People Are Still Dumb

So, in an effort to keep Kelly Siegler off the Republican ballot for Harris County District Attorney, I decided to help Jim Leitner's cause by putting up some yard signs around the Republican polling place for my precinct.

Only one other candidate had yard signs around the Republican polling place. These yard signs were for a Democratic candidate for some judicial position. When I saw these signs, I thought to myself, 'Why would someone put up Democratic signs around the Republican polling place? Wouldn't these signs be better served around the Democratic polling place, which is in a different location?'

Whatever. Maybe that's just me and my line of thinking.

So, I put up 3 Jim Leitner for Harris County District Attorney signs around the Republican polling place. I thought that was appropriate because Mr. Leitner is a Republican candidate. But, what do I know? This is the first primary that I plan to vote in, so I'm fairly new to the whole primary process.

Good luck, Mr. Leitner!

And I hope Texas voters take the opportunity to vote in the primary tomorrow, no matter which party they decide to vote in. It's important for all registered voters to do their civic duty. How many people have died to protect our right to vote? How many people would give anything to vote in our country? How many people take this right for granted?

I am reminded of the opening of the movie, The Boondock Saints. The monsignor says:

Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we
must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.

Dare to take an interest. Dare to make a difference. Dare to look beyond yourself.

On the way home tonight, I was driving down I-10. I noticed that the cars in front of me were slowing down suddenly, so I slowed down, also. When I got to the Shepherd exit, I saw that there had been a bad car accident. One care was stopped in the fartest left lane. A small car was parked at an angle in the 2nd lane to the right with its front smashed. I saw someone kneeling outside the driver door of the small car. I also saw what looked like gasoline on the ground under the small car. There was debris on the farthest right lane from what I assume had resulted from the accident. There was bad lighting in this area, and several cars were looking to have difficulty passing the accident scene. I drove to the right and used the exit ramp. Then, I called 911 to make sure that someone had reported the accident. I connected with the ambulance people and asked if the accident had been reported. When they said no, I gave them as many details as I could about the accident location and scene. I did not want to drive away and not make sure that these people got the medical attention that they apparently needed. I hope the ambulance went to the location and was able to help. I did not want to be indifferent.

The scene did scare me because the small car did look like it was leaking gas. When I see an accident, it reminds me of what a terrible driver I am. It reminds me that something like that can happen to me if I am not careful or do not pay attention. I just hope I was able to help those people in my own small way. I pray that they are alright. I gave the ambulance dispatcher my name and cell phone number, and no one has called me back regarding the accident. I am not sure if that is a good sign or a bad sign.

Tonight is too cold and windy to be involved in an accident.

People are Dumb

I found this link to a Newsweek article on JoelOsteen.com.

Do Politics and the Pulpit Mix?

Is this really what passes for actual news these days? Seriously? Whoever approved this article for web publication (it's a web exclusive, by the way) should be fired.

I realize that not everyone has had the great opportunity to take a class on the Tax Treatment of Charities, but I have. It was an enjoyable and informative class. It was more interesting than I expected.

One of the things I learned in this class was that § 501(c)(3) organizations (including churches) are prohibited from engaging in political activity if they expect to retain their tax-exempt status. This political activity includes endorsing political candidates. Some churches have lost their tax-exempt status because they either endorsed political candidates or encouraged people not to vote for certain candidates.

Under Title 26 of the United States Code, churches cannot engage in political activity and remain tax-exempt. The Internal Revenue Code grants a lot of leeway for churches. Churches do not have to make annual reports to the IRS, and they do not files taxes on their income. However, they have to remain true to their charitable purpose, which in the case of churches, is promoting religion.

I think it is ridiculous to ask Pastor Osteen what political candidate he endorses. I am sure several attorneys have advised him to keep his mouth shut when it comes to politics. And Pastor Osteen is a smart man; his congregation is the largest in the nation and his ministry is world-wide. Why would he jeopardize his church's tax-exempt status for a political candidate?

I applaud Pastor Osteen for doing what most people should do when it comes to politics: keeping his opinion to himself. Not only is this a good practice tax-wise, it is a good practice life-wise.

Marriage

I was changing channels, when I ran into Pastor Joel on the Tube. After Pastor Joel, there was Ed Young on Channel 55 in Houston. He was speaking about marriage. He said a 19 year old girl wrote to Ann Landers saying she never wanted to get married ever. The girl was cynical about marriage. Yeah, sounds familiar to me.

He asks us, when we think of marriage, do we think of cynicism or celebration.

