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, October 13, 2008

WHAT CAN WE DO?

MNF UPDATE: We're up 40 for the week, having lost 110 on the Fins and won 100 on the Chargers and 50 on the Eagles-49'ers/over bet.  The Browns are without TE Kellen Winslow and we have no faith in the Cleveland offense, so we are taking down our over bet and replacing it with a Giants (-7) +60. In fact, if things go poorly for the Brownies in the first half, we might just see the first Brady Quinn MNF pass. 

UPDATE BELOW. Re-posted from Saturday because this is a crisis.

Saturday morning. A beautiful Florida fall day. A leisurely bike ride over to the Key and then back to our favourite Starbucks. A cafe americana with one pump of vanilla and an egg sandwich and the NY Times. 

And then I saw this:



The title of the post links to the NY Times article.


Children are dying in Somalia. Wasting away because of a war they were born into and have nothing to do with. Innocent children who will never have a chance at life are starving to death on Earth in the year 2008. 

Many of us have lost a lot of our retirement savings. Our 401Ks are down. Our stock portfolios  destroyed. We as a county are spending a trillion dollars to rescue companies whose CEOS bankrupted them because of greed. And in the shadow of bankruptcy and tax payer bailouts, AIG  executives  partied at the Four Seasons in California. 

Trillions for banks and companies who caused their own problems, and as far as I know not one dammed dime for innocent  children who are starving to death. 

I got up from my comfortable seat in Starbucks and threw the sandwich in the garbage, unable to eat with the image of that child in my mind.  I got in my car and I just sat there pondering the unthinkable;  wanting to forget what I saw and what I know is happening, and refusing to give myself that luxury. 

Someone, anyone, tell me where to send my money so that those children can be fed.  I can't sleep and I can't eat knowing those children are starving to death in their parents arms. 

From the NY Times Article:

Dozens of women sit with listless babies in their laps, snapping their fingers, trying to get a flicker of life out of their dying children.

Little eyes close. Wizened 1-year-olds struggle to breathe. This is the place where help is supposed to be on its way. But the nurses in the filthy smocks are besieged. From the doorway, you can see the future of Somalia fading away.

I'm going to post football picks tomorrow and then re-post this on Monday because I want every lawyer in Florida to see this child dying and I want someone to tell me how I can help stop this tragedy.   

UPDATE: A READER RECOMMENDED SAVE THE CHILDREN. WE ARE CHECKING INTO IT TO MAKE SURE IT IS A WORTHY CHARITY. ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CHARITY?

HR.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rumpole - this side of yourself is a big part why I'm fascinated by you...and I don't feel the need to send you taunting pictures of myself to show that I am affected by you.

a true female fan...

Anonymous said...

Didn't read the article, but you can google "somalia charity and food". Then do a little research and pick your favorite charity. Sign up for automatic donations...5, 10, 20 /week or month. It isn't much, may help, and will make you feel as if you're doing something. Look how much my man Obama is raising using the same concept.

Whats even more disturbing are the reports I've read in the past regarding the difficulty in getting the food to the people. There are reports of charity workers who drive trucks delivering donated food being shot.

Often, there are no easy answers.

Wise Warren said...

It hurts to read this, knowing that our tax dollars are paying to put and keep Iraqi children into the same kinds of situations--our bombs keep falling there, we keep sending over bullets and we keep flying aircraft and launching missiles. Surge or no surge, the armed occupation of Iraq has not ended. And our tax dollars are purchasing the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of not just our returning military but also that of civilians, including children, who have to live in the war zone that we have made of their country. Smell the coffee? It is a very, very bitter brew we've made ...

Anonymous said...

You forgot to blame Bush

Anonymous said...

If I was at Starbucks, I would have said "why you throwing that out, people are starving in Somalia?"

Anonymous said...

the whole continent of africa seems to be fucked up, why is it the united states' responsibility, first of all those nations have leaders and money, just about every nation on the planet has some income source. africa gives us diamonds, chocolate and I believe 2 types of uranium necessary for nuclear bombs are almost exclusively on that continent. since our nation is approaching bankruptcy, 11 trillion in debt and approaching 10% unemployment maybe africa can ask for help from europe, china, brazil and venezuela because they seem to be in good economic shape. now if venez. and brazil could figure out a way to use all that oil money to tear down favelas and slums but hey that would make sense, with all our alleged money we have homeless, trailer parks, and 1/5 of the country with no healthcare.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, would it surprise you to learn that G. W. Bush is the American president that has done the most for Africa and that Africa is pretty much the only place in the world where he's popular?

Anonymous said...

Sorry--not our fault--we tried once--remember "Blackhawk Down"? They have the leadership they deserve--If they don't like it--they can revolt!! We have enough problems right here in Miami to rectify--do not lay this Somali guilt trip on us!! dmd45

Anonymous said...

Rumpole your heart is in the right place you big lug. We can give and give but you have to remember third world countries are ruled by corrupt leaders, most donations sent in aid of the poor are kept by them.

3:33--excellent suggestion.

Anonymous said...

you may want to look into Savethechildren.org

Rumpole said...

CONGRATS TO THE NEW SUICIDE POOL CHAMP- SURPH. WE SHALL SEE IF HE/SHE REVEALS THEIR IDENTITY TO CLAIM THE PRIZE.

+40 FOR YESTERDAY WITH 50 RIDING ON THE OVER TONIGHT.
CHECK LATER WE MAY ADD SOME MNF BETS.

