Ripple Effects

Life could be very different.

September 11, 2001. It was my sophmore year of college, and I was coming off of a great summer in which my band and I had recorded an album in a home studio I had built. I was taking classes at Kingwood Community College, and working on finishing up a record for my friend Billy's band, Skamakozi. Billy and I were taking an 8 am Sociology class, and the teacher looked strikingly like Walter Matthau, so we called him "Mr. Wilson."

At any rate, that morning started out pretty uneventful. Mr. Wilson rambled on, and Billy didn't show up for class. Typically, we would go to the bagel place on Kingwood Drive after Sociology before going to play golf, so I got in my car and gave him a call to ask him if he was still up for doing that. When he picked up the phone, all he said was "We've been bombed." I said, "Excuse me?". He said "New York City and Washington. You need to come over and see this." I turned on my radio and people were talking about smoke coming out of the World Trade Center, but it was still unclear to me what was going on. I got to Billy's house and the moment I walked in to his living room, the second tower fell live on tv. Over the next half-hour I saw replay after replay of everything, and I just couldn't believe it.

I remember the chilling sense of uncertainty in the hours and days that followed. I was suddenly very aware of the gravity of the times I found myself living in, and couldn't help but think that as a nation we were now on a radically different trajectory than we had been before. I also recall feelings of conviction that perhaps there were more important things I should be doing with my life than playing guitar in a band and being a record producer.

I transfered to Texas A&M University, went on to attain a JD from Baylor Law School, and now am putting the finishing touches on a Master of Public Service and Administration at the Bush School after spending the summer working on Capitol Hill. I can't help but wonder if I would be doing what I'm doing now if not for what happened that morning, and the impact it had on me. I do know that prior to 9/11, I was not at all interested in public service and affairs, but that immediately changed.

So, on the 9th anniversary of that terrible morning, it is interesting to pause and reflect on what has happened since, how much has changed, and where we want to go as a nation. For sure, there are challenges and dangers ahead, and we will need our best and brightest to meet them. I am certain, however, that the future is bright, and will rest largely on the shoulders of those of us who were young when that tragedy happened, but grew up and found our identities in its shadow.

Law & Politics

Joined at the hip.

My experience in Washington this summer was fascinating. I had a different look at an internship usually taken by college-aged students, and correspondingly had a much deeper appreciation for what I was participating in. Indeed, being a Baylor Lawyer, I was very much impressed by the fact that I was a part of the process of making laws. I played a small role, but am very grateful for the staff in my office giving me strong projects to work on and learn as much as I could by seeing and doing.

As it turned out, Baylor Law School and the Bush School of Government and Public Service were a fantastic background combination to take to the Hill. My trial-lawyer side loved the day to day battles between the Democrats and the Republicans, and the steady advocacy process that everyone is engaged in. Taking positions on issues, and fighting for those positions so that they will become the law of the land. I live for that kind of stuff. On the other hand, my policy-wonk background at the Bush School was essential when I needed to quickly get up to speed on issues like organizational coordination in U.S. foreign assistance programs for spreading Democracy and human rights, an extension on a cancer treatment/prevention program for minority medicare patients, or a bill that would significantly help the US Postal Service save money year to year and have more financial flexibility.

Policy, Politics, and Laws. Some would argue that politics is an impediment between good policy and good laws. I would argue, however, that we are all human and life is political. As we learned in our leadership course last year, there is a political frame to society that must be appreciated and understood if anything involving a group of people is going to be accomplished. Politics is necessary to the makeup of an orderly society because it is truly the only way for the people to have a voice in their government. I'm not going to stand here and say that our government is perfect by any means, and that there aren't things we could do better, but I do believe that we still have the greatest and most responsive government the world has ever seen.

