When you see something that is not right, not fair, find a way to get in the way and cause trouble.
Congressman John Lewis
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.
First. You must pass the Voter History Test. Q: Who were the runner ups in the 1956 Republican Presidential Primary and Democratic Vice Presidential Primary? *
Second. Having passed the test (piece of cake) you then show up at your Voting Site and register so you can be assigned your Voter Assistant (VA). Expert Tip: Ask to have a VA who has similar views as yours assigned to you.
Third. By law ballots must be assigned randomly. There is a large tumbler that slowly and continually stirs up the ballots. Reach in and grab your ballot. Under (semi) rare circumstances, your ballot may include a Jacksonville Congressional Race. Just wing it.
Fourth. You may vote by check mark, by circling your favourite candidate on the ballot, or by using an orange high-lighter. Any writing instrument OTHER than a Russian manufactured #2 pencil is acceptable.
Fifth. If your ballot has Al Gore and George Bush on it, you may exchange it at any local 7-11 for a full-size Slurpee of your choice
Sixth. If you vote on SW 8th Street, your presidential choices will be Donald J. Trump, Paul Harvey (good day!), Barry Goldwater, or John Birch.
Seventh. Mark your ballot (see #4) and submit it to the Dade County Canvassing Board for approval. To do this, you will take your ballot in a semi-sealed green envelope, leave your polling spot, drive downtown to the Miami Dade Government Building, and take the elevator to the Clerk's Office. When the Board approves your ballot, go back to your polling place.
Eighth. Your ballot will be electronically scanned using Tik Tok on your phone. Open the App, scan the ballot into a video and then email the video to VoteFl@Miami [your precinct number here].vote.
Ninth. Get your "I Voted!" sticker and leave and congratulations on your jury service.
The Senate Judiciary Committee (Motto: "No Democratic Supreme Court Nominees within 3 1/2 years of an election. Ever!") approved the notorious ACB today in a party line vote in which the Democrats boycotted. Wow! That showed them. Not.
The CDC has changed their guidelines. A close contact is now defined as someone who sneezes on you AND/OR someone who is infected for which you are in contact with for a total of fifteen minutes spread across twenty-four hours.
THIS IS JUST A HYPOTHETICAL: Some Yahoo Judge in Dixie-Lee-John-Wilks-Booth Countyin Florida does something stupid like order you to try a case and she lets you speak with an officer in a hallway before trial. You speak for ten minutes, You pick a jury. Then you remember you forgot to ask the officer if he called your client the N word while repeatedly striking her with a tire iron and the officer agrees to answer that question and you speak with the officer again for another ten minutes in which he says he did do that because your client had refused to put down her diet coke and beef jerky when ordered to do so.
Those twenty minutes, broken up into two ten minute sessions, are now considered close contact for over fifteen minutes, and because this is Dixie-Lee-John-Wilks-Booth Countywhere G-D herself has written into the Constitution that "Americans do not have to wear masks, even during a pandemic" the judge and the cop and the prosecutor and all the witnesses who hang out at the Piggly-Wiggly after court praising Trump and cursing Biden, are all teeming with Covid-19.
LAWYER OF THE DAY Must be Miami Lawyer Aaron Honaker who has been arrested and charged with a series of bank robberies.DOM and @305ovalle have the story. But you know, desperate times call for desperate measures.
The Path to 270:
Democrats are feeling good but anxious. Let us give you some bad news. Trump will win Florida. If he wins Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Mexico, and Iowa, then even if Biden wins Wisconsin and Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota and New Mexico, the president will be reelected. Biden's clearest path to winning without Florida is Georgia- which is in play and would be a big loss for the president, and Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. We see several scenarios where is it is 268-263 and a few of those states- especially Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada are in contested recounts. Then the election will spread, like Covid19- into December and maybe 2021. Hang on to your hats. It is going to be a wild ride.
It is time to play our famous weekly current events quiz. Win valuable prizes.
1) Which Country is less than two weeks away from electing a president where the president is publicly pressuring his chief law enforcement officer to arrest his current and former political opponents?
a) The US b) Kazakhstan c) Eretria d) Nicaragua
2) Which County has new infections rising from 50,000 a day to 60,000 a day while the president says "we are rounding the corner and things are getting better?"
a) The US b) Kazakhstan c) Hungary d) Nicaragua
3) Which Country has a president who routinely attacks his world renown chief infectious disease specialist?
a) The US b) Belarus c) Eretria d) Venezuela
4) Which state in the US has state court judges pushing jury trials to begin while the virus numbers are rising by hundreds of new cases a day?
a) Florida b) Alabama c) Mississippi d) North Dakota
5) Which state in the US has a governor who refuses to tell its citizens to wear a mask and in the face of increasing virus numbers has fully opened bars, restaurants and those all important tattoo parlors?
a) Florida b) Alabama c) Mississippi d) North Dakota
Extra credit: Which famous and highly skilled blogger has a pending EU citizenship application?
