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Thursday, September 21, 2006
The Devil's in the ......United Nations?
Venezualan President Hugo Chavez's hyperbole-laden rant at the United Nations Assembly yesterday, in which he referred to President Bush as "the devil", was a carefully planned political ploy as much as it was utterly ridiculous.
Chavez, who is in the heat of lobbying for a position for Venezuala in the rotating seat on the UN Security Counsel, used his opportunity on the world stage to state that the U.S. President needed psychiatric help, even going so far as to say that the spot where he was standing "smells like sulfur still." Interestingly, Chavez's speech was greeted by giggles and tepid applause.
Now, there are quite a few legitimate criticisms you can lob against our President. For one, he's not that intelligent. A good man, maybe even a good leader, perhaps, but really not all that smart. And he can't speak in public worth a lick. It's often embarassing to listen to the guy trying to say the word on the tip of his tongue that he just can't get out right. Subliminable. Strategery. "Fool me once, shame on you......fool me twice......well, you shouldn't fool me."
You know what I mean.
But the devil? The devil?
I didn't vote for the guy. I can't stand most of his political views, and it is true that his World View is, in fact, turning much of the world against us. Thankfully, one of the beautiful aspects of our democratic system of government is that the pendulum can swing to the other side, and our country can do an about-face from Bush's ill-conceived international politics.
The thing is, we're all Americans. So when Chavez gets up and calls my President the devil, I have to object to that. And not just because the devil is much, much smarter than George Bush.
The President, as misguided and uninformed as he may be, is not evil. Evil is genocide. Evil is blind hatred. Evil is murder of your political adversaries.
Ok, so Chavez was simply exercising his right to free speech, which is ironic because his subjects can't do the same in his own country. Fine, I understand that.
Just don't expect me to be very sympathetic to Chavez if our President decides that Venezuala is the next country he wants to conquer.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The sky is falling?
Last week's death of two skydivers at Freefall Adventures Skydiving School in Cross Keys, New Jersey has the airport's neighbors crying foul faster than the terminal velocity of freefall. These are just the latest in a string of deaths over the past few years at the skydiving school, where packing your parachute should come only after signing your Last Will and Testament.
Truth be told, the deaths at Freefall Adventures don't appear to be statistically out of line from what you would expect at any other skydiving school. That's small consolation to the human projectiles themselves when they realize that they're about to play smashmouth with the earth at 120 miles per hour, and the earth's gonna win.
Now, consider that the area surrounding the skydiving school was mostly rural when it first began operating decades ago. Since then, suburban sprawl has replaced the lush green landing pads which surrounded the school, which makes it much more likely that an errant skydiver could be crashing into a nearby home.
Already they've come close. Last week's death ended with the skydivers' broken bodies laying in an 8-inch deep impact hole of the front yard of an abandoned home. A few years back, a skydiver fell to his death and landed in the driveway of a home as the home's family watched in horror from their front porch just feet away. Ironically, this jumper hit the driveway's basketball hoop on the way down. It didn't break his fall, but hey, two points.
So it seems like the local residents may have a point. Right?
Wrong. Sure, noone wants a human missile to throttle itself through their roof and land in their living room. Or worse, imagine a falling skydiver landing on a child. But, frankly speaking, the chances are much more likely that you'll be killed driving to your lawyer's office on the way to sue the skydiving school.
Especially if you drive the way I do.
In a world where everybody seems to have their own cause celeb, it doesn't surprise me that there are those who now want to ban skydiving in suburban areas. It also doesn't surprise me that families would be concerned about the potential for a hazardous situation. But what does surprise me is that anybody takes this seriously.
At least in this area, no skydiver has hit or hurt a person. Or even damaged property (basketball hoop excluded). I'm pretty confident that the world-wide statistics are similar. So, from a cost-benefit perspective, what really is the cost to local residents if skydiving continues? I've heard of the "emotional trauma" that witnesses to skydiving deaths experience. Well, I've got an idea to give them, which is the same thing I would say to someone who is against pornography - if you don't want to see it, then don't watch. That's how things work in America, the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
I can assure you that the sky is in fact not falling, even if the public's support for skydiving is.
And that's from someone who lives just a mile from Freefall Adventures.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Dog The Bounty Hunter becomes the Hunted
Duane "Dog" Chapman, whom many of us have come to know and love as the Hawaii-based reality star of the A&E series "Dog, The Bounty Hunter", was arrested this past Thursday for failing to appear in a Mexican court following charges of conspiracy and illegal detention of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
It is indeed ironic that Dog, who is known as much for his preachy sermons to bail jumpers as he is for his over-the-top agressiveness in hunting down and apprehending fugitives, has himself been arrested for bail jumping.