It was an interesting time to be on the Hill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the moratorium on offshore-drilling were issues that we were very involved with at the Energy and Commerce Committee. The House had passed unemployment benefit extension, but the Senate was holding it hostage, and many honest Americans who were actively trying to find work were feeling squeezed. The Capitol was somber the week Sen. Robert Byrd passed away, as we had lost a great man and public servant; yet buzzing with excitement the week Elena Kagan faced the Senate Judiciary Commitee for her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. Wall Street Reform passed, BP's CEO was confronted by the angry voice of the American public, and Rep. Anthony Weiner showed up and kicked ass on the House floor when Republicans were trying to block health care benefits for Sept. 11th first responders who had been exposed to asbestos and other hazardous conditions while meeting one of the great challenges our nation has ever faced.

As I ease back into the grad student life for what will be my final year in school, I can't help but look at the courses I'm taking through a Congressional lense. I certainly appreciate the policy and law-making process a lot more. As far as politics getting in the way of good policy becoming good law, it is more appropriate to say that good policy in the hands of good advocates does become good law. That is our charge as public servants in the legislative branch: to recognize good policy, and be able to fight for it.

Back in the Saddle

And we're back.

It's opening week for the Fall 2010 semester at the Bush School. It feels a bit strange to be back in school after working on the Hill, but it has been great to see everybody and hear what they did this summer. I want to welcome the first year SA and IA students, I hope you all are ready to work.

For us second year students, the buzz is all about Capstone. It's no secret that I am very excited to be part of the Bush School's first Legislative Capstone, in which we will be covering issues facing state legislatures this fall, and then going to Austin in the spring to work at the Texas Legislature. I like the fact that we're doing something that hasn't been done at the Bush School before, adapting and figuring things out along the way. I believe that we will have the opportunity in Austin not only to advance our individual career interests, but also to give the Bush School a good name in legislative circles and open doors for future students with similar career aspirations. That is my personal goal, at least.

Props to the SGA social crew for this week's "welcome back" events. In the interest of SA representation...well, honestly I just wanted to play pool, I crashed the IA party prior to heading to the piano bar with the SA's. It was a good time, and I want to take a moment to thank the always gracious Ms. Doll for not kicking me out. The piano man delivered as he always does, and it was likewise great to catch up with my SA crew. Be sure to go to midnight yell and the Corner on Friday night. I won't be able to make it as I will be out of town, but if you are new to A&M it is something you need to do at least once.

Which leads me to the real question facing Texas A&M right now: Will the Aggies play defense for the first time since the R.C. Slocum era this season? If they can do that, they have a shot at being pretty good this year. I'm waiting, Sherman...

I Haven't Forgotten

Hey Kids,

In case you have been wondering, DC is fantastic. I haven't been and won't be keeping the blog up while I'm here, because I know that this sort of thing is often frowned upon in political circles. Rest assured, there will be plenty more Bush School related ramblings when I get back. Have a great summer, everyone.

- Jimmy C

The Fog Lifts...

Grad school is funny.

Everybody's eyes are red this week, but its not because they've been smoking the ganja. No, apparently this has been the week of the term paper. I am currently following my standard recovery procedure from the all-nighter I pulled last night writing that lovely gem of a public management paper: Eating pizza, drinking beer, watching baseball, and of course, catching up on my blogging. Recovery nap # 2 is forthcoming.

One thing I've learned in Public Management is that you really need to get some sleep before you have to give a presentation. Both times I've presented in that class following all-nighters I have come across as slightly retarded.

What's really disturbing is that I don't even think twice about pushing through the night to write a paper anymore. Call me crazy, but for as bad as I feel right now, there's something about pulling an all-nighter that makes me feel alive. It's that feeling as you are working and you watch the sun come up out your window and adrenalin kicks in as you think "well, I probably should try to wrap this up here soon..."

I don't think I ever pulled an all nighter during college. I was one of those dorks who was always done a day early. Of course, law school was a different animal. There were a few sleepless nights in the first two years, but then in Practice Court it was at least one all nighter a week. At least. My personal record during PC was 3 straight days without sleep. I can assure you, that did not make me feel alive.

Oh, the joys of crunch time. I am looking forward to easing back into a healthy lifestyle.