After Sunday, it is the story everybody is talking about. Covid? Nope. Dolphins shut-out? Nah. Trump trashes Fauci? Dog bites man.
It is Los Angeles vs. Tampa Bay. The World Series. And we have been wondering about the greatest world series moments. Here are our nominees. Submit yours.
1) Reggie Jackson. Three swings. Three Home Runs on one October night in the Bronx and Yanks win the series.
2) There has only been one, bottom of the 9th walk off game 7 world series winning home run and it occurred sixty years ago this month as the Pirates Bill Mazeroski did it against the Yankees. This series was fascinating for the scores of the games. The Yanks out scored the Pirates 55-27, winning three games with scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. But the Pirates hung in, winning close games with scores of 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2. This game was perhaps the greatest game seven ever played as the score see-sawed back and forth. The Pirates went up 4-0. The Yanks came back and were up 7-5 when fortune favored the Bucs in the form of a ground ball that was a certain double play ball. But it hit a pebble and struck Yankee shortstop Tony Kubeck in the throat sending him to the hospital. The runners were safe and then the Bucs scored another run before Pirate- catcher Hal Smith hit a three run home run to give the Pirates a 9-7 lead. The Yanks came back in the top of the ninth and tied it sending the game to the bottom of the ninth and bringing light hitting second baseman Bill Mazeroski to the plate.
3) There have been dozens of pitchers in the world series who would end up in the Hall of Fame. Whitey Ford; Bob Gibson; Tom Seaver; Sandy Kofax; Mariano Rivera. But there has only been one perfect game pitched in the World Series and Don Larsen did it for the New York Yankees in 1956. 27 Dodgers up and 27 Dodgers down. No hits. No walks. No errors. No baserunners. Just perfection.
4) Jack Buck's call may be better than the home run: "I don't believe what I just saw". But we are putting Kirk Gibson's pinch hit home run with one good leg against Hall Of Fame reliever Dennis Eckersley to win the game for the Dodger in Game one of the 1988 World Series.
Game 6.
5) 1986. The Boston Red Sox are one out away from breaking the curse of the Bambino. The NY Mets are down to their last at bat. Bottom of the tenth. Two on. Two out and Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner are about to be linked forever in Baseball history as Mookie has the most epic game-winning at bat in WS history.
We give you, loyal blog readers, a peek behind the curtain to see the Great OZ and how the sausage is made.
On November 4, 2020, the day after election day, we will have one of two opening lines to the blog post. Before we reveal them, we should examine opening lines. Great novels and great writers have great opening lines. "Call me Ishmael" is the opening line for Moby Dick, a novel we are decidedly unenthused about and believe to be one of the most overrated novels of all time.
Better opening lines for better books are "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times" for Dickens' a Tale of Two Cities. "Lolita, light of my fire, fire of my loins" in Nabokov's Lolita. "Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting." The Sound and The Fury by Faulkner. "Howard Roark laughed." The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. "All this happened, more or less." Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five.
Next let's consider who will win. This statistic from the Democratic super-PAC Priorities USA: If Biden gets just three percent less from white working voters than he is now getting, and if just four percent of people of color do not vote then the electoral college vote is Biden 257, Trump 239, with Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania too close to call. 270 is needed for a win. For those of you who care, President Trump may well win Florida, which is a big problem for Biden. Florida is a statistical dead heat at the moment. We have seen insider polling. So this election is far from over.
Here is what we are currently thinking of opening the blog with, depending on who wins:
Trump Win: "The End Of Democracy As We Know It Occurred In The United States Yesterday..."
Biden Win: "Our Long National Nightmare Is Over." Those of you who are of a certain age and historically acute (meaning not 98% of our robed readers) will recognize those words as the start of the peroration in President Gerald Ford's inaugural speech as he addressed the nation for the first time after taking the oath of office.
You see blog brilliance doesn't just happen. Many of the posts are carefully planned weeks or months in advance, with words and phrases going through a rigorous editing process designed to produce a product we are justifiably proud of. Either that, or in a covid-gin hangover haze, we pound out something while sipping strong black coffee.
