Top 14 US Supreme Court decisions

INTRODUCTION
The first case ever filed in the US Supreme Court was Van Straphorts v. Maryland, docketed in 1791. It was settled before arguments were even heard. Reading what little information was available to us, we imagined what it must have been like, perhaps like a scene that happens every day in the modern courts  - nervous and dry-mouthed parties reaching a moment of reason, or even sanity, to arrive upon a settlement before a court decides for them, taking what precious options they thought they had. The distinction of being the first case ever decided by the Supreme Court went to the second case ever filed entitled West v. Barnes, a dispute that had the potential of overturning a ruling by a lower court. Instead, the issues were decided on procedural grounds.

From those early sessions in the early 1790’s, the Supreme Court have since rendered some 590 decisions, every one leaving an imprint on the way we Americans negotiate with our lives, at least until it is overturned by a future court. So, when the decision to create a list of 14 Top Supreme Court cases was made, the daunting feeling that permeates such challenges immediately followed. Just reading the cases would have required months of concentrated work. We’ve already been exposed to some of these pages in the past but needed a way to vet through all of them. So, we injected a modern innovation into the inquiry and used a technique called data mining. We utilized the internet to find pages of expert sources on the subject and identified all the cases that were commonly on all the lists. Then, the list was whittled down to its final count.

Initially the list included 22 cases narrowed to 15 and finally down to 14. The 15th case happened to be Nixon v. U.S. (1974). We purposefully did not include it because the issue seemed straight forward that it gave one the impression Nixon was using it merely as a delay tactic. In that case, Nixon wanted to invoke “Presidential Privileges” to quash a subpoena asking that he surrender audio tapes. The court found that invoking privileges requires a showing of proof that the information being shielded from the public is of a sensitive nature - such as diplomatic communications or military secrets. It was neither. In the end the court ruled against Nixon and ordered him to surrender the tapes, setting the conclusion to the Watergate scandals.

Of the many Supreme Court cases decided, Madison v. Marbury (1801) has been universally regarded as the single most important Supreme Court decision in the history of this country. It established the court’s power for judicial review. In effect it gave the court the final and binding decision on what a particular law means. For instance, under this legal doctrine, Roe v. Wade can never be reversed by legislation or a decree by the executive branch of the government. It can only be reversed by another ruling by the Supreme Court.

All the decisions on the list were fascinating displays of humanity, complete with its sensitivity to personal consequence and its foibles. One case, Scott v. Sanford (1857) sought the Supreme Court’s determination on whether or not he, Dred Scott, an African-American whose ancestors were brought to America forcibly, was a free person or a slave. The court decided that he was a slave. Beyond that, the court also ruled that he cannot sue in court. Clearly, that decision was the product of the conventions and sensibilities that existed at the time. Fortunately, the character of our laws provide a way to change such rulings in the form of case laws, so as to meet the needs of future generations. Although some of the decisions on the list may appear unjust, the process by which the court arrived at the decisions were always thoughtful, exhibiting an intellectual caliber unique to the position and giving a sense of the institution’s importance and permanence in American life.
THE RULINGS
MARBURY V. MADISON (1801)
The case raised the issue of whether laws passed by an act of legislation are final. The court held that the court has the power to review any laws passed by Congress to ensure it is in accordance with statutes, regulations, treaties and other laws including the Constitution. In its opinion, the court noted that "the fundamental and paramount law of the nation" and that "an act of the legislature repugnant to the Constitution is void." In other words, when the Constitution--the nation's highest law--conflicts with an act of the legislature, that act is invalid.” In effect, it established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review.
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McCULLOCH v. MARYLAND (1819)
The case raised two questions. (1) Does Congress have powers to establish banks? (2) Does Maryland laws unconstitutionally interfere with powers vested with Congress. The case established the following two principles:
(1) The Constitution places in the hands of Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
(2) State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.
In its opinion the court noted, "the constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof are supreme. . . they control the constitution and laws of the respective states, and cannot be controlled by them."
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GIBBONS v. OGDEN (1824)
The case raised the question of who, between the State of New York and the Congress, has the power to regulate interstate commerce. The court ruled that the state’s laws were inconsistent with the Supremacy Clause, thereby vesting in the Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. The decision underscored the possibility of states charging excessive fees from out-of state operators to give its resident operators an unfair advantage. The court also gave a clear definition of the word commerce, including navigation on interstate waterways.
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SCOTT v. SANDFORD (1857)
The case raised the question of whether or not Dred Scott was free or a slave. The court concluded that he was in fact a slave. In the opinion, the Supreme Court also held the following:
(1) People of African origin, mostly slaves, were not protected by the Constitution.

