Who Are You?
So who the heck are you folks? Are you mostly lawyers? Techies? Professional procrastinators like us? Dead Roman males? Neighbors who are trying to ruin our opium-inspired works of genius?
Yeah, yeah, I know the comments aren't going to be remotely representative; yeah, yeah, I know you could be lying; but if you'd like, drop us some pithy lines about who you are and why you're here. Special bonus if you are in strange lines of business, strange places, or dogs.
Good blog, by the way.
This blog gives me something nerdy (but not "too nerdy") to read while I'm waiting for code to compile, for data to acquire, or for my will to engage in geeky activities for low pay and little credit to return.
I immigrated to America from England. It seemed entirely incumbent, having done so, to learn what it is to be American, to understand what America is, how it has developed. Having spent some time trying to understand it, I finally heard Justice Scalia explain the constitution, and my eyes were opened. Although I have since departed from Justice Scalia on some point, I remain profoundly indebted to him, and broadly deferential, for making something that had previously been very abstract seem very real, concrete and present.
As Justice Scalia said just recently, in the panel with Justices Breyer and O'Connor from early this year, America is its constitution. Unlike European countries, which are defined in terms of ethnicity or historical happenstance, America is defined in terms of fidelity to certain political principles, principles evoked in the Declaration of Independence, and given concrete, legal force in the Constitution.
Those whose citizenship is conditioned on naturalization rather than right of birth carry with them a burden that very few native-born Americans who do not hold public office bear: we swear a solemn oath to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic", and I take that oath very, very seriously. I don't know, perhaps that affects my perception, but as far as I'm concerned "enemies foreign and domestic" includes Supreme Court justices who attempt to twist and bend the Constitution to suit their own agenda. Most of the legal scholars who call for the living constitution doctrine, of course, have never sworn that solemn oath (and I don't want to imply that my interpretation is the only permissable interpretation of the obligations of that oath). Those scholars, perhaps, have some wiggle room. I do not, and nor do Judges, who swear an equally solemn oath to support and defend the constitution.
So for me, ConLaw is very deeply and intimately rooted in my personal experience of what it means to be in this country. I grew up in a country with an unwritten constitution. It's often said that anyone who complains about America should live in any other country for a year, and will shortly realize just how wrong they are; I lived for many years in a country with an unwritten constitution, and I think those people who want to turn America into such a polity should do the same.
A proud Volokh Conspiracy fanboy, I am a Midwest-derived, white, male, Protestant of Saxon origin, though I'm a little spare on the Anglo side.
Also, I like sports, if that's what you call Chicago Cubs baseball.
(law student)
Notorious left-wing, First-Amendment-absolutist crank. Jewish by Jewish law, agnostic by upbringing, Buddhist by choice.
Richard Gould-Saltman
(If you don't know the school, it's a small (800 students at two campuses) liberal arts school that hardly makes a stastical blip in anything other the annual sales of Newton's Principia. That, and we represent about 7% of the VC readership as of this post!)
Sleep? After I'm dead, I suppose.... :-D
Fair winds and following seas.....
(--Gus)
...And my son attends St. Johns College (New Mexico Campus).
My location is banal: outside of Boston.
My line of business is a bit odd: working as a software engineer with an interest in tinkering in my shop, I did not expect that I'd end up running an internet video-rental shop.
My dogs are great, but not particularly noteworthy to strangers.
Did I forget anything?
I'm here because this is far and away one of the best conservative blogs. Best in my book meaning thoughtful, informational, thought-provoking, intelligent, and (for the most part) non-partisan.
Yeah, this wasn't pithy and I'm not a dog. Sorry.
I am yet another (Annapolis '75), a PhD in Classics now teaching Latin, Greek, and Geometry at a private high school in North Carolina while blogging both pseudonymously and under my real name and doing old-fashioned Classical scholarship (textual criticism) when I can find the time.
By the way, I'm not surprised by the preponderance of lawyers and techies here, but wouldn't have thought it would be so extreme.
And I am not a dog, never have been a dog, and devoutly hope never to be a dog. The five cats I live with would eat me.
Since another post mentioned this, my name is not Pete Freans. It’s a pseudonym that I have used for non-professional literary purposes for many, many years. Incidentally, the name Pete Freans was created when I was in college. My roommate and I concocted this imaginary student and we would talk about him in the third person as if he were real. He was a double major one year, a triple major the next, he spoke hundreds of languages, he was rich, he was a ladies man, etc, etc. We were so persistent in mentioning his name over the years that a girl asked if "Pete" was attending a party we were throwing because she believed that she and "Pete" would click.
Needless to say, no one ever met Pete during our four years of studies. At graduation, my roommate and I queried where Pete was…only to remember that he graduated one semester early and he was resting comfortably in the South of France.
I thought I should unburden myself with that, thank you.
I write history books, specializing in the role of firearms in American society, and secondarily, in black history. (See published books here; scholarly journals here; popular articles here.) I don't write scholarly papers anymore; I made the mistake of helping exposing a gross scholarly fraud, and since then, I am persona non grata in scholarly circles--papers I submit aren't even considered, and the editors send back insulting notes. (Dishonesty in the purusit of political goals is a fundamental part of the academic history profession now.)
I live in Boise, Idaho where, contrary to popular opinion, we do have flush toilets and we don't marry our sisters.
I am one of the maniacal Children of Satan from the (now exposed) Secret Kingdom of Leo Strauss. Be afraid, very afraid.
Why am I here?
The late Admiral James B. Stockdale gave an admirable Stoic response in his vice-presidential debate.