A Small Tribute

It's been an emotionally charged week.

As I previously noted, on Monday I went up to Waco to hear Mark Osler's last lecture and to say goodbye and good luck to my professor, mentor, and friend.

There was also a death in the family. Early on Friday morning, my step-grandfather, Jack Lynch, passed away after battling cancer this year.

I first met Jack three years ago at my mom and step-dad's wedding, which was itself an emotionally charged event. He and I quickly hit it off, though, and that made the evening a lot easier. Jack was a larger than life figure. A loud, opinionated, and often very funny Irishman from Chicago, he had a real presence about him. He was a good man who loved his family very much, and though I didn't know him for that long in the grand scheme of things, I'm glad I had the chance to get to know him over the last three years and spend a little time with him.

I have to say, it was really cool to have two grandfathers for a while. I never had the chance to know my paternal grandfather, Ray Close, because he also died of cancer back in 1967. After serving on a destroyer at Normandy, Ray was a part of the American occupation in Nagasaki after the bomb was dropped, and we have always speculated that exposure to radiation from this was a cause of his cancer. From the moment I met Jack Lynch, he treated me like I was his grandson, and was always interested and sincerely cared about what was going on in my life. That really meant a lot to me.

So, in order to pay tribute to the man the best way I know how, this weekend I'm going to eat a steak, drink a bourbon manhattan, and either watch a White Sox game or watch a Cubs game and cheer for those stinkin' Cubs to lose. That's probably what he's up to right now. Here's to you, Jack. We're going to miss you.

Weekend Edition - Dancing With the Mavs

And the beat goes on.

You couldn't ask for a better pair of games than last night's. The Celtics took a commanding 3-0 lead on the perennially underachieving Miami Heat thanks to an absolutely clutch buzzer beater by Paul Pierce, and the Spurs put the hurt on the Dallas Mavericks to take a 2-1 lead thanks to a gritty performance by Manu Ginobili.

Ok, you're asking me "James, why are you always hating on the Mavericks?" And the answer is, because I can. Maverick's owner Mark Cuban, pictured below right, was quoted at the start of the Spurs series as saying "We are who we are, and they are who they are." That doesn't exactly bode well for the Mavs, who's crowning achievements as a franchise include an epic NBA finals collapse to the aforementioned Miami Heat in 2006, followed the next year by the best regular season record in franchise history, and then a first round exit to the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks also have been characterized over the past decade by questionable front office moves. To start with, they let Steve Nash go back in 2004, breaking up the very effective Nash-Nowitzki duo. Of course, we all know what happened after that. Nash went on to have back to back MVP seasons and the Phoenix Suns became the most fun team to watch in the NBA until their own ill-fated trade for Shaquille "The Big Cactus" O'Neil.

2008 was also an eventful year for the Mavs as they fired 2005-2006 NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson to bring in Rick Carlisle, and traded promising up and comer Devin Harris to New Jersey for the geriatric Jason Kidd. The team made some promising moves this year, signing forward Shawn Marion in the offseason, and executing a blockbuster trade to bring in Caron Butler and Brandon Haywood, giving the Mavericks some toughness on paper at least.

Alas, in last night's loss, head coach Rick Carlisle decided to bench the centerpiece of said blockbuster trade, Butler, for the entire second half of the game, opting instead to play 4'11 guard J.J. Barea alongside Jason "Get Off My Lawn" Kidd. Why was this? Carlisle went on the record to say he did this because he wanted to keep the group that was "getting it done" on the floor, citing the run the Mavs made in the second half. Questionable.

Of course, last night was classic Spurs basketball. I've had respect for San Antonio ever since the Rockets had to go through them en route to their second championship in 1995. They've really been a model NBA franchise for the past decade, winning championships in '99, '03, '05, and '07. Last night was what we've come to expect. Tim Duncan was Tim Duncan, Tony Parker hit some huge shots in the 4th, and Manu Ginobili got his nose busted up by Dirk Nowitzki's elbow, missed 5 minutes of the game (which, as it turns out, was when the above mentioned Maverick's run occurred), and came right back to power the Spurs to victory. Classic.

