WE NEVER FORGET

"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Great words and ideas are timeless. The thoughts and ideals such words convey span the centuries and apply equally to ancient and modern day battlefields, heroes, and martyrs. 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION UPDATE ..........

On the national front, eight weeks from today we will know who will be the 44th President of the United States.

On the local front, we have one open Circuit Court seat that will be decided by the voters in November: a runoff election between Steve Millan and Yvonne Colodny.

For those of you looking ahead, 2010 brings a host of new judicial elections. By January of 2009, expect to see candidates opening up campaign accounts.

Some of the seats up for election will be wide open as there are a few judges who are expected to retire, (including some because of the age restrictions).

The following seats are up for election in 2010:

In COUNTY COURT:

Beth Bloom
Wendell Graham
Amy Karan
Carroll Kelly
Edward Newman
Ada Pozo Revilla
Judith Rubenstein
Flora Seff
Fred Seraphin
Rodney Smith
Lisa Walsh


In CIRCUIT COURT:

Peter Adrien
Barbara Areces
Jennifer Bailey
Scott Bernstein
Gill Freeman
Michael Genden
Norman Gerstein
Gerald Hubbart
Julio Jiminez
William Johnson
Judith Kreeger
Rosa Rodriguez
Nushin Sayfie
George Sarduy
John Schlesinger
Paul Siegel
Scott Silverman
Bertilla Soto
William Thomas
John Thornton

Finally, regardless of your politics, please say a prayer on Thursday for the more than 3,000 innocent victims that died seven years ago. Our parents' Pearl Harbor Day is our 9-11.

CAPTAIN OUT ..........

ONLY NORTH OF THE BORDER

UPDATE: DBR INSIDER BLOG TAKES CHEAP SHOT AT OUR FACDL PRESIDENT HERE. 

Embattled Broward Circuit Court Judge Pedro Dijols- he of the third place finish in the most recent Judicial Election- is suing the second place finisher-Mardi Levy- to have her name removed from the ballot this fall in the runoff election.  The title of the post links to the DBR article. 

Levy nee Cohen (we'll get back to that in a minute) edged out Judge Dijols by a scant 72 votes to make the runoff.  At the manual recount,  Circuit Judge Dale Cohen stopped by to lend a hand and make sure everything was going ok. 

Slight problem: Circuit Judge Dale Cohen IS MARRIED to candidate Mardi Levy. Levy was previously tagged with a Florida Bar "minor misconduct" (5 minutes in the Panthers Penalty box) and ordered to pay $1,250.00 in administrative costs when she displayed a picture of her dear husband- in his judicial robes- on her firm's website. 

Dijols's lawsuit seeks to remove Levy from the ballot because she did  not use her maiden name- she uses Mardi Levy-Cohen" in her private practice and before that as a prosecutor. Levy appeared on the ballot as "Levy" and not "Levy-Cohen" which she uses in her professional life. 

Now here's what we just could not make up if we tried. If you had one name to guess as the Judge to whom the lawsuit has been assigned- who would it be?

Yup. Everyone's favorite Circuit Court North of the Border Judge.  She's been labeled "an unfair evil witch" by an attorney who practiced before her. She was the subject of a much publicized JQC trial over her treatment of defense attorneys in a death penalty case. 

The right and Honorable Cheryl Aleman will bring all her legal acumen, judicial skills,  and hard earned wisdom, not to mention her wonderful courtroom demeanor, in handling Judge Pedro Dijols's lawsuit to remove Mardi Levy from the ballot. 

You just have to love Broward.  You can't spell "wacky" without the W in BroWard.  

Quick summary: Lawyer runs under name she doesn't use; her husband- who's a judge- stops by to view the recount; lawsuit filed; arguably the most disliked judge in the County assigned to the lawsuit. Script optioned to Spielberg for mid-level seven figures. Danny Glover to play Dijols; Britney Spears to play Aleman.  Dale Ross "as himself". 

SUICIDE UPDATE: "SURPH" emailed us a pick for Denver prior to the start of the late Monday night game. He's in. 

FORMER OFFICER GETS 8 YEARS. 

Former Miami Dade Police Officer Ayalon got eight years state prison in Broward for a felony leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality. Sam Rabin for the defense. 

