Monthly Archives: February 2021
Video of the Week – February 13, 2021
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Technical Faux Pas of the Week – February 13, 2021
We’ve all heard the concept of addressing the elephant in the room, but during a livestream of a virtual court proceeding in Texas, had to address the cat on the screen. Attorney Rod Ponton was using his assistant’s laptop computer, when he appeared…as a cute little white feline. The assistant’s daughter had previously used the laptop and – apparently to everyone’s surprised (or in this case, maternal horror) – had installed a Zoom filter on it. The dutiful assistant worked to correct the error, as Ponton insisted, “I am not a cat.”
Naturally, “I am not a cat” has become a popular meme. As a wolf man, I’d be offended to come across as a cat, but seeing legal professionals stumble so badly because they didn’t prepare for the unexpected is just too…well, precious!
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Verbal Faux Pas of the Week – February 13, 2021
“My name is Bruce Castor, and I am the lead prosecutor – err – lead counsel for the 45th President of the United States. I was an assistant DA for such a long time that I keep saying prosecutor, but I do understand the difference.”
Bruce L. Castor, in his opening defense of Donald Trump during Trump’s impeachment trial
It should be worth noting that, earlier in his career, Castor fought to let Bill Cosby go free while Trump’s other impeachment lawyer, David Schoen, was set to defend Jeffrey Epstein before the latter died in prison.
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Worst Quote of the Week – February 13, 2021
“The Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Louisiana has unanimously voted to censure Senator Bill Cassidy for his vote cast earlier today to convict former President Donald J. Trump on the impeachment charge.”
Louisiana State Republican Party, in a statement condemning recently-elected U.S. Senator Cassidy for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump
Cassidy was only one of seven Republican senators to vote along with Democrats to impeach Trump.
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Best Quote of the Week – February 13, 2021
“President Trump may not know a lot about the framers, but they certainly knew a lot about him. Given the framers’ intense focus on danger to elections and the peaceful transfer of power, it is inconceivable that they designed impeachment to be a dead letter in the President’s final days in office, when opportunities to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power would be most tempting and most dangerous as we just saw. Thus, as a matter of history and original understanding, there is no merit to President Trump’s claim that he can incite an insurrection and then insist weeks later that the Senate lacks the power to even hear evidence at a trial, to even hold a trial.”
Rep. Jaime Raskin, in his opening statement during Donald Trump’s impeachment trial
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A Solid Black Wolf
This photograph of a solid black wolf by Kurt Kemnitzer was named “Photo of the Day” for February 10, 2021 by Smithsonian Magazine. Kemnitzer actually snapped the picture in November 2020. While I’ve seen plenty of black domestic dogs, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a solid black wolf. As a bona fide wolf lover whose favorite color is black, this photo is almost like a dream to me.
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Video of the Week – February 6, 2021
As a massive arctic hurricane swept in from the northwestern Pacific and into the northeastern U.S., panda bears at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C. did what many animals do with an abundance of snow. They had fun!
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Retro Quote – James Thurber
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Word of the Week – February 6, 2021
Ratiocinate
Verb
Latin, 17th century
Form judgments by a process of logic. Reason.
Example: I looked at my financial situation and had to ratiocinate what is most important right now.
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Chief Writing Wolf 