Thanks From Binder's Blog

Thank you all. We broke a thousand hits Saturday, indeed 1,109 for a record. I used to joke about no one reading the blog with but 10-15 hits a day – maybe! I’m amazed at which blogs go viral, and which fade into cyber oblivion. It’s no longer my most viewed blog, but the March 27, 2010 humorous comparison of the Spartacus Versus Rome TV series is still fourth with 5,156 views. My all time favorite is an early one, the August 24, 2008 Rule Against Perpetuities posting, a must read for every wannabe attorney studying for the Bar Exam. I am also amazed at the geographic diversity of you readers. we are truly getting out on the world wide web. My blog is idiosyncratic – whatever I want to write about, whenever. I don’t want to duplicate what everyone else is doing. Nor will I be as timely. The goal is a daily blog, but it usually doesn’t happen. I still have my day job. The blog is also inconsistent during times of travel. There will therefore be silence for periods this April and May. Sometimes nothing catches my attention, or, as with the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, it’s too tragic. We can only begin to imagine the grief of the families. Remember, most of the Chinese parents of the passengers and crews only had one child. They lost their future. I’m often drawn by the humorous side of life. For example, I’m intrigued by the recent story of the homeless man, his wife, and their dog waking up inside a garbage truck. They had fallen asleep inside a dumpster. This report also reminded me of seeing a family in a van sleeping in the van in a hotel garage in San Diego. The hotel rates were $200 - $500/night, but overnight parking was only $25. My politics are apparent, but I keep them out of class. Academic freedom and tenure would probably protect me, but it would be unprofessional. If I say to the students that a statute is stupid, it’s to point out why the legislature failed abysmally in addressing the problem. It’s easy to make fun of Congress, the state legislature, city councils and other elected and appointed public officials. Many are intelligent, hard working, honest public servants. Others are often less than a dim bulb. I often think of H. L. Mencken and Peter Finley Dunne in listening to Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. What would those social commentators be thinking of today’s political leaders? Would George Orwell feel vindicated by the Newspeak and Double Think of these politicians? (Cf. January 2, 2010 blog, George Orwell Is Getting a Museum). I have held back blogging about the pressures facing legal education. It’s too personal, but many of us believe that many existing law schools will be gone in 5 or 10 years. I hope to still be teaching at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University forever. The $55 million testamentary gift from the Fowlers to Chapman is a lifesaver. The blog sometimes contain my past, but certainly not all of it. Thanks to the internet, including Wikipedia, for enabling the factual basis of many postings. Finally, please forgive the typos in the blogs. Again, a tale from the past. I signed up for a summer school course in typing at A.P. Giannini Junior High in San Francisco. There we were pecking away. A tap on my shoulder. The Vice Principal, whatever his title was, asked if he could speak to me outside the class. We went out to the hall. He said, I remember the words 5½ decades later: “Typing is for girls only. I’m dropping you from the class.” It’s been hunt and peck typing ever since.