This business of sending people to prison for traffic related crimes has got to stop.  People do stupid things behind the wheel of a car. Absent a crime with specific intent- like aggravated  battery with a vehicle- suspend their license for life; give them probation and restitution, but stop sending people to prison for panicking and doing something stupid while driving.  It is the constitutionally protected right of every american to be a moron behind the wheel of the car.  Hamilton and Maidson debated this issue in the Federalist Papers. 

RUMPOLE'S PICKS: The Packers won and covered and the point total was over, so we won our last two bets of the weeks (Packers -3 +75) and over 38 (+25) for a total for the first week of football of 422.50.  7-1 in picks. We challenge any expert to top that for an opening week. 

ROC UPDATE: All the other circuits in the State of Florida have assigned their 3rd degree felonies to the Dade ROC office, under the theory "It's Dade. We hate them. Pile on."  Judge Blake will rule on the constitutionality of every other county in the state hating us later this year. 

THE CHIEF JUSTICE MADE ME DO IT!!!!!

A JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG EXCLUSIVE

We have exclusively learned that none other than US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in Gainsville for the Gator/Canes game this weekend had Rick Freedman change his suicide pool pick from the Chargers to the Patriots, as the CJ was convinced that the Carolina Panthers had a legitimate shot to win the game and beat the Chargers (which in fact they did on the last play of the game.)

However, the last minute switch is not without controversy. There has been a legal challenge to the  switch and the US Supreme Court has ruled as follows with Roberts not participating in the decision. 

Alito writes that it was the original intent of Rumpole to allow picks  to be switched before game time, so the switch is legal. Thomas joins Alito with a "whatever he said me too" concurrence. 

Stevens, Ginsberg,  Breyer,  and Souter  also concurred in the result  with Alito but wrote  to say that the rules regarding the switching of picks should be liberally interpreted. 

And finally Justice Kennedy also concurred and noted that most international blogs allow suicide pool votes to be switched at the last minute, and he found international decisions to be persuasive but not binding. 

Thus, Rick Freedman's switching of his pick has been affirmed 8-0 by the US Supreme Court. 

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL:

Longtime and careful readers of the Blog know that we generally avoid Monday night picks. But we like the Pack, and we like them to win tonight. Packers -3 (+75).  We also like the over 38 (+25).

We don't like the Broncos at all this year, but we think they have a very good QB. We think the Raiders are on the right track, but their QB is untested.  You may want to take a flyer on the Boys in Silver and Black, but not more than a few bucks. 

It's official: Tom Brady is out with a torn ACL. Real championship teams (not cheaters) can and have won with their back-up QB's. Shula took our Fins to a perfect 17-0 in 1972 with EARL MORRAL (we admit our stupid mistake of initially writing Don Strock, which of course was 100% wrong. Our readers quickly corrected us, as you will see in the comments section. Whomever gave Don Shula our cell phone so that he could call us and yell at us-thanks a lot. Not.) running the offense for most of the season. Now lets see what the evil genius Belichick is made of. 

SUNDAY WEEK ONE RECAP

Someone once said "it ain't braggin if you can do it." or something like that. 

We started the first Sunday up 125 by virtue of the Giants and under this past Thursday.

J..E...T..S..-3 over Fins. (+150)

Bills over Seahawks. (+100)

Upset special of the week, month, and maybe the year: Titans and the money line to beat the Jags outright. And wouldn't you know it, the Titans went out and did just that. We bet 50 to win 67.50

The surprising Bears pounded the lackluster Colts last night in the biggest upset of the week. We'll take the  -110 for our only loss of the season so far. 

+322.50 for the week and +207.50 for Sunday.   5-1  for the week in picks. Not bad.  We'll take that every week to pay for the Condo in Sun Valley, Idaho.

We're not going to have very many Sundays with such a large win, but we surely will enjoy this one.

SUICIDE IS PAINLESS....Unless you pick the Chargers.

A switch in time...saves Rick Freedman.  Rick sent us an email at 12:29 PM on Sunday switching from the Chargers to the Patriots. The Chargers lost on the last play of the game. The Patriots, who lost Tom Terrific, managed to squeak out a 17-10 win, keeping Rick and David Markus and Miguel de la Over in the game. 

Must say goodbye to Marshall Dore Louis. Our heart was with you and the your Fins pick, but alas, they came up just a bit short on the last play of the game.  The Public Pretender went down with the Bungles,  but everyone else survives to play another week. 

Rumpole's Eagles squeaked out a 99-0 (or something like that) win over the Rams. With Brady out, the Patriots now become a team you have to use carefully. They play the Jets next week, and I like Favre's chances to give them the old Mangini. 

