Less Pissed Off … But Still!

June 29, 2014

Less pissed off I am! I understand—and will try to explain—the majority decision in McMullen v. Coakley; still, the decision troubles me.

The First Amendment provides, expressly, that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech … .” (Not important, here, is the means by which the First Amendment applies to a law adopted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.) Political speech gets special protections, for the First Amendment was designed to protect it.

Time, place and manner restrictions are permissible. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in Schenck v. United States, stated what seems obvious:  “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing

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Inequality – Part 5

June 28, 2014

Second idea? How about a bit of strategic planning. When you Google the term this definition appears:

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy.

So, and I mean this with respect, really, where the f*ck are we going as a nation? Does anybody know? Got a map?

Reduce the deficit, create more jobs, Mars by 2025 (I think that was just a one-off speech) … and that’s about it, pretty much. No set of goals, and no plans for getting there.

Part of the problem rests with inequality, and

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Pissed Off, and … Professionalism!

June 26, 2014

Prefatory comments:

Below, you will read the Friday post. But I’m pissed off, really, really, and almost postponed ”Heart of the Matter” to focus on McMullen v. Coakley, No. 12-1168. McMullen is the Supreme Court case that deals with 35-foot buffers from facilities which provide lawful abortions. The Court, in a unanimous decision, relied on pretty traditional First Amendment analysis to reach the conclusion that a state cannot limit the rights of strangers to get in the faces of women seeking a lawful procedure, so that the strangers can share literature and provide information about alternatives to abortion.

Only the attorney in me—the part that says “calm down, read the opinion, know what you’re talking about”—has kept me from

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Governors

June 25, 2014

This seems like a good time to bring up my disclaimer:  Mark Rubin Writes belongs to me, and not to the terrific law firm, Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C., with which I am affiliated. Opinions are mine alone, and if they happen to be shared by anyone at my law firm, that is happenstance.

Why I am disclaiming? I’m using my space to commend two fine men who want the thankless job of running states in the United States of America. Many men and women are running for office in 2014. Many are fine people; some are not, and some are just plain awful. I’m writing about two men because, as it happens, I go back pretty far with

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Communing with Nature! Really!!!

June 22, 2014

Ms. J—who tells me she might like to be Ophelia, or some other name, for Mark Rubin Writes—works for The Nature Conservancy. Great organization, and she loves her work!

Recently, she told me she needed to make visits to some of the TNC preserves in Arizona. “Would I come along,” she asked. “Sure,” I said slowly, for I’m a fine husband and a man who loves nature … seen through a window.

First stop? The Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary.

DSCN0988

So off we go on a Sunday morning. Along the way we passed the 4th and Pennsylvania intersection in suburban Patagonia, which brought to mind the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and 4th St. in Washington, D.C., where I had been

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Getting There!

June 19, 2014

I’ve got two major themes on my mind. First, and this will come as no surprise to regular readers, I am very taken with the quality of the material on the Internet. I think we’re living in a “renaissance” era, especially when it comes to matters public. The Internet and related platforms offer much that devalues us in many ways, but for those who seek intelligent writing and discussions about the matters of the day, my, my, but there’s much to be proud of! (I do hope my bit of a contribution adds to the mix, but I’m really talking about the pros here.)

Within this mix there are greats, near greats, and plenty of material that, like Chinese food

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Machines v. Lawyers, Etc.

June 18, 2014

Winton Woods was my small section professor at the University of Arizona College of Law in 1978-9. Woody was a great teacher, and a delightful man (and he’s still delightful, after all of these years)! He also came early to tech stuff, leading the Courtroom of the Future effort at the law school in Tucson, and provided sound advice to an attorney—me—who started a solo practice more than 14 years ago.

Woody posted Machines v. Lawyers, by John McGinnis, written for City Journal. Depressing it was, mostly. Read it for yourself, and even if you’re not an attorney, the conclusions translate to most any other fields. (The article brought to mind Changing Times, the name for

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Inequality – Part 4

June 14, 2014

I start from the premise that I think I’ve made the case for wealth inequality and why it matters. If I haven’t, speak up or wade in to Piketty’s tome. I’m moving on.

There are no easy answers for closing the wealth gap. When we last had a gap like the one we have now we called it the Gilded Age. Levelers included the Great Depression, World War II, and, really, the American Century. While these events all played a major role in rebalancing, we certainly don’t wish for either of the first two.

My first idea? Mandatory national service for all young people, between high school and college/first job. My program comes with only one condition:  everyone serves!

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Happy Father’s Day

June 12, 2014

Well, another Father’s Day is upon us, just a bit more than 51 hours from now. I’ve now been the subject of 21, and shared a total of 44 with my father.

I like Father’s Day. Lots. I have my two-part ritual, honed over the past decade or more and missed only once, when I attended an old friend’s memorial service back east in 2009.

Part one involves watching the last day of the U.S. Open. I don’t play golf anymore. Too painful for me, and even more painful for those with whom I am paired. I don’t even watch golf anymore on television, but for one day a year.

I really enjoy the last day of the U.S. Open.

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Working – 2 (Steve Caine)

June 9, 2014

Stephen Caine works at being retired, mostly. Not an easy job, but he’s handling it well, working as the Board Chair at Hillel at the University of Arizona. He also does some travel agency work, working with his wife Heather setting up cruises through www.cruiseholidays.com.

We did discuss Steve’s prior careers, first as a printer and, then, as a financial advisor. Not a totally typical career change, but Steve’s a guy from the 60s who didn’t want to stay in any one place for two long. We talked printing briefly. Steve saw the problems pretty early, selling out by the late 1980s. (There are printers who are very successful, still, but paper as a delivery platform has some serious

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