On The Death Of Senator Lindsey Graham . . .

From our friend Christine Flowers:

I only just now . . . had a chance to read some of the comments about Lindsey Graham. Many of them are kind, thoughtful, very appropriate to mark the passing of a combat veteran, a man who spent three decades in public service, a staunch ally of Israel and a genuinely blithe spirit and happy warrior.

But many more have been cruel, a shameful example of the degradation of our discourse. Interestingly, most of the cruelty comes from the same people who accuse Donald Trump of being arrogant, rude, insensitive, insulting and coarse. Hypocrites are often the last to recognize their own hypocrisy. But I am particularly upset at the veiled accusations that Senator Graham “might have been gay.” It’s used as an insult, which I would think no longer has a place in our society, especially among the “genocide-rainbow-transisgood-pro abortion” demographic that recoils at any suggestion that we are not “Free To Be, You And Me” ( gratuitous Marlo Thomas reference.)

They ignore the fact that he put his own life on hold to raise his little sister when their parents died. Imagine that sacrifice, in a very young man. Perhaps that’s the reason he had no wife. Nobody’s business.

Beyond that, it’s a cruel suggestion that single people have something wrong with them, that there must be some ulterior reason, a hidden shame or a congenital defect, that has left them facing life “alone.”

I am single, by choice. I am happy to live in a world filled with friends I love, family I cherish, pets I have and will yet mourn when they cross into eternity. I treasure my dinners alone, quiet moments with a book or a slice of cake, walks in the rain (sorry if this ironically sounds like a personal ad.) I am truly happy for those who have found what the Italians call their “anima gemella,” their twin spirit. I am wryly amused yet still happy for those who’ve done it over, and over…and over again.

But like Lindsey, I see my life through a single lens, crystal clear. And yes, I am straight even though I went to Bryn Mawr.

My point is that criticizing Lindsey for his politics is fine (I shared them almost 100%.) But mocking his choice to remain single is more of a commentary on the mediocrity of the heckler than it is about the great spirit of a glorious patriot. Who is home, now, with some friends who loved him.

H/T: facebook 

The Pope VS The POTUS: Let's Sort It Out!

Columnist and attorney Christine Flowers joins blogger/podcaster Dan Cirucci for a no-holds-barred analysis of the conflict between Pope Leo and President Trump. How did it start; how might it end and why is it important?

Remembering Justice Sandra Schultz Newman

Our dear friend Christine Flowers has written a beautiful reminiscence of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman who has passed away. We are honored to be quoted in this loving tribute, reprinted with Christine's permission:

As a female in the legal profession, I have often encountered women my own age-64-and even younger, who have this sense of having “accomplished things against all odds.” There is that sort of woman who believes that our gender, even in this day and age, has shackled us, slowed us down, and made any of our eventual accomplishments that much more meaningful.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes would say, I dissent. Respectfully, of course.

For the women of my generation, which is very late Boomer through Gen X, there may have still been a few speed bumps along the highway of professional success. I encountered a bit of passive aggressive sexism, and as the daughter of a legendary Philadelphia lawyer who straddled the legal landscape of the 1970s like a Colossus, I learned how to navigate the setbacks with a smile and, when necessary, a kick in the shins.

I was not a victim, nor were most of the women I meet who might think that they were. And please spare me the “I had to balance my life as a mother with my desire to achieve excellence” mantra. One of my classmates in high school was just appointed to the bench in Montgomery County and she has four beautiful daughters. So kudos to the Honorable Mary Pugh, nee Mary Theresa Coyne, Merion Mercy Class of 1979.

My actual purpose in writing this is to highlight the career and accomplishments of a woman who, like those of her generation, really did have to battle the evils of sexism, and in some cases, racism and bigotry. These were the trailblazers of the bar, women on the national stage with names like Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sandra Day O’Connor, and locally like a woman who passed this week, and who will forever be considered a legend in Pennsylvania; The Honorable Justice Sandra Schultz Newman, first woman to be elected to the highest court in the Commonwealth.

Justice Newman, or “Sandy” as her friends called her, was one of those people who would have succeeded in whatever field she chose, and she chose the law. Blessed with a Dresden doll beauty, delicate features and pale skin, she could have been a model or a movie star had she wanted to be. A character that flamboyant would have fit right in with that sort of zeitgeist.

