SILENT THOMAS

Our own "Silent Charlie" has nothing on Justice Clarence Thomas. As the NY Times pointed out Sunday, it's been FIVE YEARS since Thomas asked a question in oral argument, and that question was reportedly "Are you done? I need to use the head."

From the article: "In the past 40 years, no other justice has gone an entire term, much less five, without speaking at least once during arguments, according to Timothy R. Johnson, a professor of political science at the University Of Minnesota."

FWS

FWS: (From the Urban Dictionary):

1. The agonizing mental process of accepting that football season is finally over.

This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.

2. A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.

3. The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.

4. Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.

Hank was hospitalized on February 12 with severe anxiety and chest pain. Following a series of CAT scans at the Mayo Clinic, he was diagnozed with Football Withdrawal Syndrome (FWS).

MUBARK RESIGNS (sort of)...POLICE INVADE!

UPDATE: THIS TIME WE MEAN IT. HE'S GONE. MUBARAK RESIGNS.

We have to admit the comments are just too funny to change the post. All in good fun. The investiture was well done, appropriate, short, and touching.

UPDATE: Marbarak has just spoken. He did not resign. He did transfer power to his VP. But he's still around. Sort of like a lesser included jury verdict. No one wins, no one is happy. Unlike a jury verdict, the situation in Egypt cannot last. The people are furious and they will not accept this compromise. The latest rumor is that the protestors will now march on the presidential palace.

The Military was prepared to run the country until elections. Mubarak has apparently lost confidence of some the military leaders. This situation is NOT stable and we could well see a coup. Stand by...(we're going for a run so we suggest you watch your favourite cable TV station for awhile. The most common question is: "how will this affect the investiture tomorrow?"

The answer is that it probably won't.)

Breaking now (Thursday afternoon). Mubarak is resigning. Egyptian Military will take over and run country until elections in September.

Milt Hirsch investiture tomorrow. Not sure of the link between these two historic events.....

Kevin Emas investiture at the 3rd DCA (motto: conveniently located in Kendall) next week. Judge Michelle Paulson-Gonzalez has her investiture March 4. Ms. MPG was the second candidate to replace a sitting judge. Initial reviews on her are positive.

It kills us to write these, but Florida Judges may be under paid as per the Orlando Sentinel.

Get drunk with a Federal Judge! Tonight at the Hyatt. DOM has all the details.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME????

This was the REGJB parking lot (what is commonly called "the attorney parking lot" since 99% of the cars belong to attorneys, with the rest comprised of employees in those weird medical buildings that are next to the parking lot.) Hat tip to a long time blog reader who sent us this picture.

Police cars as far as the eye can see. And with all the best spots to boot!

Can defense attorneys and police officers peacefully share a parking lot? Alex Michaels parks in the attorney lot you know.

If Israel and Egypt can have a peace treaty; If President Obama can have lunch with the Republican Leadership; "IF you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you...." ***

Something tells us the last word has not been written on this "invasion."

***IF, by Rudyard Kipling.

TRAFFICKING UNCONSTITUTIONAL! (but still not legal).

There was some chatter in Tallahassee this past week about upping to ten years as a member of the Florida Bar (from five years) the minimum requirement to be a Judge. If they make it retro-active, the REGJB could empty out quickly. Add a requirement of say ten jury trials and ten appeals and the hallways would be downright lonely.

BROWARD JUDGE DOES THE RIGHT THING!!! (file this under man bites dog.)

DRUG TRAFFICKING LAW HELD TO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

As per the JAA Broward blog, Judge Carlos Rodriguez has held 893.135(1)(b) UNCONSTITUTIONAL! We done old chap. The order is here. Use it. File motions, spread the word, fight the power.

The rest of the week: Milton Hirsch's coronation investiture is this Friday at the Civil Courthouse. Like the Super Bowl, tickets are at a premium. Word is that if some people cannot be seated ala Dallas this past Sunday, they will get seats in the jury box in the Judge's courtroom for the rest of the month. Wow! What a deal.

Kudos to Judge Ruiz-Cohen for a classy event last week. We expected nothing less.