We started with 14, and now there are 12. 

 Hurricane Ike is hitting the coast of Cuba Monday morning  and is forecast to run the length of the Island and leave Tuesday. Ike is now forecast to MISS THE KEYS, which is nice for our neighbors to the South, and then head into the Gulf, which is not nice for the Gulf states. With the way this town was getting whipped into a frenzy Friday, we sympathize with the citizens of New Orleans who may be uprooted again later this week. It could easily be us in Miami preparing for a big hit. And no way around it, one day it will be us again.  

Sorry to end on such a downer. Have a good Monday. 

NFL WEEK ONE 2008

Welcome back to the JBB's fabulous football prognostications. People pay good money for these picks, but for you, our dear readers it's free (which should comfort our robed readers who gravitate to free like Raven (and former Cane) Middle Linebacker Ray Lewis to Quarterbacks).

Here's how we've paid for our boat: identify a public trend- identify a false public trend- and then take their money. In other words, find a team everyone thinks will be good, but you believe otherwise, or find a team that everyone thinks will be bad but you think will outperform the spread, and take your best shot.  Last year the world thought the Chargers could not lose. We bet otherwise and cleaned up early on. 

This year, the Cowpokes are everybody's pick. We think not. This year the Dolphins are coming off a 1-99 season. But we like their defense to keep games close, and thus we like the under. 

We begin the year a healthy +125 as the Giants took care of  business while their defense kept the game under. Sometimes this betting stuff is just too easy. (Now we just guaranteed a losing season. Hubris. Will we ever learn?) 

So speaking of our beloved Fins, the NY Favres' Jet into town to take on the Miami Dolphins, ver. Tuna 1.0.  The J...E...T...S  are three point favorites. We like the Jets to make the playoffs this year, and the Jets have the superior offense so take the Jets -3  (+150).  The o/u is an anemic 36. It was 39 earlier in the week and that was the time to lock in the under, which rest assured we did to the tune of a nice criminal fee. The weather looks good for game time, so avoid the bet unless you can get under 39.

Da Bears go to Indy for an old fashion whuppin, and Peyton and company oblige, by covering the  9. (+150)

Seattle Seahawks (pay attention) :one of the trends we like is this year are the Seahawks being overrated. A perennial playoff team, this year they tank.  This is coach Mike Holmgren's last year, and if you look at the record of teams with lame duck coaches, it's not good. Plus the team has aged and not replaced star players namely RB Shaun Alexander.

The Hawks go to Buffalo for some wings and to play the Bills. The line is even. How many times a year can you take the home team and not have to lay points? Not many. The Bills have a lot to prove this year, and we're not hoping on the bandwagon yet, but it's ok to grab a ride on the sideboard for this game. Take the Bills even up (+100).

We like to give one upset, and we think we have a nice one: Tennessee Titans over Jaguars.  The Money line is Titans +135.  Tennessee is a home dog, getting three points, and that's a nice play. But we like eschewing  (word of the day? guys?) the points here and laying 100 to win 135 that Tennessee will beat the Jags outright.  The Titans have a very solid running game to compliment Vince Young who has a whole year and a second training camp under his belt. Plus the Titans have an underrated D. We think the Jags will be there at the end of the season, but they run into something they aren't expecting today. Titan Coach Jeff Fisher is the longest serving coach in the league. He's also the very best coach no one talks about. The Titans pull the upset today. In Fact Rumpole plunks down 50 units to win 67.50.

BECAUSE WE NEVER LEARN: 

Proposition bets are for suckers. Give us a lolipop. This is for fun only. Here's a couple of teasers to play, if like us, you like to watch six games at a time on the LCD/HDTV.

Two team teasers- you lay 11 to win 10  and you add six points to each team you pick:

Indy -3 (the line  is -9, but you tease is down to 3 by adding 6 points) AND Chargers 

(-4) against the Panthers.  So to win this teaser, the Colts have to win by 3 1/2 and the Chargers have to win 4/12. Have fun. 

Some games just to enjoy: We'll be watching the Cowboys/Browns game very closely. These are two teams we think are overrated and we want to see how they play.

The Titans/Jags game should be very competitive as will the Green Bay/Vikes game. We like the Pack and we think Aaron Rodgers will do just fine as the new QB in Green Bay. 