Good Covid19 Sunday Morning. The Virus numbers are up up up. US total cases rose from 50K to 65K. Florida has doubled from 2K to 4.5K and we are confident with our Governor's ability to tell people not to wear masks and go into crowded bars and restaurants that he can drive those numbers above ten thousand again. State court judges are pushing trials to begin, and only the SDFL Judges are ignoring the vox populi and siding with the science. Shame on them for doing the right thing. From Global Warming to Covid to international relations to emergency assistance, we rely on our leaders in 2020 to do it all wrong. As Jerry Seinfeld famously told George Costanza: "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite must be right."
That being off our chest, we give you a few picks for week six, choosing among a host of games we do not like.
Our Fav is the J...E....T.....S Jets Jets Jets who have embraced the philosophy of our Governor and elected leaders by screwing up everything they touch. Sign perennial All Pro and NFL rushing leader Leveon Bell and unlike any defense in the NFL, they stop him cold. He was released this week, an utter mulit-million dollar failure. Draft QB Sam Darnald number one and they are winless and on pace to have the number one draft pick in 2021, creating rumors that Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is considering staying at college for his senior year -ala Petyon Manning, rather than be drafted by the Jets number one. The Fins are a monster -8.5 in Miami today. Don't blink. Lay the points and take Miami. BIG WIN AND THERE WAS A TUA SIGHTING AS HE CAME IN AT THE END AND COMPLETED HIS FIRST TWO PASSES!
Green Bay Packers at the Tampa Bradys. Green Bay is getting 1.5 on the road in a year when home field advantage is mostly meaningless. The heat and humidity is not enough to stop Aaron Rodgers from besting a QB who is over the hill, overrated, and cheats when he can get away with it. Pack +1.5
We don't often make picks of certain teams because we do not have a good feel for the team. The Rams, the Steelers, the Falcons and the Panthers are a few of those teams. The over/under for the Steeler/ Browns game is 51. Both teams seem to have their offenses in high gear. Both teams also have top ranked defenses. But we like the over because the Steelers strength is in stopping the run and the Browns can throw and run. So if Cleveland tosses a few TDs, the Steelers have a fast offense that can compete with any team in the league. So take the over and pop and Iron City Light.(Loss)
Two more overs. Ravens over 47 against Eagles (WIN) and Over 46.5 Bengals/Colts. (WIN)
Survivor league: It is week six and we are down to six. Four players are rolling with Fitz and the Fins, while one has the Ravens and one has the Vikes. Just note that the Fins broke Judge De La O's heart and ended his season early last week by rolling the 49ers.
UPDATE: Clay Kaeiser take a loss on the Vikes.Five left.
Sometimes, to pick up some extra spending cash, we blog about stuff in Mr. Markus' milieu.
The Breaking news from the secretive Federal Judges' Friday Conclave is that they have suspended jury trials until APRIL! YES. APRIL. April trials bring May sentencings the AUSAs like to say (but not when we walk into a courtroom).
Let us turn serious for a moment. We address the Judges of the SDFLA:
Bravo! You may be a co-equal branch of a government that has lost their mind (temporarily) but you have placed science over hysteria. Good for you and more importantly- THANK YOU.
This virus is bad. It kills people and as we enter a second wave and much of the country moves inside where the virus propagates, our federal judges have recognized what the official policy of Florida's State Court Judges have not- that it is dangerous to be inside a closed courtroom without adequate ventilation and no case is worth dying for.
The judges of the SDFL have listened to the science. Now maybe they can speak to one certain judge who is not sure that climate change is real.
Then at the town hall meeting in Miami on Thursday night why couldn't he remember if he had a covid test on the day of the last debate a few weeks ago?
We know you wake up and log on expecting top flight writing and scintillating wit examining the legal issues of the day like no one else does (with apologies to our friend and compatriot Mr. Markus).
But we tell it like it is and the news is not great. First- today is tax day. 😡If you got an extension like Rumpole did in in July to keep your money in high yield commercial paper, then today is the day you pay the piper and Uncle Sam. Sorry but pay those taxes. We had a good year last year. This hurts.
Second, the virus is now in an official second wave in Europe. Here are the numbers:
France (which has a real President who knows how to lead) declared a state of emergency and a night to morning curfew. France has exploded from 12,000 to 25,000 cases a day and the President is moving to clamp down and expand ER capacity in anticipation of hospitalizations that come ten days after the infection (unless you get treated at Walter Reed).
