Two Law Professors Watch "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

Professors of law are among the hordes who have stampeded to the movie theaters this holiday season for their Star Wars fix. You may find their ruminations of some interest: law prof the first and law prof the second.

As for me ... No, I haven't gone yet. No, and however heretical this may sound to some people, I'm not all rarin' to go either. It feels like an obligation. I'm thinking that I'd rather go see La La Land, actually, because the combination of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone was so charming in 2011's Crazy, Stupid, Love.

But! As long as we're on the topic of Star Wars (I've always been more of a Trekkie myself), take a look at this fan's detailed obituary of Leia Organa. Not Carrie Fisher, mind you. Leia Organa.

Taiwan Nerd News: Law Students vs. Chiang Kai-Shek's Statue at Fu Jen Catholic University

Here's the story.

The Onion on Student Loan Debt

ZING!

One Law Grad's Cri du Coeur

As commentary on the craptacular prospects for law grads these days, this is some kind of brilliant.  (Language warning.) 

Nerdiest, Most Obscure Supreme Court Protest Ever?

By Georgetown University Law Center students.  Quelle surprise.

Worst Op-ed of 2012 Is ... *Drum Roll* ...

TA-DA!!  Coming in at the last possible minute, this thing takes the cake.  Honestly, at first I thought this had to be something by the Onion.  I mean, a constitutional law professor saying we should chuck the Constitution.  Hahaha - Oh, you're serious. I am further bemused/amused to see this. (Scroll down to realize that Glenn Greenwald and I are actually on the same page. LOL!)  Anyway:

Just in under the wire, a clear winner for dumbest and most incoherent NYT Op-ed of 2012:is.gd/DCMMbp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald)

"The First Thing We Do - We Kill All The ..."

Incredible silliness from a law dean, which is - now that I think of it - not a surprise.

UPDATE: Smackdown. Don't miss the link to responses by recent law school grads.

A Law Prof Annotates the Declaration of Independence

A fascinating commentary for a glorious document. Commentator Randy Barnett is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches constitutional law and contracts. Here's a bit of it:

The assumption of natural rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence can be summed up by the following proposition:  “first comes rights, then comes government.”  According to this view: (1) the rights of individuals do not originate with any government, but preexist its formation;  (2) The protection of these rights is the first duty of government; and (3) Even after government is formed, these rights provide a standard by which its performance is measured and, in extreme cases, its systemic failure to protect rights — or its systematic violation of rights — can justify its alteration or abolition; (4) At least some of these rights are so fundamental that they are “inalienable,” meaning they are so intimately connected to one’s nature as a human being that they cannot be transferred to another even if one consents to do so.  This is powerful stuff.

Indeed.

Nerd News: Dissent and Discontent at Hahvahd Law

Here, read this.

Nerd News: Paying Students to Quit Law School?

Hmmmm.

Nerd News: Free Speech Lives at George Mason Law School

Free speech on campus?  You're doing it right, Dean Polsby.  Every dean, administrator, and edu-crat should read this.

Public Service Announcement: Reverse Discrimination Is Still Discrimination

I'm looking at you, University of Wisconsin!  And yet ... is anyone really surprised who knows anything about higher ed today?

Nerd News: Academic Bloggers

The New York Times profiles several influential blogs by professors -- including a few that I do like to read often!

Nerd News: Bruce Wayne Is A Yalie

Really?

Nerd Fun: A Law Prof and Her Class

Law professor Ann Althouse and her class.  Oh, I heartily approve!

Nerd News: 3 Law Schools Freeze Tuition

Edupunktastic!  See also this.  Some folks are realizing the impending peril of the higher education bubble going kaboom.

Quote of the Day: Teaching Law School

What an intriguing snippet:

I suppose over the years I’ve murdered pretty much every 1st-year teacher — and certainly all my Deans — and they’ve all murdered me, too.

Do read the rest.

Nerd News: Villanova Law School Knowingly Inflated Its Ranking With False Exam Scores

BOO HISS!

Nerd News: A Warning From the American Bar Association

What's the warning?  Think twice before going to law school.  The costs are astronomical and may well crush you with debt forever.  Here is the ABA's document on the subject.  On a personal note, I've heard the same thing from a friend of mine, a recent law school grad who had harrowing stories  to tell.

Nerd News: Law Student Wants His Money Back

Hilarity ensues?