And because what's a football game without a little presidential politics, Rumpole devotes a little blurb every Sunday to the current electoral college: We have Obama at 243 likely electoral votes,  and McCain at 216, including Florida. We have Michigan and Ohio as too close to call. If Obama wins those states, he's the President. If McCain wins those two states he still needs to pick of three of four of our too close to calls: Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, or Missouri.  It remains to be seen just how much Palin rallied the conservative base for McCain. The Presidency was won in Southern Ohio four years ago when that base handed Bush the state and the presidency. Southern Ohio is the battleground of all battlegrounds in this election. It should be very interesting.  Stay tuned.  

See You In Court Monday, and Broward has announced that if the Ike draws near, they will remain open and require all clients and

attorneys to check in with the clerk, before going home. 

SUICIDE IS PAINLESS

SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!! The latest forecast track shows Ike heading into the Gulf and then......we hesitate to even mention this....but it looks like the Big Easy is under the gun....again. 

UPDATE: We told you that we thought the downfall of Republican VP candidate Palin would be her husband. Just a guess we said. Here's where it's starting. 

Palin's husband's business partner filed an emergency motion to seal his divorce records.

"It brings on many changes....."   Name the Movie/show that song was used for.

It's not too late to sign up for our suicide pool. A few people who picked the Giants Thursday night have already moved on to week two. But you have until the Monday night game to email us your pick. The rules are simple: pick one team every week to win, no points, and once you've picked that team you can no longer use that team for the rest of the year. 

So far, here are the players and their picks:

Our runner up from last year- Clay Kaiser starts off with a win, having picked the Giants. 

David O Markus with a K, our famous federal blogger, starts off with a brave choice: The NE Patriots. David is known for his courtroom daring, as he proves with his football pick this first Sunday.

Rick Freedman chooses the Chargers. Rick didn't make it our of the first Sunday last year. Good luck Rick.

"Shumie Time"  starts off with  the Cowboys.

"The Steel Curtain" selects the Bills.

Michael Feller also starts off with a win, picking the Giants.

"The Q" goes out on a limb  with the Bills.

"The Public Pretender"  rolls the dice with the Bengals.

Miguel De La Over joins our Federal Blogger with the Patriots.

Marshall Dore Louis makes the most daring pick of the week- the home town fish over the J...E...T...S.  A bold move that could well pay off. 

Dan Lurvey takes a flyer on the Bills.

"Iffy" Is certain the Steelers will take out the Texans

And last years humble winner? You own Rumpole? We are leaning towards the Eagles, but check in Sunday morning to see if we have changed out pick.

Good luck everyone.  And feel free to join in. Have I forgotten anyone who sent me an email? Let me know. 

Click on the title for the answer to the trivia question and enjoy the song.

TGIF

5:00PM FRIDAY: As per our email with the powers that be, Court is officially open Monday, pending the results of the CANES/GATORS game tomorrow night. 

UPDATE: 11 AM FRIDAY  ADVISORY PUSHING IKE TO SOUTH OF MIAMI. KEYS, SOUTH MIAMI/HOMESTEAD , AND THE GULF NOW POSSIBLE TARGETS.

IKE IN THE SKY KEEPS ON TURNING. The weekend will bring the news as to whether we have more to worry about. We will keep you updated. 

NOT A BAD WAY TO START THE SEASON- 2-0

Both our Thursday nights picks were winners: Giants -4 (+100) and under 40 (+25). Total for the season (+125) heading into the first weekend of action. 

OUTCRY OVER BLAKE'S ORDER:

Lots of press for Judge Blake's decision relieving the Public Defenders of all 3rd degree felonies. Legal experts from all over the country have weighed in on the decision. 

Here's the NACDL article.

Justice Cantero left the Supreme Court bench in Tallahassee on Thursday. The Herald reports here.

Ferraro Redux? 

We don't have any inside information, so this is just a shot in the dark. But something tells us that the bigger problem the Republicans have with their Vice Presidential candidate is the Governor's husband. And we have a nagging suspicion someone is sitting on information that they will drop within the next few days. 

 CNN'S DAILY PRESIDENTIAL  POLL FOR 9/4/2008

CNN's National Poll of Polls Barack Obama 47% 43% John McCain

NFL PREDICTIONS

EMAIL US YOUR PICKS FOR THE SUICIDE POOL. READ YESTERDAY'S POST FOR RULES AND DETAILS. 

Before we start with the important stuff, we love this line, from the Broward Blog, applauding the establishment of a permanent Judge to handle bond hearings (denied) and first appearances North Of the Border: "The blank, scared stares of the civil division judges will now be confined to weekends only."