Germany has seen daily infections triple from 2,000 to 6,000 a day and the R rate ( the rate of infection spread) explode. As we all know by now, when R<1 then the virus dies out because each person.
UK: New infections are headed to double from 10 to 20K a day. New strict lockdown measures are being imposed.
Italy has exceeded daily numbers from the spring when it was the face of the crisis and Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal are all imposing lockdowns to deal with exploding second waves.
Meanwhile in Florida, we plan to stream people into our courts for trials, and then send them out for lunch and dinner at open bars and restaurants. It is PARTY TIME in the Sunshine Virus State. FYI Hospitalizations in the US are at a two month high. But don't worry. It doesn't mean anything. No need to wear your mask. Kiss a stranger and have fun. It's all fake news.
Third- the presidential race is tightening. Not only is Florida in play, but we have seen some quality independent polling (albeit a Republican unit) that puts POTUS up 1-4%. It is the same white, uneducated and disenfranchised voters (mostly men) who do not show up on polls, but who turned out in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida for Trump in 2016 and there is specific targeting going on (including geo-spatial) that is driving them to the polls for early voting. All those long lines are not just angry democrats.
Fourth: The Notorious ACB, who we all learned yesterday has "read about global warming" but has no opinion about it because she says she is "not a scientist", refused to say that there should be a peaceful transition of power after an election, and would not opine that a president cannot pardon himself (although there is a long standing opinion from the DOJ during the Nixon presidency that a president cannot pardon herself), will be your next Supreme Court Justice in time for Halloween. BOO!
Query: If you cannot have an opinion about global warming because you are not a scientist, does that mean that 1) You cannot root for a sports team because you're not an athlete; 2) You should not leave a house on fire because you're not a fireman; 3) You should not have an opinion about getting an operation because you're not a doctor? In other words, according to the Notorious ACB, you cannot rely on experts and empirical data to make decisions. You can only form opinions and make decisions in the singular area you are trained in. And this genius will be sitting on the Court for 30 years. It's why we drink. BTW after a long layoff (plantar fasciitis) we have started running again. Yes we have a Peloton, but there is something about the rubber meeting the road that just does wonders for a body.
BUT we have some good news. (Blogger tip- always finish on an up-note): Apple's 5G phone is here and nothing expresses our joy more than the brilliant Steve Martin and this scene:
Has there ever been a regular season NFL game on a Tuesday night before? Well, there is one tonight. Your undefeated Buffalo Bills play the Coviud-19-Titans.
We are taking the Bill -3.5 and under 53.
Anybody have any info on what's going on in the REGJB? Oh wait- it's closed to the public.
What about the Feder....never mind, it's closed too.
Civil closed (but no one realizes it). Family closed. Juvie closed.
Probate OPEN because by the time you need it you're dead anyway!!
Thank you, thank you. I'll be at the Comedy Store all week. And coming up next is a very funny guy who I think you're really going to enjoy....
DID YOU KNOW....
The feds have done away with certificates of service? The Cm/ecf stamp is proof of when it was filed.
Time for the State to follow suit since we also have electronic filing.
Yes with nothing else to do with our time, we are going to champion the cause! DO AWAY WITH CERTIFICATES OF SERVICE
Right behind Covid and Global Warming, it is our top issue.
The FACDL Annual Awards banquet is always a rousing affair. Cocktails are sipped. Hor d'oeuvres are consumed and everyone congratulates everyone else for fighting the good fight. Judges are honored. Other Judges who are running for reelection show up as if they always attend (they don't). Long speeches are made and everyone goes home and they next day tries to steal a case from the people they drank with the night before.
But this year will be different because this year two things which never happened before will occur. First, On Saturday October 24, 2020, the event will be virtual.
And second, RUMPOLE will attend. We will finally get to see the shenanigans we have been missing. We have our own Zoom account. Our IP address will be masked with a Tor and we will be in full mask- the character of our mask will be announced on the day of the event to stop imposters. And we are working on a voice synthesizer.
So show up. Toast the honorees and chat will Rumpole. We are lining up a very nice Bourbon or perhaps open one of our rare Sine Qua Non Shot in the Dark 2006 Syrah. Only about 440 cases were produced and we have several bottles. Some fresh king crab legs. Line caught Halibut and a loaded baked potato and a Shot in the Dark is not a bad way to spend an hour with friends.
UPDATE: We made our big announcement on Twitter @justicebuilding just now.
