Law And More

Cardinal George Pell - Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal Reaches Vatican

The Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal is not over. In fact, a new investigation is reaching right into the Vatican.

USA Today reports:

"Cardinal George Pell, 76, is chief financial adviser to Pope Francis and the highest ranking Vatican official to be charged in the church's ongoing sex abuse scandal that goes back decades."

Pell has been based in Australia. And he will appear on these charges on July 18 for a hearing in Melbourne, Australia. He is due to make a statement tomorrow.

It had been the Boston Globe which broke the story of sexual abuse of young boys by Boston Metro Catholic priests in 2002. Among the priests outed had been John Geoghan. In prison, he had been murdered.

That coverage generated a global crisis as other cases of sexual abuse were disclosed. The Roman Catholic Church had once been among the most enduring global brands. Continually, it is losing market share.

There had been optimism that the man of the people Pope Francis could restore trust in that institution. Initially, he was a charmer. But he was unwise in embracing too many causes and supporting them with aggressive rants. He also turned off powerful conservatives in the U.S. when he attacked capitalism. They could have been influential supporters. Also, Pope Francis hasn't brought the old-line policies such as no women priests into the 21st century.

With this latest development, since it is associated with the Vatican, there will be further tarnishing of the global Roman Catholic brand.

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Recovery as Toddler Steps - Beyond the Traditional Mary Magdalene

In the New Testament, one prominent follower of Jesus Christ had been Mary Magdalene.

Essentially, through the centuries she has represented the dictum of Christianity to forgive the sinner. Some identified her as a prostitute.

Usually religious and spiritual organizations don't incorporate Mary Magdalene in their services. The branding that biblical character has been mostly as a symbol of Jesus' mercy.

How limited?

Today during the service at the Unitarian Church service in Youngstown, Ohio, that symbolism was expanded exponentially.

Rev. Matt Alspaugh introduced a former drug addict who also had been a prostitute. Briefly she spoke about her journey of becoming whole. That was peripheral.

What she did was go way beyond individual redemption. She gave a gift to the congregation. That was her solo song.

Recovery itself is, of course, just the toddler steps towards leveraging suffering to bring fresh hope and joy to the world. Today, we bore witness to how that happens in an ordinary life.

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Somali Muslims Say UPS Fired Them for Praying - UPS Says That Never Happened

A group of former Somali Muslim workers have sued UPS and staffing agency Doherty who placed them.

They contend they were fired at the UPS Mail Innovation facility when a new manage came onboard.

Unlike the previous manager, he allegedly did not allow praying and terminated those who participated in that.

Also, the plaintiffs claim that the staffing agency did not intervene when the terminations took place.  

Here is the coverage by LawNewz.

On the other hand, UPS public relations director Susan Rosenberg contends that alleged incident never took place. The company had investigated and found no evidence that it did.

It will be interesting if this lawsuit makes its way to trial. Meanwhile, if members of the media are attracted to this story, UPS will be the target of bad publicity.

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Drudge Report - The New West Where Terrorists Take on Protective Coloring of Ordinary People

The Drudge Report calls the phenomenon the "New West."

That phenomenon is this: The current tactic of terrorists is to take on the protective coloring of ordinary people. A B-grade movie would call it "The Terrorist Next Door."

In the case of one of the London terrorists the persona of one of them was of the nice guy next door. The police asked the media not to provide his name.

Until the attack, this man was the father of two children. Others in the neighborhood entrusted their own children to him.

His work history included the fast food KFC and a job with the transportation service responsible for the London tube and the bus system. Given the latter, the carnage could have been much worse.

That particular terrorist was killed by law enforcement. But likely there are plenty more who have also embedded themselves into Western communities. They have made it their business to fit in perfectly.

That grim reality will cast suspicion, of course, on many with ethnic backgrounds associated with terrorism.

The probability is that they mean no harm. Their focus is only rearing their families and earning a living. But there's every reason for a cloud to hover over their existence in the West. That's the way it is, at least right now.

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Drudge Report Captures Chaos Unleashed in London Bridge Alleged Terrorist Attack

The Drudge Report used all its tabloid tactics to communicate how the alleged terrorist attack on London Bridge and in other parts of the city unhinged the world.

The news site posted a four-part headline, all in red.

The sidebars on the left hand side were also in red.

