Friday, June 27, 2008

Why I will never donate a dime to Boyd Law.

I don't get really angry at a lot of things. I certainly don't get angry at people who make mistakes. I believe that people should be allowed to make mistakes and then correct them. The only time mistakes make me angry is when the people who make them refuse to correct their mistakes and continue to engage in the same kind of behavior that led them to the mistakes in the first place.

That is why Boyd Law School makes me angry. I cannot recall hearing of an institution so stupidly and recklessly mismanaged as this law school. Not only does Boyd continue to get things wrong, but it obstinately refuses to change its behavior. It's Standard Operation Procedure has increasingly been one of callous indifference to the students it should be serving. Boyd has lost its way and with every slip up it has been the students who have been asked to take the consequences. Here are but a few ways in which Boyd law has failed its students.

Diversity

Most of us agree that diversity is a good thing, especially in higher education. Exposure to diverse viewpoints helps students contemplate a problem in different ways and see how people with different ideas might view a situation. This kind of diversity helps students in the legal profession by enabling them to develop broader, richer, and more far reaching arguments. Recently, Boyd has struggled greatly to increase ethnic diversity in its faculty. However, striving for this kind of diversity, and only this kind of diversity has cost Boyd to lose sight of a different kind of diversity: Academic diversity. The whole point of diversity is to expose students to different ideas, but the faculty at Boyd as more and more become ideologically homogeneous. They all look at the law the same way and have the same political ideals. There is only one professor at the school who will admit to being ideologically conservative, and he has been relegated to teaching night classes. Because almost all of the professors look at the law in the same way, students are not being exposed to the full spectrum of ideas. It is as if the legal world is a piano and all of the professors play the same note. There is a rich symphony of other notes that the students are not hearing. My favorite class this past year was one in which Prof. Shoben and Prof. Pollman introduced many different ways at looking at the law, even some they admittedly disagreed with or were not entirely sold on. It opened my eyes and it changed the way I thought and argued. However, this class has been the sad exception to the rule. Most classes are taught by professors who all look at the law the same way. Priests to the dogmatic legal religion approved by the administration.

I do not argue that racial diversity is a bad thing or that we shouldn't be trying to increase minority presence at Boyd. On the contrary, an increase in racial diversity, in the student body particularly, would be a good thing. However, we should also be striving to increase academic diversity. Professors with backgrounds in many different types of law, with many different political and academic beliefs would enhance the education at Boyd. However, the school has gone completely the other way. We have a multi-ethnic faculty who all say pretty much the same thing no matter who you ask.

Bar Prep

If the recent schedule is any indication, Boyd's new educational philosophy is "Thank God For BarBri." The small number of classes taught on Bar subjects can generously be described as embarrassing. Too many of the Bar classes that have been featured cover precious little that could actually be tested on the bar. Too often the class has been used as a pulpit for a professor to spout narrow political ideology and proselyte for their cause. A number of my friends have privately related that they just tune out in class during the political stump speeches, planning on learning the subject in their bar prep. This kind of thing is a disgrace. Boyd students go thousands of dollars into debt to get a legal education that they will have a very hard time paying for if they do not pass the bar. You would think that the institutions first priority would be to teach the students everything it possibly could to get them through the bar. However my experience has shown that the bar is most often an afterthought in too many classes.

Serving the Students

There has been a lot of controversy with the latest schedule and the administration has taken a lot of flak because of it. All of it has been deserved. This schedule amounts to nothing less than a slap in the face to students. However, the surprising thing is not that the school would put out a schedule which basically spits in the face of its students, or that it would obstinately refuse to do anything to fix the schedule. The surprising thing is that any of the students were surprised by the school's actions. The school's has never listened to students and any requests for input were merely token gestures at best. One need look no farther than the Professor Burnham debacle, in which a highly qualified and popular professor was dumped by the administration for spurious reasons, to see how the administration regards its students. Professor Burnham wanted to stay, the students loved him, the administration told him to take a hike. This is merely one example of the lengthy list of times that the administration chose its own wishes over the students. Far too often the Boyd response to student wishes has been "We don't care what you think. Deal with it." Thus, it should have come as a surprise to no one that Boyd Law would put out a schedule making life rough for working students. It certainly came as no surprise to me that the administration refused to eliminate the ten minute overlaps between morning classes that currently make it impossible for a student to take all of his or her classes in the morning. Personally, I laughed when the administration response was that any change in the schedule, even an obvious problem solver like pushing classes back ten minutes, would simply be unmanageable. It does cause me to wonder how the administration can deliver such a pathetic lie and then imagine it has any shred of credibility left with its students. I also can't help but wonder why the administration would make a schedule that requires students to come in the morning, and then not offer any more classes at night. Students who have jobs will have to spend extra gas making the trip back to Boyd every night. Students who simply don't have a job but don't wish to remain at the law school where the temperature in studying facilities is always unbearable will also have to shell out for extra gas to leave and come back. But hey, no problem, it's not like gas has dramatically increased in price lately, right?

