Truth, Justice & Peace

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Of course, this maxim wasn't necessarily meant to apply as a litigation strategy, but apparently Roy Pearson didn't quite make the connection.

Pearson was an ALJ in DC, who first sued his dry cleaners over a lost pair of pants, then sued over the job he lost because he sued over the pair of pants. I've followed his saga for some time, gleefully chronicling his tale of legal woes. See Never Can Say Goodbye.

As Lowering the Bar explains the latest loss, in Judge Who Lost Pants Loses Another Suit:

It seems that our old friend Roy L. Pearson, Jr., he of the $65 million pants, has recovered sufficiently from losing that case to get on with losing another one. This one was a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the District of Columbia, his former boss (Chief Administrative Law Judge Tyrone Butler), and other alleged miscreants.

As the Boston Globe reports, Judge who sued over lost pants loses bid to keep job:

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Roy L. Pearson Jr., the former District of Columbia judge whose previous $54 million lawsuit against a dry-cleaning business generated international headlines.

Pearson filed the later suit in May 2008, alleging that the District of Columbia government broke the law in refusing to reappoint him to a 10-year term as an administrative law judge. The decision came after news reports about Pearson’s lawsuit against Custom Cleaners, which he said had misplaced a pair of his pants.

The district’s Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges cited Pearson’s temperament and prudence on the bench in not giving him the job.

In a 37-page opinion issued last Thursday, US District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle rejected all of Pearson’s arguments. She called Pearson’s lawsuit against Custom Cleaners a “personal vendetta.’’

No wrongful termination here, said the Judge, The Pants Lawsuit: Still Not Over:

But the federal court was not buying it. Retaliation claims are only viable where an employee has been disciplined or fired for so-called "protected speech." To succeed in his case, Pearson would have to show that his speech (the pants lawsuit) involved a matter of public concern. The fact that he sued in part to compel enforcement of D.C.'s consumer-protection laws (going so far as to characterize himself as a "private attorney general" for doing so) did not impress the judge.

Looks like we won't have Pearson around to mock for much longer. But there's always someone new to fill the spot.

Speaking of lawyers behaving badly, a receptionist has sued her former law firm -- an employment law firm -- claiming that they wouldn't let her take a potty break. Her revenge: she wants to relieve the firm of some money for not letting her relieve herself. Claiming that she was fired for complaining about the lack of breaks, she's asking for $1.59M in damages, no less.

As the Washington Business Journal reports, Former receptionist sues Littler Mendelson over bathroom breaks:

Enter Rebecca Landrith, the now-former receptionist in the McLean office of employment law giant Littler Mendelson PC.

According to the July 27 lawsuit the receptionist filed — with no help from a lawyer — Littler provided no substitute receptionist, and “had no consistent policy or procedure as to when or how Landrith could take a restroom break.”

Need we go on? Oh, if we must. “Impromptu requests” for cover by employees — like attorneys — elicited mostly resentment and condescension, she alleges.

On two separate occasions, Landrith claims, she had to “wet her pants” at the desk because nobody would, well, relieve her.

The incidents caused Landrith depression, stress, anxiety and helplessness — ergo, her claim for $1.59 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

I think the best comment about the case came from Above the Law:

Littler is one of the leading employment law defense firms in the country. It's really not surprising that a firm well-known for 'defend[ing] many of the world's leading corporations' told this lady to leave before she dripped anything on the stationery.

I think this one may be known as the case of the Potty Potty.

It's that time again. Time for our daughter to head back to college. We came to South Florida on Thursday, visited my brother & his family for a few days and my daughter moved into her dorm yesterday.



Last year was a difficult transition for us all, with our daughter starting college in Miami. As I noted back then, she had never been away from home much, so the idea of leaving home was both exciting and terrifying for her. This year, not so much. There was still a little trepidation on her part because she had such a good summer, so having to leave friends and family to go so far away caused some angst. It didn't help that a few of her close friends transferred to schools in or around Philly. On our end, it's also been a little easier and harder. Her summer job (selling kitchen knives, no less) ended up being a wonderful experience for her and we saw her mature and gain confidence in herself as she honed her sales skills. We had a good summer together, so it's sad to see summer end and her leave. On the other hand, it's easier to say good-bye, knowing she's better able to handle herself on her own.

While we were here, we got to see (sort of) the Discovery shuttle launch the other night. We headed outside at midnight, to see the sky light up after the launch and hear the lift off -- even though we're almost 2 hours away. That was an unexpected treat.

I'm also staying a few extra days to hang out, while my husband left for a trip to NYC with his brother & brother-in-law to see an Earth, Wind & Fire & Chicago concert and then head to the US Open tomorrow. Before the concert, he's having dinner with EWF -- our brother-in-law, who's from LA, knows a few of the musicians in the group. If I'm nice, my daughter will let me take her shopping for a few forgotten items and take her to lunch.

The rains last night had the toads falling from the skies, or so it seemed in our back yard.

My daughter & I sat on our porch swing during the rain & lightening storm and noticed that the tree frogs were merrily wandering around the backyard after being washed out of the trees. So she tiptoed through the rain drops and scooped up a few of the frogs.


The rainy summer has also left a few other visitors behind.




It seems to have also caused some alien matter to sprout in the yard.

As I observed on Twitter:

Who says you can't go home again? Weekend in Scranton. Yummy lunch @ Pappas Pizza & dinner @ Savory Maza. My Italian/Lebanese sides happy.