But she had a mind, and that mind was not destined for movie scripts or being told to “strike a pose.” She graduated from my alma mater, Villanova Law School, and had the great fortune to study under Professor Howard Lurie, a man who was also my professor a decade later, and who to this day represents for me all that is great and glorious about the rule of law.

She was the first female Assistant District Attorney in Montgomery County, and her career trajectory soared from that point. In 1993, she was elected to the Commonwealth Court, an intermediate appellate court and then in 1995 was the first female in the history of the Pennsylvania judiciary elected to the Supreme Court. Imagine that, it took two centuries, or thereabouts, before they let us on the high court. Justice Newman was a pragmatic, but perceptive justice. She was extremely fair, and even though she was a registered Republican, you would really not know it. Here decisions didn’t come with a partisan time stamp, or fingerprint. She was exactly what a judge should be: neutral.

And this extended to her personal relationships. One of her closest friends was Donna Gentile O’Donnell, a lifelong Democrat of the old Kennedy mold, as fair and as feisty as the justice. They occupied different political hemispheres, but were deeply devoted to each other, up to the final moments. And to my own particular dismay, because I disagreed profoundly with his position on abortion, Justice Newman was a strong supporter of Justice Kevin Dougherty during his retention race this past November. While I was furiously opposing his retention on social media, she was doing everything possible to help him keep his seat, and believe me, her influence dwarfed my keyboard efforts. He was, as we all know, retained.

But I think that this is the hallmark of the woman who left us this week: a person who followed her own personal North Star.

She rarely complained about how hard it had been, because in some ways it hadn’t been. She had that immense spirit and was such a force of nature that I think she simply broke down the barriers by sheer will. It didn’t hurt to have her husband, the legendary Dr. Julius Newman at her side for most of the journey.

I wrote on Facebook that when he passed, she honored his legacy, cherished as it was like a Faberge Egg, precious in memory.

She had also suffered the loss of a son a short while before she herself fell ill, and found comfort in her other son Jonathan, who was the iconic Chairman of the Liquor Control Board and ushered in the “Chairman’s Selection” section.

I was not a close friend of Justice Newman, although we communicated on Facebook and despite her offers to call her “Sandy,” was forever for me, “Madame Justice.”

I write this because her life deserves to be remember far beyond the legal community, which will of course remember her.

I write this because Justice Newman was a person who lived her life fully, and well, and she was an example of how to confront obstacles with joy and a fierce but effective femininity. That word has become unpopular in these post-feminist days, but this was a legal lioness who was not afraid to show her inimitable style.

My friend Dan Cirucci, who knew her well, summed it up the best, I think:

“I was so proud to know her. I loved her. I loved that was so genuine and unaffected by title or status. She delighted in all the people she knew and was so generous and kind. There was a wonderful joy de vivre about her. I’m glad I got to see her one last time and spend some time with her when the Supreme Court’s courtroom in Philadelphia was named in her honor. It was such a wonderful day. She was old school and part of a generation that is passing on and I will miss her just as I miss all of these wonderful trailblazing woman who paved away for so many others– – others who often don’t even realize it, and sadly might not be so grateful even if they did realize it.”

She carried the weight for many women, and did it with grace.

As she now lays it down, let her memory be for a blessing.

VIDEO: Christine And Dan: - A Raconteur Reunion!

Columnist and radio host Christine Flowers joins Dan for a lively no-holds-barred look at everything that's happening right now -- a risible raconteur reunion.

From Christine Flowers: 'This One Is Different'

 From Christine Flowers, via facebook:

I’ve been commenting a great deal since Charlie Kirk was assassinated last Wednesday. But I’ve also been observing, taking notes. Digesting. I feel in a way like a foreigner traveling through a foreign country, a stranger absorbing customs that shock but fascinate me. I’m a bit like DeTocqueville with she/her pronouns. The custom that interests me the most is how these separate Americas and vastly different Americans react to death.

Some mourn, deeply, as if they lost a brother. Some mourn but make excuses in an honest way, lamenting the fact that tragedy repeats itself over and overer again. Some do not mourn at all. Some celebrate. And the people who love them make excuses to deflect from their profound and obvious inhumanity.

If I truly were an objective observer like DeTocqueville, though, I’d notice something else. The air has changed. There is an electricity that was heretofore dormant, but is now a current coursing through the sort of people who before, would have sought to ignore the base cruelty of other Americans in that other America.

It is to be expected that conservatives and self -defined right wingers would be galvanized by such a cruel attack on a young father, a man whose only offense, if you could call it that, was using words that challenged the ubiquitous rainbow and questioned the power of tolerance.