(2) Because of their origins they could never be citizens.
(3) Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery.
(4) Slaves, because they are not citizens cannot sue in court.
(5) Slaves were properties and could not be seized from owners without due process.
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PLESSY v. FERGUSON (1896)
The case raised the question of whether racial segregation in private businesses was Constitutional. The court held that the policy of segregation was constitutional under the doctrine of “separate and equal” which states that the facilities, services or accommodations subject to the segregation must be equal in quality with that of the other group. The opinion also said, "in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the two races unsatisfactory to either.”
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SCHENK v. U.S. (1919)
The case raised the issue of an individual’s right to object to a war that he or she felt was immoral. The court ruled that nobody can use free speech as a way to endanger somebody else. The court also upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 and established the test of “Clear and Present Danger.” In the opinion, Justice Holmes wrote, "(t)he question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent." During wartime, utterances tolerable in peacetime can be punished.”
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BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION (1954)
The case raised the question of whether or not the segregation of white and black kids solely on the basis of race was a violation of an individual’s constitutional rights. The court ruled that such an arrangement was a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause in so far as separate facilities are generally and inherently unequal in terms of buildings, curricula, qualifications, and teacher salaries. The case overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson case that allowed state sanctioned segregation.
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MAPP v. OHIO (1961)
The case raised the issue of whether pornographic materials where protected by the First Amendment and that materials seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment which protects from “unreasonable searches and seizures” admissible in court. The court brushed aside the First Amendment issue and citing the exclusionary rule declared that "all evidence obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Constitution is, by (the Fourth Amendment), inadmissible in a state court." The ruling was also extended to federal courts.
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GIDEON v. WAINWRIGHT (1963)
The case raised the issue of an inmate’s right to a fair and equitable trial under the Constitution. Invoking provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Sixth Amendment, the court ruled that state courts have the responsibility of providing legal counsel to defendants who could not afford an attorney, particularly those charged for a capital offense. In its opinion, Justice Black wrote that the "obvious truth" that a fair trial for a poor defendant could not be guaranteed without the assistance of counsel” and that "lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries."
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WESBERRY v. SANDERS (1964)
The case raised the issue of how much weight a person’s vote has in an election. The court ruled that every person’s vote carries equal weight, noting that "no right is more precious" than that of having a voice in elections and held that “[t]o say that a vote is worth more in one district than in another would not only run counter to our fundamental ideas of democratic government, it would cast aside the principle of a House of Representatives elected 'by the People. . .”
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MIRANDA v. ARIZONA (1966)
The case raised questions of an individual’s rights while under detention or arrest in the hands of law enforcement authorities. The court ruled that any information provided by a defendant in response to questioning by authorities can only be used in a trial if the defendant was informed of his or her rights. This includes the right to an attorney during questioning. The detainee must also be made aware that any information provided can be used against him or her in trial. This case was the basis for the “Miranda Warning” universally used by the law enforcement community when apprehending a suspect.
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ROE v. WADE (1973)
The case raised the question of a woman’s right to choose between keeping a pregnancy or terminating it by abortion. The court held that the woman’s right to choose to keep or terminate a pregnancy by abortion falls under her right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and stated it in the following manner: “A state criminal abortion statute of the current Texas type, that excepts from criminality only a lifesaving procedure on behalf of the mother, without regard to pregnancy stage and without recognition of the other interests involved, is violative of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
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REGENTS OF U.C. v. BAKKE (1978)
The case raised the issue of “Affirmative Action” as a constitutionally permissible policy in admitting students into the UC university system. There were 16 spots reserved for minority or less-advantaged medical school students. Despite scores and grades that exceeded that of the 16 others that were earlier admitted, Bakke’s application was turned down twice. The court ruled that the UC violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered Bakke admitted into UC’s medical school.
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TEXAS v. JOHNSON (1989)
The case raised the issue of a person’s right to burn an American flag. The court ruled that a person’s right to burn the American flag is protected by the First Amendment. The court noted that, "[i]f there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."
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Jail Guard busted for smuggling pot in a hoagie

Joseph Jones, 31, a master corrections officer, was detained and charged with smuggling marijuana in a Marion County FL detention facility. His compensation for attempting to slip in contraband - a tasty roast beef sandwich and a bottle of Tequila.