The sticky wicket that Dog now finds himself in is a result of the little-known fact that bounty hunting is as illegal in Mexico as, say, bail-jumping is in the United States. Woops. Mexican authorities evidently do not abide by the credo of "letting sleeping Dogs lie".
Now, my wife and I are fans of Dog, so for us this kind of sucks. I mean, we feel bad for him because we like the guy that we see on television. In fact, I even called cross-country and woke my wife up at 3a.m. one morning when I was in Los Angeles for a TV appearance and my driver mentioned to me that he had just driven Dog in the same car a few days earlier. Cool stuff.
But alas, Dog has been brought down to size. At least for now. I, for one, hope he is able to clean up the mess he has created for himself. Unfortunately, it may be somewhat difficult for him to avoid paying a hefty price, because, as they say, the law is the law.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is yet another example of a person's biggest strength being his biggest weakness. Dog's biggest strength: his relentless pursuit of fugitives. His biggest weakness: His ignorance of the very laws he upholds as a bounty hunter. Ironic indeed.
Perhaps Dog can in part blame his canine namesake for his problems. As the saying goes, every Dog has his master. And in this case, Dog's master speaks espanol.
Aloha? Nope, try Hola. Or, perhaps more fitting, adios.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Shameless self-promotion
When I basically flunked out of Villanova University and found myself at Gloucester County Community College, little did I know that one day I would be named GCC's outstanding Alumnus of the Year. Pitman boy does good!
Thursday, September 14, 2006
It hurt to watch.
Night : Day
Black : White
True : False
Good : Bad
Tucker Carlson : Dancing with the Stars
Why?
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
(Lack of) Grace Under Pressure
There is a firestorm brewing around Nancy Grace, the host of CNN's Headline News. The controversy surrounds the suicide death of the mother of a missing child, who killed herself the day after being "ambushed" by Grace on her national television show.
The mother stated to Grace that her 2 year old child Trenton Duckett went missing one evening while in his bedroom. The child's father, who was also interviewed by Grace, indicated that he had submitted to a lie detector test and passed it. When asked by Grace if she had submitted to a lie detector test, the mother's answer was evasive. Smelling blood, Grace pressed the mother for specific details regarding where she had gone with her now missing son on the day in question. Again, the mother's answers were evasive. Grace's third-degree questioning of the mother continued on relentlessly.
The day after the interview was taped - and before it aired on national television - the mother of the missing child fatally shot herself. The mother's family blamed her suicide in large part on the stress she experienced while being grilled by Grace.
Now pundits and legal commentators are weighing in, with many critizing Grace's abrasive questioning and agreeing that she influenced the mother to commit suicide. It was not fair, some say, to invite the mother as a guest on her show and then proceed to cross-examine her as a potential suspect.
I have not been a big fan of Grace over the years. There have been times when her pro-prosecution, damn-the-defense tirades have sickened me. I've seen her twist and turn the facts in a case until they bear no resemblance to what actually occurred. During my time on CourtTV, I've heard some pretty negative things about Grace's penchant for ignoring the facts.
However, this is one situation where I am staunchly in Grace's corner. It is not Grace's fault that the mother crumbled like a house of cards under even the simplest of questions. Had Grace not followed up with tougher, harder hitting questions, she surely would have been labeled by her detractors as soft or ineffective. While the mother may - MAY - be innocent, certainly no one is more innocent than the missing child. Tough times mandate tough questions. Frankly speaking, the questions shouldn't be so tough for an innocent mother to handle.
As is the case with most people, Grace's biggest strength - her tenacity and legal acumen - is also her biggest weakness. By targeting one of her show's guests as a potential suspect, Grace brought to bear her considerable legal skills and experience in questioning. But by doing so, Grace did run the risk of appearing crass and unfair.
By not doing so, Grace would have missed out on an opportunity to get what all cross-examinations seek.
The truth.
And as it turns out, now that the mother has killed herself, the closest we may get to the truth could be hidden between the lines of the transcript from Grace's show.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
This is one book you don't want to be in
On Tuesday, September 19, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's tell-all book "The Confession" hits the stores. Rumor has it that the disgraced Governor will pull no punches and name names.
As a former politico, this should be an interesting read. Perhaps we'll learn about the alleged quid-pro-quo plot which was allegedly triggered by McGreevey's cryptic use of the word "Machiavelli" during one conversation. Maybe we'll get the truth about what was really going on when he broke his leg in Cape May. If we're lucky, McGreevey might clue us in on just exactly how he learned to give speeches while sounding like a robot but looking like one of the Pep Boys - Moe, if you ask me.
