Today I awoke to the news that some Sixty Six Year Old nut job from Illinois decided he was going to make a point of embarrassing himself and his causes by killing or at least wounding a bunch of Republican Congressmen and Senators who get together at 7am to play baseball in Va.
It turns out that this guy was a Bernie Sanders supporter. Hence with a Congressman (Scalice-R-La.) who is the Majority Whip in the House (and thus in the Presidential line of Succession), in surgery for a gunshot wound and 3 other aides and Capital Police Officers shot, everybody decided now was not the time to come together as a nation and pray for the wounded, but instead it is time to blame each other for this idiot going off the main beam.
Frankly there are a number of things that could be going on here with the shooter, one James Hodgskins III of Illinois. He could have decided he wanted to go out in a blaze of "glory" or that he wanted suicide by cop. He could have been a troubled soul that finally lost his last marble. He could be a nut that wanted his shot for 15 minutes of fame and for everybody in the country to hear about his causes. The list of reasons this guy might have engaged this way could number in the millions, but one of those reasons is NOT because of anything any pundit, politician, or publicity seeking provocateur said.
Let's get this straight. Hodgskins didn't act because of something Bernie said or Trump said or because he didn't like the way they voted on an issue or even because in his twisted little mind he thought he was going to lose his healthcare, Viagra or library card.
He was not caused to do this because of Rush Limbaugh or Jeff Sessions or James Comey. Brexit and the Mexican wall had NOTHING to do with this. He wasn't channelling Al Franken or Elizabeth Warren. The acts this morning were the acts of a psychopath and could just as easily been caused by his bad hair day as by anything else. DO NOT SUBSCRIBE REASON TO A MENTALLY ILL PERSON.
Unless one can show a conspiracy to do this, or a contract to kill (think "button man" from the Mob) then this was a random act of crazy and looking to place blame on anybody's word is just a self interested attempt to cast dispersions on people you do not like. Fact is nothing anyone said would have caused him to do this or stopped him. That is because his reason for doing this is personal to him. The idea that something someone said "drove" him to act is nothing more than an excuse and minimizes both the danger he was to others and it gives into him, because it gives him power he never had in life, to try to get others to change their behaviors and opinions through his actions.
Seeking to shame Tim Kaine for saying we have to fight Trump "in the streets" is not why this happened. Showing a picture of a bull's eye on Gabby Gifford's face in a campaign piece, while in extremely poor taste, did not cause her sick twist of a would be assassin to act the way he did. No, they do this for reasons if exposed we would find in the darkest corners of their twisted brains. Now is not the time (actually it is never the time) to blame the free speech of others for the actions someone takes unless they are duty bound to follow an order. (Think Army Capt. following commander's orders.)
When I see people blaming others for this tragedy because they may have "radicalized" or suggested it was okay, or made it easy for him or any of the myriad of other stupid things people have said or are going to say about this, I realize, they are not leaders. They do not understand what happened, but they are scared little people trying to convince others of their own importance to compensate for their own inadequacy to shut down their actual opposition. I am not reading them, I am not listening to them and I cannot be persuaded by their ranting. I am looking for leaders. Let's see if there are any in my Twitter Stream, or among my Facebook friends or on the news tonight. I am not planning on finding too many but I can always hope someone out there is smart enough to realize what stuff like this does to our Bill of Rights and are willing to speak out against it.
Showing posts with label 9-11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 9-11. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Friday, December 27, 2013
"You Know Who Else Spoke Arabic? Osama Bin Laden"*: Sh*t the TSA Gets Away With When They Violate Your Freedom!
I was just about to give up on finding anything to blog about when I came across this little decision out of the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. In George v. Rehiel et.al. Dkt.:11-4292 (3rd Cir. 2013)( a Civil Rights case brought under 42USC1983) an American college student of Middle Eastern Culture at a University in California was boarding a plane in Philadelphia (heading back to school) and under went an "administrative search" (which is a recognized "exception" to the 4th Amendment) at the boarding area. It is an everyday bother for airline passengers but it does keep us safer and it is usually minimally intrusive, that is until the Third Circuit decided to throw America's new obsession with paranoia into it.
During the search, the TSA employees (who seemingly have absolutely no training in law) found handwritten flash cards that included the Arabic/English words for everyday language as well as for some words that if SAID ALOUD, would trigger an arrest in an airport (words like Bomb, Terrorist, Explosion, Attack, Kill, Battle, To Wound, to Kidnap). Now the fact that he was a student and one might want to know these words if involved in Mid Eastern current events did not matter. That he wasn't speaking the words but that the cards were in his carry-on so he could study didn't matter either. That after finding the flashcards and swabbing everything around for explosives and finding zilch well that still did not matter. As far as the TSA was concerned these flashcards (and a treatise a college kid might read on the failures of American Interventionist Foreign Policy) required he be detained for a supervisor to question him AND for TSA to call the police.
The supervisor came and for 15 minutes more she stalled Mr. George in a TSA security room (which by the way he was not free to leave) asking inane questions such as:
Q: Do you know who is responsible for 9-11?
A: Osama Bin Laden
Q: Do you know what language he spoke?
A: Arabic
Q: Do you see why these (flash)Cards are suspicious????????????
WTF????? Really???? Needless to say Mr. George was arrested, cuffed, detained for 5 hours, and missed his flight. Yes, if you were wondering, Philadelphia is part of the United States of America...
Mr. George and his attorneys sued the TSA agents, the cops, and FBI agents (who after five hours arrived, questioned the kid another 30 minutes and determined that he was not a terror threat) for violating his civil rights: His rights under the Fourth Amendment, Free speech and further sued for false arrest false imprisonment etc.
The question before the court was: did the TSA agents act outside of their employment authority by detaining young Mr. George, and if so did they have a reason to know that acting that way was against an established rule supporting the rights to privacy and speech.
The court never reached the knowledge element because it ruled that given the "totality of circumstances here could cause a reasonable person to believe that the items George was carrying raised the possibility that he might pose a threat to airline security".
Re-read the quote from the decision that I highlighted above. Have you ever seen a more tepid comment?
