Unbelieveable

So a major story right now is everything that is happening with Dr. Gates. I believe that it is a travesty and shows how people can react when their authority is tested. For those of you who are not aware of the situation Dr. Henry Louis Gates was arrested for "disorderly conduct" after the police were called because neighbors were concerned that two balck men were trying to break into Dr. Gates' home. Now I appreciate a good Neighborhood Watch as much as the next person, but if these people are as nosey as I am assuming they are, shouldn't they have been able to recognize Dr. Gates?

So once the police arrived they claim that Dr. Gates refused to show any kind of identification despite the fact that they identified themselves immediately. Now I have not had much personal contact with the police, but I have been around police interactions and they are not always as forthcoming as they believe they are. Next the officer states that Dr. Gates became irate and was yelling obsenities and the acoustics in the foyer were preventing them from providing information to other units that were responding. Now let's think. An American man who has been accused of attempting to break into HIS OWN HOUSE has become upset. I wonder why? Also you have two men and I am assuming two police officers there already and one man MAY be yelling, but he is an older gentleman who would, presumably, lose in a fight against these two well trained officers. Are more units truly necessary?

Now, of course, Dr. Gates must tell his side of the story which seems plausible. He states that he presented identification and that when he requested the names and badge numbers he was met with resistance. And when the officers were departing his home, he followed them, requesting the same information and was subsequently arrested. Now as I said I have not had much personal contact with police, but I have had enough to know that some, not all, but some believe they ARE the law and do not like when their authority is questioned. Especially when they know the person is correct, so more often than not when the authority of this type of officer is question they, like the alpha male/female that they are, make attempts to regain their idea of control (i.e. striking fear into the hearts) and they can do this by fabricating information and making an arrest to show people who's boss. Now I am not saying that these officers were like this, but there are some things is their story that do not mesh well for me.

So I want to know what you think about all of this. I want comments. I want someone to discuss this with me. I want people's opinions, all of them. I want to know what people who believe the officer's side of the story to help me fill in my blanks. Maybe I am missing something, but I won't know unless you help me. I promise to post all comments unless they attack or use obscene language. I want to know what you think, but first I want you to think about what you know.

Update

So it's been a while since my last post. In part because I didn't really have any law related things to talk about, but also because I had to send my laptop back to HP so that it could be fixed. I had gone on a trip and managed to crack my screen right in Mr. Brady's spot and then because of the heat it spread. This was very distracting and unsightly, but thanks to HP's amazing customer service and their Accidental Damage Warranty what would have normally cost me >$400 cost me NOTHING! Amazing. I am a HP'er for life.

But as far as law school related updates go:

1. I got my first advance assignment. It's not that long, but the fact that the professor says that we probably won't understand it is not as comforting as one might think.
2. I have my complete orientation schedule. Thanks to my craziness I have already completed most of my tasks I can leave by three almost every day.
3. I have gotten 7/10 of my books. Now, some of them were very heavy so I took some advice that I found on another blog and had them ripped from their bindings and punched holes in them. Now I love books. I mean love to the point that even if I hate a book with a passion (Three Billion New Capitalists) I will not destroy or sell it. Ever. So when I got my books in the mail I forced myself not to peruse them so as not to get attached to them, but it still hurt to see them cut up and have the pages forcibly removed (at my request I know, but still). Then when the nice Kinko's lady was done she handed my the covers and I nearly cried, but think about how nice my back will feel. As a result of this (devastating) tip I will be able to carry only the pages I need rather than the whole book. Now of course the downside is I won't be able to sell them back to the bookstore, but it shouldn't be too hard to find a 1L next year with the same classes looking to take a few shortcuts.
4. I got all of my supplies (except for a chair and backpack) and I came in under budget which is good. I also came in under budget on my books too.

Really?

Ummm...Taboo did it first. And better.

One More Thing...

Kel over at A Woman in Law School is being kind enough to help out all of us lowly 0L's with weekly giveaways on the supplements that she used (obviously successfully) during her 1L year. As with anything there are rules:

1. You must (preferably) be a 1L starting August 2009. 2L's and 3L's you should no longer care about using supplements so please don't be greedy.
2. In order to enter you must leave a comment on her blog (and while you're there you might want to check out some of her earlier posts. Very insightful.)
3. When you leave your comment follow-up with a shout out on your blog so that Kel can reach as many people as possible.
4. You cannot win two consecutive weeks. (Please let Kel help as many people as she can. Don't be greedy)

As If There Is Not Enough To Be Ashamed Of.

In the beginning I would assume that Marion Barry seemed so promising to the people of Washington D.C. A good Black man who looked like he was in it for the people and not the promotion of himself. But then he got caught in a police sting in a hotel room with a prostitute SNORTING COCAINE! I mean I don't know that much about drugs but it seems that cocaine is like the king of drugs (correct me if I'm wrong). So a reasonable person would believe that his political career is over, but sadly (apparently) the reasonable minds of the American public went on a vacation; hopefully somewhere warm.

So after a six-month federal prison term Barry went on to run for a City Council seat with the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C." Now is it me or is that an underhanded insult? But I digress, the most perplexing thing about this is that HE WON. Now in the words of Chris Rock "if you get caught smoking crack at McDonald's you can't get your job back. They not gonna trust you around the Happy Meals...How you gonna tell little kids to not get high when the Man is on crack. 'Don't get high, you won't be nothing.' 'I could be mayor!' " Really, I mean does it get any truer than that?

