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.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 2012


This says it all:




Update: THE BEST TWEET OF THE NIGHT: no one even comes in second place:

WTF Mitt Romney... :(

Second best tweet of the night:
 
Yo Mitt Romney, Sesame Street is brought to you today by the letters F & U!  


From high atop the Four Seasons Hotel on Lamar Street in beautiful (but steamy) Houston, Texas, we're LIVE BLOGGING the presidential debate.

@ 7:30 PM, some new numbers from the WSJ/NBC?Marist  Poll:

Florida: Obama 47- Romney 46
Virginia: Obama 48-Romney 46
Ohio : Obama 51-Romney 43.

The race has tightened to a statistical dead heat in Florida and Virginia, but Obama holds the lead he opened up in the last ten days in Ohio. 

Interesting facts: 1) In our life time two Presidents walked away from the presidency (Johnson in 68 and Nixon in 74) and three Presidents lost the presidency: Ford in 76, Carter in 80 and Bush in 92. 
2) You have to go back to Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower to find three presidents in a row who won re-election, except Truman, having been appointed to a first term,  was elected only once. 
Before those three, you have to go back to, believe it or not: Jefferson (1801-1809), Madison (1809-1817), Monroe (1817-1825) to find a succession of three presidents each serving two full terms. Obama is trying for a second full term succeeding Bush and Clinton who each had two full terms. 

Like MNF, the game begins at 9pm.  

74 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rump, wach y'all doin in Texas?

Rumpole said...

A client of ours owns a polling company that runs a focus group doing instant analysis. He invited me to his war room to take a look at the data. I however, cannot reveal it because the results are propriety. Plus, he doesn't know anything about the blog, but I drew up the non-disclosure for everyone else, so I know the rules.

Rumpole said...

Pop quiz: Who was last Dem to win Texas? WHo was last Rep to win California?

We just tweeted the answer.

Anonymous said...

The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

For approximately 100 years, from the end of Reconstruction until the 1980s, the Democratic Party was dominant in Texas politics. However, since the 1950s the Republican Party has grown more prominent within the state, and became the state's dominant political party in the mid-1990s. This trend mirrors a national political realignment that has seen the once solidly Democratic South become increasingly dominated by Republicans.
Texas, like California, is now a minority-majority state. This means that non-hispanic/Anglo whites no-longer make up 50.1% or more of the population. This has been predominantly down to the booming hispanic population, which accounted for 37.6% of the state's population in the latest census (compared to 45.3% for non-hispanic/ Anglo whites).

The state's changing demographics may well result in a change in its overall political persuasion. With hispanic and latino voters currently overwhelming supporting the Democratic Party, Texas may eventually become a tossup state in presidential elections and turn blue for the first time since 1976.[4] This said, in a recent article, Mark Yzaguirre, has questioned this assumption through highlighting Governor Rick Perry's courting of 39% of hispanics in his victory in the 2010 Texas Gubernatorial.

Rumpole said...

And interestingly enough AM, when James Earl Carter won Texas in 1976, Ford won California. I agree Texas is trending Democratic.

Rumpole said...

No nasty name calling. I won't allow it.

The Pundit said...

Last Republican to win California was George H. W. Bush in 1988.

Rumpole said...

I stand corrected. You are right.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


The Captain Reports:

JNC BROWARD .....

Governor Rick Scott Appoints Two to
Seventeenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission
 
Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the appointments of
William “Bill” McCormick and Zachariah “Reggie” Poozhikala Zachariah to the Seventeenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.

McCormick, 44, of Margate, has practiced with GrayRobinson P.A. since 2009. Previously, he practiced with Ruden McClosky P.A. from 1997 to 2009. McCormick received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from St. Thomas University. He fills a vacant seat on the commission and is appointed for a term beginning October 3, 2012, and ending July 1, 2014.
 
Zachariah, 32, of Sea Ranch Lakes, has practiced with Greenberg Traurig since 2011. Previously, he served as a law clerk from 2009 to 2011 with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and as a financial analyst for the GEO Group Inc. from 2003 to 2005. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the University of Florida. He succeeds Georgina Pozzuoli and is appointed for a term beginning October 3, 2012, and ending July 1, 2016.

Cap Out ...

Anonymous said...