Are you ready for some football? We are. And after the usual slow summer, we could use some flow. 

Tonight: The World Champion NY Giants take on the Washington Redskins in New Jersey.  The Gints are favorites -4. Take the Giants. The o/u is 40. We like the Under, just a little.  

New Feature: we'll put units on our picks, and keep score!

100 units on the Gints. 25 on the under. Remember if we lose we pay a 10% vig, just like in real life. 

This won't make you any money, but if you read closely you will see the early season trends we have identified. And if you remember our tips from last year, the number one tip we have for making money on football is identifying the early season trends that differ from the the trends at the end of last season. What do we mean? Last year we could have bought a Porsche (ok, a used one, but low mileage) on the money we made betting against everyone's darling team- The San Diego Chargers- at the beginning of the season. 

This year- a few quick thoughts- BET AGAINST DALLAS. Could we be any more clear? Also the Browns (which is a problem because the Brownies play the Cowpokes on opening day). Take the Dolphins under until you go broke or can't find enough places to store the cash.  Go with the Vikes and against the Eagles in the NFC. In the AFC we like the Jags, but we're not sure their QB is for real. Ditto the Brownies. The Chargers should start a lot faster than last year, and the Steelers have a good team but the hardest schedule in the league, so don't go near them. 

In order of our predicted finish:

AFC EAST:

NE Cheaters (somebody needs to stop them. How do they have such an easy schedule?); JETS (Mangini for real. Favre has a few good years left) ; Bills (Don't buy the hype, 7-9 again); Dolphins (Best 6-10 team in the NFL).

AFC West: Chargers (real deal), Broncos (Jay Cutler is the real deal, but O-line in flux), Raiders (Good coach, bad management), Chiefs (Worst team in football this year. Herm should have stayed in NY).

AFC North. Steelers (Perennial contenders-tough schedule may do them in); Brownies (Remember, they're Cleveland. They need to prove to us they can overcome their heritage); Ravens (Cam baby.); Bungles (Also the worst team in football this year. Last year for head coach Marvin Lewis.).

AFC South: Jaguars (QB suspect. Defense real deal); Colts!!! (Peyton is 32);  Titans (Vince Young has very good year and they might just surpass the Colts); Texans. 

JAGS and Cheaters in AFC Championship game.

NFC East. Giants (SB Champs); Cowpokes (Way overrated. Could fall to third); Skins; Eagles (Things won't be pretty in Philly this year. Load up on the cheese steaks. We like Pats over Genos)

NFC West: Cardinals !!!; Seahawks (the end has begun); Niners (going nowhere fast) ; Rams (ditto).

NFC North: Packers (Aaron Rodgers is the real deal) Vikes (need a QB); Lions (on the rise); Da Bears (da blues).

NFC South: Saints (Because the Bucs aren't good enough to contend) ; Bucs; Panthers (going nowhere fast); Falcons (woof woof). 

Packers and Saints in NFC Championship game.

DISCHARGED!!!

SUICIDE POOL: IT STARTS THURSDAY WITH THE GIANTS -REDSKINS GAME. IF YOU WANT EITHER OF THOSE TEAMS EMAIL US BEFORE GAME TIME. OTHERWISE YOU HAVE UNTIL SUNDAY 12 NOON FOR THE POOL. 

Here's how it works: pick one team each week to win. No points. Straight up. However, when you use that team for that week you can no longer use that team for the rest of the year. David O Markus and Clay Kaiser have already emailed us their picks for the week. 

At stake: bragging rights. A certificate suitable for framing. A starbucks card. And extra two days to prepare for trial on any case you have before Judge Huck. The right to cut to the front of the line on any county court wednesday sounding. Hmm...and a bunch of other stuff. 

There's something about the 5 day forecasted track of Ike that we don't like. 

"One hand washes the other."

Chief Circuit Criminal Court Administrative Judge (CCCCAJ for short) Stanford Blake issued his ruling today and from what we know the PDs will no longer be assigned 3rd Degree Felonies (approximately 60% of all cases filed in Dade) as of September 15, 2008. Those cases will now be assigned to the ROC and their staff of two high school students who have expressed an interest in going to law school in the future. 

The title links to Oh Susanah's Herald story. 

The Canes are an estimated 163 point underdog in their game with the Gators on Saturday. Take the points.  