"...could cause...to believe...possibility...might pose." Gee he could have been carrying a New York Times and all those words would be in it. It is indisputable he had the right to have those cards and that he had a right to have and read the book on the failure of American intervention in the Middle East. Does it really raise a right to detain someone for 30 minutes or even 5 minutes once they found he had no explosives or contraband on him? Do you know what it feels like to be detained at an airport in an tiny room that you cannot leave. They have your phone? You can't call out check email tell others what's up? WTF??? Then they called the cops who arrested him and held him handcuffed in a cell for up to five more hours!! The court held the cops arrested him on their own. In other words a cop came up and not on the say of the TSA he just decided to bust the kid for five hours without being asked because presumably he found probable cause to make an arrest!! Based on flashcards and a book? (In fairness to the court they did rule that you cannot arrest someone because of the books they read. Evidentially flashcards are far more dangerous...) The court held it was speculative that the TSA ordered the arrest. I am sorry but I don't see that at all, of course that is one of the myriad of reasons I will never be a judge. I cannot suspend my disbelief for a long enough period to excuse people when they act like idiots in the name of the USA.
I am accustomed to government paranoia. Look we are all gonna die someday but really can't we go as men and women and not as frightened sheep? Are these judges for real? Are they going to hide behind 9-11 to support clearly illegal conduct by federal agents for the rest of our lives?? Liberty does hang in the stakes. If the Courts will not rein in the government when it clearly goes beyond our ever more liberal rules for destroying our Constitution, then we are lost.
That the lead judge was a Clinton appointee not some Neo-con Bush appointee. So if you are learning Arabic, and studying Middle Eastern culture, you better watch out...you just gave your government the right to detain you based on what they unreasonably fear might be a possible preparation for an attack or maybe just a learning thing but they are really unsure but they don't need to be any more sure because that could cause them to not detain Osama bin Laden or the ENGLISHMAN who was the shoe bomber or THE LATINO that was an underwear bomber. If you understand any of that, you MAY qualify to be a Federal Judge...
Sad.
H/t: Justia (US Third Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries.) and Rueters.
*The title of this post paraphrased the questions but the quotes here are from the decision and are culled from plaintiff's complaint.)
During the search, the TSA employees (who seemingly have absolutely no training in law) found handwritten flash cards that included the Arabic/English words for everyday language as well as for some words that if SAID ALOUD, would trigger an arrest in an airport (words like Bomb, Terrorist, Explosion, Attack, Kill, Battle, To Wound, to Kidnap). Now the fact that he was a student and one might want to know these words if involved in Mid Eastern current events did not matter. That he wasn't speaking the words but that the cards were in his carry-on so he could study didn't matter either. That after finding the flashcards and swabbing everything around for explosives and finding zilch well that still did not matter. As far as the TSA was concerned these flashcards (and a treatise a college kid might read on the failures of American Interventionist Foreign Policy) required he be detained for a supervisor to question him AND for TSA to call the police.
The supervisor came and for 15 minutes more she stalled Mr. George in a TSA security room (which by the way he was not free to leave) asking inane questions such as:
Q: Do you know who is responsible for 9-11?
A: Osama Bin Laden
Q: Do you know what language he spoke?
A: Arabic
Q: Do you see why these (flash)Cards are suspicious????????????
WTF????? Really???? Needless to say Mr. George was arrested, cuffed, detained for 5 hours, and missed his flight. Yes, if you were wondering, Philadelphia is part of the United States of America...
Mr. George and his attorneys sued the TSA agents, the cops, and FBI agents (who after five hours arrived, questioned the kid another 30 minutes and determined that he was not a terror threat) for violating his civil rights: His rights under the Fourth Amendment, Free speech and further sued for false arrest false imprisonment etc.
The question before the court was: did the TSA agents act outside of their employment authority by detaining young Mr. George, and if so did they have a reason to know that acting that way was against an established rule supporting the rights to privacy and speech.
The court never reached the knowledge element because it ruled that given the "totality of circumstances here could cause a reasonable person to believe that the items George was carrying raised the possibility that he might pose a threat to airline security".
Re-read the quote from the decision that I highlighted above. Have you ever seen a more tepid comment?
"...could cause...to believe...possibility...might pose." Gee he could have been carrying a New York Times and all those words would be in it. It is indisputable he had the right to have those cards and that he had a right to have and read the book on the failure of American intervention in the Middle East. Does it really raise a right to detain someone for 30 minutes or even 5 minutes once they found he had no explosives or contraband on him? Do you know what it feels like to be detained at an airport in an tiny room that you cannot leave. They have your phone? You can't call out check email tell others what's up? WTF??? Then they called the cops who arrested him and held him handcuffed in a cell for up to five more hours!! The court held the cops arrested him on their own. In other words a cop came up and not on the say of the TSA he just decided to bust the kid for five hours without being asked because presumably he found probable cause to make an arrest!! Based on flashcards and a book? (In fairness to the court they did rule that you cannot arrest someone because of the books they read. Evidentially flashcards are far more dangerous...) The court held it was speculative that the TSA ordered the arrest. I am sorry but I don't see that at all, of course that is one of the myriad of reasons I will never be a judge. I cannot suspend my disbelief for a long enough period to excuse people when they act like idiots in the name of the USA.
I am accustomed to government paranoia. Look we are all gonna die someday but really can't we go as men and women and not as frightened sheep? Are these judges for real? Are they going to hide behind 9-11 to support clearly illegal conduct by federal agents for the rest of our lives?? Liberty does hang in the stakes. If the Courts will not rein in the government when it clearly goes beyond our ever more liberal rules for destroying our Constitution, then we are lost.
That the lead judge was a Clinton appointee not some Neo-con Bush appointee. So if you are learning Arabic, and studying Middle Eastern culture, you better watch out...you just gave your government the right to detain you based on what they unreasonably fear might be a possible preparation for an attack or maybe just a learning thing but they are really unsure but they don't need to be any more sure because that could cause them to not detain Osama bin Laden or the ENGLISHMAN who was the shoe bomber or THE LATINO that was an underwear bomber. If you understand any of that, you MAY qualify to be a Federal Judge...
Sad.
H/t: Justia (US Third Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries.) and Rueters.
*The title of this post paraphrased the questions but the quotes here are from the decision and are culled from plaintiff's complaint.)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Understanding Islamic Discrimination: Wearing the Hijab or Islamic Headscarf Is Not Grounds For Firing Someone (or arresting them either)
ABA Headline : Jailed for Wearing Headscarf to Court caught my attention for a few reasons: 1. It offends me that someone could be arrested for wearing religious gear to court; 2. I am interested in seeing how next month's House Of Representative hearings on the growth of Islamic Fundamentalism in America go (as in will we learn something about the reasons approximately fifteen percent of American Muslims between 18-30 believe suicide bombing can be justified.) or is it going to be the witch hunt some groups claim it will be?: and 3. Because I am seeing more and more valid complaints of discrimination coming into our NY and Long Island offices from members of the Islamic community as well as from Sheiks who are often confused for Muslims due to their headdress.