The scheme included two women co-conspirators, Teresa Myers, 29 and Ashley Kiser, 24 who purchased the sandwiches and switched the roast beef in one of the sandwiches with 8 ounces of pot. They then handed the package to Officer Jones outside the detention facility. The package was to be delivered to an inmate by the name of Travis Cottrell, 28. On the way in, the pot-filled sandwich was spotted by other guards leading to the arrests. In an inquiry to determine the extent of the scheme and other compensation plans, officials were told that any guard who can smuggle in a cell phone will win an introduction to a stripper.

Despite what it appears in the broader economy, free market enterprise is alive and well in America.

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I got sick. I had no clue what was in that smoke.

Of the many things that a homeless person must worry about, nothing requires more focused attention than staying healthy. The lifestyle of an indigent is fraught with many challenges. Becoming sick while living on the streets is an outright nightmare. There are no places to go for peaceful rest except other public places. Depending on the time of the day, its usually noisy, bright and not particularly suited for sleeping. Understanding the consequences, I take extra precaution every time I use public facilities. For instance, after using a bathroom, I always wash my hands. Then, I would use the spent paper towel to open the door so my hands never touches the door-knob. With the many people who go through there, you'll never know what you might get in contact with. Also, I rarely shake hands with people anymore. I do the Obama bump - touching knuckles with another individual as a way to greet people. You can't be too paranoid.

My adventures as an indigent litigator started in December of 2007 and in that span of time I have slept indoors less than 5 months. The rest were spent sleeping in a car or in the streets. In that time I have gotten sick only 3 times. Once I had a flu and recuperated in my car for an entire week while parked at a parking lot under a shade. This was right after another homeless person, Stephanie, stayed in my car for a few days in the evenings until she was finally able to secure the assistance of an organization that helped homeless women. The human body is a fickle thing and requires enough time to adapt to it's environment. Every place has a unique microbial ecology. You put people in a constricted place like a car and the germ structure changes real fast. The body needs to get used to it and if it doesn't it lets you know.

The second time was the first week of October of 2010 during my stay with Desiree. She's probably one of the neatest people that I have ever encountered in my life. Her apartment was always clean. However, she has two wonderful cats for pets and probably just the right amount of dander and cat-stuff in the air to unleash an allergic assault on my respiratory system. I was out sick for an entire week.

The third time was a bout with a bad cold this week all because of an indulgent moment. I was given a stick of filtered cigar right before the holidays and was waiting for the right time to light it up. So, last week, while at the Neighborhood Cup I saw, Joe, an acquaintance and his friend, smoking cigarettes outside. The filtered cigar had been sitting in my stash collecting dust and was nowhere close to being consumed. I've even thought of giving it away. I've smoked cigars over the years and found it to be a tool - a good way to socialize with other people. I took the opportunity to do so and lit the slender brown filtered-cigar. Cigars, off course, are never inhaled. The smoke is merely swirled inside the mouth and savored and then expelled. Depending on the quality of the cigar, you usually get a light-headed feeling that lasts about a half hour.

It wasn't until the next day that I started feeling things with my throat and chest. It started as a mere irritation – an itch around the tonsil area. Then, it progressed into a sneeze and finally a full blown chest and head cold complete with phlegm. It was compounded by the cold weather during the evenings. It's gotten cold in the last few weeks that sometimes I would wake up feeling like my hair is frozen stiff. I discussed what happened with another acquaintance and we came to the conclusion that I actually smoked a cigarette and not a cigar.

The difference in the quality of tobacco used between a cigar and a cigarette is stark in comparison. Cigars generally use whole tobacco leaves, usually dried in sheds and wrapped in more tobacco leaves. Cigarettes use processed tobacco, mixing different varieties to create a particular flavor and uses paper to wrap the tobacco. Supposedly, cigarettes have more chemicals added to it than cigars. It was intriguing enough that I did a little checking:

THERE ARE 33 KNOWN CARCINOGENS IN CIGARETTES.

THERE ARE 599 KNOWN ADDITIVES IN CIGARETTES.

So, what does this all mean? As of this writing, I don't know. I haven't the background in Chemistry. But I have found it fascinating enough to prepare a follow-up report to see if we can make sense of this information.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Mo Tales, The Cigar Incident

I have never seen her like this in the many months that I have known her. She seemed to have a glow to her that told me she is happy and content. Her greetings were as warm as a raging campfire in an annual Boy Scout’s Jamboree. The prolonged embrace was reassuring and a welcome surprise. “Hi there”, she said while smiling and intently staring in my eyes. Have you been waiting long? I inquired. “No, not that long. I wanted some time to myself before I met with you this morning. I had the most glorious call from my longtime physician who after receiving all the test result of my blood work he said that I am healthy. Healthy, he said, as a wild goose after a long flight to the southern regions. That was a relief because as I get older the more difficult it is for my heart to cope with my son, Mo. He is such trouble to me that I was worried for a long time that my health was failing.”

