* Are you in DC and looking for something cool to do later tonight? Attend the talk and book signing for Professor Daniel Solove's latest work, The Future of Reputation (previously discussed here). [Concurring Opinions]

* Are lawyers really a**holes? Or are they just doing their jobs? [WSJ Law Blog]

* Some thoughts on possibly increased bank regulation, from our colleague, John Carney: "Resistance to a new wave of banking regulation requiring bank breakups and dividing Wall Street according to regulatory fiats rather than market demand is likely to be weak in an era when many think the financial supermarket model has failed.... No one expends much time, money or energy defending a right to do something they don’t want to do anyway." [DealBreaker]

* Don't forget to vote for ATL! Even if you did so before, you can do so again -- once every 24 hours, ending November 8th. [2007 Weblog Awards]

* The National Bank Act preempts state regulation of mortgage lenders, even those that are operating subsidiaries of banks and not banks themselves. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)]

* Payphone operators can sue for compensation from long-distance carriers. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)]

* Department of Education can use number of pupils rather than number of school districts in determining which districts to ignore as statistical outliers for the purposes of the Federal Impact Aid Program. [U.S. Supreme Court (PDF)]

* Let's see whether this any impact on pork whatsoever. [Jurist]

* The loner gunman. [New York Times]

* Can an IP expert explain how it is legal for Blockbuster to use Netflix’s name in this promotion?
(And the promotion continues until December 24.) [PRNewswire - FirstCall via Yahoo! Finance]

* Chelsea Clinton’s boyfriend’s dad -- putting a face to those Nigerian e-mail scams. [ABC News]

* I would feel safer opening up one of those “Cash Your Check Without ID” storefronts between an adult video store and a pawnshop than cashing someone else’s check. [Consumer Law and Policy]

* I, for one, would rather have the monkeys than the rats. But, and I quote the Delhi High Court: “If you can't control the monkeys, what can you do?” [Red Orbit]

* It’s just law school, not re-education camp. But I feel kind of inspired -- f**k corporate law, I’m reclaiming my dream of banishing styrofoam from the earth once and for all. [Concurring Opinions]

The AEI panel discussion on Watters v. Wachovia Bank that we were liveblogging earlier has ended. Our quick thoughts on the question-and-answer session, after the jump.

The televised event that we put in a plug for earlier today is now underway, on C-Span. And it's actually not just a conversation with Ted Frank (at right), much as we'd enjoy that. It's a full-blown panel discussion, sponsored by AEI, on Watters v. Wachovia Bank, to be argued before the Supreme Court tomorrow.

The topic -- preemption of state banking regulation by federal banking law -- is technical, complicated, and perhaps dry-seeming to some. But we're tuned in, and finding it interesting. (Caveat: We may not be the typical viewer. We're geekily fasincated by preemption, just as we are by ERISA, a statute that frequently raises preemption questions.)

We're also enjoying the occasional camera shots of the audience. E.g., the woman in Kermit-the-Frog green, who was vigorously scratching her nose (and whose facial expression suggested she was oddly intrigued by the nasal itchiness).

When television cameras are in the room, you really must be on your best behavior.

More observations, after the jump.