JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Is Money the Root Of Evil

We have studiously avoided putting our own philosophical ideas and beliefs on this blog. But every now and then someone pushes our button.

In response to the collectivist who commented that money was the root of all evil, we proudly reprint a portion of the finest response to that statement ever written, by our literary hero, Ms. Ayn Rand:



The following is an excerpt from Atlas Shrugged, © Copyright, 1957, by Ayn Rand. It is reprinted with permission from the Estate of Ayn Rand.

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?"

"Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them.

Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

"When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper... are a token of honor—your claim upon the energy of the men who produce.

"Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions—and you'll learn that man's mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.

"But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak?
What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made—before it can be looted or mooched—made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.'

"To trade by means of money is the code of the men of good will. Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort. Money allows no power to prescribe the value of your effort except the voluntary choice of the man who is willing to trade you his effort in return. Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labor that which they are worth to the men who buy them, but no more. Money permits no deals except those to mutual benefit by the unforced judgment of the traders.

" Money demands of you the recognition that men must work for their own benefit, not for their own injury, for their gain, not their loss—the recognition that they are not beasts of burden, born to carry the weight of your misery—that you must offer them values, not wounds—that the common bond among men is not the exchange of suffering, but the exchange of goods.
Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men's stupidity, but your talent to their reason; it demands that you buy, not the shoddiest they offer, but the best that your money can find. And when men live by trade—with reason, not force, as their final arbiter—it is the best product that wins, the best performance, the man of best judgment and highest ability—and the degree of a man's productiveness is the degree of his reward. This is the code of existence whose tool and symbol is money. Is this what you consider evil?

Ahhh....food for the soul. That there are minds in the world that can produce such writing is what keeps us from giving up.

See You In Court. We're the one with the dog eared copy of Atlas Shrugged.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

In response to the rumor posted earlier today, TED KLEIN IS NOT DEAD, thank God. I have it from multiple authoritative sources.

He is ill, but it is under control and his condition is not critical.

I know everyone joins me in wishing Judge Klein a speedy recovery. He is a mensch.

Rumpole said...

The reports of Magistrate Klein's death are greatly exaggerated. We are all pulling for him.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole a philosopher? And we all thought that he was just a nebbish looking for attention!

Anonymous said...

well said my ol' chap, well said....

Rumpole said...

Time running out for all candidates who want a Rumpole endorsement. Make checques payable to....no...just email anything you want us to consider. NOTE Mr. Alvarez...we said email, not post.

Anonymous said...

oh leave alvarez alone - cant you tell he doesnt understand - havent you met him - maybe then you'd understand why he doesnt get it

Anonymous said...

Whats with this mope Perry Mason and his posts? I'd rather do a traffic calendar with Judge King than read his stupid comments.I think in real life he is Alan Shuminer or Chris Lyons. Anyone notice that Shuminer and Lurvey and Lyons and Giviria and that whole crew are in the same office? And they claim they have nothing to do with this blog. Yeah, and Judge Adrien tried loads of cases before winning a fluke of an election.

Anonymous said...

Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them...Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

Ayn Rand's straw argument is certainly eloquently written. But let us turn away from wheat growers and engineers... let us turn to poppy growers and contract killers. For there is no axiom that what is produced is good. And without that implicit premise, Rand's argument crumbles on feet of clay. You see, arduous nights editing a snuff film may be lucrative, but they are not for any good.

And so wealth raises many legitimate questions, not least of which is how was it acquired? Was it produced by Randian's mythological worker bee, or did the "producer" rest upon deceit or fraud for his lucre. Did the income flow from the sale of immoral wares and services? Did it depend upon the confusion or addiction of the purchaser? Perhaps it was stolen money through ingenious schemes, perhaps it was inherited. The possibilities are endless... and a very large number of these possibilities imply accumulation through means far removed from Ayn Rand's fantasy of the producer laboring wheat farmer.

So...no, Ayn Rand. I do not say money is the root of all evil. It is a straw argument which intrigues only freshman and fools. Instead, real economists and philosophers ask more subtle questions. How does money and morality intersect. How is that society value things, concepts, and beauty. What is the difference between an individuals valuation, the market and the legislature? How is it that society will pay a man 10x the salary of a brain surgeon just to hit a ball? And which one represents your idealized man?

Anonymous said...

TO HAMILITON BURGER:

In the words of Senator Lloyd Bentsen:

I served with Alan Shuminer, I knew Alan Shuminer, Alan Shuminer was a friend of mine. Mr. Burger, you are no Alan Shuminer ....

Alan Shuminer and I share space in an office suite that does not include either Chris Lyons or Dan Lurvey or Frank Gaviria.

Anonymous said...

Rick Freedman is RUMPOLE. I KNEW IT ALL ALONG. YOU FELL INTO MY TRAP, SIR, AND NOW I HAVE CAUGHT YOU!!!!!!!!!!RUMPOLE OUTTED!!!!!!FILM AT 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps: alan shuminer is your friend? You have my deepest sympathies.

Anonymous said...

okay, you got me

Anonymous said...

Rick are you really confessing, or is this like in Cousin Vinny (I shot the store clerk?) because truth be known I have always thought you were indeed Rumpole.

Anonymous said...

no way rick is clever enough.

Anonymous said...

Captain my Captain, can you, the source of knowledge answer these questions?

"Did Al Lorenzo ever pay the City of Miami the $1 Million he owed them? Where did Levy spend his 2 year Federal Hotel stay at and what year? Can we please get his inmate number and mug photo? Now, that would be of interested here. Not the signs going up or other B.S. These men are shady and need to be exposed to the Sun of Miami. Who's campaigns are they working on? That will show who is doing what and how many shady activities...

Saturday, July 15, 2006 2:00:55 PM"

Anonymous said...