See You In Court.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RONALD WILSON REAGAN

With all the hoopla over the Miami Heat recently, we neglected to mention that Sunday marked the 100th birthday of the 40th (and our 2nd favourite) President of the United States.

Why is Ronald Wilson Reagan our 2nd favourite President? Simple. It was - as Sarah Palin likes to note- his life long adherence to the conservative values that made our country great that endear him most to us.

What were those conservative values? Glad you asked! We will list them for you:

Item: As a new Governor of California, Regan signed into law the largest tax increase in the history of California and the largest (at that time) tax increase of any State in the Union.

Item: As a conservative right to life candidate, Governor Reagan signed into law in California the most liberal abortion laws in the nation at that time, securing for women the right to an abortion in a clean doctor's office by a competent doctor.

Item: As a fiscal conservative Ronald Reagan raised taxes as President 6 out of the 8 years he was in office.

Item: As a staunch defender of the United States, Ronald Reagan secretly negotiated with the terrorist sponsoring nation of Iran and the Muslim extremists who ruled Iran.

Item: President Reagan believed in balanced budgets (and frequently asked for a constitutional amendment requiring them) but he never submitted one (though President Clinton did.)

Item: As a conservative, President Reagan signed the 1986 Immigration reform act which granted millions of illegal aliens amnesty and citizenship.

Item: As an espouser of strong American "family values", Ronald Wilson Reagan became our first and only President who had been divorced and remarried before assuming office.

See where we're going with this?

Ronald Reagan did have conservative values. After enacting the steepest tax increases in the history of California when he took office (because he was surprisingly faced with an enormous budget deficit that the prior Governor had mostly hidden) Reagan organized a repeal of the tax hike two years later and provided the first Government rebate in the history of California when the economy recovered and the state ran a surplus. Reagan gave the money he taxed back to the people when the Government didn't need it for an emergency. Sort of like the Bank Bailouts that Obama supported that have mostly been repaid with interest. But Obama is no Reagan: Obama hasn't raised taxes consistently nor has he sought amnesty for illegal aliens.

It is popular these days for ultra-conservative right wing fundamentalists to bandy about Reagan as a role model for a conservative president. But what Reagan was, more than a conservative, was like his first political hero-FDR- a pragmatist. Reagan had a deep and abiding love for his country and what he wanted more than anything else- even when he knowingly broke the law with the Iran-Contra fiasco- was to see this country succeed. That was why he raised taxes when he needed to; that is why he was friends with his philosophical opposite- Speaker Tip O'Neill; that is why he negotiated with the Soviets and radical Muslim sponsors of terrorism- he did what he thought would benefit America first, and was faithful to his conservative philosophy second.

If you have any questions about the facts we've listed, Google them, individually or as a whole. These are known facts about our 40th President. Our purpose is to have Reagan's actions honestly viewed and understood. We cringe when Regan's record is conveniently changed into what neo-conservatives (who don't even know the basic facts of Reagan's life like where he was born or raised) want them to to be.

Longtime and careful readers will well remember our listing of the greatest presidents of the US and our identification of Theodore Roosevelt as our favourite President.

FIRST SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

UPDATE: STAT OF THE DAY- PACKERS HELD TO BELOW 21 POINTS 8 TIMES THIS SEASON. D0es that mean anything? It means they can be stopped. Geez, our own Fins beat them at Green Bay (of course, the Fins never win at home) 23-20.

Comparison: Green Bay has the best linebacker in Clay Matthews. He is a beast. But the Steelers have the best 4 linebackers. Harrison, Woodley, Timmons and Farrior are a fantastic unit. Harrison and Woodley are only slightly behind Matthews. Edge Steelers.

Offensive line: No standouts here. Steelers more of a patchwork and without Pouncey, edge Packers, but don't discount their one notable free agent signing- 13 year vet Flozell "The Hotel" Adams having a solid game at right tackle to try and nail down his long awaited ring.

Secondary: Packer secondary quietly carried this team in their playoff run and the playoffs. Steelers have the bigger star, Packers have the more steady group.