Presidents who won the election and lost their birth state:

Name Election Year Party Birth State Resident State

James K. Polk 1844 Democrat Lost North Carolina Lost Tennessee

Zachary Taylor 1848 Whig Lost Virginia Won Louisiana

Abraham Lincoln 1860 Republican Lost Kentucky Won Illinois

Abraham Lincoln 1864 Republican Lost Kentucky Won Illinois

Woodrow Wilson 1916 Democratic Won Virginia Lost New Jersey

Richard Nixon 1968 Republican Won California Lost New York

George H. W. Bush 1988 Republican Lost Massachusetts Won Texas

George W. Bush 2000
Republican Lost Connecticut WonTexas

George W. Bush 2004
Republican Lost Connecticut Won Texas

Rumpole, do you suppose Romney will triumph in his birth state in this cycle?

Rumpole said...

No. Romney loses Mass and Michigan and the election. A clean sweep of sorts.

Rumpole said...

Too much Texas Bar-b-que.
#stomachache

Rumpole said...

Not a great start Obama on Jobs answer.

Anonymous said...

I am very sympathetic to the student loan issues. I make good money but I can't make ends meet because I owe almost 200k in student loans. The next crisis is gonna be the student loan payback crisis it is gonna be just as bad as the foreclosure crisis.
Romney's comment is "borrow it from your parent." My parents did not have it so what, should I have forgone an education?

Rumpole said...

No such thing as "clean coal" other than a slogan.

Anonymous said...

We need to stop sending jobs overseas! Obama is not responsible for higher gas prices and Romney knows that. Romney blames Obama for everything and gives him credit for nothing.

Rumpole said...

Is it us or does Obama look hesitant?

Anonymous said...

Coal will contribute so negatively to our environment. I agree coal is not Clean.

I like what Obama is saying a trickle up theory not a trickle down theory. If I do better I pay all my bills and spend money and stimulate the economy.

Anonymous said...

Top down economics does not work and has not worked and that is what has been going on forever and it has not worked. I wish they would have bailed out the people instead of the corporations then we could of paid our debts the mortgage crisis would not have occurred and more people would have jobs

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Obama is getting his butt kicked right now. Romney is doing a great job.

Rumpole said...

Cap- Obama is playing prevent defense

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Obama professorial style does not come across well in a debate.

And with the economy, the deficit, and jobs as the issues, that is where Romney got his wings. And he is flying right now.

The Pundit said...

Obama seemed hesitant at first, but has recovered. He is playing prevent defense.

Romney seems somewhat uncomfortable and it is obvious he is trying to go for the kill. While he is somewhat eloquent, he is not offering any insight to what his plans would be as President.

Romney needs a huge win tonight. Unless Obama trips up--which is unlikely given that he is playing it safe--that just ain't gonna happen.

Anonymous said...

Romney had begun awkardly rambling, he can't help it I presume.

Btw, I like Oscar, because he wasn't pretentious.lol

Rumpole said...

New secret @MittRomney video: "Sesame street characters are victims. They'll never vote for me. So I have to woo the #Barney crowd

The Pundit said...

Romney reminds me of Bush 41. Decent guy, wants to govern as a moderate but is being forced to the hard right by his party. Also just cannot connect to ordinary Americans.

Rumpole said...

Michael Moore on twitter says Romney has been lit differently- brighter and sharper and you can see it in their shirts.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I simply can't relate to Romney. However I like what he said about state taking care of their poor. However if that were in Florida we would be in huge problem with the likes of crooks like David Rivera and Marco Rubio in power who like to live off their campaigns. Florida is the capital of Medicare fraud thanks to all the banana republic people we have here.

Anonymous said...

insurance companies already make a lot of profit and so do hospitals. Like FPL they complain for no reason. Making millions in profits is never enough. When are profits enough.

Anonymous said...

Health Insurance Companies Make Record Profits As Many Americans Postpone Care

Anonymous said...

the nation’s ten largest health insurance companies made combined profits of $12.7 billion in 2010 (according to Fortune 500).

Rumpole said...

Big Bird ‏@BlGBlRD
WTF Mitt Romney... :(

BEST TWEET OF THE NIGHT

Anonymous said...

Wait, nasty comments about Guy and Michael were okay. But now you're not allowing any nasty name calling about anyone else. Interesting.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

I have been asleep for the past fifteen minutes. Did I miss anything ?

Anonymous said...

Romney sounds like so many private attorneys, don't ask me any questions, just trust me its gonna be ok, as I close out your case with adj cts and low and behold you are in deed fucked.