The SAO is now a 125 point favorite in all 3rd degree felonies. Give the points.  The Fins are a three point dog to the J..E...T..S and Favre on Sunday. Give the points and take gang green. More on that later this week.  

See you in court not taking third degree felonies. 

CNN: Tucker Bounds On Palin Foreign Policy Experience

CNN's Campbell Brown takes McCain spokesman Tucker Bound to school and asks and asks and asks Bound to explain what foreign policy Governor Palin has if something happens to McCain. Bound says Palin was commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard. Brown says "just tell me one decision she made about the National Guard?" And Bound can't.

The McCain Campaign is so irate over this interview they have canceled McCain's appearance on Larry King tonight.

WE DON'T LIKE IKE

UPDATE: JOSEPHINE. WELCOME TO THE PARTY

IKE'S PATH?

WWII not withstanding.....

Just remember what the government scientists say: "There is no global warming. Al Gore is a kook. There is no global warming. Al Gore is a kook."

If you repeat it long enough when you have nothing else to do (like when you're sitting in a dark house with no power because one of the dozen of killer hurricanes that have nothing to do with global warming have finally struck you down) then you may in fact one day believe it- despite all the evidence to the contrary. 

It's actually a form of meditation and it works. George Bush and Dick Cheney spent hours repeating "there are weapons of mass destruction...there are weapons of mass destruction" despite all the evidence to the contrary. 

See You in Court when it's  not closed for a hurricane warning. 

PS. Don't for one second let your guard down about Hurricane Hanna. Despite the fact they think it's going north, they really have no idea. This storm just sits there spinning and defying predictions.  Meanwhile keep an eye on Ike, and if you have any time left, work on your cases. 

PSS. We're entering the second news cycle after the Palin storms, and a little birdie told me that over night polling is starting to show negative effects on the McCain campaign on issues of vetting Palin, and his decision to select her. 

Also Dolphins are 3 point dogs with the J...E...T...S coming to town. Lay the points and go with gang green this week. Our NFL coverage starts Thursday with our predictions on the league and then Sunday we will have a full slate of picks for you. 

Finally, with a tip o the hat to Miguel De La O, we came across this quote from Collin Powell:

"He didn't have a lot of experience in running a presidential campaign, did he?"
-- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, interviewed on Good Morning America,  when asked if Sen. Barack Obama had enough experience to be president.

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER?

UPDATE: Palin hires legal counsel in "Trooper-gate" probe. See below.

The 17 year old unmarried daughter of putative Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is .....omg.....pregnant!!!

The title links to the NY Times article.

Talk about lack of family values. 

Talk about the effects on families by working mothers. Oh my. What kind of permissive-commie-liberal  state are they running in Alaska when unmarried teenage children are having unprotected sex?  Shouldn't children be in church with their families rather than running around unsupervised?  

Do you think John McCain had any inkling of this when he made his choice? 

We think not. 

Well, as republican strategists all over the country are saying "at least Alaska doesn't give out free condoms."

Update: And now comes word from USA Today that Governor Palin has retained legal counsel regarding the inquiry into the firing of an Alaskan State Trooper who coincidently happened to be the ex-husband of Governor Palin's sister. 

Rumpole says: the media sharks smell blood. How many more surprises from the Palin camp are to come? It seems more and more likely (and yet, unbelievable) that McCain's people did not vet the Governor from Alaska. One or two more surprises and that is it for her.  

Political historians will remember the resignation of Senator Thomas Eagleton (Dem. Missouri, 1968-1987)  as the Vice Presidential nominee on the 1972 McGovern ticket after it was revealed he had undergone psychiatric treatment, including electro-shock therapy. 

Right now we give her a 75% chance of staying on the ticket. One more surprise drops it to 50-50 and the next surprise is the end. Meanwhile on the first night of the McCain convention, the discussion is the storms surrounding New Orleans and Alaska,  and that's not a good thing.

ROC'ING NORTH OF THE BORDER.

The Broward Blog  has all the juicy details of the problems in the Regional Counsel's Office North of the Border. Flat screen TVS sitting in boxes. No money for parking for the attorneys. Large case loads- no money for investigators. Low morale. Lawyers quitting more frequently than Broward Judges holding Dade Lawyers in contempt for practicing law outside of their county. 

Yeah, this ROC thing is really working out well.  

THE LEVEE'S HOLD! 

Gustav passed about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans and the city was subjected to mostly CAT 1 conditions. For the most part the levee's protecting the city have held, although many smaller towns to the southwest have been hit hard and the full damage will not be known to later.  