About a week ago, I went on a date. Before that, the last date I had was about a year ago so I was really nervous hoping that nothing embarrasing will happen. So, I made sure that I didn’t tell Mo where I was going so he didn’t cause me any problems. I knew something bad was going to happen the moment I saw him there. I think he has my phone and house bugged because I couldn’t figure out how he knew about my friend Susan’s party. When Walter and I arrived at the party, Mo was smiling and being nice that I was suspicious. So we went around and mingled. I introduced him to all my friends and I was so happy because he always had something nice to say about me. I make sure that my dates try my Lemon Maringue Pie that I bake so well. After a while, we got separated a little bit because I tried helping around the house.

That was when all the craziness happened. I should have known because when I wasn’t looking, Mo gave Walter a cigar. I wasn’t there when it all happened but something happened and it was enough for him to storm out of the party - screaming and swearing that I was so embarrassed. Later, I found out after someone showed me a video of it. My Walter hasn’t called me since and I am so lonely that I cry myself to sleep. That’s when I went to see the doctor because my chest was feeling like the Mardi Gras was running around in there. Here, see for yourself what he did. That Mo is so bad!

That’s when she pulled her IPhone to show me what happened and this is what I saw.

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How President Kennedy spoke to me

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. (JFK Inaugural Speech 1961)

Today marks the 50^th Anniversary of Pres. John F. Kennedy's inaugural address. Times have changed and the challenges faced today by our leaders are vastly different from those faced by his administration. The politics of the time, the thirst for individual freedom and the turbulence of the 60's are now distant memories yet their imprint on the American culture still defines the American identity. This was the time when Americans took the challenge set out by President Kennedy that allowed a group of courageous men to leave mother earth's cuddling arms and plant a flag on the moon. For that generation, this single feat defined what it meant to be the best and what it meant to be an American.

I was no more than 11 years old when I first came upon a Commemorative Edition book that marked the death of President Kennedy. It was something that my mother had kept in a cabinet. The book was crimson in color with raw leather texture and weighed unusually heavy. The cabinet that housed it was a dispensary of things – tools, paint, office supplies, things that were essential and things that nobody knew what to do with. It was probably 6 feet by 6 feet by 3 feet, painted in the lightest shade of blue. It was padlocked and kept in an open air garage at our home in Manila. The smell of everything in the cabinet intermingled with the scent of the printed pages. That memorable moment was how I first met President Kennedy. So memorable it was, in fact, that I could still recite portions of his inaugural speech from memory.

The pictures that opened to me were very crisp and unforgettable, having been printed on high quality glossy paper, but the words were the more remarkable. It had a inexplicable quality that was made the more dramatic when spoken with a Bostonian accent. It was as if he was reaching out from the pages to converse with me. The book was intended as a way to grieve, but his words transcended the unfortunate moment in Dallas, leaving me the more hopeful. The book had excerpts of his inaugural speech, crafted to challenge people to search for an exceptional endeavor and engage it with vigor. My youth at the time had blurred my view of what was required and what was possible. But as I grew older the more I came to appreciate his words recorded in many of his speeches. His inaugural speech was so well prepared and exceptionally delivered that it became the yardstick by which all other presidential inaugural speeches are measured today.

President Kennedy has always been one of my favorite American presidents, eclipsed only by Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln. His words strike me as powerful reckonings demanding from those who are within earshot to expect the most of themselves and to contribute positively to the human experience. His 1000 days in office reminds us of the fickleness of time, that if we choose to make a stake in the future, the place to begin is here and the moment to begin is now. He tells of the capacity kept hidden within ourselves to touch the world in ways we had not imagined.

I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

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History: The FBI vendetta against MLK

There is now ample information available in the public space that speaks to the maniacal zeal in which the FBI investigated Martin Luther King Jr's activities as a civil rights leader in the 60's. A steady stream of information is now being released that gives a clearer picture of the tactics deployed by the FBI to discredit MLK and the ethical guideposts that prevailed at the "Bureau" at the time.