We spent a long week-end in Scranton, where we had a 50th anniversary party for my husband's parents. My parents are also home from Florida for the summer, so I got to visit with them as well. A family-filled week-end (and, as always, some good eats).

A perfectly timed Week-end Journal piece in last week's Philadelphia Inquirer selected Scranton as a destination point, The magic of Scranton, which provided a chuckle for the family and friends from the area.

Calling downtown compact -- about 6 square blocks, in the article may be accurate, but doesn't truly reflect what that downtown was like when I was growing up. Back in the "good old days" (or at least my memories of them), downtown was a vibrant place to be. My high school was on the edge of town, so we went downtown every day after school. To the Charlamont Restaurant at the Globe Store, for brownie a la mode, to Coney Island (mentioned in the piece) for hot dogs, shopping at the Globe and the Scranton Dry Goods Store -- as well as the Army/Navy Store -- believe it or not -- in my hippie days. Those were the days, my friend.

Because the party was held at the Scranton Hilton, I drove my daughter around center city, pointing out various points of interest from my youth. She insisted that it was the first time that she had been downtown (which I find hard to believe), and observed that it was nicer than she expected. I also have to admit that I was amazed at the revival of the downtown in the past few years. My old high school, Central, is now home to a college. The train station and courthouse have been renovated and look fabulous.


As the Inky notes of Scranton:

Mary Ann Moran Savakinus, director of the Lackawanna Historical Society, gives us the city's history in a nutshell:

"The industrial boom was fueled by the holy trinity of iron, rail, and coal." In 1847, brothers Selden T. and George W. Scranton were the first to mass-produce iron rails in America. Their iron-manufacturing business was short-lived, but coal stayed hot. With local fields containing 85 percent of the world's anthracite coal, the family shifted to railroading to transport those "black diamonds" around the country.

By 1900, Scranton had grown into the 38th-largest city in the country, with a population of more than 100,000, and families such as the Scrantons had joined the so-called robber barons of the era.

But the city's story is not just about the wealthy. Industrial growth required labor, and immigrants poured into the city to fill the jobs. The Irish and the Welsh were among the earliest arrivals, followed by Eastern Europeans and Italians.

"Having mined anthracite coal in their native country, the Welsh were a perfect match for the Pennsylvania mines," Moran Savakinus says. "Back then, Scranton had the largest Welsh population outside of Wales itself."

After World War II, coal was displaced by cheaper fuels - oil and natural gas - and the city's fortunes faded.

Its fortunes faded and many of its inhabitants migrated elsewhere (Philly has lots of them). However, like the "hardscrabble" people of Scranton, the city manages to survive, and thrive in its own way.

And, it's nice to know that you can go home again. At least once in a while, for a visit.

(Photos via Scranton Design)

One of the best parts of my job is lunch. Our large conference room does double duty as the lunch table & the LLWL Gang tries to break bread together whenever possible. In fact, like our physician clients who turn off the phones at lunch, we generally don't answer the phones during lunch. It's our time to discuss the news and gossip of the day, to relax and catch up on what's happening with each other.

Luckily, the atmosphere in our office is almost always pleasant. We occasionally argue about the temperature in the office (too hot, too cold), but otherwise we all like what we do & who we do it with. As I've said before:

We have a group of female attorneys, specializing in various aspects of health care and corporate law, practicing together under one roof (and a funky roof at that) in suburban Philly. We all get along and mostly enjoy our practices (and practicing together). It's the kind of work environment everyone should have, but is, unfortunately, rare -- especially in the legal profession.

The value of that cannot be overstated. It certainly shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that rudeness and bad behavior can infect an office environment. As a recent study notes, It Pays to Be Nice:

Your mother was right: You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Even in corporate America, where being nice can save a company millions of dollars.

USC Marshall School of Business professor Christine Porath discovered that employee rudeness hurts the bottom line while researching The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging Your Business and What to Do About It. She co-wrote the book, which was published on July 9, with Christine Pearson, a professor of management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Porath and Pearson state that job stress in the United States accounts for $300 billion in losses, as an uncivil workplace reduces productivity and workers spend time looking for other jobs or helping others to do so. In addition, according to Porath and Pearson’s research, 80 percent of employees who were victims of insults or bullying in the workplace lost valuable work time worrying about the incident, and 78 percent said their commitment to the organization declined.

* * * *

Porath, along with University of Florida management professor Amir Erez, also employed scientific experiments, discovering that “people literally did not perform as well, weren’t as creative and became more dysfunctional and aggressive” when someone was rude to them, Porath said.

But the impact of rudeness (defined in the book as ranging from “taking credit for others’ efforts” to throwing a temper tantrum) didn’t end there, as the authors discovered that even witnesses to an incident where someone was bullied had a negative effect. And if a customer witnesses incivility, that customer decides to not re-patronize the business 50 percent of the time.

See also, Study: Workplace rudeness is contagious.

Lucky for us, smiles are contagious too.

The summer continues to be a whirlwind of activity, but this week was one filled with sorrow. I started & ended the week by attending funerals. A friend and a relative. Both were known for their warm, loving personalities, who gave much to friends, family and others.

My cousin Linda, who just turned 50, died very suddenly. She was out to dinner with her 20 year old daughter and collapsed shortly after she was seated at the restaurant. Her son's high school graduation party was just last week. The funeral was held on Monday, because the family didn't want it to fall on his 18th birthday, which was Tuesday. In addition to her work and caring for her family, she helped to care for her sister, who has advanced ALS. Linda was funny, warm and above all, generous. It was one of the saddest funerals that I've ever attended -- the unexpected, sudden loss of a young, vibrant person.

