2007 Top 10: Daily Ross Posts

You decide - put the link, title or description in the comment thread and tell why you think it should be a Top 10 Daily Ross Post.

Happy posting...

Leaving Reno

It's time to begin the trip back to Salem. Two of my friends and I are hitting the road this evening. Because of the bad weather in Northern California we're going to pop over Donner Summit first and then head up I-5. We'll stop somewhere between Reno and Salem to get a few hours rest and then hit final stretch of the road tomorrow.

Friday Video: War & Christmas

Just a reminder of the impact of war even in the season of peace:

33 Nevadans have died in the Iraq War
64 Oregonians have died in the Iraq War

Gould Endorses Richardson, Registers as a Dem

I went to one of the Wahoe Democratic Party's mockuses last night in preparation for the big show on January 19th. The candidates were all allowed to bring a surrogate to speak on their behalf. They waited until the very end of the evening to allow them to speak. Richardson's surrogate was first and it was well known community activist Martha Gould. I remember he saying quite adamantly on Nevada Newsmakers last year that she was a registered non-partisan and last night she confirmed that she has registered as a Democrat so she can participate in the Nevada Caucus for Bill Richardson. She spoke of his strong record of experience as well as his record of change in New Mexico. She also pointed out that Richardson has kept above the mudslinging war of the other candidates. Sure enough the other surrogates (who weren't from the official campaign - the Obama and Clinton staffers showed up as everyone was getting ready to lead so just ordinary supporters spoke).

The Clinton supporter pointed to the assassination of Bhutto as a reason to vote for experience, plus she pointed out that we get Bill back with her. She said Clinton wants it because she cares about the American people and not for the power. She also said that maybe in 8 years Obama would be ready but we can't have a President that needs training on day 1. The Obama supporter said Clinton would be a new driver for a broken American car and what we need is to change the car. He also pointed to Clinton's lack of electibility. So, after Gould noted that Richardson was keeping above the mud - two representatives for the campaigns went at it and it was noticed in the room. At each attack people looked back at those of us in the Richardson camp and kinda smiled as an acknowledgment of appreciation for the professional feel of our surrogate.

The Impact of Bhutto's Death on the Iowa Caucus

In case you've just tuned into the news world and The Daily Ross is your first stop, Pakistan's former Prime Minister and leading opposition candidate for Pakistan's January Elections, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today. For those still confused as to what that means - think as if John Kerry had been assassinated in October of 2004. So Pakistan is erupting in violence and protests, President Pervez Musharraf is in between a rock and a hard place and may not necessarily be 100% innocent in this whole thing. I'm not wise enough to accurately contemplate the impact of the assassination in the country (remember they have nukes) and the region (in between India and Afghanistan). However, I can make a guess as to how her death may impact the Iowa Caucus next week.

Chaos in the world is most helpful to the likes of Hillary Clinton and John McCain and others with foreign policy experience. Just a while back Bill Clinton said voting for Obama would be a 'roll of the dice' and when the world seems on the verge of a total breakdown - who wants to roll dice? McCain is driving home the point he knows all the players and Clinton is saying she has experience. Although the New York Times just did a piece that showed her foreign policy role in the White House was extremely limited. She didn't have a security clearance and wasn't receiving any intelligence briefings. Basically, she was staying home baking cookies.

So, like most times outside events may have a bigger impact than anything any of the candidates can do. Obama, Huckabee, Giuliani, Romney, Thompson, and Edwards are going to have to find a way to stabilize the situation and downplay the need for experience in international relations while those with REAL experience like Richardson, and McCain may find voters in Iowa a little more willing to give them a second look as we are again reminded that anything can happen in the crazy world (eventhough most of this craziness comes from the incompetence of our current administration). Your thoughts?

Time to go watch Hardball and see if Chris Matthews came to the same conclusion.