Considering that no laws were found to have been violated by MLK, the tactics used to try to destroy his character and to limit his influence seemed disproportionate and a violation of his constitutional rights, not the least of which was the apparent infliction of “cruel and unusual punishment" outside the criminal-justice system. In a report (SUPPLEMENTARY DETAILED STAFF REPORTS ON INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES AND THE RIGHTS OF AMERICANS) published in 1976, William Sullivan, Head of Domestic Intelligence at the time, testified:

No holds were barred. We have used (similar) techniques against Soviet agents. (The same methods were) brought home against any organization against which we were targeted. We did not differentiate. This is rough, tough business.

We spent the day pouring through much of the information available on the world wide web and decided to prepare a report and publish it on April 4, 2011 - the anniversary of his assassination. We believe that his work in the area of civil rights is something that we have inherited. So, on the day that commemorates his birthday, we salute the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for his courage, passion and his work to advance the rights of all Americans. His work endures and must continue.

Robert creates our logo

Marketing has always been a source of intense fascination for me. It requires the mastery of visual and communication arts, psychology, sociology and economics. It asks of its practitioner an advanced understanding of human behavior. Consider that a simple marketing slogan can conjure up a particular set of emotions in a person - “Just Do It”, “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, “It's The Real Thing”, “Diamonds are Forever”.

Early in my career I worked for a printer in Newport Beach California where I met several fascinating entrepreneurs. My job was as a sales representative and that gave me the opportunity to sit beside them and assist in producing stationery and collateral information for their businesses. That was my first conscious experience of the power of a logo and the art of branding. There was always equal parts excitement and foreboding because of the high attrition rate of small businesses. I knew many of them would not survive. The SBA (Small Business Administration) says that 50% of all new businesses established will fail in three year and 90% will fail in ten years.

Having ran businesses before, I have always felt a kinship with entrepreneurs. Their energy is something to be experienced. For most of them, they want nothing more than to change the world. With hard work and persistence, many of them succeed. Every time you see a large business, you can be assured that at some point there was one person or a group that got together and drew a map to bring their ideas to fruition. Hewlett-Packard and Apple started in a garage. Dell Computers sprung its first roots in a dorm room. The list is endless.

The battlefield now is in acquiring a little space in a person's mind. Companies pay a premium for your attention. They understand that people are incredibly busy these days. They are also bombarded with a constant stream of messages from all directions. What a brand tries to do in a scant moment is to rise above that noise, capture your attention and try to make a binding and lasting connection with you. And that's precisely what we want to do at RobertsJustice. Unfortunately, we don't have a huge marketing budget so we can put together a focus group to help us tighten up our message. Of all the slogans out there, ours is probably one of the longest - “He was an entrepreneur until life threw him one wicked curve-ball. Then, he became his own trial lawyer”. Marketing experts would probably call it wordy or even clumsy. When I coined that slogan I just wanted to make sure it spoke the truth.

So, this year, we would like to introduce our logo, or at least the first iteration of our company colors. As in anything we do, it has to be organic and it cannot cost very much money. So, I sat down one evening a few months ago and started matching the colors of our blog. I recently returned to it and decided to put it to use. Ironically, the colors on the blog was based on one of the Blogger templates which we still use but is no longer available for new subscribers. The colors on my work were not exact matches because I was using Microsoft Word. I tried to match the colors as best as I can and layered one color on top of each other. That's how I came up with our colors. Eventually, we'll probably have to redo that to make sure we have exact matches. We'll likely also revamp the blog completely. It's just that I've gotten so attached to the RobertsJustice blog that I am averse to replacing it with another template. Something really special will have to come along before I decide to do that. And that may take a while.

The amazing thing is, I absolutely love what we do at RobertsJustice. So, I was very pleased to have a chance to tinker with the visual aspect of our enterprise. I asked myself this afternoon, “Wouldn't it be great if one day as I was driving down the freeway I saw the RJ colors on some person's bumper. Wouldn't that be something else?' That will let me know we are doing something exceptional.

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Rich & Nina (14th of January 2011)

The last time I saw Rich spin records at one of his shows was about a year ago. He just disappeared for a little while. I didn't know what happened to him. I left several messages and emails for him but there was no response until the other week when out of nowhere he left me an invitation. “I'm gonna be at the Oh Baby Club and I'ma be spinnin' them reco'ds. I know you left me messages but I was feelin' bad for a long time. It's a long story but if you wanna know why, the first song will tell you why.”