Whenever I went back home, her sister invariably teased me about the lack of "style" with my hairdo. She hounded me to plan a week-end when I could come home, so that Linda, a hair stylist, could work her magic on my hair. In fact, my brother had made an appointment with Linda for a "make over" in mid-August as a birthday present, when I plan to be home again. Of course, the fact that I'll never get the Linda treatment was a refrain during the viewing & funeral.

On Friday, I ended the week by attending a memorial service for a friend who died at 52 of endometrial cancer. Last I had heard, she was in remission and doing well. I had just received word that she was not doing well when I found out later that day that she had died. Like my cousin, Debra was a wonderful person, kind and generous to all. Our kids went to Greene Street Friends School together, where she also taught & worked in administration for many years.

As her obituary said:

Everybody needs a hug once in a while.

That was the idea behind the Prayer Shawl Ministry, begun by Debra Pinder Symonette at the First United Methodist Church of Germantown.

Members of the ministry combine knitting and crocheting with prayer, creating shawls for people, mostly women, in need of comforting.

"A shawl ends up being very personal and very loving," said Zelphia Ellerson, a friend of Debra's since they attended Girls High together. "It's a hug. That's what it is."

The shawl ministry was just one expression of Debra Symonette's compassion and love of people. The multi-talented educator, onetime architect, artist and craftsman died Wednesday of complications of endometrial cancer. She was 52 and lived in East Mount Airy.

* * * *

Debra founded Paper Crane Studio, a crafts studio based at the church. She taught doll-making, rubber-stamping, scrapbooking, basket-making, card-making, calligraphy, beading, orgami, crocheting, knitting, quilt-making and other skills.

"Paper crane" is a Japanese symbol of peace and hope.

Debra also taught a variety of crafts at the Mount Airy Learning Tree, and organized "Stitch and Pitch" outings to Phillies games.

She was a member of United Methodist Women, which works to raise awareness of human rights, economic opportunity and health and quality-of-life issues relevant to women. She also was a member of the board of Weaver's Way, the West Mount Airy food cooperative.

The quilt pictured above, titled "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilt," was part of an exhibition that was shown last fall by a group of quilters. Embodying the spirit of Debra, her quilt contained quilt blocks from all of the original quilters in the group, as a way of showing the creativity of each member and the community. Debra looked at life that way in all that she did.

At the end of the service, paper cranes -- the symbol of peace & hope -- were handed out to all.

Before I left for vacation, I remarked to friends that Las Vegas is probably on the top of my list of places that I'd rather not visit. However, my in-laws are celebrating their 50th Anniversary next month & the kids decided to hold the family vacation in Vegas this year so that we could combine the vacation and renewal of vows (and get a little gambling in for those who indulge).

The ceremony/reception was lovely, with all of the 5 children participating. My husband, as the oldest, was the best man. My brother-in-law, who is a minister, performed the ceremony. All of the grandkids also took part. I was one of the few in the audience, along with a few close friends & relatives who came along.

My husband & I aren't gamblers, so Vegas is not really the place for us. I couldn't believe that there were slot machines at the end of the runway when we deplaned. I'm only surprised that the bathrooms didn't have mini-slots, since they pervaded every other possible spot. To me, the non-stop gaming activity was an assault on the senses. With the temperatures over 100 degrees every day, there wasn't much else available -- even the pool was off limits until late afternoon.

We stayed at Treasure Island and visited the casinos that mimicked Paris & Venice. I've been to both cities several times, so I have to admit that I was pretty condescending about the thought of a Vegas Paris or Venice. The commercialization was a bit over the top, but the trompe l'oeil was decent. I went through the Venetian early one morning before the stores opened, so the effects were pretty good.

One evening, the ladies all went to see Menopause, The Musical, which was delightful. Another day, we wandered around old Las Vegas in the downtown section, which I enjoyed much more than the built-up strip. I even visited a few pawn shops, trying to benefit from someone's else's bad luck. I managed to find a good deal on a piece of jewelry, natch.


A number of people insisted that I at least try my hand at gambling, so I wagered $2. on the slots, which I promptly lost & quit for good. If I'm going to spend my money, I at least want to have something to show for it. All I have to say is: Las Vegas -- oy, what a place.

So, my hectic social life continues unabated. I'm normally a homebody, with an occasional night out, but lately I've been out almost every night, either for a client meeting or a social event.

In fact, I've been out to dinner so much in the last week or so that I could write a food blog. In the last week alone, I've been to Cooper's in Manayunk, Bocia in Mount Airy, a new restaurant in Roxborough twice, Sole 2 Soul, and had dinner at the Germantown Cricket Club.

Except for the Cricket Club, all of the restaurants are relatively new and are BYOB. Our favorite (thus, the second excursion) is Sole 2 Soul. It's just the kind of place that Ridge Avenue in Roxborough needs -- good food, nice setting. My daughter (who works nearby) is actually the one who discovered the place and we all went there last Friday. My husband & I returned last week again on our own, since we enjoyed the meal so much. The menu features a lot of seafood (which I don't eat), so my husband can get his fill. My blackened chicken breast was very tasty as well.

Cooper's Brick Oven Wine Bar is the sister restaurant to Jake's. We all had gourmet pizza and salad, which was good, but not anything special. Unlike Craig LaBan, I'm not a fan of the crackery flatbread pizza. I prefer stretchy pizza dough, even if it's pulled thin for margarita pizza. Our friends liked it more than we did.

