old passport
the tug
of my father’s smile
back at camp
the mountain peak
still in my legs
new fridge
the motor’s faint hum
still there
Yu Chang from The Loose Thread: Red Moon Anthology 2001
“back at camp” – The Heron’s Nest 2:12
“new fridge” — from the Haibun “refrigerator” (Am. Haibun and Haiga 2)
the delivery truck’s late –
hungry birds
chirping all day
[June 3, 2005]
potluck
Massachusetts Bar Association that it should reduce delays in the State Bar discipline
system, but should reject other proposals (which we panned here) that “represent critical
setbacks.” HALT “argued against proposals that would implement a statute of limitations
on complaints, create a more stringent standard of proof in disciplinary hearings, prohibit
telephone inquiries, and allow secret disciplinary proceedings-all of which would undermine
Massachusetts’ commitment to transparency, fairness and accessibility.” (HALT press release,
May 25, 2005; full comments here)
One issue addressed by HALT that we had overlooked is the
proposal by the MBA Task Force Task Force to eliminate any
mention of of a disciplinary proceeding from the Bar’s attorney
search Web site immediately upon issues of “private discipline.”
HALT is correct that such information is important for consumers
and belongs as part of the attorney’s record. It is also right that
private discipline should be eliminated as a remedy.
Protecting Lawyers: It is with dismay, but not surprise, that I see the top priorities
of the new president of the New York State Bar Association, Rochester attorney
A. Vincent Buzard, include attempting to limit lawyer advertising “to the fullest extent
permitted, within the limitations of the First Amendment” and focusing on UPL, the
unauthorized practice of law, in New York. (NYSBA, press release, June 1, 2005;
John Steele) Both of these missions tend, in my opinion, to protect lawyers more than
Buzard, who is known for doing brain injury plaintiff’s cases, ran the
states “Buzard believes that most Association members find that
“inappropriate” lawyer advertising contributes to the distorted
public understanding of the legal profession.” He told the D&C
that he supports a program like the Monroe Country [Rochester]
Paradise Lost: Ernie Svenson keeps reminding me how silly I was to switch 
from Apple to Windows operating systems in 1997. My first 5 or 6 computers
were Apples — starting with the original classic version with .25 MG of RAM.
I only switched when I did, because I wanted to be compatible with other users
and I needed to be thrifty. Tempted by a snake that said “everybody does it” and
“save some money.”
A post at Jeremy Richey‘s Weblog, pointing to the interesting weblog
prayers at local council meetings is getting attention across the nation. We
public legislative activity seem pointless to me. Individual council members
can do all the pre-praying they want to, but I wonder if the Deity wants to be
associated with the chicanery, duplicity, grandstanding and unedifying behavior
that usually follows the public prayers. I’d love to know what goes on in the
heads of our politicians while the prayers are being said.
When asked about The Greatest Injustice, Sarni says “Ohhh… hard one. Perhaps birth is the
hardest injustice of all – the fact that where you are born, to which family, in what social strata,
determines so much of your life.” This puts her in the company of American “liberals,” as we
noted in a recent post on attitudes toward luck in American politics.