That is bad, but what is worse is that Barry went on to ANOTHER term as mayor and then announced his intention to challenge Council Member At-Large Phil Mendelson for the Democratic Primary, but had to withdraw due to the fact that the U.S. Park Police found traces of marijuana and cocaine IN HIS CAR! That was in 2002 and in 2004 was RE-ELECTED for his former City Council seat. Now I think we need to sit back and think about this for a moment. The man is an admitted drug user and people continue to re-elect him to make important decisions about their lives?! I mean his decisions obviously can't be any worse than our last president, but c'mon people. Now the man has be arrested for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend. I think someone's rights to make decisions for himself (and the people of D.C.) permanently revoked because it is obviously too much responsibility.

Book and Supply Post

So I have always vehemently chosen Borders over Barnes & Noble for a couple of personal reasons, but also I despise the fact that they lump all the fiction into one big section. I like the way Borders breaks them down into sections such as African American literature etc. because sometimes I don't know what I am looking for, but I know I don't want to look all over the damn store to find it. But I digress. So I recently read that the $25 B&N membership was worth it because they give almost a 40% discount on textbooks.

So as I was searching I discovered that this was correct and it resulted in cheaper prices on all the books I could find on their website. So I went and bought the membership and then found a coupon for an additional 15% off (for members only; expires August 1, 2009) so I ended up getting six books for $507. Seems like a lot, but comparatively whoo I'm rich! Anyone who has ever had to buy these five to seven pound casebooks and then carry them on their backs for 18+ weeks, please help. I need recommendations for good book bags. I had an Eastpak for the past eight years and went to try and find another one, but the website is not exactly American friendly.

Now my next mountain to tackle is school supplies. I have a list and I would appreciate any feedback on the things I already have or if you think I am missing anything. And I would like to thank all the bloggers who have given such positive feedback.

Supply List

• Bookstand
• Highlighters (Retractable)
• Post-It Notes and Tabs
• Hanging and File Folders
• Zip Drive(s) (This one is on sale at Target this week. 8GB for $19)
• Earplugs
• Index Cards and (possible) Holder
• White Out
• Paper Clips
• Envelopes and Glue Stick for Envelopes (I have been in an office with this and it is amazing!)
• Office Chair (I need a good, inexpensive, supportive one. Any suggestions in the $50-$75 range?)

So what am I missing? Is there anything (such as the Post-Its) that I should get the name brand rather than the knockoff? I am having too much fun here; the time before school starts is the best time ever. a completely new reason to spend money. Woo-hoo!

Guess What I Got!

So today my boyfriend and I went out to get my graduation gift from him. And may I say it is AMAZING! Now I just have to learn how to make all the espresso based drinks that I love (and consequently spend far too much money on) and I think I may have found the perfect article. It details the primary drinks I get in a way that someone who is not as well versed in espresso can understand, but doesn't make me feel like an idiot for not knowing.

So I got my schedule (finally) and was able to get my book list. It's amazing because I have four classes, but TEN required books. Now I knew that law school would be a transition from undergrad (where I purchased books for maybe ten classes over four years), but ten required books?! Isn't that considered overkill? So being the overzealous person that I am I have made a spreadsheet that has all of my necessary books so that I can do a price comparison of all the places I could find that sell books for law students. I found quite a few and I began to look around. Now one thing that was making me upset is that in order for some of the websites to comprehend what I was looking for I not only had to enter the 13 number ISBN, but I needed to include the dashes. Now you may be thinking "really how hard can this be?" But when you're looking at a piece of paper and working on a laptop (so no easily accessible number pad available) it becomes a little difficult. Don't believe me, try it.

So I have found most of my books and it's amazing; the lowest I can get them for is $690.13 on Amazon. Amazing you say? Why aren't sending your credit card info as we speak you ask? Well A) I don't have the money at this very moment, and B) there were a significant amount of books that were on back order so I could buy them now, but there is no guarantee that I would get my books by the time I start school. Now I though that was just a problem with Amazon, but as I am continue my research I am seeing a definite pattern. Now I know I am not the only person who needs these particular books. Wouldn't they want them in stock so they can charge their exorbitant fees for books they know I can't make it through school without? Frustrating. Now I may be wrong, but it seems like they don't want my money or something.

Now the other thing that I am not so sure about is the following. The very day after (most) schedules hit the system there were posts on Facebook and in the admitted student portal requesting that people display their schedules for all to see so that sections can be figured out. Now I can't figure this out, but this does not seem appealing to me. I am more than certain that I am going to enjoy meeting most of my new classmates, but I want the first time I do so to be during a law school event, That way everyone's in the same boat and we'll be able to bond over the new situation. I don't know. I guess I am weird. Also I want to be able to rant from time to time so I'd like to keep the people who can connect me to this down to a minimum.

So as of today I have thirty days before the Preview Week thing that I paid to go to. Now from what I've heard there are going to be assignments for that, then orientation is a week long so I am pretty sure there will be something for that, and then first day assignements. That's a lot of work and we haven't even started, but do we have any of it? No. Why give people enough time to do something throughly? Would they really be law school assignments if we had adequate time though?

Well this has been quite a lengthy post. I hate reading super long posts so I will try and keep these to a minimum. But for all you 0L's out there how is your book situation looking? New or used? Bookstore or online? Hornbooks? Commercial outlines? What's you flavor?