He says the job description of the wife is found in the Bible. Ephesians 5:22-24 says:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

The pastor advises men that if they are right and their wives are wrong, there's a problem. The pastor advises men that if they are wrong and their wives are right, then the men are learning. There pastor says there is no place for physical abuse or emotional abuse in a marriage.

He also points the wives to 1 Peter 3:1-2:

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do
not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of
their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

The pastor says if the husband is not doing the right thing, that the wife should get out of the way. The wife needs to have faith that God will fix the husband as long as she gets out of the way. The husband needs to live a sacrificial life. The pastor says if wives act in biblical submission, then God will bless thm and their husbands will protect them as God intended.

Hmm... Well, I'm not married, so I don't have to worry about any of this.

Politics

It has been a very political week for me.

On Tuesday, I had wanted to attend the Obama rally at the Toyota Center. I only had standby confirmation, so I did not go. Hanging around the Toyota Center by myself at night is not my idea of a good time.

Instead, I went to the Harris County District Attorney debate at South Texas College of Law. The Democratic candidate did not go because he is running unopposed. So, I got to listen to the 4 Republican candidates engage in some verbal sparring. I am biased. I like Jim Leitner because he is a defense attorney and a great lawyer. He is a former prosecutor and served in the military. Kelly Sieglar is a 21-year ADA, a typical one, at that. Former judge Pat Lykos seems ok; she took a shot at Kelly. I have been told that Kelly kicked someone off a jury panel because they are a member of Lakewood Church. Wow... Does she know how powerful a voting bloc the religious right is??? How does she expect to get elected if she pisses off the Christians (who are probably registered to vote)? Captain Perry is a joke; he's a 26-year veteran cop and civil lawyer. What the hell does he know about being a criminal trial lawyer?

After the debate, I exited the auditorium and stood by the elevators waiting to leave. Arnold left the auditorium and saw me. After he saw me standing by the elevators, he took the stairs. He's 43 years old, and he can't get on the same elevator as me or stand in my immediate vicinity. That's funny!

Tonight, I watched the Clinton-Obama debate on CNN.com. (I don't have cable.) I enjoyed it. I still don't like Hillary. Ever since her husband was running for president, I have disliked Hillary. Someone posting a comment on the CNN blog made a comment I agree with: Bill & Hillary Clinton had 8 years to fix health care and failed. What is going to be different this time around if she gets elected? My answer, nothing. She's an idiot. She said that discriminating against sick people is unconsitutional. Umm... Has she read the Constitution or the Supreme Court cases interpreting it? If she had, she would know that State action is required to enforce equal protection or due process violations. Where's the State action, Mrs. Clinton? She is trying to get people fired up with rhetoric that has nothing to do with the law, but most people would not know that. Most people hear the word "unconstitutional" and immediately get riled up.

Of course, I'm the idiot that went to law school.

I thought Obama carried himself well. Clinton took some cheap shots at Obama; how Washington of her.

Now, I am debating with myself which primary I should vote in. I'm not sure.

People

The Godmother is in my prayers today.

I hate people. People suck.

I especially hate people that don't appreciate how much I am trying to help them. For instance, today, in juvenile court, I was trying to explain that this kid should take responsibility for having smoked marijuana before school. I told him to treat the judge with respect and to be ready to answer any of his questions. So, I asked him, "Where did you get the marijuana." He responded, "It wasn't mine." In the back of my head, I was thinking 'This is a problem. The little punk is in denial.' So, I tried to get him to explain where the marijuana came from. The punk's mom started to explain that the marijuana did not belong to her son. The punk said that he was not seen by school officials smoking the marijuana. At that point, I was getting a little frustrated, so I told them both, twice, "YOU CANNOT GO TO SCHOOL SMELLING LIKE MARIJUANA." After I repeated myself, mom told me not to raise my voice. That was when I decided I had had enough of their denial and bullshit. I called Reed and told him he had to handle this shit by himself.

I leave them there and go to criminal court to find Reed to give him the file. He asked me if the punk had taken a urinalysis at court, and I said no because I did not realize it had needed to be done. Besides, I was a little angry at that point. So, I graciously return to juvenile court to get the punk to take his pee test. I then return to criminal court to file something. When I was filing something, Reed asked me to help him in juvenile court. So, after filing my stuff, I dragged myself back to hell AKA juvenile court. Because of the number of pleas, Reed had to leave to pick up his kids from school, and I had to stay to do the plea with punk and his mom. Reed said that mom did not like the fact that I had raised my voice in the hallway where other people could hear. Who the hell cares about your problems, lady??? NO ONE, that's who! Everybody has their own problems!

