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Home/Basketball/McCollum on Simmons Commerce Rumors, Vaccines and Blazers Firing
McCollum on Simmons Commerce Rumors, Vaccines and Blazers Firing
Portland Path Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been within the enterprise machinations of the N.B.A. since early in his profession. He was a staff consultant and vice chairman within the gamers' union, the Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation, earlier than he was elected to succeed Chris Paul as its president this 12 months.
The job pays nothing. It provides telephone calls and video conferences to his already busy schedule together with his day job. His spouse is because of ship their first youngster any day now. He has a fledgling wine enterprise.
Why would McCollum need to take this on?
"I'm prepared for the subsequent step, the subsequent evolution of myself," he mentioned in a latest telephone interview. "And that's being extra mature, having extra duty, but additionally determining methods to assist extra folks. Determining methods to offer management, counsel, steering."
Since he began, extra challenges have confronted him and the Path Blazers. McCollum, who's in his ninth season enjoying in Portland, has been the topic of commerce rumors. Because the staff struggled on the courtroom in latest weeks, its then president and general manager, Neil Olshey, was fired for improper office conduct. And McCollum is now sidelined as he recovers from {a partially} collapsed lung.
On prime of that, the union is navigating the coronavirus pandemic, with McCollum — who has mentioned he doesn't enable unvaccinated folks into his house — and the league encouraging vaccines. The gamers do not need a vaccine mandate, however McCollum mentioned, "We have been at 98, we would even be round 99 % vaccinated proper now, which is a giant deal."
He's sought recommendation from Paul, different veteran gamers and attorneys and executives who work for the union. He's studying to advocate for gamers whereas constructing relationships with groups and the league workplace. The subsequent collective bargaining settlement might be negotiated throughout his time period, and he'd like to assist gamers with monetary literacy.
He just lately spoke with The New York Instances about being the gamers' union president throughout a pandemic, how he handles commerce rumors and his relationship with Olshey.
This interview has been condensed and edited for readability.
Have you ever needed to clarify to others why the additional coronavirus testing is an efficient factor? [The league and union agreed to require additional testing, even for vaccinated players, after Thanksgiving, which has coincided with an uptick in positive tests.]
I believe after we clarify to folks the significance of realizing — there's a number of issues that go underneath the radar by way of being optimistic, however being asymptomatic. So I believe testing across the holidays when persons are flying or touring, households are coming in from out of city, you're gathering, you're extra uncovered. It simply is sensible and the one unhealthy factor that may come from it's discovering out that you're optimistic. However the excellent news is you're discovering out early and it can save you and never expose a few of your family and friends.
As coaching camps opened, there was a number of consideration on the small variety of unvaccinated gamers. Did that annoy you?
Yeah, it did. I really feel like we have been focused. Clearly, folks look as much as us. We play a sport for a dwelling. It's leisure. Folks checked out us because the bar. In actuality, we're type of the bar: We obtained 98 % of our league volunteered to be vaccinated, whereas the general public was 55 % or 60 % at that time. Nobody was speaking about company America going by way of the identical drawback, nobody was speaking about how there have been well being care employees going by way of the identical points. It was us within the highlight, and I believed it was unfair as a result of we have been doing such an awesome job of teaching our gamers.
Dec. 12, 2021, 5:31 p.m. ET
There was a number of dialog about vaccine hesitancy within the Black neighborhood as being an issue for the N.B.A. How did you view that?
There was hesitancy, however I believe there's hesitancy from everybody. We wished to know extra, we wished extra information. Understanding traditionally Blacks and African People have been taken benefit of, particularly in related circumstances and conditions. Traditionally, we've been used nearly as guinea pigs at occasions for experimental drugs. There was warning, there was pause, however for good purpose.
I believe as we've continued to teach ourselves and ask the fitting questions from consultants, we've discovered that there was a shift.
As union president, you must take into consideration the welfare of different gamers, however a few of their conditions impression you too. I'm fascinated about Ben Simmons, who hasn't played this year and the way your identify will get talked about in commerce rumors with him. How do you course of your twin position in that?
Vaccine mandates in Europe. The most recent wave of the pandemic is prompting international locations like Germany and Italy to impose restrictions that single out those that are usually not vaccinated. The measures are rekindling the debate over governments' proper to curtail particular person liberties within the identify of public well being.
The worldwide vaccination marketing campaign. One 12 months into the worldwide vaccine rollout, the hole in vaccination charges between high- and low-income international locations is wider than ever. Challenges in Zambia spotlight how infrastructure points and the public's hesitancy to get vaccinated are proving to be giant obstacles.
That's an fascinating scenario, however it's additionally part of the enterprise, and it's the life I selected. I believe for me it's easy: I've to take my very own private particular person pursuits out of it. I've to supervise and defend all the gamers if referred to as upon to the very best of my means. We've to be sure that every thing is above board and every thing is finished the best way it's alleged to inside the tips of the [collective bargaining agreement], and so long as we go about it that method in that method, I step away. My job is finished.
The wonderful thing about our union is that we have now so many consultants that not solely work inside the union however that we are able to attain out to and interact. Ben has completed an awesome job of doing that. Persevering with to teach himself and Wealthy [Paul, his agent]. They've continued to ask the fitting questions whereas additionally ensuring that mentally Ben Simmons is in a spot the place he can return to enjoying his greatest basketball.
Is it personally arduous to listen to your identify in commerce rumors?
I've all the time targeted on controlling the controllables. I can't management any of the noise that comes with enjoying this sport. I can say that as a basketball participant you can be concerned sooner or later in rumors whatever the magnitude since you play a sport. The media type of dictates the story line. Success and failure additionally performs a task.
However by way of the place I'm at mentally and bodily, I'm recovering from an damage and having fun with being a husband, potential father, a son, teammate and a brother. I believe that's the place my focus is at and that's the place my focus will stay.
What's it like as a participant when there's upheaval within the entrance workplace the best way you guys have had, notably when it includes a man you've been shut with, Neil Olshey?
It's unlucky. We've had a really secure group. There's been a number of, I don't know if volatility is the phrase, all through the season. It's troublesome at occasions as a result of you must reply questions just like the questions you're asking me. Gamers are type of asking me what's happening. Because the president of the union I'm alleged to have the solutions and typically I don't. So I believe that's when it turns into a little bit harder, however I believe the job is the job.
Clearly, Neil being a good friend of mine, being somebody that has made an awesome impression on my life and my household's life, very unlucky what occurred with that scenario.
On the finish of the day, we nonetheless have a job to do. That's the place oftentimes folks neglect concerning the human aspect of what gamers need to undergo. We're clearly compensated very properly. We've an awesome life, and we're blissful and grateful for it. However there's loads that comes with this life and a number of belongings you simply type of need to maneuver by way of and it's part of the job. And also you simply type of get used to it. It's not essentially regular.
You're employed for The New York Instances. You don't have to listen to about your worth, you don't have to listen to about perhaps you ought to be traded to a different group or firm. You don't have to look at it on TV. Your pals, your loved ones, your friends don't have to look at it on TV. However it's not the life you selected.
As an athlete you get used to it. That's the significance of getting a stable basis, a stable supporting forged. And that's additionally why we focus so closely on psychological well being as a result of there's a number of issues that include this sport that folks can see — there's a number of issues you could't see.
Kansas Metropolis Chiefs get scoop-and-score landing on sport's first play vs. Las Vegas Raiders