2007 Top 10: Presidential Campaign YouTube Videos

10: Giuliani in Drag - so we won't forget one of his favorite activities

9: Looking forward to Hillary's advice - Obama gets some confidence

8: How do we beat the bitch? - grandma doesn't understand how fast things get put on the internets

7: Iowa Caucus Preview - a dramatic build up to Iowa

6: Huck & Chuck - because you don't forget to put Chuck on a top 10 ten and live to tell about it

5: Mike's Message to Iowa - it's a sharp honest attack on all the GOP candidates

4: Mike Gravel's rock - leaving everyone thinking WTF?

3: Slate's Romney Ad Spoof - 5 Brothers sacrificing for America

2: Obama Girl - started a stream of busty women trying to get famous

1: Vote Different (Hillary 1984) - changed the rules of online engagement in campaigns

2007 Top 10: Biggest Surprises

This list is compiled by me and includes the top 10 biggest surprises I had in 2007. If you disagree or think I missed something, put it in the comment thread.

10: The refreshing flavor of a Pimp Slap Delight (Bud or Coors light with a shot of Kalua poured in)

9: The awesomeness of my fellow Willamette Law students

8: Appalachian State beats Michigan

7: Posner says yes to my interview request

6: Liveblogginggate with Professor Smith

5: My surprise going away party

4: Barack Obama's staying power

3: Iran not nearly as dangerous as GWB wanted us to think they were

2: Iraq falls out of the scope of 2008 debate

1: The quickness with which the first semester of law school was completed

Christmas Traditions: Pizza and Chili

Have a Christmas tradition you want to share? Post it in the comment thread.

Christmas has never had religious meaning in my family so it's all about time with the family and the spirit of giving. The whole hoopla starts with Pizza and Presents a few days before Christmas with my mom's mom. The cousins and aunts and uncles descend on my grandma's house and we cook up a bunch of Papa Murphy's pizzas, pass the wine around and then exchange gifts. All the cousins get an ornament from the grandparents. The parents all get the same thing from the grandparents so there is a race to see which couple can open the gift faster - it's getting more humorous as they all get a little older.

Once Pizza and Presents is complete it's time to hang with friends. Exchanging gifts and going out on the town is usually the ritual. Sometimes there are movies to be watched, video games to played and nights spent just hanging out.

The other big family event is at my mom's dad's house with all the cousins and aunts and uncles that were at pizza and presents plus some more. Grandpa makes chili and we have sandwiches as a side and there are copious side dishes and desserts. The cousins under 18 exchange gifts with each other and this year for the first time - so do the parents/grandparents (my uncle got my dad a Daily Ross sweatshirt). It used to take forever because we'd go up the line of 15 or so cousins but now more than half are over the 18 mark so the exchange goes quite a bit quicker. Everyone was looking good except all the 'kids' looked a lot older than I ever thought they could. When everyone is stuffed with food they head home.

This morning the four of us (mom, dad, sister and me) exchanged gifts watched a movie and are now just relaxing before we have a big dinner and watch another movie, maybe play a board game or two. With Christmas soon past it will be time to gear up for New Years and then of course, the return to school.

Break Interrupted

We've received a little interruption from the break. Our first assignment for next semester's property class was emailed to us. I also took some time to print out my schedule for next semester and I've already had one dream about being back in class.

Next semesters classes:

Lawmaking Process - Smith
Contracts II - Runkel
Legal Research and Writing II (still haven't gotten my memo)- Jacobson
Property - Diller
Constitutional Law - Williams

Our section got the schedule I was hoping for with most of Monday afternoon off and the class on Friday afternoon. Some folks wanted a long Friday afternoon but I think having the afternoon Friday class will make me more productive. Also, from my perspective we got the cool professor for Con law because he is the director of the center for Law and Government - the certificate program I'm shooting for.

