January 25, 2014 at 1:53 P.M. I managed to reach my dashboard at blogger from NYPL, Morningside Heights branch, computer #12. I will do my best to complete the essay below in the time available. If necessary, I will post only a portion of the work as I try to find another computer at which I can finish typing the essay.
Trip Gabriel, "Ex-Governor of Virginia Is Indicted On Charges Over Loans and Gifts," The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A10. (Former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Marie are accused of accepting $135,000 in cash and thousands more in gifts from a political patron and lying about it. Payback for Christie's scandal? Vice versa? "Is Menendez For Sale?" then "Menendez Croney's Office Raided" and "Crooked Broker Paid-Off Menendez" and "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?")
Adam Liptak, "Sexual Orientation [sic.] Is No Basis for Jury Exclusion," The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A10. (A brave and accurate decision, surprisingly, from the Ninth Circuit. In practice, lawyers are usually afforded the right to exclude a limited number of jurors for any reason.)
Jack Healy, "Same-Sex Newlyweds Sue Utah After a Series of Rulings," The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A13. (Are same-sex unions valid and is the system consistent in its treatment of such relationships and the persons in them? "Ape and Essence.")
Michael Barbaro & Nicholas Confessore, "Amid Scandal, Christie Sounds Note of Optimism at Inauguration," The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A15. (Mr. Christie was sworn-in on the 21st by Chief Justice Rabner, who may soon be more embattled than the governor: "Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?" and "No More Cover-Ups and Lies, Chief Justice Rabner!")
Jim Dwyer, "Broken at the Bridge, A Basic Law of Politics," The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A15. (N.J. politics have become a cautionary tale for America concerning the consequences of hyper-partisanship and corruption in politics.)
"How Governor Christie Moves Forward," (Editorial) The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. A20. (More nonsense from the Rachel Maddow brigade? Or genuine criticism?)
Alvaro Enrique, "Trotsky's Pursuer Finds a Pursuer to Call His Own," (Book Review) The New York Times, January 22, 2014, p. C1. (Review of Cuban author Leonardo Padura's most recent novel that is marred by a paragraph inserted in the text by an unknown party. Mr. Padura has come to be known to an international audience as a master of the Noir genre, like Dennis Lehane or Michael Dobbs.)
David E. Sanger & Thom Shanker, "N.S.A. Devises Radio Pathway Into Computers: Reaching Targets Cut Off From the Internet," The New York Times, January 15, 2014, p. A1. (You don't have to be on the Internet for the N.S.A. to spy on -- or steal -- your computer's contents. "What is it like to be plagiarized?" and "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
Manny Fernandez, "Seeking to End Life-Support For a Woman and Fetus," The New York Times, January 15, 2014, p. A14. (A woman pregnant at the time of her collapse and now brain-dead may be disconnected from life-sustaining equipment ending the life of her fetus and her own life at the request of her family. Claiming that this double termination of life would have been the woman's wish, her relatives seek a court judgment and order directed to the hospital in order to end all treatment. The hospital seeks to preserve the woman's body long enough for the fetus to be viable, against the mother's wishes. Do we seek to protect a potential human life or "possible" person at the cost of the autonomous will of an actual person in violation of her right to privacy and/or to determine what is done to -- or with -- her body? Is "Manny Fernandez" also "Miguel Perez"? "Raymond Hernandez"? "Manohla Dargis"?)
Kim Lueddeke, "Former School Trustees Are Censured: Garfield Pair Accused of Ethics Violations," The Record, December 9, 2013, p. L-1. (Edward Puzio and Anthony Damato censured by the state's School Ethics Commission for conflict of interest in connection with an appointment. Kickbacks?)
Jeff Green, "Clifton Cops Overtime Expected to Hit $1.9 MILLION: Total Busts Budget, Draws Protest From Council," The Record, December 9, 2013, p. L-1. (Clifton, N.J. is often called the "home of the mafia." Some cops put in 20-to-30 hours of overtime per day to deal with the problem. Friends of yours, Diana? "Diana's Friend Goes to Prison.")
"Legal Aid: Services for the Poor Are Dwindling," (Editorial) The Record, December 10, 2013, p. A10.