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Matt Townsend Speaks to US House of Representatives
OCP CEO Matt Townsend provided a testimony on misclassification in the construction industry to the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor Workforce Protections Subcommittee at 10:15 a.m. EDT on September 26th, 2019.
The testimony at the hearing titled, Misclassification of Employees: Examining the Costs to Workers, Businesses, and the Economy was shared via live stream through the House Committee on Education and Labor's YouTube channel.
The Education & Labor Committee is devoted to putting workers first, education and opportunity for every student, affordable health care for all and holding the government accountable. For more information, visit https://edlabor.house.gov
TESTIMONY OF MATT TOWNSEND PRESIDENT OF THE SIGNATORY WALL AND CEILING CONTRACTORS ALLIANCE CEO, OCP CONTRACTORS, INC.
BEFORE THE WORKFORCE PROTECTIONS SUBCOMMITTEE HOUSE EDUCATION AND LABOR COMMITTEE
HEARING ON MISCLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES: EXAMINING THE COSTS TO WORKERS, BUSINESSES, AND THE ECONOMY
Good morning Chairwoman Adams, Ranking Member Byrne, and Members of the Subcommittee.
My name is Matt Townsend. I am the majority owner and CEO of OCP Contractors, Inc., a construction contracting firm that employs approximately 500 men and women building and renovating healthcare facilities, hotels, educational buildings, and other structures across the state of Ohio and neighboring states. I have 43 years of experience in the construction industry dating back to when I was a teenager framing houses.
I am privileged to appear before you today in my capacity as President of the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance—SWACCA. SWACCA is a national association representing construction company owners who employ tens of thousands of carpenters, drywall finishers, plasterers, and laborers to perform billions of dollars of framing, drywall, ceiling, and other interior systems work annually throughout the United States. SWACCA prides itself on serving as a voice for responsible employers. Our members are entrepreneurs competing on the basis of quality services, efficient execution, and the thoughtful implementation of training and innovation. Like other honest business owners in our industry, SWACCA members do not want to be complicit in the misclassification racket in order to compete. We thank you for holding this hearing and allowing me to explain the threat that worker misclassification poses to the ability of law-abiding employers in my industry to compete, to innovate, and to create jobs.
In my industry, misclassification is not about making tough calls applying complicated laws to ambiguous facts. Rather, it is a choice simply to disregard wage and hour laws, workers' compensation laws, unemployment insurance regulations, and other basic responsibilities of being an employer. This is done for the purpose of gaining an advantage against law-abiding competitors, realizing tremendous profits, and avoiding the financial risks that honest entrepreneurs must accept. Business owners using the misclassification model do not bear the risks of unanticipated overtime, bad planning, or poor execution. Instead, this racket transfers these risks onto workers and taxpayers. Let me explain how this works in the real world.
SWACCA's members operate businesses that provide all of the interior systems work— such as framing, drywall finishing, and ceiling installation—required on construction projects. We are hired through a cost-competitive bidding process administered by a general contractor or a construction manager that has been retained by a property owner. The most significant cost in
any interior systems bid is the cost of labor. This includes the number of workers, how much time they will need, and to what degree they will have to be paid overtime to get the job done on schedule. If a bid is accepted and our estimates about labor costs are wrong, our profits evaporate quickly. We may even lose money. But our workers get paid for every hour worked. They get overtime when their work exceeds forty hours in a week. Social Security and employment taxes are withheld, and appropriate workers' compensation insurance is in force throughout the duration of each project. Like other honest business owners, SWACCA members bear the risk of an inaccurate bid—not their workers. This is the way it should be in a competitive, free enterprise system that rewards company owners for taking risks informed by intelligent planning, and mitigated by the application of experience and innovation.
Contrast this with the increasingly pervasive business model in our industry that is rooted in a decision to treat every worker doing framing, drywall, and ceiling work on a jobsite as an independent contractor without regard to the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other basic workplace laws. Contractors using this business model can always submit a lower bid than a law-abiding contractor while knowing they will still pocket enormous profits. This is because in developing their bids these contractors do not worry about how many hours the workers will labor to complete the project or whether they will work over forty hours a week to get the job done on time. They do not worry about the costs of workers' compensation or unemployment insurance. This is because they know that under the misclassification model they have chosen the actual onsite work is turned over to lower-tier subcontractors, who are really just labor brokers. The misclassification racket relies on these labor brokers paying their crews of workers a set amount for each piece of drywall finished or square foot of framing or ceiling installed. But these are not lawful "piece rate" arrangements. These contractors do not pay one penny more for the work when the men and women doing it labor over 40 hours a week to finish on schedule. This business model requires a steadfast insistence that all of these workers are independent business operators—even though it flies in the face of reality—because it justifies evading unpredictable costs, like payment of overtime. The probability and costs of being brought to justice for such blatant disregard of the law are low. To people without scruples, these potential costs are greatly outweighed by the advantages that systematic misclassification provides in bidding work, realizing big profits, and avoiding entrepreneurial risk.
Make no mistake, the characterization of these workers as independent business owners is not based on a good faith assessment of the law. Under the typical misclassification schemes used in my industry, our competitors and their labor brokers tell the workers where to go and what to do. They control and direct their workers at the jobsite just like my company does. These workers have no capacity to negotiate what they will be paid. They are regular crews, economically dependent on a labor broker as they move from jobsite to jobsite as directed by someone who is clearly the boss. These workers are not exercising discretion and independent business judgment in scheduling their work like legitimate business owners do. To the extent wages vary among these workers because one installs more sheets of drywall than another on a given day, these differences are no more an indication that they are independent business owners than the disparate pay nineteenth-century miners received at the end of a workday based on the varying amounts of coal they hauled from the earth.
Often, these misclassified workers are paid in cash. Some may get a 1099 tax form consistent with the assertion that they are independent contractors. And it is not uncommon for misclassified construction workers to even have papers showing an LLC was created in their name. But these paperwork formalities are an absurd example of placing form over substance. Given the control the subcontracted labor brokers have over these workers, such paperwork no more makes them independent contractors than if the staff in a Congressional office had their own LLCs and were issued 1099s. Nobody would buy that such an arrangement comports with the requirements of the FLSA and other workplace laws. That is really akin to what is happening on the ground in my industry.
Simply put, by disregarding the law and exploiting desperate workers though a business model premised on dissociating themselves and their lower-tier of labor brokers from the legal responsibilities and costs of being employers, these contractors get a windfall. Disregarding the requirements of the FLSA and requirements related to workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, Social Security taxes, FICA, and many other costs that law-abiding contractors must include in their bids provides them with a tremendous competitive advantage.
How much of an advantage is it? The Ohio Attorney General has estimated that the misclassification of workers as independent contractors provides a 20-30% labor cost advantage against law-abiding employers.1 When competing against a company like mine that pays middle- class wages, sponsors registered apprenticeship programs, and offers a retirement plan and health benefits, the misclassification model offers closer to a 50% cost advantage.
What makes this situation even more troubling is that this business model also facilitates the evasion of sanctions for non-compliance with the FLSA and other laws. As the state of Tennessee explained in a report earlier this year:
"When [one of] these business owners learns their non-compliance has been identified and they are subject to a penalty, they shut down their businesses. The owner will reopen as a newly formed business entity that is a continuation of the closed business. By reopening under a new name, business owners avoid assessed monetary penalties for non-compliance . . . ."2
Serially closing and opening what amount to shell companies is easy because these entities have no employees, no assets, no benefit plans, and no training programs. There is no real value in these entities the way that there is with law-abiding companies. This leaves workers no recourse against these entities even when cases are pursued by Wage and Hour Division investigators. SWACCA members and the workers in the communities where we operate see contractors who have been cited for misclassification operating under a new entity with the same workforce and no apparent change in their business model. To the extent they are ever held liable, these operators view the penalties as an acceptable cost of business.