Thursday was our anniversary (21 years of marriage/38 years togetherness), so we dined at Bacio. Again, my husband had seafood, Filet of Talapia, which he loved and I had a delicious chicken parmigiana. The service was so slow that the chef sent out a beef salad gratis while we waited. We were in no hurry, so it was no big deal for us. We'd definitely go back.

On the 4th, we opted for a restful day -- a day relaxing at the pool, followed by a BBQ in our yard, with a late night dip in our hottub, sipping wine. We could hear the fireworks in the background, so it was a fab 4th.

Tomorrow we're off for our family vacation. This year we're going to a place that topped my list of vacation spots I don't want to see -- Las Vegas. We don't gamble, but everyone says it's still a fun place to go. My in-laws are renewing their vows on their 50th Anniversary and we're doing it up in Las Vegas. I'll see if I can find some hidden treasure at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.

After a busy start to the week, with the annual dinner meeting of a non-profit whose Board I recently joined and a celebratory dinner for a friend who was just appointed Dean of the University of Maryland School of Law, I've been plagued for the last few days with the worst of the worst -- a summer flu.

I suppose there's some consolation in the non-stop dreary, rainy weather that we've had, so at least I'm consoled by the fact that I'm not missing any prime pool time.

I have my own suspicions about how I contracted it. Last week-end in Scranton, I attended our Church picnic in McDade Park, but I left just as the priest began setting up for an outdoor mass. I believe a curse was put on me for skipping out early.

Of course, I've had no end of diagnoses and suggested remedies to try. The "advantage" of having physicians as clients, I suppose. However, can I say that I wasn't especially thrilled when an ER doctor client said that it sounded like I had swine flu & should get tested. Bed rest & lots of fluids were also recommended (and even a homeopathic remedy, believe it or not) -- as soon as I finished whatever project that the particular client had called about.

Luckily, it looks like on the fever & chills are gone, along with the sore throat. So I'm just left with the dull headache, fatigue and of course, the sniffles, coughing & sneezing. And with the pitter patter of the rain outside my window, I have no desire to go outside today, so I'm sure to get the all of the R&R I need.

I'm back from a long week-end in Scranton for my nephew's Graduation Party. Another trip back in time as I wander the halls of the Tripp House. As I mentioned 2 years ago when my other nephew graduated, Ain't No Party Like a Scranton Party:

The trip to Scranton was a real trip down memory lane for me. The Graduation Party was held at The Tripp House, which is Scranton's oldest home. Even more, years before it was taken over by the Junior League and restored as an event venue, my grandmother lived there. My brothers and I went to the house early to help set up for the party, so I got to wander around the house and remember spending time there with Noni. Great memories.

The rest of the week-end was also filled with family-related activities. On Saturday, we attended a Church picnic at McDade Park and another graduation party that evening.
Scranton has some of the best state parks around. After the bucolic setting of McDade Park, on Sunday the family spent the day at Lackawanna State Park, where we went kayaking and canoeing. After the rest of the gang headed out on the lake, my brother & I sat with my parents for a while, before we decided to hop into our own canoe.

Of course, anyone who knows me knows that me in a canoe isnn't exactly a picture that easily comes to mind. I probably haven't been in a canoe since the days when we had our vacation house in the Poconos. In fact, after the shock wore of the faces of my niece and nephews when we caught up with them, I had to take pictures to prove to doubters that I really was sailing the lake in my canoe.

I haven't disappeared into the great beyond of the "ethernets" -- at least not yet, anyway.

Blogging has been light or non-existent for the past month or so due to my crazy schedule, both at work and home. Despite the fact that my blogging has suffered, most of the stuff going on in my life is good.

Work has been especially hectic, with the usual emergency client matters, as well as the latest technical difficulties compounding the problem. Trust me, I'm not complaining about the client workload -- especially when I see the severe problems faced by BigLaw these days. I realized many years ago that the big firm life was not for me, so I left before things got really out of hand and I've never looked back (other than with great relief).

On the other hand, technical difficulties at work continue to plague the office. We recently switched our phone system, moving to T1/PRI lines. Unfortunately, the transition has been anything but smooth. Our system has been down several days each week since the move two months ago. What makes it worse is the fact that the PRI lines hold not only our phones, but our internet & fax as well, so when they go down, we are totally shut down. No fun. The frustration and hassle of dealing with our work under these conditions has been burdensome and annoying, to say the least.

Outside of work, I've been on the road, visiting family in Scranton, Delaware & Pittsburgh for a funeral, wedding & graduation. Another trek to Scranton is scheduled for this week-end for more graduation festivies.

Our daughter is home for the summer & we've had to adjust to having her around again. Thankfully, she is also gainfully employed. Of course, her job is selling kitchen knives, so our assistance is required -- imposing on friends & family to listen to her sales spiel. But at least she has finally gotten a real paycheck & she's enjoying her job.

Besides that, my social life has been more active of late and I've even started going to the gym a few times a week after work, in my attempt to prepare for beach blanket sun & fun. In fact, with the beautiful weather on Sunday, I spent a good part of the day at the pool. Next to the beach, my favorite summer pasttime is the pool.

With all that's been happening in my life, most of my blogging has been written in my mind, with not much time to actually sit down & write it down to post. But I'm hoping things will calm down just a bit, so I can get back to my blogging routine.