Campaigning for President

Yesterday I spent much of the day doing what I did for much of the summer, helping to get Governor Bill Richardson the Democratic nomination for President. Being detached made it seem like the Governor had no chance but after hearing some internal numbers and getting an overall sense of confidence from the campaign reignited my belief that thinking Democrats will actually choose the best person for the job to be their nominee. So what types of things did I do at Richardson's Reno campaign headquarters yesterday? I can't give details because the every curious eyes of the other campaigns fall upon this blog from time to time. The staff got some feedback on what the plan should be for the closing weeks of the campaign. We discussed calendaring, volunteer needs and a basic primary action plan. We created organizational tools to help ensure the craziness of the days in between Iowa and Nevada stays manageable. Finally, I spent about three hours calling voters. I found a lot of people still undecided and a surprising amount of anti-immigrant sentiment. I was good to get back on the phones with a script and talking to voters. You may hate getting the calls but after being on the other end you understand how hard the other person is working and usually just because they have a passion for a cause. As the nomination kicks off on January 3, look for a special Daily Ross event to watch the results of the Iowa Caucus roll in.

Winter Break Tour

As you have probably already noticed, the blog will be changing a bit for Winter Break Tour coverage. There won't be any 'people in law' posts and no liveblogging class. However, it will be a way to see what I'm doing with the one month break before the spring semester starts. I'll be posting my winter adventures here and hope you will post stories from winter break in this post's comments thread.

Reaching Camp 1

Everest's Camp 1 is at 20,015 feet above sea level. It's just 2,500 feet above base camp and 9,000 feet from the peak. One climber describes it this way,

Camp 1 is situated at the end of the Western Cwm, just before the glacier tumbles down the icefall towards base camp. The glacier for the main part is flat here, although there are big rolls, and some crevasses nearby. Our camp is situated in a small depression, so we are very sheltered from the wind. However being in a depression wouldn't be good if there was an avalanche. We have already posted the avalanche pictures taken by Jim Gagne, and last year the entire camp 1 was wiped out when a large avalanche came down. We are in a slightly different spot compared with last year, but it still looks dangerous.

So, here I sit at my metaphorical Camp 1; a full semester completed and a lot of mountain left to climb. It started with orientation as base camp and will continue until the summit is reached. What's the climb like from base camp to Camp 1. It was a grueling journey. As one professor has said, "teaching 1Ls is interesting because you have a bunch of really smart people who know nothing (despite what they think) about the law." Much like hiking up a mountain the first steps are the most awkward; I tried to figure out how to read, how to take notes, how to learn and just tried to learn how to survive. As I sit here at Camp 1 I now have my hiking legs, I feel comfortable cracking open a case book and sifting through the massive amounts of material. I know which steps are important and which can't be quickly passed. I'm not sure I've quite hit my stride but I'm at least feeling at home on the mountain.

It's good to rest here for while. The last 100 feet or so to the camp were quite challenging. Finals were unlike any other test of knowledge I've ever faced and yet I think it was the best test I've ever received; a true test of my knowledge of the law and how to apply it. If undergraduate school would have been similar I would really know Economics and it's applications well. Each professor approached the finals in a different way and yet I thought each was fair and expected. The other advantage of resting here for a bit is that it gives me a chance to look how far I've really climbed these past four month. Going from a clean slate to basic understanding of Contracts, Civil Procedure, Criminal and Tort law is quite a journey and there is already a noticeable difference in how was at the base and how I am know here. Resting a bit also gives me a chance to look at the towering summit before me which seems a whole lot close than when I started. At first the path seemed steep, treacherous and soul-crushing, now it seems manageable. Yes, it's still a big mountain and the climb is long and rough but I've survived the first bit and so I can build upon my confidence now and continue on.