Some may cite enforcement statistics or a handful of recent large recoveries the Labor Department won from employers misclassifying workers as independent contractors as evidence that the system is addressing misclassification. That is a nice theory. It may make some of us feel good. It justifies others denying the scale or nature of the misclassification problem. But it is not reality. In the real world—and on the ground in my industry—the reality is that these large recoveries made by Wage and Hour investigators are really an indication of the pervasiveness of misclassification and the boundless ambitions of the people using it. In my experience, the shrinking cadre of Wage and Hour investigators make admirable and determined efforts, but they are overwhelmed by the nature and scope of the problem.
At the front end of investigations, enforcement officials are hindered by the fact that the investigations rely on getting statements and evidence from a transient and fearful workforce. The workforce that the misclassification racket relies upon is not limited to immigrant labor. It also includes financially insecure construction workers who have no concerns about their work authorization, but who view the value of getting what they are owed as not worth the risk of being blacklisted from future jobs. Many also decide that getting paid properly is not worth being on the "radar screen" of government investigators, who they fear may ask questions that can cause them legal problems. These include questions about whether these individuals have been making their own tax payments or engaging in misrepresentations necessary to obtain work under the misclassification model. Such misrepresentations may relate to claims about holding certain certifications or having valid insurance coverage. On the back end, investigators are hobbled by the time and effort it takes to assign ultimate financial responsibility for unpaid overtime and hours worked. This entails sifting through the dense layers of shell companies upon which misclassification schemes rely for the fiction that everyone on a jobsite is their own employer operating an independent business.
Many SWACCA members have faced instances where investigators have acknowledged that they just do not have the time and resources to pursue what are obviously unlawful misclassification schemes. This may be because the schemes do not appear to be large enough to warrant devoting limited enforcement resources to address them. Other times, cases warranting the resources are not pursued because of the reticence of the affected workers to come out of the shadows. Make no mistake about it, the contractors who rely on the misclassification model are well aware that in many markets they are shielded by the sheer volume of these schemes and the suasion they have over workers who become complicit in the misrepresentations upon which they are built.
Honest employers in my industry view their workers as partners critical to their success. They make investments to maximize the skill and efficiency of their workers to reduce the probability that they will have to pay for unanticipated work hours to fix things that were not done right the first time. Honest employers invest in safety training that leads to fewer injuries on job sites because we care about our workers and want to reduce the premiums we pay for the workers' compensation insurance we carry. Under the misclassification model, business owners have no incentive to invest in training their workforce to be safer and more efficient because they don't bear the risks of unanticipated overtime to redo work or for accidents on the job.
In 2014, the McClatchy News Service published an extensive series of reports called "Misclassified: Contract to Cheat." This reporting across seven states (California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas) documented the common travails of what was then estimated to be ten million construction workers exploited through misclassification.3 As the McClatchy reporters noted, this model relies on not paying workers for all hours worked, not giving an overtime premium for workweeks in excess of 40 hours, and leaving workers to fend for themselves without any workers' compensation or other recourse if they are injured on the job. SWACCA members can confirm that these are truly representative examples of what we see every day across the country.
In my industry, rampant misclassification isn't just bad for honest employers. It also hurts workers and their families. In depriving workers of their rights, purveyors of misclassification also rob workers of their dignity. When workers are misclassified, there is no employer accepting responsibility under health and safety laws for providing bathroom facilities at the job site or paying for bathroom breaks consistent with wage and hour laws. So on job sites where misclassified workers are used it is not uncommon to see water bottles full of urine left behind. Sometimes the workers even sleep at the job site because their pay may be withheld until the project is done. In fact, I know of one project at which a woman was misclassified and worked well in excess of forty hours a week installing drywall and cleaning up the worksite. She was not paid regularly and had to sleep in the luxury apartment tower she was helping to build. She was fired and kicked off the jobsite the day she got injured. In another case I know of, a contractor employed a crew of 1,000 misclassified workers on more than two dozen hotel, apartment, and mixed-use construction projects over a 21-month period. The workers toiled nine hours a day without rest breaks or overtime. The employer illegally withheld large amounts of their pay, and when he did finally issue checks, they bounced due to insufficient funds.
Let me also be clear that the men and women trapped in the misclassification racket are not the only workers harmed by this business model. It also impacts the employees of honest businesses that truly care about their workers. Legitimate, law-abiding employers want to pay their workers family-sustaining wages and provide retirement and health benefits if they can afford to do so. These employers know that fairly paid, economically secure workers do better work and are less likely to leave. This increases productivity and reduces costly turnover. And creating jobs that are a path to the middle class is something in which honest business owners take pride. It is something for which they rightly receive the praise and admiration associated with succeeding in America's free enterprise system. People using the misclassification model, however, place those of us who are well-meaning, law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. Their greed and disregard of the law make it harder for us to provide stability for our workers. In some construction markets, the widespread reliance on misclassification is creating a race to the bottom that suppresses the wages and working conditions of the entire construction workforce and places the economic viability of honest employers at risk.
By evading all of the legal requirements and costs associated with being an employer, the people using the misclassification model victimize more than just their law-abiding competitors and America's construction workforce. It is estimated that construction employee misclassification costs taxpayers $2.6 billion a year.4 This is because misclassification schemes do not withhold payroll taxes. They do not make FICA contributions. They do not pay unemployment insurance premiums. They do not pay workers' compensation premiums. They throw the costs of unemployed and injured workers onto taxpayer-funded social safety nets, while fueling tax fraud, wage theft, labor trafficking, and other serious crimes. In my experience it is not uncommon for misclassified workers to labor ten hours a day, six days a week doing framing and drywall work several stories above the ground. They often lack any safety equipment. When they are injured on the job and must get treatment, these people cannot afford to pay for it. There is no insurance or workers' compensation to cover the costs. So the costs are borne by public hospital emergency rooms and other taxpayer-funded programs, including Medicaid. Candidly, I find it hard to see how this situation will change in my industry unless the federal government takes action to better deter, detect, and punish those who attempt to gain a competitive edge over honest employers by willingly victimizing vulnerable workers and the American taxpayer through misclassification. It may be too much to ask for additional funding for more Wage and Hour investigators. But maybe clear direction can be given to those who are already on the job to focus their limited investigative and audit resources on industries like construction, in which rampant misclassification is threatening to make honest entrepreneurship economically infeasible. Additionally, the federal government could follow the lead of some states by increasing penalties for repeated or willful misclassification. The handful of bad actors who are caught flagrantly disregarding the law should pay a price that does not allow them to view the penalties as an acceptable cost of doing business. It is also clear that workers must be better educated about their rights and what they stand to lose when they are misclassified. Any such education, however, will be of little value if workers do not feel protected against retaliation when they do step forward to assert their rights.
As I said at the outset, SWACCA members and other honest employers in the construction industry do not want to be complicit in the misclassification racket in order to compete. But this business model poses daunting challenges for law-abiding entrepreneurs in my industry across the country. It also causes real and serious harm to workers and taxpayers. So on behalf of SWACCA's members and other law-abiding, responsible employers seeking to grow their businesses by taking risks, applying knowledge, and deploying innovation, I thank you for drawing attention to this issue. I hope that the spotlight you are shining today is just the start of a larger conversation leading to meaningful action that addresses the increasingly pervasive misclassification of workers in my industry. I welcome any questions you may have.
1. Report of the Ohio Attorney General on the Economic Impact of Misclassified Workers for State and Local Governments in Ohio (Feb. 18, 2009).
2. Annual Report on Employer Coverage Compliance, Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation at 12 (February 1, 2019).
3. Last accessed September 21, 2019 at http://media.mcclatchydc.com/static/features/Contract-to-cheat/
4. Last accessed September 21, 2019 at http://stoptaxfraud.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Estimating-the- Construction-Tax-Gap-SCP-2-19.pdf
Holland, OH 43528
21863 Aurora Road
Bedford Heights, OH 44146
370 N. Eureka Avenue
© 2019 OCP CONTRACTORS, INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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info@ocpcoc.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This entry was posted on Mardi, octobre 13th, 2015 at 7:00 am	and is filed under Vaux-le-Vicomte, Seine-et-Marne, tourisme, commémoration, liens à découvrir, guerre 14/18, Histoire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