(Sign via Gort42)

At yesterday's LLWL lunch, we engaged in our perpetual discussion on the winner of the Palin-Be-Gone Wager. No declared winner yet.

As part of the Sarah table talk, the discussion turned to Palin's upcoming book deal, her opportunity to finally tell her side of the story.

No title yet. However, some great contenders can be found at The Mudflats, with an opportunity to vote on a title. A few of my favs:

The Audacity of Hype
Palin Place
Beyond the Palin
Goodnight Loon
Sarah Vain and Simple
The Lyin’ The Witch and the Wardrobe.

Finally, David Letterman's Top 10 Surprises in Sarah Palin's Memoir:

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows about the Palin Be Gone Wager that I had with one of the LLWL members. Our bet was whether Sarah Palin would continue her celebrity status in the aftermath of the election. As I described it before:

Although I'm normally not a gambler, I even agreed to a wager. My bet was that Sarah would slink off sooner rather than later, while my colleague said Sarah's staying. The loser has to buy pizza for the office from Old Forge, located nearby my hometown of Scranton (which I have bragged for years has the best pizza ever). After much back & forth on the matter, we decided that the Ides of March would be the date of determination. At that point in time, would Sarah Palin still be in the news?

Admittedly, Palin certainly continued full blast in the early post-election days, but then began to pale as time went on. I chronicled her decline in Out of the Spotlight and Off The Radar.

And yes, although the drop dead date for the bet was March 15th, we've yet to declare a winner. I've acknowledged that Palin has had a resurgence of sorts since the Ides of March, The Wasilla Snowbillies, but that doesn't help my erstwhile colleague. Of course, as I've mentioned before, she's willing to call it a tie, but lord knows I can never concede defeat. So our Old Forge Pizza fest is on hold, to the consternation of the rest of the office.

Along with our Palin Patter, I received an official Sarah Palin calendar as a surprise holiday present from my gambling pal. See The Year of Living Palin. It's prominently displayed on the wall facing my credenza, much to the shock & surprise of clients & friends who happen by the office. Of course, I rarely discuss politics with clients, but a few who know me well at least suspect my liberal leanings, even if they do not share them. So the expression on their face as they gaze at Sarah's face is priceless, with a look of bewilderment and confusion.

When I received my Christmas present, I was told that there was yet another present coming, but that it had been delayed. Well, it finally arrived yesterday.

My very own Sarah Palin doll!

Sexy, Sassy Sarah.

This treasured collectors item has arrived just in time too, since Sarah's been named to The 2009 TIME 100, with her praises sung by no less a luminary than Ann Coulter, who says of Palin:

Sarah Palin was arguably the most influential person in 2008, but no one notices because she wasn't influential enough to overcome the deficits of her running mate and win the election.

* * * *

John McCain was so preposterous a candidate (at least on a Republican ticket) that Palin was responsible for far more votes than the usual vice-presidential candidate. The biggest red flag proving her popularity with normal Americans is that liberals won't shut up about her. Palin is a threat to liberals because she believes in God and country and family — all values liberals pretend to believe in but secretly detest. There's a reason there's no "Stop Olympia Snowe before it's too late!" movement.

On the other hand, it all depends on your perspective. I'm not sure that Coulter gets the last word. Mitt Romney may have called it, when he remarked:

In the latest instance of a high-profile GOP member taking a passing swipe at the party's 2008 vice presidential candidate, former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney jokingly dismissed Sarah Palin’s inclusion on Time’s list of influential people in an interview broadcast Sunday.

He asked, was “the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?”

And finally, after playing the tease for a while, Sarah Palin to be part of the National Council for a New America, the latest rebranding effort by the GOP.

So, my Palin doll will be a conversation piece for a while.

We rarely see a movie in the theater (a Mother's Day outing to see Crash a few years ago may have been the last time), but we decided that the rainy weather was perfect for a family movie night. The Soloist certainly fit the mood of the weather.

My daughter's reading the book now and I'm familiar with the story from reading Steve Lopez' columns in the LA Times when he originally wrote of the story of the mentally ill musician in 2005. Lopez had been one of my favorite writers at the Inky, so I followed his columns when he moved to LA., including his awarding winning series of stories about Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic homeless man who was a gifted musician and had attended Juilliard. These stories comprise the book and the plot of the movie.

The headline of the Philly Daily News review says it all, ‘The Soloist’ not a feel-good film. As Gary Thompson explains:

Did I mention it's also intentionally atonal, this dirge? "The Soloist" is a tough movie built around the difficult friendship between Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (ex of the Inky) and the homeless man whose life he chronicles.

It begins when Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) strikes up a conversation with a street musician named Ayers (Jamie Foxx), who's ranting and plucking on two strings of a busted violin.

The man babbles, but Lopez gets his name, hears the word "Julliard," and does a little digging. He unearths (and reports, in a series of columns) the compelling biography of a boy genius whose promise was cut short by madness, a biography that also tells the story of urban homelessness. (As does this movie, with rare emotional restraint.)

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx gave excellent portrayals of the two men, Lopez and Ayers, as they met and eventually connected, despite their different backgrounds and Ayers mental problems. Lopez, in his own way, had the more difficult task, since he had to overcome the desire to help Ayers "fix" his life by trying to find a way for Ayers to obtain medical assistance. He also had to confront the fact that, as a writer, he connected with others through observation and maintained his distance. As he became involved with Ayers, that solo personality would prevent him from reaching the soloist Ayers. With his severe mental illness, Ayers was unable to change his behavior in any meaningful way. For him, music was the only way that he was able to soothe the voices in his head and sometimes let in the real world. Once Lopez was able to accept that reality, they were able to form a bond of sorts.