In the Georgia case cited by the ABA Journal it seems a woman who went to court to support a family member wore a Hijab to court. She was told to remove it. This is in my mind akin to asking a Jewish person to remove a Yarmulke. I am sure that the court staff will suggest that there were security reasons for their demand and when it wasn't followed they arrested. What I find curious is that it seems to be agreed that after the woman said she would leave they arrested her anyway. I thought the idea was to NOT have her in the courthouse. Either way, I think they will be hard pressed to show that they could not have found a way to allow her to attend the court date without removing the headdress. (For instance they could have asked her to walk through a scanning device or have "wanded" her to see if she were carrying a weapon. I understand that such a process would not negate her from carrying the parts of a bomb or other items of a deadly nature on her person but I don't see how the headdress alone rises to that issue. Further if she were wearing a full Burkha I doubt that she would be required to remove it any more than a Catholic Nun would be asked to remove her Holy Habit (the tunic part which is part of the uniform if you will). You cannot arrest this person solely because she dresses in a religious.
On the Issue of the proposed hearings, Peter King is the incoming chair or the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Congressman King has announced his plan to hold hearings into why American grown Muslims are becoming more "Radicalized." The issue is, will Congressman King use the meeting to call members of the Clergy before Congress to name names of those in their congregation who are Radicals? That seems somewhat McCartyesqe. I hope Congressman King (who was a pretty fair lawyer prior to entering politics) focuses on why there seems to be an affinity for Radical faction of Islam among our younger members (those polled tween 18-30 years old.) I think you can start looking at the reason being that young Muslims are being discriminated against in larger and larger numbers. The Pew poll sited above notes that and I can say that I see it in our practice in both Nassau Suffolk as well as in NYC and it's outer boroughs.
Here is a quick primer on religious discrimination in employment/labor situations.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act codified under 42 USC 2000 e-2(a)states that (1). "Religion" is defined to include "all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee's . . . religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j).
At first blush it is up to the person who claims to be discriminated against to prove that (1) she had a bona fide religious belief, the practice of which conflicted with an employment duty; (2) she informed her employer of the belief and conflict; and (3) the employer threatened her or subjected her to discriminatory treatment, including discharge, because of her inability to fulfill the job requirements." I suggest that if one is called in about one of these issues, that she take a small digital recorder with her and (at least in NYS) record the conversation. In New York only one party to a conversation need know it is being recorded (check your state rules here.) That should make the whole thing a lot easier to prove.
Thereafter, assuming the plaintiff (or victim of religious discrimination) has made her case the employer must then show
(1) "that it initiated good faith efforts to accommodate reasonably the employee's religious practices"; or (2) "that it could not reasonably accommodate the employee without undue hardship." Id. If negotiations between employee and employer "do not produce a proposal by the employer that would eliminate the religious conflict, the employer must either accept the employee's proposal or demonstrate that it would cause undue hardship were it to do so."
Now public employees in security positions have less rights to dress outside of the uniform than do other sectors of Public or private Sector employees. Nevertheless, short of showing that there was an economic loss or the potential for a morale disaster, the undue hardship will be hard for the private sector employer to prove. As for the first part again you can see how it is in your favor to record the conversation or negotiation. Rarely do I hear an employee say that they were listened to or negotiated with.
In our case, our client wore her hijab to work. She was ordered to give it up or go home. She worked that day without it over her objection. The next week when she went back to work, the same manager had the same complaint and further he basically told her to quit or be fired. She did leave but she was de Facto fired which saved her for unemployment benefits. We have just received a right to sue letter from the EEOC so you will be hearing more about this as the next year progresses.
If you should be incurring problems with employment religious racial or sexual discrimination or retaliation, why not give me a call to discuss it? You can still reach me through 516-741-3400.
In the Georgia case cited by the ABA Journal it seems a woman who went to court to support a family member wore a Hijab to court. She was told to remove it. This is in my mind akin to asking a Jewish person to remove a Yarmulke. I am sure that the court staff will suggest that there were security reasons for their demand and when it wasn't followed they arrested. What I find curious is that it seems to be agreed that after the woman said she would leave they arrested her anyway. I thought the idea was to NOT have her in the courthouse. Either way, I think they will be hard pressed to show that they could not have found a way to allow her to attend the court date without removing the headdress. (For instance they could have asked her to walk through a scanning device or have "wanded" her to see if she were carrying a weapon. I understand that such a process would not negate her from carrying the parts of a bomb or other items of a deadly nature on her person but I don't see how the headdress alone rises to that issue. Further if she were wearing a full Burkha I doubt that she would be required to remove it any more than a Catholic Nun would be asked to remove her Holy Habit (the tunic part which is part of the uniform if you will). You cannot arrest this person solely because she dresses in a religious.
On the Issue of the proposed hearings, Peter King is the incoming chair or the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. Congressman King has announced his plan to hold hearings into why American grown Muslims are becoming more "Radicalized." The issue is, will Congressman King use the meeting to call members of the Clergy before Congress to name names of those in their congregation who are Radicals? That seems somewhat McCartyesqe. I hope Congressman King (who was a pretty fair lawyer prior to entering politics) focuses on why there seems to be an affinity for Radical faction of Islam among our younger members (those polled tween 18-30 years old.) I think you can start looking at the reason being that young Muslims are being discriminated against in larger and larger numbers. The Pew poll sited above notes that and I can say that I see it in our practice in both Nassau Suffolk as well as in NYC and it's outer boroughs.
Here is a quick primer on religious discrimination in employment/labor situations.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act codified under 42 USC 2000 e-2(a)states that (1). "Religion" is defined to include "all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee's . . . religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j).
At first blush it is up to the person who claims to be discriminated against to prove that (1) she had a bona fide religious belief, the practice of which conflicted with an employment duty; (2) she informed her employer of the belief and conflict; and (3) the employer threatened her or subjected her to discriminatory treatment, including discharge, because of her inability to fulfill the job requirements." I suggest that if one is called in about one of these issues, that she take a small digital recorder with her and (at least in NYS) record the conversation. In New York only one party to a conversation need know it is being recorded (check your state rules here.) That should make the whole thing a lot easier to prove.