I first met McGreevey shortly after an unsuccessful (but highly time-consuming!) run for the State Legislature in 1995. I was 25 years old, hanging out with the New Jersey delegation at the Democrat convention in Chicago. For those of you who haven't been lucky enough to attend a political convention, I can tell you that you haven't really lived until you've rubbed shoulders with a U.S. Senator or Congressman at one of the state-specific delegation parties. Let's just say that you definitely see a different side of people.
From what I remember, my time with McGreevey was pretty fun. We, and about 50 other members of the New Jersey delegation, were at an Irish Pub in downtown Chicago. I found myself channeling my Irish roots by partaking in a number of rounds of shots of some potent drink. The shots were coming out on waitress trays by the dozen, and the group of 10 or so guys that I was with were drinking like champs.
I was a bit surprised to see the State Senator and Mayor of Woodbridge at the time, Jim McGreevey, drinking away right there with us. With each successive round of shots, we all got louder and louder, McGreevey included. One of my last memories of the evening was my very own toast to my hometown of Pitman, which I recall Jim McGreevey drinking heartily to.
My evening ended that night in a blur in my hotel room. Something about ordering room service, and getting into a full-fledged wrestling match with my friend Steve. No, McGreevey was not there. Thank God.
Getting drunk with a man who was about to run for Governor seemed pretty cool at the time. That he actually became Governor is kind of neat also. But that he became drunk with power, well, that's not too cool at all. A shame, really.
The buzz in political circles is all about who'll be in the book, and what McGreevey will say about them. Rumor has it that it won't be too pretty. I suppose I can rest easy, since the one and only time I partied with McGreevey ended with me passed out in a locked hotel room. And, thankfully, McGreevey didn't have a key.
That's my confession.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Maybe it's something in the water...
Ok, so I posted to my blog this ridiculous email I received criticizing me for representing one of my clients. (See September 1, 2006 posting below). I thought that emailer was maybe off his meds. But check out what I just got in the mail this weekend:
Greatly concerned at A. Lisa's umbrage, and in an attempt to assuage A. Lisa's concerns, my diligent staff dug out our automated form letter from my political days as our response (you can click on it to make it larger and, therefore, more legible. But it doesn't really say anything, anyway).
Seriously, don't these people have anything better to do with their time? And their postage?
Friday, September 08, 2006
This story is not a crock
Something dawned on me the other day that sent a few shivers up my spine. Let me tell you about it.
Earlier this year, my family and I traveled to Europe. After visits to Scotland and France, we finished our vacation time in London.
For those of you who have spent time in Paris or London, you know the magnificence of the cities' culture and art. My wife and I wanted to spend some serious time immersing ourselves in museums and the culture of our European friends.
The thing was, we brought along our 4 year old son Alex. And we needed to keep him busy, and interested. A smiling boy is much better than a bored, unhappy boy.
So, on our very first day in London, we took Alex to the London Aquarium. Mind you (not The Gap), Laura and I weren't really "taking one for the team", because we thought the aquarium might be kind of cool also. That and it was right next to the London Eye, which made it easy to access from our hotel. But would we have gone to the aquarium if we hadn't brought Alex across the pond? I don't think so, they don't sell wine there.
What was really neat which Alex got to do at the aquarium was "pet" stingrays. The stingrays were in a large, above-ground tank which had no top so you could reach into the water and "pet" the suckers. It took a while to get Alex to do it, but with Daddy's prodding, he did it. He pet a stingray. And so did daddy, and daddy can report that they feel very sandpaperish.
So the rest of the day, and really the rest of the trip, Alex bragged about how he got to pet a stingray. Pretty cool, huh? He even managed to avoid getting stabbed by one of their poisonous barbs.
If that was the end of my story, it wouldn't have been much of a story. But here is the slightly weird part that recently dawned on me.
The very next day, we were all in line to enter Westiminster Abbey. You could say Alex was "taking one for the team" that day. As we were about to enter, I noticed a guard at the front doors had a tiny green crocodile pinned to his tie. Wanting to make my son happy, I pointed the crocodile out to Alex and a smile immediately spread across his face. Alex asked the guard where he got the crocodile from.
"This was given to me yesterday by the Crocodile Hunter, you know, the Australian guy," the guard replied. "He was here, standing right where you are now."
My wife and I looked at each other and were suitably impressed. Alex didn't seem to care, but kept smiling, looking at the crocodile.
Months later, the Crocodile Hunter was tragically killed when a stingray launched a poisonous barb into his heart.
The same Crocodile Hunter who had been at Westminster Abbey.
At the same time my son was petting a stingray, just a mile away.
