Brutalizing Times A swirl of emotions. I read a recent David Brooks piece in the Times a few weeks ago. Mr. Brooks published How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen soon before then. He focuses, in the column, the book, and in many columns, on living successfully in […]
Continue Reading Brutalizing Times
Mark Rubin Writes
Blog Authors
Latest from Mark Rubin Writes
Trump Redux
Trump Redux [Note: Looking for a file, I ran across this piece, first posted on July 23, 2016 and titled, then: Superman Trump: Got It All Covered. The essay seems quaint, given its lament for times when our leaders asked us come together for the greater good. Leaders? Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, Obama, and Clinton. Hardly […]
Continue Reading Trump Redux
Trump’s Trial
Trump’s Trial I hope I can shed some light on legal aspects of Former Guy’s trial in New York, now in its fourth day. We’ll do this Q and A style, and I welcome any additional questions. Q If the loans got paid in full, why are we here? A New York has a statute […]
Continue Reading Trump’s Trial
My Weekend
My Weekend On Friday, September 22, 2023, I paid $51.71 to fill up my 2018 Toyota Rav4. Last gas purchase for me, for a vehicle I own or lease. On Sunday, September 24, I walked out of Costco and saw a slick looking car. A Kia EV6, on display to promote the Costco auto purchase […]
Continue Reading My Weekend
Dysfunctional Democracy
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 […]
Continue Reading Dysfunctional Democracy
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 […]
Continue Reading The U.S. Supreme Court and Ethics
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 […]
Continue Reading Oh Baby Baby It’s a Wild World
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 – […]
Continue Reading U.S.A v. Trump
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 […]
Continue Reading Disney Defeats DeSantis
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 […]
Continue Reading Donald Trump Heads for the Big Apple
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 […]
Continue Reading Bye-bye Matthew Scarber
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 […]
Continue Reading Balloons, Balloons, Balloons!
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 […]
Continue Reading The Corporate Transparency Act: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
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…
Continue Reading Who decides elections?
Vote Like Your Life Depends On It!
Vote like your life depends on it! Vote. Vote like your life depends on it. It matters greatly! Be smart, too. I wrote recently about our mess of a political situation. Whatever happens on Tuesday (and in coming days, for we will not know some results for days, and not because of fraud), we will […]
Continue Reading Vote Like Your Life Depends On It!
Stephens / NYT / Climate Change
Stephens / NYT / Climate Change I am a Sunday NYT subscriber. The paper arrives early, in its blue bag. It sits on the sidewalk for days, usually. Next stop? Atop the doghouse on what might be called the front porch.* Etc. My point? If I didn’t have to get a paper copy to access […]
Continue Reading Stephens / NYT / Climate Change