Here is one clip of the media coverage it links to.

So far, what is known is that seven people are dead and 20 have been injured. The weapons included 12-inch knives and a van.

Those attacking are assumed to have been terrorists since they attributed their actions to Allah.

As those at the Manchester music concert, the folks on London Bridge were there to have fun.

Obviously, it's common sense for ordinary people in targeted nations to assume that they might be risking their lives being part of large entertainment activities.

In itself that will be a game-changer in societies. Why not just hunker down at home with a few friends and play video games or binge watch re-runs of cop shows. The ethos will be: Better safe than sorry, so avoid crowds.

In addition, entertainment is an increasing portion of myriad nations' GDP. There could be a hit to companies' revenues. The stock prices of the companies could decline.

Therefore, the terrorists will both disrupt social life and the economy. If that becomes the norm, they have won. At least, until civilization figures out how to stop them.

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"Law & Order SVU" Plays Out Tragedy of NYC's Version of Global Culture Wars (including in UK)

Last night's "Law & Order SVU" featured the global culture wars as they played out in New York City.

The plot line focused on the brutal murders and rapes of a Muslim family by two white and one Hispanic haters. Here is the excerpt.

No bit of ugliness was missed.

That included the threat of bringing in ICE to squeeze information from one of the suspects' wife. That suspect wound up taking a plea to prevent his wife from being deported and his children put in foster care. Then he was murdered after his testimony to the Grand Jury

A Muslim survivor of the attack lied on the stand.

There was subtle pressure on Oliva Benson to lie on the stand, but she didn't.

Eventually "justice" got done. The other two suspects were convicted by a jury.

After that was announced a Muslim place of worship was firebombed. Five died.

That episode of "Law & Order SVU" cut to the bone the violence being generated by those assuming they are right about their values. And that others are wrong.

Never have we viewed Oliva so distressed. And, as the terrorist attack in Manchester indicated, there will be no end to this in the near future.

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"Blue Bloods" - Will Hardened Lawyers Lose It If Grampa Henry Dies?

"Blue Bloods,"going into its 8th season, is "The Waltons" of the 21 century.

Like that farm family during The Great Depression and early World War II, "Blue Bloods" depicts close bonds among several generations of one family.  We who lacked or might still lack that kind of group cohesion grab onto all the sharing and support. Given their higher than average rate of mental illness, lawyers might need that warm and fuzzy most of all.

"The Waltons" ran from 1972 to 1981. Its signature was the good-nights the members of the family wished each other at the end of each episode. They were already in bed. For "Blue Bloods" it's the family Sunday dinner.

Hopefully, the creatives producing "Blue Bloods" have prepared a soft landing for audiences if Grandpa - Henry Reagan- dies while the series is still being filmed. He is played by Lou Cariou. His role is to be an ear for his son Francis Reagan who is Police Commissioner. Any advice Gramps provides is done with great brevity.

During "The Waltons," Gramps - Zebulon Tyler Walton - did die. He had been played by social activist Will Geer. We in the audience loved him for both his real life and television roles. It was not easy letting go of him.

On "Blue Bloods," Francis, who goes in public by "Frank," already has endured so much loss. Those included his wife, son and former partner who went into the Tower with him on 9/11. Only recently has Frank seemed on the other side of grief.

Should Frank lose his father, it will be hard not only on him. I wonder how we in the audience, for whom the Reagans have been a surrogate family, will get through that.

I recommend a memorial in New York City to help us cope with the passing of Henry Reagan. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral is just the right setting. The Reagans are proud of being Roman Catholics. Perhaps Pope Francis should be invited to oversee the service.

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Faked Fun - Beware

Among the many entities that have been faked is fun.

That's the problem of this era, not as The Atlantic article by Megan Garber suggests, too much fun. Ever since those misfit Puritans settled in New England, there has been a fear of the lightness of being.

Faked fun, unfortunately, is everywhere.

That includes how many books and articles covering points of law are positioned and packaged. Take, for example, Jeffrey Toobin's book about Patty Hearst "American Heiress: The Wild Saga ..." The contents are pretty boring. I picked it up because I assumed it would be a fun read. Wrong.