The dance floor was already packed when the opening DJ warmed up the crowd for Rich. They were there to witness the return of DJ Grand Master Rich. It was a wild raucous crowd and they began chanting, Riii-chee … Rii-chee … Ri-chee … Ri-chee … Ri-chee ….

DJ RICH: Alright … that's the kind of noise I wanna hear around here. You know, you'll never know how you feel about yo' lady 'til she kicks you out of your own house. One day I came home late and my lady kicked me out of the house. I hit the sidewalk so hard I was limpin' bad and I couldn't sit for a few days. Man, was I hurtin' for a long time. So, I was moppin' along and feelin' sorry and for a long time I remembered what she said to me. She said “Hey, you” Who me? I said. “Yeah you, you are out of here! Go on now walk. Walk out the door. Turn around now your not welcome anymore!” And then she slammed the door on my face. So I went to the first club I saw and went dancin'. And there was Diana Ross and I was feelin' so weird that it felt like she was talkin' to me. And this is what Miss Ross told me. Listen.

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DJ RICH: So, for a while I wasn't myself. And that's then I met this man with a strange name I couldn't even say or read much less repeat. But he kept on bothering me. “Hey, man. You got a smoke?”, he says. “Nope”, I says. A couple minutes later he goes, “You got some whiskey?” “Nope”. I says. A couple minutes later he goes. “You got any money?” “Nope”. That's when he said, “So, you don't have a smoke. You don't have whiskey. You don't have any money neither. I bet you don't even have a lady, don't you?” That’s when I jumped out of the cozy sofa I was sitting and said “What do you want from me?” He looked at and said, “Hold on a minute. I don't want you to go crazy. But now that you are why don't we just listen to some dance music.” And this is what we heard.

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DJ RICH: Do we have any women rockers in the house? (Crowd: YEAHHH) Alright !! Let me see y'all, raise your hands. Good evenin' ladies. What a fine group we have here tonight, especially with all these beautiful women. Yeahh … One day I showed up at my baby with a 6-string and she looked at me real weird. Until I said to her. Baby, I wanna rock your world. I know I ain't no Jimmy Hendrix 'coz ain't nobody like Jimmy. But I'ma learn to play this here guitar so you can tell all your lady friends, ma'h man at home can rock my world. My fingers are gonna be fast on the frets. My voice is gonna sound smooth like your hair after a trip to the salon. I'll make a record that will go gold and then platinum and I'ma make you proud of me. It might be a long ways off, but for now I'ma put on my gloves like this and put on my hat and you and I, we're gonna rock out together.

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DJ RICH: Yeah – Mikey is still the man … How you like that? (Crowd: Yeaaaahh) Do we have any cheerleaders in the house? (Crowd: Yeaaahhh) Let me see y'all (Women started doing a cheerleader's routine) Alright, help me out here, ladies. We're gonna do some cheerin'. Give me a B (Crowd: BBBBB) Give me an A (Crowd: AAAAA) Give me a B (Crowd: BBBBBB) and give me a Y (Crowd: YYYYY) and what does it say. BAAABBBYYYYY. Yeah, that's right baby. Now I want you all to pull your baby off their chairs and pull them in the middle of the dance floor and get them ready for the next song. I will take y'all to the City of Angels. Los Angeles and the home of Lakers and a real kickin' dancer named Paula ….

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DJ RICH: Let's see a show of hands. Any you ladies ever have a break-up? Is it true that if you have a break-up all you need to do is eat a gallon of ice-cream and everything is fine. (Crowd: NNNNooooo) So that wasn't true afterall. I'ma have to drink a tub of Colt 45 to just be normal. So I was really hurtin', see. Ain't nothin' I could do but call her. And every time I do, I get the answering machine. The message said, “If you are Rich hang-up 'coz I'm trying to forget you. If you're someone else, leave a message.” It was like a giant tire rolled over my chest, it hurt so bad. I must have left 140 messages, maybe even more. So, here's a song that got me through that rough patch. Baby if you are hearing me, before you do anything else, can you please just CALL ME !!

CLICK TO LISTEN

DJ RICH: Are ya'll havin' fun tonight? (Crowd: Yeahhh) Ok, I wanna hear from those hard-working ladies who've got their own businesses. Those business-owners, ya'll. (Crowd: Yeaaahhh) Wow, you ladies are hot coz not only are ya'll pretty but you hire people and come up with pay-roll – twice a month. Your real special like my baby, you know that, right? Baby I know what the problem is now. I ain't making enough, and that's why you kicked me out of my own place. You know I'm sorry, right?. But it don't end there. There's something you got to know. I have a little racket going on the side called the Rich Incorporated. I know it's starting small. Right now, my office is a public phone booth at the corner of Leaf Avenue and Clear Street. I wanna move out of the phone booth someday and into a garage. So I can call it a real company, see. And that's when I can make some mullah. But while I'm still coming up with the money for rent, here's a little something I picked out I know you like.