text:
using System;
using Twilio;
using Twilio.Rest.Api.V2010.Account.Sip;

class Example
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Find your Account Sid and Auth Token at twilio.com/user/account
        // To set up environmental variables, see http://twil.io/secure
        string accountSid = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID");
        string authToken = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN");

        TwilioClient.Init(accountSid, authToken);

        DomainResource.Update("SD32a3c49700934481addd5ce1659f04d2",
            friendlyName: "Little Kevin", voiceMethod: "GET");
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts from Around the Country.
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Considered as the third installment in the highly popular "When They Cry" series by 07th Expansion, Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place on the island of Rokkenjima, owned by the immensely wealthy Ushiromiya family. As customary per year, the entire family is gathering on the island for a conference that discusses the current financial situations of each respective person. Because of the family head's poor health, this year involves the topic of the head of the family's inheritance and how it will be distributed.
However, the family is unaware that the distribution of his wealth is the least of Ushiromiya Kinzo's (family head) concerns for this year's family conference. After being told that his end was approaching by his longtime friend and physician, Kinzo is desperate to meet his life's true love one last time: the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Having immersed himself in black magic for many of the later years in his life, Kinzo instigates a ceremony to revive his beloved upon his family's arrival on Rokkenjima. Soon after, a violent typhoon traps the family on the island and a string of mysterious murders commence, forcing the eighteen people on the island to fight for their lives in a deadly struggle between fantasy and reality.