I tend to agree with Rebecca Murray's Review:

As Lopez gets to know Ayers - as much as anyone can know a stranger with severe mental problems who's not being treated for his disease - he discovers an incredible musician still exists inside the man who 99.9% of the population would go out of their way to avoid eye contact with. What started as the idea for one column turns into a life-changing relationship from which both men benefit, though in vastly different ways.

Is proclaiming Robert Downey Jr one of the best actors of his generation pushing it? Check out The Soloist and tell me Downey Jr isn't at the top of his game as a newspaper reporter who uses Ayers to get a story before finding himself unintentionally becoming the most stable friend the tortured Ayers had during his years on the streets. It's mostly through Downey Jr's eyes that we follow the story, listening in while he dictates what he's learned dealing with Ayers into his tape recorder before writing up his articles for the LA Times. Downey Jr thoroughly and absolutely becomes this veteran journalist who gets too close to his subject and finds himself caught up in Ayers' life to point where an actual friendship has formed.

Jamie Foxx delivers yet another poignant performance as he tackles what just had to be the most difficult role of his career. Whether speaking at a manic pace as Ayers' mind trips out on him or altering everything about his being when Ayers shows moments of near lucidity, Foxx never, ever turns his portrayal of Ayers into a caricature of a mentally unbalanced man.

* * * *

Wright's made an honest, unflinching film that's uncomfortable to watch at times, a pure joy to behold at others, and overall as faithful to its source material as possible while still being cinematically entertaining.

Most of the reviews of the movie were mixed, but the family all liked the movie, despite it's overall depressing theme. I'm glad that I saw the movie before I read the book, to eliminate the comparisons between the two. Both my daughter and the woman sitting behind me kept pointing out differences in the movie. (The Los Angeles Times review notes a few of the variances).

But it was my husband who was most affected, because he worked with the mentally ill homeless about 20 years ago and it brought back a wave of memories for him. In fact, he coincidentally had a meeting nearby this week, so he happened to stop at the agency he had worked. An old colleague is now running the Center. He even ran into an old client, who remembered him. The man, still homeless after all these years, was excited because he thought my husband was returning to the Center.

All in all, we thought the movie was a realistic portrayal of mental illness & homelessness that certainly won't leave you feeling uplifted. Yet, it was well-done & managed to be moving nonetheless.

Last Sunday, someone other than the Easter Bunny visited one of our neighbors. That's right, there was no Easter Egg Hunt for the Boyd family.

Instead there was another visit from a reckless driver who landed in their yard after running a red light, causing another accident on Lincoln Drive. I was sitting in our sunroom on Easter Sunday afternoon when I heard the loud crash. Based upon the noise & the sirens that followed, I knew it had to be pretty bad. My daughter, PhillyAngel, & I took a walk down the block to see what had happened this time.

The same neighbors who had a car land in their sunroom last year, see Lift-off on Lincoln Drive, were the unlucky recipients of another accident on their property. As the Inky reported, Renewed effort to slow Lincoln Dr. speeders, one of the homeowners, Sharon Boyd, was in her yard when an accident happened as she watched:

Boyd saw a blue car traveling east on Hortter Street sail through the red light and slam into a tan sedan heading north on Lincoln Drive.

She felt Peaches' heart quicken, and her own, as the two cars spun toward the house.

Boyd shouted for her husband, Larry, and her son Kevin to run.

The blue car knocked over a fire hydrant and took out some irises and shrubs on the side of the house. The tan one ripped the curb, then slammed into a utility pole in front of the house.

Yet again, there was a scene of screaming and crying passengers, swirling police lights, ambulances, and tow trucks, and broken glass on Lincoln Drive. In just the last two weeks, there have been six crashes on the drive - all in the residential area north of Johnson Street, with no fatalities.

Another neighbor, Policie Commissioner Ramsey, also reacted to the Easter hop:

Since Ramsey became commissioner last year, he has grumbled publicly about speeders on Lincoln Drive, which winds through Fairmount Park into the city's northwest neighborhoods.

After learning about the latest accident outside the Boyds' home, Ramsey said: "People just drive too doggone fast. Even when surfaces are wet they do not slow down. They slide into your lawn, your porch, anything because they lose control of their car."

To slow down drivers entering Lincoln Drive from Kelly Drive, a traffic-unit patrol car has been stationed for more than a year at the side of the road, a police spokesman said.

Unfortunately, Lincoln Drive is out of control. Even though we live nearby, I avoid it if at all possible. There are an average of 3 accidents a week. As the Inky noted, there were 6 accidents in the last 2 weeks, all in the 1 mile residential stretch past Johnson Street. Those who live along the Drive, including Ramsey, have had to take the initiative to protect their homes:

Several residents along the drive have posted "Keep Kids Alive Drive 25" signs on their lawns and placed large boulders around their properties to thwart wayward cars.

Ramsey said that about five months ago a car crashed into one of his boulders. "Again, somebody driving way too fast. Ruined their car . . . their undercarriage, anyway."

Part of the problem is that it is unclear who is responsible for the problem. A neighborhood group was formed to address the issue, once they figure out who to talk to:

"It's not clear who's supposed to address it: the city or the state," [Committee member Kittura] Dior said, noting that the drive is a state highway. "Everyone seemed to have an interest, but it wasn't a focused interest."