* * *

So once again, the student are given the short end of the stick and told to lump it. That's fine. I'd expect nothing less from an institution that doubles its tuition and then cuts its services. I'm fine with all of it. I've looked into transferring to other schools for the final year, if I could find one I liked and could get through the bureaucratic nightmare of transferring , I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I know I probably won't. I'll probably stick it out and suffer one more year of Boyd. That's fine, I'll live. One thing I will never do though, is be happy about it. I will not give glowing reviews of this school if asked. I will certainly never, ever, give one more dime to this school than is required to get a diploma. Boyd, don't bother calling me and asking for Alumni donations, you won't get them. You've made it pretty clear that you don't care about me, so don't think that I will ever care about you. I will never donate, I will not attend alumni functions, I may even skip graduation. I have to live with you until May, but after that, you are dead to me and you will never see me again.

Sincerely,

Brad Sims, 3L

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Gas



Sorry I haven't posted yet, I'll come up with something soon.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Running Blog

I was sick last week so I had to skip my saturday run. This week was a nice and easy week, just trying to ease back in to running after several days off.


So, not quite as much as a while ago, but still a decent distance.

Decided to put up a photo journal of today's run.

Here I am before running in all my glory:



All I can say is, by runner's standards, there shorts are modest, so don't make fun.

Remember 80% of running is proper nutrition:



I know what you you are thinking, and yes, they do all taste awful (except for the tylenol, which tastes minty). So what? What's your point? True men do not eat for pleasure, they eat for sustenance! They eat so that they have the energy to fight on! They eat because their food contains caffeine and there's nothing quite like a caffeine rush to get you going again after 10 miles. Mmmmmmmmmmmm........caffeine.

Here's a quick thermometer check for you:



Some people, namely doctors, will tell you it's too hot to run outside when the weather is like this. Well what do doctors know? Most doctors will tell you that people came from monkeys. Well guess what, doctors? I happen to notice that Monkeys live in Africa, where it is really hot as well, and you never hear of Monkeys getting heat stroke, do you? So which is it, doctors? Are we non-heat stroke prone monkeys or the children of a divine creator who also created SPF 30? Nice try, you godless sodomite MD's!

Here's a picture of the Pittman Wash, the starting point of my little jog today:



And lastly, here is me striking a superman pose after running 14.4 miles. See, I'm ready to go again.



Hmmmmm....looks like it's time to start doing a few crunches. And lift weights.


All right kids, that's it for the running blog. Catch ya later.

P.S. Viva la Vida and Speed of Sound are the same song. Am I the only one who notices this? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Only Financial advice you'll ever need.

I've been thinking for a while about posting something on finance. I can't really advise anyone on how to get rich, not ever having been rich myself, but I can tell you how to eliminate debt, and how to avoid poverty, spending some 60 odd hours a week working in a bankruptcy firm. I was going to write up my own list, but I found that Scott Adams, writer of the popular Dilbert Comic Strip (and author of one of the greatest blogs ever) has written everything that I could possibly tell you. Here is the only financial advice you will ever need, with some additional commentary. None of it is complicated and if you follow it you will be fine.


1. Make a will
Trust me, just do it. You can do it yourself or have an attorney do it relatively cheaply. I've gone over this before but everyone, even if you are not married, should have a will. If you have children and you do not have a will, then you are being irresponsible and there is just no other way to say it. Hit legalzoom.com and get your stuff in order.