Thereafter, assuming the plaintiff (or victim of religious discrimination) has made her case the employer must then show
(1) "that it initiated good faith efforts to accommodate reasonably the employee's religious practices"; or (2) "that it could not reasonably accommodate the employee without undue hardship." Id. If negotiations between employee and employer "do not produce a proposal by the employer that would eliminate the religious conflict, the employer must either accept the employee's proposal or demonstrate that it would cause undue hardship were it to do so."
Now public employees in security positions have less rights to dress outside of the uniform than do other sectors of Public or private Sector employees. Nevertheless, short of showing that there was an economic loss or the potential for a morale disaster, the undue hardship will be hard for the private sector employer to prove. As for the first part again you can see how it is in your favor to record the conversation or negotiation. Rarely do I hear an employee say that they were listened to or negotiated with.
In our case, our client wore her hijab to work. She was ordered to give it up or go home. She worked that day without it over her objection. The next week when she went back to work, the same manager had the same complaint and further he basically told her to quit or be fired. She did leave but she was de Facto fired which saved her for unemployment benefits. We have just received a right to sue letter from the EEOC so you will be hearing more about this as the next year progresses.
If you should be incurring problems with employment religious racial or sexual discrimination or retaliation, why not give me a call to discuss it? You can still reach me through 516-741-3400.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Why Are American's So Dumb?
This post is a rant, so if you don't want a rant, go elsewhere.
I am sick of seeing a bunch of lunatics try to run our nation on half lies and rumor. I am also sick of people trying to use half-wit reasoning and because they bellow the loudest they get treated like they actually know something. Let's have a nation where everyone's freedom of speech is appreciated and coveted and not just the people with whom we agree.
About a month ago, Helen Thomas went nuts in an impromptu interview with my old (like 40 years long)friend Rabbi David Nessenoff. Now David is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He is without a doubt one of the finest and bravest people I know. He was absolutely right to air his interview with the octogenarian Thomas and he was entitled to draw the opinion that Thomas was both biased against Israeli interests and that she maybe hit an age where she ought best to retire. The former opinion could be gleaned from her statements that Israeli's ought to get out of Palestine and go back to Germany and Russia. For this she shows a bias, but she is entitled to her opinion and no one, and I mean no one should have been asked to remove her from her job. She was a op-ed writer and to do that job she has to have an opinion. I am often moved to want to fire Rachel Maddow, Ariana Huffington, Anne Coulter, and a number of other people who think that debate is nothing more than a bunch of sarcastic comments strung together with a ridiculous idea to make one sound as ludicrous as possible. Then when she has insulted the other side enough she is crowned a spokeswoman for her side.
Not one of these people could hold a lamp to a William F. Buckley, Joan Didion, George Will, or John Galbrith. What passes as debate in today's hip-hop world is not the stiletto sharp barbed airing of ideas but the in your face name-calling that neither educates nor leads one to think. It is all pop and no corn. What's worse is that when we don't agree with them, we try to hound them off the air making them inconsequential.
The latest "High tech lynching" is over at CNN. I am speaking about the firing of 20ish year veteran Octavia Nasr.
She dare tweeted that she was sorry that Hezbollah leader Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah had died.
Now personally, I am not all that fond of this guy. He rooted for the destruction of Israel, and blessed the guys who later blew themselves and the US Embassy and a Marine Barracks (killing a number of Americans.) I think he is more terrorist and criminal sympathizer than hero, but I can understand Nasr's appreciation of his pro-women's stance in Islam (now that is something different) and that one may argue that as a Hezbollah leader he has a legitimately obtained dislike for Israel. (Legitimately in that he comes by it naturally having grown up Muslim in the mid-east and didn't come to his position by other choosing).
Of course that "serious" misjudgment that she may have an opinion other than those of her viewers caused CNN to shut her down. Now I get it. We here in the USA like Israel for a number of reasons both good and bad. However to act like a wounded dog and hound her out of a job she did pretty well shows the tolerance of a 3 year old. Freedom of speech with a large part of what makes debate possible. Intelligent debate requires that people who differ and have reasons. I am sure I could make a better case for Fedallah's death than can be made for him being a loving Human Rights figure. That is not the point. Nasr had a right to her views and I a right to disagree. I do not have the right to order her off the air to assuage my feelings.
I am just saying I guess that we aren't going to grow any more smarter just listening to those that agree with our position.
I am just saying...
I am sick of seeing a bunch of lunatics try to run our nation on half lies and rumor. I am also sick of people trying to use half-wit reasoning and because they bellow the loudest they get treated like they actually know something. Let's have a nation where everyone's freedom of speech is appreciated and coveted and not just the people with whom we agree.
About a month ago, Helen Thomas went nuts in an impromptu interview with my old (like 40 years long)friend Rabbi David Nessenoff. Now David is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He is without a doubt one of the finest and bravest people I know. He was absolutely right to air his interview with the octogenarian Thomas and he was entitled to draw the opinion that Thomas was both biased against Israeli interests and that she maybe hit an age where she ought best to retire. The former opinion could be gleaned from her statements that Israeli's ought to get out of Palestine and go back to Germany and Russia. For this she shows a bias, but she is entitled to her opinion and no one, and I mean no one should have been asked to remove her from her job. She was a op-ed writer and to do that job she has to have an opinion. I am often moved to want to fire Rachel Maddow, Ariana Huffington, Anne Coulter, and a number of other people who think that debate is nothing more than a bunch of sarcastic comments strung together with a ridiculous idea to make one sound as ludicrous as possible. Then when she has insulted the other side enough she is crowned a spokeswoman for her side.
Not one of these people could hold a lamp to a William F. Buckley, Joan Didion, George Will, or John Galbrith. What passes as debate in today's hip-hop world is not the stiletto sharp barbed airing of ideas but the in your face name-calling that neither educates nor leads one to think. It is all pop and no corn. What's worse is that when we don't agree with them, we try to hound them off the air making them inconsequential.
The latest "High tech lynching" is over at CNN. I am speaking about the firing of 20ish year veteran Octavia Nasr.
She dare tweeted that she was sorry that Hezbollah leader Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah had died.
Now personally, I am not all that fond of this guy. He rooted for the destruction of Israel, and blessed the guys who later blew themselves and the US Embassy and a Marine Barracks (killing a number of Americans.) I think he is more terrorist and criminal sympathizer than hero, but I can understand Nasr's appreciation of his pro-women's stance in Islam (now that is something different) and that one may argue that as a Hezbollah leader he has a legitimately obtained dislike for Israel. (Legitimately in that he comes by it naturally having grown up Muslim in the mid-east and didn't come to his position by other choosing).
