Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Coral Gables’s Mysterious Nativity Scene

Posted on December 22, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

This elaborate nativity scene is prominently displayed in downtown Coral Gables near the corner of Ponce De Leon and Alhambra, on a little circle of land that might be public, or might be an amenity belonging to a nearby office building. It has no sign on it saying who erected it or how it got to be there.

Google Maps actually has a good image of it:


View Larger Map

I've never taught or litigated an Establishment Clause case, but I was under the impression that if this is public land, there has to be a sign on such a display explaining who paid for it, lest it appear to be a city-purchased religious display. Then again, it might be private land. Indeed, one of my colleagues tells me that there used to be a church where the building next to the circle now stands (the tall thin building in the image above), and speculates that when they sold the land they held on to this piece (or kept an easement) just for this purpose. Could be: but why no sign claiming credit?

Posted in Law: Constitutional Law, Miami | 1 Comment

The End of the World

Posted on December 22, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

GW Bush sings (in a Rex Harrison sort of a way) The End of the World As We Know It.

This one might actually make your head explode.

So do we have a new art form here — mashing up samples to make unlikely/impossible singer/song combos? If so, it's a temporary thing. Part of the fun is that some of the rivets show. When the technology gets so good that it becomes child's play to make Hillary Clinton do a duet with Dick Cheney on “I Got You Babe,” then it won't be fun any more.

Obligatory link to Sonny & Cher (1965) and much more interesting link to two of the less likely people ever singing “I've Got You Babe” (1973).

Posted in Kultcha | 1 Comment

That Didn’t Take Long (Failed Treasury Plan Dept.)

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

The “super-SIV” bailout fund — which never made much sense, and for which the commitments had been dropping almost daily, is now officially dead before being born: Big Fund to Prop Up Securities Is Scrapped. Its death leaves some egg on the face of the Treasury, which had suggested this was part of the answer to the emerging mortgage crisis.

Note that this is different from the other Treasury scheme to have banks adopt some FICO-score based criteria to allow some fraction of the people who would otherwise default next year to refinance instead (so long as they are up to date on payments, etc. etc.). That band-aid makes some economic sense and may survive, although it's only a few drops in the leaky bucket.

Posted in Econ & Money: Mortgage Mess | Comments Off on That Didn’t Take Long (Failed Treasury Plan Dept.)

‘Murder by Spreadsheet’

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

They're calling it 'murder by spreadsheet' — CIGNA refused for 20 days to OK a liver transplant for Natalee Sarkisian, a teenager who died today, ironically only shortly after demonstrators and a tidal wave of bad publicity forced CIGNA to reverse its negative decision.

The 20-day delay, during which the family had to decline at least one suitable transplant opportunity due to lack of funds, is said by the family to be the proximate cause of death — although this was a very complex medical case.

We need national health insurance. (Not insurance companies for everyone.)

Posted in Econ & Money | 5 Comments

Bill Strauss, Capitol Steps Co-Founder

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

I love the Capitol Steps comedy troupe, so I was sad to hear that co-founder Bill Strauss has died.

Here's a video in which he does McCain:

There's also a nice audio file of Strauss's Reagan song. Maybe 'lazy' Fred Thompson knows what he's doing?

Posted in Completely Different | 1 Comment

Friday Fun: Let’s Daydream About the GOP Convention

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Booman Tribune is having some fun daydreaming about the GOP convention:

If John McCain does not emerge as the Republican nominee, there's a good likelihood that the GOP is going to be in for a long, strange ride. Let's walk though this.

…

[If there is] a Huckabee win in Iowa, then Romney will likely prevail in the Granite State. We could easily see McCain, Thompson, and Duncan Hunter drop out after New Hampshire or South Carolina. We could see Giuliani drop out after Florida. And we'll be left with Huckabee, Romney, and Ron Paul. And Ron Paul will have enough money to compete everywhere on Super Duper Tuesday, while Huckabee will not, and Romney will have to spend his own fortune.

Even in this scenario, I do not expect Ron Paul to win the nomination, or even any states (although he could win a couple). But he could easily rack up a fifth of the available delegates in a three-way race. Imagine the Republican convention if Ron Paul has the third biggest block of delegates.

Let's go even further here. Assuming that Romney's delegates are more Mormon than his overall universe of support and that Huckabee's delegates are more Southern Baptist than his overall universe of support, and that Ron Paul's delegates are…well…the most enthusiastic and dedicated of Ron Paul's supporters…the Minneapolis conventions is going to be a assembly of the cultural fringe.

Just imagine the platform fights!

Posted in Politics: US: 2008 Elections | 2 Comments