Running game: No comparison. Mendenhall for the Steelers is in his 3rd year and he is a complete back. It is possible he could take this game over and put up 150. If he does, the game won't be close. Edge Steelers.

Receivers: Each team has a veteran (Driver for the Pack, former Supe MVP Ward for the Steelers.) Each team has a set of fast young players. Edge Steelers because their tight end, Heath Miller is perhaps the most complete TE in the game. He can pass block, run block, and peel off a block and run a pattern.

QBs: Rodgers is hotter, Big Ben is 10-2 in the playoffs. Roethlisberger has taken a team 88 yards in under two minutes to win a super bowl. How he even saw Santonio Holmes open and how he even dropped that pass in there is still amazing to us two years later. Watch the replays. It's an impossible pass and catch. Until Rodgers does it, he hasn't. Ben has.

Edge Steelers

Coach: Both teams have great head coaches and great Defensive Coordinators. Both teams have suspect Offensive coordinators. This is a wash. Mike Tomlin took the Steelers through 4 games without his starting QB and they went 3-1. After getting brutalized by the Cheaters, Tomlin settled his team down and the've only lost one game (to the Jets in the regular season) since then. McCarthy, who is ironically a Pittsburgh guy, has guided his team through what has essentially been sudden-death through the beginning of December.

Special Teams: Both teams have average units that have surrendered a big play during the season.

Intangibles. Steelers have 18 players with two Super Bowl rings. They have a nice mix of veterans and rookies. Packers have one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Green Bay appears to be the popular pick. Rumpole says Steelers 31-17.

UPDATE: The total line is 46. It seems tempting to go over. But when we keep thinking of a final score, 24-21 keeps popping into our heads. Now it is true that Aaron Rodgers has a 111 QB rating inside on turf. But the Steelers will try and slow and shorten the game with the run. But when considering the run game, both Defensive Coordinators share the philosophy of stopping the run first. While the Steelers like to run, they can be stopped. The bottom line is the over/under is right on the correct number, so we're staying away from this bet.

The Pack remains a solid 2.5 favourite.

The Steelers (or Stillers as they say in Pittsburgh) are the more balanced team. We think that they have more possible playmakers. If the Steeler stop Rodgers, the Pack is done. The Steelers however, have consistently managed to win when their QB has a big game (Super Bowl 43, and a bad game, Super Bowl 40.) Roethlisberger can either carry his team, or manage the game and make a few big plays, as he has done in both playoff victories this year. Don't forget- this Steeler team was 3-1 without Roethlisberger to start the season. Could the Packers go 3-1 without Rodgers?

On defensive, while Troy Polomalu gets the attention, it was James Harrison in 2008 who turned in a goal line interception and 99 yard pick six. Currently, the best unheralded player on the Steeler D is inside linebacker (and former Seminole) Lawrence Timmons. While Polomalu can ( and is expected) to change the game, keep your eye on the Steeler inside backers- Timmons and Farrior.

The clear favourite among most of the media and the public are the Packers. And what do we say about following the crowd?

More later......

We really like tails.

Also the over.

The Steelers were 2 point dogs by the public and two point favourites by the bettors. So the early play was Pittsburgh +2. But lets say you've woken up on the day of the big game and decided to make the Super Bowl interesting. What do you do?

More later.

INVESTITURE OF SAMANTHA RUIZ COHEN

Judge Ruiz-Cohen has her well earned investiture today at the Civil Courthouse at 12:15 and we give thanks again for her ridding our county of ....well, it's better left unsaid at this point.

What left nothing unsaid was the remarkable "Practice Order" by a sesquipedalian author/robe wearer. We will try and post it next week. The author fails miserably in his attempt to present the order as a coruscant cynosure of proper pre-trial practice. We are left only with a feeble gasconading conglomeration of egomaniacal pablum, remarkable only for its ignorance of the stress and workload of the average prosecutor or assistance public defender.

You see, using big words doesn't make you smart, it just makes your attempt to look smart stupid.