"The law protects people who are unjustly evicted or fired or who are beaten by their partners. But if the victim has no access to the courtroom the law isn't much help."
The American legal system is very much like the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan: Its doors are open to all who can pay several thousand dollars per day for services rendered. ("You gotta pay to play!")
Justice is not a luxury hotel, however, but something to which all are entitled, as a matter of right, especially the poor and powerless -- those who are least able to afford life's luxuries -- since courts should be the great equalizers in a democracy.
In a society with a capitalistic economy, for instance, any number of privileges and special opportunities in public life are incidental to great wealth, so that the rich are treated very differently, in many ways, by the judicial system from how others are treated:
" ... a [Trenton] legal services budget of $70 million in 2008 has dwindled to about $40 million today. [New Jersey's government waste and theft has not helped.] State support which had been about $30 million a few years ago, is now down to $15 million. These cuts have impact. The agency has lost half of what was an estimated 720-person staff over the past few years."
In a culture that increasingly extracts a terrible price from the poor to benefit the rich in order to cover the obscene costs of government waste and theft, the courts are being closed to ordinary people and what few benefits and resources remain available to the poor are starved of funds.
"In a nation that professes equal justice under the law, [this disparity in access] is a disgrace." (emphasis added!)
New Jersey's politicians devote much of their time to mutual efforts at destruction and far less of their attention goes to the desperately-needed efforts at social meliorism and extension of due process (in a meaningful or real way) to the poor. Few Garden State politicians seem to have much time to ponder the needs of those they ostensibly represent. ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State.")
There is real suffering today among citizens without representation by lobbyists -- poor citizens whose rights can only be guaranteed by judges, many of these citizens may be homeless or hungry as a result of that poverty. Their rights are effectively lost because they do not receive legal representation. For such people -- possibly a majority of persons -- "rights" that exist in theory or in the books are meaningless or lost in practice. ("How censorship works in America.")
Government should be concerned to some slight degree with the plight of such persons, perhaps during commercial breaks in the Super Bowl game in the Meadowlands our politicians may give a few seconds of thought to such matters. A second or two of reflection during the Oscar ceremonies this year may be devoted to considering the rights of poor people and how they may be respected or protected from further encroachments.
There may be more issues to ponder on the Left than same-sex marriage rights. Among the poor there must be some lesbians and gays, certainly most poor people in American and the world (70%) are now women and children. There are aspects of these "controversies" that may even interest trendy journalists like Ms. Maddow.
Ad hominem insults are something that I am accustomed to, despite my advocacy of gay and lesbian rights, so that sharing the experience with my N.J. opponents and would-be "politically correct" censors should be fun for all. ("Is there a gay marriage right?")
"The law can stop a landlord from evicting a family illegally. But unless that family has a lawyer to protect their interests, they may lose their home."
Perhaps 1 out of 10 persons qualifying for assistance or free legal services will receive that assistance or services. This means that the majority of poor people are effectively denied their rights through the slow strangulation of the budgets of agencies and/or programs which are unpopular with Republicans that are aimed at helping such poor persons.
Is this a coincidence? I doubt it. Among the programs being quietly killed are some aimed at helping women with substance abuse problems, or former inmates, to reintegrate in society. No doubt some of these women are lesbians, Ms. Maddow. Not interested?
Loretta Weinberg (D) from Bergen County, I believe, is a surprisingly good person to approach on these issues whatever her other "alliances" may be, but she seems to be outnumbered by politicians who wish to spend their time hurting their enemies rather than helping their constituents. ("Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest!" and "Jennifer Velez is a Dyke Magnet!")
There are so many women who are viciously beaten by live-in boyfriends or others -- including female lovers -- but who lack legal representation to obtain a restraining order or help them find safety and/or emergency shelter.
Only access to legal services will prevent the tragedies that are certain to take place unless these issues are dealt with through the cooperation of the major parties in Trenton.
"Legal services of New Jersey deserves an immediate infusion of cash and a more reliable funding stream. The agency's goal is simple and important: to provide individuals with the representation they deserve. The fact that legal services is struggling financially is an unfortunate comment on priorities in Trenton."
