Almost D-day

Well I feel like I should make a law school related post, since that is one of the main themes of this blog. The lsats are coming up in 10 days and to tell the truth, I am looking forward to it. I've been studying for about 2 months now on my own and will have done about 20 preptests by the time the 30th comes around. Although I'm looking forward to it, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about it. Besides, LS adcomms only put about a 4:1 lsat/gpa emphasis on this roughly 4 hour exam. Not only does it determine (to a large degree) where you spend the next 3 yrs of your life, but also how much debt you will have, if you will start at $60k/yr or $120k+ a year, and where you will most likely practice. Yea....the lsats aren't a 'big deal'. I feel bad for the poor bastards who will be walking in on test day with no idea what they're about to get into.

To be a competitive applicant to the places I want to go, I really need to get a 160+. My last few preptests have been anywhere from 158-164. I wish I started studying earlier. 2 months may seem like a lot of time, but when you're working 40+hrs/wk and had to move out completely, it wasn't very optimal. I'm fairly certain I could get comfortably into the high 160's with more time.

At this point, im not anticipating any huge increases in my scores. I'm just trying to be consistent and make sure that test-day anxiety doesn't affect my score too much. To help, I'll be visiting the test site and doing some practice tests there. Worst case scenario, I'll do badly and will have to cancel/retake. I've become pretty good at gauging my performance level for this exam, so I think id have a good estimate of how I score on test day. I'm really not looking to a cancel/retake as an option however. I want to get my applications in relatively early and also have some time to relax and take care of some other things in my life that I've been neglecting. I feel that this stoic attitude is best for my score and my sanity.

I'll be doing nothing but studying from here until next sat. Until then, good luck to everyone on the same boat. Wish me luck.

Prime time in MD

Today at work, I spent some time researching some of the less well known candidates for local positions (circuit court judges, orphans court, sheriff, etc). I felt that I should know about the candidates at least a little bit before voting for them.

When i went to my polling station (I dont know why theyre called that around here) it was around 5pm. There was no wait really. In fact, there were more campaign volunteers outside than there were people inside voting. But I'm sure it picked up later when more people got off work.

The votes were administered via the infamous Diebold machines, the first time MD has used them if I remember correctly. I didn't have any trouble with them really, but I was already sort of familiar with it. UMD actually conducted a study on electronic voting machines that i participated in. It was basically to evaluate their accuracy, efficacy, etc. Anything to help the state of our democracy, and I got $10, which is a big deal for a poor, starving, college student (thanks Ehrlich!). But I'm sure that even if i had never used it before, I would have been fine. If you lived in a cave for the last 10 years or remembered when FDR was President, then yes you may have had problems. And indeed, many of the older voters who were at their booths when I started my voting, where still there by the time I got my "I Voted" sticker and was out the building.

Despite my rather smooth experience, there were a few things that were troubling. For one, whats with no paper trail? I thought Diebold had this paper trail thing taken care of? I mean c'mon, how hard is it to get the computer to print out a little slip to have a record of who voted and for whom they voted for? If Taco Bell can reliably give me a reciept of my order every single time, (If they dont, I get my meal for free....which Ive always yearned for, but never had the joy of experiencing.) then whats the big deal with doing it for just one day at the polls?

Another thing that also was a little irritating....ok, very irritating was that the polling official didn't check my ID at all! They asked for my name and address, then gave me a little print out to sign, and it was off to the races. This wasn’t just me or this particular official. No official was verifying anyone's identity. Seeing as there wasn't a huge wait or anything, I casually asked how they could ensure that this lack of verification wouldn't result in some sort of voter fraud. The nice old lady replied that once I voted, the records would show that I had done so, and no one could come and impersonate me.

She clearly did not understand my point. So I presented what I thought was a pretty simple hypothetical situation to maybe convey my point more succinctly. My brother is out of the country, so I know hes not voting today (disregard absentee voting). Whats to stop me from coming back, pose as my brother, then vote again? And bless her heart, cause I do appreciate her volunteering her time as an election official and cause she looked like she was a sweet old lady who would bake me some brownies, but she just didn't understand my point.

I agree that no candidate would be stupid enough to use this hole in the system to steal an election or what have you. Still, cmon how hard is it to ask for my license to make sure I am who I say I am? Although mass voter fraud isn't likely to stem from this, I could have easily made a list of about 6-8 friends that I knew were not going to vote today, and voted Towlie for State Comptroller.