Rumpole said...

@MittRomney loves tonight: 1) PBS 2)sesame street 3) grade schools.
And will CUT $$ for all three.

The Pundit said...

My review:

Obama--started off slow, got stronger as debate went on. Goal was to not make a major screwup, achieved. Not a great performance, but good enough.

Romney--came across as more energized. However, 1) kept attacking Obama, 2) offered few specifics as to his own plans and 3) kept going for the kill that just wasn't there and in the process came across as desperate. Also just seemed uncomfortable.

No real zingers or memorable moments.

Verdict--Slight edge to Obama. But huge loss for Romney. He needed a big win and, by any standard, did not get it.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

Obamas brain keeps getting in the way of his mouth.

Anonymous said...

Girls Code Book ™ ‏@GirlsCodeBook
Let go of those who bring you down and surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you.

Anonymous said...

Forget the debate--- KING KONG on AMC!!!

Anonymous said...

our parents were not rich, the man only wants the elite to be educated so he can continue to dominate the rest of us and keep us down. well down with the man!

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


$90 billion. He is looking for the one liner that's replayed all over the Internet the national news and print media for the next 24 hours.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Dress comments. Romney tie much better than Obama. Romney suit much sharper than Obama. Romney facials much effective than Obama.

Romney American Flag lapel pin twice the size of Obama. Fox news will make big deal out of this.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Who can name the tie knot style of each of the candidates ?

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Very different styles in way tie is knotted between the two candidates.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Obama did not touch Bain Capital. He did not touch the 47%. He stayed above the fray. Is he saving it?

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Romney did everything he needed to do tonight. Showed he could stand on the same stage as the standing President.

Obama fell flat on his face.

This will energize the Republican base and it will take the undecided voter and lean him and her strongly to Romney.

This election is not over and I think the polls will reflect that in the next 72 hours.

Very impressive by Romney.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Romney did it well and he did it without being smug. He was respectful. And he was very well informed with all of the issues. he was well prepped.

I guess Obama strategy was , hey, we are ahead, and all we need to do is tread water. And that's what he looked like he was trying to do. Just don't screw up. Instead he was drowning.

Anonymous said...

Romney did not do well, he looked fake and shifty. No way Captain. Mitt Romney looked as uncomfortable as Big Bird would feel if Mitt wins.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Title of this debate for Obama:

ROPE-A-DOPE

Cap Out .....

Anonymous said...

Romney was so rude. This will make us think that if we put this man into the office we must prepare for someone who thinks that this position will make him higher than everyone else. His ego is huge and we do not need him as president.

Anonymous said...

Obama hired former Bain Capital execs to work in the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Maybe that's why he didn't touch the subject.

Listening to the debate of the radio, I noticed that Romney's speaking manner sounded kind of like Reagan's.

Anonymous said...

Pundit, that was a very perspicacious and precise assessment. I'll stipulate to that. Tip of the hat. (*-*}\}

Anonymous said...

Hey Rump,

You have a point, according to Romney all of the Sesame street characters are part of the the 47%'s. Big Bird, Snuffy, Oscar lives on the street in a garbage can. Cookie monster has a preexisting condition, Grover has a mental illness, and Bert and Ernie appear to have a "Civil Union".

Anonymous said...

rump, if you're in Texas right now and the debate was at 9 p.m. eastern time. how were you able to watch it if you're an hour behind?

Rumpole said...

Because the debate was aired live

Anonymous said...

Plain and simply - Romney crushed the Pres. Whole new ballgame.

Anonymous said...

you can tell democrats run this blog!!

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one that thinks it is a mistake to have Will Thomas - who is now being vetted for a district court seat - presiding over a death penalty trial.

I understand Judge Thomas is a great judge and fair, but doesn't anybody think that a fair minded person might perceive a potential conflict when it comes time to pass judgment?

Lebron deserves the DP and I hope he gets it. But, what do you think the Republicans would do if Judge Thomas decided to override a 10-2 or 11-1 death vote? Do you believe he would ever ascend to the district court...if you do, you are crazy. Perhaps Judge Thomas would not consider such thoughts, but it does not take away the appearance of it.

Just saying.

Anonymous said...

I am so sick and tired of hearing that public defenders are better lawyers than privates. I have taken over a hundred cases from the PDO and have been shocked at the lack of work and the things they have missed. There are probably not half a dozen lawyers there who have tried more cases than me so stop the crap about privates not trying cases. The fact is judges and the system treat PDA and pd clients like crap and that a client will get a better result with a private attorney 99% of the time.