Our plea was last, so we all had to return to court after lunch. Finally, at almost 3pm, we go in front of the judge. I inform the judge that we are asking for a deferred and argue why my punk client deserves one. After my beautiful argument and asking some questions to the punk, the judge grants the deferred. So, the punk and his mom sit down, and the probation officer in court tells me I need to have them sign a form. So, I go to the punk and ask him to sign the form, and he hands it to his mom. So, I tell both punk and his mom that the probation department will speak to them after they have all of their paperwork ready. Mom completely ignores me. She does not say one word to me. So I just left.

I cannot believe that an adult woman, a mother, could act so friggin' childish. Lady, your kid is in denial about his drug problem! Lady, you're in denial about your kid's drug problem! I can't believe she was defending his stupid ass to me! The drugs were in his hands, PERIOD. It's people like this that make me wish I had a concealed hand-gun license...

I hate people. People suck. That's the moral of my story. It's always the moral of my story. It's a good moral. Don't you think?

"I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it." Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

Justice

Today, Will and I fought a hard battle, and we won. Will attacked the testifying officers with their questionable investigation tactics, and I was there to remind him of the inconsistencies, suggestions questions, and make objections. I also made motions for continance and for directed verdict. At the end of the day, the jury came back with a verdict of "Not Guilty." Our defendant hugged me and thanked me, and she hugged and thanked Will, also. She cried tears of joy, and I was so happy to have been there to help her. Justice was done today. I had a small part to play in that, and I played it to the best of my abilities. I thank God that he blessed this jury of 6 people with the wisdom to see the holes in the State's case and act on their reasonable doubts of our defendant's guilt. We even had a lawyer on the jury, and he worked in our favor. Yes, Justice was accomplished today.

Now, I have no problems with the jury, with the judge, or anyone in that courtroom except for one person, the prosecutor. He insulted me today in a manner that I have never been insulted before as a lawyer. In his closing argument, he told the jury that defense counsel was attempting trickery by having me sit next to the defendant so that we could trick one of the officers into thinking that I was the defendant. (One of the officers identified ME as the suspect!) I looked at Will, and I had daggers in my eyes. I have never, ever been told that the only reason I was allowed to sit at counsel table was on account of my appearance. EVER! In fact, because I know that I am not a pretty girl, I have always worked twice as hard as any pretty girly lawyer to achieve the success I have accomplished. I cannot believe that DA told the jury that the only reason Will asked me to sit at counsel table was because I looked like the defendant. I don't care what attorneys have to tell me to my face or to other lawyers, but he said this TO THE JURY! While the jury was deliberating, I went back to judge's chambers and told him that I was offended by the DA's comments. The judge told me if I had objected, he would have sustained my objection, and that I was right in my feelings and should confront the DA about what he did to me. The judge was kind to me, and I appreciate his counsel. I have never been so angry at a DA, and there have been some DAs that have pissed me off. But this is the absolute worst behavior!

And then! And then! The DA was so angry that he lost the trial that he started arguing with the jury. He was arguing with the lawyer on the jury! He was almost yelling at them. The jury did their job, and this stupid DA gets mad at them. If the DA is mad, he should be mad at himself! Whenever I have lost in a jury trial, I have never blamed the jury; I have always blamed myself for not doing enough to convince the jury. I have never resented a jury for finding my client guilty, and I have never expressed any angry sentiments to them. This DA was completely immature and unprofessional. I can't believe he was attacking the lawyer on the jury. I looked up that lawyer, and that lawyer went to UT Law School and has been licensend since 1976. That was before I was born! And this punk DA was arguing with this 31-year lawyer! What a moron! This DA gives lawyers and DAs a bad name.

In the end, we won. More importantly, our client won. That's what counts. There was blatant unprofessionalism, but the jury picked up on that and set it aside. The jury followed our argument and acquitted our client. Maybe sometimes, if we fight hard enough, we can accomplish a little bit of justice in this world where everything is stacked against us.

DAVE!!!

I am in the middle of researching a continuance issue and a suppression issue for a case that is currently in trial. We picked our jury today, and tomorrow, we begin testimony. It should finish tomorrow.

As a break from all of this law, I decided to check my email. I randomly decided to check an email from Dave Matthews Band. I love Dave! Ever since I first bought Under the Table and Dreaming in high school, I have loved Dave's music. And now, I respect his politics. Check out Dave's message.

Good luck, Obama! I hope Tuesday really is Super.

Becoming Better

I was planning on writing this post on February 3, 2008, which marks the one-month anniversary of the date I quit my former employment. January 3, 2008, was the day that I decided that I will not allow an employer or anyone else to define my limitations, to ignore my hard work, to take advantage of my good-will, and to pay me sub-standard salary.