-Software Engineer, C/C++ for DoD Contractor (Property Rights-- Intellectual and Real)
-Conservative (Second Amendment Rights)
Really, more of a Social Conservative, Economic Libertarian -- Yes, there are some conflicts that I struggle with...
Fan of yours when you appear on Fox, which isn't often enough. Libertarian-Republican in most respects. I'm not a dog, but I have one at home. :-)
Alumna of Harvard Law School. Anti-big-box blogger: http://www.BigCitiesBigBoxes.com. Owner of bar preparation business. Author of Scoring High on Bar Exam Essays. Ph.D. in linguistics. Writer.
I've been a VC reader since I started blogging just over two years ago. Among my early interchanges with y'all was over poor Jesus Castillo, convicted by a Dallas state-court jury for obscenity after selling a pornographic comic book to an undercover cop. Prof. Volokh blamed the Texas courts; I thought the blame properly ought to be placed on Jesus' lawyer, who'd failed to make the key objections. And things have just gotten weirder ever since.
Andrew Smith:
Sure we can't tempt you over to originalism more broadly? I probably should have mentioned that I'm something of an evangelist (or at least, a lay preacher) for that particular cause...;)
But I do think it's interesting that when you ask the question, "Who are you?" You're asking for a profession or occupation, as though there's an expectation that we identify ourselves primarily by what we do from 7 to 5. It's a fair expectation, but I think largely a cultural one. That is, I would expect that in some cultures/countries the proper response to "Who are you?" is more along the lines of an ethnicity or religion or city origin. I know, I know, you followed on by prompting possible answers, but when I read the initial question I wanted to respond, "I am a lover of life who embraces beauty, truth and really good cheeseburgers."
Yours,
Wince
Just got a copy of Volokh's book, it's great so far!
My ambition however is to be a professional procrastinator, however I keep putting that off.
Trying grow the company enough that I can take time off to go to law school without sinking it.
Politically, a weird libertarian (is there any other kind?). Extremely socially liberal, extremely economically conservative. At least, my libertarian friends tell me I'm an extremist, while my liberal ones call me an "old school Republican", which I try to take the right way.
I am not a dog. I may depose a dog soon though. Really. (Well, almost really.)
Los Angeles-based former general counsel to multi-national corporation, and trial attorney with nearly 20 years multi-state experience in federal and state courts. I've handled diverse issues on both sides of the bar.
Now on a health disability and frustrated. I occasionally live vicariously through the law-related blogs.
Having sworn on six occassions to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic" I have a soft spot in my heart for said Constitution... And VC is a very interesting place to read about matters in this area.
Sometimes think I could/should have been a lawyer but keep remembering the misquote from the Bard "first, we kill all the lawyers..."
Sometimes seems my whole world is going to the dogs, especially Maltese...
Good job. Keep up the good work.
A caffeine addict.
Developing a network of senior professionals throughout the USA for pro-bono projects assisting all kinds of charitable organizations.
Volokh.com's value to me is the manner in which it's posters are able to explain complex (to me at least) legal issues clearly and concisely, in a manner even this BFA-beaten layperson can comprehend.
Sorry, not a dog.
Tech Tech VPI!!!
(I forgot to mention I am a VT alumnus)
at an engineering graduate
school.
Not a St. Johns grad, techie, or dog.
I think EV's series of posts on academic freedom, and on unusual punishment/death penalty have been highlights.
Cheers!
As a result, frequently misunderstood/misleading (take after Hegel) and ostensibly opinionated skeptic at heart (take after Hume). Now, 2L at Columbia. Where I discovered the VC through Blaine.
Champion of the underdog. Especially in college football. Disaffected young non-voter from the reddest part of the reddest state. Political wallflower. Skier. Looking for jobs in NorCal.
Government
IRS
Flat tax
Sweet home Alabama ...&Chi-town
Live free or die
Macintosh
Samuel Johnson
Elvis, Hank, Johnny, Bob, Louis &Johann
Bonnie Rideout
Coverville
army brat
Nordlinger
Samuel Ramey
Scalia bobblehead
Mayor Daley
Rudy/Condi
"Let George do it."
Toledo commercial litigator.
I came because this is the highest-quality blog around.
Like the different views on politics/law of the conspirators, and, except when flamewars break out, of the commentators in the comments.
No dog here, as passing US-Canada customs as (or with) a dog is a pain on the scale of an appendectomy.
Can't decide if I want to try the CA Bar Exam.
Currently working at a Beltway non-profit; devoted Chicago lifer; have resolved to return for law school after this--my third--year of deferral ends.
Doctor, and almost a lawyer.
I've had several brief encounters with Eugene through some mutual friends from back when I lived in the L.A. area. My politics are somewhere between libertarian and Bush (the Elder).
Likes: good wine, bad science fiction movies, sincere people, long walks on the beach, and puppies.
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the celebrated statue of David. In 1514 he returned to Florence and...
Have all of you beat! HA! :)
I have been reading the Volokh Conspiracy since before I decided to go to law school, and I guess it was sort of reponsible for my deciding that I was interested in law. In a weird twist, I did not realize Randy Barnett was at BU until shortly before school started and I found that my section had him for Con Law.
I don't remember how I first found the VC, but I kept reading because it's actually a pretty good news source given my interests.
I take my notes in emacs, and I miss owning a dog.
The fact that my career could become illegal at any moment drives much of my interest in tech law. :)
started reading volokh because jacob was one of the bloggers.
U of C undergrad. Northwestern now.
Cubs fan (alas).
Real Supreme Court &Con-Law junkie.