Here is a remarkable video, story of which is more interesting than the pictures.

Humboldt County is one of the most amazing places on Earth. Being among the giant redwoods makes me feel the same way swimming with dolphins does. I feel as if I must get as close to the trees as possible.

Since I am traveling by myself, it was hard to get the camera in the right position. I ended up lying on the hood of the 1996 Honda Accord, reaching my left hand back over my shoulder and through the open window to steer the car, while holding the camera with my right hand.

Sometimes you’ve got to take risks for the sake of art!

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It’s easy to be impressed with the quality of cell phone pictures. Not to be outdone, the phone insisted I capture the scene with video, too.

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Charles Whitebread died a few days ago at the age of 65. He never smoked cigarettes but lung cancer killed him anyway. I knew him at USC and in the bar review business.

Professor Whitebread was one of the best lecturers I ever watched and listened to. He joined the faculty at the USC Law School in the summer of 1981, which is when I started my first year at the same institution.

I took three classes from him: Criminal Procedure, Gifts Wills and Trusts (GWATS), and Juvenile Law. His classes were packed and people didn’t skip many sessions.  Each 50 minute lecture was a model of clarity and precision, engaging and entertaining. This guy loved and respected his students. He showed up prepared and he inspired everybody to care about the material the way he did.

Here is a drawing of Professor Whitebread that I put on my folder for Gifts, Wills & Trusts back in the spring of 1983. I respected this professor, but I developed a fierce contempt for law school. The only thing about law school that was an improvement over junior high was the fact that it was OK to drink alcohol in class.

Listen to Charlie tell a quick story about a marijuana dealer, a fleeing felon, and hot pursuit.

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Here is a five-part presentation about the history of the drug laws. It’s a fascinating story, far more entertaining and bizarre than you might expect.

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Barak Obama and many others who consider themselves to be progressive argue that the “real” front in the War on Terrorism is in Afghanistan. This is dangerous nonsense. Bush, Cheney, and the others lied about the Afghan war, too.

The Afghan war is yet another illegal war of aggression. We’ve already lost. It’s time to bring our troops home and prosecute those who wrongly led our nation to war.

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Alexis did not get to watch or listen to the speech live, as I did, so I got to sit in the background while she took it in on-line. Alexis thought the speech was pitch perfect. I think it was brilliant. Sadly, I remain profoundly disappointed with the Democrats for their failure to serve as a true opposition party. I find myself appalled at the power of corporations and frightened by the disintegration of Constitutional law in this country. It seems to me that the Ralph Nader and Ron Paul campaigns have far more intellectual and moral substance than do those of Obama, Clinton and McCain.

At the same time, I recognize the importance of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and I respect the enthusiasm that it has generated among several generations of American women. I have no doubt that this speech will be quoted for many years to come. For those whose work on Senator Clinton’s campaign has been their first taste of political activism, this address by their candidate will serve as a continuing inspiration.

Although I handed out bumper stickers for the Bobby Kennedy campaign when I was nine years old, I didn’t put any real time and effort into a political campaign until the McGovern candidacy of 1972. Sometime between now and election day, I’ll publish the campaign literature that still sits in my files, including the piece put out within weeks of Watergate, entitled “Bug Nixon Before Nixon Bugs You.”

I remember election night,1972. Everybody knew that Nixon was going to win a gigantic landslide victory. I spent that night alone in my room, with a cheap black and white television set and a cassette tape recorder. Even today, I still remember the hot tears on my face as I watched and listened to George McGovern’s concession speech, just days before my 14th birthday. I dreaded the future under a second Nixon administration. Little did I suspect at the time that Richard Nixon would leave a more progressive legacy than would any of his successors.

Have a listen to Senator McGovern’s fine speech from that miserable November evening more than 35 years ago, and imagine the sort of world we would live in if fine people like McGovern had been leading the executive branch of government instead of the ones we ended up with. As I listen to this speech again today, I recognize that McGovern was hardly the perfect candidate – yet his words and and the substance of his career continue to inspire me today.

No doubt Hillary Clinton’s speech will do the same for untold numbers of young women who for the first time have tasted politics, and political disappointment, with Clinton’s campaign of 2008.

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Here is the latest video I did for Juris Vodcast.

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Basically, the court says it’s not ruling on the merits of same-sex marriage, but on the constitutionality of the ban. In CA, statutory interpretation requires looking at the overall scheme of laws when considering an individual law. Since same-sex partnerships have all the rights of married couples in the eye of the law in CA, since sexual orientation is a protected category under civil rights law, and since there’s a fundamental right to marry, the court said the government had to show that the ban was necessary to serve a compelling state interest. This is the “strict scrutiny” standard of review.

Here’s a three and a half minute video I have produced on the decision for Juris Vodcast.

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