In faux legal matters such as the myriad cops and legal television shows it's easy to groan about the faked fun. Classic are the family in-jokes which are sprinkled throughout each episode of "Blue Bloods." Who gives a damn if prosecutor Erin is a lousy driver?

Outside the umbrella of legal per se, there's the growing amount of faked-fun help-wanted ads. The workplaces are not only described as fun places. The applicant must also have a sense of humor. Sometimes the type of humor is specified, as in wry or belly-laugh. Beware. Those are often low-paid sweatshops.

So, where can we find real fun?

The first stop is Abovethelaw.com. For example, yesterday its lawyer-journalist Kathryn Rubino let us in on the fun of virtual law firms taking on BigLaw. Stay at home partners at Culhane Meadows bill clients about half what is traditional. This can unhinge BigLaw the way LegalZoon did SmallLaw and solos. Here is Rubino's article.

Another is to view a White House press conference. Directly. Not through the filters established on SNL. Yesterday's on the proposed TrumpTax was a slap-your-knee funny. How middle-aged white men in good suits ham-handedly dodged questions from media was amazing. The dark humor was rooted in the reality that they just didn't give a sh_t.

The challenge, of course, is to preserve our ability to have fun in public.

There are parts of America stuck in Puritan times.

On a first date, a man asked me: What is the purpose of your life?

Since my family carries the suicides gene, I answered: To stay alive. Then I burst out laughing.

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Anne Peguero & Public Breast-Feeding - Summit Church Should Have Known Law in VA

In Virginia, since 2015, the law has been that it is permitted to breast-feed in public wherever it is legal to be.

For some reason, Summit Church in Springfield was unaware of the law or chose to ignore it.

While attending services, Annie Peguro tried to calm her baby daughter by beginning to breast-feed her. Then she was informed that she would have to leave the setting and go to a private room. There, since the service was being live-streamed, she could also continue to participate in the church activity.

The reason she was asked to breast-feed in private was, the church said, that it would make members of the congregation "uncomfortable."

Peguero, The Washington Post reports, fled Summit Church in shock. Soon enough she make her feelings known via social media. Her lawyer has contacted the church, requesting a change of its policy.

Peguero positions breast-feeding as a normal function. Therefore, goes the thinking, others better get over being uncomfortable with it.

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"Fake" - Multi-Dimensional Tool SuperLawyers Use

Those of us who grew up Catholic got hammered with the belief that there was such an entity as "truth." And that Holy Mother the Church had a monopoly on it.

Then, in sophomore year in college, even a Catholic college like Seton Hill which I attended, the philosophy professor made a shambles of the assumption that "truth," in an absolute sense existed.

The literature professor reinforced that with a line of poetry from Emily Dickinson about telling the truth but telling it slant.

Whole industries, as we experienced in "Mad Men," are built on playing with the supposed truth. Recall the iconic episode about how Don Draper reframed the loss of the Lucky Strike account into a sales pitch for anti-tobacco accounts.

No fool, I stuck to the "truth" that professors and then bosses demanded. In short, I knew to give the "right answer." Success in academia and the workplace depends on primarily on figuring out what the power structure demands to hear. That's the game.

Yet, I made it through crises of all kind by getting smart about how to fake it. The art of faking it is downright necessary for, first, survival and, then, unique forms of achievement.

Not that it always works. Wells Fargo is in the soup for creating fake accounts.

The Trump Administration is losing credibility because of its myriad stances on fake news.

Essentially, most human beings have limits about how much a reality can be slanted to pass as a plausible narrative.

But being creative with what is can be a strategy for success.

Lawyers do that all the time. It's called a "novel approach" to the law.

The legal minds at  Motley Rice made a brandname for themselves by fusing the traditional legal concepts of product liability and public nuisance. The result was and still the state-level lawsuits against the former manufacturers of lead pant.

A key tool in resilience is the ability to spin negatives into material that can we managed. A childhood history of abuse can be positioned and packaged as a platform for early access to problem-solving. Those coming of age in Happy Clappy families might enter college at an emotional disadvantage. They are clueless about how to deal with the tyrannical professor.

And in recovery programs there is the life-saving slogan: Fake it until you make it. That includes behaving in a non-destructive manner until miscreants believe they deserve to live.

Fake is not totally bad. Its value is correlated with how masterful we are in putting together a make-believe.  Steve Jobs labeled that "reality distortion."

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