Basically, January 3, 2008, was the day I decided to become a better version of myself. I closed the door to a situation that I could not change and that was not allowing me to grow. And God opened another door. Pastor Joel says, "Don't ever let good enough be good enough." I had done all I could do in my former employment, and that day was the day God showed me I needed to move forward.

Pastor Joel says to forget about the past and to look ahead. This is very difficult for me. I have always thought that our past is what defines us, but I have come to realize that our past is what is holding us back from enjoying our tomorrows.

Pastor Joel says to always strive to become better. There's always room for improvement. What happens if you ever reach the point of achieving all that you can achieve? Where else is there to go? Well, I may not know exactly which direction to take, but now, I am always going ahead and striving to become better. I pray to God for direction as often as I can.

This past month has been a great learning experience. I have learned who my true friends are. I have learned who those people are that I can go to for advice and help. I have learned that through Christ, all that I attempt is possible.

This past month, I have met new people. I have learned new things. I now know that even though I feel alone, I am not alone. I now have the courage to say no. I now have the courage to decline offers that are beneath me even though there is some money to be gained. I know that my integrity is not for sale.

Here I sit, in my shared office, exhausted after reviewing foreign tax issues for the past 3 hours. But, I am not complaining. I agreed to do this tax project because it is a great learning experience for me. I agreed to help prepare 3 different trials this week. I finally get to do what I want, and it feels great.

In the morning, I have to attend to a felony trial and a misdemeanor trial. I also have to attend to 2 new felony clients and 1 existing client. Later, I need to draft a tax opinion letter. And after all of that, I will go to my church to pray for prosperity.

It's funny. For the past 3 Sundays, I have been going to church twice a day. In the morning, I go to the regular Spanish Sunday morning service that lasts for 2 hours. Three Sundays ago, my church started having English sessions at 4PM. The pastor said he would be preaching about direction. At the time, I needed a lot of direction because I was considering taking a job offer from a law firm. And after the first Sunday, I have kept going back. The church was initially planning on only having 3 Sunday English sessions, but today, the pastor said there would be another one next Sunday. So, I plan to go. I like this pastor. I find it easier to talk to him about my issues in English. Even though I am fluent in Spanish, it's sometimes difficult to translate the technicalities. The pastor says they might have English mid-week sessions soon. How exciting! I just hope that my work schedule will allow me to attend those sessions as well.

Tomorrow is a big day, so I better get home. Good night.

Law vs. Business

I finally had my salary meeting with the law firm that first offered me a job after I abruptly left my last job. I am not sure that the firm is the right place for me. Maybe I was right to not immediately accept the offer when it was made. The last time I did that, I was disrespected and unappreciated for two and a half years. Something inside me told me to wait, to not jump at the first thing that fell in my lap.

Well, God knows me better than I know myself.

I was disappointed during the meeting. They kept telling me that they had to make sure their investment is me was a good business decision. They told me I would not be adding much to the firm the first year because I would be learning immigration law most of the time. They told me that I had to consider two things as a lawyer: [1] the law, and [2] business. They said if I concentrated too much on being a good lawyer, I would not succeed in the business of law. And I told them that concentrating solely on the business aspect is bad for the law aspect. They told me that my number was too high. They are going to take my number and think about it between the four of them and call me back with a counter-offer. Well, I do not know that I can accept anything lower than that because that number is a minimum for me. I know that I am worth more than I am asking. They do not even realize that an investment in me is an investment in their firm. In no time at all, they would not even be able to imagine life without me.

I cannot stand it when people talk about the business of law and the practice of law in the same sentence! That reminds me of my former boss. He cared too much about the business and nothing about the law. I think balancing the two things is a dangerous thing. If you balance them, then there is the possibility that business will outweight the law at least some of the time, and that sets a bad precedent.

At the end of the day, I want to be a good lawyer. I want to be the best lawyer I can possibly be. I know that if I work hard enough, the money will come to me. How can you plan for next year if you do not even know if you are going to be here tomorrow? Then, where will all that planning for next year get you? The reason I want to try to be the best lawyer I can possibly be every day is because I want to be able to sleep at night. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and have no regrets. I want to be a good lawyer, not a greedy lawyer.

Today, I want to be the best possible lawyer I can be. Tomorrow, I place it in God's hands because only He knows what will happen. I place my tomorrows in His hands. Because of my faith in Him, I know He will take care of me.

Trial Puppy

I'm officially a Trial Dog in Training. Yay! I helped pick my first felony jury today. The jury panel had 65 people on it, and before we were done with voir dire, we got 20 people kicked off for cause. *Some* people just can't be impartial. Whatever. Get off my jury now, bitch!