2. Pay off your credit cards

Nothing kills wealth better or enslaves you faster than debt. Nothing gets you into debt faster and keeps you there longer than credit cards. It is a proven fact that if you have a credit card you will almost certainly carry a balance on that card at some point. THe average american family has $8000 dollars of credit card debt. At 30% interest, that's $2400 a year the average American family pays for the privilege of being enslaved to a credit card company. That is money that could go to a variety of other worthy causes and instead goes to a creepy souless credit corporation who did nothing to deserve it. Pay these things off and cancel them. You do not need them. Online purchases can be made by debit card. Any discounts, points, mileage, etc. you get will be far less than the money you will save by not having a credit card. It is a proven fact you buy less when you pay cash for things, and a proven fact that if you have a credit card you will at some point carry a balance on it. As far as establishing credit, a car payment, cell phone, and house payment do far more to establish credit than your "American Depressed" card ever will. Get rid of them, they are a temptation you do not need.

3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support.

Whole life insurance is a scam. Cash value insurance is a garbage product. Period. Have 10X your annual salary in term insurance on the bread winner. If you need this explained further feel free to talk to me off line.

4. Fund your 401k to the maximum

5. Fund your IRA to the maximum

6. Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it.

There's no magic formula for house buying, but whatever mortgage you have, pay it off as fast as you can. If at all possible, try and get a fixed rate 15 year mortgage where the payment is one fourth your monthly take home. That might not be an option where you live, but if you are smart and save up a good down-payment (10-20%) you can probably manage a good mortgage. Don't touch adjustable rate mortgages. Don't go anywhere near them. Those things cause more bankruptcies these days than credit cards. Also, Never get a second mortgage. If you need a second mortgage it means you can't afford your house. Sell it. It's dry wall and concrete; it's not special. Too many people get attached to their houses and throw everything they can into trying to keep the house. It's dumb. I have to restrain myself every time a client says "I just can't bear to let go of the house." It is one of the single dumbest things you can think or say. If you find yourself sayin it, then you are not thinking rationally. Also, don't go near home equity lines of credit, they're just second mortgages. Never borrow against your home for anything. Ever.

7. Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account.

Start by saving $1000 for emergencies then let that grow. Again, bankruptcy office is full, FULL of people who thought they would never get sick, never lose jobs, and that everything would be fine. Guess what, life happens. You need to make your plans with the idea in mind that the universe will probably screw with you at some point. You'll meet a guy named Murphy, who's law is that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. After you meet Murphy, he may decide to hang around you for a while. Be prepared for him. Remember that if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. I had a client this week who's husband passed away a few years ago, did not leave enough to take care of her, her pension has had problems, and she was in a car accident on the way to visit the bankruptcy lawyer. Bad things happen and they usually don't happen alone.

8. Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement

An investment is not something you buy one day and sell the next. When you buy any kind of stock, bond, real-estate, etc, you need to plan on having it for a LONG time. The stock market changes day to day, but over time it always goes up.

9. If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio.

Self explanatory, and watch out, some of those financial consultants are hucksters who try and sell you special financial products (like whole life insurance) that are designed only to separate you from your money.

Follow these steps and assuming you are earning a decent wage you will avoid poverty.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

The Manifesto

With the upcoming elections, here at the Simsisms institute for rational thought it might be prudent to declare our stance on the issues. Generally, here at the institute, we have a low tolerance for the bull that infects today's political discourse. We especially roll our eyes any time someone thinks government control will solve a problem, or that outlawing something will make it unavailable.

Issue 1

Immigration

What you should think: You shouldn't care.

You cannot stop immigration. Period. If people are already willing to risk their lives to come to this country, what makes anyone think there is a way to stop them from coming. If you build a wall, it will not stop immigration. Mexico may be poor, but they still have ladders. If you make guard towers ever 100 feet and deploy the entire army on the border to keep people out, immigrants will hop on boats. If you deploy the Navy to blockade all ports and search every incoming ship then immigrants will start forging documents. You cannot keep them out. What's more, why would you want to? What do they do that is so bad? Pay taxes and then return to Mexico before they can draw any benefits? Help save social security? They don't steal jobs from "Americans" because they generally do low wage work that "Americans" would never do. They pay for services and their presence creates jobs. Yes, there is a high incidence of drug trade that is channeled through illegal immigrants, but that is mostly because the current drug laws create huge financial incentives and current immigration laws create a permanent underclass that is easily exploited with offers of financial gain. We spend a fortune fighting the inevitable reality of immigration and we don't need to. The situation is no different than the RIAA thinking it can stop illegal downloading with lawsuits and intimidation. The tide is too great and the damage is too minimal to justify the fight. Accept that they are here and figure out a way to deal with that reality.