Rick Freedman Rumpole? ahahaaaaaa haaaaaa haaaa a aaaaahahahhha ahahahaha hahahahahaa

Not nearly smart, creative or witty enough.

He's Johnny Drama, at best.

Anonymous said...

Juan who freaking cares about levy and your obession with him. you are a wanna be levy and you are not and will not ever be a bob levy.

cant we block Juan's IP from posting messages here?

Anonymous said...

www.operationrestorejustice.com

is selling advertisement on its home page.

Now I have heard everything

Anonymous said...

If Juan wants to be Bob Levy, he first needs to pay his dues serving 2 years in the federal pen.

Anonymous said...

Atlas farted

Anonymous said...

I'll be out soon and won't have time to continue this rumpole ruse.

Anonymous said...

If Bob is Juan,then Juan is Bob too. However, if Juan is Bob too, then Bob cannot be Juan.

Anonymous said...

The sad thing about Juan is that he has supporters.

Anonymous said...

Supporters? I hear he only has Juan.

Anonymous said...

Juan Gonzalez is probably not the only candidate who may be writing about Bob Levy on the Blog. Levy's candidate's other opponents (like possibly Alvarez) could be doing the same.

Anonymous said...

Bob Levy could care less about Juan. But I personally still want to know where and for what Levy was in jail. That makes Judges Judy Rubinstein and Barbara Areses look awfully shady. Also. doesn't bode well for Manno and the others using him this time.

Anonymous said...

Has she bought her judgeship yet?

Anonymous said...

IT'S NASTY

Anonymous said...

The point is that Levy fails to lead his candidates to victory. Candidates pay him over $10,000 but do not increase their chances of winning in any way.

Anonymous said...

Unless he worked for Slom. Then he probably helped scare the other candidate away. Can anybody confirm this?

Anonymous said...

It's the wrong quote Rumpole. It's the LOVE of money that's (supposedly) the root of all evil, not money itself. This often misquoted phrase comes from the Bible actually. See Timothy 6:10. 'For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.'

Anonymous said...

Who cares who Levy represents? Is it guilt by association? Just cuz he's slime does that make them slimy also?
That's the same logic that people use to talk about defense lawyers because they represent slime.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Rump, it's "The Love of Maney is the Root of all Evil."

Anonymous said...

OOOOPS, sorry, a pre-coffee posting...it's "The LOVE of Money is the root of all evil."

Anonymous said...

Levy and lorenzo only $10,000? You gotta be kidding. Check out campaign expense reports for Judy Rubinstein. Look at Quantum Results. That's Lorenzo's company. She paid mega money.l Of course, she doesn't care anymore b/c she won.

Anonymous said...

I guess we may actually see the Senate finally use their power to remove the Judges who scared candidates off their seats soon. Stay tune children.

Anonymous said...

dumb shits.

Anonymous said...

what do you think about Velis v Murphy?

Anonymous said...

MURPHY FOR SURE!

Anonymous said...

i dunno. Velis is working hard. So is Miller, Parks, Faber, Cohn, Rippingill, Mendez, Bardiwil.

Anonymous said...

also others

Anonymous said...

www.operationrestorejustice.com

“The time is always right to do what is right.” Martin Luther King



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In 2006, Judge Ivan Hernandez a South Florida County Court Judge decided to ignore his duty to promote public confidence by continuing to employ his Judicial Assistant after the Judge's office was raided by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office under a criminal subpoena. Judge Hernandez court house computer was seized in early March 2006, as part of the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office public corruption criminal investigation against the Judge and his Judicial assistant.

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Judge Ivan Hernandez who is fortunately up for re-election this year will be facing opposition for his judicial seat. O.R.J. urges all who vote this year to restore justice and remove Judge Ivan Hernandez by voting for highly respected Attorney Robin W. Faber.




In addition to the criminal investigation Judge Ivan Hernandez, recently had a "show cause order" (writ of mandamus) issued against him by the Third District Court of Appeal, after his judicial assistant Juan D'Arce was rude and repeatedly denied a litigant access to his Court. CLICK HERE to view order.

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Take a moment to watch the below video of the oral argument in the Third District Court of Appeal were Attorney Miguel De La O, (who is friends with Juan D'Arce) attempts to defend the conduct of Judge Hernandez and his judicial assistant.

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LEVY, FLETCHER & CORTINAS



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Operation Restore Justice is geared toward exposing corruption in the Florida Court system. The web site is here to expose the very rare cases in which a Judge or those under the Judge's control violate the publics trust.

The Supreme Court of Florida has set a path of rooting out judicial wrong doing at all levels. The Supreme Court has released numerous opinions over the past few years making it clear to the general public that it will not tolerate violations of the code of judicial conduct either by a sitting judge or a candidate for judge. Recently the Supreme Court of Florida removed a judge from office because of violations of the code of judicial conduct that happened during his judicial campaign to become a Florida Judge.

All citizens of Florida can be sure that our highest court will NOT tolerate violations of the Code of Judicial conduct at any level. Our supreme court is not shy in expressing its condemnation of any Judge who violates the public trust by not following the code of judicial conduct.

Operation Restore Justice is under the control of a private citizen. It was due to the criminal investigation presently against Judge Ivan Hernandez and his Judicial Assistant, by the Miami-Dade State Attorneys office which has resulted in the seizure of the Judges computer under a criminal subpoena, that Operation Restore Justice was born in early 2006. In addition to complaints from numerous litigants of being denied access to Judge Hernandez court and Racial slurs by his Judicial Assistant against the administrative Judge.

Florida has some of the best Judges in the world. We cannot let a handful of bad apples destroy the prestige of Florida's judicial system. The Supreme Court of Florida through its recent opinions has demonstrated that it will NOT tolerate judges who do not follow the code of judicial conduct.