Anonymous said...

How could anyone opine that either of them won when they each provided only hollow rhetoric with no specifics? This was nothing more than a sparring match with 16 ounce gloves. No cut man was needed.

Anonymous said...

I agree re PD with the exception of DUI cases...other than the top top DUI guys, the PDs are the best...and frankly, other than motion practice, they are just as good as the best DUI lawyers in town.

Debate watcher said...

one person's thoughts

I’m worried this morning……not as a trial lawyer, but as an American. Last night – in my humble opinion - the President of the United States looked weak and vulnerable. He seemed confused, unsure of himself and lacking a basic understanding of economics.  He did not present himself as a leader. It is no wonder that we have lost credibility with leaders of other countries and are no longer viewed as the most powerful country in the world.

If I argued one of my cases to a jury, in the same way that President Obama argued his case to American people last night, my client would fire me on the spot – and I would understand why.

Anonymous said...

Hillary would have done better against Romney. At least she has balls. I voted for Obama and will again but now wished Hillary was the incumbent.
Obama should have had eye contact with the TV audience. How could he have let Romney get away with such lies? Hope he fires his debate coaches and stylists! They suck! I'm pissed! The tell was the look on Michelle's face when she walked up after the debates. She looked crushed and so dissappointed while Ann Romney was beaming.

I HATE YOU RUMPOLE said...

U r a charming jerk with a massive ego. I AM NOT monitoring your blog or tweets asshole.

Over The Hill Has-Been Plea Lawyer said...

why would you EVER say all this???? What a BLOWHARD:

Campos’ lawyer, Jeffrey Weiner, said investigators wanted Campos to provide information about the project’s construction manager, Ted Bachan, described as a “target” of the probe. While working together on the theater, Campos and Bachan, 47, were also business partners in a debt-ridden nightclub that lasted only a few weeks before closing in 2010, prosecutors say.
“Mr. Campos has been talking with the state,” Weiner said. “They apparently didn’t feel he was being entirely forthright.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/03/3033153/unlicensed-contractor-at-overtowns.html#storylink=cpy

Anonymous said...

Oh you post the pick I sent you Rump.
9:51am
I agree The Public Pretenders Office is full of mostly Bullshit Counselors.

The Pundit said...

After reviewing the debate, Romey won stylistically, very slight edge to Obama substantively. Romney came across as likeable--a big win for him in that area. But he only served to confuse as to the details of his platform.

One point worth pondering. Last night we saw more than a few snippets of the 1994/2002 Romney, the one that ran as a pro-business moderate Republican. You heard him talk about working with Democrats. Its obvious this was an attempt to play to undecided independents. But will it alienate some of the hardcore base that are not Romney fans and make them sit out the election or vote for a third party candidate? I don't expect this will be the case with many voters. But with some key states (NC, FL, VA, CO) very close, and the possibility for the race to tighten in other swing states where Obsma currently has a discernable but by no means commanding lead(OH, IA, NH, NV, WI) could this make a difference?

Anonymous said...

10:27, re your thoughts: "I’m worried this morning……not as a trial lawyer, but as an American. Last night – in my humble opinion - the President of the United States looked weak and vulnerable. He seemed confused, unsure of himself and lacking a basic understanding of economics. He did not present himself as a leader. It is no wonder that we have lost credibility with leaders of other countries and are no longer viewed as the most powerful country in the world."

Whoever didn't notice that in 2008 and voted for Obama is because he allowed himself to be charmed and hypnotized like a snake with Obama's siren song of beautiful, but hollow, words.

Anonymous said...

Would Grover let Big Bird live in the garbage can with him if Romney were elected? Just saying ...

Anonymous said...

Pd's office? Limousine liberals. Think ray taseff

Anonymous said...

ROFL. Tell us, AM, what great legal feats have YOU actually accomplished. How have YOU change the system? How many cases have YOU tried?

BTDT

PS---I don't want to hear how you helped others. I'm talking about you. Before you go and critize the majority of APDs, I suggest you actually do something. Didn't you just graduate law school? Are you even admitted yet? Easy to be a critic when you haven't gotten into the ring.......

DS said...

AM
FU
DS

Anonymous said...

Guy named after a rat and a frog should have more love for sesame st