CLICK TO LISTEN

DJ RICH: Let's make some noise for ma'h man Billy. He the man. Yeah, his music still does it for me after all these years. Any of you guys ever had a special lady in yo' life that you've fallen in love so deeply that you wonder if that person really loves you like she really says. (Crowd: Yeaaaahhh) That's right. You look for signs even when your walking. One day I was thinking of my baby and there was this flower and so I picked it up and started doing she loves me, she loves me not on it. I must have gone through 14 of them flowers because the first 13 ended in she loves me not. And you know your day aint gonna be right if it ended in she loves you not, right? (Crowd: Yeeaaahh) But you just got to know, right? Yeah. It got really bad that one time I started doing she loves me she loves me not with french fries at a burger joint. I had to buy a few of them jumbo fries until finally I got one that ended with she loves me. (Crowd: Laughing) What can I say. I'm crazy 'bout her and I just need to know. So, baby if your listening, sometimes you just need to let me know!

CLICK TO LISTEN

DJ RICH: Whit - ney yeah. Ain't she amazing? Alright, let's see if we can make some noise 'round here. (Crowd: Yeaahhh) So, for the last song of the evenin' I want to slow it down a bit; not too much but just right. This ain't really slow enough to do slow dancin'. It's one of them songs that you just listen to. I'ma let it talk to my baby. So, if you just wanna sit around and chug some more of them liquid refreshments or just chill, that would be fine too. Some things in life are best listened to and this is one of them songs. I love you, baby. This is for you.

CLICK TO LISTEN

TO BE CONTINUED

Sleeping bag found by trash bins

We found it. The custodians approached me last night and told me that the bag containing my sleeping bag and beddings were discovered beside the library trash bins. It wasn't there the night before making us believe that someone came back to return it. They placed it in a way that made sure the cleaning crew would find it. Needless to say I had a very restful sleep last night. Still missing, though, is a crate I had that contained books and other personal effects. We hope that reappears sometime soon.

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Yestradamus 010711

The winds of Bughaghi shall carry the arrow across the field

Fibwa's vines shall pour of nectar into ancient barrels

Vernal hands with letters upon drifting leaves traverse

Round objects on corners a beast of hooves must guard

Sometimes the Yesman uses words to convey an image not by the way it appears on the page but by the way it sounds. I don't know about you but “Bughaghi” sounds like “Bag Daddy”, so I'm going to share with you an experience I had many years ago that helped me form the way I think today.

It was the summer of that year and like any other day in that city, it was hot as a stone oven in a Baghdad bakery. I was in an eastern block country once considered an enemy of our nation. I was there as a travel photographer and sure enough it was just a matter of time before the authorities thought that I was there for another reason. They didn't like the fact that I had a camera.

She made herself noticed the very first week I started going to that restaurant. The ladies man that I was, naturally, it didn't take very long for us to begin conversing. Her name was Ganya Shishkova. “Call me Gun Shy”, she said. It wasn't until later that I found out why. I relied on her as a source of information on everything about the area – the events, the history, the best restaurants and the places to see. I was there for seven weeks and soon I met with her almost everyday. I was such a regular there that everyone knew me. Everywhere I went, I developed the reputation of the friendly and naive traveler that everyone loved. "Gun Shy" and I got so close, we held hands, did back-rubs on each other and the ultimate show of commitment – a foot massage in public in broad daylight. That was my first true exposure to a fetish. She made me do things I normally wouldn't. We would be having dinner and all of a sudden her foot would pop up between my legs suggesting, if not demanding a massage. This would usually happen before desert.

The mystery was, whatever we did, we only did it at the restaurant and no place else. We spent hours and hours there. The only exception was when we went to the grocery. I did it just about every other day as a way to thank her for the tourist information she provided me. The regulars started calling me “Bag Daddy”.

It wasn't apparent at first but little quirks started surfacing here and there that made me feel something bad was going to happen. And the closer my departure date got, the stranger things got between "Gun Shy" and I. So, on our last outing, three days before I was about to leave, she said she wanted to go out. “You pick where we'll go and I will meet you there”, she said.