WPSR has published a 14-page report making the health and safety case for a moratorium on new major fossil fuel infrastructure in King County. Read it here.
Over the past decade, Northwest communities have successfully fought back against fossil fuel development in their backyards. As the climate crisis deepens and coal, oil, and gas industry interest continue to eye Washington and Oregon for new projects, cities and counties are taking proactive steps to prevent this infrastructure from being allowed for in the first place. On January 28th, King County can be next. Councilmember Dave Upthegrove is set to introduce a moratorium on these harmful projects.
The risks to health and safety posed by fossil fuel infrastructure are well documented. Pipelines carrying oil and gas, compressor stations, storage tanks, and vessel and rail transport sites have been shown to be susceptible to combustion, fire hazard, and releases of toxic pollution in instances of leaks and spills. Shipping and storing coal and oil poses its own unique risks.
While King County does not have any oil refineries or coal export facilities, it is home to quite a large amount of fossil fuel infrastructure and like many communities in our region, is at risk of fossil fuel expansion. Of primary concern are pipelines and trains carrying oil and gas through the region. Coal is also of concern; a coal mine was recently proposed to re-open in Black Diamond.
In recent history, the vulnerability of King County residents to the risks associated with infrastructure carrying and storing fossil fuel products has become apparent. Incidents like the 2016 Greenwood Gas explosion and the 2014 Interbay oil train derailment in Seattle are a reminder that large volumes of fossil fuels are being transported through our neighborhoods and right under our feet. A full breakdown of existing pipelines and fossil fuel projects were mapped by 350 Seattle members in 2018 (you can find the map here).
In Whatcom County, Tacoma, Vancouver, Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Portland, Oregon and Baltimore, MD local governments have responded to these risks through protective land use planning. Successful legislation has updated zoning codes to prohibit new significant fossil fuel development. Adapting these strategies to secondary and temporary infrastructure, including pipeline expansions and the local permits relevant to fossil fuel infrastructure construction and ongoing operation, offers another tool to protect local residents from the well-documented health and safety risks posed by fossil fuel infrastructure.
The most significant fossil fuel threat to King County is the expansion of gas infrastructure to meet the demand created by major gas projects proposed for southwest WA, such as the Kalama methanol refinery.
Dr. Margaret Kitchell, a physician on WPSR's Climate & Health Task Force, speaks about the health and safety risks of the methanol refinery at a rally.
The Kalama refinery alone would use more than one-third of Washington state's current gas consumption, meaning that should it come online the Kalama refinery would overtax current infrastructure. While proponents of the refinery have presented a plan to 'bridge the gap' in gas supplies, this plan is short-term and ultimately depends on the construction of a new pipeline to augment the current Williams Northwest system. This pipeline expansion would most likely happen in the existing pipeline corridor that runs through King County. But King County faces gas threats from more than just Kalama.
Between 2012 and 2017 alone, the Northwest has seen proposals for six major new gas pipelines and in the 2016 Gas Outlook, the NW Gas Association states that a new pipeline is "only a matter of time".
King County is at also risk from piecemeal expansion of existing gas infrastructure. 'Safety upgrades' for aging pipelines often double as opportunities to significantly increase pipe diameter and expand gas capacity. The current North Seattle lateral expansion project is an example of this: A 2012 inspection found signs of cracking and a leak in the 60-year old North Seattle Lateral gas pipeline that runs along the King-Snohomish border. Permitting is underway to replace six miles of the damaged eight-inch diameter pipeline with a new 20 inch diameter pipeline – quietly increasing gas delivery capacity by 63% and ensuring that the pipeline can stay in service for another 60 years. With this 'safety upgrade', the pipeline will have increased WA's annual greenhouse gas pollution by 3%, or three million metric tons per year (that's almost as much as the entire city of Seattle).
Of lesser but still significant risk is the possibility of fossil fuel infrastructure expansion near the Port of Seattle. This deepwater port has been the site of multiple proposed fossil fuel infrastructure projects, most recently the 2015 proposal for a terminal to support Arctic drilling operations. While the project proponent, Royal Dutch Shell, retracted the plan following broad opposition, it demonstrated the region's vulnerability to new fossil fuel projects.
Climate change is already negatively impacting health, both in King County and around the globe. The US Climate Assessment released in November 2018 found that asthma exacerbation, extreme-heat related illness, and smoke pollution resulting from wildfires will worsen health outcomes for people living in the Pacific Northwest as climate change intensifies. Adding to these health concerns, the Washington State Department of Health reports that climate change is likely to increase rates of heat related illnesses; respiratory illness; vector-, water-, and food-borne diseases; and mental health stress. Indeed, deaths caused by extreme heat in King County rose 10% between 1990 and 2010, and our region can expect to see more frequent and extreme heat waves as the climate crisis intensifies Climate change-exacerbated wildfires across our region in the summer of 2018 brought the region its worst air quality in decades.
A new mapping tool developed by University of Washington's school of Public Health, Front & Centered, and the Department of Health identifies environmental health and pollution disparities.
These health burdens are not affecting King County residents equally. Lower-income and communities of color in Washington are already bearing an outsized health burden. A 2018 report from Front & Centered and the University of Washington identified flood risk, significantly poorer air quality, and higher rates of chronic conditions made worsened by climate change and pollution impacts (such as asthma and heart disease) as existing inequities in the climate change burden our region faces. Neighborhoods in South Seattle that lie within existing pipeline routes, including the Olympic Oil Pipeline, already face more pollution and health disparities than other parts of the city.
Fossil fuel infrastructure is fueling the climate crisis, which the World Health Organization and major medical journals have declared the greatest public health threat of our time.Scientists agree that fossil fuel extraction plays a central part in our climate crisis. While extracting gas, oil, and coal contributes to these climate change-related health burdens, the infrastructure required for their production and transport also poses significant and numerous risks.
Nurses and public health professionals testify in support of regulations limiting new fossil fuel projects in Tacoma in November, 2018.
Limiting fossil fuel development can yield major health and climate benefits by curbing harmful air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning and transporting coal, oil and gas. Local governments and regulators can employ protective land use planning to limit new fossil fuel infrastructure and enhance safety of existing infrastructure.
Called by the prevention principle, physicians and nurses have been a key voice in campaigns for fossil fuel infrastructure moratoriums in Tacoma, WA and Portland. Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility strongly encourages King County leaders to join the list of communities employing these powerful land use strategies to protect health and safety from these projects.


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Віра Литвин-Геналь (нар. 5 жовтня 1915 — 10 квітня 2017, с. Сморжів, Радехівського району, Львівської обл.) — остання зв'язкова ОУН-УПА на псевдо «Галичанка».

Родина

У сім'ї було десятеро дітей, батьки були робітниками. Усе дитинство та юність Віри минули у праці. 1937 року в 22-річному віці вона закінчила гімназію і цього ж року вступила в ОУН. А у 1939 році, до неї прийшли совіти і призначили вчителькою, і вже через рік вислали на курси ВКПБ до м. Радехів. В цей же час її сім'ю вивозять на заслання в Архангельську область:

«…Я попросила охоронця, щоб впустив мене у вагон, і він дозволив. Я сказала татові, що поїду з ними, бо з дітей їхав лише брат. Але він взяв мене за руку і вивів на вулицю, кажучи, що вони вже старі, а я — молода, і мені треба жити….»

