My Morning Wooten

Lots of legal talk today. Since neither Jim nor I are actual experts, you can count on accuracy. Right? Right? Bueller?

Headline correction: “Billable hours aren’t everything.” The headline writer neglected to observe that the story was about lawyers. (Of course, billable hours aren’t everything if one earns as much working 15 hours as when working 40, as asserted.)

That's going to cause a few lawyer heads to explode.

The Thinking Right translation service offers as a public service this translation of Jane Kidd, head of the state Democratic Party, referring to the three weak challengers lined up to take on U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss: “We’re still kind of eyeing that one.” Translation: “Surely there’s a rich trial lawyer or a wealthy businessman out there who can self-finance a statewide political campaign.” No charge. Public gratitude is sufficient.

Yes, yes. Better if she had said, "Yep, they all suck." Surely, a straight talking Republican would have done just that.

Headline: “Saudi women want to drive.” Some days I’m for that, and some days I’m not.

Because they are women? Because they might be Muslim? Given the smallness of Jim's worldview, I'm sure it must be one or the other.

Jena, La. Whites hang nooses in a tree on a school campus in September, for which they’re punished with in-school suspensions. Three months later, a white student who had nothing to do with the first episode is beaten severely in the school cafeteria by black football teammates, who are criminally charged. Supporters think the first explains the second. It doesn’t. The beaters may well have been overcharged initially with second-degree attempted murder, but it’s often difficult to get a full and impartial read on stories involving race, as was the case at Duke University.

Instead of wasting precious space explaining all the relevant facts Jim left out here (surprising such a seasoned journalist would omit relevant facts. It would never be intentional, right?), I'll ask the question again. Why were the law and order crowd so quick to jump to the defense of the Duke lacrosse players but eagerly defend the prosecutor in practically every other case of overreach?

There's one common factor in the cases where those of a certain political stripe strongly the defend a prosecutor. Gernarlow Wilson. The Jena 6. But you're smart enough to connect the dots.

Selah.