tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324795343861877481.post8337698949266489910..comments2023-10-03T07:42:45.588-04:00Comments on November Fifth: What does it mean when we say "America"?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324795343861877481.post-1806426878396016822009-01-03T10:56:00.000-05:002009-01-03T10:56:00.000-05:00This was most excellent and perfectly timed. I hav...This was most excellent and perfectly timed. I have been thinking a lot of "American" lately and I do spend a lot of time reading the Constitution (I'm not really sure why it fascinates me so) in addition to be a prospective law student, you really nailed me with this one.<BR/><BR/>It reminds me of a particular incident in which a (quite wealthy) foster family was causing some problems for the foster care agency and a birth family...these problems came to an abrupt halt when the supervisor at the agency (and my friend) simply asked "would it be better if we got a attorney involved." It worked for her because she had the "agency" behind her, it would not have worked for the birth family (nor would they ever have thought to seek legal consultation in the matter), they would have been bullied by the foster family's cash reserves and access to the legal system.Sidhehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03997017630623707478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324795343861877481.post-49861371780243551352009-01-02T07:43:00.000-05:002009-01-02T07:43:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04011502155494655727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324795343861877481.post-65747351657506316152009-01-02T00:45:00.000-05:002009-01-02T00:45:00.000-05:00Very well said. We've spent so long awash in the ...Very well said. We've spent so long awash in the politics of division that it will be a long haul to find our way back to consensus. Our founding fathers based our government on the idea of compromise. Our leaders have forsaken that ideal for partisanship. It's far past time for us to learn to live together, to agree to disagree and find the common ground. I hope that Obama, as a thinking, educated person, can lead us back to our true American roots.<BR/><BR/>And thank you for the compliment. It's still a wonderment to me that people I've never met read my blog. If you keep reading, I'll keep writing. Agreed?Stacy Hackenberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17402317390064027370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324795343861877481.post-9835131203459517392009-01-01T23:51:00.000-05:002009-01-01T23:51:00.000-05:00Skyewriter, that was so well written and so beauti...Skyewriter, that was so well written and so beautifully done. I am so impressed.<BR/> <BR/>I was laughing that you called the Hawaii department of Health. As a lawyer, I find that whole brouhaha over the certificate such a waste of the courts time, effort and energy. I actually went to the blogs where they were discussing the legal "strategy" and it was obvious to me that these are some right wingnuts. Suffice it to say, I don't think they care much about interpreting the law, but as you say, they are using our court system to express their beliefs and it gets them play on CNN once in a while.<BR/><BR/>The legal system. It's funny, I am a defense lawyer for corporations and you would think that I might agree that there are a lot of frivolous lawsuits, but I actually find that this is part of the whole Republican mantra that is actually designed to strip people of their rights. I don't see so many frivolous lawsuits. Some obviously have more merit than others, but the whole reason people end up in court in the first place is that they can't agree on something and it is a rare thing when one side is completely wrong and the other side completely right.<BR/><BR/>So, with all its flaws, I see out legal system as a microcosm of the greater America. it has its inherent prejudices, bad judges, SCOTUS ruling that a woman should bring an unequal pay claim within a certain time frame when she would have no way of knowing that her pay was unequal, but more often than not, I see a lot of really good work. I think of the Southern Poverty Law center, the much maligned ACLU, Warren Berger, Thurgood Marshall...I could go on.<BR/><BR/>I do think that you are absolutely right that the greatest flaw in our legal system is that the poor cannot afford representation. They pay for it dearly too. The poor are routinely taken advantage of by people who threaten them with legalproceedings that they fear and they cannot afford to hire an attorney.<BR/><BR/>To me, this experiment that we call Democracy can be so messyand unpredictable, it doesn't always work perfectly well, but just as it gives the "obamanots" their day in court, it also gives us Brown vs. Board of Education and all of the miraculous, ugly and crazy stuff in between. It gave us Obama. Where else would that have happened?<BR/><BR/>Thanks so much for your post and your very kind words. your students are very lucky to have a teacher with a mind like yours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com