Not that we know anything, but it seems to us the new judges who become good judges make as little a splash as possible when arriving for work for their first few years.

On the other hand, your first motion for a continuance can be made ore tenus, and how nice is that?

Super Bowl this Sunday. As always we have the coin toss all locked up (3-1 last 4 years) as well as your winner. We're not ready to reveal anything yet, except 52nd Street Irwin called us with this tip late Sunday night two weeks ago right after the Steelers won and the first line was set: for about 30 years until his retirement a few years ago, there was one guy who set the initial line on most big games that the books usually followed until they had to adjust it based on the bets they took in. A few minutes after the Steelers won he set the line at Pittsburgh -2. A few minutes later the first Vegas books had the line at Packers -2. What does this tell you? That the public was misreading the game, as the line is always a reflection of the public and not a bookmaker's belief as to who will win the game. Do with that what you will.

Enjoy the weekend. Our last Sunday football post coming up.

EVENT CALENDAR

UPDATE: DOM HAS EXCLUSIVE FLORIDA BLOG COVERAGE OF THE CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR KATHY WILLIAMS BEFORE THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. CHECK IT OUT, INCLUDING THE EXCLUSIVE CELL PHONE PICS BY DAVID, WHO APPARENTLY WAS PRESENT. We have been mostly stuck in DC for weeks and invited David to lunch or dinner, on us. No reply yet.

UPDATE: Sun Sentinel story on dismissal of DUI charges against Al Milian.

Full blog story below.

Courtesy of the FACDL (Motto: "Dues dues dues")

Friday, February 4- Investiture of Judge Samantha Ruiz Cohen, 73 W. Flagler Street, Courtroom 6-1 at 12:15 (Rumpole NOT invited)

Friday, February 11- Investiture of Judge Milton Hirsch, 73 W. Flagler Street, Courtroom 6-1 at 12:15 (Rumpole definitely NOT invited).

Wednesday, February 16, Board of Directors Meeting, Federal Public Defender's Office, 15th Floor at 5:45 p.m. Special guest is United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Wilfredo Ferrer. We will also be voting on Banquet Awards. (Rumpole not nominated).

Thursday, February 17, lunchtime CLE, "Defending Guilty Clients" co-sponsored with the Law Offices of Carlos Martinez, Public Defender, from 12-2 p.m. RSVP to Maria Ph at (305) 545-1600. Lunch will be provided by Transitions Recovery Inc. (See attached flyer) (Free lunch????hmmm....)

Wednesday, Feb. 23, "Lunch with the Judges" invites 12 members to join Judges Monica Gordo and Jorge Rodriguez Chomat newly elected to the Circuit Criminal Bench. Lunch begins at noon at The River on Brickell. Cost is $20/person. Please RSVP to me at (305) 403-8063 or by email. Checks can be made payable to FACDL Miami and mailed to Jude Faccidomo, 9130 Dadeland Blvd, Ste 1910, Miami, Fl. 33156. (Rumpole interested. NOT! Yeah, we want to have lunch with a bunch of judges right after we volunteer to wash the floors in the Broward Courthouse. No offense intended to these particular Judges, who we sure are very nice lunch companions.)

A GREAT VICTORY FOR THE DADE PD APPELLATE DIVISION:

The following was an email Arnie Trevilla sent out congratulating PD appellate lawyer Robert Kalter for getting a 30 year conviction and sentence reversed on a fleeing an eluding charge.

Attached is a Fla Supreme Ct opinion overturning my clients 30 year sentence for Fleeing and Eluding in Rock Court before Judge Jimenez. Public Defender Appeal lawyer Robert Kalter saved this guys life! The smartest and brightest lawyers I have ever met work in appeals at the Public Defenders office and Robert Kalter is just one of them. Nice job Robert. Audra Johnson and his family are very happy. The issue the court reversed is something we should all be aware of. Read the opinion if you get a chance..its worth it

Here's the opinion.

"The issue before this Court is whether it is per se reversible error when a judge erroneously instructs a jury prior to deliberations that it cannot have

any testimony read back. We hold that the error, if preserved, is per se reversible because it is impossible to determine the effect of the erroneous instruction on the jury without engaging in speculation, and thus a reviewing court is unable to conduct a harmless error analysis."

