Dysfunctional Democracy Our system broke down, somewhere along the way. I see a Nixon / Goldwater to Reagan to Trump lineage. I know Trump-a-phobes who see Trump as a one-off (and think the other Rs I mentioned served us well), and a significant minority of us think we need Trump to solve our problems. Without […]
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Administrative
The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics
The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics The Ethics Watch: Update Here’s the latest on the ethics front. Justice Samuel Alito took a trip with a billionaire to go fishing in Alaska. No disclosures. Then, he ruled on a case that involved one of the billionaire’s entities, and claims he lacked knowledge about the connection. Why […]
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Oh Baby Baby It’s a Wild World
Oh Baby Baby It’s a Wild World [Note: I wrote this piece in February, and it got lost in a shuffle.] With a nod to Cat Stevens aka Steven Demetre Georgiou (at the outset) and Yusuf Islam (now), Oh Baby Baby It’s a Wild World. I encountered two real estate situations in the past 10 […]
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U.S.A v. Trump
U.S.A v. Trump A grand jury indicted Donald John Trump in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Let’s be clear about several thing, straightaway: Everyone is presumptively innocent until a jury renders a guilty verdict. The indictment and the evidence have not been shared by the government. No one – […]
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Be Happy About Paying Taxes

Do you want cute firefighters to show up when you call 9-1-1?
Pay your taxes.
Do you want to zip along the interstate at 70mph instead of bumbling between towns on dirt roads?
Pay your Taxes.
Do you like getting cards in the mail?
Pay Your Taxes.
Photo by xomiele (Creative Commons)
Did you get a COVID vaccine?
Pay Your TaxeS.
Do you have a loved one who is on Social Security?
PaY Your TaxeS.
Do you want kids to know how to read?
PaY YouR TaxeS.
Photo by Cea. (Creative Commons)
Do you think we owe it to our…
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Disney Defeats DeSantis
Disney Defeats DeSantis Gov. Ron DeSantis (R – Fla.) plays down his background, which includes a law degree from Harvard Law School. (He plays a redneck in real life!) Maybe that explains the governor and wanna be POTUS’s big-time fail on the matter of The Walt Disney Company and the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Some […]
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Donald Trump Heads for the Big Apple
Donald Trump Heads for the Big Apple Indictments charge people with crimes. No more, no less! But no one should ever want to be indicted! No one! The wrath of the law approaches Mr. Trump often, but now it has touched him like it never has before. He will be photographed – full on and […]
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Bye-bye Matthew Scarber
Bye-bye Matthew Scarber Matthew Scarber has left Rubin & Bernstein PLLC. People come and go in workplaces, but Matt’s departure deserves a few words. Rubin & Bernstein exists because of Matt. The story was present on our website for years, but it’s worth sharing here: Mark: Leigh stepped up, when an old friend who taught at […]
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Balloons, Balloons, Balloons!
Balloons, Balloons, Balloons! Balloons, balloons, balloons! Decades ago, a Tucson businessman name Sid Omansky ran commercials for his appliance store – which focused on selling color television sets – with the tagline Balloons, balloons, balloons. (Competitor Ted Flash TV ads, voiced by talented Frank Kalil, closed with “Open … and Sundays after church.”) I thought […]
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High Schools Are Cutting Football due to CTE Concerns

American football is modern-day bullfighting. Athletes are killing themselves for fans’ entertainment and their teams’ profits. It’s not a secret that the majority of former NFL players have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – brain degeneration from repeated head trauma, such as concussions and subconcussive hits.
I’d love to see the NFL shift from tackle football to flag football, and create a cascading effect through every level of play. Unfortunately, teams are making too much money off their players to make such a drastic change that could risk alienating their audience. From a business perspective, I understand their logic, but…
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Misgendered for Medical Care

I use an LGBTQ-friendly doctor’s office. They even provide trans-specific medical care, including prescribing hormones for trans men and women. Their website says, “We strive to provide judgement-free, affirming care that allows our patients to live healthy, authentic lives.” If anyone understands how important it is to address patients appropriately, it’s my doctor’s office.
But even the most gender-affirming medical practice can fall short of providing quality care to all its patients because they can’t overcome the fact that health insurance forces non-binary people to lie about their gender to maintain coverage.
Photo by Terry Ross (Creative Commons)
Here’s What…
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The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. The Corporate Transparency Act Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act on January 2, 2021. It did so by overriding President Donald Trump’s veto. (Maybe it offered another reason to want to tear down the house four days […]
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When Your Adult Child is Trans

Last year, two of my cis-hetero friends told me that their college-age child recently came out trans. I immediately shifted into protective Oggy Ruth* mode and wanted to protect all of them and make sure they had the resources they might need.
Photo by Ted Eytan (Creative Commons)
Free Mom Hugs
Free Mom Hugs was started by Sara Cunningham who is the mom of a gay son. Her advocacy started by offering to stand in as anyone mom if their biological mother refused to come to their child’s same-sex wedding.
Now there are Free Mom Hugs chapters throughout the…
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Non-Binary Americans Can’t Get Health Insurance

Did you know that there are no health insurance options for non-binary people in the U.S.? Whenever you apply for health insurance, the application asks for your gender/sex, and every application only has male/female options.
When I corrected my birth certificate to state that I’m “non-binary,” I called my health insurance provider to update my account. They said they could not do the update because their insurance plans are specifically and only for males and females.
Photo by Ivan Radic (Creative Commons)
Health Insurance Broker Claims They Could Help
In the summer of 2022, I received an email from the…
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Undeniable Recap of 2022

2022 was a crazy busy year for me. The best moments were the ones I got to share with people I love. Here are some of the highlights:
I’m an Ironman!
I will never forget how it felt to run across that black and red carpet and raise my arms as I crossed the finish line while Mike Reilly said, “You are an Ironman!”
The first 7 months of 2022 was centered around training for Ironman on top of training throughout 2020 and 2021 when my race was cancelled due to COVID. It was a bit surreal to see this…
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Who decides elections?

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, No. 21-1271, on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. To suggest that democracy in America depends on the outcome of this case does not overstate its importance. The notion that the likely outcome might render voters irrelevant in many jurisdictions ought to scare every reader, regardless of political leanings.
Moore v. Harper
The issue, as set forth at SCOTUSblog, is:
Whether a state’s judicial branch may nullify the regulations governing the ‘Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives … prescribed … by the Legislature thereof,’ and replace them with…
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