But it’s not just the right that is standing up, ear tipped to hear a message on the wind: unite. That message is filtering down to those who heretofore had no ideology other than a desire to be decent and untroubled. Now, however, they saw the way that other Americans in that other America callously mixed “I told you so” into their insincere messages of condolence and sorrow. And they are appalled. Sam Cooke sang about a change coming. From what I’ve seen, the change is here. In death, prophets speak with the power of clarion bells. Things have shifted. This one is different.

Video: Dan And Christine Flowers, Together Again!

Christine And Dan: Tonight At 8, A Live Video Chat!

You can find Christine Flowers and Dan Cirucci tonight at 8 on Dan's facebook and LinkedIn pages and on Dan's You Tube channel. Then, the recorded video will be found later right here!

This SO Needs To Be Said, Right Now!

This, so beautifully expressed, from our dear friend columnist, attorney and radio host, the incomparable Christine Flowers:

A lot of cruel things are being said about JD Vance. A lot of angry single or married cat ladies are up in arms. A lot of folks who hate a lot of things they can’t explain are trashing his reputation. I’m reading his book. And I’m thinking of Ted Flowers, whose own grandmother, his beloved Nana, immigrant from Sweden, tough Lutheran-turned-Catholic was the buffer between a young boy and some major sorrows. Philadelphia is not Appalachia, but boys and sorrows are very much the same. I am saddened that some of my smarter female friends don’t understand that Vance has already won the greatest race of all. Like my daddy, he came from almost nothing to reach the pinnacle of social and professional success. And neither man ever blamed or complained. One more thing: they understood just how powerful women were. And they didn’t need to use the right words to prove it.

Christine And Dan LIVE, On 10 Momentous Days!

After perhaps the momentous 10 days in US political history, Christine Flowers and Dan Cirucci take a look at what's really happened and what it actually means going forward.

A Suggestion From Our Friend, Christine Flowers

"This is the key, right here: we need ONE day of in-person voting, make it a federal holiday, eliminate mail in ballots except for military, those living abroad and the disabled, and require voter ID. Done. No allegations of stolen elections. This was how we used to vote anyway."

--Christine Flowers

Christine And Dan On Butker, The Debate, The Trial

Christine Flowers, lawyer, columnist and radio host and Dan Cirucci discuss the planned Trump/Biden debate, The Trial and why expressing Catholic views, based on Catholic teaching at a Catholic university is somehow "controversial". Oh, this is scintillating fun!

Christine Flowers and Dan Cirucci: Together Again! https://t.co/rdU09QtoDw

— Dan (@dancirucci) May 17, 2024

I'm Just A Small Part Of This MUST READ Column!

My thanks to @dancirucci for his contribution to this columnhttps://t.co/rugfAoGw5M

— Christine Flowers (@flowerlady61) May 5, 2024

Christine Flowers & Dan Cirucci: Together Again!

Together Again! Christine Flowers and Dan Cirucci with special guest Rick Short. https://t.co/yASrvPZMmV

— Dan (@dancirucci) April 22, 2024

Dan And Christine On McCarthy, The Mayhem, Etc.

Dan talks with attroney, commentator and columnists Christine Flowers about the week's events including the battle for Speaker of the House, Prince Harry, the Royals, the Philly mayoral race, Chgristine's first-hand account of the city's crime problem and other topics. Scintillating, as always!

Saying What Needs To Be Said Right Now . . .

PHILLY: The Photo Explains It All For You!

Res Ipsa Justice pic.twitter.com/jWtFHxcmDx

— Christine Flowers (@flowerlady61) December 12, 2022

Dan & Christine LIVE On Election Eve!

Christine & Dan's Election Eve Preview! https://t.co/HjQANSf96c

— Dan (@dancirucci) November 8, 2022

 

Video: Dan Cirucci And Christine Flowers At Large!

Dan Cirucci and Christine Flowers: Together Again! https://t.co/vLmzaq1J9E

— Dan (@dancirucci) October 10, 2022

What To Make Of It? Here's A Cogent Analysis

 

The Video: Christine Flowers/Dan Cirucci LIVE!

It's been awhile but the drought has ended!

Here are Dan Cirucci and Christine Flowers wrapping up the summer with a live video full of their always scintillating and provocative views on politics and the popular culture.

In a word: "KABOOM!"