May It Please The Court |
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Quote of the Day - Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.
MIPTC's Friday Wine Review from Grape RadioRetail Wine BuyingHere's MIPTC's Friday wine review from Grape Radio. Today, the guys talk up "Retail Wine Buying." Give a listen to their podcast.Grape Radio #3: This show focuses on the retail aspect of buying wine. There is no reason for a novice wine buyer to be intimidated about going into a wine store and asking for help finding a bottle of wine. Grape Radio's special guest today is Senior Wine Buyer John Downing. John has been in the business for over eight years and focuses on international wines, but he also gives great insight into buying wine from a local retailer. John works at Hi-Time Wine Cellars, a wine and spirits shop founded 1957. The store, which is one of the largest in the USA, is both a traditional brick-and-mortar establishment while also offering a full e-commerce online shopping option. Hi-Time Cellars offers an email newsletter and can be found at Hi-Time Wine. 
Posted by
Brian Clark, Leigh Older and Jay Selman on Friday, January 28, 2005 at 20:17
MIPTC's Friday At The Movies Feature from Reel ReviewsCinephile Series #3: Apocalypse NowAs a regular Friday feature on MIPTC, here's Mike Geoghegan's movie review and podcast:Reel Review #23: “Everyone gets everything he wants, I wanted a mission and for my sins they gave me one.” For the third edition of the Cinephile Series we examine Apocalypse Now. (Please remember, unlike the standard Reel Reviews, the Cinephile Series works on the assumption you have seen the film. Spoilers abound.) Easily one of the greatest films ever made, Apocalypse Now has rightfully maintained its popularity with new movie going audiences over the years. Simply put - a must see film. (For the observant listener, you’ll notice Mike mispronounces Joseph Conrad’s novella as Hearts of Darkness. He apologizes: "Sorry about that.") Take a trip up the river with us and journey back into the insanity. The horror, the horror… Links mentioned: Apocalypse Now Redux at Amazon.com Apocalypse Now at Amazon.com IMDb
Doctoring With Law DegreesWhat kind of a degree does a lawyer get upon graduation from law school? Sure, it's called a Juris Doctor, but is it more like a Ph.D. or more like a masters? It takes about three years to get either a law degree or a doctorate. No one calls lawyers "Doctor," however, and we don't have to write a thesis.But we do have to take the bar exam to practice, and I'm not sure which is worse. If you're going to Harvard, it could be a distinction without a difference. You can now get Ph.D. credits from taking law classes. Just imagine. "Bob Smith, J.D., Ph.D." Does that mean that it'll be "Doctor Bob, Juris Doctor?"
A Parent's Nightmare Come True. What Would You Do?If you're a parent, read on. If you're an under-18 child of a parent, read on. Better yet, read the introduction to this court opinion first.No, this post is not rated, but if it was, it would be rated G. The court's opinion, on the other hand, could qualify as NC-17. You can always tell a lot from the first line of court opinions. This one gives no doubt about the outcome: "This case is a parent's nightmare come true." Daughter, 16, started dating a 15-year old boy. Her grades declined, she failed three classes, skipped school and had a series of behavioral problems with her parents. Guessing that the boyfriend was the root of the problem, Mom banned daughter from dating boyfriend. Boyfriend, in turn, wrote threatening letters to Mom, including "fantastical" schemes including murdering the parents and other "vitriolic" threats. Mom got an injunction, preventing boyfriend from contacting daughter, Mom and Dad. Boyfriend appealed the injunction, claiming it violated his first amendment rights. As foreshadowed above, boyfriend lost. That is until daughter reaches 18, when she reaches majority, and the Court set the injunction to expire. As the Court noted, "She will then have the right and responsibility to make her own decisions; her parents' role will become one of influence and persuasion, rather than direction and control. Of course, Danielle could seek to renew the injunction for a period beyond her eighteenth birthday." What would you advise Daughter Danielle to do?
I Didn't Agree To Agree, I Just Didn't Object to AgreeHere's a lesson in how not to handle a settlement. The case, decided today, provides two important lessons, maybe more if you're paying close attention.Most insurance policies vest the power to settle a case in the insurer's hands, not yours. That's lesson number one. You likely don't have the right to object to your insurance company's agreement to settle your case, even if you think it's outrageous. So, if you want that power later, buy that kind of coverage now. Lesson number two is that when you make a settlement orally in front of the judge, it's going to be enforced, so think about what you're agreeing to first. The "on the record" requirement was removed some time ago. Here, the driver and passenger of a car sued the drivers of other cars that hit them. After much wrangling (the facts of this case read like a contortionist playing with a Rubik's cube), the passenger settled with the driver and the other cars that hit him. The insurance adjusters didn't object to the settlement. Everybody was happy. Or so it seemed. Then the passenger tried to renege on the deal. [Who knows why other than he probably thought he could get more money in settlement or trial.] So who did agree? The passenger. He was on the record. And the attorneys for the defendants/insurance companies. Did the other defendants, who weren't there, agree? Who knows? They weren't there. But remember, too, that the adjusters didn't formally agree. They just didn't object. The "agreement/no objection" of the insurance adjusters wasn't on the transcript, either. But, the court of appeals ruled everyone had an agreement. Even if there weren't agreements all around. Don't you agree?
Imagine American Beauty With A Canvas BagIt all started in San Francisco.No more bags in trees. Yep, you heard it here first. I'm not kidding. That's the argument used to justify a proposed $0.17 per grocery bag tax. Try to imagine those two sentences next to each other. "No bags in trees." "A $0.17 grocery bag tax." Go ahead, read them again. Now certainly, discarded plastic bags blow around the City. And San Francisco has a lot of trees. Makes perfect sense to me. Next thing you know, we've got plastic bags in trees. What happened to paper bags? To be fair, SF has also proposed to subject paper bags to the tax. What next? Think canvas.
Just Pinch Your NoseThe USEPA has agreed to provide factory farms immunity from Clean Air Act civil fines and penalties in exchange for the farms' agreement to submit air quality data and pay a one-time fine. The AP quotes a USEPA representative who said, "This is not a 'pay up and get out of jail free' pass," said Thomas V. Skinner, USEPA's acting chief of enforcement.The USEPA believes that it would take in excess of 10 years to get full compliance from the farms, and apparently elected to shortcut that process with this agreement. Now, the government believes the deal could result in the first federal emissions standards for the nation's animal processing farms within about four years. No word yet from the Sierra Club or other environmental organizations. MIPTC wonders whether this exemption will turn into a big stink.
Go Away, Corporate America. Leave Us To Our Own Revolution.Or, When Can We Expect You To
Last week, Disneyland's new President Matt Ouimet spoke to an organization I belong to. Not surprisingly, he spoke about leadership. |
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