We Have Nothing To Fear, But A Subpoena Itself-- An Open Letter To A Legal Skeptic


Some among us are placing our hopes for busting up the Trump Family crime syndicate and disabling his fascist political movement, on the New York joint state and local prosecution of his business dealings.  And there are some of us who wake up in the morning and pull Tarot Cards in order to send positive vibes and Reiki to Attorney General Merrick Garland, hoping today is the day that he levels some heavy karma on Trump.  Since traditional politics was ended by two Democrats, Manchin and Sinema, and election results can now be canceled by any run of the mill new red state election board guy who used to be a bouncer at O'Shays Tavern, I'm thinking it might just all work out better if we step aside and let the legal experts take care of this.

So, some of us former activists have transitioned to become cheerleaders for "the good guys", those "big guys" up there that can fix things for us which we otherwise have no control of. Lawyers. You know, the people who are trained for this, which I'm not. Let's root for our home team lawyers, yaaay team! 

Lawyers today are becoming our new personal heroes, just like police and firemen in the aftermath of 9-11. We get excited when we read in the news that Roger Stone was served a subpoena! That's another overlooked group of new heroes, our process servers of America, those frontline brave souls who are saving our democracy from the GOP.

I believe that sometime soon, law firms will establish leagues, compete for championships, adopt uniforms with insignia, sell jerseys and other memorabilia, with litigation victory rates determining positions in the standings and betting lines from Vegas. It's the "Smith, Bond and Dresher Threshers" vs. The Lowell, Blauer and Flockmeister Shysters", live on ESPN. "The Threshers" are a fan favorite, since they won't rep greedy corporations, only Green ones which use Solar for their offices. Take them with the spread at -6

It's the career prosecutors at the DOJ for whom we are cheering from the sidelines, who are every day climbing into the rubble of our democracy at great personal risk, (trying to pull off submitting chits for business lunch at Delmonico Prime and the Jacuzzi Suite at Hampton Inn) digging out what still survives, hoisting the Flag, and inspiring us to "not let the terrorists win". Power lawyers, super lawyers, politically ambitious prosecutors, private attorneys filing civil suits while wearing Brooks Brothers suits, men and women of letters, defenders of the rule of law, piling up thousands of billable hours to make us free. You know, those very charismatic and interesting folks that Grisham writes about. They will save us.

This, of course is all very convenient, because it gives us the luxury and privilege of pulling up our favorite comfy chair, firing up our big screen TV, throwing popcorn in the microwave (or pulling up the old Uber Eats App to get wings delivered) and settling down for a night of "chillin'" with our favorite sports/action/suspense courtroom drama. The fun of course is in trying to outguess the bad guy's defense lawyers, and guess which attorney will produce the long awaited "Hail Mary" pass, that "new evidence" we've all been waiting for. "Taaah daaah!!

Yes, not doing anything active or political, in deference to just being courtroom spectators has its advantages. It's entertaining for one thing. All of these power lawyers we like (definitely not the Republican ones though) are mostly pretty hot and are fun to watch in action. Also, if we can watch it at home, we don't have to go out, what with the Pandemic and the snow and all. And we can binge on C-Span and Court TV while waiting for our Zoom call from work, where we'll just sit there wearing no pants, stare into space and not say a word because we really did no work today. (Hoping to get fired, and finally make that trip to Cabo) It's not ideal, but it works.

Personally, I have nothing against lawyers. Some of my best friends are lawyers. Some are great activists and still believe in the administration of justice. I just don't want them moving into my neighborhood and lowering my property values. And believe it or not, I strongly considered a law career while in college for a time, but instead decided to try and make an honest living.  In fact, several of my friends did go to law school and became successful. If I ever run across any of them, I will definitely throw my car into reverse, back up and do it again.  

So, on reflection, I think I now know what I have to do to stop fascism. First is to immediately follow Lawrence Tribe on Twitter, because he's not only a "good guy" and great legal mind but he is anti-fascist, and talks about indicting, investigating and convicting bad guys all the time. I need to hear more of that. The other thing is to restart my Amazon Prime so I can rewatch on Prime Video "The Firm", "The Pelican Brief," and my all time favorite "Inherit The Wind."  OMG, Spencer Tracy was soooo good in that. I really need to watch some of these true to life stories stories about lawyers standing up against the bad guys. And I need to pick up a jumbo bag of Jalapeño Trail Mix too, because it's going to be kind of a marathon. 

I'm confident that we can win this war against Trumpism in court, and that we can do it while working from home. We can cheer our side onward, and not have to go out and do anything, because it's all in good hands. 

Now if there are no further objections Your Honor, we'll be moving on.



Popular posts from this blog

Today in History, July 17, 1918- Czar of Russia and Family Executed

Image
Today in History, July 17, 1918, Execution of the Romanovs, the Czar and Czaritsa of Russia and their Children by the Soviet Government. Today in History, July 17, 1918, Execution of the Romanovs, the Czar and Czaritsa of Russia and their Children by the Soviet Government. By July 1918, Russia was engulfed in a hellish civil war which would cost millions of lives and damage a country already reeling from the devastation of World War I. Swept away in this hellfire was the old Tsarist monarchy, last headed by Nicholas II. Nicholas had abdicated in 1917 as the Russian Revolution swept through the nation. Since then he had been a prisoner of successive governments, first the Provisional Government and then the administration run by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. The Romanovs were shipped from place to place, eventually coming to Yekaterinburg in April, in the Urals, an area known for its hard Communist sympathies. As the White Russian forces grew closer, Lenin and his associates ordere...
Read more

Milton Friedman- The Man Who Revived Fascist Economics, and Called It "Freedom".

Image
  You may have heard the name before, as he was featured in a PBS Series, titled "Free To Choose", also the title of his most famous and misnamed book. He was a prolific author, and widely publicized by Conservative News Media and Magazines, especially by the followers of William F. Buckley. In fact, Milton Friedman is the current top economic advisor to the so-called "movement conservatives", from Nixon to Reagan, to Newt Gingrich and Trumpworld,  and is still to this day the main architect of the GOP approach to dealing with the present economic crisis, though he has been keeping a low profile. A very low profile. In fact, six feet under. He is currently dead, and has been for 14 years, yet his horrific philosophy continues to stalk about, haunting us like the living dead animated by a Voodoo curse, burning live Chickens, chanting incantations, and propitiating the irrational forces of Britain's Adam Smith and his "Invisible Hand". (Which is the hand...
Read more

How Do You Know If What You Are Reading Is True Or Useful? - A One Year Old Facebook Post

Image
 How do we know whether what we are reading is true, or for that matter useful? There are many journalists in the US today who are not only excellent writers, but are just good people. They are well informed, have the best intentions and are highly professional.  I have to force myself to write, and it comes with great difficulty because I am blocked, and had little journalistic training. Without an editor I feel lost, and feel as though I want to rewrite everything or throw it out after I read it. Reading books and articles is my favorite hobby, and when I'm doing that I am in my happy place.  As of now I have 30 News and Magazine sites bookmarked and I read them everyday as a routine. I usually read anywhere from 2-10 articles in each, depending upon what newsworthy events are breaking that day. Plus I have a number of books on history that I have going at any one time. This is no big accomplishment or unique, it's just how I occupy my time and is my form of work these ...
Read more