Of course that "serious" misjudgment that she may have an opinion other than those of her viewers caused CNN to shut her down. Now I get it. We here in the USA like Israel for a number of reasons both good and bad. However to act like a wounded dog and hound her out of a job she did pretty well shows the tolerance of a 3 year old. Freedom of speech with a large part of what makes debate possible. Intelligent debate requires that people who differ and have reasons. I am sure I could make a better case for Fedallah's death than can be made for him being a loving Human Rights figure. That is not the point. Nasr had a right to her views and I a right to disagree. I do not have the right to order her off the air to assuage my feelings.
I am just saying I guess that we aren't going to grow any more smarter just listening to those that agree with our position.
I am just saying...
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
More Lists From That Lawyer Dude: Ten Poignant Final Photos and Two Lists of Important Blawgs. On One You Can Vote For Your Favorites!
This is a quick hit. I was sent the link to this site after my blog roundup on Sunday. I love lists. I don't know why. While I was looking around, I saw this list of the last photo's taken of famous people. Though they did not know they would die soon after taking these pictures, there is a haunting aura about them as we know what is about to happen. I don't like to be maudlin, but I liked these portraits very much. What do you think? Have you thought about what you would like to do in your Final Photo?? I
Let me know what you think your's will look like in the Comments Section below.
While we are on the topic of Lists, Two Lists came out yesterday featuring the best of the law Blogs or BLAWGS.
One by E-Justice is called "The Top 50 Internet & Digital Law Blogs"
You will see some duplication with the "Top 100 Blogs of 2008" by the ABA Journal Law News Now. If you go on the site, you can vote for your favorites. I am following about 35 of those blogs in my RSS feed (I use Google Reader for law and news, and Opera Feeds for everything else.)
Let me know what you think your's will look like in the Comments Section below.
While we are on the topic of Lists, Two Lists came out yesterday featuring the best of the law Blogs or BLAWGS.
One by E-Justice is called "The Top 50 Internet & Digital Law Blogs"
You will see some duplication with the "Top 100 Blogs of 2008" by the ABA Journal Law News Now. If you go on the site, you can vote for your favorites. I am following about 35 of those blogs in my RSS feed (I use Google Reader for law and news, and Opera Feeds for everything else.)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My 9-11-01 Remembrance.
I did not post this, for a couple of days because I always have a hard time expressing what I feel about 9-11-01. I wasn't sure how much of this I wanted to share. I have decided to share it all.
A month before 9-11-01, I had decided to stop practicing law. I was fed up with partners who had lost their mission and become miserable people, clients who were only potential grievances and Judges and opposing counsel who lacked any sense of the professionalism I had been taught. On the day I decided to quit, I was sure, no one cared about justice anymore, just about standards and goals and money.
That day I was lying in a hospital bed. I had tortured myself for weeks with an undiagnosed deep vein thrombosis, and had blood clots that almost took my life. I had this condition for nearly 3 months. I laid in that hospital bed and thought about all those bastards who couldn't listen to me as I told them I was sick, and how they wouldn't miss me but my family would... I was through sacrificing for this "profession" that was a business when it should have been a profession, and a profession when it should have been a business.
I got lucky and managed to live through the 12 Pulmonary embolisms that were lodged in my lung. After a few weeks I got home from the hospital. I had not changed my mind. I told my friend and our managing partner I was through.
Later that day, I received a call from a friend. Mychal F. Judge,I was still in a sour mood and I told him of my decision. He offered to come to see me but I told him that we could have dinner later in September, as my wife was now going to need surgery and I wasn't sure there was any justice in the world order. He assured me that God was alive and would never countenance injustice. I would never see Mychal again, or hear his voice with it's soft Irish lilt.
Mychal reminded me how many of my clients loved me, and how many though they didn't say thank you, or even act politely, needed me. We agreed to meet in a couple of meetings. He said he would pray for MaryRose.
Mychal Judge is officially victim 001 of the World Trade Center Disaster. He was a Roman Catholic Priest. He was a friend to the brand new fire recruit, and to Presidents of the United States. He died administering rites to a man on the sidewalk, A body fell upon him, and took his life. A local writer said, Mychal had to die first, He would have wanted to be at heaven's gate to open the doors for the firemen who were meeting there. Mychal was their Spiritual leader, the chaplain to the NYFD Holy Name Society.
I lost many friends and clients on 9-11-01. My offices on Long Island were in the middle of an area that was home to so many municipal employees. I saw America's Mayor at funerals for the men. (I am not a big Rudy fan, but I appreciate what he and his staff tried to do in the weeks after the bombing to help us grieve).
After weeks of ceremony attendance and volunteering to help widows and orphans with paper work, I realized. I still loved law, I just needed to do it differently. I decided then and there in December of 2001, to go back, but to do it differently this time. I have, and I still do, and God willing will be doing so for a very very long time...
I had 2 cousins who were NYFD on 09-11-01. A father and a son. Brian the son, was a new recruit waiting to go to the academy, He was working EMS at Ground Zero and lived to tell about it. He was delivering victims to St. Vincent's hospital when the first tower fell. His dad, Joe, wanted to be down there too, but he was directed to Shea Stadium. Joe, a fire Lieutenant, was one of the first guys there. His job was to set up the command station which would serve as headquarters to get guys to units that needed them.
After 2 days of no sleeping, Joe was allowed to leave Shea. He went directly to Ground Zero. He was looking for his friend Capt. Brian Hickey. Brian was one of NYFD's most decorated heroes. He was the man responsible for Joseph's going into the NYFD. He was my friend and client. He was lost in the rubble. It was his first tour back after having been injured in the Father's Day Astoria Lumber fire in June of '01. Joe was there, day and night, until they found some of what was left of Capt. Brian Hickey NYFD.
Last year, we buried Lieutenant Joseph Colleluori NYFD. He died of brain cancer. The kind Ted Kennedy has now. Joe was the picture of health, till the brain tumor showed up. He had never been sick, was checked regularly. He is part of the lawsuit now being brought by responders to the site. I firmly believe his volunteerism killed him at age 52.
My cousin Brian, is still a fireman. Brian's first son, is named Joseph he was born just after his grandfather died. He will carry on the name of one of NY's Bravest.
I do not know anyone here in NY that was not directly touched by the events of 9-11-01. I will die with its memory ingrained in my mind, in my psyche.
