Legal Eagles Can Still Be Full of Bird Crap

I would like to congratulate both the prosecution and defense teams from the George Zimmerman trial for their great work in lowering public opinions of the legal profession. The you-win-some-you-lose-some attitude of the prosecutors was impressive enough, but the defense attorneys were truly masterful. I can't decide which one amazed me more, the one who spent most of the press conference joking and smiling or his reptilian cohort who decided to blame the media. 

Seriously, though, what the hell is wrong with these two? When someone is dead after your client pulled the trigger in a situation they could (and arguably should) have avoided and said client gets acquitted, you either take the high road or you're an asshole. I'm not going to say I hate these people, because they don't deserve my beautiful wonderful hate. Rather, I'll just say that they disgust me to the point where I hope they die in a flaming pile of excrement while being beaten over the head with a toilet tank.

237 And Counting

A friend quite rightly suggested online that we should all take a moment to remember what the July 4th holiday is about (beyond food cooked on a grill, that is). This brought to mind the musical 1776. Though it takes some liberties with historical facts, the show masterfully depicts the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

What makes it especially relevant for us today is the way it shows government and the men who formed it (with not inconsiderable contributions from women) for what they really are and always have been in our history. These founding fathers are neither the infallible icons nor the over-entitled patriarchal devils of political extremists' fantasies. Rather, 1776 shows them as flawed but nonetheless gifted men who were able to recognize and seize a moment in history. Likewise, the republic they founded - and the process if governing it - is messy and imperfect, especially when it comes to matters of great importance.

This trailer for the early-70s film version encapsulates that quite nicely amid the singing (sorry that the sound quality is iffy in spots).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iiiy8GnBNI&feature=youtube_gdata_player