I picked another place across town where everyone knew me. On the way in, I was shaking hands, back-slapping and trading banter. Some people had hands stretched in admiration and yet others were somewhat jealous. I was like Caesar entering Rome to the boisterous applause of everyone at the restaurant. It was a happy moment. That was until she pulled a Don Rickles on me, only worse. By the time she was done with me, I was reduced to a little man with an even tinier voice. I took a cab and went straight to the airport. I waited for my plane to depart some three days later.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RICKLES VIDEO

TO BE CONTINUED
(Analyst X147)

A Night To Remember

Milestones just keep on being made. Last night a number of books I've accumulated, my sleeping bag and other beddings got stolen from my hiding place – the very location that have served my storage needs for months. I guess that is the risk I take for posting something incendiary on the RJ blog. Let's hope the person who took it is also a homeless person. Then, it wouldn't be so bad.

I approached the janitorial crew (Esmeralda and her son) at the library to see if they noticed anyone suspicious taking some of my belongings that I had stashed at the side of the building. They couldn't positively identify anyone but there were other people who were milling around the spot, they said. Before they departed, they left me with two blankets that helped me stay just warm enough to avoid hypothermia.

On the off-chance that they could make an accommodation just for the evening, I asked the owner of the Neighborhood Cup, Steve, if he can leave the door to the foyer of the building unlocked. I wanted to make sure I can get out of the cold if it got a little too chilly. He said that it wasn't his building and that he couldn't. I understood the liabilities that might fall in his lap if anything happened to the building. It might even violate the lease. But, I had to try.

Temperatures dipped  below 40 degrees last night. I tripled up on the clothing and it kept me warm enough that I didn't shiver even once. The only annoyance was that I didn't get enough sleep and despite my fourth cup of coffee today, I couldn't seem to keep myself awake.

The excitement continues ...

A NEW YEAR'S NOTE

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What an amazing year 2010 turned out to be. Now, it's back to work – back to the mission of reforming the American legal system. Daunting work requires the right emotional frame. Too much anger and you become counter-productive. Too much comfort and nothing gets done. So, you need just the right balance between comfort and controlled anger to be able to get important things done; in this case vanquish powerful and well-financed opponents in court.

The two month vacation at Desiree's ended on the 28^th of December. By the time I left for the streets, at around 530AM, I wasn't sure whether I was ready for the new round of battles. But in all, I emerged refreshed and full of optimism for the future. The first night out was exactly what I expected – full of thoughts, full of nagging voices questioning my devotion to my cause. Fortunately, all that has now quieted down after three days outdoors. There's a saying that goes, “ … fatigue makes cowards of us all.” That's probably true in most situations. But it gets infinitely more contentious if you add a little bit of cold or even wet weather in the mix. There were public service announcements around Southern California warning of freezing weather around the holiday season. I can assure you, it gets cold. But it steels my mind and my heart. The very notion of exposing the abuses of the Superior Court of the State of California, the Sheriff's Department, the FBI and other agencies is enough to make a person freeze in his tracks. So what do I do? I embrace the frigid cement where I sleep to get my blood temperature just right – cold as ice.

My preference for sleeping out will certainly be an important point that my opposition will try to capitalize on during trial. They will try to tell the jury that I am homeless because I chose that for myself. They are likely to point to the fact that I use it to regulate my emotions to improve my chances of winning in court. I just hope they are a little smarter than that because doubtless they are now discovering they are getting deeper and deeper in a trap. In the eternal words of the American band Eagles who sang the virtues of some hotel in California “ … you can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave.”

Despite what appears, there are distinct advantages to sleeping outdoors. It hardens me physically and emotionally. And whether I like it or not, I have to be up by 5:30AM, forcing me to be productive. There are no snooze buttons. I sleep in a public space requiring that I stash my bedding before everyone starts showing up. I'm usually at the Neighborhood Cup when they open at 6AM where I watch CNBC to get a pulse for what is happening in the world. I find financial news particularly useful for that. It gets me the headlines without the gossipy nonsense that we get from many news outlets. Around 8AM, right after breakfast and my first cup of coffee, my writing begins – legal briefs, legal research, the blogs and my daily journal entries.

January will require stepped up volume of production than in months past. The task of rebuilding the papers and attorney product that was stolen along with my Mac G4 will now commence. So, 2011 starts exactly where we left off – fighting some powerful establishments who are supposed to be serving the people and have lost their way. In my legal war chest is the amount of $85.13. Sounds like great fun.

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