In fact, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation owns and does major reconstruction of the drive, mayoral spokesman Luke Butler said. The Streets Department is responsible for regular maintenance, and Fairmount Park crews plow part of the road.

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) said he believed Lincoln Drive was a city highway but said: "In either instance . . . we're going to work with the community to make sure they get the resources they need to get it done. The city has tried a number of things over the years as far as staging entry on the drive, but further up is still a problem."

OK, this much is true, that the road is a big problem. Now what? Any chance we could maybe fix it??

My husband flew down to Miami Thursday morning to load up & drive back all of the stuff that's in our daughter's dorm room. Lucky for us, we have family in the South Florida area, so we were able to store most of the big items (refridge, microwave, TV, etc) in my parents garage. Her first year college experience had its tribulations, but the semester is coming to an end.

We gave her a car for Christmas (my brother's old Mustang GT), so my husband is enjoying the drive home in the "muscle car." After spending the night at my brother's house in Delray, he drove to Atlanta on Friday to visit his brother. Then it's on the road again, Philly bound. He's reliving his youth, recalling the time he drove to Florida & back during Spring Break with one of his best buddies in his corvette.

This also means I have a few days of hanging out, with no responsibilities (except the job & the pets, of course). Also on the agenda was a girls' night out, and cruising around on a nice sunny day with the top down, doing some browsing at my favorite consignment shops & antique jewelry stores.

When I talked to my husband on his drive to Atlanta on Friday, he mentioned that he couldn't believe the array of Confederate flags dotting the landscape. I thought perhaps that he had passed the world's largest Confederate Flag near Tampa that was raised last summer.

And, the timing is apparently perfect to be immersed in the Rebel flag, since April has been deemed as Confederacy month by the powers that be, including Georgia's governor, Sonny Perdue, as I discovered from Philly's own field negro.

Maybe there was a sign up to greet him as he entered Georgia, declaring Happy Confederacy History and Heritage Month.

(*edited)

The sun had been shinning and the temperate was a warm, springlike 74 degrees. A sudden clap of thunder was all the warning for the torrential rains -- and hail -- that came with force and just as suddenly stopped. The layer of hailstones in the yard was the only sign left behind.

That and the toad that we saw later walking along the path in our backyard, emerging from his winter hibernation.

Shortly after John McCain picked the now infamous Sarah Palin from Alaska as his running mate, I began looking around for information about her. It was then that I first discovered The Mudflats, which I have found to be an interesting, informative and reliable resource for all things Palin. See, Change, Republican Style and Valley Girls.

Like Palin's view of Russia from her house, the Mudflats was also my window into Alaska, a distant state that I frankly knew little or nothing about before Sarah's first ya betcha. Since then, I've often checked back to see what was happening in Palinland, via Mudflats.

Even after the election, with the Palin-Be-Gone wager I had with one of my LLWL colleagues, Out of the Spotlight, I visited the site to check in on Palin news. Like me, AK Muckraker was Anonymous. I have no idea (nor is it any of my business) why. Everyone has their reasons.

As I noted several years ago, in I Hardly Knew You:

I keep an anonymous persona because many of my business relationships and clients are conservative and I certainly can't have my blog impact my work. Of course, some of my clients know that I'm liberal, but we don't often discuss politics. Also, the law is a funny business, and I don't want my political views to distract from my representation of my clients in any way. A client surely doesn't need opposing counsel to be more difficult when negotiating a transaction because they strongly object to the views of their attorney. Based upon my experience of personalities of lawyers, I'm sure that it could happen.

Of course, anyone who knows me who reads my blog could fairly easily figure out who I am. Which is why only a few close friends (and the LLWL* of course) even know that I have a blog.

Whatever her reason for anonymity, I can certain relate. For that reason, I was dismayed to learn that an Alaskan state representative (Democrat no less) had revealed the real identity of AK Muckraker. Blogger identity exposed by Alaskan Rep. Mike Doogan. And Rep. Doogan did so solely to be vindictive because she had once written a piece that was critical of him. See Famed Anonymous Anti-Palin Blogger 'Outed' by Lawmaker.

After being exposed in this way, AK Muckraker wrote an essay about the dastardly deed by Doogan, In Exposing the Identity of Mudflats, Rep. Mike Doogan Exposes Himself. Regarding her decision to remain anonymous, she says:

It said in my “About” page that I choose to remain anonymous. I didn’t tell anyone why. I might be a state employee. I might not want my children to get grief at school. I might be fleeing from an ex-partner who was abusive and would rather he not know where I am. My family might not want to talk to me anymore. I might alienate my best friend. Maybe I don’t feel like having a brick thrown through my window. My spouse might work for the Palin administration. Maybe I’d just rather people not know where I live or where I work. Or none of those things may be true. None of my readers, nor Mike Doogan had any idea what my personal circumstances might be. But that didn’t seem to matter.

The only good thing to come out of this is the outpouring of good wishes to AKM and bad PR for Doogan. In The Darkness.. Let There Be Links.. If I didn't hate the cold so much, I'd be tempted to move to his district just for the pleasure of voting against him. But, I may not have to, since he may have exposed himself and won't need any help from me.

(LLWL = Lady Lawyers Who Lunch, a/k/a my officemates)

It's the last part of the Stevie Wonder song that's been causing us problems at the office. It all started last week, when we realized that our mail delivery had substantially slowed. Then, one day, we had no mail at all. With the number of people in the office, this only happens on holidays, when there isn't any mail delivery.

