The Rest of Everything Archives - Page 12 of 56

Slow Counting ≠ Fraud

November 9, 2018

Slow Counting ≠ Fraud

Mark Rubin

Waiting

Here we are, waiting on final election results. Arizona, California, Georgia and Florida provide the headlines, but the issue presents itself in any state—50, at last count—which accepts any ballots by mail.

Voting live on Election Day? Some machines let you walk away when you’re done, and the machine has already tallied your selections. In other instances, you fill in bubbles on a paper ballot, and place your ballot in a secure box. Box emptied. Reader software reads and tallies.

Voting by mail? Ballot counting requires extra steps. Opening envelopes. Signature checking. Then, reader software … .

If the ballot gets mailed in promptly, elections personnel handle it early. Signatures get verified day

early voting, equal protection, Kyrsten Sinema, Martha McSally

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Mid-Terms Misery

November 6, 2018

Mark Rubin

Mid-Terms Misery

Mark Rubin

I begin this missive at 7:54 p.m., MST. ‘twas a wave, I wanted. I wanted to win one of the two big lottery drawings, too. No such luck, on any front.

The Night

I expect a change of control in the House of Representatives. Maybe the Native Americans will pull Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D – N.D.) through, maybe Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D – Tex.) will vanquish Senator Ted Cruz (R – Tex.), and maybe Jupiter will align Mars, peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars. Not … and, thus, President Trump can give us more judges and Cabinet members who serve us not at all.

The world got complicated a while

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Say Anything

October 18, 2018

Mark Rubin

The Say Anything World

Mark Rubin

Many years ago, I tried a lot line dispute. Soon before the trial I asked my clients a question. The answer, unfortunately, contradicted everything important they’d already told me. “So what,” they said, “everyone else is lying too.” Not, actually! Unfortunately, I paid for their dishonesty by forcing a settlement which resulted in their not paying me. They got a much better outcome than they deserved. Me? Not so much.

Recent stuff brought my old case bubbling up for me. Jamal Khashoggi, specifically. And more.

The evidence suggests very, very strongly that Mr. Khashoggi died on October 2, 2018 in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. (You could describe what happened, with the

Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Mitch McConnell

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Corporate America Run Amok

October 11, 2018

Mark Rubin

Corporate America Run Amok

Mark Rubin

[Note: Working on a project—stay tuned—I ran across this piece, first posted on October 9, 2008 on a blog site which morphed into Mark Rubin Writes. Nothing much has changed in corporate America in the past 10 years, but we might notice the problems less, what with having a pseudo-populist POTUS who steals the air out of every room he enters.]

I wrote this essay in the summer of 2007, when corporate greed seemed like not much more than an irritant. Now, knowing what we know about the recklessness on Wall Street that went hand-in-hand with the greed, and now that we know the greed involved truly unfathomable sums of money, the essay seems

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Kavanaugh: Final Thoughts!

October 6, 2018

Mark Rubin

Kavanaugh: Final Thoughts!

Kavanaugh

Justice Brett Kavanaugh

It’s over! Thirty-three days ago, I wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Lots of noise since then, but we now have a full complement on the Court, including Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Party Rules

Voting matters, majorities matter, and politicians vote party first. Only Senators Joe Manchin (D – W. Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R – Alaska) crossed on the Kavanaugh vote, and both did so for seemingly different reasons.

Senator Manchin represents the most pro-Trump state and he’s running for re-election. As for Senator Murkowski, she runs again in 2022. Alaska likes Rs, but it likes Murkowskis too. Senator Murkowski’s father Frank served as Senator and Governor. The current Senator Murkowski won re-election

Central Park Five, Christine Blasey Ford, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump, Senator Jeff Flake, Senator Joe Manchin, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Susan Collins

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Still More on L’affaire Kavanaugh

September 29, 2018

Mark Rubin

Still More on L’affaire Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh

From There to Thursday / Friday

President Donald Trump and 11 angry white men who comprise the majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee. What a crew!

They got their guy right up to the finish line by mid-day on September 28, after an 80-day span from nomination to committee vote. Then, they sounded like stuck pigs because the Ds had the temerity to be unhappy after they got their one-day hearing. You’d have thought the Ds destroyed the confirmation process as we know it, to listen to Senator Lindsey Graham (R – S.C.) (No, we never liked him, even though he hung around with Senator John McCain (R – Ariz.), who we liked

Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, President Donald Trump, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Lindsey Graham

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The Kavanaugh Affair, Again

September 27, 2018

Mark Rubin

The Kavanaugh Affair, Again

Brett Kavanaugh

The Testimony

Well, that happened. Ugly, but at least I won’t read any more comments about how the *** won’t even show. (Right Winger foul language about women leaves me cold.) She showed up. She spoke. And for no personal or political gain.

As my day played out, I heard more from Brett Kavanaugh. No one should vote for this man to serve on any court, based on his performance. Sure, he was under pressure and felt attacked. Still, he—a sitting judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia—sounded and acted like a thug. He interrupted senators. He offered snarky responses. Rude and surly.

Of course, President Donald Trump

Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, Julie Swetnick, Michael Avenatti, President Donald Trump

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The Kavanaugh Affair

September 20, 2018

Mark Rubin

The Kavanaugh Affair

Brett Kavanaugh

I posted Justice Brent Kavanaugh on September 3. I anticipated none of what has kept bloggers and journalists—those who uncover facts and share them, so that bloggers like me can repackage them—busy during the last several days. (Had I foreseen any of it, I’d have made some real money at predictit.org.) Still, I see nothing which gives me a reason to think I got the expected outcome wrong 2+ weeks ago.

The Rs are rallying ‘round. Senator Lindsay Graham (S.C.) calls the assault allegation report a “drive-by shooting.” A request by Christine Blasey Ford for an FBI investigation before she testifies prompted Senator Susan Collins (Maine) to call such a demand

Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, Ed Whelan, Governor MItt Romney, Josh Marshall, Kate Zernike, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Lindsay Graham, Senator Susan Collins, Talking Points Memo

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Justice Brett Kavanaugh

September 3, 2018

Mark Rubin

Justice Judge Brett Kavanaugh

Brett Kavanaugh

The Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearings on the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday, September 4. Here’s the schedule, not that anything about the process will affect the outcome.

Judge Kavanaugh sits presently on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has served on that court for a dozen years. Prior to his appointment he did the private / public shuffle, working for Ken Starr on the Clinton Whitewater (Lewinski) case, the Bush II White House, and for Kirkland & Ellis.

Judge Kavanaugh meets the legal requirements for service on the Supreme Court. He’s a sentient being, and

Brett Kavanaugh, democracy, Democrats, Merrick Garland, Neil Gorsuch, president barack obama, President Donald Trump, Senator John McCain, Senator Mitch McConnell

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Road Trip

August 28, 2018

Mark Rubin

Road Trip

Mark Rubin

A road trip awaits me, soon. A few things must line up, and I’m ever hopeful that they will.

Alignments bring to mind the Age of Aquarius and Hair. (Younger readers: You had to be there, truly, but people took their clothes off on stage.) Unfortunately, I don’t know when the Moon will be in the Seventh House. (Seventh House?) And Jupiter and Mars? This man waits for no planetary alignments. Alignment for me means a week or so with no court appearances, no other obligations, and an available sitter for Max.