It took a year to go to Ground Zero. My father and uncles helped to build those buildings. My friends and family worked in them. I went there often to dine or to work or to just have drinks. I was working on a Scleroderma Fundraiser when they came down. I think a part of every New Yorker came down with those buildings, and the people within them.
I wanted to see them rebuilt, exactly as they were. I also understand, that we all need a place to grieve and remember. The new plan is not perfect, but I have a feeling, like the much maligned Viet Nam Vet Memorial, it will, when finished, be far more beloved than it is in the talking stage.
I do not rank the seminal moments of my lifetime. I have a list: The Assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK, and the attempts on Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Regan. John Glenn circling the earth, and The Landing on the Moon. Nixon's resignation, the taking of our embassy and its employees hostage in Iran; The inauguration of Ronald W. Regan. The fall of the (iron) Curtain and the (Berlin) Wall. 9-11-01 is not the greatest or first among these times, but it is the one I will never ever forget, the one that remains the closest, the one that makes me angriest, and the one that leaves me with tears in my eyes, now 7 years later.
So many of the most important things that have affected me, are in fact political. Our reactions to these events ought to be informed, and political. Our remembrance of those taken however is not political. 9-11 took Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, Religious and Atheists, Rich and Poor. Those attacks knew no boundaries. Those that worked to save those that were attacked, asked no political questions. On 9-11-01, at 8:47, we were all just Americans. When I think of 9-11-01 now, I just remember that those that died, were doing the most American thing that one could do. They were working, chasing a dream, and trying to do their best to make things a little better for someone that day.
May God Bless the fallen, and May God bless those that remember, and most of all, May God Bless America.
A month before 9-11-01, I had decided to stop practicing law. I was fed up with partners who had lost their mission and become miserable people, clients who were only potential grievances and Judges and opposing counsel who lacked any sense of the professionalism I had been taught. On the day I decided to quit, I was sure, no one cared about justice anymore, just about standards and goals and money.
That day I was lying in a hospital bed. I had tortured myself for weeks with an undiagnosed deep vein thrombosis, and had blood clots that almost took my life. I had this condition for nearly 3 months. I laid in that hospital bed and thought about all those bastards who couldn't listen to me as I told them I was sick, and how they wouldn't miss me but my family would... I was through sacrificing for this "profession" that was a business when it should have been a profession, and a profession when it should have been a business.
I got lucky and managed to live through the 12 Pulmonary embolisms that were lodged in my lung. After a few weeks I got home from the hospital. I had not changed my mind. I told my friend and our managing partner I was through.
Later that day, I received a call from a friend. Mychal F. Judge,I was still in a sour mood and I told him of my decision. He offered to come to see me but I told him that we could have dinner later in September, as my wife was now going to need surgery and I wasn't sure there was any justice in the world order. He assured me that God was alive and would never countenance injustice. I would never see Mychal again, or hear his voice with it's soft Irish lilt.
Mychal reminded me how many of my clients loved me, and how many though they didn't say thank you, or even act politely, needed me. We agreed to meet in a couple of meetings. He said he would pray for MaryRose.
Mychal Judge is officially victim 001 of the World Trade Center Disaster. He was a Roman Catholic Priest. He was a friend to the brand new fire recruit, and to Presidents of the United States. He died administering rites to a man on the sidewalk, A body fell upon him, and took his life. A local writer said, Mychal had to die first, He would have wanted to be at heaven's gate to open the doors for the firemen who were meeting there. Mychal was their Spiritual leader, the chaplain to the NYFD Holy Name Society.
I lost many friends and clients on 9-11-01. My offices on Long Island were in the middle of an area that was home to so many municipal employees. I saw America's Mayor at funerals for the men. (I am not a big Rudy fan, but I appreciate what he and his staff tried to do in the weeks after the bombing to help us grieve).
After weeks of ceremony attendance and volunteering to help widows and orphans with paper work, I realized. I still loved law, I just needed to do it differently. I decided then and there in December of 2001, to go back, but to do it differently this time. I have, and I still do, and God willing will be doing so for a very very long time...
I had 2 cousins who were NYFD on 09-11-01. A father and a son. Brian the son, was a new recruit waiting to go to the academy, He was working EMS at Ground Zero and lived to tell about it. He was delivering victims to St. Vincent's hospital when the first tower fell. His dad, Joe, wanted to be down there too, but he was directed to Shea Stadium. Joe, a fire Lieutenant, was one of the first guys there. His job was to set up the command station which would serve as headquarters to get guys to units that needed them.
After 2 days of no sleeping, Joe was allowed to leave Shea. He went directly to Ground Zero. He was looking for his friend Capt. Brian Hickey. Brian was one of NYFD's most decorated heroes. He was the man responsible for Joseph's going into the NYFD. He was my friend and client. He was lost in the rubble. It was his first tour back after having been injured in the Father's Day Astoria Lumber fire in June of '01. Joe was there, day and night, until they found some of what was left of Capt. Brian Hickey NYFD.
Last year, we buried Lieutenant Joseph Colleluori NYFD. He died of brain cancer. The kind Ted Kennedy has now. Joe was the picture of health, till the brain tumor showed up. He had never been sick, was checked regularly. He is part of the lawsuit now being brought by responders to the site. I firmly believe his volunteerism killed him at age 52.
My cousin Brian, is still a fireman. Brian's first son, is named Joseph he was born just after his grandfather died. He will carry on the name of one of NY's Bravest.
I do not know anyone here in NY that was not directly touched by the events of 9-11-01. I will die with its memory ingrained in my mind, in my psyche.
It took a year to go to Ground Zero. My father and uncles helped to build those buildings. My friends and family worked in them. I went there often to dine or to work or to just have drinks. I was working on a Scleroderma Fundraiser when they came down. I think a part of every New Yorker came down with those buildings, and the people within them.
I wanted to see them rebuilt, exactly as they were. I also understand, that we all need a place to grieve and remember. The new plan is not perfect, but I have a feeling, like the much maligned Viet Nam Vet Memorial, it will, when finished, be far more beloved than it is in the talking stage.
I do not rank the seminal moments of my lifetime. I have a list: The Assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK, and the attempts on Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Regan. John Glenn circling the earth, and The Landing on the Moon. Nixon's resignation, the taking of our embassy and its employees hostage in Iran; The inauguration of Ronald W. Regan. The fall of the (iron) Curtain and the (Berlin) Wall. 9-11-01 is not the greatest or first among these times, but it is the one I will never ever forget, the one that remains the closest, the one that makes me angriest, and the one that leaves me with tears in my eyes, now 7 years later.