Issue#2
Socialized Medicine.

What you should think: You should be vehemently opposed to it.

We've covered this before on this site, but to rehash, most people have insurance. People who don't have insurance for the most part have made a conscious choice not to buy it and spend the money on something else, generally a Playstation 3. The health care you get with your current insurance will be better than what you will get with government care. Having lived in a country with socialized medicine, I can tell you it is not the healthcare paradise people would have you believe. Instead of an HMO telling you which doctor to see and what procedures you can have, you'll have a paper pusher telling you what to do. The same people who brought you the models of efficiency and simplicity that are the DMV and the IRS. Meanwhile, the rich continue to buy private health insurance and the best doctors will work at private hospitals. The current system is not perfect,in fact in many ways it outright sucks, but it is better than the alternative.

Issue #3

Ethanol

What you should think: You should be outraged about it.

Ethanol is the product of the corn lobby, which is massive. Most people don't know it, but in the 60's and 70's the corn lobby spent insane amounts of cash to make corn the staple of the american way of life. Corn products are now in everything. Odds are, you had some corn derivative today. In fact, high fructose corn syrup is the leading artificial sweetener and one of the off cited causes of the dramatic increase of obesity in the country. The corn industry was also able to pick up billions of subsidies to make a fuel called ethanol. Ethanol actually takes more fuel to produce than just burning straight gasoline, however the price at the pump is lower than gasoline because the government subsidizes production. That's right, your tax dollars pay for the production of a fuel more expensive than gasoline so that it costs less than gasoline.

Issue #4

Driver's Licenses for Illegal Immigrants.

How you should feel: you should be for them.

When New Mexico made licenses available to illegal immigrants, traffic fatalities fell by a third. Arguably, issuing licenses does legitimize illegal conduct, but would you rather stand on principle or save lives?

Issue #5

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

How you should feel: You should oppose them.

Hydrogen fuel cells are a fantasy that the auto industry uses to stall progress and continue to force you to buy cars with an internal combustion engine. The fact is, it will take a miracle to make hydrogen powered fuel cells affordable and mass-produceable. By the time they are ready for the assembly line, they will be outstripped by hybrid cars. Hybrids that can be plugged in to an AC outlet in your house are only a few years away. However, there is a billion dollars of federal grant money up for grabs to the auto industry for researching hydrogen fuel cells. Why are we spending a billion dollars to research technology that we will never use and is no better than what we already have?

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Mysterious Case of Coldplay

By now, you've almost certainly heard "Violet Hill," Coldplay's latest single. Like most Coldplay singles, it's great. However, Coldplay's problem has never been coming up with hit singles. "Yellow", "Trouble", "Clocks", "Scientist", "Clocks", "Fix You", etc., are all great songs. As far as their singles, only "Speed of Sound" is lackluster. The problem with Coldplay is that their singles are great, but their albums as a whole are only 3 stars at best. Sure they have some great songs, but they also have 7 other tracks that lack any kind of energy and it's impossible to listen to the whole thing straight through if you are trying to stay awake. They just aren't a high energy band. It's almost as if the guys from Bread tried to release a record in the style of U2.

It may sound like I don't like Coldplay. Not true at all. I love Coldplay. However, I find them frustrating because they should be a better band then they are. The rhythm section is top notch, the guitars make effective use of the minimalist style made famous by the Edge (taken from punk sensibilities and applied to rock music) and Chris Martin is a dynamic front-man and although his live vocals are occasionally weak (the live version of "Violet Hill" on MTV this weekend would not have made it out of the first round of American Idol) he can knock it out when he really needs to. For some reason it just never came together in a cohesive energetic album. The past albums just seemed to lack a certain passion. Which is why I have such high hopes for "Viva La Vida". There are strong indications that this could be Coldplay's "Joshua Tree." Recorded in churches, spiritual themes, it's the kind of thing that has energized many an artist in the past (it also nearly ruined Bob Dylan's career, but I digress). Like I say, I'm hopeful, but I'm not confident. I've just been burned by Coldplay too many times before. I absolutely want this album to be great, but I'm not paying to download it until I know it is.