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I received the greatest letter in the mail today from the Court of Appeals of Maryland:

The Report of the State Board of Law Examiners has been filed in this Court and, subject to final ratification of the Order Nisi, you are requested to appear for admission to the Bar.

It’s been a very long trip to get here, but, in less than two weeks, I will finally be a licensed attorney in the State of Maryland.

Here in Washington, D.C., we see a lot of lobbying advertisements, far more than the rest of the United States. Since most of the Congressmen and their staff reside here, we are the target market for these “issue ads”.

Today, I saw a link to an issue add from Northrup Grumman claiming that “KC-45: It won on the most American of Values: Merit”. As you may remember, the decision to award the contract to Northrup and EADS, the European manufacturer of Airbus, was somewhat controversial. However, the only argument put forth by Boeing seems to have been “we’re Boeing. We’ll give you the privilege of giving us lots of money through sub-standard leases in exchange for a substandard aircraft”.

From what I can remember, this is the first time I’ve seen an ad asking to keep a contract award, to to be given one.

[From America's New Tanker - KC-45]

Welcome to crazy town. Population: These Guys

Seriously? I’m pretty sure that “Paulville” is founding the same way that most anti-government militias start: going “off the grid”, forming their own currency (which, of course, is of no value), not being “forced to do or pay for other people’s life styles you may not agree with.”

I do approve of their use of solar and wind power, though.

UPDATE: I just read the description of this fine metropolis-to-be. From the website:

Average temps range mid 90’s in the summer and low 30’s in the winter due to it’s 4,000 foot elevation, making for not too hot of summers and not too cold of winters.

I used to live in southwest Oklahoma, and I can tell you that “mid 90’s” means “low 100’s”, and “low 30’s” mean “water freezes”. Also, the “arid climate” means that a hot, burning wind will destroy you skin without even thinking about it.

[From A Gated Community for Ron Paul Supporters? - The Lede - Breaking News - New York Times Blog]

Celebrex, the NSAID pain reliever that was vilified in media years ago, is back with a new ad campaign.  It’s been on the air for a while, but I’m finally irritated enough to comment on the ad.

There are three major problems with this ad:

1. The outlines of the drawings are made from disclaimers and warnings.  Nothing says “take this drug” like
2. The overall message of the advert seems to be “don’t blame us.  If you didn’t have such bad joints, you wouldn’t need to take a risky drug in the first place.”
3. The other theme of the advert seems to be “everyone else has side effects, too, so why not take Celebrex?”

I know the major pharmeceuticals are hurting for revenue, but this advert just makes no sense.

I’ve passed the Maryland bar exam, making me “minimally competent” to practice law. There are more steps yet, but this is the biggest hurdle of them all. I can finally breathe again.