"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind." -- John Stuart Mill
President Lee Bollinger of Columbia University is to be commended for providing a forum by which the President of Iran could engage in some interchange with Americans. Undoubtedly Bollinger's guest does not get the opportunity for robust debate at home. However distasteful his views and his government's actions as a state sponsor of terrorism, it is better for him and for us to be exposed to each other's views so we may better understand them. My only question is whether President Bollinger's "introduction" might have been better had he respected George Washington's admonition, "Use no Reproachful Language against any one neither Curse nor Revile." Our first President said this about how to deal with low lifes,
"Never express anything unbecoming, nor Act against the Rules Moral before your inferiors."
Perhaps a few words of welcome to the land of the free and the home of the brave might have been in order to mark the solemnity of the occasion of the introduction of the visiting despot to academic discourse -- American style. While President Bollinger was certainly justified in condemning President Ahmadinejad's dictatorial regime, the tone was certainly not one that would impress the visitor that he was welcome to express his views -- however untutored and unpopular they might be. Ironically, it was Columbia that in 1968 suppressed dissent of its students by inviting the New York Police Department to force more than a thousand encamped protesters out of five buildings at Columbia -- an action that ended a seven day siege but may still rank as the largest police action ever undertaken at an American University. While President Bollinger has little in common with his stuffy and insufferable predecessor, Grayson Kirk, he might have considered the idea that President Ahmadinejad, like his university, might be better educated with civility and reason than self-righteousness and ridicule.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
What a life!
I just learned of the passing of a long time friend and colleague, Whitney Adams -- a true pioneer in the law. Whitney was 61 but her true age was more like 41. She was a bundle of energy.
I first met Whitney when we were in the US Attorney's Office in DC. She was in the generation ahead of me which meant that she was among the first 25 women ever hired by the Office (I found out years ago that I was #25). We became good friends when she left Rogers & Wells to set up her own practice and we had adjacent offices at 888 16th Street. While I showed her some of the "ropes" for solo practice, her practice took off almost immediately due to her wide circle of friends and professional contacts. We shared lots of laughs and good times there before she eventually decided to move her office to McLean. She was always the source of good advice and she had terrific instincts about how to handle just about any situation. Eventually she became inhouse counsel to a technology firm.
Whitney was a trailblazer for women in so many ways. She was one of the founders of the Independent Women's Forum. While I did not agree with Whitney's politics, I was happy to support her when she ran for office in Virginia. Unfortunately for the voters there, she was unsuccessful in her run for state office. She also joined the Women's Economic Alliance that promoted breaking the glass ceiling with assertiveness training.
Whitney was a devoted mother to her two sons, Taylor and McLean, and often took them with her to professional events. She was so proud of them and their achievements. She was a real soccer mom. Taylor graduated from Princeton. McLean is a senior at UVa.
The only thing that Whitney could not conquer was breast cancer. As I recall from our conversation about it, she was misdiagnosed and the delay in her treatment caused the recurrence of it some years later. I sincerely hope that she got some justice before she passed. She fought the cancer with dogged determination.
Last week as she lay in her hospital bed, two friends of ours, Carol Bruce and Liz Medaglia, told her what an inspiration she had been to other women. Whitney wanted to make sure that her message got out to other women, "You need to tell them they can do it! They can do it!" she said.
Whitney, you did it. With style!
I first met Whitney when we were in the US Attorney's Office in DC. She was in the generation ahead of me which meant that she was among the first 25 women ever hired by the Office (I found out years ago that I was #25). We became good friends when she left Rogers & Wells to set up her own practice and we had adjacent offices at 888 16th Street. While I showed her some of the "ropes" for solo practice, her practice took off almost immediately due to her wide circle of friends and professional contacts. We shared lots of laughs and good times there before she eventually decided to move her office to McLean. She was always the source of good advice and she had terrific instincts about how to handle just about any situation. Eventually she became inhouse counsel to a technology firm.
Whitney was a trailblazer for women in so many ways. She was one of the founders of the Independent Women's Forum. While I did not agree with Whitney's politics, I was happy to support her when she ran for office in Virginia. Unfortunately for the voters there, she was unsuccessful in her run for state office. She also joined the Women's Economic Alliance that promoted breaking the glass ceiling with assertiveness training.
Whitney was a devoted mother to her two sons, Taylor and McLean, and often took them with her to professional events. She was so proud of them and their achievements. She was a real soccer mom. Taylor graduated from Princeton. McLean is a senior at UVa.
The only thing that Whitney could not conquer was breast cancer. As I recall from our conversation about it, she was misdiagnosed and the delay in her treatment caused the recurrence of it some years later. I sincerely hope that she got some justice before she passed. She fought the cancer with dogged determination.
Last week as she lay in her hospital bed, two friends of ours, Carol Bruce and Liz Medaglia, told her what an inspiration she had been to other women. Whitney wanted to make sure that her message got out to other women, "You need to tell them they can do it! They can do it!" she said.
Whitney, you did it. With style!
Friday, September 21, 2007
O.J. Simpson revisited
The media hype over the recent arrest of O.J. Simpson recalled for me the beginnings of my career as a legal pundit on TV. One day as I was being ushered into the studios at CNN to do some commentary, I queried the young booker as to why the network was devoting so much time to the OJ Simpson murder trial. She told me "our ratings go up every time we put on the trial." What was astonishing to me then -- that the public was fixated on a perfectly normal murder case -- seems commonplace today. It is almost impossible to get much in the way of useful news from television because so much time is devoted to the latest spectacular crash on the Nascar highway or to the antics of Britney Spears --whoever she is (I'm too old to care).
A conservative Republican recently advised that to survive in the Regulatory State it is vital to understand that the public tunes out most information of global or national significance, focuses upon factoids of personal importance and has an attention span that is most receptive to sound bites. Why, then, does CBS News feel it must email me with the breaking news that OJ has been released on bail? Personally, I am wondering where he got the funds to post bond since he's supposed to be paying Fred Goldman millions. Guess he's got a really clever asset protection plan at one of those beachfront banks in the Caymans.
In the old days I queried O.J. Simpson as to who in the world of Faye Reznick was the "real killer" and what physical evidence did he have that anyone was the killer but himself. He was completely inarticulate. During Watergate we heard the refrain, "follow the money." With O.J. we were introduced to DNA evidence and, as it turns out, it was right on the money -- or at least right on. So, I tell you with any case involving the "Juice," look for the physical evidence because it does not lie and cannot be successfully cross examined.
A conservative Republican recently advised that to survive in the Regulatory State it is vital to understand that the public tunes out most information of global or national significance, focuses upon factoids of personal importance and has an attention span that is most receptive to sound bites. Why, then, does CBS News feel it must email me with the breaking news that OJ has been released on bail? Personally, I am wondering where he got the funds to post bond since he's supposed to be paying Fred Goldman millions. Guess he's got a really clever asset protection plan at one of those beachfront banks in the Caymans.
In the old days I queried O.J. Simpson as to who in the world of Faye Reznick was the "real killer" and what physical evidence did he have that anyone was the killer but himself. He was completely inarticulate. During Watergate we heard the refrain, "follow the money." With O.J. we were introduced to DNA evidence and, as it turns out, it was right on the money -- or at least right on. So, I tell you with any case involving the "Juice," look for the physical evidence because it does not lie and cannot be successfully cross examined.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
In the Beginning
One has to start somewhere. I envision this blog to be a running commentary on all manner of things dealing with the rule of law, legal developments, ethics, and practical advice for lawyers and those who seek our advice. I will comment on the political scene, add humor, and generally do my best to entertain and challenge you, the readers. Please feel free to comment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