And from what I hear, these were the least of the problems around the state. Some didn't open in time, some didn't have proper election officials (surprisingly some Republican judges didn't show-each polling station requires judges from both), and Stephan A. Fogleman, a candidate for Baltimore state's attorney, got robbed at gunpoint while hanging some last minute signs. I guess that’s one way to keep those pesky campaigners from putting those hideous signs everywhere.

Ok, it's back to the grind. LSATs are in 18 days and I have much studying to do. By the time i take the exam, I will have studied for 2 months which sounds like a lot to some, but really isn't when you're working 40+hrs/wk and had to move. If i had a month more, I feel that i may be a bit more prepared. But that means applying late...what a dilema. Ah well, back to the practice tests.

Kweisi or Cardin?

The primary elections are tomorrow in Maryland in a year that will surely be one of the most memorable. The gubernatorial race is starting to heat up between incumbent Bob Ehrlich (R) and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) who will run uncontested as the Democratic nominee. O'Malley was up in polls a few months back against Ehrlich, which is expected in a state where Democrats have a 2-1 ratio over Republicans. However, Ehrlich is an excellent campaigner and has been closing in on O'Malley as I expected. His presence in Baltimore County - a key battle ground - has been very strong. Even though Marylanders have been historically blue, there have been hints of purple and the extremities (western MD/Eastern shore) are very much red. The O'Malley campaign will surely have it's hands full, and without a doubt, this race will be a doozie.

But with the primary around the corner (tomorrow), the Senate race is sure to be just as exciting. The Republican candidate will be Lt. Governor Michael Steele. The Democrats on the other hand, have two front runners coming up to the primaries, Congressman Ben Cardin (D-3rd) and former Congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume. However, I'm compelled to recognize the other notable candidates such as Rales, Lichtman, and Van Susteren (not the Fox news anchor, her sister). Besides, I don't want Allen protesting in my office. I've met many of them and they all have very good ideas and appeal to my progressive Democratic ideals. But lets face it. Realistically, the primary will be Ben Cardin vs. Kweisi Mfume.

Both have an outstanding history of public service. Both actually entered into the US House of Representatives together with Ben serving for almost 2o years, and Kweisi serving for 10 years. Kweisi's story of early life of struggles, challenges, and overcoming those challenges is very appealing. I also feel that his political ideologies in terms of social policy are more aligned to my liberal side where as Cardin is more appealing in terms of his economic policies.

Despite my inclination towards Kweisi, I'm going to have to support Cardin for electoral reasons. Although Steele has never served as an elected official before his current position as Lt. Governor, he is a very serious and dangerous competitor in this race. He has the full backing of the national Republican Party and of Carl Rove - which is enough in and of itself to get me worried. As a moderate Democrat, Ben Cardin has the best shot at beating Steele in the general election. Mfume can easily be cast as a "bleeding heart liberal" to Marylanders, and key counties such as Baltimore and Howard may be put off by this, tipping the election to Steele. The last thing Democrats need in the Senate, is another seat going to the Republicans. This is not to say that I support Cardin on solely on his electability. He has been a great Congressman for the 3rd and has a great connections and influence on Capital Hill. But in a tight race like this, electability must seriously be taken into consideration.

One things for sure, tommorrows gonna be an interesting day.

Thanks for coming, I'm glad to be here.

I suppose the best way to begin is to introduce myself and why I've decided to start up a blog. I have been out of school for about four months now. I dabbled with some philosophy here and some history there. I was a bit indecisive during undergrad, but finally decided on political science as it offered a good mix of what I was truly interested in. As for law school, I have decided to take a year off (maybe two-max) before applying. In the mean time, I am working at a large firm (one of those top v50 kind) and enjoying it for the most part. It is definitely providing an insightful experience into what it would be like to work as an associate in "big law".

I've decided to start this blog for many reasons. For one, I've wanted to start a blog for a while and figured that one about my law school admissions process, mixed with some of my political anecdotes, and other ramblings would provide ample amounts of material for a semi-interesting blog. Also, since I've been out of school, I've had very few chances to write anything of substantive value and am afraid that my writing skills are starting to go down the toilet. Hopefully, forcing myself to write on a blog open to all of you will help keep me sharp. I suppose that I also hope that this blog will act as some sort of outlet for my frustrations and hopefully joy during this process. I also hope that this can also serve as some sort of medium for people in similar situations to talk about their own experiences. In the end, if my chronicle of this process is helpful to one person, I would consider it worth while.

I hope all of you will enjoy my insights and thoughts and hope that you will join in. And in the words of one of my favorite Professors - Thanks for coming, I'm glad to be here.