Tomorrow, testimony is going to start at 10:00AM. I'm excited. At first, I was excited yesterday to learn that this trial was finally going to start today. Then, last night, I was feeling nervous. But this morning, I woke up excited. I had fun today.

I especially had fun when voir dire was finished, and I was helping the lead attorney and defendant strike people off the jury panel. There was an astronaut on the panel! I wanted to talk to him! I've never met a realy astronaut. Well, who do I see in court but my former boss. Ha! I kept staring him down because I knew he wasn't there to talk to little old me. Then, for the longest time, I thought he must surely be lost because he doesn't do *any* felony work at all and is RARELY seen inside a felony court. Finally, after we picked our jury and the lead attorney argued his motions to the judge, my former boss told some other lawyer he was waiting to do a plea. WHATEVER! I bet he messed that up! He will never be half the lawyer that I am now, and I'm just getting started. Hehehe...

I can't wait to sit second-chair tomorrow. This is awesome training because my friend has a similar trial case coming up in February that I will be helping him on. By the time this trial is done, I will totally be an expert in these types of cases. Oh yeah...

This is my third second-chair trial. If Mark lets me first-chair two of his trial cases, I will be qualified to apply for a court-appointed attorney in no time! Also, yesterday, this attorney asked me to help him with his upcoming felony trial. And this evening, another attorney asked me for help tomorrow. Hmm... It seems like everybody but my former boss wants to work me. How awesome is that?!?!?

And more good news, I found my Suze Orman book. Yay! I love Suze!

Anyway, I'm in the middle of preparing trial motions. So, I better get back to that. Fun!

New Hampshire

I am slightly disappointed at the results of the New Hampshire primary. I can't believe the witch is ahead of Obama by 3 percentage points. I was sure that Obama would win. Maybe if I had been at Dartmouth right now, I would have been able to make a difference. Maybe not. It's cold up there, and people's little minds are probably frozen from too much snow. They're set in their old traditions. Look at Dartmouth!

Tomorrow is a better day. That's what Pastor Joel says. "God never performs His greatest feats in your yesterdays."

I have to cut this short because I have to run off to court now! How's that for someone that just quit her job? Hahaha!

Change

Change seems to be the theme of the moment.

Mollybee is officially pregnant. YAY!!! I cannot wait to meet my godchild! I know God has a special plan for KellyBabyBee. I know God will take care of the little one and help Molly and Brian with this. Everything is in His hands.

I feel really good about my job transition. Since I quit my job on Thursday, I have not been this happy in years. I tell everybody that I know that I quit my job and am moving forward. God made it very clear to me that I needed to close the door to a bad situation, and when I finally did what He wanted me to do, He opened another door right away. I put all my faith in Him when I took the step I had been afraid to take for years, and He held my hand and led the way to a better, brighter future. Now, I am hoping to help some friends in need that need to move forward. It's just like Pastor Joel writes, "Don't settle for mediocrity; never let good enough be good enough." "Keep moving forward."

I am excited about what is happening with the New Hampshire primary. I wish I was at Dartmouth right now. I did not watch the debates. I'm sorry I missed them. I started reading Obama's book because I fell in love with the title, "The Audacity of Hope." How courageous is that! So what if he's new to politics? That's just what Washington needs. Washington is full of old, outdated politicians. It's time to breathe new life into Washington. I hope Obama wins this primary for the Democrats. Hillary has already been in the White House, and I was very unhappy about it the first time around.

Like the saying goes, the times, they are a-changing. Thank God!

"Stretching to the Next Level"

I went to Sam's Club to buy the Suze Orman book that I lost. They didn't have it! Stupid Sam's!

Instead, I bought "Become a Better You" by Joel Osteen. I'm only like 8 pages in, and I'm already loving this book. Pastor Joel is awesome. I think everyone should read this book.

"God never performs His greatest feats in your yesterdays."

How awesome is that? No matter how bad or how good you had it before, it's only going to get better tomorrow if you let it get better.

Of course, I still need to get my Suze Orman book. Her book will feed my wallet. But Pastor Joel's book will feed my soul. And they're both important.

Time to Step Up

Brian has the badassbabybee blog. It's time for the Consigliere to have a blog, too. After all, how else will I be able to dispense advice to the Godmother?

So, here's the logo for my Family. The Godmother has taken very good care of her Family in the past, and now it's time for the members of the Family to step up and take care of the Godmother. Godmother, I am always here for you. I don't have to tell you that because you already know, but I like reminding you anyway.