But poor people who can not afford to hire a court reporter will never see the transcripts of their hearings in 2012.

WHY BORING BEIGE IS 'IN'

For most of human history, color was king. Only the rich and powerful could afford the paints and dyes for intense color.

Then, in the early 1800s, Lord Elgin brought part of the Greek Parthenon to London. The life like marble friezes were the talk of the town. Tourists started visiting Greece and Egypt, bringing back statues in marble, sandstone, and alabaster. Suddenly, beige and ivory were the height of sophistication. Ancient civilizations were 'in'.

The joke is that these white and beige statues were originally painted in bright colors.

So feel free to wear scarlet! Show that you are not ignorant. %<)

A GREAT MAN BETRAYED BY HIS DELILAH

General Petraeus was betrayed by his vindictive lover, who I believe carefully planned to bring him down. I am wondering if she is the one who leaked the fake story of prisoners being held in Benghazi.

I find it interesting that Fox News aired the fake prisoner story just before the lover talked about the fake prisoner story in a public speech. The lover had a high level security clearance, so her speech about possible Benghazi prisoners might have gotten her arrested unless she got the information from Fox News. If you believe that people with security clearances believe Fox News, I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might want to buy.

I mourn the loss to the US of the services of one of the great men of the 21st Century.

I am horrified by my theory that the vindictive lover and the Republican Party were planning an October surprise and that the late October speech by the lover was intended to be that surprise.

  

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY

Veterans, have a happy day! Thank you for risking your life to keep us all safe and free. Hopefully, we will never forget.

I can not forget the veteran in a wheel chair who whispered to me how very important marijuana was to her/him. (S)he said that marijuana made it possible to enjoy things, even when his/her pain level was overwhelming.

Then the veteran told me that (s)he was still buying marijuana on the black market, even though (s)he could have gone to a medical marijuana clinic here in California. (S)he was afraid that the draconian federal marijuana laws would prevent her/him from getting veterans benefits if (s)he was discovered to be using a drug which the federal government does not even allow doctors to prescribe.

As an attorney, I had to confirm that her/his fears about losing his/her veteran's benefits was a rational response to the current federal laws regarding use of drugs. This is because federal law treats marijuana as the worst of the worst of drugs. Use of marijuana can cause you to lose almost any federal benefit.

Our stupid federal marijuana laws are keeping our veterans in needless pain.

Congress needs to pass HR 2306. Let the states decide how to regulate and tax marijuana.

MAY ALL VETERANS HAVE A HAPPY DAY!

iPAD v. TV

My TV is broken. While I decide if it is better to fix the TV or buy a new one, I am watching shows via the internet. There are three problems with watching TV using my iPad.

Many of my favorate shows are not available unless I use a site that does not pay for content. Since I believe that artists should be paid for their work, I am not able to get shows like Covert Affairs, The Mentalist, NCIS LA, and the latest Masterpiece Mysteries.

My cat HATES the iPad. He believes laps are for cats.

Big Brother Apple will not let me turn off the sound during commercials! Not even the turn off sound button works to shut off the sound. Off course, there is also no fast forwarding. Makes you wonder why the TV companies hate the internet. Seems to be a bad choice for their advertisers to only allow the shows to be shown on network TV..

HOORAY! HOORAY! DRAT!

President Obama will be President for four more years! The Democrats have a majority in the Senate! Republicans will still have a majority in the House.

PEOPLE VOTED!!!!!

In California it is HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! Democrats may even get a super majority so that Republicans can not block tax increases. Keep your fingers crossed.

At least women do not have to worry about their right to control their own bodies. Sick people will be able to get health insurance.

There is still work to do.

So think about the gerrymandering that kept Republicans in the House of Representatives. Did you know that there is no statute of limitations on violating civil rights under cover of authority?

California should think about a constitutional convention. Our constitution is a real mess. As Proposition 40 taught us, money does not confer wisdom.

We also need to think about boycotting all Koch Industry's company products.

BUT FIRST, CELEBRATE. You deserve it.

REVENGE OF THE VOTERS

Let's make voting like a line for Star Wars tickets. For those of you too young to remember the fun of standing in line for a great movie, the line was like a street party. But in this line, everybody gets to vote. IF YOU ARE IN LINE BEFORE THE POLLS CLOSE, THEY HAVE TO LET YOU VOTE. It is the law, and if anyone breaks this law, they could be guilty of a federal felony.

BTW, the law also says that your employer MUST give you time off to vote. Remember that voting is secret and you do not have to obey a bullying employer. Vote the way YOU want.

THE RULES OF THE PARTY LINE.

This is a party. Hold places in line for people getting coffee or mobile food. Dress for comfort. If it is raining, bring all your umbrellas to share. If TV says the lines are really long, consider bringing a tent or lawn chairs.

A LOT of women are voting this year. Feel free to buy them coffee, but no touching and you get to ask for her number only ONCE.

Please let the elderly go to the front of the line. If someone gives you a good story about why they need to vote right away, consider asking everyone to agree to let the person cut to the front of the line. Impatient people can ruin a good party.

I do not know about you, but the Republican idea of letting businesses do what they want, including ripping us off, has trashed my life. I am really looking forward to voting against them this year.

BENGHAZI AND THE CIA

I was not surprised by the news that the CIA was involved in defending the Benghazi mission on September 11, 2012.

I did not blog about my suspicion regarding the CIA for the same reason that President Obama did not talk about the CIA's involvement. Sometimes the need to protect agents on foreign soil is more important than the need for the American people to know exactly what happened and when. This is especially true when talking about the CIA could either get them killed or interfere with an important covert investigation.

I was also not surprised by Fox News and the Republicans trying to get political points from the Benghazi tragedy. After all, the Bush administration "outed" a CIA undercover operative in retaliation for her husband reporting that it was unlikely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

I think Fox and the Republicans are trying to get people to believe that the death of Osama bin Laden was unimportant.

I am constantly amazed at how stupid Fox News and the Republicans think we are.

STORM'S AFTERMATH

Yesterday someone told me that the New York subways would never work again. Some of the subways are running already.

There are a lot of rumors and faked photos, according the Britain's Guardian newspaper. The Guardian lists sites that post updates for electricity and transportation. The Guardian also says that the New York Daily News has been reliably reporting photos and transportation updates.

Please be careful when you watch TV with young children. They can be more traumatized by the reporting of the disaster than by the disaster itself. I found that buying the children small disaster kits with first aid, flashlights and batteries to be very helpful. I highly recommend the kind of flashlights that you can work without batteries. These flashlights have a little pump to generate electricity when their batteries are not functional. A small radio is another good addition.

When the big 1989 earthquake hit the Bay Area, I did not even have a working radio. Two weeks before the earthquake, my father sent me a big box of batteries in all sizes. I was able to provide batteries to the entire neighborhood  and someone lent me a radio. It was actually fun to meet all my neighbors.

Sometimes good can come from bad. A flood in Florence, Italy, damaged scores of important old paintings. When the paintings were restored the restorers discovered that hundreds of years of soot and grime covered vibrant colors. This lead to the restoration of the Sistine Chapel.

At least the New York subways will be clean. %<)