You can't make this stuff up.
Friday, September 01, 2006
This is what happens when you don't take your medicine...
I'm in a bit of a humerous mood, so to interest my blog readers (I lovingly refer to you as Manganello's Fellows), I submit to you the following email I received from an outraged citizen who didn't approve of a position I'd taken in representing one of my clients.
Names have been changed to protect the innocent!
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From: Not one of Manganello's Fellows
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:45:07
To: esq4hire.com
Subject: Gloucester County Times Article 8-30-06...What a JOKE Manganello
Ok, what is the world coming to???? REALLY!!!! I cannot wait to hear Chris' explanation for defending an 18 year old male who was caught with a beer on his senior class trip and is suing for $1 million dollars for "emotional distress(you have got to be kidding me), economic damages resulting from his inability to play baseball(boo-hoo) and the district's alleged improper handling of the administrative process"(always easy to blame someone else, isn't it?).
Joshua Krautwald needs to take HIS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS and SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. He should have thought about his so called baseball career before he picked up the beer!
Not that you care, Manganello, but I've got to tell you, my dad is very disappointed that you are defending this guy. Please, tell us your defense. Can't wait to hear this load of crap.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did. Mind you, I have no idea why the creator of this email cared so very deeply about this case (personality fixation developed during potty training, perhaps?), but one thing that was clear to me was that this person was very, very angry. About what I really couldn't tell - I mean, the legal matter that was referenced couldn't possibly inspire that much contempt.
So it kind of got me to wondering, why do people get so worked up over things that don't involve them when there are so many other things in life to worry about. I mean, if the lawsuit was so frivolous, you would think that a Judge or Jury would figure that out, right? So what's there to be so upset about? The truth? Or better yet, avoiding your own personal truth?
So what I did was, I wrote back to this person and explained, as much as I could without violating attorney-client priviledge, what the matter was really about. I pointed out that their facts were wrong, and that my client was a minor at the time the school sent him home from Florida, alone. I also tried to articulately explain a bit of the legal theory involved. Which is, well, a bit involved.
What I mean is that it requires a little bit of intellect and patience to understand exactly where I was coming from. Turns out, I wasted by breath. Here was the reply I received:
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From: Not one of Manganello's Fellows
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 19:45:07
To: esq4hire.com
Subject: REPLY/Gloucester County Times Article 8-30-06...What a JOKE Manganello
Your client is not a minor...he is an adult, correct? 18...
Your client wants to make baseball his living...there is no guarantee he will be
good enough to play professionally or even stick with it!! Look how many
people change their professions.
You are absolutely right, God help us all! We need him to with our world
filled with attorneys like you defending people who have nothing better to
do than sue for money, money, money.
We have people struggling to make ends meet and yet this kid will more than
likely win because of our screwed up system and attorneys that twist the
truth for their benefit and he will get a million bucks because HE BROKE THE
LAW????? I really don't get it.....
*************************************************************************************
So at this point, I realized that I was dealing with an idiot. Not because Idiot had a different opinion than mine, there are lots of those Idiots out there. But because Idiot continued to get the facts wrong (yes, he was a minor, dammit), and because Idiot obviously had personal issues that went far beyong Idiot's anger toward me. Like unresolved Daddy issues (see first email), and, evidently, financial issues (i.e., "struggling to make ends meet").
It's not my fault that Idiot doesn't "get" it. I'm really sorry that Idiot's been missing his therapy appointments, but again, it's not my fault. My suggestion: direct that venom toward more positive pursuits. Like getting an education.
So let this be a lesson to my fellow attorneys and other courageous crusader's of the rights of the forlorn and forgotten - watch out for the nutcases, because they are watching you.
A Day to Remember
Today marked the 7th anniversary of the opening of the Law Office, and I can't quite believe how quickly the years have gone by. I still remember my first day at the office - September 1, 1999 - sitting at my desk, and twiddling my thumbs. My how quickly that changed. I still pinch myself occasionally as a reminder that no, I'm not dreaming, I really get to do this for a living. Thank you to all the clients, attorneys and judges I have worked with along the way, who have made my life richer because they were in it.
Today is also a bit of a sad day, because it marks the end of Valerie's time with us. My trusted intern is returning this weekend to Montclair State University, where she will begin her Sophomore year of studies. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for Valerie's hard work throughout the summer. That she did not miss one day of work, was never late, and never left early only begins to illustrate the passion that she demonstrated every day. The good news is that she will be returning next summer, and we also expect her to make some appearances over Christmas break. Our clients have greatly benefited from her intellect and work ethic, and we wish her the best as she continues with her higher education.
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