Rumpole says: First, kudos to Mr. Trevilla if he was the trial attorney, for being on the ball and objecting and preserving the error. This has bugged us for a long time and we have laboured long and hard to spread the word that judges CANNOT tell jurors that they cannot have testimony read back or typed up and that it is per se reversible error to tell a jury that so long as the defense objects and preserves the error. Great job to Mr. Kalter for hitting one out of the park and great job to the trial lawyer for doing their job and preserving the error.

When in doubt- OBJECT!

PS: Julio: 30 freaking years for fleeing? Really? 30 years? 15 wouldn't have been enough? 30 years (360-life) is the highest level under the federal guidelines, reserved for the most serious of cases. You've been around from the time when a second degree murder in Florida under the old guidelines was 12-17. And now you're handing out out three decades for a fleeing?

GREAT EVENTS

This Thursday, February 3, from 11:30-1:30 in Courtroom 13-3, the SDFLA will be having an unveiling ceremony for a Black History Exhibit called: "Milestones: A Legal Odyssey."

Later this month there will be a civil rights panel discussion and reception on February 23 from 4-6 pm in the jury room (5th floor), moderated by Professor Charles Ogletree

You can RSVP at 305-523-590

If you've been perusing DOM's blog you may notice a slight similarity between our posts. Here's a helpful hint: When a federal judge asks for a favour in promoting an event, even an anonymous blogger doesn't say no.

Ps. You can go to the Ogletree event and find out about David when he was a 1L squirt on the Charles River.

AL MILIAN DUI DISMISSED

Take a bow Uber Defense Attorneys Bill Matthewman and Alan Shuminer. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren granted the motion to suppress. The order is here. West Palm ASA won't be appealing. Hat tip JAA Blog and others...

SILENCE OF THE JEDI

Mubarak doesn't last the week. And giving him a week is generous. He should be cashing in his frequent flier miles right about now, packing up the books and the silverware and heading out.

3.180...Silence of the Soto:

No word from our chief criminal court judge about what REGJB judges will be doing with their precious felony soundings in light of a Broward attorney's temerity in demanding the court follow rule 3.180 and excuse the defendant's presence at a sounding when the attorney had a validly executed waiver.

WORKERS OF THE REGJB UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE EXCEPT YOUR PENSION....

We received this comment from a peeved and aggrieved state employee:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to change the subject. But latest talking points by Gov Scott and Legislators is that they are going to balence the defecic on our backs. Soon the ASAs n APDs n AAGs, who havent seen a raise nor COLA in 6 years get to pay their own pention contribution. Instead of HALF what a private attorney can earn will will mAKE A third. THE Make-up/BALENCE WAS OUR BENI'S BUT NOW WE ARE SEEN as PARASITES ON THE STATE BUDGET. THEY have
NO RESPECT for STATE WORKERS or the FACT WE MAKE THE STATE GOV'T RUN. Thanx for your service, NOW BEND OVER!!

The Return of the Jedi....and Almendarez-Torres:

Federal practitioners have long celebrated the Apprendi line of cases, while criticizing the decision in Almendarez-Torres which excepted recidivism (prior record for our robed readers) from the requirement that a prior record enhancement be proven to a jury like other enhancements.

The decision, which was 5-4 to begin with, has been subjected to an unending line of criticism from those like Justice Thomas who said he "succumbed to error" in casting the 5th vote, and from the majority in Apprendi who opined that “it is arguable that Almendarez-Torres was incorrectly decided.”

Shots continued to be fired at Almendarez-Torres as per the SCOTUS blog:

"the Court called for a response with respect to two petitions that ask the Court to reconsider Almendarez-Torres: Ayala-Segoviano v. United States, 10-5296, and Vazquez v. United States, 10-6117. Since the government filed briefs in opposition, the Court has relisted those cases three times, at the January 7, 14, and (apparently) 21 Conferences."

