Law And More

Southern Poverty Law Center - Questions of What Is a "Hate Group" and Should That Really Matter

In many circles, being actively against alleged hate groups puts you on the side of the angels. That's so much the situation that being known for that can be, well, profitable. 

In The Washington Post, David Montgomery reports that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLA), which lists 953 active hate groups, raised $132 million last year. That had been significantly more than the previous year.

SPLA started up in 1971 to support lawsuits associated with alleged racial bias. Legal advocacy remains a core mission. 

However, it also has made it its "business" to identify, disclose, and monitor hate groups. That certainly seems noble. 

But, as Montgomery explains, there is increased questioning of the criteria used to label an organization a hate group.

What was clear last night on "20/20" was that the ideology of groups against gays and Jews helped trigger the murder of Blaze Bernstein. Those kinds of groups should be outed and investigated. 

However, human experience surely shows that groups with strong opinions much of the rest of society disagrees with aren't necessarily hate groups.

The classic example could be the Roman Catholic Church which has long forbidden its members from using artificial means of contraception - and, of course, abortion. Many others disagreed and continue to disagree with that. However, despite its myriad flaws, the Roman Catholic Church is not a hate group. 

Needless to say, it hurts one's brand to be declared a hate group. Also, that can put the organization or the individual on the radar of law enforcement. In addition, labeling whatever as a hate group can dance on the edges or right into the heart of defamation. 

Given the influence of the WaPo analysis it might be good business sense for Richard Cohen, SPLA president, to back off vigilance of supposed hate groups and channel more resources, including staff attention, to legal advocacy. 

Extreme stances on issues can be just that: extreme. And that is the end of the story. Progress in so many aspects of civilization has been triggered by oddball views which were put out there with great intensity. In the 1960s, lawyer Ralph Nader was perceived as off for making consumer rights a matter of law - and branding.

The concept of hate groups might be reframed to be groups or individuals recommending violence as a method of self expression or reform.

Litigation Communications

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Anti-Semitism Raw

In Los Angeles, anti-Semitism has taken on a rawness. 

Beginning last September while Jews were observing Yom Kippur, a slim white male in his late 20s or early 30s would target orthodox Jewish woman. There they would be walking on a street, alone. He would grab their wigs off their heads. Usually then he would return them, with a smile.

Obviously, the act was to humiliate, in public. Also, it generates terror among other women in the orthodox community. 

This week, the miscreant was at it again. But instead of a smile, after he pulled off the wig he threw it on the ground. As law enforcement observes on all those popular television crime shows such as "Criminal Minds," the guy is escalating. The Squirrel Hill massacre might have motivated him to up the hostility. 

The New York Daily News has published a photo of him. And anyone with information should contact LAPD detective Dan Fournier at 818-754-8451.

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Death Penalty Wrong Move in Robert Bowers' Case - Others Could Find Becoming a "Martyr" Seductive

The U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty in the case of alleged mass murderer Robert Bowers. 

As the New York Daily News reports, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady has requested permission from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for that. 

Introducing the death penalty for a crime in which the alleged miscreant was acting on a belief system could position and package him as a kind of "martyr." To those with extreme values that could be seductive, motivating them to also engage in behavior which would result in the death penalty.

The recent film "Paul, Apostle of Christ" glorified being a martyr.

Before the followers of Christ were fed to the lions, Apostle Paul told them it would only hurt a bit, then they would enjoy eternal salvation. He himself was looking forward to martyrdom. Soon enough, he was beheaded. As the ax was being swung, Paul's face registered bliss.

Those who were socialized in an extreme religion such as Roman Catholicism likely were encouraged to engage in risky behavior to promote their beliefs and attract other members.

For example, in St. Boniface Roman Catholic School in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, we children of immigrants were encouraged to embrace the career path of missionary in primitive regions of the world. That sure appealed to many of us until society overrode the message and directed us to college and a career path in Corporate America. 

Yes, children are impressionable. But so are myriad troubled adults. They could feel emboldened by the "sacrifice" Bowers had allegedly taken.

In addition, the death penalty rules out the possibility of redemption. In prison, Bowers, like Watergate lawyer Chuck Colson, could come to see things differently. 

Also, taking Bowers' life won't bring back the 11 in Squirrel Hill. 

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Gab Goes Dark - GoDaddy Tells It to Find New Domain Provider

Smart media and business guidance could have kept social network Gab in the safe-content box.

However, the newbie, launched in 2016, allowed its posters to stray too far out of the box with rhetoric that was assessed to encourage violence.