Так Віра втратила батька, матір і брата, залишившись із сестрами. І вже через два дні була у підпіллі де познайомилася з районним проповідником, якого звали «Чорноморець», він і дав їй псевдо «Галичанка» і відразу ж довірив завдання. Віра мала навчати дівчат декалогу (правилам націоналіста, яких було 44). Кожна дівчина, котра вступала в ОУН, повинна була гарно знати історію України, твори Т. Шевченка, вірші І. Франка та Лесі Українки. Робота Віри була важкою і небезпечною: загони більшовиків часто заходили до села і обшукували всі приміщення. Галичанка змушена була ховатися десь у стодолі чи шопі. Побратими пильнували, аби її не знайшли, і вона залишилася живою.

«…Хлопці держали варту і доносили, коли, і де облава, щоб я лишилася живою, щоб мене не знайшли…Так я працювала до жовтня…»

Робота в Польщі

У жовтні Віру відіслали до Польщі, де вона мала змогу відпочити три тижні. А потім Український Комітет, який організували українці-емігранти, працював для спільної справи і допомагав емігрантам. Галичанку відправили на роботу у село міського типу, яке мало під собою вісім сіл. Окрім цього, її разом з побратимами, адвокат Степан Борщ — емігрант з України, готував їх вести пропаганду на Східній Україні.

У Польщі Віра була майже рік, коли у Львові, 30 червня 1941 року, проголосили Українську Державу. Так як усіх уповців арештовували, їхній український провід вже не відправляли на Східну Україну, як планувалося, а залишили на Галичині. Згодом Віру відправили до «Чорноморця», який був повітовим проповідником ОУН і в нього вона пропрацювала машиністкою кілька місяців. Згодом переслідування посилилися, і вона була змушена повернутися додому, але й там продовжувала працювати посильною УПА.

Арешт і допит

Вже у жовтні 1944 року Віру арештувало НКВД, через те, що її зрадили ті, кому вона довіряла найбільше. В камері жінка залишилася одна, а її харчами на тривалий час стали хліб і вода. Протоколи тягнулися місяць. Кожен день починався з допитів. Та Віра не могла сказати правду, не могла зрадити, як зрадили її. Навіть обіцянки про примарне спокійне життя не зрушили її чіткого наміру: попри все йти до кінця, бути незламною.
Її запитували: «….Як ти будеш на волі, то знову будеш боротися за Україну?… — Буду! Бо хто буде за Україну боротися — німкеня чи француженка, чи я, українка, маю боротися».
Через місяць, у листопаді, Віру відіслали до Львова. Там продовжилися допити, адже жодних доказів про підпілля не було, справу закрили. Та вона була полоненою до самого суду.

Суд: вирок винесено

12 грудня 1944 року відбувся суд. Донощики Віри не знали, що Віра про них дізнається саме там. Їх було 4, один з них був головою сільради. Віру відправили у карцер, бо у звичайних камерах не було місця через велику кількість засуджених. Щоночі у вологу темну кімнату з бетонними стінами проступала вода і сходила аж уранці, тому Віра майже щоночі стояла на стільці, аби не захворіти від переохолодження.

Важка дорога до Сибіру

Того ж року, 24 грудня, усіх арештантів погрузили у вагони і повезли до Сибіру, де вони були вже на початку січня.
Табір Воркути став їхнім домом на багато років. Він охоронявся, був огороджений колючим дротом заввишки два метри. Їжу арештанти отримували надворі. Раціон сніданку був — півлітрова банка рідкого супу і триста грамів чорного хліба. Потім — важка робота.

Першого ж вечора арештантів почали комісувати і направляти до шахти. І того ж вечору від газу загинуло троє дівчат. Шахта була за півкілометра від бараку, але перед роботою усі каторжани шикувалися для перегуку на 50-градусному морозі. Умови перебування були нестерпними. Особливо у зимовий період, коли перемерзали всі річки, і бракувало води на щоденну гігієну. У результаті невільники потерпали від вошей і виразок. Листування заборонялося.

Пересильний пункт Сиктивкар

У січні 1945 року Віра прибула на Сиктивкар і там їй присвоїли номер «696». Можна лише уявити, скільки людей тоді вже було арештовано. На пересильному пункті Сиктивкару всіх комісували і видали зимовий одяг.

На шляху до звільнення

До 1953 року жінки працювали на шахті.. Останнім місцем Віри на шляху до звільнення стала робота на цегельному заводі, де вона пропрацювала до свого звільнення у травні 1956 року.
Усе своє життя Віра Миколаївна присвятила Україні, мала чоловіка, з яким познайомилася у засланні, дітей у подружжя не було.
На честь сторіччя Віри Литвин-Геналь за підтримки ГО «ЗОЛОТІ ЛЕВИ ЧОРНОЇ СОТНІ», а саме Голови — Тараса Мацюка, який є її правнуком, було надруковано книгу про важке життя Галичанки під назвою «Спомини про втрачену молодість» та організовано урочистий концерт з нагоди 100-річного ювілею.

Віру Литвин-Геналь нагороджено: Відзнакою Львівської обласної ради та орденом «Чорної Сотні» (2015 рік).
Поховано Віру Литвин-Геналь на сільському кладовищі села Сморжів.

