9/11

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

 It was quite a week for the United States of America. We paused on September 11 to remember the attack on our country twenty-four years ago, and then there was the murder of Charlie Kirk, ostensibly for political reasons. 

We have a few thoughts. 

9/11 might well be the last time the country was united without thought to politics. The nation rallied around President Bush, and mourned the brave fire fighters of the New York Fire Department ("New York's Bravest") and other first responders who ran towards the danger, not away from it.  

There was no thought that if President Bush succeeded in the days after 9/11, then his political enemies would fail. Politics had nothing to do with the initial response to the attack, something that we sadly think would not have been the case if President Obama had been the president at the time. The strategy of Obama's political enemies was to thwart his successes, and work for his failure, even if the country suffered. 

As to the murder of Mr. Kirk, someone we had never heard of, it was immediately blamed on "leftists" and "liberals" before anyone was in custody. The nearly immediate narrative reminded us of what occurred when someone broke into Speaker Pelosi's home and attacked her husband while looking for her. Desperate to change the narrative after the assailant was caught, dark theories emerged suggesting that it was someone from the left who attacked him, when clearly it was the opposite. 

So we began to think about other high-profile assassinations and assassination attempts, and the narratives that emerged after them. 

When President Reagan was shot, it was not by a Democrat or a liberal,  but by a troubled young man trying to impress an actress he was imagining a relationship with. There was no political motivation,  and when the Gipper walked into the State of Union address a few months later, the sustained standing ovation from both sides of the aisle was heartfelt. 

What were the political beliefs of the man who assassinated President Kennedy? He had been a Marine, gone to live in the Soviet Union, and handed our "fair play for Cuba" pamphlets. No mutterings from the Democrats that the Republicans and Nixon were behind the assassination. 

Very few people reading this blog will even know that President Teddy Roosevelt assumed the presidency when President.....(can you guess without Chat GBT? Nah, didn't think so) McKinley was shot by....(if you didn't know McKinley was assassinated, you won't know this)   Leon Czolgosz, who was an anarchist who had lost his job during the panic of 1893. McKinley liked meeting the public and shunned the protections of his office. His secretary William Cortelyou was so worried about the trip to the Temple Of Music in Buffalo that he took it off the schedule twice, only to have McKinley restore it twice. 

Before McKinley, President James Garfield was assassinated, and there is a great book on that if you want to read about it. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President  by Candice Millard. 

And before Garfield it was Lincoln, whose assassin shouted sic semper tyrannis after firing the fatal shot and jumping on to the stage at Ford's theater.  And no, sic semper tyrannis does not mean "take the Dolphins and the points on Sunday", but thus always to tyrants. 

 Our point is that most assassins are deeply troubled people, with an inflated sense of importance, who act for their own reasons, and are not part of a larger political movement like the Democratic or Republican party. 

And yet sadly, it appears the MAGA crowd, upon learning of the shooting of Mr. Kirk, immediately attempted to politicize the murder.  

And that is an arrant display of disrespect to Mr. Kirk who leaves behind a wife and two young children. Even if his killer had political ideals, he does not represent the mainstream thought of either party, just like Oswald or Czolgosz or Booth did not represent any major political movement. 

Moments of tragedy have no place in politics. There was no politics when the NYFD ran into the World Trade Center to rescue people. And there should be no attempt for political gain in the tragic murder of a young man who leaves behind a family to go on without him. 

Many people in the comments and in private emails asked our thoughts on these events. Well, here they are. 

9/11

 Sunday was 9/11- more than 20 years have passed since that awful day in American life when people went to work and did not return home. 

Many of the NYFD firemen who ran into the second tower after seeing the first tower collapse, did so knowing that they were most likely going to die. 

But as it was pointed out on a very compelling 60 Minutes on Sunday night, they ran into the second tower knowing that they could not live with the knowledge that they let their brothers and sisters perish without trying to save them. 

That type of bravery is what American Exceptionalism is all about. 

That type of bravery should never be forgotten. 

It will not be forgotten on this blog as long as we have strength in our fingers to type and blog. 

JUDGE/JUSTICE RENATHA FRANCIS, IN OR OUT .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT HAS SPOKEN .......

The Florida Supreme Court responded this morning to the Governor's 11:57 PM filing by smacking him down "writ of mandamus" style.

Here is the link to the Order.:
 
Bottom line, every time the Governor and his legal counsel open their mouths, unconstitutional words come out. First, the Governor violated the constitution by not appointing Justice Luck's replacement within the constitutionally required 60 days. Second, he chose Judge Francis, who was constitutionally unqualified to serve (blame the JNC for nominating her in the first place).