Now, reports TechCrunch, Gab is over. At least for now. Its domain provider GoDaddy told it to find another registrar. Since then, Gab is offline. 

Part of this GoDaddy action is in response to the worldwide news that alleged mass murderer Robert Bowers posted hate speech on Gab. But even before that, alt-right Gab got on the wrong side of the tech community. For example, Apple and Google banned it from its App stores. 

More recently, though, PayPal and Stripe suspended its payment accounts. And cloud hosting service Joyent parted ways. 

Underlying this push-back against a social network which is perceived to be extremist is the age-old issue: Can there be a direct correlation between words and action? 

In short, how much influence and power does language really have? Is the pen really more mighty than the sword?

In the era when the medium of published books dominated, academics frequently raised the question if language products such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" helped end slavery.

Further back in history, did the satire on religion Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" prompt Roman Catholics to push for reform? 

Although we are in a post-book time, there are still those questions on applications for content assignments or even jobs about what books changed one's thinking or had a great influence on us.

Not long ago, for instance, I applied to research and create equities analysis for Motley Fool again. Years ago, more than 140 of my writeups had been published on Yahoo Finance under the umbrella of Motley Fool.

On the application was that question about books. My answer was that Scott Galloway's "The Four" had reinforced my questioning about the power of branding. The system of brand management had been invented by P&G in the 1930s. In my current purchasing patterns, I am post-branding. 

Will it be up to the lawyers to duke out if social network language can be held accountable for behavior?

Meanwhile, those socializing youth should explain how misleading the nursery tune can be: Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me. On an emotional level, for many of us the damage has been profound. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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Squirrel Hill Section of Pittsburgh, PA - Close-Knit Jewish Community Had Evolved into Model for Assimilation

The world knows and weeps: The Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has become a crime scene.

Suspect in custody Robert Bowers allegedly killed 11 and wounded six others. Here are more details from the media.

The sadness is not just associated with the loss of human life. Also, obviously, Squirrel Hill can no longer be considered a model of successful assimilation. 

When I lived in Squirrel Hill in the 1970s, it was primarily a tight-knit Jewish community. Because the neighborhood restaurants and delis served popular Jewish dishes, I would take out-of-town visitors to eat there and people-watch. The Jewish ethos was palpable.

When I returned to the area in 2016, after living in other states since 1981, what was obvious was that Squirrel Hill had changed. The best word for it probably is: gentrified. With that, of course, comes assimilation of diversity. The Jewish ethos was still present, but muted. 

Mmmmm. I thought, Squirrel Hill could be a case study for how very different people can live, work, and enjoy entertainment together in a relatively small neighborhood.

That was then.

Now, the global issues related to re-emerging prejudice against the Jewish people have come home. I live about 70 minutes from Squirrel Hill. I could have been living right in it had I been able to nail down an apartment which fit into my budget. Gentrification lifts all boats, including those of landlords. 

There had been a whole generation of us Baby Boomers from Pittsburgh Metro colleges, universities, and art schools who began our careers in Squirrel Hill, not Manhattan. Then, apartments were not only affordable. There was no extra charge for roommates. Because of the reliable bus service, many of us could get by without a car.  

In a sense our young adulthood was really an extension of dorm life. I continually visited former classmates Charlotte Oliwa Toal and M. Lynn Rickert. The cohesion in the Jewish neighborhood made us feel safe. 

No one will probably feel safe again in Squirrel Hill.

This blog wishes those who lost loved ones the strength to go on. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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"A Star Is Born" - It Makes Addiction Seem, Well, Worth It

The latest remake of "A Star Is Born" can convince the already-troubled that addiction is a small price to pay for success - even if that success peters out.

From the get-go, music star Jackson Maine had a tough go of it.

His mother died when he was born.

His father was a drunk.

His older brother who looked out for him was one of those guys we met in high school who had a sense of direction and determination that we less emotionally and socially didn't. Of course, we couldn't bond. 

In his early teens, Jackson even attempted suicide by hanging but the ceiling fan gave way. He fell to the floor. Later, his hanging himself with a belt in the garage does succeed.

So, the message of the film could be interpreted as: Without booze and pills, Jackson could never had been able to put it together to develop into a performer.

That could be way too seductive to youth whom the universe didn't bless with a loving, non-chaotic start in life. 

Not surprisingly - who hasn't been exposed to the Alcoholics Anonymous mantra - the substances took him over. Another factor was simple aging. The years aren't kind to most of those in the performing arts. We content-providers have it easier and a longer shelf life.