So many of the most important things that have affected me, are in fact political. Our reactions to these events ought to be informed, and political. Our remembrance of those taken however is not political. 9-11 took Republicans and Democrats, Liberals and Conservatives, Religious and Atheists, Rich and Poor. Those attacks knew no boundaries. Those that worked to save those that were attacked, asked no political questions. On 9-11-01, at 8:47, we were all just Americans. When I think of 9-11-01 now, I just remember that those that died, were doing the most American thing that one could do. They were working, chasing a dream, and trying to do their best to make things a little better for someone that day.
May God Bless the fallen, and May God bless those that remember, and most of all, May God Bless America.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A Life Well Lived: Rest in Peace Lieutenant (FDNY) Joseph P. Colleluori
One of my heroes died last Thursday evening. My cousin Joe. I am profoundly sad, and a bit angry, but mostly I am proud of him. I am proud of him for the way he lived his life, and for the way he died.
If eulogy leaves you maudlin, or if you think sentiment cheap, tune out now.
Joe's dad and my dad were brothers. Two of five brothers and three sisters children of Italian immigrants. Though seven years separated them, they shared the same birthday. Each lived only 67 years. They died 7 years apart. Joseph is his father's eldest son. His death on Thursday night came about seven years after my dad's. Each of these three men worked in fields where they were constantly exposed to toxins, especially asbestos.
In High School he was a state champion hurdler, and married his High School sweetheart (his next door neighbor) basically right out of High School. They have been married for 30 years. It is impossible to think of Coleen without thinking of Joe. Even as young people, these two were wise beyond their years. The one thing you could say about them is that they were not selfish. As their young marriage went on, they were thrust into situations that were difficult.
They helped care for Coleen’s dad and sister after her mom passed away. They cared for my uncle and aunt as they too contracted Cancer and died difficult deaths. They adapted to be there for others.
Joe was supportive of everyone’s endeavors. Whether you were trying to be an athlete, or were an artist or wanted to be a professional, Joe urged you on. In my own life, I wanted to be like him and my other cousins. I wanted to be as athletic as they were. Alas, Music and schoolwork was my forte. One day when I was still in High School, I was bemoaning the fact that I was just not very good at sports, Joseph took me aside. He knew I wanted to be a lawyer. He told me that while sports were a great thing, I should be proud of what I was good at. That someday, I would be able to do things that the athletes in the family would never be able to do. That I would help many people through my efforts to be a lawyer, and that they would be as in awe of me, as I was of them. I don’t know that I accomplished exactly what he had in mind, yet, but I strive to everyday. He was that kind of a motivator.
In 1983, Joe became a fireman in part at the urging of his friend Battalion Chief Brian Hickey NYFD dec. 9-11-01. Brian and Joey were friends forever. They worked together and Brian convinced Joe to take the fireman's exam. On 9-11-01, Joe was ordered to Shea Stadium to help organize the men there who would relieve the firemen at Ground Zero. It was a tough assignment for him. He wanted to be downtown where the action was. Where his son Brian was, where his friend Brian Hickey was.
When the towers came down, My heart was in my mouth. I knew how many firemen were there and I was sure either Brian or Joseph was there. Fortunately for us they weren't there. Unfortunately, then Captain Hickey was there. After serving his tour at Shea, Joe volunteered at ground zero on his days off. He had to search for his friend and golfing partner, Brian Hickey. Until the day he died, Joe missed Brian, and many of the other men who he had worked beside. Many have mentioned that if Heaven has a golf course on it, Joe and Brian are with Mr. Kelly and Coleen’s brother Frank teeing it up and enjoying the game. I guess my anger comes wondering what effect the work Joe did at Ground Zero effected the brain cancer that took him
I was amazed to see how many boys who played ball for Joe and Brian became firefighters. These two were a recruiting poster for the NYFD. One way to judge a man is by the mark he makes on others. Joseph certainly made a mark on these young men. These boys, now young firemen, were at the wake in droves, as were all the kids Joe had touched in life. Through the entire 2 year ordeal they have been there supporting the family, helping where they could. They are a tribute to their coach and mentor.
Joe's was a life well lived. He has 2 beautiful daughters and two handsome sons. Brian, the eldest, followed in his dad's boots, and is a NYFD firefighter. Brian married his high school sweetheart and they gave Joseph his pride a joy for the last 10 months, a granddaughter, Saige. They have another on the way.
I think Kevin, a sophomore in College, will be an all American lacrosse player. He is studying to be a dentist. Diana is going to be a teacher when she graduates college soon, and Melissa is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Joe coached each child, in soccer or football or lacrosse or some other sport. They carry with them his steely determination and love for life.
Joe gave back to his hometown. Raised in Bethpage NY, Joe and his brothers excelled in Track and Field. Joe was a state finalist in the hurdles. By the time his son Brian hit high school, Joseph was active in the Bethpage Dad's club. He became President of the club and raised thousands of dollars to offset the extra costs of being a high school athlete. In a blue collar neighborhood like Bethpage, those extras can mean the difference between a kid playing ball, or never having the chance. Joe and those he worked with, made a difference, and they had a good time doing it. They helped obtain defibrulators and bought batting cages. Mostly they taught the kids they helped to have pride in their hometown and to give back to it.
Joe was Mr. Bethpage. He knew everyone and they knew him. He either coached them or went to High school with them, or worked with them in the Dad’s club. He helped them in a snow storm, or saved them from a burning building. Bethpage came to the wake by the hundreds. The wake was a tribute to a man who understood what it meant to be a neighbor, a friend, a Father, a husband, a man.
About two years ago, I was laying in a hospital in NYC, I had had surgery the day before, but I started bleeding, and had to undergo a second surgery. Unbeknownst to me, Joseph had taken a seizure earlier that day. The next morning I learned that we were in the same hospital, a floor apart. Joe had a deadly form of Brain cancer. The doctors had gone in and removed the tumor. Even so the survival rate was low. Because Joe was in such good shape they expected him to do as well as anyone. We spent Easter in the hospital together. It was one of the best Easter's I have ever had. Our families were together, and supported each other. Joe's firemen friends were there too. They helped to lighten the mood, as only those who regularly face death can do. I will never forget that week.
Thereafter, life changed for Joe. It was a regular routine of doctors and medicine. I never heard him complain about it. I never heard him whine about the unfairness of it. I only saw him work hard as he always did to beat his new foe. For over a year Joe was doing well. He even thought about returning to the FDNY on light duty. Then the cancer reappeared. Though he put up a valiant fight, Cancer won this time. Joe died at home, among his family, where he belonged.