The Florida Supreme Court ordered the Governor to pick one of the other seven "qualified" candidates by no later than Monday, September 14, 2020.

Judge Jonathan Gerber (Fourth District Court of Appeal)

Judge Jamie Grosshans (Fifth District Court of Appeal)

Judge Norma Lindsey (Third District Court of Appeal)

Judge Timothy Osterhaus (First District Court of Appeal)

Eliot Pedrosa (executive director, InterAmerican Development Bank)

Judge Lori Rowe (First District Court of Appeal)

Judge Meredith Sasso (Fifth District Court of Appeal)

PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE .......

On a somber note, today is the 19^TH anniversary of 9/11.

I just got off the phone negotiating with opposing counsel over the resolution of a case. Opposing counsel has been practicing for all of four years. She was 10 years old when our country was attacked on 9/11.

Have a safe weekend my friends.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

 
 

THE TWIN TOWERS

UPDATE: On Wednesday, September 11, 2019, the NY Mets, playing at home won 9-0 on 11 eleven hits. 9 runs, 11 hits. 9-11 on 9-11. Just sayin....

Regretfully, Ms. Zhang finished second in jury widely watched trial this week before Judge Altman in Broward federal court (Motto: Federal court...but worse- it's Broward!).  We were rooting for her and she gave it her all. 

See DOM's blog for the details and the report on Judge Singhal's committee hearing for the federal spot. 

SURVIVOR POOL: NFL Thursday night football Rumpole is picking the home town Panthers to beat the visiting Tampa Bay Bucs. 

This is what we choose to remember. Not the pain and the horror, 

9/11

Today we remember those who lost their lives in an unprovoked and cowardly attack. We remember the innocent people who went to work, and we remember the brave firefighters and police officers who started a long walk up  the tower to put out a fire and rescue people and paid with their life when the tower fell, 

Today we remember. 

But, as Americans, we are also mindful of this:
"People who trade their freedom for security deserve neither."
Benjamin Franklin. 

If there is a uniqueness to being American it is this: that we treasure freedom and liberty above all else. That when we invade a continent, as we have done twice in the last century (Europe) we do so only to defeat tyranny, and once done, we leave, asking only to retain those small pieces of ground that are the final resting place for our hallowed fallen. 

We do not seek vengeance. For we are mindful that vengeance is reserved for the almighty. We seek justice. We seek peace. We seek only to see individuals allowed to live their lives in freedom from evil. We treasure the right to pursue happiness. We fight for the right to worship, or not to worship. We choose our leaders by popular vote. We cherish a free and open press and the marketplace where we are free to exchange ideas. 

This is what being American is all about. This is why our NYC firefighters ran into a burning building when everyone else was running out. Those men are what being an American is all about. 

Peace. 

SATURDAY LEGAL SEMINAR

Good Saturday morning. Today is September 11 and that is a day this country will not soon forget. The NY Times reports that one family of a man killed on one of the flights remains as a holdout, rejecting all settlement offers and seeking a trial as a way of exposing who was at fault among the airline and security companies.

The article quotes several experts opining that lawsuits are not a good way of finding out facts. What say you? If your brother was a passenger on one of the flights, and your goal was not money but finding out what occurred, would you insist on a trial?

College football is in full swing today. The Canes play Ohio State today and this will be a good early test. If the Canes can win in Ohio today, they will be in the mix for a bowl game this year.

There is a free legal seminar today at the Miami Shores Recreation Complex. The flyer is here.

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM during which Judges of the 11th Circuit will field questions on Dissolution Of Marriages, Drive Legal, Foreclosures, Small Claims. Hopefully there will be a few lawyers in attendance who can answer the questions.

Football troubles: Almost every home team is an underdog this week, and you will go broke quickly in this business taking road favourites and laying points. However, we are working through the problem and will have our picks up later.

Suicide Pool: Colby survives week one and has ten days to consider his second pick.

Michael Feiler, Marshall Dore Louis, and Memon all have taken the Fins on the road over the Bills.

Miguel De La Over , Nick Basso, and Plea D, Fake Blecher and 52nd Street Irwin all have the Titans at home over the Raiders

Michael Grieco has the Bucs and Markus has the Giants.

Fake Alex Michaels has the Patriots over the Bengals. That will probably be Rumpole's pick as well, although we really like the Ravens over the Jets in New Jersey.

More later.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Antietam.

The battles at Yrpes and The Marne and The Somme in the First Great War.

Bastogne, Belgium, December 1945.

Iwo Jima, February-March, 1945.

Manhattan, September 11, 2001.

Flight 93, Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

We will never forget.