When will the Red Cedar River reach the flood stage?

For a geology fanatic like me, this stuff is wonderful.

Everyone who knows me well enough, also knows that I love my earth.

The National Weather Service constantly checks the Red Cedar River. According to the United States Government, the Red Cedar River has flooding potential. Check out this photo of the Red Cedar River. Give credit to The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service of the National Weather Service for some awesome photography.

The National Weather Service prepares its forecasts and other services in collaboration with agencies like the US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Reclamation, US Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Park Service, ALERT Users Group, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and many state and local emergency managers across the country.

Check out these gorgeous photos, prepared by the National Weather service

The Weather Forecast Office is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

And the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service is at www.weathergov/ahps

What is an IOLTA?

IOLTA means: Interest on Lawyer's Trust Account.

In Maryland, the Maryland Legal Services Corporation of the Maryland State Bar Association has posted a LIST OF APPROVED MARYLAND IOLTA FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

According to Maryland Rule 16-610, effective April 1, 2008, all Maryland financial institutions offering IOLTA must pay interest rates on Attorney IOLTA that are comparable to rates paid on similarly situated non-IOLTA accounts (Maryland Rules of Procedure 16-610).

The List is updated frequently.

Is this a "textbook property" easement issue?

Do you see Easement Number one, and easement Number two to the LEFT of Number one?









And do you see the No trespassing sign at the bottom of the lane?















Does that look like the beginning of a FENCE to block the entrance to the farm lane?







And do you see the mailbox to the left of the easement? Do you think the US Post Office recognizes that easement as the "entrance" to the home on the farm lane?

Would the US Postman deliver mail to a "Posted - No Trespassing" empty lot?

Great Lakes Outdoors Foundation Established.

Yippie!

Established.

Now let's get some more people outdoors.

NY BAR EXAM takers for July, 2008: Warning !!

From the New York State Board of Law Examiners: consider this as an offer of warning:

In the event [that] any technical difficulties occur during the bar examination, you must handwrite your essay answers in the answer books provided and no additional time may be allowed. If you choose to continue to use your computer to write your essay answers after experiencing technical difficulties, or when you have been instructed not to do so, you do so at your own risk.

Read for yourself, from the BOLE webpage:

New York State Board of Law Examiners
NOTICE TO PARTICIPANTS
IN THE NEW YORK BAR EXAMINATION
LAPTOP PROGRAM

This notice is intended to alert participants in the New York bar examination laptop program of the risks involved in such participation, the procedures to be followed in the event problems are encountered, and the potential consequences of problems should they occur.

The New York State Board of Law Examiners ("Board") does not own or maintain the software used for the laptop program. You are required to purchase and download the software directly from the third party software vendor, Examsoft Worldwide, Inc. The Board cannot guarantee the performance of the software furnished by the private software vendor.

You must provide your own computer, and that computer must meet or exceed the minimum system requirements published by the Board and the software vendor on their websites.

Technical difficulties may occur before, during or after the bar examination. Technical difficulties may include hardware or software malfunctions, data saving or retrieval problems, operator errors, upload or download problems, or the loss of electrical power at the examination facility. In the event any technical difficulties occur during the bar examination, you must handwrite your essay answers in the answer books provided and no additional time may be allowed. If you choose to continue to use your computer to write your essay answers after experiencing technical difficulties, or when you have been instructed not to do so, you do so at your own risk.

This Professor says: YIKES! Do you want to risk your last four years of Law School and another year without practice to a faulty Laptop system? Ask your family, and double-check that your family is in a position to support you for another year without the pay due to a Lawyer.

After you check it once, just check it twice, please.

Heads up to my Advanced Writing students: Do NOT release your brief until you have checked everything for accuracy.

Justice Dept. Admits Error in Not Briefing Court

By Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times, July 3, 2008

WASHINGTON — In a highly unusual admission of error, the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday that government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed the Supreme Court of that fact while the justices were considering whether death was a constitutional punishment for the crime.

“It’s true that the parties to the case missed it, but it’s our responsibility,” the department’s public affairs office said in a statement.

“We regret,” the statement said, “that the department didn’t catch the 2006 law when the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana was briefed.”

In that case, decided June 25 by a vote of 5 to 4, the court ruled that the Constitution prohibits the death penalty for the rape of a child. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s majority opinion was based in part on the conclusion that because child rape was a capital offense in only six states, and not under federal law, the death penalty for the crime did not meet the “evolving standards of decency” by which the court judges capital punishment.

Justice Kennedy’s conclusion about the absence of federal law was mistaken. Not only did Congress add child rape to the military death penalty in 2006, but President Bush, in an executive order last September, added the new provision to the current version of the Manual for Courts-Martial.

The solicitor general’s office, which represents the federal government before the Supreme Court, did not file a brief in the case, and none of the 10 briefs that were filed informed the justices of the new federal law.

Yikes and Yikes again. And I am so glad that MY name is nowhere in that mess.

Click here to continue reading the NY Times article.

Happy Birthday America - The Star Spangled Banner

Visit the American History Museum on the mall to learn about Our Flag.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/2_home/fs2.html

The Star Spangled Banner

A battle…

A song …

A symbol …

The Star Spangled Banner

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is the home of an American treasure—the Star-Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem. In 1998 we launched a significant effort to preserve this icon, which has been endangered by time and exposure to pollution and the elements.

In this Web site, you can discover the history of the Star-Spangled Banner, consider the flag’s symbolism, learn about the conservation process, and explore our educational offerings.

When I worked at the NMAH, Dr. Bedini was very much alive, although he suffered from COPD. He will always remain the most inspiring person in my life.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/ssb/2_home/fs2.html

We are 232 years young.

Blog July 4 2008

The straight skinny on the Second Amendment decision

Do you want the STRAIGHT SKINNY on the Second Amendment?

Click on David Hardy's blog and get the stuff right from the man who wrote the winning argument.

He will set you in the right direction.