Цитата : «…Головне залишатися справжнім українцем до кінця…»

Посилання
 Святкування 100 річчя Віри Литвин-Геналь (Сюжет ТРК Львів)
 Документальний фільм «Бути українцем», який створено за підтримки ГО «ЗОЛОТІ ЛЕВИ ЧОРНОЇ СОТНІ»

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Pittsburgh announces departure of guard Josh Newkirk
By Raphielle JohnsonAug 9, 2015, 5:53 PM EDT
After undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee in early May, it was unknown whether or not guard Josh Newkirk would be able to contribute to the Pittsburgh basketball program in 2015-16 as he was expected to be sidelined anywhere from four to six months. Sunday afternoon it was announced by the school that Newkirk won't be a Panther, as he's decided to transfer to a school closer to home (he's from Raleigh, North Carolina).
"Josh is looking to get closer to home while he recovers from knee surgery and we are in full support of his decision," Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said in the release. "He has been an excellent student and strong representative of the University of Pittsburgh. We wish him the best of luck in his rehab and recovery."
Newkirk wasn't a starter for the Panthers last season, averaging 5.9 points and 2.7 assists in just under 21 minutes of action per contest. He'll have two seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2015-16 campaign, but given the knee surgery the time off could work in Newkirk's favor. With Newkirk no longer in the fold, the question for Pittsburgh (which will return four starters) is who takes the reins when starting point guard James Robinson needs an occasional breather.
Robinson, who will be a senior, led the team with an average of 33.9 minutes per game in 2014-15 and without a clear backup he'll play at least that much in 2015-16. Pitt added former Coppin State shooting guard Sterling Smith, who will be eligible immediately as a grad student, in late April and freshman combo guard Damon Wilson joins the program as well.
Sophomore Cameron Johnson joins Robinson as Pittsburgh's only scholarship returnees on the perimeter.
Tags: 2015 transfers, ACC, Jamie Dixon, Josh Newkirk, Pittsburgh Panthers


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A Life in Song
Music by Isabel ZachariasPosted on 07/30/2015
You love Jackson Browne. I guarantee it. Forget about his most recognizable soft-rock radio staples (though, like any self-respecting listener, I'd always prefer Browne's "Take It Easy" over that "More Than Words" song).
Forget even Browne's tries at activism. Lives in the Balance, his 1986 album condemning U.S. policy in South America, is a strikingly admirable use of his talent, but this consciousness of the greater good is only a symptom of an even more powerful quality.
Browne has one thing few artists do: humility. Sure, he's famous, at least among the multitudinous '70s folk fanatics still fawning over his classic period. But in many ways he isn't half as famous as he should be.
For one, Browne did some of his best songwriting for other artists. Does anyone ever talk about the fact that neither Nico nor Gregg Allman wrote "These Days"? That even "Take It Easy" is more commonly associated with The Eagles than with its primary author?
But Jackson Browne doesn't care. So unlike the shamelessly self-promotional artists of the SoundCloud generation, Browne chose to make music his livelihood simply because he loves it.
"My attraction to playing guitar in the first place was that it was something I could do by myself," Browne tells EW. "And now I care more that it's something I can do with other people. I think that both things are true."
Again and again, Browne expresses gratitude for the artists he's been able to play alongside lately — flamenco greats Raimundo Amador and RaÚl RodrÍguez among them, interestingly — and how happy it makes him when others add new perspectives to his songs.
And though Browne, a representative of the relatively purist genre that is Americana, admits that electronica "tends to repeat itself too much," he even has sweet things to say about the electronic music that his son Ethan, an aspiring DJ, makes.
"I see my life in songs I've written," Browne says. "Well, this is music he wrote. It's very profound."
Browne's graceful simplicity is underlined in the way he presents himself during performances — the bulk of it is him and a guitar, eyes closed, toe tapping.
"What kind of legacy would you like to leave behind, as an artist, as a person?" I ask.
"The songs," he says. "It's all in the songs."
Jackson Browne plays 7:30 pm Wednesday, Aug. 5, at the Cuthbert Amphitheatre; $42-$62.
A Woman of Africa
Popular Eugene performer RatieD releases her debut EP
Music 2 weeks ago
RatieD. Courtesy Photo.
RatieD. Courtesy Photo.When she was a girl living in Zimbabwe, Eugene musician Claire Ratidzo Dangarembwa, who performs as RatieD, would sing out loud in front … Continue reading →
Silent Since Spring
But with the advent of a vaccine, live music may cautiously return in 2021
Damien Jurado performed in Wildcraft Ciderworks parking lot on Oct.9Photo by Todd Cooper
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance: the five stages of grief. We've all been at one stage or another since March. Sometimes in tandem, dualities of … Continue reading →
Eugene Gay Men's Chorus
Music 1 month ago
A trying year for all will get a dose of good cheer starting Dec. 18 when the Eugene Gay Men's Chorus presents: Home with the … Continue reading →


Quality Cruises takes participants on a Party Bus to visit three local, licensed child care facilities. We are seeking new facilities for this next cruise and are accepting applications. You will receive free admission to the party bus and two KDHE approved in-service hours. Show Homes & Centers must be willing to allow around 25 participants to view the licensed areas of your facility, take pictures, and be prepared to answer lots of fun questions about your environment. For more information or to view photos from our last event, call Tanya or Marilee at 316-682-1853 and visit: https://www.facebook.com/ChildStartCCRR/.