A call to the post office revealed the problem -- our mail had been deliberately stopped. Our local postmaster had decreed that the address we had used for the nine years we occupied the office was no longer sufficient. He then decided that all of the businesses in our building needed to change suite numbers. Of course, neither he or anyone else at the post office bothered to tell us about this beforehand, so our mail ended up being returned to sender as undeliverable.

No mail -- including payments from clients, bills from vendors and correspondence related to various pending legal matters, including from the courts. In this economy, a prolonged denial of our mail delivery could put a number of small businesses out of business.

Our efforts to deal with the postmaster were rebuffed. We requested that he put the new requirements in writing and explain the necessity for the change, as well as provide us with a phase-in period before ceasing our mail delivery. He laughingly refused to do anything. He basically read his role as being the "master" and forgot about the "mail" part. So, we spent much of this past week filing complaints, contacting the postal service and our representatives, trying to restore our delivery.

Imagine our surprise when one of the LLWL picked up her Inky Thursday morning, to discover that Hateful Harrison, our postmaster, was featured in a piece by Daniel Rubin. In Dog stops mail; customer howls, Rubin describes the travails experience by a neighborhood who also stopped receiving their mail delivery when postmaster John Harrison abruptly changed the delivery rules for them. The column reports:

[S]even households received "Dear Postal Customer" letters, informing them their delivery might be suspended due to safety concerns. They learned they needed to install mailboxes at the curb so carriers could reach them without having to leave their trucks.

And that was the last day mail was distributed to this old pocket of Whitemarsh Township.

Bart Levy relies on the mail to receive legal papers and rent checks from tenants who live in his properties.

He said postmaster John B. Harrison had told him he couldn't put a box just anywhere; the Postal Service would have to come out and determine the safest location. This investigation, Levy said he had been told, would take an unspecified amount of time.

After Levy, a lawyer, brought suit, concern about a dog was used as justification for the new rule, although Rubin discovered that the dog was in fact fenced in. It took the lawsuit to reach a resolution among the parties that restored mail delivery.

Of course, our tales of mail woe were merely a microcosm of the mail madness that enveloped Philly last year. See, e.g. Complaints about service piling up - like mail that isn't being delivered and Docs blast delays in the mails. For the whole Philly Daily News series on the mail tales, see Dead letters.

Perhaps it was the bad press from the article, along with our complaints and letters, but our mail finally resumed by week's end, even if it was lighter than usual.

So, at least we can finally sing "Signed, Sealed & Delivered" with Stevie & Beyonce:

The Ides of March marked the end of the Palin-Be-Gone Wager with my LLWL colleague.

As I noted recently, Sarah Palin had dropped off the scene, leaving the gossip-mongers free to concentrate their efforts on her daughter Bristol and ex, Levi. See Out of the Spotlight.

Now that the deadline has passed (without declaration of a clear winner), Sarah has ascended to front stage yet again.

First off, she is the cover girl & subject of a (not very flattering) piece in next month's Portfolio (pictured above). As The Huffington Post reports:

Joe McGinniss' cover story, 'Pipe Dreams,' focuses on Palin's failure to build a gas pipeline in Alaska. The subhed reads:

Forget 'Drill, baby, drill.' Sarah Palin says she's building a $40 billion gas pipeline, which even President Obama wants. The only problem: It isn't there. And it's her fault.

And then, there's the news that Sarah has made it after all -- in the comics, at least. CNN reports the news, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin enter the world of comic books:


Move over Wonder Woman and Lois Lane - Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin are breaking into the world of comic books.

Washington-based publisher Bluewater Productions released a series of comic books featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on March 11. The company says it has already sold 7,500 copies of each to distributors.

* * * *

Then they decided that Hillary Clinton's story needed to be told.

"She was the first [major] female presidential candidate, so we just started with [her], and there was so much interest in it," said Jason Schultz, executive vice president of Bluewater Productions.

The first two issues in Female Force, already released, feature Clinton and Palin. The next two will feature Caroline Kennedy and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Michelle Obama comic is expected to be released in April, and has pre-sold 28,000 copies.

Then comes word that she's the featured speaker at a June dinner sponsored by the House and Senate Republican campaign committees. Sarah Palin, star of GOP dinner.

Or not. As noted in The Protecters of the Palin Brand:

There is no brand in Republican politics as powerful -- or as tenuous -- as that of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

She is simultaneously the hottest commodity on the Republican fundraising circuit and a figure of ridicule among Democrats (and even many Independents) who believe that her status as a national figure is entirely undeserved.

Even Palin and her political team seem to be struggling somewhat with how much or little to expose her at the national level.

Witness the odd back and forth over the past 24 hours regarding her involvement in the annual Republican House-Senate fundraising dinner in June.

Yesterday afternoon the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a joint press release touting Palin as the keynote speaker at their fundraising dinner on June 8 in Washington. Then the governor's spokesman told the Anchorage Daily News that the NRSC and NRCC were mistaken in announcing Palin as the keynoter, insisting that she had agreed to no such thing.

Finally, back on the home front, things aren't looking so good for the Sarah. Her approval ratings have dropped from 55% in August of 2007 to 20% as of March 13, 2009. Palin’s Approval Index Continues to Erode in Her Home State. No wonder she's trying to make a comeback back in the lower 48. I'm just thankful that her timing was to do it right after the wager deadline passed.