Well last week was a total disaster pick wise. We hope to do better. But before we begin, we have very exciting news!
We have something big planned with FACDL. Yes Rumpole and FACDL. Ebony and Ivory, trying to live together in perfect harmony. Trump and the rest of the human race. Pick your opposites and we have been that with FACDL Miami, But all is going to be forgotten and forgiven. Think President Carter with Menachem Began and Anwar Sadat at Camp David (most of you robe wearers will have to Google that to understand the reference). And we will be announcing it FIRST ON TWITTER @Justicebuilding sometime today. It's a biggie.
UPDATE #2 YourMIAMI DOLPHINS the greatest football team took the ball from goal to goal today like no one has ever seen. They were in the air and on the ground and always in control and the Dolphins beat the Niners and knocked De La Over, Immache, and Ireland out of the Survivor Bowl! 4 out today and if the Gints beat the Cowpokes- they are currently up in the 4th quarter- we will be down to two!
Our Picks.
Two teams we are done with : Dallas and Arizona Cardinals.
Seahawks host the Vikes and are giving up 7. Take Seattle, give the points, take the cannolis. Also over 57- the highest total on the board this week.
Colts at Browns. Browns showed us something thumping the Cowpokes last week. Indy won last week and thus they are due to return to the mean because their QB is Phillip Cry Me some Rivers. Take the Browns as a home dog in the dog pound. +1.5 WIN
Your Las Vegas Raiders go to KC and get 13.5 against the KC Chiefs. Chiefs are 4-0 but that includes two very close wins. Take Chucky's Raiders +13.5 to keep it close. WE'RE BACK BABY RAIDERS WIN. Weisman takes a loss in the survivor pool. Down to 9.
SURVIVOR POOL
We are down to ten. Ireland and Weisman survived a scare with the Bucs last week who fell behind early and big. A Brady come from behind win saved them at the last moment. The popular pick this week is the Cowpokes and we think the NY Football Giants may just well upset them, although we agree a bounce back is likely, we are putting a C-Note on the Gints and the Money Line +310. An upset will be just enough to pay for that bottle of Cabernet we have our eye on. And a little left over for a lobster cocktail.
It's campaign season and it is time we weigh in on the issues.
We have an election with vast consequences. People are examining the two candidates. The two candidates are getting out the vote. The results- and we are not being dramatic- will transform the Miami Dade Court system for decades to come.
Biden v. Trump? Nah.....
Sayfie v. Bernstein for the job of Chief Judge. This is the barnburner we are watching and you should be too.
Phone calls are being made. Who is zooming who? Judges are lining up. The dominoes are starting to fall into place. If Judge Sayfie is elevated from chief of the Criminal division then who will replace her? (Hint- he's an administrative Judge who's name is vowel. And you should respond "O really?").
We know Judge Nushin Sayfie better because we have had more contact with her in the criminal division. She would be an excellent choice. We have no doubt she would do a great job.
On the civil side, Sayfie's formidable opponent is Scott Bernstein. Fact: There are more civil judges than criminal judges, so if Sayfie is gonna pull this thing off she needs to fish in Bernstein's waters. And that will not be easy. Judge Bernstein is a dedicated Judge. His immersion into children's issues during his service in the family court was admirable. He is also very well respected.
The choice will be a tough one.
So we say this: Dear Judges Bernstein and Sayfie- the Blog is YOURS. Write us something and we promise to post it on the front page WITHOUT ANY EDITS AND- as tough as this will be- without any snarky comments. The floor is yours. Do with it what you wish.
What do you want to do? How are you different from your opponent? Where do you see the Court System in 2025 and 2030? How has Covid permanently altered how courts do business? What's your plan to get Rumpole back trying cases? There are several prosecutors who need a good thumping. These would be great topics. But if you have a recipe for Brisket that you want to share, or a comment on the Dolphins O line, write whatever you wish. But write us. It would be a good thing for both of you. And do not under estimate the power of lawyers speaking to their favourite Judges on your behalf. Our guess is that this is close because more than likely most of your colleagues value and admire you both. The decision will be tough.
Judge Soto is term limited and the election is sometime in February.
We await the candidates' missives.
(We can imagine the phone call "Hello Scott? It's Nushin. Are you going to write into that crackpot? I think we should agree, either we both do, or we both don't.....blah blah blah.").
The Vice Presidential debate is Wednesday evening and we will be live tweeting our observations @justicebuilding on Twitter.