The best part of sitting here at Camp 1? Taking a look at the people that are here with me. If you've ever climbed a mountain you know that the journey and the summit are deeply personal and individual experiences. However, it's the person to the right and the left that push you to make the journey. Without them, the climb might not even happen at all. As I sit here and look at the people around me I am in awe of not only how far they have come but grateful I have been able to make the journey with them. As I've mentioned before, the connection I'm feeling with those I've traveling through law school with is familiar to a Brotherood I know. So, here I sit with my climbing legs warmed up and amazing friends by my side. As we look toward the summit we all have different lessons we learned on the first stretch of our journey; we have different journeys along the same path ahead of us. We are ready to begin the second leg of our climb because we've had time to think about how far we've come, we have a clear vision of our future goal and most importantly, we have each other to continue to push one another until we reach the summit. A bit more rest and we'll be ready for the next step. The climb will continue...

Santa Pub Crawl

Last night I went out on the Reno Santa Pub Crawl.


Video from last year:

Total Santarchy

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Something New: Super Mario Galaxy

Remember the something new where I talked about the Wii? Well, consider this a sequel - and not the usually crappy kind. During the high pressures of law school final season it's important to take some time to let the mind, body and soul calm down, lower stress levels, and get into a state prepared to tackle more studying. An hour of Super Mario Galaxy was the cure. What's so great about it? It's full of action and keeps up some of the great Mario traditions. It mixes the new capability of gravity shifting 3D world play and mixes with mushrooms to stomp on and coins to collect. Not only is it a blast to play but one time during the finals season my roommate asked me to play so he could watch because he was hooked just on watching the craziness of Mario's adventure. The storyline makes sense, the controls are easy to get a handle on and the goals and objectives can be tricky enough to test even the most skilled gamer's abilities. When it comes to light-hearted good old-school meets new school fun, you can't beat Super Mario Galaxy.

Home

I flew into Reno this afternoon. Have a Boy Scout Christmas party this evening and then catching up with some family and friends. Look for the Daily Ross Content Control post tomorrow as well as the return of the Friday Video.

A Day in PDX

I spent the day in Portland today. My roommate Mike flew home today so my other roommate drove him to the airport and I tagged along to get some exposure to Portland. We started at a McMenamins - actually the Baghdad on Hawthorne street for lunch, then went to Stumptown Coffee for a great local roast.

We then went to Powell's bookstore which includes several stories of a full block. We poked around the Northwest section - do you know how many different versions of the diaries of Lewis and Clark there are? The next section was the law section where there had several great used supplements but it's a bit too early to stand the sight of them yet. On the top floor behind an old wooden framed glass door is the rare books room. Everything from classic literature to reference to history to spiritual books were available. Those over $1000 were usually behind glass cases but not all of them. You know that good feeling you get when you walk down an aisle in the library. The smell of old dusty books fills your nose as you try to contemplate the vast expanse of knowledge to your right and to your left. The rare book room was like that on steroids. No trip to Portland would be complete without a stop at Voodoo's donuts. I got the white frosting with M&M's while John got the maple bar with bacon on top.

It was time for a break so we went back to John's girlfriend's place and played a little NFL Blitz and MarioKart on the Nintendo 64. The last game of blitz was especially awesome because I won the game with a last second 50 something yard field goal giving me the one point advantage needed to end the game. After game time was over it was time for a boy's night out of sorts. We headed to John's old place - think Royal Sage Manor. He showed me their basement bar - Low Places which has just a few features that helps it top the Rusty Bucket. For dinner we went to a great place called Alameda Brewhouse. I had a delicious french dip and porter. Finally we went to a nearby Irish pub and let the beer flow as we listened to the live band (fiddle, flute and a singer). Needless to say, it's been an exhausting day and we decided to crash in Portland for night. Tomorrow, the Winter Break Tour continues.

Winter Wine Tasting

I went wine tasting yesterday with Mr. Pops. It was his first time ever wine tasting and he certainly enjoyed himself. We first went to Red Hawk Winery where we were able to enjoy both steel and oak barrel aged chardonnay as well as a good selection of pinot noirs. I grabbed the Hawk's Cuvee Pinot Noir and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The view from the winery was great with the valley and a river below and the clouds were keeping everything close by.