So yes, the Mavs are who they are, and the Spurs are who they are. That being said, I'm picking the Spurs in 6.

Well, This Can't Be Good for National Security...

Why, yes...I would like fries with that...

CNN and the Associated Press ran a story this week involving a group of retired military officers named Mission: Readiness who released a report on Tuesday saying that obesity among America's youth poses a serious threat to National Security, citing that approximately 9 million young adults, or 27% of Americans age 17-24 are "too fat to join the military". They contend that this could lead to serious problems in meeting recruitment standards by 2030, and the group is placing most of the blame on school, who are providing kids with french fries, pizza, chicken nuggets, and all those other delicious foods that kids like. Mission: Readiness is currently lobbying Congress to eliminate junk food and high calorie drinks from schools, and to put more money into the National School Lunch Program to develop healthier options. I nearly choked on my Whataburger taquito as I read this.

Of course, national security being associated with school lunches is nothing new. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), administered by the American Department of Agriculture (ADA), was created shortly after World War II partially in response to the military having to turn away malnourished recruits, and partially as a way to sell agricultural products. Concern about the fat content in school lunches and efforts to reform the NSLP is nothing new, either. In the 1980's studies began to come out saying that the fat and saturated fat content of school lunches was too high, and so by the 1990's, efforts to reform the program were underway. As it turns out, reforming the program is no easy task, thanks to the bureaucratic problems inherent in trying to change the way a program that has been in existence for a long time does things, and to the political problems inherent in a program who's purpose is not only to feed schoolchildren, but also to serve as a customer for suppliers of agricultural products.

Reforming the NSLP, if successful, certainly isn't going to hurt, but are school lunches really the root of the problem? Hilariously enough, after I watched the segment CNN ran on the story the other day I changed the channel and saw a commercial for KFC's new chicken "sandwich". Basically, its two pieces of fried chicken (or grilled, to be fair), with cheese and bacon in between them. Now, I'm sure its Atkins-friendly, but that's a another blog post for another day.

Is our fast-food culture making us soft? Food for thought, people.

Officegate

Uh oh.

Yesterday it was announced that due to increased class sizes and the potential for bringing in new faculty members, the Bush School will no longer provide student offices except to those students who have GAR positions and the SGA president. For many, the dream is now over. A wave of student malcontent manifested itself soon afterward with the inevitable surge of angry facebook status updates, as if to say "Why, Bush School Iscariot? Why?"

The ill feelings can be traced back to last year's interview conference, where we were told that at the Bush School, each student is provided an office within the student office space, to give us a place to work that resembled a real-world workplace as well as to promote camaraderie. After many of us committed to come here, we were then told that only second year students would be receiving offices, and that first year students would be able to use community workspaces. Now, we have been told that there will be no designated offices for second year students, save for the GAR people and the SGA Pres.

This is a disappointing but understandable move by the Bush School. The school needs to grow and evolve, and so bringing in larger classes and fresh blood to the faculty is a good idea. The unfortunate side of this is that the school is beginning to outgrow its space constraints, and so the luxury of having student offices was an obvious choice to sacrifice at the alter of progress.

I'll admit, I'm disappointed about it. When they told us about the student offices at interview conference last year, I thought it was a really simple yet innovative approach for preparing students to work in an office environment. I had never heard of a school doing that before, and I was pretty excited about it. It wasn't the deciding factor for why I chose to come here over a school located in a city with closer access to government opportunities , but it was indeed a factor.

Alas, the hammer has fallen, and it is what it is. So, what now?

Well, one possible solution is to have student/professor offices. It could be like the buddy system. One professor and six students to an office perhaps? It would be fun...

The loss of a potential source of bonding is upsetting to people. We're just going to have to find other ways to do that. We didn't have student offices at Baylor Law, but my class still became a pretty tight knit bunch after a while. What BLS did, and perhaps the Bush School could start doing this, was leave a few of the classrooms open until midnight each night for us to study in. That was where a lot of us worked/bonded/commiserated.

