Category Archives: General Culture and News

Five Tips for Paying Off Your Student Loans

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Tom Garrett

All of my student loans are paid in full as of this month.  Therefore, as a newly minted AMERICAN HERO, I thought I would share my wisdom with folks who haven’t yet crossed that sacred threshold.  I thought these pointers … Continue reading →

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Domino’s Odd Way of Selling Pizza

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Tom Garrett

Here’s a random observation accumulated by watching far too many hours of sporting (and sports-entertainment!) events over the past couple of years: Domino’s has a strange theory on what kind of advertising will make people want to buy their pizza … Continue reading →

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Not a Good Sign

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Tom Garrett

Sometime in December, I found one of those “do-not-disturb”-style signs hanging from my doorknob.  It had a lengthy message explaining that work crews would be in the area to replace / improve certain components in our local gas system.  The … Continue reading →

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Anti-Bullying / Anti-Free-Speech Redux

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Tom Garrett

I wrote a piece last August arguing that new anti-bullying laws would inevitably lead to the enforcement of such provisions butting up against First Amendment rights.  In it, I wrote: Several potential problems with the policy became clear rather quickly. … Continue reading →

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Best of 2013

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Tom Garrett

I wasn’t quite as prolific in 2013 as I was in 2012, as this will be “only” the 72nd post on this blog this year.  However, part of that had to do with the fact that I’ve been writing for … Continue reading →

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Blockbuster Block-busted

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Tom Garrett

Oh, hello there, stranger!  I’m just going to say it: I’ve dropped the ball of late as far as updating this humble little site goes.  A combination of (a very successful) Soxtober and some real-life work priorities (horrible, I know) … Continue reading →

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“Redskins” Round-Up

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tom Garrett

I’ve talked before about how I enjoy writing for a bunch of different outlets, because doing so allows me to write about such varying topics.  One of the things that burned me out on being full-time at VirginiaPreps was writing … Continue reading →

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When Everything is Bullying, Nothing is Bullying

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Tom Garrett

A local high school health and physical education teacher circulated an editorial cartoon to her students recently as part of a discussion on diet and exercise.  This was the cartoon: A parent of one of the students contacted a local … Continue reading →

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Thanks, Lawyers

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Tom Garrett

I recall that a continuing legal education (CLE) course I took a few years ago included a discussion of accommodations necessary at baseball games to avoid tort liability.  The attorneys teaching the course were in agreement that a disclaimer on … Continue reading →

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Anti-Bullying Intent, Anti-Free-Speech Result?

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Tom Garrett

Last week, over at A New Voice, I tackled the inevitable collision of anti-bullying efforts and the free speech rights of students.  An expanded version of that piece is below: A broad new social media policy recently implemented by California’s Lodi Unified … Continue reading →

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