In order to prepare for our live tweet event, we offer this bit of VP Trivia.
VP John Nance Garner famously said
A) The Vice Presidency was not worth a worm bucket of "spit" or a word that rhymes with spit;
B) The Vice Presidency was a snooze-fest;
C) The Vice President's heart started when the President's heart stopped.
2) Who was President when John Nance Gardner was VP? FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
3) Which Vice President was also president without being elected to either position? FORD
4) Which VP decried the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism? AGNEW
5) Who beat JFK for the VP spot in 56? ESTEES KEFAUVER
6) Name the only VP to first lose election for the presidency and then win? NIXON
7) Name the last VP to win the election for the presidency and then lose an election for the presidency? GHWBUSH
8) Name the VP who won and election to the presidency and then declined to run for a second elected term? JOHNSON
9) Name two VPs who were governors of NY ROOSEVELT AND ROCKEFELLER
10) Name the last two VPs who decided to not run for the presidency? (Not 100% sure on this one- will discuss in the comments section). CHENEY AND WE THINK DAN QUAYLE.
The Supreme Court is now in session, albeit with eight justices. Some are old and some are young and will be there for a while.
The Republicans want to replace the recently deceased RBG, and they are correct in doing so. The rules clearly state that a justice CANNOT be replaced in an election year, UNLESS the justice who dies was appointed by a Democrat AND the president making the appointment is a Republican. What is so hard about that to understand? Why must irresponsible liberals call Republicans hypocrites for not giving President Obama's selection even a hearing when they now insist on quickly confirming the notorious ACB? Why are they being hypocritical when the rules are the rules?
There are a couple of good cases on the docket, including another round of Obama-care lawsuits. Again, we do not see the problem. Most Americans now have affordable health care but if the Republicans repeal affordable health care- especially during a pandemic- things will only get better, right?
Speaking of doing away with health care, the President is sealing the case for masks are for wimps. Social distancing is for others. Washing hands is for others. But getting sick and getting access to every new treatment to save your miserable life? That's for the President and only the president. BTW- Christ Christie got sick and "voluntarily checked himself into a hospital as a precaution." Which everyone who doesn't feel well should do.
If you are not feeling up to snuff, head over to Mount Sinai or Baptist or Mercy and just tell them you're voluntarily checking in for a few days. Ask for a room with a view and make sure the cable works. It's the right way to go for the average Joe or Jane feeling a bit under the weather. Duh! Why people insist on dying at home with Covid is one of the great mysteries of 2020.
So here is our first Monday in October. Masks not needed. The notorious ACB should be confirmed. Obama care should be killed especially during the pandemic, and when that happens trot over to your local hospital and check in for a few days. The Fontainebleau is getting old these days anyway.
Trump has Covid. Cam has Covid. The Tennessee Titans have Covid. But the show must go on.
Here are our picks for week four. We are a slight below average (for us ) 12-4 for the season.
The big contest of the week that everyone is watching is Covid19 v. Trump. Covid19 -7 1/2 over Trump. Covid has killed more than a million people. Trump is the perfect opponent. Old. Fat. Never exercises. Can't make it up (or down) a flight of stairs without needing to catch his breath. True, this is a tough road game for Covid. Trump in Walter Reed enjoys a distinct home field advantage. But Covid has won on the road before. A lot actually. China. Italy. And NYC and you know what they say- "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere." Trump has a very good defense. But once the Covid 19 Cytokine storm offense gets rolling, it is almost impossible to stop. It is hard to ignore a home dog like Trump. And he has surprised before. But he may just have met his match this time.
Speaking of home dogs, the Ursine quality, we like the Bears and the amazing Nick Foles at home, getting 2.5 from the Indianapolis Colts. The adage "Always bet against Phillip Rivers" applies as always and a Nick Foles fully prepped with a week of work is a very dangerous opponent. Chicago +2 1/2.
Browns at Cowkpokes. Dallas has a pretty good offense. They just do not know how to finish games as a team. That is why the almighty created the Cleveland Browns. To help teams get back in winning form. Pokes -5 1/2.
Cardinals at Panthers. Arizona broke our hearts, our bankroll AND knocked us out of the Survivor pool last week in getting upset by the hapless Lions. We still like this team and their offense and they right the ship against a Carolina team without McCaffery. Cards -3.5.
Seahawks at Dolphins. Fins are a TD home dog. And Miami is just not that bad and maybe flying east from one of the farthest points on the map from Miami that a team can make slows Seattle down just enough for our Dolphins to keep it close. Ftizmagic baby +7.
