A Quick Programming Note

by publius

I try to avoid blogging about my own personal biz, but I thought it would be appropriate to do so now in light of conflicts of interests, etc. But I will keep it short. I've hinted around, but in exactly 72 hours, I will no longer be employed by a DC law firm and will instead be teaching. I've been in and out of DC for a month, but have continued working up through this week. That's why my blogging has been so erratic. And I won't be settled in my new location until later this week, so it will continue to be erratic for another week or so.

Anyway, the point is that I can now blog freely about telecom/FCC issues (which will be my academic focus) without worrying about conflicts of interest -- so consider this my blanket disclaimer. I worked for clients that were pro-net neutrality and have been working on the upcoming spectrum auction (on the side of the angels and not the big dogs). I expect to blog a lot more about both in the future.

I also toyed around with "coming out," but I'm not sure whether I will in light of tenure, etc. Any thoughts from tenured or non-tenured people would be appreciated (you can email me at legalfiction2004@yahoo). That's it.

Hilzoy - time to post. Stop slacking. I'm really tired of having to write all the posts around here.

Comments

[hilzoy]

I'm procrastinating. When I post a lot, that tends to be why.

[publius]

well, i hope you keep procrastinating then. Your procrastination is both a public good and has kept this boat afloat for the past month/year/etc.

[femdem]

GOOD! My 10 year old wants to be a lawyer when she grows up. Her plan is to spend half her time being the kind of lawyer that makes money and the other half being the kind that helps people. Its good to know there are good people who are going to teach her.

[Tom]

congratulations, publius!

[Slartibartfast]

I'm procrastinating.

See, that's just my problem: I can never get around to procrastinating.

[Jesurgislac]

Congratulations!

Anyway, the point is that I can now blog freely about telecom/FCC issues

Ooh. Cool.

(I worked in the telecommunications industry for years, and retain an interest in that area even though I'm not ever planning to take another job there.)

(Not unless I really need to.)

Hilzoy: I'm procrastinating.

You're very good at it.

[hilzoy]

Jes: you have no idea.

[Joshua]

Congrats, publius!

I'm actually really looking forward to your posts on the FCC and net neutrality. As a techy-type and contributor to the EFF, those are some of my pet issues. It'll be great to hear an educated legal voice on those subjects.

[trilobite]

Publius, congratulations!! You'll be a fine prof.

Will follow up by email.

[Eric Martin]

Congratulations P-Diddy!!!

Can't say I didn't warn youse about the fun of firm life...glad to see at least one of us is breaking free.

Good luck and bountiful helpings of tenure!!!

[David Schraub]

Congratulations on the new job!

[OutSourced]

Your concern about the process of winning tenure is well-founded. I believe it was Kissinger who said, "Academic politics are so fierce because the stakes are so low."

Your institution may now have the best president and faculty heads you could imagine. What would happen if one or two of them were replaced, the school formed a UC Berkeley-like "partnership" with big telecomms, or Rupert Murdoch bought a seat on the board?

Howard Zinn's experience at B.U. is instructive. His being photographed at an afternoon protest rally on campus might have nixed his chances had the vote to ratify his tenure not been taken that morning. Had Zinn been up for tenure under the successor president, hell would have frozen over before he got it.

Every comment on this and other blogs is available via a diligent Internet search, including the one I'm now writing. Academic freedom is precious, but fragile. I suggest "Publius" keep writing.

[KCinDC]

OT: Bob McManus was reported to the FBI by one of Ezra Klein's resident right-wing trolls.

[cleek]

Bob McManus was reported to the FBI

hilarious.

i think i'm going to "report" Bush and Cheney to the FBI for copying the interrogation techniques of the Gestapo. think they'll act on my tip ?

[KCinDC]

No, cleek, but you'll be forced to make a tearful apology on C-Span.

I do wonder if Ezra has any evidence that Fred actually contacted the FBI.

[cleek]

but you'll be forced to make a tearful apology on C-Span.

if that's how i get my 15 minutes... so be it.

I do wonder if Ezra has any evidence that Fred actually contacted the FBI.

yeah, was wondering that myself. but i just assumed Ezra was contacted by the FBI as a result.

[Pithlord]

Congratulations, publius. I'm sceptical of mandating net neutrality myself, but I don't know much about it and I'd be interested in your take.

For what it's worth, I think it makes sense to come out. Anyone capable of preventing you from getting tenure and hostile to your blog posts would probably figure out who you are anyway.

[Pooh]

I'm glad that the guy in question was banned by Ezra, but holy spaghetti monster, Bob's comment in question was at best ill thought out.

[hilzoy]

pithlord (and publius): "Anyone capable of preventing you from getting tenure and hostile to your blog posts would probably figure out who you are anyway." -- This isn't quite right. There might be people capable of denying him tenure who would be hostile to his blog posts if they knew about them, but wouldn't know about them if he didn't come out.

My advice is: wait until you get there, check out your colleagues, test the water, and then make up you mind. Most people are reasonable and won't think it's a problem, but it would be a pity if you encountered an exception.

[Gary Farber]

"yeah, was wondering that myself. but i just assumed Ezra was contacted by the FBI as a result."

As you say, that's an assumption. From what Ezra wrote, we don't know. It might be that, or it might be that he just took Fred at his word. We can't know unless Ezra says.

[Anderson]

Now I'm jealous that no one's reported *me* to the FBI ...

(... or have they?)

[adam]

congrats, publius! evidence of karma at work. your writing has always stood out as some of the best in the blogosphere, and we'll hope to see more of you around here (hey, i've sat through publius hiatuses before...) -- let's see you and hilzoy start competing for space on the front page :)

[Anarch]

Congrats! Welcome to hell! You've earned it.

BTW, hilzoy, if you wanted to stop being a slacker... how's about some Friday Catblogging?

[liberal japonicus]

He's just angling for a spot on the Horowitz list. Get in line, buddy...

[dr ngo]

I believe it was Kissinger who said, "Academic politics are so fierce because the stakes are so low."

Henry the K may have said it, but he was far from the first. I had always heard it attributed to C.P. Snow, but further desultory research fails to confirm this. In fact one study traces it (or a variation of it) back to Woodrow Wilson!

[kovarsky]

publius, i don't care if you're gay. you just get your jump shot back, because i still got a busted wheel and we lost by 2 points in overtime tonight.

[cleek]

I do wonder if Ezra has any evidence that Fred actually contacted the FBI.

a "Fred" has started posting in Matt Y's comments. people who know the Fred from Ezra's site say it's the same guy. and even better, to me, he sounds suspiciously like "Charlie" from Kevin Drum's comments (who also showed up here for a while). same posting style, same rhetoric, same way of insulting other posters while complaining about their lack of civility, same habit of responding to direct questions by blithely spinning-off tangent after tangent until the conversation is completely derailed, etc..

Charlie also used the name "Fred" (among many others) for a while at Drum's.

all speculation, of course. i don't have IP records to prove it. but i trust my trained ear to spot Charlie no matter what handle he's using.