I have received it. Will @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com get his Katznelson book back? Who's to say?

Over the next several weeks I am going to live skeet my evening reading of Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" for no particular reason.

In memoriam, here is my favorite Robert Redford anecdote.

Just watched "The Bodyguard" (1992) for the first time a few days ago and I cannot stop thinking about the screwdriver Kevin Costner pours during his dark night of the soul. youtu.be/g1rRXO1qiQs?...

The best one-line criticism of these sort of Democrats that I’ve heard is “they believe they deserve an A in politics.”

Hemingway taking drive by shots at the legal profession in "A Farewell to Arms".

At a cocktail bar and overheard "I was watching "Cocktail" with a friend who was seeing it for the first time and had to restrain myself yelling out lines like it was a "Rocky Horror" screening" which may be among the most chaotic sentences I have ever heard.

One I want to write a reply brief that is just quoting this letter to editor of a small literary magazine after it published the "Nausicaa" episode from James Joyce's "Ulysses".

Every time.

British Suffragettes were so lit.

Still think I wasn't mean enough, all things considered.

Just ended my time at my current job representing parents who had their kids taken by CPS. Normally people receive a plaque at five years of service. I was two weeks short of five years. My colleagues had my back.

This was really fun to do.

Person who has only read the "Imperialism" section in Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" reading the news: "Getting major the "Imperialism" section of Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism" vibes from all this."

If you know "Know Your Enemy" you know.

Me: What I really want is a book that will help me be thoughtful about the rule of law. Jeremy Waldron:

Law professors of a certain type will always make my articles against them evergreen.

The cuck/chad discourse existed in 1640s England.

This is my favorite Souter fact, which I am glad made his NYT obituary.

From Jeffrey Toobin's 2008 book THE NINE, this remains the greatest Justice Souter anecdote I can possibly share. RIP.

Any book/article recs regarding the history of ideas about law and the monarchy in 17th century England (with special emphasis on debates during reign of James I/VI, the English Civil War, and the Glorious Revolution)?

We are reaching new lows, we no longer have Big Law firms precapitulating to Trump, we have Big Law firms like Gibson Dunn not reaching precapitulating terms with Trump but acting as if they have and cutting off ties with immigrants rights litigation. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/b...

Conduct yourself so nobody ever refers to you as a “celebrity lawyer”

I applied for a job recently that asked about my law school accomplishments in the application process. I graduated in 2013.

From Thomas Erskine's closing argument defending Thomas Paine against charges of seditious libel. His defense of Paine cost Erskine his lucrative position as Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales. The job of being an attorney can come with a cost. Much to consider there.

Really cannot recall if it was anyone other than senior partners at the capitulating firms saying this, but if there was anyone else you are the dumbest sacks of bricks possible and you probably aren't even getting Paul, Weiss managing partner money to say it.

Really love how about a month ago writing for @liberalcurrents.com I was like "Trump won't need to dictate BigLaw's pro bono work they agreed to avoid his displeasure" and Trump is out there today going "sure, but I am going to make it explicit anyway."

Comparing the British Edition and the U.S. edition of C.V. Wedgewood's history of the trial of Charles I really giving me a jolt of Patriotism.

Learning about the history of our glorious common law system.

To give you a bit of context: every now and then someone pisses off ICE (before that INS) and they harass-charge them with something like this. Usually it’s someone who tells employees that ICE is here and lets them run out the back door, or something like that. /1

Pretty good summary of "what we know now" on the arrest of the Wisconsin judge (not much) and what the legal consequences could be for her long term (not certain, but also maybe not much). www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...

Tag urself I'm"Bergoglian Pastoralist"

I can think of things going on in this case that are less "necessary or appropriate" than what SCOTUS did in the matter a few nights ago, but I'm built different I guess. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/u...

Galaxy brain take, sorry, but the wimpiness of these firms validates some of the right-wing rants about the "PMC" - there are indeed smart people who just want to live a risk-free life and make money, and you can kick their asses across the room.

Every time I read a new Times update about Trump and his BigLaw "settlements" I think "who could have anticipated this?" And the answer is "literally anyone who thought about it for five seconds.'

I know Slavoj Žižek has a mixed reputation as a philosopher at best, but rare is the day I don't think about his question "Why be happy when you could be interesting?"

Given Wurman is one of these conservative law profs I will just re-up the closer of my 2019 criticism of his book on Originalism. The penchant of Originalists for making it up as they go along is a feature, not a bug. www.liberalcurrents.com/original-lea...

Doing some research for an essay I am working on and was rudely reminded that the great anti Hitler theologian's classic theological text now has a forward by one of the great pro Trump Christian writers.

Reviewing the docket in the Perkins Coie litigation against Trump's executive order against them be like

The Trump administration assertions (not arguments) about basic features of our legal regime are so bad it feels insulting to rebut them. But @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social does an excellent job dissecting their assertions on "due process" here. ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...

Hey now, not your friendly neighborhood court appointed counsel please.

This makes it look like Trump is issuing these executive orders out of private concerns and not the public interest. Which obviously cannot be the case. (It is quite obviously the case.) www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

"Their first consideration has to be whether the legal argument they make will displease the President of the United States. At that point we give up on the idea of trying to be a nation of laws and become a nation of one man’s preferences." [@asrust.bsky.social @liberalcurrents.com]

Every time I rewatch "Mission: Impossible 5 - Rogue Nation" I ask myself "Is this actually the best Mission: Impossible movie?" Then I rewatch "Fallout" and remember it isn't. But the gap between them gets closer each watch through.

This essay's distinction between authoritarianism and fascism, and how different parts of Trump administration's actions fall on different sides of the distinction, is the big value add of this piece from @kjephd.bsky.social

This is so obviously correct that I'm embarrassed for the firms that caved.

This excerpt from @joshtpm.bsky.social's newsletter sets up an analogy with doctors to critique elite universities caving to Trump, but it just as easily applies to elite Big Law firms under the same pressure.

Putting together a Mission: Impossible drinking game for my girlfriend and me. I think this is a solid list, but I am open to suggestions.