Probably not worth getting mad about, really. The point of the post was probably to make people mad.

I'm transitioning into private practice soon but I'm so proud of the work I've done and I'm having a lot of feels about it, I guess!

Also my job is funded by a line item in the state budget so I'd hardly call it a hobby. The Wisconsin legislature is not particularly in the practice of funding hobbies. Unless they involve cheese.

I keep thinking about this and getting madder about it. My job is not a fucking hobby. It is hard work and if that guy were an attorney I would issue him a challenge to spend one single day doing my job and then tell me it's a hobby.

Luckily the last 10 years of my "hobby" will get my student loans forgiven anyway

Dad's dad was in the Army during WWII, eventually retired a Lt Col and then owned a men's clothing store. Dad's mom was mostly a homemaker but wrote the occasional article for the National Enquirer.

Several of my dad's uncles were and at least one of his cousins. We've got four generations of them that I know of, but not in a straight line.

Mom's dad worked for GE as an electrical engineer, her mom was a social worker till my mom was born and then an aspiring novelist.

My compromise is an iPad + Pencil.

I'd go with brats, and my Sconnie grandfather would be rolling in his grave to hear me say it.

I did eventually discover that most (but not all) of the dusty books were available in HeinOnline. After I'd done a lot of the work.

This'd be useful for that. Also that supervisor Got Me, lol. I like the research! but yeah I don't use it much on the day-to-day.

Fun story time: I had an intern project once where I was asked to trace the history of a particular thing back to statehood. Which sounds easy until you realize that a) WI changed its statute numbering a couple times and b) they're not all online. I had to resort to very dusty books!!

Yeah, I get questions sometimes where I'm like, well, *I* think this is fine but I can't guarantee every judge in the state is going to agree with me.

I do a lot of presenting; I always start with "we're talking about people, who don't always fit neatly into statutory boxes."

That's why I'm watching on YouTube lol

No extra nonsense

THEY SENT FOUR HUMAN BEINGS 252,756 MILES AWAY, WENT FULLY AROUND THE MOON AND BROUGHT THEM BACK TO LAND IN THE PRECISE LOCATION THEY WANTED

EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON THIS IS THE COOLEST PERSON ON EARTH

Dang and I went and spent all that money on school.

And also the end result of all of this is that Wisconsin has had to loosen its teacher licensure requirements because they can't find teachers to work anymore. Who would want to when you become the enemy of the families in your school district because "we pay your salary."

And I say this also as a public interest attorney in the final steps to have all of my law school loans forgiven. That's taxpayer money too. And I've more than earned it.

Public employee unions had historically exchanged lower pay for better benefits. There is a reason our benefits were what they were. The way to handle it is to actually explain the facts to the taxpayers. I was (and am) a taxpayer too! Tell them what they are getting for their money.

If you want good people to work in public sector jobs, you cannot vilify them and treat them as the "haves" and the reason that farmers and blue-collar workers elsewhere in the state aren't paid enough. That's not how it works. And it ignores the fact that in Wisconsin in particular,

I was an office worker for an entity affiliated with the university. I made less than $13 an hour, the wage had been the same for several years because of budget freezes and we were taking furloughs. But sure, my state employee health insurance was the problem.

I went to law school because of WI's infamous Act 10 that drastically curtailed the rights of public employees to collectively bargain. Because NLRA didn't cover us. And the governor and the legislature framed it as those teachers are stealing from you taxpayers. Those admin employees.

We didn't either this time but yeah it's happened here too.

I did appreciate the fact that I checked my phone while our tabulator tape was printing and knew the outcome before we had even sent our results lol

Yeah, we were too busy worrying about the last absentee courier delivery from the clerk's office that I actually forgot there was anything I needed to worry about until about 20 minutes later.

Yeah, fair.

That list is incomplete, although I suspect the international traffic in places like Milwaukee is much less than Chicago.

@smmarotta.bsky.social I'd like you to know I've now had this stuck in my head since you posted it so THANKS FOR THAT.

Instead of the old shit?

I too am disappointed on your behalf

I'm fine with everyone forgetting tumblr exists, personally

Two cats lie on a bed facing the camera. One is a tabby, the other is a muted calico. A moment of piece before they return to murder-grooming.

I'm mad at everything in the whole world except my cats. Here are my cats.

WI doesn't have statewide party registration and we do have open primaries. And I'll vote for the Dem whoever it happens to be, but I can't make them not half-ass a campaign. Again.

I don't think this is productive. Bye.