Going back to my earlier proposal, there's always the office space upstairs. The Bush School needs lebensraum moreso than the Econ and Poli Sci departments do, it's time to expand our borders. Let's just move in up there, use the offices openly and notoriously, and see if they file legal action to kick us out. If they don't, the school might be able to claim the office space 10 years from now through adverse possession. A Bush School invasion is something I would like to be a part of...

I Have a Gambling Problem

No, not really.

I have been buying a lot of lottery tickets lately though. A friend recently told me that it is nothing more than a tax on people who are bad at math. Well, as many of my professors here at the Bush School can confirm, I most certainly fit that demographic. I usually don't pay much attention to the lottery, but will start buying tickets when I notice it's above $50M. A few weeks ago I saw that it was at $68M, and started buying tickets using numbers from what I like to call "the fortune cookie of destiny", a fortune I got back in November that reads "You will have good luck in the Spring". Cookies don't lie, right?

At any rate, nobody has won yet, and so the jackpot tonight is now $80M. I always do the Cash Option, which would yield $50M from this drawing. I'm not delusional, I'm perfectly aware that in all likelihood I'm not going to win. I just have fun with the idea that in a bizarre turn of events I could win. But as I left the convenience store last night after buying my ticket I thought to myself "You know, I have no idea what the hell I would do if I won this thing". In all honesty, I can't even wrap my head around the notion of having that much money, much less what I would do with it.

Theoretically, what I think would happen is I wouldn't tell anybody. Nobody. Nobody, that is, except for the attorney I would retain to set up a trust to put the money in, and then I would live off of the interest. I've jokingly called it my "grad school exit strategy", but I think I would still finish up here at the Bush School. I would absolutely still follow through with my plan to take the bar next year and practice law. I probably would do more pro bono work than I otherwise would do just because I wouldn't be as concerned with how I would pay the bills each month. I don't really see myself shutting down my career because I like where I'm going right now, and I think I would be incredibly bored and unsatisfied with my life if I wasn't working and doing things that challenged me.

And now some of you are thinking "You're full of crap, James." Well, to be fair, I would definitely have some fun with it too. I'd certainly do a little traveling. Apart from that, I would make at least one stupid purchase:

A Delorean

I am completely serious.

So kids, if you see me roll up to the Bush School rocking the DMC like I just came from 1985, you will know something is up.

Ok, I want to open up the comment thread to my readers. You are an intelligent bunch, what would you do if you won a $50M payout from the lottery?

On Mentors, Office Space, and Invasions

It's been a busy week.

I had a chance to journey up Highway 6 yesterday to visit my old stomping grounds in Waco and hear the farewell lecture of one of my favorite professors and people, Mark Osler. The lecture was great, as he reflected on his time at Baylor and the people and moments that had made lasting impressions on him. I'm really glad that I was able to make it up for it, and I feel very fortunate to have been at Baylor while he was there. He was my professor for a course in oral advocacy, as well as professional responsibility when I was in Practice Court. He also observed many of my mock trial exercises during PC and gave me a lot of great coaching and advice. He made a huge impact on me, as a person and as a professional, and particularly in my development as a public speaker and advocate. This was apparent in the earlier events of the day.

I had left for Waco straight from the Bush School after giving a presentation on privatization in transportation policy, taking the position that the shift towards more private operated toll roads poses many problems and should be taken with caution. I felt really good about how my part of the presentation went. I was comfortable up there, had a command of the facts, spoke with confidence, and seemed to keep people interested. I might even have been a little persusasive. Now, I do not have any natural talent for that sort of thing. For most of my life, I have been terrified of public speaking. The fact is, I've had excellent coaching along the way, and Professor Osler was a tremendous part of that. One example stands out to me where I was in Practice Court giving an opening statement to the jury, and Osler was in my courtroom observing.