HANNA IS A HURRICANE:

From the National Weather Service 9/1/2008 5:00 PM discussion:

"THERE IS STILL SOME SPREAD AMONG THE VARIOUS TRACK MODELS WITH POTENTIAL AREAS OF IMPACT RANGING FROM SOUTH FLORIDA THROUGH THE CAROLINAS.  UNTIL

HANNA TAKES A MORE DEFINITIVE MOTION...IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO BE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT THE POTENTIAL THREAT AREA.  ALL INTERESTS ALONG THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES COASTS SHOULD MONITOR THE PROGRESS

OF THIS SYSTEM.”

"Translation: we have no idea where this thing is headed."

Court starts up again tomorrow. See you there. 

MCCAIN'S PICK

We've been thinking a lot about McCain's pick for Vice President. In  another life at another time a long time ago, we worked on a campaign that made a decision for Vice President.  In the end we have decided that there is nothing bold about McCain's pick. It is not "transformative" and it will not help the Senator from Arizona. 

John McCain will be 72 when the next president is sworn in. If elected he will be the oldest person ever elected president of the United States. His choice for Vice President, as much as Senator Obama's, needed to reflect the very best individual ready to become president in the flicker of an errant heartbeat. The choice of the extraordinarily inexperienced Governor from Alaska does not nothing to to prove that McCain  chose the very best person able to become president if tragedy or illness strikes. 

The title to the post links to the NY Times article in which it seems clear that John McCain wanted to pick Joe Lieberman, the independent senator from Connecticut, but was unable to get past the religious right's threats of abandonment over Lieberman's pro-choice position on abortion. So once again Senator McCain buckles under to the very same people who savaged him personally and his campaign in South Carolina in the 2000 primaries. If McCain cannot stand up to a bunch of evolution-hating,  religion bating nuts, how is he going to stand up to the President of Iran or Russia? 

And just imagine this 44 year old governor from Alaska, who was a small town mayor before being Governor all of two years, trying to manage the war in Iran, the war in Afghanistan, and a Russian bear on the rampage-it's army rebuilt by a treasury swelling with oil riches. Now that is a frightening thought. We've already had one woefully unprepared Governor become president and run this country into the ground, and the last thing we need is another one. 

We think McCain's choice was not well thought out (he met with Sarah Palin once before selecting her) and was a bit of panicky choice with time running out and pressure from the religious right that he obviously found too intense to bear. The sad fact is that this once great Senator has become what he abhorred: a politician willing to say and do anything to be elected. 

Contrast the vast inexperience of Sara Palin with the experience of Senator Joe Biden- if the election was between those two for president, which one do you think has the ability and experience to run the country? 

In the final analysis John McCain is making it harder and harder for this old Ronald Reagan supporter to vote for him. 

Enjoy the day off- I'm going for a run.

STORMY WEATHER

SUNDAY MORNING TROPICAL STORM HANNA UPDATE: THE  PROJECTED PATH HAS CHANGED- SEE BELOW

Meanwhile, one Broward County Circuit Court (Motto: "Hispanics not welcome") race is headed to a mandatory recount as the battle for second and third place was less than 111 votes, and rumors surfaced that at least 10% of the electorate had cast their votes for Pat Buchanan.  The Herald story is here.

And we couldn't make this up if we tried: The Herald has this headline: "The National Weather Service recommends that you stay out of the Atlantic this weekend."

Gee, with two named storms and two depressions following right behind them, you think they're right?

Two Labor Day Weekend storms bear down on Cuba and the United States.

Sunday morning Update: Gustav is taking direct aim at New Orleans. There is a mandatory evacuation order, and President Bush promises to get the government to provide help as soon as he returns from his ranch and the Labor Day holiday.

Gustav batters Cuba Saturday morning before heading into the Gulf where it's expected to gain strength and then strike somewhere on the Gulf coast. We can all rest assured that the President and his disaster team will react with the same alacrity and professionalism that made us all proud of the Government's rescue efforts after hurricane Katrina.

Ignore what we wrote below: as you can see from the chart, the expected path of Hanna has now changed. Longer range forcasts by the National Weather Service have Hanna striking Sioux City South Dakota, Tallahassee, Buffalo, New York, and Seattle, all within a two day period. Stay tuned. 