Stay tuned to see if the Empire Strikes Back.

CHAOS IN EGYPT

Update: 8:00 AM: The army has established control in major cities. There are more people in the streets than yesterday but the protests appear to be more peaceful. This story is far from over.

930 PM EST is 4:30 AM in Egypt. Here's what we know:

The police ( a historically corrupt and brutal organization in which is not well liked by the Egyptian population) has lost control of the streets of most major cities. Reports (unconfirmed at the moment) are that many local police stations have been looted and burned.

The army ( a historically professional organization admired by the public) has been called out to attempt to restore order. Many reports indicate that the citizens who are rioting have welcomed the army and invited them to participate in peaceful demonstrations. The army generals have resisted allowing their forces to be used because of the respect the citizens have for the army - the generals do not want to see any acts of violence that could undermine the army's respect and authority.

President Mubarak has dissolved the government.

The citizens will not rest until Mubarak resigns. The country holds Mubarak responsible for the lack of democracy, the brutality of the police force, the lack of economic opportunities, and the widespread corruption in government.

Rumpole says: The citizens in the streets are mostly middle class. This is a true revolt of the entire country (compare this to the 1979 Iranian Revolution when a small minority of extremist Islamic fundamentalists were able to seize power.) President Obama was correct not to unilaterally support the Mubarak government. Even a Judge in the REGJB can see that the Obama administration has written off the Mubarak government based on the President's words earlier Friday evening.

The question is who is in line to seize power?

In 2-3 hours the sun will be rising in Egypt. If you're reading this Saturday morning then it is 7 hours later in Egypt. An entire working day (Friday was the Muslin sabbath in Egypt) will bring more people to the streets and Mubarak cannot last.

Stay tuned. Bulletins at once, and we highly recommend the BBC. You can get radio feeds from the BBC website on line.

BLUE FOR THE BLUE BOOK

BELOW: Our answer to Broward's plea for help.

Check out David's blog and the excerpt of Judge Posner's review of the 19th edition of the Bluebook. Apparently 20 is the charm.

Big mystery not solved: New Circuit Judge Darrin Gayles to take over the late Judge Pinero's division. Judge Tunis to ROC-n-roll court....but who is taking over for Tunis?

BROWARD'S DADE BLUES

The boyz (n gurlz) in Broward are having trouble with Miami Judges. Boy is that

bass- ackwards. That's like the French army rolling through Germany or the Dolphins whopping the Cheaters at home or Sarah Palin reading a book. You get the idea.

The Broward Blog asked for our help. Apparently, and it's not quite clear, a Broward attorney appeared in Dade, and after being allowed to call his/her case out of turn, and after not being threatened by the courtroom staff, bailiff, court reporter, corrections officer, etc, did in fact have a problem with a recalcitrant Dade Judge who was upset that the attorney's client was not present for some sort of pre-trial proceeding (probably a sounding or calendar call or status conference- which really are all the same, right? ).

Apparently in Broward the Judges are OK with the client not appearing for these hearings if the attorney has notarized waiver. At issue is this rule:

RULE 3.180. PRESENCE OF DEFENDANT

(a) Presence of Defendant. In all prosecutions for crime the defendant shall be present:

(3) at any pretrial conference, unless waived by the defendant in writing;

We were pleased to learn that when the attorney cited the rule to the unknown Dade Judge he/she followed it. Fat chance of that happening the other way around when an out of county attorney contravenes the conventional way the court does things. Can you say warrant, bond revocation and Florid Bar complaint?

And habit is really what this is about. We have a way of doing things in Dade that includes the Defendant showing up for felony pre-trial hearings purely out of habit. But the rule doesn't require it.

So what say you Robed Readers of Dade? Can we all starting getting waivers and moving things along in court and saving tens of thousands gallons of gas and work hours and excuse clients from pre-trial hearings that takes hours of out their days and minutes in actual court time?

Go green, be clean, follow the rules. See you in court (sans client??? We shall see.)

STATE OF THE UNION

Open blogging. No moderation in comments section but we will be reviewing it every few minutes and will remove offensive comments.