As the president remains hospitalized for a Virus that did not- as he promised- "magically disappear"- we will be tweeting @Justicebuilding some of the reflections of Retired General Jim Mattis. His book "Call Sign Chaos" is one of the finest explanations of leadership and reflections on the lessons of war and how organizations should be led. The lessons Mattis discusses easily translate to running a law firm and preparing for trial.
Meanwhile- as one person commented recently on the blog: "We like Presidents who do not get sick" and...."We should all extend to the Trump family the same concern and respect that they did as Senator McCain lay dying."
But of course that would be wrong. It would make us like the president, and that would be a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude.
No one in the White House had the decency and courtesy to notify the Biden campaign once they knew there was a potential issue when Hope Hicks tested positive. Even when Trump tested positive, there was no heads up from the Trump campaign or the White House to the Biden campaign.
An organization takes its cues from its leader.
From Call Sign Chaos:
"In his fast moving campaigns during the Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman habitually sought to threaten two objectives before he attacked. This forced the Confederate generals to split their forces, giving Sherman a decisive advantage when he made his lunge."
Years ago we observed a legal team that was intimidated to strike at anything, always worried that they would tip their hand. The result was that the prosecution concentrated their forces and attacked and routed the defense.
Mattis emphasizes over and over again the value of reading books on warfare campaign. His tactics in the desert in leading a Marine Battalion in the campaign to liberate Kuwait were influenced by the great British General William Slim and his classic "Defeat into Victory" - an account of the British Army recovering and regrouping in Burma and India and defeating the Japanese. Mattis carried Slim's book with him into battle in Kuwait.
Thursday evening on Twitter @Justicebuilding after learning that presidential aid Hope Hicks, who had been traveling with the President had tested positive for Covid, we tweeted this:
I really think the media is missing the seriousness of Hope Hicks having Covid and traveling with Potus this week. Everything else this year has happened. President Pence is next. #Trumphascovid
And then this morning around 1am we learned that our 74 year old obese President, and his wife both tested positive for Covid-19. (Covid3- Trump 0).
So the important news is that you are really missing a lot if you are not following us on Twitter @Justicebuilding.
(For example, having tweeted to @Facdl-Miami that we are following them, they sent back this gem:
Hidden identity and potential conflict of interest? Sounds like the perfect Miami-Dade relationship
Friday morning at 8am we learned that Vice President Pence and his wife tested negative for Covid-19. However we do not know the sensitivity of that test.
Follow us on this: Hicks tested positive on Wednesday. She was with Trump Tuesday.
Trump debated Biden on Tuesday. Which means it is entirely possible the 46th President of the United States sworn into office in January, 2021 is .......Kamala Harris!
Meanwhile, while you ponder all of this information a few thoughts on the breaking news:
1) Karma baby- this is what happens when you do not wear a mask to prevent a virus that did not "magically disappear" in April, May, June, etc.
2) The Virus is young. Like any toddler it cannot read. It does not understand that when a Judge or politician says "Phase Two" or "Phase Three" that is is prohibited from infecting anyone else. Judges making decisions about ordering trials should keep this in mind,
3) What if Trump gets sicker and the stock market rises? As we write this, the markets implied open are down- the Dow about 400 points, the NASDAQ about 350. Believe it or not, for the first time since March, we are buying this morning. Apple under 114, Abbott Labs at the open (about 108- they will have a 15 minute test available soon. Demand will be in the mulit-billions) Corning at 32 (they are making the glass vials for the vaccines), Pfizer at 36 - they are our bet for the first successful vaccine.
3) According to the CDC males are at twice the risk of a negative outcome then females. Individuals over the age of 70 have a 10% mortality rate. Individuals who are overweight and haven't run a mile since they chased a twinky as a child are at a much higher risk for a negative outcome then individuals who are thin and in shape. All of this means Melania could be back on the market for a husband in 2021. We can see the add on Tinder- "Former model. Young widow. Done with politics seeks successful male for quiet life. I have the condo on Fifth Avenue- you get the farm in Connecticut and the house in the Hamptons."
The two keys here are Pence and Biden (and to a smaller extent Nancy Pelosi). They represent continuity of government. As long as they remain negative and are effectively isolated, then the impact on a sick and perhaps Covid disabled president is minimal. It's not like we have had a mentally healthy and effective President since POTUS 44 (Obama) anyway.
