UHLC Nota Bene

The “they” is the members of the 83 rd Texas Legislature which is just around the corner. The Texas Legislature meets every other year starting on the first Tuesday in January and ending the session (known as “sine die”) after 140 days unless the governor calls for a special session.  The 83 rd Legislative session will begin on January 8 th 2013. If you want to follow the legislature while they are in session you are fortunate because the State of Texas provides many useful tools to monitor the legislature’s actions.  The first place to look would obviously be the TexasLegislature Online web site.   The main page has links to each chamber, and the key parts of each chamber including the chambers’ leader (Speaker in the House, Lt. Gov. in the Senate), members, committees, calendars, news, and journals. There are also the requisite search tools for legislative items and some handy FAQs on the legislative process and how to find particular items.   I fi...

In Edward Everett Hale’s story “The Man Without a Country”, the fictional protagonist Philip Nolan is tried for treason along with Aaron Burr. Nolan is convicted and proclaims “Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!” The judge grants his wish by sentencing him to live for the rest of his life on US Navy ships whose crews are instructed never to talk about the United State in Nolan’s presence.   As Nolan lives out his life moving from ship to ship, never setting foot on US soil again, he learns the painful lesson of what it means to be a “man without a country.” As he lay dying he shows a sailor the shrine he has assembled to the United States and dies happy knowing how his country has prospered. Patriotism is the obvious theme of Hale’s story. It is worth noting that the story was written in 1863, during the middle of the Civil War; its purpose to add backbone to the Union war effort. The story was written in such a realistic manner tha...

This week Fred Shapiro, associate law librarian at Yale Law School and editor of the Yale Book of Quotations , unveiled his annual list of the most notable quotes of the year.   Given that many of us were focused on politics for much of the year, it’s not surprising that this ten quote list is dominated by quotes on the topic.   Included are quotes from Mitt Romney regarding the “47 percent” and President Obama on “horses and bayonets.”   On a the entertainment side, the list also includes a reference to the Gangnam Style craze.   If you would like to see the entire top ten list, it can be viewed here .   And the Yale Book of Quotations can be found in the library reference collection at PN6081.Y35.  If you are interested in more quotation resources, others such as the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations can also be found in the law library reference collection.   Or try one of the free online quote resources such as Bartleby.com or Quotelan...