But, along the way, Jackson had it all. That included the authentic love of struggling song-writer/singer Ally. That's more than many of us from difficult backgrounds are able to grab onto from life. Currently, I continue to struggle.

A sort of heretic in a recovery program for alcohol abuse, way back in the early 80s I declared that boozing bought me time. In its predictable way it empowered me to function until I could access the tools I needed to create my own life. Eventually, as with Jackson, its role was counterproductive. I was fortunate. I could and did stop. I stayed stopped. 

So, what do members of law enforcement, the courts, high school guidance counselors, college mental health therapists, recovery experts, researchers, friends, and family tell at-risk youth and kids already in trouble about the dangers embedded in substance abuse?

That's the rub.

How can they replace the "help" which addiction seems to be delivering at the time? Already, youth probably knows that the success rate of traditional program Alcoholics Anonymous is quite low. Here is the iconic The Atlantic article on that. Most courts route substance abusers to that mode of treatment: X amount of meetings a week and have the attendance verification document signed. 

Meanwhile, the whatever which does create and reinforce sobriety is less available in 2018. That includes affording college, being able to pony up the rent to live away from the toxic nuclear family, landing work with a future, and hope. 

Those committed to rescuing youth from despair have to reimagine their message. That could start by analyzing how Jackson could have prevented the start of his addiction or could have found a sustainable way out of it. Love, obviously, was not enough.

In that other new film "Unbroken," that path is giving up the illusion of control and surrendering to some higher force. 

As the uncontained opioid epidemic hammers, traditional approaches aren't effective. The times are different from when the recovery movement has been launched in the 1930s. Yet, there has been no Big Woke.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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Broken Families & Extreme Violence - The Watts' Household, Now the Torabi Horror

It was Tolstoy who talked about unhappy families. 

Now, that concept seems way too tame.

The media outlets continually report about broken families in which violence is the common mode of communication. That's how the members transmit messages.

Today, that violence took the form of a suicide of the father.

That was following the charges filed against the mother for an alleged horrific beating given to one twin. He - Kian - is in critical condition in a New York City hospital. The other twin - a girl named Elaina - has been found dead in a basement. 

Drugs might have set this tragedy in play. Allegedly the father got the mother, a law school dropout, hooked.

The father - Mohammad Torabi - jumped to his death from the roof of the Renaissance New York Hotel today. His body was found on the third floor. 

The mother - Tina Torabi - is in the midst of serious criminal problems. Here are more details from the tabloid the New York Post. 

This kind of scenario has become increasingly common.

The one most in the public's mind are the murders of the wife, the unborn baby, and two young female children in the Watts' household. The father, a suspect, had been on suicide watch in jail. 

In Americana, the family is perceived as a revered social system. That is one of the reasons many anticipate the new justice on the U.S. Supreme Court - Brett Kavanaugh - will be successful in blowing up "Roe v. Wade." 

The Roman Catholic Church, in its heyday, reinforced that image of the good family. A motto back in the old days had been: The family that prays together stays together.

Nightly, on our knees, my immigrant family did the rosary. However, that ritual didn't keep it together. Five members committed suicide. Of course, back then, those deaths were made to appear not like self-deliverance. All were permitted to be buried in Catholic sacred ground.

And, painter Norman Rockwell provided graphic props to the gospel of family joy such as the iconic Thanksgiving dinner. 

When will supporters of family finally get out the message that such a social unit is difficult to manage - and grow up in? That might release some of the extreme expectations about what life inside a family is supposed to be. 

Perhaps there should be a GoFundMe site for hiring a top public relations agency to position and package the meme: Families are fragile entities. Treat each and every member with care and respect. Were care and respect missing in the Torabi's and Watts' households? 

Full Disclosure: Once I could make my own living, I created a family of rescue cats and dogs. Clinically depressed since age 11, I could hang on by accepting their love. A wonderful film with that theme is "Alpha." 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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Your Law Degree - Is It from a Roman Catholic Educational Institution?

Nine minutes ago, on The Wall Street Journal, Ian Lovett published an article about how badly the ongoing global sex abuse scandal has damaged Roman Catholicism.

That brand had been one of the most powerful and enduring. 

That was then.

Now, as with the Roger Ailes scandal at Fox, some of those whose resume is associated with the Roman Catholic Church wonder how much that will handicap a search for a job. Holders of the JD or those teaching at those universities are among them. 