As I stumbled through my opening statement, trying to set out the facts of the case and essentially why the jury should care at all about my client, Osler stopped me. Now, Osler read the blog that I kept in law school, and so he knew a little about me and that I was a guitar player. He asked me, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit, "James, do you play any instruments?" A little surprised by this question, I answered "Yes". He asked, "what instrument do you play?" I replied "I play the guitar". He asked "which one of your guitars is your favorite?". I said, "my Les Paul". He then said "James, tell me really briefly about the day you bought your Les Paul." I then relaxed a little bit, and proceeded to give the narrative of the day I went to Guitar Center, played a few guitars until I found the one I had to have, and then bought it. Really simple, on the surface really mundane, but it was a story that I cared about and was able to tell with some enthusiasm. He then said "That's a good story. Now, do the exact same thing with your client's story." Advocacy involves taking the facts, whatever they may be, and using them to craft a narrative that people will care about and are able to connect to, and that is one of the biggest things I learned from Professor Osler. I wish him the best of luck as he leaves Baylor for St. Thomas Law School, they are getting one of the best in the business.

Ok, rest assured I won't be getting sentimental too often on this blog. In other news, we had an SGA meeting today. The topic of office space (you know, those offices they told us we would be getting at interview conference) came up, and we talked briefly about options. Somebody mentioned that there are some offices up stairs that the Poli Sci department aren't using. I thought to myself, "I wonder if we could take those offices through adverse possession?" For my non-attorney readers, the doctrine of adverse possession is essentially that if you take actual and hostile possession of another person's real property, the possession is "open and notorious", and the owner doesn't take any legal action to remove you from the real property for a statutory period, in this case 10 years, the property is then yours.

I propose we go ahead and move in upstairs, "liberate" the office space, and see what they do about it. If they don't do anything about it for 10 years, we get to keep it. Besides, it's just a matter of time before they invade us. A preemptive strike would be justified...

No Offense to March Madness, But Now the Real Basketball Begins...

The NBA Playoffs start today.

I love the NBA Playoffs.

It's a shame my team didn't make it this year. As many of you know, home for me is the great city of Houston, which for better or worse means that the Houston Rockets, Astros, and (slowly but surely) the Texans hold a special place in my heart. Being a relatively positive person by nature (you really need to be if you are a Houston sports fan), I'm still encouraged with what happened this season. Usually when a franchise loses its prime time players (McGrady, Yao, Artest), it becomes easy for the rest of the team to justify underachievment. As a result, the organization can develop a losing culture that becomes self-perpetuating. You really have to give credit to Coach Adelman and the veterans on the team for keeping everybody on track. They finished the season with a winning record, added a great wing scorer in Kevin Martin at the trade deadline, and should pick up some quality players in the draft and in free agency this summer. Plus, Yao will be back. All in all, I feel good about next year.

But enough about the Rockets. This year's playoffs have the potential to be outstanding. I'm especially looking forward to the first round matchups between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, Chicago and Cleveland, and Dallas and San Antonio.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be playing the Seattle Supersonics, er, Oklahoma City Thunder, which will be a showcase of the up-and-comers versus the defending champs. The Lakers have the experience and Kobe Bryant. The "Zombie Sonics" have Kevin Durant, who is an absolute force. Plus, you already have the sideshow of Phil Jackson getting into Durant's head. This is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Lebron and the Cavs will be hosting the Chicago Bulls. Of course, I expect the Cavs to win this series with relative ease, but this Bulls team turns it on for the playoffs. Rose is legit, Noah always plays hard, and Del Negro is a pretty good coach, when he's not getting into fist fights with the people in the front office.

I like the Spurs over the Mavs. I don't have a dog in this hunt, but the Spurs have been playing some great ball as of late, and despite the fact that the Dallas roster is stacked, at the end of the day they are still the Mavericks. Sorry, Dallas fans, but when your team drops 4 straight games to the perennially mediocre Heat in the NBA finals and then loses to Golden State the following year in the first round, they bear the evidentiary burden to re-establish legitimacy, which hasn't happened yet.