As we prepare to bury Joseph today, at 10:45AM, we bury only a body, a carcass. The man’s spirit will never be buried. All that knew him and loved him, will carry that spirit forever. After today, we will be finding out how we will live without him. It will not be an easy task, he has set the bar high. No matter what, we will never forget him.
Rest in Peace Joe, we’ll get together again someday.
If eulogy leaves you maudlin, or if you think sentiment cheap, tune out now.
Joe's dad and my dad were brothers. Two of five brothers and three sisters children of Italian immigrants. Though seven years separated them, they shared the same birthday. Each lived only 67 years. They died 7 years apart. Joseph is his father's eldest son. His death on Thursday night came about seven years after my dad's. Each of these three men worked in fields where they were constantly exposed to toxins, especially asbestos.
In High School he was a state champion hurdler, and married his High School sweetheart (his next door neighbor) basically right out of High School. They have been married for 30 years. It is impossible to think of Coleen without thinking of Joe. Even as young people, these two were wise beyond their years. The one thing you could say about them is that they were not selfish. As their young marriage went on, they were thrust into situations that were difficult.
They helped care for Coleen’s dad and sister after her mom passed away. They cared for my uncle and aunt as they too contracted Cancer and died difficult deaths. They adapted to be there for others.
Joe was supportive of everyone’s endeavors. Whether you were trying to be an athlete, or were an artist or wanted to be a professional, Joe urged you on. In my own life, I wanted to be like him and my other cousins. I wanted to be as athletic as they were. Alas, Music and schoolwork was my forte. One day when I was still in High School, I was bemoaning the fact that I was just not very good at sports, Joseph took me aside. He knew I wanted to be a lawyer. He told me that while sports were a great thing, I should be proud of what I was good at. That someday, I would be able to do things that the athletes in the family would never be able to do. That I would help many people through my efforts to be a lawyer, and that they would be as in awe of me, as I was of them. I don’t know that I accomplished exactly what he had in mind, yet, but I strive to everyday. He was that kind of a motivator.
In 1983, Joe became a fireman in part at the urging of his friend Battalion Chief Brian Hickey NYFD dec. 9-11-01. Brian and Joey were friends forever. They worked together and Brian convinced Joe to take the fireman's exam. On 9-11-01, Joe was ordered to Shea Stadium to help organize the men there who would relieve the firemen at Ground Zero. It was a tough assignment for him. He wanted to be downtown where the action was. Where his son Brian was, where his friend Brian Hickey was.
When the towers came down, My heart was in my mouth. I knew how many firemen were there and I was sure either Brian or Joseph was there. Fortunately for us they weren't there. Unfortunately, then Captain Hickey was there. After serving his tour at Shea, Joe volunteered at ground zero on his days off. He had to search for his friend and golfing partner, Brian Hickey. Until the day he died, Joe missed Brian, and many of the other men who he had worked beside. Many have mentioned that if Heaven has a golf course on it, Joe and Brian are with Mr. Kelly and Coleen’s brother Frank teeing it up and enjoying the game. I guess my anger comes wondering what effect the work Joe did at Ground Zero effected the brain cancer that took him
I was amazed to see how many boys who played ball for Joe and Brian became firefighters. These two were a recruiting poster for the NYFD. One way to judge a man is by the mark he makes on others. Joseph certainly made a mark on these young men. These boys, now young firemen, were at the wake in droves, as were all the kids Joe had touched in life. Through the entire 2 year ordeal they have been there supporting the family, helping where they could. They are a tribute to their coach and mentor.
Joe's was a life well lived. He has 2 beautiful daughters and two handsome sons. Brian, the eldest, followed in his dad's boots, and is a NYFD firefighter. Brian married his high school sweetheart and they gave Joseph his pride a joy for the last 10 months, a granddaughter, Saige. They have another on the way.
I think Kevin, a sophomore in College, will be an all American lacrosse player. He is studying to be a dentist. Diana is going to be a teacher when she graduates college soon, and Melissa is a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Joe coached each child, in soccer or football or lacrosse or some other sport. They carry with them his steely determination and love for life.
Joe gave back to his hometown. Raised in Bethpage NY, Joe and his brothers excelled in Track and Field. Joe was a state finalist in the hurdles. By the time his son Brian hit high school, Joseph was active in the Bethpage Dad's club. He became President of the club and raised thousands of dollars to offset the extra costs of being a high school athlete. In a blue collar neighborhood like Bethpage, those extras can mean the difference between a kid playing ball, or never having the chance. Joe and those he worked with, made a difference, and they had a good time doing it. They helped obtain defibrulators and bought batting cages. Mostly they taught the kids they helped to have pride in their hometown and to give back to it.
Joe was Mr. Bethpage. He knew everyone and they knew him. He either coached them or went to High school with them, or worked with them in the Dad’s club. He helped them in a snow storm, or saved them from a burning building. Bethpage came to the wake by the hundreds. The wake was a tribute to a man who understood what it meant to be a neighbor, a friend, a Father, a husband, a man.
About two years ago, I was laying in a hospital in NYC, I had had surgery the day before, but I started bleeding, and had to undergo a second surgery. Unbeknownst to me, Joseph had taken a seizure earlier that day. The next morning I learned that we were in the same hospital, a floor apart. Joe had a deadly form of Brain cancer. The doctors had gone in and removed the tumor. Even so the survival rate was low. Because Joe was in such good shape they expected him to do as well as anyone. We spent Easter in the hospital together. It was one of the best Easter's I have ever had. Our families were together, and supported each other. Joe's firemen friends were there too. They helped to lighten the mood, as only those who regularly face death can do. I will never forget that week.
Thereafter, life changed for Joe. It was a regular routine of doctors and medicine. I never heard him complain about it. I never heard him whine about the unfairness of it. I only saw him work hard as he always did to beat his new foe. For over a year Joe was doing well. He even thought about returning to the FDNY on light duty. Then the cancer reappeared. Though he put up a valiant fight, Cancer won this time. Joe died at home, among his family, where he belonged.
As we prepare to bury Joseph today, at 10:45AM, we bury only a body, a carcass. The man’s spirit will never be buried. All that knew him and loved him, will carry that spirit forever. After today, we will be finding out how we will live without him. It will not be an easy task, he has set the bar high. No matter what, we will never forget him.
Rest in Peace Joe, we’ll get together again someday.
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