Mother and Child Reunion

Here is Sharon with our bear, Theodore, who she has had since she was a baby. I adopted him when we were married; Judge Archie Gorfinkel signed the papers. He has offered love and support many times and has had surgery to repair the ravages of aging. If anything happened to Theodore, Sharon would probably sit shiva.

So, how many kids have friends like Theodore whom they rely on in times of trouble? Look at the kids being shielded from the pain of the fires in CA or the devastation in Syria or Yemen. When grabbing for straws or the last vestiges of your homestead, you probably don’t reach for the family bear.

Think about making a donation of a bear or 200.

Rachel Mitchell Is Less Than Impressive

Looks like a long term prosecutor who walks and talks the line. She rights wrongs against abused women in the land of Joe Arpaio. Did I say Joe Arpaio? She’s cold and dispassionate. Her use of hands is as off-putting as her unnatural eye movements or lack thereof. Just outrageous that the Republican men scum team couldn’t do it themselves. How different would the bottom line have been if they just let the accuser tell her story and then pointed out the uncontested weaknesses, instead of what this hired gun will do? Just more kabuki

Burn After Reading

10th Anniversary. Arguably the best Coen Bros movie. It’s about containment. How appropriate! We live in a shitstorm. And this women’s rights stuff? Hey, don’t use your position to get pussy and don’t use force. Men and women need to be educated and we don’t need to go back to the Victorian age. But, let’s deal with the issues that the candidate to be on the Court is pro Corporation, anti abortion and against civil rights and liberties for all Americans. That’s what disqualifies him.

“Independent thoughts are not appreciated.”

Who is your favorite character in this movie?

The Soup Kitchen Of Boynton Beach Needs Diapers

Meet Enrique Zuznetta, executive director of The Soup Kitchen of Boynton Beach, a privately funded place where people can eat and obtain supplies. Many bring food, thinking that is what they need. But the place also distributes clothing, personal care items and cleaning supplies.

To whom, you ask, does the Soup Kitchen serve? I never ask. If someone comes they get. But the people are financially challenged, unable to make ends meet. Some may not even be, well, you can figure it out.

We always ask his what he needs. He always says baby things: diapers, wipes, toys, baby clothes. He’d like to expand, but, as you can figure out, this is FL, a vast place with no heart and little charity.

Now, you could send diapers or wipes or a check to them directly by one clicking your Amazon Prime account or you could send them to me (9205 Clearhill Road, Boynton Beach FL 33473) and I will deliver them. The only thanks you get are the ones you give yourself for disinterested generosity.

Do a mitzvah today.

Rick Scott Is A Danger To America

 

Republican Rick Scott is running for the Senate in Florida with Trump’s support against Democrat incumbent Bill Nelson. After the third mass shooting in Florida, he called for prayer as a means to end gun violence. Happily, after Parkland, we now have a three day waiting period and a background check. That’s a start, but how he thinks prayer is going to stop gun deaths escapes me. He had the same advice for stopping red and green algae from gumming up our shores: pray.

Tom Wolfe, Lenny Bernstein and the Black Panthers

I lost my friend Tom Wolfe this year. Not that we were that close, but we were more than just reader and writer friends. I helped him, along with other lawyers, develop Sherman McCoy for Bonfire of the Vanities.

I might have given him some insight into Larry Kramer, the Jewish ADA (I was a Jewish ADA), and into Judge Myron Kovitsky, a Bronx judge who refuses to be influenced by the press, the public or publicity-seeking prosecutors patterned after Justice Burton Roberts, a judge I had been honored to know when I was a Law Secretary and to appear before when I became a criminal defense attorney.

Burt, by the way, took no shit from anyone. One of a kind. I wish I could have been him. He was bigger than life.

On my bookshelf is an autographed copy of the book. You might remember the bail argument where the DA wants $250,000 and the Judge sets $10,000. You might also remember what happened to the case, but that’s for you to look up.

Tom also figures in my personal tragedy, something he told me he would write about but never did. He called me right after Komar/Oliver died to provide emotional support. We had lunch together several times and went for walks. Few other people wanted to have anything to do with me. I am honored by his friendship and what he taught me about writing, reading and style.

 

Tom comes to mind for a couple of reasons. First, I went to see BlacKKKlansman. It’s story that deals with three groups: Black Panthers, Cops and the KKK. Second: Tom used the phrase Radical Chic  to dishonor those in the upper classes who would profess support for love of those fighting class and race wars while living trendy. The term appeared in an article written by him about a party at Lenny Bernstein’s 13 room Park Avenue duplex penthouse to raise money for the Panthers legal defense, called Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny’s. Third, today, is Lenny’s Birthday. He’d be 100.

Want some parallels. Too many abound. Like the Central Park Five, the Pahers were acquitted. Lenny took a lot of shit for his support of left wing causes and even the Rabbi who supported him got death threats. Unite the Right occurred in Charlottesburg a year ago in August. And, Donny Douchebag supports the White supremacists, including David Duke whom he purports not to have heard of.

Do more to stop hatred and racism. It happens at a cost.