Some thoughts.....

We're the only industrialized nation without a high speed rail system. If the government works with private industry to build it, is that "out of control spending" or "investing in our infrastructure"?

Representative Michelle Bachman of Minnesota is a raving moron. She thinks the founding fathers, including "John Quincy Adams" ended slavery. First, JQA was the son of founding father John Adams. But why let facts get in the way of a good tea party story. Second, can someone go tell her about the Civil War. Anyone...Bueller...anyone? Please. She just erased the deaths of 600,000 Americans. Third- we get what we deserve. If we continue to elect anti-intellectual right wing nuts, the age of "American Exceptionalism" will end with our current elected officials who cannot spell it.

We miss Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.

We also miss Judge Manny Crespo.

Off to watch the SOTU and read how John Quincy Adams fought with George Washington at the San Fernando Valley in California and freed the slaves from the British.

Also brushing up on how private industry and innovation built the interstate highway system (Eisenhower administration) and won the space race (Kennedy and Johnson administrations) without meddlesome government interference.

RANT

We know this may engender some harsh comments, but here goes....

Who had the bright idea to shut down the interstate system in Miami during rush hour Monday??

Yes, we understand two officers were being buried. And lest you think we disparage their memories, read our last posts on the issue. We have called them heroes who sacrificed their lives for our community. We have encouraged everyone to donate to funds set up for their families, although their loss is incalculable.

But the shutting down of all access ramps to I95 north and south bound; shutting down McCarthur Causeway; and shutting down numerous other routes right in the middle of rush hour was absurd if not down right dangerous.

What about the parent trying to get home to pick up their child?

What about the parent trying to get home to a sick child?

What about people trying to drive to hospitals or doctors?

What about the myriad of tens of thousands of reasons people commute starting at 4 pm or so?

This is not about a ten minute inconvenience. This is about a near total shutdown of the transportation system for at least an hour. It has nothing to do with the honor of the memory of the officers.

It has to do with common sense.

MONDAY ETC

Congrats to everyone's favourite federal blogger for beating us mano-a-mano heads up in football picks. Behind most of the year, David showed his toughness, stuck it out, even in the middle of a big trial out of town, and prevailed by picking the over yesterday in the Steeler-Jets game. Despite the fact we went 2-0 yesterday, David takes home the crown and a dinner at Joes. The Gift certificate can be picked up at our office or we will mail it later this week.

Please look at Sunday's post and write a check to the fund for the two slain Miami-Dade Police Officers. The funerals were today and officers were mostly out of the REGJB on funeral duty.

Comments in Sunday section seem to indicate another tragedy in Northern Florida today as details emerge about the possible murder of two more police officers in the line of duty.

At some point soon it's time to talk about gun control. It seems to us a simple fact that if armed and trained officers can be gunned down, then the solution is not more guns. The simple fact is that the person who pulls their gun first or plans the attack is usually more successful. Lets start with taking automatic rifles off the streets, as most police officers approve of. Lets move on to the armor piercing bullets and the extra large clips that were used in Arizona.

Let the crazy comments begin.

SFL covers the closing of the Miami Club. We need a new food establishment. Any suggestions?

NFL 2010 CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY!!

FIRST, IMPORTANT BUSINESS: we received this important comment:

Rumpole: There have been several inquiries on where to give to assist the children of the slain officers. Here is one way, through the Dade County PBA, you can donate to their "Love Fund" by making your check payable to: The Dade County PBA Love Fund, with `Officers Castillo and Haworth' in the memo section. The mailing address is 10680 NW 25 Street, Miami, Fl 33172. The Dade County PBA Love Fund is a federally recognized charitable organization established in 1984 to aid law enforcement officers and their families in their time of need, including assisting the families of officers killed in the line of duty. RF

Rumpole says: Right now, before you do anything else, close the computer, go get your chequebook and go write a cheque and put it with your work for Monday so you don't forget it when you leave the house tomorrow. Nothing is more important than this. Sending even twenty dollars sends a message to the children of these officers far beyond the money...."we care and honor your father and mother far beyond what this money buys."