When the allegations about Ailes first were emerging, a former producer at Fox asked me if he should leave that experience off his resume. His stay there had been short and he had done other consulting assignments during it to account for that time period.

He decided to remove Fox from his credentials. He received two good job offers, one in D.C. and one in Manhattan.

Of course, no one knows if leaving it on a resume would have limited his career track. 

In its prime, Roman Catholicism had been a builder.

To socialize the immigrants coming from Europe in the early 20th century, it established grade schools, private high schools, and colleges/universities.

Those institutions insulated the Irish, Italians, and Poles from the bias of White Anglo Saxon Americans (WASPs). 

The odds are that they will lose both funding and emotional support. After the Boston Globe first broke the story of clergy sexual abuse in 2002, parish schools began to close down. Likely there will be lots more of that, at every level of higher education.

At risk is the marketability of those who graduated from those institutions or who worked at them. 

Even before the latest wave of scandals - that is, the Pennsylvania one - as a communications pro I recommended Roman Catholic institutions rebrand themselves as faith-based. Doing that actually could be a public service to the degree-holders and employees, past and present.

Full disclosure: I had graduated from a Roman Catholic grade school and college. Since I later acquired other degrees from secular institutions all that could be easily "buried" - which had been smart to do. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

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It's Almost a Wrap - Fortress Investment Group Takes Ownership of Theranos Patents

Overseeing the end of Theranos is its general counsel David Taylor.

The founder - Elizabeth Holmes - has stepped out of the spotlight. She has been indicted by the feds for alleged fraud. 

The latest development, reports MarketWatch, is that Theranos' major creditor Fortress Investment Group has taken over ownership of the startup's patents. However, it has not dipped into the $5 million that is still available as cash. That will be distributed to unsecured creditors. 

Given how many sophisticated and brandname players were hoodwinked by Theranos, the rise and fall of the startup and its founder have become symbols of tech delusional hysteria.

In his book "Bad Blood," The Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou put forth many theories of why there was such buy-in of a technology which didn't yet exist. And may never.

It was Carreyrou who broke the story that Theranos might be a sham. After that, the world began to turn on WonderGirl. 

And it was Superlawyer David Boies who tried to prevent publication of that story in The Wall Street Journal.

For hours with the editors at that media outlet, Boies huffed and puffed, catching it all on his trusty taping device. But he couldn't blow the story away. 

In another kind of book "Disrupted," former Newsweek reporter Dan Lyons discusses a similar kind of wild magical thinking at a startup. Those who questioned were labeled heretics.

Who might have smelled something fishy about the Holmes' show?

Answer: Fallen-away Roman Catholics.

At home, in mandatory church services, and in the special schools the church established we were hammered with a package of hardened must-believes. Those who didn't were declared heretics. They were excommunicated. My immigrant family didn't want that happening to them.

At age 23, after eight years of Catholic grade school and four of Catholic college (Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania), I finally began to connect the dots in my own way. From then on I have made it my mission to turn over any entity and take a hard look at its underbelly.

Usually, that isn't pretty. After all, as William Shakespeare noted, mankind is cankered in the grain and all our institutions are man-made. 

BTW, the supposed Machiavellian - Henry Kissinger - had been on the Theranos board of directors. 

Reflection: Do human beings need to believe totally in something? At any cost? A skilled con, allegedly like Holmes, can cast spells.

Tech is just one of many forms of voodoo. The American ethos of extreme success is another. A third is glorification of youth. 

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Ben Rubinowitz Gets Record Settlement for 4 Victims of Sexual Abused Related to Roman Catholicism

Money cannot heal suffering. Not in itself. But it can bring some assurance that the pain has been acknowledged. In capitalism, that's done with money.

Four victims of sex abuse at Brooklyn's St. Lucy-St. Patrick Roman Catholic parish will each receive $6.8 million. That's a record amount in settlements for such alleged crimes. The miscreant was a volunteer at the church.

It was Ben Rubinowitz of Gair, Gair, Conason who represented the victims. Obviously, he will be sought after for other sex abuse lawsuits. 

The case originated in 2013 in the Brooklyn Supreme Court. The Diocese of Brooklyn was represented by the law firm Shaub, Ahmuty. Here are more details from Law.com.

No question, the once powerful Roman Catholicism brand is crumbling. However, its financial future is also in play. Many Catholics have stopped donating funds. And, being engaged in legal disputes is very expensive. In themselves, the lawsuits and resulting verdicts/settlements could bankrupt the Roman Catholic Church in America. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission. Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com