Meanwhile Tropical Storm Hanna is making what is known in meteorological  terms as the WHNIIWDT* turn to the west and is expected to pass between South Florida and Cuba in the Florida Straits (defined as "area where hurricanes like to go") before passing over Cuba (Motto: "Bienveniedos:All Hurricanes are welcome here.") and then (as impossible as this is to believe) will be making the "classic Hurricane pivot to the North" where it is expected to follow Gustav into  New Orleans, where Pat Bentar has been hired by the State to sing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" over and over again on the stage in the New Orleans Super-Hurricane Dome.  

Labor Day Hurricane of 1935:

Long time residents of Florida know of the deadly"Labor Day Hurricane of 1935" which struck the Florida Keys, coincidentally, on Labor Day in 1935.  The storm was believed to be the first Cat 5 storm of the 20th Century.  Because most of the Keys were not wired for Cable TV or the Internet in 1935, there was little warning of the impending monster storm. An 18-20 foot storm surge killed over 400 people in the Keys, including over 250 WWI veterans who were in the lower Keys in work camps working on the railroad, which the storm washed away. 

For  those of you with nothing better to do this long weekend, there is a Memorial to those who died in the Keys in this storm at Mile Marker 82 in Lower Matecumbe.  Approximately 300 unidentified victims of the storm were cremated and their remains lie in this simple Memorial.  

Well, that's enough fun and frivolity for one post. The simple truth is that all of us in South Florida feel real empathy for the citizens of New Orleans. The cable news is now full of pictures of people standing in hot lines (again) as they wait for buses to take them out of the path of the storm.  We always feel a little guilty hoping that a hurricane misses us, because our good fortune becomes someone else's misery. All we can do is hope and pray that this storm weakens and strikes the least vulnerable part of the US. 

*(we had no idea it would do this)

WINNERS. LOSERS. AND WHINERS.

UPDATE: TS HANNA TO MAKE A LEFT TURN EARLIER THAN EXPECTED AND SOUTH FLORIDA NOW IN CONE OF UNCERTAINTY.

The worst part of this is the Republicans crowing about this is what happens when you move to the left instead of the right. We'll keep you updated throughout the weekend.

UPDATE: We've added a new poll and some Blog Widgets, from the Google headlines of the day, to some other content which may spice up your blog experience. All part of the same one user friendly price we charge for this blog.

UPDATE: MCCAIN'S VP CHOICE: MITT IS NOT IT. 

Bob Norman's blog in Broward has the winners and losers in the Broward County political races. The losers? Hispanics according to Bob Norman. 

Success has a thousand fathers, but failure is an orphan. 

Here in the Herald are the prosecutors whining about Miami juries and why they lost a case. Really- to blame it on CSI-how crass. We wouldn't let a client take the stand with an explanation  that pathetic.  Take it from this trial lawyer- the only lesson from defeat is that it is your fault. Be brutally honest about your performance. Accept the responsibility completely-learn from the defeat and move on. 

Or better yet- be  bunch of whiners and don't get any better. Just makes our job easier. 

For what it's worth, we thought Senator Obama's speech last night was good, not great, and that the ending fell way short of  the kind of dramatic oratory that we see in closing arguments every day in the REGJB.  

And maybe it's because we're old, but we thought the Republicans constant intrusion into the news cycles surrounding the Democratic convention was cheap politics at its worst. We remember when a real leader, and a real gentleman- President George H. W. Bush went on a week long camping trip during the convention that nominated Dukakis.  Lee Atwater was left with the unpleasant task of  informing Bush when he returned that he was 17 points down in the polls. It didn't matter.  Class and competence rose to the top and Bush won. We can't help thinking that Senator McCain's candidacy is infected with former mid-level Bush/Rove operatives who do him no good. Their sacrifice of McCain's morals and ideals cheapen his quest for the presidency and will harm his legacy more than losing ever could. 

But maybe this is just politics in a 24 hour news cycle blogging environment. 

Enjoy the long weekend and having Monday off. 

Never doubt that we shall be ready Tuesday to pounce on the REGJB powers that be if Tuesday brings us long entrance lines to the Courthouse. 

PS. Hurricane Gustav appears on a path to enter the warm waters of the Gulf Of Mexico this weekend and then strike the Gulf Coast of the US early next week as a major hurricane. Meanwhile TS Hanna moves off to the east of our State with a possible turn and landfall in the Lake Okeechobee area.  We will post updates as warranted, and we fervently hope these storms do not reach the intensity and cause the type of damage we all know they can cause.