Please do it now.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY.

We wait all year for this. A great day of important football.

Mr. Markus takes the over 38 in the Steeler game. We will explain afterwards why he is mistaken (we don't want him to change his mind). But make no mistake about this: all is on the line- he wraps it up and a free dinner at Joes for him and his lovely wife if he wins today. Pressure is on.

Packers v. Da Bears: Hard to imagine this is the second meeting in the playoffs between these two storied franchises who have the longest rivalry in the NFL. They meet for only the second time in the playoffs in 70 years. To put it in prospective, the Steelers have played their division rivals in the playoffs many times (twice against the Ravens in the last three years, once against the Bengals in the last four years.).

Da Bears are getting 3.5 at home. A home dog in the NFC Championship Game??!!! How can you overlook that? Meet Jay Cutler. Bumbler. Stumbler. Can be great. Can be awful. Now compare him to the QB with the highest ever QB rating in the playoffs. The gambler in us says pick the Bears, forgo the points and take the money line. A hundred Ditkas on Da Bears gets you between 165-170 back. We may just do that when we speak to 52nd Street Irwin today, but for our purposes we take the Pack -3.5 for 500.

J...E...T..S...JETS JETS JETS!!!! Gang Green invades The Steel City for a great AFC Championship game.

But just like we told you last week in the Steeler game, it won't be close. Sorry big fella (Rex) but the train stops here. Great run. Amazing victory over the Cheaters for which that alone you deserve your own parade for getting in their heads and out coaching the biggest cheater of them all. BUT....

#1 defense. #1 fewest points given up. #1 Third down efficiency; #1 against the run (something crazy like 62 yds per game). The Steeler Defense is just superb. Add to that an explosive offensive; perhaps the best big game QB playing right now; speed burners in second year WR Mike Wallace and rookies Emanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown; experience in Hines Ward and Heath Miller. And don't forget a two time super bowl winning QB who engineered a last minute "school-boys-dream-of-this" 80 yard drive to win the Super Bowl two years ago. This is a championship team in its prime. All that adds up to a win in a big game.

Steelers -3 for 500 Polomalus in our contest against DOM for all the marbles!!!

What we considered:

Packers-Bears: The Packers could barely beat the Bears a few weeks ago when the Bears played a basic defense while the Packers needed a win. But Cutler is something like 1-4 against the Pack, plus he is most likely to implode while the Pack has the hottest QB in the game. The Bears started mediocre and are peaking at the right time, while the Pack has a minimal running game and is riding the arm of Rodgers. The Bears need to run and stop the pass and they can easily win this game. In the coaching matchup remember this- Bears coach Lovie Smith might well have been fired if he didn't get his team to this game. We like the Bears, but until Cutler shows us more in a big game.....

Jets-Steelers: Pretty Boy Sanchez hasn't thrown a ball in the air over 9 yards in the playoffs. That is bad news for the Jets except that the short passing game gives the Steelers fits in their pressure defense. Santonio Holmes can be a game changer as he was for years for the Steelers. The Jets were the last team to run against the Steelers for over 100 yards, but don't look for that to happen again. The Steelers will shut the run down, (they have always been able to stop LT-including the last time he was in Pittsburgh in the playoffs two years ago for the Chargers) take away the deep ball and challenge Sanchez not to make a mistake in the dink/dunk passing game. Special teams- they were the difference last time for the Jets (opening KO return for TD), don't look for the Steelers to make the same mistake today. Steeler TE Heath Miller- while the Jets won the last game, Steeler TE Matt Spath dropped 2 (count em-two) game winning TDS in the end zone in the last minute of the last game. The Jets will be motivated, but so will the Steelers. Coach Mike Tomlin has done a fantastic job getting his team to this point. Bringing them to 3-1 with their 3rd string QB and then getting his team on a 7-1 run after the blowout by the cheaters shows that Tomlin may well be the best coach in the game today. The Jets are the fun pick, the Steelers will get it done by 10-20 points as Sanchez makes a mistake in the 4th Q and the Steeler D blows the game open.