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NEWS AND NOTES FROM THE APPELLATE WORLD
[Posted March 10, 2014] Here are a few items that have caught my attention lately:
End of the line for Episcopal Church litigation
The Supreme Court of the United States has refused a cert petition in Falls Church v. Protestant Episcopal Church. The Supreme Court of Virginia decided the appeal last April, ruling in favor of the national organization; today's action means that the Nine Robes won't disturb that decision.
Another look at "operation" of a vehicle
On two relatively recent occasions, the justices have decided drunk-driving appeals that have taken an expansive view of what constitutes "operating" a motor vehicle. In Nelson v. Commonwealth and Enriquez v. Commonwealth, the justices separately decided appeals in which the appellant was found inside a car, with the engine turned off, but with the radio playing. In Nelson, the key was turned to the "ON/ACC" position, and in Enriquez, the officer didn't recall what position it was in. Both defendants were under the influence at the time.
On both occasions, the justices affirmed the convictions, holding that one can "operate" a vehicle with the engine off, merely by listening to the radio. (Actually, Enriquez wasn't even listening; he was asleep.) I found myself unable to agree with the justices' conclusion, noting that these were, to my knowledge, the only rulings since the invention of the automobile to hold that you can "operate" a car when the engine is turned off.
The court's website notes that the justices have granted a writ to review a similar case, Sarafin v. Commonwealth. There are three assignments of error; here's the most germane one: "The Virginia Court of Appeals erred by permitting the trial court to find that Justin Sarafin was in physical control of his vehicle and thereby that he was its 'operator' while asleep with only his car radio playing while parked on his private property."
From what I can tell, the only fact that's new to this discussion in Sarafin is the fact that the "stop" (assuming you can stop a vehicle that isn't moving) occurred on private property. Normally that doesn't matter in DUI cases; you can be convicted of DUI if you never leave your own driveway. My hope is that the justices have taken this case in order to reexamine the wisdom of the Nelson and Enriquez holdings.
New appellate statistics on the horizon
It's March, which means that I've begun my annual ritual of waiting impatiently for the 2013 State of the Judiciary report from the chief justice. That report contains a statistical analysis of the appellate courts' caseloads; it also outlines what the judges and justices did with the cases that landed in their courts. For a statistics geek like me, this is like getting the key to the candy store (I head straight for the butterscotch).
One thing I'll be particularly looking for is the latest set of numbers on incoming petitions, writ grants, and procedural dismissals in the Supreme Court. My sense has been that the first of these figures has been falling slowly; the second has fallen abruptly; and the third has exploded in the past few years. From the standpoint of someone who makes his living by filing appellate briefs and who wants to do a good job, those are bad news, bad news, and horrible news, respectively. I'll let you know what I find once the report comes out; I'll plow through the columns of numbers so you won't have to.
A shameful episode
This item isn't truly appellate in nature, but I was mortified when I read about it over the weekend, and I don't want to contribute to the patent injustice by remaining silent.
I missed the news when it happened: Last Wednesday, March 5, the Senate voted 52-47 against cloture in a filibuster of a nomination for a Justice Department position. Debo Adegbile had been nominated as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. Senate Republicans sought to block his confirmation, as they've done with virtually every nominee submitted by the President. In the past, they've voted against candidates who were admittedly qualified; the only knock against those men and women has been that President Obama's fingerprints were on the nominating letters.
Late last year, Senate Democrats had had enough. Citing an abuse of the filibuster privilege, they finally invoked what was widely termed "the nuclear option," allowing confirmation by a simple majority instead of by a supermajority of 60. The first judge to be confirmed after that was Judge Patricia Millett, who was formally enrobed as a member of the federal DC Circuit on February 28. (I got to attend; it was a truly cool ceremony.)
With a lower threshold for approval, Adegbile should have been speedily confirmed. Republicans still opposed him, but they didn't have enough party-line voters to stop the nomination.
And then a strange and dangerous thing happened. The Republicans got an ally in the Fraternal Order of Police. The FOP lobbied Democratic senators to vote against Adegbile because long ago, when he was a young lawyer, he had filed an amicus brief on behalf of a death-row inmate who had murdered a police officer. The brief didn't assert innocence; just a constitutional violation in the composition of the jury. Later, Adegbile signed on to defend the inmate in an appeal. Ultimately, the federal appellate court agreed with Adegbile's argument; the inmate is now serving life in prison instead of facing the death penalty.
Every lawyer who has ever stepped inside a courtroom has probably faced a situation comparable to this, though perhaps not in degree: You're asked to take a controversial stand on behalf of an unsympathetic client. Lawyers have been doing that for centuries, including (famously) John Adams's successful defense of the Redcoat defendants in the aftermath of the Boston Massacre. And presumably, they've been doing so for all that time without suffering civil disabilities as a result; a lawyer isn't an accessory to murder merely because he defends a client who's facing capital punishment.
The FOP didn't see things that way. Perhaps sensing the opportunity to punish a lawyer who had the guts to take on an unpopular client, and a cop-killer at that, they pressed Democratic senators – especially those from states near Philadelphia, where the murder occurred – to vote against Adegbile on philosophical grounds. Amazingly, eight Democratic senators did so, in a shameful act of political cowardice.
Adegbile's nomination may or may not be finished; I'm not sure what will happen at this point, although he's certainly through unless some of the senators who voted against him change their minds. The Republicans aren't likely to change, as they appear to have discarded the ancient political principle that elections have consequences. They've shown a willingness to vote politically, 100% of the time, rather than on merit. The Democrats might be subject to change, though I have no idea whether that's likely to happen.
Why does this matter? It matters because in America, everyone is entitled to a lawyer, preferably a good one. Charles Manson got a lawyer. Here inVirginia, John Muhammad, the infamous DC sniper, got a lawyer. For those of us in the legal profession, it's expected that, as a part of your job, you'll take on an unpopular case from time to time. Otherwise, the popular side of a lawsuit is destined to win, instead of the right side.
Not convinced? Then consider the case of Ernesto Miranda, who was prosecuted for rape in Arizona back in the 1960s. The prosecution relied on an uncounseled confession to get a conviction, which the Supreme Court later famously reversed; that's why we all have the right to remain silent. Do you know what happened to Ernesto after that?
Why, he was returned to court, where he was retried and convicted of the same offense – rape – as before. That's because he was guilty of rape; the evidence against him, even without the tainted confession, was overwhelming. Straight back to prison he went.
Now, then – do we excoriate the late John Flynn of Phoenix, the lawyer who secured the original reversal? After all, he dared to represent a rapist. Worse (in some minds), he did so effectively, securing a reversal and a retrial. In the process, Flynn cemented one of our most prized constitutional rights – the right to remain silent during a custodial interrogation. Just by taking the case, and by doing the same quality job that Adegbile did for his very-guilty client, he helped to ensure that the Bill of Rights has teeth.
Adegbile decided to do that early in his legal career, and last week, 52 senators decided to punish him for it. That narrow-mindedness is what incenses me – not Adegbile's politics, about which I care little. As my readers know, I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat; I'd be just as infuriated if the Democrats had done this to a Republican nominee.
If you read this website regularly, then you're probably a lawyer. (I know better than to expect droves of readers of my commentary by nonlawyers.) If you're a lawyer, you should be one of the citizens of this Republic who speak out against this shameful display of political expediency, in which the 52 senators allowed their own reelection prospects to trump the rule of law. If unchallenged, this action will warn our younger generation of lawyers that they'd better turn down the opportunity to represent the next Ernesto Miranda. Making law in that way – even something as vitally American as the right to remain silent – will be punishable by political ostracism. Just for doing our jobs.
And to end with a note of humor . . .
An appellate jurist with a well-developed sense of humor passed along this link to an amicus brief that was filed in SCOTUS recently. He knows quite well that I love to laugh, and upon reading this entry, laugh I did. His Honor described it to me as "Best. Amicus brief. Ever!" Having read it, I concur. I'm also wondering what the respondent can possibly say in response.
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Jahanshahi Law Firm is a corporate/commercial and real estate law firm located in Toronto with a focus on representing business start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs. Shahriar Jahanshahi, Barrister & Solicitor T: 416-551-1569 F: 416-932-1936 E: s@jahanlaw.ca.