We Didn’t Start the Fire (Annotated)

[We dedicate this reposting to our ahistorical POTUS. If anyone knows the man, pass this along. The ignorance should astound everyone.]

“Here at MRW we don’t routinely cite to ourselves, and I’m pretty sure we’ve never re-posted. No rule is absolute, however, and when reason dictates that we deviate, we’ll do the right thing.”

Those were our words on April 5, 2015, when we reposted We Didn’t Start the Fire (annotated). We Didn’t Start the Fire was first posted on July 13, 2014. It’s a long piece—5000 plus words—and lots of effort went into putting it together. Billy Joel, a very intelligent, serious songwriter/singer, wrote the song and chose the people

After Five Weeks of Trump: An Assessment

Donald Trump has been our president for five weeks. Slightly less than 2.5% of a full, four-year term. Seems like it might be time for an assessment.

The good: No new wars. No market crash, and rising portfolio values. (Stay tuned on the markets.) The sun still rises every day, and it sets every night.

The bad: [Nothing.]

The ugly: Everything else.

Wrapping my head around the awful, evil, disgraceful face of America circa 2017 stretches me to the breaking point. (I know it stretches many others, but my names sits above the fold here, and I own my words, alone.) Maybe I got there this morning, when I read Federal Agents Move

Random Thoughts on the Tucson Tragedy

[Note: Cleaning generates lots of forgotten stuff. I shared these thoughts, six years ago to the day, at a different blog site. Since she was shot on January 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has made a truly remarkable recovery. She’s a vital member of our community, and a public citizen who works hard to reduce the adverse impact of guns in our lives.*]

I’ve been quiet until now. “Mostly quiet,” to be totally truthful. We had a dinner party on January 8. The food was ready and the friends close, so we saw little reason to cancel. At about 9:30 and with a snoot full of wine in me, I answered the phone.

A

From a budding blogger … 50 years ago. Enjoy!

A father told his seven-year-old son he could ride his bike to school. The father explained to his young son that along with the privilege of riding the bike to school he would have to assume some responsibilities. A few of these were: keeping the bike in good condition, keeping it locked, and obeying all the safety rules. The young son then reconsidered riding to school, in view of all the responsibilities he would have to accept.

We as American citizens must accept the fact that we are in the same relative position as the seven-year-old boy. We have many privileges in America. Some of these are freedom of speech, freedom

Trump Appointees, Ethics, and a Tax Break.

My law practice involves conflicts of interest. No, not because I allow them; instead, it’s on account of the fact that I do and have done legal ethics matters for almost 30 years, representing attorneys in discipline and professionalism matters, and suing and represent them in legal malpractice cases.

Federal government appointments and I don’t mix, but the principles associated with attorney conflicts and governmental conflicts differ not at all. Doing someone else’s bidding mandates that you focus only on that “client,” whether it’s an individual, a corporation, or the United States of America. With that in mind, I’ve been following with interest the staffing of the Trump Administration.

The people Donald Trump