Fifty Shades of Black

CO State Rep. Diana DeGette (D) “I will tell you these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now they’re going to shoot them, so if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will have been shot and there won’t be any more available.” (April 2, 2013, Denver Post forum)

—wait.  what?

This is from Mark Bennett’s Blog.  He is a mentor of mine. 

When a per­son hires a lawyer because of the lawyer’s rela­tion­ship with the pros­e­cu­tor, he assumes that the pros­e­cu­tor will cut the per­son a break for the sake of that rela­tion­ship. Cut­ting the client a break for the sake of the rela­tion­ship with the lawyer would be sell­ing out the client (the State); that could happen.

But it’s at least as likely that the defense lawyer will sell out her client for the sake of the rela­tion­ship with the pros­e­cu­tor as that the pros­e­cu­tor will sell out his client for the sake of the rela­tion­ship with the defense lawyer. The pros­e­cu­tor has rep­re­sented his client for years; the defense lawyer has rep­re­sented hers for weeks.

By offer­ing her rela­tion­ship with the pros­e­cu­tor as a sell­ing point to the poten­tial client, the defense lawyer has said that lawyers sell out their clients for friend­ship, and that she is friends with some­one who would do so. Since birds of a feather flock together, the client can safely assume that the defense lawyer also would sell out a client for the sake of the same friendship.

Your poten­tial lawyer has a 20-year friend­ship with the pros­e­cu­tor. She has, so far, a thirty-minute rela­tion­ship with you. If she has to choose between those two rela­tion­ships, which will she choose?

Bet­ter by far to hire the lawyer for whom—and for whose friends on the other side—compromising the client’s inter­ests for the sake of friend­ship is not an option.

No?

A peace offering is pointless when they refuse to be real negotiation partners.

“The law exempts felons and the disabled, and anyone who objects to carrying a gun can refuse to participate with no penalty. Nelson’s city council claims that the requirement will preempt efforts by the government to “confiscate personal firearms,” something no one has proposed doing”

(President Samuel L. Jackson.)

A group of researchers have created a “Geography of Hate” map revealing racist and homophobic tweet concentrations across the U.S.

Wow.  Way to go, Texas.  I’m so proud.  

This is apparently stroke prevention month.  Didn’t know that before now.  Strokes are bad and I have some friends and associates who have had them.  Read this thing so you can know the signs.