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The Country Lawyer is soon to become the Country Magistrate, so this blog is going into stasis until further notice. I've had fun writing, and I thank you for reading!

I hope I can learn from the examples of my heroes on the bench, both famous and not so famous.

Tap tap tap

I haven't posted here for a while, I know. Still running the law practice--splitting my time between Barrow and the Valley these days, currently in Barrow. I miss my cat, whom I haven't seen in almost 2 months. I've finally been to trial--I won my very first time out of the gate, and the trials seem to have come in waves since then. Otherwise, just having fun as always. Not cooking nearly as much as I'd like to. I ran for the first time in a while, and quit after an embarrassingly small number of miles. I'm out of shape for a guy who ran his seventh marathon less than a year ago.

That's it for now. More soon, I hope. Thanks for reading . . .

Groan

Injecting Lifetime Movie-like melodrama into a serious subject like bootlegging in Bush Alaska? Frankly, I expected better from The New York Times. Filed with a Bethel dateline, no less.

Anthology of Interest

Scholars from the RAND Corporation, a thinktank with historically strong ties to the Pentagon, posted a research brief concluding that, since 1968, military force has rarely caused the end of a terrorist organization.

From the abstract:

How do terrorist groups end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that terrorist groups rarely cease to exist as a result of winning or losing a military campaign. Rather, most groups end because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they join the political process. This suggests that the United States should pursue a counterterrorism strategy against al Qa'ida that emphasizes policing and intelligence gathering rather than a “war on terrorism” approach that relies heavily on military force.

I'm totally not qualified to comment on their research, but it's quite interesting as a layman. Perhaps someone should pass it along to Barack "We need more troops in Afghanistan" Obama

Stop the press!

In the midst of all the traveling, moving, and starting a new practice hoopla, I thought I'd break radio silence. Why? Because Ted Stevens has been indicted!!! Seven counts of filing false financial disclosures--a crime that doesn't sound too sensational, but it could make it hard to run for reelection. And here I was giving the Democrats about a 4 in 10 chance of picking up the seat with Mark Begich. Definitely read a reputable news source to get the whole story.

Obscure Joke of the Week

OK, seriously--how many people are going to get this?


toothpastefordinner.com

I actually love Oblique Strategies--I have it as a widget on my MacBook, although the cards have been around for ages. It's a great cure for writer's block, or a fun way to pass the time until your writer's block goes away. Brian Eno is one of the true creative geniuses of our time.

Culinary Crimes Against Nature, Count I

I really wanted to make vichyssoise this weekend. I have a recipe that I like very much, in fact. The problem: there were no leeks to be found in Bethel. Not a one. So what possessed me to try the recipe with cocktail onions? I don't know--I had a bit of the kitchen mad scientist in me. Anyway, the soup turned out more onion-y than vichyssoise, which I don't mind so much. What I do mind is that it's incredibly bitter. No good. Lesson learned--I shan't reoffend, at least not in the same manner.

I did find a recipe for "crispy pork bits," which I had to make based on the name alone. Those turned out good--very carnitas-like.