POTUS TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 ....... Lots of breaking news happening overnight while most of you were put to sleep after watching the Broncos and the J-E-T-S stink it up on Thursday night football. The news first broke earlier last night that, counselor to the President Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus. Because Ms. Hicks has daily close contact with POTUS, she accompanied him to the debate on Tuesday and flew in Marine One and Air Force One with POTUS on Wednesday, both POTUS and FLOTUS were tested last night. At approximately 12:54 am on Friday, POTUS tweeted that both he and Melania had tested positive. They will both be quarantining for the next 14 days at the White House. Trump is 74 years old, some may describe him as obese, and is certainly considered to be in a high risk category. It is unknown what symptoms, if any, he is having. It has been reported that Hicks has experienced some symptoms. The markets are all crashing in overnight trading. Expect the NYSE, NASDAQ, and S&P, to experience significant declines in Friday trading. So many questions - where do we begin? 1. What happens to the town hall debate that is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami? 2. Does the 25th amendment, Section 3, apply transferring power to Vice President Pence? "Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President." 3. Who else in the president’s circle will test positive? Also accompanying Trump and Hicks on Marine One yesterday were Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller. 4. How will this affect the election in that Trump had numerous scheduled campaign rallies planned over the next 14 days, including a rally in Orlando scheduled for later today? 5. Will Trump finally support the wearing of masks in public and encourage the people that show up to his rallies (when he returns to the campaign trail) to wear masks? 6. Will the JETS draft Trevor Lawrence, and if so, will that make the AFC East the highest quality QB division in the NFL with Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Cam Newton, and Lawrence competing against each other, twice a year, for the next decade? CAPTAIN OUT ....... Captain4Justice@gmail.com
{cue Jaws music} JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK INTO THE COURTROOM.....(more Jaws Music)... On Thursday the Governor, sans mask, appointed Judge Rebull to the Circuit Bench. To make it work, we think he has to resign his current spot and then assume the new spot.
On the same day...and we do not believe in coincidences, The Florida Supreme Court REINSTATED Alex Michaels.
What a day!
First, we applaud the appointment of Judge Rebull. We have written before that Judge Rebull is a good judge who made a mistake and we believe learned from it. Let he who has not chastised a pro se litigant cast the first stone- we always say. He now has the opportunity to be a great judge and we are thrilled he has the chance. Second chances are good- are you listening circuit court judges in the criminal division? People make mistakes. They learn from them. Everyone does not need to go to prison for the max- despite the ASA saying like some robot "victim wants the max". Would you just once want to hear a prosecutor say "victim wants two years less than the thirty year max"?
DRACULAWYER:
There is no more passionate advocate for his client than Alex Michaels. He wins first degree murder cases-many of them. Sometimes he goes to jail in the process. But he saves his clients. We also think, like Judge Rebull, he has learned from his mistakes. There are ways to win without crossing lines and we think Alex will do great.
BTW if you're not following us on Twitter @Justicebuilding you are missing some real gems.
For example: If you do not follow us on Twitter you missed this gem:
All those Russian girls trying to hook up with American men online is really just Putin messing with our erections.
Two houses both alike in dignity. In Fair Miami where we lay our scene. The Heat -princes of Verona were beat and played thin While the Marlins found offense and a win.
Yes, your darling Miami Heat were spanked by the LA Lakers and you know who - who showed his true colors and broke your little Heat hearts years ago.
Meanwhile, your scrappy Calle Ocho never say die Miami Marlins sneaked into the playoffs with surprisingly good pitching and broke the heart of one local judge and found their bats and beat up on the Chicago Cubs yesterday.
Come on you phony, front running Heat fans- time to jump on the Marlins' bandwagon and start pretending they were always your team.
THE DEBATE
If polling is to be believed (fake news!) the public believes your president was soundly defeated in the debate Tuesday night.
But the more interesting point for us are the comments attacking us for supporting the President, which we clearly do not. We just objectively gave our opinion on the debate. Much like the experience all criminal defense attorneys have at parties- "how can you defend that person after what they did?"
The inability to separate objective truth from belief is the issue.
The fact that most people, and many of our readers, cannot do that bodes very poorly for our society.
Other than that, have a great day and GO MARLINS!
Coming soon- you know about virus infections and the R0 rate. But do you know about k? You should. And while you contemplate k, think about the fallacy of virus infection statistics in this manner- 99 average people in a bar. Jeff Bezos walks in. The average wealth of everyone in the bar immediately exceeds 1 billion dollars. But does that change the financial fortunes of the 99 other people?