Anonymous said...

as i ponder the food shortage in africa while i eat a whole pizza with coke while watching pro football(all making over 200k a year) and as i plan to eat some jamoca almond fudge ice cream for dessert i can't help but think that there are nations closer to africa who might want to lend a hand. you see in this country we still have places like appalachia, mississippi, south bronx and just a couple hundred miles from OUR border is poverty and hunger as bad as africa; haiti, parts of mexico and dom.republic. so don't lay the african guilt trip on me because their leaders are corrupt and if we tried to help it just makes some swiss banker rich because that is where the money goes and then when the ruthless dictator is killed the bank keeps the money. when we improve the economy of the u.s. to the point that minority teens don't kill people for 2 days spending money which by the way is how many readers of this blog survive, on the crimes of desperate poverty in our own us of a, so maybe we should get our own 310 million house in order before, as usual, pointing out the flaw in other areas of the world. and i might point out that the so called regimes of the world that our government wants us to hate, china and russia, take better care of a lot of their citizens than we do. in cuba you can go to the doctor. in china they must be doing something right to feed 1.3 billion people. in the us. we have the pretense of all these rights but talk back to your boss, criticize the government in writing, protest the military industrial complex etc. and see how much freedom you have, don't pay the irs and see how much freedom you have, criticize the fbi or cia about their incompetence over 9/11 and see how much freedom you have. be followed through airports and have the fbi harass you because you exercised your 1st amendment right and then tell me that we are not a police state. the us sucks if you are not filty rich.

Anonymous said...

12:06.........you raise some valid point, but your final sentence betrays your ignorance. The poor here are FAR better off than the majority in most countries around the world.

I agree with your point. We really need to do a better job taking care of business at home. It's a shame you obscure a good comment with an over the top and ignorant generalization that the US sucks if you're not filthy rich (in fact, I'm NOT filthy rich. Or even rich. My wife and I do ok, but we're still in the red courtesy of her loans. We, nonetheless, are quite happy with our lifestyle and appreciate the opportunities this great country has given us). I don't know if your sense is overcome by your obvious guilt or not, but you obviously need to learn to appreciate better what you have and the great country you live in.

Anonymous said...

if i were starving to death i would eat wildlife and other people. hundreds of years on th at continient and they can't hunt? /s/ government budget official in charge of batteries to the national debt clock which is now broken because the debt outgrew the clock

Anonymous said...

TO ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO BAN IT

shumie time today
shumie time tomorrow
shumie time forever.

You're all just jealous because i made a pot of money on the website and blog and you didn't think of it.
And now
shumie time....THE MOVIE.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole you're preaching to the wrong choir. Floating this call for help on this blog?

This is the dog eat dog blog, not kinder and gentler sections of humanity.

Anonymous said...

to 315. thank you sigmund. how much harassment have you received from the government after criticizing them in writing when you learned over 20 people from your hometown were incinerated at the wtc on 9/11 because the fbi would rather investigate blowjobs than middle eastern men taking flying lessons but not wanting to learn how to land?

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't we look at the poverty problem in our own country first?

Anonymous said...

Whatsoever is consequent to a time of War, where every man is enemy to every man; the same is consequent to the time wherein men live without other security, than what their own strength, and their own invention shall furnish them withall. In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continuall feare, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short.

The quote is three and one half centuries old. Its observations and insights surprising only to those whose philosophy begins and ends with Ayn Rand. And your surprise? How quaint. It's as though you found out the Easter Bunny wasn't real.

Rumpole said...

I'm not quite sure what you mean Calvin. And I know for certain that I have never written or said anything to indicate the metaphysics of where my philosophy begins or ends.

Anonymous said...

as eli wallach's character said in the Magnificent 7, : If God has not wanted them to be sheared, he would not have made them sheep" . We are not smart enough to understand god's reason for starvation. There are no mistakes in god's world so if the situation exists it is god's will. we just are not smart enought, not even close, to figuring it out. that is why he is god, and we are not, even though most lawyers think they can give him, intellectually, a run for his money.

Anonymous said...

Shumie in the morning, shumie in the evening, shumie at supper time. If I give you some shumie, will you always be mine?

Anonymous said...

"remember third world countries are ruled by corrupt leaders, most donations sent in aid of the poor are kept by them."

Precisely the reason why donations are at an all time low. People are convinced their donations are not going to the people who really need it.

Anonymous said...

why not use the u.s military fighter pilots for training missions to kill these despots in africa. fly a mission at 2am and kill a few of the warlords homes and fly home in time for dinner. what a novel idea, why didn't anyone else think of that. Ooops, it has already been done, in fact the repub. nominee for prez did just that in vietnam. bomb shit shave drink and fuck. until they shoot your ass down you asshole.

Anonymous said...

hey rumpole- if so many are dying in africa, and i have been hearing this since i was a kid 40 years ago, why not use lemons to make lemonade. if life gives you a lemon make lemonade. use t he dead to make a product to export for money. aren't bones used for glue. instead of feeding them to the crocodiles how about making money offf the dead. we overemphasize our importance, in the animal kingdom they kill each other to survive and us homo sapiens are not much more advanced than lions, bears and sharks, we kill eacho other by the millions every year in the world, we just don't eat each other.

Anonymous said...

5:27, The movie??!!

I have been pre-occupied with my princess (I tell ya Rump, she never gets tired and she's keeping me young)

Anonymous said...

Where's my question? Yo Rump I posed a question to 9:21 about lending the princess out to me? Where'd it go. I want to know if he agreed?