The next stop was Firesteed. I grabbed a bottle of their pinot noir earlier in the semester from Safeway and was pleasantly surprised with the taste for the price. By now Pops was getting the hang of the wine thing and chatting it up with the Brazilian woman pouring us tastes. They were preparing to bottle last year's harvest so there was a lot going on behind the scenes. The last wine on the tasting list was a barbera. Their Barbera D'Asti is actually produced in northern Italy and shipped to Oregon already bottled and labeled. The $2 tasting fee was waived when both Pops and I picked up a bottle of barbera.

The last stop on the trip was a winery I'd already been too. I wanted to pick up a case of a unique Oregon blend to give as holiday gifts this year. But, first thing is first and Eola Hills has a long list of wines to taste and no tasting fee. I picked up a bottle of their "Vin d' Ete" raspberry dessert wine and shipped a case of the gift wine back to. We also got to taste the amazing 2005 "Wolf Hill" clone "667" Pinot Noir. Definitely worth the special $1 tasting fee and if it's in your budget the bottle price is well worth it too.

FINAL: Criminal Law

Both Criminal Law professors have said to expect their tests to be the hardest final we'll have. So it deserves two videos. One cinematographic interpretation and one historical interpretation.






Only ship to make it out of the harbor that day? U.S.S. Nevada

Foggy With a Chance of Clarity

Before anything, happy anniversary to Myrna. Now for the bulk of the post:

It's foggy in Salem today. A big relief from the recent weather. I can only remember having fog in Reno once. It was during the balloon races and it was absolutely wild. It's been foggy quite a bit in Salem and it's quite nice. I don't know if it the mother nature's enticement of the hidden world beyond the visibility line or the challenge to go beyond the line, take a risk and head in a direction without knowing what awaits beyond. Perhaps, I like it because it forces me to focus on what is closest rather than keeping an eye on the distant future. For whatever reason, as long as the fog keeps up there is a chance for clarity at the end of the semester. Clarity of past, present and future. Either way, I'm excited about the opportunity for the semester to end and to take a good look around. I'll share what I find next week. Until then, it's back to the studying.

One to Go

And so begins the final stretch...

Regular posting to resume shortly.

FINAL: Civil Procedure

There are just so many!



Oodles doctrine anyone?

Halfway Through

First, I was delinquent in not posting a video prior to contracts. Although there was a really good suggestion of Iron Chef, I've decided to go with the most famous offer of all time.



----
Some thoughts on being halfway through with finals and what I'm expecting over the next week:

The first two tests were fair, exhausting and a good test of our knowledge over the semester. Torts (the class I was least confident in before the final study push) went well and it was like passing over the tallest hurdle first. Contracts (the class I was most confident in before the final study push) also went pretty well. Of course, it seemed to go well for everyone so the 'average bar' might be quite high.

Last night we had a great bbq with burgers, lobster, beer and great friends. It was good for everyone to relax before the intensity of next week began to build. I think it was also important to give the numb brain an evening off and to put aside the stress of school for some fun rather than allow the stress to build over two weeks and leave our minds and bodies useless at the end. I slept in this morning and then got some coffee.

Looking forward: Today I'm studying for the Criminal law final. You might be thinking why crim today? Civil Procedure is the next test and crim isn't until next Friday. My thinking on it is this ~ as of right now I'm not sure I have a good foundation on which to study next week between the finals. I know I can get CivPro ready to go in two days (Sunday and Monday) so I'll use the extra day to get ready for intense study next week. My mind will be shot from the CivPro final so if I have a good safety net for Crim I should be able to have two productive days leading up to the test. It's kind of like building a strong campaign organization in New Hampshire even though Iowa is first; the time between the two is small and you need to be ready to hit the ground running when the first test is over.

The Winter Break Tour starts in a week. Are you ready for it?